And Then He Didn't Even Show Up

by suzie2b

Tully has to go to a town where he's been threatened with death.

Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

And Then He Didn't Even Show Up

By Suzie2b

Sergeants Troy and Moffitt had just finished a meeting with Captain Boggs. They met Privates Hitchcock and Pettigrew at the motor pool, where they were checking and stocking the jeeps.

Troy informed them of their assignment. "We're going to Hebron tomorrow to head up security for a visit from General Maxwell."

Hitch asked, "What's he doing out here?"

Moffitt smiled. "There was a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Benghazi. Apparently General Maxwell wants to see how things are done in the desert."

Troy looked at Tully. "You all right? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Do you think maybe I could sit this one out?"

"Why? Are you sick?"

Tully shook his head. "No. But I might be if I go to Hebron."

Troy put his hands on his hips and frowned. "Explain."

Tully looked around the busy motor pool. "I'd rather not, sarge."

Moffitt heard something in the young man's voice that told him this was a real problem. "If we go somewhere more private, will you talk to us?"

Tully hesitated and looked at each of his friends, then gave a slight nod.

###########################

They went to headquarters and commandeered a small conference room.

Tully immediately began to pace around the table and fidget with one of his rings. Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch sat down.

Troy watched Tully for nearly a minute, then said, "All right, Tully, have a seat." The private stopped and looked at the sergeant, then sat in the nearest chair. "Tell us what's going on."

Tully took a deep breath. "It started the night before I was to meet you, Hitch, and Cotter for the first time. I met a girl in one of the bars there. We were drinking and before I knew it we were upstairs planning to … well, you know."

Troy hid a smile. "So, you two had…"

"That's just it! We didn't! She passed out on the bed before we even got our clothes off."

Moffitt asked, "And then what happened?"

Tully shrugged as he got up and started pacing again. "I left … went back to my quarters and went to bed."

Hitch's brow furrowed. "So what's the problem?"

"Long story short … she ended up pregnant and swore to her family that I was the father."

Moffitt said, "If you left the next day, how did you find out about it?"

Tully sighed. "We went back to Hebron a few months later. Somehow her family found out I was in town. Her father and three older brothers hunted me down. When I told them there was no way I could be the father, they beat the crap out of me and said they would kill me if they ever saw me again."

Hitch frowned. "You told us you got into a brawl at a bar."

Tully nodded. "I've managed to stay out of Hebron ever since."

They silently watched the private for a time, then Troy said, "Tully, sit down before you wear out the floor." He did and the sergeant continued, "Unfortunately, Hebron doesn't have a large security presence so I need all hands of deck for this assignment."

Hitch said, "Hey, maybe that girl and her family moved out of town."

Tully said quietly, "I can only hope."

Troy smiled a little at the dejected look on Tully's face. "Just make sure you're always with at least one of us and it'll be all right. Okay?"

Tully nodded. "Okay."

###########################

The Rat Patrol left for Hebron the next morning so they would arrive several days ahead of General Maxwell. They reported to the base commander, a Major Lee, who explained that the general had not seen combat since World War 1 and had never seen the North African Campaign first hand. "Which, I understand, is why he wanted to go to Benghazi for the Joint Chief's meeting. I'm told he can be quite brash at times and difficult to deal with."

Troy asked, "Is the general planning to stay long?"

Major Lee replied, "About a week as far as I know. He's also planning to visit a couple of the outlying camps. You're going to have your hands full, sergeant."

"Yeah, I can see that." Troy sighed. "Well, sir, if we're done here, I'd like to get started."

"We're done. I'll let you know if there are any changes."

Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully left the office. Troy wanted to talk to the head of security. He stopped in the hallway and Troy said, "Hitch, you and Tully take the jeeps to the motor pool for service. Requisition a couple of side arms and ammo for yourselves along with anything else we need."

"Right, sarge."

Moffitt looked at the two young men and said, "And remember to stay together."

At the motor pool, neither Hitch nor Tully realized they were being watched.

###########################

The next morning, after breakfast, Troy sent Hitch and Tully to check the back gate. He wanted one way into town and one way out. The two privates walked through town, taking the shortest route possible to their destination.

When Hitch and Tully got to the gate they made sure it was locked up tight and told the two guards that no one was to come in or go out.

After that, Tully said, "Why don't we walk the perimeter? Make sure we know where guards are stationed so we can tell Troy and Moffitt if there's any holes to fill. Then we can stop at supply for the stuff we asked for."

Hitch nodded. "Good idea. Better to do it now than later."

Two hours later they'd nearly circled the town when four large Arab men stepped out of an alley and blocked their path. Hitch asked, "Do you know them?"

Tully nodded slowly. "Didn't take them long to find out I'm here."

The eldest of the four said, "Were you not warned what would happen if you came back to Hebron?"

"Yes, sir. I remember it vividly."

"Then why would you come back here?" Tully didn't answer. "Ah … you are here to claim your child and make my daughter an honest woman."

"No, sir, I'm not. I'm here to do a job for the army."

Hitch said in a low voice, "We should've stopped at supply for those guns first."

The three younger men pulled out knives and one said, "For our sister's sake, allow us to kill this dog, father."

The older man nodded and the three rushed Hitch and Tully. They struggled for a short time before they heard shots fired. The four Arabs ran back down the alley and disappeared as two MPs approached. One pulled Hitch to his feet and asked, "You two all right?"

Hitch replied, "I'm fine. How about you, Tully?"

He was looking at the cut in the heel of his left hand. Blood was dripping from it. Tully looked at Hitch. "Okay … this stings a little."

###########################

Troy and Moffitt entered the medical building. They found Hitch watching as a doctor wrapped a bandage around Tully's hand and said, "Keep it clean and dry. The stitches can come out in a week."

Tully nodded. "Thanks, doc."

As he and Moffitt walked over to them, Troy said, "What in the heck happened? The MPs said you two were attacked."

"Skye's family hasn't forgotten me."

As he watched the doctor tape the bandage in place, Moffitt said, "Skye? Is it safe to assume that's the girl you told us about?"

Tully sighed. "Yeah. Her father and brothers are out to kill me."

The doctor gave Tully two aspirin and a glass of water as Hitch said, "They want him to marry the girl and claim the kid as his own."

Moffitt smiled. "I would think that Charley wouldn't be too keen on that idea."

Tully just chuckled as he handed the glass back to the doctor, who handed him a bottle of penicillin. "You've had a shot of penicillin so take one of these at dinner, then two a day until they're gone."

Troy shook his head. "Maybe we should've left you back at base after all. How's the hand feel."

Tully made a lose fist. "The doc used some procaine. Right now it's numb."

"All right. Let's get back to work."

"Um … sarge, can Hitch and I go to supply and pick up the guns we requisitioned first?"

Troy nodded. "Probably a good idea."

The rest of the day went smoothly. At dinner they discussed the security arrangements. Troy said, "We have a half dozen MPs headed by a rookie staff sergeant and all the men Major Lee can spare. The major has contacted three of the camps that General Maxwell may want to visit. Tomorrow Hitch and I will do a recon of the route they'll be using to bring the general in."

Tully asked, "Can't Moffitt and I do the recon?"

Moffitt replied, "Already thought of that. Unfortunately, with your hand, driving or manning the 50 isn't a good idea. So you and I will keep an eye on things here." He took the bottle of penicillin out of Tully's shirt pocket, shook one into his hand, and gave it to the private as he said, "We'll go through the room the general will be staying in as well as any offices and conference rooms there's a chance he'll use."

Tully smiled as he took the pill and swallowed it with some coffee. He knew full well he would have forgotten to take it without Moffitt keeping an eye on him.

Troy said, "We're going to let the MPs and Lee's people handle guard duty tonight. I want all of us to get a good night's sleep."

###########################

Tully woke up at one in the morning when his hand started to throb painfully. He got up and flipped on the small lamp on the dresser, intending to get some aspirin out of the med kit. But he quickly realized he'd forgotten to grab it out of the jeep when he and Hitch were checking on the two vehicles after dinner.

He thought about just going back to bed and trying to ignore it, but he knew that wasn't going to work. Tully looked at Hitch in the bed across the room where he snored quietly, the dim yellow light not disturbing him at all. He didn't want to wake his friend, but knew that Troy had told him not to go anywhere alone. Then he shook his head and started to get dressed. He figured going to medical for some aspirin was closer than going all the way to the motor pool. Surely he could get there and back without any problems.

Tully turned the light off and quietly left the room. He went out of the barracks and into the cool, dark night. It was quiet and there was no one on the street. He hurried to medical, where a nurse gladly gave him two aspirin. Then he started back to his quarters.

Along the way, Tully started to get that 'feeling' of being followed. He listened as he walked and could hear footfall. He stopped, the sound stopped. He started out again, the sound of footsteps followed. Tully reached for the pistol he's worn all afternoon, but it wasn't on his hip. He cursed and could see in his mind the gun and belt hanging off his bed's headboard. He started walking faster and the barracks had just come into view when he was hit from behind.

###########################

The alarm went off on the dresser and Hitch stumbled out of bed to shut it off. He looked to see if Tully was awake, but he wasn't there. Hitch quickly dressed and went to the room next door.

Moffitt answered the knock and Hitch asked, "By some chance is Tully here?"

"No … why?"

"When I woke up, he was gone. And he didn't take his gun."

Troy stepped up beside Moffitt and growled, "What! He knew he wasn't supposed to go out alone! Especially after what happened yesterday."

Moffitt said, "I suppose we'd better go look for him."

Troy nodded. "We'll check medical first. If he's had another run-in with Skye's family, that's probably where he'll be."

The nurse read through the report left by the night shift. "Yes, Private Pettigrew was here a little after one o'clock this morning. His hand was bothering him and he was given aspirin."

Moffitt frowned. "Then he went missing somewhere between here and the barracks. I think we should track down Skye and her family."

###########################

Tully awoke to the sound of a donkey braying. He shook his head to clear the fog in his brain and looked around. He was sitting on the floor of a stall with his hands tied to the hay bin above his head. He tried to pull his hands free, but only managed to make his cut hand throb.

"So, you are finally awake I see."

Tully looked up to see Skye's father standing next to the stall, looking over the wall at him.

"Just so you know the name of the man who will kill you … I am Ibrahim."

Tully said, "Why are you so hell-bent on murdering me for something I had nothing to do with?"

"Nothing to do with?" Ibrahim walked around and into the stall. "You impregnate my daughter and then leave her. You don't even acknowledge what you have done."

"Because I didn't get Skye pregnant! I didn't even have sex with her!"

Ibrahim kicked Tully hard in the shin. "You are a lying dog!"

Tully winced and pulled his legs up closer to his body. "I admit that we intended to do it … but we'd been drinking and she passed out on the bed."

"Ah ha! So now you are admitting to raping my daughter while she could not defend herself! You have ruined her! No self-respecting man will marry her now!"

"Oh for crying out loud! When I left she was sleeping and fully dressed! Shouldn't you be more concerned about the fact that she was prostituting herself?"

Ibrahim turned and walked away only to return with a metal pail full of hot coals. He pushed several brands into those coals. "We all do what we must to survive." He took a knife and cut the bandage off of Tully's hand. Then proceeded to slice through the stitches. As he opened the wound, Ibrahim smiled when Tully hissed with pain. "This was the first cut of many."

###########################

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch had gone to three different bars before they found one where someone admitted to knowing a woman named Skye. The owner/bartender told them, "I let her drink for free and use a room upstairs. She gives me a quarter of what she makes entertaining soldiers."

Troy asked, "Is she 'entertaining' anyone now?"

"No. I have not seen her today."

"Do you know where her family lives?"

"Yes." He called a boy over and instructed him in Arabic to take the men to Skye's house. "He will take you there."

They hurriedly followed as they were led out of the gates of the town.

###########################

As the brands heated, Ibrahim slit the sleeve of Tully's jacket and pushed the tip of the knife into his left arm about midway to his elbow. Tully pushed his feet against the floor and squeezed his eyes shut.

Ibrahim laughed at the pain he was causing and started to walk around to the other side of Tully to do the same to his right arm. As he stepped around, Tully kicked his feet out and caught Ibrahim in the knee. When he fell, he hit his head on the wall of the stall and knocked the pail over. Hot coals flew in every direction and immediately caught fire to the straw that was on the floor.

By the time Ibrahim became aware of what was happening, it was too late. Flames were creeping up the barn's walls. Tully was struggling desperately to free himself as Ibrahim stood up. After watching the fire for a moment, he turned and looked down at Tully. "This is not what I planned … but it will still be slow and painful." Then he turned the panicking donkey loose and left.

###########################

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch saw the smoke as they approached the house. They left their guide behind and ran the rest of the way. As they headed for the burning barn, they saw Ibrahim walking away.

They quickly caught him and Troy grabbed the front of the man's shirt. "Where's Tully?"

Ibrahim grinned maliciously. "It is too late for him."

That's when they heard Tully screaming for help. Troy looked at Moffitt and Hitch. "Hang onto him!" Then he sprinted towards the burning building.

Troy found an opening in the flames and charged inside and called Tully's name.

The frantic private yelled, "Sarge, hurry!"

When Troy found him, he was trying to keep his legs away from the flames that had one pant leg smoldering. "Hang on, Tully!" He stomped the flames back and beat on Tully's leg to make sure he wasn't on fire. Then he quickly cut the rope that held Tully's wrists to the hay bin and hauled him to his feet. "Let's get outta here!"

As the two men ran out of the barn, Moffitt and Hitch breathed a sigh of relief. Ibrahim was not at all happy, though. He began to curse and struggle with them.

Skye and the rest of the family rushed outside as help from town started to show up. There wasn't much that could be done about the barn, it was a total loss.

MPs took Ibrahim and his sons away in handcuffs as they all threatened revenge. Tully stared at Skye, but made no move to go to her. She saw the hard and unfeeling look on his face. She turned and walked away with her mother.

Hitch saw the blood dripping from Tully's wounds and took him by the arm to lead him to a waiting ambulance. "Let's get you cleaned up."

###########################

Tully was again stitched and bandaged with his left arm in a sling this time. Troy wouldn't allow him to work security the next day and he was resting in his quarters when Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch walked in.

Moffitt smiled. "How are you feeling?"

Tully sat up. "Not too bad I guess. Still a bit sore. Did General Maxwell get here okay?"

Troy sighed. "Nope. Major Lee told us that something came up and he's headed back to the states."

Hitch shook his head. "After all this, and he doesn't even show."

Moffitt said, "Bureaucracy at its finest."

Tully smiled slightly. "Does that mean we can go home now?"

Troy replied, "Yeah, we'll leave tomorrow." He put his hands on his hips. "And the next time I tell you not to go out alone, you'd better believe I mean it."

"Sorry, sarge. I didn't want to wake Hitch just so I could get aspirin. Besides, who would've thought that they'd be out there waiting for me at one in the morning?"

Hitch grinned. "Next time just wake me up."

Moffitt sighed. "Let's hope there won't be a next time."