Shaken by the Sheik
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 1
The tents were organized like a small town, each one having an importance and a specific purpose. The largest one was set up right in the middle of the encampment as was fitting for the leader of the clan.
"It looks like the Sheik has arrived."
Moffitt had noted the sizable tent village too but Tully's comment drew his attention.
"From the looks of it he brought his entire family; that bodes well for the Allies."
"How's that Doc?" Tully drove slowly past the encampment on his way to the gates of their base. Coming in from another patrol, the Sheik's arrival wasn't a complete surprise. For the entire week before they had left the base there had been a flurry of preparations being made for the Sheik's expected visit.
"If he brought his family it means that he feels safe here. With that in mind it would suggest that he is seriously considering an alliance with the Allies." Moffitt explained at Tully's question.
"He must have a large family." Tully observed. "Some of these tents are bigger than our house back home."
Moffitt smiled at his driver's comment. Some of the tents were large, but he wasn't surprised; Sheik Bal al Hassim was the leader of one of the most powerful tribes in North Africa. If the Allies could gain his support it could change the course of the war in the desert. On the other hand, if he were to decide to join the enemy, the change would spell trouble for the Allies.
"So what happens if he decides he doesn't want to help us?" Tully wondered.
"Then we can only hope that he decides not to help the Germans either."
"What if he only wants to check us out?" The private asked. "It has happened before."
"Sheik Bal al Hassim is rumored to be a wise leader." The sergeant explained. "They say he's fair and honest. I've heard that he values those traits in others also. No," Moffitt shook his head, "I don't believe that he would come here to spy under the cover of meeting to discuss an alliance. Besides, the Germans already have plenty of Arab spies watching the base and reporting back to them."
"I hope you're right Doc, I sure wouldn't want to mess with those guys."
Moffitt chuckled at the conviction in Tully's tone.
"Seriously Sarge!" Tully declared at the response. "Just look at the size of those guards in front of that big tent!"
"That is the Sheik's personal tent and those are the Sheik's personal guards." Moffitt explained. "You really do not want to get on their bad side. They would die to protect the Sheik from any danger…real or imagined. They are all hand-picked for their loyalty and abilities. Getting into a fight with them would be very unwise indeed." The sergeant warned.
"Not me Sarge, they look like it would take a tank to knock them down."
"Stop calling me Sarge and I'm glad you have decided to avoid trouble with those guards; they have no sense of humor Tully."
"They remind me of a pair of dogs one of our neighbors back home used to own. He used them to hunt bears." Tully remembered the big dogs well, they had always looked like they were ready for a fight. He had always been careful to keep his younger siblings well clear of the unpredictable animals.
"That is an apt comparison Tully." The sergeant decided.
As they neared the gate they were recognized them and waved through. "The Captain wants to see you right away." The guard called as Troy's jeep rolled past the gate.
Troy acknowledged the message with a nod and told his driver to head for headquarters to drop him off. The jeeps had to move slowly in order to avoid hitting any of the many pedestrians crowding the streets.
"Hitch, Tully, take care of the jeeps; Moffitt and I will report to the Captain and meet you in our quarters after we're done."
"Right Sarge." Hitchcock replied, popping a bubble. He stopped long enough to let Troy out before he wheeled his jeep toward the motor pool. "I wonder how long that Sheik is going to be here." Hitch stood next to Tully's jeep as he surveyed the packed streets.
Tully climbed out of his jeep and shrugged. "I guess as long as it takes the State Department guys to talk him into helping our side."
"What if he doesn't want to help us?"
"I don't think those guys from the State Department will give up easy. Doc says this Sheik is really powerful and he has a lot of influence over the other tribes. According to Doc, he would be a lot of help in the war effort."
"Then I guess we should hope that he likes us." Hitch responded, reaching for the empty gas cans in his jeep.
"That shouldn't be a problem with me but maybe we should hope that you never meet any of his women." Tully grinned as he teased his friend.
"Sarge already told me in no uncertain terms that if I got into any trouble with the Sheik over a girl I would be on my own. He said that he wouldn't back me up." Hitch spoke over his shoulder as he led the way to the fuel depot. He sounded like he couldn't believe what he had been told.
"Maybe you ought to just stay in your tent until after the Sheik leaves."
"Very funny," Hitch growled, "but I have a date with a pretty new nurse tonight."
"Maybe she can help keep you out of trouble for a few days."
Hitch spun to retort but Tully threw his hands up in surrender.
"Just teasing Hitch; I know you wouldn't do anything to start trouble with the Sheik."
"Sarge says that anybody who messes up while those State Department guys are here will really be in trouble. He says that Captain Boggs' wouldn't be any help either because he has to take orders from them."
"Then don't mess up."
"I don't plan on being anywhere around the Sheik's people or those guys either."
Tully turned at the words to see Hitch watching two civilians in suits talking to an officer in front of the motor pool. The suits looked out of place among all of the uniforms and the native clothing.
"Maybe we should get these cans back to the jeeps. I don't think I want to draw the attention of those guys either."
"I'll get the water if you want to check the oil and the belts." Hitch made the offer after they finished replacing the newly filled gas cans.
"Okay." Tully agreed. "I think my fan belt may need replacing. Sarge may have to clear the order with Captain Boggs. The oil needs changing too."
"I know I'm low on oil." Hitch remembered. "We'll have to requisition a few quarts. I used the last of my spares on our way back." Hitch picked up the water cans from both jeeps and went to refill them while Tully went over the jeeps.
The fan belt did need to be replaced and Tully made a mental note to talk to Troy about ordering the belt. He was underneath the jeep checking along the fuel lines when he heard the voices.
"We know that the Germans have made overtures to the Sheik. We just don't know what he told them."
"Can we trust him then? What will we have to offer him to get him to join us?"
"We have to trust him; we don't have a choice. He's a valuable asset and I, for one, am not going back to Washington to report a failure. I'll do whatever it takes to get his cooperation. Remember, these are savages, they only understand power and money."
"You're right, of course. If he joins the Germans we could lose this part of the desert. I have a chance at a promotion; I'm not going to risk that over some barbaric Arab."
The voices faded away as the speakers walked past the jeeps. Tully stayed quiet, aware that the conversation had not been meant for his ears. He could identify the speakers by the pant legs of the suits as they passed him. He waited until he was sure that they were gone before he crawled out from under the vehicle. Looking around to make sure that no one had seen him, he hurried off to find Hitch.
"Here, I'll help carry those."
Hitch looked up in surprise at Tully's voice. "I thought that you were going to go over the jeeps."
"I thought that I'd give you a hand first."
"I got it Tully." The other private assured him with an odd look on his face. "Are you okay?"
"Fine, why?"
"You're acting weird."
"Can't a guy offer to help a friend without getting called on it?"
"Sure Tully, if you want…..I guess." The blond answered hesitantly.
"Let's get this water back to the jeeps. Sarge and Doc will be waiting." Tully picked up two of the water cans and began to walk back toward the jeeps. On the way there they passed the two civilians in suits. Tully nodded in passing, making sure that they saw him headed toward the motor pool.
When they reached the vehicles Tully finished checking the jeeps while Hitch lashed the water cans in the rear. As he dropped the hood on the second jeep he caught Hitch watching him with a frown. Tully ducked his head, feeling guilty about keeping his secret but worried about involving Hitch in any potential trouble his eavesdropping might generate.
"Hey you guys!"
Tully and Hitch turned at the call from the motor pool. An MP was walking toward them, waving at them to stop. Tully flushed, worried that his presence had been detected after all and glad that he had resisted the urge to talk to Hitch.
"What's up?" Hitch asked innocently when the MP stopped in front of them.
"You might want to move those jeeps closer to the motor pool." The MP suggested. "We may not be able to keep our eyes on them sitting out in the open like this."
"We always leave them here." Hitch argued. "They're out of the way and we can get to them in a hurry if we need them. Every time we park them next to the others somebody parks us in."
"That's up to you," the MP explained, "but we've had reports of suspicious characters sneaking around here ever since that Arab guy set up camp outside the gate. We'll keep an eye on them as best we can but they'd be safer with the others."
Hitch looked at Tully, who shrugged, before turning back to the MP. "We'll take our chances. No one ever bothered them before. We'd appreciate it if you would check on them every once in a while though."
"We'll watch them," the MP agreed, "but I'm not making any promises with them clear over here."
"Would you guarantee that they would be safe if we moved them over there?" Tully asked.
The MP chuckled. "No."
"That's what we thought. Thanks for the heads-up but we like them where we can get them when we need them."
The MP nodded his understanding. "Things are sort of crazy around here right now; we couldn't guarantee they'd be safe if you took them to bed with you. We'll do what we can." With a nod at the two privates he turned and headed back toward the motor pool.
"I wonder what sort of suspicious characters he means." Hitch looked around as if some of them might suddenly appear.
"To some guys any Arab is suspicious." Tully warned. "Don't go looking for trouble."
"With this circus trouble could find us pretty easy. This entire situation is ripe for disaster. I don't remember ever seeing this base so crowded."
"Yeah, and everybody is walking on eggshells trying not to offend this Sheik Bal al Hassim. Moffitt said that one wrong move on our part could send him running to help the Germans."
"What does Doc think that we're going to do?" Hitch demanded indignantly.
"Not us exactly," Tully explained. "He meant us, as in 'the Allies,' not us as in 'us' personally." Tully made a sweeping motion with his arm to include the entire base.
"Oh."
"We'd better get going; Sarge and Doc will be waiting."
The two made their way toward their quarters. Along the way they had to repeatedly make sure to avoid any groups with women. The women would lower their eyes as they passed while their male escorts would glare at the two Americans in warning. It was a relief when they finally reached their quarters. Troy and Moffitt were already there when they arrived.
"Is everything okay Sarge?" Tully had noticed how tense Troy seemed to be as he entered.
"Fine Tully." The sergeant answered, visibly trying to relax at Tully's show of concern. "It's just too crowded around here. With everybody being told to stay away from the Arabs they're all thinking the same thing."
"What's that Sarge?"
"Hang out in the mess hall."
"I'd rather hang out in my tent." Tully replied. "We can play a game of matchstick poker." He hesitated, then sighed. "I forgot, Hitch has a date with a nurse tonight."
"The pretty one that everyone is chasing?" Troy looked expectantly at his driver.
"That's the one." Hitch smiled.
"Forget it." Troy told him, reaching into his pocket for a note. "She drew extra duty tonight and can't keep the date." He handed the message to Hitch with a sympathetic smile. "Better luck next time."
Hitch looked crestfallen for all of thirty seconds before he brightened again. "Any place we could have gone would probably be crowded anyway. Matchstick poker sounds good to me."
Troy laughed, relieved that his driver wouldn't be sulking around their quarters all night.
"We'll grab something to eat and then head back here. The Captain wants us to go back out again tomorrow. We can relax a bit and get to bed early." He turned to the two privates. "Did you get the jeeps ready?"
"Almost." Tully answered for both of them.
"Almost?"
"My jeep needs a new fan belt and it wasn't on our requisition order. I'll need to get a requisition form and get it signed before the motor pool will give me one. It won't take long to put it on once I get it."
"Can you get it done before 0800 tomorrow?"
"Sure, if I have the requisition form signed."
"I'll stop by the Captain's office on my way back to our quarters and get it." Troy promised. "Pick it up and have the jeep ready by 0800. Let's get something to eat and get back here, I'm feeling lucky tonight."
The others groaned at the announcement.
"It's a good thing we're only playing for matchsticks." Moffitt smiled as he looked at the younger members of the team. "I remember the last time you felt lucky."
Both privates groaned at the memory of when Troy had cleaned them all out of matchsticks and gloated for days. Still, it was all in fun and no one wanted to back out of the game.
After eating Tully and Hitch headed straight back to their quarters. The sergeants arrived a few minutes later and Troy tossed a paper on the bed next to Tully. "All signed and ready to go. The Captain said that they just got a new shipment in so they should have it on hand."
"I'll help Tully put it on in the morning." Hitch volunteered. "That is, if our jeeps are still there."
Troy didn't have to ask, Hitch knew that he would want that comment explained.
"Some MP stopped us and suggested that we move the jeeps closer to the motor pool. He said that he couldn't guarantee their safety where they were."
"What was he worried about?"
"He said that they had had reports of unsavory characters sneaking around the base. According to him he couldn't be sure that the jeeps would be safe parked away from the others."
"Where one explosion could destroy them all at once?" Moffitt asked in disbelief.
"Exactly." Hitch nodded. "I told him that we didn't want them parked in in case we had to leave in a hurry."
"What did he say to that?"
"He said it was our choice."
"Would he have guaranteed their safety if you had moved them?" Moffitt asked.
"That's what I asked." Tully grinned.
"And?"
"And he said no." Tully grinned again.
Moffitt couldn't hide his smile at Tully's comment, amused by the fact that he and his driver had had the same thought.
Troy shook his head, "If the jeeps go missing I guess we'll just have to requisition new ones." He grinned at the others. "We could use new ones anyway." When no one disagreed he rubbed his hands together. "Okay, who's ready to play?"
Tully moved the requisition order off the bed so that they could use it as a seat. Hitch moved a small stand between the beds to use as a table while Troy and Moffitt moved the foot lockers over to use as seats. Soon the four men were engrossed in a friendly game of matchstick poker.