The Real Thing

by AliasCWN

Hitch is in trouble and even he doesn't know why.

The Real Thing

By; AliasCWN

"Hey Doc!" Mark Hitchcock raised his voice as he spotted Moffitt walking ahead of him in the crowded street. The sergeant heard his call and paused to wait for him.

"Where have you been?" Moffitt asked as the young private caught up to him.

"Doing a little shopping in the market." Hitch answered. "My sister's birthday is coming up and I wanted to get her a little something from over here. Who knows when she'll ever get anything else from Africa?"

"As long as you avoid the tourist areas there are some good deals to be found." The sergeant assured him.

"Like I'm going to get any chance to get to a tourist area." The blond laughed. "But I did find a few really unique gifts for her in the local market." He pulled out a brightly colored scarf woven in the traditional Arab designs. "I thought that she'd like this, the colors are really vibrant."

The sergeant ran the scarf through his fingers, admiring the fine craftsmanship. Chuckling at the young man's choice of words he handed it back. "It's a beautiful scarf, I'm sure she'll love it. When is her birthday?"

"Two weeks." Hitch answered. "If I ship everything out today it will still be late but I didn't have time to shop earlier."

"The market here is larger than the one back at our base too." Moffitt nodded. "You had a better selection and you probably got a better price."

"They sure had a lot of stuff." The blond agreed. "The vendors were stopping me on the street to sell me things."

"They can be persistent." The sergeant agreed. Glancing at his watch he was surprised at the time. "I'd love to see what else you bought but Troy wants us all back at the jeeps. Tully is looking for you as we speak."

"Should I go find him?" Hitch asked as he refolded his purchase and tucked it into his shirt.

"No, then you'd both be lost. We'll give a him a few minutes to return on his own."

"Okay, I'm going to go put this stuff in my pack and then I'll do a quick check of my jeep."

"Didn't you check it right after we arrived?"

"Yeah I did, but we don't know the guys at the motor pool, I want to be sure they didn't mess with it. Not that I think anyone did anything to it," he assured the older man, "but we depend on them too much to take any chances."

Moffitt smiled as Hitch hurried ahead to do his check of the jeep. No other jeeps in North Africa got the care their jeeps received. Maintaining his earlier pace, he kept his eyes peeled for Tully. He was back at the jeep waiting for Troy before Tully returned.

"I see you found him." Tully drawled when he reached the jeeps.

"Actually, he found me." Moffitt smiled.

"Sarge not back yet?" Tully looked around without seeing their leader.

"Not yet."

"I'll just do one final check on my jeep while we wait." The lanky private decided.

Moffitt smiled but didn't comment as Tully lifted the hood on his jeep.

Both privates went over every inch of their jeeps before Troy returned. They were seated in the driver's seats when their leader finally put in an appearance.

"So what's the word old man?" Moffitt asked cheerfully.

Troy smiled at the cheerful tone and began to explain their next assignment.

"So we're not going straight back to the base?" Hitch asked when he heard.

"Not right away." Troy confirmed. "Once we drop off these dispatches and do a short recon we'll head back there. Why?"

"Hitch has some birthday presents he has to get mailed." Moffitt explained.

"They'll have to wait." Troy ordered. "Headquarters wants us to leave right away."

"They're already going to be late Sarge." Hitch responded. "I guess a few more days aren't going to hurt."

"Can't be helped, we have our orders."

Hitch nodded and started the jeep. Popping a bubble, he waited for Troy to climb into the vehicle.

"Everything ready?"

"Yeah Sarge, we went over the jeeps and made sure everything was restocked. We have plenty of fuel and water. Unless there is something special we need for this mission, we're ready."

"All right, let's shake it." Troy called as he dropped into his seat. Leaning back, he braced his feet in anticipation of the pot holes in the road. The jeeps lurched forward and hit the first of the many holes in their path. Once they cleared the base the road got a bit smoother, but not much. Troy ignored the bumps as the jeeps fairly flew across the flat desert.

Night found them arriving at the first stop of their assignment. The two privates took care of the jeeps while the sergeants delivered the dispatches entrusted to their care. Grabbing their gear the privates met the sergeants and headed for their room assignments for the night. Over a hot meal they discussed the recon mission coming up next.

"We'll check all three quadrants for any sign of a new base." Troy explained. "If Jerry is setting up a new base it's going to be hard to hide."

"They'll need supplies." Hitch pointed out. "That means convoys."

"Convoys or tracks from convoys are one of the things we'll be looking for as we go. Any new construction, even if it looks native, will have to be investigated. Headquarters thinks that the krauts are trying to keep this new base a secret until it's finished."

"That makes sense," Moffitt nodded, "they won't have it fully manned until they get it finished."

"They wouldn't need to be fully staffed to give us trouble." Troy countered. "All they have to do is put spotters out and report any of our convoys. They can send columns out if they know we are out there."

"What makes headquarters think there's a new base out there?" Tully asked.

Troy grinned. "Someone has been spotting our convoys and the krauts have hit two of them. Headquarters wants it stopped."

Tully chewed on his matchstick and nodded thoughtfully. It made sense that the Germans had a new base. The Arab spies they hired weren't very good at reporting the correct coordinates. They tended to use landmarks as a point of reference.

"What has headquarters in all of their wisdom decided that we should do if we were to find such a base?" The British sergeant wondered aloud.

"What we do best." Troy smiled with a gleam in his eyes.

Moffitt raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're not serious? Just the four of us? I thought that you said this was a recon mission?"

"That was in case there were any large ears listening to our conversation." Troy admitted. "We are to do what we can to delay or destroy the base. It shouldn't be too hard, it won't be fully manned. You said so yourself."

"That's if it's not completed." The Brit clarified. "We can't now that for sure."

"Then I guess we'll just have to find out."

"We are going to wait until tomorrow to go look?"

"If you insist." Troy grinned.

"I insist." Moffitt insisted.

Troy laughed; after a hard day of traveling it felt good to lay back, relax, and blow off a little steam. Despite his protest Moffitt was just as eager to get on with the mission, and Troy knew it.

"Okay, finish eating and we'll turn in. Moffitt needs his beauty rest. We'll head out early tomorrow morning." Turning to his drivers, Troy asked about their preparations. "Any problems getting the jeeps resupplied?"

"No," Hitch replied. "The Captain called supply and Okayed everything we asked for, including the extra explosives."

"What extra explosives?" Troy demanded.

"The ones you were going to tell us to get before we leave in the morning." The blond answered with a smirk. He blew a bubble and popped it while he waited for the sergeant to ask the next question.

Right on cue Troy asked the question. "And just how did you know that I was going to tell you to pick up extra explosives?"

"Cause that's what we do best." Tully answered, stealing Hitch's thunder. "And before you ask, we got extra ammo too."

"And what if I were to say that I didn't want any extra explosives or ammo?"

"Are you saying that we aren't going to need it?" Tully drawled as he rolled the matchstick in his mouth.

"No I'm not saying that! I just want to know what makes you think I want all of that extra stuff!"

Tully and Hitch looked at each other and smiled.

"Do you want us to take it back?"

"No!"

"There you have it." Tully answered in his slow, careful way.

Troy opened his mouth and then closed it again. He had been going to tell them that he wanted it but they had made that unnecessary but he wasn't about to admit that to them. "We'll keep it; it just might come in handy at that. If you're done eating I think we should turn in." He hustled them off to their quarters to avoid their satisfied smirks.

The next morning Troy and Moffitt were in the mess hall when the two privates showed up. Both sergeants stopped eating and stood up when they saw the angry expressions on the younger 'rats' faces.

"What's wrong?" Troy demanded as soon as the younger men got close enough to talk without shouting.

"Somebody was messing with our jeeps." Hitchcock hissed. "Tully and I went to check them one final time before we joined you for breakfast."

"How do you know that someone messed with them?" Moffitt asked calmly.

"They tore everything out of them and threw it on the ground." Tully answered quietly.

"Did you check to see if anything was missing?" Troy asked.

"My spare knife is gone." Hitch reported angrily. "I always kept it under the seat."

"Anything else?"

"Not that we noticed Sarge." Tully answered, watching Hitch. "We did a quick inventory and it looked like everything else was accounted for. We may have overlooked something but we couldn't think of anything else."

"Did anyone see anything?"

"No." Tully shook his head, "It was a moonless night, and the guards didn't see a thing."

"Maybe some petty thief looking for something worth stealing. It's a good thing we never carry anything of value in the jeeps." Troy sat back down and returned to his breakfast.

"They'd better not let us catch them." Hitch growled. Tully didn't say it but he nodded his agreement.

"Did you check to make sure that they didn't do anything to the jeeps themselves?"

Troy looked up at Moffitt's question.

"Yeah, we went over them completely to make sure they didn't try to sabotage them in any way. They looked okay." Tully replied.

"Did you tell the guards to keep an eye on them until we get back?"

Tully threw Troy a look of disbelief. "We didn't trust them to keep an eye on them."

"We brought them with us and parked them right outside the mess hall door." Hitch explained. "We can sit here and see anyone who goes near them."

Moffitt lowered his head and smiled at the younger rats and their jeeps. It wasn't that he was ungrateful for their possessive nature toward the vehicles; after all, they did rely on them for their lives. But there were times when he thought they carried it a bit far. He almost felt sorry for anyone caught so much as giving the vehicles a second glance. But it was that very protective attitude that guaranteed that the two vehicles were always ready to go at a moment's notice.

"All right, let's eat and get out of here. As long as the only thing missing is Hitch's spare knife we won't take the time to report it." Troy glanced at his driver. "Do you have a problem with that? We can report it if you want."

"No, it's not that important." Hitch mumbled. "I'll pick up another one when we get back to the base."

The team finished their breakfast and headed for the jeeps without returning to their quarters, having taken all of their gear with them to the mess hall. They never saw the shambles someone had made of their rooms.

The first day of searching revealed nothing of value. Hitch and Tully spent their time repacking the jeeps the way they liked them while Troy and Moffitt climbed the dunes to search the desert. By the end of the day everything was once again in its proper place and secured. They still hadn't found anything else missing, much to their surprise.

Night found them camped in a small wadi going over their planned search grid for the next day.

"I want to check this sector next." Troy circled an area on the map. "This is the area where the convoys were hit. If they are radioing their positions as soon as they see them, and the planes take off right away, that would place the spotters about here."

"These hills would make good vantage points." Moffitt indicated the symbols for hills on the map.

"Could they hide a base in those hills?" Troy was studying the map, looking for a position large enough to hide a base but easy enough to defend in case of an attack. Hills overlooking a base gave attackers the high ground, which was something you never wanted to do, but building a base on top of a hill made it too easy to find. Easy to find meant easy to bomb and the Germans would certainly want to avoid that possibility. While he waited for Moffitt to answer the question, Troy continued to study the map.

"They could probably hide a base in there but it would be hard to defend once it was found." The Brit answered as too studied the map. "There is this area over here." He indicated the place that he meant. "It's flat enough to defend and they could erect a wall to help protect it. The hills would hide it from searchers unless they happened to stumble over it or fly directly over it."

"Sounds like just the kind of place we're looking for."

"The only trouble is, they'll be able to see us coming before we get there if they do have spotters in the hills." Moffitt warned.

"Would they pay any attention to a couple of Arabs approaching?"

"Probably not,' Moffitt admitted, "but you're forgetting one little detail."

Troy cocked his head and waited for Moffitt to explain.

"We don't have any Arab clothing with us."

"There is that." Troy replied undaunted.

"You have a plan?"

"Not yet, but I'm working on it."

"May I suggest that we eliminate the other sector while you come up with a plan to check this one? If we're going to have any chance at all of getting close we're going to have to wait until dark anyway."

"Okay, we can check the other sector first, but my gut says we're right about this one."

"Maybe we'll run into a few Arabs willing to part with their garments while we're there."

"We're not carrying any trade goods, "Troy remembered, "we'll have to trade with gold."

"That shouldn't be a problem.' Moffitt smiled. "I've never met an Arab yet who had a problem accepting gold in payment."

"If we run into any I'll let you do the bargaining."

"I'll do my best." The Brit responded with a smile. "Just let me know what you want, otherwise I'll just buy the usual."

"We'll see, let's get moving. I want to check out that sector and get back here before dark."

Folding the maps, the sergeants called to their drivers and they spent another fruitless day searching a nearly empty desert. The only thing they saw all day was a cloud of dust as they returned to their camp from the previous night.

"It wasn't much of a cloud Troy. Whatever made it was traveling slowly, perhaps a patrol with orders not to draw attention to themselves." Moffitt lowered his glasses and studied the desert with an uneasy feeling. "Something doesn't seem right; we're still miles from where we think the base is built. It doesn't make sense to send spotters to these hills when there are higher ones that would work so much better."

"Maybe they have spotters on all of these hills." Troy's sixth sense was telling him that they were being watched. They hadn't seen anyone but he had learned long ago not to ignore the feeling. "All right, we'll split up and check it out. Don't get too far apart. If one of us gets into trouble the other one will be in a position to help. I don't like this, so stay alert."

"Right Troy." Moffitt turned and ran down the dune's steep slope. Catching his balance against the jeep, he wasted no time jumping into the passenger seat. "We're going to check out the desert," he told his driver, "but I don't want to get too close until I have a better idea what we're dealing with."

Tully nodded and pulled his goggles over his eyes. Reaching forward, he lifted his steel helmet from the butt of the machine gun in the fender holster. In one swift move he had the engine started, the transmission in gear, and the little vehicle moving. He deftly guided them around the dune in the general direction of the dust cloud. Behind them Hitch started his jeep and headed in the opposite direction to approach.

"Tully, find me a hill to take a look."

Tully nodded and spun the wheel, picking an isolated dune that was at least as high as the others. He eased the jeep closer, listening for the sounds of German engines

"This will do Tully, stop here, and wait for me."

Tully let the jeep roll to a stop and idle while the sergeant climbed the hill. "Better take a rifle Doc, just in case."

"All right, but I'm only going up for a quick look." Moffitt grabbed a machine gun from the jeep and flashed Tully a reassuring smile. "I'll be right back."

"Don't rush on my account, I'll be here waiting." Tully watched as the sergeant clawed his way to the crest of the hill and took cover among the rocks scattered there. He heard the horses just seconds before they rushed him from around the dune. Yelling a warning, Tully reached for a weapon. Before he could pull it free a second group of horsemen rushed him from behind. He glanced up in time to see Moffitt duck back behind the rocks.

Waving their weapons, the Arabs yelled orders to Tully. He couldn't understand what they were saying but he understood the gestures. Raising his hands, he held perfectly still as they crowded around him. Two of them dismounted and pulled him from the jeep. He was disarmed and his hands were tied in front of him. A horse was brought forward and Tully groaned as he realized that they meant for him to ride it.

With Tully in the middle of the Arabs Moffitt had no shot; he watched helplessly as the private was bound and mounted on a spare horse. Several of the Arabs searched the jeep hurriedly but didn't take anything as far as Moffitt could tell. All he could do was watch as Tully was taken away.

"What do you mean they took Tully? Why?"

Moffitt had waited until it was clear and then returned to the jeep. Without regard to the dust he raised, he raced to find Troy and Hitchcock.

"They said the Frenchman wanted him." Moffitt explained. The sergeant repeated the bits of conversation he had overheard while Tully was being bound. "From what I heard it sounds like this 'Frenchman' has offered a large reward for Tully, but he needed him alive."

"For what? What Frenchman?"

I have no idea, but they took him off in that direction."

"We're going after him, aren't we Sarge?" Hitch asked anxiously.

"Of course." Troy growled.

"I mean before we go looking for the base." Hitch clarified his question. "We're going to go after Tully first?"

"Yeah Hitch, Tully first." Troy agreed. "I just wish I knew why they wanted him." Troy frowned as he worked on the problem. "All right Moffitt, lead the way."

"They'll expect us to follow."

"Then let's not disappoint them. We know they know we're following so stay alert."

They followed the horse tracks for over an hour, each of them trying to ignore their worries and focus on the task ahead. The Arabs were traveling fast but there wasn't a horse alive that could keep ahead of a jeep over a long distance. They caught up to them just before dusk. The Arabs had met up with a car in the middle of the desert. As the jeeps came into sight the Arabs formed a protective line behind the car.

The jeep stopped and Troy used the field glasses to locate Tully. His missing man stood in front of the car, tied and guarded by two Arabs with rifles pointed at his head.

"It would seem that they are waiting for us." Moffitt observed dryly, his own binoculars sweeping the desert before them.

"Yeah." Troy answered. "But why? If they wanted Tully why didn't they just take him and run? They may have gotten away in the car."

"It looks like we're about to find out." As Moffitt spoke an Arab picked up a pole with a white flag on the end and starting walking toward them. Walking boldly, the Araba seemed confident that they wouldn't shoot.

"It's some kind of trick." Troy growled. Turning to look down at his driver, he caught his eye and warned him to stay alert.

The young private nodded and climbed behind the 50, his face set in a determined mask.

"Shall I take a walk down there and see what it is they want?" The British sergeant was already removing the strap of the field glasses from around his neck. Handing the glasses to Troy, he rose to walk down to meet the messenger.

"Be careful Moffitt, I don't want to have to rescue you too."

"That's the furthest thing from my mind old boy." Moffitt grinned. "Give a shout if you spot any sign of deception." The sergeant stepped forward with a self-assured smile.

Troy watched as Moffitt and the Arab met roughly halfway between the two positions. He couldn't tell what was being said but Moffitt's body language made him uneasy. The Brit turned once to look back toward Troy and his face looked grim. The two talked for several more minutes with the Arab getting more agitated by the minute.

Troy rose impatiently as Moffitt turned and walked back to their jeeps.

"Well?" Trot demanded before Moffitt reached him. "What do they want?" He took a step forward as if that would hurry the answer. "Are they going to give Tully back or not?"

"Yes." Moffitt confirmed. "They are willing to trade for Tully."

"Good. How much gold do you need?" Troy reached for his belt where he had stashed the gold he carried for emergencies.

"No Troy," Moffitt said quietly, "they won't trade for gold. Well, they might," he added, "if we could meet their price, which we can't."

"What?" Troy squinted up at Moffitt in shock. "Meet their price? Just how much do they want for him anyway?"

"Fifty thousand might do it."

"Fifty thousand?"

"That's the selling price they mentioned." Moffitt confirmed.

"They expect us to pay fifty thousand dollars to get Tully back?"

Moffitt lowered his head. "No." He glanced at the jeep where Hitch still manned the 50. "But they are willing to trade."

"Trade? What do we have that's worth fifty thousand dollars?" Troy glanced at the jeeps too but he wasn't sure that the two of them together were worth fifty thousand dollars.

"We have Hitch."

Troy spun on his fellow sergeant, his free hand clenched in a fist. "We're not trading Hitch for Tully! That doesn't solve our problem, then we'd have to rescue Hitch."

"Troy, they say they'll kill Tully if we don't agree."

"So Tully lives and Hitch dies instead? Look Moffitt, I know Tully's your driver and the two of you are close, but there has to be another way."

"That's not it at all Troy!" Moffitt was surprised that Troy would think that he would sacrifice one private to save the other. "The simple fact is that they want Hitch and not Tully. They grabbed the wrong private."

"Hitch?" Troy's forehead puckered in thought "What did he do? Is there a woman involved?"

"I don't know." Moffitt sighed in defeat. "But I do know that they will kill Tully if we don't make the trade. They don't want him so they have no reason to keep him alive. They'll kill Tully and just keep coming after Hitch until they get him."

"That's not going to happen!"

"What about Tully?"

"We'll get him free somehow." Troy insisted.

"How? They've given us twenty minutes to decide. At the end of that time they're going to kill Tully. If we try anything before that they will kill him rather than let us rescue him."

Troy shook his head in frustration. "They'll kill Hitch if we trade them. We still have the same problem."

"Maybe not." Moffitt was looking toward Hitch again. "When they grabbed Tully they said they needed him alive. Since it was Hitch they wanted and not Tully, I can only believe that they need Hitch alive."

"But for how long?"

Looking Troy in the eye, Moffitt shrugged. "Hopefully for more than twenty minutes. I know what I'm suggesting Troy but it might buy us some time to find an opportunity. Twenty minutes is not enough time." Moffitt knew the minute he won the argument. Troy seemed to deflate, his anger melting away to despair. There was a haunted look in his eyes when he turned to look at his driver.

"All right, but only if Hitch agrees."

"Of course."

"We'd better go ask him, Tully doesn't have much time." There was no spring in his step as Troy walked toward the jeeps. His feet felt like cement blocks attached to his legs. It was all he could do to meet his driver's worried eyes.

"Tully? He's okay isn't he?" Hitch stepped away from the 50 as he saw the sergeant's expressions. "What's wrong?"

"Hitch, we need to talk and we don't have much time."

"Okay Sarge." The blond answered uneasily. "What about?"

"What did you do to make the Arabs mad?"

"Me? I thought you said it was Tully they wanted."

"They grabbed the wrong private." Moffitt explained as gently as he could.

Hitch's mouth dropped open at the news. "You mean they were after me?"

"It looks that way." Troy answered. "We need to know why they want you." Troy hesitated. "Hitch, they don't want Tully. They have no use for him."

"Then we can buy him back!"

"No," Troy hurried to explain. "They want to trade Tully for you. Either that or we have to pay them fifty thousand dollars."

"Fifty thousand dollars! What did I do anyway?" Hitch looked as shocked as Troy had been.

"Hitch, listen, we don't know why they want you. Have you had any girl problems lately?"

"No." The blond shook his head. "I've been seeing these two nurses for about a month now." At his sergeant's looks of disbelief, he explained. "They know about each other; neither one of them wants anything permanent. It's been great!" The blond smiled sheepishly before he sobered again. "I don't know Sarge. I can't think of any trouble with any Arabs lately. Are you sure they want me?"

"We can't be sure, but they seem to be certain." Moffitt responded. "The thing is Hitch; they want to trade Tully for you."

The blond nodded slowly. "Sure, I can't let Tully suffer for something I did. Are you sure they'll trade?"

"Yes."

"Hitch, we wouldn't ask but they say they'll kill Tully if we don't agree to the trade."

Hitch looked alarmed again.

"We wouldn't even ask if we had a choice." Troy grabbed his driver's arm.

"I understand Sarge; I made them mad, Tully shouldn't have to pay for it."

"No, we wouldn't trade if that was all there was to it." Troy assured the youth. They say they'll kill Tully, but if Moffitt heard them right, they need you alive. They've given Tully twenty minutes while we make up our minds."

"Twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, and that's not much time. We're hoping that if they need you alive we'll have more time to come up with a plan. We aren't going to leave you Hitch, we just need more time."

"I got it Sarge." The blond nodded with determination. "What do we have to do to make the trade?"

"That's the easy part." Moffitt answered. "Are you sure about his Hitch? Maybe we can find another way?" Now that the decision had been made, Moffitt was feeling guilty.

"No, you need more time; I can give you that. Just dome a favor?"

"Anything."

"Make sure Tully's safe."

Both sergeants' nodded silently.

"All right Hitch, if we're going to do this we need to do it now. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." The blond responded as he jumped to the ground.

"No weapons, they'll search you."

When everyone was ready Moffitt walked beside Hitch toward the Arab group. Troy dropped to his stomach with a rifle to watch thee exchange.

At the sight of the private walking their way the two Arabs guarding Tully urged him toward the exchange. His hands were bound behind his back but he pushed back with one shoulder. One of the Arabs swatted him across the face, drawing a glare from their prisoner.

Tully drug his feet all the way to the meeting. He kept expecting the others to launch some sort of rescue. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't like the look on Moffitt's face. As he got closer he noticed that both of his friends were tense, a sure sign that this wasn't a simple release with an apology for a mistake. The Arabs grabbed his shoulder and stopped him at the halfway point. He watched, ready for anything, as his friends drew nearer.

Moffitt spoke to the Arabs briefly, indicating Hitch, who stood staring at the Arabs woodenly.

"It's all agreed Hitch, you for Tully. Try to stay alive."

"Right Doc." Hitch stepped forward and one of the Arabs grabbed his arm.

Tully jumped forward, trying to push between the Arab and his fellow driver. Moffitt was quicker, pulling Tully away as the second Arab stepped forward and searched Hitch for weapons.

"What's going on Doc? What are they doing?" Tully tried to pull free but Moffitt held tight.

"We've traded Hitch for you." The sergeant explained without loosening his grip.

Moffitt's quiet announcement shook Tully into silence. He watched as the Arabs tied his friend's hands and led him away.

"No!"

"Tully! Stop! It's done." Moffitt hissed into his ear.

At his cry Hitch stopped and looked back. "It's all right Tully, I agreed to this. Sarge and Doc can explain everything." The Arabs pulled on his arms and Hitch turned and walked away.

"Doc?"

"We can explain Tully, but not here, it's not safe. Come on, we need to get back to Troy."

Tully reluctantly followed Moffitt with a hundred questions unanswered. As they approached Troy he looked back to see the Arabs closing in around Hitch.

"Why Sarge?"

"Tully, they were going to kill you." Troy had the decency to act embarrassed at Tully's question.

"What about Hitch?"

"Moffitt says they want him alive. Hopefully that will give us time to rescue him."

"Hopefully?"

"We didn't have much choice Tully." Moffitt jumped in to explain. "It was my idea. Troy was against it too. They gave us twenty minutes until they were going to kill you. Hitch agreed to this to give us more time."

"More time for what?"

"More time to come up with a plan, or for an opportunity to present itself." Troy growled, suddenly angry. "Look Tully, this wasn't an easy choice. If we thought we had any chance at all, we would have just come in and rescued you, but we didn't. That would have gotten you killed, and maybe some of us too. They want Hitch alive, you, they didn't care about."

"Why do they want him?" Tully's voice was lower, more subdued. "We've got to get him back."

"We will Tully, we will." Troy promised. "All we have to do is follow them and wait for a chance."

A shot rang out and all three men turned to look back toward the Arabs.

Hitch stood looking down at the dead man at his feet. They had brought the elderly man out to stand in front of him. There was something about the man that looked familiar but Hitch couldn't place him. He was pretty sure that when he had seen him before his face hadn't been beaten and swollen with bruises. The black and blue splotches made identification difficult. The old man had stared at his face for several moments before he had nodded and said something to the others. The other Arabs had seemed happy with his answer; then one of them had shot the old man between the eyes. Hitch tried not to flinch as the elderly Arab dropped at his feet.

Ignoring the body the Arabs rushed Hitch toward the waiting car. One of the guards climbed into the back seat. Hitch was pushed in next and a second guard slid in behind him. The driver handed the Arabs a large sack that jingled when he handed it over. Hitch heard the sound and recognized it as coins, a payment for his capture. When a second sack exchanged hands Hitch knew his friends were being double-crossed. The driver was paying for their deaths. Hitch got mad!

The driver got into the car, waving merrily to the Arabs staying behind. Hitch twisted around to see the Arabs mount their horses in preparation for an attack on his friends. He could no longer see the others but he knew they were there, watching and waiting.

Troy's eyes immediately settled on his driver as he sighed in relief. The young private was still on his feet while one of the Arabs was lying on the ground.

"What happened?" Tully asked anxiously.

"They're fighting amongst themselves." Troy responded. "Hitch is all right, they're putting him in the car."

"But we may not be." Moffitt stated a he looked through his binoculars. "That Arab, the one driving the car, just gave the others some gold."

"Payment for Hitch?"

"Most likely," Moffitt answered, "but there were two payments. I think the second one was for us; either to keep us from following or to kill us." The sergeant lowered his glasses and looked at the other two. "I think it might be time for us to move."

"They're mounting their horses." Tully warned.

"We'll lead them away from here and then ambush them, then we'll go after Hitch." Troy decided. "Tully, find us a good spot to wait for them. Drive slow, we don't want to lose them."

"Right Sarge."

"Moffitt, get them to follow you and Tully. I'll break off and set up, then you can bring them back around and in front of my 50."

"There is a wadi about a mile from here that would be perfect. Do you know the one I mean?" Moffitt answered right away.

"I think so." Troy nodded. "Let me go ahead and set up. When I open up with the 50 I want you and Tully to double back and hit them again. None of them survive to follow us, understood?"

"Yes. They've been paid; they might decide to finish the job. Get going Troy, we'll be right behind you."

Troy took off, drawing slowly ahead, leaving Moffitt and Tully to draw the Arabs into their trap. As he neared the wadi he chose to drive straight through and then double back to set up. He was looking for some high ground where he could overlook the wadi. Once he found it he parked his jeep behind some scrub bushes and checked his 50. He added more brush to prevent any reflections that might alert the Arabs. Satisfied, he sat down to wait, his hands gripping the handles of the big gun.

Tully kept the jeep at a slow pace as if the terrain was too rough for any speed. He wove around rocks and holes to make them a harder target for the pursuing Arabs. The Arabs screamed and waved as they waved their weapons in the air. Their horses pounded after the jeep, gaining with every stride. Moffitt acted as if his 50 was jammed and he pretended to try to clear it.

"Tully, let's not let them get too close." Moffitt called to his driver.

Tully glanced over his shoulder and gave the sergeant a grim look. "I don't want to discourage them Doc. We're only going to have one shot at this. The sooner we take care of this the sooner we can go after Hitch."

"The wadi is just ahead, Troy will be in position by the time we get there."

"Get ready Doc, I'm going in." Tully spun the wheel and ducked into the mouth of the wadi. The Arabs yelled in triumph and followed him in. The jeep reached the other end of the wadi and Tully spun it around. The Arabs had known it was a dead end and were expecting an easy victory. They didn't know the Rat Patrol.

As the last of the Arabs rode past his position Troy opened fire with the 50. The Arabs tried to turn their horses and escape but Tully was right on their tails. Those fortunate to get past Troy were cut down by Moffitt as Tully drove right at them. Neither sergeant showed any mercy knowing that the Arabs had been determined to kill them. Their only concern was the sound carrying to the men who had taken Hitch.

As Troy drove up Moffitt jumped from his jeep and fired round after round from the dead Arabs rifles.

Hitch heard the battle even with the windows rolled up in the car. He twisted around, looking back. He heard the 50's above the rifles of the Arabs. The fight was fierce but short. The 50's went silent and then there were the multiple shots from the Arabs rifles. His guards laughed as they heard the rifle fire. The lack of return fire from the 50's seemed to amuse them. Hitch glared at them and began to plot his escape.

As soon as the firing stopped the guards called to the driver. The driver slowed the car and stopped at the base of a high hill. Getting out of the vehicle, he began to climb the hill. It wasn't long before he turned toward the car and waved to them with a large smile. He turned back to watch something in the distance.

The guards smiled and pounded each other on the back. After about ten minutes the driver called to the guards. One of them opened the door and started to slide out.

Seeing his chance and still fueled by his anger at the double-cross, Hitch head-butted the guard still seated next to him. The guard's head snapped back and blood spurted from his nose. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped against the door.

The second guard leaned back into the car to investigate and Hitch kicked him in the face with both boots. The Arab fell backwards, landing flat out. Hitch slid out of the car and kicked the fallen man in the side of the head. It made a solid sounding thunk as his boot connected but he didn't take the time to check on the guard. Spinning, he took off for the dunes where the car couldn't follow.

He made it to the dunes just as the driver noticed his escape. Pushing himself harder, he dug his toes in to climb the hill. The Arab driver was giving chase, shouting at him in Arabic. Hitch ignored him, counting on the fact that they needed him alive. He charged down the other side of the hill and ran for some rocks. He almost made it before two Arab horsemen barred his way. Hitch slid to a stop, his breath coming in big gulps. Behind him the Arab driver topped the hill and slowed to a walk. A big grin appeared on his face as Hitch spun to face him. The two Arabs on horseback sat motionless and allowed the driver to approach. The driver leered at Hitch, raising his rifle to bash the prisoner in the face. A shot rang out and he looked surprised as a small dot appeared on his chest. He looked up in confusion as the two Arabs removed their head coverings.

"Are you all right Hitch?" Troy was off his horse before the Arab hit the ground.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Hitch answered. "Just a little winded."

Troy pulled a knife and cut the ropes binding his driver. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Fine Sarge, where's Tully?"

"He's bringing one of the jeeps up." Moffitt answered as he led the horses forward, "We're glad to see that you're not hurt."

"Thanks Doc, I was worried about you too. I think that guy paid the other Arabs to kill you."

"They tried." Troy growled, his voice rough with relief.

"I heard the 50's go silent…" Hitch didn't have to finish the statement; the others knew what he thought.

"Moffitt came up with the idea of firing the rifles so that it sounded as if the Arabs won."

"The guards seemed to believe it." Hitch smiled. "I'm glad they were wrong."

"Let's go find Tully." Troy gripped his driver's arm, needing to feel solid proof that he was safe.

Tully had the jeep parked next to the car and he was sitting on the fender with his rifle pointed at the ground. When his three teammates walked around the car they saw the unconscious guard.

"You must have hit him pretty hard," Tully grinned, "he's still out."

"Tie him up." Troy ordered. "I have a few questions for him but right now we have a mission to complete."

"What about this Sarge?" Tully pointed to the bags of gold the Arabs had been paid to kill them. "I didn't see any sense in just leaving it lying out there in the desert." The private explained.

"Leave it in the jeep, we'll figure it out later." Troy eyed the horses that Moffitt still led. "Since they caused all of this trouble, I guess our dead friends won't mind if we borrow a few of their things. See if you can find enough clothes to fit our needs."

"The German base?" Moffitt asked knowingly.

"We still need to check it out only now we don't need to buy any clothes. The horses are an added bonus."

"We'd better get started if we want to make it before dark." Moffitt suggested. "The horses are going to slow us down."

"Yeah, but they'll be worth it." The gleam in Troy's eyes meant that he had come up with a plan.

Moffitt tied the horses behind the jeep while Tully tied the prisoner and dumped him roughly into the rear of the vehicle. With the horses so close, he opted to tie the prisoner to the base of the 50 to discourage any ideas about escaping on the animals. Overloaded, the jeep moved slowly across the sand toward the other jeep.

Once there Troy took his place in his seat next to his driver. In the beginning he kept his eyes on the desert, expecting the gun battle to have drawn the curiosity of others. When the surrounding terrain remained clear, he found his eyes drawn more and more to his driver. The young soldier appeared relaxed but Troy worried that underneath that calm surface bubbled all sorts of resentments. Wanting everything out in the open, he finally initiated a conversation.

"Hitch, did they tell you what they wanted?"

The blond glanced over and a frown crossed his face. "No, I don't think any of them spoke English."

"Do you have any idea why they killed that Arab? Were they fighting over something?"

Hitch hesitated and Troy waited patiently for an answer. "Not for sure Sarge. He was a vendor at the market where I went shopping before we left on this assignment. I think they asked him if he knew me. He took a good look at me and nodded and said something to the others. They seemed happy with his answer. The next thing I knew he was dead. They never argued or anything; they just asked him a question and as soon as he answered it they killed him. I've been thinking about it and it doesn't make any more sense than any of the other things that have happened." The private shook his head in confusion. "I sure hope that that guard can give Moffitt some answers." Hitch drove in silence, his face serious as he kept his eyes on the desert. "Sarge?"

"Yeah Hitch?"

"Do you think they'll send someone else after me?"

Troy hated to worry him but he didn't want to lie to him either. "Yeah Hitch; I think it's a possibility. They paid fifty thousand dollars for you, that's a lot of money. If they want you that bad I don't see them giving up so easy."

Hitch nodded, "That's what I think too." He went back to concentrating on his driving.

Troy watched him, trying to think of something reassuring to say. "We're aware of the bounty now Hitch, they won't get so close next time. Moffitt will question the prisoner and we'll figure out a way to end this."

"I wish it was over. Honest Sarge, I don't have a clue what they want. I keep going over everything I've done and I can't think of anything that would make anyone willing to pay that much money for me. It has to be some kind of mistake; I'm not worth that much to anyone"

"I'd pay it if I had it." Troy answered. "And before we're done we're going to find this Frenchman and ask him why he's so willing to pay so much. One way or another he's going to cancel the bounty and forget you even exist."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because if he doesn't, I'm going to kill him."

Troy made it sound more like a promise than a threat and Hitch took it as such. He began to relax, feeling more confident that it would be over soon.

"Are you okay Hitch?"

"Fine Sarge."

"I mean, are you okay with the way we handled the situation? I guess what I'm trying to ask is…you don't feel like we chose Tully over you, do you?"

Hitch smiled for the first time since the conversation started. "No Sarge, I'm fine with that. I know why you made the choices you did. I appreciate that you gave me a choice in the decision, and it worked out just the way you planned."

"Not exactly." Troy growled softly. "But we'll take it. We never planned on leaving you on your own. We had every intention of coming after you right away."

"I know Sarge." The blond gave him one of his megawatt smiles. "You guys always come after me no matter how much trouble I get into. I'm okay, really."

"I'm glad." Troy returned the smile. "But you know, I think you're wrong."

"About what Sarge?"

"This whole thing may be some kind of misunderstanding….but you're worth every penny they paid."

Hitch looked startled at Troy's comment but then he managed to smirk at his sergeant. "Okay Sarge, what gives? What kind of rotten job do you want me to do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Troy answered honestly.

"You're buttering me up for something Sarge." The blond declared. "You have something in mind."

"I'll tell you about it later."

"I knew it!"

"Drive Hitch." The sergeant leaned back in his seat, satisfied that his actions hadn't destroyed his relationship with his driver. Trust was like glass, it could withstand a lot of outside pressure bur once broken it could never be returned to the way it was. You could repair it with patience and determination but it would always have cracks from the ordeal.

The sound of a bubble popping brought a smile to Troy's lips. Convinced that the glass had withstood the test, he turned his attention to the problem of the German base.

Moffitt took care of the horses when they stopped to cool the engines. Troy took watch, leaving Hitch and Tully to care for the jeeps.

"You okay Hitch?"

"Fine Tully, I should be asking you that. I'm really sorry that they grabbed you in my place."

"No harm done and you more than made up for it by agreeing to the trade. Thanks Hitch."

Hitch smiled sadly. "You know that would feel really good, having the shoe on the other foot and me saving you for a change, if it hadn't been my fault to begin with."

"You couldn't know what would happen." Tully argued. "You can't blame yourself."

"I just don't know what's going on Tully. I can't think of any reason for any of this to be happening."

Tully reached out to pat his buddy on the shoulder. "It's okay. Just stay close to us until Sarge and Doc figure this out. They will you know."

"Yeah, I know." Hitch nodded. "I just wish they'd hurry."

"You and me both pal." Tully agreed.

By the time the engines were cool both jeeps had been serviced and inspected. Hitch and Tully were leaning against the fenders watching Moffitt interrogate the prisoner when Troy decided that it was time to go.

"Moffitt, are you ready?"

"In a minute Troy." The Brit helped the prisoner into the jeep and secured him to the base of the 50 again. Jerking his head toward Troy, Moffitt motioned for the privates to precede him. The four of them met several yards from the jeep. Keeping his voice low Moffitt asked Hitch where he had stored the gifts he had bought for his sister's birthday.

"They're in my duffle in the rear of the jeep." Hitch answered just as softly. "Why?"

"Did you buy her a necklace besides the scarf you showed me?"

"Yeah," Hitch answered hesitantly. "It was cheap, probably just a replica, but I thought she'd like it. It was kind of unique."

"You have no idea." Moffitt answered even more quietly.

"What's this all about Moffitt?" Troy demanded. "What does this have to do with Hitch's presents for his sister?"

Moffitt sighed. "Apparently Hitch accidently bought a stolen necklace. He's right, it is unique. It was found in an ancient tomb and recently taken from a museum in Cairo. The authorities were closing in so the thief hid it among a vendor's wares in the market. Hitch bought it before he could retrieve it."

Hitch looked shocked. "That's why they shot the vendor, because he sold me the necklace?"

"Actually the vendor had no idea what he had either. They were just eliminating a witness when they killed him."

"They would have killed me too as soon as they got their hands on the necklace." Hitch stated with conviction.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"So what do we do Doc? As long as I have the necklace we're all in danger. This is all my fault!"

"You're just as much a victim as that vendor." Troy snarled. "The ones to blame are the thieves. My guess is this Frenchman was either a buyer or he masterminded the theft in the first place."

"That may be Troy, but Hitch is correct, as long as he has the necklace we're all in danger."

"Only if they think we still have it." Troy answered. He glanced over at their prisoner and a gleam of a plan lit his eyes. "Does our prisoner understand English?"

"He says no but I have my doubts about that." Moffitt answered.

"Okay, get in your jeep and we'll head out. I want you and Tully to talk about the necklace. Talk about how Hitch packaged it up and mailed it to his girlfriend before we left the base."

"His girlfriend?"

"Yeah, no names. We don't know how far this Frenchman will go to get it back. The whole idea is to convince them that Hitch already mailed it. Once we check out the German base we'll get a little careless and let him escape on one of the horses. Hopefully he'll go back and report what he heard. Then we'll take the necklace to the proper authorities and get rid of it for real."

"It might work Sarge." Hitch sounded hopeful.

"It's certainly worth a try." Moffitt admitted.

"As long as they don't consider all of us witnesses that need to be eliminated." Tully drawled quietly.

"There's nothing we can do about that Tully." Troy replied, heading for his jeep. "Just keep your eyes open until we're sure this is over."

"Count on it." Tully said quietly as the others turned away.

Tully and Moffitt discussed the necklace and its present location in great detail. Moffitt knew a bit about the history of the piece and Tully was fascinated by the history lesson. the Arab pretended to ignore them but Moffitt thought he caught him listening on several occasions.

At one point the prisoner asked about the necklace and Moffitt lied and said that Hitch had already turned it over to the authorities. As he explained to Tully in English, they didn't want the prisoner to know the actual location of the precious necklace. They couldn't be sure that the mail had gone out yet. After that the Arab seemed to lose interest in their conversation.

The recon of the German base was anti-climactic after their adventure with the Arabs. Moffitt led them to where he suspected the base might be and his guess was right on the money. Dressed as Arabs, and riding the 'borrowed' horses, the two sergeants were able to approach close enough to get the information they needed before the Germans chased them off.

"A tad bit unfriendly wouldn't you say?" Moffitt observed as they rode the horses into the hidden camp where Hitch and Tully were guarding the jeeps and the prisoners. His smile faded as he noticed Tully behind the 50 ready to fire. "Is everything all right Tully?"

"It is now." Tully drawled, shifting his match stick to the other corner of his mouth. "I'm just not taking any chances until we get back to the base." Replacing the dust cover on the muzzle Tully looked around for Hitch. He didn't relax until the blond joined them at the jeeps.

"All right." Troy began as he crossed the camp stripping the Arab robes off as he walked. "We'll take the horses with us to the next waterhole and we'll release them there. Someone will find them before too long. Let's move out."

Tully checked the ropes on the prisoner before he started the jeep. Moffitt tied the horses to the back and slid in next to Tully.

"Let's shake it." Troy called as Hitch hit the gas. Troy spent the time it took them to get to the waterhole coming up with a convincing way to let the prisoner escape without anyone getting hurt. As the jeeps pulled in and stopped he put his plan into motion. "Tully, you, and Hitch stand guard. Until this thing with the necklace is settled I don't want Hitch going anywhere alone.

"Right Sarge." Tully glanced over at Hitch to see if he had a problem with the order. To his surprise the blond seemed to be okay with having a bodyguard.

"Moffitt, get the prisoner out of the jeep and make him comfortable, then take care of the horses. I don't want to release them until we're ready to leave. I don't want them leading anyone back to us."

"Right Sam."

"I'm going to code the information we have and send it to headquarters. Once you're done maybe you could rustle us up something to eat."

"I'll only be a few minutes. The horses will have to be watered."

With the privates on guard, and Troy busy sending out the information, Moffitt cared for the horses after tying the prisoner to a tree. Once the animals were watered he tied them to a tree near the prisoner. Next he built a small fire and heated meals for all of them. They used the saddles as backrests as they at their meals.

With the prisoner secured Troy called his men together to go over the plan.

"We still have to hit that German base. Hitch, get the explosives out of the jeep and get them ready. Tully, you help him. We'll use the horses again to get as close as we can. Moffitt, I want you to stay and watch the prisoner. Maybe talk to him a bit and let it slip that the necklace is gone. See what he lets slip. Hitch and I will take the horses. Tully, you follow in the jeep. Bring mine; we don't want to leave our cargo behind to get stolen."

"You mean…?"

"Yeah." Troy cut him off before he could mention the necklace.

"Our jeep has the extra explosives so it works out well for us. Hitch will go with me; I'm not leaving him out of my sight until we get back to the base. We'll go in and place the charges. Tully will stay nearby in case we need a quick ride out. Once we're done we'll head back here and sleep for the night. Tomorrow we'll head for home."

Everyone busied themselves getting ready. Tully helped Hitch shape the charges they were going to use. Then they broke out the black face paint and darkened their features.

Moffitt watched them go with a silent prayer that all would go well.

Tully stopped well clear of the German base. Despite their well-tuned engines they didn't want to risk the Germans hearing their engines. Troy and Hitch left him with the jeep while they rode closer to the base. The horses were left tied in a grove of trees while they carried their bags of explosives to the base.

The base wasn't finished so there were no walls to scale or gates to enter. Only a few buildings had been erected, most of the Germans were sleeping in tents. The two commandos crept past the tents like ghosts, barely disturbing the sand as they made their way to their targets. Troy sent Hitch to the motor pool and to sabotage the vehicles. He headed for the supply building and the commander's newly built office. Along the way he found the ammunition bunker and left a surprise there too.

Hitch found the motor pool with no problem but it was only a large tent to shield the workers from the sun. He left some explosives under the tool boxes and went in search of more lucrative targets. He found several halftracks and a few patrol cars. He hurriedly set his timers and moved on. Spotting some fuel barrels, he headed that way.

A faint sound sent him diving for shelter as two soldiers walked past deep in conversation. Neither man was watching his surroundings as they passed the hidden American. Hitch breathed a soft sigh and moved on. When his sack was completely empty he headed back to meet Troy.

"Any problems?" Troy's whispered question out of the dark caught Hitch off guard.

With a slight start Hitch smiled in reply. "Nothing much, I had to duck two soldiers once but they didn't see me."

Troy and Hitch rejoined Tully and they went back to the waterhole where Moffitt waited anxiously.

Troy split the watch into three shifts, having the privates double up on their shift. In the morning they repeated the routine.

"Moffitt, take care of the horses, I'll heat our breakfast. Hitch Tully, you have guard until we leave. We'll bring you your breakfast." Troy called as he came off of guard duty.

"Right Sarge." Hitch acknowledged.

"Stay close; we're not that far from that German base."

Tully nodded as he followed Hitch out of camp.

"Tully, stay sharp!" Troy glanced at the prisoner as he warned Tully.

Tully glanced at the prisoner, catching the non-verbal message. "I got this Sarge."

Troy turned to heating meals for all of them. His mind went over the plan one more time, looking for anything that would make it safer for his men. Satisfied that he had done all he could, he caught Moffitt's eye.

"Moffitt, I'm going to take Tully and Hitch their breakfast. I want you to feed our prisoner and then plot our course for home." Handing Moffitt the last machine gun he took two plates and left camp.

Moffitt carried a plate to the prisoner and loosened his bonds so the Arab could eat. Then he stepped away, out of reach. When he was finished the sergeant re-tied him, but in his haste to get to the maps, he failed to pull the knots tight. As the sergeant rushed to plot the course for the day the prisoner fought to hide his smile of triumph.

"Moffitt, Tully, I want to go check on the base and make sure that we got it. We'll leave the prisoner here until we get back. Moffitt, explain to him we'll be back for him in about an hour."

The privates headed for their jeeps while Moffitt explained the plan to their prisoner. No one paid any more attention to him as they drove away.

"Circle around Hitch; I want to watch the waterhole. Stay out of sight." Troy called as soon as they were clear of the camp.

As soon as the jeeps stopped Troy and Moffitt took their field glasses and climbed a hill. It wasn't long before Moffitt spotted the two horses that they had left tied in the camp. The Arab had freed himself and was heading across the desert avoiding the direction the jeeps had taken.

"Let's go." Troy said as the Arab disappeared among the hills. Sliding down the slope on his back, he beat Moffitt to the bottom. They walked to the jeeps where the privates waited. "Do you think he bought it?"

Moffitt looked over at Troy and nodded. "As I said, I can't be sure, but I think he spoke some English."

"And he doesn't suspect that we let him go?"

Moffitt shrugged. "I can't read minds Troy?"

"If he bought it maybe we bought ourselves some time to get rid of that dang necklace." Troy sighed.

"Aren't you forgetting something Sarge?" Tully's quiet question drew all of their attention.

"Like what Tully?"

"Like two sacks of gold. Maybe he thinks the necklace is gone but he knows we still have the gold."

Troy was speechless. He had forgotten about the gold. "Rats!"

"Perhaps we should get going. Our jeeps will get us there much faster than his horses. We can get there and get rid of the necklace and the gold." Moffitt looked around at all of the discouraged faces. "We're really no worse off than we were before."

"Not unless that guy can reach a radio." Hitch mumbled.

"Moffitt's right." Troy snapped out of his disappointment and began to issue orders. "We're no worse off; and now we know they're hunting us. They don't have the element of surprise anymore."

"And I doubt they realize just who they are dealing with." Moffitt added.

"They know our names and faces Doc." Hitch stated.

"But they don't know us." Moffitt repeated. "We've beaten them once and we can do it again. We're a team Hitch; they're beaten, they just don't know it yet."

"Yeah….yeah, you're right." Hitch looked from one sergeant to the other. "But maybe we'd better get out of here just the same."

Troy laughed. "Yeah, maybe we'd better."

When the jeeps rolled onto the base with no more contact with the Arabs all four men breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tully, you and Hitch take the jeeps to the motor pool." Troy ordered as he climbed from his seat in front of the Colonel's office. "Tully, where did you stash the gold?"

"Under the grenades Sarge."

"Get it, we'll turn it over to Colonel Quint and let him decide what to do with it." Turning to Hitch he waited expectantly.

"What Sarge?" Hitch asked as Troy continued to stare at him.

"The necklace, where is it?"

"Oh!" The blond climbed out and walked to the rear of the jeep. Feeling around the spare tire he pulled out a cloth wrapped bundle. "I didn't want to leave it in my personal gear in case they searched the jeeps. I didn't think they'd look in the spare tire."

"What if it had bounced out?" Moffitt was appalled at the thought of losing the priceless artifact.

"I wired it fast Doc. I made sure it wouldn't fall out."

Somewhat appeased the sergeant reached out to take the troublesome package. He carefully unwrapped it to see the brushed gold with it precious stones. The design was heavy, a detail that most of the ancient jewelry shared. Moffitt noted the craftsmanship right away but he could see why Hitch had thought it was a replica. No one would expect to find the real thing in a small local market for next to nothing in price. Moffitt allowed everyone to get a god look before he gently wrapped it again.

"Tully, you stay with Hitch."

Tully nodded as Hitch looked disappointed.

"It's not over yet, is it Sarge?"

"Afraid not Hitch." Troy answered. "But it will be soon. We'll tell the Colonel everything we now about the Arabs, and the Frenchman. Once word gets around that the necklace has been returned you should be safe."

"Okay Sarge, I guess I'll have to live with that."

"It beats the alternative." Moffitt smiled.

"Yeah." Hitch huffed. "It does do that." Reaching for the starter on his jeep he smiled at Tully. "Let's go buddy, you've got my back."

"Count on it." Tully agreed.

"Wait for us at the motor pool; we'll walk to the barracks together."

"Right Sarge."

The sergeants turned and climbed the stairs as the privates drove away.

"So we thought we'd hand everything over to you and let you decide how to handle it." Troy explained after giving his report and handing over the gold and the necklace.

"Very well Sergeant, I'll let the proper authorities know that the necklace has been recovered. Hitchcock didn't happen to buy any of the other items that were stolen did he?"

"No Sir." Troy answered. "We haven't heard much about the theft Colonel. What else was taken?"

"Two jewel encrusted knives, a crown, several very valuable swords, and three rings." The Colonel listed the items that they had been told to be on the lookout for in case they made an appearance on one of the bases.

"He bought his sister a scarf and a jewelry box. If they aren't listed then he's good." Moffitt smiled.

"Nothing like that on the list Sergeant."

"About the gold Sir. Since it belonged to the thief, might I suggest that it be given to the museum to help replace the stolen items?"

"I'll look into that option." The Colonel promised. "Turn in your written report and take a few days off until we get this mess straightened out."

"Yes sir." Troy saluted and turned to leave.

"Sergeant."

"Yes sir?"

"Keep a close eye on your privates until this is taken care of properly."

"Yes sir."

Troy and Moffitt walked to the motor pool expecting to see Hitch and Tully waiting for them. They found the jeeps empty and no sign of either private. Worried, they did a quick search of the area. When the search turned up empty Troy stormed toward the motor pool determined to find someone who had some answers.

"Sergeant! Sergeant Troy!"

Troy stopped to see an MP rushing toward them. "Now what?"

"Perhaps he has some answers." Moffitt suggested, just as worried as the other sergeant.

"Sergeant Troy?" The MP seemed uncertain now that they were face to face.

"Yeah, that's me." Troy answered gruffly, trying to hide his impatience.

"Is Private Hitchcock one of your men?"

"What happened to Hitch?" Troy demanded, not bothering to answer the question.

"Someone hit him over the head and left him lying behind the motor pool." The MP explained. "They took him to the hospital to be checked out. Whoever it was hit him pretty hard."

"Is he all right?"

"He said he was fine but I thought it best to let the docs decide that." The MP responded.

"What about Tully?" Moffitt asked.

"Tully?"

"My other private." Troy explained as a sinking feeling settled in his gut. "They were together."

"We only found Hitchcock." The MP reported. "Maybe this Tully is the one who hit Hitchcock."

"No!" Both sergeants answered at the same time.

"Okay." The MP replied, eyeing them strangely. "So maybe he saw something."

"They took him Troy; Tully would never have left Hitch of his own free will. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Yeah, I agree. We need to talk to Hitch and then go talk to the Colonel again." Troy answered.

"Who took who?" The MP was totally confused by the exchange. He looked from one sergeant to the other, waiting for an answer.

"We'll explain it on the way." Troy answered. "We may not have much time." The two sergeants walked away, not caring if the MP followed or not.

The MP did follow and he demanded an explanation as they walked. He was nodding by the time Troy finished. "All right Sergeant, you talk to your private and the Colonel; I'm going to seal the base. Then I'll check around and see if anyone could have snuck your man out before the gates were locked. I'll report to the Colonel when I'm done."

The MP left to sound the alarm while Troy and Moffitt entered the medical building.

"Sarge!"

Hitch called to them as soon as they stepped through the door. He was sitting on an exam table having his head bandaged. Troy and Moffitt hurried over.

"What happened Hitch?"

"They took Tully Sarge!"

"Just tell us what happened."

"Tully's jeep had a small oil leak and we were working on it. We had our heads under the hood and we never saw them coming. We were right outside of the motor pool Sarge!"

"Take it easy Hitch, no one blames you. I never should have let either of you out of my sight."

"Did they say anything?" Moffitt asked.

"They want the necklace. They said if I didn't get it back they'd kill Tully."

"Did you see which way they went?"

"No, they hit me over the head before they left. We have to find him Sarge!"

"We will Hitch. The MPs are sealing the base as we speak. If they're still here they won't be able to leave." Troy assured his driver.

Hitch glanced at his watch. "They've had almost an hour to hide him Sarge. They could already be off the base."

"The MPs are aware of that possibility Hitch. They'll be questioning all the guards at the gates to see who and what left in the last hour." Troy tried to reassure his driver. "If there's even a hint that Tully was taken off the base we'll begin our search outside and let the MPs handle searching the base."

"Okay," Hitch nodded, "but what about the necklace?"

"The Colonel has it. It will be safe with him until we can figure this thing out." Troy promised.

"I think we should go talk to the Colonel now." Moffitt suggested.

"Did they tell you not to go to the authorities?" Troy asked.

"No." Hitch answered. "I told them that I had already mailed it out so I would have to go through the Colonel to get it back. I told them that I would have to come up with some kind of story to get the Colonel to get it back for me."

"Good, that means that we can talk to the Colonel without alarming them." Troy was already working on a plan but he needed the Colonel's help.

"It also means that we have a little time." Moffitt pointed out. "They'll expect it to take at least a day or two for the Colonel to contact the mail service and have the package sent back here."

"They gave me three days." Hitch admitted.

"That will have to be enough." Moffitt sighed. "Let's go talk to the Colonel, I have an idea."

The search went on for two days but no sign of Tully was found. Hitch was getting increasingly agitated as the time flew by. "What if they hurt him Sarge?"

"They won't Hitch. They want that necklace. Without Tully they have nothing to trade."

"But now he's a witness too."

"We all are Hitch." Moffitt said. "And I suspect that once the necklace is in their hands they will try to kill us all."

"Just let them try. Once we get Tully back I hope they try it." There was a determined gleam in Hitch's eyes that the others seldom saw, and it didn't bode well for Tully's kidnappers.

On the third day they were called to the Colonel's office. When they arrived there was a package lying on the desk. When they walked in the Colonel picked up the package and handed it to Troy.

"Here it is, I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me too Sir." Troy answered. "But we haven't found any trace of Tully; this may be the only way to get him back."

"All right, you have my blessing. Good Luck."

"Thank you Sir." The three men saluted and left the office. "Okay Hitch, how were you to let them know that you had the necklace?"

"They said they'd know."

"A spy in headquarters." Troy said in disgust.

"It's a good thing we had Hitch's return address put on the package."

"That's how they know Troy!" Moffitt's eyes lit up with excitement. "Someone in the mail room was to watch for a package with Hitch's return address. They have a spy in the mail room."

"Maybe we can figure out who and follow him to his contact."

"If we're not too late." Moffitt cautioned. "Troy, why don't you talk to Colonel Quint and set that in motion? I'll stay with Hitch in plain sight where they're not likely to approach him."

"Don't go to any meetings without me." Troy warned.

"We won't, but you'd better hurry. It might look suspicious if Hitch were to hesitate to make the trade."

Troy nodded and took the back way to the Colonel's office. He was back before anyone tried to contact Hitch. The messenger did not seem at all surprised to see Troy and Moffitt with Hitchcock. He delivered his message and departed as quickly as he could.

"This is it. Are you ready Hitch?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Troy heard the anger in the younger 'rats' voice. He was tempted to tell him to calm down but then decided that it might give them an edge if Hitch got mad enough. The kid could be impulsive when his friends were threatened and maybe the kidnappers would be caught off guard. He hoped that they would be watching him and Moffitt and underestimate the younger 'rat'.

"All right, let's follow their instructions and go get Tully."

The instructions sent them to a section of the base with several unused warehouses. As they neared one their contact slipped out of the building.

"You have the necklace?"

"Yes." Hitch answered.

"Give it to me."

"No." Hitch's refusal surprised everyone. Troy held his breath, hoping Hitch knew what he was doing.

"Give me the necklace!"

"No." Hitch repeated. "Not until I see my friend. Before I hand over the necklace I need to know that Tully is still alive."

Their contact smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. "The Frenchman said that you might prove to be difficult."

"Not difficult." Hitch returned. "Just careful. I'm bargaining for my friend's life; I want to be sure he's still alive before I make the payment."

"Very well." The man answered. He waved a hand over his shoulder and more men appeared behind him. They held a struggling Tully between them with a black bag over his head.

"Take the bag off." Hitch demanded.

"That is not part of our bargain." The man answered, smiling again.

"We don't have a bargain." Hitch argued. "What we have are bargaining chips. I'll show you mine it you show me yours. Otherwise what we have is an impasse."

The man in front of him laughed at Hitch's assessment of the situation. "No wonder you managed to get the necklace so cheaply. You must have learned to barter from an Arab."

"No, an Englishman." Hitch answered coldly.

The man barked an order and the hood was removed from Tully's head.

Tully blinked his eyes as the black hood was removed. As the world came into focus he spotted his three friends facing him. He wanted to shout a warning but he was still gagged. He tried to warn them with his facial expressions but the swelling from a beating made it difficult. To his surprise he caught a look from Troy that warned him not to fight. He tried to hide a smile as he realized that Troy had a plan. He didn't have to try very hard though, because smiling really hurt.

Hitch studied Tully's battered face and he could feel the anger boiling up inside. It just made him all the more determined to beat these guys at their own game. First he had to get Tully free.

Reaching into his shirt he pulled out the package that the Colonel had handed Troy. He ripped the strings away and revealed the necklace inside. Holding it up, he let the contact see it.

"Is this what you want?"

The contacts eyes glittered with greed. "The necklace of the ancients. Bring it to me!" He put his hand out as if to reach across the distance to touch it.

"Send Tully over here first."

The contact hesitated. "We will meet in the middle. You take your friend and I take the necklace."

"All right." Hitch agreed. "Start walking; just you and Tully, and me and the necklace."

The contact eagerly started forward without Tully. He stopped when Hitch took a step backward.

"Tully comes with you or no deal."

"Yes, yes, bring the necklace." The contact spoke to his men and they pushed Tully forward.

"Tully, come on." Hitch urged, trying to convey his urgency to Tully without alerting the contact.

For each step that Tully took, Hitch took one too, only he took smaller steps. The contact, in his eagerness, didn't seem to notice. When they met Hitch pushed Tully behind him as he handed over the necklace. Reaching behind him he pulled a penknife from his belt and handed it to Tully. While the contact inspected the necklace Tully cut the ropes on his wrist.

"Satisfied?" Hitch asked as the man looked up from the necklace.

"It is magnificent, is it not?"

Hitch shrugged. "I thought it was unique but not all that impressive. Personally I prefer more modern designs."

"Then why did you buy it?" The man asked curiously.

Remembering their earlier cover story, Hitch lied. "My girlfriend likes old jewelry. It would have appealed to her." Hitch wasn't sure that Tully was free so he decided to stall a bit longer. "What's so special about it anyway, I got it really cheap?"

"The fool who sold it to you had no idea what he had." The man answered. "It was taken from the tomb of a pharaoh and it is one of a kind. It's possible that the pharaoh himself wore it."

"Not my area of expertise." Hitch shrugged.

"And just what is your area of expertise?" The man questioned with a sneer.

Hitch smiled at the question. "Explosives." He answered as he tossed the rest of the package at their feet.

The small explosion didn't do any real damage but the kidnappers were caught off guard. Tully and Hitch took advantage of the surprise and confusion to run. There was enough smoke to cover their retreat. They reached Troy and Moffitt and the four of them raced to get away.

Behind them the kidnappers recovered and tried to shoot them down. When they gave chase they ran into Troy's contribution to the plan. They had repeated the instructions for the meeting into a microphone monitored by the MPs. The area around the warehouse had been quietly surrounded while Hitch had kept the contact talking. At the first shot he MPs had started to tighten the circle.

The battle was fierce as the kidnappers tried to escape. Most of them fell before their leader admitted defeat. The survivors were arrested and taken for questioning. They gave up the Frenchman and he was quickly rounded up and hauled off to jail too.

"How's it going Tully?" Troy asked as the three of them stopped by his bed.

"I'm okay Sarge. The docs are going to let me out of here tomorrow." Tully answered. "They just want to keep me for observation overnight." Tully grinned. "What is it with everybody wanting to keep an eye on me?"

Troy shrugged and smiled. "It's good to hear you're okay. Is there anything we can do for you?"

"You already did Sarge." Tully replied. "Thanks for coming after me."

"Anytime." They all answered together. They all smiled at the oft repeated response.

"Hey Sarge, what would the Colonel have done if that guy had gotten away with the necklace?" The shadows in Tully's eyes had nothing to do with the beating he had received. He was genuinely concerned that his friends had taken a monumental risk to save him.

"Not much." Moffitt answered for Troy. "Of course the Colonel would have been disappointed that he escaped, but we would have caught him eventually. He would never have been allowed to leave the base."

"But he might have smuggled the necklace off base."

"Perhaps, but he would have been sorely disappointed when he tried to sell it."

"Someone would have bought it Sarge, if not the Frenchman, then someone else."

"Maybe someone like Hitch." Moffitt answered with a smile. He gave the blond an apologetic grin. "But anyone with any knowledge of these things would have had it checked for authenticity."

"But I thought it was the real thing?" Tully asked in confusion. "That's why they were willing to pay so much for Hitch."

"Oh Hitch bought the real thing all right." Moffitt answered with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "But after Troy gave it to Colonel Quint, we no longer had it. He sent it back to Cairo, to the museum."

Now Tully really looked confused. "But Hitch gave him the necklace, I saw him."

"There are always replicas of the famous pieces available if you know where to look. Some are hard to tell from the real thing. Colonel Quint contacted the Cairo museum and asked them to send us a good replica. After our help in recovering the necklace they were more than happy to help."

Tully was grinning now despite the pain it caused him. "Maybe we should have let him go. I bet his boss would have had a few choice words for him."

"No doubt there would have been a falling out over it. There is no honor among thieves and that distrust could have been deadly."

"Wouldn't have bothered me any." Tully declared.

"I doubt that any of us would have lost any sleep over any lives lost there, but the Colonel wanted to clean out the entire ring. Cairo is not the only museum that they robbed. A guard was killed in one of those robberies."

"Is it over now Doc? Is Hitch safe?"

"As safe as a soldier can be in a war zone." Moffitt answered truthfully.

"Okay." Tully murmured. Turning toward Hitch he grinned. "Do me a favor will you?"

"Sure Tully." Hitch answered without hesitation. "Anything."

"The next time you go shopping, take Moffitt with you."