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

A Look 'n See Mission

By Suzie2b

The Rat Patrol left Qina just as the sun appeared on the horizon. There was still that German base they'd originally been assigned to do recon at. It was going to be a long drive just to get to their destination.

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They arrived at a wadi that was just two miles from the German base late in the afternoon. Bertha and Olive pushed through the scrub at the side of the wadi opposite to where the base was, then drove down further into cover.

After covering the jeeps with the camouflage tarps, the four Allies went to the top of the wadi. They stayed low among the scrub as they scanned the German base with binoculars.

There was little to see. The high wooden gates that led onto the walled base were closed. There were guards on the walls, walking slowly on their circuit back and forth.

Tully noticed movement and said, "Gate's opening, sarge."

The two sergeants shifted to look at the gates. As two Germans pushed the gates outward, Troy scanned the desert until he caught sight of a patrol coming in. He lowered his glasses and asked Moffitt, who was still staring at the entrance to the base, "Can you see anything inside?"

Moffitt lowered his binoculars. "Not a lot, but it does appear that headquarters is straight across from the gates."

"Colonel Baehr apparently likes to keep an eye on the base's comings and goings." Troy went back to watching the patrol. As they neared, someone in the lead halftrack stood up and Troy smiled slightly as he said, "Looks like Captain Dietrich has been assigned here."

Moffitt quickly shifted to see the captain. He too gave a bit of a smile and said, "It would appear the captain has recovered nicely from our last encounter."

The sergeants, along with Hitch and Tully, watched as the German patrol drove through the gates, which were then pulled shut.

Hitch asked, "So, how're we going to do this, sarge?"

Troy replied, "Captain Boggs said an Arab operative reported there's a way under the wall. We'll check it out tonight and if it's there, we'll go in."

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It was 2330 hours and the bit of light from the sliver of moon allowed them to see shadowy figures moving back and forth on the wall. It was time for the Allies to get moving before the guards changed. They didn't want to take the chance that fresh eyes might spot them.

Troy led the way over the expanse of desert to get to the base. The only cover they had was darkness. They moved as one when they left the wadi and stopped as one when they got to the base's wall. No alarms sounded—they had not been seen.

Staying close and low they quickly moved along the wall until Troy spotted a grate. He signaled Tully over and pointed at the padlock. Troy shone his flashlight on the lock, shielding the light with his body so it wouldn't be seen from above. The private gave a nod and knelt down to inspect the lock as he retrieved his set of master keys. It was a simple lock and chose a key. There was a satisfying click and Tully removed the lock.

Troy turned off the flashlight and helped Tully pull the heavy grate up. The hinges screeched slightly and the two men immediately stopped. When they were sure that the guard hadn't heard the noise, Hitch moved forward as he took a pill bottle out of a pocket. He unscrewed the lid and put his finger inside, then quickly smeared the grease that was now on his finger on one hinge and smeared another dollop on the other. As Hitch replaced the lid and slipped the bottle back into his pocket, he smiled as the grate made no sound when Troy and Tully moved it.

With a quick signal from Troy, Tully dropped down into the opening. He had to bend over a bit to fit inside and carefully shined his flashlight around to discover he was in some kind of concrete pipe. It was slightly sloped and there was a few inches of what Tully hoped was just dirty water running passed his feet and a decisively unpleasant smell that made his nose wrinkle. He turned and shined the light behind him and saw another grate that the water flowed through, presumably disappearing out into the desert. He straightened up and stuck his head out of the opening, where Troy was on his knees waiting for him, and whispered, "I can't see the end, but it looks clear."

Troy nodded and signaled Moffitt and Hitch to follow. One by one they each dropped into the pipe, then the grate was carefully pulled down. With Troy again in the lead with his flashlight on, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully followed.

It felt as if they'd gone miles before the smelly pipe ended. Troy shined the light around and discovered a manhole cover with holes in it above them. There was water slowly dripping through the holes. The sergeant signaled Hitch over to give him a boost. With some effort Troy managed to move the heavy cover to one side. He looked around the dark room quickly before hoisting himself up. Then Moffitt and Tully followed before helping Hitch up and replacing the cover.

Moffitt shone his flashlight around carefully—there were no windows and two doors. He whispered, "Where are we?"

Troy settled his light on some tools that were on a workbench and then on the big hooks hanging from the ceiling. "Taking a guess, I'd say it's some kind of slaughterhouse."

Hitch and Tully looked at each other a bit nervously, and Hitch whispered, "What do you think they slaughter?"

Moffitt said, "They must be supplementing their rations with pork or beef. I've heard that the Germans have been seen transporting live animals through the desert."

Troy had heard the same information and whispered, "When they wash down the floor, the blood and water go out through that pipe. Let's see where we are." He looked at the doors and then at Moffitt. "Got a preference?"

Moffitt shook his head. "I'll defer to your judgement."

Troy went to one door and opened it a crack. It led to another room where it appeared the meat packing and paperwork took place. He closed the door and went to the other one. Troy carefully opened it. It led to the outside where they found empty animal pens. Backdoors were usually safest for those who didn't want to be seen.

They moved down the alley, which led to a street. Once they got their bearings, the four allies headed for German headquarters.

Troy expected to have to dodge guards, but other than those on the walls they didn't see even one. Moffitt caught the other sergeant's arm and whispered, "I don't like this. Where are the sentries?"

Troy said, "I noticed that too. Everyone keep their eyes open in case this is some kind of trap."

When they got to headquarters, they skirted around to the back. The first door they came to was locked, as was the next. However, the third was unlocked. Curious, Troy sent Hitch down to check the last door. It was locked.

Moffitt frowned. "I'm liking this less and less."

Troy said, "You and me both."

"Perhaps we should call this off, Troy."

"We're already late getting this information to Boggs. Since we're here we might as well finish the job."

They slipped quietly inside what was an alcove off the main office area. To the left was a staircase. Troy led his men up the dimly lit stairs to where, from experience, he knew the officers' offices would be located as well as the planning and map room.

At the top of the stairs was a hallway. They crept quietly down it until they came to a door labeled "Planung", which translates to "Planning". Moffitt stopped them and silently pointed out that was one of the places they needed to check out.

Troy nodded and Moffitt tried the door—it was unlocked. The four of them went inside and Tully closed the door quietly behind them. Hitch reached for the light switch and gave it a turn. As soon as the light came on, they were confronted by Captain Hans Dietrich and three armed soldiers. Then the door opened and four more armed Germans rushed inside.

Dietrich smiled slightly. "Good evening, gentlemen. We've been waiting for you."

The Rat Patrol spent the remainder of the night in cells.

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With the morning sun came guards to escort the four Allies to the base commander's office in handcuffs.

When they walked into the office, they found Captain Dietrich and a colonel sitting behind a desk. The captain said, "Colonel Baehr, may I present to you the desert Rat Patrol."

The colonel looked at the four men. "An excellent job, captain. Your plan worked perfectly."

"Thank you, sir." Dietrich looked at the prisoners and said, "In case you are wondering, I got word about what happened at the Red Cross hospital in Qina. I took the chance that you were actually coming here, but were interrupted by the call for assistance."

Troy questioned, "Why would you take that chance, captain? It would've been a little embarrassing if you'd been wrong."

"But I was correct in my assumption, sergeant. And to answer your question … where else would you be going. There is nothing out here other than this base."

Colonel Baehr said, "All right, I want one of them kept here for questioning." He pointed at Hitch. "That one will do for a start."

Troy quickly said, "Hitchcock and Pettigrew are privates, colonel. They don't know anything you'd be interested in."

"We shall see, sergeant." Baehr looked at Dietrich and said, "See to it that these men are returned to the cells."

Dietrich gave a slight bow. "Yes, sir, I will take care of it."

"And send in two of the guards as you leave."

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Troy and Moffitt were in a separate cell. Two hours passed before Troy, Moffitt, and Tully heard the outer door open. Hitch was escorted in with one guard on either side of him to support the young man's almost dead weight. The handcuffs were removed. Then one of the Germans unlocked the cell door and they pushed Hitch inside. As he stumbled in, Tully moved in to catch his friend before he went down. He lowered Hitch onto one of the two cots as the cell door was relocked.

As soon as the guards were gone, Troy and Moffitt went to the bars to try to see how Hitch was doing. Troy asked worriedly, "How is he, Tully?"

The private said, "They did a number on him, sarge." Tully reached for the canteen that the Germans had left when they were first put into their prison. "I'll take care of him." He took his kerchief from around his neck and poured some water onto it to use to clean Hitch's bruised and battered face.

Sometime later, while Hitch was asleep, the guards returned and opened the cell. One said, "Kommen Sie mit uns."

Tully started towards the door as he looked at the sergeants. "I'll be okay."

Troy gave a nod. "Yeah, I know, Tully."

One of the guards put cuffs on Tully's wrists, then grabbed the private by the shoulder and pushed him ahead of them.

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Troy paced the cell while Moffitt sat on a cot to stay out of the way. When Hitch awoke, he was agitated as soon as he realized Tully was gone. He knew what was happening to his friend.

Again it was a long wait before Tully was returned to them. The guards basically dragged the beaten private into the cell and dropped him on a cot. Hitch waited nervously until the guards were gone before going to Tully.

Hitch did the same thing for his friend that Tully had done for him. As Hitch gently wiped the bruises and cuts, Tully opened his swollen eyes and smiled slightly even though it hurt his split lip. Hitch frowned and asked, "What's so funny?"

Tully replied quietly, "It's like lookin' in a mirror."

Hitch managed a bit of a smile and looked at the worried sergeants. "He'll be okay."

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Troy was again pacing the cell. Hitch and Tully had told the sergeants what kind of information Colonel Baehr had asked for—almost word for word the questions had been the same for each.

As time passed, Troy and Moffitt both were beginning to wonder when it would be their turn to be interrogated. But the day passed quietly and the only time the guards showed up was to bring food.

Troy was leaning on the bars, looking at his injured and sleeping friends in the other cell. "Why did the colonel interrogate them and not us?"

Moffitt replied quietly, "Tomorrow's another day, Troy. Perhaps they think doing what they did to Tully and Hitch would convince us to answer their questions."

"Yeah, maybe." Troy turned to look at Moffitt and said, "I should've listened to you."

"Listened to me?"

"You had suspicions about this mission. If I'd listened…"

Moffitt shook his head, stood, and joined Troy to look at the two younger men. "You had the same suspicions as I recall. And you were right. We were already on base … it made no sense to call it off at that point."

Troy sighed. "We've got to get out of here."

"Any ideas?"

"Not yet … but I'm working on it."

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

Early the next morning the guards came in. Hitch and Tully watched them go to the other cell and open the door. One guard pointed at Moffitt and said, "Kommen Sie mit uns."

Moffitt started to take a step forward, but Troy put his arm out and stopped him as he said, "Stay put."

The guard repeated his demand, but with more force, "Kommen Sie mit uns!"

Troy shook his head and Moffitt realized that his fellow sergeant had decided on a plan. He looked the German in the eye and gave a small, but very threatening smile. "bring mich dazu."

Tully knew that Moffitt had said "make me". He whispered to himself, "Be careful."

The guard angrily handed his rifle to his counterpart and stomped into the cell with a set of handcuffs. However, as he reached for Moffitt, the sergeant took a stop back. Troy took the advantage, grabbed the guard's arm, spun him around, and drove his fist into his face.

It all happened so quickly that the second guard hesitated and even took a step back before raising his rifle, giving Tully just enough space to reach through the bars and grab the German's collar. He pulled the guard back against the bars and put him in a choke hold. Without a word Hitch moved in to get the keys from the guard's pocket.

When the German went limp, Tully released him and he slid to the floor. Troy and Moffitt dragged the second guard into their cell and dropped him next to the other while Hitch unlocked the cell he and Tully were in.

Troy picked up the rifles and handed one to Moffitt, then bent down to retrieve the handcuffs. Moffitt asked, "What are you going to do with those?"

Troy said, "We're going to use them to get the information we came for." He handed the second rifle to Hitch. "Let's go talk to Colonel Baehr."

The four Allies took the stairs up to the main floor two at a time. It was still early so there wouldn't be many office workers there yet. They moved to another staircase, went up, and to the door that had Colonel Baehr's name on it. Troy rapped twice and waited to hear the German word for enter.

Baehr's voice said, "Geben Sie ein."

Troy glanced at Moffitt, who nodded, then reached for the doorknob. The door swung open with a slight squeak.

When the colonel looked up from his paperwork, he saw the handcuffed British sergeant standing in the doorway. "Welcome, Sergeant Moffitt." Then told his men to bring him in. "Bringen Sie ihn." Baehr hadn't noticed that there was no one behind the prisoner.

Moffitt stepped inside the office and the three Americans suddenly moved in around him. Hitch and Tully held the rifles at the ready. Moffitt smiled and flipped the unlocked cuffs off his wrists as he said, "Good morning, colonel."

Baehr stood up and blustered, "What is the meaning of this outrage?"

Tully quickly closed the door and locked it as Troy said, "Have a seat, sir. We have a few questions to ask you."

"You'll get nothing from me! I guarantee it!"

Moffitt walked around the desk and calmly said, "Please sit, colonel. I wouldn't want to put my hands on a superior officer."

Baehr sat down heavily in the chair and Moffitt handcuffed his hands behind him. "You won't get out of here alive!"

Moffitt took the colonel's sidearm from the holster on Baehr's hip as Troy said, "You and Tully start looking around. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Moffitt started going through the desk while Tully set the rifle aside to start on one of the file cabinets.

Troy looked at Baehr and asked, "How many men are currently on base, sir?" There was no reply. "Okay, what about armor? How many tanks and big guns?" Still no answer. Troy wasn't really surprised and walked around the desk as he said, "All right, colonel, have it your way." He pulled a kerchief from a pocket and gagged Baehr before the colonel knew what was happening. "Find anything, Moffitt?"

"Rosters and lists for the coming week." Moffitt picked up several sheets of paper from the desktop and scanned them, then said, "It would appear that they're planning an offensive."

Tully had pulled out several file folders. "These will tell us how many men are here and what armor they have on base."

There was a sudden knock on the door. When there was no response, the door handle was jiggled and Captain Dietrich's voice said, "Colonel Baehr, I need to speak to you! It's very important!"

Baehr tried to call out from around the gag. Dietrich heard the muffled sounds and frowned. He had been informed of the Rat Patrol's escape … could it be… "Colonel, are you there?" Again, Baehr tried to yell.

Troy said, "Grab what you've found and let's get out of here!"

In the hallway they heard Dietrich order the men with him, "Brechen Sie es!" And sounds of bodies trying to break the door down were then heard.

Moffitt and Tully gathered up the paperwork while Hitch went to the window and opened it. Troy picked up the rifle that Tully had set aside and one by one they went out onto the roof. As they hurried away, they could hear the door splinter open and a moment later they heard Dietrich order his men to follow the escaped prisoners.

The four Allies knew they were being followed by the sound of heavy booted feet on the wooden shingles behind them. They needed to find a way off of the roof in a hurry.

Moffitt spotted a darkened office and opened the window. He called softly, "Come on! In here!" He disappeared inside and the others followed.

Hitch pushed the window shut and flipped the lock before pulling the curtains closed just in time. The Germans were right outside and one even tried to open the window. Having no luck locating the Allies, the Germans hurried away. After a minute of silence, Hitch peeked out and said quietly, "They're gone, sarge."

Moffitt had found a small satchel on the desk and put the paperwork he and Tully were carrying in it.

Troy gave a nod. "Okay, let's go." As they approached the door, they could hear men running in the hallway and Troy checked the lock on the door as he said, "Back out the window."

As they crawled out onto the roof again, the alarms began to shrilly sound throughout the base. They quickly found a way to climb down to the ground into an alley. They ran to one end and ducked down to check the street.

Troy took a careful look, then signaled Moffitt to do the same. When the sergeant peeked around the corner, he saw what Troy had seen—a truck.

A bullet suddenly ricocheted off the wall above Tully's head. The Germans were running towards them through the alley. There was no choice but to run and hope for the best. They broke from cover and made for the truck.

Just as they reached the vehicle, Troy yelled, "Tully, drive!"

Bullets were ricocheting off the truck's metal body as Tully quickly got in behind the wheel and Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch got into the back. They were returning fire and waiting for the engine to start, but nothing happened.

Troy yelled, "What's going on, Tully?"

The private was under the dash pulling down two wires. "Gimma a sec! There's no key!" Tully touched the wires together and the truck came to life. He gave a self-satisfying smile as he twisted the wire together and sat up. However, now he was looking out the windshield at Dietrich and his men in a halftrack barreling towards them. Tully threw the truck in reverse and hollered, "Hang on!" He floored the accelerator.

They flew at the German soldiers who were, by then, shooting at them from the middle of the street. Several were struck or run over when they didn't get out of the way as Tully backed the truck into the alley. Then he put it in drive and Tully accelerated out and down the street with Dietrich on their tail.

It wasn't long before the rifles and handgun were out of ammo and they had none to reload with. Tully quickly realized what was going on when he noticed his friends in the back were no longer firing. As he careened around a corner, a glint of light caught his eye. Tully glanced at the floor of the passenger side. He quickly leaned and pulled the weapons onto the seat, then yelled, "Hey, sarge! Maybe these'll help!"

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch had flattened themselves against the sides of the truck, hoping to stay out of the line of fire when Tully pushed first one, then a second machine gun through the flap into the back. Troy moved quickly and tossed one weapon to Hitch. Then a sack of grenades was pushed through and landed at his feet.

Troy and Hitch opened fire on the halftrack behind them, forcing Dietrich down to take cover next to the driver as the man operating the 30 caliber was hit. Moffitt began to lob grenades, but missed his target the first two times. Then changed tactics slightly and aimed for the ground in front of the halftrack. The third and fourth grenades went off as the German vehicle drove over them. One destroyed the engine and the other blew the floorboards in the back apart.

Tully flew around another corner and the front gates came into view as, once again, Dietrich was left behind. The private gave one last shout, "Hang on! We're goin' out!"

The gates shattered and splintered as the truck barreled through. Tully didn't slow down until they were sure they weren't being followed, then he headed for the jeeps.

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The Rat Patrol drove for nearly two hours before they came to a waterhole with plenty of cover. The four Allies wearily climbed out of the jeeps for a much needed break.

Troy said, "We'll rest here for a couple of hours. Hitch, you and Tully get cleaned up and a fire going so we can have a hot meal."

Hitch nodded. "Right, sarge."

Tully went to the well for a bucket of water to wash with while Hitch gathered what they needed to clean the dried blood off their bruised faces.

Moffitt was standing at the front of the jeep going through the paperwork they'd taken. Troy joined him and asked, "Well, was it worth it?"

Moffitt gave a nod and said, "I believe so. We've got a detailed diagram of the base, a roster of who and how many are assigned there, what armor they currently have, and plans for an offensive on the 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade some ways west of the base. Captain Boggs should be quite pleased with this information."

Troy looked at the two younger members of the team as they compared wounds, and said, "He better be."

Moffitt asked, "Are you worried about them?"

"I'm always worried about them. I worry about all of us. Colonel Baehr knew that two Army privates wouldn't have any information other than name, rank, and serial number."

"That's true. I still believe he did it to get to us."

Troy sighed as he watched Hitch get aspirin for himself and Tully. "You're probably right, but you and I don't have any information that Baehr could've used either. I guess that's why I feel the beatings were more senseless than usual."

Moffitt nodded. "True, but the colonel didn't know that."

Tully dumped the water out of the bucket and went to return it to the well before gathering wood for a fire while Hitch started to get the mess gear out of the jeeps.

Troy faced Moffitt with a slight smile. "I'll feel better once we get back to base where we can sleep without keeping one eye open."

Moffitt agreed and said, "Do you think Captain Boggs will give us a few days off? After what happened at Qina and then this mission, we could use a little down time."

"Don't worry. I plan on discussing that matter with the captain as soon as we get back. A little R and R will do us all a lot of good."