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

Leadership is More than a Word

By Suzie2b

It was a mission gone wrong. Sergeant Troy was taken prisoner and Sergeant Moffitt was badly wounded. Privates Hitchcock and Pettigrew had gotten Moffitt to a field hospital, where he survived the surgery to remove two bullets.

After Hitch and Tully got the news that Moffitt was going to be all right, they both began to get anxious about Troy. Tully sat brooding on one of the cots, while Hitch paced a trench in the tent they'd been assigned.

Tully finally sighed and said, "We have to go after Troy."

Hitch stopped and looked at him. "You heard Captain Harris. We're to stay put until further notice. He's sending out a scouting party."

"You know as well as I do that the captain didn't listen to what we told him. They won't find Troy."

"And if we take off we'll likely be court-martialed."

Tully stood up, his agitation growing. "We know where Troy is right now! It's a waste of time sending out a scouting party! If we don't do something Captain Harris will end up getting Troy sent to the Gestapo … or worse!"

Hitch met Tully's eyes and saw a fire there he'd never seen before. "You're willing to risk everything…"

"Yes I am."

Hitch had to agree that it was going to be up to them to rescue Troy. "You're right. How do we get out of here without getting shot?"

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Hitch and Tully walked to the motor pool and found their jeeps where they'd left them.

A sergeant watched them until he saw Tully get in behind the wheel of one of the jeeps. He hollered, "Hey! You're going to need a requisition to take that!"

Hitch told him, "This is one of our jeeps."

The sergeant shook his head. "I've got orders, private! No vehicles leave this motor pool without a requisition!"

Hitch turned and looked at Tully, who said, "Just get in. We're already in trouble as it is."

Hitch got in as Tully started the engine. The sergeant hurried in their direction as Tully hit the gas and they heard him cursing as they rounded a corner.

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Two hours later they were behind enemy lines and Tully stopped at a waterhole. "You get water. I'll gas up the jeep."

Hitch grabbed the canteens and the jerry can marked 'water' and headed for the well. Tully took the gas can and topped off the tank. Then he got the map bag out. By the time Hitch returned and put everything in its place, Tully was studying a map he'd spread out on the hood of the jeep.

Hitch joined him and looked at the map. "Got a plan?"

Tully held a matchstick between his teeth. He put a finger on a spot on the map. "This is where we are." He drew a line to another spot. "This is where Troy is in Jubail. It's about another hundred kilometers. If we push it we can be there before it gets dark."

"What do we do when we get there? The Germans completely took over Jubail. According to our old friend Arturo it's like a fortress."

"Yeah. We'll have to find a way in that doesn't include using the front gate. We'll see how things look once we're there." Tully looked up as he folded the map. "Ready to go?"

Hitch nodded. "Let's do this."

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Tully kept his foot to the floor as much as possible until they were just outside Jubail. He parked the jeep among some boulders and he and Hitch threw the camouflage tarp over it.

Tully handed the binoculars to Hitch. "Go around the east side and see if there's a way over the wall. I'll go to the west side. Meet you back here in an hour."

Hitch nodded with a smile. "Right. Don't make me come looking for you."

Tully grinned. "Get outta here." After Hitch was on his way, his got another pair of binoculars out of the jeep and headed out.

By the time they met back up the sun had gone down. Hitch joined Tully next to the jeep and asked, "Any luck?"

Tully sighed. "Nope. There's guards on the wall. How 'bout you?"

"Same problem. But I did see a possibility for going under the wall instead of over it."

"Great. Let's go."

Silently, Hitch led Tully back the way he'd come and then down to the wall that surrounded Jubail. There was a concrete pipe running under the wall that looked big enough for them to crawl through. However, there was a grate locked down over it.

Hitch got his lock picks out of a pocket and began to work at the lock. He was glad he'd asked Moffitt to show him how to use them.

It wasn't long before they heard a click. Hitch removed the lock and they pulled the grate open. There was a loud squeal from the hinges and both men threw themselves against the wall. Tully and Hitch looked up cautiously and could just see two heads looking down from the top of the wall.

The German guards apparently couldn't see in the darkness that the grate had been moved and went on about their business. Tully led the way into the pipe, holding a small flashlight in his teeth, and hoped it came out somewhere relatively safe on the other side.

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About ten minutes after entering the pipe, they came to the end of it. Dim light shone down through another grate over their heads. Tully turned off the flashlight and put it in his pocket. He got on his knees and lifted the heavy grate just enough so he could look around. Then he carefully shoved it aside and pulled himself up out of the hole. After another look around he signaled Hitch that it was clear.

They found themselves in what could only be described as a medieval dungeon. Tully and Hitch looked around the rather gruesome room, then at each other. Just as they were about to replace the grate over the hole, they heard a voice say, "Halt!"

Tully and Hitch slowly straightened up and faced the German guard, who said, "Werfen sie ihre Waffen."

Hitch whispered, "Any idea what he's saying?"

Tully shrugged, "I could take a guess, but I don't think you'd like it."

The guard stormed over and reached for the machine gun that was slung over Hitch's shoulder. Tully took the initiative and quickly hit him with his. He fell into Hitch, who caught him and dragged the unconscious guard out of sight. Tully pushed the grate back into place and together they went to the door.

They looked up and down the long corridor. All was quiet. They quickly and silently walked until they came to another door. Tully opened it a crack and scanned the area inside before he ducked back into the hall. He signaled Hitch that there were two guards inside. Hitch nodded his understanding. Staying low, Tully and Hitch made their way across the room to where the guards were stationed.

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From inside his cell, Troy heard first one thud and then another. He sat up on the bunk he'd been laying on and stared at the small barred opening in the door. Troy strained to hear any kind of noise. He went to the door and looked out the opening. Hitch was carefully peeking into the cell across from his. Troy whispered as loudly as he dared, "Hitch! Over here!"

He spun around and grinned. "Tully, he's here."

He joined Hitch with a ring of keys. "Go check our escape route while I find the key." As Hitch hurried away, Tully looked at Troy's bruised face. "You okay, sarge?"

Troy nodded. "I'm fine. Just get this door open."

It was the third key that opened the cell door just as Hitch returned. "I saw three guards go into that room we came up into, Tully. I'm sure they're gonna find that guard we took out."

Troy picked up one of the machine guns that had belonged to one of the unconscious guards. "We can go out the way they brought me in."

Before they could get out though, two of the guards entered the room. Troy fired, cutting down both of them. They knew there wasn't much time to make their escape.

Troy, Hitch, and Tully ran into the hallway as the third guard yelled, "Halt!" Tully turned and fired, easily hitting his target.

They ran down the corridor and up a flight of stairs. No alarms had gone off … yet. The door squeaked slightly as Troy opened it to take a look around. He saw no one and stepped out into a hallway. He signaled his men to follow as he hurried to another staircase and went down. However, as they were just getting to the door that would lead them outside, two German officers walked in.

Troy, Hitch, and Tully slid to a stop. Both officers reached for their side arms as one yelled, "Alarm! Alarm! Amerikaner…!"

All three Americans fired at once, both officers went down … and seconds later the wailing of the alarm was heard. Troy, Hitch, and Tully looked at each other as they heard pounding footsteps coming down the stairs behind them. Wordlessly they jumped over the two bodies lying in the doorway and ran outside to take cover.

Germans swarmed the area as Troy, Hitch, and Tully stayed hidden behind a stack of barrels. Tully carefully took a look around and spotted a staff car parked close to the building next door. He got Troy and Hitch's attention and pointed to the car. Then he took one of the grenades off his belt. Troy and Hitch both nodded their understanding. Tully pulled the pin and threw the grenade. As soon as they heard the explosion, they ran for the car. Before the Germans knew what had happened, Tully was driving for the front gate.

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When they got to the jeep, Tully started to uncover it while Hitch kept a look out.

Troy watched Tully stuff the tarp in the back of the jeep. "How's Moffitt?"

"We got him to a field hospital. He's going to be fine."

Troy nodded. "That's good to hear."

Hitch jumped down off one of the boulders. "Looks like they're going to come after us."

"Okay, let's shake it!"

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The sun was coming up when the jeep crossed into allied territory. They had a couple hours before they would reach the field hospital where Moffitt was, so they decided to stop and take a quick break. Warm water and jerky never tasted so good.

After fifteen minutes, Troy said, "We'd better get moving."

Tully was on lookout in the back of the jeep when he spotted a cloud of dust. "Looks like we have company coming."

Sure enough, an American scout column came over the hill. They stopped alongside the jeep. Captain Harris looked down and said loudly, "Privates Hitchcock and Pettigrew! You are under arrest for disobeying direct orders!"

As four men jumped out of the halftrack to take Hitch and Tully into custody, Troy took a step forward and looked at the captain and questioned, "What are you talking about, sir?"

Captain Harris answered, "I had given them direct orders to stay in camp while I sent out a scouting party to look for you. They chose to disobey those orders and steal a jeep."

Troy sighed and looked at his men. "Didn't you tell the captain what happened?"

Tully nodded. "We sure did. Hitch and I gave him a full report."

Troy turned back to the captain, "Well, while you were out 'scouting' my men were breaking me out of a German stronghold. And the jeep is ours … they didn't steal it … sir."

"No requisition was issued for that jeep to be used." Captain Harris pointed at Hitch and Tully. "Handcuff them. They will be held for court-martial"

Troy decided to play a wildcard. "All right, captain. I get that they disobeyed your orders and took the jeep without a requisition … but are you sure you want to court-martial them?"

"I cannot abide insubordination, sergeant. There must be retribution for what they've done."

"Well, I'm not sure Colonel Williams would agree with that."

Captain Harris gave Troy a hard look. "Colonel Williams?"

Troy smiled slightly. "Yes, sir. Colonel Jackson Williams."

"And how is the Colonel involved in this?"

"His daughter is a volunteer courier out of our base in Ras Tanura, captain. She is very good friends with Private Pettigrew here."

Harris put his hands of his hips and scowled angrily, "Are you threatening me, sergeant?"

Troy shook his head. "That thought never crossed my mind, sir. I'm just stating fact. If Miss Williams were to find out that you intend to court-martial my men for rescuing me … and if she were to contact her father…"

Captain Harris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "All right, sergeant! I will forgo the court-martial … but on one condition."

"And that would be?"

"There must be punishment for what they've done. You, sergeant, will issue that punishment."

Troy nodded. "Yes, sir. I agree and I will take care of it."

Harris seemed satisfied. "And I want a full report."

"Of course, captain."

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

Troy, Hitch, and Tully returned to the field hospital along with Captain Harris' men. They went directly to see how Moffitt was doing.

He was sitting up against pillows and smiled when they walked in. "Well, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

Troy grinned. "You'd never forgive us if we didn't come back for you."

"You're right." Moffitt looked at Hitch and Tully. "I heard about what you two did. I'm surprised Captain Harris didn't have you both arrested."

Hitch and Tully smiled. Hitch said, "Oh, he tried, but sarge talked him out of it."

"Oh? That's a story I'd like to hear."

Troy said, "You will. But first I need to dole out some punishment." He turned to his two privates. "I've been thinking about this since agreeing to it." Hitch and Tully looked appropriately admonished. "I heard from Sister Kathryn at the orphanage in Samawah. They need some work done over there. You two will go there and fix whatever needs fixing. I'll see to it you have at least the time it takes Moffitt to heal up enough to get out of here."

Hitch and Tully looked at him in surprise. Hitch started, "Right, sarge. But that isn't…"

Troy held up his hand to stop him. "I agree that you should be punished for disobeying orders. But the reasons why you did it make it a different matter. At least to me. This way Captain Harris gets what he wants … and I get to send you two to entertain the kids. As long as that work gets done." Hitch and Tully grinned. "Requisition what you think you'll need. And don't forget to take enough of that candy they like." When the two privates didn't readily make a move, Troy smiled and said, "Get out of here before I change my mind."

Tully gave a little wave to Moffitt. "See you in a few days."

Troy chuckled as Hitch and Tully walked away, then sat down on a chair next to Moffitt's bunk. He related the story of his rescue and ended it by saying, "You know … when we were stopped out there, just before Captain Harris showed up, I had a private little chat with Hitch while Tully was on look out. He said that Tully took the lead on this whole operation."

Moffitt smiled. "Does that surprise you?"

Troy sighed. "Yes and no. Tully's smart, but he doesn't really want to be a leader. He's happy doing what he's doing. From what Hitch told me, Tully was willing to risk being court-martialed to do what they did."

"Leadership is more than a word, Troy. It's a mindset. Tully does what needs to be done. It's an instinct with him. Haven't you ever noticed that he's usually one step ahead of what you or I tell him to do?"

"I guess I just never noticed that before. But I will now."