Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.
If I'd do it for Them, I'd do it for You
By Suzie2b
The Rat Patrol had been ordered by High Command to find out if a train depot was indeed being used to transport German supplies and munitions to the fighting in Libya as reported. If the reports proved true, they were to destroy it.
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It was nearly 1am when Tully and Hitch started the mission that Troy had sent them on. They were to do recon of the train depot thought to be held by German forces.
The depot was quiet as the two privates moved low and slow through the dark shadows. They didn't speak, but used hand signals to communicate. When they reached the back end of the train, Hitch signaled that it was time for them to split up. He would go on ahead and check out the depot while Tully checked to see if anything was loaded onto the train itself.
Tully watched Hitch until he disappeared in the darkness, then he quietly entered the first of four boxcars and two flatbeds. Using a flashlight, Tully discovered that the car was empty. So were the second and third boxcars. He was about to step across the train coupling to the first flatbed car, where some large items were covered by tarps, when a German soldier dropped down from the roof, sending them both to the ground.
Tully scrambled to his feet and looked for the machine gun that had been knocked out of his hands. But it was too late, the German had him at gun point. Tully sighed and put his hands up. However, the German had other ideas and pulled the rifle's trigger.
With a gasp Tully expected a bullet to hit him in the chest, but the hollow click of the firing mechanism told him it was a misfire. As he lunged forward, the German swung the rifle like a club, which he deflected with his left arm, then pulled the rifle out of the German's hands.
Tully didn't throw the first punch, which he ducked, but he did throw the second and third ones, and quickly dispatched the German with his knife. He dragged the soldier to the side of the train and rolled him onto the tracks beneath it. After he tossed the rifle under the train with the body, he located his machine gun, and after making sure no one had seen or heard the scuffle, got onboard again to finish his reconnaissance, stopping when he reached the locomotive.
After they'd finished their mission, Hitch and Tully met at a prearranged spot and headed back to Troy and Moffitt.
When the two privates got back to the jeeps, Troy asked, "What did you find?"
Tully said, "The train's boxcars are empty, but the flatbeds are loaded with halftracks, a cannon, rocket launchers, and various boxes of large caliber shells. I did have a run-in with a German guard. Took care of him though and no one seemed to notice."
Hitch said, "The depot is full of supplies, guns, and ammo. There's bigger firepower out back. Looks like they'll be loading some of the stuff tomorrow for transport."
Troy nodded. "Good. What about man power?"
Tully said, "I just saw the one guard on the train."
Hitch said, "I saw fifteen, maybe twenty. Most of them were asleep, but there were three guards inside the depot and three more out back."
Troy smiled slightly. "Good work. Moffitt and I have the explosives ready." He noticed Tully flexing and shaking his left hand. "You okay, Tully?"
He nodded. "I'm good, sarge. Just a bruise from that fight."
"All right … Hitch, you're with me. We're going to set the charges in and around the depot. Tully's with Moffitt. You two set yours on that train so it'll never be used again. Set the timers for ten minutes. We'll meet back here when you're done."
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Moffitt had given half of the explosives to Tully and sent him to the other end of the train. They made quick work of setting the charges and met in the middle, where they exited the train. They had taken only a few steps when a voice called out in German, "Halt! Wer geht es?"
Tully swung around and looked over Moffitt's shoulder. He saw the guard take aim and as the rifle went off, he pushed the sergeant out of the way. The bullet slammed into Tully's right shoulder, sending him to his knees. Moffitt turned and fired a single shot from his pistol, hitting the German in the head.
Moffitt pulled Tully to his feet and pushed him ahead as they ran back to the jeeps. Not more than a few minutes behind were Troy and Hitch. Moffitt was putting a temporary dressing on Tully's shoulder wound when they appeared.
Troy said, "We heard the shots. You two okay?"
Moffitt scowled at the private and said, "Tully took a bullet. He's lucky it only hit him in the shoulder."
The first explosions went off and lit the sky with an orange fireball.
Troy looked at Moffitt, "Is he ready to ride?"
Before Moffitt could say anything, Tully replied quietly, "I'm fine, sarge."
Troy looked from the private to the Moffitt. Something besides the gunshot wound had happened between them, but there wasn't time to ask questions. "All right. Let's shake it."
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They drove through the rest of the night, stopping as the sun was coming up to take a break at a waterhole. Hitch helped Tully out of the jeep and got him around to the driver's side, where there would be some shade from the rising sun, before supporting him as he sat down where he could lean against the jeep's tire. Hitch got on his knees and asked, "How's it feel?"
Tully sighed. "Not too bad."
Moffitt got the med kit out of the jeep and looked down at the two privates. There was a bit of anger in his voice as he said, "'Not too bad' he says! He's lucky he didn't get killed!" Moffitt knelt down and was none too gentle as he removed the bandage he'd applied earlier.
Tully grimaced, but didn't say a word. Moffitt used a generous amount of alcohol to clean the wound and Tully dug his heels into the ground, still not making a sound.
Troy and Hitch watched the silent exchange between the two. Hitch finally said, "Take it easy, sarge. It's not the first time Tully's been shot."
Troy frowned. "What's wrong with you, Moffitt?"
He looked up at Troy, his earlier scowl still fixed on his face. "What's wrong? What's wrong is he took a bullet that was meant for me!"
Tully gasped out quietly, "You can yell at me all you want … I'm still not going to apologize for doing it."
Moffitt took the forceps and scalpel out of the med kit and began to clean them vigorously with alcohol soaked gauze. Troy knelt and stilled the other sergeant's hands as he questioned, "You're angry because Tully took a bullet for you?"
Moffitt pulled away and resumed scrubbing the instruments. "I've already told him that he shouldn't have done it."
Tully grimaced at the throbbing in his shoulder. "Yeah, I had to listen to him say it over and over up until we stopped here."
"And I'll say it again. If that bullet was meant for me, I should've been the one to take it." He poised the scalpel over the gunshot wound. "Don't take this personally, Tully, but this is going to hurt."
Troy decided to take a machine gun and go on watch. There was no point in aggravating the issue while Moffitt worked on the private.
Hitch let Tully squeeze his hand as the sergeant dug the bullet out. Tully finally let out a pained yelp before it was over.
As Moffitt again cleaned and bandaged the wound, Hitch looked down at his friend's left hand that still clutched his. "Tully, why is your arm so swollen?"
Tully looked at Hitch with dull, pained eyes. "What?"
"Your arm and hand are swollen. What happened?"
"That German guard I mentioned earlier tried to hit me in the head with his rifle after it misfired. Got me in the arm instead. It's okay … just bruised."
Hitch took Tully's hand and felt the bones. When he found nothing broken, he worked his way up around Tully's wrist. When Hitch pressed on the black and blue spot on his forearm, Tully hissed with pain and pulled away. Hitch nodded as he looked at Moffitt. "It's broken."
Tully held his arm tight against his chest and said through gritted teeth, "No it's not."
"Well, it sure as heck isn't just a bruise."
Moffitt took Tully's arm and probed around the bruise like Hitch had done. He demanded, "Why didn't you say something?"
Tully grimaced and tried unsuccessfully to pull away. "I really didn't think it was anything more than a bad bruise."
Moffitt probed the spot again and said, "The bones don't feel out of place, but we are going to have to splint it."
Tully groaned quietly, then frowned as he said, "You're enjoying this aren't you?"
"What? Seeing a comrade … a friend injured and in pain? Of course not!"
Tully snatched his hand away and growled, "Then stop doing that!"
Troy stopped by to check on things. "How's he doing?"
Moffitt set about getting a splint and bandages ready. "On top of the gunshot wound he's got a broken wrist."
"What?" Troy handed the machine gun to Hitch and indicated that he should take over sentry duty. "When did that happen?"
"Apparently when he fought with that guard when he and Hitch were doing their reconnaissance."
"Tully, why didn't you say something?"
He sighed, getting tired of repeating himself. "I really didn't know it was broken, sarge. Didn't know it 'til Hitch noticed the swelling a few minutes ago."
Troy nodded. "Well, I think it's safe to stay here and rest for a while. Just take it easy."
Tully looked at Troy and said, "Do me a favor?"
"What do you need?"
"Something for the pain."
Knowing that Tully hated admitting to pain, Moffitt felt a pang of guilt as he said, "How about a shot of morphine before we do that splint?"
Tully shifted his eyes to meet Moffitt's. "That would make my day."
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Four hours later, it was time to get going. Troy and Hitch policed the area, making sure nothing was left behind from their breakfast.
Moffitt knelt down next to Tully and patted his leg to wake him. "How about another shot before we head out?"
Tully nodded, then said hesitantly, "Thanks, doc."
"For what?"
Tully smiled slightly. "For not killin' me while you were fixin' me up."
Moffitt sighed. "I'm sorry about all that, Tully. It just upset me that you were suffering because of me … and I guess I didn't make things painless for you. I shouldn't have yelled at you while I was driving last night. I should have been more watchful of what was going on around us back at that train."
"It wasn't your fault. You don't have eyes in the back of your head. That's what I'm for."
Moffitt smiled at the comment as he gave the private a dose of morphine. "Just promise me you won't go jumping in front of another bullet. Not for me anyway."
Tully shook his head. "Can't make that promise, sarge. If I'd do it for Troy and Hitch, which I would, I can't in good conscious exclude you."
"Well, next time just be a little quicker getting yourself out of the way, all right?"
Tully nodded and sighed as he felt the drug begin to work. "That's a promise I'm going to work on."
Troy, having heard their conversation, walked around the jeep and helped Moffitt get Tully to his feet. "Everything okay between you two?"
Moffitt smiled and steadied the injured man as he got into the jeep. "We've come to an understanding."
Tully grinned. "Yeah, we understand that neither of us likes getting shot."
Hitch walked up and looked at Tully with raised eyebrows. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
Troy and Moffitt realized what they unconsciously let happen as they had chatted. Tully was sitting behind the steering wheel, one arm in a sling due to the shoulder wound and the wrist of the other arm splinted and wrapped, with a loopy grin on his face from the morphine.
Troy chuckled. "I don't think that's a good idea, Tully. You better let Moffitt drive today."
