Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.
Author's note: Oh my goodness! I just realized that this is the 200th RP story I've written! Maybe I should get a life. Nope, like my life the way it is. :-)
Hours
By Suzie2b
It was loud … very loud. Each explosion shook the ground as the bombs hit the surrounding buildings. German soldiers were running in all directions, shouting orders, screaming in pain as they were cut down by shrapnel and exploding buildings, or just panicking in general.
Things hadn't gone completely to plan. Hitch and Tully were forced to hide and wait for the opportunity to escape so they could meet up with Troy and Moffitt. However, they hadn't been able to get off the German base before the air raid started.
##################
The Rat Patrol had reported to Captain Boggs for their next assignment. They were to go to a German base about 165 kilometers south of Tamanrasset, near the Algerian border.
Captain Boggs told the team, "Intelligence says that Colonel Voigt is due to arrive at the base tomorrow for a two day stopover before he flies on to Oran for a conference."
Troy asked, "Why is he so important, captain."
"He's carrying vital plans for an aerial assault on Crete. High Command wants Colonel Voigt before those plans make it to Oran. The problem is, an air raid was already scheduled to hit that German base before we knew the colonel was to be there."
Moffitt smiled. "That's quite a coincidence, sir. Why not let the allied bombers take care of it then?"
Boggs said, "Intelligence wants the plans. High Command wants Voigt."
Hitch asked, "Are they going to postpone the air raid, sir?"
"I'm afraid not. You're going to have to get in, get the colonel and the plans, and get out before 0400 hours on the second day of his visit."
Troy sighed. "That's cutting it awful close, sir."
Captain Boggs nodded. "That's why you're leaving as soon as possible."
##################
They drove through the night, only stopping once to gas up the jeeps and trade off driving duties. By the time they arrived at the coordinates the sun was coming up. They parked the jeeps among a grouping of dunes less than two kilometers from the German base.
Several hours later a plane landed and they watched an entourage disembark to go to the waiting staff cars. Moffitt handed the binoculars to Tully and said, "That must be Colonel Voigt."
Troy nodded. "No one else it could be."
Tully was eyeing the group. "Why didn't they just fly into Oran?"
Moffitt replied, "Oran is something close to 2000 kilometers from here. It would make sense for them to make a fuel stop."
Troy said, "Okay, we know he's here. We'll keep an eye on things and get some rest. Tully's got first watch after we eat. We go in tonight."
The day was uneventful. Hitch had fixed a hot morning meal of powdered eggs and spam. At noon, Tully made a lunch of franks and beans. Midafternoon found them going over their plans and getting things ready to go in.
As the sun disappeared on the horizon, Tully was sitting on a sand dune among the scrub, his machine gun sat across this lap as he finished his K-ration dinner. Moffitt joined him and asked, "Anything going on?"
Tully swallowed the last of his candy bar and said, "The lights came on a few minutes ago. That's about it … except for that little Jerboa that keeps coming by to check me out."
Moffitt smiled as the small creature stopped a few feet away from them before continuing on. "Troy wants to go in at midnight. That should give us enough time to get in and out with Colonel Voigt before the bombing."
##################
2400 hours
Right on time they went over the wall onto the base. They moved quickly and quietly through the streets. Most of the lights were now out, only a few over some doorways were still on. They passed the buildings that housed the enlisted men and the officer's quarters.
Then Moffitt stopped them when he saw a sign that stated "Besucher Viertel". He pointed as he whispered, "Visitors Quarters."
Troy nodded and they slipped inside.
2430 hours
There were lights on in the hallway that showed three doors on either side. Which one was Colonel Voigt's room? Silently Troy made a decision and pointed to Tully, then at the first door.
Tully got his new set of master keys out of a pocket and the lock made a soft click on the first try. He smiled as he looked back at the others and carefully turned the doorknob.
The room was dark, but the light from the hallway showed the silhouettes of two beds. Only one was occupied. Moffitt went to the bed and looked down at its occupant—a woman who was probably the colonel's secretary—and placed a firm hand over her mouth. Startled eyes sprang open to look at the sergeant. Moffitt put a finger to his lips.
Hitch closed the door and Tully flipped the lights on.
Moffitt asked in a whisper where Colonel Voigt's room was. "Wo ist Oberst Voigt?" When he removed his hand, she opened her mouth to scream. Luckily Moffitt was quick to stifle the sound. He frowned menacingly, threatening her with his gun, and repeated, "Wo ist Oberst Voigt?"
This time when Moffitt moved his hand, the woman's whispered voice shook with fear as she told him, "Er ist im zweiten Zimmer auf dem Flur."
Moffitt told the others. "The colonel is in the middle room across the hall."
Troy nodded. "Tie her up and gag her."
Using the sash from her robe Hitch tied the woman's hands behind her and secured her to a bedpost so she was sitting on the bed. He used her stockings as a gag. Then they flipped the light off and went into the hallway, where Tully relocked the door.
Across the hall, they could just see a sliver of light under the door. Troy knocked and a gruff voice inside told him to enter. "Hereinkommen." He turned the knob and pushed the door open. The four of them went in quickly, closing the door behind them.
Colonel Voigt stood up and demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"
Troy said, "Keep it down, colonel. We wouldn't want you to wake the whole building." He looked at the fully clothed man. "Going somewhere?"
Voigt huffed, "I have insomnia. I was just going to go for a walk."
"Good, we can all go together then. Where are the plans?"
"What plans?"
Troy frowned as he growled, "The attack on Crete. We know you're carrying the plans."
The colonel said, "I do not know what you are talking about."
Moffitt spotted a briefcase on a chair. He rifled through it and said, "They're not here."
Colonel Voigt smiled. "Of course they aren't here. They are locked in Major Walter's safe."
Troy glared and said, "Tie him up and gag him. He's coming with us."
2445 hours
Back out on the street, the five of them made their way to headquarters through the back alleys to avoid the patrolling guards. Once they had to duck into a couple of doorways when a sentry decided to stroll through an alley they were in. Just as he began to pass by, Colonel Voigt began to make noise through the gag. The guard stopped and turned towards the sound. From behind Tully hit him on the back of the neck with the butt of his machine gun hard enough to break a vertebra.
0115 hours
At headquarters, they went in through a back door that had been conveniently left unlocked. They went up the stairs and walked down a corridor until they found a door with a sign that read "Major Karl Walter".
Inside they searched and found the safe in a closet. Troy looked at it and said quietly, "We didn't plan for a safe. How do we get it open?"
Hitch examined the combination lock on the door and said, "I can do it."
"Get busy."
Hitch went to the major's desk and grabbed the pencil holder, dumping the pens, pencils, and letter opener onto the desktop. He emptied an ashtray onto the floor and said, "Okay, I need gunpowder."
Moffitt and Tully took all of the spare bullets they had and began to open them to pour the black powder into the ashtray. Hitch started going through desk drawers to find what was needed. A roll of adhesive tape, a ball of string, and a container of peanuts.
Troy pushed Colonel Voigt into a chair and they both watched with interest.
Hitch dumped the peanuts and wiped the inside as clean as possible using the corner of the window curtains. He used his knife to make a hole in the thin metal bottom of the container. He found and quickly cut a piece of cardboard to size, making a hole in it as well. Hitch then cut a length of string and fed it through the hole in the bottom of the container and through the cardboard. He then used the tape to secure the cardboard as a lid.
Hitch checked Moffitt and Tully's progress. "That should be enough." He poured the gun powder into the container through the hole in the cardboard. He pushed the end of the string inside and plugged the hole with the wad of bubblegum he'd been chewing. Using tape Hitch secured his small, lightweight "bomb" to the safe's door next to the lock with the fuse at the bottom.
Troy said, "That's going to make a lot of noise, don't you think?"
Hitch looked at his masterpiece. "I guess, but what else can we do?"
Tully said, "Wait a minute." He went to a wardrobe in a corner of the office. After digging through its contents, he came back with two German uniform shirts and an overcoat. "These should help."
Hitch smiled and reached for the string. "Perfect."
He removed the container as Tully folded the shirts and coat. They pressed them against the container and tied them, leaving a portion uncovered that would be against the lock.
Hitch and Tully secured the container to the safe as Moffitt said, "We'd better get back."
Troy grabbed Colonel Voigt and followed Moffitt to the wardrobe. They maneuvered it around so they were somewhat shielded. Tully joined them and as soon as Hitch lit the fuse, he was there too.
The noise it made when it exploded was little more than that of C3 when it went off. It was just enough to open the safe though, and Moffitt quickly found the plans they were after.
0200 hours
It was time to get off base. They went out through the back, but it wasn't long before they heard the alarm. Either Hitch's safe cracking job had been discovered or they'd found out Colonel Voigt had been taken.
German forces swarmed the base, forcing them to hide. They were behind a stack of barrels watching a group of Germans fan out to check any possible hiding places get closer and closer to where they had ducked down.
Tully leaned close to Moffitt and whispered, "I'll lead 'em away. It'll give you a chance to get out of here with the colonel."
Moffitt shook his head. "No. It's better if we stay together."
"I'll just lead 'em in the other direction for a few minutes, then I can lose 'em and get out."
Troy argued, "Moffitt's right. We get out together."
Tully shook his head. "Sorry, sarge, but none of us is gonna get out if we just sit here." He looked at the Germans that were closing in. "And five of us aren't going to get by them easily."
Hitch agreed. "Tully's right. They can't know how many of us there are. The two of us can go together. Once we lead the Germans off you and Moffitt can get the colonel out. We'll meet at the jeeps."
Troy sighed and looked at Moffitt, who shrugged and said, "They do have a point."
Troy said, "All right. Keep 'em busy for maybe twenty minutes or so. That'll give us time to get out. Stay together and keep an eye on the time."
0230 hours
Tully stood up and fired into the group of Germans, hitting two of them. Then he and Hitch took off at a run, getting by them and around the corner of the building before the Germans could react.
However, the Germans did follow the two Americans, and the Americans made sure they didn't lose them in the dark. Hitch and Tully went so far as to run through one of the bright searchlight beams to let the Germans know where they were going.
After a while, Hitch and Tully ducked down an alley to hide and catch their breath. They let the Germans that had been following them, who had been joined by others, run past, then Hitch said, "Think Troy and Moffitt got out?"
Tully nodded. "I think we had half the base following us." He looked at his watch. It was twelve minutes to three. "We've given them enough time. Let's start making our way around so we can get out of here."
0305 hours
Troy and Moffitt made it back to the jeeps with Colonel Voigt. They only had to wait for Hitch and Tully, then they could head out.
As the minutes ticked by, Troy paced and looked at his watch. "Where are they?"
Moffitt was sitting in the jeep with the colonel in the back. "I'm sure they're on their way. It may have taken them a little longer to get off the base than we thought."
Troy looked at his watch again. Then he heard the unmistakable drone of airplanes. "No, it can't be! There's still forty-five minutes before that airstrike!"
Moffitt looked up as the bombers were silhouetted in the moonlight and said almost to himself, "Plans do change."
0315 hours
Hitch and Tully had ducked down once again to avoid the Germans that were still looking for them. Hitch looked up at the sky and whispered, "Do you hear that?"
Tully listened. He could just hear the planes over the wailing of the alarm. He looked at his watch and said, "They're early."
The Germans heard the planes too, and as the first bombs whistled as they fell to the ground, they abandoned their search.
Explosions were going off all around Hitch and Tully as they broke from cover and ran like their lives depended on it … which it did.
0320 hours
Troy and Moffitt watched from the top of a dune as the bombs hit the base and the explosions lit the early morning darkness. Troy's knees went weak and he slipped to the sand with a groan.
Moffitt put a hand on his fellow sergeant's shoulder. "They could've made it out. They could be on their way here at this very moment."
0325 hours
As Hitch and Tully made their mad dash, the Germans around them seemed to barely take notice. One or two may have stopped and briefly thought about going after the Americans, but then there would be another explosion and all thoughts of prisoners were gone.
The force of the explosions knocked both Hitch and Tully to the ground more than once. They were both peppered with shrapnel, but managed to get to their feet and keep going.
0345 hours
It was over and the skies were quiet again. The German base was pretty much obliterated. Residual explosions were still going off. Could've been fuel—could've been ammunition. It was impossible to tell from where Troy and Moffitt were.
Moffitt asked quietly, "How long can we wait?"
Troy replied just as quietly, "As long as we have to."
0410 hours
Exhausted, Hitch and Tully stumbled as they ran in the direction where their sergeants and jeeps waited.
Moffitt got a glimpse of two shadowy figures running in their direction. He pointed and said, "Look there! That has to be Tully and Hitch!"
Later that day—approximately 1400 hours
Hitch and Tully were resting comfortably in a field hospital after their many shrapnel wounds had been taken care of.
Moffitt was sitting between the two cots as the privates slept when Troy arrived to check on his team. Moffitt asked, "Did you get through to headquarters?"
Troy nodded and pulled up a chair. "They're sending a detail to escort Colonel Voigt back to base so we can stay here with these two."
"What about the air raid?"
"It was rescheduled at the last minute. We were already inside the base and they had no way to contact us." Troy smiled slightly. "Captain Boggs was glad to hear we all made it."
Moffitt looked from Tully to Hitch. "It was awfully close though."
Troy looked at his two privates with a sigh. "Yeah, it was. But I don't think we could've done things any different."
"No, I suppose not."
"I don't know what we'd do without them."