The Curious Courier Hunt
By:AliasCWN
Chapter 1
The lone jeep sat abandoned in the middle of no man's land. Vultures circled overhead while others crowded around a mound on the sand. They flapped their wings and fought noisy battles over the prize they had discovered. At the sound of the two jeeps approaching the gangly birds took flight in a clumsy sort of ballet. Their wide wing span carried them into the air with powerful strokes, turning the awkward movements on the ground into smooth, fluid motion on the wing.
The first of the jeeps drove directly to the mound that just moments before had been the center of so much attention. Sam Troy stared down at the scavenger ravaged face with a frown. The bloated corpse laid face up, the eyes no longer seeing; they were no longer there. The scavengers had been busy for a while, turning the face into something that the guy's own mother wouldn't have been able to recognize. Flies buzzed around the torn flesh, other than the jeep engines, the only sound. Unlike the vultures, the flies weren't disturbed by the arrival of the living.
"Hitch, check for more bodies."
The blond nodded mutely and climbed out of the jeep as Troy slid out to stand over the body. Troy held his breath as he bent over the corpse to search for identification. With one quick jerk he broke the chain on the dog tags and wrapped it around his fingers. Deftly he searched the pockets for personal items that could be returned to the victim's family. Next he took a pad out of his pocket and noted the description of the victim. Height 5 foot 10 inches. weight- approximately 150 Hair- brown eyes-?
Troy looked up as Tully brought his jeep in after circling the area, checking for tracks. Jack Moffitt jumped to the ground to join Troy.
"What do we have?"
Troy looked up from the body and shrugged. "One body. Hitch is checking to see if there are any more. I doubt that he'll find any though, if there were more the vultures would have found them."
Just then his driver returned carrying a leather courier bag. "I didn't find anyone else Sarge." Holding the bag out for Troy to take, he added, "I found this next to the jeep." Troy noted that the strap holding it closed had been cut. Going over to this own jeep, he dumped the contents on the hood.
Sand fell onto the hood along with the contents. "I found that stuff on the ground next to the bag." Hitchcock explained. "It looked like someone dumped it out and took only what they wanted."
The contents consisted of a small, worn Bible, a packet that looked like personal letters, and a few books of matches. Troy picked up the letters and pulled one from its envelope.
"Dear Aaron," it began in a very feminine hand.
"Aaron?" Unwrapping the dog tag chain from around his hand, the sergeant glanced at the name. "Walter Mallory. This must be his driver, the courier is still missing."
"I found the tracks from two German patrol cars on the other side of that hill." Moffitt reported.
"That makes sense." Hitch remarked. "The extra gas and water are missing from the jeep. Someone stripped it of everything of value."
"I also found horse tracks beyond the hill on the other side." Moffitt continued as if he had not been interrupted.
"The Arabs wouldn't haul the gas off, would they?" Tully asked at the sergeant's implied suggestion.
"Maybe," Moffitt explained, "if they thought that they could sell it."
"It would be awkward to carry on a horse." Troy pointed out.
"But not impossible."
"So who took the courier?" Hitch asked, looking to Moffitt for an answer.
"That does seem to be the question without an answer."
"And we need to find that answer." Troy stated. "Unless I miss my guess,…headquarters is going to want both the courier and the packet back." Holding the dog tags in one hand and the letter in the other, Troy made his decision. "Hitch, you, and Tully dig a grave and bury this guy. Moffitt, take a look around and see if you can figure this thing out. I'm going to call the base and let them know what we found. Let them decide what they want us to do."
Moffitt had finished checking the tracks and was wrapping the body in a blanket by the time Troy got off the radio.
"The Captain said to bury the body and go find the courier and those papers."
Moffitt nodded, not surprised that Troy's guess had been spot on. "I don't think that we should hang around here too long." He looked up at the still circling vultures. "They drew our attention, they could draw others."
"Everybody and his brother have already been here." Troy growled. "Any idea where we should start?"
"I followed the horse tracks for a short distance, they weren't dragging a prisoner, and they were moving fast. My best guess, and it's only a guess, I think the Germans took the courier."
Troy sighed, "They have a pretty good lead on us. This guy's been dead for four, maybe five, hours."
"At least." Moffitt agreed.
"All right, we get this guy buried and we head for the nearest German base. If we're lucky the Germans will still have both the courier and the documents."
The two sergeants carried the body over to the newly dug grave. They gently lowered him in and covered him with sand. Using the Bible from the courier's bag, Troy read a short passage, said a shorter prayer, and called to his men. "We're going after the courier and his documents. Moffitt thinks the Germans took him so we'll head for the nearest base. Moffitt, you, and Tully lead out. Let's shake it."
Troy kept a sharp eye on the hills around them as they traveled. He knew that there were a lot of Arab bandits in the area and he didn't want his unit to fall victim to an attack. Vicious fighters, they attacked Axis and Allied soldiers alike. They were experts at sneak attacks and knew the desert intimately. The four men in the jeeps knew all too well just how effective those attacks could be, they used the same tactics themselves.
Continuing to swivel his head to search the surrounding hills, Troy paid special attention to the rock formations and the occasional clump of vegetation. Either one would provide cover for an enemy bent on attacking them. The sweat ran down his face, wetting the collar of his shirt. The damp shirt in turn collected fine particles of sand, making it feel like he had sandpaper against his skin. Every move rubbed another spot tender, borderline painful. He tried to wipe it away but even as he brushed it with his hand, he knew it was useless. The fine dust clung to skin and clothing alike, rubbing areas that were never meant to be sanded. The sergeant wondered idly if the Arabs minded it or if they were so used to it that they no longer even noticed.
They were heading for a part of the road that wound its way through a long, narrow valley when the hairs rose on the back of his neck. He glanced over at this driver to see the blond eying the hills on both sides uneasily. Tully slowed his jeep as Moffitt twisted in his seat to study the hills ahead of them. Time seemed to stand still as each man reacted to his own internal warning. The jeeps kept moving forward yet every nerve was tuned to the feeling of danger that each man sensed.
Troy tensed, ready to jump into the back behind the 50. As if sensing trouble, the vultures had shadowed them as they raced across the desert. They circled overhead in lazy spirals, observing the scene below. The sergeant glanced up and wondered if they knew something that the humans didn't.
The walls of the valley closed in around them, hemming them in, dictating the path that they needed to take. Troy didn't like the narrow trail ahead; it left them no room to maneuver. The jeeps were more agile than their German counterparts, but they still couldn't defy nature. The loose sand on the steep slopes refused to allow even the sturdy little jeeps any traction. Their only path was forward, turning around would slow them down and give the enemy the advantage. The enemy knew the dilemma they would face and they would be prepared to take advantage of it.
"Moffitt."
When the other sergeant acknowledged his call, Troy pitched his voice to carry to the other jeep. "Dig out the grenade launcher; if they hit us we're going to need an edge."
Moffitt didn't answer as he crawled over the back of his seat to root around in the back of the jeep. He smiled triumphantly as he moved some gear aside to reveal the compressed tube of the launcher.
"The grenades are in a box by the water cans." Tully called over his shoulder.
The sergeant shifted everything so it would be within easy reach from the front seat. Carefully, so he wouldn't be thrown from the jeep if he lost his balance, Moffitt made his way back to his seat. His eyes never stopped searching the crest of the hills for movement.
They passed through the first half of the valley safely, reaching the halfway point with no attack being launched. Troy expected the enemy to let them reach the center of the valley, effectively narrowing their escape route in either direction. He didn't think that they would wait much longer though, the nearer they got to the end, the shorter their run to freedom once the attack started. He leaned forward; shading his eyes from the setting sun. The glare shone directly into his eyes, a handicap he knew that he would use to his advantage if he were the one planning an attack.
The vultures had been dropping lower and lower as they traveled through the valley. Troy looked up as they suddenly caught the updrafts and flapped their wings, rising fast.
"Go!" Troy yelled the warning just as the first of many heads appeared over the crest of the hill. He turned his head to see more Arabs showing themselves on the other side of the valley. Twisting, he scrambled for the rear of his jeep and the heavy gun mounted there. "Move it!" He yelled at Tully in the lead jeep.
Hitchcock held back, keeping some distance between the two vehicles, minimizing the size of the target. Troy opened fire with the 50, forcing the attackers on one side to duck for cover. Unfortunately, the ones on the other side had clear shots at the jeeps.
Bullets whipped past his head, sounding like angry bees. He heard Hitchcock yelp and saw him duck lower over the steering wheel. The jeep swerved a few feet to the side before it straightened out again. Troy turned his gun to the other side to force those Arabs to dive for cover. Now the Arabs on the first side rejoined the fight.
"Moffitt! A little help here!"
In answer Moffitt launched a grenade into the Arabs bunched together on the first side. Startled yells and screams attested to his accuracy. The detonation sent a cloud of dirt skyward, temporarily obscuring them from their attackers. Tully took full advantage of the lull in firing to cover some ground. Troy's gun was still holding the Arabs on the second side, none of them willing to face it to take a shot at the speeding jeeps.
"Moffitt!"
Moffitt loaded another grenade and launched it at the second group of bandits. The results were much the same as with the first one. The bandits didn't have time to run and there was not enough cover to protect them. Several of them dove down the front of the slope to avoid the explosion only to run into the bullets from Troy's 50.
Tully's jeep broke out of the ambush and ran for the open desert. Moffitt launched another grenade at the first group who had recovered from their surprise and were getting reorganized. His aim was slightly off but it landed close enough that it forced the Arabs to duck, giving the jeeps a few brief moments of opportunity. They took full advantage of it to get clear of the valley.
Hitch pulled his jeep up next to the other one as the hills ended and the road opened wide. The two vehicles raced side by side as the sergeants manned their heavy machine guns in case the Arabs were foolish enough to give chase. They stayed on alert for the next several miles, just to be sure that they were clear.
Finally Troy climbed over his seat and sat in the padded leather. "I think that we lost them."
"They may still follow Sarge." Hitchcock warned without taking his eyes off of the road.
"I doubt it." Troy responded. "We don't have anything to make it worth their while and we already took a heavy toll."
"What about the noise?"
"Couldn't be helped." Troy shrugged. "If anyone comes to investigate, we'll be ready."
The blond nodded, still without looking at Troy, and popped a bubble. Troy heard it pop and looked over with a smile. He wondered what it would take to make the young soldier swallow his gum. No matter how much trouble they managed to find, he couldn't remember that ever happening.
He looked over at the other jeep to see Moffitt putting the grenade launcher back where he had found it. The other sergeant looked up, saw him watching, and smiled. Troy grinned in return; the launcher had given them the edge they had needed to escape the trap.
They pulled into a wadi near the German base as darkness was falling. They had had to deviate from their course once to avoid a German scout column and had lost a bit of time getting back on track. While the privates guarded the jeeps, the sergeants took their binoculars and went in search of a vantage point to spy on the German base.