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

Author's note: I must admit, tullyfan comes up with some interesting ideas for me.

What's In a Phrase?

By Suzie2b

Moffitt and Tully were at the mess hall on base at Ras Tanura having lunch. The sergeant had been working with the private, teaching him some basic German words and phrases. Moffitt said, "Put your hands up."

Tully said quickly, "Hände hoch."

Moffitt smiled. "Very good, but it's pronounced 'hen-deh hoke'."

"Got it." Then Tully pronounced it correctly. "Hände hoch."

"How about come or enter?"

Tully thought for a second, then carefully said, "Hereinkommen."

Moffitt grinned. "Excellent. Now, what does 'Wir sind eingeschlossen' mean?"

Tully frowned as he thought. Then smiled and said, "We are surrounded."

"How would I tell you to take a seat?"

Tully answered with a slight southern inflection, "Platz nehmen. Or Setzern Sie Sich for sit down."

Moffitt asked, "Wie heisst du?"

Tully smiled. "My name's Tully."

"And where are you from?"

"Ich komme aus Kentucky."

Moffitt finished his tea and said, "You're doing very well, Tully."

He swallowed the last bite of his spam sandwich, then said, "Danke."

"Has Charley been working with you?"

"Yeah. We almost had a full conversation last night until I blew it when she asked if I wanted go out for a drink and I said, 'Keine Elephanten in der Bar nach 8 Uhr.'"

Moffitt couldn't help but laugh. "You said, 'Elephants are not permitted in the bar after eight o'clock'?"

"You should've seen the look on her face." Tully shrugged with a grin as he said, "I really don't know what happened. All I wanted to say was, 'Yes, I want a beer'."

"We need to work on that southern drawl of yours. It's clearly confusing your pronunciation. Did you go out for that beer?"

Tully chuckled. "We did. Charley said she deserved one after I mangled that phrase."

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

A few days later the Rat Patrol was out on patrol when they came across a German scout column. Long story short. A running battle ensued and the Allies gave up after managing to get themselves cornered.

Troy, Hitch, Moffitt, and Tully got out of the jeeps with their hands up. The commander of the column, Captain Hahn, climbed out of one of the halftracks to confront the Allied unit. He moved slowly to stand before each of the four soldiers and looked each in the eye, as if searching for some kind of reaction. At the end, when he stopped to stand in front of Tully, the captain asked if he could speak German, "Sprichst du Deutsch?"

Tully cocked his head slightly to one side and told him as clearly as he could that he did speak a little German and asked if the captain spoke English. "Ja, ein bisschen. Sprichst du Englisch?"

Seeing the look of surprise on Captain Hahn's face, Moffitt smiled approvingly as he stood next to his driver.

Hahn took a step back and said, "Perhaps English would be best." He continued to pace before the prisoners as he spoke. "You are undoubtedly the Rat Patrol. I recognize you from the pictures in the reports I've received." The captain stopped in front of Troy. "What are you doing out here more than eighty kilometers behind German lines?"

Troy smiled slightly. "Are we? I knew we should've turned left when we turned right."

Captain Hahn growled, "Don't play games with me, Sergeant Troy. You wouldn't be out here if you weren't after something."

"We're just doing our assigned patrol, sir. Our people like to know where your people are."

The captain tried unsuccessfully to stare Troy down. "All right. Into the vehicles with you." Hahn said to his men, "Sie auseinander halten."

The four of them were separated and placed into different halftracks. The captain ordered two of his men to drive the jeeps and follow the column back to base.

When they reached Captain Hahn's base, he saw to it that the four Allies were placed in separate basement cells and told them, "You will be questioned soon."

Doors were closed and locked behind them. There were no windows, only four walls, a door, and a bare lightbulb to light the small room.

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

Hours passed. One by one they were taken before Captain Hahn. They were questioned without success and returned to their cells unharmed. However, the captain assured each that the next time they were questioned things would be completely different.

Tully had been keeping track of the doors as he heard them open and close, so when he was escorted back to his cell after being questioned he knew he had been the last and it was up to him to get them out. As he walked into the cell, Tully said to the guard, "Mir die Schlüssel geben."

The guard frowned as he stared at Tully and asked him to repeat what he'd said. "Können Sie das wiederholen?"

Tully again asked for the keys, but this time his Kentucky accent made it sound more like, "Kocht die Magd die Blätter." The moment the words were out of his mouth he knew he'd messed up. It didn't sound anything like what he'd wanted to say.

The guard's eyebrows went up in confusion and he lowered his rifle slightly. "Was?"

Tully sighed, took a step forward, grabbed the barrel of the rifle, and pulled the guard to him. It all happened so fast, the German had no real time to react before Tully's fist hit him between the eyes. As he quickly grabbed the ring of keys off the guard's belt, Tully said, "I said, 'Give me the keys.' You should've listened the first time."

He left the unconscious guard in the cell and locked the door. Tully moved to the next cell and let Moffitt out. As he handed the confiscated rifle to the sergeant so he could close and lock the door, Tully whispered, "What does 'Kocht die Magd die Blätter' mean?"

Moffitt looked at the private curiously and said, "Well, it means, 'Is the maid boiling the leaves.' Why?"

Tully started to open the next cell as he said, "Oh … nothin'."

Hitch was out and then Troy came out of the last cell. He said, "Good work. Let's go take care of business."

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

When they had been escorted to and from Captain Hahn's office, each had paid close attention to their surroundings. So getting back to the captain's office was easy.

Outside the door, Troy listened and could hear booted feet walking inside. He took the rifle from Moffitt with a nod at the doorknob. Moffitt carefully gripped the knob and turned it carefully, then he flung the door open and stormed in behind Troy.

Captain Hahn was caught completely of guard as he turned to see a German weapon pointed at him. "What is the meaning of this? How did you get out of your cells?"

Troy ignored the questions and said, "We were told you're holding an American Lt. Colonel here. Where is he?"

"I do not know what you are talking about. You and your men are the only prisoners on this base, sergeant."

Hitch went to a cupboard he'd noticed when the captain had told the guard to get something from it while he was being questioned. He opened the doors and smiled. "I thought I'd seen these in here."

Moffitt went to look over the private's shoulder and asked, "What is it?"

"Our weapons." Hitch passed a machine gun to the sergeant along with his pistol. He then handed Tully a machine gun and the long-bladed knife he liked to carry. Hitch took Troy his handgun and exchanged it for the rifle.

Troy asked, "Where's the fourth machine gun?"

Hitch shook his head. "It wasn't in there with the others."

Captain Hahn tried to take advantage of Troy looking away and started to edge his way to the small table against the wall behind him, Tully caught the movement and said, "I wouldn't move around like that if I were you, captain."

Troy's head snapped back to glare at Hahn. "Check that table behind him."

Moffitt moved quickly and came back with the missing machine gun. He handed it to Troy, who put the strap over his shoulder.

Troy went to Captain Hahn and pushed the barrel of his pistol up under the captain's chin and growled, "Where's Lt. Colonel Lewis being held?"

Hahn swallowed nervously. "He is being held under guard in Der Besucher Kaserne."

Troy looked at Moffitt, who translated, "He's at the visitors' barracks."

Troy asked the captain, "Is there anyone else there?"

Captain Hahn said, "No one…" Troy pushed the gun harder under his chin and the captain continued urgently, "There is no one in that entire building other than Lewis and the two guards on the door!"

"All right. You're going to take us there." Not giving Hahn a chance to protest Troy said, "Tully, check the hallway."

Tully opened the door and checked both directions. "It's all clear, sarge."

Troy pushed the captain ahead of him, one hand gripping Hahn's collar and the other pushing the barrel of the pistol into his back. "You make one wrong move and you're dead. Understand?" The captain nodded. "Let's go."

It was late in the day. Headquarters was empty. The four Allies made their way outside through a side door with their prisoner. Captain Hahn led them through several alleys before they found themselves across the street from the visitors' quarters.

Troy looked up and down the street, then turned to his privates and whispered, "Go get the jeeps and meet us back here." Hitch and Tully nodded and headed out as Troy turned back to Moffitt and Hahn. He holstered his pistol and slid the machine gun off his shoulder. "This is what we're gonna do…"

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

Hitch and Tully made their way in the direction of the motor pool. The sun had just gone down, making darkness and alleys there best friends. They managed to stay out of the way of the sentries that were patrolling the streets until they were about halfway down one alley. They stopped in their tracks when a German sentry appeared at the other end. Then another joined him and they began to speak quietly to each other.

Hitch and Tully couldn't go back the way they'd come. The street there was too busy—they'd barely made it into the alley without being seen. Tully leaned close to Hitch and whispered something in his friend's ear. Hitch simply grinned.

A minute later the privates had moved as close as they dared to the two Germans. Then they stood up and ran straight at them. The sentries turned at the sound of boots pounding the pavement, but could just make out two shadowy figures.

Hitch and Tully ran up to the Germans and stopped in front of them. Tully said frantically, botching the pronunciation only slightly, "Vorsicht! Sie kommen!"

Confused by the sudden appearance of the two Americans and one warning them in oddly accented German that someone was coming, the Germans looked at each other. Hitch and Tully took that moment to swing their machine guns around, hitting both sentries in the head.

After hiding the bodies in the alley, Hitch and Tully continued on their way to the motor pool.

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

Troy, Moffitt, and Captain Hahn moved across the street and into the building marked Der Besucher Kaserne. They went inside and up a short flight of stairs.

As they entered the hallway, two guards could be seen standing in front of a door. As Troy and Moffitt followed the captain down the hall, the guards turned, and upon seeing their commanding officer, they came to attention. Then the American and British sergeants were noticed and rifles came to bear.

Captain Hahn said with authority for the door to be opened, "Die Tür öffnen."

One of the guards asked for the captain repeat the order. "Können Sie das wiederholen?"

Impatiently, Hahn again said, "Ich möchte, dass der Gefangene zu sehen! Die Tür öffnen!"

The guard quickly produced a key and unlocked the door. The captain went in, followed by Troy and Moffitt, leaving the guards to stand at the open door.

As they entered the room, a uniformed officer stood up from the table he'd been seated at and Troy asked, "Lt. Colonel Lewis?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Just a second, sir." Troy quickly turned and slammed the door into one of the guards while Moffitt took care of the other. After they'd dragged the two unconscious men into the room and closed the door, Troy said, "Sergeants Troy and Moffitt, sir. We're here to get you out."

Lewis looked doubtful. "Just the two of you?"

Troy gave a nod. "Our men will be here in a minute to pick us up."

The Lt. Colonel looked at Captain Hahn. "What about him?"

"He's coming with us too."

Hahn huffed, "I will do no such thing!"

Moffitt smiled. "You don't really have a choice in the matter."

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

Hitch and Tully got to the motor pool and located Bertha and Olive, which they noticed were still stocked with their supplies. They were just about to get in when they heard a voice behind them call, "Halt!"

Tully started to try to explain what they were doing, but it didn't come out right. "Wir wollen Ihre Kühe und Schafe sehen."

The guard stared at him as if he were crazy as he approached. "Was?"

Tully sighed, realizing he'd said it all wrong. "Oh never mind." He kicked the rifle aside as Hitch hit the guard over the head with a handy 2x4.

Of course the jeeps speeding through the streets was a dead giveaway that something was going on. Sentries ran after the Americans or just stood there shooting at them as they passed.

Troy and Moffitt heard the commotion as the alarms began to go off and knew it was time to go. Troy led the way out of the room into the hallway with Captain Hahn in front of him.

As they reached the top of the stairway, several German soldiers rushed through the building's entrance. Troy sent down a volley of machine gun fire, hitting two of them. Moffitt did the same, taking out the third, but then another one rounded the corner into the entryway and fired up the stairs, hitting Captain Hahn in the chest. As Moffitt let his machine gun nearly cut the German in half, Troy lowered the captain to the floor. He was already dead.

Then there was the sound of grenades exploding in the street. Troy stood up and turned to the Lt. Colonel. "That's our ride, sir! Let's shake it!"

Sure enough, Hitch and Tully were outside in the jeeps lobbing grenades at the Germans who were trying to surround them.

As Troy and Moffitt laid down cover fire with Lt. Colonel Lewis between them, the three of them ran out and got into the jeeps. After getting Lewis in the seat next to Hitch, Troy said as he got into the back to man the 50, "Keep your head down, sir!"

With the 50s blazing the Rat Patrol headed for the front gate and freedom, once again leaving the German forces in disarray.

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

In the safety of a wadi, the jeeps pulled in to spend the night. Hitch and Tully did their best to fix something eatable from their rations, and in the end the Lt. Colonel was very grateful for their efforts.

Troy set his empty plate aside and said, "Tully, go take Moffitt's place on watch so he can get something to eat."

The private nodded, pulled a machine gun from its holster on the jeep, and headed for the top of the wadi. As he neared the sergeant, Tully made sure to make some noise to announce himself, then he asked, "Everything quiet?"

Moffitt smiled. "Even the jackals are quiet so far tonight."

"Troy sent me up so you can get something to eat. We're a little low on rations, so it's a bit of a mix of what Hitch and I could find."

"I'm sure it'll be just fine. You two always do a fine job with meals."

Tully grinned. "You say that because you don't want to do the cooking."

Moffitt chuckled softly. "You're right there."

Before the sergeant could turn to leave, Tully asked, "Hitch and I got caught in that German motor pool and I tried to talk us out of it. What does 'Wir wollen Ihre Kühe und Schafe sehen' mean?"

"Why on earth would you ask to see their cows and sheep?"

"Dang. I knew the second I said it I messed it up. Beyond a few words and simple phrases that I can say when I'm not under pressure, I'm not sure I'm cut out to have a second language, sarge."

Moffitt said, "You can't learn a foreign language overnight, Tully. You'll get it in time."

Tully smiled. "Yeah, I'll just keep tryin'. With you and Charley helping me I'm bound to get the hang of it eventually."

Moffitt gave the private an encouraging pat on the shoulder and started to leave. Just before heading down into the wadi he turned to see Tully's shadowy form blend into the scrub. He smiled and thought silently, "You can take the boy out of Kentucky, but you can't take the Kentucky out of the boy."