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

A German Ruse

By Suzie2b

It was early afternoon. Tully and Charley were snuggled up on the bed in her quarters, quietly enjoying each other's company. Tully was reading the latest copy of Life magazine that his mother had sent, and Charley was wrapped up in one of the books from her Aunt Emily.

There was a knock on the door. Tully looked at Charley and grinned, knowing she hadn't heard it. He called, "It's not locked!"

Charley jumped a little and looked up as the door opened. Hitch stepped inside and smiled at his friends. "Get your boots on, Tully. We've got a meeting with Captain Boggs."

Charley smiled. "Good afternoon, Hitch."

"Hi, Charley."

Tully sat up and looked at his watch. "I thought that meeting wasn't for a few hours yet."

Hitch shrugged. "All I know is what Troy told me. Something's changed and we're heading out earlier than we thought."

Tully frowned. "Great." He slipped his boots on and quickly tied them. Then he gave Charley a lingering kiss. "Love you."

Charley smiled. "Love you too. Be careful."

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Captain Boggs pointed to a location on the map that hung on the wall. "We just got word that Captain Dietrich has taken control of the bombed out town of Sharjah."

Moffitt nodded. "We've been there. There's nothing around there but miles of open desert and rocky hills."

"Well, apparently the Germans moved in sometime within the past couple of days. One of our spotters flew over this morning to verify the report and saw German activity where there was nothing before. Sharjah is within ten miles of our lines. If it remains in German hands, we could be looking at the eventual loss of that western border."

Troy said, "Since the town is abandoned, wouldn't it be easier to call in an airstrike, sir?"

Captain Boggs nodded. "That was the first thing we thought of. However, it was decided that we should try to get whatever information we can about what Captain Dietrich is up to. That's your mission. You'll need to head out as soon as possible. In two days at 0900 hours an airstrike will level Sharjah."

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They drove through the night and as the sun appeared on the horizon, the Rat Patrol was within sight of Sharjah. This part of the desert was rocky, with hills, big and small, dotting the landscape. They spent the morning quietly doing recon of the area surrounding the town.

After lunch, Troy said, "Tully, you and Hitch find some shade and get some rest."

Hitch said, "I'm okay, sarge."

"We've been up for nearly twenty-four hours. Don't need any of us falling asleep on the job. You two get a few hours of sleep and then we'll trade off. We'll go in at midnight."

At eleven-thirty Troy joined Tully on a hill. "What's it look like?"

Tully was using binoculars to keep an eye on things. "Appears to be all buttoned up for the night. There weren't any sentries on the walls during the day, but there are now. The moon's pretty bright tonight. We're going to have to be careful going in."

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They made their way to the front gate. The guard was asleep at his post and Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully slipped past easily. All of the buildings were dark but one, and judging by the German flag that hung over the door, it was the one being used as headquarters.

Troy eyed the two guards on either side of the door and whispered, "We'll have to find another way in."

They found an unlocked basement window in the alley and climbed inside. The door that led out of the room was locked from the other side. Troy pulled a flashlight out of a pocket and signaled to Moffitt to use his lock picks. Seconds later, they were in a dark hallway.

Troy used the flashlight to lead the way to some stairs and another locked door. Again Moffitt quietly opened it. Now inside a lit hallway, the four men began to search for Captain Dietrich's office. It was obvious that the Germans were still setting up residence. There were boxes stacked in some of the rooms they quickly searched, but none of them were set up to be offices.

In one of the rooms, Tully happened upon a small stack of paperwork that caught his eye. He took them to Moffitt. "These look like maps."

Moffitt glanced through them. "They are maps. Of the town and some individual buildings."

Troy looked over his shoulder. "Is there one for this building?"

"Yes, here it is." Moffitt read the German writing before he pointed to a spot and said, "This is the captain's office. We need to go up one more floor."

They made their way up a staircase and were almost to their destination when a guard walked around a corner several yards away. As Hitch saw him out of the corner of his eye, he turned and they both fired at the same time. The guard went down.

The four of them stood stock-still as they waited for alarms to go off. Nothing happened. No alarm, no shouting, no running feet in their direction. Cautiously they continued on to the captain's office. Tully heard something behind them and spun around. Another shot rang out, Tully slammed back against the wall, and slid down to the floor in a heap.

Guards suddenly surrounded them. Then Captain Dietrich walked around the corner.

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Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch were escorted into the captain's office. Two of the guards dragged Tully in and dropped him on the floor.

Captain Dietrich smiled. "Good morning, gentlemen. I wondered how long it would be before someone would show up to check things out."

Tully groaned and Hitch started to kneel down, but was stopped by a guard.

Troy looked at the captain angrily. "At least let us help him."

Captain Dietrich looked from Troy to Tully, then said to the guard. "Erhalten Sie eine medizinische Kit aus dem Schrank."

Understanding what was said, Moffitt was the first to kneel next to Tully, followed by Hitch. The guard returned with a med kit and gave it to Moffitt while Hitch opened Tully's jacket.

Troy asked, "How's it look, Hitch?"

"One bullet to the upper chest, right side." Moffitt helped turn Tully on his side and Hitch said, "No exit wound."

Moffitt used gauze and pressed down on the wound to try to stop the bleeding. Tully groaned and attempted to push the hand away.

Hitch caught his wrists and held them. "Easy, Tully. We're trying to help you."

Tully gasped, "Can't … breathe." He coughed and bloody foam formed on his lips.

Without looking up, Moffitt said, "The bullet may have punctured his lung. He's bleeding internally."

Captain Dietrich sighed as he circled the desk and sat down before he said to one of the guard, "Holen Sie sich eine Bahre und nehmen ihn an den medizinischen Gebäude."

"He needs surgery right away."

"My medical team will take care of him."

After Tully was taken away, Captain Dietrich said, "Now, gentlemen, I can only assume that you are here to stop us from crossing into allied territory." Troy stood silently staring straight ahead. "That is not the case I'm afraid."

Troy finally looked at him. "Then why are you here, captain?"

"We are a ruse, sergeant. While your army is kept busy trying to find out what we are doing here, the German army will be taking the border three hundred and twenty kilometers southeast of here. A border that is not heavily defended at the moment."

"Why are you telling us this?"

Dietrich shrugged. "Why shouldn't I? You're not going anywhere but to a POW camp." He told the guards, "Sperren Sie."

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch were led outside and to an intact house a half block away. There they were locked in with guards outside the door.

Several hours later the door opened and two German medics brought in a stretcher with Tully on it. A doctor followed as the medics offloaded Tully onto one of the cots. The doctor made sure that his work had not been disturbed during the move, then turned and said, "The bullet is out. It just nicked the lung. It has been repaired. Keep him quiet and he should recover. I will be back to check on him."

After the doctor left, they went to Tully. Moffitt knelt and checked the unconscious private's pulse. "Slow but steady. His breathing isn't as labored."

Troy sighed. "Okay, we've got Tully back. Let's figure a way out of here before that airstrike."

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An hour later Tully woke up. His head was a little fuzzy and he couldn't remember what happened. He started to sit up and a stab of pain went through his chest, forcing a groan out of him.

Moffitt was at his side in an instant and put a hand on his shoulder. "Lay still, Tully."

He looked up at the sergeant. "What … happened?"

"You were shot in the chest. A German doctor got the bullet out."

Tully grimaced. "Where … are we?"

Moffitt pulled a chair over and sat down. "I'm afraid we're still in Sharjah. We're trying to find a way out of here. How's the pain?"

"I'm fine."

Troy walked over and looked down at his private with concern. "Yeah, sure you are."

Hitch came out of a small back room and said quietly, "Hey, sarge. I found something."

Troy and Moffitt followed him back to where he had moved some crates away from the wall. There was an opening in the wall. Hitch grinned. "Take a look."

Inside was a small cache of weapons and ammunition. Troy grinned back at the private. "Good work, Hitch!"

He pointed to a canvas bag. "That's full of grenades."

Moffitt went to the bag and looked at the grenades. "This is some pretty old stuff, Troy. Looks like world war one era."

Troy was inspecting one of the rifles. "Yeah, but they're in good shape. I don't see any reason we shouldn't use what we need."

Tully appeared at the door, leaning on the frame and panting from the exertion. "What'd you … find?"

Hitch went quickly to his friend. "What are you doing up?" He took Tully's arm and put it around his shoulders.

As they headed slowly back to the cot, Tully said, "I was feeling … left out."

Hitch chuckled. "We found some weapons so we can bust out of here."

Tully grimaced as he sat down. "Great. When are … we leaving?"

Troy walked out with a pistol and a rifle. "Soon." He put the pistol in Tully's hand. "Can you handle that?"

"Yeah … no problem."

Moffitt followed Troy with a pistol that he handed to Hitch and a rifle for himself. He also had the canvas bag of grenades slung over his shoulder.

Troy looked at his men. "Okay, when we get out of here, Hitch, you concentrate on getting Tully back to the jeeps. Moffitt and I will cover you and cause a little confusion along the way if need be."

Hitch nodded. "Right, sarge." He went to Tully and helped him to his feet.

Troy and Moffitt stood at the door. Troy kicked it several times and yelled, "Hey, we need some help in here!"

When the door opened, Troy swung the butt of the rifle up and caught the guard under the chin. As soon as the second guard stuck his head in, Moffitt took care of him.

Both guards were dragged inside and Troy checked to make sure the coast was clear. "All right … let's go."

Troy led the way with Hitch and Tully close behind and Moffitt bringing up the rear. They started down an alley that they knew would take them near the front gate.

About half way there, they heard a voice call out from behind, "Halt! Wer ist es?"

Moffitt turned and fired a single shot from the rifle. The sentry went down.

Troy said, "Hitch, get to that gate! Don't wait for us!"

Troy and Moffitt ran back the way they'd come.

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As they approached the gate, Hitch and Tully heard explosions along with the shooting and yelling. Hitch let Tully lean on the wall behind some barrels. "Sounds like they found the motor pool." He looked at his friend, who was panting heavily. "Still doing okay, Tully?" He nodded and Hitch said, "Wait here. I'll take care of the guard so we can get out."

Hitch cautiously made his way around the corner. A moment later, Tully heard a single shot and Hitch was back. As he was getting Tully's arm around his shoulders, a German soldier stepped in front of them. Tully raised his pistol and shot him twice. The recoil knocked him back a step and caused pain to radiate through his upper body, but Hitch had a hold of him and was able to keep him upright.

As they went through the gate, bullets ricocheted off the wall above them. The sun was rising in Hitch's face and he hoped it would blind the sentries on the walls as much as it was him.

They rounded a hill as Tully stumbled and they both went down. Tully curled into a ball and clutched at his bleeding chest.

Hitch got up quickly. "We're almost there, Tully! I can see the jeeps from here!"

Tully shook his head and said weakly, "Can't…"

Hitch scrambled up the hill and saw Troy and Moffitt running in their direction with explosions still going off within Sharjah's walls. He slid down and looked at Tully. Then he sprinted towards the jeeps.

As Hitch stopped next to Tully, Troy and Moffitt arrived to help get their injured friend into the back. Troy told Hitch, "There's a field hospital ten miles north! Get going! We'll be right behind you!"

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At the field hospital, the doctors cleaned and re-stitched the surgical wound. The repairs the German doctor did to Tully's lung had held. He was put on oxygen to ease the effort of his breathing. Tully was no longer in pain and was sleeping peacefully.

Troy had gotten ahold of Captain Boggs and told him what they'd found out. An armored regiment would be sent out to patrol and defend the southeast border. The airstrike went off without a hitch and the town of Sharjah was no longer on the map. No one knew how many or if any of the Germans were able to escape.

Troy and Moffitt found Hitch sitting next to Tully's bunk. He looked up at the two sergeants. "I thought we were gonna lose him this time when he collapsed out there."

Troy patted the private on the shoulder. "Tully's a strong guy. The doctor says we'll be able to take him home in a few days."

Hitch managed a slight smile as he looked at Tully. "Charley's going to have a fit."

Moffitt smiled. "Charley's been through this before. I'm sure she'll forgive us once again."