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

First Time for Everything

By Suzie2b

Sergeants Troy and Moffitt left the meeting with Captain Boggs not really knowing what to think. The basic assignment was normal enough, but the way they were getting there was like nothing the Rat Patrol had ever tried before. When they met Privates Hitchcock and Pettigrew in the motor pool Troy and Moffitt explained what was expected of them.

Hitch looked at the sergeants like they were crazy. "We're what?"

Troy sighed. "We're going to be parachuting into Algeria to do recon in the German held town of Boumerdes."

Tully growled, "I didn't join the army to jump outta airplanes."

Moffitt smiled. "None of us did, but this is the assignment and we're going to carry it out."

Hitch said, "We don't know anything about parachuting. Why did the captain pick us?"

Troy said, "We've been in Boumerdes before. We know the layout. High Command got word the Germans are preparing an offensive. We're going in to find out when, where, and how big."

Tully asked, "Why can't we just drive like last time?"

Moffitt explained, "The potential for capture is too high this time. Troops are gathering in and around Boumerdes. The source says there has been extra daylight patrols. We have to get in and out without the Germans knowing we were there so our troops can surprise them."

"The last time I tried parachuting I broke my leg jumping off the barn."

Troy tried to hide his smile. "Well, this time you'll be jumping with a professional. Four men from the 82nd Airborne Division are coming along … we'll be jumping tandem."

Resigned to the fact they really were going to do this, Hitch said, "When do we leave?"

"Tonight."

"Not only are we parachuting into enemy territory, but we're going to do it at night?"

Moffitt said, "Wouldn't want the Germans to see us coming, would you?"

Hitch just shook his head and Troy said, "Pack only what we're going to need and keep it light. Once we're on the ground it'll be about a five mile hike to Boumerdes."

Tully asked, "Are those four fellas from the 82nd going to be with us the whole time?"

Troy nodded. "They're going all the way with us."

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

That evening Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully were taken to the airfield outside Ras Tanura where the four men from the 82nd Airborne Division were waiting outside the C-47 they'd arrived in with the rest of their division. Senior Airman (SrA) Ralph Murphey introduced himself and his three men—Airmen First Class (A1C) Aaron Jackson, Shawn Walker, and Jayson Phillips. Troy, in turn, introduced himself and his three men.

Murphey said, "Once we're on the ground in Algeria you're in charge." Troy nodded. "But, while we're in the air you'll do exactly what I tell you. Have any of you ever jumped before?"

Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully shook their heads and Walker grinned as he said, "You're in for a treat!"

Hitch muttered, "Yeah, right."

Murphey pointed to a pallet that already had four packs and guns on it. "Put your gear there, including the machine guns and anything that isn't secured to your person. It'll come down with us with its own chute."

With the eight men and supplies loaded onto the C-47, the pilot rolled out to the runway and took off.

Tully said, "The last plane I was on was the one that brought me to North Africa. I was kinda hoping the next one would be taking me back to America."

When the pilot announced that they were nearing the jump zone, the four airmen started to get Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully ready for their tandem jumps. Tully made sure his helmet strap was securely under his chin.

The jump went off without a problem and they floated silently to the ground. Once they were out of their harnesses, the pallet was unloaded and they proceeded to bury all the parachutes along with the pallet. There could be no sign that they were in the area.

As they were filling in the hole, A1C Phillips smiled and asked, "So, what'd you think of your first jump, Hitchcock?"

Hitch frowned, but didn't look at him as he answered, "Never again."

Then, with packs on their backs, the eight soldiers set off into the dark, cold desert toward Boumerdes.

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

As they approached the wall that surrounded Boumerdes, SrA Murphey asked, "How are we getting in?"

Troy said, "Back door." He led the way to the back side of Boumerdes. When they stopped, they were standing in front of an entrance with a barred, locked door. Troy looked at Tully. "Open it up."

The private got down on one knee and examined the lock. Tully slipped out of his pack and quickly rummaged around until he found a small ring of keys.

Murphey whispered, "You have a key?"

Moffitt smiled as he watched Tully. "Of sorts. He's been making different passkeys. Helps us out from time to time and it's quicker than lock picks."

They all watched as Tully tried first one key, then another. The lock clicked open. As he slowly opened the door, it squeaked and he stopped. Tully went back into his pack and brought out a tube of KY Jelly. As he started to smear some of the lubricant on the hinges, Jackson grinned and whispered, "Just what all are you carrying in that pack?"

Tully wiped the excess lube on his pants. "Just brought the necessities." He then moved the door again and it remained silent.

Troy and Tully went in first, followed by the airmen, then Hitch and Moffitt, who closed the door and replaced the lock. They walked the twelve or so feet through the wall to another barred and locked door. This one had barrels and crates stacked in front of it on the other side.

Troy signaled Tully, who first lubed the hinges and then used the same passkey to open the lock. With the door opened Troy and Tully were able to push a stack of crates away just enough so Troy could see if the coast was clear. It was and one by one they entered Boumerdes' Arab quarter, again locking the door behind them.

The eight men moved quickly and silently through the dark streets until they came to a building that housed a bakery. Troy led them through an alley to the back where there was a set of doors that led down into a cellar.

Once they were inside with the doors secured, Tully took the match he'd been rolling around his mouth and lit a lantern. Then he and Hitch set about getting things ready for their stay.

Murphey asked, "You sure it's safe to stay here? What if someone comes down?"

Moffitt replied, "It helps to know the proprietor."

Hitch grinned. "Zaki's wife makes some of the best pastries in Algeria."

Murphey smiled slightly. "Okay. Where are we going to start this mission?"

Troy said, "Right now we're going to get some rest. We'll start checking things out in the morning."

"We're going to wander around Boumerdes in daylight?"

"It's the only way we can be sure of our information."

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

Hitch was sitting in a chair in a corner where he could see the door into the bakery upstairs and the door to the outside. Once they had all settled down for the night, the lantern had been extinguished and they had been taking turns on watch in the dark.

It was early yet. The sun hadn't begun to rise. Hitch heard the front door of the bakery open and close. He listened to the voices as they entered the kitchen and recognized them as Zaki and his wife Shula. With a grin Hitch silently went up the stairs and cracked open the door. When he knew they were alone in the kitchen, he said quietly, "Hey, Zaki."

The middle-aged Arab man gasped with surprise and turned to find Hitch at the cellar door. Zaki's surprise turned into a grin as he said, "Look who it is, Shula. It has been a long time, Mark Hitchcock." He looked at the darkened doorway behind the private. "Are you alone?"

Hitch shook his head. "There's eight of us all together. Just wanted to let you know we're going to be here a day or two."

"Thank you, my friend. We will keep your secret."

Shula smiled. "I will bring you and the others some breakfast shortly."

Hitch returned the smile. "Thanks. We'd appreciate that."

As he quietly closed the door and started back down the stairs, the lantern came to life and Hitch saw Tully standing there. "Everything okay upstairs?"

Hitch said, "Yeah, they're fine with us being here. And Shula's bringing us some breakfast."

It wasn't long before everyone else was waking up to Shula's baking. The smell of fresh breads and pastries filled both upstairs and downstairs. When Zaki brought down a platter of spinach and cheese fatayirs, sweet kanafah, and thick slices of fresh bread with butter, Troy, Moffitt, and Murphey were going over the plans for the day.

Zaki set the platter on a crate. "I see that you are busy so I won't stay. Enjoy your breakfast and let us know if we can do anything else for you."

Moffitt looked up with a smile. "Thank you, Zaki. And thank your lovely wife as well."

After Zaki had left, A1C Walker stared at the platter of food and said, "Wow! Do you guys always get stuff like this?"

Hitch picked up one of the fatayirs with a grin and said, "When you keep your feet on the ground all sorts of doors open."

After polishing off the platter of goodies, Troy said, "Okay, we go out two at a time for no more than two hour. Hitch, you're with Jackson. Tully with Phillips. Moffitt with Walker. Murphey and I will go first and check out what's happening at headquarters."

When they were ready to go Tully unbarred the door to the outside and carefully checked to make sure it was clear. He gave a signal and Troy led Murphey outside. Troy turned to Tully and whispered, "Keep this door locked. You know the signal for when we get back."

Tully nodded and lowered the door back into place as Troy and Murphey headed out.

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

The streets of Boumerdes were busy as Troy and Murphey made their way to the German quarter. The Arabs had no love for the Germans and if the two Americans were seen slipping in and out of alleys, no one seemed to care.

The two hours passed slowly. Jackson, Phillips, and Walker paced nervously around the small cellar while Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully waited patiently. When the signal came the door was unbarred and Troy and Murphey entered the cellar.

Troy sat down and started to draw a map of what they'd seen. "Here's headquarters. There are guards here, here, and here. Plus a manned tower here in the square. There's a lot of low ranking Germans milling around … like they're waiting for something."

Murphey said, "We saw a few staff cars, which means the officers are most likely inside having meetings and whatnot, but no other vehicles. If there's going to be an offensive, there has to be equipment to carry it out."

Troy looked at Tully. "Okay. I want Tully and Phillips out there next. If I remember right, the motor pool is behind headquarters. We need to find out what they've brought to fight with."

Tully nodded. "Right, sarge." He looked at Phillips. "Let's go."

Hitch checked outside before opening the door. "Good luck. Be careful."

Tully gave a nod and led the way outside. Staying low and out of sight, they made their way around to the back of the motor pool. Phillips mouthed a "wow" as they took stock of what was there. Tully memorized everything he saw before they checked out the rest.

When they returned to the cellar, Tully took the map Troy had started and continued it. "Their motor pool is huge with lots of workers. Tanks, halftracks, mortar launchers, cannons, trucks to carry troops and supplies … everything the Germans need to pull off an offensive. We saw guards stationed here, here, and here. No one got into that motor pool without the right ID."

Troy asked, "What about the rest of it?"

Phillips replied, "Not much. The motor pool pretty much took the entire back side. It's like a parking lot."

Tully drew a square on the map. "I'm thinkin' this building is probably their supply depot. It's not physically connected to headquarters."

Troy looked at the private dubiously. "'Probably'?"

"There was no way to check it out without being seen. If it was dark, we could've taken a look, but not in daylight with so many Germans around."

Next Troy sent Hitch and Jackson out. When they returned, Hitch continued the drawing of the map. "Barracks here. Officers' quarters here with two guards at the front door."

As Hitch drew another square, Jackson said, "Mess hall and kitchen."

Hitch drew one more square and said, "This is obviously a bar. It was pretty crowded and it's only just noon. There was a fight that spilled out into the street."

SrA Murphey said, "Sounds like they're blowing of steam. Could be the men are getting antsy waiting for the go ahead."

Troy nodded. "Yeah. That would make since. Which means we don't have much time." He looked at Moffitt. "You and Walker ready to go?"

Moffitt said, "Ready as we're going to be."

"The main gate isn't in front of headquarters, so Murphey and I didn't check it. We need to know how it's manned. I'm thinking they may have extra guards there."

"All right. We'll go check it out and be back soon."

It turned out that the main gate was heavily guarded. Moffitt said, "No one's coming in without proper ID and no one's being allowed out."

Troy frowned. "They aren't letting anyone out?"

Walker said, "We saw the guards turn people away when they wanted to leave. And when a staff car showed up the guards made everyone get out so they could search them and the car."

"They aren't taking any chances."

Murphey asked, "How are we going to get into headquarters to get the rest of the information we need?"

Troy replied, "After dark, me and my men will go in."

"What about us?"

"There's too many of us to all go. We've been inside headquarters before and know what we're looking for. You and your guys wait here. Make sure everything's ready to go when we get back."

They spent the rest of the day studying the freshly drawn map and getting ready. At one point Troy went upstairs to talk to Zaki about transportation.

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

As soon as it was dark, Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully headed out. Tully led the way around the perimeter of the motor pool to quickly check out the building thought to be the supply depot. It was and Troy mentally made plans for its use.

Then they climbed to the roof of headquarters. From this vantage point Hitch pointed out the barracks and officers' quarters with guards still in place. Then he pointed to the bar, which was as noisy and crammed with people as it had been earlier.

As the evening passed, the four of them waited quietly until they saw each office go dark. Then they headed inside.

A window let them into a well-lit hallway. They silently made their way down to the first office and ducked inside just as a guard came around the corner on his rounds. With flashlights they quickly discovered that what they wanted wasn't there. The second had the same findings. The third was their lucky charm … copies of the planned offensive.

The doorknob jiggled noisily. Troy had locked the doors as they'd entered each office. Moffitt folded up the sheets of paper and tucked them into his jacket as Troy signaled them to the window. Keys could be heard jingling and a German voice cursed in the hallway, something about why the door he hadn't locked was locked. A key was jammed into the lock as the four intruders went out the window. The door was pushed open as Tully silently slid the window closed and they were gone when the office light came on.

Back at ground level, they returned to the supply depot. After checking several windows, one was discovered unlocked. They climbed inside and ducked down as a sentry passed by.

Troy whispered, "Okay. Hitch, we need a distraction, but it has to look like an accident."

Hitch nodded. "On it, sarge."

"Tully, you and Moffitt keep a lookout while we set this up."

Hitch quickly found what he was looking for and set a timer for twenty minutes. Enough time for them to get back to the cellar and wait.

However, on the run back to the Arab quarter, in an alley strewn with old building materials, Tully stepped on a board and felt a sharp jab in his foot. He went down and Hitch stumbled over him, tumbling to the ground.

Hitch picked himself up quickly. "You okay, Tully?"

As Troy and Moffitt returned to where the two privates were, they heard Tully say quietly, "My foot. I must've stepped on a nail."

Hitch knelt at Tully's feet and took ahold of the board. He looked at Tully and said, "On the count of three." Tully nodded and Hitch counted, "1 … 2…" Then he gave a quick yank. The board and nail pulled free.

Tully bit back a yelp. "You said three…"

"Decided two was quicker."

Troy said, "We have to get moving!"

Hitch tossed the board aside and helped Tully up.

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

As the cellar door closed, the supply depot exploded. A few minutes later Zaki opened the door from the kitchen and said, "Your rides await outside the wall. However, I could only find four on such short notice."

They all grabbed their packs and Troy said, "That'll have to do. Thanks for everything, Zaki."

"Not a problem, my friends. Have a safe journey."

As curious Arabs hurried through the streets to find out what had happened, the eight men moved quickly to the place where they'd come through the wall. Tully again unlocked the gates with his passkey and Hitch locked them up after everyone was through.

Outside the wall they saw four horses silhouetted in the moonlight. Murphey grinned. "That's our transportation?"

Moffitt said, "If we were to take anything from the Germans, they'd know someone was in there that shouldn't have been. Can't have that."

"How'd Zaki get them out here? I thought the Germans weren't letting anyone leave."

"There are more ways in and out of Boumerdes than the Germans will ever find."

Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully mounted up and Murphey, Walker, and Jackson mounted behind them. Tully reached down to help Phillips up and the young A1C said, "I've never in my life been on a horse."

Tully said, "First time for everything. Gimme your hand, put your left foot in the stirrup and swing up behind me." Phillips did as he was told and once he was settled, Tully said, "Now hang on."

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

They made good their getaway and as the sun rose on the horizon, they arrived at the oasis where they were to rendezvous with their vehicles. An Arab operative was there to take charge of the tired horses. Murphey, Phillips, Jackson, and Walker were glad to see several familiar faces from the 82nd Airborne there to pick them up. Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully were glad to see their jeeps.

Moffitt immediately grabbed a med kit and said, "Okay, Tully. Let's have a look at that foot."

The private limped over to a shady spot and sat down. Moffitt got the boot off to discover Tully's sock soaked with blood.

Troy joined Murphey and his men as Hitch took a canteen to Moffitt and Tully. Murphey smiled as he said, "Was just telling my guys that our mission was successful."

Troy returned the smile. "Well, we couldn't have done it without you and your men. But I'll tell you right here and now—I will never jump out of a perfectly flying aircraft again."

As they all laughed, Phillips looked at Tully as he yelped when Moffitt poured alcohol over the wound in the bottom of his foot. "Is Pettigrew going to be okay? I didn't even realize he was hurt."

Troy looked over his shoulder as Tully complained that Moffitt was being too heavy-handed with the alcohol again. "Yeah, he'll be fine. He picked up a nail when we were running back to the cellar." He looked back at Murphey. "As soon as they get him bandaged up we'll head for Ras Tanura. We should get there sometime tomorrow." After a few minutes, Troy joined his men as Moffitt bandaged Tully's foot. "How's it going, Tully?"

He sighed. "It's goin', sarge. I've had worse."

Troy thought silently, "That you have." Then said, "Soon as you're fixed up, we'll head out. We'll stop for the night after we get over our lines. There's good cover at the waterhole at Zay wadi."

Hitch asked, "What about those plans we found? Won't command want them before tomorrow?"

Moffitt finished taping the bandage on Tully's foot and said, "Once Troy and I have studied those plans a bit we'll radio headquarters with a preliminary report to get things started."

Tully picked up his boot and examined the bloody hole in the bottom. "It's a shame. I've only had this pair for a month. Their barely broke in."

Hitch smiled. "At least the army will pay for a new pair."

Moffitt said with a smile of his own, "And now you'll have a spare … provided it's the left one that gets ruined again."

Troy chuckled. "Okay, let's get going."

Moffitt and Hitch helped Tully hop to the jeep. He looked at the passenger seat in front of him and said, "I can drive."

Moffitt shook his head. "Not this time. Get in."

"But…"

"No argument. Get in." Tully opened his mouth to argue and Moffitt said, "Do I have to make it an order, private?"

Troy slipped into the passenger seat of the other jeep as Murphey asked, "Are they always like that?"

The sergeant chuckled. "You have no idea."