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

A Foolproof Plan

By Suzie2b

Ten trucks lumbered along through the desert carrying nineteen men, one courier, and various supplies for a battalion dug in 170 kilometers behind enemy lines. The journey there was expected to take three to four hours. A couple of hours to offload and have lunch, then three or four hours back to Ras Tanura. Barring any trouble along the way, they should be home in time for dinner.

They were now four hours overdue.

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Approximately 2pm—Two hours into their return trip the now empty convoy ran into trouble when they encountered a German scout column. By some miracle they made it to the ruins of a farm, where they abandoned the trucks to take shelter inside what was left of a house. During the chase five men were killed. Five more died as they ran to the house.

Private Carl Jensen pushed Charley down into a corner and crouched down in front of her as German bullets ricocheted off the stone walls around them. The others took cover with their rifles at the ready.

Charley had her pistol out and loaded, ready to chamber a round. She started to crawl out from behind Carl to a better vantage point, but the big private pushed her back. "Stay put, Charley!"

By the time darkness fell, they were low on ammo and the Germans were still out there, keeping them pinned down with bursts of gunfire. A voice came to them from a bullhorn outside. "You are surrounded and outnumbered! You have no food! No water! If you surrender now you will not be harmed!"

Charley whispered, "That's Captain Dietrich. I'd know his voice anywhere."

Carl said, "He must know by now we're empty. Why's he even botherin' with us at this point?"

"I haven't a clue."

Sergeant Davis didn't answer the German captain. There was no plan to give up … at least not yet.

Hours passed slowly. Moonlight showed where some of the German soldiers had taken up positions around the American trucks, using them as shields. Sergeant Davis peered out of an opening in a broken wall and said, "If only we could get to one of the trucks. Then we could call for help."

Private Kyle Peterson said quietly, "But we're a good four hours late getting back to base now, sarge. Won't they send someone to look for us?"

"Not until morning. But if we could get a message out about our situation, help could possibly come sooner."

Charley moved out from behind Carl and crawled over to sit between him and the sergeant. She squinted out at the trucks and Germans. "I could do it."

Carl growled quietly. "No way! Even if I didn't have to worry about Tully killin' me I wouldn't let you do it!"

Davis said, "He's right, Charley. I don't think anyone could do it. We'll just have to wait and hope help finds us in the morning."

Charley argued, "But I'm small and quick. There's less of me to see. If I could get to that truck on the end … it doesn't look like anyone's there…"

Davis turned and looked at her. "I'm surprised your husband doesn't have ulcers worrying about you." He hesitated, then said, "You are the smallest one here." Davis sighed as he relented. "Okay, here's what we do. We'll wait until the moon is lower in the sky so there's more shadows on this side of the trucks. Then we'll see what we can do."

They waited and watched. Captain Dietrich again recommended that the group surrender. Again it was ignored.

Eventually, the moon travelled down enough to allow the desired shadows to form. Sergeant Davis asked, "Do you still think you can do it, Charley?"

She nodded. "I'll go in through the back. That way they won't hear the door."

Carl didn't like it, but knew it would do no good to argue. He slid out of his jacket as he said, "Take this. Your white shirt is like a spotlight."

Charley smiled as he helped her into the way too big garment. "Thanks, Carl."

"Please be careful."

"Always."

Charley made her way through the ruins until she had a straight run to the truck. She carefully surveyed the area, then crouched down and made a dash for the back of the truck. She wasted no time crawling inside and then slipped through the flap onto the seat. Charley rolled onto the floor under the dash on the passenger side. She got out of the oversized jacket before she reached for the mic and quickly tuned to the frequency she knew the Americans were currently using.

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Hitch was on watch. He circled the camp once more before leaning back against the side of the jeep. As he stood there in the quiet darkness, he heard a voice on the radio next to him whisper softly, "This is black bird to anyone out there. I'm with a convoy that's pinned down by the Germans at the ruins of a farm about two hours out of Ras Tanura. Please send help."

The message started to repeat as Hitch hurried to wake up Troy. "Sarge, there's trouble with a convoy. Black bird's on the radio."

As Troy followed Hitch to the jeep, Moffitt and Tully awoke wondering what was going on. They went to the jeep as the message again started to be repeated.

Tully reached for the mic. "That's Charley!"

Troy grabbed his wrist to stop him and said, "Wait. Listen to her voice. She's hiding. If we answer it could give her away."

Charley started again, "This is black bird to anyone out there. I'm with a convoy…"

The message was abruptly cut off and the radio went silent. Knowing that Charley had been caught, Tully stared at the radio with a feeling of helplessness.

Troy looked at Moffitt. "Charley said they're at some ruins two hours out of Ras Tanura. Do you think you can find it on the map?"

Moffitt nodded. "Do we know where the convoy was coming from?"

Tully replied, "Charley told me they were taking supplies and updated maps to a battalion about 170 kilometers into enemy territory … south of base. They were supposed to get back late in the afternoon. They musta got caught on the return trip."

Moffitt reached for the map bag and a flashlight. "Right. Let's take a look then."

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Charley was hauled out of the truck kicking and screaming, "Nehmen Sie Ihre Hände weg von mir, ihr Sohn einer Hündin!"

It took two of the German soldiers to hold onto her. One of them raised a hand to smack her across the face when an authoritative voice called out, "Halt!"

Charley stopped her struggles and glared at Captain Dietrich. He smiled as he said, "Well, if it isn't our American courier friend. A pleasure to see you again, Charley."

She jerked against the hands that held her. "You can call me Charley, captain, but don't you dare call me your friend."

"Just so you are aware of what is going on. We have spent days looking for a convoy to capture. After cornering you, I was hoping you would give up more easily. I did, however, intend to have someone make a call for help. You did very well. It was only by accident that one of my men found you." Captain Dietrich looked Charley up and down. "I had no idea you were with this convoy, but I'm glad you are. And I'm equally glad that it was you who made the call. We only have to wait now for the Rat Patrol to come to the rescue. Then they will allow themselves to be taken prisoner if you and the others are to live. A foolproof plan, don't you think?" He looked at the men who were holding her. "Binden Sie und Ihre Gag an der Rückseite des Fahrzeugs."

Charley was bound hand and foot, then gagged before she was left alone in the back of one of the trucks.

Back at the ruins the men heard Charley scream when she was discovered. Carl said angrily, "Oh my God! They got her!" He curled his hands tightly around his rifle. "I shouldn't have let her go."

Sergeant Davis shook his head. "It was my decision to let her go, private. Let's just hope she was able to get a call out."

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The Rat Patrol raced through the darkness for nearly three hours before reaching the dunes that overlooked the situation. The darkness was just giving way to dawn.

Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully lay on their bellies at the top of a dune. Troy and Moffitt scanned the scene below with binoculars. The Americans were trapped in the ruins with no way out, the Germans taking occasional potshots at them to keep them pinned down.

Tully whispered, "Any sign of Charley?"

Moffitt shook his head. "No, they must have her hidden away somewhere."

Troy said, "All right, let's let them know we're here. Tully, take the shot. Just one."

The private set his sights on one of the German soldiers. Tully drew in a breath and held it as he squeezed the trigger. They watched as the German fell dead with a bullet in his back and the others began to scurry around like ants trying to avoid a magnifying glass on a sunny day.

Captain Dietrich appeared and shouted some orders. Once his men had calmed down, he took his bullhorn and said, "Sergeant Troy! It has been a long night waiting for you to arrive. I wish to make a bargain with you, sergeant. I am willing to let these people go free unharmed on one condition … you and your men must give yourselves up to me." The captain waited a few moments, then said, "I will wait three minutes for you to give me your answer. If after that time you have done nothing, I will have our prisoner shot."

Hitch frowned. "Their prisoner? He must mean Charley."

Tully dug his hands into the sand as he growled, "If they hurt her…"

Troy cut him off by saying, "All right. Let's go."

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Captain Dietrich watched the jeeps slowly approach, smiling when he noted that no one was manning the 50 caliber machine guns. He turned to one of his men and said, "Die Frau, die hier heraus."

The man went to the truck, untied Charley's ankles, and was promptly kicked in gut. Another soldier quickly went to assist and Charley was unceremoniously pushed out to land hard on the sand. The breath had been knocked out of her and she didn't struggle as the two Germans hauled her to her feet. Charley was led to where the captain waited.

As they got closer, Tully saw Charley tumble out of the truck with her hands tied behind her and a gag in her mouth. His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he ground his teeth together.

The jeeps stopped at Captain Dietrich's signal. "Good morning, gentlemen. I'm happy to see that you have considered your actions and come quietly."

Troy got out of the jeep and said calmly, "Okay, captain, you've got us. Let her and the others go."

Dietrich smiled and said, "Nehmen Sie Ihre Waffen und die sie umgeben. Lösen Sie die Frau."

The captain's men confiscated the machine guns and side arms before surrounding Troy and the jeeps. Charley was untied. As soon as her hands were free, she pulled the gag out of her mouth and said, "Don't do this, Sam!"

Dietrich smiled, but didn't look at her as he said to Troy, "Tell the men to leave their weapons and they are free to go. They can take one of the trucks."

Troy, followed by a guard, went to where he could be seen by the men in the ruined house. "Sergeant Davis! Put your guns down! You and your men are free to go! Take only one truck and get outta here!"

Slowly, Davis and his men filed out into the open, holding their hands so it could be seen that they had no weapons. The sergeant asked, "What about Charley?"

Troy nodded. "She's going with you."

Charley shook her head and began to protest as Captain Dietrich said, "Nehmen Sie den Stapler."

The two German's took her by the arms and led her to the truck the men were getting into. Carl glowered at them as he took Charley gently by the hand and helped her into the front seat.

Tears streamed down Charley's face as she said, "We can't just leave them."

Carl closed the door and looked over his shoulder at Troy and his men. "We don't have a choice."

They stood and watched as Carl drove the truck away, then Dietrich said, "Are you ready to go, gentlemen?" Without waiting for an answer he turned and said, "Die Polizisten in der Kapitän. Lassen Sie die beiden anderen Laufwerk."

Guards led Troy and Moffitt to one of the halftracks. Captain Dietrich looked at Hitch and Tully. "You will drive the jeeps and place yourselves between the halftracks. If you try anything … anything at all, Sergeants Troy and Moffitt will die just before the two of you. Do you both understand?"

Hitch and Tully simply nodded.

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They traveled for several hours. Hitch and Tully stayed in single file between two of the German halftracks and had guns trained on them. Troy and Moffitt were in the vehicle in front of them. All four men were calm.

Then the privates saw the nearly imperceptible nod Troy gave them. Tully slowly and casually reached for the lever under the dash. He turned it only slightly and a thin column of smoke slowly floated from under the jeep. After a minute he turned the lever a little more. The column of smoke grew and started to turn oily.

Finally, the Germans in the halftrack behind Tully's jeep started complaining and called for a halt. Germans from both halftracks climbed out and surrounded the jeeps, leaving two with Troy and Moffitt. Captain Dietrich marched back to confront his men, asking what the problem was. He was told there was something wrong with the jeep. The captain glared at Tully, who shrugged innocently. Dietrich watched the smoke rise and said to the private, "Fix it!"

As the captain walked back to his staff car, Hitch and Tully calmly tied their kerchiefs around their faces and pulled their goggles over their eyes as the Germans watched curiously. When a commotion broke out behind him, Dietrich turned to hear the roar of engines and saw a now thick cloud of dark smoke rise as Tully opened the lever all the way gunned the engine. That was the signal for Troy and Moffitt to take out their guards as the others were blinded and choking on the smoke.

Having knocked the guards senseless, Troy and Moffitt quickly climbed out of the halftrack and into the back of their jeeps. Hitch and Tully sped away as Troy and Moffitt laid down cover fire with the 50s. Half of Dietrich's men were engulfed in smoke and were unable to return fire. Some were plainly confused by what had happened, and the rest returned fire even though they knew it was futile. Captain Dietrich watched with angry amazement as his prisoners, yet again, disappeared quickly into the desert.

Hitch and Tully put the pedal to the metal to put as much distance as possible between them and the Germans. When they finally stopped to see if they were being followed, Troy said, "Good work. Looks like we outdistanced 'em. They won't be able to find us."

Tully was taking the time to replace the oil he'd burned making smoke and asked, "So we can head for base now, right?"

Troy shook his head. "We'd better find a place to hide for the night. Don't want to take the chance of running into the good captain or any of his friends again today. We'll go home in the morning." He saw the expression on Tully's face and said, "I know you're worried about Charley. But by now that truck should be safely back at Ras Tanura and we can't risk giving ourselves away."

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Charley was curled up under the covers, leaning against the bed's headboard with her head against the wall. She was wearing one of Tully's shirts and hugged it tightly around herself. Charley hadn't slept and had cried all night.

There was suddenly a sound at the door as it was quickly unlocked and pushed open. Tully stood there covered with the grime left by the smoke, out of breath after his run from the motor pool.

Charley looked at him with disbelief. "Tully?"

He nodded as he pushed the door closed with his foot and started towards the bed. With a relieved sob Charley threw herself into Tully's arms.

After they'd clung to each other for a time, Charley asked, "Everyone's okay?"

Tully smiled. "We're all fine."

Charley could smell the smoke on his clothes and feel the oily grit on his skin. "What happened? How'd you guys get away?"

"We had a plan in place before we gave ourselves up. It was a longshot, but it worked." Tully grinned and kissed her longingly. "Tell you what. Let's grab towels and clothes. I'll tell you all about it in the shower."