Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.
The Tank
By Suzie2b
It was 0800 hours. The German scout column moved between the high dunes. One by one they passed where the Rat Patrol was hiding in wait for them. They watched as first a staff car, then two halftracks rounded another sand dune. The last in line was a tank. Slower than the other vehicles, it had fallen behind a bit as the others disappeared. As the tank lumbered by, Tully ran quickly up from behind and pulled himself on board.
One of the Germans inside easily spotted the lone American as he climbed up, seemingly unconcerned about the situation he was putting himself in. "Eine amerikanische stieg an Bord!"
In fact, Tully was completely unconcerned. He quickly removed the radio antenna before he scrambled easily over the turret to the front of the tank. He crawled under the big 75mm gun and took a smoke grenade off his belt. Tully pulled the pin and yanked open the driver's hatch, then dropped the grenade inside. As the startled driver looked up at him, Tully saw the grenade hit the floor between his feet with a satisfying clatter. Then there was a pop as Tully slammed the hatch down. The tank jerked violently to a stop causing him to lose his balance and slide off.
The two jeeps broke from cover and sped over to the tank as the turret hatch opened. Black smoke billowed out followed by three sputtering and coughing German soldiers.
As the two jeeps came to a halt, the Germans saw through tear blurred eyes Troy pointing a 50 caliber machine gun at them. As the private got to his feet, the sergeant called, "You all right, Tully?"
"Fine, sarge. Just wasn't expecting him to stop that quick."
Moffitt got out of the second jeep and told the three Germans to climb down and keep their hands in full view. "Kommen Sie hier und halten Sie Ihre Hände, wo wir sie sehen können."
One by one the German soldiers climbed down and put their hands in the air.
Troy said, "Tully, open the hatch over the driver's seat to get the air circulating. Hitch, get in there and make sure the ventilator is working overtime."
Tully climbed back up on the tank. Just as he pulled the hatch open to allow the smoke out, Moffitt suddenly yelled, "Tully, wait!"
A shot rang out and Tully tumbled to the ground. With his kerchief covering his nose and mouth, and goggles over his eyes, Hitch dropped through the turret hatch. There were two more shots and then silence.
Troy called, "Hitch! Are you okay?"
The private stuck his head out and said, "Yeah, the driver's dead though."
"Check on the ventilation and air cleaner. Then get down here and tie these guys up."
"Right, sarge."
Moffitt hurried over to Tully, who was now sitting up holding his hand to his shoulder. He knelt next to the private and admonished himself, "I can't believe I didn't catch it quick enough."
Tully looked at the sergeant. "Didn't catch what?"
Moffitt gently moved Tully's hand away from the wound. "Only three came out of that hatch. I should've realized immediately there should be a fourth." He opened Tully's shirt and examined the bullet wound. "I'm sorry."
Tully grimaced. "Don't go beatin' yourself up about it. It's not like you did it on purpose."
As Moffitt applied a field dressing, Hitch left the tank to search and secure the three prisoners. Then he and Moffitt lifted the dead man out of the tank.
When Moffitt stuck his head out of the hatch, Troy asked, "How is it in there?"
"Mostly cleared out. Once we get moving fresh air can move through and finish the job."
"Good. We need to get out of here before that scout column comes looking for their missing tank."
##################
With their hands tied behind them, one prisoner was put in the back of one jeep while another sat in the passenger seat with Troy driving. Behind them Hitch drove the second jeep with one prisoner and Tully sitting in the back with his arm in a sling made from Moffitt's ascot. Moffitt followed in the tank.
Two hours later they were well hidden behind a rocky hill. Troy and Moffitt were on top with binoculars, scanning the piece of real estate between them and the German installation they were there to destroy.
Troy lowered the field glasses. "According to intelligence there's maybe a platoon inside."
Moffitt continued to peer out at the gated installation. "How are we going to get in there? They'll be suspicious if a lone tank shows up knocking at their front door."
"I was thinking we could go in tonight and…" Troy was interrupted when the tall gates began to open. A scouting column much like the one they'd gotten the tank from drove out. "Wait a minute. What if we wait for them to return and follow them inside?"
"They might notice the extra tank tagging along … but I think it's plausible."
Troy and Moffitt returned to the jeeps where Hitch and Tully were keeping an eye on the prisoners. Troy explained the plan, then looked at his watch and said, "Okay, it's nearly 11:30. We've got some time to wait before that column comes back." He looked at the pained expression on Tully's face. "Moffitt, see what you can do for Tully's shoulder. Hitch, let's get our guests secured so they can't move around and cause problems."
With the three German's bound hand and foot with gags in their mouths, Hitch was sent up to keep watch on the installation. Troy helped Moffitt with Tully.
Though procaine numbed his soulder some, Tully still had to grit his teeth and dig his heels into the ground as Troy held him and Moffitt removed the bullet as quickly as possible. After the wound was cleaned, stitched, bandaged, and morphine injected, they left the private to rest in the shade.
Hours later Moffitt hurried down the hill and said, "They're opening the gates. Looks like they're expecting company soon."
Troy said, "Right. Tully, you stay here with the prisoners. Hitch, you're with me and Moffitt."
Tully leaned against one of the jeeps. "The prisoners are tied up and not going anywhere, sarge. I can help…"
"You're not in any shape to handle anything heavier than that machine gun. Just keep an eye on things in case this doesn't work out."
Tully gave a nod and sighed. "If it looks like you're in trouble, I'll come rescue you."
Moffitt got the tank situated out of sight between two hills just in time for the German scout column to make its appearance. They watched as each vehicle passed by their hiding place, and after the last one they fell into line.
##################
After Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch had left in the tank, Tully got two aspirin out of the med kit and swallowed them with warm water from a canteen. He knew they would do little for the pain in his shoulder, but morphine would make it impossible for him to be of any use if he was needed.
Tully went to the top of the hill and waited for the scout column to come into view. When it did and he was sure their misappropriated tank was bringing up the rear, he went down to get ready for a fast getaway.
One by one Tully untied the prisoners' feet, put them in the jeeps, and retied them. The third one was hesitant and Tully gave him a push to get him moving. The German turned around and made a threat, saying, "Sobald ihre Freunde wurden gefangen genommen und wir sind befreit, sie leben ihr Leben als POW."
Not having a clue what the guy said, and not really caring, Tully put the business end of his machine gun against the German's chest and pointed to the jeeps. "Get goin'."
At the sound of the first explosion, the prisoner sat down in the passenger seat of the empty jeep. Tully set the machine gun on the hood and reached down to retie the German's ankles. As a second explosion was heard, the prisoner lunged out of the seat, into Tully, and they both went down.
Stunned and hurting, Tully started to get up slowly. The prisoner was a little quicker to get to his feet even though his hands were still tie behind him. The sole of the German's boot hit Tully's wounded shoulder hard. He let out a yelp and fell back, trying to hang onto consciousness. He could hear the other two prisoners yelling encouragement to their comrade as more explosions went off.
Somehow the German managed to get ahold of Tully's knife and was frantically trying to cut himself loose. Tully struggled to his feet and staggered to the jeep and his machine gun.
As the ropes gave way, Tully turned with gun in hand. The prisoner was running at him with the knife. Tully fired a burst and the German went down. He went to the fallen man and picked up his knife before checking to be sure the prisoner was dead. Then Tully went back to the jeep, leaned against it, and let himself slide down to the ground. And that's where he was when the tank returned.
Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch knew something was wrong before they came to a stop. Hatches opened and the three men hurried to check on Tully, as well as the prisoners.
Hitch checked the ropes on the two prisoners in the jeep and Troy knelt next to the dead German lying face down on the ground. Moffitt went to Tully, who had passed out before the tank arrived. As he moved the machine gun off of Tully's lap, he could see that the shoulder wound was bleeding before he opened the private's shirt. As Moffitt gently removed the blood-soaked bandage, Tully came to with start. The sergeant said quietly, "It's all right, Tully. I just need to take a look at this."
Troy knelt across from Moffitt with a med kit. "How's it look?"
"Managed to tear out the stitches."
Tully grimaced. "I was moving them to the jeeps … to be ready to get out of here in a hurry. That one lunged at me before I could get his feet tied again. He kicked me in the shoulder. I managed to shoot him before…" He gasped with pain and fell silent as Moffitt started to clean the bloody wound.
Troy patted the private's uninjured shoulder. "It's okay. We'll discuss it later for the report. Just take it easy while Moffitt fixes you up again."
Tully said, "We need to get outta here before the Germans come after us."
Troy grinned. "They have nothing to come after us with. There isn't much left of their installation now. We'll be okay here until you're ready to travel." He stood and joined Hitch at the other jeep. "Everything okay here?"
Hitch nodded, not taking his eyes off the prisoners. "How's Tully?"
"Moffitt's going to have to sew the wound up again." Troy looked at the two Germans. "Apparently, their dead friend kicked Tully in the shoulder."
Hitch glowered at the two prisoners, as if daring them to try anything, and they both looked away rather sheepishly.
##################
After getting to the closest base, Tully insisted they drop off the prisoners and captured tank before seeing a doctor.
The doctor was satisfied that Tully's wound had been well taken care of, but wanted him to stay overnight for observation. Tully sighed and said, "Really, doc? All I wanna do is go to bed. You just said I was going to be okay."
The doctor smiled at the tired, frustrated look on the private's face as Moffitt helped him back into his shirt. "All right. I'll let you go with antibiotics and pain medication." He watched the sergeant carefully adjust the sling. "Are you going to be keeping an eye on him?"
Moffitt smiled. "Yes, there'll be three of us keeping an eye on him."
Moffitt and Tully met Troy and Hitch outside. Troy looked at Tully and asked, "They let you go?"
Moffitt grinned and held up the two bottles of medication. "The doctor took pity on him. He just needs to take it easy until his shoulder heals."
Tully was pale and his eyes looked a little unfocused. Troy looked at him with concern and said, "Maybe you should stay the night in the hospital."
Tully shook his head slowly. "No. The doc gave me a shot of morphine. I just wanna go to bed."
Hitch volunteered, "Why don't I take Tully to our quarters while you and Moffitt go for something to eat?"
Moffitt asked, "What about you?"
"I'll go to the mess hall when one of you comes back."
##################
In their quarters, Hitch helped Tully undress and get into bed. The private had barely settled under the blanket before he was fast asleep.
Some hours later Tully awoke. His shoulder ached, and as he laid there trying to decide if it was worth it to get up for a pain pill, he could hear the soft snores from the other three bunks. The sounds made him feel safe. He smiled, shifted slightly for comfort, and let his friends lull him back to sleep.