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

Land Air and Sea

By Suzie2b

Tully groaned softly. He started getting queasy soon after they left the dock. His stomach flipped as the fishing boat they were on rolled over another wave. Again he leaned over the railing to retch into the Atlantic. However, there was nothing left to come up. He thought silently, "I hate this part."

Hitch walked up behind his friend and fellow private as he straightened up. "How's it going, Tully?"

Tully turned, leaned against the railing, and slid down to sit on the deck. "It's goin'."

Hitch handed Tully a canteen. "The captain says the rough seas are because of a tropical storm pushing through up north."

Tully took the offered water and said quietly, "Great. Just great." He looked up. "You know what, Hitch?"

Hitch smiled. "What?"

"Before I came to the Africa, I'd never even seen the ocean before. This is not what I came to the desert for."

Hitch chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it."

Tully took a sip of water, then asked, "How much longer?"

"Maybe another hour or so. The captain is dropping us just off on Isla de Fuerteventura."

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

Five days earlier.

The Rat Patrol arrived in El Aaiun to have a meeting with Generals Gauthier and Roux. There had been a kidnapping. General Roux's wife, five-year-old daughter, and eight-year-old son had been taken from their château in France by German militants. Searches were made for days without any sign of them.

After nearly a week, a message arrived: "Your wife and children are safe—for now. To gain their release you will come to Fuerteventrua in the Canary Islands and give yourself up to our Colonel Fischer. You have until the eighteenth of the month to put yourself into our hands or your family will perish."

General Roux made a phone call. When he arrived in El Aaiun he met with General Gauthier. After the situation was explained and the message read, Gauthier contacted Major Gleason in Ras Tanura to request the Rat Patrol's help.

The next morning Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully were put on a plane to El Aaiun, where they met with the Generals. Maps and aerial photographs of Isla de Fuerteventura were used to formulate a plan. A trusted fisherman, Captain Busto, was contacted and agreed to take the four men to Isla de Fuerteventura. They had three days.

That same night the Rat Patrol lowered themselves from the fishing boat into two rafts and paddled to the beach undetected. They hid the rafts and started the trek to the island's stronghold, which was actually the mayor of the island's manor house that the Germans had taken over.

One by one Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully went over the eight foot wrought iron fence. They stayed low as they used the grounds ornamental shrubs along the fence as cover to make their way to the house.

It was late and the three story manor house was mostly dark, except for the two overhead lights on the large front porch. There was one guard, who walked back and forth the length of the porch, probably as much to keep himself awake as anything else.

Troy signaled for the others to wait out of sight at the corner of the house. He silently waited for the guard to walk to the railing and turn to head back, then he leaped onto the porch, got the guard in a chokehold, and dragged him into the bushes to finish the job.

They moved quickly to the front door and found it locked. Moffitt was able to quickly pick the lock. Inside the darkened foyer, they fanned out to check the adjacent rooms and hallways. Tully saw light shining under one door and signaled the others. When the door was pushed open they stood there with guns at the ready, and found a very surprised colonel sitting at a desk. The name plate read "Oberst B. Fischer".

As they walked inside and closed the door, Troy said quietly, "Raise the alarm and you're dead."

The colonel frowned. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Where are General Roux's wife and kids?"

Colonel Fischer smiled. "We were expecting something like this. You will not find them on this island."

Troy gestured to Moffitt. The sergeant went around the desk to where the colonel was sitting and pressed the barrel of his machine gun to Fischer's temple. Troy asked again, "Where are they?"

"If you shoot me, you will alert every guard on the primases. You wouldn't want to do that, now would you?"

"Do you really want to take the chance and find out?"

Colonel Fischer glanced at Hitch and Tully. He broke into a sweat as he felt the cool metal of the gun pressed against his head. It didn't take long before the colonel said, "They are being held on the Island of Gran Canaria."

Troy growled, "You're sure?"

"Yes, there is a small house on the east side of the island. It is very well guarded."

"Do you know how to get to Gran Canaria?" The colonel nodded and Troy said, "All right. You're coming with us. We need a boat."

There were two guards on the dock. Hitch and Tully took care of them quietly and efficiently. They got into a small fishing vessel. With the two oars found on board, Hitch and Tully paddled a ways out before Moffitt started the engine.

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

With Troy's gun pointed at his head, Colonel Fischer guiding them through the choppy water. It wasn't too long before a beach on the east side of Isla de Gran Canaria could be seen in the moonlight.

Hitch whispered to Tully, "Doing okay?"

Tully simply nodded, afraid he'd gag if he opened his mouth.

They dropped quietly into the waist deep water to wade ashore and let the boat drift on the tide. By now it was too late to mount a rescue, as it would be light soon. Colonel Fischer led them to an abandoned house where they could hide. Curiously there was a mattress with blankets piled on it against one wall.

The colonel was tied up and gagged. Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully took turns on watch through the rest of the night and then through the daylight hours.

The next evening, as the air began to cool and the light began to fade, Tully was on watch when he heard sounds outside. He listened for several seconds before he made out a quiet voice. He quickly and silently alerted the others. When the door opened, they were face to face with a German soldier and a young civilian woman.

The soldier looked from the four men and their guns to the colonel tied up on the mattress and said, "Was ist denn hier los?"

Tully moved forward to close the door and relieve the German of his rifle.

Moffitt pointed to the other side of the room. "Klicken Sie gegen die Wand sitzen." Then he said, "Tully, tie him up."

The young woman started to follow them, but Troy took her arm to stop her. She said in Spanish, "No hemos hecho nada malo. Sólo venimos a hacer el amor."

Troy looked at Moffitt, who said to Hitch, "Your Spanish is better than mine. What did she say?"

Hitch nodded. "She says they haven't done anything wrong and came here to have a … um … little rendezvous."

Troy smiled a bit and said, "Well, now we know why the mattress is here. Tell her we'll have to hold her here for a while. She'll be released later. Take her over next to that other wall. We'll keep them separated."

As Hitch led the woman away, he said, "Usted tiene que permanecer aquí por ahora. Podrás dejarte ir más adelante."

With the two new prisoners bound and gagged, Troy said, "We only have to wait a couple more hours, then we can get going."

Moffitt looked around the room. "I hope we don't get any more visitors. We're running out of wall space."

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

The two hours passed slowly as the sky darkened. Troy knelt next to Colonel Fischer and removed the gag. "Where's this house that General Roux's family is being held in?"

The colonel replied, "About four kilometers north on the road. There are no other occupied houses on this side of the island."

Troy nodded and replaced the gag. He looked at his men as he stood up. "Let's shake it."

They kept to the cover along the side of the road as they hurried the distance to the house they were looking for. It was well lit and as they got closer, they could hear the sound of a generator. They could see the shadowy form of one guard at the front of the house and another on the side facing them.

Troy whispered, "Tully, Hitch, circle around to the beach side and check it out."

The privates silently left and returned ten minutes later. Hitch reported, "Looks to be one guard on every side, sarge. And we saw at least two moving around inside."

Tully added, "There's a dock down on the beach and I could see a boat in the moonlight."

Troy nodded. "That boat's going to be our way off this island. Let's go."

Four allies and four guards. Fair enough. The guards were dispatched quietly and Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully met at the front door. Troy knocked. They heard heavy footsteps cross the room inside. When the door opened, Troy swung the butt of his machine gun, catching the German in the side of the head. As that one went down, the other guard got a shot off that buried itself in the doorframe above Troy's head. Moffitt pushed through the door and hit the guard with a volley of machine gun bullets.

There was just one closed door off the room they were in and Troy said, "Tully, take a look."

Tully crossed the room. He stood next to the door and tried the doorknob. It turned and he cautiously pushed it open. He peeked inside and saw a woman on a bed shielding her two terrified children behind her. She stared at Tully and realized he was wearing an American uniform. Her eyes darted to her right, but it was too late. A bullet blasted through the door and hit Tully in the left shoulder.

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch watched Tully fall to the floor, but the private was able to quickly drag himself away from the door and sit against the wall. Tully gritted his teeth and said, "The woman and kids are in there. Guard's behind the door."

Troy said, "Moffitt, tell him we're only here for the family. If he comes out we won't shoot him."

Moffitt called, "Wir sind hier nur für die Frau und Kinder. Wenn Sie sich mit Ihren Händen kommen, werden wir nicht schießen."

After what seemed like a long time, they saw a hand reach around the door and drop a pistol to the floor. Then the German soldier slowly came out with his hands up.

Troy looked at Moffitt. "Tie him up. Tell him where he can find his comrades and the woman at that other house when he gets free."

Hitch knelt next to Tully and began to check his wound. Tully said, "When she saw who I was … she tried to warn me. I just wasn't quick enough."

Troy walked slowly into the small bedroom. "Mrs. Roux?"

She nodded. "Oui. I am Alexandre Roux."

"Are you and the children all right?"

"They have not harmed us. Who are you?"

Troy said, "We're here to take you to El Aaiun. General Roux is waiting for you there."

With a quick field dressing covering Tully's wound, they headed for the beach. Alexandre carried daughter Brie and Moffitt had her son Sennett on his back. Troy and Hitch made sure everyone got aboard the boat as Moffitt put the boy down and went to take the wheel.

As they pulled away from the dock, Troy joined Moffitt in the wheelhouse and said, "Do you think you can get us back to the docks at El Aaiun? There's no way we'll be able to meet Captain Busto back at Fuerteventura."

Moffitt nodded. "I believe so. It's pretty much a straight shot."

Troy went to check on Tully. He knelt down in front of the private, who was sitting against the outside of the wheelhouse as the boat moved through the rolling waves. "How's it going, Tully."

He grimaced as Hitch used pressure to try to get the bleeding to stop. "It's goin', sarge. At least the pain in my shoulder keeps my mind off my rollin' stomach."

When they were about an hour out of El Aaiun, Troy tuned the boat's radio to the agreed upon frequency and called the base near El Aaiun. He let them know they were successful in their mission and would need an ambulance when they docked.

Generals Gauthier and Roux met the boat as it was being tied up. Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch watched as the family was reunited and then quickly whisked away by car to the base.

An unconscious Tully was lifted onto a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance.

General Gauthier asked, "How badly was Pettigrew injured, sergeant?"

Troy watched the ambulance pull away. "He took a bullet in the shoulder, sir. It was hard to control the bleeding with the sea being so rough. Oh, and Captain Busto needs to be notified that we won't be meeting him at the rendezvous point."

"I'll have that taken care of, sergeant. Why don't you and your men go get some rest?"

"We'd rather go to the base hospital, general, to keep tabs on Private Pettigrew."

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

The next day Troy and Moffitt found Hitch sitting next to Tully's bunk, where he still slept peacefully. Troy asked, "How's he doing, Hitch?"

"The doctor says he should wake up soon and we can take him back to Ras Tanura in a day or two. How'd your meeting with the general go?"

"It went well. General Roux was there and conveyed his thanks to all of us for our help. He's taking the next flight out back to France with his family."

Hitch looked at Moffitt. "Where'd you learn to pilot a boat? Seems like you did pretty good out there with the water being so rough."

Moffitt grinned. "Thank you. Actually, the trip between Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria was the first time."

A quiet voice came from the bunk as Tully said, "That explains a lot."

Hitch smiled. "How're you feeling?"

Tully took a breath, then grimaced. "I'll live. Everyone get back okay?"

Troy said, "Yeah. The general's been reunited with his family and they're heading home."

Tully tried to shift, but the pain in his shoulder made him stop with a groan as he gripped the mattress. "What'd they do … take the bullet out with an eggbeater?"

Moffitt said, "It's probably time for some pain medication. I'll get a nurse."

Hitch took Tully's hand. "I know I'm not Charley, but you're gonna rip a hole in the mattress. Just give it a squeeze when you need to."

Tully managed a wane smile and squeezed as another spasm of pain hit.

Troy looked on with concern evident in his eyes. He hated it when one of his men got injured and he hated it more when he could do nothing for their pain.

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

A day and a half later Tully was signed out of the base hospital with orders to report to the hospital at Ras Tanura. As he was carried out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, Tully complained, "I can walk ya know."

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch followed and Moffitt smiled as he said, "Doctor's orders. There'll be an ambulance when we land that will take you to our base hospital."

As the stretcher was loaded into the ambulance, Tully groused, "I was shot in the shoulder, not the leg…" The doors were closed, cutting off the rest of his comment.

The flight was unremarkable and Tully slept through most of it as the others sat quietly. When the plane touched down Tully jerked awake and a jolt of pain made him gasp.

Moffitt was sitting next to him and put a hand on Tully's arm. "Take it easy. We've just landed. You'll be at the hospital in no time."

As Tully was carried from the plane to the ambulance, without complaint this time, he looked around at the familiar surroundings. Among them were two jeeps with 50 caliber machine guns in the back, and one Charley Pettigrew running to greet him.