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

Author's note: This is for churchlady63, who requested a sequel to "Who's In Charge?"

He Was In Charge

By Suzie2b

It had been nearly a week since the blowup between Troy and Moffitt. Hitch and Tully knew the sergeants had made amends and it hadn't been mentioned, even in passing, since that day.

It was early. Hitch and Tully were in the motor pool at the base in Ras Tanura. They were doing some basic maintenance on the jeeps. Tully was under his jeep and Hitch was changing a worn fan belt when he questioned, "What do you think was bothering sarge to make him fly off like that the other day?"

Tully said, "I have no idea. What I do know is that sarge still isn't acting quite right yet. He's more tense than usual."

"Yeah. He's been very clear about the orders he gives too." Hitch looked up and said, "Here they come."

They said nothing more as the Troy and Moffitt walked into the motor pool and straight over to the two privates. Troy said, "Tully, get out of there."

The private wheeled himself out from under the jeep and looked up at the sergeants. "Something wrong, sarge?"

"Dr. Baker says you're on light-duty for another few days at least." Troy grabbed Tully by the right hand and pulled him to his feet. "I don't think that includes working under the jeep."

Tully stood up and smiled. "Checking up on me?"

Troy smiled slightly as he said, "Always."

"It was just a slight sprain, sarge. I haven't needed the sling for the last two days."

Moffitt said, "The doctor said if you aren't careful you could reinjure your shoulder, and it could be worse than the original sprain."

Tully sighed with resignation. "So, am I good to go out on patrol with you guys?"

Troy nodded and looked at the private pointedly as he said, "Remember, 'light-duty.' You can drive, but no 50, no machine gun, and no lifting, pushing, or pulling with your left hand."

"Okay, sarge, I'll be careful."

"Are the jeeps ready to go?"

Hitch said, "All set, sarge. Where to?"

Moffitt replied, "Out to Sector M. There's been reports of German activity out there."

Just then Charley appeared and, smiling brightly, said, "Hi guys. I just heard that you're heading out on patrol and was wondering if Tully was going along this time."

Tully put an arm around her and said, "Yep. Doc Baker gave me the go ahead."

Troy pointed a finger at Tully and said, "Remember what I said…"

Tully nodded. "I know. I'm on light-duty for now."

Charley smiled. "Well, as long as it's okay with the doctor. Will you be back tonight?"

Moffitt smiled. "Plan to be, but you know how things can happen out there."

"Yeah, well I just wanted to see you off." Charley stood on her toes and gave Tully a quick kiss. "Be careful. I love you."

Tully grinned. "Love you too … and I'm always careful."

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch rolled their eyes and Charley laughed as she headed back to work.

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Sector M—Territory strategically held by Allied forces.

The Rat Patrol had plotted a grid pattern for their search of the area. They crisscrossed the landscape looking for any signs of German activity. Their main objective, according to Captain Boggs, was to search out the enemy and report their findings. They were not to allow themselves to be detected … recon only.

1300 hours found the jeeps in the cover of a waterhole. Hitch was on watch as Tully handed out K-rations and said, "Was Captain Boggs sure about that report? We haven't seen anything out here."

Moffitt said, "We've barely covered half of the sector so far. If the captain says the Germans are out here, I'm sure we'll find them eventually."

Tully walked away with two boxed lunch and a canteen for him and Hitch.

After the private had walked away, Troy said to Moffitt, "We'll keep heading south, but I think we should split up. You and Tully go east. Hitch and I will go west." He indicated a point on the map he held with a finger. "We'll meet up here."

Moffitt said, "Sounds like a logical plan. I hope we locate them soon."

Tully opened one of the lunches as Hitch sat down next to him to do the same. They ate in companionable silence for a time, then Tully asked, "What are you so lost in thought about?"

Hitch shrugged. "I was just wondering if Troy still trusts us."

"Of course he does. Why would you think he wouldn't?"

"Well, it's been bothering me since that whole thing with him and Moffitt. Was it something one of us did that triggered his … his outburst?"

Tully shrugged. "I don't remember us doing anything to upset sarge that bad."

Hitch started putting his trash together and stuffing it into the box. "Well, it sure had to be something … ah oh."

"What?"

"Looks like we found what we've been looking for." Hitch pointed and said, "Look there."

Tully looked and said, "I'll go tell Troy and Moffitt."

The sergeants watched the German scout column as it made its way across the desert. It was headed into a part of Sector M that they were going to search next.

Moffitt asked, "Shall we follow? They'll probably lead us to where their camp is."

Troy nodded. "Yeah. We'll skirt these hills to stay out of sight. Remember, we aren't to engage unless there's absolutely no other choice."

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Troy and his men followed the column for about an hour. Then he sent Moffitt and Tully ahead to see if they could find the German camp.

Another half hour passed with Troy and Hitch following as they stayed out of sight of the scout column. They'd been heading southeast, but then the column turned in a more northerly direction.

Troy frowned at the sudden change. "What are they doing?"

Hitch asked, "Do you think we've been spotted?"

"I don't think so. It must be part of their grid pattern, but it just seems to be a little strange."

"Well, they are Germans after all."

Troy grinned, but said nothing.

Something caught Hitch's eye. "Look over there, sarge."

Troy put the binoculars to his eyes. "It's Moffitt and Tully. If they keep going like that, they're going to run straight into those Germans."

"Can't we warn 'em somehow?"

"Anything we do will alert that column. We'll just have to hope that they'll see the Germans first."

Troy and Hitch watched as Tully slowed to a crawl, then stopped at the base of one hill. Moffitt got out and climbed up, obviously checking for the enemy. When he saw that the column had changed direction, he hurried down to the jeep and Tully sped off to find a different route.

Seeing their direction Troy smiled with approval and said, "Let's go meet them."

A few miles away the four man unit was whole again and Moffitt said, "We found a German company dug in. I'd guess there's at least 200 men and enough equipment for a small offensive."

Troy nodded. "Let's go take a look."

From a hilltop, they could see the camp. With binoculars, Troy and Moffitt surveyed the area the Germans occupied. Troy said, "We could've searched for days and never found this. They've really got themselves well hidden."

They watched the goings on. The scout column they'd seen earlier returned as another left to take its place. The camp was well fortified and guarded, which meant they intended to stay. After several hours, Troy and his men left the area to find a safe place to report in.

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Moffitt sipped his mug of tea by the fire as he watched Hitch and Tully prepare their supper with the usual amount of complaining and teasing. He smiled and said, "Sorry we didn't make it back to base today, Tully."

"That's okay. Couldn't be helped. Besides, Charley understands."

Hitch turned to look at Troy, who was wandering the perimeter of their camp on watch. Then he turned back to Moffitt. "Can I ask you something, sarge?"

Moffitt nodded. "Of course."

"Has Troy told you what happened?"

"What happened?"

Hitch said, "Yeah … when you and him went at each other that day."

Moffitt smiled. "Oh, that. As a matter-of-fact, he did."

"Can you fill us in?"

"No. It would be best if it came from Troy himself."

Tully asked, "Do you think he'd tell us?"

Moffitt nodded as he replied, "Why don't you ask him?"

The sergeant and two privates ate their meal and engaged in their usual small talk. When Moffitt was finished eating, he said, "I'll go ahead on watch so Troy can get something to eat."

When Troy wandered over, he sighed and asked, "What's on the menu tonight?"

Tully said, "Can said 'meat and noodles.' Doesn't taste too bad, but I'm not sure what 'meat' they're referring to."

Troy smiled as he poured himself a mug of coffee. "How's the shoulder, Tully?"

"It's a little sore. I took a couple aspirin and it seems to be helping."

"Good." Troy took the offered plate of food and went to sit in the passenger seat of one of the jeeps.

Hitch and Tully looked at each other warily. After a minute of making little signals back and forth, Troy said, "Okay, out with it. What's going on in those heads of yours?"

Hitch finally said carefully, "Well, sarge … Tully and I were wondering … actually concerned about what happened after that failed hit on that convoy when you got angry at Moffitt."

Troy stopped in mid-chew and looked from one private to the other, then continued eating. He said between bites, "What did Moffitt tell you?"

"Nothing. He said we should ask you if we wanted to know."

Troy took another bite, chewed, and swallowed, Then said, "I came across a copy of Stars & Stripes a couple of days before we left on the mission. There was an article in it that really got to me."

The sergeant another bite and Tully asked quietly, "What'd it say?"

After he swallowed, Troy said, "It was about a sergeant … it didn't give his name, just referred to him as 'sergeant'. Come to think of it the article didn't even say where it happened." He took another bite of his supper as Hitch and Tully waited patiently. When Troy continued, he said, "This sergeant had a small squad of men who he'd gotten close to. One day they were out on a patrol when they were attacked by the enemy. Apparently, the sergeant had begun to assume his men always knew what to do and when to do it. Basically the article went on to say that, when questioned by his superiors, the sergeant told them his men panicked … didn't seem to know what to do and wouldn't follow orders. Long story short, as a consequence, the sergeant lost half his squad and is set to be court-martialed for dereliction of duty. He was more worried about being their friend then their leader." Troy set his empty plate aside. "It got me thinking, maybe a little too much, about us as a unit. I do assume that each of you knows his job. But I also expect each of you to follow my orders."

Hitch said, "We do the best we can to follow your orders to the letter, sarge."

Troy smiled. "I know, Hitch. I can always count on you, Tully, and Moffitt to be where you're supposed to be, doing what I've told you to do. But it bothered me that the sergeant in that article was worried about being his men's friend. And I wondered if maybe I was doing the same thing … becoming too close to each of you."

Tully said, "I figure, especially since it's just the four of us, that being friends is an asset. We care about each other and watch each other's backs. But we respect each other too, which is why we can think for ourselves as well as take orders."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, Moffitt said something similar to that." He thought for a few seconds, then looked at Tully and said, "When I saw you do what looked like the exact opposite of what I'd told you to do … I guess I was seeing what I'd read about. I decided I wasn't going to let that happen to me … to us. I overreacted and I'm sorry for that. Later Moffitt explained what had happened out there, and I'm just glad you're as quick to follow his orders as you are to follow mine." Tully nodded his acknowledgement of the praise and Troy continued, "I realized after that last convoy turned out to be a trap that we have to rely on each other and think for ourselves at the same time. We're good at what we do and I have no business trying to change things."

Hitch nodded. "Thanks for telling us what happened, sarge. Tully and I were a little concerned about where we stood. I was thinking maybe we did something to cause the problem."

"Well, I'm glad you came to me for the explanation. I thought the issue had been between me and Moffitt. I should've known it would involve all of us." Troy looked at his privates and asked, "So, everything's straight now?"

Tully smiled with a nod and Hitch said, "We're all good, sarge."

Troy sighed. "Why don't you two get things cleaned up and stowed. Then we'll get some rest. Captain Boggs was satisfied with the report I radioed him so we can head out early for base."

As he watched Hitch and Tully do their "chores", Troy realized he was suddenly more relaxed than he'd been in a week.