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

Sector B

By Suzie2b

Troy and Hitch were sent out into Sector B on a reconnaissance mission while Moffitt and Tully went to look into a report of a new enemy encampment on the southern edge of the same sector. They were to meet up at 1500 hours to head back to their base in Ras Tanura to give their reports to Captain Boggs.

Moffitt and Tully found the German encampment dug in and well-fortified. The American Army had recently started using Sector B as a north/south route for convoys of munitions. Obviously the Germans had caught wind of this new route.

They observed the encampment from a hill, taking stock of the number of soldiers and weaponry. However, neither Moffitt nor Tully had noticed that a German scout patrol had spotted the jeep. The first mortar hit the ground just yards from its target. The second was a direct hit, sending the jeep spinning into the air and crashing down.

When the first mortar exploded, Moffitt and Tully ducked for cover. They watched as their only means of transportation was destroyed. Then the German commander sent his men to look for the soldiers he knew must be nearby.

Moffitt and Tully managed to dodge the Germans without giving themselves away long enough for them to give up looking. The commander assumed they would have to give themselves up or die in the desert.

As the German patrol drove off, Moffitt said, "I think we're in a spot of trouble, Tully."

"I'll buy that, sarge. What are we gonna do?"

"Let's scout around a bit. If that patrol has actually left, we'll see if there's anything we can salvage.

After making sure the Germans wouldn't be coming back any time soon, Moffitt and Tully made their way to the remains of the jeep.

Tully sighed as he walked around the overturned vehicle. "Took a direct hit."

Moffitt found some of their supplies scattered about, but nothing salvageable. "Tully, do you think you can crawl under and see if there's anything we can use?"

He eyed a small opening on the passenger side and nodded. Tully dug away enough sand to allow him to shimmy inside.

Moffitt kept a look out to make sure they were still alone, then saw Tully toss a canteen and one of the smaller boxes of ammo out before he crawled back into the sunlight. "That's all I could find. Everything else is useless."

Moffitt picked up the canteen and gave it a shake. "Half full at best."

Tully opened the ammo box and began to reload his machine gun. "Two guns and half a canteen of water. This isn't going to easy." Then he filled another magazine and handed it to Moffitt.

Moffitt traded his magazine for the full one. "No … no it's not. We have a lot of ground to cover before we get to that rendezvous."

Tully filled the last two magazines and put them in his jacket pockets. He stood up and said, "Guess we better get started then."

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

The rendezvous point was a waterhole. Troy looked at his watch. It was 1530 hours.

Hitch scanned the horizon in every direction from the back of the jeep. He stared through the binoculars and said, "I don't see anything, sarge. I've got a bad feeling about this. It's not like them to be late without a good reason."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I know. Let's give them a little more time. If they don't show up we'll go look for them."

They waited another half hour, then headed out for where the German camp was reported to be.

Three hours later Troy and Hitch found the destroyed jeep. They scouted from the hill above the encampment, but saw no signs that Moffitt and Tully were there.

As they headed back to their jeep, Hitch asked, "Do you think they were captured?"

Troy stopped and stared down at the half empty ammo box. "I don't think so. Looks like they were able to scrounge up some ammo. The extra magazines and the machine guns are gone. I bet they managed to avoid capture and are heading for that waterhole."

"On foot? It took us three hours to get here with my foot to the floor. It'll take them short of forever on foot. And they may not have any water."

"They wouldn't be walking straight through either. Too much open ground to cover on foot." Troy looked out at the hills. "They'd stick to the hills where they'd have cover."

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

"Sarge, can we take a quick break?"

Moffitt looked at Tully and smiled slightly. "Sounds like a good idea." He scanned the area. "There's a bit of shade over there."

They sat down and Moffitt handed the canteen to Tully. He took a small swallow and gave it back. "How far do you think we've walked?"

Moffitt took a drink, then replied, "Maybe ten miles." He looked at his watch. "I'm sure Troy and Hitch are looking for us by now."

"I hope so. What if they don't find us before dark?"

Moffitt looked and the private reassuringly. "Then they'll find us in the morning. Let's get going."

As the sun went down, Moffitt and Tully said very little to each other. It was going to be a long cold night.

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

Troy and Hitch had to stop for the night. They didn't want to take the chance that they would drive right passed Moffitt and Tully in the dark. Neither could sleep. They sat staring into the small fire.

Hitch was lost in thought. He had heated up some C-Rations for them and knew that Moffitt and Tully were going hungry. A pebble bounced off his knee and Hitch looked up at Troy across from him.

The sergeant smiled, knowing Hitch was thinking about his friends as much as he was. "Why don't you try to get some rest? I'll keep an eye on things."

"Sarge, we are going to find them … right?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah, we're going find them. Tired, hungry, and thirsty … but we're going to find them."

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

As the sun came up, Moffitt and Tully trudged on. They had stopped for a couple of hours that night to rest, but it had been too cold to actually sleep.

Moffitt heard a soft rumble and glanced around. Nothing. He heard it again and realized it came from Tully, who was walking next to him.

Tully noticed Moffitt's eyes on him and put his hand on his stomach. He shrugged as he said, "I'm hungry."

Moffitt smiled. "When did we eat last?"

"Yesterday … breakfast. Didn't get lunch before we lost the jeep."

Moffitt took a sip of water and handed the canteen to Tully. "Here. May as well finish it before it evaporates."

Tully stopped to drain the trickle of water into his mouth and swallow. He took a quick look around, then ran to catch up with Moffitt. "Sarge, we've got company coming!"

Moffitt stopped and turned to see a German patrol coming in their direction. Without a word he and Tully raced up a hill and ducked down behind a boulder.

Tully peeked out to watch the patrol. "Do you think they saw us?"

Moffitt watched too. "We'll know in moment."

The patrol got close enough that they could see the German commander using binoculars to scan the area.

Tully said, "Looks like they're searching for us."

Moffitt nodded. "Yes. They couldn't find us yesterday and we didn't turn ourselves in. I'm guessing someone wants to talk to us."

After a few minutes, the patrol moved on and so did Moffitt and Tully.

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

Close to midday Moffitt and Tully took a break. They were panting and barely sweating. They were sitting in the shade of some bushes when Tully took his helmet off and held his head as he leaned his elbows on his crossed legs.

Moffitt asked, "You all right, Tully."

"Headache."

Moffitt nodded slowly. "I'm not feeling too good myself."

They sat there for some time trying to muster up the energy to move on. Tully looked up and said, "They're back."

A sudden rush of adrenaline got them moving, but by the time they reached cover among the rocks they'd been spotted by the German patrol.

A mortar hit the hillside above them, sending a cascade of rocks and dirt down on them. As they remained hunkered down, Moffitt and Tully heard a voice speaking through a megaphone, "Wir wissen, dass du da bist! Kommen Sie mit Ihrem hands up!"

Moffitt translated, "They want us to surrender."

Tully sighed. "I kinda figured that."

After about thirty seconds, the voice said, "Wir sind bereit, sie zu töten, wenn sie nicht kooperieren!"

Tully stepped out and fired, hitting the commander in the chest. Moffitt grabbed him and pulled him back. "What are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?"

Tully fixed Moffitt with a determined look. "You know I won't go out without a fight, sarge!"

Another mortar hit the hillside and forced them to take cover elsewhere.

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

Hitch stopped the jeep as he and Troy heard mortar and machine gun fire.

Hitch looked at the sergeant. "Think that's them?"

Troy nodded. "Who else could it be?" He got into the back and primed the 50 caliber. "Let's shake it!"

Moffitt and Tully heard the distinct sound of the 50 coming their way. They looked at each other and smiled. Another mortar flew, but when it exploded they realized it wasn't aimed at them this time.

Tully stood up, his machine gun blazing, with Moffitt right next to him. They cut down the mortar operators in the halftrack nearest them. Troy and Hitch roared through and took care of the rest.

Moffitt and Tully were stumbling down the hillside when Troy and Hitch pulled up and met them with canteens.

Troy looked at his two men critically. "You two okay?"

Moffitt nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of water. "We are now."

Hitch watched Tully take a couple of gulps of the water. "Take it easy, Tully. You're going to make yourself sick." He took the canteen and said, "Let me take a look at the cut on your head."

Tully suddenly felt lightheaded and leaned heavily against the jeep. "I need to sit down."

Hitch caught him under the arm. "Yeah. Good idea."

Troy helped get Tully into the back of the jeep and Hitch put the canteen back in his hand before he grabbed a med kit to take care of the cut.

Tully took another, smaller, drink and squinted up at Troy. "We found that encampment."

Troy grinned. "Yeah, we found the jeep." He looked at Hitch. "How bad is it?"

Hitch smiled slightly. "Barely a graze. Just going to clean it up and bandage it."

Troy watched as Moffitt slowly climbed into the passenger seat. "You okay?"

Moffitt smiled. "Water, food, and sleep and I will be."

Hitch taped a gauze square over the cut as Tully asked, "Got anything to eat?"

Hitch handed both Moffitt and Tully a K-Ration box. "Eat up."

Troy got into the back of the jeep with Tully. "Okay, let's get going. We need to get this information back to headquarters."

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

Moffitt and Tully were treated and released from medical after receiving IV fluids.

The next morning, after a good night's sleep and a shower, they met up in the mess hall.

Moffitt sipped his tea and asked, "How did the meeting with Captain Boggs go after you dropped Tully and I at the hospital?"

Troy nodded. "Good. He sent out an armored company to take care of that encampment last night. They should be there by now."

Tully swallowed a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "How'd you guys know we weren't being held in that camp?"

Troy smiled. "You told us, Tully."

"Huh?"

"A half empty ammo box, missing magazines and guns. I figured you were getting ready to put up a fight. And you did."

Tully smiled. "Yeah, well, I'm funny that way."