One Worry At A Time
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 2
Sam Troy answered the summons to headquarters the next morning striding angrily across the base. Upon waking he had attempted to wake Hitch and Tully, only to discover that their room was empty and their beds had not been slept in. With the summons to the Captain's office he was getting a bad feeling about their absence.
"If they got in trouble I'll have both their heads." He told Moffitt who was following quietly.
"We don't know what the captain wants." Moffitt pointed out as he rushed to keep pace.
"Those two were not in their room. We had an assignment. They should have been there. What else do you need?"
"We shall see, all I'm saying is, give them a chance to explain. You know them Troy; can you really picture them getting into trouble the night before an assignment?"
Troy paused in mid-stride, "All right, they can explain, but it had better be good."
Moffitt waited for Troy to turn away before he allowed his smile to show. The two sergeants arrived at the Captain's building and were immediately shown into the Captain's office.
"Good morning Sergeants, thank you for coming so quickly." The Captain greeted them pleasantly at their entrance. "Have a seat; we have a few things to discuss."
"Like what Sir?" Troy asked. "The mission?"
"Not exactly Sergeant." The Captain paused to walk around his desk and picked up some papers. "I'm sure by now you've heard about the fight at the bar last night." He looked up to see both sergeants nod in agreement. "Are you aware that both of your privates were among those rounded up at the scene?"
Troy's lips thinned in anger but he remained silent.
"I take it you weren't aware of their arrests?"
"No Sir." Troy admitted. "I checked their room this morning and I knew they were missing. I couldn't be sure where they were. I told them they could go for a beer Sir."
"So they said." The Captain admitted with a smile. "One beer, they said."
Troy nodded carefully, not sure what the Captain found amusing.
"According to them, they didn't even get that one." The Captain slapped the reports in his hand down on the desk. "The fight broke out before they had a chance to get a drink." The Captain seemed to notice Troy's expression for the first time. "Relax Troy, the owner of the bar collaborated their story. He said they did their best to stay out of the fight. They were caught trying to get out the back right after the fight started. The MPs just collected everybody they found."
"Then they aren't in trouble?" Moffitt asked quietly.
"No Sergeant, they're free to go."
"Where are they?" Troy asked, ready to spring his men and get moving.
"Outside in the hall, I had the MPs bring them over."
"I don't understand Sir." Troy admitted. "If you were just going to release them, why are we here?"
"There is another problem sergeant. Privates Hitchcock and Pettigrew brought it to my attention. It seems that they ran into a soldier who seems to know you."
"Did they get a name?"
"Sergeant Santos."
"Sonny Santos?" Troy asked incredulously.
"That's the one. What can you tell me about him?" The Captain leaned forward as he made the request. "I have a request on my desk from a Captain Garrett."
"What kind of request?"
"A transfer request. It seems that Captain Garrett would like to discuss transferring Sergeant Santos to this command. I was wondering why the Captain didn't go through regular channels to handle any transfer."
"I don't know Captain." Troy answered with a shake of his head. "I never heard of a Captain Garrett. Sergeant Sonny Santos, I do know. We were assigned to the same unit back before I left the States. Santos is quite a character Sir. He's very gung-ho, likes to take chances; doesn't have a lot of respect for authority. I haven't heard from him since I left the unit. I wasn't even aware that he was in North Africa."
"Did you like working with him?"
Troy hesitated, unsure how to answer the question. "The Sergeant and I have different styles. We don't always agree on the best way to get the job done. We did butt heads once or twice over methods."
"Understood Sergeant, thank you for your candor. You can pick up your men, I'll see you when you return from your assignment."
"Yes sir." Troy and Moffitt prepared to leave.
"Go easy on your men Sergeant. According to the bar owner, they really did try to stay out of trouble."
Troy nodded and headed for the door. Moffitt smiled as he followed Troy from the room. If he knew Troy, the privates had not heard the last of this yet.
The Captain shook his head as the two men stepped out into the hall. He didn't envy the two young soldiers having to face their sergeant. He could still remember the power his sergeant had had over him when he was a young private. Picking up the transfer request from his desk, he tossed it into a pile, remembering what Troy had told him about Sergeant Santos.
Calling for his aide, he waited for the corporal to poke his head in the door.
"Yes sir."
"Call Captain Garrett and ask him to come and see me. I would like to discuss this transfer he wants to make. Have him bring Sergeant Santos along. It might be a good idea for me to meet this guy in person."
"Right away sir."
The Captain was working on reports when his aide announced that Captain Garrett and Sergeant Santos were outside waiting to see him.
"Sent them in corporal."
Captain Garrett turned out to be a tall, athletic looking officer dressed in a crisply pressed uniform. Boggs wondered how he kept the creases so neat in the desert heat. His fellow officer executed an entrance just as crisp as his uniform. His handsome face looked stern but not overbearing. Bright eyes took in the cluttered desk with a frown of annoyance. Boggs immediately pegged him as an ambitious officer who held those below him to high standards.
The Sergeant who entered the room was not what Boggs had expected. Although he looked as though he had made an effort to clean himself up, the sergeant still showed signs of the previous night's activities. He was sporting a black eye, bruised knuckles, and the red eyes of a hangover. The salute the sergeant finally remembered to give was sloppy and late.
Captain Boggs returned the salute before offering Captain Garrett a chair.
"What can I do for you Captain?"
"You have the transfer request from Sergeant Santos?"
"Yes." Boggs admitted, laying the papers in question in the center of his desk.
"Sergeant Santos would like to join one of your units Captain." Captain Garrett explained with a flourish. "I can personally vouch for the sergeant's record. He's an excellent soldier who gets the most of his men. The sergeant is a real asset to the Army. A real go-getter."
"Then why are you willing to give him up? It's my understanding that your outfit is about to get moved up to the front. I would think that such an asset to the Army would be invaluable to a front line officer like you."
Captain Garrett dropped his head and cleared his throat. "The sergeant has asked to be transferred Captain."
"Personality differences?" Boggs wondered aloud.
"No." Captain Garrett denied in a rush. "It's just that he heard an old friend was stationed here, a Sergeant Sam Troy. Santos wants to rejoin his friend. He wants to join this Sergeant Troy's unit."
"Sergeant Troy heads a four man recon team. At present they don't have any openings."
"I understand that Captain. But it has been brought to my attention that Troy's second-in-command is a British sergeant on temporary loan. If you wanted, you could send him back to his own army and allow Sergeant Santos to take his place."
"I'm not sure that I have that authority Captain." Boggs answered with a frown.
"I've taken the liberty of mentioning it to command." Garrett informed him smugly. "I have some contacts in the Colonel's office."
"Really?"
"I thought it might help." Garrett smiled. "We don't need help from the British when we have men like Santos to do the job."
"I suppose that may be true. Am I going to have any say in this matter at all?"
"Of course, my sources say that the Colonel will be calling you to discuss the matter with you. I just wanted to give you a head's up, to give you a chance to check on the sergeant's record for yourself. As I said, I can give you my personal recommendation."
"I'm sure that that will go a long way. What does Sergeant Santos have to say about all of this?"
"I'm all for it Captain." The sergeant agreed eagerly. "You just ask Troy, he'll tell you how we used to work together. If I know Sam, he'll jump at the chance to get me on his team. I'll have it whipped into shape in no time. Excuse me Captain, but I met his two privates last night; I could get them to show a lot more respect if I were in charge."
Captain Boggs nodded at the comment. "They can be a bit hard to handle at times."
"Exactly Captain, no offense, but Troy can be a bit soft at times." The sergeant lowered his voice as if speaking in confidence. "He's a good sergeant, mind you, but he sometimes needs a bit of help."
"Thank you Sergeant. I'll let you know my decision once I've talked to the Colonel. The Rat Patrol is sort of his not so secret secret weapon. I'm sure he'll want to consider any changes to the team very carefully."
"I'm sure that the Colonel will make the right decision." Captain Garrett assured Captain Boggs. "And I'm sure your own recommendation will help him to make that decision."
"We'll discuss that when the Colonel calls." Captain Boggs smiled at his visitor.
"Then I guess we'll be going Captain. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice." The Captain rose to leave but turned back to look at Boggs. "Are you aware that Sergeant Troy's men were arrested in that fight last night?"
"Yes I am." Boggs admitted.
"Sergeant Santos tried to get them clear before the fight started but he was unsuccessful. Perhaps when he joins the unit he'll have better control over those two young men."
"Where is Troy Captain?" Santos interrupted. "I haven't seen him around all morning."
"The sergeant picked up his men and left on an assignment this morning. They may be gone for a while. They're chasing down some rumors about a new offensive the Germans are allegedly planning."
"You just let me know when they get back Captain. Sam and I have a lot of catching up to do." Santos stated brashly.
Captain Boggs sat down heavily after seeing his visitors out. "Corporal."
His aide poked his head through the door. "Sir?"
"Get me all the information you can on Sergeant Santos and that Captain Garrett, Captain Marvin Garrett."
"Yes sir."
"And Corporal."
"Yes sir?"
"Make it fast."