The Run for Freedom Raid
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 2
Troy watched the next compound and worried. He hadn't seen Hitch since their capture. After they were separated the German commander had kept his eye on them but now the guards seemed to be losing interest. It had taken a while for him to find an opportunity to talk to the others. Hitch was the last one he needed to locate.
He hadn't been able to find his driver in any of the compounds. He had finally managed to find someone who was able to verify that Hitch was alive and in the last compound on the end. Reaching out to a stranger was risky but he had little choice. The black haired man had agreed to carry a message to Hitch for him. He could only hope that his driver was well enough to understand the message. Moffitt had spoken to Tully and had expressed his concerns to Troy that Tully's wound might be infected. Troy didn't know if Hitch might have the same problem.
The sight of Hitch walking with the help of the other two soldiers was both a relief and a concern. Troy was relieved to see him but the fact that he needed help was cause for concern.
He tried not to let his interest show as he watched the guards warn the trio away from the gate. He turned away as they made their way toward him. When he looked back Hitch caught his eye and winked at him. Troy hid a grin as he gave a barely perceptible nod in return. Turning his back, he walked away before the guards could take notice of them.
"That the guy we're counting on to help us escape?" The question came from a sergeant who walked up behind Troy. Sergeant Terry Decker watched as Hitch and his companions stumbled across the compound.
"Yeah, that's him." Troy confirmed.
"He doesn't look so good."
"He'll be ready when the time comes." Troy promised. "He's a lot tougher than he looks."
"He'd better be or this thing is over before it even gets started." Decker predicted.
"You just do your part and let me worry about my men." Troy growled.
"Your men are part of a plan that could get me killed." Decker pointed out.
"If you don't like it, back out."
"Not on your life." Decker shook his head. "I want out of here as badly as you do."
"Then do as you're told and follow the plan." Troy growled at Decker and walked away.
Decker watched Hitch sleep for a while before he went in search of someone who shared his concerns.
His friend and fellow sergeant, Sergeant Frank D'Angelo, listened to his complaints before giving him some advice. "We signed on for this. We have to trust Troy to know what he's doing. If he trusts his guys then we are going to have to trust them too."
The answer didn't ease Decker's concerns but he had to admit that D'Angelo had a point. He decided to find a semi-comfortable spot to rest until it was time.
Troy left Decker with his doubts and slowly made his way to the other side of the compound. The Germans had made four separate compounds connected to each other in a long row. He found Moffitt sitting in the same spot he had been when they had talked earlier. Catching the other sergeant's attention, he discreetly gave him a thumbs-up. Moffitt smiled and rose to go talk to Tully.
Having passed the word that the plan was a go, Troy sat down to work out the final details of the escape. He'd already recruited about half of the men in his compound. Like Hitch, he had stuck with the men who knew each other before their capture. Outsiders would be kept in the dark until the last possible moment.
Finding Decker sitting next to D'Angelo, he found a seat near them. Seated with his back to them he kept his head down so no one could see him talking. Keeping his voice low so that only they could hear him, he whispered to them.
"Decker, are you in or out?"
"In." Decker answered.
"Okay, I told the others that we are a go." Troy whispered. "Did you find me a good sharpshooter?"
"Yeah, Corporal Vickers is a pretty good shot."
"I need someone who won't miss." Troy insisted. "He'll need to take out the guards in the halftrack if we are going to pull this off."
"He can get the ones in the halftrack at this end of the column." Decker promised. "He says he can't guarantee the ones at the other end. He thinks they will duck at the first shot."
"Don't worry about them, they're dead men walking."
"How can you be sure?" Decker asked as D'Angelo bumped his shoulder.
"I trust the sharpshooter on that end with my life." Troy declared.
"Shut up Decker." D'Angelo growled.
"It's my life we're talking about here." Decker protested. "I have a right to ask."
"And I answered." Troy whispered back angrily. "Did you get the guys to rush the gate?"
"Four of the biggest guys we could find." D'Angelo answered.
"Good. Big guys tend to intimidate and slow reaction time."
"Why are we throwing rocks at the guards?" D'Angelo asked curiously. "I'm not questioning your methods Sergeant, I was just wondering."
"Distractions to help the big guys breach the gate."
"Makes sense. Keep the guards ducking until the big guys reach them." D'Angelo nodded. "Divide their attention so that they react slower to the real threat."
"That's the idea."
"You do know that some of these guys are going to get killed, right?" Decker demanded.
"Yeah, I know." Troy sounded sad. "But they all know the risks and they are willing to take them to get out of here."
'What about your guys? Are they going to be bringing up the rear?"
Troy turned to face Decker, his face a mask of anger. "My guys will be right out front leading the charge Sergeant! I told you… if you have a problem, back out now! Otherwise, keep your mouth shut!"
"Terry."
"I have a right to ask Frank. We can't blindly follow these guys. We don't know them and they could get us all killed."
"Or set us free." D'Angelo pointed out.
"Either way," Decker conceded, "I would like to know what I'm getting into."
Troy turned his back to them again and looked at the ground. "We all want out of here, my guys as well as yours. We all take the same risks and work together or we risk losing everything."
"Fair enough." D'Angelo agreed. "When do we go?"
"When they're eating, like I said before. If we start anything before that they'll be on us before we can gain a foothold. We'll try to take control and grab some weapons before they can get over here. That's why we need to take out the guards in the halftrack, take them out, not try to take them out. We can't miss. We've got to keep them from using those machine guns on us and we need the guns to defend ourselves. After the guards, the halftracks are the key to our success."
"And if we don't get them?"
"Then a lot of us are going to die." Troy answered quietly.
"All right Sergeant, if I go along with this…" Decker began.
"No ifs." Troy growled. "Either you're in or you're out, no middle ground; make up your mind right now!"
Decker looked at D'Angelo, who nodded his agreement. "Okay." He sighed. "I'm in. I just hope I don't live to regret it."
"Stay front and center and you won't." Troy answered.
"What does that mean?"
"If you're front and center it will either work, or you won't be alive to regret it." Troy rose and walked away, leaving Decker with a lot to think about.
"Cocky so and so, isn't he?" D'Angelo asked with a chuckle.
"Maybe." Decker said with more respect than he had shown to that point. "But if he and his guys are going to be in the front, I'm going to be right there next to them. If they can do it, so can I."
D'Angelo looked at the other sergeant and wisely kept silent.
The day wore on and the question in everyone's' mind was why hadn't the guards moved them to the next point on their journey. Usually they only stopped for the night and moved out after breakfast. So far there had been no move to load them into the trucks and continue.
Troy was beginning to think that their plan had somehow been discovered. He worked his way over close to the compound that held Moffitt. It wasn't long before the British sergeant appeared, walking casually around the perimeter of the wire.
"Is something wrong?" He asked as he stopped to dump sand out of his boot.
"Any idea why they didn't move us today?" Troy whispered back.
"Ah!" Moffitt said as he realized why Troy was worried. "I only caught a little bit of a conversation between two of the guards." He explained with a nod. "It seems that they are waiting for more prisoners to be delivered."
"When?"
"I don't know."
"This could complicate things."
"Jolly well could old man." Moffitt smiled. "They will be on the alert for the new prisoners to try something. At the very least it will mean more guards." Moffitt whispered back.
Troy sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair. "Keep your ears open, we may have to alter our plans."
"Right Troy. Did you see Hitch?"
"Yeah, I saw him. He's all right. He was walking around the compound with help from two other soldiers."
"Two others? Are you sure he's okay?"
"He said he was okay. We'll just have to take his word for it. He knows how important this is, he won't screw around."
"The guard is taking an interest in us." Moffitt warned suddenly. "Get word to me if anything changes." Moffitt started to walk away.
"You do the same." Troy called after him. He stayed where he was as the guard eyed him suspiciously. When the guard finally returned to his post Troy looked around to see if anyone else was watching. He waited a few more minutes before he left too. He took up a position where he could see what the German commander was doing.
Just after noon, while the prisoners were enjoying their stale bread and water, a courier drove up on a motorcycle. He was shown into the tent where Troy was sure the commander was enjoying his meal. A flurry of activity followed as the main body of guards climbed into their halftracks and left the camp. That left only one halftrack to guard the current prisoners. Troy rose and went to talk to Moffitt.
"Moffitt, what's going on?"
"They are going out to meet the next batch of prisoners." The other sergeant explained. "They are going to double the guards on the gates until the other halftracks get back."
"Okay, let Tully know what's going on. We'll make our move while the camp is shorthanded. We'll just have to deal with the extra guards."
"At least we'll only have one halftrack to deal with."
"Yeah, but that's not until after we handle the guards. We'll need their weapons to take out the halftrack." Troy turned to leave.
"I'll let Tully know." Moffitt answered as he moved away too. "We'll wait for your signal."
With the clock ticking, Troy went to let Hitch know what was happening. Hitch was nowhere in sight when Troy reached the other compound. Troy searched the milling crowd for any sign of him. Finally he spotted the black haired man he had spoken with earlier. Stepping near the fence, he waited for the other soldier to notice him.
"What's wrong?" The other soldier asked nervously when he got closer. "The guards leaving don't change anything does it?"
"Yeah, it does." Troy answered while looking the other way. "We're going to go early. The guards went to pick up another batch of prisoners. There's only going to be one halftrack to worry about this way. The only problem is they are going to double the guards. We're going to have to find a way to deal with the extra guards."
"You'll figure something out." The other soldier declared confidently. "You guys are the Rat Patrol, you can think of something."
Troy chose to ignore that remark. "How is Hitch really?" He asked instead.
"Weak." The other soldier admitted. "He's says he's fine but he's going to need help to pull this off."
"He admitted that?"
"Yeah."
"I expected that." Troy answered. "Does he have the help he needs?"
"Yeah, this is my unit in here and they'll all do whatever they can to help."
"Good." Troy nodded. "Can you do me a favor?"
"What's that Sergeant?"
"Keep an eye on him for me."
"I'll be right beside him Sergeant. I'll do everything I can to help."
Troy nodded, his eyes on the guards. "I have to go before the guards get suspicious. Wait for my signal."
