The Helping Hand Raid
By:AliasCWN
Chapter 6
Cantrell was sweaty and tired when he dropped his jeep off at the motor pool. He glared at everyone who looked his way as he parked the jeep next to Tully's. Tully was already done going over his jeep and was talking to some of the mechanics when Cantrell arrived. The two of them didn't exchange greetings like he would have done with Hitch. But then Hitch would have stayed and helped with the jeep, Cantrell didn't.
Tully went over the jeep and fixed a few minor things he found wrong. While he was at it he pounded out a few of the dents that Cantrell had put in the vehicle. When he checked underneath he found a small hole in the oil pan. He had that fixed before Troy and Moffitt showed up to check on his progress.
"How's it look Tully?"
"Not too bad, I've seen worse Sarge."
"A brand new jeep." Troy shook his head. "I should have known better."
"The damage isn't that bad and now we know what kind of a driver he is." Tully argued, not realizing that he was repeating Troy's argument from earlier.
"He didn't do all that bad did he?" Moffitt looked to Tully for confirmation.
"He didn't take care of his jeep." Troy pointed out. "Did he do any damage by overheating it?"
"She sounded all right when I started her." Tully answered. "Maybe he learned his lesson."
"I hope so." Troy replied. "A mistake like that could get someone killed out in the desert. We depend on those jeeps too much to take chances like that."
"I'm sure he understands that now." Moffitt responded.
Troy looked over at Tully. "Can you have it ready by morning?"
"Almost done now Sarge. She'll be ready to go in about ten minutes."
"Good, then I want you to get some rest so we can leave early tomorrow." Troy looked around the motor pool. "Where's Cantrell?"
Tully shrugged. "I don't know. I'll ask around after I finish the jeep."
Tully spent half an hour with Hitch before leaving so his buddy could get some rest. He told Hitch about the race and the blonde was indignant that Cantrell could abuse a jeep the way he had. He told Troy and Moffitt at supper about Hitch's reaction and they had all had a good laugh about it. They were still smiling when Cantrell walked into the mess hall.
The redhead spotted his new team mates as soon as he walked in. They were all smiling until they saw him. Thinking that they were laughing at him, he sent a glare their way before taking his tray and finding a seat on the other side of the room. He could hear them laughing occasionally as he ate his meal. His anger grew as he imagined everyone looking at him and smiling.
Tully checked his watch again and looked toward the door. Cantrell had not put in an appearance in the room they were supposed to share and it was getting late. Resigned to searching for the man, Tully headed for the most likely place for him to be, the bar.
Loud voices spilled out into the street as Tully neared the newly repaired door. He opened the door to find the scene that he had been expecting since leaving his room. Mitch Cantrell stood at the bar arguing with two other soldiers. The rest of the patrons weren't actively taking sides but Tully knew that that would change as soon as the first punch was thrown. Remembering his promise to Troy, Tully stepped into the room.
"Cantrell, time to go. Sarge wants to leave early tomorrow."
"Get lost Pettigrew, this is none of your business. I'll be along when I'm darn good and ready." Cantrell snarled.
"I'm making it my business." Tully informed him. "Sarge said to make sure we got to bed early. That means you're ready now."
"You'd better get him out of here before he gets into trouble." One off the bartenders warned.
"That's why I'm here." Tully nodded.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Cantrell snarled as Tully walked up next to him.
"Cantrell," Tully sighed, "I warned Sarge that I couldn't promise not to do this."
"Do what?" Cantrell sneered.
Tully's fist connected with the redhead's jaw and Cantrell collapsed against the bar. "That." Tully answered. He held the limp form of the redhead against the bar until he could get a grip on him. "If he wants to press charges, you guys can be witnesses." Tully drawled as he lifted the limp body onto his shoulder.
"We didn't see a thing." One of the guys at the bar stated. A lot of other heads nodded in agreement.
"We have an early patrol tomorrow. I guess I'd better get our sleepy driver to bed."
"Good luck." Someone called as Tully pushed the door open with Cantrell's feet.
By the time Tully got Cantrell back to their room he was ready to turn in himself. The long walk from the bar with the limp form over his shoulder had tired him out. Tully hadn't thought Cantrell was drunk but the redhead continued to sleep as he dropped him on to Hitch's empty bed. "I hope you like sleeping in those clothes cause I'm not about to undress you." Tully muttered as he got ready for bed himself. He turned out the light and slipped under his covers. "At least you don't snore." He mumbled as he dropped off to sleep.
Troy and Moffitt met Tully and Cantrell in the mess hall for breakfast the next morning.
"Everybody sleep all right?" He asked when he saw Cantrell's surly face.
"One of us was out like a light." Tully replied with a smile.
"And the other one?"
"I slept okay too." Tully grinned and looked at Cantrell. "I got plenty of exercise before I turned in."
"Doing what?"
"Boxing." Tully answered. "I have to go get my breakfast, save me a seat." He left before Troy could ask any more questions. Troy caught the look on Cantrell's face and decided to let the matter drop until he could catch Tully alone.
"You'd better get something to eat too." Moffitt told Cantrell. "You never know when you'll get another chance. Sometimes we miss meals when we get busy."
Cantrell glared at Moffitt before getting in line to get his breakfast. When he got back the others were discussing the mission. He would have taken a seat at a different table but Troy called him over.
"We're talking about the assignment and you need to know some of this."
Cantrell sat down and ate while the sergeants talked. He noticed that Tully would ask questions from time to time and even dared to make suggestions about how he thought something could be done. To his surprise, Troy not only listened, but seemed to seriously consider the recommendations. He began to watch the interactions between the three men more closely.
"Okay Moffitt, since Tully knows where we're going I'm going to let you lead out. I'll try to give Cantrell some idea how we work so he knows what to expect when the time comes." Troy took his seat and waited for Cantrell to get behind the wheel. Cantrell took his time taking his seat.
Moffitt nodded and leaned back as Tully guided the jeep expertly around the pedestrians in the road.
Since planes were a constant threat on a clear day Troy began by describing how they handled an aerial attack. Then he went into detail about how they attacked a convoy, just in case the need arose. He emphasized the importance of knowing where the other jeep was at all times. He stressed over and over why they did things the way they did, hoping that Cantrell would understand the importance of the details. "We're a team," he finished by saying, "our very survival depends on us working as a team. We take care of each other and we take care of our jeeps. Forget either of those things and someone could wind up dead."
"Like I said Sergeant, the motor pool is there to take care of our jeeps, I just drive one." Cantrell refused to call Troy 'sarge' like Tully did.
"The first time it breaks down because you didn't take care of it you'll change your mind." Troy predicted. "Just hope there aren't any Germans chasing us when that happens."
Cantrell could see the danger that that would put them in but he wasn't ready to give Troy the satisfaction of agreeing with him so he just stayed silent.
After that the sergeant ignored him for the next couple of hours. Cantrell was left to his own thoughts until they pulled into the shade of a wadi to cool the engines.
"Fill the gas tanks while the engines cool. Lift the hood so the air can get under there. We'll fill the radiators before we pull out." Troy slid from the seat as he gave Cantrell his orders. Before the redhead could say a word the sergeant had grabbed a weapon and gone to stand guard.
"He's nuts if he thinks I'm going to play nursemaid to a jeep. Let somebody else do it." He grumbled under his breath. "I don't work on jeeps he said in a louder voice."
"Suit yourself." Moffitt shrugged. "If your jeep breaks down we only have room for one more in ours."
"And it won't be you." Tully added. "If you aren't willing to take care of your ride you can walk for all I care."
Moffitt gave Tully an approving nod and reached for the map case under his seat. "I want to check our coordinates and then I'll take Troy some water."
"I got the jeep Doc."
Moffitt nodded and took the map case to a nearby rock where he could spread the map out to read it. A few minutes later he put the map away and took a canteen to Troy.
Tully checked his jeep for damage and filled his gas tank. He lifted the hood and checked all the hoses while the engine cooled. Moffitt returned and the two of them talked quietly until Troy called to them to get ready to leave. Tully added water to his and strapped his hood down.
Cantrell watched all of the preparations with a smug grin on his face. He wouldn't give in; sooner or later Troy would have Pettigrew take care of his jeep too.
When Troy returned he took his seat without a word to Cantrell.
"Sarge." Tully called over to Troy. "That jeep didn't get serviced. "I can do it quick before we leave."
Troy looked at Cantrell and shook his head. "Leave it be. Cantrell can manage."
"Okay Sarge." Tully answered with a frown at the jeep and its driver.
"I hope you like walking." Troy told his driver. "Let's move out."
They rode in silence until Tully's jeep dropped back next to Troy's and Moffitt pointed to some dust in the distance.
"Convoy?" Troy asked.
"Not unless it's taking a different route than the others." Moffitt called back. "I suspect it may be a column. They may have sent one out to find us after we shot down those planes."
"That was three days ago." Troy replied. "Why would they think we were still in the area?"
Moffitt chewed on his lip and shrugged. "Perhaps they added extra security to keep us from discovering the answer to the riddle."
"What riddle?"
"Why they're sending out all of those small convoys in place of a few large ones." Moffitt smiled. "That is why we're out here."
Troy nodded while watching the dust. "And one column isn't going to keep us from solving that riddle."
"Be careful Troy, we only saw one, but there may be more."
Troy shook his head. "Headquarters says they haven't had any reports of armor out this way. They couldn't have slipped too may columns past the spotters."
"This one got past." Moffitt pointed out.
"Okay, let's get out of their way. Tully, keep us close to the hills."
Tully nodded and sent his jeep toward the hills where they could find cover in a hurry if they needed it.
Beside Troy Cantrell was trying to keep track of the dust cloud. "What do we do if they spot us?"
"We run." Troy answered. "We can't take on a column. We might do some damage but we can't hold out for long in a prolonged battle."
Cantrell looked at the dust again and was certain that it was getting closer. "Why don't we go faster?"
Troy glanced over and noticed the beads of sweat on the other soldier's brow. "Because if we go fast we leave a dust trail too. As long as they don't know we're here we can hide."
"But we could out run them."
"Maybe." Troy replied. "But why risk it when they don't know we're here. If they spot us we'll run."
Cantrell nodded but he kept glancing back toward the column. A small hissing sound drew the attention of both men.
"Not now." Troy groaned.
"What? What's wrong?" Cantrell asked nervously.
"You didn't take care of the jeep." Troy replied in a tight voice.
"What? We're not out of gas."
"No, but the engine is overheating. Did you lift the hood to let it cool?"
Cantrell looked at the hood of his jeep and saw the first small streams of steam. "I thought you were kidding." He answered lamely.
"Did you fill the radiator?"
The look on his driver's face gave Troy his answer. Troy shook his head and for the first time, despite all of the rude behavior, regretted asking for the private to be his driver.
"Moffitt, we have a problem."
Moffitt and Tully both looked back at Troy's announcement. They both spotted the steam before Troy could explain.
Tully shook his head and bit down on his matchstick, nearly biting it in half.
"We can't out run them with an overheated jeep." Troy explained. "We'll have to split up. If they get too close maybe you and Tully can lead them off while we hide."
"What if they still spot you? We won't be in a position to help you."
"We'll have to take our chances." Troy replied. "I don't want you getting caught because I got careless."
"I don't like it Troy."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"I have an idea but it's hardly worthy of a gentleman." Moffitt glared at Cantrell. "So, no, I suppose not."
"Then you and Tully get out of here. We'll try to camouflage the jeep and stay out of sight. Keep an eye on the column and don't let them see you unless it can't be avoided." Troy had Cantrell drive into a wadi and they climbed from the jeep.
"They'll see your tracks if they come this way." Tully warned.
"Why can't we all just go in the other jeep?" Cantrell demanded.
"Because four men in a jeep will make it overheat in no time." Troy growled. "I'm not letting my whole team get caught because you can't follow orders. We stay here and they do their job. Be careful Moffitt. Don't let them get too close."
Moffitt nodded and ordered Tully to move out. Tully looked back at Troy and said something to Moffitt that the others couldn't hear. Moffitt shook his head and pointed toward a distant hill. Tully didn't look pleased as he drove away.
"We could have gotten away in the other jeep." Cantrell whined.
"And then we all would have been in trouble." Troy growled. "Four men to a jeep means that two of us have to walk at all times. The Germans would have had no trouble catching up to us. I warned you about taking care of our ride."
"But you didn't say that you would let us get captured or killed if I didn't do it!"
Troy stared at Cantrell for a moment, noting the fear in his eyes. "If they find us we'll fight. We'll run the jeep as long as it will go. Maybe Tully and Moffitt can distract them while we make a break for it."
"Then what?"
Troy smiled but it wasn't a pleasant smile. "Then it's up to the Germans."
The column looked like it was going to miss them but at the last minute it swerved in their direction. Troy watched it come nearer and nearer. "They're going to find our tracks."
"What are we going to do?"
Troy looked over at the still steaming jeep and made his decision. "We'll try to sneak out. Get us moving but keep it slow. Stay near the base of the hill. Maybe they won't realize how fresh the tracks are and decide not to follow."
Cantrell nodded and slid into his seat. Under Troy's guidance he kept the jeep near the bottom edge of the hill while trying to put distance between themselves and the approaching column. They rounded the hill and darted for the next one as the sounds of heavy engines echoed across the sand. The dust was right behind them and Cantrell was turning more often to look back. He expected to see the armored vehicles chasing them at any moment. He pressed harder on the gas trying to gain speed without Troy noticing.
"Take it easy on the engine." Troy growled. "Don't heat it up any more than necessary before we make a break for it."
Cantrell looked at the thicker streams of steam and backed off on the gas. He could hear the engines better now, indicating that they were getting closer. He looked back as they rounded the next hill. The column still hadn't caught sight of them. He began to hope that they might sneak away. The hill curved around and Cantrell took the turn thinking that it would act as a screen between them and the column, giving them more time to get clear. He glanced back again, breathing a small sigh as the hill blocked his view. He turned back to the front and froze in shock. Coming toward them around the hill were two German patrol cars.