The Secret Raid

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 10

"What happened?" Moffitt asked as soon as Troy stepped out of the shadows around the jeeps.

"Where's Hitch?" Tully asked after searching the surrounding darkness for his the other private.

"We have to go!" Troy responded angrily. "The krauts know we are here. This entire mission is blown!" He threw his weapon onto the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel of his jeep. "Hitch got caught." He added in a softer tone. With an angry jab he started the jeep's engine and drove off, leaving the others to follow.

Tully threw Moffitt a questioning look before he started his jeep and followed Troy.

Moffitt turned to look back toward the German base and wondered if they would ever see their friend again. He reached into his shirt and fingered the original reports. Had they done all this only to lose their youngest member and blow the assignment?

Troy pulled into the cave behind the third jeep and climbed out. The strain of keeping out of sight, the hazardous night driving, and the responsibilities of command all seemed to settle on his shoulders like a heavy rock.

He worried about the mission; was it blown? He worried about his driver; was he still alive? If so, how long would he stay that way? Did he want him to be alive? He knew the Germans would question Hitch if he had been taken alive. Their secret depended on knowing what Hitch knew. He knew Hitch would try to protect the mission as best he could. It had always been understood that the mission came first. He also knew Hitch had protected him when they were discovered. Would his driver feel betrayed when they didn't come back to rescue him? Somehow Troy didn't believe that Hitch would blame them. They all knew the risks they took with every new assignment. Troy cursed the need for secrecy that this mission required. Going back for his missing man would be construed as disobeying orders.

"Troy?"

Moffitt drew him from his thoughts. He looked over to see the Brit and Tully watching him with worried eyes.

"A guard came out of nowhere and caught us crossing an open area. No, not us, he caught me crossing an open area." Troy corrected. "Hitch told me to run. He killed the guard with his knife. He covered me until I got clear." Troy swallowed to control his voice. "I thought he was right behind me. When I got to the wall he was nowhere in sight and there were soldiers running all over the place. I had to run or risk getting caught too."

"The shots?" The question hung in the air until Troy shook himself and answered.

"The guard's gun went off before Hitch could silence him."

Tully and Moffitt visibly relaxed.

"There were no other shots." The Brit ventured. "Perhaps he got away."

Troy shook his head in denial. "There were too many Germans. He had no place to hide. No, they caught him."

"Then that's it then. They'll know we have the test results, or at least they'll know we know about the tests."

Troy nodded miserably. "And they'll consider Hitch a spy and we can't go back after him."

"He'll be shot."

"Yeah."

"Maybe not."

Troy and Moffitt looked at Tully with grief stricken faces. "Tully" Troy said.

"Maybe not." Tully repeated stubbornly. "Hitch has already proven that he can think fast on his feet. What if he can convince them that we don't know anything about the tests? He was never near the office and the tests are finished according to the reports you found."

"All true Tully, but what could he tell them that they would believe? He'll have to have some excuse for being on the base. They are going to be extra suspicious about anything right now. I'm afraid that the base commander is going to err on the side of caution no matter how convincing Hitch may be." Moffitt explained.

"But if he doesn't know anything!"

"Jerry will not believe that he doesn't know anything." Moffitt sighed. "He would have to give them a very good story to even save the mission. I can't think of anything that he could say that could do that. As I said, they are going to be suspicious of every word he says. Saving himself," the Brit shook his head, "I'm afraid that that may not be possible."

"Sarge?" Tully turned to Troy.

"Moffitt's right." Troy confirmed. "That commander has orders to keep these tests a secret. I'm sure that he has been told not to take any chances. He'll question Hitch, maybe check his story, but in the end, he'll have Hitch shot. He won't risk making a mistake and letting his secret get out."

"We can go after him." Tully suggested without any heat.

"We can't! Don't you think I've already thought about that? Going after Hitch would be the equivalent of disobeying orders. We were ordered to keep our presence a secret."

"But they know we're here now."

"No, they know Hitch is here. Hopefully Hitch can convince them that he is acting alone. If they don't find out about the rest of us they may still believe they can keep their secret by silencing Hitch. Our mission will be safe."

"What about Hitch?" Tully asked in a defeated tone.

"There's nothing we can do Tully." Moffitt reached over and patted his driver on the shoulder. "Hitch will understand. We would have to make the same decision no matter which of us fell into German hands."

"Hitch said if anyone got caught because they were waiting for us it would be his fault." Tully spoke into the silence that had fallen over the trio.

"What? Why?" Troy demanded.

"He said he was the one who lost those rations. He said if the krauts found them and set a trap for us it would be on him."

"That was an accident." Troy growled. "It could have happened to any of us."

"That's not what you told Hitch." Tully replied quietly.

"I was angry and tired." Troy responded. "I didn't mean to blame him."

"You said if they were found the mission would be blown."

"And that was true." Troy replied. "But we don't know that they found them. They didn't seem to be waiting for us. He didn't need to feel responsible."

"You made him repack the jeep."

"To teach him to be more careful, not because I blamed him."

"But he did feel responsible."

"We should have known." Moffitt joined the conversation. "He has been quieter than normal lately. I'm afraid I overlooked it too, putting it down to the strain that we were all under. This makes as much sense." Moffitt looked around at the others. "You don't suppose he sacrificed himself out of guilt, do you?"

"No," Troy answered, "getting caught only made things worse, not better. He got caught because that guard spotted us and he couldn't get clear. Letting them take him alive may have been out of guilt." Troy paused to look at the others as his thoughts raced toward a probable conclusion. "Maybe Tully's right, maybe Hitch thinks he can still save the mission by convincing the Germans that we don't know anything."

"They'll interrogate him." Moffitt pointed out.

"Yeah, but Hitch is tough."

"Not that tough Troy. If they aren't satisfied with his answers they'll send him to the Gestapo. He will talk, everyone does sooner or later."

"I could shoot him."

Tully's quiet offer stopped the conversation.

"I don't want to… but I would to keep him from suffering in the hands of the Gestapo. I could do it to save him from that." Tully looked positively miserable, but determined at the same time.

"It wouldn't work Tully." Troy answered to Tully's relief. "If we kill him they would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we know about the tests."

"The mission is blown." Moffitt repeated. "We can't save him without revealing our presence and we are compromised if he talks. Either way they will find out about us."

Troy squeezed Tully's arm and pushed him deeper into the cave. "No matter what we decided to do about Hitch we are going to have to stay here a day or two. Security is going to be increased again until they are satisfied that Hitch was alone. We can't risk a run for the caravan trail until things cool down." He looked around for something to take their minds off their missing member. "Did you two ever finish exploring this cave?"

"No." Moffitt admitted. "I guess we could do that now. It's still dark outside, the bats should be gone."

Troy nodded. "I'll stand watch while you two see what you can find. We could use a little luck right now. Maybe you'll find a back way out of here. With the Germans looking around we may need one."

"Moffitt nodded and reached for the flashlights. "Come along Tully, perhaps we'll find some ancient hidden treasures."

Tully nodded without much enthusiasm and accepted the offered light. He kept the beam pointed at the floor as he followed the sergeant deeper into the cave. He no longer had much interest in the splendors of the caverns.

Troy took his Thompson and returned to the entrance to stand guard. His thoughts kept going back to his driver. He felt guilty about his reaction to the lost rations. Allowing his own stress and exhaustion to color his words had been a mistake. It was easy to picture the ropes working loose and allowing the supplies to slip especially when one considered that they had been secured without the benefit of any light. The moon had been obscured by clouds during the stop in question. The security on the base had been minimal seeming to indicate that the Germans had not been expecting any intruders. Other than the usual wariness they had been quite lax in their preparedness. He fervently wished that he could take back the words he had uttered that night.

He leaned against some rocks and watched as the searchlights combed the desert. He had expected the Germans to conduct a thorough search of the desert but he hadn't expected them to search this far from the base until it got light. He watched as they combed a nearby valley from one end to the other. Finally the lights went out and the sound of German motors faded into the night. Troy was still watching for more search parties when he heard a noise behind him. He spun, ready to defend himself, but stopped as Moffitt called out to him.

"Easy Troy, it's only me." Moffitt held up both hands, palms out, in a placating gesture.

"Sorry, guess I'm just jumpy."

"We all are." The other sergeant responded. "This assignment has been hard on all of us."

"And I've been hard on everyone around me." Troy turned back to stare out into the desert again.

Moffitt didn't comment on Troy's admission. He stood quietly and marveled at the stars that twinkled above them. "It's a big world out there Troy." He finally said.

Troy turned to look at Moffitt, waiting for him to get to his point.

The British sergeant didn't seem to be in any hurry. He gazed at the stars a while longer while he gathered his thoughts. When he thought that he had them in order he began to speak.

"You know, of all of the units I could have ended up with, an American unit would have been my last guess. It's not unheard of for a British soldier to help an American unit, but to join them, that's not exactly a common occurrence."

"Are you sorry?"

"No." Moffitt smiled. "Not even a little bit Troy. If I had been offered a chance to join this team before I had actually met you, I may have turned it down. Not that I'm opposed to our American allies, quite the opposite really." He paused in thought. "I truly am grateful that your government decided to join the war effort on our side."

"We may have had some help making that decision." Troy reminded him.

"Yes, of course, Pearl Harbor." Moffitt shrugged. "I've always felt that your government would have come around anyway. You Americans have a way of jumping into a fight when you see an underdog. You have a strong sense of right and wrong and you are not afraid to fight for what you believe in. I like to think that you would have grown tired of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazi's and come to our aid on your own."

"Maybe Doctor, but what's your point?"

"You're tired Troy, why don't you go get some rest while I stand guard?"

"Oh no, you're not going to just leave me hanging here. You have something to say Doctor, spit it out."

"It's just that we are a team Troy. I may not have planned to join you, but I did. So did Tully and Hitch."

Troy flinched at the mention of his driver.

"We count on one another," Moffitt continued, "but we all realize that the mission comes first. I am certain that Hitch is not sitting around blaming us for leaving him behind. And I am just as certain that he will do everything in his power to salvage the mission."

"How? They know we're here."

"They know Hitch is here. Remember what Tully said? Hitch thinks fast on his feet. Don't sell him short Troy. He may be able to convince them that he is alone and knows nothing about the tests."

"They'll kill him anyway."

"Perhaps, but he won't have died in vain."