A Secret Kept

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

Mail call was late and Troy waited with the crowd of other soldiers eager to hear from home. The man in charge of handing out the mail didn't bother to try to organize the bulging sacks of letters and packages. He climbed up onto the tailgate of the mail truck and began calling out names. Men pushed and shoved to reach the mail with their names on it. In almost every case someone rushed forward to receive the letter, or, if they were lucky, a package.

Troy claimed two letters for Tully and one for Moffitt. Tully also got a package that rattled when it was tossed to the waiting sergeant. The mail bag was almost empty when Troy heard his own named called. He claimed the letter and checked the handwriting. It wasn't any penmanship he recognized so he tucked it into his pocket to read later. With the last of the mail handed out, the crowd dispersed, some happy, some disappointed. Troy had to dodge more than one soldier who opted to read his letter right where they stood rather than wait until they had moved out of the way.

Troy went to the room the privates shared and left Tully's letter on his bed next to the heavily wrapped package before heading to the quarters he shared with Moffitt. Moffitt was reading but he placed the book to one side when he saw the letter in Troy's hand.

"Is that for me?"

Troy nodded and handed him the letter. "Tully got a package. It rattled like another tin of cookies."

The Brit smiled. "Perhaps he'll share."

"He usually does," Troy answered. "We can drop by his room later, just in case."

Moffitt nodded but his attention was on the letter in his hands. He pulled a knife and slid it along the top of the envelope.

Troy pulled his letter from his pocket but he didn't get a chance to open it. A knock on the door interrupted him before he could get that far.

"I'll get it."

Moffitt nodded an acknowledgement without looking up from his letter.

Trop pulled the door open to find a clerk from Captain Boggs' office about to knock again. The clerk hurriedly lowered his hand as the door swung open.

"Sergeant Troy, the captain wants to see you right away."

"Just me?"

"You're the only one he mentioned," the clerk answered.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Troy turned to pick up his hat before following the clerk down the hall. Once outside the clerk excused himself to run another arrand for the captain, leaving Troy to walk to the captain's office alone. Along the way he noticed Tully and Hitch walking toward him. He paused long enough to talk to them. "The captain sent for me. You two stay where I can find you in case we have a mission."

Both privates nodded as he started to leave.

"Oh Tully," Troy half turned toward the privates, "I picked up the mail. You have a couple of letters and a package on your bed."

"Thanks, Sarge."

Troy nodded and continued on is way. Several times he saw men reading letters, reminding him of the letter he still carried in his pocket. Reading it would have to wait until after his meeting with the captain.

Captain Boggs was waiting when Troy arrived. He opened the door before the clerk could raise a fist to knock and announce the sergeant. When he saw the sergeant, he stepped back and motioned Troy in. "Troy! Glad you could get here so quickly. Since you had the day off, I wasn't sure my clerk would be able to locate you so soon."

"He found me in my room. I just got back from mail call," Troy explained. "What's the rush?"

"Do you know where to find all of your team?" the captain asked without answering Troy's question.

"Yes sir," Troy answered. "Moffitt's in our room and I ran into Hitch and Tully on my way over here. I told them to stay where I can find them. They'll be in their room."

"Good, good, that will save time. I have a new assignment for you. I need you to take an officer to the base at Al Garub. He needs to get there fast and without the Germans knowing he's coming. Hopefully they won't know he was there at all."

"Why not just disguise him as any other soldier and send him in with a convoy?"

"Too slow," the captain answered with a shake of his head. "Even if we had a convoy going that way, it would be to slow. He needs to get there as soon as possible. He's supposed to meet with an informant that we've been trying to get to cooperate for six months. The man finally agreed to talk to us but he has a very small window of opportunity. He's agreed to meet but he'll only talk to Captain Caine, and it has to be within the next two days."

"Two days!" Troy glanced at the map that the captain had on his wall. "Just getting there will take a day and a half. And that's if we don't run into any trouble."

"I'm well aware of that Sergeant," the captain snapped. "But this information could be very important! It's not an ideal situation but it is what it is. Can you get him there?"

"Do the Germans have any idea that's he's on his way?"

"We don't know," the captain admitted in a calmer tone. "We have to assume that their spies may have at least picked up some rumors about it. We've tried to keep it under wraps but we just can't say for sure. The captain arrived here about an hour ago. He can leave right away."

Troy nodded his head as his thoughts raced. "Is there any chance we can get this captain to dress as a private until we get there?" Troy asked. "It might be easier to slip him through that way, especially if the Germans are looking for an officer."

"I can ask," Captain Boggs offered. "How soon can you leave?"

"The jeeps are ready," the sergeant answered. "With an extra mouth to feed we probably should pick up some extra rations. We could be ready to pull out in fifteen minutes."

"All right," the captain nodded happily, "I'll have Captain Caine meet you at the motor pool as soon as he's ready. I'll tell him your idea about the disguise."

"If he agrees sir, I won't tell my men his real rank. The fewer who know, the better."

"It might be best to change his name too," the captain suggested. "Either that or come up with a nickname so you don't have to use his real name. Anyone could overhear your conversations with him."

"As long as the captain is all right with that," Troy agreed. "Just make sure he understands that it's for his own good and my men won't be in on the secret. I'll tell them we're going to the base to pick up a package and we are going to have a rider. He can claim to be returning to his unit."

"That might be best," the captain agreed. "I'll tell him."

"I'll have Hitch pick up the extra supplies. We'll be at the motor pool." Troy was dismissed and he headed for the quarters he shared with Moffitt. The room was empty so he headed for the quarters the privates shared. All three of his men were waiting for him there.

"A new mission?" Moffitt asked when Troy stepped into the room.

"Yeah," Troy nodded, "we leave right away. Hitch, go over to supply and pick up enough rations for another man. We may have a rider. Tully, can you go over the jeeps really quick? This is going to be a fast run and we can't afford any breakdowns."

"On it Sarge." Tully grabbed his gear and headed out the door.

"Where to?" ask Moffitt.

"The base at Al Garub, but don't let that get out. Let's say we're headed for Captain Beauregard's base. We'll head out that way and change direction once we're out a few miles. Our orders are to get there without being seen."

"That won't be easy."

"Maybe not," Troy answered, "but those are our orders."

A half hour later they were waiting in the jeeps when a private approached the motor pool. Upon seeing them, he turned toward the jeeps. In his mid-thirties, the private was blonde haired and blue eyed, much like Hitch. He was clean shaven and his uniform looked new. Troy watched him approach with an easy stride that eluded confidence. His initial thought was that the others were never going to believe that this man was a private. He shifted in his seat to check their reactions to the newcomer. To his relief, they only appeared curious, not at all suspicious.

"Sergeant Troy?"

"That's me," Troy answered.

"Captain Boggs said I might be able to catch a ride with you," the man explained. "I have to get back to my unit as soon as possible."

Troy nodded with satisfaction. "The captain mentioned that we might have a passenger. He explained how this works?"

"He did," the private nodded. "I won't get in your way."

"What do we call you?"

"Gerome Albert, but you can call me Jerry."

"All right Jerry," Troy answered, "we're ready to go. Is that your gear?" Troy pointed toward the small duffle that the private carried.

Jerry held up the duffle and nodded. "I travel light."

He flashed Troy a bright smile that again reminded him of Hitch.

"This is Hitch." Troy indicated his driver. "You can ride next to him. That's Sergeant Moffit and that's Tully. Load your stuff and we'll be on our way." Troy pointed to his jeep.

"I can ride in the back," Jerry offered as Troy climbed up to sit on the radio.

"That's my seat," Troy replied. "If we run into trouble, I don't want to have to climb over you to reach the 50. You're just along for the ride."

Jerry nodded and took his seat.

"How long is it going to take us to reach the base?" Jerry leaned over and asked Hitch as the blond guided the jeep through the gate.

"The captain's base is about two and a half days," Hitch answered.

"Two and a half days?" Jerry looked up at Troy, annoyed that he had been given the wrong information. "I need to be there sooner than that!"

Hitch looked over and shrugged. "Take it up with Sarge. These jeeps can't fly you know. We're taking the shortest route we know. Just hope we don't get delayed."

"Delayed? What kind of delay are you expecting?"

"I'm not expecting any delays," Hitch answered, "I'm just not guaranteeing that there won't be any."

"What kinds of delays can you expect?" Jerry asked again.

"The usual," Hitch answered.

"Such as?"

"Arabs, Germans, breakdowns; the usual."

"What are the chances we'll run into a delay?"

"The usual," Hitch answered. He was watching the road ahead so he didn't see the annoyed look he got from his passenger.

"Can you be more specific?" Jerry asked.

Hitch looked over in surprise at Jerry's tone of voice. "Are you in a hurry or something?"

Jerry immediately backed down. "Not really, I was just wondering. I'm not a big fan of surprises."

"Then you're not going to be happy," Hitch answered. "Surprises are a way of life out here. We can't make any promises but we'll do our best to get you there as soon as possible. Maybe you'd better just sit back and try to enjoy the ride."

"That sounds like good advice."

Troy had leaned forward to hear what was being said. When it sounded as if the captain was going to blow his cover, he prepared to intervene. Before he could say anything, the officer seemed to remember who he was pretending to be and backed off. Troy sat back and concentrated on their surroundings.

"Sergeant Troy?"

Troy leaned forward to hear what the officer wanted to say. "Yeah?"

"Are we going to be on time?"

Troy shrugged. "I told my men we were headed for another base in case anyone was listening. We'll change direction soon and head for Al Garub. Unless we run into trouble, we'll be on time. We're trying to avoid detection."

Jerry nodded. "You know how important this is to me?"

"Yeah Jerry, I know," Troy nodded. "You're in a hurry to get back to your unit. Captain Boggs explained it all to me."

"Are we going to drive all night?"

"No," Troy shook his head, "it's too dangerous. We'll camp for the night and continue tomorrow."

"We should stop soon Sarge," Hitch called. "The engine is getting over heated."

"Okay," Troy called, "let Moffitt know."

Hitch picked up speed until he was driving beside Tully. "My engine needs to cool down," he yelled to the other jeep.

Tully nodded and twisted around to ask Moffitt if there was a suitable spot nearby. The British sergeant checked the map and guided them to a small wadi where they could cool the engines and grab some lunch. After changing directions he had needed to chart a new course that would take them where they wanted to go.

Tully serviced the jeeps while Hitch prepared the rations. Moffitt was still studying the map so Troy took a rifle and went to stand guard. He had only been on guard a few minutes when he heard someone coming up behind him.

"Sergeant Troy?"

Troy turned to find Jerry walking up the slope. "What can I do for you Captain?"

Captain Caine made a face. "I came to apologize Sergeant. I know I almost blew my cover. I'm not used to going undercover. It's been a while since I was a private and I guess I forgot how to act like one."

"No harm done," Troy answered. "Just be careful, my men tend to be suspicious; it keeps us alive."

"Understood Sergeant. From now on, even when we're alone, I am Private Gerome Albert to everyone, including you. It will help me get into character and stay there. I would appreciate it if you would step in if it looks like I'm forgetting my role again."

"I can do that Jerry," Troy smiled.

Captain Caine nodded and turned to go back to the jeeps. He offered to help Hitch with the rations.

Troy turned back to stand guard. Another scan of the desert revealed only sand, and more sand. He remembered the letter in his pocket and decided to read it while the engines were cooling. Taking it out, he carefully opened it. Unfolding the paper, he began to read.