Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Targets

By Suzie2b

The Rat Patrol was in the motor pool waiting for the convoy's people to show up. Hitch and Tully were perched side-by-side on the hood of one of the jeeps as they watched the drivers trickle in to be assigned to trucks.

After a while a lieutenant was spotted walking in the Rat Patrol's direction and Hitch turned and said, "Hey, sarge. We've got company."

Troy and Moffitt both looked up from their map as the lieutenant approached.

"Sergeant Troy?"

The sergeant gave a nod. "Yes, sir."

"I'm Lieutenant Criss. I'm in charge of this convoy."

Troy indicated the other sergeant and said, "This is Sergeant Moffitt." He then pointed to Hitch and Tully. "Privates Hitchcock and Pettigrew."

"I just wanted to go over the route with you before we leave. We're still waiting on one of my men, but we'll be ready when you are." A private tried to get to the cover of the line of trucks without being seen, but Lieutenant Criss caught sight of him and called, "Private Cleary! You were told to be here at 0700 hours! You're ten minutes late, private!"

Cleary stammered and said, "Sorry, lieutenant. The time got away from me."

Criss glared at the private, knowing he didn't need to start out one man down. "You're in the third truck with Private Thomas. Get going."

A few minutes later they had gone over the route and the lieutenant was ready to head out. Troy asked, "Are any of your men drivers from the convoy that came in?"

"New day, fresh drivers. The drivers who survived were mostly wounded and in no shape to continue."

Moffitt questioned, "May I ask you something, sir?"

Criss nodded. "Of course."

"Is Private Cleary a troublemaker?"

"Not really. He can be a bit of a hothead at times, but he's good with a gun and can follow orders." Criss paused, then asked, "Does this have to do with who won the shooting contest?"

Moffitt replied, "Yes, in a way, sir. But it has more to do with the note that was slipped under our door yesterday."

"What note would that be?"

Troy said, "The one addressed to Private Hitchcock and warning him to watch his back."

Criss sighed. "I know nothing about a note, sergeant, but it doesn't surprise me. Cleary is mostly bluster. He likes to be the center of attention. I'll keep an eye on him and have a talk with him if need be."

"Thank you, lieutenant."

#################

The morning dragged on without any trouble, but when the convoy passed into enemy territory everyone became hypervigilant. Troy and Moffitt got into the back of the jeeps to man the 50s before sending Moffitt and Tully out to scout the way ahead.

Thirty minutes later they returned to report there was no signs of the Germans … yet.

At 2:00 that afternoon, the convoy stopped for the first time since leaving at-Taif Oasis. It was a dried up waterhole and there wasn't any cover to speak of.

Lieutenant Criss met with Troy and Moffitt. "You aren't intending to stop for the day here, are you?"

Troy said, "No, sir. Time to cool the engines a bit and gas up."

"I see. How much farther to our destination for the day?"

Moffitt said, "In a few hours we'll come to a wadi. We'll spend the night there if it's not already occupied."

Criss asked, "And if it is occupied?"

Troy smiled slightly. "Depends on who it is."

They were there for about an hour. The engines had cooled sufficiently and the radiators checked. Once the gas tanks were again full, they were on their way again.

When they were within ten miles of the wadi, Troy and Hitch went ahead to check it out. They returned with an all clear for them to go in.

#################

Hitch and Tully were putting a hot meal together when Hitch said, "It's a shame we couldn't stay for the final games."

Tully smiled. "I was sort of looking forward to the closing ceremonies. I heard talk that it was going to be quite a show."

Moffitt said with a smile. "I was on the track and field team while at university. I must say I was pretty good at both the long jump and the high jump."

Hitch grinned. "With your height I'm not surprised."

Troy looked at his driver and asked, "You do know that Cleary is one of Lieutenant Criss' men?"

"Yeah, Tully and I saw him trying to sneak into the motor pool. As long as he doesn't cause issues with me, I won't cause any with him."

After dinner, Troy sent Hitch out to take first watch while Tully cleaned up and stowed their gear. Then he set about going over the jeeps so they'd be ready in the morning.

#################

Hitch strolled around the trucks, always keeping his eyes on the desert. He walked by several of the sentries that Lieutenant Criss had placed, giving a nod as he passed. Then he heard a voice that made him pause to listen.

It was Tod Cleary. "Yeah, I should've taken at least second place. I was cheated. I would've taken first if I could've used my own rifle."

The man next to him asked, "You aren't gonna do anything stupid, are you?"

"Stupid? Nah, but if I get a chance to show up that pip-squeak Hitchcock, I'm going to take it."

"I wouldn't call him a pip-squeak, Tod. He did do better target shooting than you did."

Cleary snorted, "That was just luck on his part."

Hitch sighed and shook his head as he began walking again. He'd heard Cleary's talk on several occasions since the shooting contest and he was getting tired of it. As he started by the two men, Cleary asked sarcastically, "Eavesdropping on us, Hitchcock?"

Hitch turned and looked at the two. "To eavesdrop you and your friend would have to be talking quietly. You were loud enough for the whole camp to hear."

Cleary pushed himself away from the truck he'd been leaning on and took a threatening step towards Hitch when Tully suddenly showed up and said, "I've been lookin' for ya, Hitch." He looked from Hitch to Cleary. "Did I interrupt something?"

Cleary went back to leaning on the truck as he said, "You didn't interrupt anything."

"Okay, good." Tully looked at Hitch again and said, "It's my turn on watch." They walked away and when they were out of earshot, Tully asked quietly, "Were you eavesdropping?"

Hitch replied, "I guess I was … sort of. But I couldn't help but hear they were talking about me … again." He shrugged. "So I listened."

"What'd they say?"

"Cleary was doing most of the talking of course. He says he got cheated and called me a pip-squeak. He's looking for a chance to show me up."

Tully suddenly stopped and frowned. "He called you a pip-squeak?" He turned around and took a step back the way they'd come as he growled, "I'll show him who's a pip-squeak."

Hitch grabbed his friend's arm and said, "It's not worth it, Tully."

"But…"

"He's entitled to his opinion. I've got my own opinion about him too. I just haven't said it out loud."

#################

Morning came as clouds rolled overhead, making it humid from the start.

While the others finished getting themselves ready to go, Troy sent Moffitt and Tully out to scout around.

As they got into the jeep, Tully looked at the sky and asked, "Think it'll rain?"

Moffitt said, "It might."

As he started the jeep, Tully stated, "I hope it doesn't. I don't like the thought of pullin' any trucks outta the mud."

Troy watched his friends drive up and out of the wadi, then kept his eyes on his watch while he waited for them to return. When they finally did, he met them and said, "You were gone a long time. What did you find?"

Moffitt grabbed the map bag as he got out of the jeep. "Two German patrols." He unfolded a map and pointed to where the patrols had been seen. "This one was going east. This one is headed in our direction."

Troy frowned, then said, "Hitch, go get Lieutenant Criss. Tell him we're going to make some changes."

By the time Hitch got back to the jeeps with the lieutenant, Troy and Moffitt had two possibilities lined up.

Criss looked at the map spread open on the hood of a jeep. "Talk to me, sergeant."

Troy said, "There are two German patrols in the area, lieutenant." He pointed out one position. "One is here traveling east. They shouldn't give us a problem." He put his finger on another spot. "The other is here and heading straight for us."

"We should be on our way then."

Moffitt said, "At this point there's a chance we'd be seen leaving the wadi, sir."

Criss asked, "What do you propose?"

Troy said, "One, we can take our chances and hope we can get around them unseen."

"I assume there's a second choice."

"My men and I go out there and engage the Germans while you and your men wait here."

Moffitt added, "The Germans would think we're alone, since that's our usual MO."

Troy said, "Once we've chased them off, we can come back for you."

Criss asked, "And if you don't make it back?"

"In that case, wait for the Germans to leave the area." Troy traced a line on the map with a finger as he said, "Then follow this route. It might take a little longer, but it'll take you around to the battalion."

Criss sighed. "I guess there's no other choice. I'll make sure my men are ready to pull out. Just make sure you get back here."

#################

With Troy and Moffitt manning the 50s they made their way up and out of the wadi. It only took a minute to get to where the Germans were. Troy had Hitch and Tully stop and he grabbed the binoculars. As he looked out at the patrol, he saw them stop as well and the commander picked up a set of binoculars. He and Troy were staring straight at each other.

Then the commander dropped back down onto the halftrack's seat as the German patrol started accelerating towards them. Troy dropped the field glasses and called out, "Let's go!"

Hitch and Tully hit the gas and sand flew as the jeeps sped off to meet the enemy head-on.

The Rat Patrol had the advantage with the smaller, lighter jeeps being easier to maneuver than the German halftracks. Hitch and Tully drove expertly around the enemy patrol, always knowing where the other was so there wouldn't be any "friendly fire" accidents.

However, the Germans vehicles, with their mounted 30 caliber guns and other armed personnel, were slower to maneuver and they were constantly getting in each other's way.

Troy took out one of the halftracks by shooting into the engine compartment. Then as another vehicle stopped to pick up the survivors, he let go with another volley that killed the Germans from both halftracks.

Tully circled around another halftrack and pulled up alongside while Moffitt kept the men in the back at bay with the 50. Tully held an armed grenade as he looked at the halftrack's driver through the opened passenger side window. He smiled as the German looked at him somewhat surprised, then Tully tossed the grenade through the window. As he turned the jeep away, the halftrack's driver watched the grenade bounce on the seat before it rolled onto the floor. In a panic the German dove for the passenger side and accidently pushing the accelerator to the floor. The halftrack plowed into the side of another one, then exploded.

As they looked around for the last halftrack, the Rat Patrol could see it retreating.

Hitch asked, "Do you want to go after them?"

Troy shook his head. "We need to get our convoy on the road before those Germans can alert that other patrol and come looking for us."

#################

Back at the wadi, after the jeeps left, Lieutenant Criss had sent two men to the top to keep watch. They could hear the gunfire and explosions in the distance, but could see nothing. Then it went silent. The two Americans waited nervously to see who would be coming.

After a few minutes, the guards saw the two jeeps speeding alone towards the wadi. They hurried down to tell the lieutenant.

Criss gave a relieved smile, then called out, "Mount up, men!"

As soon as the jeeps stopped at the top of the wadi, Troy wave the all clear. Lieutenant Criss gave the word to get moving.

They stayed close to the rocky hills, where there was emergency cover as needed. The jeeps took turns scouting ahead to avoid any other German patrols.

The convoy kept moving throughout the morning and as the heat rose, so did the humidity as they watched the relentless clouds darkened. Then the first of the big fat drops of water began to fall.

Usually, the Rat Patrol would find someplace dry to wait out the storm, but an hour later they were still moving and drenched. They didn't dare stop for fear of the heavy trucks getting mired in the mud. Eventually, they drove out of the storm and onto dry ground. And still they didn't stop until it was time check the engines and gas up.

Lieutenant Criss met with Troy and his men. "How much farther, sergeant?"

Troy said, "I'm sending Moffitt and Tully out to check things out. I want to know what we're rolling into at Mawrur Wadi."

#################

Moffitt and Tully drove about five miles before beginning to hear the battle. Further on they found some cover at the base of a hill and climbed up to take a look around. They saw their American battalion being bombarded by the Germans.

Moffitt said, "There must be at least two companies of Germans out there in the hills, but there's no way to know for sure."

Tully checked the battalion with binoculars. He could see men hiding with their rifles at the ready, but that was it. "They have the guns to do the job, but they aren't manning them."

"Major Cannon said this convoy is made up of mostly ammunition. If they were low before, they might have nothing by now"

"How are we going to get the trucks in there? We'll be sittin' ducks when we try to get across to them."

Moffitt said, "We'd better get back so we can work that out."

#################

Troy and Hitch were waiting at the jeep when Lieutenant Criss joined them and said, "One of the trucks is running pretty rough and my guys can't figure out the problem."

Troy said, "Hitch, go see what you can do."

As Hitch walked to the back of the jeep to get some tools, he said, "Right, sarge."

Troy looked at Criss. "Hitch and Tully take care of the jeeps when we're on assignment, sir. They're good mechanics."

Hitch walked among the trucks until he found one with the hood up. "Lieutenant Criss says you guys could use some help."

Three of the four standing around looking at the engine turned and one said, "Yeah, it started to sputter and misfire about a half hour before we stopped. We haven't been able to find the problem."

The fourth man pulled his head out from under the hood. It was Tod Cleary and he said, "Shut up, Mike." He glared at Hitch. "We don't need his help."

Mike said, "But Tod…"

"I said no."

Hitch ignored Cleary and looked at the others. "When's it misfiring?"

As Cleary went back to staring at the engine, Mike said, "When I accelerate."

"Did you check the fuel line?"

"Yep. It was fine."

Hitch asked, "How about the sparkplugs?"

Mike shook his head. "Didn't even think of that."

"Sand's always fouling up the fuel lines or sparkplugs or anything else it can get into."

Another man asked, "Do we even have any spare plugs?"

"Not that I know of."

Hitch said, "The first thing I'd do is take the sparkplugs out and clean them. If that doesn't work, I've got a few spare ones."

Mike said, "Thanks, Hitchcock. We'll give it a try."

Hitch gave a nod and started back to the jeep. A minute later Cleary stepped out from behind a truck to block his way. Hitch asked, "What do you want, Cleary?"

"I want you to keep your nose out of my business."

"According to the lieutenant you guys needed help. My sergeant sent me to do just that."

Cleary said, "But you don't seem to understand…"

Hitch started to step around the other man. "I understand more than you know about your type."

Cleary grabbed Hitch by the arm and pulled him around to face him.

#################

Moffitt and Tully returned to report what they saw.

Troy thought for a moment, then said, "Tully, go tell Lieutenant Criss we need to make some plans. Then see if Hitch needs help. He went to work on one of the trucks."

"Right, sarge." Tully walked away and quickly found the lieutenant. He explained, "Sergeants Troy and Moffitt are making plans about how we're gonna get into camp, sir. They'd like your input."

Criss asked, "How bad is it out there?"

"Bad enough, sir. Troy and Moffitt are at the jeeps."

After the lieutenant walked away, Tully set about finding Hitch. He found the truck, but his friend wasn't there. "Where's Hitchcock?"

Mike said, "Cleary didn't want him around. He did give us a tip about the sparkplugs, though, before he left."

"Where's Cleary?"

"Don't know. He left about the same time as Hitchcock. Cleary isn't one to stick around when it comes to actual work."

Tully gave a nod. "Okay, thanks." He walked off to look around and soon heard the sounds of a fight. Tully hurried around to the back of a truck and saw Hitch and Cleary going at it with a small audience gathered around. "What the heck!" He pushed his way through and managed to grab Hitch to pull him away. "What's goin' on?"

Hitch stopped struggling when he realized who had him. "He started it!"

Cleary took several steps toward them as he said, "And I'm going to finish it!"

Tully turned slightly and pushed Cleary with his foot. Startled, Cleary lost his balance and fell backwards. Tully said, "Someone grab him!"

A couple of men came forward to help Cleary up and hold him still.

Hitch said, "Let me go, Tully! Let me finish this!"

Tully let his friend go. "Finish what?"

"I'm sick and tired of his mouth. Every chance he gets he tries to belittle me. And it's not just me. He talks about other people that way too."

"So, he took the first swing?"

Hitch nodded. "He tried to sucker-punch me when I was walking away from him."

Cleary growled, "No one walks away from me like that!"

Tully glared at Cleary, noting the bloodied nose and split lip. He then looked at Hitch, who was also wearing a split lip along with the beginnings of a black eye. Without saying a word Tully threw his arms up and backed away.

Cleary shrugged out of the two men's grasp and started toward Hitch.

It didn't take long before word got to Criss, Troy, and Moffitt. They ran to where the fight was taking place. Lieutenant Criss yelled, "All right, break it up!" Two guys from the crowd rushed in to pull Hitch and Cleary apart. With that done, the lieutenant asked, "Who started it?" There was no answer. "I want to know what's going on here!"

Troy looked around and spotted Tully leaning against a truck twirling a matchstick between his teeth. The sergeant went to him and asked, "How long have you been here?"

Tully said, "I got here not long after it started."

"And you didn't stop it?"

"Sure I did, but Hitch had a score to settle and a good reason so I let him go."

Troy sighed and put his hands on his hips. "What's the reason?"

Tully said, "Cleary's big mouth. He's been going on about how he got cheated out of the shooting contest win ever since we left at-Taif Oasis."

"So Hitch started the fight?"

"No, he told me that Cleary tried to sucker punch him when he was walking away."

Lieutenant Criss looked at Cleary and said, "I suppose it shouldn't surprise me that you started it. This time you're going on report."

Cleary's shoulders drooped. "Yes, sir."

Criss looked at Hitch. "It looked like you were holding your own, private."

Hitch gave a nod. "Yes, sir. I can throw a punch with the best of them."

"Get cleaned up and get back to work." Criss looked at the men standing around and said, "Everyone … get back to work."

Everyone went their separate ways and the Rat Patrol went back to the jeeps.

While Hitch washed his face, Tully asked, "Do we have a plan?"

Troy nodded. "Tonight we're going into that German camp and disable their big guns. Then the convoy should be able to get to the battalion."

Moffitt added, "We've asked Lieutenant Criss to give us four of his men to come with us."

Hitch asked, "Why do we need them? We've done this kind of stuff before."

Troy said, "We could use the back up this time. We don't know the lay of the land and the lieutenant's men can watch our backs."

Moffitt smiled a bit as he said, "All we need now is you and Tully's expertise to make us some bombs."

#################

The day wore on as Hitch and Tully put together simple bombs using German grenades and strips of duct tape. There would be eight in total – two for each of them.

As soon as the bombs were ready, they headed out to where Moffitt and Tully had seen the Germans. Things were quiet at the moment as the sun was going down.

Troy and Moffitt inspected the hills where the Germans had stationed themselves. They were able to work out a possible way in and went back to the jeeps to wait.

It wasn't too long before Lieutenant Criss appeared with four of his men. "You know Tod Cleary. This is Mike Thomas, Tom Williams, and Jim Smith. They're the men going with you."

Troy said, "The other three are fine, but I don't think Cleary is a good choice."

"I gave it some thought and decided it might do him some good to see how things work when he's not the center of attention. And, as I've said before, he's good with a gun."

Troy looked at his men. "Are you okay with this?" Moffitt and Tully nodded, but Hitch hesitated. "Don't worry. Cleary will be with me."

Hitch finally nodded. "Okay, sarge."

Lieutenant Criss said, "I'd like to know how you plan to do this, Sergeant Troy."

The sergeant explained, "Right now the plan is to take our homemade bombs and plant them on the Germans big guns. There's two bombs for each of us. Your men will be watching my men's backs while we're in there. We can't tell for sure how many guns they have. I'm hoping for two, but there could be more. We'll know more when we can see them."

Moffitt said, "As soon as you hear the explosions, head for the battalion. You should be able to get there before the Germans realize what's happening."

Criss gave a nod. "All right. We'll be waiting for your signal."

Troy said, "It'll be dark enough in about an hour. We'll head out then."

#################

It was pitch black soon after the sun went down and there wouldn't be a moon that night. Troy and Hitch led the way with Cleary and Williams in the back of the jeep. The other jeep had Thomas and Smith in the back.

The jeeps pulled into some cover not far from where the Germans were. They silently made their way along the top of the hills until they could see the lights of the camp. There was about to be a slight change of plans.

As it turned out, there were three howitzer cannons set up. Troy had everyone gather close and whispered, "Okay, Moffitt, you and Tom go down to the first one on the left. Tully, you and Hitch take the middle, and I'll take Mike to the third."

Cleary asked, "What about me and Jim?"

"I need you two to go back to the jeeps and wait. When we come running out of there you'll need to take care of whoever might be following us. Got it?"

"Yeah, sarge, we got it. Can we use the 50's?"

Troy nodded as he handed two of the grenade bombs to them. "Use whatever you need. Now get going."

Tod and Jim quickly headed back the way they'd come.

Troy looked at Mike and Tom in the dark and said, "You stay close and keep watch for anyone who might see us." The two men nodded. "Let's shake it."

The six men went down the hill and headed for the howitzers lined up ready to fire over the hills at the American battalion. They clung to the base of the hills where it was darkest as they made their way along.

Without a word, Moffitt and Tom split off as they neared the first cannon. Then it was Hitch and Tully's turn when they got to the middle cannon while Troy and Mike continued on to the third.

The camp was lit up with generator powered spotlights and there were guards stationed at each cannon. It wasn't going to be easy to get to where the explosions would do the most damage.

As Tom followed the sergeant, he kept his eyes on the guards at the back of the cannon and pointed them out to Moffitt, who nodded to indicate he'd seen them as well. He led the way around to the front of the cannon and placed both bombs at the base of the howitzer's barrel, wedging them into the bottom carriage. Moffitt turned and looked at Tom. He used his fingers to silently count to three, then pulled the pin on one of the grenades. The two of them moved quickly to get out of the way.

As Tully placed his bomb in the carriage, Hitch set up the second by putting it as far back into the cradle housing as he could. When Hitch was next to Tully again, he gave a nod to say it was ready. Then Moffitt's bomb went off and they had to duck out of the way of flying shrapnel. As soon as he could, Tully armed one of the bombs that would set off the other, then he and Hitch were off and running.

Troy was about to pull the pin that would trigger his bombs when the first cannon blew up and soon after the second one followed suit. He armed the bombs and grabbed Mike as they ran away.

Moffitt and Tom were spotted as they ran for the dark at the base of the hills. Shots rang out as the third explosion went off. However, the Germans didn't realize there were more than just two Allies in their camp. Hitch and Tully ran up from behind with their machine guns blazing, killing the Germans before they knew what hit them.

More were on the way, though, as Hitch and Tully followed Moffitt and Tom up the hill. At the top, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully stopped to look for Troy and Mike while Tom ran on ahead. They didn't see them and couldn't afford to wait as bullets began to ricochet around them.

What they couldn't see was Troy had led Mike up the hill further back and had come upon the Germans coming up the hill after the others. They managed to kill several as they ran by.

Then several halftracks and armored cars started after them by following the base of the hills and they all prayed the Tod and Jim were ready for them.

Needless to say they were very ready. Tod and Jim had positioned the jeeps so they'd see anyone coming before being seen themselves. They heard the gunfire after the explosions and knew the Germans were after their people.

Jim kept an eye on the hilltop hoping to see the group coming. However, the shadowy shapes of the German vehicles sped out from behind the hill first and he and Tod opened fire with the 50s.

Moffitt, Hitch, Tully, and Tom appeared on the hill above the jeeps and could see the fighting below. They were slipping and sliding down the hill when Troy and Mike appeared and followed suit.

It wasn't easy fighting in the dark of night. Everything was a shadow moving fast in their field of vision. As soon as Hitch, Tully, and Tom got there, they opened fire while using the jeeps as cover. Moffitt grabbed a bag of grenades and began to lob one after another at the German vehicles, doing some damage, but not enough to stop them completely. He then used one of the grenade bombs and stopped a halftrack in its tracks.

Troy and Mike showed up and Troy yelled, "Let's get out of here!"

Hitch and Tully tossed their guns into the back of the jeeps and dropped into the driver's seats while Troy, Moffitt, Mike, and Tom piled in where they could. Tod and Jim continued to fire the 50s as they sped away.

When it appeared that the Germans weren't going to try to follow, Hitch and Tully slowed a bit to a "safer" nighttime speed.

Troy looked at Hitch and said, "Okay, let's hope Lieutenant Criss got the convoy on its way as planned."

It wasn't long before the jeeps caught up with the slower moving convoy and were speeding by the trucks on either side to get to the front.

#################

The men of the American battalion saw the first explosion go off and wondered what was going on. After the second and third explosion, they had an idea what may have happened. Then, a short time later, they could just make out the convoy coming their way. They couldn't quite make out what side of the war the trucks were with so they stayed ready.

Troy and Hitch sped up to let the battalion know who they were. Upon realizing the jeep was full of Americans, Lt. Col. Majors met them when they stopped and said, "I got a call from at-Taif Oasis telling me a convoy was on its way. To be honest I had my doubts that you'd make it through."

Troy got out of the jeep as he said, "We probably wouldn't have if we hadn't been able to knock out those German guns, sir."

"So that's what the explosions were."

Tully led the convoy into the battalion's camp and cheers went up all around.

Majors said, "It's been days since we've had ammo for anything other then the rifles. At least now we can fight back until our reinforcements get here. You say you destroyed the German's guns?"

Troy said, "We didn't have the firepower to destroy them, sir, but we disabled them to a point where I don't think they'll be fired again in the near future."

Hitch hurried over and said to Troy, "Jim got hit in the shoulder and Cleary got a graze in the side."

Lt. Col. Majors motioned for a couple of his men. "Help them get their wounded to medical."

Not long after their arrival, exhaustion set in and Troy looked at his tired men. "Let's see what the accommodations are like and get some rest."

#################

The next morning Lt. Col. Majors sent for Troy and Moffitt. "I'd like you to see if those Germans are still there."

Troy glanced at Moffitt, then asked, "May I ask why, sir?"

"We're used to the Germans opening fire on us at sunup."

"They don't have the guns to do that now, sir."

Majors said, "I was expecting them to come at us in some other way, but there's been no movement out there. I just need to know if they're still there."

Troy gave a nod. "All right, sir, we'll see what we can find out."

Hitch and Tully had just finished checking the jeeps over when Troy and Moffitt walked up. Troy said, "Lt. Col. Majors wants us to see if those Germans are still there."

Tully asked, "Why? We took care of their guns."

"He thinks if they're still out there, they may be planning some other way to attack his battalion."

In daylight they were sitting ducks as they drove to the hills where the German camp was, but nothing happened as they neared. There was no signs of men on the hills keeping watch … nothing. Still Troy and his men stayed vigilant as they rounded the hills. Troy had them stop at the base of the first damaged howitzer. He got out of the jeep as Moffitt came around to join him.

Moffitt said, "It would appear they abandoned their camp."

Troy looked around suspiciously. "It looks like it. Everything is gone except for their big guns."

Hitch said, "And they couldn't have hauled them off anyway with the under carriages blown off."

Moffitt said, "Still, they may be planning to return."

Tully asked, "If they planned to come back, wouldn't they have left some men here to keep an eye on things?"

Troy said, "Hard to say. You and Hitch stay here and man the 50s just in case. Me and Moffitt will take a quick look around."

#################

After finding nothing, the Rat Patrol started back to the battalion to give their report to Lt. Col. Majors.

What they didn't see was Private Tod Cleary leaning on a pile of sandbags with his rifle. It appeared that he had something in his sights.

His friend Mike Thomas strolled up to stand next to him and asked, "Whatcha see?"

Cleary didn't look at him as he said, "Just checking on something."

Mike looked out at the desert and saw the jeeps coming in the distance. "You're not gonna to do something stupid, are you?"

Cleary blinked and took another look through the rifle's scope. Hitch was in the crosshairs. He could easily shoot and possibly kill the driver at this distance. But then he straightened up and said, "Nah, just proving something to myself."

#################

When Troy and his men reported to Lt. Col. Majors, Troy said, "They're gone, sir. The only things they left behind were the crippled guns."

Majors said, "But they could return."

"There's always that chance, sir."

"Well, we'll be ready if they do. Are you and your men heading out now?"

Troy nodded. "Yes, sir. Very soon."

Moffitt added, "Lieutenant Criss wants us to escort them to our lines before we start back to Ras Tanura."

Majors said, "Very well. Thank you for all your help."

Troy and Moffitt left the Lt. Col. and met Hitch and Tully at the jeeps. Troy asked, "Is the lieutenant ready to go?"

Tully replied, "Almost. He said about ten minutes more."

Moffitt noticed a certain look on the other private's face. "Is something wrong, Hitch?"

"I was just wondering why Cleary was out by those sandbags over there with his rifle when we drove in."

Troy smiled slightly. "Why don't you go ask him?"

Hitch looked at the sergeant and said, "No, thank you. I just want to get this assignment over."

"We should make it to Allied lines tomorrow sometime before noon."

Tully looked at Hitch and said, "Do you think you can stay away from Cleary that long?"

Moffitt asked, "Is he still giving you issues?"

Hitch shook his head. "No, in fact he hasn't said a word to me since that fight we had."

Troy asked, "Then what are you worried about?"

"First, he hasn't said a single word to me since the fight – nothing good, bad, or indifferent. Then there's the fact that he was out there with his rifle looking like he wanted to shoot something. What am I supposed to think?"

"I'm thinking you're a wee bit paranoid. You're looking way too deep into this. You've proved yourself to him and he can't goad you into anything you can't handle."

Hitch said, "What about the rifle?"

Tully said, "This is a war after all and he is a sniper. He was probably just checking the rifle's scope."

"Yeah … well maybe. I'll just be glad when we go our separate ways."

Troy noticed Lieutenant Criss coming their way and asked, "Are the jeeps ready?"

Hitch said, "Ready and waiting, sarge."