The Race for the Diamonds Raid

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

(This story happens immediately after one of the episodes from the show. Season 2, episode 6, The Darkest Raid. Troy poses as blind to get information needed to steal a bag of diamonds from the Germans.)

Troy called to Hitch to slow the jeep. The small bag of diamonds hanging from the barrel of the 50 swung in time with the motion of the vehicle. Hitch slowed, allowing Tully's jeep to pull alongside.

"Moffitt, do you have a campsite in mind for tonight?"

"I do, rather," the Brit nodded. "There is a wadi among the hills ahead of us that should do nicely."

"Then lead on; I think we've come far enough to take a break." Troy waved the other jeep into the lead.

"The Germans will come looking for us as soon as it gets light," Hitch remarked.

"Probably," Troy agreed.

"Not probably, for sure," the blond insisted. "There's no way they're going to let us take a whole bunch of diamonds from them without trying to get them back."

Troy grinned. "Your point?"

"I'm just saying," the blonde repeated, "they'll be looking for us."

"Okay," the sergeant shrugged, "they'll be looking for us." He twisted in his seat to better see his driver. "What do you think we should do about it?"

"I don't know, just keep our eyes open, I guess."

"We always do that anyway," Troy reminded him.

"Yeah, I know, but it seems like we should be extra careful because they are going to be more determined than usual because we have their diamonds."

"Are you worried about it?"

"No! I didn't mean that," Hitch protested. "I just wanted to be sure you thought about that."

"I thought about it," Troy answered.

"Then I guess everything will be all right." Hitch avoided looking at Troy as he followed Tully's jeep.

"Relax Hitch, it's a big desert. Chances are they won't come anywhere close to where Moffitt is taking us to camp." In an attempt to change the subject, Troy grinned and bumped his driver's arm with his elbow. "So, how did you like playing with the toy Tully made for you?"

"You mean the crossbow?"

"Yeah, what else did he make for you?"

"Just the crossbow," Hitch answered. "He worked on that while I braced the front of the car to ram any obstacles we encountered." The blond frowned. "It's too bad we didn't get to use it."

"Yeah, about that," Troy's brow furrowed in thought. "What happened there? How did our prisoner get away?"

"He cut the ropes on a sharp piece of metal. We were all checking out Tully's work on the bow when he started the car and busted out of the building."

"So you shot him with the bow?"

"Yeah," the blond nodded. "Did Doc tell you that?"

"No, we didn't have time to talk much, we were busy."

"Then how….?"

"The Germans told me. Colonel Gerschon to be exact. He caught me with the bandage off of my eyes. I told him I was just changing the bandage but I think he was already suspicious. He said I might be interested in a strange accident that had just been reported. He said that the driver had a sharp metal shaft protruding from his back."

The blond nodded. "It was in my hands and it was quieter than a gun."

"Harder to explain too," Troy noted, "but it sounds like good shooting."

Hitch glanced over with a shy smile. "Thanks."

"That's how they caught me," Troy continued.

"What? Gee Sarge, I'm sorry, I didn't think."

"Yes, you did," Troy replied. "You stopped the prisoner from getting away so he could tell what he knew. You had to stop him; it couldn't be helped."

"But you got caught because of me."

"I got caught because I made a mistake," Troy disagreed. "Colonel Gerschon told me about the crash and then he told me that they found a bracelet on the body that identified him as the man I was pretending to be. I gave myself away by not trusting you, Moffitt and Tully to make sure that didn't happen. I should have known you wouldn't overlook something like that. But, like a fool, I let him trick me into revealing the truth. It was a small, but potentially fatal mistake."

"Luckily it wasn't fatal for you."

"Yeah, lucky."

"Sarge, you aren't going to let those diamonds hang there all the way back, are you?"

The change in topic caught Troy by surprise. He had to laugh at the question. "No Hitch, I'm not. If we get into a fight, I don't want them swinging around on the gun barrel. I don't want them falling off somewhere."

"Sarge?"

"Yeah Hitch?"

"You didn't really think Doc would try to keep them, did you?"

"Of course not, no more than he thought I would."

"Okay then, I was worried there for a minute."

Troy laughed again. "Don't. There's nothing to worry about."

"Except the Germans."

"Okay," Troy sighed, "you can worry about the Germans if it makes you feel any better."

"I don't want to Sarge," the blond answered earnestly, "but I still think we should."

Troy shook his head and smiled. "Okay, whatever you want."

Hitch nodded and fell silent until Tully's jeep slowed and turned into a wadi.

"Looks like we're here Sarge."

"Go over the jeep and then take first watch," the sergeant ordered. "I'll send Tully up with your supper." Troy reached up and plucked the bag of diamonds off of the barrel of the 50. He tossed it up and down several times, listening to the sounds they made as they banged together.

"The sound of success."

Troy turned and nodded at Moffitt. "The Germans planned on using them to purchase military supplies and equipment."

"They would have bought a lot."

"But they won't now."

"Not for the Germans anyway," the Brit agreed.

"You mean our side will use them for the same thing"

"There is no way to prove who actually owns those stones," the Brit explained. "What do you suppose will happen to them?"

Troy didn't answer.

"Think about it Troy."

"All right, so we use them to help us pay for this war. We didn't take them from their rightful owners; the Germans did that. We followed orders, that's all."

"Of course Troy, I wasn't suggesting that we had done anything wrong. After all, we didn't take them for our own use. We're going to deliver them to headquarters as ordered." Moffitt glanced at the bag pointedly. "We do need to make sure that we get them there safely. If we don't, someone might suspect that we kept them for ourselves."

"We'll deliver them safely," Troy vowed.

"Troy, did our carelessness cause you any trouble? You said they found out about you; was that our fault?"

"Only partly," Troy answered honestly. "I think they were suspicious even before our prisoner escaped. When they told me about the odd crash and how the driver died, I knew what happened. That's when I made my mistake. Like I told Hitch, I should have known you wouldn't leave any identification of the prisoner. When the colonel said they found a bracelet on him identifying him, I should have kept to my assumed identity."

"There wasn't any bracelet," Moffitt answered with a frown.

"It belonged to the colonel," Troy answered. "But I gave myself away when I reacted."

"I suppose it was inevitable once the prisoner escaped."

"Not if I had maintained my role. I might have pulled it off if I hadn't been caught so off guard."

"How did you get away to meet me?"

"Knocked out the guard when the lights went out."

The Brit smiled, "I was coming for you, you know."

Troy grinned roguishly, "For me…or the diamonds?"

Moffitt smiled. "Both, of course."

"Of course."

Troy handed the bag of diamonds to Moffitt. "Here, tuck these away somewhere. I'm going to see what we have to eat."

"I thought Tully was cooking."

"He's working on the jeeps. We're not going to be getting much sleep tonight anyway so I thought I'd get a start on cooking."

The Brit nodded. "I'll hide these and give you a hand. Moffitt walked back to the jeep and tucked the diamonds underneath a box in the back.

They ate their meals and Tully took Hitch his supper. Troy and Moffitt put the fire out and policed the camp.

"Troy!"

"What is it Moffitt?"

"I thought I heard something."

Troy looked around but all seemed quiet. "Tully, Hitch, do you see anything?"

"Nothing Sarge," Hitch called back.

"What are we looking for?" Tully asked.

"Nothing, I guess. Moffitt thought he heard something."

Tully took another look before starting down the slope toward the camp. Troy and Moffitt were watching him. They both noticed him looking past them before he stiffened.

"Look out!" Tully yelled as he dove for the ground. Unarmed, all he could do was try to reach the jeeps.