The Race for the Diamonds Raid

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 2

Troy and Moffitt spun at Tully's shout. Before either of them could reach the weapons in the jeeps, the horsemen were upon them.

Moffitt let out a yell as one of the horsemen dove from his saddle to grapple with the sergeant. The Brit used both hands to push away the knife that was aimed at his chest. The momentum of the Arab drove them both to the ground, knocking the wind out of the sergeant. The knife drew closer, the sharp point piercing his shirt. He felt a small prick as the tip nicked his skin. Just when he thought that the blade was going to plunge into his chest, the Arab flew backwards.

Troy grabbed the Arab and pulled him off of Moffitt. He half stood, flinging the assailant to one side. A hard shove on his shoulder sent him flying backwards. He threw out a hand to ward off the horse that had slammed into him. He tripped over Moffitt's legs and fell to the ground next to the winded Brit. He scrambled to his feet as the horse towered over him and the rider pointed a rifle at him. Troy raised his hands and stared at the Arab rider.

Moffitt climbed shakily to his feet and stood next to the other sergeant. Behind them Tully made a dash for the jeeps and a weapon. Moffitt spun in time to see an Arab ride up next to the private and hit him over the head with a rifle. Only the helmet he still wore saved Tully from a fractured skull. As it was, the blow knocked him to the ground in a senseless heap. The Arab slid to the ground and stood over him with a triumphant yell.

A shot rang out and both sergeants looked for its source.

Hitch, seeing the Arabs riding into their camp, took action. He raised his weapon and fired at the nearest rider. The rider grabbed his shoulder and tumbled from his horse. More Arabs rushed toward where Hitch stood guard. Hitch fired a few more shots before taking cover behind a rock. Peeking around the rock, he tried to locate the rest of his team. Bullets drove him back before he could find all of them. He saw the sergeants standing together, surrounded by armed Arabs. He tried again to find Tully but was driven back a second time.

The Arabs guarding the sergeants moved them behind the vehicles. They argued among themselves as Hitch continued to hold off the rest of the attackers.

"Troy, they're going to rush Hitch! He'll be killed. He hasn't got a chance against those odds." Moffitt translated what their captors were saying, voicing his concern that the private would not be able to hold them off again.

"Tell them that we can get him to surrender!" Troy ordered urgently. "Make them believe it."

Moffitt turned to their captors and made the offer. "He says to tell Hitch to throw his weapons out."

"Not while they're shooting at him," Troy answered. "I want a guarantee that he won't be hurt."

Moffitt told the leader what Troy wanted. The Arab called to his followers and they ceased firing. As the wadi grew quiet, the Arab turned to Troy and waited.

"Hitch! Throw your rifle down and come on out."

"Where's Tully?"

"Unconscious," Troy called back. "They have us outnumbered Hitch, come on out."

There was a slight paused before Hitch answered. "Okay Sarge. I'm coming out."

The sergeants heard the clatter as Hitch's rifle dropped to the rocks. They saw the Arab attackers rush forward with an excited babble as the blond stepped out from behind the rock. They could follow his progress toward the camp by listening to the murmur of the Arabs as he passed. Before long they could see the private, with his hands in the air, walking toward the jeeps unharmed. Both sergeants breathed a sigh of relief.

Hitch looked down at Tully as he passed. He couldn't see any blood, which reassured him. When he would have stopped to check on the other private, the Arabs had other ideas. They shoved him toward the jeeps. He kept walking until he faced his sergeants. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine Hitch," Troy answered. "Tully is just unconscious, he'll be okay."

One of the Arabs walked up behind Hitch and hit him with his rifle barrel. The blond fell forward, grabbing the side of the jeep to keep from falling to the ground. Troy and Moffitt both moved toward the fallen private.

The leader stopped them before they could reach him, but he also stopped his followers from continuing the attack. Pointing to several other men, he ordered the prisoners moved away from the jeeps. They were moved deeper into the wadi and told to sit on the ground. Tully's limp body was dumped unceremoniously next to them.

Moffitt scooted over next to Tully and checked his pulse. To his relief, it was strong and steady. He looked up at Troy and nodded.

"Why did they hit Hitch?"

"He shot one of them," Moffitt answered. "The one who hit him was a close friend to the one that was shot. Luckily the wound wasn't fatal or he may have used a bullet instead of just hitting Hitch."

"What do they want with us Doc?" Hitch asked.

"They saw us drive into the wadi," the Brit answered with a shrug. "We were a target of opportunity."

The others nodded since the explanation fit with what they knew about the local bandits.

Troy glanced over at the Arabs. The leader was holding a meeting with some of his men while the others searched through the contents of the jeeps. "Darn!" Troy uttered as he realized that the Arabs were going to find the diamonds.

"Have they found them?" Moffitt spun around to look as he realized what had prompted the outburst.

"Not yet, but they will," Troy growled. "Headquarters is never going to believe this."

"Why not?" Hitch asked. "Headquarters knows about the bandits out here."

"Yeah, so they are going to wonder why we didn't hide them better."

"Where Sarge?" Hitch asked. "They're going through everything." He watched in disgust as the Arabs tore everything out of the jeeps and tossed it to the ground. Everything of value would be taken, leaving them with nothing for their survival if they did manage to get out of the situation alive."

"Their leader and his lieutenants are arguing about what to do with us," Moffitt warned. "He wants to sell us, they prefer to shoot us and forget we ever existed."

"I think I'd rather be shot," Hitch muttered.

"Once you're dead, it's over," Troy argued. "I'd rather live and escape to fight again."

"Yeah, maybe you have a point," the blond agreed, "but what if we can't escape? What if they split us up and we wind up somewhere out in the desert as slaves?"

Troy grinned. "They have to let their guard down sometime."

A sudden commotion at the jeeps drew all of their attention. One of the Arabs was waving the bag of diamonds around, yelling gleefully and jumping about.

"Well, they found them."

"Yeah," Troy growled. "Everybody keep your eyes on those diamonds. We have to know who has them at all times. Once we get free, they're our first priority."

The leader of the band heard the shouting and shoved his lieutenants aside to stride over to the jeeps. As the Arab with the diamonds continued to dance around and hold the bag in the air, the leader reached up and plucked it from his fingers. As he dumped the stones into the palm of his hand the others got excited all over again. With renewed enthusiasm, the Arabs returned to their examination of the two vehicles.

Returning the stones to the bag, the leader held the gems close to his body as his men searched the jeeps for more treasure. His men tore apart every box and bundle in their search. When he was certain that they weren't going to find anything else, he turned back to his lieutenants. They put their heads together and talked too low for Moffitt to hear.

A low moan drew Moffitt's attention to Tully again. Kneeling next to the private, the sergeant checked his eyes for signs of a concussion. Finding no indication of serious damage, he helped the private to sit up.

With one hand on his head Tully leaned against the sergeant. "What do they want Doc?"

"Anything of value," the sergeant answered.

"Did they find the bag?"

"Yes."

Tully nodded. "Do you think they knew about them before they attacked us?"

"I don't think so," the Brit answered, "but they do now. We'd better have a story ready about where we got them."

"I have a plan," Troy announced softly.

"Perhaps you should share it with us," the Brit suggested. "They may question us separately."

So Troy did.