The Race for the Diamonds Raid

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 5

Troy and Moffitt used their glasses to locate the horses that had alerted them to the presence of the Arabs.

"I wish there was more light."

"They would be easier to see," Moffitt agreed, "but they would also be able to see us better, and we don't want that."

Troy grunted in response and began to look for the Arabs. "The horses are bunched over there," he pointed once he had located the animals. "I still don't see our Arabs friends. They must have left a guard."

"Some friends," Hitch huffed.

"Did you and Tully bring your knives?"

"Yeah Sarge, we have them."

"There they are," Moffitt suddenly whispered. "I only see two of them, they must have sent the others in to grab Colonel Gerschon."

"What if we killed him Sarge?" Hitch asked again.

Troy glanced at his driver.

"Well? If they find out he's dead they'll be back here in a hurry, won't they?" Hitch looked around at the others. "Well, won't they?"

"Yeah Hitch, they probably will," Troy admitted.

"Then whatever we're going to do, we have to do it fast," Hitch suggested. "So, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to get those diamonds back before the others return," Troy answered. "Moffitt, I still don't see the Arabs, point them out."

Moffitt helped Troy locate the two Arabs he had already seen. "I still haven't located any more. These two may be the only ones they left behind."

"Okay," Troy nodded decisively. "Tully, Hitch, go that way and take out the guard on the horses. Use your knives so we don't alert everybody in the area. Moffitt and I will go after the leader and get the diamonds back."

"Right Sarge," Hitch responded.

"Don't trip over those robes," Moffitt warned the privates.

"We'll try not to," Tully answered. "Come on Hitch."

The two privates worked their way around until they were almost on top of the Arab and the horses he was guarding. They moved more carefully as they started to descend into the wadi where the horses were bunched. Careful to stay upwind of the Arab and the animals, they kept one eye on the guard and the other on the horses. They didn't want to get caught sneaking down the slope, which would have looked suspicious, because they needed to get close enough to use the knives. Compounding the problem, they hadn't cleaned the blood smell out of the robes and they were worried that it would spook the horses.

It was slow going and both privates were acutely aware of the danger of the other Arabs returning at any time.

"Let's just walk the rest of the way," Tully suggested. "If he sees us coming, we'll just motion for silence until we get close enough."

Hitch nodded and reached up and pulled the covering over his hair a little lower. Tully noticed and checked his own disguise.

"We'd better hurry," Hitch whispered. "Sarge and Doc should be in position by now."

"Okay, here goes." Tully drew his knife and held it next to his leg. He pulled his sleeve down to keep the moonlight from reflecting off of the blade.

Hitch pulled his knife and moved a step to one side to give him more room to act if the need arose. Together they stood and walked casually toward the guard.

They were less than ten feet from the guard when he turned and noticed their approach. He called a greeting but Tully raised a hand to his lips to motion for silence. The Arab nodded, not suspecting anything, at first. As the two men drew closer, the guard suddenly tensed. He tried frantically to lower his weapon, but the sling of the rifle caught on the folds of his robes.

Tully's hand came up and his knife flew true. The blade buried itself in the chest of the guard. Tumbling forward, the Arab fell to his knees, clutching at the knife hilt with both hands.

Hitch rushed forward and picked up the rifle the Arab had dropped. He checked it over before looking up at Tully with delight. "It's one of ours. You just can't trust those relics they use."

"Take it and let's go see how Doc and Sarge are doing."

The blond nodded and got to his feet with the weapons in his hands. Checking to make sure that they hadn't missed any guards, the two turned and headed for the hill where the sergeants were confronting the leader. "Here." Hitch handed Tully the knife he had pulled from the Arab's chest. "I cleaned the blade on his robes. You might need it again. Nice throw, by the way."

"It did the trick," Tully responded. "We'd better not talk; we don't want to alert that other guy. We don't want to ruin the surprise for Sarge and Doc." With that warning the two fell silent as they crossed the sand.

Troy and Moffitt left at the same time as the two privates. They had a little further to go but they wanted the horse guard neutralized before they made a move on the leader.

Moffitt wore the cleanest robe, if any of them could be considered clean. The sergeant wrinkled his nose at the heavy scent of body odor emitting from the robes. "Next time we should try to pick disguises from someone with better hygiene," he whispered to Troy.

Troy grinned in response. "Why do you think I'm staying upwind of you?"

"Perhaps I should try to go in first. I might be able to get close enough to use the knife. If I fail, you can try."

"Good luck," Troy replied. "If he gets suspicious, I'll just shoot him. We can grab the diamonds and disappear into the dark."

"What about the lads?"

"They're smart enough to head for the jeeps if they hear a shot."

"All right, here goes," Moffitt sighed. He stood and walked toward the Arab leader.

Confident that no one knew he was there, the Arab leader was intent on watching for the return of his men from the German base.

Moffitt walked softly and the two sergeants were able to continue closing the gap between them and their target. As silence continued to blanket the wadi, they correctly assumed that the younger members of their team had successfully carried out their assigned task. Things began to grow tense again as they closed the gap and the Arab still hadn't noticed them. Troy paused and allowed Moffitt to go ahead.

When he was certain that they were close enough to carry out their mission, Moffitt allowed the knife to slide down into the palm of his hand. He had his arm drawn back, ready to throw, when the Arab suddenly stiffened. In a sudden, unexpected act, the Arab threw his body to one side.

Bullets tore into the ground around the Arab leader. Troy and Moffitt ducked in confusion. At first, they thought Tully and Hitch had opened fire, but they soon realized that the rifles were German. Before they could reach him, the Arab yelled and fell backwards down the slope. A line of red dots crossed his chest. Sightless eyes stared at the sergeants as if somehow blaming them.

Troy grabbed Moffitt's arm and pulled him back. "We have to get out of here!"

The two men raced for the shelter of the nearby hills. Rocks turned under their feet, making them stumble as they sought cover. They heard the German patrol cars before they saw them. The Germans had sent the patrol cars around the hills in an attempt to cut off the escape of the Arabs. Instead, they caught Troy and Moffitt in their trap. Behind them, the two sergeants could hear the foot soldiers closing in.

Surrounded, the two men stopped and dropped their weapons. Raising their hands, they waited for the Germans to reach them.

"I hope the lads saw this and headed for the jeeps."

"The gunshots will have warned them," Troy answered. "And the krauts don't act like they know they're here. They probably still think we're Arabs."

"That will change as soon as they see these uniforms under these robes."

"We'll play the Arabs as long as we can. Any time we give Tully and Hitch will help."

Moffitt nodded and watched the first of the German soldiers cautiously approach. With their hands still in the air, the sergeants were searched for weapons. Their ruse was revealed when one of the soldiers noticed their boots. The robes were stripped away to reveal their uniforms. A German lieutenant they had never seen before had them marched to the patrol cars. They looked back to see him in serious conversation with one of his sergeants."