The Race for the Diamonds Raid
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 6
"Tully! Down!" Hitch grabbed Tully's arm and pulled him to the ground.
"What is it?"
"I saw movement on the top of that hill."
"Sarge and Doc?"
"Too many."
"The Arabs?"
"I don't think so," the blond answered. "The guys I saw weren't wearing robes. Sarge and Doc wouldn't have taken theirs off."
The two of them strained to see across the sand to identify what it was Hitch had seen. Suddenly shots rang out, shattering the quiet of the night.
Tully leaned close to Hitch and whispered. "Those are German guns."
"Yeah, and the Arabs weren't carrying German guns," Hitch answered just as quietly.
Moving carefully, they inched closer. They heard the cry as the Arab leader was hit. From where they hugged the ground, they could see the Arab fall backward down the hill. Even though they couldn't see the wounds, they recognized the ragdoll looseness of the body. Another movement from the other side of the wadi caught their eyes. They watched in shock as Troy and Moffitt ducked for cover and then ran back into the hills. A moment later the German soldiers ran past the dead Arab in pursuit of the sergeants.
"Come on," Tully hissed. With Hitch right behind him, he took off at a run. They heard the patrols on the other side of the hills and kept moving.
When they finally reached the jeeps, they uncovered both of them. They slid behind the steering wheels and listened for the sounds of the Germans moving about in the wadi.
"I don't think they know we're here," Hitch finally decided.
"But they know Sarge and Doc are here," Tully answered.
"They might think they came with the Arabs," Hitch suggested.
"Maybe," Tully agreed. "That might give us a few minutes."
"A few minutes for what?"
"To get Sarge and Doc."
"Okay, how?"
"I guess we'll have to offer them something they want. You know, make a deal."
Hitch watched Tully and grinned. He slipped from his jeep and began to walk around the jeeps.
"Are we taking both jeeps?" Hitch asked as he finished what he was doing. He checked his weapons as he waited for an answer.
"We can't," Tully answered. "One of us is going to have to handle the 50. I'll drive, you handle the gun. We'll pick up Sarge and Doc and bring them back here for the second jeep."
Hitch nodded and climbed behind the 50 in Tully's jeep. Tully started the engine and drove slowly toward where they had last seen the sergeants.
Troy and Moffitt were surrounded by the German soldiers. The lieutenant was loudly demanding an answer to a question the privates hadn't heard. Both sergeants were refusing to answer, much to the lieutenant's displeasure. He was shouting at them when the American jeep suddenly put in an appearance from behind the hills. With Hitch standing behind the 50, and Tully holding one of the recaptured Thompsons, they had the Germans covered.
"Doc, tell them to stand still," Tully called to the British sergeant.
"I told him," Moffitt replied, "but he doesn't think you'll shoot."
Tully looked directly at the lieutenant and smiled. "Is he willing to bet his life on that? He's the first one we'll shoot."
Moffitt translated.
"He says you can't win; you're outnumbered."
"He won't win either," Tully answered. "But it doesn't have to come to that. Tell him we want to make a deal."
"What kind of a deal?" Moffitt asked.
Tully held up the bag he had taken off the body of the dead Arab leader.
On seeing the bag, the lieutenant ordered his men to stand down. He ordered Moffitt to instruct Tully to toss the bag to him.
Tully smiled again at the order. He gently shook the bag so the stones rattled together. "Tell him we'll trade, you and Sarge for the stones. Make sure you tell him the stones are in the bag." Tully made sure to pronounce the word stones very distinctly.
Moffitt and the German officer argued back and forth while Hitch and Tully kept watch on the German soldiers. One of the soldiers, thinking he wouldn't be noticed, raised his weapon. Hitch fired off a burst of 50 caliber bullets at the feet of the soldiers.
"Dang Hitch," Tully drawled, "the Germans are going to know the Arabs don't have 50's."
"Sorry, but he looked like he was going to try something stupid."
"Yeah," Tully groaned, "but now we need to hurry up these negotiations. They'll be more men coming from the base."
"It couldn't be helped," Moffitt offered in the blonde's defense. "It seems there is always a hero in any group."
"Is he going to accept our offer?" Tully asked.
The Brit smiled. "I think he's considering it. It's one heck of a deal."
"I wouldn't say that Doc," Hitch smiled. "I think we're getting the better part of the bargain."
The lieutenant suddenly made up his mind and accepted the offer. He held out his hand in an invitation for Tully to toss him the bag.
Tully shook his head.
"He says he could just shoot you," Moffitt translated.
"He could," Hitch nodded and reached into his shirt. "Tully, toss me the bag." He caught the bag one-handed. Before the lieutenant could react, Hitch pulled the pin on the grenade in his hand and draped the string of the bag over the grip. "Now, if he shoots us, the grenade goes boom, and his stones go with it." The blond smiled at the lieutenant and held out the grenade. "His move."
"He's agreed," Moffitt explained with a smile after a brief exchange with the German officer.
"Okay," Tully agreed. "Once you and Sarge are in the jeep Hitch will toss the stones to him."
The officer hesitated again, but the sight of the bag hanging from the grenade removed his objections. He waved at the sergeants to head for the jeep.
Tully slid into the seat beside Tully while Moffitt draped himself across the hood. At a nod from Tully, Hitch untangled the string of the bag from around the grenade. Tully put the jeep into motion as Hitch tossed the bag toward the lieutenant, deliberately tossing it long. As the officer turned to retrieve the bag, the soldiers tensed to fire on the departing jeep. Hitch tossed the grenade so it landed in front of the soldiers. The soldiers ducked as Tully gunned the engine. The jeep darted away as the grenade went off with a bang.
Tully drove directly to the second jeep and waited until Hitch and Troy had switched vehicles. Moffitt slid off the hood and took the seat Troy vacated. As the two jeeps raced for the open desert, they could hear the German patrol cars searching for them.
Tully and Hitch concentrated on their driving, ignoring the unusual quiet from the seats beside them. The Germans chased them but never got close enough to give them any trouble. Once the patrol cars fell behind, the privates continued to drive through the dark toward their base. The only sounds were the tires crunching on the sand and the wind in their ears.
It was several hours before Troy called for a halt. "Check the jeeps and we'll get something to eat," he ordered. "As soon as it gets light, we'll head back for the base."
Both privates nodded and went about following the orders.
Troy climbed out of his jeep and walked away.
"Troy?"
Troy ran a hand through his hair and stared back in the general direction of the German base. "That didn't go as planned.'
"The captain will understand," the Brit reasoned. "We can explain it to him."
"Yeah, but we shouldn't have to explain anything. We had the diamonds Doctor! We had them!"
"You can't blame the lads; they were just trying to save us." Moffitt tilted his head to one side. "You would have done the same for them, wouldn't you?"
"Of course I would have tried to save them," Troy growled. "I just wish we could have done it some other way." Troy sighed. "I don't blame them; I blame myself. I should have kept going in the first place and not stopped to camp."
"You couldn't know."
"It's my job to make the right decisions," Troy argued.
"And you usually do, no one can be right all of the time."
"This is one of the times that would have paid to be right." Troy reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and tossed the match to the ground. He used the toe of his boot to grind the dying match into the sand.
"Perhaps we could try again."
"No," Troy shook his head as he blew a cloud of smoke. "The krauts will move those diamonds under heavy guard. They won't give us another chance. No, we blew it."
The two men stood side by side, each if them lost in their own thoughts. They both jerked involuntarily when Hitch walked up behind them and spoke.
"Sarge, I brought you and Doc something to eat."
"Thank you," Moffitt replied as he took the offered rations.
"No thanks," Troy declined. "I'm not really hungry."
"You should eat Sarge, it's a long way to the base." Hitch tried again to hand the rations to the sergeant.
The sergeant looked at the rations and reluctantly reached for them. "Are the jeeps ready?"
"All ready Sarge."
The three of them walked back toward the jeeps.
"Are we going to camp for a while?" Tully asked. He reached into the rear of his jeep and pulled out Moffitt's teapot.
"No, we're going straight through," Troy replied. "We're not taking any more chances. We already lost the diamonds; there's no reason to hang around here."
"Yeah, but we got them back," Tully answered.
"And lost them again," Troy added. "I'm not blaming you." He looked up and was surprised to see both Hitch and Tully smiling at him. "What?"
"We traded a bag of stones for the two of you,' Tully answered.
"Yeah, valuable stones. Stones we were sent to retrieve."
"No," Hitch answered with a shake of his head. "We traded a bag of stones."
"I don't understand Hitch." Moffitt took a step toward the privates, trying to understand what they were saying.
Tully held out the teapot.
"We don't have time for tea Tully," he insisted as he brushed the pot away.
"You might have time for this tea," Tully grinned.
Troy and Moffitt exchanged confused looks. Tully smiled and removed the top from the pot. He reached in and pulled out a cloth wrapped bundle. A familiar sound reached the ears of the sergeants. Troy reached for the cloth.
"Are those what I think they are?" Moffitt asked.
Hitch grinned. "I told you we were going to get the best of the bargain Doc. We gave that lieutenant exactly what we promised, a bag of stones. After Tully dumped the diamonds into the teapot, I filled the bag with stones I picked up off the ground."
Moffitt looked over at Troy and laughed. "I think it may be time to go home."
Troy bounced the bag in his hand and nodded. He shoved the bag back into the tea pot and handed it to Tully. "Put it back where you had it. We'll eat on the way."
