Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.
Author's note: Let creative license begin.
Passageways
By Suzie2b
The Rat Patrol were in the motor pool at the base in Ras Tanura. Troy and Moffitt were going over the map they'd gotten from headquarters while Hitch and Tully finished gassing up the jeeps.
Hitch hung up the fueling hose as Tully put the cap on the jeep's gas tank and asked, "So where're we going, sarge?"
Troy asked, "Do you remember that cave the British were using as an ammo dump a couple of months ago?"
Hitch nodded and Tully said, "I thought the Brits cleared that cave out a while back."
Moffitt folded the map and put it in the bag as he said, "They did, but apparently the Germans have now moved in."
Troy said, "We're supposed to go out there and check it out. Command wants to know what exactly they're stashing there."
Hitch slid into the driver's seat as he said, "They're probably storing munitions like the British did."
Moffitt put the map bag under the seat. "That's the consensus at Division Headquarters."
Troy said, "We're to go out there and check it out. Regardless of what's being stored there they want that cave destroyed so neither side can use it again."
Tully put the hood down on his jeep as he asked, "What if the Germans are still there?"
"Command considers taking them out to be a plus in their book." Troy looked up at the lightening morning sky and said, "We'd better get going."
##################
It was midnight when Troy went to check Tully on watch. "See anything interesting?"
Tully said, "The Germans are on the move. It's unusual for them to move convoys at night."
"What's their direction?"
"Pick one. They're moving in from all over the place, but they're definitely headed in the direction of the caves. The loads they're carrying are heavy."
Troy said, "They're probably bringing munitions in from other caches."
Tully asked, "Want me to get Hitch and go take a look?"
"No, not yet. Those caves are only about a half-day away from here. We'll check things out when we get there. Go get some rest. I'll take over here."
##################
In the morning Troy and Moffitt agreed that the safest way to go was a longer route around the German convoys.
Troy said, "It'll take a little longer, but I'd like to get there in one piece."
Moffitt agreed, but said, "It could be they'll be coming from the south as well."
"Yeah, but there's more cover if we go in that way. We should be able to stay out of sight."
The two jeeps made their way carefully in the direction of the caves, always staying close to cover in case they needed to hide. At one point they checked from the cover of a dune, the Rat Patrol saw Germans moving in a large convoy rolling across the desert.
Tully asked, "Can't we just blow 'em up now, sarge? We have plenty of grenades."
Troy explained, "We need to blow that cave. I don't want them to know we're on to them any sooner than necessary."
Later in the day the jeeps pulled to a stop where they could watch the cave entrance from a high point without being seen.
They watched the Germans coming and going for a silent minute.
Finally Hitch said quietly, "There's so many. What do you think they're planning for all that ammo, sarge?"
Troy said, "I'd say they're planning an attack and moving munitions in close to where that's going to happen."
Moffitt nodded. "It would appear that's exactly what they're doing. There are two Allied bases within striking distance. Not to mention an American battalion dug in about fifty or so miles from here. The Germans could be planning a hit on any one of them."
Tully added, "Or maybe all of them."
Troy glanced at the private, knowing that scenario was a real possibility. "We're going to have to make sure that doesn't happen."
Moffitt said, "We need to know what exactly they've got in there before we do anything."
"There's too many of them to get close enough to get a look inside."
Tully looked at Hitch and said, "The tunnels."
Hitch nodded. "Yeah, we could go in that way. No one would see us and we'd be able see everything that's in there."
Troy asked, "What tunnels?"
Tully answered, "Last time we were here, Hitch and I found some tunnels.
Hitch said, "We'd be able to see what the Germans have stored from above them. They wouldn't be able to see us."
Troy looked at his men. "And you didn't think it was necessary to tell me or Moffitt about these tunnels?"
"The British were using the cave at the time. We didn't see a reason to say anything about the tunnels."
"Well, now that I do know about them, I think we can use them."
##################
It was dark when Troy sent Hitch and Tully to check things out. There were no guards at the tunnel entrances and the privates assumed the Germans hadn't discovered the tunnels. They got to the first tunnel and Tully gave Hitch a leg up so he could scramble inside. He turned and took a flashlight from his friend with a nod before crawling into the tunnel. Then Tully made his way to the tunnel he'd been in the last time they'd been there. It was higher and hidden with foliage that was growing out between the cracks in the rock.
Tully found foot and hand holds like he had before and climbed up to the tunnel entrance. He clicked his flashlight on and began to make his way down the tunnel.
##################
Hitch could hear muffled voices echoing off the walls and dim light as he got closer to the opening at the other end. He turned his light off and carefully crawled on his belly to look out over the Germans and munitions. He'd never seen so much armament stored in one place like this. Even the British hadn't stored that much.
Hitch carefully moved closer to the edge to peek out and quickly found Tully surveying things from the other tunnel. After a minute, Hitch signaled his friend that they should get out.
Tully nodded and had started to turn around when he heard a cracking sound. He turned back in time to see the rock under Hitch break away and send him tumbling down to the cave floor.
Germans quickly surrounded the unconscious American. There was nothing Tully could do from where he was so he turned and quickly headed for the tunnel entrance.
As he looked out the entrance and saw that the Germans were already combing the area. He had to wait until they hurried off before he could get out and run towards the jeeps.
Troy and Moffitt noticed the sudden change in the Germans activity and Troy was quick to ask the private what happened when he returned.
Tully explained, "The rock gave way under Hitch and he fell. The Germans got him, sarge."
Moffitt asked, "Could you tell if he was injured?"
"I think he was unconscious. He wasn't moving."
Troy said, "We'll get him back when we go in."
Then Tully went about telling the sergeants what he'd seen inside. When he was finished, Moffitt said, "They're definitely planning something big. And probably sooner rather than later."
Troy nodded. "And regardless of where they're planning to attack, we need to stop it here and now."
##################
When Hitch regained consciousness he found himself tied up, gagged, and leaning against the cave wall away from the Germans movements. There was also a guard standing on either side of him. Hitch moaned softly through the course cloth gag as his head pounded and he remembered what had happened.
One of the guards looked down at the American then called out. After a minute, the commanding officer appeared out of the half-darkness. As Hitch's eyes focused, he saw Captain Dietrich walking towards him and he whispered to himself, "Oh great."
The captain stopped in front of him and said, "It's good to see you awake private." Dietrich looked at his men and said in German, "Remove the gag and give him some water."
One of the guards pulled the gag down and held a canteen to Hitch's lips. He drank as long as the German allowed. Then Captain Dietrich looked up at the tunnel Hitch fell from and saw other tunnels dotting the walls. He said, "What are you doing here, private?"
Hitch tried to do his best impression of Troy as he growled, "Isn't it rather obvious."
The captain smiled. "Hearing the explanation from you directly would be much more satisfying."
"Well, you're out of luck."
"That is unfortunate, private. I know you would not be here without the other three. And I know they will be coming to rescue you at the first opportunity … at the same time they try to destroy this cave I would imagine."
Hitch glared silently up at the captain. Dietrich turned and left him sitting there as he began to give orders to his men.
As the captain walked away Hitch knew at least one of the tunnels had been found – the one he'd fallen from. Had the captain seen the other tunnel openings?
##################
Tully asked, "Are we going in tonight?"
Troy answered, "They'll be expecting us."
Moffitt said, "They'll be expecting us no matter what we do."
Tully watched with binoculars as extra guards took their places and the Germans moved around the cave entrance as they unloaded trucks as they arrived. "Sarge, Captain Dietrich's here."
Troy took the binoculars and looked where Tully pointed. "It's Dietrich all right."
"What're we gonna do, sarge?"
"No choice. We're going to have to do this tonight."
Moffitt asked, "But how?"
Troy scowled as he said, "I have a plan."
Tully smiled. "We can always count on you to have a plan."
##################
As per Troy's instructions, Tully made his way around to the tunnel entrances. There were guards at each now. However, when he moved around the guards to the tunnel he'd used earlier, he found it still hidden by the brush and unguarded. Tully silently climbed up to the entrance, being careful not to disturb the bushes any more than necessary. Not wanting to take a chance on drawing attention to himself, he didn't use his flashlight as he quickly moved through to the other end.
Tully carefully looked out over the scene on the cave floor. The majority of the activity had stopped for the night. Only a skeleton crew remained awake to unload the trucks that showed up after midnight. He looked around until he spotted Hitch in a dark corner almost directly across from where he was. He watched as Captain Dietrich approached his friend, made a comment that obviously angered Hitch before he slowly walked away.
##################
Dietrich walked over to where Hitch sat. "Have you reconsidered?"
Hitch snapped, "Reconsidered what?"
"Telling me where your friends are. It will make things easier on all of you if you give up to me."
"Do you really think I'd be willing to give up my unit to the enemy?"
Dietrich said, "I suppose not. However, I am sure they are here waiting for the opportunity destroy this cave and to rescue you, but it will only give them the chance to see you die first."
The captain then turned around and walked away. Hitch struggled angrily against the ropes for a minute before he gave up and let himself relax back against the wall to catch his breath.
##################
Troy and Moffitt were able to sneak up on the guard at the tunnel they came to first and with a skull cracking hit with the butt with his machine gun, Troy cleared their way to go in after Hitch … and to blow the ammo dump.
Tully waited a little impatiently for the sergeants to appear. His eyes darted from Hitch to the tunnel entrances, to the Germans who were obviously waiting for them to make an appearance.
Then Tully spotted Troy and Moffitt at the end of one of the other tunnels. He signaled the sergeants with a quick flash from his light. They looked up and Troy waved to let Tully know they saw him. Then the private pointed in the direction where Hitch was.
Troy and Moffitt managed to make out the signal in the dark, then slipped out of the tunnel. Troy signaled Moffitt to go after Hitch. Tully waited where he was in case he needed to provide cover fire.
Moffitt stayed in the shadows against the stone walls as he silently made his way around to where Hitch was. Troy moved quietly across to where some of the armament was stacked intending to place the TNT he was carrying before lighting it.
Then a familiar voice said, "I knew you would come, Sergeant Troy. You would never leave one of your men behind. Not to mention what you wish to do with our munitions."
Troy turned to look at Captain Dietrich and two of his men. "Hello, captain."
One of the captain's men stepped forward and confiscated the TNT Troy was carrying.
Tully watched Troy and Dietrich's interactions. He checked on Moffitt's progress and could see in the dim lantern light that the sergeant had knocked out the dozing guards and freed Hitch. He was then supporting their dazed friend and were just about to start back when a group of Germans surrounded them. Tully cursed to himself as he took aim at one of the enemy soldiers.
##################
A German guard and a lit match was all it took.
A lieutenant walked around the munitions, checking on the placement of the guards and crates when he spotted the flare of a match coming to life. He rushed over and slapped both the cigarette and the match out of the guard's hands as he began to berate the private severely, not paying attention to where the still burning match landed.
Tully saw a small curl of smoke as the flame worked to catch something alight in the munitions pile. He took careful aim and fired a shot, hitting one of the guards in the back. It was enough of a distraction to let Moffitt take down the guards. Then he and Hitch took off running, drawing attention from what was burning.
As Tully continued to shoot, the Germans tried to take cover, but there were few places to hide that didn't include the stacks of ammunition and explosives. He then took aim and fired a single bullet, hitting the ground at Captain Dietrich's feet. The captain jumped and ducked down as he looked for where the shots came from. Troy stood rock steady, knowing that the bullets weren't meant for him.
With Moffitt helping Hitch they ran for a tunnel as Germans began to flood in through the main entrance upon hearing the shooting inside. Tully beat them back so they had to find cover or run back outside. As soon as Moffitt and Hitch made it to the nearest tunnel, they crawled in.
As soon as the two Allies had disappeared, Tully turned his attention back to Troy and the captain.
Dietrich stood up and called out, "No matter what you do, your sergeant will likely die before I do!"
Tully saw that at least one of the crates had caught fire with growing flames. His voice echoed off the walls as he yelled back, "As long as you stay where you are, captain, I'll be satisfied!"
At that moment the Germans smelled the smoke and turned to see the flames. They began to yell that the crates were on fire. Dietrich turned to see the flames beginning to move quickly through the wooden crates and his men trying fruitlessly to extinguish the growing fire.
That was just enough of a distraction to let Troy run for the tunnel nearest him. Tully began to fire off volleys of machine gun fire to cover the sergeant as he ran.
Dietrich turned back to see Troy running away and frowned, knowing that the sergeant was the least of his concerns now.
Several of the German soldiers noticed the muzzle flashes and pointed up at Tully. As Troy disappeared into the tunnel, bullets hit the walls just outside Tully's tunnel. He turned and ran away from the opening as bullets began to ricochet around the inside of the tunnel with another volley from the Germans. They were getting too close for comfort.
Captain Dietrich yelled orders to his men. He knew how important it was to salvage the munitions, but he knew there was little chance of success.
Moffitt and Hitch discovered the entrance at the other end of the tunnel was still unguarded. They could hear shots inside the cave as they ran for the jeeps.
Troy appeared outside a few minutes later. The guard he and Moffitt had taken care of earlier hadn't moved and Troy didn't hesitate to take off at a dead run.
When he got to the jeeps he looked for his men. Moffitt and Hitch were the only one's he saw. "Where's Tully?"
Moffitt said, "We were hoping he'd be with you."
The first blast went off inside the cave and they watched as the Germans vacated it as smoke and fire began to billow out. More explosions went off within seconds of one another. Men were running out of the cave screaming in pain and with their clothes in flames.
Tully was running for the entrance when the shock wave traveled down the tunnel and hit him from behind. It had enough force to send him tumbling to the tunnel's opening and outside, where he landed hard on the ground below. Tully stood up on shaky legs and leaned on the rock wall to quickly catch his breath as smoke began to surge heavy and black from the tunnel opening above him. He was surprised, but grateful, when he realized he was still holding his machine gun. Taking a deep breath he hurried to the end of the wall and looked around at the cave entrance. The blasts continued to shake the ground and the hillside the cave was in.
The Germans caught sight of Tully when he stepped out and started firing, forcing the American back into cover.
Troy watched where the Germans were shooting and located Tully pinned down against the wall. He pointed and said, "There he is!"
With his gun blazing and a burst of speed Tully ran through a hail of enemy fire. At the same time Troy, Moffett, and Hitch began to lay down cover fire for their friend. Luckily the fire from the blasts and the thickening billowing smoke helped Tully get to the jeeps. He made it over the dune and rolled to the bottom.
Over the melee they could hear Captain Dietrich shouting orders to his men. If they couldn't stop the fire from destroying their entire store of armaments, they could at least capture those responsible – the Rat Patrol.
The others hurried to get to their friend. Troy pulled him to his feet. "You all right?" Tully nodded and Troy said, "We'd better get out of here then."
As they jogged to the jeeps, Tully stopped Hitch and asked, "You okay to drive? You took quite a fall."
Hitch sighed shakily as he answered, "I'm fine."
##################
It wasn't too long before the explosions made the cave collapse with a ground shaking roar.
Captain Dietrich jumped into the front passenger seat of the lead halftrack and could just see the jeeps drive away in the early morning light. His driver asked if he still wanted to go after the Allies.
The disgruntled captain sighed and told the driver to do his best to follow. They might get lucky.
Troy and Moffitt were in the back of the jeeps manning the 50s as they watched the Germans come after them, over the dunes in the light of more explosions. Troy knew they wouldn't be able to catch them, but it was just like Dietrich to give it his best shot.
The sun was rising, giving the desert a golden hue as the halftracks slowly disappeared into the distance behand them.
##################
They drove until noon. They'd seen no further sign of the Germans in several hours.
Troy said, "Let's find some cover and take a break."
Hitch nodded and soon found a depression between the dunes. They drove down and he and Tully parked the jeeps in the scrub. "No one should see us in here, sarge."
They all got out of the jeeps. Troy said, "No fire. Nothing that will draw attention to us."
Tully said, "I'll brush out our tracks so no one can tell we're here."
Hitch said, "I'll break out some K-rations."
Moffitt looked at his friend and asked, "Are you all right, Tully?"
"I could use some food and sleep. Other than that…"
Moffitt reached over and put a finger through one of the bullet holes in the arm of Tully's jacket. "Are you sure?"
Tully looked at the holes and quickly checked for blood. Not finding anything, he said, "Well, looks like they missed me. I'll be doin' a bit of sewin' on those holes though."
They ate their boxed lunches, and then proceeded to take turns sleeping and standing watch.
When Tully was taking his turn, he heard engines. He checked with the binoculars and immediately recognized who it was. He moved quickly to wake Troy and said, "Looks like Dietrich's coming this way."
As Troy got up, he took the field glasses and said, "Wake Moffitt and Hitch."
Tully turned to wake Moffitt, but the sergeant waved him off as he started to get up. Tully nodded and went over to Hitch.
When they joined Troy, he said, "That's Dietrich and his men all right." He glanced at Tully. "How far back did you go with wiping out the tracks?"
"At least a mile, then I went off road and circled back here."
"That should be plenty. They shouldn't be able to find us as long as we stay down until they go by."
Captain Dietrich and his men apparently didn't notice that the tracks had disappeared as they moved slowly by the Rat Patrol's hiding place.
They watched and waited for the Germans to disappear among the dunes. Once they were sure Dietrich and his men weren't circling back, Moffitt said, "It appears that the captain has more desire than usual to find us. You can be sure he'll be coming back this way eventually."
Troy stood up and said, "We'd better get moving." He looked at his men. They were all tired, but Hitch was a bit more pale and unsteady. "I'll drive." Hitch opened his mouth to argue, but Troy said, "Just for a while. You look like you could use a little more rest."
Hitch sighed and nodded.
##################
They drove through the rest of the day and into the night until they reached their base at Ras Tanura.
They stopped at medical and Troy got out of the jeep with Hitch. "I'll make sure he gets in to see a doctor. You two can leave the jeeps at the motor pool and then go get some rest. Moffitt and I will see Captain Boggs in the morning after a few hours of sleep."
##################
Troy and Moffitt walked over to headquarters the next morning after breakfast.
After the sergeants explained what happened during their assignment, Captain Boggs said, "Well, it looks like you've managed to stop a major attack by the Germans. Good work. As soon as I have your written reports, I'll get them off to Division Headquarters. I'm sure they'll be satisfied."
Troy gave a nod. "You'll have the reports by noon, sir."
"I trust your men came through this without any major injury?"
"Yes, sir. Things could've been worse."
Moffitt said, "Private Hitchcock has a minor concussion, but he should be fine in a few days according to the doctor, captain."
Boggs said, "In that case I don't see why you and your men can't take a few days off just to rest. Just stay on base in case something comes up."
Troy said, "Thank you, sir."
As they left headquarters, Moffitt smiled and said, "It'll be good to have those days off."
Troy returned the smile. "We both know how that usually turns out. Something is bound to happen."
"Don't destroy my hopes, Troy."