The Aftermath of Failure Raid
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 2
"Will you need me anymore tonight, Captain?"
"No, Corporal," Dietrich answered. "I have some reports to finish and then I will be leaving myself."
"Do you want me to come in early tomorrow and type and file those reports for you?"
The captain shook his head. "There will be plenty of time to do that, no need to come in early."
"But what of tomorrow's report's Captain? It usually takes me all day to complete one day's reports."
"I doubt that I will be writing many reports tomorrow. I expect to be busy with Colonel Bittenbender most of the day."
"Captain?"
"Yes Corporal?"
"You aren't in trouble, are you Sir?" The corporal blushed at his own boldness in asking the question. "He isn't going to take you away from us, is he?"
Dietrich raised his head to reassure his clerk. "I don't believe that I am in any trouble. The Colonel is simply trying to find out what went wrong with Major Alderbeck's mission."
"He was trying to capture the Rat Patrol," the corporal shrugged. "He could not have succeeded."
The captain raised an eyebrow, "And why not?"
"Everyone knows the Rat Patrol and their reputation," the corporal explained. "It will take extraordinary luck or a commander who is very special to capture them."
"And who do you think might do such a thing?"
The corporal blushed. "I think you might someday accomplish it Captain. You have the skills needed to capture them."
"Just not the skill to hold them," the captain mumbled under his breath.
"I'm sorry Captain, I could not hear what you said."
"It was nothing Corporal. I thank you for your vote of confidence, but I think this may be a discussion for another day. You are off duty and I have reports to finish before I can leave for the night."
"Can I get you anything before I leave?"
"No, Corporal, I am fine. I will see you in the morning."
After his clerk left Dietrich tried to concentrate on his reports. For the next hour he fumbled through one report after another. When he realized that he couldn't remember the details of any of them, he set them aside. Twisting in his chair, he started to yell for his clerk, until he remembered that he had released him for the night. Getting to his feet, he walked to the file cabinet and searched for the files on Major Alderbeck's failed mission.
He read through the reports again, this time looking for the point where it had first gone wrong. Colonel Bittenbender's question concerning Troy's knowledge of Major Alderbeck's plan intrigued him. When had Troy figured it out? He was reading it through for the third time when one line in particular caught his eye. Major Alderbeck had tried to have Private Pettigrew shot after drawing him to the jeeps. This was the point where Sergeant Moffitt had supposedly died.
At this point Sergeant Troy had begun his deception so he must have already realized what Major Alderbeck was doing. The captain pushed away the rest of the report to concentrate on the previous pages.
Hitchcock had fallen for the major's ploy with the Arab girl. There was no mention of Sergeant Troy trying to stop him from running to her aid, so at that point, the Major's plan had still been on track. The plan to get Troy's driver to plead for help had obviously failed. As he had explained to Colonel Bittenbender, that part of the plan was doomed from that point on if the private refused to cooperate. That didn't necessarily doom the entire plan, but it could have been the turning point.
Dietrich started reading again, looking for any clues as to when Troy became aware of the plan. Despite reading it several more times, nothing jumped out at him as a turning point. Rubbing his hand across his eyes, he called it quits for the night. All the way to his quarters he continued to ponder the problem. He fell asleep still thinking about it. It was a restless night as his dreams were invaded by the sergeant and his team of misfits.
The next morning found him hollow-eyed and cranky. He took his breakfast in his quarters, not in the mood for company. The questions from the night before kept circling around in his head. Colonel Bittenbender didn't disturb him, to his intense relief. By noon he had finished the reports he hadn't manage to finish the night before. As he walked to the mess hall for lunch, his mind went back to the questions of the night before. Colonel Bittenbender, Major Alderbeck, Troy and his team; they all kept jumbling together in his mind.
"Good afternoon, Captain Dietrich."
The cheerful greeting came from behind Dietrich and caught him by surprise. Since he had been so pre-occupied, he hadn't noticed the approach of Colonel Bittenbender. He turned to greet the other officer. "Good afternoon, Colonel, I trust you slept well."
"Very well," the colonel answered. He frowned as he noticed the dark circles under Dietrich's eyes. "How was your sleep?"
"Terrible," Dietrich admitted wryly. "I kept going back to our conversation from yesterday. The answers keep eluding me and it kept me awake. Then once I did manage to fall sleep that American unit invaded my dreams."
"I didn't mean to worry you." The colonel smiled an apology to the captain. "I'm not here to make things difficult for you. You need not worry about me."
"I'm not," Dietrich answered and then hurried to clarify his response. "I mean, you didn't worry me. I believed you when you said you weren't here to investigate me. It was the questions that you asked."
"What questions would that be?"
Dietrich smiled at his own obsession. "The questions about Troy and his men. Did the sergeant understand what Major Alderbeck had planned, and when did he figure it out?"
Colonel Bittenbender nodded as he began to eat. "It only makes sense that he had to have figured it out at some point."
"But at what point? And what was it that gave it away?"
"You know the sergeant much better than I do; what do you think?"
"It kept me pre-occupied for hours and haunted my sleep," Dietrich admitted. "I have studied Troy ever since our first meeting, and I still have not been able to figure him out. Every time I think I know what to expect, he surprises me once again." The captain shook his head in frustration.
"It's quite the mystery we have here," the colonel nodded as he continued to eat. He glanced up to see Dietrich staring off into distance. "Eat your lunch Captain," the colonel suggested. "Starving yourself isn't going to solve the mystery."
"I am afraid that eating isn't going to do so either Colonel." Despite saying that, Dietrich picked up his fork and began to eat. They finished their meal before either of them spoke again.
"I'm sorry if my questions disturbed your sleep Captain. That was never my intention. I was merely intrigued by the puzzle presented by the major's failure. We can forget about it for now." The colonel put his silverware aside and stood to leave the mess hall. "I have spent a very pleasant morning inspecting your base. Your men have a great deal of respect for you, both as an officer, and on a more personal level. Their affection seems quite genuine. I found your base security and moral both exemplary. I don't get a chance to say that to every officer I meet."
"Thank you, Colonel. If I had known you were going to inspect the base this morning, I could have provided you with a guide."
"No need," the colonel waved off the offer. "It was rather refreshing to be able to wander around to my heart's content and see whatever I wanted to see when I wanted to see it. Guides always seem to have an agenda."
"You have complete access to my base," Dietrich assured him. "I have nothing to hide."
"I believe you," the colonel nodded. "Everything I found was in order. Field Marshall Rommel told me to expect as much. I shall be happy to return and tell him that he was correct."
"Please give him my regards when you see him again?"
"My pleasure Captain. I expect to be seeing him soon. I will be leaving here this afternoon. I have orders to return with my reports on the readiness of the bases here in North Africa. I need to make sure that my car is ready to travel."
"I can have someone make sure it is ready," Dietrich offered. "With your permission Colonel, I would like to offer you an escort, at least until you get out of this area. The Rat Patrol haunts these hills quite frequently and a lone staff car would make a tempting target."
The Colonel smiled. "There is a convoy arriving within the hour. They will be my escort to the next base. Your kind offer is most appreciated but hardly necessary. Plans have already been made for me to travel with the convoy."
"Of course, Colonel." Dietrich rose, leaving his half-eaten meal on his plate.
"I wish I could stay longer Captain. I would have liked to spend more time discussing last night's topic. If you ever get the answers, I would love to know what you discover. Please write and let me know. This Rat Patrol of yours fascinates me."
"They are not my Rat Patrol," the captain repeated for the umpteenth time. He wished that everyone would stop calling them that. "I just had the misfortune to be assigned to the same part of the desert. They have been a thorn in my side since the day I arrived in this place."
"Field Marshall Rommel tells me that you are the only one who has ever managed to kill one of them."
The captain nodded in acknowledgement. "When I first arrived here, I was with a convoy that was attacked by the sergeant and his team. A gunner on one of the halftracks swore he hit one of the gunners in one of the jeeps. I found out later that he did indeed hit one of them. The man was killed in that attack. Unfortunately, the dead man was replaced with Sergeant Moffitt, a British sergeant who has an imitate knowledge of the desert. Instead of weakening them, our actions had the opposite effect. The addition of Sergeant Moffitt gives the team access to skills that weren't there previously, skills that have proven to be most beneficial to Sergeant Troy and his team."
"Isn't it funny how what seems like a success can sometimes turn out to be a mistake? If Japan had not attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States may not have entered the war at all."
"I wonder," Dietrich mused. "The Americans seem to have this uncontrollable urge to get involved in the affairs of others. I can't help but think that if Pearl Harbor had not happened, they would have eventually entered the war under some other pretense."
"Later may have been better for us," the colonel suggested.
"Perhaps."
A runner arrived to announce that a convoy was approaching the base.
"That will be the convoy that I am to travel with for the remainder of my stay in North Africa. It is going to escort me to the airfield where I will catch a plane to return to Europe." The colonel offered a hand to Dietrich. "Meeting you has been the highlight of my trip Captain. Inspecting bases can be quite boring, but you have given me much to think about while we cross this endless desert."
Dietrich accepted the offered hand and shook it. "A pleasure to be of help Colonel. Our talk has given me much to think about also. Perhaps the next time you visit we can take more time to discuss mysteries other than just talk business."
"I'd like that Captain. Perhaps next time I will be able to warn you before I arrive. Do you think that it would be wise, considering that officers tend to get kidnapped around here?" The colonel paused and smiled apologetically. "I am sure you could protect me, but that Allied unit is still out there."
"No offense Colonel, but I wouldn't travel alone if I were you. Even a column is sometimes not enough to deter Sergeant Troy and his men."
The colonel laughed. "Th entire Afrika Korps does not seem to be enough to deter them Captain. I wonder what it would take to do such a thing?"
"I'm not certain that it can be done," Dietrich admitted.
"Well Captain, I must go. Continue the good work, and keep me informed. I would love to hear from you."
"I'll do my best Colonel. Have a safe trip."