The Hard Way to Get Home
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 3
Troy and Moffitt left the captain's office and headed directly for the motor pool. They arrived at their remaining jeep to find the seat buried under the supplies Hitch had dumped there. A pool of dried blood on the ground revealed where Hitch had fallen.
"I guess the first order of business is to put all of these supplies where they belong," Troy suggested. He stepped around the blood and tried not to think about its source.
"I'll pick up the ones over here," Moffitt offered. He bent down and began to pick up the supplies Tully had dropped on the ground. As he stacked the supplies, he tried to put himself in Tully's boots. "Troy."
"Yeah?"
"Where do you think this Private Newman would want to go?"
The other sergeant paused, a box of rations in his hand. "The captain said he tried to hop a plane before, maybe that's still his plan."
"It didn't work out so well for him the last time," the Brit answered.
"That doesn't mean he's given up on the idea. How else would he get away?"
"A ship?"
"Maybe."
"It's also possible that he only wanted to escape this base. Maybe he'll head for one of the other bases."
Troy started to move again. He packed the rations away as he continued to consider the question.
"We could try to raise the MPs on the radio and see which way they went after they crashed through the gate," Moffitt suggested. "Perhaps that will give us somewhere to start."
"If he's thinking at all he will have changed directions once he got out of sight of the base."
"It's possible," Moffitt admitted, "but I still think it will give us a place to start. They have a head start and we need something to improve our chances. Tully's life may depend on it."
"Tully won't push the jeep too hard; he'll know we're looking for him."
"I wonder how well Private Newman knows the desert."
"Are you thinking that Tully could take him to the wrong base?" Troy asked.
"It's a possibility," Moffitt answered with a shrug.
Troy paused again and pictured the map of the area in his head. "Let's see what the MPs have to say."
They finished putting the supplies away in silence.
"Sergeant Troy."
Troy turned at the call and spotted two of the mechanics headed his way.
"We saw it all," one of them announced before they reached the sergeants. "He never gave Hitchcock a chance."
"Shot him in the back," the other one added.
"Did you go to the hospital?" the first one asked.
"What about Pettigrew?" the second one demanded.
The annoyed look on Troy's face stopped the questions.
"Sorry," the first one apologized, "we were just wondering." He took a step back as Troy's steely gaze settled on him.
"We haven't been to the hospital," Moffitt answered before Troy could explode. "We just found out what happened. Did Private Newman say anything? Did he happen to mention where he was going?"
The two mechanics looked at each other and shrugged.
"Not that we heard," the first one answered, "he just told Pettigrew to drive."
"Why'd he shoot Hitch?" Troy growled.
Again the mechanics looked at each other.
"He said he didn't need him," the second one answered. He looked like he wanted to apologize even though he was only repeating what he had heard.
"I suppose that tells us what he plans for Tully when he doesn't need him anymore," Moffitt suggested.
"Not if we can help it," Troy growled. "Come on Moffitt."
"Just give me a minute to call the MPs and see if they can tell us which direction Tully took after he left the base."
"Hurry it up."
Moffitt nodded and turned to the radio. The MPs gave them their location and course and offered to wait for them. Moffitt declined the offer, telling them to stay on the trail of the jeep. As Moffitt signed off, Troy gunned the jeep's engine.
"Hold on Troy!"
"What is it Moffitt?"
"Something doesn't make sense here." Moffitt reached under the seat and pulled out the map case. He spread the map on the hood of the jeep and ran his finger across it. His frown deepened as he studied the map. Abruptly he rolled the map and slid it into the carrying case. "I'm ready," he told Troy as he slid into the passenger seat.
Troy headed for the rear gate where Tully had made his dramatic escape. Once clear of the base Moffitt took over in dictating the course. Tully had headed straight out from the base for several miles before changing direction.
"Stop here Troy."
Troy stopped the jeep. "What is it? Did you see something?"
"No, I want to check in with the MPs again."
"Why?"
"I want to know if Tully changed directions again."
"You think he did." It wasn't a question.
"I think it's possible," the Brit nodded.
"Where do you think he's going?"
Moffitt didn't answer right away, but when he did, his answer surprised Troy.
"I think he may be headed back this way."
"This way?"
"I think it's possible that he may be driving in circles."
"If Private Newman realizes what he's doing…" Troy suggested quietly.
"Precisely."
Moffitt made a call while Troy dug out their map. He compared the information they gave him to the map Troy had spread on the hood of the jeep. Using his fingers, he pointed out the course Tully had taken. "See here," he tapped his finger on the map. "There are a series of hills here. They're low, but long. Tully could easily weave around them and loop his way back this way."
"Wouldn't Newman notice?"
"The sun is directly overhead, he may not notice for a while, but eventually…" Moffitt shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose it would depend on how clearly he is thinking. If he is lost in his madness, he may not realize it."
Troy nodded thoughtfully. "If you're right, maybe we can head him off before that happens."
"My thoughts exactly."
"Okay, where do we go next?"
Moffitt continued to study the map. He knew the area around the base quite well, as did Tully. He knew what he would do in Tully's place; the question was, what would Tully do? Moving his finger across the map, he made his decision. "I think here would be a god place to wait for him."
Troy looked at the map. "Okay."
"One more thing," Moffitt stopped Troy from starting the jeep. "The MPs."
"What about them?"
"Perhaps it would be better if they were to stay back and not push Tully too hard. There's no telling what Private Newman will do if he sees them."
Troy chewed on his lip. "All right, give them a call. Tell them to hang back and give us a chance to stop Tully. Explain your theory and tell them what we plan to do."
"Right," the Brit answered.
Once that was done Troy followed Moffitt's directions to the place the Brit had chosen to intercept the other jeep. They hid the jeep in a wadi and took binoculars to watch for their missing man.
"Now we wait," Troy growled as they dropped to their stomachs and searched the surrounding hills. "I wish we had some way of knowing if we are right."
"If we're right, we shouldn't have to wait long."
Troy sighed. "We need a plan. We can't just step out in front of him and tell him to stop."
"We have the 50."
"We can't shoot at Tully!"
"Of course not," Moffitt agreed. "I propose we use the 50 to shoot in front of Tully's jeep. We wouldn't actually be trying to hit it. Tully will recognize the sound of the 50 and give us an opening to take control. I have complete faith in Tully reacting quickly to get away from Newman."
Troy nodded. "As soon as we spot him, we can move to the jeep."
Less than an hour later Troy spotted the other jeep weaving its way around the low hills. Behind Tully, in the distance, he could see a faint dust cloud. He assumed that it was coming from the jeeps of the MPs who were still following Tully's tracks. He handed the binoculars to Moffitt and pointed out both groups. Moffitt located Tully and the MPs and nodded.
"Let's go!" Troy was off the hill and back to the jeep by the time Moffitt got to his feet.
A few minutes later they heard the engine of Tully's jeep. As Tully came around a hill and cut through the narrow valley, Troy gunned the engine and burst out from behind the next hill. He skidded the jeep to a stop in front of the other jeep. Moffitt, on the 50, sent a string of bullets into the sand in front of Tully's jeep.
At the first sight of the sergeants, Tully reacted. He jerked the wheel to the right and then back to the left.
Gerald was thrown first one way and then the other. The second turn was so abrupt that he lost his balance, falling from his seat. He heard the shots as he tumbled to the hard ground. The rifle in his hand was jarred loose and went flying. He scrambled to his knees and reached for the weapon.
"Not so fast!" Troy yelled as he jumped from the jeep. The sand as the jeep slid to a stop hit Gerald in the eyes and blurred his vision. He was feeling for the rifle as Moffitt dropped to the ground and picked up the fallen weapon.
"Are you okay Tully?" Moffitt asked as Tully stopped the jeep behind them.
"Am now," Tully drawled. "Pretty sure this isn't how he planned for this to end."
"Get some rope and tie him up," Troy ordered. "We're not taking any chances with him."
Tully grabbed some rope from the rear of his jeep and stepped around Moffitt. He began to tie Gerald's hands as Moffitt reached for the radio. "Do you know what happened?" Tully asked.
"The captain told us," Troy nodded. He continued to watch Gerald as Tully bound him.
"How's Hitch?" When Troy didn't answer right away, Tully pulled the last knot tight and stood to face the sergeants. "Sarge?"
"We don't know Tully," Troy answered. "The captain said he was in surgery but we couldn't stay around to see what the doctors had to say. We couldn't give you too much of a head start."
"I saw him starting to stir before I drove out of there. I was afraid that guy would notice and shoot him again."
The sergeant nodded. "That was smart thinking. If he was starting to stir, maybe it wasn't so bad."
"Can we go back now and find out?"
"In a few minutes," Troy answered. "Moffitt, are the MPs on their way?"
"They'll be here in just a few minutes," the Brit replied.
"MPs?" Tully asked. He looked at his backtrail and nodded. "We saw the dust. I was wondering who was back there. It sure had him on edge."
"Is that why he allowed you to leave the road and travel through the hills?" Moffitt asked.
"Kind of," Tully admitted. "I told him a while back that there were German patrols out here. I suggested that we take to the hills to avoid them." Tully made a face. "After we spotted the dust, I may have hinted that that dust was from a German patrol."
"And that gave you the chance to drive in circles?"
"Yeah," Tully grinned. "I was hoping you'd figure that out."
"What were you going to do if he figured it out?" Troy asked.
"I remembered something Doc said some time ago."
Moffitt raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"
"You said most folks get lost in the desert because they don't know how to navigate. You said they get confused because everything looks the same." Tully waved at the hills around them. "He never realized that they were the same hills because I avoided my own tracks and kept weaving back and forth around them."
The British sergeant laughed. "I suspected as much."
"Here come the MPs," Troy announced. He stepped around the jeeps and waved the MP's jeeps forward. They turned Gerald over to the MPs and felt a sense of relief when they drove away with him.
"Can we go back to the base now?" Tully asked.
Troy swung into his jeep. "Yeah Tully, we can go back now." Moffitt took his regular seat with Tully. Troy waved the other jeep to go ahead. He hid his frown as he wondered what they would find when they returned.
The hospital was quiet as the three of them made their way among the beds looking for a familiar blond head.
Hitch was sitting up in his bed when they finally located him. "Hey guys!"
They all smiled at the cheerful greeting.
"I knew you'd get Tully back."
Troy laughed. "All we did was wait; Tully did the rest." He went on to explain what Tully had done. "He was just driving around in circles waiting for us to figure it out."
"And all that time I was worrying about you," Tully added.
"I bet," Hitch grinned. "I would have been worried about you too, but I just woke up a little bit ago. Once I woke up, I knew right away that Sarge and Doc would get you back."
"How badly are you hurt?" Moffitt asked the question they had all been wanting to ask.
Hitch shifted in his bed and winced. "Not too bad Doc. The bullet went right through. The impact threw me forward and I hit my head on the jeep. That's what knocked me out. I came to just after Tully left; at least that's what the mechanics told me. The ambulance arrived and they sent me straight into surgery. The doctors say I'll be out of here in a few days. I'll be sore for a few more days, nothing serious. I'll be fine."
"We got lucky," Troy grumbled.
"What about the guy that did all this Sarge?"
"The MPs are bringing him back to the base. They may already be back for all we know. He's not our problem anymore. He'll probably be sent back to the states. He's sick and is going to need long term help to overcome his problems. The war is over for him."
"That's good," Hitch nodded, "it's bad enough we have to duck German bullets, I don't want to be ducking our own too."
"You didn't duck," Tully teased.
"True," Hitch agreed, "and look where I ended up."
"You're going to be okay," Troy stated, "and that's the important thing." He rubbed his finger across the sand caking the back of his hand. "And now that we've checked on you, we're going to let you get some rest. We're going to shower, eat, and hit the bunks."
"We already showered once today," Moffitt pointed out.
"I didn't," Tully argued.
"So we'll shower again to keep you company. We can't have you getting into any more trouble. Besides, we're dirty again." Troy pushed the other two men toward the door.
Hitch laughed at their antics. He covered a yawn as they turned away.
Moffitt laughed at Troy and turned to go. "Anyway, we're glad you're okay Hitch. We'll see you later."
Hitch waved as they left, his eyes already getting heavy.
