Bruno

By: AliasCWN

Hitch awoke to a strange sound outside of the tent. "Tully." Tully rolled over in his sleep and Hitch heard the sound again. "Tully!" Hitch repeated a bit louder, but still in a whisper. "Tully!"

"What?" Tully asked sleepily.

"I heard something."

"So did I…..you." Tully grumbled.

"I mean something strange," Hitch whispered mysteriously.

Tully sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "You'd better not be pulling my leg, I just got to sleep." He sat in the dark and helped Hitch listen for the sound to repeat itself.

"There!" Hitch exclaimed in a loud whisper. "Did you hear it?" He looked over when Tully didn't answer and saw Tully's dark form creeping toward the door of the tent. Not to be outdone, Hitch slipped out of bed and followed. The sound repeated itself again and both young men paused to listen. They were still not sure what was making the noise so Tully looked toward Hitch and shrugged. "It sort of sounds like a dog," Hitch whispered.

"Like a dog in trouble, or in pain," Tully agreed in a low voice.

"We have to help it." Hitch went to rush past Tully but was stopped as Tully grabbed his arm.

"You're gonna scare it. Besides, if it's hurt, it might bite." Tully eased toward the door and paused at the entrance.

They heard it again, only this time it sounded as if it was right outside the flap of the door. Nudging the flap aside, the two privates were met by a disturbing sight. Lying only feet from their tent was a scrawny brown dog with black markings.

"It's hurt." Hitch stated after staring at the animal for a minute.

"Yeah, it looks like his leg," Tully agreed.

"Maybe we could bring it into the tent and fix it up," Hitch suggested.

"And maybe it would just bite us for our troubles," Tully replied. "It looks like a stray and they aren't always friendly. We have to be careful here."

"It came to us for help," Hitch argued. "The Arabs are always kicking them and throwing stones at them. You'd be unfriendly to if that happened to you. Maybe it knows we like dogs." Hitch stood up and took a step past Tully. He stopped when the dog growled at him.

"Go ahead," Tully encouraged. "He looks hungry, maybe he'll take a bite out of your hand."

"Okay, maybe you're right. But what are we going to do about him? We can't just leave him out there."

"We'll think of something."

"Hey! I just remembered. I saved some crackers from supper in case I got hungry later."

"And you didn't eat them yet?"

"No, why?"

"Because you're always hungry. How come you didn't eat them?"

"I wasn't hungry. Crackers keep, I can eat them anytime."

"I don't know Hitch," Tully shook his head in wonder. "After all you ate at supper, I don't know how you could even think of food."

"I didn't, that's why I still have them."

"They're probably just cracker crumbs by now."

"That's okay," Hitch grinned, "the dog won't care. They'll still taste the same."

"Yeah, like salty cardboard," Tully grunted.

"Keep an eye on him, I'll be right back." Hitch went back to his footlocker and dug around for the crackers. They rattled in the plastic, confirming Tully's suggestion that they were just crumbs, but they were food. Hitch hurried back to Tully by the door. He held the crackers out with a triumphant smile.

"Go ahead," Tully warned, "But he might bite you for even offering him those things."

"He won't," Hitch answered but his expression wasn't as confident.

"Okay," Tully sighed. "Go ahead and see if he'll eat them, but you put your hand down there first. I'm not taking the blame for those crackers."

Hitch hesitated for just a minute, then he took a breath and reached toward the dog. He held the crackers in the palm of his hand. "Here boy. Crackers. Come on boy, they're good."

"Lying to a dog is pretty low Hitch."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Try telling him the truth."

Hitch looked back at Tully and grinned. "Then he would bite me."

"Aha! Then you're admitting that the crackers are terrible?"

The dog jumped at Tully's exclamation.

"Easy Tully, you're scaring him."

"I'm not the one trying to feed him those crackers."

"Okay, okay, just don't raise your voice again. I think he's starting to think about it."

"If he thinks too hard, he'll bite you for sure."

"Tully."

"Okay, okay, I'll stay quiet."

When Hitch took a step forward the dog backed away. "Easy boy, we're not going to hurt you."

"Lying again, those crackers could be lethal." Tully barely whispered it but Hitch gave him a warning look.

"Come on boy. I have crackers, see, food. It's food buddy." Hitch left a small pile of the crumbs fall to the ground and then stepped back. He waited patiently as the dog decided what he wanted to do. Finally, the dog took a step toward the crackers. "That's it," Hitch encouraged. The dog looked at him and growled, but it didn't back away. Tully and Hitch stayed silent while it continued to watch them. After what seemed like a long time, the mutt moved toward the crackers. He sniffed them cautiously, taking his time about making up his mind. When he started to eat them Hitch turned to Tully with a huge, goofy grin. "See, I told ya."

"Yeah, you did," Tully laughed. "So now what? Do we start calling him Polly, or what?"

"Polly? He's a he."

"But Polly wants a cracker," Tully grinned again.

"Oh, that Polly."

"He must really be hungry to eat those things." Tully suggested.

"He looks hungry,..and maybe thirsty. I'm going to get him some water." Hitch came back a minute later with a dish full of water. He lowered it to the ground in front of the dog. The dog didn't even hesitate, he headed straight for the water dish.

"Try petting him now," Tully suggested.

"You just want to see him bite me," Hitch answered. "Then you're going to say I-told-you-so."

"Maybe," Tully grinned, "but I really think he may let you touch him before he bites you."

"Very funny." Hitch reached slowly toward the dog. "I should have let you sleep."

"That's what I thought," Tully nodded. "Too late now. I could have used the sleep but then I would have missed all of this fun." He grinned as Hitch managed to touch the dog's fur.

The dog drew away but Hitch was patient. He left the dog get used to his presence before he moved any closer. Before long he was petting the mutt and grinning up at Tully.

"You haven 't caught him yet."

"I will," Hitch answered with confidence.

The two privates sat in the dark outside of their tent for over an hour just talking to the dog. They eventually got him to follow them into the tent. Hitch patted the mattress on his bed and the dog obediently jumped up. After making three tiny circles it settled on his blankets.

"All right, let's take a look at that leg." Hitch gently lifted the dog's front leg. "It looks like he cut it on something." Hitch moved the leg to get a better look.

Tully leaned down and examined the wound too. "It looks infected. We could clean it up and bandage it I guess."

"I'll run over to the jeeps and get our medical kit. We can use that."

"Are you going to explain to Sarge how we used our medical supplies on a dog?"

"Sarge will understand. He likes dogs," Hitch answered.

"He likes you more; and if you get hurt on the way back to our base and need those supplies, he's not going to be so understanding."

"I'll go to the supply building and restock our kit before we leave in the morning."

Tully looked at the dog and nodded, "I guess that will work."

By the time Hitch returned with the medical kit the dog had fallen asleep on the foot of his cot. It barely stirred as the two privates took care of its leg.

"It looks more like a bullet crease than a cut now that I can see it," Tully decided.

"He must have been exhausted," Hitch suggested, "that and dehydrated."

"Maybe he'll sleep the rest of the night," Tully suggested hopefully. "We could all use the sleep."

"I guess I could use the sleep too," Hitch yawned, "Sarge says we're leaving to head home tomorrow."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Tully indicated the dog. "He looks like he found his bed."

"I guess I could make a bed on the floor." Hitch looked at the floor with a definite lack of enthusiasm.

Tully chuckled. "Maybe you could just move him over a little and share."

"I wouldn't want to disturb him."

"Would you rather sleep on the floor?"

"Okay," Hitch agreed after a very brief pause, "maybe you're right."

"Of course I am," Tully grinned. "Good night Hitch. Try to keep that dog quiet." Tully crawled back into his bed and went to sleep.

Morning arrived before either private was ready. Hitch awoke to the dog whining in his face.

"Maybe he needs to go out," Tully suggested from the other cot. He yawned and rolled over to go back to sleep.

"So early?" Hitch moaned.

Tully grinned. "You brought him in."

"Right," Hitch groaned. "Okay boy, out you go." Hitch rose and held the tent flap open for the dog.

The dog whined and wagged his tail while looking between Hitch and the door.

"Go on," Hitch urged.

The dog continued to whine and look between Hitch and the door. He took a step toward the door and then moved back to Hitch again. He continued to do that, never going all the way to the door.

"Maybe he's afraid to go out alone," Tully suggested. "I think you should go out with him." He didn't even try to hide his grin as Hitch scowled.

"Oh, okay," Hitch sighed, "let me get dressed first."

"Hurry up," Tully urged, "he looks anxious. I'm not cleaning up any mess if he can't wait."

Hitch hurried and got dressed in record time. As soon as he stepped to the door the dog went outside.

"Bruno!"

Hitch spun at the call. "You know this dog?"

The soldier who had just stepped out of the next tent crouched down to pet the dog. He looked up at Hitch as he answered. "This is Bruno. He's a stray that Olinski took in."

"Olinski?"

The soldier's smile turned into a frown at the question. "Jack Olinski," the soldier nodded. "That was his tent." He pointed to the tent Tully and Hitch had been assigned.

"Was?"

"His squad went out on patrol four days ago and none of them came back. I heard they radioed that they were under attack, but it couldn't be confirmed. The captain sent out patrols to look for them but all they found was one of their jeeps. The guys and the other jeep were never found."

"They gave up looking already?"

The soldier shrugged. "A whole bunch of new guys arrived and we had to move on. The captain said he would send someone else out to look for them if we got any new information. With all of the new guys, we were short on quarters; that's why you got assigned to Olinski's tent."

Hitch nodded that he understood.

The soldier shrugged. "It's just that I thought Bruno went out with Olinski. He was their unofficial mascot. He used to ride in

"Funny though…" the other soldier frowned in thought.

"What's funny?" Hitch asked.

"It's just that I thought Bruno went out with them. He was their unofficial squad mascot. He used to ride in the jeep with them while they were on patrol." The soldier got to his feet and gave Bruno one final pat on the head. "I guess he adopted you because you were in Olinski's tent."

"We're leaving for home this morning," Hitch explained. "Who shared the tent with Olinski?"

"That would be Tom Burkes. He was on the same squad," the soldier answered. "But he didn't come back either."

"Then who is going to take care of Bruno?"

The soldier shrugged. "I don't know, but I can't take him."

Bruno whined and walked several steps before looking back at Hitch.

"Does he always act like that?

The soldier watched Bruno for several minutes as he continued to whine. "No, not usually. I don't think I ever heard him whine like that before." He gave Bruno one final pat. "Well, I have to go; I have duty in an hour and I haven't had breakfast yet." The soldier turned and walked away without a backward glance.

"What are you trying to tell me boy?" Hitch took a step toward Bruno, but the dog moved away, staying just one step ahead of him. With every step he took the dog took another, leading him across the base.

"Hitch!"

Hitch stopped and looked back at the tent.

"Where the devil do you think you're going?"

"You heard that guy, didn't you Tully?"

"I heard," Tully nodded. "But that doesn't explain where you are going."

"He wants me to follow him," Hitch explained.

"You can't just run off."

Hitch hesitated.

"Come on Hitch, come on back."

As Hitch turned back, the dog began to whine again. At the first whine Hitch looked torn.

"If he wants to go, let him go," Tully suggested.

"He wants me to follow him," Hitch insisted.

"If you go off following that dog Sarge is going to be mad. If you're so dead set on it, maybe you should talk to Sarge first."

"I will," Hitch answered. He glanced at his watch before walking back to the tent to join Tully. "Sarge should be awake soon. I'm going to go get breakfast for me and Bruno and then I'll talk to Sarge."

Tully grinned and shook his head. "Mind if I tag along?"

The other private looked surprised at the question. "You don't need to ask. You're always welcome, you know that."

"Look, let's go eat and then talk to Sarge. I'll back up your claim that the dog wants to lead you somewhere. Maybe, if we're not in too big of a hurry to get back to the base, Sarge will let you follow him."

Bruno didn't follow at first and Hitch was beginning to think that they would have to go to breakfast without him. Finally the dog dropped its head and followed his new friends. Every couple of steps he would stop and whine. When they didn't stop, he would give in and follow.

Troy wasn't impressed when his driver announced that he had found another stray dog. "Another one?" Troy growled. "Didn't you learn anything from the last one?"

"We found a home for him," Hitch protested.

"After nearly a week," Troy recalled. "We don't have another week here. We're heading back today."

"We can take him back with us. The guy who knew him said he used to ride with Olinski's squad."

"We're not Olinski's squad."

"No, none of them came back," Hitch answered. "Maybe Bruno knows where they are," the blond suggested. "He went out with them."

"Hitch!" Troy growled. "He probably just got left behind."

"Can we at least follow him for a little while?" Hitch pleaded. "He wants us to follow him Sarge."

"We aren't in a hurry, are we Troy?" Moffitt asked for Hitch's benefit.

"Hitch is right," Tully confirmed. "Bruno sure acts like he wants to lead us somewhere."

Troy looked at the circle of hopeful faces around him and growled. "Oh, all right. After we have our breakfast, we'll let the dog lead us wherever he wants to go; within limits. I'm not about to spend all day following some stray dog around the base."

"Thanks Sarge. How far can a dog lead us?" Hitch smiled at the others in triumph.

"We'll see," Troy growled.

Moffitt smiled at the other sergeant's tone since he knew Troy wasn't as unmoved as he wanted them to think.

"Shall we eat and then follow our new guide? I, for one, am curious where he may lead us." Moffitt made the first move to get in line for their breakfast.

"I give up!" Troy groaned. "Let's eat and get it done."

Bruno was lying in the shade outside the mess hall when the team emerged. He began to whine as soon as he saw the privates. As they walked toward him Bruno began to pace.

"Lead on boy," Hitch urged.

Bruno did just that. He started off across the base at a trot. The humans had to hurry to keep up. As they neared the edge of the base the dog showed no sign of slowing down.

Troy stopped and watched as the dog started across the desert. "Hitch, you and Tully stay with the dog. Moffitt and I will go get the jeeps."

"Right Sarge."

Tully and Hitch stayed with Bruno as he trotted off across the sand. To their eyes he looked like a dog with a purpose.

"Are you sure you want to do this Hitch?"

"How far can he go?" Hitch asked again.

Tully shrugged and kept walking.

Troy and Moffitt arrived with the jeeps and Tully and Hitch took over the chore of driving. With the vehicles, it was easier to keep up with Bruno.

After a while Bruno slowed down. "He looks tired Sarge, maybe we should let him ride." Hitch looked to Troy for permission.

"How's he going to lead us anywhere if he's riding in our jeep?" Troy asked reasonably.

"We'll just follow his nose," Hitch explained. "Whichever way he looks is the way we'll go."

"Follow his nose? You didn't actually say that did you?"

"What's wrong with it Sarge?"

Troy opened his mouth to call the whole thing off, but Hitch looked so earnest. He licked his lips and shook his head. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this." He looked toward Bruno and nodded his permission. "All right, let him ride."

Hitch stopped the jeep and called to Bruno. The dog paused and looked back but he didn't answer the call. Hitch had to pull in front of the dog and stop right in front of him before he would get in. Once he was in the jeep he continued to stare off in the direction he had been going. Hitch took that as an indication that he should drive that way. He looked over at Troy and grinned happily.

Troy shook his head and climbed behind the seat to give the dog more room. After another hour Troy leaned forward and tapped Hitch on the shoulder. "Hitch, this isn't working."

"Just a little further Sarge," Hitch pleaded. "He wants to show us something, I know he does."

"Just a little longer Hitch, then we take the dog back to the base and head home."

As if he realized what the humans were talking about, Bruno began to whine again. He pawed at the dash of the jeep and leaned to the side. Hitch changed directions to follow the way Bruno was leaning. They continued for another twenty minutes before Bruno began to bark wildly.

Troy glanced back at the other jeep and saw them watching the dog curiously. He just shook his head and waited to see what would happen next.

The shot surprised them all. Both jeeps slid to a stop as all four of the humans looked for the source of the sound. Bruno was out of the jeep as soon as it stopped. He raced toward one of the dunes while barking loudly.

A figure got to his feet on top of one of the dunes and waved his arms to get their attention. As Bruno got closer, the figure dropped to his knees. He was bowled over by the force of Bruno's greeting. Bruno charged into him at full speed.

"Let's go Hitch," Troy ordered. "If the dog knows him, he must be okay."

The jeeps started forward again until they reached the base of the dune. The man who had waved at them was laughing hysterically as he tried to push the fog off of him.

"Stay here Hitch." Troy took a rifle and started toward the pair. Moffitt grabbed a weapon and followed Troy.

"Am I glad to see you!" The soldier managed to get Bruno to stand down so he could greet the two sergeants.

"Who are you?" Troy demanded.

"Jack Olinski," the soldier answered. "I was part of a patrol that got ambushed a few days ago. We lost one of our jeeps in the attack. The other one got us this far before it quit. I have wounded men on the other side of this dune."

Troy turned to Moffitt. "Bring the jeeps around and you can check them out." Turning back to Olinski, he offered a hand. "Are you hurt?"

"Dehydrated," Olinski answered. "We had a can of water, and we were rationing it, but we ran out yesterday." Olinski reached up and took the hand Troy offered. Bruno crowded up against his leg. "Where did you find Bruno? After he ran off, I thought I lost him. I knew he was hurt but he ran off before I could look at him."

"He found Hitch," Troy answered.

"Hitch?"

"My driver," Troy explained.

Olinski smiled. "He does prefer riding to walking."

"In this case it was more a matter of accommodations," Troy explained. "My two drivers were assigned to your tent in your absence. He showed up outside of the tent last night and woke them."

"And you brought him along to search for us?"

"We weren't searching for you," Troy admitted. "We were following the dog. He wanted us to follow him and he was making a pain of himself until we did."

Olinski laughed. "That's my Bruno. He has a mind of his own." The soldier paused to pat the dog. "So I guess we owe him our lives."

"Yes, you do," Troy nodded. "We would have headed straight for home if it hadn't been for that dog."

"I guess I owe him a steak then," Olinski laughed.

"Where are you going to get a steak?" Troy asked.

"Maybe he'll have to settle for chicken."

This time it was Troy who laughed. The two men crossed the dune and slid down to the small camp hidden on the other side. Bruno was greeted by each of the men waiting in the camp. The arrival of the two jeeps was greeted with a quiet cheer.

"Jerry's been around looking for us," Olinski reported. "They know we're out here somewhere but they haven't been able to locate us yet. Gotta give'em credit, they're still looking."

"Still looking?" Troy repeated. "Any chance they're close enough to have heard that shot?"

Olinski looked around with a guilty expression on his face. "I guess I got so excited when I saw you that I didn't even consider that."

"Tully, take a rifle and stand guard. Moffitt, take care of their wounded as best you can."

Tully nodded and reached for a weapon.

"What are you going to be doing?" Moffitt asked.

"Hitch and I will have a look around and see if there are any Germans in the area."

Moffitt nodded. "Be careful."

Troy nodded and headed for his jeep. He had Hitch drive around the area looking for recent German tracks. When they found tracks, he gave the order to follow them. They meandered through the desert in what Troy could only assume was a search pattern. Several times the tracks crossed tracks from other vehicles. Once they even spotted the unmistakable marks of a halftrack. Troy had Hitch stop so he could match the evidence they had found with their coordinates on the map.

"Are we good Sarge?" Hitch watched as Troy folded the map and put it away.

"It looks like we are for now," Troy responded. "But if they move their search pattern in this direction it might be a different story. They didn't miss those guys by much the last time they went through."

"Are we going to go back and warn them or keep our eyes on the Germans?"

Troy considered his options before he answered. "I'll call Moffitt and warn him and then I'll call the base and ask them to send an ambulance and truck to pick up those guys. The four of us can act as guards until help arrives."

"Stay with the tracks then?"

"For now," Troy nodded. 'But let's try not to let them know we're here."

Hitch popped a bubble and nodded. He adjusted his goggles and started the engine.

"Find me a high point so I can make there calls. I don't want the hill to interfere. We need to make the call and shut the radio down before Jerry can use it to locate us."

Hitch nodded again. There was a hill in the distance that would suit their needs perfectly. Hitch headed for it.

The rumble of a halftrack reached them before they reached the hill. Hitch quickly ducked into a wadi and waited as Troy ran to the top of the slope to look around. When the halftrack rolled into view the sergeant was surprised at how close it had gotten before they heard it. It looked as if it was headed for the same hill that Hitch had chosen. Troy dropped to his stomach and watched until it reached the hill. As Troy watched, a patrol car rounded the hill and met the halftrack. The sergeant looked down at his jeep and smiled; their luck was holding. They could easily have stumbled on either of the German vehicles and given away their presence. Grinning, Troy decided to give the Germans something to keep them busy. A little bit of misdirection seemed appropriate. He ran back to the jeep.

"What do we have in the way of explosives?"

"The usual," Hitch answered. "We may have a few landmines on top of the regular supply of grenades and wired charges."

"See if you can dig out the landmines and wired charges. We'll save the grenades for a last resort."

Hitch nodded and scrambled from his seat. The gear in the back was always organized in such a way that they always knew where things were located so it only took a minute to find all of the things the sergeant wanted. Hitch stacked them on the seat and waited for Troy to explain his plan.

"It looks like the Germans are gathered on the other side of that hill. I want to place the charges and landmines and then get the Germans to chase us. We'll try to lead them into our mine field."

"Sounds good," Hitch answered with a crack of another bubble popping.

"Yeah, just remember where we planted the charges. I want to lead them to them but I don't want to lead by example. Let's save the bangs for them."

"That sounds good too," Hitch answered with a laugh.

Troy directed Hitch to an area he had chosen to carry out his plan. It took them another twenty minutes to plant the charges and the landmines. All the while the two men kept a sharp eye out for the enemy vehicles.

The next step was to locate the Germans and get them to give chase. This proved to be even easier than Troy had imagined. As they drove back toward the hill to locate the Germans, they met the enemy head on.

Hitch spun the jeep around as the German gunners scrambled to get behind their guns. The little jeep picked up speed as the bullets chased them across the desert. Troy hung on as he spun the 50 around to return fire. "Don't forget the plan!" Troy yelled, hoping Hitch wouldn't miscalculate while dodging between the landmines. The wired charges were placed to the sides of the landmines so they could pass them without setting them off. The plan was to lead the Germans into the landmines, letting them set them off. Then they could set the wired charges off when the German vehicles tried to drive around the landmines. Hitch would stop the jeep and Troy would jump down and set off the charges as the German vehicles came into range. Then they would drive away and leave the enemy to sort out their dead and wounded.

The plan worked perfectly. Three of the patrol cars fell victim to the landmines, more than Troy had hoped to get. The two halftracks immediately drove to the side in an attempt to avoid the minefield. Troy triggered the wired charges and both halftracks were showered with rocks and sand. They both ground to a halt as the crews were hit with shrapnel.

Troy slapped Hitch on the shoulder as he once again took his place behind the 50. He gave them cover in case the Germans rallied before they could get clear. The jeep quickly left the disoriented Germans behind and Troy instructed his driver to take them back to their teammates.

"What about the truck and ambulance Sarge?"

"We'll stop in an open area to make the call. I think I want to avoid the wadis for now," Troy answered.

Tully waved at them from where he stood guard when they returned. Moffitt walked over to meet them as they pulled into the camp.

"Is everything all right? We thought we heard explosions earlier."

"We ran into the krauts looking for these guys," Troy explained. "We led them in another direction and spread a bit of alarm and despondency." Troy quoted Moffitt's favorite description of their usual disruptive actions.

Realizing what he was doing, the Brit smiled at his reference.

"Do we need to move?" the Brit asked.

"How are they?" Troy answered the question with a question.

"Three wounded, two of them seriously. The third one has a leg wound, he can't walk and it may be infected."

Troy nodded. "I mase a call. The base is sending a truck and an ambulance. They should be here in about two hours. Hitch and I will go out and keep watch. If they head this way, we may have to do something to distract them."

Moffitt nodded his understanding.

"I'm going to send Tully to look at their jeep. Maybe he can get it running again. If we have to move it will come in handy."

Moffitt glanced at the disabled jeep. "I don't know Troy; it looks pretty badly damaged."

"All we have to lose is a little of Tully's time. I'll have Hitch keep watch while Tully's busy."

Tully checked the jeep and shook his head. "Sorry Sarge, she's done. It would take a complete overhaul to get her running again. I don't have the time or the parts. Do we really need it?"

"It would have been nice," Troy sighed. "I sent for a truck and an ambulance; I just hope the Germans don't get here first."

As it turned out, the truck and the ambulance got there first. The group was loaded and they all headed back to the base.

"Was the base surprised when they got your call Sarge?"

"You could say that," Troy grinned. "Especially since we were supposed to be headed back to our own base."

"Did you tell them that Bruno was the one who found them?" Hitch asked with a grin.

"Do I look crazy?" Troy demanded.

"But it was Bruno."

"Yeah, okay, I admit that the dog led us to them, but I'm not crazy enough to put that in a report. They'd haul me off in a strait jacket."

Hitch nodded toward the truck where Bruno hung his head out over the tailgate. His tongue was hanging out and he looked like he was smiling. "At least Bruno's happy. I'm happy for him."

"Me too," the sergeant admitted, "especially since it means that the dog won't be coming back to the base with us." He laughed as Hitch grinned.

Four days later they returned to their base after a short recon patrol and were called to Captain Boggs' office. He handed them a message inviting them to party where Bruno would receive a commendation for his service.

"I thought I should give you this Troy, but unfortunately, I can't spare you long enough to allow you to attend the event. Who is this Bruno anyway?"