Pranksters, Inc.
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 6
"It's been three days Sarge, do you think we can go out now?" Hitch moaned.
"Not yet," Troy growled. "I heard there were more pranks yesterday and you are still the prime suspects."
"But we haven't been anywhere without you and Doc! The only time we're alone is when we are in our room."
"Are you making sure that someone sees you in there?"
"We leave the door open," Tully answered. "It's like living in a fish bowl."
"Better than living in a stockade," Troy answered.
"Shall we go for breakfast?" Moffitt asked.
"We were going to shower first," Tully answered.
"Later, after we eat," Troy growled, "I'm hungry."
"Besides, we want to see if anyone stares at you at breakfast," Moffitt added.
"They stare at us every time we leave our room," Hitch answered. "Especially when the cook delivered our honest to goodness real eggs for breakfast the other day." He grinned at the memory.
"Only part of it was the eggs," Troy warned. "You were under suspicion for more of those pranks, and there were a few more yesterday."
"There were a few more minor injuries too," Moffitt added. "Nothing serious, but people are starting to get upset about them."
"The two of you are getting the blame for all of them," Troy reported.
"One little prank where no one gets hurt and you're marked for life," Hitch lamented.
"Those witnesses aren't helping change minds any," Troy warned. "That seems to be the thing that has everyone convinced that you're responsible."
"I can't figure out who would be mad enough at us to blame us for all of this," Hitch admitted. "I've tried to think of anyone but I can't."
"What about you Tully?"
"Sorry Sarge, Hitch and I talked about it but no one comes to mind."
"Okay," Troy sighed, "We'll go eat and then the two of you can come right back to your room."
Both privates groaned.
"What about showers?"
"After we eat Moffitt and I will go with you to the showers. I don't want either of you going anywhere without us just yet."
"Okay Sarge, food and then showers before we get confined to our room again," Tully agreed.
"Maybe the captain will send us out on a mission so you can get out of your room," Moffit suggested hopefully.
"I hope so," Hitch groaned, "even getting shot at is better than staying in our room all of the time. I've cleaned our room so often that everything shines. It hurts my eyes."
"You could always come over and clean our room," Moffitt suggested with a smile.
"Don't tempt me," Hitch groaned, "I might just do it."
"Any time," Moffitt answered.
"I got a new book," Tully offered before Hitch could volunteer him to help.
"I'll talk to the captain," Troy offered, "maybe he can come up with an assignment for us."
They walked to the mess hall in silence. Once again they seemed to be the most interesting people in the room.
"This is getting old," Hitch remarked as he dropped his tray on the table.
"I'm not even upset about going back to our room," Tully agreed. "Even that's better than having everyone staring at you all of the time."
"We'll head to the showers after we eat," Troy announced in a voice loud enough to be heard over the buzz of talk in the room.
Both privates nodded and began to work their way through the food on their plates.
"Don't you have some work for us to do?" Tully asked as they headed toward their room. "Maybe we could go over our jeeps or something."
"Not today," Troy answered. "I want you where I can see you."
Both privates sighed and collected clean clothes from their room while the sergeants waited in the hall.
The line at the showers was short since most of the base was at breakfast. There were seven showers lined up along one of the water tanks and seven more lined up next to the second water tank. Troy chose the closest one and made sure that the privates chose the same group of showers. He lined up behind Tully with Moffitt right behind him. When two of the showers were empty Troy had Hitch and Tully wait until two more were open. The four of them entered the showers at the same time.
Tully reached up and pulled the cord that released the water. He closed his eyes as warm water cascaded over his head and ran down his body.
"What the heck?"
Tully opened his eyes and looked down at his body. Dark blue water was pooling around his feet, turning everything it touched a lighter shade of blue.
"Hey Tully!"
"Yeah?" Tully called back.
"Is your water blue?"
"Yep," Tully answered. He held his hands out and noticed that they had turned blue too.
"I think we've all been the victim of another prank," Moffitt called from his shower.
"And I'm not amused!" Troy yelled from where he was looking at his blue skin."
The four of them wrapped towels around their waists and stepped out of the showers. The men in the other three showers from the same tank were checking out their blue skin too.
"It would appear that someone put blue coloring in the water tank," Moffitt observed.
"But we weren't the first ones to the showers," Hitch noted. "Why didn't anyone else get blue water?"
"And how would we know that?" Troy demanded as he tried to wipe the blue coloring off of his skin.
"I don't now Sarge," Hitch answered. "I was just asking."
"You don't look so bad blue Doc," Tully smirked.
"We talked about this once Tully; I am not one off your blue people from Troublesome Creek in Kentucky."
"You look like one of them," Tully replied.
"What about the two of you?" Troy asked with a sudden grin. "At least Moffitt and I have dark hair. Your hair is light, now it's blue."
"Dang!" Hitch exclaimed. "If this is what I think it is, this stuff won't wash off. We'll have to wait for it to wear off or let the sun bleach it out."
"What do you think it is?" One of the soldiers from the other showers asked.
"Laundry bluing," Hitch answered. "I used it once and this looks like the same thing, only I didn't use nearly this much."
"So you got caught in your own prank?" the soldier asked.
"What? No!" Hitch protested. "I didn't have anything to do with this. Do you think I'm stupid enough to pull a prank on my own sergeants? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."
"Maybe you just want us to think that," another of the blue soldiers suggested.
"Look at Sarge," Hitch answered, "Does he look like he's amused?"
"Not really," the soldier answered.
"If we did this he'd make us regret it for the rest of the war," Tully announced. "Even we wouldn't do this to Sarge."
"Count on it," Troy growled.
"Okay, if you didn't do it, who did?" the third blue soldier asked.
"We have no idea," Tully answered for both of them. "But I hope he gets caught before Sarge takes it out on us."
The MPs arrived and Sergeant Collins tried to hide his amusement when he spotted the blue men.
"Who is responsible for this?"
All seven of the blue men shrugged.
"Okay, we'll try to find the culprit," Sergeant Collins promised.
"Don't look at us," Hitch told him. "Tully and I have been in our room for the last three days. Sarge and Doc have been with us every time we left the room."
"Is that true Sergeant?"
"It is," Troy nodded. "We've been keeping a close eye on them since the pranks are still going on."
"We may have a lead," the sergeant admitted. "We got a tip that the pranksters might be around here watching their handiwork."
"I hope you catch them," Troy answered. "Hitch and Tully won't be free of suspicion until you do."
"We'll let you know."
"Thanks," Troy answered. "Now I guess we may as well go back to the barracks since we aren't going to be able to get this color off until it wears off."
"Hitchcock, would you know anything about this? I seem to remember you pulling a stunt something like this before."
"No," Hitch answered. "I did do something like this before but I knew the guys I turned blue, and I knew they wouldn't mind."
"It seems to me that you know the guys who turned blue this time too." The MP looked at Tully and the sergeants.
"Yeah, me," Hitch answered. "And I might have turned Tully blue, and maybe myself, but I never would have turned Sarge and Doc blue, that's going too far!"
"You can say that again!" Troy declared. "If I thought for a second that he was responsible I'd haul him to the stockade myself!"
"All right," the MP decided. "You may as well get back into the shower and try to wash the blue off."
"Forget it!" One of the other soldiers declared. "I'm not getting back in there until I'm sure the water isn't blue anymore!"
"He has a point," Moffitt agreed. "Until the tank is cleaned it will just have blue water."
"Okay, get dressed and go back to your quarters."
"Tully and Hitch can wait in their room while Moffitt and I bring a couple of buckets of clean water. Maybe we can get some of it off."
"The captain is going to want to see you."
"We'll be in our room cleaning off," Troy answered.
Sure enough, they had barely finish sponging off when a messenger told them to report to the captain's office. They dressed in clean clothes and headed across the base.
"A least now they have a reason to stare at us," Hitch remarked after noticing everyone looking at them.
"Do you think the captain is going to blame us?" Tully wondered.
"We're your alibis," Troy answered. "We can tell the captain that you've been staying in your room."
"But you weren't there all of the time," Hitch protested. "Maybe he'll think we slipped out while you weren't there."
"You left your door open," Moffitt reminded them.
"Yeah, but…"
"Don't borrow trouble. If the door was open then someone can verify that you were in there. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you." Troy suggested.
The captain kept them waiting for several minutes. When he finally called them in, he ignored them while he read some papers on his desk. Hitch and Tully exchanged glances as they waited to hear the new list of offenses. When the captain finally looked up his eyes widened at the sight of the four men. "I guess the MPs weren't exaggerating, you really are blue."
"We tried to wash it off," Troy explained, "but it won't come off."
"Have you tried bleach?"
"Bleach? Where would we get bleach?"
"Try the laundry," the captain suggested. "The same place the prankster got the bluing."
"Bluing?"
"Yes, bluing," the captain confirmed. "The same thing Private Hitchcock used when he pulled a similar prank."
"It wasn't me this time Captain," Hitch objected. "I wouldn't turn Sarge and Doc blue."
"We haven't been out of our room except to eat and shower," Tully added. "Ask Sarge and Doc."
"Oh, I know," the captain nodded. "I've had the MP's keeping an eye on you too. They tell me there is no way you had the opportunity to pull this prank."
Tully and Hitch both relaxed.
"Besides, we caught the pranksters."
"You did? Who?" Hitch asked.
"Remember those witnesses who claimed to have seen you pulling all of those other pranks?"
"We don't know who reported seeing us," Tully answered. "We just know they were wrong."
"It wasn't a case of mistaken identity," the captain explained. "More like a case of misdirection."
"Sir?" Troy looked at Moffitt before looking at the captain.
"Yes sergeant, misdirection. It seems our witnesses are actually the perpetrators. Empty bluing containers were found in their room. There was no reason for them to have them. There were also traces of axle grease, and they don't work on vehicles."
"Did they deliberately try to shift the blame to Hitch and Tully or was that an accident?"
"Opportunity," the captain answered. "They knew that your men were responsible for the earlier pranks and they decided that if they pointed us in their direction, we might not look any further." The captain looked down at the papers on his desk. "They were caught near the showers where they could watch the results of their latest prank. They claimed that they heard that something was going to happen and they just wanted to be there to see it."
"Do you believe that?"
"No Sergeant, I don't. The evidence that we found points to them." The captain looked at Troy. "I don't think they counted on you and Sergeant Moffitt taking such drastic steps to keep your men under observation. Due to your diligence they had alibis for most of the pranks. And I don't think they expected the four of you to be at the showers when they released the bluing. We found a wire that released the bluing when pulled. I guess they didn't realize you were there until too late."
"Lucky for us," Troy answered.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean it was lucky for us we got caught in that prank or Hitch and Tully may have gotten the blame for this one too."
"I thought you made your own luck," the captain told Troy.
"We do," Troy nodded, "but sometimes things work out without our help."
The captain nodded. "Well, I hope you don't mind taking an assignment while you're still blue, I need you to check sector F for activity. At least it will keep you out of sight until the blue wears off."
"Actually sir," Moffitt smiled, "I believe that the sun may actually help with that. Bluing bleaches whites clean when exposed to the sun. I think it will help bleach the color out of our skin. Hitch and Tully may have to forego wearing hats if they want the blue to bleach out of their hair."
"And you know this how?"
Moffitt smiled. "I talked to someone in laundry. It seemed the likely place to get information since laundry bluing was used."
"True Sergeant," the captain agreed. "Now do you think you could get started on that assignment?"
"We'll leave in thirty minutes," Troy promised. Turning to the privates he motioned for them to leave. "Are the jeeps ready?"
"Ready Sarge," Hitch nodded. "And maybe by the time we get back everybody will have moved on and stop staring at us."
"You ought to be used to it by now," Troy grinned. As the privates hurried from the room the captain called to Troy. "Yes sir?"
"Those other two privates admitted to pulling all of the other pranks once they knew we had them."
"That's good," Troy nodded.
"It was lucky for your men that the MP's received a tip that the pranksters were going to be near the showers to watch the prank."
"Who tipped them off Captain?"
"We don't know, he didn't leave a name," the captain explained. "But his tip was right on."
"I guess the pranksters weren't as smart as they thought they were," Moffitt suggested.
"At least Hitch and Tully didn't hurt anyone with their pranks," Troy answered. "And they would never have tried to pass the blame onto someone else."
"Would you admit to pulling a prank if you were to be asked?"
"If someone came right out and asked me point blank, yes," Troy answered.
"Then I guess you really do make your own luck," the captain answered.
"Sometimes it's the only way," Troy responded.
Captain Boggs nodded, "I'll see you back here in three to four days. Hopefully the bluing will wear off by then."
"Yes sir," Troy and Moffitt turned and left the room.
"He knows," Troy whispered to Moffitt as they left the building.
"You don't think Sergeant Collins talked, do you?"
"No, I don't think he would," Troy answered with a shake of his head.
"But it certainly seemed as if the captain knew," Moffitt agreed.
"He didn't come right out and ask."
"The pranksters admitted to the pranks and Hitch and Tully are cleared once and for all. Maybe he's just glad to have it done."
"At least they're cleared until the next time," Troy nodded.
"They may hold off on pranks for a while," Moffitt suggested. "I think they may have learned something from this experience."
"I hope so," Troy sighed. "I can tell you one thing; I'm not turning myself blue again no matter how much trouble they get into."
"But blue looks good on you," Moffitt smiled. "Are you going to tell them what you did?"
"Only if they come right out and ask," Troy grinned.
"I don't think they would dare suggest it," Moffitt smiled.
Tully and Hitch were waiting by the motor pool when the sergeants arrived.
"I'm glad that's over," Hitch grinned at the others.
"Me too," Tully agreed. "I was really getting sick of the inside of that room."
"Let's head out," Troy ordered.
Troy and Moffitt headed for the jeeps.
"I guess we learned a lesson," Hitch remarked as he followed the sergeants.
"Yeah," Tully agreed.
"Next time we'll make sure that no one knows it was us," Hitch added in a low voice.
Tully shook his head as slid into his jeep.