Another Exhausting Mission

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 8

"That went well," Moffitt stated after they stopped to cool the engine of his jeep. Troy's was cool since they had waited for the German column to arrive.

"We lost our prisoner," Troy answered.

"True, but you got us back."

Troy tried to hide his smile and failed. "Okay, it went well. I'm satisfied with the results."

"I think Tully will agree and I don't have any complaints," Moffitt smiled.

Troy glanced over to where Tully stood guard. "I hope he knows to keep his eyes open. I'm getting a little tired of those Arabs. It would be nice if we could get home without running into them again. I'd like to get home without any more trouble of any kind."

"Speaking of trouble…"

Troy looked over at Moffitt and waited for him to finish his question.

"When we last saw Dietrich I could have sworn he only had a lump on one side of his head. Did Tully and I miss something?"

Troy chuckled. "I've been meaning to ask Hitch about that. He had to leave me behind when the Arabs attacked the jeep. He was a long time coming back. When he did Dietrich had that second bump and he was trussed up like a Christmas turkey."

"Did you ask Hitch what happened?"

"Yeah, he said the jeep broke down and he had to fix it."

"That may be true," Moffitt replied. "It was damaged when we left you behind at the waterhole and we had to fix it. Tully said it might not hold. Something about having to use a short pin."

"That might explain why he was gone so long but it doesn't explain the lump on Dietrich's skull."

"No, it doesn't," Moffitt agreed as they both looked around for Troy's driver.

"What?" Hitch asked when both sergeants stopped next to where he was repacking the tools in the jeep. He looked from one sergeant to the other.

"Care to tell us what happened after you left me on that hill?" Troy challenged.

"I told you. The jeep broke down. I came back for you as quickly as I could Sarge!"

"That's not what I asked you," Troy countered.

"You mean the bump on his head?"

Both sergeants nodded.

"He got the drop on me Sarge." Hitch looked embarrassed. "I was driving and he was using the 50 to keep the Arabs from catching us." Hitch waited for Troy to nod before he continued. "When I started to circle back to pick you up he pointed the 50 at me and told me to keep driving. He told me to look for his column instead. I didn't want to Sarge, but he had me dead to rights. He said we'd pick you up after we found his column. I figured I wouldn't be much help to you if I was dead so I went along with him." Troy nodded his agreement. "Anyway, we hadn't gotten far when I felt the wheel start to wobble. I told him I needed to stop and fix it but he wouldn't let me. Then the pin let loose and I lost my steering. He had to let me stop then. He told me to fix it while he stood guard. I lied and told him a rod broke and I would need his help to line up the parts. I got everything I needed and crawled under the jeep. When he stuck his head underneath the jeep to look for himself, I kicked the jack over. The front corner of the jeep dropped and hit him on the head. I tied him up and finished fixing the jeep. I didn't mean to hurt him Sarge, I just needed to get control again so I could come back for you."

Both sergeants smiled at Hitch's narrative.

"That's probably the last time he'll help you fix a jeep," Troy guessed.

"That's okay," Hitch grinned, "He wasn't much help anyway…and it turned out I didn't need his help after all."

"Take Tully some water," Troy ordered. "Moffitt and I are going to go over the maps. Maybe we can find a way home that keeps us out of reach of those Arabs."

"Right Sarge." Hitch wrapped the strap of a canteen around his hand and he headed for Tully.

"Remind me not to offer to help him fix a jeep unless I'm sure he's not mad at me," Troy told Moffitt.

Moffitt smiled. "I wish I had been there to see that. I can just picture the look on Dietrich's face when he woke up."

"What are they laughing about?" Tully asked when Hitch handed him the canteen.

"Dietrich got the drop on me and I had to trick him to get back in control. I don't think Sarge is mad about it though. I tried to explain that I didn't have any choice." Hitch went on to tell Tully the same story he had told the sergeants.

"You could have been pinned under that jeep when it fell," Tully warned.

"I made sure I was far enough back to have enough clearance," Hitch answered. "Getting stuck under a jeep with Dietrich's column and those Arabs around didn't appeal to me."

"I'm glad it worked out," Tully replied. "In case I forgot to say it, thanks for coming back for us."

"Any time," Hitch grinned. "So what did you do with your time while Sarge and I were busy?"

"You mean besides getting caught?"

"Yeah, besides that."

Tully smiled and looked down at the ground.

"Tully?"

"That lieutenant made us cook our own meals from the supplies in the jeep. He said there was no sense using their supplies when we had our own."

Hitch nodded. "At least he let you eat."

"Yeah, but that guard, he wasn't watching me too close while I dug out the cookware."

Hitch was hanging on Tully's every word.

"They thought they took all of the explosives out of the jeep but they missed the smaller ones. I managed to sneak a timer and several of the small charges into my shirt. Later on, after we ate, they chained me to one of the halftracks while they talked to Doc." Tully looked down at the sergeants going over the map. "I slipped those charges up under the fuel tank on that halftrack and set the timer. They're in for one heck of a surprise in about," Tully glanced at his watch, "five minutes."

Hitch looked at his watch and smiled. "Maybe if watch we can see the smoke. A charge like that will make a plume that can be seen for miles."

Both privates were looking off into the distance when Troy and Moffitt called them down.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing Sarge," Tully answered.

"Nothing huh? Give, what are you watching?"

"Nothing Sarge," Hitch insisted.

"Hitch."

"We were watching for smoke," Tully explained before Troy could question Hitch.

"Smoke from what?"

"An explosion," Tully answered.

"What explosion?"

"I left that Lieutenant a couple of our small charges," Tully explained.

Troy looked at Moffitt and sighed. "When we get home, we're going to have a little talk about sharing information. Getting anything out of you two is like pulling teeth. Right now I'm too tired to play twenty questions. Let's go home."

Hitch looked at Tully and shrugged. As far as they were concerned they hadn't done anything but their jobs. They turned and followed the sergeants to the jeeps.