Major Mix-up
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 4
"Welcome Sergeant. If you and your men will step down our Arab friends will be on their way."
The English, spoken with a French accent, came out of the shadows after the horses were stopped near a small waterhole. Four Arab men stepped into the open and waited near the heads of the horses that the Allies rode.
Troy gave a nod and they all dismounted, thanking their guides as they stepped away from the animals. Moffitt made it a point to thank their guide for the information he had been able to give them about the German base. The old Arab wished them luck before he led his small band into the quickly falling darkness.
"Who are you?" Troy demanded as soon as they were alone again.
"Paul LeMont." Their new guide answered. "I will be your guide for the next part of your journey."
"The next part? How much further are we going?" Troy demanded.
"Not much further." The Frenchman promised. "You are to meet someone in the town who will tell you why you are here and what you must do."
"When?"
"If we hurry we can beat the curfew." The Frenchman eyed the four men. "You can pass as Arabs." He told the two sergeants. "You will not." He looked closer at Hitch and Tully.
"We're staying together." Troy growled in warning.
"Of course Sergeant, my orders are to bring all of you. But your men will not pass an inspection. They are too fair haired and Arabs do not have blue eyes. Your men will have to keep their heads down and try not to stand so tall." He eyed Troy and Moffitt. "All of you will have to avoid walking beside an Arab, there are not many Arabs as tall as you."
"We've done this before." Troy assured him. "We know what to do."
"I hope so Sergeant. The last group that tried this thought that they knew what they were doing too."
"So I heard." Troy replied. "Tell me what happened. We don't want to repeat any of their mistakes."
"We do not know." The Frenchman shrugged. "I took them into the town and they went their own way from there. The Germans announced their capture when they demanded that everyone go to the edge of town. When we got there they lined the survivors up against the wall and shot them. I hope you are not counting on the locals to help you, they are too frightened to risk it."
"We'll keep that in mind." Troy promised.
"Then we should go." Their guide urged. "The curfew starts in less than an hour and the guards let no one in once it starts."
"How are we going to get through?" Moffitt asked curiously. "Won't they check us?"
"There is always a rush around the time that the gates close. The guards cannot check everyone. We will slip you through when they are busy. There will be a cart full of straw going through. The guards will stop it and check it thoroughly. While they are doing that we will walk right past."
"Our lives are in your hands." Moffitt replied with a small bow.
"Not only yours." Their guide replied solemnly. "If you are caught and I am with you we will all be shot."
"Then let's not get caught." Troy suggested.
The Frenchman nodded and smiled. Without another word he turned and led the way to the gates.
The guards were watching closely as the flow of traffic rushed through the gates. As their guide had mentioned, there were a lot of locals hurrying to beat the curfew.
Tully and Hitch kept their heads down, hunching their shoulders to look shorter. A herd of goats meandered along ahead of them. Moffitt caught the eyes of the others and began to shoo the goats ahead at a faster pace. The Arab herder glanced at them and nodded gratefully. The goats bleated and milled about as the guards moved out of the way, motioning for the herder to get through the gate. Moffitt urged them forward in Arabic.
Tully and Hitch stayed as far away from the guards as possible while avoiding eye contact with anyone. Both privates were careful to keep their head coverings low over their faces and their hair well covered. Shuffling along behind the goats, the Allies and their French guide passed through the gates and into the town.
"Sarge!" Tully whispered urgently.
"What?" Troy whispered.
"I think we have a problem. One of those soldiers is following us. He was standing by the gate when we came through."
"Where?"
"He just turned the corner behind us." Tully answered quietly.
Troy took a quick look behind them as they turned the next corner.
"He's still following us."
The sergeant looked around quickly. They were in a narrow alley in the Arab quarter. There was an intersection ahead but Troy had no idea where it led.
"There is another alley just ahead that is seldom used." Their guide pointed out. "There won't be much traffic there."
"Okay. Moffitt, you and Tully turn off at this intersection. Make a lot of noise in Arabic as you leave. If he follows us then I want you two to come up behind him. We'll keep his attention. If it looks like we're in trouble it will be up to you to deal with it."
"What if he follows us Sarge?" Tully asked.
"Then Hitch and I will follow and keep an eye on him."
"Good luck Troy."
"I think it's time we stop relying on the luck of others and start making our own." Troy growled. "Everyone stay on your toes and be careful."
Moffitt made a loud show of saying good-bye before he and Tully turned at the intersection. The German soldier held back and watched until the two groups parted. Once they moved on again he chose to follow Tully and Moffitt.
Moffitt elbowed Tully as the two of them turned the next corner. Using his eyes he told Tully to go ahead. Tully nodded and increased his pace.
"Halt!" The German soldier called.
Moffitt and Tully both stopped. Moffitt turned around to face the soldier.
Raising his weapon the soldier ordered Tully to turn around. Moffitt explained in Arabic that they did not understand the German language. The soldier gestured with his rifle, his attention focused solely on the two men in front of him. Tully turned slowly to face the soldier but he kept his head down. The soldier leaned down in order to see Tully's face. When Tully looked up the soldier straightened in surprise. Before he could recover and sound an alarm Hitch shoved a knife in his back.
Troy helped Hitch catch the soldier before he could fall to the ground. They carried his body to the nearest building and took him inside. The building just happened to be an old stable. One of the stalls had a pile of dirty straw in one corner and a broken cart in the other. While the Frenchman stood guard the four Allies buried the body under the straw and placed the broken cart over the heap to further hide the evidence.
"He will be missed." The Frenchman warned as soon as they rejoined him.
"Couldn't be helped." Troy answered. "We'd better get off the streets."
"There's a good chance he won't be found before morning." Moffitt added. "Perhaps we can finish our business and be gone by then."
The Frenchman looked worried but he nodded in agreement. With him leading the way, the men made their way deeper into the Arab quarter.
"This is it." With a series of knocks on the wooden door the Frenchman entered the house without waiting for an answer. The four Allies crowded in behind him with a wary glance at the street outside.
"These are the men?"
"Yes." The Frenchman answered.
Troy studied the lean figure who had stepped out of another room to stand in front of them. Short, with a slight build, the man didn't look Arab or French. His accent was European but Troy couldn't quite place it.
"Was there any trouble?"
"Yes." The Frenchman told him about the German soldier.
"There was no other way?"
"None." The Frenchman admitted. "He would have sounded the alarm."
The man nodded thoughtfully. "What's done is done. We will have to move quickly." He turned to Troy. "You are the leader?"
"Sergeant Sam Troy."
"Very well Sergeant Troy. Have you been told the object of your assignment?"
"Not really." Troy admitted. "I gather it has something to do with what the Germans are planning."
"Everything to do with what they are planning." The man answered. "Your commanders want to know what those plans are. They sent a team here to steal the plans, or at least photograph them, but unfortunately, they were captured. Your government now wants you to finish the job."
Troy nodded. "That's about what we thought. Any ideas on how we can go about it? After that failed attempt I am sure they will be expecting another try."
"Almost certainly."
"So no suggestions?" Troy persisted.
"I'm afraid not. I don't even know how they caught the others."
"Can we steal them or do we have to photograph them in secret?"
"At this point stealing them should suffice." The man answered. "We think the operation is about to commence. If you steal them they will not have time to make any changes. They will either have to cancel the entire operation or go ahead with it as it is."
"But we aren't sure just when they plan to launch this operation?" Troy asked for clarification.
"No. All we know is that it will start soon. They have been holding a lot of high level meetings on the base for the last few days. Quite a few high ranking officers have been seen coming and going."
Troy looked over at Moffitt. "Anyone we know?"
"Rommel was here two days ago but he left the same day he arrived. Colonel Braunhauser arrived today. He is still here. Several majors and captains arrived today as well."
"All new faces?" Moffitt asked.
"New to us." Their contact replied. "They may know each other."
"That could be our way in." The Brit suggested. "The high ranking officers may know each other but I highly doubt that they know all of the lower ranking officers by sight or by name. If we claim to be associated with one of the lower ranking officers we may be able to gain access to the offices where the plans are kept."
"It's risky." Troy frowned.
"Have you a better idea? Time is of the essence here Troy."
"I can't think of another way right now." Troy admitted.
"We haven't much time Troy. That soldier may have already been missed. Once they find him our window of opportunity may be gone."
Troy chewed on his lip. "We'll need a German officer's uniform. They'll never let an enlisted man in there."
"I can provide that." Their contact assured them.
"The rest of us will pose as German soldiers and wonder around to give you cover if you need it. You're going to be on your own inside the office." Troy waited, giving Moffitt the opportunity to change his mind.
"It's our best shot Troy."
"All right, let's see if we can get an idea of the layout of the base."
Troy and Moffitt turned to their contact for the layout of the base and anything else he could tell them about the German security. Tully and Hitch stayed in the background listening and watching.
"Are you all right Tully?" Hitch asked after noticing how quiet Tully had become.
"Yeah, I guess."
"They know what they're doing. It will be all right."
"Maybe." Tully answered quietly. "I just wish Doc hadn't worded it quite that way. By calling it our best shot I hope he didn't jinx us."