The Price of Friendship Raid
By:AliasCWN
Chapter 2
"Here it comes." Troy turned and called to his men who were waiting by the jeeps.
Moffitt climbed behind his 50 and lowered the muzzle so Tully could remove the dust cover. Tully put his goggles on and reached for his helmet before he removed the cover. Hitch slid his goggles over his eyes and looked over at the other jeep. Moffitt smiled at him and Tully gave him a wink. Hitch smiled and popped a bubble as he reached for the dust cover on Troy's gun.
The jeeps were running, just waiting for the drivers to step on the gas. Both drivers were watching Troy for the signal to move. Troy watched the approaching convoy, timing their attack for the most advantageous moment. He raised one hand in a fist and held it just above his shoulder. At just the right time he let the hand drop and he turned and ran for the jeeps. He slid down the hill at an angle since both vehicles were already on the move. Hitch slowed as Troy ran toward him. The moment Troy's feet touched the floor of the jeep Hitch hit the gas and took off in a hurry. Troy braced himself and clung to the handles of the 50 as the jeep jumped the top of the next dune. He felt himself go up and then the floor dropped out from under his feet. Long experience had taught him to keep his knees bent to help absorb the shock when his body finally caught up to the jeep. Only his grip on the handles of the big gun kept him from falling to the desert floor. Hitch swung the jeep around the lead halftrack and Troy opened fire on the first truck. Behind him he could hear Tully and Moffitt start their run.
He didn't have time to keep an eye on the other jeep for the next few minutes as they hammered away at the German supply convoy. Only the sound of the other 50 allowed him to keep track of their progress. He knew Hitch and Tully would keep track of each other in case one of them ran into trouble. They made two runs along the line before the halftracks could get turned around to offer any pursuit. At that point Troy signaled a retreat and they broke off the attack. He spotted Tully and Moffitt on the other side of the line of trucks. Tully has seen the signal and he was headed for the hills too.
The halftracks made an attempt to chase them but they were no match for the faster jeeps. They soon fell behind and turned to go back to the scattered convoy.
"Better than half." Moffitt counted with satisfaction. "Jerry is going to be very disappointed when that convoy arrives."
"Yeah, they're going to find themselves short on fuel and ammo." Troy agreed.
"Every truck we take out counts, no matter what they carry." Moffitt pointed out.
"I know," Troy answered, "but I don't really care if the food or blankets get through. One thing I really try not to hit is the medical supplies. I don't like making war on the wounded or sick but fuel, ammo, truck or tank parts, they're all prime targets."
"I'd say we hit a lot of prime targets today Sarge." Tully looked over at Troy for confirmation.
"We did Tully. A good day's work." Troy grinned.
"Are we heading home Sarge?" Hitch asked.
"Yeah, maybe Captain Boggs will have more work for us by the time we get back. It seems like Jerry is pushing more convoys through than usual."
"There are rumors floating around that Jerry is planning another push for more territory." Moffitt remarked.
"If that's true then we're going to be really busy for the next couple of weeks. We may as well head back and find out what the captain wants us to do." Troy turned to his driver and nodded. "Take us home."
"Right Sarge." Hitch answered as he popped another bubble.
When they got back to the base Troy and Moffitt reported to Captain Boggs. They were told to stay available for another mission. The captain said he would send for them when he got the location of another convoy.
It was two days before a spotter plane reported seeing another convoy. The pilot radioed the coordinates and the captain called for Troy.
"Here are the coordinates." Captain Boggs explained. "Our plane sighted the convoy headed west toward Dietrich's base."
"A chance to say hello to our friendly neighborhood German." Troy smiled. "He probably knows that we've been hitting convoys in the area. He'll probably be expecting us."
"That's not all." Captain Boggs warned. "We just got word that Berlin has sent out reminders to all of their commanders that you are to be executed if you are caught. You have been doing so much damage lately that they have increased the bounty on your heads too. You may have to contend with a whole new batch of bounty hunters while you're out there."
Troy made a face at the news. He hated bounty hunters almost as much as he hated slavers. Both groups sought to benefit from the misfortune of others. The fact that his team was a prime target for both didn't help matters any either.
"We'll keep our eyes open Captain. We aren't eager to get caught by the bounty hunters or the Germans."
"Either way you'll end up in German hands. It sounds like Berlin is pushing its commanders to follow those orders whether they like them or not."
"Captain Dietrich doesn't like them. He may send us to a POW camp but it will take more than new orders to get him to forsake his values."
"Just the same sergeant, be careful."
"Will do Captain. I'll collect the others and we'll be on our way immediately."
"Good luck sergeant."
The captain watched Troy leave and wondered what the future held for his men. The increasing pressure on the German commanders who opposed shooting unarmed prisoners didn't bode well for any commando team. The English teams, driving heavy suburbans, quite often fell victim to the desert or the Germans. Their bulky vehicles carried more supplies than the American jeeps but they didn't maneuver as well in the soft sand. They were as likely to get stuck or tip over as they were to get hit by enemy fire. More than one English commando had died trapped under his cumbersome vehicle unable to free himself before the Germans caught up with them. The Germans had shot many of them where they found them and let the desert cover the bodies. Captain Boggs hated to think that his men would suffer the same fate. Of course, they were driving the more nimble jeeps and had actually survived being trapped under the smaller vehicles on more than one occasion. On the few occasions when they hadn't been able to get free before the Germans arrived they had been lucky enough to be captured by one of the many officers who did not believe in killing helpless men. The captain picked up the notice about the new orders from Berlin and shook his head. Troy liked to say that his team made their own luck; the captain hoped that any they made over the next few days was the good kind.
Troy found Moffitt talking to Tully and Hitch next to the jeeps. "I'm glad I found you all together, we have a new assignment."
"I suspected as much." Moffitt smiled. "When I heard that you had been called in to see the captain I thought it might be wise to wait here with Tully and Hitch."
"It saved me some time." Troy answered. "One of our pilots spotted another convoy. This one is headed for Dietrich's base."
"Familiar territory."
"Yeah, it should make it easier to pick a place to set up an ambush. There is another problem though." Troy looked into the faces of each of his men and wondered what they really thought about what he was going to say. "Captain Boggs said we need to watch out for bounty hunters too."
"We always do Sarge." Tully drawled.
"Yeah, but there may be more of them than normal. According to headquarters the krauts have raised the bounty on our heads again. That always brings out a few more that were too lazy to do it for the old amount."
"That means a whole new batch of those fellas looking to collect blood money." Tully groaned. "I really hate those guys."
"You know what to do." Troy replied. "Make an example of them so that anybody else who thinks he might like to try it gets discouraged. The quicker we teach them the error of their ways the better."
"Sarge, you don't think they're sending out these extra convoys just to draw us out, do you?" Hitch asked. The way he was chewing on his gum told Troy that the news hadn't been welcome.
"If they are its working." Troy answered. "We have orders to hit the convoy before it reaches Dietrich's base.
"Where is it now?" Moffitt asked.
Troy pulled out their map and spread it across the hood of his jeep. Remembering the briefing, he pointed to the coordinates that the captain had given him. "Right about here as of 0800 this morning.
"Headed toward Dietrich's base?"
"Yes."
"Then we'd better get moving if we hope to ambush it before it reaches the base." Moffitt suggested. "It will take us most of the day just to reach it."
Troy folded the map and slid it into the map case. "If the jeeps are ready we can leave right now."
"All ready Sarge." Hitch answered.
"Gassed up and resupplied." Tully added.
"Then let's hit the convoy." Troy ordered.
The others slid into their places and the two jeeps rolled through the gates. Once in the clear they picked up speed and raced across the burning sands. The German convoy continued on his path blissfully unaware of what was headed its way.