The Price of Friendship Raid
By:AliasCWN
Chapter 7
"Captain."
Dietrich didn't turn from watching Troy being led away. "What is it?"
"Should we prepare for an attack?"
Dietrich turned at the question.
"I just thought that if the others are truly watching they will try to rescue him before he can be shot." The sergeant in front of him looked as if he would rather be anywhere else but where he was. He fidgeted nervously as the captain looked at him.
"Bring me my bull horn."
The sergeant nodded and ran for the object in question.
"Lieutenant Krieger." Dietrich bellowed.
The lieutenant paused in organizing the firing squad to run to answer the captain's summons. "Yes sir?"
"We'll hold off on the execution for now. Tie the prisoner to the frame of his jeep and surround him with guards."
"Yes sir." The lieutenant answered with barely suppressed relief. "Killing an unarmed prisoner did not seem to be something you would do Captain. I admit, I do not understand what you hoped to accomplish but I am glad you have changed your mind."
"I haven't changed my mind Lieutenant." Dietrich answered coldly. "I was just reminded that the others are still out there. They will not stand by and allow their leader to be shot. I am going to call to them and give them a chance to give up. If they want to save their sergeant they will surrender; then I will have them all and I can shoot them all at once."
Surprised at the unexpected anger in his commander's voice the lieutenant could only nod and follow orders.
"Tie the prisoner to his jeep." Dietrich repeated.
"Yes sir."
When the sergeant returned with the bull horn Dietrich took it and walked away from the vehicles. Lifting the bull horn to his mouth, the captain called to the rest of Troy's team. "Sergeant Moffitt. I know you can hear me. I know you have a wounded man. If you surrender your man will get the care he deserves." The captain paused, unwilling to go so far as to offer medical treatment. "Surrender to me and you will be allowed to join Sergeant Troy." The captain paused again, choosing his words carefully. "The sergeant will be shot if you don't surrender. All three of you must come out with your hands up." Dietrich paused again as he waited for a reaction from the British sergeant. He didn't expect them to surrender; what he expected was a rescue attempt, no matter how desperate it looked. When he got no response at all he tried again. "Sergeant Moffitt. You don't wish to see Sergeant Troy executed do you? Throw out your weapons and surrender or I will have no other choice but to go ahead with the execution." When there was still no reaction he gave it one last try. "Sergeant, you have five minutes to make your decision. After that time, if you haven't answered me, Sergeant Troy will be shot." Dietrich searched the surrounding dunes but there was no sign that the rest of Troy's men were out there. Satisfied that he had tried, he walked back to the halftrack and threw the bull horn onto the seat.
The minutes ticked by and Dietrich kept an eye on his watch. Sergeant Troy stood stoically by his jeep and watched his guards. He didn't make any attempt to warn his friends and he made no attempt to free himself. The latter would have been nearly impossible, almost as impossible as the former. Dietrich didn't believe for a minute that Moffitt would stand by and do nothing while Troy was executed. Yet, as the time passed, he began to have his doubts. Would Moffitt allow it? He couldn't believe the privates would allow Moffitt to abandon Troy. He had to remind himself that Troy's driver was wounded. If the injury had been serious enough it was possible that Moffitt didn't think he had enough help to rescue Troy. Then he remembered other times when they had mounted rescues while short-handed. When the five minutes passed without an answer he had to admit that perhaps they had taken the wounded private to a doctor and they were not out there at all. He fought the disappointment. It looked like he would have to wait to get the others.
"Captain."
Dietrich turned to find Karl Litzman standing by his side. The private looked nervous as he waited for the captain to respond.
"Go away Private. This does not concern you. I know that you have made your peace with these particular enemies but they are still the enemy."
"That is true Captain, they are still the enemy. I am not trying to save them." Karl answered soberly.
"Then what is it you want?"
"I want to save you Captain." Karl answered simply.
"Me? I don't need saving."
"Don't you Captain? May I speak freely?"
Dietrich looked into the youthful face that he was rather fond of and saw fear and determination there. "Speak freely Private. Why do you think I need saving?"
Karl swallowed hard before he began. He knew he was stepping over the line with his commanding officer. With any other officer he would have backed off but he truly respected Captain Dietrich and really wanted to help. "I liked the lieutenant." He began quietly. "He was kind to me, like you. He talked to me, as if my opinion mattered."
Dietrich nodded encouragement, impatient to get on with it.
"He was a lot like you Captain."
"What are you getting at Private?"
"He told me that he didn't like the orders from Berlin concerning commando units. He also told me about the newest one concerning the Rat Patrol."
"We have been ordered to execute them immediately upon capture." Dietrich growled.
"He told me." Karl nodded. "But he also said he didn't like it. He said he was proud of you for standing by your beliefs and ignoring that particular order."
The admission caught Dietrich off guard.
"This is not you Captain. I know you are angry, but this is not you. I am worried that you will do this thing and then regret it. Once it is done there will be no going back." Karl stared anxiously into Dietrich's face. "I do not want you to wake up tomorrow and regret your actions. You told me that a man must be true to himself. You said that to do otherwise would tear him apart inside. Is this what you really want Captain? Is this what the lieutenant would want?"
"You are out of line Private!" Dietrich warned angrily.
"Yes sir, I am, but only because I care about you. You are my captain; I will follow you anywhere, even into a hell of your own making. I just felt that I would not be a good friend if I did not point out the mistake you are about to make. Shoot him if you must Captain, he is the enemy, but be sure that you can live with it tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that for the rest of your life."
"Thomas is dead!"
"Yes sir." Karl agreed. "And I too mourn his loss, just as I have mourned many others that I knew and cared about. And I cannot say that I have not thought about seeking revenge for those losses, I have. But you would be the first to tell me that it would not bring them back. You would tell me that we must honor their memories by keeping them alive in our hearts. Do you think the lieutenant would want to share a space in a heart so filled with bitterness and hatred?" Karl blanched at the expression on his captain's face. "I have gone too far Captain, I am sorry. I think these things needed to be said. I will go now." Karl turned to leave. "I will follow you Captain, no matter where you lead." Karl glanced in Troy's direction before he hurried away.
Dietrich bit back the angry response and watched as the young soldier ran from him. Only the look of real concern on Karl's face had stilled his tongue.
The anger still boiled beneath the surface but the pain began to settle deep into his soul. He looked around at his men, the men who looked up to him. No one voiced their unease but it was evident in the way they avoided eye contact and the way their bodies shifted nervously at his look. They realized how out of character he was acting even if he was not willing to admit it, even to himself. The ones who had served under him the longest shared nervous glances when they thought he wasn't looking.
Slowly, inch by bitter inch, Dietrich fought for control of his emotions. Looking at the smoldering wreckage only made it more difficult so Dietrich walked around to the other side of the halftrack. With the sight blocked he could at least pretend that he had his emotions under control.
He looked up and caught Sergeant Troy watching him. The pity he saw on the sergeant's face threatened to undo his efforts to stay calm. They had done this! Troy and his men had killed Thomas!
The little bit of control he had fought to regain argued with the anger. Bullets hadn't killed Thomas; his car had hit a mine. Dietrich tried not to picture what the explosion had done to his friend's body. Surprisingly, now that he was calmer, it did help to know that the end had been swift. Thomas probably never knew what happened. They would never know if the driver had forgotten about the mine field or if he had been ignorant of its presence. In the excitement of the chase he may have gotten the coordinates wrong. Dietrich shook his head, did it really matter? The damage was done and any who could have answered the questions was dead. Thomas, like Ernest, was gone. Dietrich almost put it down to the fortunes of war as he had done with so many others. He stopped himself before he could complete the thought. Ernest and Thomas deserved more. More than just an afterthought that simplified their deaths. Karl's words echoed in his head. Their memories deserved to live on in his heart. Suddenly the thought of their memories sharing the space in his heart with the bitterness and hatred almost took Dietrich to his knees. For the first time since learning of Ernest's death, Dietrich gave in to the grief.
He turned and walked away from his men and his vehicles as the tears rolled freely down his face. It was easy to picture the laughing faces of the brothers who had shared so many of his childhood adventures. Ernest and Thomas, almost always together and almost always up for whatever mischief his younger self could devise.
"You are together once more my friends." He said aloud as he stared out into the desert. He sniffed a few times and turned so that the blazing sun could dry the tears that still ran down his face. When the last of them were dry he gathered his tattered honor around him like a cloak and went back to face his men.
"Untie the prisoner and put him in the halftrack. Leave men here to gather bodies and push the wrecks off the road. We are returning to the base." Standing as tall as his grief would allow, Dietrich walked to his halftrack and waited for his driver.
With his back to his men he didn't see the relieved smiles. He would never know how truly alarmed they had been to see him acting so out of character. Karl watched with a mixture of relief and worry. He would keep an eye on his captain.