The Price of Friendship Raid

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 8

The three Allied soldiers slipped over the wall and headed for the jeep parked in the desert. Behind them a siren began to wail and searchlights began to light up the night. They reached the jeep and two of them pulled the cover off and stowed it in the rear. Two of the soldiers took their seats while the third one took a seat on the recently stowed cover.

The Germans were still searching the base while the little jeep glided into the night, the sounds of its quiet engine lost amid the chaos of the normally orderly base.

"All right Moffitt." Sam Troy leaned over to talk over Moffitt's shoulder. "You said you'd tell me about Hitch once we reached the jeeps."

"And I will." Moffitt replied. He paused to order his thoughts. "It wasn't good Troy. He took two bullets. One to the arm, one to the chest. I made the decision to take him straight to the hospital and come back for you later. I couldn't take the bullets out."

"But he made it to the hospital?"

"Yeah, he did. The doctors took him straight into surgery. He made it through surgery all right but the doctors wouldn't give us a straight answer when we ask about his chances." Moffitt admitted.

"How did he look?"

"How would you expect him to look? He lost a lot of blood. We weren't sure he was even going to make it to the hospital. He was pale, heavily sedated, wrapped in so many bandages he looked like a mummy." Moffitt tried not to think about what they might find when they reached the hospital. "I couldn't get the bullets out Troy."

"You said that already." Troy answered.

"I was afraid I would kill him."

Troy leaned back and let the information sink in. He could sense the turmoil that Moffitt was projecting. He was worried about Hitch but now he was worried about Moffitt too. The Brit was usually calm in every situation but he seemed unsure of himself now. Troy wondered if it was the situation with Hitch or if he had seen Dietrich's meltdown.

"We always intended to come back for you Troy. I just thought that I needed to get Hitch to a hospital first."

Troy leaned forward again. "I never doubted it. I'm not second guessing you here. If you think Hitch needed to go to the hospital then that's what you needed to do."

"What if I made the wrong choice?"

"You didn't Sarge." Tully interrupted. "Those doctors said that if we hadn't got him there when we did he wouldn't have made it. You made a good call."

"I didn't hear them say that Tully." Moffitt looked over at his driver.

"You were looking in on Hitch." Tully explained. "I ask them about his chances and they said they would know in a few days. I figure by the time we get back we should have an answer one way or the other."

"It's that one way or other I'm worried about." Moffitt admitted.

"He's pulled through some pretty serious wounds." Tully replied.

"Tully's right." Troy agreed. "And the main reason he survived all those times was because of the care you gave him. There is no reason to think that this time will be any different. He's a tough kid."

"What if he didn't make it?"

"Do you think he made it?" Troy asked.

Moffitt remembered his first impression when he had walked in to see Hitch in the bed after his surgery. He had looked like he was just sleeping, not in any distress. Moffitt nodded slowly, "Yes, I think he made it."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear."

"He made me promise to bring you back."

Troy smiled. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

"Look here old man," Moffitt huffed, "I am bringing you back. I am keeping my promise."

"This time you are." Troy agreed. "But that's a promise you may not always be able to keep."

"We knew Dietrich was in charge of that column." Moffitt explained. "He has always treated his prisoners humanely. It was a safe bet to believe you would be all right."

"Maybe not so safe." Troy replied. "Things happen."

"Anything we should know about?"

"Not really. Maybe I'll tell you about it some time." Troy let his thoughts go to Dietrich. Hitch was a friend, a good friend. He might be dead. Would knowing for sure send him over the edge like the captain? He didn't think so. Of course he still had Moffitt and Tully to confide in. They would share his grief and help him cope. Who was helping Dietrich?

Three days had passed since the attack on the convoy. It saddened him to think that Dietrich had suffered a loss so great that it had pushed him over the edge. The captain had always presented himself as cool, calm, and collected. Troy didn't believe that it had all been an act. The loss must have been greater than Troy could imagine. Troy's thoughts continued along that line until Tully stopped the jeep in a sheltered wadi.

"Are you all right Troy?" Moffitt asked as Troy remained quiet.

"Fine, why?"

"That shell tossed you pretty hard." Moffitt explained. "We saw you fly through the air. Did Dietrich get you a doctor?"

"Yeah, and I'm fine." Troy replied. After returning to his base the captain had allowed a doctor to visit the cell. The visit had surprised him after the captain's earlier behavior.

"I told Hitch you would be all right." Moffitt said. "I told him that Dietrich would make sure you got the care you needed. He's always been good about that."

"He was a bit upset with us this time." Troy admitted. He was reluctant to tell the others about the care Dietrich had been prepared to give him. "Did you hang around and watch Dietrich after you picked Hitch up?"

"We couldn't Troy."

"He'll be disappointed to know that." Troy smiled. "He gave this really moving speech for your benefit."

"About what?"

"It was an invitation to surrender."

"Another one? I thought he would have given up by now, we never except his invitations. Did he make us a good offer at least?" Moffitt asked.

"He worded it a bit differently but basically it was the same old thing. Throw out your weapons; come out with your hands up."

"No special reward for compliance?"

"Reward?"

"You know, did he offer to send us to a nice comfortable POW camp? Perhaps promise that the war would be over for us?"

Troy tried not to smile at the comment. "Well he did seem to think that he could make sure the war was over for us."

"The same old offer. What made him think we would accept his offer this time?" The Brit wondered.

"I don't know, he threatened to shoot me. I guess he thought that would work." Troy downplayed the threat.

Moffitt chuckled. "Captain Dietrich has always been an optimist but his sense of honor is so deeply ingrained that a threat like that would not have convinced us."

"He did appear to be a bit more motivated this time."

"Any special reason?"

"Apparently he lost a couple of really close friends lately."

Moffitt sobered immediately. "We've all lost friends or loved ones in this war. I lost a brother." He frowned at the memory. "Of course, not all of us react as I did. I'm afraid the grief was so strong that I lost it for a while."

Troy nodded, remembering how Moffitt had nearly blown the mission in his quest for revenge. "You aren't the first to react that way and you won't be the last. A loss like that does strange things to people."

"Yes, but I endangered our entire mission. My behavior was so out of character for me that I embarrassed myself. I put all of you in danger and got Tully shot. I'm glad I finally came to my senses."

"You're not unique in that respect either." Troy told him, still not mentioning Dietrich by name. The captain had waited two days before coming to the cell block to speak to him. It had been an awkward visit with the captain trying to apologize without embarrassing himself any further. Troy had let him off the hook by making light of the planned execution. Now he changed the subject rather than reveal the captain's secret or embarrass Moffitt again. Looking around the wadi he decided that it would make a good camp. "Why don't we get some sleep? I want to get an early start for the hospital tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Moffitt agreed.

"Welcome back Sarge." Tully called from across the jeep.

"It's good to be back Tully. Thanks for coming back for me."

"We always planned on it Troy." Moffitt smiled. "We just thought you'd rest better in Dietrich's care than in an overloaded jeep."

His cheeky comeback didn't fool Troy. He could see the strain the last three days had taken on his teammate.

Yeah, right." Troy joked. "My bet is you only came back for me because of Hitch. He probably wouldn't shut up until you gave him your promise."

The joke fell flat as Moffitt and Tully exchanged guilty looks.

"What?" Troy demanded.

"Hitch was fighting us until Doc promised to bring you back." Tully admitted. "But we would have come back anyway Sarge!"

Troy dropped his head to hide his smile. "It was a joke Tully. I know you always meant to come back."

"We always take care of each other." Tully replied.

"Yes we do." Troy agreed. He almost told them about Dietrich. They all respected the German officer and he didn't want to tarnish that image. The captain had been dealt a heavy blow that had nearly been his undoing. It seemed that he was making a comeback with his apology. Maybe later, after Dietrich proved that he had recovered, he would tell the others what had transpired. Until then they would try to avoid the captain and allow him to deal with his grief in his own way. He couldn't risk Dietrich taking out his anger on any of the others.

The next morning they rolled into the base and headed straight for the hospital.

"We'll talk to Captain Boggs after we check on Hitch." Troy ordered.

"He's going to be a bit upset with us too." Moffitt warned.

"About what?"

"We didn't exactly ask for permission to go back for you." The Brit admitted.

Troy shook his head. "We'll deal with that later."

They walked into the hospital and immediately started looking for blond heads. They were halfway around the room before they found him. He looked peaceful, sleeping like a baby.

"I'll go find the doctor." Tully offered.

Hitch opened his eyes as Troy and Moffitt talked softly by his bed. "Hey." He whispered.

"Hey yourself." Troy replied. "How's it going?"

"The docs say I may make it." He smiled at the sergeants.

"That's good news." Troy smiled.

"Doc, thanks for keeping your promise."

"My pleasure Hitch."

Hitch yawned widely.

"We're going to get out of here." Troy decided. "We have to see Captain Boggs. You get some rest."

Hitch nodded, his eyes already sliding shut.

"Hey Sarge, the doc is busy but he says Hitch is doing okay." Tully said as he approached the bed. "He's going to be here a while but the doc says he should make a full recovery."

"He was just awake." Troy answered. "We're going over to see Captain Boggs. Why don't you stay and wait until he wakes up again?"

Tully nodded and pulled up a chair. He made himself comfortable and pulled out a deck of cards. He was still there the next time Hitch woke up.