The Christmas Exchange

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 4

After leaving Hitch and Tully to guard the jeeps the two sergeants crept through the darkness toward the hill where Hitch had heard the sound. There was no need to talk; they both knew what needed to be done. Troy had briefly considered just taking the jeeps and finding a new camp but it was late and he hadn't wanted to risk the vehicles by traveling after dark unnecessarily. The chance of them making camp right next to a German patrol this close to the American lines was slim, not worth risking the jeeps. It was possible that if they had neighbors they were Arab, but Arabs were usually pretty quiet when they moved. He believed that Hitch had heard something, but even Hitch hadn't been able to identify it positively. Still, the danger was there, so he had taken precautions to make sure that the privates had a chance to get away if things went wrong. He just hoped that if things did go wrong that neither youth would hesitate to run as ordered.

Everything was quiet in front of them. If anyone was out there they weren't moving anymore. The terrain was becoming more and more rocky with brush and scraggly trees scattered among the rocks. It was an ideal place for concealment if one chose to hide. The hairs on the back of Troy's neck stood on end as the tension mounted. He paused often to listen in hopes of hearing what had aroused Hitch's suspicions. At one point he almost told Moffitt that they were going to go back and get out of there, but he didn't commit to the decision. He was reconsidering that option when he glanced over and saw Moffitt pause in mid-step with one foot in the air. Moffitt's head turned to the side and his eyes widened in surprise.

It all happened so fast, one minute Moffitt was moving forward and the next he was down with two Germans soldier on top of him. Troy saw him try to push one of them off as the second raised his rifle like a club.

"Hitch, go!" Troy yelled as he ran toward the struggling trio.

More soldiers jumped up from behind the rocks where they had been hiding and ran to intercept Troy. Several of them jumped him, tripping him before he could reach Moffitt. He twisted and poked his elbow into one guy's stomach, shoving with all of his might. The German fell back, tumbling into the legs of the soldier behind him. Troy twisted again in an attempt to buck the next soldier off of his back. The German clung to his shoulders, his hot breath on the sergeant's neck. Troy felt a sudden chill as the warm breath hit his skin. The sensation gave him a sense of helplessness that he didn't like and he struggled harder against it. Fighting the feeling, Troy managed to roll and get on top of his assailant. The German released his grip on Troy's shoulders with a grunt as the air was forced from his lungs. The sergeant rolled again but his momentum was stopped when he was kicked in the side by another German. He tried to get his feet under him so he could stand.

"That's enough Sergeant!" Captain Hans Dietrich stood by some rocks near more if his men. The soldiers had the two sergeants surrounded and their rifles were aimed directly at them.

Troy relaxed, letting the soldiers lying on the ground next to him grab his arms. One of them picked up the sergeant's fallen weapon and stepped quickly away. Looking over Troy saw Moffitt lying motionless under a pile of German soldiers. As the soldiers began to climb to their feet it was obvious that the British sergeant was unconscious.

"Is Moffitt all right?"

Dietrich took his eyes off of Troy to look over at the unconscious man. He gave an order and one of his men bent to check for a pulse. After a moment he looked up at his captain and nodded. He spoke briefly and Dietrich responded. The captain looked back at Troy and gave a slight nod. "He is just unconscious. One of my men hit him over the head. He should wake up soon."

Troy glanced over again and noted the slow steady breathing. "Okay, you got us, now what?"

Dietrich raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Now Sergeant, you are my prisoners. I would tell you to call to your men but you have already done that. My men are on the tops of the dunes surrounding the wadi. I just hope that you haven't caused the deaths of your men by sending them out to try an escape."

They all paused to listen as the German rifles opened fire on the fleeing jeeps. They could hear the jeep motors as they grew fainter. Many of them jerked at the sounds of the grenades going off. The rifles continued to fire even after they could no longer hear the jeeps.

Troy smiled slightly as the firing died down. "I hope you didn't kill any of your men trying to stop them Captain. It would be a shame to have to write letters to their families this close to Christmas."

Dietrich's face looked like a storm cloud had settled on it. He ordered some of his men to find out what had happened. His frown eased some as they reported back to him.

"It would seem that your men damaged my halftracks but the crews survived." The officer reported. "Is it possible that they were reluctant to kill this close to Christmas too?"

"It's possible Captain, but I wouldn't count on if you meet again."

"I expect to meet them again, and soon." The captain smiled. "They will come after you and I will be waiting."

"Off the record Captain, I'm glad you won't have to write those letters before Christmas; but I hope you don't meet Hitch and Tully before then either. I hope they head back to the base until after the holiday."

Dietrich looked pensive for a moment. "Thank you Sergeant, but we both know your men will come. I will make every attempt to take them alive if they will allow it, because of the holidays." He added.

"They aren't fools Captain. They know you'll be waiting for them."

"Yet they will come anyway." Dietrich pointed out. "Some would consider your loyalty to each other a weakness Sergeant. It makes you predictable."

Troy smiled. "Yet you still haven't managed to get rid of us."

"Perhaps that will be my Christmas present this year."

"That or you just may get a bag of coal." The sergeant grinned.

"We shall see Sergeant."

Moffitt groaned and attempted to get to his feet. Dietrich ordered his men to help him up. Once standing the sergeant looked around. "Hitch and Tully?"

"They got away." Troy answered before Dietrich could stop him.

"Not entirely." The German officer explained. He told one of his men to repeat his report.

"He says that one of them yelled and his jeep swerved sharply before he continued to drive away. The soldiers present think that he was hit." Moffitt translated for Troy.

"Will your sense of loyalty allow an injured man to suffer Sergeant? Tell me where they went and I can get him medical attention."

"No way Captain, we're not helping you. They aren't that far from our lines, they can go to our base for help." Troy growled.

"If they can make it. You didn't want any of my men to die so close to Christmas, what about yours? Don't you have a responsibility to save your men?"

"That's what I'm doing Captain. I won't help you catch them."

"Very well Sergeant." The officer sighed. He ordered his men to take the prisoners back to their camp and secure them for the night. He led some of his men to the camp that the Americans had abandoned. As expected, the jeeps were gone. The only sign that they had even been there was the still warn embers of the small fire. Dietrich had his men look around but there was nothing to be found. He smiled to himself, what had he expected, a map with their new location marked for him to find? Calling to his men they returned to their own camp in the nearby wadi.

Once back in his own camp he ordered the guards doubled. As an extra precaution he had even more guards hide themselves around the perimeter of the camp. They were told to stay out of sight until he called for them. The rest of his men were told to get some sleep but to sleep with their weapons close at hand.

Dietrich retired to his tent and tried to get some rest. He found it difficult, if not impossible. Every tiny sound brought him to full alert. Each time he found himself reaching for the luger he kept under his pillow. When the camp was quiet he had visions of the two privates slipping noiselessly past his guards to free the two sergeants. Even worse, he imagined them slipping up behind his men and dispatching them with the razor sharp knives they carried. He had had more than enough examples of their skills to ever assume that his camp was completely secure.

Restless, he left his tent to make a circuit of the camp. The guards were alert, nodding to him as he passed. The vehicles were as they had left them, lined up in single file the length of the wadi. He found himself leaning down to check underneath for explosives without meaning to. There weren't any but that only convinced him that the two privates had some other scheme in mind to rescue their sergeants.

He paused to check the prisoners chained to the frame of one of the halftracks. Both men were sleeping peacefully. He stared at them for several seconds before he realized his mistake. Of course there were no explosives under the vehicles; the sergeants would be injured if the vehicles were destroyed. Trying to see it from the private's points of view, he turned to assess the threats to the camp.

The guards were in danger; they would have to be compromised in order for a rescue to be successful. He immediately ordered each guard to keep track of the man on either side of him. By overlapping the checks he hoped to spot a missing man before any others died.

The vehicles would be safe so he disregarded them for the present.

How else could two men defeat a force the size of his column?

The answer was so simple that he almost laughed out loud. Calling to his second in command, he arranged a surprise for anyone trying to enter his tent. It would be just like Troy's men to try to capture him and attempt to exchange him for their sergeants. Taking his bedroll, he made his bed in the rear of one of the trucks. After hours of tossing and turning, waiting for his trap to be sprung, he finally fell asleep.