The Christmas Exchange

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 5

Dietrich awoke the next morning stiff and sore from sleeping in the truck. He rubbed a hand across his face as he recalled the events of the night before. His good fortune at being in the right place at the right time had allowed him to catch half of the Rat Patrol but the other half had proven to be elusive. He admitted, if only to himself, that only pure chance had put his enemies within his grasp. If he had bypassed this particular wadi as he had originally planned, or the Americans had chosen a different wadi than the one they had picked, the sergeants would not now be his prisoners. His only regret was that his luck hadn't held long enough for the capture of the privates too.

Thinking of the last two members of the enemy team reminded him of the trap he had set in his tent. He slipped quickly from the truck and rushed over there, hoping against all odds that his men had captured the younger 'rats' and hadn't wanted to wake him with the news. Pushing his way through the door he stopped at the sight of his guards still waiting. Disappointed, he sent his men to rest until the column was ready to return to their base.

Recalling the report that one of Troy's men had cried out during their escape he began to wonder if one of them had indeed been wounded. He stalked across the camp to where the prisoners were starting to stir.

"Sergeant Troy."

"Captain." Troy put his back against the track of the halftrack and looked up at the tall German officer.

"I believe that one of your men was indeed wounded yesterday." Dietrich saw a flare of emotion in the sergeant's eyes before it was gone. "I know we have our differences Sergeant, but I have no wish to see one of your men die this close to Christmas. It may be possible to help them Sergeant. Tell me where they went and we will go look for them. If one of them is injured we will get him medical attention."

"Not that again Captain."

"I am trying to help Sergeant." Dietrich went on earnestly. "Like you, I have no wish to see anyone die needlessly so close to such a sacred day. I have no wish for any family to receive such a telegram or letter at such a time. This should be a time for peace, not war."

"And what would happen after you had your doctor fix them up?"

"They would be prisoners of course." Dietrich saw the look on Troy's face and hurried on. "But he would be alive Sergeant. Isn't being a prisoner better than being dead?"

"How do we know that one of them is even hurt? Your men claim to have heard a yell, that's hardly proof." Troy glanced over at Moffitt for his opinion.

"Perhaps the cry came from one of your men Captain." The Brit suggested calmly.

"They didn't come to your rescue last night."

"That just means that they weren't foolish enough to fall into your trap." Troy shrugged. "You didn't really expect them to just walk in here and let you capture them did you?" The sergeant laughed as the captain's expression gave him away. That thought had crossed his mind. "Sorry Captain, we can't help you."

"Can't, or won't?"

"Both." Troy admitted. "I told them to go, to get away. I have no idea where they went or if they are coming back. If they went to the base the Captain might not let them come back. He will realize that you are waiting for them and he may forbid them to return."

"Your men won't be stopped that easily." Dietrich decided.

"They follow orders."

"Yours, yes, but orders to abandon the two of you, perhaps not." Eyeing the prisoners speculatively, he made a decision. "We are going to return to our base and wait for them there. When they come we will be ready. I don't believe that they would willingly leave you behind."

"Suit yourself Captain, but don't say we didn't warn you."

Dietrich stalked off leaving the sergeants to watch him go.

"Do you believe him?" Moffitt asked when they were alone again.

"I don't know." Troy growled. "He seems to believe it."

"He said his men reported hearing a cry. That was what the soldier reported when he asked him to repeat what he had said."

"A cry could mean any number of things. It hardly proves that one of them was wounded. I'm not convinced that either one of them was wounded."

"He said the jeep swerved." Moffitt repeated the words from the night before.

"They were being shot at, of course they swerved. That doesn't prove anything either."

"They didn't come for us last night."

"They aren't fools." Troy nearly snarled. "And if Dietrich keeps acting like they are he's in for a rude awakening. They had to know that he'd be waiting for them."

"All good points." Moffitt admitted. "Are there any other reasons to think that Dietrich might be correct?"

"None that he's mentioned."

"Then I think that we should trust the lads to stay safe and follow orders."

Troy smiled. "That's the problem. All I told them to do was get out of here. I didn't specify what they should do after that."

Moffitt chuckled. "That may be a good thing. That just means that they won't be disobeying orders when they do come for us."

"My thoughts exactly, only that wasn't what I had in mind when I gave the order."

Moffitt smiled again but didn't add any comment.

"We need to be ready when they make their move. Dietrich is going all out to catch them and they may need a little help." Troy sighed as he thought about all of the things that could go wrong. "This is going to be a long day."

"Even longer for them I'll wager."

"Dietrich posted extra guards last night."

"I noticed." Moffitt nodded toward the trucks. "He had guards waiting in his tent too; he slept in a truck last night."

"Paranoid?"

"With good reason."

"They didn't fall for any of his tricks though. Hopefully whatever it is they have planned is as carefully thought out." Troy took a look around at the surrounding hills. He didn't feel like he was being watched and he didn't know if he should be worried or relieved.

"I don't think they're out there Troy." Moffitt whispered when he noticed where Troy was looking. "I think we would be able to sense their presence if they were watching us."

"I know, I was thinking the same thing. I don't know if that makes me happy or worried." Troy kept staring at the hills beyond the wadi.

"What are you watching for?"

Troy glanced over at Moffitt and smiled. "Have you noticed that we are being watched?"

"By the Germans, yes but I don't have any sense of being watched by friendly eyes."

"The Germans don't know that." Troy grinned. "They watch us watching the hills and they start to get nervous. How long do you think they will keep it up before they decide it's nothing and ignore what we do?"

"You're using psychology on them?"

"Do you have anything better to do right now? Let the strain take its toll and they might be a little slower to react when Tully and Hitch do make their move."

The British sergeant smiled. "You're quite right; I don't have anything better to do. Messing with them might even help pass the time."

"That's the spirit. Pretend we know they're out there and let's let the krauts worry until they're exhausted."

Moffitt laughed and began to take frequent peeks at the surrounding hills.

It wasn't long before they caught the Germans watching the hills too. It became a game to see how nervous they could make the guards. By the time the column was ready to pull out the guards were nervous and restless.

In the truck the sergeants weren't allowed to talk. They made a point to exchange looks when they knew the guards were watching. Occasionally one or the other would look past the guards to the desert beyond and then nod to the other sergeant. Sometimes they would duck their heads like they had something to hide. They smiled to themselves every time they caught one of the guards staring at the desert behind them. And all the while they were praying that the privates wouldn't attempt to attack the column on their own.

Dietrich stood in the front of his halftrack and used his field glasses to scan the surrounding terrain. The road back to the German base wound its way through several narrow valleys. Every time they entered one of the valleys Dietrich expected to see the American jeep come dashing over the top to attack his column. Each time they failed to appear he would release the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and he would try to relax until the next one.

A glance at his driver revealed that is own nervousness had transferred to his driver. The man's hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. The gun crew in the rear of the halftrack was scanning the desert while keeping a firm grip on the handles of the heavy machine gun mounted to the floor. They were trying to look in every direction at once with limited success. The display reminded Dietrich of how formidable the tiny Allied unit could be as an enemy. Even with the sergeants confined to the truck in chains the remaining two members had the ability to keep his men jumping at shadows. The Captain vowed to give his men a serious pep talk as soon as they had the prisoners safely locked in the cells. The finest troops of the proud German Afrika Korps shouldn't be afraid of shadows, or of two mere men of flesh and blood.