The Christmas Exchange
By:AliasCWN
Chapter 6
When the column rolled through the gates of the base later that day Dietrich could have sworn that he heard a collective sigh of relief from his men. He was tempted to join them but caught himself at the last second. It wouldn't do to have his men see him show any sign of weakness. Troy and his little band of marauders had threatened his image in front of his men too many times already. He refused to allow his relief to show no matter how much he wanted to drop his guard and just let his knotted muscles relax.
As soon as his vehicle stopped he jumped to the ground and began issuing orders to his men. He sent both prisoners to the cells under the watchful eyes of double the usual number of guards. Then he headed to his office to start working on a sentry rotation that would be hard for a fly to get through undetected. When darkness fell he would put the men in position to catch a couple of rats.
Lieutenant Beitner knocked on his door several hours later to report that all of the preparations had been completed. Dietrich dismissed the young officer and retired to his quarters to try to get some rest before the night began. The previous night had proven to be less than relaxing and he was running on fumes. If the night turned out as he expected he wanted to be in top form for the quick decisions he would need to make. He had promised Troy that he would try to take the privates alive and he intended to keep that promise. It was Christmas Eve, and truce or no truce; he didn't want any deaths on his conscience on such a sacred night.
The delivery of his evening meal awoke him from his nap. He ate a leisurely meal, in no rush to get back into the war. He had dreamed of shadows sneaking around his base so he wasn't as rested as he had hoped to be. His abrupt manner when the food was delivered had sent the cook's helper scurrying back to the kitchen so there was no one to talk to as he ate. He wiped the residue of sleep from his eyes and went over his plans in an attempt to cover everything that could be predicted.
With his hunger satisfied he found that he was restless. Night had still not fallen so he spent the next several hours checking and rechecking all of his preparations. Lieutenant Beitner had organized the sentry details and all of his men knew what they were to do. Remembering his earlier decision to give them a pep talk, he spent some time building up their confidence. By the time he dispatched them to their positions they were all eager to meet the challenge.
Despite the danger presented by having Troy and Moffitt in his cells the men off duty were in a festive mood. On more than one occasion he passed soldiers singing their favorite Christmas songs. As he walked back to his office he wondered how many men he would lose before the night was out.
"Captain!"
He turned to see one of the clerks from the radio room running after him. The clerk slid to a stop in front of him and handed him a message. It was a pleasant surprise to find that some last minute negotiations had resulted in the agreement to call a truce. He glanced at his watch and went back to his office to inform the men on the base. The resulting reaction was such that he felt the need to remind them that the truce didn't actually start until midnight. That dampened the mood only slightly. After another look at his watch and he decided to head for the cells.
"The guards are hidden out of sight Captain." Lieutenant Beitner informed him when he entered the cell block. "Everything is as you ordered."
"Very well Lieutenant. Did you hear the announcement?"
"Yes sir." The young officer nodded excitedly. "A twenty-four hour truce. I was beginning to think that the rumor was just a rumor."
"It is real Lieutenant, and you know what that means?"
"What is that Sir?" The young officer asked in confusion.
"The Rat Patrol has only until midnight to rescue their sergeants. They would not break the truce, of that I am sure. We need only keep them out for another half hour."
"There have been no sightings yet Sir." The junior officer reported. "With all of the men on the wall I don't see how they could hope to get through."
"They are very resourceful Lieutenant."
"Yes sir, but they only have thirty minutes."
Dietrich nodded and walked down the corridor to the cells where Troy and Moffitt were watching everything going on. "Did you hear the announcement Sergeant?"
"They have agreed on a truce." Moffitt answered.
"Your men do not have much time Sergeant. I am afraid that you will be spending the rest of the war in a POW camp."
"The truce only lasts twenty-four hours Captain."
"And by then I will have you miles from here and well on your way. A transport will leave here tomorrow and you will be on it."
"What, you don't want to spend Christmas with us? I think my feelings are hurt Captain."
"Joke all you want Sergeant, but your men are too late."
"I wouldn't say that Captain." A new voice entered the conversation.
"Tully!"
"Hi Sarge." Tully grinned.
Dietrich turned to see his men standing at the end of the corridor. The two missing men of the Rat Patrol were standing behind them with weapons covering them.
"How did you get in here?"
"Magic Captain. It's that time of year. Anything is possible at Christmas if you believe."
The captain looked at his men and back at the men behind them. Any move on their part would result in someone being killed. Troy's warning that he could not count on the privates to continue to avoid bloodshed seemed to be justified if their expressions were any indication.
"You are aware that all I have to do is yell and this entire building will be surrounded? You will not be able to fight your way out against those odds."
Neither private looked worried. "We thought of that Captain." Tully confirmed. "But we have a plan."
"A plan?"
"Yep. You're going to get us out of here."
"And if I refuse?"
"You won't Captain. Christmas is tomorrow. You want all of your men to have a merry Christmas don't you? Being dead or stuck in a hospital wouldn't be any fun."
Dietrich didn't acknowledge the validity of the statement in so many words but Tully saw the acceptance in his eyes.
"We have to move." Troy urged.
"We heard, the truce starts in half an hour."
"Open the door Captain." Troy ordered. "Tell your men to get in here. You can let them out to celebrate Christmas after we're gone."
Dietrich didn't move. "What about the guards that you had to pass to get in here?"
"What about them?"
"How many letters will I have to write to grieving families?"
Tully glanced over at Hitch. "We had to silence four of them Captain."
Dietrich nodded. "I suppose I should be grateful that there are not more."
"So help us get out of here Captain." Troy suggested. "Prevent any more deaths. None of us want to die on Christmas. And I can only speak for myself, but I don't want to have to kill anyone on Christmas either. I'd rather practice peace even if it only lasts a short time. We can start our truce early and spread a little good will of our own."
"Very well Sergeant, I will help you get off of the base. In exchange, I want to know where your men left the bodies of the men they killed. It would not be right to leave them alone at Christmas. They deserve a proper burial."
"We'll tell you as soon as we each the gate." Tully promised.
Dietrich ordered the cell unlocked and he ordered his men to wait quietly until his return. Taking Lieutenant Beitner with him, he escorted the four men of the Rat Patrol to the gate of the base. At the gate he paused and looked at his watch. "It is midnight Sergeant; the truce begins now. You and your men may leave with no fear of retaliation."
"Thank you Captain, and Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas indeed." The captain huffed in defeat. "Perhaps not so merry for all. Where are the bodies of my men Private?"
"There is an unused building near the back wall. It's an old shed with the door half off."
"I know the building."
"They are in there Captain."
Dietrich nodded once, a sad expression on his face. He didn't say another word as he watched his enemies walk into the darkness. After they were gone he collected a few men to help with the bodies. Making their way to the shed, they passed some soldiers singing carols. He almost ordered them to stop but decided not to ruin their celebration. The news of the deaths would reach them soon enough.
Pausing in front of the sagging door, Dietrich braced for the task ahead. Wanting to be the first to enter, he stepped forward. Lieutenant Beitner ran into his back as he stopped suddenly at the sight before him. Bound and gagged, the bodies squirmed and wiggled in vain attempts to free themselves. The sight of them alive was more of a shock than seeing the privates in the cellblock had been; a shock, but this time, a pleasant one. Rushing forward, he ordered them untied. Their fellow soldiers patted them on the back and congratulated them on surviving heir encounter with the Rat Patrol. They decided to start their Christmas celebration right then and there. Dietrich dismissed all of the men and watched as they left, their happy chatter filling the darkened street.
"What is this?"
Dietrich jerked at the voice. He hadn't realized that Lieutenant Beitner had remained behind. As he turned he noticed that the lieutenant was pointing at a cloth wrapped bundle with his name on it. Dietrich picked it up and began to unwrap it.
"Captain, it might be a bomb."
"No lieutenant, it was left as a gift. Just as the lives of those men were a gift. This is the season of giving, not taking. They let them live because tomorrow is Christmas."
The young officer watched the bundle curiously as Dietrich unwrapped it. "A bottle of brandy?"
"It appears so." The captain answered with a smile. He unfolded a note that was tied to the bottle. Tully and Hitch and wished him a merry Christmas. He smiled as he read the note. He'd lost his prisoners but gained a bottle of brandy. Thinking on it, he decided that it wasn't a bad exchange at all. Silently, he sent them a warm merry Christmas too.
In the darkness of the surrounding desert the Rat Patrol was pulling the covers from their hidden jeeps. They piled in and headed for a campsite that they had used before. The ride was silent as each of them got lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't often that they could afford to let their guard down but tonight seemed to be one of those rare occasions. They made it to the site and set up their camp before turning in.
"Tully?"
"Yeah Sarge?"
"How did you get past the guards? Moffitt and I saw Dietrich ordering a lot of extra guards to the wall."
"Yeah, we saw them too." Tully gave his sergeant a grin. "There sure were a lot of them."
"So how did you get past them?"
"Well I'll tell you Sarge, it was all in the timing."
"And?"
"We didn't try to follow Dietrich back to the base after he caught you." Tully explained. "We headed directly there. We snuck on the base before he got back. We heard the column return from our hiding place in that shed."
"We were already on the base before he sent the guards to the wall." Hitch clarified.
Troy looked over at Moffitt and laughed.
"We were glad to see you." Moffitt stated. "We were a little surprised that you made it though. Dietrich went all out to stop you."
"Like I said Sarge, it was all in the timing."
"Dietrich won't underestimate you again I bet." Troy smiled.
"His Christmas was probably ruined." Moffitt added. "He didn't get to keep us and he lost some men."
"Yeah." Troy agreed. "I think that part bothered him more than losing us. He hates writing those letters any time but now is probably harder than normal."
"I wouldn't feel too bad for the captain." Hitch answered. "We left him a couple of presents."
"Presents?"
"Yeah." Tully added. "We didn't kill those guards; we just tied them up and left them for Dietrich."
"We also left him something to help him get over his disappointment." Hitch added.
"What else?"
"I had a bottle of brandy." Tully explained. "We thought it might make a good gift to help him drown his sorrows."
"It ought to help." Moffitt smiled. "Maybe we should have stuck around to help him commiserate."
Tully laughed. "Don't worry Doc; I saved the other bottle for us."
Troy laughed. "Now I feel guilty. Our gifts didn't arrive and we have nothing to give you."
"That's all right Sarge." Hitch answered as he looked at the sergeants and then over at Tully. "Tully and I already got what we wanted for Christmas."