Family Care

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 4

They were almost to the German headquarters when the haunting cry was repeated. All three men froze and listened in silence. Troy didn't look at the others; he knew they would recognize the source too. It wasn't often that they heard Hitch cry out in such agony but there was no longer any doubt in his mind that the cry was coming from his missing driver. As the echoes of the cry died away Troy began to move again. Despite their urgency he was more cautious now as they got closer to the center of the base. There were more guards to avoid and these guards were more conscientious, almost as if they were afraid they were being inspected without their knowledge.

A squad of soldiers marched down the street toward where the three intruders hid. Moffitt reached out and touched Troy's arm, jerking his head toward the approaching Germans. Troy nodded and began to look for a better hiding place. A large ten wheeled truck was parked next to the side of a nearby building with a heavy tarp enclosing the back. Troy sent Tully to check it out while he and Moffitt watched the approaching squad.

"Clear." Tully's whisper was just loud enough to be heard. Troy tapped Moffitt on the arm and hurried to the rear of the truck. Tully stood watch while they slipped over the tailgate and hid inside. With one final check to make sure that they hadn't been spotted Tully joined them.

Stepping over the tailgate Tully reached behind him to pull the tarp back into place. There wasn't time to be more precise as the German squad neared the truck. The space in the truck was tight for the three of them as they huddled in the dark and listened to the approaching footsteps. None of them dared to move for fear of rocking the truck or moving the tarp while the soldiers might notice.

The squad came closer without any pause as each of the soldiers marched in step. All three men pictured the soldiers in their heads and tried to imagine what they were doing. It was pretty easy as long as they kept marching.

None of them heard the other set of footsteps approach from the other direction. The single set was drowned out by the sounds of the squad. The first indication that something was wrong was when they felt the truck rock under the weight of the soldier climbing into the cab. The engine roared to life and the truck lurched as the driver shifted it into gear. The German squad paused to let the truck pull out into the street.

There was nothing to be done but wait to see where the truck was being taken. The driver drove the truck down the street directly in front of the building they were trying to reach. Moffitt cut a small slit in the canvas tarp and watched as the building flashed by and was left behind.

Troy cut another slit in the other side of the tarp so he could see the other side of the street. Both sergeants sighed as the truck carried them further and further from their target. In unspoken agreement they sat down on the crates in the back of the truck and waited for it to stop. It rumbled on for several minutes traveling from one side of the base to the other. When it finally stopped it was in a part of the base that they hadn't been able to see earlier.

Troy moved across the truck to join Moffitt, careful not to rock the truck as he shifted sides. Tully crouched by the tailgate ready to act if the driver tried to look behind the tarp. He held his deadly knife close to his body so he could strike fast and silent.

"Where are we?" Troy whispered into Moffitt's ear. He kept his voice low enough that even Tully couldn't hear him.

Moffitt shrugged. "I believe this may be their supply building."

Troy looked around quickly. "We'd better find a place to hide in case they decide to unload this truck."

"Too risky." Moffitt warned. "There are workers everywhere. I doubt that we could get out of here undetected."

Troy looked around at their current prison. "We can at least get behind these boxes in case they decide to look inside."

The other sergeant nodded and motioned for Troy to go ahead of him. Moving cautiously to avoid rocking the truck Troy climbed over the boxes until he found a small space near the front of the truck that he could fit into. Sliding in between two crates he ducked as low as he could and looked at Moffitt for approval.

"I can't see you from here so they won't be able to see you from the ground." The Brit assured him. Moffitt found a long narrow space along the side of the truck where he could stretch out and stay low.

Tully went to the other side and squeezed between two stacks of boxes marked explosives.

"Troy!"

Troy kept his head down as he answered Moffitt's urgent whisper. "What?"

"We may want to avoid fighting our way out of here."

"Why?"

"Because I am sitting on a crate full of hand grenades."

Troy's eyes widened.

"That's not all." Tully whispered. "There's a crate of 88 shells here too."

Troy groaned. "We're sitting among enough explosives to send us all into next week."

"Exactly." The Brit agreed with a wry smile.

"Sarge, why don't we use this as a distraction?"

"Distraction? Tully we're right on top of it!"

"Right now we are Sarge, but once we get Hitch we can blow this truck to draw the attention this way while we go out the way we came in."

"And how are we going to do that Tully? Did you find some timers in one of these boxes?"

"No." Tully answered.

"So…" Troy began.

"But I brought some with me from the jeep." Tully interrupted before Troy could say any more. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out several of the items in question.

"You brought timers?" Troy gasped in surprise. "What were you planning on doing with them?"

"Diversions." Tully answered simply.

"Diversions?" Troy repeated. "Did you happen to bring any explosives to detonate?"

"Yeah… I did." Tully responded. "I figured we'd need some type of distraction to get Hitch out of here. If he's hurt bad we might have to carry him out and that slows us down."

"What made you think we might have to carry him out?"

Tully looked Troy in the eye defiantly. "I heard you and Doc talking by the jeeps earlier. You heard him screaming… I heard you say it." Tully added as Troy began to shake his head.

"It was two or three cries spaced out over several hours. Not screaming, just a few cries."

"Just the same, he has to be hurting or he wouldn't have yelled." Tully insisted. "I brought the timers and explosives so we could create a diversion and get him out."

Troy closed his eyes and nodded. "You're right Tully, he probably is hurt. The explosives are a good idea, I'm glad you brought them."

Tully accepted the sergeant's admission with a nod. "Do you want me to set the timers?"

Troy nodded. "Give us thirty minutes but don't arm them until we're ready to get out of this truck."

"Perhaps you should make it forty-five minutes." Moffitt suggested. "We have further to go and there will be more foot traffic than we were expecting."

"Forty-five minutes." Troy corrected.

Tully nodded wordlessly and got to work. He was tucking the explosives between the boxes where they wouldn't be easily spotted when they heard voices approaching.

"Hide!" Moffitt hissed.

All three of them ducked as the tarp was thrown aside and two German soldiers reached up to drop the tailgate. The hidden men barely took a breath as the two Germans bent down and lifted a box from the ground behind the truck. Grunting with effort they placed the box on the tailgate. Using their combined strength, they shoved the heavy box into the rear of the truck, filling up most of the empty space on the floor. One of the Germans nodded at the other before lifting the tailgate and latching it into place. The second soldier nodded, smiled at his friend, and walked away. The first soldier pulled the tarp back into place, covering the tailgate.

Troy glanced over at Moffitt and grinned.

"The charges are set Sarge." Tully whispered.

"Okay, be ready to arm them, maybe that box is all they needed."

"I'm ready Sarge."

They fell silent again as they waited to see what would happen next. The wait was a short one. The truck rocked as the driver climbed back into the cab. The engine roared to life and the truck lurched forward. Once again they found themselves headed for an unknown destination.

Moffitt crawled out of his narrow space and sat on the new box. Leaning forward he could see through the slit he had cut in the tarp. He watched anxiously as the truck passed building after building. He tried to orient himself by picturing the base, as they knew it, in his mind. The twists and turns the driver was making in the dark made it hard to determine which direction they were traveling. Finally the truck slowed as the driver pulled up behind a long line of similar trucks.

"They're loading the trucks for a convoy." Moffitt whispered.

"We have to get out of here before it leaves." Troy warned. "Once it leaves the base we don't know when we'll get another chance."

"I don't think they're leaving right away." Tully whispered. "The drivers are gathering over next to that building and just standing around."

"Perhaps waiting for the convoy commander." Moffitt suggested. "They may not have long to wait."

"Where are the drivers?" Troy asked Tully.

Tully pointed in their direction.

"Is there anyone on the other side?"

Tully took a quick look through the slit in the tarp on the other side. He turned to look toward Troy as he shook his head.

"Can we get out over the side?"

Tully looked again and nodded.

"Moffitt, let's move!"

Troy and Moffitt lifted the tarp just enough to slip through. They dropped to the ground in a crouch and checked to make sure that they hadn't been spotted. They heard Tully moving quietly inside and then he dropped to the ground between them.

Troy took the lead and headed for the shelter of an alley. He didn't slow his pace until the darkest shadows had swallowed them up. Halfway along the alley he paused and pressed his body against the wall. "Any idea where we are?"

"The motor pool is around here somewhere." Tully whispered.

"Where?"

The private shrugged in answer. "I don't know but I smell motor oil and gasoline; I'd recognize those smells anywhere."

Troy sniffed the air and caught the odors Tully mentioned, odors he hadn't noticed until Tully brought them to his attention.

"It seems like the wind is coming from that way so the motor pool must be over there somewhere." Tully reasoned.

"If we find the motor pool can you find the headquarters building?" Troy asked Moffitt.

"I think so."

"Then you take the lead and we'll follow you." Troy glanced at his watch. "We have forty-five minutes until that truck explodes." Then he looked up at the sky. "Let's hope those clouds don't blow over before we find itchand et him out of here.

Hitch and get out of here."

Moffitt and Tully looked up at the clouds. They were noticeably thinner than they had been earlier in the night. The moon was still covered but there was no guarantee that that would remain the case.

"This way." Moffitt took the lead and Tully brought up the rear.

Moving as silently as the shadows they used for cover the three men made their way across the base. Moving quickly, they all concentrated on listening for any sound that would warn them that they were about to run into trouble. They heard soldiers walking the streets, the guards walking their posts, and voices raised in rowdy conversation. What they didn't hear was the convoy leaving. And, thankfully, they didn't hear any more of the haunting cries.