The one jeep limped into headquarters. Tully was driving it, but just barely. Troy was in the seat beside him, awake, but bleary-eyed, and Hitch was slumped over in the back – not from a wound, thankfully, but from sheer exhaustion. They'd spent most of the night wide awake, looking for Moffitt, and the only thing they found was an abandoned jeep and nothing more.

Now, without any rest, Troy was going in to speak to Boggs and see what else they could do. As soon as the surprise of Moffitt's – what had it been? Escape? – had worn off, they'd radioed the commander and told him everything they knew. He'd ordered them to report in the morning. So here they were.

Tully pulled the jeep over beside the main tent, the one that served as a rag-tag sort of headquarters since they were the offensive force, not on the defensive like the Germans. They didn't have stolen mansions to set up in. Troy jumped out – well, more like slid out, since he was so tired – and Tully settled in to wait. After a few moments of watching the tent entrance, he gave up and curled down into his seat. He was worried about Moffitt – which of them wasn't? – but he wouldn't be of any use to anyone if he didn't catch a little sleep.

:::

"There's been rumours circulating about Sergeant Moffitt," Boggs said.

Troy stood opposite him, having refused the offer to sit down. He was tired, no denying it, but he couldn't relax until everything was worked out. He'd have to keep pushing through whatever he was feeling, stay awake and alert, and hopefully get Moffitt out of whatever mess he was in. He couldn't think of any reason for the strange behaviour of last night. Boggs could have the answers.

"Rumours, sir?"

Boggs nodded. He picked a paper of his desk, scanned it for a moment, and then lowered it. Troy had the feeling that he was delaying whatever he had to say. "News travels fast around here, and everyone's talking about what happened last night. Some say he went crazy, and others that he's gone over to the Germans. Betrayed your patrol and the Allies in general."

Troy shook his head. "Moffitt wouldn't do that. And I don't think he's crazy." At the moment, those were the only two options that made any amount of sense, but he would stake his life on Moffitt not being a traitor. He'd held up under torture more than once, and had never given an inch. To suddenly, and without any warning, defect to the Germans made no sense.

"That's all you've got?" he asked. "Rumours?"

Boggs sighed. "I'm afraid so, sergeant. We're at a loss, same as you." He looked genuinely confused and even sympathetic, but Troy wasn't convinced. Command usually had an easy time of getting information about almost anything, through their network of spies, and they'd been known to withhold that same information before just to gain the edge in a mission.

But he had no proof, nothing even to base his feelings on, so he saluted and left.

:::

Tully shook his head. "Doesn't make a lot of sense to me." Troy had shared everything that Boggs had said with them, and he didn't accept any of it. Moffitt would never betray them, and he'd have noticed if there was anything wrong with him earlier. Sure, he'd been acting a little worried, but that wasn't all that strange.

His bet was that Moffitt's sudden take-off had something to do with the long conversation he'd had with Boggs yesterday. Maybe some secret mission that they'd be briefed on later, but when he thought more about it, the idea still didn't hold water. They always worked together, they always knew all the details of each mission. All of them.

He chewed on his matchstick, and let Troy and Hitch think out loud.

"Moffitt's not a traitor," Hitch said. "Boggs is crazy if he thinks that."

Troy rested a hand on the jeep. "I don't think he does, Hitch. But some of the other guys do."

A private walked past them, then stopped. "Hey, are you guys part of that desert patrol we've heard so much about?" Troy and Hitch exchanged glances and Troy nodded. "I'm really sorry about your guy." Troy cocked his head. "That British guy. The one who deserted, or defected, or something like that."

"How do you know about that?" Troy asked.

Tully knew the way Troy thought, along with his many moods, and he was getting pretty close to boiling mad. Tight, controlled voice. Tense all over. Ready for a fight if it came to that.

"All the fellows are talking about it," the private said casually, obviously not getting the 'danger, Troy's about to explode' signals that Tully was. "Can't trust those limeys, can you?"

"Get out," Troy said. His voice was quiet, but it still sounded like a shout.

The private's face whitened, and he couldn't scurry away fast enough. Troy glared after him and if the situation hadn't been so serious, Tully might've grinned. Troy was always scaring everyone away – if they ever added a fifth man to their team, he'd probably be scared stiff before the first day was out. But the private's charge had been serious enough.

If most of the regular soldiers in this area thought that Moffitt was a traitor, there was only one thing to do.

Prove them wrong.