After The Raid

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 6

Tully waited impatiently for the doctors to return with word about Moffitt. While he waited he worried that Troy and Hitch hadn't caught up with them yet. He had a bad feeling about their continued absence. He rose from his seat to once again pace the hall.

The MP assigned to guard him shifted his weapon uneasily at Tully's scowl. They had repeated this scenario many times over the previous two hours. Tully would pace the hall until he wore himself out and the guard would watch tensely. Then Tully would sit down and the guard would try to relax until the next time.

This time the routine was interrupted by the doctors. Tully rushed to meet them, his eyes searching their faces for a sign that they were delivering good news. One of the doctors smiled a tired smile and indicated that Tully should take a seat. Tully ignored the offer and waited impatiently for their message. "How is he?"

"He's going to pull through Private." The doctor sighed. "We managed to get the bullet out almost intact. There was some internal bleeding and he was in shock, but he's resting quietly now. The confusion you mentioned is fairly common in patients under these conditions. We gave him both blood and plasma and we have the bleeding all under control. He's sleeping right now and I don't want him disturbed before morning." The doctor gave Tully a look full of warning.

"I understand Doc." Tully nodded quietly. "Can I at least look in on him?" The doctor opened his mouth to say no but Tully hurried on. "I promise not to wake him Doc; I just need to see for myself that he's okay."

The doctor relented at the obvious concern in Tully's voice. "Just for a moment Private; he needs his rest. He should be awake tomorrow and you can visit him then."

"I may not be here then." Tully drawled, looking toward the MP. "The rest of my unit is overdue and I want to go look for them."

"Alone?" The doctor asked in surprise. "Surely you aren't planning on going out there without help?"

"They may need me Doc, and I can't let them down. My job was to get Sergeant Moffitt to a hospital; I've done that. Now I've got to go back and find them." Tully turned to the MP. "Are you going to try and stop me?"

The MP smiled at the word 'try', noting that Tully seemed determined. "You'll have to clear it with Captain Elan; but if you checked out with headquarters you shouldn't have any trouble. It's not my call."

"Good," Tully responded, "Because I'm going." Turning back to the doctor he grinned at the man's surprised expression. "Could you tell me where to find my sergeant?"

"All right Private, just remember, don't wake him."

Tully nodded and followed the doctor down several corridors to a small room where Moffitt slept quietly. The pain lines were gone, replaced by a serene expression that Tully hadn't seen in quite a while. He had more color than when he'd arrived at the hospital. Tully watched his slow, steady breathing for a moment before he nodded and thanked the doctor. "You take good care of him Doc, I'll be back. Hopefully I won't have any new patients for you when I come back. Tell him where I went and tell him not to worry, I'll find them."

"Good luck Private." The doctor called as Tully turned to leave.

The MP escorted Tully directly to Captain Elan's office as soon as they left the hospital. The Captain had called to Tully's base and talked to Captain Boggs.

"I was just about to send for you Private." The Captain rose from his desk as Tully and the MP entered his office. "I spoke with Captain Boggs and he has confirmed your story. He spoke very highly of you and your outfit."

"That's good to know." Tully drawled. "Can I go now?"

"Go? Go where?"

"The rest of my unit is still missing." Tully explained again. "I'm the only one who knows their last location. I have to go look for them."

"Look for them?" The Captain gasped. He eyed the MP who just shrugged and smiled. "Private, I can't spare any men right now to go help search for your friends. The Germans could attack our base at any time and I'm shorthanded as it is. I just can't authorize a rescue mission at this time."

"I'm not asking you to." Tully answered. "I'm just saying that I have to go look for them. They may have run into trouble and may need my help."

"One man alone. What could you do?"

"I won't rightly know until I get there and see what the situation is." Tully met the Captain's incredulous stare. "They wouldn't leave me behind: they'd come back for me; I have to go back for them. That's how our outfit works captain. We take care of each other; it's how we survive."

"Very commendable Private but I'm not sure I can let you go out on your own. It could very well be sending you to your death for no good reason."

"Ask Captain Boggs." Tully suggested, his voice taking on a hard edge. "He'll tell you, we can take care of ourselves. I don't need any help."

Taken back, the Captain considered the solution. "All right Private, I'll call Captain Boggs back and talk it over with him. If he approves, I'll allow it."

"Call him Sir, time's a wasting."

With a curt nod the Captain headed for the radio room with Tully and the MP right behind him. He wasn't sure just how to take Tully's defiance to his orders but he couldn't help but admire his willingness to go after his friends alone. To his surprise, Captain Boggs not only agreed to let the Private go alone, he seemed pleased with the idea. Captain Elan also noticed that the other captain didn't seem at all surprised that the private had insisted on being allowed to go. Obviously there was more to the young soldier than he had first realized. The moment he gave his permission the lanky private was out the door and headed for his jeep.

"Interesting." Captain Elan stated aloud.

"Isn't it though." The MP agreed.

"I've heard a bit about that unit." The Captain admitted. "Maybe it's not all just talk after all."

Tully pushed his jeep hard, trying to beat the setting sun. As the hills spread out and became fewer and further between, he slowed and began to look for the site of the morning's battle. The faint darkening in the sky where the smoke still rose from the halftracks was his guide for the last few miles.

Putting caution ahead of his need to find the others, Tully decided to circle around the scene and approach from a different direction. Choosing a hill to use as an observation point, he parked the jeep and began to climb the hill. He heard the German engines start up as he neared the top of the hill he had chosen. Slipping carefully to the crest, he peeked over the top and caught his breath.

Captain Dietrich stood below him right next to the other jeep. The Captain stared off into the distance for a few moments, looking like he was lost in thought. Then he glanced down at a dark stain on the ground in front of the jeep. Tully knew what it was. He had seen enough blood to recognize it without any trouble. There was blood on the driver's seat too, telling Tully that it was most likely Hitch who was hurt. Troy's condition was still a mystery.

Dietrich turned from the blood stain and called to his men. He waved at a group who stood at the rear of one of the trucks, sending them rushing to get into the truck. After standing around with rifles ready, they seemed in a hurry now. It seemed to Tully that they were guarding something, and he wanted to know what it, or who, it was. He took special note of that truck, planning on paying it a visit once Dietrich stopped for the night. There were too many of them for him to take on alone so he would have to wait for them to go to sleep before he made his move. He wasn't planning on fighting all of them. He would go in nice and quiet and rescue the others before the Germans knew what was happening. He knew that Dietrich might be expecting a rescue attempt but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

Looking at the sun, Tully didn't think that Dietrich would go far before he started looking for a campsite. He wouldn't want to stay too close to the battle site in case anyone else decided to investigate and he wouldn't want to travel after dark. The engines revved and the German column moved out across the desert. The night winds had already started to blow, erasing the tracks of what had happened from the sand. Tully didn't plan on being far behind them so he wasn't worried about the trail disappearing. He watched through field glasses as the German column headed back toward their last known base. Tully wasn't worried about losing them in the dark either, there were only so many good camp sites that could be reached before full dark.

Once the German column was out of sight, Tully turned his glasses toward the abandoned jeep. Tools still lay in the sand where someone had been repairing some damage. The dried blood in front of the jeep drew his attention. It wasn't fresh, and Dietrich had just left. Hope began to bloom in Tully's mind.