The Sleeping Beauty Raid-Chapter 8
"Thank you for everything Captain." Moffitt, as Wolfe, was being loaded into the back of a truck. He smiled as the Captain fussed over Hitchcock, as Stahl. They loaded the second stretcher just as carefully. "I will be sure to tell the lieutenants' father how kind you have been."
"I'm sorry we do not have another ambulance to lend you. I hope the truck will be comfortable."
"I'm sure that the truck will be fine." Moffitt assured him.
With a rattle of the engine and puffs of smoke, the truck left the base on the next leg of their trip. As they headed deeper into German held territory the driver began to relax. The further they traveled the safer he felt. The road began to climb a rocky hill with trees on both sides. The sun flickered on the windshield as leaves blocked it in patches, occasionally seriously impairing his vision. Still, he had a schedule to keep and the captain would not be happy if he were to run late. He kept his foot pressed to the gas pedal as the vehicle skidded on the loose gravel. He took his eyes from the road for just a moment to look at something that caught his eye. To his surprise, when he looked back, there were American soldiers standing in the road. He jerked on the wheel as bullets shattered the windshield and pounded into his body. The truck veered off the road and slammed grill first into a large boulder before flying sideways. The left side of the vehicle collided with another rock with a sickening crunch.
"What are you doing?" Kirby screamed at Woodrow Melnick even as he ran toward the crumpled vehicle. He could still hear things falling in the rear. The solid thump of something moving made his heart sink. Kirby was the first to reach the rear doors. He ripped them open before anyone else arrived.
Sgt. Jack Moffitt slid across the fallen objects trying to reach Mark Hitchcock. The violent collision had thrown them both forward, banging their heads. The second impact had hit next to the unconscious private. They had been tossed about in the rear like rag dolls. Mark had landed on the floor under the flood of falling objects.
When the doors were ripped open, Jack spun to face the threat. The sudden movement made his head spin. His vision greyed and his stomach did a flip. Fighting the nausea, he tried to identify the person standing in the door.
"It's okay Sargent, we're going to get you out." Kirby reached for the door frame. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly away from the opening. He fell back as Sam Troy jumped into the back of the wreckage.
"Jack! Hitch!"
Moffitt tried to tell Sam to check on Hitch but his mouth wouldn't work. The light faded and he lost consciousness before he could tell Troy what he wanted. He never felt the hands that pulled him out of the truck and carried him to a soft bed of moss inside the tree line. He couldn't hear the muttered curses as they administered first aid as others went back for Mark Hitchcock. He wasn't aware of them placing the young private on the ground next to him.
"Be careful!" Doc cautioned urgently. "That last impact hit awful close to him." He hovered over the private as he was lowered to the ground.
"How are they Doc?"
Doc never looked up from his patients. His fingers gently probed arms and legs looking for broken bones. The open wounds he found were superficial. It was a fear of internal bleeding that kept him silent.
Sam Troy stepped away to give the medic room to work. Worry lined his face. Unable to stand still and do nothing, he turned toward Chip Saunders. "What happened? I thought we were just going to stop it."
Saunders held his tongue at the accusation. He waited to let the other sargent get it out of his system. The rest of the squad kept quiet. Only Melnick was fool enough to open his mouth.
"We did stop them Sargent. They aren't going anywhere." His broad smile was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Troy exploded.
"Are you the one who fired those shots?"
Melnick nodded. Before his head stopped moving he found his throat held in a vise-like grip. His air was being cut off as Troys' furious eyes stared into his from only inches away.
"I ought to kill you where you stand!" The sargent snarled with barely controlled fury. "My men were in that truck!"
Melnick struggled for air as hands grabbed Sam Troy and pulled him away.
"He tried to kill me!" Melnick croaked to the others who stood around watching.
Hanley and Saunders were talking urgently to Troy as they held him in place. Pettigrew stood behind the three men glaring at Melnick with cold eyes.
"We didn't see a thing." Kirby told Melnick. "All I saw was you disobeying orders and almost killing his men. The very men we're supposed to be helping." Kirby spat on the ground at the others' feet before walking away.
Cage glared at Melnick and followed Kirby without a word. Littlejohn and Billy stared at the offending soldier with disgust. Neither spoke as he turned to them for support.
"Sawyer, you saw it." Melnick called to the final witness.
Sawyer shook his head. "I was there when you wanted to kill two wounded prisoners. You don't want headquarters asking me any questions." Ignoring the others' protests, he joined Cage and Kirby.
Seeing Sawyer leave, Billy and Littlejohn walked away too. Melnick was left standing alone. He was still standing there looking after the others when Saunders approached him.
"You saw it Sarge! You have to report him!"
Saunders kept walking until he was almost nose to nose with Melnick. "You're lucky I don't let him finish what he started." Saunders kept his voice low, not trying to hide his anger. "Let's get one thing straight here Melnick. Stay away from him and his men. Hell, for that matter, stay away from me and mine." He glared at the enlisted man. "If I ever see you do something like that again," he paused to make his point, "I'll shoot you myself. You're not going to get anyone killed on my watch." Without waiting for an answer, he walked away too.
The squad formed around Doc and watched as he finished his exams.
"I think we can move them now." Doc announced. "We're going to need stretchers. We'll have to be careful how we move them."
"Can they take the travel in the truck?" Gil Hanley wanted to be on the move but he wasn't willing to risk the lives of the men.
Doc nodded slowly. "I think so. The sargent is badly bruised and I had to immobilize his shoulder. I don't think he has a concussion but he did get a pretty good bump on the head." Doc looked up at Troy. "I think he's going to be alright Sargent. He won't be able to walk out of here though."
Troy nodded, his eyes locked on his men.
"Private Hitchcock is another story."
Troys' head snapped up and he met Docs' worried eyes.
"He may have a concussion. His leg is swollen to twice its' normal size. I didn't find a break but I can't rule it out. The thing that worries me is his ribs. At least three are broken. There may be internal bleeding but I can't tell for sure."
"Will he make it?"
Doc shrugged. "I don't know. All I can say is, get him to a doctor as soon as possible. I"ll do all I can for him until then."
Troys eyes were haunted as he looked down at his men. "Chip, Lieutenant, are we ready to go?" He raised his eyes to the two men.
They both nodded.
"Tully. We're going to get Jack and Hitch to the truck. Give us ten minutes then blow up the wreck. Make it look like it crashed and the gas tank exploded. Let them think that the truck was the target. We don't want them knowing they've been duped."
Tully nodded that he understood. He watched them carry the wounded men toward where they had left their truck. Ten minutes later there was an explosion followed by a fire spewing thick smoke into the sky. Two minutes later Tully hopped into the back of the truck.