Chapter 4
Hauptmann Dietrich was angry, his driver had been shot and two half-tracks destroyed when the Rat Patrol had surprised his unit. He moved the driver out of the seat, and then slipped behind the wheel. The wind was picking up, a dust storm was coming. As the kubelwagon began to cough and spit. He knew he would need a place wait out the storm, before heading back to Al Aqubar. The map showed him an area that might help and he hoped the car would make it.
Dietrich directed some of his anger then at Gruber who had told him that he spotted the Rat Patrol and needed assistance. Going out to meet Gruber's patrol had run into the Rat Patrol instead. He saw an entrance to a cave. Parked outside was an old faded blue truck. Withdrawing his Luger from his holster, Dietrich entered the cave with caution.
The desert was quiet, eerily quiet. Michaela could feel in the air, an approaching storm; a ghibli had a way of coming up fast and last for hours. A look at the fierce sky told her there would be no way to outrun it in her old truck. From the rock formations, Michaela could tell she was not far from the cave that she was searching for. There it was and with enough time to get to it too. The wind was beginning to pick up. The sand was starting to blow in earnest around the rocks and brush in its path. Jack was really going to be mad at her for not waiting and yeah, Sam too. She knew that leaving a note telling them where she had gone, was not going to be good enough.
Grabbing her knapsack and torch she entered the cave. It had a long curved tunnel which led to the main chamber where the ceiling was high, arcing up into a natural chimney. Another tunnel went off to the right to a smaller chamber, but it appeared to go nowhere. She went back outside to gather her basket of supplies to take into the cave, but then realized she would have to brave the now full-blown sandstorm a second time to retrieve the tinder. After a vain attempt at brushing the sand off of her clothes, she set about arranging her dried desert brush into the existing fire pit. With the fire lit she could at least make some tea and conserve the torch's batteries.
As she watched the flames, she heard the distinctive noise of crunching dirt behind her. Before she could react, a baritone voice spoke with a light accent, "Put your hands up and turn around slowly please."
She did as she was told, noting through the flickering shadows that it was a German officer.
"Throw down your weapons," he ordered.
"Take it easy," she said slowly, "I only have a pistol and it's in my knapsack."
"Pick it up and hand it over. Nice and slow if you please."
Well, at least he was polite, Michaela thought wryly as she dug through her knapsack. As she handed her pistol to him, she could see his eyes. They were brown, like two pools of liquid chocolate and he had a very handsome face too.
As the girl was looking him over, Hauptmann Dietrich was doing the same and wondering what a woman was doing this far into the desert; and by herself at that. Her hair was short and her eyes were a rich dark brown. Somehow he knew those eyes could laugh and yet had a pride in them he liked to see in a woman. She was beautiful and he found himself unable to look away from her for more than a few seconds. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded, at last still unwilling to lower his pistol until he was sure she wasn't a threat.
"Michaela Mercer. I stopped here to seek shelter from the sand storm. I have been obtaining information for my thesis."
"Thesis? What kind of thesis?" he asked, while watching her straighten her clothing and cross her arms defensively.
Aside from this, Dietrich observed that the woman did not seem afraid of him. So this was the woman he was to find. The photo did not do her justice.
"I need to complete my thesis for my degree in Archaeology. I want to get my own assignments from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Right now I'm only allowed on explorations with other researchers. I am hoping to prove there were women who had important roles in the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, such as the lady pharaoh, Hatshepsut. Have you heard of her?"
"No. And that still does not explain why you are alone in an area where there is war activity."
"I have been on my own for some time and I am quite capable of caring for myself," she said with a voice weary with exasperation. "I was on my way back home to Al Aqubar. Look, we are going to be here for a while so put that gun away and I'll fix us something to drink."
Dietrich placed his gun back in the holster, but continued to keep a close eye on her as she pulled a basket closer to the fire.
"You know a little about me," she said, rummaging through the basket before looking back up at him. "Now it's your turn."
He smile and nodded. "I am Captain Hans Dietrich of the German Afrika Korps. I seemed to have a problem with my car, when I spotted this cave."
"Captain, I can assure you that I don't bite."
He could not keep from smiling even more at her statement, "Then if we are going to share this shelter together, we must be friends. Michaela is a very unusual name."
"My father was hoping for a boy and I came instead."
He watched as she carefully angled the pot over the fire to heat the water.
"Here, have some tea." She handed him a tin cup. "I'm sorry, but this is all I have."
The girl then poured some tea into a small glass jar.
"No problem. Some of the coffee I have been drinking of late could be used for diesel fuel."
As they laughed, Michaela saw how handsome he looked when smiling, which gave her reassurance that she would be safe. Even with her recent encounters with Schmidt and Gruber, this man did not seem to pose as much of a threat as the other two did. This officer might be her ticket to finding out why the Germans wanted her.
"Would you mind if I call you Michaela?"
"No, not at all," Michaela said, smiling at him.
"Your name," Dietrich said slowly, "I believe I have heard it before, but I can't quite place it. Did you say you were working for the Egyptian Museum?"
"Yes, sometimes. My mother did some work for the museum as well. She worked in their library, set up exhibits, and on occasion went out in the field to catalog the finds. Her brother still teaches Anthropology at Cambridge University in England, specializing in North Africa."
Dietrich continued to watch the girl as she moved around the fire.
"What is your uncle's name?" Dietrich asked thoughtfully, remembering the dig he had tagged along on, some ten years ago. The excavation had been relatively uneventful then, but was somewhat memorable now: not for the artifacts the team recovered, but for the team itself. The visiting professor heading the dig was from England and had taken a liking to the young man from Germany.
"Professor John Moffitt."
"Moffitt? Are you related to a Sergeant Jack Moffitt?"
Michaela saw an odd look in his eyes. Have I angered him somehow? She released a small breath. "Yes. Jack and I are cousins. How do you know him?"
"Your cousin has made it his business to harass me at every turn."
Michaela took a step backward. She dropped her glass jar while trying to keep her balance, after catching her foot on a large rock. Dietrich reached an arm out around her waist to keep her from falling. He felt her stiffen.
"I will not hurt you," he spoke reassuringly. As he held her, it was if a shock went through his body and at the same time she felt it too.
Michaela was the first to break the spell. "Would you like some more tea?" She quickly moved back to the basket, pushing the shards of glass to the side with her foot, and knelt to find another jar to drink from. She started to reach for her canteen to add more water to the pot, but was startled when she felt a gentle tug on her hair. Surprised at the captain's boldness, she looked back at him questioningly.
"You have very beautiful hair; do you always wear it short?" He liked the way it wanted to curl behind her ears and frame her face.
"Yes, it is easier to take care of when out in the desert. With water hard to come by, some luxuries as washing one's hair must be forsaken. You do not like short hair?" she asked him as she brushed at a curl behind her ear.
"On you I find it very attractive." Dietrich stepped back, he did find her very attractive, and at this stage he must be careful. I will need to know if she can be trusted to follow orders. There are questions that need to be answered. Knowing Professor Moffitt, I can't see him allowing his young niece to be out wandering around North Africa by herself. She seems nervous, what is she hiding. Gain her trust, that's what I need to do. How can she help the Third Reich, she is too young to know anything about ancient Egypt.
"Michaela, I still find it strange that you are here alone. Does your cousin know you're in the area?" He watched her face closely. She paled a little. She quickly turned her back.
"As I said earlier Captain, I have not seen Jack for months and my uncle knows where I am. I do keep him informed of my travels." He watched her turn back towards him; a nervous smile was flashed at him.
Back at the cave, the men noticed at once that Michaela's truck was gone. Hitch went in to light the lamps. "Sarge, look here," he called out.
Troy snatched the note Hitch was holding out and began to read it out loud; " 'Sorry, I just couldn't wait. The cave is not far from here. I'll be right back, hopefully with the knot.' "He read it out loud, and then handed it to Moffitt.
Moffitt tossed the letter down on the crate and looked at the charts. "Here, she's put a circle in this area. That cave, must be the one she went to. Let's go fetch her."
Outside of the cave, Troy and Moffitt looked at each other. A sand storm was heading this way. They both saw the need to move quickly to the cave.
In ten minutes they were parked outside and Troy could see the outlines of two vehicles parked near its entrance.
"Sarge, that's a Jerry staff car," Hitch said as he grabbed for his rifle.
Troy led the way into the curved entry tunnel cautiously. Further in they could hear the voices of two people, a man and a woman. Troy and Moffitt looked at each other and continued at a slower pace.
Nearing the light, someone kicked a stone. Dietrich jumped up, his Luger drawn and in defensive stance that blocked Michaela from the view of the approaching men.
"Put it down, Captain," Troy ordered.
"Where is she?" Moffitt demanded.
"Jack!" Before he could react, a body came flying at him and latched on.
"Michaela, what are you doing here?" Moffitt said, trying to juggle his armful of cousin and keep his gun trained on Dietrich at the same time.
Michaela quickly took a deep breath, "Well Jack, if you must know, I was on my way home when I saw a storm brewing. I remembered these caves and came inside to wait till it blows over." Michaela glanced down to hide her expression, then whispered in his ear, "just follow my lead."
"And you, Captain?" Troy asked, glancing at Dietrich while trying to watch Michaela at the same time.
Dietrich looked annoyed; "My car was acting up and I spotted this cave. Your turn, Sergeant."
"Looks like it's going to be a long night, Captain, if you don't mind, sit down over there where I can keep an eye on you," Troy motioned with his gun.
"Troy, I need to talk with my cousin alone. Come on." Moffitt hanging onto Michaela's arm, pulled her towards the mouth of the cave.
"Let go of me Jack," Michaela cried out trying to pull her arm out of his grasp.
Out of hearing distance and near the caves entrance, Jack began to question her.
"What do you think you are doing going out on your own?" Jack's grasp on her arm was not loosening.
"I thought I would get here and get back before you knew I was gone. Then the sand storm came up.
Jack, I told him I was on my way back to Al Aqubar, doing research for my thesis."
Jack let go of her arm. "You need to careful around this man, he's Hauptmann Dietrich. We've had run in's with him before."
"Yes, so he's told me. Don't you think we should get back so not to arouse..."
"Come on."
As Jack got back into the main chamber, "Now young lady, the minute we get out of here, you'll be on your way back to England."
Michaela shook her arm loose and sat down by the fire giving the appearance of a young girl pouting.
Dietrich looked at Moffitt then at the girl. So she did not like what he said to her. Might be easier than I thought getting her to work with me.
All was quiet for a while, when Troy broke the silence, "Tully, get some supplies from the jeep. Hitch, see if you can find some brush to keep this fire going."
Michaela was looking around at the walls of the cave, it was going to be hard not being able to search the walls. Standing up she grabbed her touch.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jack was right beside her.
She tried to look angry. "I am going to the loo; there is a small chamber back there. Do you mind?"
Jack crossed his arms, "Go ahead, no monkey business young lady."
Michaela walked in the small chamber and began to look that the walls. There were some etchings, but nothing that pointed to Isis or Osiris.
"Well are you done yet?" Jack yelled in the chamber. "Michaela, answer me, Michaela..."
"What is the matter? You need to use it?" she told him adjusting her shirt inside her slacks. Michaela saw the two privates trying hard not to laugh.
Troy sat looking at the two, what the hell is going on?
Captain Dietrich watched the two thinking; the angrier Moffitt makes her, the more she'd be willing to work for me.
Michaela brushed past her cousin and continued away from the group of men.
Jack yelling at her back, "Michaela, what has gotten into you?" Almost bumping into her when she stopped.
"Jack, there are some etchings in the small chamber. I can't place them, so far nothing pointed to Isis. I need more time to check it out further."
"It's going to be hard with our dear friend the captain watching and listening to every move. I also believe Troy thinks we have lost our minds; I have to find a way to clue him in. Go back. You're doing a good job playing the part of an angry cousin."
Michaela giggled, Yes Jack, I am acting, but you can't know the truth. Turning she walked back to the main chamber.
Hitch and Tully were busy around the fire. Tully had managed to find some cans of stew and coffee. Michaela walked over and sat down by the captain and looked over at Troy.
Something in Troy's look at the girl, caught the Captain's eye. Could these two have known each other before tonight?
Troy stood up, "Hitch, watch the prisoner. Moffitt come with me."
"Right, Sarge," handing the spoon to Tully he got into a position to watch Dietrich better.
Moffitt followed Troy out.
Dietrich casually dropped his hand down along her arm to get her attention. "You two don't get along I take it?"
"You take it right, Captain. Jack has always been like this, ever since I first went to live with them. I was glad for the time he was off to school." Michaela had to keep her head down so as not to look at the Captain. She did look up and smiled at Tully. "Tully is it? Can I help you?"
"Nope, almost done. You want to go get the sarges?" Tully kept stirring the stew so it would not burn. She stood and walked to the entrance of the cave.
Getting close she could hear the hushed angry voice of Troy; "She's doing what? I don't believe this..."
"Tully sent me to get you two, supper's ready..." Michaela was stopped short when Troy grabbed her arms.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't mess with Dietrich."
"Sam, you're hurting me. I know what I am doing. Let me go." Michaela twisted herself free.
Moffitt looked at the two people in front of him. Why did she call him Sam when she had called him Troy before? Something was going on between these two.
Moffitt touched Troy's arm. "We best play along, looks like Dietrich is buying her little act."
Michaela turned and went back to the main chamber, stomping her foot, then sitting back down next to Dietrich.
"You're not afraid to sit by me?" Dietrich asked her.
Looking up at him smiling, "No, right now you're the nicest person in this cave." Glancing up at Troy and Moffitt entering the chamber. "You know Captain?, since I arrived in Africa, you're the first man who has not threated me." She lowered her voice more. "I hope this does not sound brazen of me, I would like to get to know you better."
Dietrich looked into her eyes, "So would I."
The rest of the night in the cave was quiet. Troy kept a close eye on his prisoner and Moffitt kept a close eye on Michaela.
Michaela made trips to the small chamber to look for more clues. This was not the cave. Tired she went and sat down next to Jack, putting her head down on her crossed arms on top of her knees, "Looks like I forgot the 5 P's; proper planning prevents poor performance. Uncle John would be furious with me. I should have waited for the older chart."
"Well you'll learn from your mistakes, Lord knows I've made mine. You ready for act two?" Moffitt jabbed her arm for attention and raised his voice. "Did you hear what I said?"
"Oh, Jack, I think everyone in the cave heard you. Can't you let me get some sleep?"
"I need some answers. Now where are you going, what are doing here, and why are you alone?"
"Al Aqubar, seeking shelter from a storm, because your father trusts me." Michaela stood up to move away from Jack. Jack was right behind her.
"Michaela, look you have got to have some sense here. This isn't five years ago. Africa is not the same, there is a war going on. Did you forget who you are?" Jack had a hold of her arm, knowing this would really get a rise out of her.
"Yes", tired and frustrated, Michaela began to lash out without thinking. "Jack, I know exactly who I am. I am Michaela J. Mercer, daughter of Frederic and Olivia Mercer, Granddaughter of Fredia Mercer. I was born here in Africa; my father was German, my mother English. Don't make me choose sides!" and she stomped away from the group. At the curve she stopped and knelt down.
Jack caught up to her, knelt down and placed an arm around her.
"I forgot who you were, I am so sorry. This really has to be hard on you.'' Jack pulled her in closer. "You don't have to go through this, just say the word."
"No, I have to finish this, not just for my research, but to stop the evil. Jack, Dietrich, he's...I don't think he's on the evil side. Jack, wait, hear me out." as she put her hand to his mouth. "I feel it; he hates this as much as we do."
Jack could feel it too, "I always had the same feeling, when I have had dealings with him. Please be careful, his friends don't feel the same way." Jack stood up and helped her up. "Now put a few more tears in your eyes and go sit next to your new best friend." Michaela punched him in the arm and walked back to the main chamber.
Troy noticed that she had been crying, this has gone too far, time to pull her out.
Michaela sat down next to Dietrich, "I want to apologize, I should not let Jack get to me like he does."
Dietrich looked her way, "No apology required. Sergeant Troy, if you do not mind I would like to stretch my legs?"
Troy jerked his head up in surprise. "Yeah, sure, let's go." Troy stood and followed Dietrich to the entrance. Taking a cigarette out of his pack and handing it to the captain and took one for himself.
Dietrich looked out the at the storm, "Looks like the storm is slowing down outside and heating up inside. Thank you for the cigarette."
"No problem. Captain, when the storm ends, I'll have Tully look at your car, then you can go on your way. I have a feeling I'm going to have all I can handle with Moffitt's cousin."
Dietrich laughed, "Ah, she is a handful isn't she? I know now where she gets her stubbornness. Must be the English side."
Troy laughed too. "Yeah, but I think Moffitt is more stubborn. Done? Let's get back to the fire."
Dietrich nodded his head and returned to the chamber. Michaela was sleeping, Jack was rubbing his forehead and the two privates were watching him.
Morning came and true to his word, Troy had Tully look at Dietrich's staff car.
Michaela was gathering her belongings when Jack walked over to her.
"You still going to Al Aqubar?" Jack asked her. "Do me a favor; keep close to town for a while."
"Yes Jack. I'll be at Le Morrell, I have a room there." Michaela attempted to look and sound irritated at the same time.
Hauptmann Dietrich leaned against the wall watching it all. I need to get back to Al Aqubar before she does.
"Captain, your car is ready. Just a little sand in the carburetor." said Tully wiping his hands on a rag as he came into the cave.
"Thank you, Private. Well Sergeant Troy, I'd like to be on my way now, if you don't mind." Dietrich was standing tall, hands grasped behind his back.
"Yes, here's your Luger." Troy handed the captain his gun, then followed him out of the cave.
Back inside, "Michaela, you really going back to Al Aqubar?" Moffitt placed a hand on her arm.
She nodded her head, "Yes, I better, just in case he checks. I need to get some of the old charts. This is wrong cave. I don't want to make that mistake again."
"Okay, you got your father's pistol handy? Good." As she showed it to him.
Troy came back in. "Okay he's gone, let's get back to the hideout." Troy could tell something just did not seen right. "What's going on? Why are you two so quiet?"
"Michaela..." Moffitt began as she butted in,
"I am going back to Al Aqubar. I can find the old charts of the area and if your friend the captain calls to check on me, the new commander will be able to tell him I am there." Michaela looked into Troy's eyes, he did not look happy at all by her statement.
"Yeah, just be careful. You know where to find us if it gets too hot. If we don't see or hear from you in 24 hours, we're coming in for you." Troy could not help but reach out and hold onto her arms. "I don't want to have to report to the major, that we lost the 'target' again."
As Moffitt watched the two, things were coming together. It will be only a matter of time before one them told him what was going on. Moffitt reached out and took her arm, "Come on; let me walk you out to your truck."
Troy dropped his hands to his waist and watched the two cousins leave the cave. Well ole buddy, I think it's almost time to tell you the truth, but not until this mission is over. I can't chance everything blowing up it our faces.