The Long Chase Raid

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

The German car was trapped against a rock where it had slid off the narrow mountain trail and rolled to a stop. The two jeeps parked on the trail and the drivers kept the engines running while their sergeants investigated the wreck.

Moffitt slid on the loose rocks as he made his way to the car. His feet went out from under him and he had to scramble to catch his balance. The noise the loose rocks made as they started a mini rockslide sounded loud in the early morning air.

Troy made a move to go to Moffitt's aid but the other sergeant waved him off. Looking toward the German vehicle Troy tried to tell if there were any survivors. Still too far away to see over the car the sergeant eased his body to one side, leaving the trail left by the rolling car to find better footing.

Moffitt slid again, causing Troy to look over in alarm. The British sergeant gave him an apologetic smile and threw in a shrug for good measure. Troy shook his head and returned his attention to his own footing. There weren't any real roads for vehicles through the mountains so both armies were forced to rely on the narrow trails meant for camels and goats. Neither sergeant was surprised that the bulky vehicle had run into trouble. The American jeeps were more narrow and lighter than the German vehicle but Troy was convinced that it was only the skill of their drivers that had kept them from sharing the fate of the car piled against the rocks. Even with full confidence in his drivers he had still caught himself holding his breath on more than one occasion on the winding trails. With steep sides and drops of hundreds of feet it was not a trip for the faint of heart. If the Germans hadn't been pushing them Troy would not have chosen the trails as a means of returning to their home base. Only Moffitt's assurance that the jeeps could navigate the trail had convinced him to leave the desert floor for the high mountain pass. Even then, if their radio code had not been broken he might still have taken a chance and run the gauntlet of German troops on the open desert. But the code had been broken, of that he was sure, and the information they were delivering was too valuable to let fall into the hands of the enemy.

It was while they were crawling along the narrow trail that they had spotted the wreck on the mountain above them. With all of the twists and turns the winding trail had thrown at them it had taken another forty minutes to reach the crash site.

They heard a sound near the car and both sergeants froze. When the sound wasn't repeated Troy motioned for Moffitt to go left while he went right. The two men crept cautiously around the ends of the car.

Moffitt stopped when he spotted the figure pinned beneath the wreck. He motioned for Troy and waited for the other sergeant to get into position to cover him. Troy began to work his way around the car.

"Hold it right there Sergeant."

The voice came from a cluster of rocks behind him and Troy paused in surprise.

"Drop your weapon Sergeant." There was steel in the command but it was spoken with an underlying weakness.

"I don't think so." Troy answered. "Unless I miss my guess, you're outnumbered." The sergeant turned slowly to face the owner of the voice. "You're a long way from home Captain."

"I may be outnumbered," the German replied, "but I do believe I have the advantage for now."

Troy smiled. "You're hurt Captain, and you've got a man trapped under that car. You need our help."

"Tell Sergeant Moffitt to stand still Sergeant Troy. I don't want to kill you but I will if you force me."

"Nobody is forcing you to do anything." Troy answered seriously. "You kill me and you will be the next to die. Then your man over there will die because my men won't bother to help him. Nobody wins and you get your man killed for nothing." Troy looked toward the jeeps and shook his head.

"Call your drivers down here Sergeant." Dietrich ordered.

"Not going to happen Captain. You drop your weapon we'll see what we can do to save your driver." Troy watched as Dietrich's eyes darted toward the overturned car. "He's still alive Captain, maybe Moffitt can save him."

"Sergeant Moffitt and your privates can save him or I will shoot you Sergeant." Dietrich offered in response.

"No you won't." Troy smiled. "Then you lose the only bargaining chip you have in this game."

"Game?" Dietrich asked bitterly. "Is that what this is to you? Men are dying Sergeant!"

"On both sides." Troy acknowledged. "I didn't start this Captain, your side did."

"Not me."

"No, but your leaders did."

Dietrich's gun wavered but he jerked it back to point at Troy.

"You're hurt Captain and we may be the only ones around to help you. We may be your driver's only chance to survive."

"You're enjoying this aren't you Sergeant?"

"No Captain, I'm not. I don't like to see men die. There has been way too much killing already. If I had my choice I'd call the whole thing off and go home right now. But neither one of us has the power to do that; all we can do is keep going and pray that someone comes to their senses and ends it. But maybe your driver doesn't have to die Captain, maybe we can help. The choice is yours; do we stand here and argue about who is to blame or do you drop your gun and let us try to help?"

Dietrich shifted to try to see the rest of Troy's team but the only one he could see was Moffitt. Knowing how quietly the others moved he knew that they were capable of sneaking up behind him in his present condition. He looked at Troy and then beyond him to the crumpled car. Luther, his driver, was still pinned beneath the car's frame. He'd tried to free him but even without his injuries he doubted that he would have been able to manage it alone. His loyal driver had been pinned for several hours already and Dietrich doubted that he would be able to last much longer. The groan that had caught the sergeants' attention had been the only sign of life for over an hour. Lowering his rifle Dietrich let it drop to the ground with a tired nod. "Help Luther."

Troy stepped over and picked up the Captain's rifle. "Hitch, stand guard! Tully, bring a rope!"

Dietrich slumped against the rock at his back and sighed in relief. He had done his best to help his driver and failed. Troy was right; he and his men were the young man's only chance at life. He would gladly risk spending the rest of the war in a POW camp if it would save the young soldier who adored him to the point of recklessness. Luther had fought for control of the car even as he begged his captain to jump and save himself. Dietrich had jumped, expecting his driver to follow him. Either Luther had not had time or he had chosen to stay with the car to try to save it. Dietrich didn't know which but he knew he had jumped clear while his driver had been pinned beneath the weight of the vehicle. Troy was offering to free Luther and give him medical attention, it was the right call. The captain slumped against the rock and watched Troy and his men go to work.

"Tie the rope here." Troy ordered. "Then tie the other end to your jeep. When I give the signal I want you to back up real slow. Watch me for the signal to stop."

Tully looked the wreck over and nodded. He chewed on his matchstick as he mentally pictured how the rescue would go. "You'll have to watch so it doesn't start to slide Sarge. If it slides instead of tipping up you're going to squeeze him between the car and the ground."

"I'll watch it." Troy answered. "And Moffitt is going to be with him. If he feels any added pressure he can alert Moffitt right away."

Tully checked the wreck one more time and attached the rope. Scrambling up the slope he reached his jeep.

"Everything okay Tully?" Hitch asked from where he stood guard.

"I hope so." Tully answered. "As long as the car doesn't slide we should be okay."

"Sometimes I look over the side of the trail and I can imagine myself in that situation." Hitch admitted. "It's not a pretty picture."

"No, it's not." Tully agreed. "But we're going to get him out. The trouble is, there's still no guarantee that Doc can help him."

"We never have any guarantees." Hitch answered. "But Doc is the best; he'll do all he can for him."

"Yeah." Tully agreed. "How's it look? Are we going to get any company?"

Hitch looked back down the mountain and shook his head. "Not unless they can fly. It took us a long time to get up here and I don't see anybody else anywhere on the trail."

"Well watch for planes too." Tully suggested. "I have to move my jeep on Sarge's command and then I have to go back down and help get both prisoners up here."

Hitch nodded and went back to watching both the trail and the sky for danger.

"Ready Sarge!" Tully called to his sergeant.

"Okay, start out real easy." Troy called back.

At Troy's yell Tully began to back his jeep along the trail. He could see where the German car had driven too close to the edge and knocked the stones loose. Knowing that the foundation was weak there Tully kept his jeep as far from the edge as he dared. The jeep's wheels edged back as Tully divided his attention between the trail and Troy. The rope had drawn taut and he could feel the weight of the car pulling against the power of his jeep. Below he saw Moffitt take a step toward the German car. Stay back Doc he whispered under his breath. If that car slips you are in a bad spot. Little by little his jeep lifted the car.

"Stop!"

Tully eased his foot off the gas and stood on his brakes. He had to keep the car from falling or sliding back down onto the German driver. He breathed a sigh of relief when Troy and Moffitt pulled the driver free and moved him to one side.

"Okay Tully, give me some slack." Troy prepared to untie the rope from the German car. Tully eased his jeep forward carefully. Troy yanked on the knot and it came free with a loud pop. Luckily the sergeant had taken the precaution of standing above the wreck when he released the knot.

With the jeep no longer holding it the car fell back onto its side. Some of the rocks and dirt under it began to move and the wreck slid further down the hill. As it gathered speed it began to bounce off of the larger rocks. Dust billowed into the air as metal screeched and groaned. The car came to another stop with a loud bang as it hit another boulder.

"Sergeant!" Dietrich struggled to sit up to look for his driver.

Troy turned at the call and hurried over to the injured officer. "It's all right Dietrich. We got him clear. Moffitt is looking at him now."

The captain leaned back, exhausted from the strain of trying to sit up. Fresh blood seeped from the wound in his leg and his bruised ribs screamed with pain.

"You're going to need care too." The sergeant noted. "Just stay still for a little bit longer and we'll get to you."

"I'm all right Sergeant." Dietrich waved off Troy's concern. "I'm sure that Luther needs all of your attention."

"He's getting all of the attention he needs." The sergeant responded. "Moffitt will do all that he can."

"Will he make it?"

Troy looked into Dietrich's worried face and shrugged. "We'll find out."

"That's not much of an answer Sergeant." Dietrich complained.

"Would you rather have me lie to you? I can't answer that question Dietrich. We'll just have to wait and hope. All I can guarantee is that Moffitt will do his best. He's kept us all alive so far."

Tully dropped to his knees next to Troy and waited for more orders.

"Stay with Dietrich. I'm going to go help Moffitt."

Tully nodded and moved aside to let Troy pass. He watched as Troy joined Moffitt next to the injured man. When he looked back Dietrich was watching them too. "Doc will do his best."

Dietrich nodded slowly. "I know he will." They sat in silence and watched as the two sergeants fought to control the bleeding and bandage the injuries. "I feel responsible."

"I guess that goes with being an officer." Tully nodded.

"I chose to go this way."

"He drove the car." Tully countered.

"I gave him no choice in the matter."

"He got careless." Tully argued. "He got too close to the edge and the foundation crumbled. It was as much his fault as yours."

"Would Sergeant Troy blame himself if it was you?"

Tully looked over at Dietrich and grinned. "Probably." He admitted. "But that still wouldn't make it his fault, or at least not his alone."

Dietrich nodded.

"The funny thing about guilt," Tully added, "there's always more than enough to go around, even if it isn't earned."

"And if it is?"

Tully shrugged. "Then I guess you have to make your peace with it and move on. It will eat you up if you don't, and what good does that do anyone?"