Author's note: I started working on this story before I saw the challenge on which my first posted story was based. With only two or three chapters to go on that one, I should be able to return to this story soon. Therefore, I decided to post the first chapter (all I have written so far) for you to read and enjoy.
Baby Bear
Chapter 1: Need-to-Know
Three of the prisoners in Barracks 2 were seated around the table occupying their time. Newkirk was busy sewing a button on a uniform. Carter was rereading a letter from home. Hogan just sat there, relaxing. A fourth member of their group, LeBeau, stood near the stove, waiting for their coffee to finish heating.
They were interrupted when Baker's head appeared above the frame of one of the bunks. "Colonel, you'd better get down here," he stated, emphatically. "London's on the line and they want to speak with you personally. Top priority."
"Okay, I'll be right there," Hogan responded as he stood and walked towards the tunnel entrance. Newkirk, LeBeau and Carter followed close behind.
After descending the ladder, Hogan walked over to their radio transmitter and accepted the headphones that Baker offered. He positioned them on his head, then spoke into the mike. "Okay, this is Papa Bear. Go ahead, Mama Bear." Hogan listened a moment, then said merely, "Yes." Another wait, then, "Of course, I realize that." After another pause, Hogan said, "Yes, I understand. Just a minute." Hogan glanced at his men and ordered, "The rest of you, wait upstairs."
"But Gov'nor, if this--" Newkirk started to protest but was cut off by Hogan.
"I said wait upstairs. And that's an order." The tone of the colonel's voice left little room for argument. Watching his men reluctantly climb the ladder, Hogan added, "Baker, make sure the door is closed."
"Yes, sir," acknowledged Baker. He followed the other three up the ladder, then tapped the side of the upper bunk, closing the hidden entrance. Then, he joined the others who had gathered at the table. Baker sat down beside Newkirk with Carter and LeBeau seated across from them.
"Top priority," scoffed Newkirk, with a nervous laugh. "We all know what that means. Likely get our heads blown off. Only this time, we'll not even know why."
Baker thought about it a moment, then said, "The mission must be 'need-to-know.' "
"And we don't need to know," deduced Carter.
Newkirk crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Obviously," he remarked, petulantly.
Trying to change the subject, LeBeau walked over to the stove and returned with the pot of coffee. "Anyone care for a cup?" he asked.
"I would, thanks," said Carter holding up his cup for LeBeau to fill.
"Me, too," agreed Baker.
LeBeau fill Baker's cup, then glanced at Newkirk. "Newkirk?" he offered.
"Maybe later," was the short reply.
LeBeau filled his own cup, returned the pot to the stove, then came back and sat down. The men drank their coffee and waited silently for Hogan to return.
- - -
Nearly ten minutes had passed before the secret entrance opened and Hogan climbed out.
"Finished our chat with London, have we?" remarked Newkirk, with more than a little insolence.
With a cold stare directed at Newkirk, Hogan walked over to join them, taking the empty seat next to Carter. "The mission is 'need-to-know,' " he stated flatly.
Baker nodded. "We figured as much," he agreed.
Hogan leaned closer to his men, as he quietly explained, "Tonight, two of us are to meet an Underground operative at the Hauserhauf in Hammelburg. He is carrying extremely vital information and we are to see that it gets to London ASAP. So far, this operative has been able to elude suspicion by the Gestapo. We know that could change at any moment." Hogan took a moment to glance at each of his men before continuing, "Now, this is important--and I want to make sure that each of you understand it. If we should be captured--or worse--the rest of you are to give top priority to the operative's rescue. The two of us are expendable. The operative is not. Understood?"
"Understood, but not appreciated," conceded LeBeau.
"It's an order. And not just mine." At Hogan's stern stare, each of the men nodded and mumbled their understanding. "Good. Now that that's settled, I'll brief you as much as possible. This operative is a newcomer. He has been in operation for only a few months, providing information directly to London in the past. This information has proven to be quite valuable in the Allied war strategies. Now, however, he has his hands on some extremely sensitive material and requests help in its safe transport to London."
"And that's where we come in," guessed Baker.
"Right. Now, in case you have to complete this mission, the operative goes by the name of Baby Bear."
Hoping to break the tension, LeBeau laughed quietly and said, "I didn't know there was Baby Bear."
"Well, there's a Mama Bear and a Papa Bear so it seems only logical that there be a Baby Bear," explained a smiling Carter.
"Carter. LeBeau," Hogan gently admonished to regain their attention. After a muffled "sorry" from each of them, Hogan continued, "The mission calls for radio silence, so we won't be able to use the walkies. We can't risk any interception by the Gestapo. That means if there's any problems, the two of us will have to handle them on our own. Baby Bear will meet us at the Hauserhauf at 8:30. Due to the mission's sensitive nature, London has insisted that I be one of the two to go." Hogan let his gaze wander around the table, stopping directly on Newkirk, a satisfied smirk spreading across the colonel's face. "And since he's so interested in the mission, Newkirk can accompany me."
"Not that interested," mumbled Newkirk.
Deliberately ignoring the protest, Hogan checked his watch. "It's nearly seven, now. That doesn't leave us much time. We'll go in as civilian laborers. We'd better get ready. And if we're not back by morning, the rest of you have your orders."
Carter, LeBeau and Baker acknowledged their understanding as Hogan and Newkirk left to dress for the mission.
- - -
Hogan and Newkirk were seated at a table near the bar at the Hauserhauf. They sat opposite each other at the sides of the table, positioned so both could have a clear view of the front entrance. The two of them seemed to be unobtrusive in their civilian disguises, berets on their heads completing the look. Civilians of various social classes were seated at other tables about the room. In one far corner, three German soldiers were engaged in a game of cards. Hogan glanced at the clock on the wall. It's hands were approaching 8:30. "About a minute to go," he said.
Suddenly, Newkirk slid down in his chair, placing the side of his open hand against his face to hide it from view. "If I were you, I'd cover my face and take a cautious look at who just came in the front door," warned Newkirk. "If that's who I think it is, we're in big trouble."
Hogan copied Newkirk's lead, concealing his face as best as he could with his hand. He cautiously peered through his fingers and noticed the woman headed towards the bar. In other words, their way. "Frau Linkmeyer," he muttered, voicing Newkirk's deepest fears. Then, almost immediately, blurted, "Mensroom!" as he rose to his feet and headed for the room near the back, still concealing his face as best he could. Newkirk followed at his leader's heels.
"You think she recognized us?" asked Newkirk, once the door to the small room had closed behind them.
"I hope not," Hogan replied. "The lighting was rather dim and we're probably the last people she'd expect to find here. Not to mention our fast getaway. If those soldiers haven't come for us within the next few minutes, I'd say no. Which is fine by me. It would be bad for us and it would certainly compromise Baby Bear's position."
They waited a few minutes, then Hogan opened the door just enough for him to peer out. "Oh, great," he grumbled.
Newkirk gave him a puzzled look. "What is it, Sir?" he wanted to know.
"She's sitting at our table."
"Baby Bear won't mistake her for his contact, will he?"
Hogan closed the door, then replied. "If he does, he'd have to be both stupid and blind and from what I hear, Baby Bear is neither. London told him they'd have two men meet him at the table nearest the bar. Even Shultz should have no problem telling the difference between two men and one woman."
Hogan opened the door again, a little wider this time but not enough to be spotted by Frau Linkmeyer. He glanced around the room, trying to decide which one of the patrons might be Baby Bear.
"Still there?" Newkirk wanted to know.
"Still there," was the reply, as Hogan again closed the door.
"London gave you no idea what this chap was to look like?"
"None. For Baby Bear's safety, he was the one to initiate contact. He was to speak a coded phrase, and I was to give the coded response."
"In case something should happen, Gov'nor--and I'm not saying it will mind you; I hope not--but just in case, don't you think maybe I ought to know what they are?
Hogan thought about it a moment before deciding. "Not yet. It's still 'need-to-know.' "
Newkirk shook his head and scowled in return. "And I don't need to know," he groused. "For a mission this dangerous, there's sure a lot I don't need to know."
As a distraction, Hogan smiled and said, "Look at it this way, Newkirk. If we're captured by the Gestapo, you can honestly pull a Shultz imitation."
Newkirk couldn't hide the smile as he caught his leader's implication. With a nod of their heads, they gave an almost perfect Shultz imitation, as together in unison they quipped, "I know nothing. NOTHING."
- - -
Time passed as Newkirk checked his watch for what seemed the fiftieth time, and that may have been an underestimate. "10:20," he said aloud. "Let me guess. She's still there."
Hogan opened the door a crack and peered out again. "Still there," he confirmed. From the view he had, Hogan noticed that a majority of the patrons had left. The three soldiers remained, as did a few of the civilians and staff.
"You think she'll ever leave?" asked Newkirk, his frustration obvious in his voice.
"Who knows?" replied an equally frustrated Hogan, who was beginning to wonder the same thing himself.
Finally, Hogan peered out the doorway just in time to see Frau Linkmeyer approach the three soldiers in the corner and show them some papers from her purse. They obviously identified her as General Burkhalter's sister as the men promptly paid their bill and left to escort the woman safely home. A check of his watch showed Hogan that it was 11:45, almost midnight. He and Newkirk emerged from their hiding place to find that only two other patrons remained. They'd definitely had far too much to drink; and with half of their latest draught remaining raised their steins to toast Hitler, the Gestapo and anyone else they could think of. There was no way either of them was Baby Bear. "Let's get out of here," Hogan told Newkirk. "Tonight's been a total waste of time." Newkirk followed without comment, deciding his leader would get no argument from him about that.
- - -
Inside the tunnel beneath their barracks, the others waited for their leader and Newkirk to return. Baker sat in his usual chair in front of the transmitter. Carter stood nearby. LeBeau anxiously paced back and forth, wearing a path in the dirt floor. "What can be taking so long?" he wondered. "They left hours ago."
"You don't think we're going to have to carry out orders, do you?" a worried Carter asked. "The one about the colonel and Newkirk being expendable, I mean."
"I hope not," protested LeBeau, fiercely. "What can be so important about this Baby Bear? Have these London bureaucrats no regard for the little people? They owe a lot to the colonel, you know. Newkirk too. Why are they suddenly so expendable?" Carter and Baker were too engrossed with LeBeau's tirade to notice the objects of their concern enter the room.
"Because London says so," insisted Hogan, his tone reinforcing the order.
LeBeau turned his tirade towards the newcomers. "Where were you?" he demanded, pointing his finger inches from Hogan's face.
"How was the mission?" asked a calmer Baker.
Newkirk answered before Hogan had a chance. "Just dandy," he replied with a scathing tone, removing his beret and tossing it onto the table, a further emphasis of his displeasure. "We spent the entire night in the gentsroom."
The others stared at Hogan and Newkirk, dumbfounded. "You spent the whole night in the mensroom," laughed Carter, breaking the silence.
"Andrew, it wasn't that funny," admonished Newkirk. "Then, again maybe it was," he decided, joining Carter in uncontrollable laughter, releasing emotion from the last few tension-filled hours.
Realizing that Newkirk needed this, Hogan allowed him a minute. Then, in a tired voice, he said, "I'm sure London will fail to see the humor."
Knowing Hogan was right, Carter and Newkirk became sober, and Baker asked, "What happened out there?"
"Everything was going according to plan," Hogan explained. "We were seated at the prearranged table waiting for Baby Bear to make contact. It was 8:29. Baby Bear was due at any time. Then, she showed up."
This caught LeBeau's attention. "She?" he echoed.
"Frau Linkmeyer," replied Newkirk, his voice reflecting his earlier unease.
"General Burkhalter's sister?" LeBeau asked for clarification.
Newkirk nodded. "That's why we hid in the gentsroom." Both he and Carter choked back the laughter that threatened to erupt again.
"It went from bad to worse to even worse after that," Hogan solemnly continued to explain. "She took over our table, stayed till almost midnight, and by then, any chance of making contact with Baby Bear was gone."
"And now, the worst is yet to come," concluded Baker.
"Yeah. I have to contact London."
"Right. You chaps heard the Gov'nor. Let's give him his privacy and wait upstairs," insisted Newkirk, herding the others towards the ladder. They went without protest while Hogan headed towards the transmitter with as much eagerness as he'd face a firing squad.
