Carter still could not believe it had happened. One too many concussions had finally done it. What really irritated him was that this time it wasn't even his fault! He had been standing outsides the barracks, smoking a cigarette, when one of the guys from Barracks 10 had accidently beaned him in the head with a fastball. Even though Sgt. Wilson had assured him it was most likely temporary and he should be fine within a couple of weeks, it was still hard to get used to. Especially first thing in the morning. He shook his head and turned over in his bunk. He knew Schultz would be coming around to wake them for roll call soon. He sighed and waited.
Soon he heard LeBeau climb from his bunk, and begin to stir the fire in the stove. As always, his actions signaled the other early risers in the barracks, and he heard the room coming alive. Normally, this would not include his bunkmate, Newkirk, but, well, things had changed. Sure enough, there was a hitch in the steady rhythm of his best friend's snoring, which rapidly turned into snuffling and snorting, and then he groaned dramatically as he came fully awake. It had been the same routine each morning for the past couple of days, but it still made Carter chuckle as he listened.
He lay still, and soon enough, he felt the bunk shake as Peter hopped off his bunk. Andrew felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. "'ere mate, 'ow ya doin' this mornin'?"
Carter rolled to face his best friend, knowing what he was really asking. "I'm okay, Peter, but nothing's changed. You know it's too soon."
Newkirk sighed dejectedly as he glanced at Carter's sightless eyes. "I know, mate. Come on, up ya go, then." And he reached for Carter's boots to help him dress for the day.
~HH~
Later that day
Kinch had been downstairs for most of the afternoon, monitoring the radio. Things were slow, and he was savoring the peace and quiet of his private sanctum. One of the airman they had smuggled out of Germany a couple of weeks before had left him a rare treasure. It was Agatha Christie's, 'The Body in the Library', and he wanted to finish it. She was one of his favorite authors, and it was not often he could get his hands on one of her books; let alone her newest mystery. Kinch was content.
His radio crackled to life, and Kinch immediately left Miss Marple to her investigations and took down the message from London. As always, he remained completely calm and detached as he transcribed the coded message, but as he wrote it out, his eyes widened. He knew that, urgent as the mission was, Papa Bear was in a lot of trouble.
He hurried up to Hogan's quarters and knocked gently. There was a soft response after a moment. Kinch smiled as he stepped into the room. His commander was seated at his desk, pastel in hand. He could see the unfinished drawing in front of him. The men all knew of Hogan's hobby, and he felt no embarrassment over it. Indeed, his drawings covered the walls of his quarters. *
It looked to Kinch like Carter on horseback, the badlands in the background. Hogan raised an eyebrow, and Kinch realized he had been staring at the drawing. That drawing told Kinch everything he had suspected about his commander's state of mind. He blushed slightly and handed the colonel the message as he set the drawing aside, all business once more.
Hogan whistled softly as he read. "With Carter out, how are we supposed to do this? Fitz is out leading that group of airmen to the sub. He won't be back in time." Sgt. Walt Fitzimmons was their backup demolitions man.
Kinch looked askance at his commander. "I understand, sir, but London doesn't know about Carter, remember?"
Hogan looked at Kinch, a pained expression crossing his handsome features. "I never expected one slight omission of the facts to come around and bite me in the butt like this."
Now it was Kinch's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Slight?"
Hogan rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could never let any of his men see how badly the last four days had affected him. If he fell apart now, there was no way he was going to be able to help Carter.
"Wilson assured me it's temporary. And if it's not, a few weeks isn't gonna make any difference. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, we gotta figure out what to do about this mission. Nobody in this camp can build a bomb. And we need one. Right now."
Hogan sighed. He was silent a moment and Kinch could see the wheels turning. After a few minutes, Hogan snapped his fingers and grinned.
"Kinch, go get Carter. I need to talk to him. He's gonna build that bomb after all." Kinch stared at his boss for a moment, but asked no questions. He simply left the room quietly.
~HH~
Carter was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee, listening to Louis and Peter arguing over a round of gin. The headaches he had been experiencing were still hitting him unexpectedly and with blinding force. More disturbing was the dizziness that accompanied them. He had not said anything to anyone about it, because he didn't want to end up back in the infirmary. He had plenty of past experience with concussions, and he knew the symptoms would ease up in time. Besides, he hadn't lost consciousness with it, so he wasn't that worried. He was just grateful he was in little pain for the moment, but boredom was making him stir crazy. Idly, he shuffled Peter's spare deck, listening to the various sounds of the activity around him.
Foster and Olsen were arguing about some girl they both liked, and Taffy was reading part of a letter from home out loud to some unknown audience in the corner of the barracks. He had the feeling it might be their resident Swiss POW, Dieter, who never got mail from anyone, as his family had pretty much disowned him when he quit college in London to join the RAF.
Dieter, aka "Gopher" had originally been assigned to a different barracks, but had transferred over to Barracks Two when, after a rainstorm, he had been one of six men assigned to their barracks temporarily while roof repairs were being made. After the repairs were finished and the other men had been sent back to their regular barracks, Dieter, as head tunnel engineer, had stayed in Barracks Two to be closer to the main operation. Switching two prisoners was not difficult and Hogan had accomplished that task with ease.
Carter's musing was interrupted when he felt a light touch on his shoulder. Kinch was always careful not to startle him, although none of the men could really sneak up on him anyway. "Col. Hogan wants to see you in his quarters." Carter was a bit mystified, but allowed the staff sergeant to lead him to see the colonel. "What's it about, Kinch?"
Kinch shrugged as they walked, Carter's hand on top of Kinch's arm. "Not sure, Carter. Best wait for Col. Hogan."
Carter hated being dependent on the others, but, although he had paced out the room, he still wasn't confident enough to move around quickly on his own. He was grateful that for the most part, his friends all still treated him normally. Kinch tapped on Hogan's door and at the soft reply led Carter to the chair by the desk, then stood waiting. When Hogan motioned him to stay, he shut the door and leaned up against it, curious as to Hogan's latest scheme.
~HH~
The men of Barracks Two were startled a few minutes later when they heard a shout from Carter.
"No, sir! You can't ask me to do that! I'll get someone killed for sure!"
Hogan's voice was also raised, but only for a moment.
"Calm down, Sergeant! That's an order!"
Carter's reply was muffled, and no one could hear the rest of the conversation.
A short time later, the door opened and Kinch, a bemused look on his face stepped out of the office and looked over at the men gathered around the table. "LeBeau, the colonel wants to see you."
Louis was startled. He pointed to himself. "Moi?"
Kinch nodded and waited for him to enter the office before shutting the door.
A few more minutes passed, and another shout sounded from inside the office. If the men thought Carter had been upset, it was nothing to the string of very loud French expletives the men were treated to through the door.
"Stand down, Corporal!" Hogan suddenly shouted in a tone none of them had ever heard him use before. And deadly silence suddenly filled the barracks.
~TBC~
*Refer to the episode "German Bridge is Falling Down." I noticed the walls of Hogan's office are covered with sketches and studies. I just decided to run with the idea of his being an artist as well as a reader and a wicked mad drummer!
** "Gopher" is introduced in my story "Sasquatch and the Three Henchmen."
