Chapter 2

After the introductions, Hogan grabbed two coffee cups from the window sill, and poured half a cup of hot coffee in each. He handed one to Carpenter who accepted it gratefully and took a long drink, grimacing at the taste, while a contented smile appeared on Hogan's face.

"You'll be bunking with me," Hogan explained as he sat down at the table along with the others. He sat at the head of the table, with Carpenter seated beside Kinch and LeBeau on one side of the table, with Carter and Newkirk seated across from and facing them.

"So, Terry, you are mon Colonel's filleul?" asked LeBeau with a grin. Terry looked confused.

Newkirk rolled his eyes in exasperation staring at the Frenchman. "English, Louie. Speak bloody English, will ya?"

But before LeBeau apologized, Terry held up his hand and smiled. "If you're asking if I am the Colonel's godson, I am. I've known him all my life. In fact, it was thanks to him I was born."

LeBeau stared at the Englander as Newkirk rolled his eyes again before looking at Terry.

"What d'ya mean, mate?" he asked.

"You have to excuse them," Hogan explained taking a sip of coffee. "They missed their naptime, and when they're overtired they act like little children." He grinned as Terry chuckled.

"I took French in school and don't remember but a few words," he said. "I couldn't carry a conversation if my life depended on it." He chuckled looking at the men. "What I mean is, my father had been called away on duty while my mother was pregnant with me. The Colonel was home on leave when she went into labor, and she phoned him since she was alone. He got there as fast as possible and got her to the hospital in time. I made my appearance shortly afterward." Smirking, Terry jerked his head towards Hogan. "In fact, his ugly mug was the first one I saw after being born."

The men laughed as Hogan directed a dirty look at his godson.

"But honestly," Terry went on. "When my father arrived at the hospital, he and my mother decided to name the Colonel as my godfather."

"Boy," Carter said with a wide, child-like grin. "I bet you must have some real great stories about the Colonel."

Carpenter laughed heartily. "I have a few committed to memory."

Carter's boyish excitement was showing. "Do you have any we can hear?" he asked. "I mean, the Colonel never tells us anything about himself."

"Carter!" Newkirk stated pulling the young Sergeant's cap down over his eyes. "You can't ask bloody questions like that about the Gov'nor."

"Why not?" asked Carter pushing his cap back on his head.

"It's okay, guys," Carpenter says. "I can tell you some of the repeatable ones anyway." He pursed his lips as he thought for a few minutes and took another drink of coffee. A smile crossed his face.

Hogan sighed. "Don't you fellas have something to do?" he asked, cheeks tinged crimson believing he knew what story his godson was about to tell.

"No siree, boy," said Carter. "I mean uh, Colonel."

Carpenter patted Hogan on the shoulder. "C'mon, Colonel. You mean you never told your men how in high school, you took three women to the senior prom the same night?"

"What?!" Newkirk's eyes widened like saucers. "Three birds at once?" He chuckled and shook his head. "Wish I coulda seen that one."

"No you don't," Carpenter chuckled as he tried drinking his coffee without choking. From the corner of his eye Hogan gave him a dirty look and he knew he'd hear it later, but he didn't care right now.

"So don't keep the ruddy story to yourself," Newkirk said eagerly. "We need details, mate." Reaching inside his jacket, he removed a pack of cigarettes and held it out to Terry who waved a hand in the negative. Newkirk removed one himself, stuck it between his lips and lit it after placing the pack in front of him on the table. He took a long drag on his cigarette.

"Let's see," Carpenter began slowly. "Jenny Crenshaw, being the Colonel's current steady girlfriend during his senior year, expected him to ask her to the senior prom, and he did. But at the same time he dated Brenda Cavanaugh who told him she expected him to be her date for the prom, and not wanting to disappoint her, the Colonel said yes."

Kinch raised his eyebrows. "Two girls at the same time? That's asking for trouble."

"But it gets better," Carpenter replied with a grin. "The Colonel didn't know that a former girlfriend, Janie Bellows I think her name was, who had moved out of town, returned to attend the prom, and expected the Colonel to take her. Janie's father and the Colonel's father were extremely close friends, had been for several years. So, her father explained that his daughter was expecting the Colonel to take her to the prom as his date." He could see the guys were trying to stifle their laughter but were failing miserably. "You should have seen the Colonel's face when he found out he was to be Janie's date as well."

"So what happened then?" Kinch asked chuckling.

"Far as I could find out from the Colonel's father, the Colonel told him he believed he had a bit of a problem and already had a date with two other women for prom night."

"What did you end up doing, Colonel?" asked LeBeau, face red from laughter. "Which one did you end up taking?"

Hogan let his eyes wander around the room before finally falling on his godson. "Go ahead, Terry," he said. "Why stop with a cliffhanger?"

Carpenter smirked as he remembered. He paused long enough to take a drink of his coffee. "He ended up taking all three of them actually and became the envy of all the seniors there." Hogan glared at him, and he patted the older man on the shoulder. "Awww, don't feel bad," he joked. "I mean, you became the center of attention the minute you walked into the gym with your dates." He tried to stifle the laugh fighting to erupt.

"Sure I was," Hogan chuckled at the memory. "I was the only guy there with three dates fighting among themselves over who was really my date that night. I spent the entire evening listening to screaming women. I ended up leaving by myself and going home."

"My dad told me Janie's father was not happy with you at all seeing as his daughter had to take a cab home," Carpenter smirked.

"Neither was my dad," Hogan added. "It took him nearly two hours to calm down Mr. Bellows. Needless to say neither Janie, Brenda or Jenny ever spoke to me again after that night."

Kinch chuckled. "Can you blame them?"

"Wait, you haven't heard the best part," Carpenter said. "The next day, he felt so badly about what happened and was totally depressed. But another senior, Susie Davenport who had a crush on him since her sophomore year, made it her job to cheer him up, and she did." The men held their sides as they roared with laughter despite seeing Hogan's scowl.

"Well, since we're having a tell-all," began Hogan with a smirk on his face. "I remember something that happened when you were ten or eleven years old, I believe?" He arched an eyebrow seeing Terry's look of horror.

"Colonel, you wouldn't…." he practically begged Hogan to keep quiet.

"What happened, Colonel?" asked LeBeau, his face red from laughter. "Don't keep us in suspense."

Hogan tapped his fingers against his coffee cup playfully. "Well, Terry's father invited me over for a barbeque; me, him, his wife, Terry, and a childhood friend of Terry's. What you have to remember is that Terry's father, Michael, and I were both in the Air Force, but because of our schedules, we didn't see each other that much. Anyhow, while Terry's father and I were outside, Terry and his friend Darryl decided to go in the house and down to the basement and explore. Before long, they found these kerosene lamps and lit one of them on a stack of wooden crates so they could look around and play."

Terry blushing and chuckling, simply chewed his lower lip feigning a look of humiliation as Hogan continued.

"They stayed down there until we called for them to come outside and eat. These two…." the Colonel said gesturing with his head towards his godson, come running upstairs from the basement. When Terry's father asked where the boys had been all this time, this clown says they played in the basement but remembered to close the door. We didn't think any more about it until about thirty minutes later we notice smoke coming through the basement window which had been cracked open."

"Colonel," Kinch looked at Hogan. "You're not gonna tell us…"

Hogan nodded. "They forgot to put out the kerosene lamp and apparently when they slammed the basement door closed, the lamp fell over, broke, and the wooden crates caught fire. Fortunately, we put it out before too much damage happened." Hogan then looked at Carpenter. "You couldn't sit down for about a week after that."

"Dad was furious," said Terry, "And that's putting it mildly. And then I got the death glare from you afterwards. But you sat me down and talked to me." Terry's face softened and a small smile appeared as he looked deeply into Hogan's brown eyes. "Then afterwards, you hugged me and told me how glad you were that Darryl and I hadn't been hurt. I'd never seen you looked scared and angry at the same time."

Hogan got up and refilled his coffee cup. "I think my heart stopped," he said as he sat the coffee pot back on the stove. "Scared when I thought about what could have happened if that lamp had fallen over and the fire started while you two were still in the basement, and angry at your carelessness." He sat back down.

"Boy," Carter exclaimed. "That sounds like a painful lesson to learn."

"It was," Terry assured him. "My father had hard hands and to this day I can still feel how hard." Then, he suddenly put a hand on Hogan's arm. "Hey, remember Colonel Stapler?"

Hogan nearly choked on his coffee. "That bastard? What made you bring up his name?"

"Dad told me what you and he did to get back at the old buzzard."

"That sounds a bit naughty it does," teased Newkirk puffing on his cigarette.

"What happened mon Colonel?" asked LeBeau. He and the others enjoyed learning a few things about their commander's past.

Hogan sighed. "Terry's father and I were both Lieutenants at the time, and Colonel Stapler was our commanding officer. He was the kind of officer who, as Newkirk would so gently phrase it, a bloody bastard."

"That's one way I put it," Newkirk agreed with a smirk.

"Anyway, we had decided one day we had had enough of his attitude and treatments, so Michael and I decided to get even." Hogan looked at Terry. "Care to continue?"

"With pleasure, Colonel," Terry replied with a grin. "One day dad and the Colonel found out Colonel Stapler had an engagement in town. Now, they were in a building across from a small park where there were these two huge trees with a picnic table and benches. A few hours before he had to leave for his engagement, dad and the Colonel put Stapler's car in neutral, and pushed it across the parking lot into the park, and moved the picnic table and benches into his parking space." The guys laughed so hard tears began falling. Even Hogan chuckled at the memory as did Terry. The Lieutenant wiped at his eyes. "It gets better."

"There's more?" Kinch barely contained himself.

"As the Colonel and dad pushed the car across the parking lot with two other guys, three MPs caught them and they thought they were in deep trouble. The Colonel then explained what they were doing and why. Next thing they knew, the MPs are helping them move the car into the park. Seems Colonel Stapler had gotten on their nerves as well and they were only too glad to help."

"What happened, Colonel, when Colonel Stapler left the building?" asked LeBeau in a shaky voice.

Hogan took a drink of coffee. "Well, he was livid when he found a picnic table and two benches in his parking space and searched everywhere for his car. He finally found it stuck between those two large trees in the park. He then yelled for the MPs to find out who was responsible for doing it, and the MPs he asked happened to be the same ones who helped Michael and I move the car to begin with." Hogan found himself wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as laughter overtook him.

Terry fought to control himself. "And the funniest thing was every time Colonel Stapler wanted a progress report on those responsible for what happened to his car, he always got the same response; they were still looking and had no suspects."

"So did the Colonel ever find out your father and Colonel Hogan moved his car?" asked a red-faced Carter.

"Nope," Hogan replied having regained his composure finally. "Oh he threw out plenty of accusations, but to the day he retired, he never found out."

Newkirk snickered. "The Gov'nor was devious even back then, I'd say, chaps."

"Boy, was he ever," Carter agreed. "Must've been practice for what we do now." He suddenly yelped when a foot connected with his leg under the table.

"Carter, did your mum ever tell you children should be seen only?" said Newkirk.

"Sorry," Carter replied sheepishly, rubbing his leg. He spotted the subtle looks Hogan and Kinch gave him.

"You and your big mouth," LeBeau murmured in a low voice.

"For what we do now?" Terry asked looking at the men first and then Hogan. "What'd he mean, sir?"

"Nothing," Newkirk quickly responded. "He only means the Colonel here is devious with the things he comes up with to make life easier for us prisoners is all."

But Carpenter wasn't so sure. "Maybe. But my gut tells me there's something going on."

Hogan held up a hand insisting on silence. "We'll talk later," he said quietly. He then smiled and gripped the younger man's shoulder. "You must be tired. LeBeau, show the Lieutenant to my small corner of the world so he can rest a bit. We'll wake you when lunch is ready. By the way, I like the upper bunk."

Terry chuckled. "You always did like to be on top," he joked. Hogan gave him a dirty look. "Get some rest."

"Yes, sir," Terry replied as he got to his feet and followed LeBeau. He knew Hogan long enough that the Colonel would talk when and if ready. After the two men left the room, Hogan turned to Newkirk and Carter.

"Newkirk, check out the other three who came with Terry. Carter, when they go to the delousing station, check their clothes and boots. Make sure they're all American made."

"Yes, sir," both men replied.

"Colonel, what about your godson?" asked Kinch knowing he'd have to be careful. "Do you want us to check him out too, or do you want to handle it yourself?"

Hogan had both hands wrapped around his coffee cup with fingers tapping on the cup. After a few moments of silence, he raised his cup and took another drink. "No need. I've known Terry since birth and I trust him." He paused. "I trust I don't have to remind you fellas that nobody is to know Terry is my godson. It's too risky. To others, he's just another prisoner. Understood?" The men all acknowledged they did.

Hogan then looked at his radioman. "Kinch, contact London, and have them check out these names." He handed Kinch a slip of paper with the names of the other prisoners. "I want to know where they came from. Olsen, watch the door." The young Sergeant jumped down from his bunk, cracked open the barracks door, and stood watch.

"Right away, Colonel," Kinch replied as he started to his feet. He paused when Hogan spoke again.

"Also, after you do that, ask for General Butler. Tell him Lt. Terry Carpenter is safe and we'll get him and the others back to London as soon as possible, and to pass on the message about Terry to General Carpenter."

"Will do," Kinch replied and headed for the double bunk bed in the corner of the room. He struck the hidden mechanism and waited as the lower bunk covering their tunnel entrance rose and the ladder dropped.

Hearing a door open and close, Hogan, Carter and Newkirk looked around and spotted LeBeau coming towards them; he had a grin on his face.

"Your godson fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, Colonel," the Frenchman informed his commanding officer.

"Thanks, LeBeau," Hogan replied finishing his coffee. "Now, what's for lunch? I'm starved."