Chapter 4: Meeting With Baby Bear
Hogan and Newkirk were once again attempting to make contact with Baby Bear. Almost certain that Frau Linkmeyer would be sitting at the Hofbrau waiting for Klink, the two came dressed in the civilian outfits they had worn that first night. They were also sitting at the appointed table closest to the bar. Just before 8:30, the door opened and Frau Linkmeyer walked in.
"I thought she was supposed to be at the Hofbrau," stated Newkirk.
"She was," Hogan confirmed. "We can't let her see us. No matter how bad London wants this meeting, we can't risk compromising Baby Bear's position."
They rose to leave, but it was too late. Frau Linkmeyer had spotted them.
A surprised look appeared on the woman's face. "Ho--" she started to call, then suddenly stopped herself. Hogan and Newkirk headed for the back door. Frau Linkmeyer rushed after them, every once in awhile calling, "Sirs! Wait a minute, Sirs!"
The three of them exited the back door and headed down the alley. Reaching the end of the alley, Hogan and Newkirk dashed across the street, with Frau Linkmeyer a short distance behind them. They continued on down the street until they finally entered a small park. The men were slowly edging ahead of Frau Linkmeyer.
Afraid that she'd lose them, Frau Linkmeyer quickly looked around. The park seemed to be deserted at that late hour. Therefore, she decided to take a chance. Only loud enough for the two men to hear, Frau Linkmeyer proclaimed, "Someone's been sitting in my chair…"
Hogan stopped in his tracks. Noticing this, Newkirk followed suit and glanced in Hogan's direction. He nodded in answer to Newkirk's unspoken question regarding the code as he completed the line saying, "And has broken it all to pieces." Hogan slowly turned around to face Frau Linkmeyer. "So, you're Baby Bear."
Frau Linkmeyer smiled. "And you are Papa Bear. Somehow, I am not surprised."
Newkirk had also turned around by this time. "You mean, we could have made contact that first night," he concluded.
"I was there at the appointed time," Frau Linkmeyer declared. "Where were you?"
Newkirk chuckled. "You don't want to know."
Hogan glanced around. "We need to continue this discussion somewhere more private," he warned. "We don't want to attract attention. Let's meet Carter at the rendezvous point and drive to a more secluded spot."
Frau Linkmeyer was amazed. "You have a car! You certainly are resourceful. Of course, considering that you do everything you do while a POW in one of our camps, I guess nothing should surprise me."
The three of them hastened together to the outskirts of Hammelburg. There, they went behind some bushes at the side of the road where Carter was waiting with the car they'd borrowed from the motor pool.
Carter watched them approach. He looked puzzled. "I thought she was supposed to be waiting for Klink at the Hofbrau," he said.
"I had business elsewhere," Frau Linkmeyer explained. "I'm afraid that it's Klink who is waiting."
Hogan grinned. "I don't think so," he quipped. "Considering that he's about to drive you to your destination."
Frau Linkmeyer stared at Carter. "You mean he impersonated Klink?"
Hogan's grin widened. "Yeah."
"I should be angry but I'm not."
"Well, you kept getting in the way. We thought we had to get rid of you," Hogan insisted.
Carter glanced at Newkirk who was standing close beside him. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.
"She's Baby Bear," Newkirk replied.
"You mean, we're the reason Baby Bear didn't show up for your meeting last night?"
Frau Linkmeyer overheard them and declared, "I kept saying I had important business in town." Then, in frustration, she waved her arms in the air. "But would anyone listen to me? Nein."
Hogan opened the rear car door. "Okay, we're listening now. Let's get going," he suggested. He motioned for Frau Linkmeyer to enter. Once she was seated, he closed the door. Then, he walked around to the other side and got in. Carter and Newkirk meanwhile took their seats up front. "Drive down the road towards camp till we find a more secluded area," Hogan ordered Carter, who sat behind the wheel. "I'll let you know when to stop. Then, the lady and I need to have a little talk."
"Yes, sir," Carter acknowledged, pulling the car onto the road.
- - -
After Carter had driven down the road a few miles, Hogan ordered him to stop. Hogan and Frau Linkmeyer got out. "Take the car on down the road about four hundred feet," Hogan ordered. "The two of you wait for us there." Once the car had driven on, Hogan gave Frau Linkmeyer his full attention. "London has classified this mission as need-to-know. They say you've gotten ahold of some very sensitive information that you need us to get to London."
"Ja. That is right. I have some of it right here," Frau Linkmeyer explained, indicating her handbag.
Hogan looked irritated. "Some of it. You mean you don't have it all?"
"Everything I promised London is there. But there is much more. Here," declared Frau Linkmeyer, pointing to her forehead.
Understanding her implication, Hogan exclaimed, "You mean, we need to transport you to London. They didn't say anything about that."
Frau Linkmeyer smiled impishly. "They don't know. I thought I would let Papa Bear explain. I want to make a deal."
Hogan didn't look too sure. "What kind of deal?"
"From the way the Allied forces have been advancing, I know the war will be over soon. I also realize that we will lose. My brother has a high position in our military. I fear that he will be considered a war criminal. The information I trade will be in exchange for his life and his safety. I don't ask for his freedom. Only that he not be harmed or killed. That is all I ask."
Hogan gave her a dark look. "ALL? Is that why Baby Bear has chosen to help?"
A haunted look appeared in Frau Linkmeyer's eyes. "Nein. Only the information I have in my head is part of the deal. Detailed information on people in Hitler's regime. The location of key sites of the Third Reich. That sort of thing. The documented information-- troop deployment, planned military operations, information of that sort--I offer freely."
"Why?"
Frau Linkmeyer seemed irate. "Because it must stop."
"What?"
"The war. All of it. When I traveled around the country with my brother, I have seen many things. So much of the Germany I love lies in ruin as a result of the Allied bombing. I'm sure that our bombs have caused much damage to England, France and the other countries we've attacked, as well. And that is just the buildings and land. Even more tragic are the casualties on all sides, both civilian and military. And those madmen in Berlin and elsewhere who must destroy those of whom they don't approve, we must not allow them to continue to cause harm."
"You sound bitter," Hogan observed.
"I am. I do this for Anna."
"Anna?"
Frau Linkmeyer looked even grimmer. "Anna Siegel. My childhood playmate. A neighbor. I hadn't seen her for years. Several months ago, when I was traveling with Albert, our paths crossed again. It was at Dachau."
"The concentration camp?"
"You have heard of them?"
"London keeps me informed," Hogan gravely replied.
"She was one of the women who had recently been transferred from Auschwitz. Shortly after I noticed her, this male guard led her away. She had this resigned look in her eyes." Frau Linkmeyer closed her own eyes as if that could block the image from her mind. A tear slipped out from beneath one of her eyelids. "I learned later that he raped her. It had been going on for some time, both there and at Auschwitz. While most guards preferred the younger women, Anna must have seemed the perfect victim for those who desired the more mature. She had always been beautiful and even her haggard, frail appearance couldn't keep some of that beauty from shining forth." Frau Linkmeyer raised a hand and brushed away her tears, but others came even more quickly. "I'd rather not go into detail, but the next morning when the prisoners in her barracks awoke, they discovered her dead body. She had killed herself during the night while the rest of them slept."
Hogan couldn't help but put his arms around the distressed woman for support. "It must have been terrible for you to see such a thing happen to a friend," he sympathized.
Eyes still closed, her tears still flowing, Frau Linkmeyer recalled, "When I looked at her body, it was as if all I could hear was her laughter when we children. All I could see was the resigned look she'd had in her eyes the day before. And I had to stand there stoically with Albert and the SS guards concealing my grief within. Later, I told Albert who she was and asked for him to find out about her family. He wasn't too happy about it but he finally agreed. He discovered that her husband and their three children died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. So did her parents. That, Colonel Hogan, is when I decided to become part of the Underground. Why I collected information and transmitted it to London. Why I became Baby Bear."
Frau Linkmeyer had started to regain her composure. Hogan released her, pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and handed it to her. "Danke," she acknowledged. After wiping her eyes, she continued, "For security reasons, I've operated independently of the other Underground operatives. None of them know my identity as I don't know theirs. As far as I know, you and your men are the first agents I've met. Now, Colonel, will you help me contact London and arrange for my passage?"
Hogan looked at her sternly. "You do realize that if I do as you ask, there will be no turning back? Once you've seen our operation, we will have to send you to London whether they accept your proposal or not. And they will hold you there till after the war. Do you agree to these terms?"
Frau Linkmeyer managed a weak smile. "I have a feeling that I know more than I should already. Ja, Colonel, I agree to your terms."