As usual, Hogan drove. Olsen sat beside him, diligently eyeing the woods along the road for any sign of Carter. Schultz had his focus and his rifle aimed at the prisoners, trying to look as fierce as possible. However, the façade faded not long after they rolled out the front gates. Then, Schultz sat back, tipped his hat back and enjoyed the ride.
It took him half an hour to realize something was out of place.
"Colonel Hogan?"
"Yes Schultz?" Hogan asked, glancing at Schultz from the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to the road.
"Colonel Hogan, we are looking for Carter?"
"That was the plan," Hogan acknowledged.
Schultz screwed up his face in thought. "But Colonel Hogan, if we are looking for Carter, shouldn't we be heading west?"
"Now why would we do that?" Hogan asked with a tiny grin.
"Because, that's where the Allies are!"
"West, schmest. Any direction we go, we'll eventually run into Allied lines! We're advancing every which way."
"Colonel Hogan, don't say such things! You can't know such things!" He paused and looked at Hogan worriedly. "Colonel Hogan, how do you know such things?"
Hogan shrugged. "Common knowledge Schultz."
Schultz decided not to press his luck on the subject and went back to his original concern. "But Colonel Hogan, Carter will be heading to England."
"Now why would Carter head for England? He doesn't know a crumpet from a trumpet!"
"But where else would he be going?" Schultz asked.
"I hear Switzerland's nice this time of year. Or how about the Russian front? I hear Carter's very fond of borscht."
"Colonel Hogan, puh-leeze, stop joking!" When he saw Hogan wasn't going to say anything else, Schultz let out a pathetic sigh. "If we go this way, we will find Carter, won't we?"
Hogan looked at Olsen and shrugged. "You can always hope, Schultz."
"Only hope?" Schultz said sorrowfully.
"Hey, Carter's a wily one." Schultz chuckled as if it was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. "Well after all, he did manage to escape while you were on duty."
Schultz screwed up his face as he thought about it. "You're right," he drawled. "He is smart!"
"Colonel, look over there," Olsen said, interrupting the two. He pointed down the road to a little clearing in the trees where a dilapidated farmhouse and barn sat. "I think Carter mentioned something about a barn in his escape plan. You think we ought to check it out?"
"Good plan," Hogan agreed with a nod. When the reached the barn, Hogan pulled the truck to the side of the road. "Bet he's in there Schultz. Let's go get him."
"Right," Schultz barked. Sliding out of the truck, Schultz made his way towards the barn, his rifle at the ready. Suddenly, he stopped, feeling he was alone. He turned just in time to see Colonel Hogan pull the truck back onto the road and drive off. Schultz tried to run after it but stopped after only a few feet and bent over, his hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. "Colonel Hogan! Colonel Hogan!" he called between deep breaths. But the truck was already around the bend. Schultz growled and threw his rifle down. With a sigh, he picked it back up again and looked around. Well, there was nothing to do now but wait for Hogan to pick him back up. And Schultz knew he would. He always did.
"Poor Schultz. You'd think he be used to it by now," Olsen mused with a smile.
"He'll get over it," Hogan said. "How far to Oflag 18?"
"'Bout twenty more minutes, Colonel," Olsen reported.
Half way to the camp, Hogan stopped the truck at the side of the road. Both prisoners hopped out and went into the back of the truck where two German uniforms were waiting. "Got the orders?" Hogan asked as he changed uniforms.
"Right here," Olsen said as he grabbed the papers from his jacket and handed them to the colonel. Hogan took them and put them in his pocket.
"Ready?"
"Jawhol!" Olsen said, snapping off a salute. He hopped out of the truck and when he landed, clicked his heels for good measures.
Hogan rolled his eyes. "You drive… Corporal."
Olsen ignored the jab and jumped behind the steering wheel. "You got this all figured out yet?"
"More or less."
"Should be a piece of cake then."
They sat in silence for the rest of the trip. Soon enough, they were approaching Oflag 18. It was much different than Stalag 13. The fences were higher and there were more guards roaming the compound. Perhaps the biggest difference was that the Kommandant's office and most of the other German buildings were outside the main compound. Olsen stopped the truck in front of the Kommandant's office. Jumping out of the cab, he ran to the other side and helped Hogan out. Hogan straightened himself just as one of the camp's guards came up to him.
"Sergeant," Hogan said, greeting the guard, "I am Captain Keller. I need to speak with your Kommandant right away about one of his prisoners."
"Of course, Herr Keller," the guard said with a nod. "This way." He led Olsen and Hogan up the steps and into the building. The interior was not unlike Stalag 13. Except, sitting behind the desk in the outer office was an old, rather ugly secretary. Hogan shuddered.
The guard went up to the secretary and explained who Hogan was. The secretary scowled. "The Kommandant is busy."
"I'm afraid it's quite important," Hogan said. "I have orders from General Burkhalter."
Her scowl deepened, but the secretary nodded and stood. Knocking beforehand, she opened Kommandant's office door and poked her head into the room. She nodded and turned back to Hogan. "Go in."
"Thank-you," Hogan said with a brilliant smile and a tip of his hat. He couldn't help but feel a little miffed when she ignored him.
With a shrug, Olsen moved aside and let Hogan in first. In the office, they were met by the sight of a rather large man in an army uniform pacing the room and smoking a pipe. The man stopped when the two entered and looked at them expectantly.
"Kommandant," Hogan greeted, offering a salute. "I am Captain Keller."
"Colonel Ruebel," the Kommandant replied, returning Hogan's salute. "To what do I owe this visit, Captain?" Ruebel asked, taking a seat behind his desk.
Hogan fished the orders from his pocket and handed them to Ruebel. "Last night, you received a new batch of prisoners. Among them was a doctor- Lieutenant Colonel Potter," Hogan recited, watching as Ruebel looked over the orders.
"It says here he treated General Burkhalter for a sprained ankle," Ruebel said before looking up at Hogan rather suspiciously. "And?"
"The General's ankle is broken. This prisoner intentionally misdiagnosed and treated the general. You can imagine how angry the general is at this prisoner's impudence."
Ruebel's chair scrapped across the floor as he pushed away from his desk and stood up. "So the general is feeling spiteful? That does not bode well when he comes to visit me this afternoon for his inspection. I wonder why he did not wait until then to meet with this prisoner."
If Hogan looked as surprised as he felt, he was in awful trouble. The news caught him completely off-guard. But years of being a spy behind enemy lines had taught him how to keep a good poker face. So, instead of panicking, Hogan simply raised an eyebrow. "I was informed this morning that General Burkhalter is cancelling all his trips until he recovers."
Giving Hogan another suspicious look, Ruebel grabbed the phone on his desk. "Since I have been told no such thing, I will call General Burkhalter's headquarters."
Olsen jammed a hand into his pocket to hide the fist he had made and cast a glance at Hogan. Hogan remained impassive as he watched Ruebel. "Frau Klein? Get me General Burkhalter's headquarters." Ruebel held Hogan's gaze until the line connected. "Yes, hello. Is General Burkhalter in? No? Oh, yes, I see. Thank-you."
With a triumphant grin, Ruebel set the phone on its cradle. "Well, Captain Keller, despite his sprained ankle, General Burkhalter is-" Ruebel's voice died when he saw the pistols Hogan and Olsen were aiming at him.
"All right, hold it right there Kommandant," Hogan said evenly. "Hands. Up."
Slowly, Ruebel raised his hands. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"I've already told you both. Captain Keller. And I'm here for Colonel Potter."
"Why?"
Growing impatient, Hogan rolled his eyes and waved his gun. "Kommandant, I don't think you quite understand your situation here. I'm the one with the gun. You don't ask questions, you just do what I say. Now, pick up the phone."
With a dark scowl, Ruebel slowly grabbed the phone. "Am I allowed to ask why, Captain Keller?"
"Tell one of your guards to bring in Colonel Potter." As Ruebel gave the order through the phone, Hogan shot Olsen a dirty look. "Oh yeah- a piece of cake."
