Chapter 7: The First Encounter
It was a long night for everyone. Some of the men had a hard time falling asleep after what they had witnessed. They had all agreed though to give the plan a chance to work before any action was taking against Hogan. Many of them felt the plan was going to fail so they were deciding what they waned to include in their report to London.
Hogan and his men were as prepared as they could be. Now all they had to do was wait. Wait and pray they could pull this off.
Once Hogan awoke, he stayed in his room. After what he did the night before, he didn't know if he could ever face his men again. How could he look into their eyes, knowing they didn't trust him? How could he lead men on missions when they didn't trust him to have their back, and at any moment a craving could strike, resulting in their capture or death? If one of his men died because he messed up due to the addiction, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
Soon the alarm sounded for roll call. With his head hung in guilt, he took his place in formation. Thankfully, Klink kept it short. All he wanted to do was hide in his room. Making it to his room was proving to be more difficult than he thought. The men who no longer respected him started their blatant show of disrespect.
Before Hogan could make it to the door leading into Barracks 2, men bumped into him or pushed passed him as if he was a common enlisted man and not their commanding officer.
On top of that, they gathered in front of the door way, keeping him from entering. "Excuse me, Gentleman, may I get through?" His comment was ignored. He noticed even the men closest to him were reluctant to be near him. Finally Kinch dispersed the men so Hogan could enter.
Hogan paused a moment at the stove to pour himself a cup of coffee. Just as he reached for the pot, Barns grabbed it, pouring himself a cup. Then he passed it around so others, even men who were not known for drinking coffee, filled their cups before setting the pot back on the stove. When Hogan picked the pot up, it was empty.
"Can I have everyone's attention?" Hogan's comment was ignored like earlier. The men simply carried on with their morning routine, talking and drinking their coffee.
Out of frustration, Hogan threw his cup against the far wall where it shattered. Though crude, it produced the desired effect; silence. "Now here this." Hogan locked eyes with everyone to make sue he had their attention. "Yes, I messed up last night and all of you now know why. I'm not proud of what I did, but what's done is done. Despite what you think about me, I am still your commanding officer and demand the respect due to a person of my rank."
"Not for much longer." The voice belonged to Barns. "Do you think London will leave you in command once they find out you're a junky? You're a liability to this operation, the underground and the Allies. The sooner London finds out the truth about you the better." Barns approached Hogan with arrogance. "And I intend on informing them of the truth as soon as this plan fails."
Hogan held his ground "I'm positive they will relive me of command if they find out. Not to mention, I'll probably be court-martialed and stripped of rank; that I can accept, because it might be what I deserve. But I won't let some hot head whose bucking for a promotion place my men's careers in jeopardy! They lied to protect me. If London discovers they lied, they could be in as much trouble as me. For now, since I am still your CO, I'm ordering everyone to keep their mouth shut about this." Hogan took a threatening step toward Barns. "If my men go down because you decided to be a blabber mouth, I promise you, you will regret it. At that point, I won't have anything left to lose so I will make what life you have left a nightmare."
Without another word Hogan went into his room to wait.
HH
Morning came and went without any sign of Hochstetter. Everyone silently prayed Hochstetter changed his mind and wasn't interested in using the "experimental drug" on Hogan. Since Hogan wouldn't come out of his room for lunch, LeBeau took his food to him.
A few hours later, the dreaded black car pulled in through the front gates. Hogan felt his heart race in anticipation of what was to come. Despite the temperature, Hogan was sweating. He knew why. He could almost taste it. Hogan took a piece of chocolate out of his pocket. With a sigh, he examined it. If someone would have told him a year ago, he would get to the point he hated chocolate, he would have laughed at them. Now…now he was to the point he couldn't stand the sight or smell of it.
He had no choice. As long as he continued to have the cravings, he would force himself to eat the chocolate to help keep them under control. Closing his eyes, he popped the piece of chocolate in his mouth. After he swallowed, he drank a glass of water. This should help things with Hochstetter.
What seemed to be an eternity later, Schultz entered Barracks 2 and knocked on Hogan's door. "Colonel Hogan, Major Hochstetter requests your presence in Kommandant Klink's office."
Hogan patted his pocked to make sure the syringe containing the cocktail was in there just in case Hochstetter brought the heroin with him. "Lead the way, Schultz."
As soon as Hogan and Schultz left, the men listened in.
Hogan put the best smile he could muster on his face as he greeted Hochstetter and Klink. "I was beginning to think you forgot about me. I've been thinking about what you said yesterday, Major. I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't know what kind of game you are playing, but after taking your little present, I don't want any more of that stuff. You can keep it."
"What! That's impossible. You didn't take it. You couldn't have. If you did, you would be craving more of it. I don't understand," rambled Hochstetter. "Show me proof you took it."
Removing his jacket, Hogan rolled up his sleeve, revealing the fresh puncture mark. "Told ya. Now if there is nothing else, I'm going back to my barracks."
"This isn't over, Hogan. You will come with me now!" growled Hochstetter.
"No he's not," said Klink. "He is a Luftwaffe prisoner and this is a Luftwaffe camp. Unless you have something stating otherwise, your business is finished here. On another note, since he is a Luftwaffe prisoner, anything you do to him must be done under the direct supervision of a Luftwaffe officer. Bring me orders allowing you do whatever to him and I will not interfere, only observe."
"You and your stupid rules. Rules like that are why it will be difficult for us to win this war! I'll return later to pick up where we left off. I will demand more proof the drug doesn't have the same affect it had on you." Hochstetter stormed out.
Hogan collapsed in one of the chairs in Klink's office. "At least that part's over with. Now I just hope he doesn't come back with orders removing me from camp."
Klink picked up the phone. "Frauline Hilda, please get me General Burkhalter on the phone…Yes, General, this is Kommandant Klink…Oh! You know who it is already…Sir, I want to make a complaint. Major Hochstetter just left here and he is trying to remove Colonel Hogan from camp. He said he'll be back…From what I can gather, it is to conduct some sort of experiment on him, which is clearly against the Geneva Convention. If it were to get out an American officer was handed over to the Gestapo so they can conduct experiments on him, there would be serious ramifications…I told him anything done to a Luftwaffe prisoner must be done under Luftwaffe supervision…Danke, Herr General Auf Wiedersehen…What?...Oh, yes. Heil Hitler."
The smile Hogan gave Klink was genuine. "What did Burkahlter say?"
Klink returned Hogan's smile. "It seems the general isn't in favor of experimenting on POW's, especially when in the end, he will be held accountable for it. He will make sure all requests to remove you from camp without just cause will be turned down."
"Thanks, Kommandant." Hogan paused a moment before he continued. "Last night, Carter tried to explain to me about this little cocktail of yours. The problem is, he explained it using medical terms and I had no idea what he was talking about. Do you think you could enlighten me so I know what to expect when I have to shoot up?"
"Sure. You see, there is a small amount of heroin along with some other drugs…" Klink was interrupted.
"I thought we were trying to stay away from me using any heroin. What's going on here?" yelled Hogan.
"It's just a small amount. It's only enough to take the edge off. There isn't enough there to affect you otherwise. The side effects of the other drugs will turn your body against the heroin, thus making it so your body won't crave it any more," explained Klink.
"And what exactly are these side effects?" asked Hogan.
"A little dizziness and nausea. Nothing harmful," said Klink.
Hogan glanced around the office, trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. It didn't make since why Klink would be helping him like this. "Why are you doing this for me?"
"Colonel, if you had willingly taken the heroin, I would not have much pity on you and would let you suffer whatever consequences that may come. Since this was forced upon you, thus breaking the Geneva Convention, which I have been a stickler to adhere to, I have a tendency to be more sympathetic," said Klink.
"That's nice and all, but it doesn't explain why you are risking everything to save an enemy officer. You can get in trouble yourself," said Hogan.
"Remember my friend Hans Kronmen1?" Hogan nodded. "He is the one who saved my life when I was an addict. Then when he was arrested, I was more concerned with saving myself then helping him."
"You and I both know there wasn't anything you could have done to help him. If you would have admitted to being his friend, they would have arrested and executed you as well," said Hogan.
"But aren't friends supposed to stick together no matter what? If I was half as good a friend toward him as he was me, I would have willingly stood beside him during the execution. I guess part of me feels guilty for letting him down. At the time though, you and your men risked your lives to get what was in his deposit box. For that, I am eternally grateful and why I never asked any questions on how you were able to get in it. You were looking out for me and protecting me. I'm now returning the favor; to both of you," said Klink.
"But we didn't know your name was at the top of the Hitler conspiracy list until after I got the envelope back to camp," said Hogan.
"True, but you still protected me. Thanks." Klink went to the sideboard and poured two drinks. One he handed to Hogan. "To friends."
"To friends." Hogan clinked his glass against Klink's and took a drink. "I've been meaning to ask you about that list…Why would Kronmen have your name at the top?"
"How should I know? Maybe it was because we used to be friends and he felt he could trust me," said Klink.
Hogan finished his drink. "I think there is more to it than that. You realize if there is any truth to it, and the Allies win, I could be in a position to help you."
"Hogan, I'm not a brave man. After what I saw during the Great War, I hate fighting. Why do you think I'm running a POW camp?" Klink finished his glass.
"I'm not saying you would waltz into Berchesgarden and pull the trigger. I do believe you would be willing to aid in the conspiracy in other ways. Kommandant, you are going to need Allied friends when the time comes. Be honest with me. Why would Kronmen put your name on the top of the list?" asked Hogan.
"You may be right, but I don't know of any way to help. I know nothing of conspiracies or anything like that. I am just an officer doing his duty to his country," said Klink.
"You said country and not to noodle brains. I know you're not a party member and despite what you may say or do every now and then, I know you dislike the Nazis as much as we do. You can be a great help to the Allies and possibly even shorten the war." Hogan sat on the edge of his seat. "Think about the possibilities."
"And what would you have me do, Colonel? Free the prisoners? Or perhaps you would like me to surrender the camp to you?" asked Klink, sarcastically.
Hogan laughed. "I wouldn't expect you to do something so drastic. Then again the surrender part seems nice…No, just continue to be you and look the other way every now and then. Maybe even let certain bits and pieces of military information slip. What do you say, Kommandant?"
"I think it is best we forget this conversation ever took place. I will chalk it up to the stress of the moment. I recommend you go back to your barracks to get some rest before Hochstetter show's back up. You're dismissed," said Klink.
Hogan put his jacket back on. "Think about it. See you later." Hogan saluted then left.
1 Episode The Safe Cracker Suite