Brink

With a final feral screech that, in a few days, they would be able to look back on and laugh at, Major Hochstetter stormed from the barracks. His two cronies scurried after him, although from the looks on their faces they might have preferred to bury themselves in the monster of a hole they had just made in the barracks floor.

Joseph felt his knees give out from under him and he sank back onto whatever bunk was beneath him. A collective sigh of relief ran through the barracks.

"That's another ten years added on to my life," Olsen said finally.

"Really?" Garlotti sat down next to Joseph, "Try twenty," He glanced around and his eyes landed on Joseph.

"You okay, kid?" He asked softly.

"Uh-huh," Joseph squeaked out.

"Alright," Hogan said, waving Kinch and LeBeau forward, "Kinch, get around to the other barracks and tell them they can relax. LeBeau, take the tunnel from Barracks 1 and let Anderson and his men know what happened. I've got to go sweet-talk Klink."

Kinch and LeBeau chorused a "yes sir" and the three broke off to their assigned tasks.

In another minute, Foster breathed, "Thank God."

"We could've died," Broughton glared at the door, "I could feel the blindfold already, let me tell you."

"All of us," Davis said, and Joseph wondered how many men were in camp. Almost 300 prisoners, last he heard. Plus the guards they'd turned or bribed. And the people in the underground, which was infinitely extensive.

What would his sister have done? His mother? Brother? What about Davis' wife and kids, or Garlotti's father and brothers? Broughton's fiancée?

"Joe?" Garlotti said, and Joseph realized all eyes were on him, "You sure you're okay?"

"Ummm - yeah," He said, "Sure,"

"Newkirk didn't have any right to put us in danger as well," Davis went on, eyes smoldering, "I mean, we all knew the risks, but that was just stupid."

The Colonel had been right. Newkirk might be able to talk himself out of trouble with Klink, but he was going to have a much harder time with them.

A/N: I rewrote this chapter after some advice from Abracadebra - thanks for that!

I hadn't realized until she pointed it out that we have the medic, Joseph Wilson (which seems to be what most people accept as his first name), and I've dubbed one of the Barracks 2 Extras "Joseph". That's definitely not confusing. Goodness me.

Anyways. Thanks for reading, have a great day, and Auf Wiedersehen and Ciao and all that.

-Caroline