Chapter 7

Kinch sat at the radio reading a magazine. Or giving the appearance he was. He figured he'd read one sentence at least ten times already, and still had no idea what it was he was reading about. He checked his watch for must have been the umpteenth time since the others had left. He had Baker watching the door in the barracks just in case they would have visitors. Tossing the magazine on the table, Kinch sighed and rubbed his eyes. He let his mind wander to his commanding officer.

He wondered how the Colonel really was. Would he wake up? Would he recover? He wished he could have gone with the others. Kinch wanted to go with the others in the worst way, but knew it was not possible for one reason. His skin color. And while the color of his skin didn't matter to Hogan, LeBeau, Newkirk and Carter, it did to others. But he knew the others would let the Colonel know that he sent his thoughts and prayers even if he couldn't be there in person. He would have to be content with that. But still, Kinch told himself, he would have given anything to be able to be there in person for the Colonel.

Kinch let his mind wander some more to the underground's pending assault on Gestapo headquarters in Berlin which would take place before long as would London dropping a bomb on Gestapo headquarters in Hammelburg. Kinch could only hope these attacks would not only reduce the number of Gestapo to practically none, or wipe them out completely. Either way, Kinch figured these attacks would take the pressure off of them and protect the Colonel. It would also, if successful, eliminate a deadly enemy or badly cripple their effectiveness. Sighing again, Kinch picked up his magazine and resumed reading.

Carter and Otto walked into the hospital in town with Newkirk and LeBeau behind them. They carefully watched everyone they saw so at the first sign of trouble they could be able to make a hasty exit. Finally, Otto pointed to the nurses' station. They carefully approached. It had been decided that Carter would do the talking and, if necessary, would defer to Otto. The pretty dark-haired nurse looked up at the four men standing in front of her. "Guten morgen," she said, smiling.

Carter smiled warmly at her. He touched the bill of his cap. "Guten morgen, fraulein," he said. "I am Major Scheider. This is Captain Pruss and Colonel Seibel. I realize we are here quite early, but we have come to check on a patient of yours." He glanced partly over his shoulder. "Captain, what is his name?"

Newkirk pulled a small notebook from his inner jacket pocket and flipped it open. "Hogan, Herr Major. A Colonel Hogan." Flipping the notebook closed, he stuck it back inside his jacket.

"Just a minute," she replied checking her records. "Here it is. Hogan." Her eyes looked at the four men standing in front of her for a moment. "Please wait a moment." She left her place behind the desk and, walking down the hall, stopped and spoke with an older man with greying hair, glasses and wearing a white coat. She handed the man the chart she had pulled from her records and then pointed to the four men standing at the nurses' station.

Newkirk's eyes darted around the area seeking an alternate escape route if needed. "I hope this bloke's the ruddy doctor," he mumbled under his breath. "If he isn't we better get outta here and fast."

The grey-haired man in the white coat approached the four. He held out his hand towards Carter who shook it. He then shook hands with Otto. "I am Doctor Prust. I understand from the nurse you gentlemen are interested in Colonel Hogan. May I ask why? What does the Gestapo want with him?"

"Doctor, the Gestapo is not in the habit of telling people what they want with someone. We would like to see the patient."

Prust folded his arms. "I'm afraid I can't permit that unless you can tell me what this is about."

Carter looked at Otto who nodded. Carter then looked at the doctor. "Doctor, we understand that a Luftwaffe Colonel by the name of Wilhelm Klink came to the hospital with Colonel Hogan when he was brought in. Is that correct?"

"I believe it is. I was on duty when Colonel Hogan was brought in. He was bleeding profusely from two bullet wounds in his chest. We operated immediately and had to give him six pints of blood."

Carter and Otto both feigned surprise. "Six pints of blood?" asked Otto. "How long was he in surgery, doctor?"

Prust looked again at the chart. "He was in surgery for nearly four hours."

"And what is his condition now? Will he recover?" asked Otto, folding his arms.

"I don't know. There is hope. But there's still the chance he could die. The next seventy-two hours will tell. We've given him one of the sulfa drugs which will prevent any infection. Right now he's in a coma. We don't know when or if he'll come out of it. Hopefully he will."

"I see," said Carter. "Doctor, this man is very important to the Third Reich. As you said, hopefully he will recover. However, right now, we would like to see the patient. Should you refuse, the Gestapo can make things rather unpleasant for you." Carter smirked when he said this last sentence.

The doctor swallowed nervously. "Follow me, gentlemen," he said as he turned and walked down the long hall. The men were well aware of all the eyes watching them as they passed. Finally, the doctor opened a door on his left. With his hand on the doorknob, he glanced back at the others. "You know, Major. Now that I think about it, that's almost the same thing Colonel Klink said about Colonel Hogan."

"Really?" Otto remarked. "How interesting."

"Ja. Just out of curiosity, Major. Why is this American so important to the Third Reich if I may ask?"

"You may not ask, doctor," Carter admonished him sternly. "Now, we would like to see the prisoner."

Prust opened the door and stood aside, allowing the men to enter. As they did, Otto remained outside, declining to go inside with the others. "Herr Major, why don't you, the Captain and the guard go inside. I will wait out here."

Carter smiled at Otto. "Danke, Colonel. We will not be long. Then we can leave."

"Jawohl, Herr Major."

As Carter, LeBeau and Newkirk entered the room, the doctor closed the door to give them some privacy. Otto leaned against the wall opposite the door.

The trio stood motionless for a moment taking in the sight before them. Colonel Hogan lay in a large bed with a clear plastic sheet suspended over the bed and tucked beneath the mattress. To his men, the Colonel looked as if he was in a transparant cocoon. He had an intravenous line running from his arm to a bottle hanging from a pole. The men all looked at each other, somewhat thrown by the sight.

"Go on, Carter," Newkirk whispered, pushing Carter forward. The young sergeant slowly advanced to the side of the bed with the others behind him. They stared at the unconcious man in the bed.

Carter bit his lip to control his emotions. He wanted to cry, but realized this was not the place. When he was back at camp he would let it out. He glanced back at the Frenchman and saw him swallow hard as he struggled to keep it together. Newkirk let out a deep breath.

"Do you think he knows we're here?" asked LeBeau, his voice cracking.

"I sure hope so," said Carter. He studied the zipper on the side of the oxygen tent. He reached for it but was stopped by Newkirk.

"What do you think you're doing, Andrew?" Newkirk glanced over his shoulder at the closed door. "Suppose you get caught? Besides, how do you know unzipping that thing won't create a problem for the Colonel or set off some kind of alarm or something?"

"I remember my best friend's great grandmother being in one of these oxygen tents when she was sick. I used to see the nurses unzip the side to they could make contact with her." But he did not move to touch the zipper. Instead, he sat down in the chair beside the bed, and reached underneath the oxygen tent. He gripped Hogan's hand tightly with his.

"Colonel, we're all here. Newkirk, LeBeau and me, Carter. Kinch couldn't come, but he asked us to tell you he sends his best and he'll say a prayer for you. We all will. We're all okay. As okay as we can be since, you know what. You just gotta get better, Colonel. You gotta come back to us. We need you. Things just aren't the same without you. Heck, Schultz even misses you." He looked over his shoulder at the others. "Either of you guys want to say anything to the Colonel?" he asked.

"I do, mon ami," said LeBeau, stepping forward.

"I gotta go now, Colonel. Louie wants to say something to you." Carter got up and let LeBeau have the chair. The Frenchman held Hogan's hand in both of his.

LeBeau murmured something in French that nobody understood all the while never letting his eyes leave Hogan's face hoping there would be some indication the Colonel was hearing them speak to him. But there was no movement by Hogan. "Come back to us, Colonel," he said finally. Then, he glanced at Newkirk who sat down once LeBeau got up.

Newkirk gripped Hogan's hand in his. "Gov'nor, I've never been very good with me emotions, but here goes. You gotta fight. Things are bloody dull around camp without you. Otto's outside. He sends his best as does the underground. You gotta get well. We miss you, sir. That's pretty much all I have to say, Colonel. We'll try to visit you again soon. As soon as old Klink lets us anyway. We have to go now, Colonel. You know how it is when we stay too long someplace." He released Hogan's hand and made sure the part of the oxygen tent they had moved was back in place again before he got up.

"You think he heard any of what we said?" asked Carter, swallowing hard.

"I'm sure he probably did, Andrew," Newkirk replied. "At least I hope he did."

"Let's go," said LeBeau. "We can't afford to be in here too long or we'll arouse suspicion."

Reluctantly, the trio walked towards the door. As Newkirk gripped the doorknob, the trio gave a look at their commanding officer one last time. Then, they all walked out the door, closing it behind them. They were somewhat relieved to see Otto alone in the hallway. They needed the time to gather themselves together in case the doctor returned.

"Where's the doctor?" asked Carter.

"He had to take a telephone call. He said he'd be right back. How is the Colonel?"

"Hard to say," said Newkirk. "He's so pale. He's got a bloody intravenous in his arm. And they have him in a bloody oxygen tent. Frankly, mate, I'm more scared now than I was before I came here."

"You want to go say hello to the Colonel?" offered LeBeau.

"That's all right," said Otto. "It was more important for you three to see him."

Just then the doctor returned. "Well gentlemen, did you find all is well with the patient?"

"Why is he in an oxygen tent, doctor?" asked Carter. "Is his condition worse than we were led to believe?"

"Not at all. Colonel Hogan has undergone major surgery and was having a bit of trouble breathing on his own. I don't believe he will need it for very long. It's just until he can breathe easier."

Carter nodded. "I see. And the intravenous?"

"He is being given sugar water to keep him going, Herr Major."

"You mentioned he is being given sulfa drugs to fight infection. Why is he not being given penicillin?"

Prust seemed almost shocked by the question. "We have a very small supply of penicillin here, Herr Major. It is extremely difficult to obtain. And what little we have on hand we must reserve for extreme emergencies. Colonel Hogan is responding quite nicely to the sulfa drugs he is being given. He's also receiving round-the-clock care and his vitals such as pulse, temperature and blood pressure are being constantly monitored. And finally, we're also checking nerve conductivity, meaning reflexive response using painful stimuli such as pins. "

Carter allowed his anger to show. "I see. Doctor, let me leave you with this warning. Should this patient not respond to these sulfa drugs, you will then treat this patient with penicillin. I told you he is a very important man to the Third Reich. I would hate to tell the Fuhrer you are not doing all you can to save this man. And I trust you wouldn't want to upset the Fuhrer."

"Not at all, Herr Major," Prust said nervously.

"Danke, doctor," Carter replied with a smug grin. He held out his hand. He and Prust shook hands. "And danke for allowing us to see the patient for ourselves. We will now take our leave of you. But the Gestapo will be keeping an eye on Colonel Hogan's condition. When he is well enough, we will want to question him about what happened to him."

"You know, Major. You're the second person in the last two hours who inquired about what happened to Colonel Hogan."

Carter and Newkirk looked at each other, then at Prust.

"Exactly who else has been inquiring as to the Colonel's condition?"

"That phone I had to take while you were with the prisoner. It was from a General Burkhalter of the Luftwaffe. He wanted to know if Colonel Hogan was concious and I told him the Colonel was in a coma. But he is on his way here even as we speak."

LeBeau, Carter, Newkirk and Otto all looked at each other. Carter checked his watch. "We'd like to stay and speak with the General, but the Captain, the Colonel and I have an early staff meeting to attend, and we are already late. So, Auf Wiedersehen, doctor. Guten morgen."

The four men exited the hospital quickly and were just climbing into their stolen car when they spotted Burkhalter's staff car pulling into the hospital lot. They watched the large General get out of his vehicle and march right past their car without noticing them and into the hospital.