Hochstetter had to stifle a laugh. On one hand, he was outraged that Klink had let Hogan slip out of camp, but on the other hand, Klink and his obnoxious boasting deserved it. "You should have notified us immediately, Klink. Berlin will not be happy if Hogan is not recaptured."
"He usually comes back, Major." Klink whined. "In fact, he has helped recapture his own prisoners in the past."
"A ploy, Klink!" Hochstetter yelled. "Part of his plan." Hochstetter walked over to the map hanging behind Klink's desk. "He's probably out there, getting ready to blow up a bridge even as we speak." He walked over to the desk and picked up the phone. "I'll get my men right on it, Klink. Hopefully, for your sake, they haven't gone far."
"This is going to complicate matters. Great." Kinch put the coffee pot back together.
"If Hochstetter or one of his goons finds them, they're liable to shoot, and our plans go up in smoke," Newkirk added.
The four men were attempting to come up with a way to get Olsen and Hogan safely back into camp. Not only did they need an explanation of where they were, but they also needed to explain their injuries. Wilson had informed them that the two men would need to be put into the infirmary upon their return.
"Who is this Hochstetter fellow?" Sisko asked. Sisko, O'Brien and Dax were attending the meeting as well. Kinch had no choice, considering they were the ones holding Olsen and Hogan; they'd have to initiate their return.
"Hochstetter is the head of the local Gestapo office," Kinch explained. "He's a loose cannon. He hates Klink. Klink hates Hochstetter. Hochstetter and Burkhalter hate each other."
"Burkhalter?" Dax asked.
"General, luv. Head of the Luftwaffe stalags." Newkirk said. "Klink! What is going on here?" Everyone laughed at Newkirk's perfect imitation.
"Sounds like Klink is afraid of his own shadow," Sisko commented.
"He's a bureaucrat, plain and simple," Kinch replied. "We feed his ego and he stays happy."
"The Colonel can play him like a violin," Carter said wistfully.
Dax patted the sergeant's hand. "He'll be fine, you'll see."
"Well, Sergeant," Sisko interrupted. "You tell us where you want the two of them to go or be found and we'll get them there. Safely." He added for emphasis.
"Okay. Let's try and figure this out," Kinch said.
"Will they be able to walk, or will they have to be carried?" Carter had seen Olsen's injuries and frankly couldn't believe he was still alive, and from what Wilson had said, the same was true of the Colonel.
"I don't think Bashir knows at this point." Sisko had spoken with the doctor before the meeting. "Can we plan for both eventualities?"
"Yeah, we'll have to." Kinch didn't want to wait till the last minute to hatch something. Colonel Hogan seemed to relish thinking on the fly, but now that he was temporarily in command, Kinch preferred to have everything nicely laid out.
"Look. We can't say they were both shot. The bullets are already out," Newkirk pointed out. "I think maybe we should have Wilson meet up with them on the outside and 'e can come up with an excuse to get them the care they'll need." Everyone agreed with Newkirk, but with that, also realized that the transition would take longer.
"I could lead Schultz and his men to their location," LeBeau offered. "Give him a suggestion. That way they'll find them before the Gestapo."
"Or they can wander back to camp on their own. That would fit the story we told Klink about Colonel Hogan going after Olsen," Carter said.
"Whatever we do, they'll have to be able to understand the plan," LeBeau pointed out.
"Yeah," Kinch decided. "We'll need some time to assess their condition and talk to them before they come back."
The farmhouse where the whole mess started was then picked as the first transfer point. The area had already been checked, so the Gestapo would not search there again. Sisko suggested that as an alternative, they use the barn, since it was empty and he knew they could transport the men down without being seen. This was agreed upon. Either Schultz would be led there and discover the two missing POWs, or the underground would truck them back to camp and they would surrender by the perimeter. With that settled, Kinch went down below to contact the underground.
"You want me to do what?" Wilson had just been notified of the plan and he was frankly terrified of actually leaving the camp. "I'm a medic, not a spy," he argued. "My job is to wait here when you and the Colonel go out and hope that nothing bad happens."
"Wilson." Kinch tried to reassure the medic. "You won't be alone. Carter and I are going with you. We need you to check on Olsen and the Colonel." The medic resigned himself to the fact that he would have to deliberately leave the relative safety of the camp and agreed with the plan. He and the rest of the crew waited for the doctor's next report.
Hochstetter, meanwhile, guessed that Hogan and Olsen would most likely be further away at this point, given their head start and good weather, so he concentrated his search miles away from Stalag 13 and Hammelburg. This tactical error was gratefully accepted by the boys as a good omen. The rest of the day two of the crises were uneventful. Dax stayed out of the way, while Sisko and O'Brien performed more mundane chores throughout the camp. They were constantly shadowed or supervised wherever they went, but neither of them seemed to mind at this point, since they were all getting a unique history lesson.
Bashir kept the surface updated. 24th century medical technology had stabilized Olsen rather quickly, while Hogan's new cells were multiplying on schedule. It was now a waiting game on both the Defiant and in the camp.
"I'll be performing the surgery probably late tomorrow morning. Which one of you will assist?" Bashir looked expectantly at Kira and Worf. Neither of them immediately volunteered. "My nurses are on the station," Bashir reminded them, "and Dax is on the surface."
Neither Worf nor Kira were squeamish, but on the other hand, neither of them was a trained surgical assistant, either. "Draw straws." Bashir ordered. "Just let me know."
**********
"This place seems awfully small for a prison camp." O'Brien was assisting Carter with an inventory down in the tunnels.
"Yup. Sure is. The camp I originally came from was Stalag 5. Boy was that huge." Carter handed O'Brien a box. "10,000 men. Can you believe it?"
"How was it organized?" O'Brien asked.
"Sections," Carter responded. "Nationalities were separated. So were…" Carter stopped. "It's not a secret. You should know that."
"Klink doesn't seem too bad." O'Brien changed the subject. "For a German, that is."
"The Iron Colonel?" Carter laughed. "Truthfully, he's not so bad. He's never had any one of us shot. His idea of discipline is the cooler. Even escapees!"
"So Hogan and Olsen will end up in the cooler?" O'Brien asked.
"Well, Olsen will eventually, once he's better. Colonel Hogan. I doubt it, him being an officer, you know. Klink will think of something else for him. But then, the Colonel will figure out a way to lighten the sentence or get rid of it altogether." Carter put one box away, and handed O'Brien a box of putty.
"He will?"
"He can talk Klink into anything. That's why we're not segregated. Once the Colonel got here, that is. I heard he wouldn't stand for it, and Klink agreed. He didn't care. As long as no one escapes."
"Seems like a good officer," O'Brien noted.
"The best," Carter said. "And Sisko?"
"Huh?" O'Brien turned.
"He's your C.O. isn't he?"
O'Brien nodded. "I've been lucky," he added.
*************
"Gin!" Jadzia threw down her cards and gleefully looked at Newkirk.
"Blimey! You won every game!" Newkirk didn't care. He was having a grand time babysitting the female intelligence agent or scientist or whatever she was. Security at the camp had been tightened, and Dax was forced to stay underground; but she had plenty of company. The men were all coming up with various excuses to go down below. Even Kinch found the woman charming, although he wouldn't admit it. The sergeant would attempt to pry information out of her, to no avail. Any questions about her background, their unit, or even the scarf she insisted on wearing around her neck was met with silence and a smile. Surprisingly, unlike Sisko and O'Brien, she didn't ask too many questions of the prisoners. She seemed content being the so called 'hostage', and handling communication between the camp and wherever her unit was located.
LeBeau was giving Sisko an earful. His hatred of the Nazis, the lack of appreciation of French cuisine, particularly by the English, the lack of female companionship, were a few of the subjects touched upon by the French corporal. He was careful, however, not to divulge anything about their operation. Although LeBeau intuitively liked the American captain, after all, they shared a love of cooking, he was a naturally suspicious man and he was still angry at not being able to see his colonel and his injured comrade. He never thought to ask Sisko how a colored American came to be in charge of three and possibly more, white people. Being from France, he didn't think about it, especially since in Stalag 13, skin color was not an issue.
Sisko was accompanying LeBeau on a short tour around the camp. The corporal was updating barracks chiefs, checking guard placements and making sure the rank and file was under control. Everyone knew the Colonel and Olsen were missing, and so some of the prisoners were getting anxious. The two ended up near the dog kennels. After making sure no one was looking, LeBeau grabbed Sisko and snuck the two of them inside the fence. Sisko nervously held back.
"Don't worry." LeBeau began to fight off the dogs. "They're friendly." He reached into his pocket and threw out some treats.
"Unbelievable." Sisko held out his hand. One of the dogs came over, sniffed and gave it a tentative lick and left.
"Big part of our operation." LeBeau lifted up the doghouse. "Let's go." The two men climbed down.
"Good. You're here." Kinch motioned for everyone to gather 'round. "Once we get our men back," Kinch glared at the Captain. "We have to get you two out." He pointed to O'Brien and Sisko. "You'll be transferred out to another stalag. We're working on the orders right now."
"Transferred?" Sisko was now alarmed.
"No escapes. Remember? The truck will be ambushed by the Underground. You and O'Brien will be free. Dax can leave through the emergency tunnel and hopefully we'll see the last of you three. You seem to be okay out there on your own. Am I right?"
"Correct."
"By the way," Kinch continued. "I'm still getting denials about your existence from London. Seems they claim they've checked all the way up to Eisenhower."
"Sorry, old boy. We are not denying or admitting to whatever unit or scientific research these people are with." Newkirk had used his best upper crust British accent. "I suggest you treat them with kid gloves. Over."
"Yeah, usually that means they know something but won't tell us, or they're waiting for Colonel Hogan. I don't know." Kinch said.
Sisko smiled. "No doubt," he said.
"You've had ample opportunity to blow our operation, already, seeing that Dax was able to bring Wilson back right to our emergency tunnel entrance, so I guess you're on our side," Kinch continued. "But I still don't like it. All right. I want an update from your doctor first thing tomorrow morning."
"I need to perform a surgical procedure on Colonel Hogan," Bashir reported through the link the next day. The Starfleet crew understood, but the 20th century crew was again alarmed.
"You said he was improving!" Wilson barked. He turned to Dax and ordered her to take him back.
"Hang on Wilson." Kinch tried to calm down the medic. "We can't afford another missing man. What's going on Bashir?"
"Nothing serious. I just need to clean up a few things."
"Has he come around at all?" Kinch asked.
"No," Bashir answered truthfully. "I'll get you an update as soon as I know something."
"And Olsen?" Newkirk asked.
"He's the same. I need to go." Bashir cut the link.
If there had been a door leading out of the tunnel, Wilson would have slammed it on his way out. Seconds later, he returned. "You. Corporal," he said, pointing at Sisko. "You're with me this morning. Let's go."
"I'm going to monitor the radio," Baker announced.
Dax sighed and looked at O'Brien, who shrugged.
Carter, whose stomach was now in knots, headed up to the barracks. He was quickly followed by Newkirk.
"He dies, we're done." Kinch whispered this to Dax and then, he, as well as LeBeau, disappeared upstairs.
"We're done," Dax repeated. "Does he mean the operation, you think?" she turned to O'Brien.
"Could be us," O'Brien answered. "We're, meaning you, me and the Captain."
"The Colonel should pull through," Dax said. "But they don't know that," she added. "I feel for them, Miles."
"Time travel is not healthy," he replied. "You know, I'm starting to get real tense."