Chapter 10 – Reaction

Carter pushed Gunther hard. He knew that the Colonel would probably have to report he and Newkirk as escaped. That meant that the woods would soon be crawling with patrols. It was imperative they return before roll call.

"Can we not stop and rest?" moaned Gunther.

"No. We have to get to the stalag as soon as possible. Trust me. They'll be plenty of time for rest then."

"I cannot go on!"

"Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and we'll be there before you know it. Do you want to get captured by a patrol? Because that's what'll happen if we don't get there before roll call!"

"I cannot believe I am going to a Luft Stalag!"

"You'll be safe there until we can get you out of Germany."

Gunther huffed. "Safe! Once your comrades find out I shot your Englishman how safe do you suppose I will be?"

Carter sighed. He wasn't looking forward to the Colonel's reaction to all of this. "You'll be safe. You have my word. The guys are definitely going to be upset, but they won't hurt you. Do you think it's been easy for me? Newkirk is my best friend. If he doesn't pull through this, I don't know what we'll do."

"I am sorry Carter. It is a tragic comedy of errors, is it not?"

"Yeah. It sure is." He shook his head, trying to dispel the dark thoughts. "Let's try to speed it up. We don't have too much farther to go."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hogan continued to pace the length of the radio room. Roll call was due in an hour. He tried out different scenarios for a backup plan in his mind. Bribing Schultz to look the other way wasn't an option this time. Schultz would overlook one man missing but two was asking a bit much. Besides, Newkirk being missing from roll call was pretty obvious, as he stood next to Hogan in the front line. Klink would notice that right off the bat. He sighed and pulled his crush cap off.

"Come up with anything Colonel?"

"Nothing Kinch. Nothing."

Kinch got up and poured them both a fresh cup of coffee. He was reaching over to hand the cup to Hogan when he froze. "Colonel? Do you hear something?"

There were rustling sounds coming from the emergency tunnel. They both took off in that direction.

Carter hopped off the ladder from the emergency tunnel entrance and immediately fell to his knees. Gunther had done the same thing. They both gulped in great mouthfuls of air. It had been an exhausting double time hike.

"Carter!"

"Andrew!"

Carter was never so happy to see the Colonel in all his life. He still couldn't catch his breath long enough to speak. Kinch grabbed him and helped him to the bench, while Hogan did the same for Gunther.

He finally got enough air. "Boy Colonel am I glad to see you!"

"Same here Carter. Thanks for getting here before roll call!"

"I figured I had to sir. Since you'll have to report us as escaped and all, I knew I needed to get here before the patrols went out."

Hogan chuckled. "When did you become clairvoyant Carter?"

"It just made sense to me Colonel." He leaned back against the tunnel wall. "Boy am I tired. We double-timed it for nearly ten miles."

Kinch's eyebrows went up. "That's quite a march Andrew. Is that where Peter is being hidden?"

Carter nodded.

Hogan looked from Carter to Gunther and back to Carter. "Let them get their wind back. Kinch would you go get Louis and see if he's got anything for them to eat?"

"Oh thanks Colonel. I haven't eaten since before we left last night. Oh and this is Gunther. Gunther I never got your last name."

"Nussbaum."

Hogan reached to shake his hand. He noted that the man shrank from his touch at first, then reached out tentatively to shake. "Pleased to meet you Gunther. You've done the Allies a great service."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not."

Hogan looked questioningly at Carter, his eyes sharpening as they dropped to note the blood stains on Carter's uniform. Carter nodded at the unspoken question, his eyes telling Hogan that there was much more to tell. At that moment LeBeau and Kinch came back into the tunnel with sandwiches and coffee. They passed the food to Carter and Gunther. "André! Mon ami! I am so glad to see you. Please tell me Pierre is all right."

"He was still unconscious when I left Louis. The doc doesn't think his life is in danger. He was going to do some surgery to remove the bullet fragments from his head."

Hogan, Kinch and LeBeau all sighed in relief. "Thank God!" murmured LeBeau.

"Carter we need to talk more about what happened to Peter." Hogan checked his watch. "But it's going to have to wait until after roll call. You two stay down here and rest. We'll be back. Come on guys." Hogan, Kinch and LeBeau headed down to the barracks entrance.

Carter closed his eyes. He didn't feel up to the conversation he was going to have with the Colonel. He spoke to Gunther, eyes still closed. "There's a cot in the alcove there. Why don't you go grab some sleep?"

Gunther finished his sandwich and drained the coffee cup. He nodded and headed to the alcove without a word. He too dreaded the conversation Carter was to have with Papa Bear.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Schultz was frustrated yet again. He stood next to Hogan, speaking out of the side of his mouth.

"Colonel Hogan…..please? Where is Newkirk? Where is Carter? Please do not do this to me again Colonel Hogan."

Hogan looked around as if just discovering they were missing. "It looks to me like they've escaped Schultz."

"Colonel Hogan…I do not want to have to tell the Kommandant that they have escaped."

"Well I don't know what else to tell you Schultz. They're not here, that's for sure."

"Re-poooort!" Klink stalked up to the line. He immediately noticed Newkirk's absence. "Hogan! Where is your Englishman?"

I wish I knew. "He's not here Kommandant. I think he escaped."

"Beg to report Herr Kommandant" Schultz interrupted. "Sergeant Carter is missing as well."

"What? Hogan!"

Hogan shrugged his shoulders with an innocent look. "Don't look at me! Newkirk was very upset yesterday morning. I think he got homesick and just took off during the night. Carter must've gone after him to bring him back."

"That is true Herr Kommandant. Oh the Englander was so angry he…"

"Shut up Schultz! Call out the dogs! Alert the patrols!"

"Jawohl Herr Kommandant!"

The compound erupted into a chaos of activity as guards and dogs flew out the front gates at a dead run.

"Kommandant?"

"What is it Hogan?"

"Are we dismissed?"

Klink stamped his foot petulantly. "Dis-miiiisssed!"

"Thank you sir."

Hogan led his men back into the barracks and then he headed down into the tunnel, Kinch and LeBeau behind him. They found Carter on the bench, still leaning against the wall, sound asleep.

Kinch shook his head, chuckling. "Must we Colonel? I'm sure he was awake all last night. And then making that ten mile hike on top of that."

"I know Kinch, but it can't be helped. We've got to find out what happened."

LeBeau sat down next to Carter and gently shook him by the shoulder. "André? André? Réveillez-vous mon ami."

Carter bolted awake. "Please tell me Peter's all right!" he shouted. He blinked confusedly and looked around. "Oh wait. Where am I?"

Kinch crouched down and put a hand on Carter's knee. "You're back at the stalag Andrew."

"Oh sorry guys. I thought I was back at the house. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it Carter. I didn't really want to wake you but I need to debrief you on this mission."

Carter rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Sure Colonel."

"Just start at the beginning."

"Well we made contact with Nightingale at the Hofbrau and she took us to the abandoned barn off the old Hammelburg Road to get the plans from Gunther."

Kinch looked around. "Where is Gunther by the way?"

"I told him to grab some sleep on the cot around the corner. I didn't want him in here when I told you guys what happened."

Hogan looked askance at Carter. "Why?"

Carter took a deep breath and decided to just say it. "Because he's the one who shot Peter."

All three men exclaimed "What?" at virtually the same time. LeBeau added a muttered "Cochon!" to the mix. Hogan paced in the direction of the alcove where Gunther was sleeping. He looked back at Carter.

"Wait fellas. Wait. It was an accident."

"Some accident!" murmured Kinch.

"Peter went inside the barn before I did. Gunther was scared. He thought Peter was a German soldier. I mean, we were dressed as infantrymen weren't we?"

Hogan nodded slowly, "Yes but that doesn't mean…"

"I know Colonel, I know. Thank God Gunther's a bad shot! At least Peter isn't dead." He fumbled in his coat pocket. "Oh yeah, before I forget. Here are the plans. We did complete the mission sir."

Hogan nodded, then took the plans and put them in his jacket's inside pocket. "What happened after Newkirk was shot?"

"We got him in the car and Nightingale took us to her mother's house. I can show you on the map approximately where it is. Nightingale's uncle is a doctor who works with the underground. He was there taking care of Peter when I left."

"Do you have any more details on Newkirk's condition?" Hogan asked.

"Like I said, the doc didn't think his life was in danger. The bullet grazed the left side of his head pretty deep. His left eye was swollen and bruised. The doc said it wasn't responsive. He was real concerned about Peter's sight. And he was concerned about internal bleeding."

LeBeau closed his eyes and muttered a brief prayer for his English friend.

Hogan pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his rising anger at bay. One of his command crew, seriously wounded, by a contact of all things! Dammit, don't we have enough trouble? Now we have to worry about being shot by the people we're trying to help?

Kinch repeatedly punched his fist into his hand, as Carter got up from the bench.

"Colonel when can I get back there and see Peter?"

"Not anytime soon. The woods and town will be chock full of Kraut patrols." Hogan glanced back over his shoulder. "Let Gunther sleep for now. I'll speak to him later." That'll give me a chance to cool off! I certainly don't need to lose it right now!

As Hogan headed for the ladder to the barracks, he heard LeBeau cursing under his breath and noticed Kinch's distracted stare. They were both facing the alcove where Gunther was, poised as if ready to attack. "Fellas?"

They looked up. "Try to get your feelings under control if at all possible. I know it's difficult. We still have a mission to complete. We're all worried about Peter. Hang on to the fact that's he still alive, okay?"

Kinch sighed and nodded, "Yes sir. You're right. At least he's still alive."

"Oui Colonel. I will try. Pierre is alive. It could have been so much worse."

"Carter?"

Carter looked at the three of them, then dropped his gaze to the floor. He spoke softly. "I was so angry when I first saw Peter lying on the ground." He raised his head to look Hogan in the eyes. "There was so much blood, Colonel, I thought he was dead. I nearly lost it. When I finally found his pulse, I didn't think of anything else but getting him to safety. I guess I've been too busy and worried to be angry again. Now I'm just too tired. I want to see him sir. I want to see him."

Hogan walked back to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "We all do Andrew. We will, trust me. We will."