Chapter 11: Nightmares
Chapter 11: Nightmares
A smile appeared on Newkirk's face as the scenery looked familiar. They were on the outskirts of Hammelburg. Klink turned down the road leading to Stalag 13. When they were a mile from camp, Newkirk broke the silence. "Kommandant, pull over."
"Why? We're close to camp," asked Klink.
"You can't go into camp with the prisoners unchained. Your orders, remember." Newkirk jumped out of the truck and headed for the back, where Klink followed. "Klink, start cuffing everyone. Olsen, hide the packages."
"Packages? What packages. Wait. I already know." Klink turned his back to Olsen, Lawrence and Fehler.
Olsen motioned for the two men to follow him as he led them through the woods. Reluctantly, the rest of the men held their hands for Klink to cuff them to the seat. When he was finished, he turned to Newkirk. "How long do we have to wait for Olsen?"
"Hard to say. It depends on if he decided to site see or stop at the Hofbrau on the way back," answered Newkirk sarcastically. "You see, there is a pretty little frauline who works there…"
"Enough!" Klink rolled his eyes. "Why did I bother to ask? All you had to do was give me an estimated time. I don't want to know any more than I have to." Klink yelped when Olsen jumped into the back of the truck. "Why must you sneak up on a person like that? I ought to have you thrown into the cooler for that."
"Sorry, Sir," Olsen apologized. He took his seat and waited for Klink to cuff his hands.
"And your reason behind sending him to the cooler would be?" asked Newkirk.
"For sneaking up on me. What better reason do I need?" asked Klink.
"You see, Kommandant, if you do that, then you have to explain why you were in a position for him to sneak up on you. It will be a snow ball affect," explained Newkirk. "You might have to look the other way more than you think. Better do a better job of thinking a head."
"I'll try. Is there anything else or can we return to camp now?" Klink looked at his watch. "You have an hour and a half left to sleep before roll call." Klink's comment was met with moans and grumbles. "I can't change my routine. I will do my best to keep everything as close to normal as possible. Well, normal for this camp at least."
Klink and Newkirk walked to the front of the truck. Newkirk stared at Klink after he sat in his seat. "I guess we might live through this war after all."
"If you don't, it won't be because of anything I did. I want to maintain some degree of plausible deniability." Klink started the engine and drove toward camp.
HH HH HH
"Nein!" Hogan yelled in his sleep. "Ich heiße Johann Muller. Ich bin ein Kellner am Gugelhof. Sie müssen nicht mich peitschen. Ich sage die Wahrheit."
Kinch heard Hogan yelling and ran in to see what was wrong. He was surprised to hear Hogan dreaming in German. What Hogan was saying didn't make any since. As far as he knew, Hogan had only been to Berlin twice and neither time as Johann Muller or as a waiter at the Gugelhof. What was it he was trying to convince whoever of as being the truth so they wouldn't whip him?
There was a light tap at Hogan's door. Kinch turned to see Baker standing in the doorway. Kinch walked into the common room, shutting Hogan's door behind him. "Yea, Baker?"
"Olsen just delivered two packages. The men should be in camp any minute," informed Baker.
"Thanks. Wait a minute. Did you say two packages?" Kinch inquired.
Baker nodded, "Yea, Olsen said it had something to do with General Lawrence's mission."
Kinch shrugged. He would figure it out later. First things first. Why was Hogan dreaming in German? Kinch walked into Hogan's room.
Hogan continued. "Nein. Ich bin ein loyaler Deutscher. Ich bin nicht ein Traitor. Nein, bitte. Nein!"
Kinch noticed tears streaming down Hogan's cheeks. The anguish on Hogan's face broke his heart. He shook Hogan's arm lightly. "Colonel. Wake up, Colonel. The men will be back any minute."
"Was?" came Hogan's groggy voice.
"Olsen delivered two packages. The men will be back from Berlin any minute." The sound of truck brakes told Kinch they were back. "Sir, the men are back."
Hogan opened his eyes. "Kinch?" Hogan sat up slowly. "What happened?"
That's what I want to know. "A truck just pulled into the compound."
"Is it the guys?" asked Hogan with concern. The barrack's door opened. Voices could be heard coming from the common room. There was a knock at the door. "Come in."
The team from Berlin entered the room. "Look's like you are feeling better, gov'nor,
commented Newkirk.
"Amazing what some sleep can do. How did everything go?" asked Hogan.
Newkirk answered, "Piece of cake, gov'nor. We were able to get you, General Lawrence and Fehler out in one piece."
"Who's Fehler?" asked Hogan.
"According to General Lawrence, he's some bloke who has sensitive information, which could help end the war sooner and he saved your hides way back when," answered Newkirk.
"Is General Lawrence all right?" asked Hogan with hesitation.
"Right as rain. Sorry we couldn't tell you the plan. We wanted to, but Hochstetter never gave us the chance. Did everything go alright on the way back to camp?" asked Newkirk. "We're sorry we had to send you back to camp with Hochstetter. At the last minute, Carter realized if we took control of you, we wouldn't be able to get you back into camp without people asking questions."
"You made the decision on your own, Carter?" asked Hogan.
Carter nodded. "Yes, sir. I didn't have time to tell everyone so I made the decision. Did I make the right one? I know now if we did take control of you, you would have come up with a plan, but I just didn't know…"
"Carter, you did well. I am proud of you for making the decision. You have come along way from the timid, naive young man I first met. I'm impressed with the way you handled Hochstetter in the barn, but did you have to give him permission to shoot me?"
"Gee, Colonel. General Lawrence wasn't going to do anything to cause Hochstetter to shoot you. We had to make it look realistic," said Carter.
Hogan was silent for a moment. He started to get out of bed. "I'm going to check on General Lawrence."
Kinch put his hand on Hogan's shoulder. "Colonel, he's probably sleeping. Do you really want to disturb a sleeping general?"
The worried look on Hogan's face wasn't lost on Newkirk. "Colonel, you didn't really think we would kill him, did ya?"
"The colonel didn't know it was you guys. He thought you were real Gestapo agents. Hochstetter told him the underground killed General Lawrence," Kinch answered.
"Us!" exclaimed Carter. "How could you not recognize us?"
Kinch glared at Carter. Hogan answered his question though. "Between Weissmuller's hospitality, poison and lack of lighting, I wasn't sure what was going on. If you were the underground he was referring to, I didn't think you would kill him, but I wasn't sure. London might have ordered it."
"You can't be serious. Orders or not, we wouldn't kill one of our own without a good reason," answered LeBeau.
"Orders are a good reason," said Hogan testy.
"If London would've ordered you to kill him to keep his secret quiet, could you?" asked Newkirk.
"If I was ordered to, to protect the country, yes." Hogan raised his hands, signaling all to stop talking. "This command doesn't come easy. My job is to make the difficult decisions and perform the difficult tasks. If I let my feelings about someone control my actions, this operation wouldn't survive. If it ever comes down to killing someone, to protect others or to help end the war sooner, do it No matter whose side they're on." Hogan bowed his head. "Even if it's me."
"You can't be serious. We would never do that," said Newkirk. "London would be balmy to ask such a thing. You're too important."
Hogan stood. "That's exactly why if it every came down to it, you do as ordered. Would you rather I am in such unbearable pain I start naming names, military strengths and tactics or every thing else I know? What if I was the one the Nazis brainwashed instead of Wright? We talk about how we would never break and could withstand everything the Nazis can through at us. It's easy to say when you are not being tortured. But when you are in such pain you pray for death, giving them what they want seems like a pretty good option."
"Colonel Hogan is right. We follow orders no matter what. We have to keep the big picture in mind. There are things about this war, bigger than us," said Kinch in support.
"Lets all pray the war ends before receiving such an order," said Christopher.
"We have some time before roll call. You men look beat. Get some shuteye. We'll talk more after roll call." Hogan lay back down as everyone left the room. Everyone except Kinch. "Yes, Kinch?"
"Colonel, there is something I need to ask you." Kinch waited for the nod to tell him to continue. "Who is Johann Muller?"
"Why do you ask?" inquired Hogan.
"When I came in here, you were dreaming in German. You said things…" Kinch couldn't continue.
"I said those things out loud?" Hogan said, shocked. "Have a seat." After Kinch was seated he continued. "My first spy mission was in 1938. The US had heard many rumors about Hitler. They wanted someone here to see if there was any truth to them. General Lawrence and I were volunteered for the mission. Our job was to gather information only."
"Sounds simple enough," commented Kinch.
"That's what we thought. Either we messed up some where, which we don't think we did, or there was a leak who informed Hitler, information about his plan had gotten out. One night, the Gestapo entered our flat and arrested us for treason. I tried to convince them I was a loyal German and not a traitor. My undercover name was Johann Muller. Does that clarify things for you?" asked Hogan.
Kinch nodded. It also explained where the scars he saw when he first helped Wilson doctor one of Hogan's wounds, came from. "Did you ever discover who the leak was?"
"No, never did. After we recovered from the third-degree interrogation session with the Gestapo, General Hammond chewed our butts out for messing up on an important operation. Then he thanked us for the information we got."
"I didn't think they started the third-degree interrogations at the jails until 42? In 38, I thought third-degrees were only used in concentration camps. Were you sent to a concentration camp?" asked Kinch
Hogan cocked an eyebrow. "How did you know it was only used in concentration camps at that time? It's not supposed to be public knowledge."
"You forget, I monitor the radio. I heard a couple of men talking one time. From what I could make out, the one man use to flog the prisoners at Flossenburg." Kinch noticed how uncomfortable Hogan appeared. "Colonel, I didn't mean to imply anything or bring up bad memories. I just…"
Kinch could tell he had hit a raw nerve with Hogan. True to Hogan's nature, when you start talking about something he doesn't want to talk about, he changed the subject.
"Don't apologize. If I heard one of you saying the same things, I would question it also. Since the ordeal with Wright, I think we need to question abnormalities more. If I do anything out of character, I want you questioning it. Just because I'm the CO doesn't mean I'm more immune than any of you," said Hogan with a fake smile.
"Will do, Colonel. See you in an hour." Before Kinch left the room, he glanced at Hogan again. Colonel, how do you keep going with all you have been through?
With most people, Hogan was good at hiding his true feelings. Kinch had been good friends with him along time and was able to see his true feelings. Kinch didn't understand everything written between the lines, but he read enough to know Hogan was scared.
Twice did Hogan refer to acting different. What if he had been brainwashed and if I do anything out of character.
Realization dawned on Kinch. His eyes went wide. Was Hogan telling him what he thought he was telling him? His heart stopped at the possibility. Was Hogan saying the Nazi's had brainwashed him and he should keep a close eye on him?
HH HH HH
It seemed no sooner Hogan had closed his eyes, Schultz was yelling for roll call. He stretched his stiff muscles. He was still sore, but doing much better. He joined the rest of the men in formation.
"Report!" yelled Klink as he took his place before the prisoners.
With a smile, Schultz announced, "All present and accounted for."
"It is good to see all my prisoners where they should be. Let this be a lesson to you. Don't do anything verboten and you have nothing to worry about. Colonel Hogan, I want to see you in my office in an hour. Dismissed." Klink quickly turned, heading back to his office.
Hogan made his way to the tunnels after roll call. He wanted to see for himself Lawrence was okay. Once in the tunnels, Hogan saw Lawrence and Fehler sleeping on the guest cots. Hogan did a double take at Fehler. "It's him!" Hogan quietly exclaimed. Even though Newkirk said he had saved his life once, he still couldn't place him until now.
His mind drifted back to his last round of his third-degree interrogation from the Gestapo. Despite everything the Nazis did to get Hogan to change his story, nothing changed. He tried to supplicate his way out of it, but no use. Kinch had been right. At the time, third-degree interrogations were reserved for concentration camps. Unfortunately, the man in charge of interrogating them was in charge of third-degrees at Sachsenhausen. Very few survived the session without braking. Hogan believed the reason they tried so hard to get information out of them was because they already knew the story Hogan and Lawrence had given was false. The only way they could know that was because of a leak.
Fehler had been the only Gestapo officer who believed Hogan's and Lawrence's story. Hogan remembered seeing him come into the Gugelhauf just about every day after work. It wasn't until he caught up with Lawrence again he learned Fehler had faked Lawrence's death so he wouldn't have to face the flogging.
During the flogging process, Fehler was responsible for keeping track of how many lashings Hogan received from the cat-of-nine-tails. Even though Hogan was in excruciating pain, he noticed how Fehler kept distracting his tormentor and would skip a few numbers. That small task is probably what saved his life. By the time the count had reached into the thirties, Hogan was ready to tell them everything he knew and admit he was a spy. At least he didn't have to deal with any lingering pain after being executed.
To his relief, the doctor had raised his hand to stop around forty. His tormentor stepped back as the doctor felt Hogan's vitals. That had been the last thing he remembered. He woke up a week later in a London hospital with Lawrence at his bedside.
The creek of the cot brought Hogan out of his thoughts. Fehler had woken up. "It's you! I should have known when I saw the general you wouldn't be far away." Fehler stood. "I'm glad to see my efforts weren't wasted."
"I never got a chance to thank you. Why did you believe me back then?" asked Hogan.
"It wasn't so much me believing you. It was more not agreeing with what they were doing to the both of you. My only regret is I couldn't have done more. At the time I didn't understand why they didn't believe you and why they were so persistent. Now I understand," answered Fehler
"Whatever the reason, thanks. I hear you have information, vital to the war effort," said Hogan.
"Ja. I walked into a conference room and found a folder under the table. I looked around and saw no one, so I glanced at its contents. I'm tired of this war and the suffering of innocent people. I decided to get this information to the Allies. There was someone in Berlin I suspected of being a member of the underground, but I kept it too myself. I let him know what I had. The deal was I leave Germany with the information," informed Fehler.
"Now I know why General Lawrence is here," said Hogan.
Fehler laughed. "It appears I'm always helping you."
"But this time, we're helping you also," answered Hogan.
"What does a general have to do to get some breakfast around here?" asked Lawrence.
"Sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to wake you," Hogan apologized.
"Sure you did or you wouldn't have done it. I think you go out of your way to irritate me," scolded Lawrence.
"I think I have earned the right," said Hogan with a grin. "In case you've forgotten, you're a pain in my leg, chest, arm…"
Lawrence cut Hogan off. "Okay. How about we call it even?" He smiled and stuck out his hand.
Hogan returned the smile, accepting his hand. When Hogan grabbed Lawrence's hand, he pulled Hogan close to him, giving him a hug. "I'm glad to see you, but next time, we meet someplace less hostile and that's an order."
"An order I don't mind obeying." Hogan turned, hearing footsteps behind him. His men figured it was time to see what the plans were to get the men to London.
"I guess I taught you something after all. You have a good group of men here," Lawrence praised.
"Thank you, Sir. I couldn't have asked for a better group," said Hogan.
"I couldn't help but notice though. When the men were not acting as Gestapo, Corporal Newkirk was the one giving the orders," commented Lawrence.
Hogan chuckled. "I don't run this camp according to military standards. We are informal here. I don't look at rank, but ability. Just because I'm a colonel, it doesn't mean I'm the most capable person to lead a mission involving placing explosives on a bridge." Hogan put his arm around Carter. "Carter here is my explosive expert. He is the one I would place in charge and take orders from. When it comes to cooking, I burn water. Corporal LeBeau is an expert French chef."
"The military is going to be in trouble when you get home. If it is up to you, you'd have a private running the Pentagon," laughed Lawrence.
"If they're the best person for the job…" Hogan left the rest of sentence hanging. Everyone laughed.
"Speaking of food, how about that breakfast?" asked Lawrence, rubbing his growling stomach.
"Right away, General." LeBeau said, making his way to the ladder.
"Newkirk, I have been meaning to ask you. How did you get away from Klink in Berlin to get us out?" asked Hogan.
Newkirk lowered his head. This caused Hogan to worry. "Sir, we…I had no choice. I made the decision I thought was right."
Hogan closed his eyes, praying Newkirk wasn't going to say what he was thinking. "What happened?"
"Colonel, he knows about you. He approached me with the information and wanted to help get you out," admitted Newkirk.
"How on earth does he know!" yelled Hogan.
"He had his suspicions for a while. Trusting him was the only way to get the both of you out. If anything goes wrong with Klink, I accept full responsibility and will correct the problem," admitted Newkirk
"Even if it costs the lives of the underground and this operation?" Hogan asked with irritation. "What guarantee do we have he wont talk?"
"He gave me his word," answered Newkirk sheepishly.
"That's just great! You take the word of a coward who'd sell out his mother to keep from getting transferred to the eastern front," yelled Hogan.
"Hold on Hogan," interrupted Lawrence. "From what I've seen, you have taught these men well. From what I've heard, Newkirk didn't make this decision lightly."
"With all due respect, Sir, let me handle my own men." Everyone could tell Hogan was holding back and not saying everything on his mind. "You have no idea what we go through here. What it's like day after day, wondering if the wrong person will talk or if this operation will be discovered?" Hogan paced. "The Gestapo could walk in here and kill us all because they feel like it. There is no one to stop them. You have seen how these people don't give a rat's tail about the Geneva Convention. They will write it off as shot while trying to escape or something like that."
Lawrence unbuttoned his shirt, exposing the scars on his chest. "Don't tell me I have no idea. Did you forget what happened when the Gestapo arrested us for treason? Do you think you were the only one they tortured? I know exactly what is at stake." Lawrence buttoned his shirt back up.
"What?" questioned Carter.
"Later Carter. Colonel," Kinch interrupted. "Klink knows the risks. His life is in as much danger as ours if the Gestapo discovers he knows. He saw what they were doing to you, and still waltzed in there to give you a break. He had many opportunities to turn everyone in while you were there and didn't. To me, that doesn't sound like a person who will easily fold. I placed Newkirk in charge when they got to Berlin. I would not have done so if I didn't trust his judgment."
"I talked with Klink as well. I believe he is genuine," said Lawrence. "My advice is to give him a chance to prove himself."
Hogan hung his head in shame. He let his emotions control him again. Everyone was right. He trained his men well and trusted them with his life. Maybe it was time to trust his men's decisions. "No, I haven't forgotten about 38. Lately, that's all I think about. I'm sorry. Newkirk, I should've trusted your judgment. I know you wouldn't have included Klink if you didn't trust him."
"Apology accepted," smiled Newkirk.
"Speaking of Klink, don't you have a meeting with him?" asked Carter.
Hogan glanced at his watch. "I'm afraid we will have to continue this later. Now I get to see if Newkirk's gut is right."