A couple days went by, and Kinch, Newkirk, LeBeau, and Carter all went to the hospital with Klink to visit with Hogan, who seemed to be making progress little by little each day. His hand started squeezing Newkirk's hand more frequently and the gang was told by Klink the day before that Dr. Klaussner had reported Hogan had started fidgeting his toes a little bit.
Newkirk sat by Hogan's legs, as usual, Carter sat in the chair beside Hogan's bedside, LeBeau stood in front of Newkirk, and Kinch stood behind Carter. They were all smiling at their commanding officer, knowing he could hear them and was more than likely starting to fight to come back to them, now. They told them about the plot to get rid of Matthews, so they could save the operation from destruction. They also told them the new information they had learned regarding who Matthews really was.
"Hans Freitag, a gestapo officer. Can you believe it, Colonel?! We got a ruddy Kraut stinking up the barracks." Newkirk exclaimed.
"The barracks; try the entire camp." LeBeau said, correcting his friend.
"Boy, does he sure no how to hide an identity. I didn't believe it at first, Colonel." Carter said.
"Don't worry, Colonel; we'll think of a way to get rid of him, I promise." Kinch softly said smiling.
"I know one way of doing of doing it." LeBeau said, imitating slicing his neck with a knife.
"We're not killing him, Louis." Kinch warned.
"t's not a bad idea, though." Newkirk mumbled to himself.
Hogan's hand squeezed Newkirk's hand hard, as if he were trying to give him a warning of going in that direction of thinking.
"Blimey, Gov'nor...alright, alright, we won't do it!" Newkirk cried, his hand hurting a little.
All four of them could not help but laugh. It was good to see that their colonel was still the same man he was before getting hurt.
"That a boy, Colonel. You got it, sir. Just open your eyes and come back to us, now." Kinch said, beaming.
"Come on, Colonel; open those beautiful eyes of your's. I'll make your favorite dessert, if you open 'em." LeBeau said, imagining his delicious, moist chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
"You can't bribe him to come out of a coma, Louis." Newkirk replied, somewhat surprised LeBeau did such a thing.
"With my food; the Colonel will be opening his eyes any second now begging for a piece of cake." LeBeau said, fantasizing his work of art.
"Louis...you don't even have any cake here with us." Carter pointed out, as he wiggled his fingers, which were laced together.
"Ssshhhhhhh; don't let him know that!" LeBeau shot back, in a whisper.
Newkirk felt Hogan's hand softly squeeze his, again, as if he were trying to tell him something.
"I'll make 'em stop, Gov'nor, I promise." Newkirk said, kindly.
There was then a knock on the door. The door opened, and Dr. Klaussner walked in with a grim look on his face.
"I would allow you four to stay longer, but your Kommandant insists on returning to camp." Dr. Klaussner reported.
"Aw, really?!" LeBeau whined.
"But I didn't get to tell Colonel all about my win in gin against Newkirk, yet." Carter added.
"No one needs to know that, Andrew." Newkirk warned looking disgruntled.
Kinch sighed, then turned to Dr. Klaussner.
"Alright, Richard; give us five minutes to say 'goodbye'." Kinch said, softly.
"I'll do what I can, Kinch. You know how your Kommandant can be." Dr. Klaussner replied.
Kinch smirked.
"You're forgetting we know how to work around his rules, Doctor."
Dr. Klaussner chuckled then left the room, so the guys could say their goodbyes to Hogan. LeBeau went first. He turned to face Hogan and smiled at him.
"Get well soon, Colonel. I promise you that piece of cake, when you wake up, again." LeBeau said, winking. He then trotted off to the door and waited for the rest of his friends.
"We'll be back on Friday, Colonel. Until then, we'll be thinking about you and hopefully be planning out how to get rid of Matthews for good." Kinch said, smiling. He then walked over to LeBeau and waited for Carter and Newkirk to say their farewells.
"I'll make sure they stay out of trouble, Gov'nor. And don't worry; I won't murder Matthews...unless Kinch here gives me permission to, which is highly unlikely. See you real soon, Gov'nor." Newkirk said, gently squeezing Hogan's shoulder. He rose from his spot and made his way to the two by the door. Carter was the last to say 'goodbye'.
"I miss you, buddy. I hope you wake up really soon. I miss hearing your voice and your occasional telling me to 'shut up'. It's just not the same without you. Camp life gets boring real fast, and by golly you would've gotten rid of Matthews and had saved the operation, had you still be here with us. I wish I had a mind like your's. Do you know how many explosives I could…" Carter was cut off by Newkirk.
"Andrew, I'm gonna tell you to 'shut up', if you don't wrap it up, quick." Newkirk warned, irritated. He knew the longer he and the rest of them kept Klink waiting, the longer he would make them stand outside during evening roll call.
Carter looked at Newkirk, then sighed and turned back to face Hogan.
"Feel better really soon, Colonel...I miss you." Carter said, softly. He gently patted Hogan's shoulder, like he always did, when knowing one of his men, particularly Carter, were sad about something. He got to his feet and walked over to his friends. The four of them looked at Hogan one final time, all of them giving a small smile, then they left for Stalag 13.
Matthews was alone in the barracks pacing back and forth. He was trying to find a way to figure out which hospital Hogan was in. If he knew where, the sooner he could act on his plan to permanently get rid of the American that was currently interfering with his mission to exploit Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, LeBeau, Olsen, and the rest of the men in on the secret operation that Hochstetter continued to suspect be happening in Stalag 13. He was taken out of his thoughts, when he heard the door open and saw Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, and LeBeau enter into the barracks, back from their visit with Hogan.
At first, Matthews was irritated that the men were back, but then thought maybe they could be used to his advantage in order to figure out where Hogan was. He gave as friendly of a smile as he could and made his way to the four, who had sat down at the table with cups of coffee.
"Hey guys; how's it going?" Matthews asked, smiling.
The four of them glared at Matthews uninterested with him.
"Why does it matter to you, Matthews?" Newkirk asked smugly. He then took a sip of coffee.
"I thought you didn't like us, sir." Carter said, slightly confused at what was going on around here.
"Not like you guys! Oh, of course not! I'm just a little introverted when confronted with new people and can seem a bit unbearable." Matthews said, grinning.
"A bit unbearable only begins what we think." LeBeau mumbled, slightly confused and irritated.
Matthews fought his urge to strangle all of them and continued with his task.
"How was Colonel Hogan doing, today?" Matthews asked, sounding concerned.
"Why does it matter to you how Colonel Hogan was doing?" Kinch asked, growing suspicious of Matthews.
"Oh, I just was thinking about going to see him and tell him to get feeling better real soon. Can't wait to learn from such a respected and looked up man." Matthews replied.
"Boy, oh would Colonel love that! You can ask Klink to go see him. He knows the address to the hospital." Carter said, smiling.
"Andrew," Newkirk warned, glaring at him.
Carter looked at his three friends, who were all glaring at him. The young sergeant slid a slight bit to make himself seem smaller.
"What did I do?" Carter innocently asked.
"Nothing, Carter; nothing at all." Matthews said, growing an evil grin on his face.
Newkirk rose from his seat and looked Matthews directly in the eye.
"I don't know what you plan on doing to Colonel Hogan, but I can promise you that you'll never get a chance to try it." Newkirk warned, harshly.
"You try harming the Colonel, and you'll find some poison tomorrow morning in your breakfast." LeBeau snarled.
Matthews glared at the Frenchmen, then at all of them in general.
"I'll be outside going for a walk, if anyone needs me." Matthews sneered. He stomped off to the door, opened it, and slammed it behind him.
"The only thing I need you to do is to fall down a deep dark well, where no one can hear your screams of agony." Newkirk growled.
"André, what are you thinking?!" LeBeau exclaimed.
"Golly, I'm sorry, guys. I didn't think he was being rude. He just wanted to go tell Colonel to get feeling well, soon." Carter moaned.
"Andrew, you're forgetting that this man is a gestapo officer. If he finds out where the Gov'nor is, he'll more than likely go to the hospital and try to hurt him or worse." Newkirk said, more friendly.
Carter nodded, feeling bad for not catching onto that.
Kinch snapped his fingers suddenly and smiled boldly. He had been ignoring his friends and thinking the entire time.
"I got it!" Kinch cried, with glee.
"What, Kinch," Newkirk asked.
"I know how to get rid of Matthews." Kinch said, in love with his idea.
"What, mon ami?" LeBeau asked, curious to know.
"It sounds like a good one, buddy!" Carter added, interested in knowing what the plan was.
"Matthews always walks around camp in the late afternoon and late at night, right?" Kinch began.
"Yes," All men said.
"Alright, so here's the deal." Kinch said, beginning to tell his friends his plan.
Matthews was about to head off into his usual direction to start his walk around camp, when he looked over and saw the Kommandantur's. He looked around to make sure none of the other prisoners were watching him. After seeing the coast was clear, he smiled menacingly and made his way towards Klink's office. He walked in and saw Hilda working at her desk quietly. He smiled, but was not anywhere near 'friendly'. He found the blonde attractive and made his way over to see if she could help him in any way with accomplishing his task.
"Good afternoon, ma'am." Matthews said, smiling.
Hilda looked up at him quickly, found him uninteresting, and went back to typing.
"Hello, Colonel Matthews." Hilda said, focusing on her typing.
"How are you doing, today?"
"I'm fine."
"Is the Kommandant busy?"
Hilda sighed softly. She did not like this man and had no idea why, but that's how she felt. She was slightly irritated with his presence and did not find him anywhere close to how Hogan treated her. He was nice, kind, always polite and gentle with her. She felt this was more forced to have her guard be let down, but she was determined to give this man nothing more than professional attention.
"He's in; just knock on his door and wait for his permission." Hilda simply answered.
"Thank you, beautiful." Matthews said, grinning. Hilda could see something not right within his smile, but managed to not give him attention for that long. The young man leaned over and kissed Hilda on the cheek, then opened the door and walked into Klink's office.
Hilda looked up from work in the direction Matthews had gone. She glared coldly at where Matthews had gone, then wiped her cheek where Matthews kissed her, as if it made her sick to have it there. She then thought of Hogan and how he treated her, making her smile and able to go back to focusing on her work.
Matthews walked into Klink's office finding the old Kommandant working on signing papers. Matthews smirked, knowing this would be too easy, then grew serious, when Klink looked up at Matthews and glared at him.
"Colonel Matthews, what is this?! Why didn't you knock first; can't you see I'm busy?!" Klink exclaimed, aggravated with the sudden disturbance of privacy.
"I'm sorry, Kommandant, but I just gotta know how Colonel Hogan's doing." Matthews said, as if he felt terrible knowing the man was currently fighting for his life.
Klink eyed him suspicious of something going on. He had his doubts regarding this man, but decided to humor him.
"Why do you wish to know how Colonel Hogan's medical condition is doing?" Klink asked, not afraid to show his suspicions.
"I can understand why you would feel unsure with me asking such a thing, Kommandant, but the truth is I look up to Colonel Hogan. The prisoners here seem to really like and respect him greatly." Matthews started.
Klink continued looking at him carefully, but softly nodded.
"They do respect him, indeed." Klink replied.
"Well, Kommandant; I just wanted a chance to get to visit him and tell him myself. Maybe an aspiring colonel to learn the ways of the great Colonel Hogan would get him to wake up faster." Matthews continued.
Klink nodded, but was not quite sold yet on the idea.
"And what if I were to say 'no'?"
"Kommandant, why I've heard the best of the Kommandants in all of the Stalags! You're humane and humble and quite a ladies' man, too." Matthews said, playing his cards carefully.
Klink sat up proud and tall then looked at Matthews affectionately.
"You think so, Colonel Matthews." Klink said, pleased with what he was hearing.
"Oh, absolutely, Kommandant. Why, I don't know why you haven't been promoted to general yet! Oh, yes sir; what a great day that would be." Matthews said, knowing now he had Klink.
Klink stood up and slammed his fist on his desk.
"I couldn't agree with you more, Matthews! We'll leave after evening roll call!" Klink remarked.
"Thank you, Kommandant." Matthews replied, innocently. He headed towards the door, saluted Klink sloppy, then walked out of the Kommandantur's and down the steps into the compound. He started smiling wickedly and chuckled softly and maliciously. "And the trap snaps shut."
Evening came soon enough, and Klink and Matthews had made their way to the hospital. Klink sat down in the waiting room on the 6th floor, and Dr. Klaussner escorted the young American down the halls to Hogan's room, after Klink had given several threats regarding escaping attempts on the elevator ride up. Dr. Klaussner opened the door, let Matthews walk in silently, then closed the door leaving the man to himself with Hogan.
Making sure the coast was clear, he turned to face the unconscious man laying in the bed. Hogan's position and appearance had not changed since his four men/friends had come to visit him earlier that same day. He was aware of Hogan beginning to come back to consciousness, and his hanging around would not help Matthews's case. The undercover gestapo agent sat down in the chair beside Hogan's bed and glared at him coldly. He never felt so much hatred to someone in his entire life.
"So...you're the one those idiots look up to so much...personally, I don't see what they see in you, Colonel...you're nothing more than another American swine walking around Germany...and I will not stand to have you hanging around any longer." Matthews hissed.
He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with Zyklon B, a substance used in extermination camps, and rose to his feet. Although Hochstetter would be furious, if he found out the young captain had killed Hogan, Matthews knew it was necessary to carry out his assignment. In fact, he had argued with Hochstetter at first to let him do it, but ended with Hochstetter threatening him to assign someone else to the assignment, if he brought it up, again. Matthews decided that he would just tell his commanding officer that the American officer had succumbed to his injuries and had lung failure as a result killing him. He took the syringe and injected its substance into Hogan's IV stream, then smirked and put away the syringe in his pocket.
"Auf wiedersehen, Hogan." Matthews softly cackled and walked out of the room to go back to Klink.
Dr. Klaussner was walking down the halls late at night talking with his assistant about a patient, when they both heard an alarm go off. It was coming from Hogan's room. Both doctors rushed into the room and found the American jerking his head back and forth, gasping, as if he could no longer breathe, and had turned a slight grayish blue color.
Dr. Klaussner rushed to Hogan's side and immediately snapped his head back at his assistant.
"Get some cough medicine, water, and antibiotics, now! He's suffering from Zyklon B poisoning!" Dr. Klaussner ordered, sitting down by Hogan's side.
"Zyklon B; are you sure, Doctor?" The assistant asked, slightly in shock.
"Yes, now hurry! He'll die soon, otherwise!" Dr. Klaussner snarled.
The assistant ran off to grab the supplies and several other nurses and doctors. Dr. Klaussner turned his attention back to Hogan, gripped his shoulders, and shook him gently.
"Come on, Robert; don't leave us now, Robert...hang on, Colonel!" Dr. Klaussner ordered, a hint of fear in his voice.
