Chapter Twelve: Unlikely Hero
Hogan hadn't been looking at Faust while he was talking to Carter and Newkirk in their cell since he had turned away once the Sergeant had passed his cell, but as soon as he heard what his corporal had said, he suddenly turned to face the Gestapo agent. Much to his horror, the Colonel knew that what Newkirk had said was correct, as he also noticed his green eyes and upper fangs. There seems to be more vampires in the world than ants at an Independence Day picnic. Here I thought we were up the creek without a paddle before. Now I don't even think we have a creek Hogan thought to himself, as he tried to keep himself from hyperventilating. After all, it didn't take a genius for him to know who the cat was and who the mouse was in this equation.
"If you lay one 'and or fang on the Gov'nor, so 'elp me…" Newkirk said from inside his cell, his eyes glowing green and his fangs bared while he quickly got up to stand by the cell door, his hands gripping the bars. Even though he was locked up, the last thing he would do was let Faust hurt his commanding officer, especially in a vampiric fashion. Turning his head slightly, he saw that Carter was right besides him, the same protective expression evident on his face.
"You two are not in the position to make any threats," Faust began sinisterly. "Besides, I am certainly not going to feed on the Colonel, if that is what you are thinking….The last time I checked, dead men don't reveal any secrets." With that, Faust began to turn away to walk down the hallway again. However, he turned back to face his two vampire prisoners. "I suppose this means that there's more for me, then," he told them as he drank the entire blood bag in two swallows. He figured that if they saw that he had something that they didn't, something that they needed to survive, they might be more willing to divulge their secrets.
Passing Hogan's cell, he turned to face the Colonel. "You already know how your two men are going to be tortured—I hear that starvation is a nasty way to die…again. As for you, I shall be content in the knowledge that there is nothing you can do to relieve their hunger."
If Hogan had been showing any outward signs of fear, those quickly vanished into anger when he thought about his two men. As their commanding officer, it was his job to help and protect them, and he felt a sense of powerlessness knowing that Faust was correct. At the same time, he was worried about what Faust had done to Kinch and LeBeau. "What have you done with my other two men?" he asked of the Gestapo agent.
"You mean, Sergeant Kinchloe and Corporal LeBeau? They should be regaining consciousness soon, as I gave them the same counteragent that I administered to you. Killing them in cold blood would have been too easy—they deserve to be tried and brought before a firing squad as two of Papa Bear's spies. Or, once Major Hochstetter hears that they tried to escape from Stalag 13 and succeeded, but only so far, that should be the end of your Kommandant's illustrious career." He added, "I suppose you're wondering who stopped you while you were all traveling back to your Stalag the other day—here's your suspicious German patrol guard. I'm also glad that my plan worked—I knew that your Kommandant would recognize me from the officer's party, so I was able to trick that greedy Sergeant Adler and changed him into a vampire to get you and your Colonel away from his Stalag. Naturally, there won't be any witnesses," Faust told them, smiling sinisterly. With that, Hogan could once again hear Faust walking down the hallway and then opening and closing a door.
As soon as Hogan knew that Faust had left, he turned his attention to discussing matters with Carter and Newkirk, who by this time had sat back down. He knew that he was not the type of man who usually shared his anxieties with them, but at the same time he knew that they were all in this together. "Do you believe what Faust said, about not feeding on me? As you two know, the last thing I want to become is a vampire."
Newkirk sighed gently before answering Hogan's question. "The Kraut actually makes sense. Thankfully, 'e won't be able to read any of our minds for a while yet, so 'e won't know anything about either of our organizations unless we tell 'im." Then, he added at the same time that Carter said, "We'd rather die than reveal any secrets."
Hogan thought about what his two men had just told him. Though he was well aware of the fact that life-and-death was a constant reality of war, he had always tried to live for the mission, and tried not to dwell on the subject too much. Naturally, he had no idea how the concept would apply to vampires. "Exactly how long can a vampire go without drinking blood? How does 'starvation' apply to you two?"
From inside their cell, Carter turned to Newkirk. He had never given the subject much thought before, since to him it had always been pretty easy—drink when you're hungry, and don't when you're not. Since Newkirk had more experience, he took the lead in answering Hogan's questions. "Seven days—ten if we're lucky. As far as starvation, the symptoms vary between individuals, but the most common begins with an 'eadache, and then stomach and muscle cramps, lethargy and irritability." He quickly added at the same time as Carter, "I suppose we'd like to apologize in advance for any outbursts towards you—please know that it's nothing personal."
Hogan thought over what his two men had told him. We've gotten out of 'sticky wickets' before, and I just know that we'll be able to get out of them again. Hopefully before those seven days are up, because I don't even want to think about how I'd feel without them. Replying to his men, he told them "I understand that you won't be yourselves after a while—no offense taken for any outbursts. We need to put our minds together to figure out a way to get out of this mess….But there's still something that I don't understand. I noticed that Faust only had one set of fangs, but you both have two. And since Faust is a vampire, why wouldn't he have been able to catch you that night?" Hogan asked, referring to Newkirk.
"Fortunately, mind reading isn't the only power that recently changed vampires don't possess. It will take a couple of weeks before the second set of fangs grows in, as well as greater speed and strength." He then added, informing his Colonel, "I'm going to try to contact Kinch and LeBeau again." However, ever since Faust had mentioned his Kommandant, another idea had begun forming in his mind. Sighing, he thought to Carter You know who we're going to 'ave to contact if we can't reach them.
Carter turned to face Newkirk, wide-eyed as he knew who Newkirk was referring to. You can't be serious—are you? Not after what happened in his office recently after Hochstetter left. He's having too hard of a time controlling Eagle—it's too risky. Still, Carter sighed to himself. He could sense that nobody in the Underground or London knew where they were, and by the time they were found they would most likely be nothing but piles of dust. He knew that Eagle had the ability to pick up scents and track them, so he thought to Newkirk I don't want to admit it, but you're right—but only as a measure of last resort. Knowing who they might have to turn to, Carter and Newkirk began trying to contact Hogan's two other men with all of the concentration that they could muster.
…
By this time, Kinch and LeBeau had managed to regain consciousness from the effects of the sleeping gas. Sitting up quickly, they instantly regretted it as their heads were still hurting from when they had bumped into Newkirk and Carter in the back of Faust's truck. At the same time, they rolled up their sleeves when they noticed the throbbing pain from where Faust had injected them with the counteragents and looked down at the injection site, wondering about what had happened after they had been knocked out.
Still, their own comfort and safety wasn't their top priority as they wondered what had happened to Hogan, Newkirk and Carter. "What do you think the Bosch did with mon Colonel, and Newkirk and Carter?" LeBeau turned to ask Kinch, as they slowly began to get to their feet.
"Other than this being a kidnap attempt, I'm not sure. This probably has something to do with their being vampires, or we wouldn't be sitting here. Klink isn't expecting us to be done with our painting job at Kommandant's Brown Stalag for at least a whole day, so that gives us at least," Kinch looked at his watch, "twelve hours to look for them before he notices that we're missing. Still, it wouldn't do us or them any good if we caught colds from being in these wet clothes." Even though it had stopped raining, the sky was very cloudy, and although the trees had been able to provide some cover, they had still managed to become thoroughly soaked. "We should head back for a change of clothes, and I'll radio the Underground to see if anybody knows anything that we don't."
"Oui, mon ami. But we need to hurry—I hate to think what that filthy Bosch might have done with them." With that, they started to quickly yet carefully make their way back to their Stalag, keeping an eye out for any patrols, though all the while unaware that Newkirk and Carter were still trying to telepathically contact them.
…
Back inside his office, Klink was blissfully unaware of the events that had occurred after Hogan and his men had left his Stalag. He thought that they had arrived at Kommandant Brown's Stalag by now, and were fixing up his guest quarters as the Sergeant had told him. Taking a break from his usual stack of paperwork, he was just about to dig into his late lunch, which was a sandwich, when a sudden fuzzy sensation in his brain interrupted him. Setting his lunch back on his plate, he tilted his head, since he knew that the sensation could only mean that either Carter or Newkirk were trying to contact him.
From inside his cell, Carter swore that if Newkirk's eyes had any more of a burning appearance that they would have been able to cut their way out of their cell. He knew that his friend had managed to contact Klink when he suddenly tilted his head.
Sir, I'm going to need you to stay calm for this, since I don't want to alarm you or make you lose control. But me, Carter, and Colonel Hogan are in a bit of a sticky wicket. Faust tricked you—'e sent an unknown Sergeant to get us away from your Stalag, and now 'e's made us 'is prisoners….We need your 'elp….And did I mention that 'e's a vampire?
Upon hearing that they were in trouble, Klink could once again feel his protective rage building up within him. He was furious that he had been tricked, and he hated to think what Faust could be doing to them, both as a Gestapo agent and a vampire. Clenching his teeth and gripping his chair, he told himself Wilhelm, it won't do them any good for you to lose control of yourself. It's imperative that you don't give into the beast within you. The Kommandant slowly began to take deep breaths, closed his eyes, clasped his hands together and tried to make himself think calm, relaxing thoughts, as Newkirk had once taught him. This continued for several long minutes, and every time he felt Eagle wanting to break free or the convulsions begin, it only made him concentrate all the harder. Finally, he felt enough inner peace and calm to realize that Eagle wasn't a threat. If Eagle and I have the power to help you, we will. Whatever Faust wants, don't give it to him. I know we may be on opposite sides in this war, but he has simply crossed the line. Please try to hold on.
Even though he had been hungry all day and had been looking forward to his lunch, Klink found that his appetite had vanished when he heard that Newkirk and the others were in trouble. Still, he knew that in order for this rescue mission to be a success, the last thing he needed was losing any control that he had over Eagle, such as being distracted by the first appetizing rabbit or mouse that he saw. He made himself eat his meal while he thought of the necessary preparations that had to be done. As soon as he was done eating, he picked up his phone and called up the officer who was to be his replacement in his Stalag, and told him a story about having some pressing errands to run in Berlin that would last about two weeks. I only hope that nobody, such as General Burkhalter or Major Hochstetter, tries to verify my story. At the same time, he called Schultz into his office to explain the same "truth" to him, while requesting that he drive him to Hammelburg, where he would then catch a train to Berlin. He knew that it would look suspicious if he didn't take his car with him, but at the same time he didn't want it to be found abandoned outside of the Stalag either. He could only hope that wherever the three men were that they were around or past Hammelburg in the same direction, since he didn't want Eagle to waste valuable time doubling back.
Klink had hoped to leave after the evening roll call which was to take place in a couple of hours, so when he had telephoned his replacement he had informed him that his leaving was of the utmost importance and that he would need to arrive at Stalag 13 immediately. Walking back to his quarters, he began to pack his field pack with all of the necessary items that he would need on his trip. As he gathered his essentials, he laid everything out on his bed: clothes, including his uniform; two extra pairs of monocles; money for hotel and food; and a gun with ammunition. He only hoped that he had enough German marks to last for the duration of his journey, since although he knew Eagle wouldn't mind it, the thought of having to sleep on the open ground and eat whatever he could catch wasn't exactly appealing to him. He was glad that an hour after he had finished packing and he was back in his office trying to read Mein Kampf to pass the time, he heard a car pull up and could only hope that it was his replacement. Looking out of his window and noticing the passenger get out, he smiled to himself as he noticed that it was.
Even though he still had thirty minutes before the evening roll call, Klink felt that he couldn't wait another minute so he told Schultz to issue it early. He walked outside his Kommandantur's office to listen to Schultz give his report, and he tried to pay attention to what his Sergeant was saying. However, he found that his mind was so busy concentrating on his mission ahead that there could have been a mass escape going on and he probably wouldn't have noticed. Still, his eyes momentarily glanced at the empty spots where Hogan, Newkirk, and Carter usually stood and he felt a fierce resolve to do everything in his power to help them. As long as I have Eagle by my side, and we're working with each other, not against one another, I promise that no serious harm will come to any of them. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if Kinch and LeBeau were alright after he noticed that they weren't in their spots either. I wish I knew where they were, so I could tell them that everything was going to be alright. Sighing, he thought to himself, But would they believe me? For all I know, they may still be angry that I gave that Sergeant permission to remove Colonel Hogan and his men from my Stalag.
Of course, Klink had no way of knowing that at that precise moment, Kinch and LeBeau were down in the tunnels, and that they were very worried since the Underground didn't have any information about Hogan's or his men's location. After making sure that the coast was clear in their barracks, they emerged from the tunnels and walked out of the door just in time to see that Klink was in his car, and that Schultz was driving him outside of the gates.
Upon seeing their confused looks, Sergeant Olsen turned to them and informed them as he pointed to Klink's departing car, "If you're looking for the Kommandant, you can see that you just missed him. By the way, I thought you two were over at Kommandant's Brown Stalag, fixing up his guest quarters?"
Upon hearing Olsen's question, Kinch turned to LeBeau. They knew that the Sergeant was trustworthy, so they decided to tell him the non-supernatural truth about what had happened, while making him promise that he wouldn't tell anybody else. "If anybody asks why we're back in camp, just tell them that LeBeau felt sick and got the Kommandant's permission to let us return here," Kinch told Olsen, as he noticed that the other prisoners were beginning to stare at them.
"Why do I have to be the sick one?" LeBeau retorted, crossing his arms.
Turning to face his friend, Kinch replied, "Because you're the type to faint, and I'm not. It wouldn't be as believable if it was the other way around." Before the other prisoners from their barracks could pay too much attention to the fact that he and LeBeau were back, the three of them turned around and headed back into the tunnels, hoping to come up with a way to save their commanding officer and his men.
…
As Schultz drove his car to Hammelburg, Klink found himself thinking about the mission that lay ahead for him. He tried not to blame himself for letting himself be tricked by Faust, yet he knew that if he had only stood up to the Sergeant that Faust had sent to his Stalag, none of them would be in the mess that they currently found themselves in. I've heard Newkirk refer to these situations as 'wicky stickets,' and this is certainly a 'wicky sticket' alright. At the same time, he found another problem was weighing heavily on his mind. Though he had learned to mostly manage his condition on his own, Klink felt that Carter and Newkirk had been his prisoners for so long that he couldn't remember life without them. He knew that it would take every ounce of control and restraint to make Eagle bend to his well, and not the other way around. Though he had never considered himself a very religious man, he bowed his head and silently prayed for a couple of minutes that he would have the strength and willpower necessary to carry out his assignment. Before he knew it, he was inside Hammelburg's border, and he allowed himself to sigh before he directed Schultz where to take him. Looking outside his window, he noticed that the moon was clearly visible and that it was first quarter. Heaven help me if I'm still looking for them during the full moon Klink thought to himself. Then, right before he got out of his car, having arrived at his destination, he took a couple of aspirin that he had also placed in his field pack. Though no part of his body hurt at the moment, he knew that this was about to change very quickly.
After he left his car and waved farewell to his Sergeant, Klink quickly started looking for the first deserted alleyway that he could find. He could only hope that the aspirin would work quickly. Finding what he was looking for, Klink quickly began to get undressed and folded the clothes into his field pack, sat down, and concentrated with all his might on carefully and cautiously letting Eagle free. He winced and tried to keep himself from screaming as the extremely painful transformation and convulsions began, causing him to double over and clutch his stomach, and he could feel every part of his anatomy changing from man to wolf. After what seemed like an eternity but was only a couple of minutes, any sight of Klink was gone and Eagle was lying in his place. Eagle burrowed under the field pack until he knew that it was securely wrapped over his back, before quickly scratching his ear with his hind foot. He then quickly took notice of his surroundings, and was glad that nobody seemed to be in sight. Alright, let's go Klink told his other half. Holding his nose in the air and sniffing, Eagle walked out of the alley until he picked up what he thought was a familiar smell. He walked faster, and when he was positive that he had caught Hogan's scent, went into a full run as he began to make his way out of Hammelburg.
…
Back inside their cell, Newkirk looked at his watch and realized that it was well past the usual time that the evening roll call occurred. He was still sitting with his back leaning against the wall of his cell, and he tried to gather his strength as it had taken a lot of energy to contact Klink. He knew that telepathy was always easier between two vampires instead of a vampire and a werewolf. Still, a smile formed as he knew that he had succeeded in reaching his Kommandant, and that Eagle was on the way to help free them. Turning to Carter, he thought I was able to reach our Kommandant, and 'e's on 'is way as we speak. So far, e' seems to be in full control of Eagle. Upon hearing the good news, Carter allowed himself to smile as well.
Turning to his commanding officer, Carter told him "We were able to reach Kinch, sir. He and LeBeau should be on their way as we speak. As you know, the Kommandant still thinks that they're painting the guest quarters for Kommandant Brown, so they won't have to attend roll call for at least a day or two." After he had finished relaying the information to his Colonel, Carter turned back to Newkirk. I hate having to lie to Colonel Hogan—I really wish that I didn't have to.
I know Carter, I know—I'm not too crazy about the idea meself. Still, 'ow do we explain that cowardly Klink is coming to rescue us, let alone the fact that e's a werewolf? I just 'ope that when 'e gets 'ere, e's still able to maintain 'is secret. Who knows what should 'appen if our Colonel were to discover the truth. I just 'ope we're never forced to take sides. With that, the two men tried to make themselves as comfortable as they could in their cell, hoping to get a couple hours of sleep so that they could approach the problem of trying to break out of their prison with fresh minds the following day.
