It was about eight in the evening when Radar heard the phone ringing. Teddy bear in hand, he walked over to the phone, ignoring the fact that his glasses were on crookedly as he sleepily woke up from his nap. "M*A*S*H four-oh-seven-seven. This is Corporal O'Reilly speaking."
"Radar, it's me, Hawkeye," the captain whispered on the other end of the phone. "We've got some information for you and we have a few minutes to talk about it. We do know that Margaret was framed, but not by who just yet. Get Colonel Potter."
"What?!" Radar yelled, excited to hear from Hawkeye, but not cautious enough to keep his own happiness to himself. "Hold on, let me get the colonel, like you asked for. You hold on for a moment and don't hang up. I'll be right here, Sir!"
Radar knew that Colonel Potter was in Post-Op and had managed to get him from his station immediately when he whispered to him who was on the phone. Both silently left the wounded and the nurses and gathered around the phone, like a pair of conspirators in an illegal act.
Colonel Potter was ecstatic, albeit stoic outwardly, that Hawkeye had called, however worried he was about the search for him and his upcoming arrest. He was worried about Klinger as well, who had also just been named as one of many people in the plot to kill Nurse Curtis, revealed already to be a spy. While Kellye, Rizzo and even BJ had been named in this investigation as part of the murder and have not been arrested, Major Floyd had yet to leave the camp in peace and find the real murderer (or, better yet, why Sergeant Church had disappeared). More people, he knew, were yet to be named as murderers and he, as commander of the outfit, knew that he had not seen the end of this catastrophe yet.
"Pierce, is that really you?" Colonel Potter whispered, aware that Floyd was patrolling the compound outside with his men while others brutally interrogated.
"Who else would it be but your friendly, neighborhood surgeon?" Hawkeye asked as a reply in an almost gay voice. "Listen, Colonel, I know that we don't have a lot of time, but do you think that we need to –"
"Pierce, I know. Go AWOL and we'll cover for you later," Colonel Potter interrupted softly, knowing what Hawkeye was about to ask and knowing the tough choices that he probably had to face. "Now, son, tell us what you've found out so far."
"Well, we know that Margaret was definitely framed, but we don't know who did the dirty deed yet," Hawkeye began with some uncertainty in his voice. "This is a much larger plot than we thought. We found out that Winifred Curtis was a Nazi spy and not one of us and was part of an organization bent on continuing the last war."
"Gee wilikers," Radar commented next to Colonel Potter.
"Shh," Colonel Potter commanded to Radar. Then: "Pierce, have you been out drinking and playing with the geishas or have you actually been out there helping Margaret?!"
"No, Sir, it's true," Colonel Potter heard Klinger, as if from a distance (and wondering how the hell he could hear him from Korea). "We've talked with her sister and then her husband and –"
"Husband?!" Colonel Potter bellowed, forgetting about Major Floyd and his men outside. "Do you realize that her file does not mention that she was married?!"
"Yes, Sir," Klinger replied as it sounded like he took the phone from Hawkeye. "However, we know that it's all crazy and all, but it's true. Nurse Curtis has a sister here at Tokyo General. She told us some things about her and the family and then had us hidden, because we've been chased around Tokyo by Major Floyd's men and –"
"It's a long story, Colonel." Hawkeye sighed, frustrated, winning the wrestling match to talk to Colonel Potter as he interrupted Klinger. "She is a spy, but she's also part of the plan to bring Nazi Germany back to power and help their mission."
"I thought the last war was over, Pierce, not continuing into Korea." Colonel Potter then copied Hawkeye's sigh of frustration. "This sounds too much like a spy novel to me, boys. Come on. Tell me the truth."
Suddenly, Colonel Potter heard a man with a German accent take over the phone. "Sir…Colonel, I am Claus Schultz, Winifred Curtis' husband. Now, what they've been telling you is the truth. My wife was part of an organization to bring the Nazi Party back to power. I am a CIA agent sent to mole into their ranks and bring them to trial, since most of them have been operating under the nose of the US Army."
Colonel Potter sighed again, this time in disbelief. This is already becoming ridiculous, more so than what Floyd's been up to. I thought that I sent these boys on a mission, not some vacation.
"What makes you think that I'm gonna believe you?" Potter asked suspiciously.
Hawkeye took the phone back. "Colonel, do you know Nurse Gale Curtis?"
The colonel did a double take. "Another Nurse Curtis?"
"She's the Head Nurse at Tokyo General, Colonel. She's Winifred Curtis' sister. She was the one who suggested that we talk with Claus Schultz."
Colonel Potter still was not convinced. "Hawkeye, this…Claus Schultz says that he's a spy for the CIA and it's obvious to me that he came right off the boat from Germany. God knows where he's been and what he's been up to. For all we know, he could be another one of those Nazi spies you're telling me about!"
Hawkeye found it prudent not to tell the colonel that Claus was really working under Flagg just yet. He knew that it might damage the credibility Claus had already.
"Furthermore," Colonel Potter continued in an official tone, "I only ask that you be careful, Pierce. And tell Klinger to do the same. These are dangerous times and there seems to be a change coming."
"What do you mean, Colonel?" Hawkeye asked, aware of the cautiousness in Potter's voice.
"Pierce, there have been people named…" the colonel began.
"Who?" Hawkeye yelled. "Tell me who!"
"Well, other than you and Klinger, Kellye, Rizzo and BJ have been named as murders in the plot to kill Nurse Curtis," Colonel Potter revealed. "The three have not been arrested yet. You and Klinger are being chased, as you probably have noticed already."
"Don't I know it," Klinger was heard to mutter, most likely hearing Colonel Potter as well.
"Nurse Winifred Curtis has been named a martyr for her cause, just as we suspected was going to happen," Colonel Potter continued. "She's been named as a spy, not a nurse. Major Floyd has been venerating her name to the highest mountain tops, like she were the Ten Commandments."
Radar snickered, but was soon silenced once more.
"So, you're saying that Floyd's been looking at Nurse Curtis' death in a bad light, but making her out to be good?" Hawkeye asked.
"You've got it, Pierce." Colonel Potter was quiet for a moment. "Now, I've better be off of this phone here and getting back to Post-Op. You boys try to sort this out and find the real murderer while we manage the fort here. Understand?"
"Loud and clear, Colonel," Hawkeye replied. "Good night and –"
Before Colonel Potter could hang up, the line had gone dead.
~00~
Claus, Klinger and Hawkeye sat around their hotel room, wondering what to do next. All three sat in the beds afforded to them, unable to convey their deepest fears of being caught.
"Well, we should probably get some sleep," Klinger suggested, yawning and stretching his arms up, his dress going up to his knees. "I'm about due for a nap anyway."
"One of us should keep watch though," Claus added, real fright in his eyes. "If they caught the two of you, I could never forgive myself. We're in this together. We need to find this murderer and bring justice to everyone."
Hawkeye said nothing, but nodded his head in agreement, thinking of what little good it would do to Margaret if he was arrested instead of finding out the truth about the murder. He also knew that he was outnumbered two to one and the tiredness of the day already was gnawing away at him.
"I'll keep the first watch," Claus volunteered immediately. "I can make my phone call about this Major Floyd person and find out more information. In four about hours, at around midnight, I'll wake up you, Klinger, and at four, you wake up Captain Pierce. Everyone has a four-hour shift and keeps watch, in case the men come back. We have an escape route ready, that much I have planned out already. At eight in the morning, we should ready ourselves to leave for the next destination, where we shall find the next clues. It should not take my contacts long to find out information."
"And then what's next?" Klinger asked, yawning again as he wondered where their escape route was and how Claus was figuring this all out.
"Well, we shouldn't be coming back here again," Hawkeye said, aware that Floyd had his eyes and ears from Korea to Tokyo and all the way around. "We check into another hotel for the night and keep it up until this is over."
"There are many across this city," Claus agreed. "I'm sure that my contacts in the few owned here will gladly protect us."
"How many people do you really know?" Klinger scratched his head, now dismissing the notion that his street smarts were little shadier than the CIA, or so he thought.
"Oh, too many to count," Claus replied mysteriously. "I just hope that you both don't end up on the other side. It'll be dire for you otherwise."
~00~
Just before midnight, when Claus knew that both Hawkeye and Klinger were sleeping and he had a few minutes to himself, he picked up the phone once more. Telling the desk clerk downstairs that it was an outside call, he waited patiently, dialing the appropriate numbers when needed and then asking the operator to next dispatch his call to the next number, giving it to her. A few minutes later, after the phone rang a few times in Guam, a voice in a German accent answered cursing, asking who was calling at the hour.
"Wilhelm, is it me," Claus replied as the grumbling grew louder, the contact in Guam obviously perturbed. "I have a favor to ask of you."
"It had better be life or death, Claus, or else I'll have your head on a silver platter," Wilhelm replied unenthusiastically. "I am tired of you waking me up in the middle of the night."
"It might as well be." Claus sighed sadly. "You know that Winifred is dead, yes?"
"I am sorry to hear of it, my friend. I heard also that she was murdered by men higher up than her, somebody out for revenge, and it was all blamed on some Army nurse. You know, anything I can do to help you find the murderer is at your command."
Claus smiled. "This is what I wanted to hear. Listen to me, Wilhelm. This is what I need you to do for me. And I need this before dawn, if possible…"