Chapter 20:
"Roll call! Everybody outside for roll call! Raus, raus, raus!" Schultz bellowed, in barracks two the following morning.
All the men groaned in response, but followed orders and trudged their way out into the early morning summer breeze. It was cold, but not frostbite cold. With the humidity and heat in the air, the breeze was welcoming to all the men.
LeBeau bent towards the right to talk to Kinch, who was standing in Hogan's spot, softly.
"You think Colonel Hogan slept at all last night?"
"Hard to say." Kinch murmured. "For all we know, he could have been screaming all night long into the washcloth. Might not even have a voice anymore from all of the screaming."
"I didn't hear anything, so Ben must have been able to keep him quiet somehow," Newkirk said, in a hushed tone.
"I hate knowing that we're keeping Colonel Hogan as prisoner...it shouldn't have been him that went through what he did. It should have been me!" LeBeau remarked, depressed.
"If anyone, it should have been me." Newkirk remarked. "Lord knows after everything I put the Gov'nor through, it would have been made even that way."
"We may feel that way, but Colonel Hogan would have been heartbroken had it been one of us instead. He'd be worried sick out of his mind trying to find a way to bring us back to reality." Kinch answered.
"There's that big heart of his again. You know, I'm beginning to think that heart of his is what caused most of his troubles."
"I just keep praying that I will wake up, and this whole nightmare will be over," LeBeau said, under his breath.
Kinch was about to speak, when the sound of a door slamming was heard, and a loud voice bellowed into the morning air.
"Schultz! Repooooooooorrrrt!" Klink cried.
When he reached his sergeant of the guard, Schultz turned to salute the kommandant. Klink did the same in return.
"Herr Kommandant, all prisoners present and accounted for." The big guard reported.
"Excellent, Schultz. You may dismiss the prisoners."
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!"
Klink groaned and marched back to his office.
After doing as ordered, Schultz made his way to his morning duties, the prisoners dispersed to their morning routines, and Hogan's men made their way back inside the barracks and down into the tunnels to check on Hogan. When they got to the holding area, they found Macher sitting on a bench with his gun steady and pointed at the sleeping form of what was once their commanding officer. Hogan's head was cocked to the left and the gag had remained in his mouth.
"How's he doing, Ben?" Kinch asked, turning to the lieutenant.
"Alright now. He finally fell asleep after two hours of screaming and shouting into the gag. Realizing it was useless, he resigned for the night after giving me another death glare."
"You get anything out of him?" Newkirk asked, curious.
"Nothing...Hochstetter did a fine job this time with his torturing methods. That man's more broken than a shattered vase." Macher answered, his eyes never leaving Hogan.
"When I get my hands on him…" LeBeau started pounding his fist into the palm of his left hand, when Kinch placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Settle down, LeBeau." He ordered.
The little Frenchman eased and turned his head back to the sleeping colonel.
Hogan slowly fluttered his eyes open and once his sight settled in, he remembered where he was and glared at the five men before him.
Kinch gave an impish smile and crossed his arms.
"Well...good morning, Colonel. Did you sleep well?"
Hogan growled, his eyes a blaze. He tried saying something, but it sounded like nothing but a bunch of noises.
"What did you say, Colonel?" Carter asked, curious.
The colonel snapped his eyes towards the young sergeant and started screaming something louder. His face was now changing to a light shade of red, and his eyes darkened.
"You stop screaming and use an inside voice, I'll order Newkirk to remove the gag," Kinch said.
Hogan let out a heavy breath of air and grew silent, while still gawking at all of them.
Once he was positive he would stop the yelling, Kinch turned his head to Newkirk and gestured towards Hogan with his head.
"Ungag him," he said softly.
"Right, mate," Newkirk said.
The British man made his way over to the colonel and removed the washcloth from his mouth, then gently placed it beside the chair Hogan was tied up in currently.
"It's about time you removed that damn thing. Who do you men think you are?!" Hogan hissed.
"We're trying to help you, Colonel...this isn't you, Sir." LeBeau replied meekly.
"You ain't thinking straight, Gov'nor. You were tortured to this." Newkirk added.
"My cognitive skills are fine, thank you very much!" Hogan snarled. "You dare speak to a Gestapo colonel this way?!"
"You're not a Gestapo colonel! You're Colonel Robert Hogan of the United States Army Air Force. Don't you remember anything at all?" Carter asked helplessly.
"I am a Gestapo officer, Hogan. You are not. I do not want you left with a legacy like mine," Macher said, getting to his feet. He was genuinely sincere while speaking. He regretted every moment being a part of the Gestapo force and being under Hochstetter's command. He could not save his legacy now, but he would save Hogan's if it meant his life doing so. "You want your children to remember you as a mass murderer of innocent lives or a hero of the war?"
"Who said I wanted children? They're loud, annoying, a nuisance!"
"Colonel, you love les enfants. You said yourself that you wanted at least four after the war." LeBeau replied, astounded.
"People's minds change, French swine!"
"Oh, Colonel...Hochstetter and Fritz broke you bad." Kinch answered, stunned.
"You leave Herr Major and Hans out of this!" Hogan snapped.
"Why? They're the ones that did this to you!" LeBeau hissed.
"You really gonna defend the men who want nothing more than to destroy everything you've done and accomplished? To destroy this entire operation you spent most of your military career trying to establish?" Newkirk asked, appalled.
"This is my military career! And once Major Hochstetter finds out where I am, all of you will be shot, and I will personally do the honors myself!" The colonel remarked, harsh.
Kinch let out a huge breath of air, then turned to all of them but Carter.
"Can I speak with you guys out here?" He asked softly.
"What about me?" The young sergeant asked, having an instantaneous feeling of being left out.
Kinch took the gun from the Gestapo lieutenant's hand and placed it in his.
"Watch Colonel Hogan. Make sure he keeps quiet. If he tries anything, your orders are to shoot. Understand?"
"Kinch...I can't...not Colonel Hogan." Carter quivered.
"I'm not asking, Andrew. I'm telling you. If he tries anything, you are ordered to fire that gun, understand?" The staff sergeant's voice was unhypocritical.
Carter swallowed a large knot and nodded sadly.
"Yes, Kinch," he said softly.
Newkirk patted his best friend's shoulder, then all but Carter and Hogan left the area and walked down quite a ways away from the room. Once they made their way into Newkirk's sewing room, all of them stopped and turned towards one another.
"What do you have in mind, mate?" The Englishman asked.
"Hypnosis might work." Macher suggested, crossing his arms.
"Where are we going to find a hypnotist in Germany?" LeBeau questioned arrogantly.
"Bloody Krauts probably kill them, too." Newkirk added, sharp.
"I am not a Kraut, and I have never killed another human being even as a Gestapo lieutenant!" Macher snapped.
"We don't mean you, mon ami; we mean the others." LeBeau replied friendly.
"You ain't no where near a Kraut, mate," Newkirk said, sincere.
The lieutenant relaxed and nodded, understanding.
There was a brief moment of silence before LeBeau spoke.
"You were saying about hypnosis?"
"Are there even hypnotists in Germany?" The Englishman asked, curious.
"Yes...but not the ones we need. German hypnotists are known to use their profession to make the enemy follow their orders and even convince them that they are working for the wrong side," Kinch said.
"Well, I guess that's out of the question." LeBeau grumbled.
"What about reminding him of everything he's done and everything we've been through? It might re-jog his memory and help him remember who he was." Newkirk proposed.
"It might work, but we would have to execute it well to pull it off." Kinch answered, rubbing his chin.
"We're gonna need to pull out every memorable and significant event we've got at 'im."
"And if it doesn't work?" LeBeau asked.
"We'll have to think of something else, then. Maybe some reverse psychology...we'll cross that bridge when we get there," the radioman said.
Newkirk nodded.
"Alright, mate...you ready?"
"Oui," said LeBeau.
"Jawohl," Macher said.
"Let's do this," Kinch said.
The four of them made their way back into the holding area, and Carter stood to his feet when seeing them. He put the gun down on the bench and made his way towards them.
"You guys got an idea?" He asked, anxious.
Newkirk leaned towards the young man and whispered into his ear.
Carter nodded.
"Good thinking," was his response.
Macher made his way towards the pistol on the bench, picked it up, then pointed it again at Hogan. The colonel had become very quiet and in thought.
Kinch turned his head to Hogan and looked at him.
"What 'cha thinking about, Colonel?" He asked friendly.
Hogan snapped his angry eyes at the man.
"Ways to kill you all when I get out of this damn chair!" He snarled.
"There's other things you could do after being set free." LeBeau remarked simply.
"Like what?" Hogan retorted.
"Reading...writing...drawing...going for a hike's always nice." Carter began making a list. "Oh, there's this really fun game we play back home that you would like! You see, so a group of people make a…" He stopped, when he saw Hogan's face darken and let out a hot breath like a bull about to charge. Carter hung his head and made himself appear small. "...nevermind."
The colonel looked at him for a little longer, then made his eyes back to all of them.
"I want to speak with Major Hochstetter at once! That's an order!" He barked.
"And tell him what? That you're being kept prisoner underneath this barracks with an entrance or existence he doesn't have proof nor knowledge of?" Kinch asked, sly.
"Why you little son of a…" Hogan was cut off.
"Colonel, remember us! We're your team! Your friends!" Carter begged.
"I'd never be friends with the enemy! I'd rather die than abandon my side for yours!"
"Your surprise birthday party, the going away party we wanted to have when London gave you orders to return home, us sitting by your bedside when you were sick with pneumonia, heart failure due to explosive injuries, when you were in a coma from blood loss after being shot, when Newkirk was captured with the fake underground agent! You've gotta remember it, Colonel!" LeBeau pleaded. (1)
"Listen to them, Colonel. Don't let what happened to you that night control you! Remember, Hogan!" Macher urged him.
"I'm a loyal Gestapo colonel! Now let me go!" Hogan snapped.
"Gov'nor, snap out of it!" Newkirk exclaimed. He ran towards his commanding officer, knelt on the ground, and shook him by the shoulders. "Snap out of it, Sir! Don't let Hochstetter win! You're stronger than he is, Gov'nor!"
Carter fought back tears in his eyes, but somehow managed to speak.
"If you don't come back, Sir, then you're not our colonel anymore. Our Colonel Hogan was kind and caring, courageous, encouraging, and brave. He could get through anything no matter thick or thin." He choked.
"Gov'nor...I know you're in there somewhere. That you're screaming and trying to find a way back to us...fight, Colonel! Fight it, Sir! Come back to us, Gov'nor!" Newkirk cried. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. In usual circumstances, the Englishman hid his emotions back and acted tough and thick skinned. This, however, he knew that if this failed, they would either need a miracle to occur or it was kill Hogan, evacuate camp, and destroy everything they had worked for and possibly their chances at winning the ongoing battle between the Allies and Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Hogan looked back at Newkirk with haunted eyes. It was as if his spirit had left his body and gone somewhere else. He was unresponsive and disconnected.
"Colonel?" Carter quivered.
No answer.
"Colonel?" The young sergeant croaked.
Nothing.
"What's wrong with him?!" LeBeau exclaimed.
Newkirk shook his head while trembling with fear.
"...I don't know…" He answered.
"Colonel." Kinch called out.
No response.
"Colonel!" He called again.
Still no answer.
"Colonel Hogan, can you hear us?" Macher asked, worried.
Hogan remained zombie like while his thoughts were racing a thousand miles a minute, remembering everything that had happened within the last year here in Stalag 13.
(1) The heart failure to explosive injuries happened in my story 'Hogan's Heroes: A Memory Lost In Darkness'. The coma from blood loss after being shot is an injury Hogan sustained in my story 'Hogan's Heroes: Only We Can Do That'. The surprise going away party the boys wanted to plan for Hogan is from the episode 'Hogan, Go Home', season three. And Newkirk and the fake underground agent being kidnapped by the Gestapo is from the episode 'How To Catch A Papa Bear', season four.