Chapter 20

It was late in the evening by the time Kinch, LeBeau and Carter returned to the hotel. But before they left the hospital, they first promised Newkirk they would stop by and visit again the next day when they had a chance; then, they stopped by to check on the status of Captain Winger, and were told by Forbes that she was still in surgery and was holding her own so far. After informing the General they were returning to the hotel, they all asked that the General contact them as soon as there was any word and then departed.

Having decided room service would suffice as they were all too exhausted to go out and eat, the guys entered the hotel. As they neared the information desk, the manager behind the desk spotted them, and waved them over. Seeing him, the small trio made their way to the desk. Watching them come closer, the man turned and removed one envelope from a slot along with a folded slip of paper, and turning again, handed both of them to Kinch.

"Both of these came in for a Mr. Peter Newkirk," he said handing them to Kinch. "I haven't seen Mr. Newkirk since earlier today, and he's not here now. But knowing the four of you are together I figured it was all right to give these to you."

After thanking the manager, Kinch unfolded the paper and read it's contents with Carter and LeBeau trying to look over his shoulders. "It's from Newkirk's contact in MI6. He's been trying to reach us most of the day and wants Peter to call him." He then ripped open the envelope which had no return address and found it contained a single photo of a wall mirror.

"That looks like a wall mirror," said Carter, perplexed.

"Good guess, Carter," said LeBeau sarcastically. Then he became serious. "Why would somebody send Newkirk a photo of a wall mirror?" he asked.

"I don't know," began Kinch looking closely at the envelope as if it held the answer. It didn't, but that wasn't what nagged at the Captain. "But I feel I should know this handwriting." He looked at his two friends. "C'mon, let's get upstairs so we can return this call to Robin and see what he's got to report. It's been a long day for all of us." That said, the Captain tiredly trudged in the direction of the elevators with Carter and LeBeau just behind him.

Once they reached the hotel room belonging to Newkirk and Carter, Kinch dropped his briefcase into a nearby chair and, after removing his outer coat, dropped it on top of the briefcase. Then he again grabbed his briefcase and after opening it, removed four thin sets of papers, each set stapled separately and closed his briefcase again. He walked to the sofa and plopped down beside LeBeau while Carter was heard on the phone ordering their food. Kinch handed the Frenchman two of the stapled sets.

"What are these?" LeBeau asked before glancing at the papers he was handed. "Sacre Chats," he suddenly exclaimed glancing at the contents of the first page.

"These are the missing toxicology reports on the General and the others." Kinch went about telling LeBeau how they ended up with them and where they were found. "The originals are safely en-route to Walter Reed and the prepared copies of these are now in the Pentagon's files where they should have been all along.

LeBeau, who had been reading his copy, looked over at his friend, shock evident on his face. "How horrible for the Colonel," he said. "And while I do not understand everything written here, it appears he was either dead or dying when his plane crashed."

Then he, Carter, and LeBeau chose what they wanted to eat from the room service menu, and LeBeau called in their orders.

"What are you guys talking about?" Carter asked sitting on the opposite side of Kinch on the sofa. He accepted two duplicate sets of papers from Kinch who quickly pointed out what they were and gave a capsule summary of what they had been talking about. Carter's face instantly changed.

"Boy, for the Colonel's sake, and I know this sounds heartless, but I sure hope he was dead before his plane crashed. I'd hate to think he knew what was about to happen and there was nothing he could do."

"So would I, mon ami," LeBeau agreed readily as he rejoined the duo after hanging up the phone. "Room service will be here as soon as possible."

"Each of you is to keep a set of this report. Carter, I gave you two as one is for Newkirk. General Forbes also has one as do I. Considering somebody tried to make sure the originals were never found, the General and I both thought it wise if we all had a copy just in case the originals get destroyed or the Pentagon's copies disappeared for good this time. So, put them some place safe." LeBeau went through the adjoining door to the room he shared with Kinch while Carter went into the bedroom he shared with Newkirk, and both men went about searching for and finding what they hoped would be safe hiding places for the reports. Within a few minutes, both men were back on the sofa as Kinch was studying the photo of the wall mirror, a puzzled look on his face.

"Unable to figure out why that photo was sent to Pierre?" asked LeBeau.

Kinch rubbed his chin. "Yeah. Obviously somebody thought it was important enough to send it to Newkirk for a reason, but for the life of me I can't figure out why."

"What's so important about a wall mirror anyway?" asked Carter taking the photo from his friend's fingers and studying it. "Maybe Newkirk might recognize it?" he asked handing it back.

"It's possible," Kinch said looking at the photo again. He sighed and tucked the photo inside his jacket pocket. "We'll show it to him when we visit him in the hospital tomorrow." He then removed the slip of paper from his pocket. "I'd better phone Robin and see what he has. This paper made whatever it is sound important." Getting to his feet, Kinch walked over to the telephone and dialed. He let it ring for a while and was about to hang up when someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Robin? It's Captain Kinchloe."

"I say, Captain. Jolly good hearing from you. But I was expecting Peter."

"Yeah, well, he's been injured and is in the hospital. Not to worry, though, it's nothing serious. But your message sounded important."

"Oh dear. Please give Peter my best will you, old boy? He's a good man and a good friend. He told me about your investigation. So sorry to hear about Hogan. He was a good man. Anyway, Peter asked me to check on a few things for you chaps and so I did, and I now have the information requested. Shall I give it to you instead?"

"Yes. Peter's going to be laid up for about three days and we're in the middle of our investigation."

"Very well, then. Here's what I can tell you." Kinch listened carefully to the information given to him paying close attention to every word. There was a knock on the door causing him to turn around as LeBeau got to his feet and approached the door; it turned out to be room service with their food. As he continued listening to Robin, Kinch watched the cart rolled into their room and LeBeau hand the man some money before he smiled at the trio and left the room.

A few minutes later, Kinch sat down at the table and joined them.

"What is wrong, mon ami?" asked LeBeau. "Did Robin say something to upset you?"

"In a way. Seems like this conspiracy may be connected to our Stalag 13 days. We can't just yet eliminate the General's involvement in the Korean War however. Robin's waiting for a phone call from someone before he gets back to us about the General's involvement between 1950 and 1953." Kinch sighed. "Of course I was with the General during that time, and I'm pretty sure he made no enemies during that time. But if he had, he may not have told me because he knew I'd worry. But regarding Morrison, after the war, he was recruited by the CIA and was on loan to MI6. The brass in London were very impressed with his charade as Major Teppel with the Abwehr, and when they wanted someone special for a delicate situation, they asked to borrow Morrison from the CIA."

"I still don't get it," Carter said. "What could be so important that MI6 couldn't have one of their own agents handle it? I mean, why ask for Morrison at all?"

Kinch sighed. "They wanted Morrison because he knew the parties involved after a rumor had come to the attention of MI6."

LeBeau paused as a nagging fear began to permeate his body. "What rumor was that?"

Kinch exhaled through his nose. "Two former prisoners we sent to London while at Stalag 13 had fallen off the grid after the war. It was then MI6 was contacted by a source who claimed that of the two former prisoners who had fallen off the grid, one of them, while a prisoner, was rumored to have been recruiting other prisoners to join him in getting revenge against General Hogan."

"Mon Dieu!" said a stunned Frenchman. "What else did he say?"

"Two of the men supposedly recruited by these two were Schmidt, and Jack Williams." Kinch noticed the jaws of both his friends drop open.

"So how does Morrison fit in?" asked Carter.

"Well, it was Morrison's job to find out one, if the rumor was true; two, find Schmidt and Williams; and three, if possible, to locate the two men who recruited them. But apparently, and there's no way to find out how it happened, Morrison was exposed and Schmidt caught and tortured him hoping to find out who else knew and how much he and whoever he was working for knew. But Morrison apparently wouldn't talk and Schmidt killed him."

"Who was the animal who recruited them?" asked LeBeau. "Does MI6 know?"

"That's the troubling part," Kinch explained sadly. "it's believed Morrison may have found out definitely, but died before he could pass on the information. But from what Robin explained, the two who have not been seen since their days as prisoners are Bruno Decker aka Robin Hood, and the former Luftwaffe Captain Daerik Kurtz." He then watched his friends to see their reactions to this news.(1)

"Baise!" hissed LeBeau angrily. "Wasn't that Captain Kurtz Burkhalter's brother-in-law if memory serves."

"He was," Kinch said. "And I believe it's possible that this Kurtz may be the organizer of this conspiracy and probably recruited Decker and then Schmidt and Williams, all of them having a grudge against the General. I asked Robin to send us the most recent photos they have of Williams, Schmidt, Decker and Kurtz. He's sending them by courier to my attention."

"Gee," Carter remarked. "By my count that's Kurtz, Decker, Schmidt, Williams, and Desmond so far. And Williams is dead now. I wonder how many more there are?"

"Not too many more I hope," Kinch replied.

"Kinch, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," LeBeau said. "But which one of these five would be able to sabotage the Colonel's plane?"

Kinch exhaled deeply. "Hard to say. From what I read of the accident report, what was done to the General's transport required detailed work so as not to be discovered. I somehow doubt Schmidt, Williams, Desmond, Decker or Kurtz capable of being able to do what's required. So, that means there's at least another person. Anybody on the maintenance crew would have access to the General's plane."

LeBeau shook his head sadly. "That means somebody on the maintenance crew sabotaged the Colonel's plane. Animals!"

"Tomorrow I'll have the logs checked to see who worked on the General's plane that day," he commented. They were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Kinch started to get up, but LeBeau patted his arm motioning for him to sit back down, and he got up instead to answer the phone.

"Bonjour. One moment, mon General." The Frenchman held out the receiver. "Sorry, mon ami. It is General Forbes for you."

Kinch smirked as he got up. "An aide's work is never done," he joked as he took the receiver from LeBeau. "Yes, General?" Kinch listened as Forbes talked. When he was finished, Kinch quickly updated him on their recent discoveries. "I understand, sir. Please give Captain Winger our best should you speak with her. We will, sir. Goodbye." He hung up the phone and returned to his seat.

"Well?" LeBeau asked. "What did the General have to say about Captain Winger?"

Kinch sighed. "She's out of surgery and is in recovery. She suffered a scalp laceration resulting in bleeding into her brain. They were able to relieve the pressure on her brain, and the doctors are hopeful for a complete recovery. But they won't know what effects her injury will have until she regains consciousness. But at least she's alive for now."

"Was she, uh….y'know?" asked Carter, blushing.

"No, Andrew, General Forbes said there was no indication of sexual assault." There was an angry look on Kinch's face when talking about Winger's injuries which didn't go unnoticed by LeBeau.

"Ah amour," he purred with both hands over his heart.

Kinch rolled his eyes. "The General is taking tomorrow off as he wants to be present when the Captain regains consciousness. After I updated him, I have permission to use his name for anybody we need to deal with who proves to be difficult. Oh, he asks us to be careful."

LeBeau chuckled. "As if there is any other way to be?"

LeBeau and Carter, at that point, decided to delve into the food that had been sitting and waiting for their attention.

"Boy, am I starved!" exclaimed Carter as he checked the contents of each plate before finding his, and even though all three platters contained the most juicy-looking sirloin steak any of them had ever seen, it was the vegetables that separated each plate and identified who's plate belonged to whom. And Carter's was the one with the spinach; LeBeau's was with the sauteed mushrooms.

"How can you eat that green mush?" LeBeau asked watching his friend dive into the spinach with a horrified expression.

With wide eyes, Carter looked up, his mouth full of spinach. "What green mush? Spinach is good for you. Popeye eats it all the time." He stuffed another forkful of the leafy green vegetable in his mouth. (2)

"Who?" asked LeBeau curiously.

"Y'know, Popeye the Sailor. He's a cartoon character. He always eats spinach. Makes him big and strong."

LeBeau suddenly smirked and shook his head. "Big and strong, eh. Then how come it's not working with you?"

"Huh?"

LeBeau chuckled. "Forget it and eat your dinner."

Carter and LeBeau paused in eating and exchanged worried expressions before their eyes returned to their friend who seemed somewhat preoccupied.

Kinch stared for a moment at his plate before pushing it away. Suddenly he wasn't very hungry anymore.

LeBeau and Kinch both looked at Carter who seemed a bit lost in thought. "What's bothering you?" asked Kinch.

The young former Sergeant looked up at the Captain. "Can I ask you something, Kinch?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I was curious about something you said earlier."

Kinch wrapped his arms around himself in a Hoganesque fashion. "I said a lot of things earlier. You'll have to be more specific."

"Well, you said you were with the Colonel during the Korean War. I was wondering exactly what did both of you do in the Korean War?"

Kinch wearily sat back down in his seat and exhaled deeply as the memories came flooding back. "I guess I should explain exactly what it was the General and I did."

(Flashback):

All Hogan knew was that it was to be known by the Air Force as Operation Moolah, and the Pentagon wanted him involved because of his ability as a smooth talker who could sell a used car to anybody even if they didn't want one. Of course he would have preferred being involved in planning strategy, but convinced himself what he was being asked to do was just as important as planning war strategies. (3)

As Hogan headed back to his office after leaving the Strategic Air Command, he thought about the operation and what it would entail. He was aware that the Air Force's objective was to capture one of the fully mission capable Soviet MiG-15 planes which had been introduced by the Communist forces on November 1, 1950 over the skies of Korea. Hogan had read all the performance reports which indicated the MiG-15 was superior against all UN aircraft, including the Air Force's newest plane, the F-86 Sabre. Hogan's job was to use his gift of gab, and focus on influencing the Communist pilots to defect to South Korea with a fully mission capable MiG for a financial award and political freedom.

Once he returned to his office and sat down behind his desk, the first thing Hogan did was summon Kinch to his office. As he waited for his aide, Hogan mulled over how good it felt to feel needed again, even if what he was asked to do wasn't as exciting as what he had been doing at Stalag 13. It was better than being behind a desk pushing papers. His thoughts were interrupted by Kinch arriving shortly. Once his friend was settled in a chair, Hogan explained exactly what he was going to be doing.

"From what you've told me, General, I can see why we'd want one of these planes. I mean, in a dogfight, I've read these MiG-15 can outperform the F-86 Sabre not only at higher initial acceleration and could outdistance it in a dive, and that's despite the Sabre having terminal velocity."

"Not only that," Hogan added. "But these MiG-15s are armed with a larger cannon which threaten our bombers. Now the SAC is aware of the larger caliber cannon, but knows very little of the technical aspects of the aircraft including its flight performance. Is it no wonder we want one of them to examine?"

The success of the operation, despite Hogan's golden tongue, was disputed as to whether or not a single Communist defected with their aircraft before the Armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. But in the end, the advantage lay with the UN Air Forces throughout the war due to their superior tactics, techniques and procedures, superior pilots, and later on in the war, by upgraded Sabres.

(End of Flashback)

Kinch inhaled and exhaled through his nose. "And that was what the General did during the Korean War."

"Wow," was all Carter could say. "I bet you and the Colonel were proud of that accomplishment."

"We were," Kinch replied. "And although I'm not at liberty to say how many of the North Korean Air Force pilots along with their planes actually defected, I can say the General told me several times he felt like he was back at Stalag 13 again planning missions to sabotage the Germans. In a way, I think he missed those days."

"Yeah, but he got the promotions he never could have gotten in Stalag 13," said Carter.

Kinch rubbed the back of his neck. "I know that and the general knew that. But deep down, I think he missed the excitement of fooling Klink, planning sabotage missions, conning the Nazis, dodging the Gestapo. He never said so, but it was obvious he missed the excitement of it despite the danger."

"D'accord," said LeBeau. "The Colonel was not made to sit behind a desk. He was a man of action."(4)

"True," Kinch added. "But he never let it stop him from doing whatever he could for the military and his country. And I guess in the end, that's all anybody could really ask of him."

(1) Luftwaffe Captain Kurtz never had a first name, so I gave him Daerik. The character of Captain Kurtz is from Everyone Has a Brother-In-Law, Season 2.

(2)The cartoon character of Popeye was a fictional character created by Elize Crisler Segan, and first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip January 17, courtesy of Wikipedia.

(3)The Korean War took place from June 24, 1950 through July, 1953. Operation Moolah was a USAF effort during the Korean War to capture a Soviet MiG-15. In exchange for any defection, the defectors were offered $100,000 dollars, and given political asylum. Although nobody knows where the concept for Operation Moolah actually originated, speculation was that the operation was conceived by Captain Alan Abner's office in the Army's Psychological Warfare Branch in Washington, D.C., while a second version says the origin of the plan was by a war correspondent closely associated by General Mark Clark and the idea was passed on to the Pentagon and the Department of State. Info courtesy of Wikipedia.

(4) D'accord means agreed. Info courtesy of Babel Fish.