Chapter 26

As Wasserman, Klink and Burkhalter all lay dazed on Klink's porch, Carter suddenly bolted from his hiding place towards the group.

"Carter, no!" yelled Newkirk as he and the others could only watch.

Reaching for the pistol Wasserman had dropped when the car exploded, Carter and a still dazed Wasserman both reached for the weapon. But because of his somewhat dazed condition, Carter was able to grab it a minute before Wasserman's fingers reached it. He aimed the weapon at the SS Colonel, his finger on the trigger, and a look of hatred on his face. "I ought to shoot you where you are,Colonel," he said. "You want to hurt Colonel Hogan and I can't allow that to happen." His finger tightened on the trigger.

"Carter! No!" Hogan suddenly yelled. "Don't do it!"

Carter's eyes shifted momentarily to Hogan. A childlike appearance appeared on his face. "He wants to kill you, sir," he said. "If he gets you out of this camp, there's no telling what'll happen to you. You might never come back."

Hogan stared at the young Sergeant. "Carter, listen to me. If you kill him, that makes you no different than him."

"Listen to the Colonel, Carter," said Kinch as he, Newkirk and LeBeau stepped out from behind the building and into view. "Has Colonel Hogan ever lied to you before?"

"No."

Wasserman glared at Carter, an evil look on his face. "You better kill me, boy!" he cackled. "Because if you don't, your Colonel Hogan is mine! And you're right. You won't see him again....not in his right mind anyway. Maybe not even alive. Depends on how he holds up under my creative questioning techniques."

Hogan could see Carter's gun hand starting to shake. "Carter, listen to me. He's trying to goad you into doing something you don't want to do. Don't listen to him."

"He's evil, Colonel," Carter muttered. "I can't let him hurt you or worse."

"He won't, Carter. Believe me. I won't let him."

"The Colonel's right, Andrew," Newkirk replied approaching Carter from behind. "Besides, you know the Gov'nor. He's a survivor." Reaching the young Sergeant, Carter allowed Newkirk to take the weapon out of his hands. Newkirk drapped an arm around the young sergeant's shoulders while pointing the weapon at Wasserman. "While I meself have no qualms as far as putting a hole between your Kraut eyes."

Wasserman sneered at the Englander. "You think you can save your Colonel, Englishman? You haven't got the nerve!"

Newkirk pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the side of Klink's office near Wasserman's head. The Englander smiled. "What were you saying about not having nerve, you bastard?" he asked smugly.

Wasserman glared at Newkirk.

Suddenly, Benson jumped to his feet and wrapped an arm tightly around Hogan's neck, pulling him close against him. The gun in his other hand was pressed against the Colonel's temple. "I suggest you drop your weapon, Newkirk," he announced. "Or I'll put a bullet in his head right now."

"Don't listen to him, Newkirk," Hogan said, looking at Newkirk. "He needs me alive."

Newkirk looked at Hogan and then Benson. He swallowed hard. He heard Benson cock his weapon. "I'm sorry, Colonel," he apologized to Hogan. "But I can't take that chance." He let the weapon slip from his fingers.

Wasserman smirked. "I knew you were weak, Englishman," he replied. He turned to Hogan. "Your men will come with us, Hogan. They can watch me use my creative methods on you. That way they'll know what they have to look forward to."

Hogan glared at the SS Colonel. Then, as a last ditch effort to take control of the situation, Hogan lowered his head slightly and bit into the arm Benson had around his neck as hard as he could. He felt the arm loosen just enough as Benson cried out in pain. Hogan reached and gripped the gun arm and the two men struggled over the weapon. As the wheelchair slid back and forth , one wheel of the wheelchair suddenly fell off the ramp causing the entire wheelchair to hit the ground with Benson on top of Hogan who had fallen out of the wheelchair to the ground. A muffled gunshot was heard.

Time stood still for what seemed like an eternity as nobody moved.

Benson slowly got to his feet, the gun still in his hand. There was blood on his shirt. He looked down at Hogan who was still lying on the ground , also with blood on his shirt. Hogan looked at the blood and then at Benson who was smiling. Then, Benson slowly crumpled to the ground and fell near Hogan. The Colonel dragged himself over to the Corporal and pressed two fingers against his neck. After a minute, he looked up at his men and shook his head. Carter, LeBeau, Newkirk and Kinch all ran to Hogan and knelt beside him, concerned.

Wasserman, sensing everything was slipping away, made a sudden dash for the weapon Newkirk had dropped. Hogan saw him out of the corner of his eye and lunged for the weapon Benson had dropped which lay near his outstretched arm. Hogan took careful aim and fired just as Wasserman's fingers closed around the pistol. He fell to the ground. Hogan bent his head with exhaustion. He handed his weapon to Newkirk with a tired grin. "I'm getting too old for this," he murmurmed. Then, they all heard the sound of a gun being cocked.

Hogan looked up while Newkirk, LeBeau, Kinch and Carter all looked around. Wasserman, holding a hand to the bleeding wound in his chest, was staggering to his feet, gun in hand. He aimed his weapon at Hogan's head.

"I may not have Burkhalter," he muttered through clenched teeth, " But I will have some measure of satisfaction by killing you, Hogan." His finger tightened on the trigger. Hogan and his men froze in expectation of what was to come. Hogan braced himself for the end of his life. Then, a small miracle happened.

Blood dripped from Wasserman's mouth and the gun slipped from his fingers. He dropped to his knees before finally falling sideways on the ground, dead. Newkirk slid over and pressed two fingers against the SS Colonel's neck. Looking at Hogan, he shook his head.

Hogan lowered his head and let out a deep sigh of relief. Looking up again, he spied Klink hiding in the far corner of the open doorway, and Burkhalter lying on his side having watched the events unfold.

"Newkirk, search Wasserman's pockets and find the keys to the handcuffs and release Burkhalter," he said.

"Right, Gov'nor," Newkirk replied.

Hogan then looked at his other men. "Help me back into my wheelchair," he said. Then he added. "Carter, I think you better get Wilson."

"Right away, Colonel," Carter replied, hurrying away to find the medic.

"Mon Colonel," said LeBeau, concerned. "Are you injured?"

Hogan didn't respond as he watched Kinch wheel his chair over nor as Kinch and LeBeau both helped him into the wheelchair. He again looked at the blood on the front of his shirt. He looked around as he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw the worried eyes of LeBeau.

"Colonel, are you hurt?" the Frenchman repeated his question.

"I can't answer you right now, LeBeau," Hogan replied softly. "Not until after I've seen Wilson."

"Colonel Hogan!" the voice was Burkhalter's. Hogan and his men looked as Burkhalter and Klink approached.

Hogan knew he was in deep trouble as he had killed a German officer regardless of the circumstances involved, and guessed he would probably either be shot or hanged for his offense. He was prepared. But, he would try hard to keep his men from suffering his fate, if he could. No sense in them dying with him. "Yes, General?" he asked quietly.

"Hogan, you saved my life and I am grateful. Anything you want, just name it and it's yours."

Hogan and his men were stunned. "But I killed a German officer, sir," he said. "I realize the punishment for that is death."

Burkhalter waved his hand and shook his head. "Normally it is, Hogan. But in this instance, you had no choice. Wasserman was an enemy of the Fatherland and would have paid with his life anyway. Him and Captain Heidelman both. Now, what do you want? Name it and it's yours."

Hogan looked at both Kinch and LeBeau. The Frenchman whispered something in Hogan's ear.

"General, Corporal LeBeau has a request and so do I."

Burkhalter looked at LeBeau. "What is your request, Corporal LeBeau?"

"Well, sir...." LeBeau began slowly. "We heard that after one year, if there's no improvement in Colonel Hogan's condition you ordered the Kommandant to send him away...."

Burkhalter held up a hand as a faint smile appeared. "Granted, Corporal. Colonel Hogan will remain at Stalag 13 and I will rescind my order to Klink. Now, Hogan, you said you had a request as well?"

"Yes, General. I request that any past transgressions by my men and I as a result of this matter be overlooked, and any pending charges as a result of those trangressions be dropped. And, that this entire matter never be spoken of again."

"Denied!" chimed in Klink vehemently.

"Granted!" Burkhalter replied, staring at Klink who seemed to shrivel under the General's stare.

Hogan smiled weakly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, General, Kommandant, I must retire to my quarters and await a visit from our camp medical officer. Kinch, LeBeau, Newkirk, shall we go?"

Newkirk began pushing Hogan's wheelchair towards the barracks when Klink suddenly called out. Newkirk, rolling his eyes, turned his Colonel's wheelchair around.

"You called my name, Kommandant?"

"Yes, Hogan. Two things."

Hogan sighed wearily. He clasped his hands in his lap. "And what would they be?"

"One, how did know Wasserman's car was going to explode before it did?"

Burkhalter looked curiously at Hogan. "I'd like to know the answer to that as well, Hogan," he said.

Hogan shook his head before looking at Klink, an amused grin on his face. "C'mon, Kommandant. Use your head. Didn't you hear Wasserman say he would dispose of the General outside of camp? He probably had the bomb already in his car. My guess it was attached to the gas tank. He probably had another car waiting for him somewhere and was gonna leave the General locked inside the car with the bomb."

Burkhalter looked at Klink. "How come you didn't know that, Klink? Dummkopf! Wasserman did say that in your office! "

"Well...." Klink stuttered.

"And what was the other thing, Kommandant? You said there were two things?"

"What was the Colonel talking about when he said he wanted to vigorously interrogate you? What have you been up to, Hogan?"

"Nothing, Kommandant. It was probably just more of the same unsubstantiated garbage Hochstetter's been accusing me of for a long time. And that is I'm suppose to be involved with the underground and I'm a saboteur. You know. The usual garbage."

"I don't know, Hogan," muttered Burkhalter, curiously. "Wasserman did sound like he had something definite on you."

Hogan offered one of his famous smirks. "So did Hochstetter, General. Besides, you going to believe the rantings of an obviously deranged man?"

Bristling at the mentioning of the Gestapo Major's name, Burkhalter turned to Klink. "Klink, this entire matter is over and will never be discussed again. Ever! And as far as Wasserman's accusations against Colonel Hogan go, it was as Hogan says, just more unsubstantiated garbage of an obviously deranged madman. Understood?"

Klink swallowed nervously. "Yes, General Burkhalter," he said in a small voice.

Burkhalter suddenly smiled. "Now, Klink, I think I'll have a glass of your schnapps to settle my nerves before I return home."

Klink forced a nervous smile on his face. "Leaving us so soon, General Burkhalter?" he said.

"Klink, I don't want to stay here with you any more than you want me to stay here with you. So just shut up and let's have that drink."

Hogan, LeBeau, Newkirk and Kinch watched the two men walk across the compound and head towards Klink's office. Then, Hogan looked at Newkirk. "Let's go. I don't want to keep Wilson waiting. He's difficult enough when things are dull around here."

"Righto, Colonel," Newkirk replied pushing the wheelchair with LeBeau and Kinch walking beside them.