"You mean to tell me you let them get away?! Dummköpfe!" Major Weiß demanded, disgusted at the incompetence of his subordinates.
Gefreiter Gilbert Schäfer and Obersoldat Heinrich Beilschmidt trembled at the sheer fury in their commanding officer's tone. Hating himself for what he was about to say, Schäfer finally found his voice and managed to squeak, "Herr Major, we searched the whole forest three times! We think they may have had accomplices . . . working w-with . . . them . . ." Courage evaporated, he found his words to slowly be fading at the expression overtaking his superior's face.
To save his friend, Beilschmidt piped up softly, "The man on duty at the time was Leutnant Pfautz. . ."
"That idiot!" Major Weiß snarled, turning. "Don't get any ideas, you two. You're not off the hook yet. However, I must find Pfautz and get an explanation for all this."
As the man walked away, Beilschmidt and Schäfer gulped and nodded so hard that they privately supposed their heads would fall off. When at last they were alone, Schäfer turned to his tall friend. "I thought he would have us shot on the spot. . ." In keeping with his unsteady tone, he looked to be mere seconds away from fainting.
Beilschmidt was no better. He found his way to a seat, not trusting his legs to hold him any longer. "Ja. And here I was so sure that fighting in the war would be a glorious thing, something to tell my children one day." He paused then, and a strange look overtook his face. "Poor Pfautz."
Schäfer slumped his shoulders. "I pity him, but I'm so glad not to be taking his place. What would happen to my Gretchen?"
Amused, Beilschmidt patted him on the shoulder. "Gilbert, it will be all right. You are not married to her yet. If you die, she could have her pick of any man!"
Schäfer's look was positively scathing. "And is that supposed to cheer me up? I proposed to her because I want to be the one to marry her!"
Beilschmidt shrugged and held up his hands in submission. "All I'm saying is that someone would be able to care for her, especially since she has not been married and has no children to care for."
"If you're done gossiping like a hausfrau would, I suggest you turn your attention to me instead!" a sharp voice stated, cutting through the comforting banter of the two Germans.
They immediately stood at attention, saluting as quickly as they could without appearing sloppy. Schäfer blinked in surprise to see his commanding officer in the room again. "Herr Major, was ist los?" Resisting the urge to bite his lip, he thought, What is wrong, indeed? You just left . . .
"I would like to introduce you to Major Hochstetter of the Gestapo. He has some questions he'd like to ask you. Be sure to answer all of them. Tell him everything." The threatening tone did not escape Schäfer. There would be consequences if they did not corporate. Sadly, Beilschmidt only seemed a little bit worried. Then again, he still wasn't used to reading in between the lines. At least they'd be able to be together while this Hochstetter questioned them, right?
"Sehr gut. We shall start with the taller one." Hochstetter glared at Beilschmidt.
Schäfer couldn't help but notice the terror in his friend's eyes. The Gestapo tended to have that kind of effect on a person. He squeezed Beilschmidt's shoulder and tried to sound comforting. "Don't worry. I'll be next."
"Enough!" Hochstetter snarled. "You, come with me!"
With a glance at Schäfer, Beilschmidt followed the Gestapo major. The giant of a man seemed to dwarf Hochstetter. Schäfer couldn't help but think, Be safe, Heinrich. . .
~\*/~
Colonel Hogan shifted his gaze to the two of his men occupying the back seat. Since Carter and Newkirk were the injured ones, he had decided that they would need the extra room to stretch out and rest. He smiled slightly.
Although they had only been driving for about ten minutes, the passengers had already gotten rather comfortable. Eyes closed in sleep, Carter's head rested on his hand. As Hogan watched, Carter slowly listed to the side until he was leaning against the car door. On his shoulder lay Newkirk's head. The Englishman was slumped against Carter's left side, body limp. Their shivering seemed to have ceased for the moment.
I guess they could use the rest. I'm sure glad to have them back safe and sound. Colonel Hogan stopped and chided himself. They're not safe yet. We still have—He glanced at his watch— an hour and twenty-one minutes left till we get back to camp, longer if the ice slows us down. We'll make it. Those Germans sure won't, though, he chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny, colonel?" LeBeau asked softly, eyes never leaving the icy roads ahead.
Hogan shook his head. "I was just thinking of the Germans we stole the car from. So much for getting to that 'all-important meeting' with Kommandant Schettler!"
LeBeau laughed at the thought, and the sound brightened Hogan's spirits. They were finally back on the way to camp. They could once more sleep in their beds, joke around with the men, pull the wool over the Germans' eyes, go to roll call—Okay, so not everything about the stalag is perfect. Still, it's much better than it could be.
~\*/~
LeBeau had observed the discourse between Hogan, Carter, and the German officers. He had chosen to stay by his unconscious friend, however, and to be ready to protect the man if necessary. This choice had not come without difficulty, though. He had needed to force himself to keep his eyes from wandering Peter's still figure in search of the blood staining the uniform.
As always, he was amazed at Carter's acting ability. That the usually meek and innocent man could transform himself into a seething general, a cowering private, or even the insane Fuhrer was always astounding to him. LeBeau had watched him expertly manipulate the men in the very language they had grown up speaking.
While the Carter had kept the officers busy, Hogan and LeBeau had maneuvered Newkirk into the backseat. LeBeau had climbed into the backseat as well to hide his presence from their enemies. One look from the colonel had been all Carter had needed to wrap up his performance and climb into the backseat as well.
Waving the Feldwebel and the Oberleutnant away with a cheeky "Have fun on your little walk, gentlemen. The war thanks you," Hogan had driven away. LeBeau had peeked out the window to see the bemused men look at each other and then begin to follow the road in the same direction as the car.
After they had driven for a few miles, the colonel had pulled over to let LeBeau become the chauffeur, choosing instead to sit in the passenger's seat. The next few minutes had continued in silence, with not a word from either Carter or Newkirk.
LeBeau sighed from his seat behind the wheel. He couldn't wait until this mission was complete, and they were asleep in their beds. He listened absently to Colonel Hogan giving him directions, musing, I wonder if Kinch has coffee waiting for us. I could probably drink a pot and still fall asleep. Indeed, the adrenaline would be wearing off soon, much like it had for Carter.
~\*/~
"Are yo—are you all right, sir?" Feldwebel Schneider cocked his head curiously. "You look a bit cold."
Oberleutnant von Hohenheim's eyes snapped up to meet his subordinate. He scoffed, "Cold? Cold?! No, I'm actually becoming a bit sweaty." His sarcastic comment was accompanied by a roll of his eyes.
"Ach! Mein Herr, if you're beginning to sweat, then you must be getting sick!" Schneider held a hand up to von Hohenheim's forehead nervously. "Do you have a fever?"
Finally, von Hohenheim had had enough. "Of course I'm cold! It's snowing!" he shrieked. He slapped Schneider's hand out of the way, eyebrow twitching. The sheer incompetence! Why must I be stuck in the snow with him of all people?! Why couldn't it have been Fraulein Monika? Even Fraulein Karin or her Schwester Gisela would even be better than this complete fool! he grumbled inwardly.
Schneider gulped. "Oh. . . Well, I think the nearest town is about fifteen minutes by, uh, staff car. We should be there in . . . a bit."
In response, von Hohenheim growled.
~\*/~
"As I said, Major Weiß, I believe Papa Bear to be the culprit." Hochstetter sneered, "Sneaky and conniving though he is, I will outsmart him. He cannot stand before the great Gestapo! Give me your telephone at once! I have a call to make!"
Without so much as a word, Weiß busied himself with the bidding of the Gestapo Major. He held out the telephone to the man.
Hochstetter was in the process of grabbing it when he suddenly paused, eyes lighting up. A savage grin overtook his face. "No, wait. I must go to the stalag at once! If Klink finds out why I'm coming, that bumbling nincompoop will let it slip, and then Papa Bear will hide the evidence. Quick! Get my car ready to leave for departure!" Wringing his hands, he envisioned the look on Colonel Hogan's face when he was finally caught.
~\*/~
"Carter. Carter, wake up."
Carter was roused from his sleep by a warm hand on his shoulder. He blinked in confusion and muttered an incredibly eloquent "Huh?" Rubbing his eyes, he tried to sit up. He was unable to, however, because of a weight on his side. He shot a glance to that part of his body to see Newkirk sprawled out across it. "W-What? Where are we?" His head was violently pounding, probably protesting the lack of sleep. Raising a hand to it, he lifted his eyes to find out who had awoken him.
Colonel Hogan smiled down at him. "We're almost to the camp. About ten or so minutes away, I'd say. We have to get out the car and walk. Don't worry. LeBeau will be your crutch."
Carter's brow furrowed. "Are we getting out to make sure no one thinks we're the ones who took the car? 'Cause it's not Klink's car, I mean." He shivered as a particularly strong blast of cold wind hit him.
The colonel laughed hollowly. "No. Of all things to happen, a tire blew." He shook his head at the absurdity of it all.
"Oh. So, what do we do about Newkirk? Is he okay?"
Hogan nodded. "He woke up about forty minutes after we got in the car. He seemed alert. You were right. He didn't recognize any of us. I think he's just asleep now, not unconscious." He reached in and gently tapped Newkirk on the face. "Newkirk, you need to wake up."
When there was no response, Carter tried his hand at it. "Peter, we have to get back to camp. Come on, buddy. Wake up." Newkirk's eyes twitched, and a finger moved slightly. Carter refused to leave it like that and persisted in his attempts. "Look, Wilson needs to check you out. We have to go back to the stalag to have him do that. Peter, you have to wake up now."
Finally, Newkirk's eyes opened. He yawned. "What is it, mate? D'you have to make such a racket? Let a bloke sleep, eh?" Almost as soon as consciousness had returned to him, he had begun to shiver.
He looked so tired and out of it that Carter smiled. "Yeah. Come on! We're almost to camp!"
Carter's enthusiasm seemed to be contagious, for Newkirk stretched and then sat up. "Oi!" He stared down at his leg as though it had done him some personal disservice by choosing to throb with the movement. He stayed in that position for a while, though Carter couldn't tell if it was a result of sleepiness, pain, or the concussion.
"Hey, do you remember the colonel?"
Carter's voice seemed to snap Newkirk out of his thoughts and back to the matter at hand. He peered up at Colonel Hogan curiously. After a moment, he shook his head slowly and stated, "I do have to say that you look a mite familiar, but I'll be snuffed if I know why. . ."
Before Colonel Hogan could reply, LeBeau's voice cut in. "I think we'd better be leaving soon. We don't know when someone could come along and find us."
Carter climbed out of the back seat and helped Newkirk to exit. He raised one of Newkirk's arms to be a help, but the colonel intercepted it.
With a glance at his men, Colonel Hogan nodded. "Okay, let's go."
So, my kids are out at recess, and I've just enough time to post this. I usually go over it with a fine-toothed comb and re-read it many times over just to be safe. Even after I've posted it, I'll re-read it a few times to make sure it's grammatically correct. I don't use a beta 'cause I'm a perfectionist who loves English and enjoys proofing her own stories. (Some of my friends jokingly call me the Grammar Gestapo, but I promise that I'm not evil. :3) Anyway, all that to say that I think it's right, but I was super tired when I checked it over last night, and I also had a migraine. I've looked over it again, but I'll correct any errors I see later on in the day ('cause I won't be able to check it until after school).
Yay! Newkirk's awake again! :D And it seems Carter and Newkirk will be in the clear if they can just get back to the stalag before Hochstetter! :3
Edit: I looked through it, and I think it looks pretty good now. :D
Soli Deo gloria!
~LHDD