The Case of Mistaken Identity Raid

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 8

Hitch woke up when the key turned in the lock again. He stood and stretched, expecting the guards were there to take him to the hospital again. He stepped back until he was pressed up against the cot when Captain Hertz and his men walked into the cell. Before he could move, his arms were being held by the guards.

The captain took another step into the cell and another man stepped through the door. Hitch recognized the interpreter from earlier.

"Captain Hertz has decided to give you one more chance to tell him what you were doing outside his base."

Hitch kept his eyes on the captain. "I was told to watch for patrols."

The officer stepped forward and punched Hitch in the ribs. Just for good measure, he did it again.

"The captain says he doesn't believe you," the interpreter translated.

Hitch tried to laugh. "Yeah, I think I got that."

"You should answer his questions."

"I already did," Hitch replied. The captain hit his ribs again. "Does Major Riche know about this visit?" At the mention of the major's name, Captain Hertz made a rude gesture. "I'm telling him you did that." That got him another blow to his bruised ribs. It took several minutes for the captain to decide that he wasn't going to get anywhere. Or it could have been the continued mention of the major's name. At any rate, the officer and his men left Hitch sore but conscious.

When the guards came to get Hitch, he tried to hide the evidence of the captain's visit. Major Riche was waiting for him again. He eyed Hitch suspiciously. "What have you done to yourself?"

Hitch looked down at his uniform before looking at the major. "What? I brushed it off as best I could."

"I wasn't talking about the uniform." The major motioned for Hitch to follow him. They didn't go to the general's room. Instead, they made their way through the hospital until they found the doctor. The major had the doctor check Hitch for injuries. When the doctor was finished the major faced Hitch. "Tell me what happened."

"I told you before Major, I'm not talking. I'll pretend to be the general's son, but I won't talk."

"Captain Hertz?"

Hitch nodded.

"Why?"

"Why don't you ask him? Or maybe you already know."

"You think I had something to do with this?"

"Didn't you?"

"No, I didn't. I told the captain to stay away from you."

Hitch shook his head. "I guess he didn't listen so good."

"You listen to me. I love that old man, and right now, he loves you. At least he loves the man he thinks you are. I would never do anything to hurt him. If he finds out about this, he is going to be furious. That will not be good for him in his condition. He may be dying, but he'd do anything for his son." The major's face had turned bright red as he talked.

"I think you're wrong about that."

"You've seen the way he treats you. He thinks you are Kurt and he treats you the way he would treat his own son. How can you doubt his love?"

"I believe that part," Hitch answered. "It's the other part I don't believe."

"What other part?"

"The part where he's dying. You're wrong. He's better. His color is better, his fever is gone, and he's stronger than he was. I've spent a lot of time with him and I can see the improvement."

"Then why hasn't he realized that you are not his son?"

"I don't know, but I don't believe he's dying."

"I hope you are right about that, but you are wrong about that other thing." The major smiled at his choice of words. "I had nothing to do with the visit from Captain Hertz. In fact, I put him on report for disobeying my orders."

"I bet that put a scare into him."

"It should," Major Riche growled. "Is your knee all right? The doctor tells me you sprained it again."

"It's okay," Hitch answered, "But I'm not going to be able to jump when you tell me to. Now that's a real shame."

The major tried to hide a smile at the comment. "That is a shame. What are we going to tell the general if he notices your injuries? He may decide to have the captain shot if we tell him the truth."

"I'm all for telling the truth," Hitch suggested.

Major Riche sighed. "That may be, but then I would have to make a report, and that could get messy."

"Sooner or later, he's going to realize that you have been lying to him."

"I will deal with that when he is himself again." The major ordered the guards to take Hitch to the general. "I will join you later. I must meet with a panzer commander who has been charged with security for the general for the rest of his visit. That fool Captain Hertz thinks his precious base is about to come under attack."

Hitch nodded and went to see the general. The old man was asleep when Hitch entered the room. He hobbled to the chair beside the bed and sat down. He woke up when the doctor touched his shoulder. Hitch took a cup of water from the doctor and drank it all. As the doctor stepped away, Hitch noticed that the general was watching him.

"What have you done now? And don't tell me it's nothing." The general sounded exactly like an officer who expected an answer.

"I went out on a patrol and my car flipped in some soft sand. I bruised a few ribs." Hitch took the old man's hand. "I asked Josef not to tell you. I didn't want to worry you. I guess this means that we will be spending more time together. I won't be leaving this base."

The general reached for Hitch's hand. "That's fine son, but no more secrets."

"I can't promise that Father," Hitch answered. "I have my duties."

"All right then, no more secrets that don't need to be secrets." The general squeezed his hand again. "You go back to your quarters and sleep in a soft bed. That chair can't be that comfortable with bruised ribs."

"You're right, it's not, but I wanted to see you. I wanted to know how you were feeling."

"Don't worry about me," the general ordered. "I'm feeling fine, better every day."

"All right," Hitch answered. He struggled to his feet. "I could use some rest." Hitch reached down and squeezed the general's arm affectionately. "Good night Father."

"Sleep well son."

Major Riche walked to the hospital with the leader of the panzer unit by his side. The captain had requested a chance to speak with the general for a few minutes. "The general was wounded by an American unit that was hanging around the base. He's doing better, but he's weak. You must keep your visit short."

"I understand," The captain answered. "I will introduce myself and wish him well."

"His son is in there with him now," Major Riche warned. "He should be leaving soon."

The other officer nodded. Just then the door to the general's room opened. Both officers stepped aside to allow the general's son and his escorts to pass.

Hitch, still in the German uniform, was looking back when he stepped from the room. When he did look around, he froze mid-step. His eyes never left the face of the officer standing next to Major Riche.

"How is the general?" Major Riche asked.

"He's awake," Hitch answered without taking his eyes off of the other officer. "He sent me to get some rest. He knows. He asked about it and I had to tell him something, so I told him my car flipped in soft sand."

"All right, I suppose I should have expected him to notice." The major nodded toward the second officer. "This is Captain Dietrich, I told him that you were the general's son."

"He knows better."

"What? You know each other?" Major Riche looked from one to the other.

"We do, in a manner of speaking," Dietrich answered in English.

"That complicates things. Captain, would you be so kind as to accompany the prisoner to his cell? If you could wait there, I will join you shortly. You can see the general after we explain a few things."

"Of course, Major." Dietrich answered. "I must admit, I am curious."

Hitch and Dietrich returned to his cell where they were both locked in.

"I must say Private, you do show up in the most unusual places." Dietrich commented after hearing the key turn in the lock.

"I could say the same about you Captain," Hitch answered. He leaned back against the wall and eyed the captain.

"You don't look so well Private."

"I'm alive."

"Are you eating?"

"Sure," Hitch answered. "A slice of moldy bread and half a cup of water a day. It's a wonder I'm not getting fat."

Dietrich smiled. "Someone must think you are a mouse instead of a rat."

Hitch tried for a smile but his ribs hurt and his attempt fell flat.

"Would you care to explain to me how you managed to convince everyone that you are the general's son?"

This time Hitch did laugh. "Is this how they treat a general's son? No, the general is the only one who thinks I'm his son."

"And the major goes along with it?"

"The major not only goes along with it, this whole thing was his idea. The general mistook me for his son while he was out of his head with fever. The major didn't want to upset him by telling him the truth."

"Aren't they worried that he'll figure it out?"

Hitch shrugged. "I guess they thought he was going to die, but they were wrong. I think he's going to make it."

"Then sooner or later they are going to have to tell him the truth. Or, he may realize it for himself."

"Yeah, we talked about that."

"So, what did they offer you on return for your cooperation?"

"My life."

"The major has promised to set you free?" Dietrich asked in surprise.

"Not free," Hitch admitted, "just a chance to live a little bit longer."

Dietrich nodded as if he understood. "Private, I have been getting regular reports from the bases from the neighboring sectors."

"So?"

"So, I've had several reports concerning your unit. They've been hitting convoys as far as two hundred miles away. Some of those reports were very recent. I suppose what I am trying to say is, they aren't coming for you this time."

Hitch nodded. "I figured as much. The security on this base is pretty tight too. I guess headquarters figured that I wasn't worth the risk."

"I can't believe that Sergeant Troy would agree with that."

"He's a soldier, he takes orders."

"Are we talking about the same Sergeant Troy, because that doesn't sound like the Troy I know."

"He takes orders Captain; he just takes them his way."

"And where does that leave you?"

Hitch thought the officer seemed genuinely interested. He shrugged before answering. "The major promised it would be quick as long as I went along with his plan with the general."

"So that's why you agreed?"

Hitch didn't answer.

Dietrich watched him struggle for an answer. "There's another reason, isn't there?"

"I don't know," Hitch answered tiredly. "Maybe I just felt sorry for him. He's an old man, and he really thought I was his son. The look in his eyes when he looked at me…maybe that was it. He really loves his son. And he's proud of him too; a blind man could see that."

"Where is his son?"

"Dead," Hitch answered. "At least that's what the major told me."

"I see."

"The major was worried that telling him the truth would kill him," Hitch finished with a shrug. "I get to live until the general realizes his mistake."

Dietrich nodded without comment. They sat in silence until Hitch's stomach growled again. "Are you hungry?"

Hitch huffed. "My stomach thinks my throat's been cut."

Dietrich looked confused so Hitch explained.

"No windpipe, no food goes down."

"Ah, now I understand."

"Yeah," Hitch nodded, "that's the way it works."

They fell silent again until there was a noise in the hall. Dietrich turned to face the door. When it opened, Major Riche walked in. He glanced at the two men before telling his men to wait in the hall and close the door behind them. This time they didn't lock it.

"Have you had a chance to satisfy your curiosity Captain?"

"I have," Dietrich nodded. "And while I can understand your motives, I can't help wondering what the general will say when he finds out."

"Whatever he says, I will accept. I will take full responsibility for what we have done." The major looked at Hitch as he said it. "You have to understand something Captain; I would do anything for the general. When he was wounded, I feared that he was going to die. I thought he had given up. Then he saw this prisoner, mistook him for his dead son, and suddenly he was fighting to live again. I couldn't take that away from him, even if I have to pay for it later. All that matters to me is that he lives."

"He loved his son?"

"Very much."

"Then how is he going to react to losing him a second time?"

Major Riche paused. "I don't know. Hopefully, by then, he will be strong enough to deal with it. All I know is that his condition was critical and fading, but it has improved steadily since the prisoner started playing the part of Kurt. Before that meeting the doctors had nearly given up on him. I will play this out as long as it continues to help the general. When the general is well enough, we will return to Berlin. If he still believes the prisoner is his son at that time, I will think of some reason that his son can't come with us."

"And Private Hitchcock?"

The major looked past Dietrich to Hitch. "He has learned too much about the general's personal life. I have agreed to make his death quick, it's the best I can promise."

"Were you aware that he was beaten by Captain Hertz?"

"Yes," the major answered. "It won't happen again. I made it clear to the captain what would happen if it did."

"Did you also know that Captain Hertz has been denying him food and water to break down his resistance to interrogation?"

The major turned to Hitch. "Is that true?"

Hitch merely shrugged in answer.

"Why wasn't I told?"

"I'm not exactly in a position to complain, am I Major?"

"I need you Private, and I need you in good health. If anything else happens, I want to know about it immediately. No one else has the right to touch you."

Hitch looked at Dietrich and could have sworn he saw amusement in his eyes.

"Did you hear me Private?"

"I heard you Major."

"If it pleases you Major, I can go over to the mess hall and bring him some food." Dietrich offered.

"The guards can so that Captain."

"It's no bother Major. I haven't eaten yet either. If you don't mind, I would like to ask Private Hitchcock about his unit."

"No Captain, I won't have him questioned by anyone. I don't want him injured."

"No injuries Major, merely some polite conversation. Of course, I wouldn't object if he was to let something slip during our talk." Dietrich switched to German. "He's tired and hurt, he might let something slip."

"Private?"

"I'm not telling you anything that wasn't part of the deal."

"Then we'll just talk," Dietrich answered in English.

"Any objections Private? You can always call to the guards if you are uncomfortable."

Hitch shrugged. "As long as he brings food, why not?"

Dietrich laughed. "I'll see what's on the menu."