Chapter Fifteen

What Was The Question?

Corporal Langenscheidt arrived at what once was Doziers camp with a replacement staff car. Schultz climbed in next to Langenscheidt, while an angry Klink sat in the back. Klink had called to talk to General Burkhalter at the hotel in Hammelburg where he was spending the night in anticipation of the next days propaganda pictures with Hogan and Hochstetter. But Burkhalter had left word he was not to be disturbed before 5a.m. and the desk clerk at the hotel in Hammelburg wouldn't budge.

"Corporal, go to Hammelburg!"

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Krantz placed his fingers on his prisoner's neck and felt for a pulse.

"Hurry! If this prisoner dies because you fail to get us to SS headquarters in time, I'll see you take his place in a cell."

Looking at the guard sitting on Hogan's other side he ordered, "Let's try to get some of this coffee down him."

The private supported Hogan's head as Krantz attempted to get the American to drink. The liquid had barely made it into Hogan's mouth when the POW shook his head in avoidance and struggled against them.

The intrusion into Hogan's consciousness caused him to partially open his eyes but his mind was not behind them.

"This isn't going to work! We can't maneuver well enough in this car. We'll have to wait until we get there."

Looking at the front seat Krantz ordered, "Faster, Private!"

"Jawohl!"

The driver slammed his foot down on the accelerator and entered the city with no intention of stopping. Fortunately, there was little traffic at this time of the morning.

"When we arrive, take the prisoner straight to assessment and stay with him. I will be there as soon as I can."

Krantz's thoughts were cut short as the car screeched to a stop in front of the foreboding structure.

The SS Captain ran ahead into the building and started shouting orders. Looking at the Desk Sergeant he ordered, "Get the doctor here, mach schnell! Is there any coffee?"

"Ja, it's…"

The Sergeant paused as Hogan was dragged past.

"Have it brought to me right away! Send two guards, we are in need of assistance with our prisoner. Schnell! And deliver more blankets to us."

Krantz entered the room where Hogan had been taken and threw his hat in the corner. A Corporal came in behind him with a pot of coffee and several cups.

"You and your men wanted some coffee, Herr Hauptman."

"It's not for us. It's for our prisoner. Get him in that chair and hold his head. We have to start getting him warm."

They had dealt with prisoners in a state of hypothermia before. Prisoners stripped and subjected to cold for interrogation would sometimes progress too far too quickly and have to be revived. But they seldom were allowed to progress this far unless they had no intention of bringing them back.

Krantz took off his uniform jacket and prepared for battle. Pouring a cup of the warm brew, he loaded it with sugar.

"Hold him still and keep his head from moving," Krantz instructed as he placed the cup to Hogan's lips and began pouring the coffee into his mouth.

Hogan reacted without conscious thought to the hot liquid burning his tongue and mouth and attempted to jerk his head away. The guard intensified his grip. The coffee hit the back of Hogan's throat and he swallowed once before coughing mildly forcing the coffee to run out of his mouth and drip down onto the coat he was still wrapped in.

The doctor walked in on the spectacle and appraising the situation, went straight to the cabinet and grabbed his supplies.

"I assume you want him brought back around for questioning, Captain Krantz."

"Ja, Herr Doctor!"

"Take that coat off of him and lay him on the table. Secure his arms and legs. Leave me two guards, and the rest of you get out. Have my assistant called."

The doctor laid out his equipment and rolled up his sleeves as the guards worked to carry out their instructions.

Krantz piled some blankets on the American."It's important that he live…at least for now. Beyond his possible involvement in tonight's sabotage activity, it seems the General Staff has an interest in him."

This last bit of news caused the doctor to pause and look at Krantz.

"Get out and let me get started."

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Hogan became aware of movement and voices around him. Through his half open eyes he could see somebody leaning over him saying something that he couldn't quite make out and then he began to gag and choke.

"Keep pulling! This is a natural response, Gretchen."

The tube cleared Hogan's mouth leaving him coughing and gasping for air. Trying to reach up and stop what was happening he realized, he couldn't move. Opening his eyes a crack the light in the room was too bright for him to see.

"It is out. That is better, ja?" A nearby voice asked.

Hogan tried to respond but could not.

The voice was feminine. Gentle hands wiped his face.

These same gentle hands slipped some hot water bottles, wrapped in towels, under the blankets and placed them next to his chest and under his arms, before tucking the blankets in around him.

"Who…?" he coughed and tried to clear his throat. "Where…?" he whispered, before his eyes drifted shut.

"We are done, Herr Doctor?" Gretchen asked.

"Ja, we are done."

The doctor reached over and opening Hogan's eyes looked into them one at a time. Apparently satisfied, he walked away, opened the door and called to someone in the hall. The SS clad officer stepped into the room, looking from the doctor to Hogan and back again.

"We warmed him from the inside, bringing his core temperature back up to 98.6. It may drift down one or two tenths of a degree until his skin warms. He should be kept warm for a few hours to stabilize. And depending on how clear you want him to be able to think, some sleep would help. Now…" rolling his sleeves down and slipping his uniform jacket back on, the doctor continued. "…I'm going to breakfast." Looking at his assistant the doctor urged, "I'm buying, Gretchen, if you're hungry."

The nurse pulled the ribbon from her hair, letting blond curls cascade over her shoulder. Smiling she nodded.

"Ja, Herr Doctor." Her smile burst into a grin.

She looked at the American as she stopped to pick up her sweater and laid her hand on his cheek.

"Bye bye, liebchen. Perhaps we'll see you later. But then that probably wouldn't be a good thing for you!"

The hand on his cheek brought Hogan back to awareness and he strained to focus his eyes and see the face behind the voice.

Gretchen took the doctor's outstretched arm and they walked out. Krantz followed them with his eyes, shaking his head as the door closed.

Hogan raised his head and watched the black uniform clad officer stare at the doctor and nurse as they left for their breakfast together and then his eyes rested on the SS officer. The officer seemed interested in the twosome.

"Well there's no accounting for taste is there?" Hogan commented, in a rough, slightly shaky voice.

"What?"

The officer turned his attention toward the prisoner, his face showing surprise before hardening into a frown. He approached his victim.

"What were you doing at the bridge?"

Hogan dropped his head back down registering the officers response to his comment. Direct hit!

"Look…I'm a POW at Stalag 13…" caught off guard by the sound of his own voice, he swallowed. It was deeper after the doctor's life saving treatment.

"…who was just minding his own business, when your Major Dozier arrived at camp and…" another pause, "…demanded the Kommandant and I go to dinner with him." Hogan stopped again closed his eyes, took a breath and tried to move.

"Can you untie me?"

"Major Dozier had dinner with you? Where is the Major now?" Krantz asked.

Hogan had been studying the face of the man asking him questions, trying to read his eyes and mannerisms and did not answer.

The Captain reached up and ran his fingers through his prisoner's hair and then, grabbing a handful, pulled his head back.

"I said, where is he now?"

The Colonel stiffened his neck to resist.

"Did you misplace him…" Hogan looked at the insignia and finished, "…Captain?"

Hogan reasoned that nobody was going to believe anything he said, they only wanted to get somebody's head in the noose for the bombings. He decided Klink should have heard and seen the explosions at the gun site and should be making inquiries. He needed to stall for time.

Captain Krantz looked approvingly at his prisoner.

"Not afraid of me?" His face took on a slow smile as he released his captive. "You will be. I can have you strung up naked in a cell if that will improve your memory…" Krantz reached for the dog tags still around Hogan's neck, and read, "…Colonel Hogan!"

"I'll give you one more chance," Krantz continued, staring at his uncooperative prisoner.

"Why did Oberst Dozier take you back to his camp?"

"That's what I wanted to know, too. In fact, the Kommandant even asked that same question…I think." Hogan swallowed trying to moisten his throat. "At least it was something like that," he answered, closing his eyes.

"That is not an answer," Krantz growled.

"What's not?" Hogan asked, slowly opening his eyes feigning to be incoherent.

"Your reply to my question!" Krantz responded, impatiently.

"Sorry…um…what was the question again?" Hogan asked, as he unconsciously pulled against the restraints.

"Why did Dozier take you to his camp?" Krantz, taking a breath, repeated himself.

"Oh, yeah, that question." Hogan swallowed and frowned. "Dozier said it was to see the artillery guns," he finally answered.

"To see the artillery guns? Why would he want you to see them?" The Captain asked.

"That's what I wanted know. I think he's been in the field too long!"

Krantz looked sharply back at Hogan.

The POW gave Krantz one of his innocent questioning looks and asked, "Don't you guys have a 'Send a Kraut to Berghof Plan' or something? A little vacation in the Bavarian Alps would do him good."

Hogan appearing more thoughtful, frowned, while pausing a moment, and then added, "All the German officers I've seen look like they could use a little rest. My guess is that the advancing Allies are making you guys nervous." The words rolled easily off of Hogan's tongue in a slightly hoarse voice.

"You have quite a mouth on you!" Krantz answered, not quite believing Hogan's nerve, considering his predicament.

"I think I've had this conversation before," Hogan mumbled, as a shiver ran the length of his body.

The shiver ignited a pain in his side as a hot water bottle shifted over the spot and a low moan slipped out.

"I'm going to say your thinking has been affected by the hypothermia. I'll give you some time to rest before we get down to business. If I were you, I'd make good use of it!"

Krantz turned to the guard in the room and ordered, "Stay here and keep your eyes on him."

"If you're going to leave a guard, how about untying me," Hogan asked.

Krantz just looked over his shoulder and smiled. "You don't give up, do you?"

"Then how about locking me in a cell? I'm sure I'd rest better, if that is truly what you want. No sense in tying up a guard, when you can just lock me up!"

Turning back around, Krantz said, "Some may think you make a point, and give in to your suggestion. But I think not. I think we'll keep you just as you are for now."

Krantz took a step back to Hogan and threw his prisoners words back at him. "You're right, there's just no accounting for taste...Touche."

Hogan looked away. It wasn't often he was "gotten the better of". He would need to be careful with this one.

Krantz left the prisoner to his thoughts and started down the hall to make his report.

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"Captain! What did you drag in tonight?" the Lieutenant asked."

Krantz stopped.

"Lieutenant Hildebrand, you're up early!"

Hildebrand joined Krantz and the two lifetime friends laughed as they walked down the hall.

"You didn't answer my question. Who do you have?"

Smiling Krantz said, "Ever the inquisitive one, aren't you, Lieutenant?"

"How am I ever going to be as good as you and rise in rank, if I don't study your technique? Now, give!"

With a laugh Krantz explained, "I have an American Colonel that we found half frozen at the bombed out bridge leading into town. He was at Oberst Dozier's Camp just prior to the guns blowing up. I intend to find out if there is a connection."

"Why not ask Oberst Dozier?"

"Oberst Dozier seems to have gone up with the bridge. Both he and this American were riding in the back of a troop truck that was crossing the bridge when it exploded."

The Lieutenant thought for a moment, "Then why didn't the American Colonel get blown up, too?"

"Now, there is the riddle."

The Lieutenant smiled.

"See I told you! I can learn a lot from you! Let's get a little something to eat and you can give me all the gory details!"

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Major Hochstetter made phone calls to several high-ranking officers at Gestapo headquarters in Berlin. His contributions to Black Paw's interrogation had gained him some new respect and he was going to cash in on some of that now.

"Ja, Herr Oberst, we are following up on a lead I obtained from Black Paw about the radio frequency. Captain Voss has infiltrated the underground group attached to that frequency. We suspect the American Colonel could have some knowledge or be directly involved considering he was at the sabotage site." Hochstetter was doing a hard sell. He knew the High Command had plans for Hogan, but he also knew how desperate Berlin was to stop the Underground in the area around Stalag 13 and he was counting on that to add momentum for the acquisition papers to release Hogan to him from the SS.

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knock-knock

"Come in."

The door slowly squeaked open and a young private stuck his head in.

"Captain Krantz, Lieutenant Hildebrand sent me to tell you a Lieutenant Dresdner is here from the Gestapo yelling something about you having his prisoner. The Lieutenant thought you might want to move your prisoner down to the cells until we get this straightened out."

"Danke private, you may go."

Krantz rose from his chair ever more intrigued by the circumstances surrounding this Colonel Hogan.

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Hogan was startled by a quick intrusion into the room where he lay resting.

"You get your wish, Colonel. We're moving you to a nice private cell."

"Is something wrong, Captain?" Hogan anticipated that Klink had finally arrived.

Krantz looked at Hogan but did not answer. Instead, he motioned for the guards to come forward and pulled the blanket back to remove the restraints. Moving the hot water bottles, a small puddle of blood became visible.

"What's this?" Krantz asked, looking down at the blood that the towel on the water bottle had absorbed.

The increased blood circulation to the skin had allowed the wound on Hogan's left side to begin to seep. At first Krantz was going to ignore it, but then noticed the red spot was growing on the sheet. Grabbing a towel off of one of the discarded water bottles, he wiped Hogan's bloodied side.

"Ugh-" Hogan jerked involuntarily.

Krantz glanced quickly at Hogan's face trying to gauge the pain, thinking it would give him a clue to the extent of the injury. He looked back at the wound. There was a small hole and then a two-inch wide area of raised reddened skin wrapping its way around to Hogan's lower back.

Now the SS officer was curious. Grabbing a towel off of the counter he rolled it and placed it behind Hogan's back, tilting the prisoner to one side and allowing him to follow the trail around to his prisoner's back.

The left arm and leg restraints tugged against Hogan as he strained to see what Krantz was doing.

Krantz ran his finger along the trail of inflamed skin until he came to the end where he felt a hard knot just under the skin.

The American Colonel flinched and drew in a breath.

Krantz again stared at Hogan, "It looks like you have more to tell us than I originally thought, Colonel!"

Grimacing, Hogan didn't answer but he had a pretty good idea what had happened and realized this may be a little harder to explain.

Krantz removed his dagger from its sheath and with his left hand, placed a finger on either side of the lump in Hogan's back.

"Let's see what we've got here."

Seeing the knife in Krantz hand, Hogan realized what was about to happen.

"You're not really going to…yeah, you are!"

Krantz, placing the blade of the knife against the skin between his fingers, made a quick slice cutting down to the foreign object and while pressing the skin down on either side brought the foreign object into view.

"Mmph," Hogan grunted, and holding his breath bit his lip and clutched at the cushion under his restrained arms.

The German officer, grabbed the object with the fingers of his left hand as it emerged and pried it loose through the freshly flowing blood. Hogan stiffened clutching tightly at the sheets in his hands.

"Well, what have we here?"

Krantz brought the item closer for inspection and rolled the irregularly shaped metal between his bloody fingers.

"A bullet? It looks like you picked up a slug, Colonel Hogan. I'll bet this is going to be an interesting story!"

Hogan did not, could not, answer. His heart was pounding and perspiration appeared in beads on his forehead, as he closed his eyes and exhaled with a groan. He was tiring and the glib remarks would not come. His body, still tense from what he had just experienced, was sending messages that it would not take much more.

"Unfortunately, you'll have to tell it to me a little later. I have a small matter to take care of first."

Krantz took a small glass petri dish from the cabinet and placed the bullet in it, before walking to the sink and rinsing the blood from his hands. Turning back to look at the man lying on the table, he slipped the evidence into his pocket.

"You're literally full of surprises, Colonel!"

Looking at the guards Krantz ordered, "Let's get him up and down to his cell."

As the guards finished releasing him and pulled him up, Krantz tossed Hogan a towel.

"You might want to put some pressure on that," Krantz offered, indicating Hogan's left side.

"Thanks…" Hogan pressed the towel against his side with a grimace and added, "…a lot!"

Krantz threw a blanket over Hogan's shoulders, which Hogan clutched tightly around himself with his free hand as the guards helped him out of the room.