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Weaving A Web To Freedom
Book Three: Fliegerabwehrkanonen Spells FLAK
Chapter 19
The Inquisition
The door to the conference room opened and everyone expected to see the American Colonel enter. Instead, Oberst Knefler walked in and saluted.
"They told me at the hospital that you had come here to find Colonel Hogan and there was something mentioned about sabotage activity in the area. I might add that Major Hochstetter was quite adamant about Colonel Hogan's involvement."
Colonel Knefler looked questioningly at Kaltenbrunner and Burkhalter.
"Major Hochstetter is always adamant about Colonel Hogan's involvement," Klink answered derisively, while crossing his arms and looking away.
General Kaltenbrunner looked from Klink to Knefler.
"Ja, Colonel Knefler, I and General Burkhalter originally came to Hamelburg to take propaganda pictures of Hochstetter and Hogan. Last nights bombings of Oberst Dozier's camp has complicated our agenda. Dozier and Hogan were crossing the Hamelburg bridge when it blew up. Oberst Dozier is presumed dead and Colonel Hogan was found at the bridge by the SS suffering from hypothermia and held for questioning. The SS and Gestapo are both laying claim to him. We are discerning whether their claims are valid."
Knefler nodded, "If you would permit, I would like to stay and observe, Herr General."
Kaltenbrunner was well acquainted with the Oberst's ability to "read" people. He always seemed to know what questions to ask during an interrogation and which answers to believe, while at the same time accurately calculating his prisoner's fears and apprehensions. His involvement in the Third Reich's studies on "brainwashing "and "truth serums" had already given him the opportunity to study Hogan.
"Oberst Knefler, you may consider it an order."
Knefler walked around the table to take a seat. All the seating was on the side of the table facing the door, leaving the other side clear for the prisoner to stand for interrogation. Knefler had barely reached his chair when the door opened.
The first guard entered, followed by Hogan, the second guard, and Captain Krantz. It was noted by both Knefler and Klink that Hogan's gait was slower than normal and his stride shorter.
Slowing to almost a stop, Hogan looked around the room and took stock of the addition of Oberst Knefler. His stomach turned.
"Would somebody tell me what is going on?" Hogan demanded.
This was in character. Knefler sat back in his chair noting Hogan's spirit was intact.
The guard behind Hogan gave him a reprimanding jostle with the butt of his rifle. Prisoners were to speak only when spoken to. Hogan winced as the vibration played through his body.
A questioning look appeared on Knefler's face as he leaned forward in his chair to study the American. Having missed the explanation of the bullet wound, Knefler deduced an injury of some sort was making itself known.
Burkhalter stared stone faced at Hogan. He had placed Hogan at Stalag 13 for safe keeping. If Hogan were found to be complicit in the bombings of the guns, Burkhalter would be hung right along with Hogan.
Klink, on the other hand, just looked anxious to get this over with and take his prisoner back to camp. He had first hand knowledge of Dozier's contempt for Hogan during dinner in Hamelburg, and knew the only reason Hogan was at Dozier's camp was because Dozier was angry with Hogan and took him there to teach him a lesson.
Knefler busily jotted his observations in his notes.
Kaltenbrunner was very interested in the events that had been told to him. If it was proven that the American was a saboteur, it was very possible he would be executed. The General did not want to see that happen. Not when they were so close to what he believed could be solid evidence in their attempts at reprogramming.
Hogan was one of only two original alpha subjects remaining in the test group, and it was possible the prisoner may have had a breakthrough. Kaltenbrunner still hoped to add Hogan to his collection of victories and bring him into the Nazi party. He would exploit the American by presenting him to the world as an example of the superior scientific capabilities of the Third Reich.
"Well, Colonel Hogan, these officers…" The General pointed toward Krantz and Dresdner, "…want me to believe that you have been committing acts of sabotage and persuading German officers to commit treason. So I'm going to ask you some questions and you will answer them or I will have you taken out and shot." Kaltenbrunner spoke with no more emotion than if he were simply speaking to a waiter about his evening meal.
Hogan glanced at the two accusing officers standing off to his right. Though he was tiring both physically and mentally, he could deal with the inquisition into his activities of the previous night. After all, he had been in plain sight all night and there were witnesses to that.
It was Knefler's presence that unnerved Hogan. He was already wondering if it was his moral decision or the effects of mind altering drugs that had influenced him to save Hochstetter.
Knefler would be looking at the past and the present and would be evaluating his psyche, and how to proceed with their agenda for him. Irritatingly enough, he had proven to be quite good at it, even better than Biedenbender. But as Hogan reassured himself, he had outfoxed Biedenbender, and that German General was now sitting in an Allied prison camp, waiting out the end of the war.
"Colonel Hogan," Kaltenbrunner waited for Hogan to make eye contact with him.
"Kommandant Klink confirms that Oberst Dozier came to camp and insisted on taking you both to dinner, and that the Oberst then took you to his camp, alone. Tell us what happened once you arrived at his camp." Kaltenbrunner picked up his pen as he waited for his answer.
Hogan's restrained arms ached. Pulling at the cuffs he asked,
"Would it be too much to ask to have these handcuffs removed?"
"That is not an answer to my question," Kaltenbrunner responded with a nod and the guard standing behind Hogan hit him across the shoulders with his "stick".
"Ugh!" Hogan stepped forward with his right foot to stop the momentum propelling him forward and went down on one knee.
Klink shifted in his seat, uncomfortably, and grimaced.
The guards immediately pulled him back to his feet and placed him in position in front of the officers. Widening his stance for balance he squeezed his shoulders together to work the pain out.
Now that Kaltenbrunner had set the tone for this interrogation, Knefler quietly studied the prisoner's response. Anger registered on Hogan's face but did not come out his mouth. This could be a change in behavior.
"I don't know how you treat authority in the US army, Colonel Hogan but in the German army you learn respect. You may begin your answer now," Kaltenbrunner instructed.
"Yes, sir." Hogan answered.
Krantz did a double take. Did he just hear Hogan say, sir? He quickly looked back at Kaltenbrunner and returned to attention.
Knefler smirked. Krantz had Hogan in his possession less than 24 hours and already knows respect does not flow easily from the American's mouth. If he knew Hogan's history...he would understand.
Hogan began, "As you said, Oberst Dozier insisted the Kommandant and I accompany him to dinner. He tried to get me drunk..."
"Succeeded," Klink interjected.
"...we bantered a bit."
Klink squirmed in his seat. Antagonized was the word Klink would have used.
"He dropped Kommandant Klink off at Stalag 13 and took me to his camp. On the way he handcuffed me and when we got there he cuffed me to one of the guns and delivered a few punches before a man came out of the woods."
Hogan stopped to gather some strength.
It sounded plausible, but somehow knowing Hogan as he did, Burkhalter didn't think it was the whole story.
"What about the man who came from the woods and talked to Oberst Dozier?" Burkhalter asked.
"What about him?" Hogan answered, not volunteering any information.
Another nod from General Kaltenbrunner and the stick found its target on the back of Hogan's legs, as he began to fold he was caught and made to stay on his feet. The guards gradually released their grip as the American Colonel regained his balance.
"Colonel, we ask the questions." Kaltenbrunner's eyes hardened and took on a no-nonsense stare, "I've already been more lenient with you than I should be. Now start telling me everything you know about this man until I tell you to stop!" The General motioned the guard forward. "Or this guard will snap your wrists."
The guard stepped up behind Hogan and grabbed his cuffed right wrist, bending it back and applying pressure.
Grimacing, Hogan began talking. "He came out of the woods and approached while I was recovering from a punch Dozier…"
Kaltenbrunner interrupted, "Oberst Dozier is his title."
The guard applied more pressure to Hogan's bent wrist.
"Umph!" Hogan's face showed the pain he was feeling.
Kaltenbrunner looked at his notes and made a notation.
"Please continue and show proper respect, Colonel Hogan."
Perspiration popped out on Hogan's forehead.
"Oberst Dozier…" Hogan spat out through clenched teeth. "…turned his attention to the approaching man and asked his identity."
Hogan paused and took a gulp of air.
"He said he was Captain Voss, a Gestapo officer. Doz…I mean...Oberst Dozier asked for proof and the guy pulled some papers out of his shirt collar like a magician. He started spouting something about meeting…" Hogan shook his head.
"No… he said, 'rendezvousing' with the Underground, but he wanted to warn the Oberst about his cannons being wired to blow, and then he disappeared back into the woods…"
Hogan began to ramble, "…did I tell you he had blue eyes, blond hair, was left handed…"
Kaltenbrunner looked questioningly at the officers sitting at the table and then back at his prisoner and asked, "What are you talking about, Colonel Hogan?"
Hogan's vision blurred and he shut his eyes for just a moment before opening them and saying, "I'm trying to keep talking until you tell me to stop, so your gorilla behind me won't break my wrist. I can't remember anything else about him." Hogan stopped talking and waited.
Knefler smiled and looked down to make a note in his ever present note book.
Even Kaltenbrunner had to suppress a smirk.
"All right, Colonel. Let's move on. Now tell me why you and the Oberst were on the way, I presume, to Hammelburg?" Kaltenbrunner asked.
"After being gut punched a few times, I admit my full attention wasn't on Oberst Dozier and Captain Voss. I missed who suggested the Gestapo be notified and how soon the cannons were set to explode, but the Oberst had me unchained and taken to the truck."
Missing information or avoidance? Kaltenbrunner wondered as he looked questioningly at Knefler. "He seems to be speaking the truth, Herr General, but whether it is the whole truth is still open to debate. May I suggest you move on…for now." Knefler advised.
The General resumed.
"That brings us to two more questions. How did you manage to get shot in the side and how did you escape the explosion on the bridge when the truck you were riding in was demolished in the explosion?"
Kneffler looked up from his notebook.
Hogan sighed, "I wondered when you were going to get around to that."
Lowering his head, he took in a deep breath, and sheepishly confessed.
"I was attempting an escape."
"Hogan!" Klink responded automatically and stood to look at his senior POW.
Hogan looked back at Klink, "I knew I would never be able to escape from Stalag 13, so I decided to take advantage of the situation. It was my duty as a soldier."
"Um hum, well then I'm sure you'll understand when I do my duty and give you 30 days in the cooler!" Klink promised.
Frowning, Burkhalter ordered, "Sit down, Klink, you can deal with him after we are done…if he is not hung for being a saboteur."
Klink quietly took his seat.
"I'm waiting, Colonel Hogan!" Kaltenbrunner reminded, causing the guard to adjust his grip on his prisoner's wrist.
"I don't remember getting shot. But it must have been right before or as I jumped."
Hogan closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm out of sequence."
Opening his eyes he began again. "Let me back up. Things happened pretty quickly after Lieutenant Voss left. I found myself in the back of a truck and we were on the move. He didn't tell me where we were going but my guess was Hammelburg to get the Gestapo. The guns began to explode and Dozier,..."
The guard again applied pressure to Hogan's bent wrist.
"Ow...okay, okay...Oberst Dozier and the guard looked out the back of the truck at the explosions. The truck started across the bridge and it looked like a good time for me to make a break. I kicked D…the Colonel where it hurts the most and grabbing my right wrist with my left hand delivered a two handed right cross to the guard. From there I jumped out of the back of the truck and rolled onto my hands and knees, pausing only long enough to glance at the truck and see the guard come up off of the floor and aim his rifle in my direction. I had to move quickly and went to jump over the side of the bridge. That is when I heard a shot fired, but I don't remember getting hit. But then I don't remember landing in the river either."
Hogan was asked to repeat his answers over and over while Kaltenbrunner and Burkhalter looked for discrepancies.
This went on for over an hour and a half as they attempted to wear Hogan down and reveal any inconsistencies. Though physical stress was evident, the American Colonel did manage to stay on his feet.
Kaltenbrunner leaned back in his chair and looked the American up and down, pleased at Hogan's performance.
Still an interesting study, Knefler wrote.
The General motioned the guard to release his grip on Hogan's wrist.
"Tell me again why Oberst Dozier was punishing you," Kaltenbrunner asked, as he sat forward in his chair and rubbed his chin.
Hogan's patience was waning. He started into the sing-song retelling of the exact same story of the verbal exchange with Dozier and suddenly stopped. He'd had it!
"Look, this will be the fifth time I've told this to you. Even my dog would have understood it by now! What part don't you understand?"
A sharp poke in the right side was his answer, causing him to lean to the right, which pulled on his left side and he winced.
"Hmph!" Hogan's temper flared and he turned around, swaying with exhaustion, to face the guard who was wielding the stick.
"And I've had enough of you, too!" Hogan turned back to look at the General with defiance. Kaltenbrunner nodded and the guard raised his club, bringing it down on Hogan's shoulder.
Klink closed his eyes and turned his head waiting for the crack. The blow sent the prisoner forward into the table in front of Kaltenbrunner.
Hogan slid down to his knees before being dragged back into position.
The General stood and walked around the table to stand in front of Hogan. He then glanced at Krantz and ordered, "I want to see his wound."
Hogan frowned and took a step back. The guards latched onto his arms and held him in place.
Krantz stepped to Hogan's left side and raising his shirt removed the bandage.
Burkhalter, Klink, and Knefler moved in behind Kaltenbrunner to take a look.
"I'm sure you've all seen gunshot wounds before," Hogan complained.
"Quiet, Hogan!" Burkhalter ordered.
"This is where the bullet entered. It slid under the skin along this line," Krantz pointed, following the newly stitched path of the bullet," stopping at the point where he dug the bullet out. "And this is where it lodged."
Hogan looked indifferently at the ceiling as the officers examined the track the bullet took. The Kommandant's brow furrowed as he looked from the wound to Hogan and then back to the wound.
"And it is there that you cut the bullet out?"
"Ja, Herr General. It was superficial. After I exposed it with my knife I was able to grab it and pull it out."
Hogan clenched his teeth.
"Is there a point in all of this?" Hogan asked, tiredly.
"Silence," Burkhalter ordered.
"I hope this is a lesson for you. Do as you're told and follow orders and you might survive this war," Klink scolded.
"That goes for you, too, Klink!" Burkhalter added.
Stepping back and looking at the bullet entry and trail, General Kaltenbrunner concluded, "It looks to me like the angle would have been right for him to have been swinging his legs up to jump off the bridge. With the truck being ahead of him, the bullet most likely hit the bridge at some little distance ahead of where he was planning to jump and ricocheted. The impact with the bridge would have absorbed a good part of the forward momentum allowing the bullet to enter the body but not have enough force left to exit."
"I believe you were trying to escape, Colonel, which would also explain why you were not in the back of the truck when it hit the center of the bridge setting off the explosion."
Kaltenbrunner pointed at Hogan's side and ordered, "Colonel Knefler, see that pictures are added to the prisoner's dossier."
"Jawohl, Mein General!" Knefler answered.
Krantz dropped Hogan's shirt tail and stepped back as Kaltenbrunner addressed Hogan.
"The soldiers at the camp, corroborate your story about Lieutenant Voss. Several heard him tell Oberst Dosier the guns were set to blow in 4 minutes. You could not have been responsible, since you were with Oberst Dosier all evening. You are exonerated."
Krantz and Dresdner both knew this decision meant that neither would have the prisoner for interrogation.
"It looks like we both lost," Krantz whispered. "You're back to looking for the saboteurs and I'm looking for the breach in security that sent the saboteurs to the cannons in the first place."
"Ja, you wouldn't want to trade assignments would you? At least until after Major Hochstetter gets the news that the prisoner has been exonerated?" Dresdner asked.
Hogan tensed again as Kaltenbrunner stepped closer.
"Something I can do for you General?" Hogan asked, causing Klink's pulse to race and the guards to give their prisoner a jerk.
"I'm just curious what your reasoning was for pulling Major Hochstetter out of that burning building. You had every reason to want to see him dead!"
Krantz looked on eagerly.
The question caught Hogan by surprise."There's nothing out of the ordinary here, General. I would have done the same for anyone. I'm still the same as I've always been. My duty is to my country, and given the opportunity I would be dropping bombs on Berlin tomorrow!"
Hogan looked away appearing troubled."
"The fact is you did do it!" the General smirked.
Hogan didn't answer.
Klink was surprised. He had expected a loud and biting answer from Hogan.
"Kommandant, we will delay the photos for one day to allow the prisoner to rest. Have him at the hospital in the morning."
"Hospital?" Hogan questioned
"Ja, Herr General, at the same time as before?" Klink asked
Oberst Knefler stepped into the conversation and requested. "If you would come about an hour earlier we can get the pictures for his dossier first."
"First?" Hogan looked around the room for an answer.
"Oh, ja, ja, " Klink answered.
"I will see you tomorrow then." Kaltenbrunner stopped and looked at Hogan's shirt. "I see you've found a better tailor!" Smiling, Kaltenbrunner turned and marched out the door.
Knefler followed behind but before disappearing out into the hall, he stopped and looked at Hogan and nodded.
"Colonel, we'll talk more tomorrow." Kneffler placed his notebook in his breast pocket and smiling, gave it a tap.
Hogan's face turned red with anger and he looked at Klink accusingly.
"Stop, we will talk about this back at camp!" Klink informed his POW.
"I want to talk about it now! What is going on Kommandant? What haven't you told me?" Hogan asked.
"I said later, Hogan," Klink ordered .
"You can let go of him, guards."
The guards released their grip, and Hogan stumbled forward.
Klink grabbed him and offered support.
"You're in no condition to go into this now. Captain Krantz, you can take these handcuffs off," Klink ordered.
"Actually, Oberst, those cuffs belong to the Gestapo Lieutenant."
Klink looked at the Lieutenant, "I don't care whose they are. Get them off!"