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Weaving A Web To Freedom
Book Three: Fliegerabwehrkanonen Spells FLAK
By Marty Miller Breedlove
Chapter 24
Questions
Hogan sank his teeth into his empty glove to muffle his coughing as he poised himself outside the tunnel entrance, waiting for the next sweep of the searchlight. His breathing had slowed down now, and the fire in his lungs was lessening. Removing the glove from his mouth, he tested himself with a breath of air before standing to head for the tree stump and the tunnels below. He had ordered LeBeau and Newkirk to go ahead of him to allow more time to compose himself before making the dash to the entrance. A short burst of gunfire echoing through the woods caught his attention. They're blanketing the woods with bullets, hoping to blindly take us down. I'd better get inside before they get close enough to do the job.
LeBeau and Newkirk, now standing at the bottom of the ladder waiting on their Colonel, were joined by a relieved Kinch.
"Where have you guys been?" Kinch demanded. "You're thirty minutes late!"
"We were playing 'hide and seek' with the SS!" Newkirk sputtered out. "And if it hadn't been for my knockout punch, you'd still be waiting!"
"He throws one lucky punch and he thinks he's a hero!" LeBeau rebuked, folding his arms over his chest in disgust. "If it hadn't been for me holding the SS Lieutenant's arms, it would have been you on the ground!"
Newkirk pulled his hat off while looking at LeBeau and began his defense, "Louis, I'm…"
"Shh!" Kinch reminded. The sound of someone entering the tunnel brought the conversation to a halt. Looking up, they could see the Colonel making his way down. Hogan, his brow still damp with sweat, stepped off the ladder, looked at Newkirk and LeBeau, and laying his hands on their shoulders said, "Good job, men, thanks."
"No thanks necessary," Newkirk answered, grateful it was a thank-you instead of a reprimand.
"Oui, Colonel, we are a team," Louis added.
Kinch looked on, puzzled.
Hogan knew without their help he would be sitting in an SS cell, or praying for death by now, like the bloodied man he saw being dragged down the hall at SS Headquarters.
Turning to his bewildered Sergeant, he simply said, "Sorry we're late, Kinch! We've got the information we went after and maybe a nice bonus."
"A bonus? What kind of bonus? What happened out there? How did the SS get wise to you?"
"Well there you guys are! Where were you? We were worried about you!" Carter spewed out, upon reaching the group.
"It's a long story, Andrew, I'll tell you about it later." Newkirk promised.
"Oui, you can tell me about it later, too!" LeBeau commented, angrily; he still didn't know what had occurred in Krantz's office.
"I thought you were watching the compound, Carter?" Kinch remarked.
"There was nothing to watch! Heck even some of the guards were sleeping!" Carter answered.
"Let's hope it stays that way!" Hogan said and then added, "Here, Carter, take this film and develop it. It should contain the sites for the gun batteries and some papers written in code that Newkirk found."
"Yes, sir, right away!" Carter hurried off to carry out the Colonel's orders.
"Code, Colonel?" Kinch repeated questioningly.
"Yeah, that's about all we know right now. Except that the file was labeled Kohnstein. The coded papers were stamped at the top as Classified."
Looking back at LeBeau and Newkirk he said, "Just before I came in, I heard them spraying the woods with bullets hoping to hit one of us. Once they see they've lost us they'll be bringing in the dogs. We need to go back up before they get close enough to be effective with their blanket firing, and cover up our scent so the dogs can't lead them here."
"Newkirk and I will do that, mon Colonel," LeBeau offered.
Newkirk pulled his watch cap back onto his head and remarked, "We'll be back before you can miss us."
Hogan nodded. "Be careful!
Kinch, when is London supposed to check back in?" Hogan started down the tunnel to change and wipe the black off of his face.
"Not for a couple more hours!" Kinch answered, as he followed his commanding officer.
"Carter should have the negatives developed before then. Hopefully London will be able to break the code on those papers Newkirk found. I just hope they hold military information and not something inconsequential like Krantz's little black book of Fräulein phone numbers."
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"They obviously came this way," Krantz said, while glaring at the Lieutenant that had been overpowered in the streets of Hammelburg. "Get him to the infirmary!" he ordered.
Turning to the Corporal who found the unconscious Lieutenant, he asked, "Have we sent patrols into the woods yet?"
"Jawohl, Herr Hauptmann!" Corporal Reimers answered.
"Good! I'm going back to SS Headquarters to talk to the guard that let them get away." The Captain lowered his voice and very deliberately said, "I want these spies taken alive!"
The Corporal swallowed and, clicking his heals, saluted.
"Let me know as soon as you have apprehended them!" Krantz returned the Corporal's salute and turned to leave.
Corporal Reimers turned and rushed into the forest to stop the patrols from blanketing the woods with bullets. The Captain wants them taken alive! I hope I'm not too late.
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"Nice job, Carter." Hogan remarked as he held the film up to the light and examined each frame with the magnifying glass.
"Thank-you, but all I did was develop them. If you hadn't taken good pictures I couldn't have developed good negatives. You know my Uncle Hector takes good pictures, too. He won…"
"Blimey, Carter, the Colonel doesn't want a ruddy dissertation, he was just saying thank-you!" Newkirk said impatiently.
"Oh! You're welcome…sir!" Carter answered. "I…I didn't mean to…"
"That's all right, Carter. You'll have to tell me about him a little later. Right now, I've got to go and get some sleep before roll call."
"Do you want me to take those negatives, Colonel?" Kinch asked.
"Hmm?" Hogan looked down at his hand, "Oh, yeah! Guess I'm more tired than I thought." Hogan extended his hand with the negatives.
Kinch reached out with the wrong arm and grabbed the back of Hogan's outstretched hand. "Sorry, Colonel, guess I'm tired, too," he said, as he stretched his other hand out to take the negatives.
"Wait a minute; isn't anybody going to tell Kinch and me what happened?" Carter asked.
"I'll let Newkirk and LeBeau tell you about it. I'm tired." After saying this, Hogan had a second thought.
"And before you all go off the deep end, Wilson told me I would get short of breath for awhile if I over exerted myself, so there's no reason to go and wake him up. I'll just get an 'I told you so lecture'!"
That said, Hogan turned to leave, adding, "Don't stay up too long. We could still get a visit from the SS and if we all look tired, it will make them suspicious. Good night!"
Hogan started down the tunnel rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while holding his side with the other, and thought, Tomorrow could be a busy day. He smirked to himself, As if today wasn't!
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Major Hochstetter, unable to go back to sleep, poured himself a glass of water and stared at the wall across from him. If Hogan is not Papa Bear, I will have to rethink my assessment of him. Could he truly be no more than a POW? Have I endowed him with more cunning than he possesses purely because of his former reputation and his scourge over Germany.
Hochstetter took a sip of water and slowly set the glass down. And what if the General Staff brings about a conversion of this man? What then? Will General Kaltenbrunner put him in a SS uniform or will General Burkhalter demand they keep him a flyer and put him in the Luftwaffe?
Hochstetter, always trying to stay ahead of the game, went a thought deeper. It would be quite an accomplishment, and the propaganda from this action would be a boost for the organization whose uniform he wears. Why shouldn't it be Gestapo? But how would I justify that?
A sneer began to curl the corners of the Major's mouth. Perhaps these propaganda pictures themselves will provide the reason. What could show his conversion more than to put him in the uniform of the man he saved and as General Kaltenbrunner himself pointed out the very organization that had tortured him mercilessly; the one he should have hated the most.
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"…so anyway, I knew if we left him it would only be a matter of time before he was caught; our best bet was to make him come with us. Then he would have to keep moving or risk us all getting caught." Newkirk, having told of the evening's events, was now going back and answering Carter's and Kinch's questions.
"Good psychology, Newkirk! You've been holding out on us! I told the Colonel he was pushing himself! Just because he wears those eagles on his collar doesn't mean he's invincible!"
Everyone turned around to see Wilson coming from the direction of the infirmary, on his way to check on Dirk. "Glad to see you all made it back!" Looking around, his smile melted away. "Where is the Colonel?"
"He's gone up to bed," LeBeau offered.
"Good!" Wilson nodded.
"Yes and no," Kinch answered.
Wilson looked at Kinch questioningly, "What's the matter, Kinch?"
"I think his left side is bothering him more than he's letting on. I noticed him protecting it when he was at the train trestle and again after he got back."
Wilson frowned and then hesitantly said, "That could mean nothing. I imagine it is painful, especially with all the activity he's been doing."
"There's more. He looked…out of breath. You know, like when you've just finish exercising or something. And this was after he had been back a while. In fact, Carter already had the film developed. So I, accidentally, grabbed his hand when I reached to take the negatives from him and he felt warm, like maybe he had a fever. I was going to go by and check on him again before I turned in."
Wilson nodded as he turned to go back to the infirmary.
"Where're you going?" LeBeau asked. "Shouldn't you go look in on him?"
"I'm going to go get what I need for a dressing change and wound debridement. It's just a lot easier if, while I have the element of surprise on my side, I'm prepared to do the job!"
Wilson started to go and then stopped and looking back added. "Stay close by, this has to be done and I may need your assistance."
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"You didn't stop to think there may be two of them? How did you get accepted into the SS? It is your duty to be smart, strong, and deadly to those who stand against the Fatherland!" Krantz was laying it on strong. The disgraced private stood mutely at attention. "And you, Corporal, where were you when your guard was being beaten and tied up by these criminals?"
"I was checking on the other sentries, Herr Hauptman. When I saw this guard was not on schedule with his rounds, I immediately went to find out why," the Corporal answered confidently.
"By which time it was too late! If this is any indication of our security, I'm surprised we still have a building!"
Krantz was livid. Looking at the SS Private he said, "I'm going to suggest to the Major that you take your training over again! You obviously still have a lot to learn! And as for you, Corporal, I will suggest a transfer. This position is clearly too much for you." Krantz was circling the men as he talked. "Now Private, let's see if you're worth trying to retrain. What did you see, before these villains put you to sleep?"
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"What…," Hogan awoke with a start and grabbed the hand pulling on his t-shirt. He had hurriedly removed his shirt and pants and flopped into bed, exhausted.
"It's just me, Colonel, I want to look at your wound."
"Now? Can't this wait until later? I'm really tired and my head is killing me." Hogan reached to pull the blanket back up.
"No." Wilson had already felt the Colonel's fever and pulled the blanket back down.
"I think not." Working quickly the medic removed the dressing he had applied earlier in the day during his initial assessment. Kinch's concerns were justified.
"Colonel, this has to be cleaned out. I'll give you some morphine to help you…"
"No morphine, I need to keep my head straight."
"Colonel, I think you'd better reconsider."
"I've already done this once without anything for pain, I guess I can do again. Just get it done."
"All right, but if you change your mind, I've got it right here." Wilson looked up as Hogan's door opened and LeBeau brought the hot water in.
Wilson stood and met LeBeau at Hogan's desk. "Go get Kinch."
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"Hey, thanks Baker. I didn't realize how tired I was until you showed up. I can hear my bed calling me now." Kinch had just handed the headset over.
"You're going to hear it calling a little longer, Kinch. Wilson needs you." LeBeau proclaimed while rushing into the radio room.
"Hi, Baker! Good timing."
"Just happened to wake up early and thought I'd stroll down and see what was happening." Baker, now curious, looked from LeBeau to Kinch, "What's happening?"
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The medic carefully cut out the dead and infected tissue, taking out a margin of healthy tissue with it, to insure that the wound was completely debrided and swabbed it with some alcohol. Hogan did his best to lay still but involuntary resistance manifested itself and he tried to pull away from the nimble fingers of the medic, as he prayed for the procedure to end.
LeBeau assisted Wilson by boiling his instruments, providing warm water for cleaning out the wound, and by preparing the dressing. His final offering was to, now, present Wilson with the requested cup of water as the medic placed the final piece of tape on the dressing.
"I'm sorry you decided to go through that awake, Colonel. You should have let me give you some morphine." Wilson took the cup of water LeBeau handed him, and passed it on to Hogan.
"Here drink this. You need it now more than ever with that fever you're carrying."
Hogan, pushed himself up and reached for the cup. The ordeal still glistened in sweat on his face.
"I couldn't, there's too much at stake and I don't know what today will bring."
Hogan finished the water in one long drink and handed the empty cup back.
"Now I know you're feeling bad. You drank that without an argument."
Turning back, Wison found Hogan sitting with his head bowed, He pushed him back onto his bunk and covered him with a blanket. Hogan offered no resistance and settled in, closing his eyes.
"Thanks for your help, Kinch. Keeping him steady allowed me to get this done more quickly.
"I wish I had something to fight that infection with. We'll have to do this again tomorrow."
"When?"
"About two or three hours after morning mess. He'll have a better chance of keeping his food down, and he needs it to help his body fight the infection."
Louis nodded and turned to leave. "Good night."
"Good night, Louis," Wilson whispered.
"The Colonel's going for those propaganda pictures in the morning some time." Kinch reminded Wilson. "Which brings up another question, do you think…I mean could the Colonel be…not that I think he could, but…"
"I've been asking myself the same questions. I haven't seen any blatant signs that he has changed his thinking. But…"
"But what?" Kinch asked.
"But maybe the signs wouldn't be blatant, at least not yet. You work closely with him, have you seen anything to make you question his loyalties?"
"No…not really…but some think he was out of line dragging Hochstetter out of that fire." Kinch looked away.
"Is that what you think, too?" Wilson whispered.
"I've thought about it-a lot, and, no, I don't. The Colonel has a very firm understanding of what he views as right and wrong. And of what he can or cannot do and still live with himself. It's the same set of standards that would send him to his death rather than betray us or the underground."
"Well then, I think you've answered your own question, Kinch" Wilson answered.
"Now that we've answered that question, we still need to decide on a time for that dressing change. It has to be done before he goes tomorrow. I have to keep any infection cleaned out of there so the healthy tissue can heal."
"How about after he showers?" Kinch suggested.
"No shower. That's all he needs, is to get dirty water into that incision."
"That isn't going to make him very happy!" Kinch warned.
"I'm not here to make him happy, just to keep him alive."
Wilson turned and stepped out into the darkened common room and headed for the tunnel. He looked back at Kinch, as he started down the ladder, and added,
"I'll come by and explain the reason for no shower to him. Get to bed, Kinch. There are only a few hours before roll call."
Kinch nodded and closed up the tunnel entrance. He didn't know how long he had been asleep before the sirens sounded and the door slammed open.
"Roll call!"