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Weaving A Web To Freedom
Book Three: Fliegerabwehrkanonen Spells FLAK
Chapter 43
The End of the Maze
Hogan's tension began to ease a little as Wilson revealed his conversation with London.
"So, you see, Colonel, London believed in you enough to not follow Nimrod's recommendation."
"But not enough not to send agents out to gather more information on me," Hogan shot back. Listening to himself, he acknowledged, "Which is a…sensible approach." Hogan ran his hand through his hair and exhaled. "Okay, so where do I stand with London now?"
"My opinion is that they want to trust you. What they learn from the information they picked up last night is probably what they will be basing their final decision on."
"Tell me you looked at that film before you sent it on to London!" Hogan looked at Wilson for confirmation. Wilson did not answer immediately. "You did read it, didn't you?"
"Kinch and I discussed it. We had not been told to read it or that we could read it. But we hadn't been told we couldn't either. We decided there was no point in both of us undergoing a court martial, and my chances would be better for getting away with it, since it was medical information. So, yeah, I did read it, but not all of it. Carter printed the frames that I indicated. There was a lot of information there; we had to be picky."
"And…" Hogan paled as he asked, "…did I commit treason?"
Wilson shook his head, "No, Colonel. Not on any of the pages I read. In fact, some of the entries made it quite clear that several people had doubts they would ever get where they wanted to go with you."
Hogan closed his suddenly moist eyes and rubbed his face. The relief was overwhelming. Then the word "some" bit at him. Looking at Wilson he questioned, "Some?"
Wilson continued, "There were a few who felt your determination just made you a better challenge and, that given more time and a few more new developments in their approach, you could be had."
A cold chill ran its way up Hogan's spine and culminated in a deep feeling of dread. "Need I ask who those were?"
"Most were names I didn't recognize, but there was one big proponent for continuing."
"Let me guess: Knefler?"
Wilson nodded, "Knefler."
"Well that's not something I didn't already know."
Knock, knock!
Hogan's stomach tightened as he looked at the door uncertain whom to expect. "Come in."
The door opened and Kinch stuck his head in. Hogan visibly relaxed. Seeing the Colonel sitting up, Kinch smiled, "Morning, Colonel! I just wanted to let everyone know Tiger and her group made it back to their base with Dirk without any problems."
"Tiger was here? You mean that was real?" Hogan paused and smiled, remembering. "I thought it was a dream," Noticing the smiles on the faces of Kinch and Wilson, he sobered. He cleared his throat and said, "So Dirk was strong enough to move. Good, at least something is going well."
Wilson spoke up, "You're doing well too, Colonel. The medicine the Nazis gave you is working. But I imagine you can feel that for yourself."
"Yeah, I can. Do we know anything about this medicine of theirs?" Hogan asked.
Kinch shook his head, "No. We asked London if they had heard of any new medicines by the Germans and they hadn't. Wilson suspects it might have been Allied penicillin."
Hogan stopped and considered the possibility. "All I can tell you is that it stung."
"That's a convincing argument for it possibly being penicillin." Wilson nodded.
BAM! The door to Barrack Two slammed open and Schultz marched in bellowing, "STAND AT ATTENTION FOR THE KOMMANDANT!"
Hogan pushed himself to his feet, struggling to wrap the blanket around himself before the Kommandant entered. He had barely raised his head from his task, when the door burst open and Klink, followed by Schultz, stormed into his room.
Klink's eyes pinned his, out-of-uniform, senior POW in place as he marched up to confront him.
"Colonel Hogan," Klink glanced down the length of the blanket and back up. "I see you have recovered sufficiently to stand on your own two feet this morning! Or was yesterday all an act to make us think you were incapable of performing any acts of sabotage?"
"What are you talking about, Kommandant?" Hogan tugged at the blanket, keeping it drawn tightly around him.
"Don't act innocent with me, Hogan! General Burkhalter called early this morning to tell me Herr Brinker's film had been sabotaged. And, he indicated you as the prime suspect."
"Kommandant, I…"
"Save it, Hogan! General Burkhalter will be here later today to get to the bottom of this. You had better come up with a good reason why it couldn't have been you or you'll be taking a trip to Colditz. And I'll be on my way to the Eastern front!"
"Colditz?" Hogan stood staring at Klink as the Kommandant waved his fist at him growling.
"I'd put you in solitary right now…"
"Solitary? For what reas…"
"Silence!" SNAP! The swagger stick cracked against the side of Klink's boot. The Kommandant gritted his teeth in anger and continued. "As I was saying, I'd put you in solitary now, but Dr. Schmidt wants to do a final examination this morning before he goes back to Berlin. After that…we'll see!" Klink glared at Hogan as he added, "Hogan, if you have anything left in your bag of tricks…now's the time." Klink and Hogan stared at each other in silence for a moment. Hogan knew any attempt to respond would be quickly squashed by Klink. The Kommandant was not looking for answers. He was giving Hogan a heads up.
Klink broke the silence, "Dr Schmidt will be seeing you in the infirmary in a couple of hours. I'll send for you when it's time. Be ready!" The confrontation ended when Klink spun and marched out as quickly as he had arrived.
As the door to his room slammed shut, Hogan leaned back against the top bunk, not wanting to admit how much energy this little confrontation had exacted.
Kinch shook his limp right hand as if he had just been burned and gave a low whistle, while Wilson looked at Hogan waiting for an explanation.
Newkirk, Carter and LeBeau ran into the room before the breeze from Klink's exit subsided.
"What was that all about, Colonel," LeBeau asked.
"Yeah, gov'- I've only seen Klink in a snit like that a couple of times, and they weren't good signs," Newkirk remembered.
"Colditz? What's that?" Carter asked.
"It's not someplace I want to go." Hogan paused and looked at the questioning faces around him. "I managed to get to the camera while the Krauts were absorbed in conversation. I pulled the film off the reel and exposed it to light before shoving it back inside the camera." Pausing for a moment, he smiled, "I guess it worked!"
"That's the way, Colonel! Outfox them in their own den!" Newkirk praised.
LeBeau nodded and rubbing his hands together, smiled, "Oui!"
"Colonel, you're an inspiration!" Kinch admitted, grinning.
Carter looked questioningly at his comrades, "What's Colditz?"
"It's a Sonderlager," Newkirk answered.
Carter turned to look at Newkirk, "What kind of special camp?"
"A camp for difficult prisoners," Kinch answered.
Looking from Kinch to Hogan, Carter asked, "What happens if they send you away to Colditz, Colonel?"
"I'm with you, Andrew," Wilson looked at Hogan.
Hogan still leaning on the upper bunk turned slightly, resting his arm on the bed rail for support before answering Carter's question.
"Don't worry about that, I can handle Klink and his cronies," Hogan answered, sounding more convincing than he felt. Looking at Carter and Newkirk he decided it was time to change the subject, "So you two went out to meet the plane last night without me."
"It was really early this morning, sir," Carter corrected.
"Andrew!" Newkirk smacked Carter on the shoulder with his cap, stalling for time. "Don't correct the Colonel."
Hogan's eyes came to rest on Newkirk. The Corporal wrung his hat in his hands and lowered his head. "Everything went well, Colonel." Silence filled the room. Newkirk looked up, "After Schmidt came, well, you couldn't go and…"
The tension left Hogan's shoulder as he allowed himself to accept the fact that he was incapacitated last night. i'll talk myself out of Colditz and it's not my men's fault I couldn't meet the plane. Hogan broke his stare and shaking his head said, "That's all right, Newkirk. You don't have to explain. You're right, I couldn't go. Schmidt and his paranoia took care of that. I'm just glad it was uneventful. Thanks for going…both of you."
Newkirk and Carter smiled and nodded.
"It was nothing, sir, pretty routine. You really didn't miss anything." Carter added.
Newkirk rolled his eyes.
"I'm glad to hear that, but thanks just the same." Hogan turned stiffly, and gingerly paced toward his desk. "Now, where do we go from here?" The desk creaked slightly as Hogan leaned against it. The once rough wood surface was now worn smooth by the many thoughts and plans that had spilled across it over the last fifteen months.
"Uh, Colonel," Kinch spoke up, "You might want to wait until after London's next broadcast to make any decisions. They want to talk to you."
Hogan looked at Kinch with his unasked question, waiting for a reply.
Kinch shrugged, "They said it was about your future."
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After what turned out to be an uneventful outing with Gretchen the night before, Hildebrand had been summoned to SS Headquarters early by his Captain. Krantz paced over to his office window and stared out.
Hildebrand had not been given permission to digress into the familiarity of their friendship and so maintained military formality and stood at attention. "May I ask what was in that file that has you so upset?" Krantz spun around with fire in his eyes. "Sir!" Hildebrand amended as he tightened his muscles, becoming more rigid in his stance.
Krantz blinked as his mind decided how much to tell the Lieutenant. He could not let friendship interfere with his decision. He kept the Lieutenant at attention while he paced around the desk and stood directly in front of him. Looking into Hildebrand's eyes, he attempted to read his soul. He needed to know whether his subordinate would remain his friend, or turn him in, if he brought him into his confidence. Then, apparently satisfied, he turned and began talking.
"I have a superior that has taken a liking to me and was influential in having me assigned to this post. My accomplishments are being mentioned, by my mentor, to his superiors, and based on our correspondence, I expect to receive a promotion in the not too distant future with the promise of a move to Berlin."
Hildebrand listened closely, his eyes following the pacing of his superior officer. Krantz spun around to look at Hildebrand, and the Lieutenant snapped his eyes back to stare directly forward.
Krantz continued, "So, you ask, what does this have to do with the folder?"
"Yes, sir," Hildebrand confirmed.
"My friend and mentor has, himself, advanced in rank and is now working, indirectly, under General Kaltenbrunner, on another one of the General's programs." Krantz paused, deciding whether to continue. "The overthrow of the United States would be a deciding factor in the outcome of the war. But to make this happen we have to be able to take the war to their shores." Krantz studied Jonathan's face. He could see the interest. "My mentor values what I have to offer in the way of seeing problems before they happen and my skill in being able to head them off. He has used me as a sounding board and someone to banter ideas with." He looked at Hildebrand. "He wants me by his side. The file contains copies of…" Krantz paused, "…let's just say it is top secret information sent to me to study and offer my opinions on. It is information that should not be here. If that information makes it to the Allies…"
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Hogan pulled the headset off and handed it back to Kinch, who took it while piecing together the one sided conversation he had just listened to. "Are you going to do it, Colonel?"
Hogan looked at Kinch, "London doesn't make requests. It may sound like a request but…"
"That's a pretty harsh request, Colonel! Making Knefler and those sadist think they're succeeding in brainwashing you."
"I don't know, Kinch. I think it could work. At least I would be in a position where I might be able to learn what London wants to know."
Kinch looked down at the radio table in thought. Looking back at his Colonel, he asked, "But how do you end it?"
"They've left that up to us."
"But…"
Hogan waved Kinch off; "They're going to send someone in a few days with more details." Hogan smiled and nodded, "I'd like a chance to wipe the smirks off of those Nazi faces. Come on Kinch we better get back topside before roll call."
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Hogan sat between two SS guards in Klink's outer office, his arms folded impatiently across his chest, while Burkhalter, Klink and Schmidt met inside. Only the occasional word made it through the closed door to Hogan's ears.
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"But I thought you said you suspected Hogan of sabotaging the film?" Klink questioned.
"So, what if he did. That is not something to be concerned about!" This sudden change in attitude left Klink groping to understand the reason.
This sudden one eighty by Burkhalter was due to Knefler's late night call. But the General, unwilling to admit he may have made a wrong assumption, offered no explanation. And even if it was Hogan that sabotaged the film, Colonel Knefler was encouraged by his actions.
"Well, you were concerned about it earlier this morning when you ordered me to pack my bags," Klink countered.
"Klink! I said it was nothing! Now unless you want to make use of those bags I would drop the subject."
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Hogan was straining to make sense of the garbled voices inside, when a blast of cold air hit him and Knefler came bounding in. Seeing Hogan he slowed his pace.
"Well, Colonel, you're looking much better this morning," the Oberst observed. Stopping to take a better look, he raised his hand to make contact with Hogan's face.
Hogan pulled back and raised his hand to block Knefler's touch, alarming the guards, who took a step back and raised their guns.
Hogan brought his other hand up in a surrender mode. "If you don't mind, I've already been thoroughly poked and prodded this morning. Your friends in there can tell you anything you want to know about me. You'd better hurry though, you're late for the party!" Hogan nodded toward the door.
Knefler glanced over his shoulder at the noisy door, smiled, and then continued to place his hands on either side of Hogan's face. Using his thumbs, he propped Hogan's eyes open.
Hogan stiffened, his skin took on a slightly redder hue, and his knuckles blanched white, as he kept reminding himself why he couldn't allow his right hand to connect with Knefler's jaw.
Knefler tilted Hogan's head back allowing the light to hit his pupils. Satisfied with their reaction, Knefler released his hold and motioned for the guards to lower their weapons. "There doesn't appear to be any ill effects from our talk yesterday and your fever appears to be gone. It would seem you're beating that infection. But you certainly caused quite a commotion last night."
"Me?" Hogan's face still burned red with restrained anger. He lowered his clutched fists and said, "I've been sleeping the better part of the last two days, as you well know. What could I have done?"
Knefler smiled, "What indeed," he answered as he turned to enter the office.
Hogan leaned forward trying to get a look inside before the door closed but was pulled back by one of the guards.
"Nein!" the guard ordered.
After a few more minutes the door opened and Knefler looked out. He jerked his head and stepped back leaving the doorway free. "Bring him in!"
The two guards pulled Hogan to his feet and moved him forward. He glanced at the smirking Knefler as he passed by and was placed in front of the Kommandant's desk. Burkhalter had taken up residence in Klink's chair and now leaned back, putting stress on the squeaking springs.
"The film used to take the pictures of you and Major Hochstetter has been ruined."
Hogan folded his arms in front of him allowing his right hand to rest over and offer support to his left side. With a surprised look on his face he responded, "You're kidding! I can't say I'm disappointed, but how did that happen?"
"Nobody seems to know. We thought maybe you had some ideas," Burkhalter looked coolly at Hogan.
"How would I know? The last time I saw the photographer was when Captain Krantz came and Colonel Knefler had me removed from the room," Hogan reminded him.
"Um, hm," Burkhalter nodded. "We haven't quite figured out how you could have done it, which is why you are still here."
"Still here?" Hogan asked, playing ignorant.
"Never mind," Burkhalter answered. Then, nodding toward Dr. Schmidt he continued, "The doctor says you are recovering from your wound and infection. You can thank German science for that."
"Thank you? I think you should thank me for being your test subject!" Hogan looked from Burkhalter to Schmidt.
"Hogan!" Klink shouted.
A satisfied laugh came from behind Hogan as Knefler enjoyed the American Colonel's brazenness. Yes, just delightful.
Hogan watched as Knefler moved around to stand next to the desk, where he could see the prisoner's face.
Burkhalter looked at the SS guards and ordered, "You are dismissed. You may return to SS Headquarters and your duties."
The guards saluted and turned to leave. Schmidt stiffened as his protectors headed for the door. "I must be going too." The doctor made a wide circle around Hogan. "I need to catch a train."
Burkhalter stood and walked toward his coat. Klink hurried to get there first and held the General's coat open for him. "May I assume this matter is concluded, General Burkhalter?"
"Yes Klink. Walk me to my car," Burkhalter ordered, while looking at Hogan, and smiling. "Take care of yourself Colonel Hogan. Get some rest, you still look tired." Then looking at the Kommandant said, "Come Klink!"
Once outside, Burkhalter stopped at the opened car door, "Klink, you are to continue talking with Colonel Hogan. Listen to what he is saying for indications that he is curious to learn more about the Third Reich, and keep me informed."
"Jawohl, General Burkhalter!" Klink smiled, relieved to be staying at Stalag 13.
"A few well placed amenities may not be a bad idea, either. It may help to soften him up," Burkhalter added.
"I will see to it, and I will keep you informed," Klink assured and saluted, "Heil Hitler!"
Burkhalter waved his hand in salute as he slid into his car, "Heil Hitler."
Klink closed the car door and waved a relieved good bye.
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As Klink and Burkhalter exited, Hogan turned coming face to face with Knefler. The German Oberst stepped closer. "Let's not kid each other, Colonel Hogan. You and I both know you destroyed that film."
Hogan shook his head and began to deny it, when Knefler raised his hand stopping him. "Don't bother to refute it. You have a magnificent mind, Colonel Hogan." Then tilting his head, added, "It's amazing how many of your beliefs and ours coincide."
Hogan shuddered inside. Frowning, he rubbed his temple. "I don't…think…I know what you mean?"
Knefler placed his hand on Hogan's upper arm to offer assurance. "Those sudden headaches will accompany your confusion. Your thinking will get clearer, give it time," Knefler comforted. "General Burkhalter is right, you need to rest." And think. Allow your thoughts to develop…Colonel Hogan.
Hogan resisted the urge to pull away as Knefler patted his arm in reassurance before turning to leave. Watching the back of the Nazi psychiatrist as he disappeared through the door he dropped his hand from his temple and his eyes twinkled as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Let the games begin!"
The beginning of the End
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