Chapter 9

Hogan seethed inside as he walked back to the barracks. He was mad at Klink for putting Carter into solitary and mad at himself for not preventing it. His rational mind told him that there was nothing he could have done to stop it – this Klink was not the spineless German officer he was used to dealing with. He knew that he could not use the same techniques of manipulation as he had in the past – and that made him mad, too.

As he walked, he began to think about the situation. He could not manipulate Klink in the same way, but he knew he had found some way to get to the Kommandant – the armed guard in the office was a direct result of his statement about being a cornered rat. This Klink wasn't spineless, but it seems that he was a bit paranoid. That's something I can use – keep Klink off guard by letting him think that I might be a danger to him. But I have to tread carefully. I don't want to overdo it – I need to tweak him just enough to keep him guessing, but not enough to cause him to really crack down on the prisoners. Of course, if we can get rid of him totally, then it will be a moot point.

Hogan's mood brightened a little as he thought of the changes that he had initiated in his dealings with Schultz. He wasn't about to keep referring to him as Sergeant Schultz, no matter what the German wanted. If the guard wanted respect, Hogan was damned sure not going to be the one to give it to him. He saw the looks that Schultz gave him every time he omitted his rank, or talked to him in a flippant tone of voice. Yes, it seems that they have had things their way just a bit too long. Now it's time the prisoners took a little of their self respect back.

He entered the barracks and surprised everyone by slamming the door a bit harder than he intended.

"Blimey. Colonel," Newkirk exclaimed. "You about near gave me a heart attack.

"Sorry Newkirk," Hogan replied. "I guess I'm still a little mad at Klink."

"Did Carter get put in the cooler again?" Kinch asked.

"Worse," Hogan responded. "He's in solitary for two days with no rations but water."

The men were shocked.

"I guess Klink's starting to put the screws on him," Kinch commented. "It's his pattern."

"Well it's a pattern I want to see broken," Hogan replied harshly.

"Right now I wish we had that tunnel that led to the cooler," LeBeau commented. "At least then we could take him some food."

"You and me both, mate," Newkirk replied. "The bloke doesn't deserve to be treated like this."

Hogan chuckled at the responses. "Listen to you two," he said. "This morning you were ready to lynch him." Hogan watches as Newkirk visibly blushed in embarrassment.

"That was before, sir," he said. "I hope you're not going to hold it against us."

Hogan laughed louder. "No, not at all," he replied. "It was understandable. I'd have had the same suspicions." He saw Newkirk visibly relax.

"Is there anything we can do?" Newkirk asked.

Hogan shook his head. "I don't think so … this time," he replied. "But hopefully we can make our escape before Klink decides to get harsher. But that brings up another issue – how is Klink going to treat the prisoners in this camp after we've made our escape? He's not going to like having two prisoners disappear on him, and he just might take it out on those that are still in camp."

"We've thought about that already," Newkirk said, glancing at Kinch and LeBeau. "We think it's worth the risk – after all, it is wartime."

Hogan looked at the men. "Right, it is wartime," he agreed. "But even in wartime, I have a thing about making sure the men I serve with aren't hurt. I may take what some people would call risky chances, but I never order anyone to take those risky chances with me."

"Then we volunteer, sir," LeBeau replied forcefully. "If we are to be a team, then we must all take the risks together."

"Like that Dark Tanyon fellow and his Three Musketeers," Newkirk quipped.

Hogan and Kinch both snorted with laughter.

"That's D'Artagnan, you uncivilized Englishman!" LeBeau exclaimed.

Newkirk smiled broadly and gave a small wink to Hogan and Kinch. "My, aren't these Frenchmen touchy!" he teased.

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Andrew Carter was scared and hungry – in that order. He had been escorted to the windowless solitary confinement cell and left there, in the dark. He had no idea how long he had been in the cell, but it was long enough for the pangs of hunger to begin gnawing at his insides.

Carter got up from the bunk and felt his way along the wall to the table that held the water bucket he was given. He drank some of the cold water, hoping to quiet the growls coming from his stomach. It helped some, but he knew that the effect was only temporary. At least I'll only be in here two days, he thought.

He felt his way back to the bunk and sat down. He was bored and he was cold. But at least I'm alive, he thought wryly. He lay back on the hard bunk and wrapped his arms around his midsection, hoping to squeeze the remaining growls from his stomach.

And as he had done several times since this ordeal started, he began to pray. Hi God, it's Andrew again. You're probably getting tired of hearing from me, but as you can see, I have no one else to talk to at the moment. I bet Preacher Everett would be shocked to know how many times I've prayed recently – he was always big on praying. I guess preachers are like that, huh? I have to admit though – I do feel a bit better after talking to you. Why is that? It's not like you're answering me back or anything.

Carter shifted in his bunk. I'm sorry, God. I'm babbling again. Or as Newkirk always said, I'm blathering on. I don't know why I do that – I guess sometimes I get to talking and get so excited that I don't realize what I am doing. I bet you never have that problem. What am I saying? Of course you never have that problem. See, there I go again – blathering on. I know you're busy – you probably have many more important things to do than to listen to me – so I'll just say what I wanted to say. God, I don't know why things are the way they are, but I truly believe that you have a reason for everything, even if you don't ever tell us what the reason is. Whatever your reason for this, I am happy that the guys seem to have started to accept me. It got to be a little lonely when the people that I considered my friends – even though they don't seem to be the exact same people – didn't want to have anything to do with me. Now I know that no matter what happens, things will be all right – we're a team again … except for Baker. God, I don't know why Baker isn't here, but I hope you are looking after him. He was quiet, but he was a good and caring person. That's all I had to say. Carter shifted again in the bunk, trying to get comfortable. Oh, I almost forgot … Amen.

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Hogan was sitting at the desk in his office, going over the plan one more time, when he heard a knock at his door.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened and LeBeau entered. "Sorry to disturb you, sir," he said. "But I am taking up a collection of anything you can spare from your Red Cross package."

Hogan shifted in his chair so that he faced the Frenchman. "Oh?" he asked.

"Oui, I want to cook something for Carter when he gets out of solitary later today," LeBeau explained. "After all, he hasn't eaten anything for two days, and, well …" LeBeau looked down at the floor. "I wanted to do something to apologize for the way we suspected him before."

Hogan smiled and rose from his chair. He walked over to the locker where he kept his possessions and removed the remnants of his Red Cross package. "That's very nice of you, LeBeau," he said. "Anything I have left is yours."

"Merci," LeBeau responded. "Actually, it was Newkirk that came up with the idea. He offered me everything he had if I could cook something for Carter. Kinch gave his up too. And after that, the rest of the men gave up what little they had left."

"Will you have enough?" Hogan asked.

LeBeau nodded. "Oui," he replied. "Newkirk even took the chocolate bars and cigarettes and found a guard who traded a few eggs and some vegetables. I plan to make him a nice omelet – well, as nice as I can manage cooking on our heating stove."

Hogan was surprised and pleased to hear this. He was happy that the men had not only accepted Carter, but also invited him into their inner circle. But he was even more pleased to hear that they had managed to find a guard that would trade with them. He had known that there must be some in camp, even though trading with the prisoners could get them into trouble with the Kommandant. But the fact that his men thought of it, and initiated the trade on their own, showed him that they had taken their first steps towards working as a unit.

"You'll do fine, LeBeau," Hogan replied. "I am quite familiar with your cooking talents."

LeBeau smiled. "Merci," he responded. He took the Red Cross package that Hogan handed to him and left the office.

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Carter was surprised at the reception he received when returning to the barracks. He was tired and hungry, but he wore a grin that covered half his face as every prisoner in the barracks welcomed him back.

He was even more surprised when he was told to sit and wait for the surprise that LeBeau was about to cook up.

"I am going to make you the best omelet I have ever made," LeBeau said proudly.

"An omelet?" Carter asked. "For me? But how? Why?"

"You haven't eaten anything for the past two days," Newkirk replied. "We can't have your first meal be the slop the Krauts give us."

"Everyone pitched in what they had left of their Red Cross packages,"" Kinch added.

"But how did you get eggs?" Carter asked. "The Red Cross packages don't have eggs in them."

"Newkirk traded with one of the guards to get them," LeBeau responded.

"You did that for me?" Carter asked, looking at the Englishman.

Newkirk smiled and nodded. "It was the least I could do after tossing you through the Colonel's door the other day," he said.

There was a lot of conversation as LeBeau cooked. LeBeau was complaining about the crude conditions, but he did manage to finish the omelet. He was just putting it on a plate for Carter when Schultz entered the barracks.

"I smell something in here," Schultz exclaimed, spotting the plate containing the food. "You are cooking in the barracks – you know that is verboten!"

"Aw, Schultz," Hogan said. "LeBeau just wanted to make Carter a good meal after you starved him in the cooler for the past two days."

"He was being punished," Schultz replied, eyeing the plate with hungry eyes.

"How would you like to go two days without eating?" Kinch asked.

"I wouldn't," Schultz replied. "But cooking in the barracks is verboten. I must report this."

LeBeau looked over at Hogan and made a small motion towards Schultz. Hogan recognized this as a question – should he offer some to Schultz? Hogan nodded towards the Frenchman.

"Hey Schultzie," LeBeau said. "Shouldn't you taste the food so that your report can be accurate?"

Schultz pondered the question for a second. "Ja," he answered. "I think that would be a good idea."

LeBeau cut a small piece from the omelet and handed it on a fork to the Sergeant. Schultz popped it into his mouth quickly.

"Mmmm, wunderbar!" Schultz exclaimed. "Zehr gut! If only my wife could cook like this."

Newkirk laughed and reached out to pat the Sergeant on his ample midsection. "From the looks of you, she must cook good enough!"

"You are a jolly joker," Schultz replied. He turned to LeBeau and asked, "Could I just have one more bite?"

LeBeau laughed and cut him another small piece. "Just one more," he replied. "The rest is for Carter."

"Ja, ja," Schultz replied greedily. After he had swallowed his second bite of omelet, he said, "Colonel Hogan, just this once I will see nothing. But please do not let the Kommandant find out you were cooking in the barracks."

Hogan smiled. He knew that this was the beginning of a new relationship with the guard. "Our lips are sealed, Schultz," he replied.

"Well mine aren't," Carter responded. "I want to be able to eat my omelet. I'm starved!" LeBeau set the plate down in front of him and he began devouring the culinary treat.

As Schultz walked towards the barracks door, he motioned to LeBeau. "Corporal, do you think you can make me my favorite dessert, Apfel strüdel?" he asked.

"If you can get me the ingredients," LeBeau answered.

Schultz nodded. "I might be able to do that," he replied as he left the barracks.

After Schultz was gone, Hogan rapped on the bunk he was leaning on to get his men's attention. When they were all looking at him, he said, "I want to congratulate you all on your first successful mission."

"What was that, sir?" Kinch asked.

"You found a guard to trade with, which will be useful in the future – we may be able to get other things the same way," Hogan replied. "You also managed to get Schultz to allow you to break the rules, and found that he might be able to be sympathetic, so long as you feed him."

Hogan looked at Carter, who was still busy eating the omelet that was made for him. "And I think you managed to satisfy Carter's hunger!"

Carter nodded vigorously as he continued to eat, prompting the rest of the men to laugh heartily.

Hogan looked at the scene in the barracks. Yes, this was a very good first step, he thought. I hope it's the first of many!