Varel, Germany
Day 9

LeBeau and Kinch, along with Dubois and a few other members of the Hammelburg Underground, were waiting at the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Varel. The large wooden structure had no heat but no one seemed to really care. They were too concerned about the Colonel, Newkirk and Carter making it in time to help Major Miller. LeBeau paced, absently rubbing his already gloved hands together. Suddenly he stopped when he heard a noise outside. He and one of the other Underground men went to look and saw the Colonel returning with another car directly behind. Hogan was waving for the large barn-sized doors to be opened. LeBeau and the other man pushed them open quickly and the cars immediately pulled in, never having to stop. Once the vehicles were inside, the large doors were pulled closed just as quickly. The rumbling engines stopped and the cars were emptied of their occupants.

Erik, Adler and Ahren immediately approached Major Miller, relieved that he was okay. Hogan, the boys and the Underground men gathered around as well.

Miller looked at Adler and Erik in reprimand. "Just what were you two thinking, jumping into the alley like that?" he asked.

Ahren was startled and hastily translated. Erik looked offended and answered back, "Warum erklärten Sie Fritz, ohne Sie an fortzufahren? Dann sehe ich Sie in der Gasse, das Gestapo im Begriffwar, Sie zu schießen! Ich könnte nicht lassen, das geschehen!"

Ahren put a hand on Erik's shoulder, indicating the boy should settle down. Knowing Erik's animation was sufficient, Ahren translated back plainly. "He wants to know why you told Fritz to go on without you."

"And?" Miller prompted, knowing Erik had said more beyond that.

Ahren paused. "We all saw you in the alley, with the Gestapo. Of course, we did not know of these men..." he gestured toward Hogan, Newkirk and Carter. "...all we saw was you being held with a gun pointed at you. Erik jumped out of the car because he could not allow what was going to happen, to happen. Adler only went after him to bring him back."

Miller looked at Adler and Erik, heaving a small sigh. Not only was Fritz determined to not leave Miller behind; the boys weren't about to allow it either. "The reason I told Fritz to go on without me was because I didn't want you boys to be captured, too. They're after me. I figured if I could draw off the chase, Fritz could clear out." Miller looked at Fritz. "But he didn't."

"I wouldn't," Fritz corrected.

Ahren translated quickly to Adler and Erik. Adler then spoke, much more subdued than Erik, but the determination in his voice needed no translation. " Wir sind er gingen nicht froh. Herr Miller, schätzen wir Sie alles nicht wünschend, uns zu geschehen, aber wir möchten nicht nichts sehen, Ihnen zu geschehen. Wir sind zu weit gekommen. Entweder alle wir gehen nach England mit Ihnen, oder wir nicht."

Ahren translated to Miller, emphasizing Adler's end statement. "Either we all make it to England with you, or we don't." The long and short of it was that all five of them were determined that nothing happen to the other four. A damnable stalemate that could only be settled one way.

The look on the Major's face was clear as he regarded the three boys. Why do they have to be so damn loyal? If faced with another situation like that they had just faced, he would rather the boys got away safely, even if it was at his expense. But the looks on their faces, along with Fritz, was equally as clear and Miller found himself outvoted. He sighed and grudgingly nodded. "All right."

The boys chuckled and grinned at one another. Colonel Hogan came up beside Miller. He smiled. "If these boys were under your command in the Army, you'd have a right loyal troop."

Miller gave a sideways glance at Hogan. "If these boys were under my command in the Army, they would've been ordered to get their butts out of Varel when they had the chance."

"Well I said they'd be loyal. I didn't say they'd follow orders."

The gathered Underground men chuckled. Miller was half amused. "Okay, so they're sticking with me no matter what. What happens now, Colonel?"

"Now we get you to Wilhelmshaven and get you the hell out of Germany."

--- ---

With a map of Wilhelmshaven spread out on an old dusty table, Colonel Hogan explained his plan.

"From here, there's a few roads that cross the canal and go into Wilhelmshaven. The two main roads are heavily guarded and patrolled. There are a few secondary roads with a bridge crossing over this canal. Based on what information we've been able to get, this one here is in a fairly rural area. The checkpoints have been beefed up and even these ones in the sticks are no exception. There are two army soldiers backed up by two Gestapo and two SS.

"Carter, Newkirk and I will make the initial approach to the checkpoint, flush out the soldiers and lead a chase away from the bridge. The checkpoint itself is set up solely to find Major Miller, therefore there will be no reason for any of the soldiers to stay behind to man it, if they think they're chasing Miller.

"Fritz, you'll be waiting in a barn here with the Major and the boys. Once we've cleared out the checkpoint and have lead the soldiers away and past this barn, you'll pull out, go around the corner here and should be able to cross the bridge with no problems. Once we've led the chase to this area, Dubois, you'll be waiting with some of the rest of the Underground and the soldiers will be taken off our tails. We then regroup and get out of the area before somebody realizes what's happened." Hogan looked around at everyone. "Anybody have any questions?"

Miller raised a hand. Hogan looked across the map of Wilhelmshaven to the Major, having expected Miller to say something.

Miller looked a little embarrassed when he realized he was the only that had something to say. "Uh...with all due respect, Colonel, I don't think it's going to work with you as the decoy," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because it's this mug they're looking for." Miller pointed to himself. "Now maybe with a pair of glasses you might pass for me from a distance...but that's not going to be enough to lure them out. You'd have to get right up close to them, and up close you won't work as the decoy. If you were to pull a bait and switch, have me and Fritz draw them out of the checkpoint, we drive back and hide in the barn before they get up the road and then when they come around the corner, you're there to resume the chase, then the rest of your plan works fine."

Hogan leaned his hands on the table. "If you think I'm going to risk you as the bait, you can forget it."

"I don't think you have any choice."

"Are you forgetting I outrank you?"

Miller paused, his dark eyes unflinching. "Rank doesn't mean a hell of a lot right now."

Hogan saw the meaning behind Miller's critical gaze but ignored it. He would not put Miller at risk. "Major, I don't think you understand. That checkpoint is going to have two Gestapo and two SS soldiers there. If I allow you to run up to that roadblock, who's to say they won't shoot first and figure it out later?"

"Yes. And if you run up to that roadblock pretending to be me, who is to say they won't shoot first and figure it out later? And just what do you think they're going to figure out once they realize who they shot?"

"We're supposed to be trying to get you out of here."

"Yes, I know. But don't misunderstand me. It's not that I don't appreciate all this, but you're risking an awful lot for my hide at this point. Colonel, I'm a musician..."

"You're Glenn Miller."

"No. I'm a musician, who's merely doing his part for the war effort. I had this same argument with Fritz yesterday. I'm not a General, I'm not a spy with important information, and I'm not a German defector. I'm just a musician. And in the grand scheme of this Second World War...I really don't amount to a whole lot."

"Well for somebody who doesn't amount to a whole lot the Germans are making a very big fuss about you," Newkirk said.

"That's beside the point." Miller looked back to Hogan. "Colonel, the word back in England is they think they can win this thing in a matter of months. The French have been liberated, half of Italy is under Allied occupation and the Russians are beating the hell out of the Germans on the Eastern Front. I know you boys have risked a lot already just to get me this far and I'm very grateful. But I think you're risking too much to get me through this one checkpoint, when I can just as easily be the bait and save you all a lot of trouble if something goes wrong. You're organization is much too vital to the war effort to be blown apart now."

Hogan looked at Miller's straight and serious expression for a moment, recalling their first conversation at Stalag 13 and Miller's willingness to accept sacrifice then. There's more at stake here than just my life, Colonel. You understand what I mean? At the same time, however, Hogan still found the prospect of putting Miller purposely in harm's way troubling. It wasn't because Miller was a celebrity. Hogan was hardly swayed by star status and frankly, Miller didn't carry himself like a celebrity anyway. It was what Miller was beyond that. Plus the fact that Hogan had a responsibility to see to it that Miller made it back to England safe. Those were his orders. That's what he was supposed to do.

By the same token though, Miller had a convincing argument. Hogan broke the gaze, sighed and pushed away from the table with the sudden urge to pace.

The surrounded Underground members and Hogan's men were quiet, either watching Hogan pace or looking at Miller, who was watching Hogan pace. The Colonel then stopped and looked back at Miller.

"I'll admit you make a valid point, but I'm not crazy about the idea of you risking yourself. How do I explain to London if something goes wrong?"

"You tell them the truth," Miller said. "Tell them I was an insubordinate SOB. They'll buy that."

The men chuckled. Newkirk leaned across the table. "Ah sir, you're my kind of officer!"

"Newkirk!"

Newkirk grinned at Hogan. "Yes sir."

"Insubordinate," Hogan said, amused. "How the hell did you get promoted to Major?"

Miller shrugged. "Considering how flustered I've made the brass over the past two years, sometimes I wonder. All the same though, I do take the rank seriously. I'm not trying to be a pain here, Colonel…I'm just making sure all things are being considered." Miller stood up from the table and approached Hogan. "I know you have your orders, and I understand that. I just think you have a bigger obligation here than my hide. I made the Nazis mad on a propaganda level and my end might make them feel better for a bit, but it's not going to win them the war. On the other hand, if the Underground efforts were to be crushed in the process of my return to England, the Nazis will forget me, be more than happy to have you and might even win the war."

Hogan regarded Miller for a moment."You have a very subtle way of putting things into perspective, Major."

Miller snorted softly. "Sugar coating things was never my strong point."

Hogan weighed the risks for another moment and then finally nodded. "Okay," he said with a sigh. "You'll go in as the bait. We do the bait and switch." Hogan walked back to the table and the map and Miller followed. "You and Fritz will lure them from the checkpoint and then you'll drive like hell back up the road, around the corner and zip into the barn. As long as you stay far enough ahead of them, they'll only see you go around the corner here. They won't see you go into the barn. Up the road here, Newkirk, Carter and I will be waiting in the decoy car to resume the chase. Once we've led the Gestapo and SS away from the area, you head back to the bridge and cross just as you were going to originally." Hogan looked at the Underground members. "The rest of the plan remains the same. It'll be up to you to help us get the Gestapo and SS off our tails."

Heads nodded.

"LeBeau, as soon as you and Kinch see Fritz and Miller have crossed the bridge safely, you give the signal on the radio. At that point we can shake off the Gestapo and SS." Hogan paused and looked at Miller. "You realize I'm still putting myself and the organization at risk just by doing that..."

Miller looked at the Colonel and then at the gathered Underground men in the warehouse. "Perhaps. But the biggest risk is with the initial approach to the bridge. After the switch and you're leading those soldiers down that road with all your aces on both sides, those Gestapo and SS soldiers aren't going to realize they're in a rigged game."

Hogan nodded. But I've got one more card I can still play…