Over the rest of the day and the following day, Wilson came by regularly to check on the colonel's wounds, to re-bandage them and to give him a shot of Penicillin to avoid an infection. Wilson also gave him another injection, something he had told the colonel was only a painkiller when he'd been asked about it. In truth, the medicine was a strong sedative to allow Hogan to rest as much as possible. The medic could be sneaky too if the need arose for it…and with a troublesome patient like Hogan, that was certainly the case. After seeing how easily Wilson managed to trick their normally very observant CO, the core team members smiled at each other. They knew there would be hell to pay the moment he woke up again and found out he had been drugged against his will.
To assure the camp routine would be kept up, all the men came up from the tunnels and stood in formation for morning and evening roll call; they also played a few games or helped in cleaning the compound. But all the while their thoughts were with their wounded commanding officer, who was recovering down in the tunnel.
Late after the evening roll call of the second day, the men from barracks two got ready for their meeting with the underground agents. While one of them kept watch at the door, the others were down in the tunnel, changing into Gestapo uniforms. As soon as they were done, Foster, Olsen and Garlotti headed for the emergency tunnel exit and with good luck wishes from the core team, went up the ladder and out into the woods. Minutes later they met up with five underground members, just a mile from the Hammelburg Road. Their leader "Red Fox" shook hands with Olsen and after a short introduction; the men were on their way back to the tree stump entrance. They timed the opening of the hatch with the searchlight sweep and got in, one after another safely.
In the tunnel they were brought over to the guest area by Newkirk and LeBeau; while Baker was still at the radio and Carter was working in his lab. As they reached the guest room, Newkirk gave them a sign to be quiet, pointing with a finger to the colonel, who was still in a drug induced sleep. The underground member "Red Fox" asked softly, "What happened to Papa Bear?"
Newkirk answered equally soft, "He was shot twice on his last meeting with the underground, where a Gestapo plant revealed himself and told the Gov'ner he would come and finish him off."
LeBeau added, "That is the reason you are here, mes amies. We need to fake the colonel's death, so he can get safely to England without the fear of being followed by the Gestapo."
Red Fox nodded and after nods from his men, he said, "We will do anything we can to help Papa Bear. We all owe it to him, after everything he has done for us and our families. Just tell us what you want us to do and we will do it."
Just as LeBeau was about to answer, loud groans could be heard from the direction of the occupied cot; Colonel Hogan was coming to. In a rush, Newkirk and LeBeau as well as Olsen, Garlotti, Foster and the five underground men were at the colonel's side. LeBeau kneeled down beside the cot; put one hand on the colonel's and used his other hand to soothingly caress through his hair; like one would do with a spooked child. The caress seemed to work as the colonel's breathing evened out and he blinked his eyes open. He took a look around and realizing he was still in the tunnel, breathed a sigh of relief.
LeBeau said to him, "Welcome back, mon colonel. You gave us all quite a scare for a while there. How are you feeling, Sir?"
Not in a mood to sugarcoat anything, Hogan opted for the truth. "I've had better days, LeBeau. But at least, I feel rested somehow. Tell me how long was I out…and don't you dare lie to me either."
This time it was Newkirk who replied. "For the last two days and one night, Gov'ner. You seemed to need the rest, Sir."
Hogan mumbled something under his breath, before he said out loud, "Why do I have the feeling this sleep wasn't natural?" Thoughtful for a few moments, Hogan continued, "Ah, now I know why; my throat is dry, my tongue feels like cotton and I still haven't got rid of all the cobwebs from sleep. So, where is Wilson? I have a bone to pick with him."
LeBeau held out his hands and tried to reason with his CO. "You shouldn't excite yourself, mon colonel. It is not good for you in your weak condition. You can pick a bone with Wilson later; after you have talked with the men from the underground. They are here and waiting for your instructions or orders, colonel."
After he sat up in the cot and leaned halfway against the tunnel wall, Hogan talked in a soft, but firm tone with the underground members, explaining to them what he had planned for the next day in detail.
"This is what we are going to do. Red Fox, you will head out tomorrow at 0900 hours with your team and my men. You will head to the usual rendezvous point in the woods, near the old shack. Another underground member, Little Red Riding Hood, will meet you there. She will be accompanied by two more men. They will also have a truck and car waiting for you. The car will be used as a road block, with Little Red being the decoy. Once the officers and guards get out of the truck, they will be overpowered and taken out. We can't risk them getting up and freeing themselves; therefore they have to go. Once that is done, you will take their places in the truck and drive it to Stalag 13. Little Red will take the car and drive it back to where it came from. When you reach the Stalag, inform the gate guard why you are there and to be let in. Now after that, you will talk to Kommandant Klink and will order him to call for a special formation and to get me out of the barracks." Here he paused a moment to take a breath, then continued on. "As soon as the men are out in formation you will hold a short speech, telling them I am to be shot as a spy and saboteur, an enemy of the Third Reich. Once I am out and in front of the wall of the armory, you will give the order to your men to take their places in front of me. Just don't forget to hit the right places with your blanks, got it?"
With a slight smile at Hogan, Red Fox answered, "Don't worry, Papa Bear. Me and my men, we will study the chart on which the places to be hit are marked on clearly. I only hope we will be convincing with our little theatre act…could be disastrous for all of us otherwise."
Hogan nodded and then called for Carter to come over. Newkirk echoed his CO's words in his own way, yelling, "Git your sorry ass over here, Andrew! The Gov'ner needs ye!"
Moments later, Carter came running into the guest area. "You called for me, Colonel?"
Hogan looked up at his demolitions expert and replied, "Yes, Carter; I did. I need you to start making those fake blood packages together with Newkirk; the ones we talked about. Once you are done with them, bring them to me; as they need to go under my black turtleneck."
Carter nodded eagerly at his CO. "It will be done, boy; eh, I mean, Sir. How many did you want again, Sir? I seem to have forgotten the number."
With a shake of his head, Hogan said calmly, "Five to six, Carter; no more. And like I said, mark those on a small scale body chart. I don't want to be hit with blanks for nothing. Every single shot needs to count. Otherwise it won't work."
With a confirming nod to his colonel, Carter was on his way back to his lab to start his work. Newkirk then asked the colonel, "Anything else you want me to do, Gov'ner?"
"As a matter of fact, there is something you can do for me, Newkirk. But for this you will need your theatre make up and Carter's help. To make this execution believable according to all regulations, Red Fox has to put a bullet in my head." As he saw Newkirk's shock, Hogan held up his hand and continued, "It won't be a real bullet, just a blank like all the others. But for this to look real, you have to hide a small fake blood package beneath a fake part of skin, which will be put on my right temple. Think you can do it with Carter's help, Newkirk?"
Newkirk let out a sigh of relief and answered, "You bet, Gov'ner. Before morning comes, you will be ready for the faked execution. Don't you worry, Sir; just lay back down and rest as much as possible, while we get everything ready, Gov'."
Hogan gave a slight nod and as he felt sleepy again, he did as suggested by Newkirk and laid back down on the cot. He was out like a light as soon as head hit the improvised pillow. Newkirk had to smile at seeing this; he grabbed the blanket and covered his CO with it, and pulled it up to his shoulders. "Sleep tight, Gov'ner."
About two hours later, Carter and Newkirk were done with their work. They had both ready to be used; the fake blood packages and the piece of fake skin. With these items in their hands, they headed back to their sleeping CO. As they didn't really wanted to wake him up, both men decided to just roll up the turtleneck shirt and to place and fixate the packages on the colonel's bare chest. Minutes later they were done and pulled the turtleneck back down; satisfied that the packages weren't too obvious through the dark fabric. Next, they placed the small piece of fake skin on the colonel's right temple and the tiny fake blood package beneath it, concealing it. This took a bit of more work and the usage of Newkirk's theatre make-up kit. Ten minutes later they were done and content with the result of their work; as the fake skin wasn't visible and was partially hidden under the colonel's black hair.
As they had done everything for tomorrow, the men from barracks two headed back upstairs and hopped onto their bunk beds. The underground men stayed below in the guest area and promised to keep an eye on the colonel; one of them even took Baker's place at the radio, monitoring it for him; so he could get some rest. Baker thanked the man and headed up the ladder into the barracks.
Although there were only three hours left until morning roll call, none of the men were able to get even a wink of sleep. There were all nervous about the plans for the coming day and worried for their commanding officer; so they just read some magazines or books, under the light of a torch, or they just tossed and turned, unable to get any sleep. Just about half an hour before the roll call, a few men went down into the tunnel; Carter and Newkirk among them. They wanted to get the colonel upstairs and into his own bunk. Careful to not jostle the injured man while they did it, they managed to get Hogan up the ladder and then onto his own bunk bed. As a final touch, Newkirk covered him with a warm blanket that he pulled up to his commander's shoulders. Afterwards they hopped back onto their own bunks and waited for Schultz to come in and rouse them in his usual loud manner.
