Once they knew that their CO would be alright, the men in barracks two started their day in earnest. LeBeau started cooking a nice breakfast; Olsen, Foster and Mahoney were cleaning up and Carter and Newkirk were playing some rounds of gin, while Baker headed down in the radio room to see if anything had come in from London or the underground. The underground people called him on the radio and informed him that their ruse seemed to work. According to their contact at Gestapo HQ in Hammelburg; Hochstetter was more than happy to announce the death of one Colonel Robert Hogan aka Papa Bear, to his superiors in Berlin; and the news were well received. Little Red also asked discreetly how the cubs are doing and Baker answered, that everyone was doing okay. He put emphasis on the word 'everyone' to let Little Red know that Papa Bear was also okay and safe. She sent her regards and ended the call.
Minutes later; he informed London about the faked execution to save Papa Bear's life and that there was no other choice for Hogan now but to get back to London. Baker also inquired about the operation; if they should continue or head out with their leader Papa Bear and shut down completely now that the end of the war seemed so close. After having sent the information in Morse code, Baker readied himself for a long wait down in the tunnel and grabbed a magazine. Instead of reading, he just took up a pencil and made the crosswords to occupy his time.
An hour after he had started his vigil at the radio, it sprung to life. Baker put on the headphones and scribbled down notes; as Allied High Command sent a message again in Morse code. The instructions in the message; said to switch to the emergency frequency and to wait for Lionheart to get on the line. Minutes later, after the frequency switch; a rich tenor voice came through, greeting Papa Bear. Baker cleared his throat and clarified that he was not the real Papa Bear, but just his radio man. Lionheart, or General Butler; asked him his name and rank and after he heard it, ordered Baker to get Papa Bear on the line, pronto. Baker confirmed the order, set down his headphones and made his way back up into barracks two.
Newkirk; who saw him coming up, inquired, "What ye are doing up here, mate? Thought ye were down watching the radio?"
Baker replied, "I was monitoring the radio. But I have a General from Allied High Command on the line and he ordered me to get Papa Bear. Is the colonel awake, yet?"
LeBeau shook his head, but he headed over to the officer's quarters and went in, intent on being as quiet as a mouse. To his great surprise, the colonel was just coming to and tried to get up into a sitting position. LeBeau rushed over and assisted his colonel with the task and asked him, "How are you feeling, mon colonel? Do you need me to get Wilson for you? How about something to eat? I have made your favorites for breakfast and I have some leftovers that I can warm up for you. Do you like a cup of coffee, colonel?"
Still a bit disoriented from his forced sleep, Hogan shook his head a little, to get rid of the last of the cobwebs. He blinked his eyes a few times and then checked himself over. At the sight of the fake blood, that coated the upper part of his chest and feeling the bruises that had formed; Hogan finally answered LeBeau's string of questions. "I'm alright, LeBeau. Just sore and bruised all over. I wouldn't say no to one of your famous breakfast dishes and a strong cup of coffee wouldn't go amiss either. But first, I need to freshen and tidy up. Can't go out looking like I do now, can I, LeBeau?"
LeBeau studied his commander and replied, "I can help you with that, mon colonel. I can give you a nice shave and I can also comb and trim your hair if you want me to. The leftovers can be warmed up any time and the coffee is still fresh in the pot, so a few minutes sooner or later won't change a thing."
"Then I'll take you up on your offer, LeBeau. Thanks for volunteering to be my valet." Hogan said this and got up fully; only to end up on his bunk bed again, as a wave of dizziness swept over him. It was then LeBeau realized Hogan might have a concussion. He said as much to his commander before adding, "It's best if you remain lying down. I can shave you while you are lying flat on your back, Sir. It is no problem for me, as I have done this before. The only difference is that at the time, you were unaware of it."
Just then a knock sounded on the door, and Hogan told whoever it was to enter. The door opened and Baker came in, closing the door behind him. He informed his colonel about the order from London; from Allied High Command, to get him to the radio.
With a slight smile to LeBeau, Hogan said softly, "Alright then; I will go down and speak with them. Afterwards you can help me to look more presentable, LeBeau." To Baker, he only added, "Let's go."
On his way over to the bunk entrance, Hogan ignored the looks that his men gave him, knowing full well himself that he didn't look his best. But he thought; what the heck and carried on. He went down the ladder first, followed by Baker, who closed the bunk entrance after them. Down in the tunnel, both men headed over to the radio room. Baker picked up the headset and handed it over to his CO; then he grabbed the receiver and spoke into it, "Papa Bear to Lionheart; Papa Bear to Lionheart. Do you copy, over?"
From the other end of the line, the tenor voice answered, "Lionheart to Papa Bear. I copy you; loud and clear. Go ahead; Papa Bear."
Baker got up from his seat and offered it to his CO, who gratefully sank down onto the seat and picked up the receiver. He held the headset only to one ear and started talking. "Lionheart, this is Papa Bear. I was told you wanted to talk to me personally. What's up, Sir?"
"As this is a safe frequency, we can use our names. There is no chance for Jerry to listen to our conversation. So do tell me in your own words, what happened over the last days, Robert. And don't sugarcoat anything." General Butler was very direct while he talked with his surrogate son, his protégé.
Hogan was a bit taken aback, by the openness of his superior officer, General Butler, who was the head of the SOE; the British military intelligence and Hogan's handlers. And General Butler was also his surrogate father; a man, who took him under his wing when he first started working for the RAF in early 1940.
Not holding anything back, Hogan told Butler everything that had happened over the last days, starting with the meeting that went horribly wrong and the fact, that he got compromised. Which lead his men and the underground, to stake his execution; to get the Krauts off of their backs.
Butler listened to his protégé without interrupting him and as Hogan ended his narration, he told him that they will contact him again, once they have made their decision, regarding the operation at Luft-Stalag 13. Hogan acknowledged the order; signed off and put the headset and the receiver aside.
He slowly got up, ordered Baker to let him know as soon as the message from London came in and headed back up into the barracks; or he tried to, as his progress was slow. He concentrated on every step, determined to make it back to his quarters before he fell flat on his face. Hogan was on the verge of collapsing and losing consciousness; black dots already formed in front of his vision and the dizziness got worse too. But with his dogged determination, Hogan managed to get up the ladder and using the bunk beds as supports, made it into his office. Once inside and having closed the door behind him; Hogan's legs gave out and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, he crumpled in a heap to the floor.
As they heard the loud thud coming from the office, the core team members ran over to it and went in. When they saw their commanding officer lying unmoving on the ground; they were shocked, but immediately they picked him carefully up and put him gently onto his bottom bunk, and covered him with a blanket. Newkirk told Carter to get Wilson on the double. He didn't like the ghostlike complexion of his usually dark, suntanned CO, nor did he like his labored breathing. Something was definitely wrong.
Only a few minutes later did Carter return with Wilson in tow. He ushered everyone out, so he had space to examine his patient. With uttered grumbles of protest, Hogan's men exited the office and waited in the common room for news about the colonel.
Around half an hour later, which felt like an eternity to Hogan's men; Wilson exited the office and halted in front of the main table, where everyone was seated. A look into all those expectant faces told Wilson, all he needed to know; they were all deeply worried for their CO. So he told them, what he found out. "Colonel Hogan has got an infection and a fever because of it. The wound in his stomach needed to be thoroughly cleaned again. I gave him another shot of Penicillin and a pain killer. He is resting comfortably for now. I will be back in a few hours, to change his bandage and to check his bruises. Some of them look very nasty and I am sure they are painful. I think it would be best, if you would take your turns in sitting with him. If there is any change in his condition, send for me. That will be all. See you later, guys."
LeBeau offered to go in first; to sit with the colonel. He used the time to gently groom his colonel; he shaved him and afterwards trimmed and combed his thick black hair. Satisfied with his efforts, Louis again took his seat beside the bunk bed and was just content with watching over his sleeping CO.
Carter, Newkirk, Foster, Addison and Olsen occupied their time by playing rounds of gin, with Newkirk being the one who won most of them, much to the chagrin of his mates.
