Newkirk didn't budge. Carter waved a hand over his face.
"He's not responding, but he's breathing. I'm going for Wilson."
He was out the door like a shot. While he was gone, Kinch hauled Newkirk down from his bunk and put him on Carter's.
Wilson arrived to a silent room. He took Newkirk's pulse, then listened to his chest. "He's alive," Wilson said. "Barely."
He recognized the vial of tablets stolen from the infirmary. He noticed how thin Newkirk had gotten. He had seen Newkirk being ostracized, and he had things to say to these men, but now was not the time.
He rolled Newkirk onto his side and barked out an order. "Give me a toothbrush. Wet the bristles first."
Carter snapped into action. He handed the brush to Wilson, who pried open Newkirk's mouth and stuck the brush in. "Come on," Wilson muttered. "Out with it." He turned to Carter. "Get a bucket."
He stroked and poked the brush until Newkirk finally started gagging. Wilson held his head over the bucket as he vomited into it. The fistful of pills came up in a series of splashes.
Newkirk cracked his eyes open and groaned. Wilson laid him back down, speaking to him quietly. No one else could hear. Newkirk whispered something back.
Wilson covered him with a blanket. "He knows his own name and he knows where he is. He'll survive, and we'll see if there's any lasting damage. But first he needs to sleep it off and get some nourishment. I'm moving him to the infirmary."
"We can take care of him here," LeBeau protested.
Wilson turned on him, furious. "Like you've been taking care of him? Don't think I haven't seen how you've all treated him. Like a pariah, an outcast. You were destroying this man right in front of you, and now you care? Forget it! He's coming with me. Carter, go to the infirmary and get me the stretcher."
LeBeau sank down at the bench, stunned. Carter hesitated for only a moment to see if Hogan would intervene, then took off.
Hogan stood with his arms crossed defensively. "Now wait a minute, Wilson, you're out of line," he said sharply.
"No, Sir, you are out of line," Wilson said, staring back. "My only error was not intervening sooner. My report will reflect that."
"Stand down, Wilson," Hogan stormed.
Wilson drew himself up and stood right in front of Hogan. "I will not stand down, Sir. As senior medical officer, my obligation is to my patient. You endangered the life of one of your men needlessly and recklessly as a punishment for an error of judgment." The twist he placed on the last three words made completely clear what Wilson thought of Hogan's treatment of Newkirk.
Hogan simply gaped. He had nothing to say to that.
Wilson turned to the other men. "What the hell is wrong with all of you? He was your friend." LeBeau gulped and sniffled, his head hanging down.
Carter returned with the stretcher. Together he and Wilson loaded Newkirk onto it and carried him away.
LeBeau sat at the table, tears running down his face. He looked up at Hogan for guidance or comfort, and got nothing. Suddenly he felt fury rising. He got to his feet and barged out the door to follow Wilson and Carter to the infirmary.
Hogan and Kinch remained. Hogan muttered, "He tried to take his own life. That's not normal. He couldn't continue with us anyway, not if he's sick in the head."
"You're trying to blame him, but you can't," Kinch said quietly. "This was our fault."
"How is it our fault?" Hogan snapped. "He exposed our operation. He nearly destroyed everything we've been working for. I gave him a chance to save his hide by escaping and he blew it because he couldn't keep his fly zipped."
"Uh-huh. I wonder where he got the idea that it's OK to put the moves on every agent you meet."
"Kinch, you're this close to insubordination," Hogan said. But the words stung. He knew the men took their cues from him.
Kinch nodded. "Perhaps I am, Colonel. But you won't report me, because you know you were wrong in how you handled Newkirk. You acted out of emotion, not reason. I should have said something sooner but I was as pissed at him as anyone."
"That's right," Hogan said, his voice getting shrill as he pleaded with Kinch. "Everyone was pissed at him. He could have gotten all of us killed."
"He didn't, though, and the difference is that you're a Colonel and he's a Corporal. You're not supposed to do what everyone else does. You're supposed to show us the right way to do things. And you didn't do that this time, Sir."
"Why didn't he say something if he was in such a bad state that he wanted to die?"
Kinch laughed in disbelief. "Say something? We were shunning him, Sir. We were acting like he didn't exist. There was no one he could say anything to, even if he managed to get the words out."
Hogan sank down on the bench. "Was it that bad?" he asked quietly.
"It was that bad," Kinch said. "We nearly killed that boy."