"Turn left at this fork, sir," Newkirk said, briefly looking up from his map and nodding his chin at the road.
"Right. How much longer, Newkirk?" Hogan asked as he drove the truck towards its destination. They had been driving on a dirt road nearly an hour through densely wooded terrain with barely a sign of civilization. Wherever this facility was, it was far off the beaten path.
"Shouldn't be more than ten minutes as long as we don't get stopped at another checkpoint," Newkirk replied.
Hogan grunted his acknowledgement, keeping his eyes on the road.
It hadn't taken long for his men to come back with the SS guards. They had apparently not taken too kindly to their abduction and had fought back, before making a break for the woods. A good try, but they were outnumbered and unarmed, and Hogan's men weren't amateurs. Like a pack of highly trained wolves, they hunted down their quarry and subdued them.
The Germans had no idea what their purpose had been outside of delivering Weiss' body and at first Hogan thought he might have miscalculated- perhaps they weren't new test subjects. But it quickly became obvious that their zealotry went far above and beyond even that of the average SS man, making them the perfect candidates. Only those truly devoted to the cause would fall in line after being given the kind of power Project Stone Breaker sought to bestow upon them.
"I've been thinking, Colonel," Newkirk said. "How are we supposed to go sneaking around this place if it's full of blokes like Weiss? They could hear a mouse sneeze. And what if they catch us while we're snooping about? I don't fancy going up against the likes of them, even with a gun."
"Well if they're anything like Weiss, they'll be nothing more than paper tigers as long as we can dodge them for a bit. Besides, we're professional sneaks: we've done all this before."
"Most of us," Newkirk replied. "I don't mind telling you-"
"Of course not," Hogan interrupted.
Unperturbed, Newkirk continued, "I don't mind telling you I don't like the idea of taking those three along with us. They're brilliant forgers, no doubt, but they've never done undercover work. And that Hoffmann is barely old enough to shave."
"We didn't have much choice," Hogan explained. "No one in our barracks fits the bill. Even Carter's a stretch." He hoped Carter passed muster, otherwise the three forgers would be on their own. But either way, Hogan was confident he could get back to them before the doctors even had a chance to say 'turn your head and cough'.
"I think that's it," Newkirk said, pointing ahead.
Hogan half expected a castle high on a hill, with lightning streaking across the sky and a few bats flying around for good measure. Instead he saw a rather ordinary military compound: a few drab buildings surrounded by barbed wire and chain link fences. Well, he supposed conducting this experiment in Frankenstein's castle would be a little too on the nose.
Hogan stopped at the gate, and was relieved to find that the two guards stationed there were just ordinary men. Easy enough to take care of on their way out.
"Papers," one guard said as he approached Hogan's door. Hogan fished the papers from his jacket and handed them over. The guard inspected them and then nodded to his companion before handing them back. "Drive to the building there," he said, pointing to the two-storey building at the other end of the compound.
"Danke," Hogan said with a nod. "Heil Hitler."
"Heil Hitler," the guard replied before making his way back to his shack. The barrier arm lifted, granting them passage, and Hogan drove through until he arrived at the building. A detail of half a dozen armed Germans were waiting for them. One motioned for him to cut the engine and get out.
"Ready?" Hogan asked Newkirk. Newkirk tightened his jaw and nodded. Though none of them would ever admit it, there was always a feeling of terror lurking in the back of their minds whenever they went into the belly of the beast like this. A healthy dose of fear kept them alive, but it also threatened to paralyze them, so it was best to just push it back as far as they could and try to ignore it.
Hogan and Newkirk climbed out of the cab. Hogan offered a salute to the German lieutenant there to greet them. The lieutenant regarded them for a moment, looking them up and down with a hint of incredulity.
"There should be eight of you," the lieutenant said.
"They're in the back, awaiting orders, Herr Lieutenant," Hogan explained.
The lieutenant snapped his fingers and motioned towards the truck. One of his men scrambled to the back of the truck. "Raus, raus, out of the truck," he ordered, motioning with his submachine gun. The others piled out of the back and joined Hogan and Newkirk. The lieutenant inspected them quickly.
"Wait here," he ordered. He nodded to his men, who stepped forward as a group. They gripped their guns a little tighter, but didn't lift them. The lieutenant disappeared into the building. He returned a few minutes later with Doctor Pfeiffer and Doctor Lehmann. They stopped short upon seeing Hogan and his group.
Pfeiffer pursed his lips. "Is this Hochstetter's idea of a joke?" he asked. He marched up to Hogan and looked him up and down. "Unsuitable. Entirely unsuitable." He looked over at LeBeau. "A mockery!"
Hogan felt more than saw LeBeau tense. But he knew the corporal had enough sense to quell his indignation. At least for now. No doubt they wouldn't hear the end of it once they were safely back at camp.
"Doctor Pfeiffer, I fear we may not be in a position to reject them," Lehmann said warily. "Time is quickly running out and the field marshal-"
Pfeiffer raised his hand and clenched it into a fist, cutting Lehmann off. "I will not muddy our experiment with inferior inputs."
Hogan was half-tempted to shoot the arrogant son of a bitch right then and there. But they needed access to the building, so he put his pride on the shelf.
"Then we will have to do what we can with these four," Lehmann sighed.
Pfeiffer cast a critical eye on Carter and his group. "Yes. They will do."
"Very good. You four," Lehmann said, pointing to Carter, Wagner, Hoffmann and Klein, "follow us please." Lehmann's request sounded cordial, but it was anything but as three of the armed guards came in behind them and encouraged them forward with their guns. Carter cast a wary glance at Hogan who gave the slightest nod.
"Herr Doctor, if you have no need for us," Hogan ventured, "we will unload the body and be on our way."
Pfeiffer paused in the doorway and looked back with disdain. "That won't be necessary," he said. "Lieutenant Vogler, please escort these men to the mess hall. Make sure they are taken care of." And with that, he went inside.
"Jawohl, Herr Doctor. All right, follow me." Lieutenant Vogler beckoned Hogan to follow him. The last two guards brought up the rear, keeping half a step behind Hogan and his men.
Hogan shared a look with Newkirk. They weren't heading for the mess hall. Pfeiffer's not-so-subtle tone made that infinitely clear. But they were too exposed here to act.
They followed Vogler around the compound to a deserted spot behind all the buildings- a lonesome patch of ground with several mounds of freshly turned dirt. No doubt this was where they buried the bodies of their failed experiments. Or unwanted "inputs" who couldn't be trusted not to speak about the existence and location of this particular facility.
"Before we eat, we must prepare a grave for the body," Vogler said. "There are shovels in there," he said, pointing to the tool shed.
"Sorry, but I've got a bad back," Hogan said. Then, without warning, he threw his elbow back, right into one of the guards' face. LeBeau and Newkirk were on the other in a flash while Olsen surged forward and tackled Vogler. Surprised by the sudden attack, the Germans barely reacted before they were subdued. A vicious pistol whip or two to the back of the head ensured that they would remain quiet until Hogan and his team could complete their mission. They quickly dragged the Germans behind the tool shed, out of sight from anyone who might happen to pass by.
"They'll be expecting gunshots," Olsen pointed out.
"Not right away. We're supposed to be digging our own graves, remember?" Hogan replied.
"That's kind of twisted," Olsen said with a frown.
"But par for the course for these rotters," Newkirk said sourly.
"Barbarians," LeBeau spat.
"All right, gentlemen," Hogan said, interrupting them, "we have to be in and out as quick as we can. Set your watches. 11-50 on my mark." Hogan held up a finger as he looked at his watch. The others prepared their watches. "And… now. Okay, set the timer on the explosives to go off at 12-35. We'll meet back at the truck at 12-30." They nodded. "Olsen, LeBeau, get the dynamite out of the truck and rig the main building to blow, then go and collect Carter and the others. Snag the doctors, too, if you can. Newkirk, you're with me."
"And if we get held up inside?" Newkirk asked warily. Hogan reached down and grabbed one of the guards' submachine guns.
"Easy. We'll improvise."