All crammed into Hogan's quarters, a door away from the rest of barracks 2, the crew met with Dr. Morgan for a counsel discussing the plan. "Once in their custody you will be communicating to the Germans the Allied development of… an oral preventative measure against chemical gaseous exposure?" Hogan read from the detailed notes from London, mostly clueless to the meaning of what he had just read.
"What utter nonsense." Henry stated in reaction to this.
Kinch was the one of all the confused occupants to ask aloud, "What is it, exactly?"
"A pill that protects its taker from poisonous gas. If they want to send the Germans scrambling to catch up to a fictitious development, this is certainly the thing to do it."
"I give 'em points for creativity." Newkirk commented.
"Can you pull it off?"
"Certainly. Did they provide details or am I to make up the rest?"
"Uhh, yeah, but I have no idea what it means." The colonel handed the paper over to the doctor, who read it and nodded, then read it again a few times.
Returning the sheet to Hogan, he spoke. "I would suggest disposing of that."
"You have it down?" To which, the doctor nodded tacitly. "Kinch, put this in the stove." The sensitive information was passed again and disposed of in the lit stove in the other room. "They'll probably ask you about other stuff…"
"I know enough about the field to convincingly keep any valuable information from them."
"Ok. Now the rundown of the mission." The baton of presider over the meeting was passed to the various men.
Kinch, having returned, began. "Hogan will set up Klink to bring in the Gestapo, who will call in the lab, to talk to the prisoner with intimate knowledge of recent medical advances, namely you. After an interview in Klink's office, which we'll be listening in on, you'll be transferred to the laboratory for more intense questioning. There on you're on your own."
"While you're there, I'll be rigging up the explosives for the partial demolition. I'm good, but no guarantees."
"He tends to overdo it sometimes." Newkirk added.
Carter continued his description. "Sorry Doc. The ignition will be about an hour and a half after you get there."
LeBeau took over the rundown. "If you walk away from it, make your way back to Stalag 13, come up to the front gate. You won't get shot, we'll make sure our dear Schultzi is on duty. After that you'll be on your way back to England, and Gaines soon after."
"I'll measure you today so a civilian suit will be waiting for your return." Newkirk ended the informative session.
"How organized you all are." Henry marveled, the group's newfound seriousness seemed strange opposed to their jovial nature of prior.
Newkirk answered. "We've been at it awhile."
"And not the most complicated thing we've managed." Kinch added.
"Ok, now that Morgan's filled in, let's move. Kinch, tell London we're on the job. Carter, get down and start working on those explosives, and don't blow us all to kingdom come in the process. Newkirk, take Morgan down now and get those measurements, throw in an extra uniform too who knows what his'll look like when he gets back." Hogan ordered. 'I'm going to have another talk with Klink."
"What about me?" LeBeau asked.
"Man the barracks, act normal."
They all scattered to their designated places.
Newkirk led Henry down into the tunnels and the room where the englishman ran his clothing operation. Once within, Newkirk began bustling around the cloth filled room, reminding Henry of the haberdasheries of times gone by.
As he set to measuring the doctor, Newkirk made small talk. "So where you from?"
"I grew up in London."
"Me too. Beautiful city."
"Yes it was." He answered not really thinking, but thankful afterward that it sounded like musings on the devastations of war rather than the passage of time. "Do you still call it home?"
"Yeah, doubt my place is still standing though, good thing all the important stuff's in the basement."
"What do you do in civilian life?"
"Professional thief, why I was chosen for this assignment. I would ask you the same but obviously you're a doctor."
"Yes."
"Colonel wasn't kiddin', you are like a closed book. I started out asking the questions."
"I make a living asking questions of patients. I don't get many in return."
Newkirk nodded in understanding, and continued to match a cloth to the doctor's uniform jacket.
Hogan walked up to Klink's door but paused a moment. "Hello, Helga, the old bald eagle in?"
"Yes, Colonel Hogan, he is." She replied flirtatiously.
Hogan swung open the door. "Cammandant."
"What is it, Hogan?"
"Oh nothing, just wondering if you knew where Dr. Morgan's last assignment was."
"Should I?"
"It's just that it might be valuable information to certain people that one of your prisoners has intimate knowledge of medical developments." Hogan said, pouring himself a shot glass from the decanter on Klink's desk. "Perhaps valuable enough to win the man who brought this knowledge to the Gestapo a promotion."
"Why are telling me this, Hogan?"
"I'm not telling you anything you haven't already gotten out of him, am I, you the Iron Eagle of Stalag 13."
"Of course not. Nothing gets past me."
"The sharpest intellect of the Third Reich." Hogan added, lifting his refilled glass in a toast.
"Yes. I think I will tell Major Hochstetter exactly what I know."
"Marvelous idea, Colonel, absolute genius."
"Thank you, Hogan." Klink picked up his phone and dialed. "Get me Major Hochstetter, please. It's very important."
A momentary wait passed as the operator got the major on the line. "Who is it?"
"Colonel Klink."
"What do you want Klink?!" He said already annoyed, simply by the man's name and voice.
"I have a prisoner with certain valuable knowledge about medical developments."
"What kind of developments, exactly?"
Klink covered the receiver with his hand and asked Hogan, "What kind of developments?"
"Something about gas masks." Hogan shrugged.
"Gas masks."
There was a pause, then Hochstetter replied. "I will be there tomorrow with a group of medical personnel. Don't mess this up, Klink!"
"Of course not, sir. But there is one more thing…"
"What would that be?"
"Might there be
"We shall see…" The major snarled and hung up.
"Congratulations, Colonel." Hogan said, rocking back on his heels, satisfied with how well his plan went.
"You may go now, Hogan." Klink dismissed him with a wave of his hand, feeling accomplished.
"Yes, sir."