Chapter 9 --- The First Attempt

LeBeau pushed open the barracks door as Kinch, carrying the semi-concious Carter in his arms, laid him out on his bunk. Hogan, still a bit shaky on his feet, slowly made his way into the barracks with Newkirk following close behind him, keeping an eye on the Colonel.

"How is he, Kinch?" asked Hogan, worry etched on his face.

Kinch, kneeling beside the bunk, examined Carter's wound. "Looks like the bullet went clean through his shoulder."

Hogan let out a sigh of relief. "Newkirk, go get Wilson and bring him here right away."

"Right, Colonel." The Englander hurried out of the barracks to find the camp medical officer, Sergeant Joe Wilson . Hogan massaged his temples as the headache was now pounding in his head. LeBeau saw it immediately. He went to Hogan's side and took his arm.

"You better sit down, Colonel," he said leading Hogan to the bench. "You struck your head pretty hard on the ground. You might have a concussion."

"Never mind me," Hogan replied. "Take care of Carter first. I'll be fine."

"There's nothing anyone can do for Carter right now. We need to wait for Wilson. But you look like you're about to collaspe. Please don't argue with me, Colonel. At least sit down and let Wilson check you out when he gets here."

"I told you I'm fine. Just see to Carter." But Hogan didn't resist LeBeau's offer to help him to a bench as dizziness began to overtake him.

A few minutes later, Newkirk returned to the barracks with Wilson. The camp medic sat his medical bag on the bunk and proceeded to examine Carter's shoulder wound. "What happened?" he asked, worried.

"Apparently somebody took a shot at the Colonel and hit Carter," Kinch explained.

"And Carter tackled the Colonel and they both hit the ground. The Colonel struck his head hard," added LeBeau.

Wilson glanced over his shoulder at the Colonel. "How do you feel, Colonel?"

"Never mind me, Joe. Just take care of Carter."

Shaking his head, Wilson again turned his attention to Carter who's head was starting to clear a bit. He grimaced at the pain in his shoulder.

"Colonel?" Carter murmured in a weak voice. He looked around, but his view of Hogan was blocked by Kinch. "Is the Colonel all right, Kinch?"

"I'm fine, Carter, thanks to you," Hogan replied. Hogan had LeBeau help him to his feet and towards the bunk. He looked down at the young sergeant. "Carter, you could've been killed. Next time, just yell. I can get out of the way."

Carter managed a slight smile and then winced as the pain became obvious. His eyes never strayed from his commanding officer. "There was no time, Colonel. Couldn't think of anything else to do. Hope I didn't injure your back."

"My back is fine. Now shut-up and let Wilson check you out. Okay?"

"Yes, sir." Carter winced again.

How is he, Joe?"

"The bullet went clean through his shoulder. Doesn't seem to be serious. I'll clean the wound and then bandage it. I'll also give him a pain killer and an antibiotic in case of infection."

Hogan let out the deep breath he'd been holding the entire time. He staggered back to the bench with LeBeau's help and sat down again. His head was pounding something fierce. He rubbed his temples again.

It was about an hour later after Wilson had administered to Carter that he turned his attention to the Colonel.

"How do you feel, Colonel?" the medic asked. "And don't tell me you feel fine."

Hogan sighed. "I have a headache, I feel dizzy and a bit nauseous."

"Did you lose conciousness at all?"

"No."

"He was unconcious for a minute or two, Joe," Kinch admitted. He saw Hogan give him a dirty look.

"Your pupils look all right. You seem to have a mild concussion, Colonel." Wilson reached into his medical bag and removed a small bottle of aspirin. He gave them to Hogan. "I want you to take two now and lay down. You need to rest and I'll check on you and Carter periodically. You should be able to function normally in about seven to ten days if you follow my orders."

Hogan rolled his eyes in exasperation, but Wilson wasn't fazed. "LeBeau, get the Colonel a glass of water, please."

"Oui. Right away." The Frenchman grabbed a glass, filled it with cold water and handed it to Hogan.

Glaring at Wilson and mumbling under his breath, Hogan removed two aspirin from the bottle and placed them in his mouth followed by emptying the water glass. "Satisfied?" he asked the medic.

"Almost," Wilson remarked with a smug grin. "Now you need to go to your quarters and lay down. I also want to examine your lower back to be sure there's no injury there. You're still recovering from a back injury, y'know. I swear, Colonel, you are the most difficult man I've ever met when it comes to following your doctor's orders."

"I'll rest later. I promise. I'm busy right now, Joe."

Folding his arms and sighing, Wilson looked at Kinch. "Kinch, help the Colonel to his quarters and have him lay down. If he refuses, I'll simply sedate him."

Hogan's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me, Colonel."

"You'd do it, too, wouldn't you?"

"In a minute. Whatever's going on your men can take care of it for now. I want you to rest. And I need to examine your lower back."

Sighing in resignation, Hogan slowly got to his feet and tucked a crutch under each arm. With Kinch's help, Hogan headed towards his quarters. Reaching the door, he paused and looked back at the medic. "Joe, you really do have a lousy bedside manner."

Wilson smiled. "So you've told me. I'll be with you in a minute." Closing his medical bag, Wilson looked at the worried faces of LeBeau and Newkirk. "Carter's gonna be fine. Try not to worry. He'll probably sleep the rest of the day and part of the night. I'll come back in the morning to check on both him and the Colonel."

"And what about the Colonel? Do you think he reinjured his back at all?"

"I doubt it. He seemed to be moving normally. But I'll be checking him out when I go into his quarters. I'm sure both of them will be fine. Just try and keep both of them quiet and resting for at least twenty-four hours."

LeBeau allowed a slight smile to appear. "Thanks, Joe."

Wilson patted the Frenchman on his shoulder and smiled at Newkirk before heading in the direction of Hogan's quarters. Newkirk slowly sat down beside Carter and gazed fondly at his close friend's sleeping face, his shoulder heavily bandaged beneath his bloody shirt.

Newkirk gently tucked the covers up to his friend's shoulders. "Bloody fool. He could've been killed." He then looked at LeBeau, fear in his eyes. "Louie, I could have lost me mate, Andrew."

"But you didn't, mon ami," LeBeau replied. "You heard the doctor. Carter will be fine in time and so will Colonel Hogan. They were both very lucky."

Newkirk raised a balled fist and his face darkened. "I wonder which one of those ruddy new prisoners did this? I swear, LeBeau, if I find out which one of 'em is responsible, they won't live long enough to be sent to England."

The Frenchman put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Taking things into your own hands won't solve anything, Newkirk."

"Maybe not, mate. But it sure would make me feel better. One of those bloody bastards tried to kill the Gov'nor, LeBeau! If it hadn't been for Andrew here the Colonel would be dead right now. I can't forget something like that. Can you?"

"Nor can I. But we have no proof any of them did this. And without proof...."

They both turned when the door to Hogan's quarters opened, and both Wilson and Kinch exited with Kinch closing the door.

"There's no damage to the Colonel's lower back at all. So, other than a mild concussion, he should be fine in a few days. Right now he's sleeping. Try not to wake him if at all possible. I'll be back tomorrow to check on both of them."

"Thanks for everything, Joe," Kinch remarked as he held open the barracks door to allow the medic to leave. He then closed the door. "How's Andrew?"

"Sleeping, thank God," remarked Newkirk. He looked up into the radioman's eyes. Kinch could see the pain in Newkirk's face. "Kinch, what are we gonna do? Somebody tried to kill Colonel Hogan and nearly killed Carter."

Kinch sighed wearily. "All we can do right now is keep a close eye on our three friends. And I don't care what this Captain Davidson told the Colonel nor do I care if this General Brennan backs him up. Until this entire mess is over, I don't trust any of 'em. Especially not after what happened with Benson."

Then, the barracks door opened and in walked Davidson, Randall and Mitchell, all smiling and laughing at something. They stopped the minute they saw the faces of LeBeau, Newkirk and Kinch.

"What's wrong?" asked Davidson, curious. "Did something happen?"

Newkirk slowly got to his feet. Anger was evident on his face. "Did something happen? Yeah, something happened all right, you bloody assassin." He lunged forward and seized Davidson by the shirt collar. "Someone just tried to murder Colonel Hogan and shot me mate Carter instead! And it's all your fault!"

It took both Kinch and LeBeau to pull Newkirk off of Davidson and hold him back.

"Newkirk, stop it!" Kinch stressed. "Stop it right now! There's no proof of anything. You either calm down or I'm gonna have LeBeau get Wilson and bring him back here and sedate you. Is that what you want?"

Newkirk shook his head slowly as the others felt his body relax. They released him. The Englander slowly sat back down beside Carter.

"Are Colonel Hogan and Carter both all right?" asked Randall, concerned.

Fortunately they're both gonna be fine," Kinch explained. Carter got hit in the shoulder when he tackled Colonel Hogan after he noticed a gun aimed at the Colonel. The Colonel suffered only a mild concussion, thank God. Right now he's sleeping and he's not to be disturbed."

Mitchell sensed the hostility of the trio at them. "Why are you three looking at us like we did this to Carter and the Colonel?"

"Just because none of this happened until you three arrived, that's why," chimed in LeBeau.

"Just where were the three of you earlier anyway?" asked Kinch.

"Randall and I were walking around the compound talking," said Davidson.

"And I was sitting outside one of the other barracks meeting some of the other prisoners," said Mitchell. "Why? Are you accusing one of us of this?"

Kinch, LeBeau and Newkirk all looked at the trio with expressionless faces. "Let's just say, we're gonna be watching all of you closely. And let the three of us add that if anything, and we mean anything, should happen to Colonel Hogan, that person will pay and pay dearly. Do we understand each other?"

"Completely," said Davidson calmly.