Chapter 2: Betraying a Trust
During the night, Newkirk woke up. He walked stealthily over to Hogan's quarters, opened the door, and peered in. Hogan was asleep on his bunk. Newkirk then went over and woke LeBeau. The two of them woke Carter.
"The Colonel's asleep," Newkirk told Carter, quietly. "I thought maybe you'd like to plan what we're going to do next, Sergeant."
"Good idea," Carter responded, just as quietly. He got up from the bunk and opened the tunnel entrance. "Let's go below where we can discuss it more freely."
They descended the ladder and entered the radio room. Kinch was sleeping on a bench nearby.
After waking Kinch, Carter declared, "You know, I don't think Colonel Hogan's a traitor. I don't care what London says. I feel like one, though. I feel like we're betraying the trust he has in us."
"We all feel the same way," Newkirk agreed. "But there's not much we can do about it. We have our orders."
"And if the Colonel knew, he would be one of the first to insist we obey those orders," added Kinch.
An uncharacteristic scowl appeared on Carter's face. "I still don't like it. But we'll do as we're told. Anyone know if we have any sleeping tablets left?"
"I believe we have a few," Kinch replied.
"Good. LeBeau, if we do, I want you to slip some into the Colonel's coffee in the morning. Give him enough to put him out for about twelve hours. Then, we'll have to figure out how to detain him after that."
"I have an idea," stated LeBeau. "It will mean deviating from London's orders a little but it should make our keeping him in the barracks a lot easier. We'll let the Krauts do it for us."
"How?" Carter wondered. "London doesn't want them or Hogan to know we're keeping him prisoner."
"They won't," LeBeau assured him. "After dark, I'll invent some excuse to get the Colonel outside the fence. Then, I'll make sure we are captured. Klink should confine Hogan to quarters as punishment. Of course, he'll probably send me to the cooler for thirty days, but I don't know how else we can keep the Colonel prisoner for a week under London's conditions. I'll just make sure that Schultz puts me in the cell with the tunnel entrance."
Carter contemplated LeBeau's suggestion. "It might work. He'd have to be out of the barracks for a few minutes, but you'd be with him. And none of them will know we planned it to keep him a prisoner. They'll view his confinement simply as punishment for an attempted escape. Okay, we'll do it. I hate to see you locked up, LeBeau; but like you pointed out, we don't have too many options. If London does the sensible thing and clears the Colonel, he can probably talk Klink into letting you out. If not, the rest of us will see what we can do."
"They'd better clear him," snarled LeBeau. "I don't like deceiving him any more than you do. That's gratitude for you. Look at how much time he's spent at this frozen garbage dump, leading the operation. He could have easily escaped. We all could have. And the Colonel's put his life on the line as often, if not more, than the rest of us. Then, the first time there's any accusations made against him, those idiots in London suspect him."
"Careful, LeBeau," Newkirk warned, only half-joking. "They'll be accusing you of treason, next."
LeBeau glared coldly. "Let them try. I have friends in France. They know where my loyalties lie. How I feel about La Belle France. They would never believe such insane accusations."
Newkirk sighed. "Pity we can't say the same about London."
"I agree with what Kinch said earlier," Carter solemnly admitted. "The Colonel would expect us to follow orders."
"I know," LeBeau conceded.
Newkirk grimaced. "Me, too."
Carter started pacing a little. "I just wish this whole mess was over with. That it was next week and they'd cleared the Colonel. The waiting…that's going to be the hard part."
"They sure didn't give you an easy assignment, did they?" Kinch sympathized.
Carter stopped pacing and stared glumly into space. "No."
Kinch reached out and put a hand on Carter's arm as a sign of support. "We'll help however we can," he promised.
LeBeau nodded. "Oui, mon ami."
Newkirk's voice conveyed both respect and encouragement. "We're behind you every step of the way, Sergeant. Till those morons have cleared the Gov'nor and he's back in charge of the operation, where he belongs."
"And if he isn't cleared?" asked a worried Carter.
"Let's not invite trouble," replied Kinch, softly but firmly. "If they do decide the worst, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's hope for the best."
The others nodded in silent agreement.
- - -
Hogan got up early the next morning to check on Carter's condition. He found Carter lying on the bunk where he'd been the evening before. Seeing that Carter was awake, Hogan asked, "How are you feeling this morning?"
Carter faked a puzzled look. "Okay, I guess, Sir," he replied. "Is something wrong?"
"You were hit on the head yesterday when LeBeau opened the door. You had amnesia last night. Do you know who you are now?"
"Andrew Carter. Sergeant. U.S. Army Air Forces. Currently a prisoner of war at Stalag 13."
"And do you know who I am?"
"Sure. Colonel Hogan."
Hogan looked pleased. "And you remember all the other guys' names? And everything else?"
"I think so, Sir. Everything that is except getting hit on the head, I guess."
"Good. Then, your amnesia must be gone. Wilson is going to stop by after roll call to check on you but you seem to be recovering nicely. I'm sure the others will be just as glad to hear that."
"Probably, Sir," agreed Carter, turning his face to look towards the wall.
Hogan looked concerned. "Something wrong, Carter?" he wanted to know.
"Just tired, I guess," was Carter's answer. "And I still have a bit of a headache." That much was true, but Carter couldn't admit the rest. He couldn't tell Hogan that he was ashamed to face him after the way they were having to deceive him. He couldn't let Hogan know that he was touched by Hogan's concern and that it added to his shame. In other words, he felt miserable.
"If you're not up to it, perhaps Wilson and I can convince Klink to allow you to miss roll call."
Carter forced himself to glance back at Hogan. "No, I'll be fine. It's just going to take some time, that's all."
"Just don't overdo it. Well, if we're going to make roll call, we'd better get ready."
Hogan headed back to his quarters and Carter sat up. Other prisoners were also starting to stir. In a few minutes, Schultz would be calling them out.
- - -
Shortly after roll call, Hogan and the four members of his crew were seated around the table, finishing the breakfast that LeBeau had prepared. Wilson had been there just after roll call and had confirmed what Hogan already thought he knew, that Carter's amnesia was gone.
As he finished his last bite of food, Hogan lay his fork down on his empty plate and complimented the cook. "Delicious as always, LeBeau," he declared.
LeBeau smiled. "Merci, mon Colonel."
LeBeau went over to the sink and started running water for their dishes. Newkirk went to his locker and got out a deck of playing cards. "Hey, guys. I want to show you chaps this new card trick I've been working on," Newkirk announced.
Newkirk proceeded to demonstrate his trick, asking for Hogan's participation. While Hogan was thus distracted, LeBeau came over to the table and dropped some tablets into the coffee remaining in Hogan's cup. After Newkirk had finished his demonstration, LeBeau said, "If you guys finish your coffee, I'll wash your cups."
All of them, including Hogan, drained their cups and LeBeau carried the cups to the sink. Soon after, Hogan started to feel sleeply. He yawned and found it hard to keep his eyes open. Finally, he drifted off to sleep. Newkirk grabbed a blanket and they used it to form a makeshift stretcher. They transferred Hogan from his chair to the blanket, then carried him to his room. Once there, they lay him on his bunk and quietly left the room.
"He should sleep till this evening," Carter told the others. "Then, we can start the next phase of our plans."
"Hogan's going to know we drugged him," stated Kinch. "He's not stupid."
"Then, we'll have to come up with an excuse," insisted Carter.
"We've been deceiving him since London started this fiasco," remarked LeBeau. "I'll just add a little more deception. I'll tell him that I felt guilty about hitting Carter with the door. I'll say that I thought a nice sleep might help Carter's headache. The Colonel will assume that the drugs were meant for Carter."
The pain was obvious in Carter's expression as he explained, "The only thing that will get rid of this headache is when London finally clears up this mess."
"I think we'll all be glad to see this thing cleared up," Kinch seconded.
Newkirk and LeBeau voiced their agreements almost simultaneously, making the feeling unanimous.