Chapter 18

Major Avery and Alice watched and waited patiently for Mara to appear. They didn't have long to wait. The attractive nurse, accompanied by Dr. Prust, soon appeared at the nurses' station. Prust suspiciously eyed the Gestapo officer while Avery, grinning like a Cheshire cat having cornered a mouse, touched the brim of his cap. "Fraulein," he said politely. "Guten Morgen."

"Major," Mara said nervously, a faint smile on her face.

"Dr. Prust, Mara, this is Major Felix Avery, Gestapo," Alice introduced the Major to the others. "Major, this is nurse Mara and Dr. Prust. They are two of the ones in charge of Colonel Hogan's care."

"Major," Prust said eying Avery with suspicion. He suspected this Major was really from the Gestapo and they had a big problem. If Papa Bear's man was to show up now, they were all going to be in trouble. "What can I do for you?"

"I was speaking with your nurse here, doctor," Avery began. "She was kind enough to inform me that Colonel Hogan is expected to fully recover. Is that correct?"

"I don't see why he shouldn't," Prust explained. "He is recovering very nicely, and there is no sign of infection. He has been kept sedated the entire time to keep him from moving around unnecessarily. The bullet, as you are aware, nicked the heart muscle. In fact, he is doing so well, we will be awakening him in about another twenty-four hours. He'll still have to remain hospitalized another week to allow the sedative to work its way out of his system. After that, barring any problems which I don't foresee, we should be releasing him."

"Excellent," Avery looked gleeful which made Prust even more nervous. A Gestapo agent being happy an American is recovering didn't bode well for the Colonel. "He will then be available for questioning I presume?"

"Major, I will not subject my patient to your version of questioning. Colonel Hogan is still recovering from a very serious injury, and I refuse to allow you to upset him in any way."

Avery, clasping his hands behind his back, smirked. "Doctor, I suggest you do what you're suppose to do and care for your patient. As soon as he is conscious he will be questioned by the Gestapo. And unless you want problems, I suggest you stay out of Gestapo business. Have I made myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Prust sneered. "Is there anything else you want, Major?"

"Yes, has Colonel Hogan received his medication yet?"

"No, Major," Mara spoke up finally. "I was about to get it."

"Very good, my dear." Avery gave her his most charming smile as he stared deep into her eyes. "I do have one request, however."

"Jawohl, Major?"

"After you prepare Colonel Hogan's medications, I want you to bring the tray here so I may examine them myself. After what happened recently, all medications for Colonel Hogan are to be thoroughly examined before he receives them. We are not taking any chances with the Third Reich's prize possession."

"Major, you may be representing the Gestapo," Prust's face was turning crimson. "But you have no authority here. I see no need to have you examine any medications prepared for Colonel Hogan. I can assure you, Major, nobody in this hospital would harm the American."

"Somebody already has tried to harm the American, doctor! Or have you forgotten about the man who got into his room already? No, I will examine those meds. You, my dear, will prepare them, and bring them to me. As for you, doctor, I suggest your presence here is no longer required. I also suggest if you have patients to visit you do so."

"Major…." Prust argued.

"Doctor, I ordered you to leave my presence. Don't make me decide to have you removed from this hospital as well."

Prust was about to respond but quickly thought better of it. He couldn't take the chance with Colonel Hogan doing so well as to what might happen if he were removed from the hospital where he could not keep an eye on his friend. He glanced at the young nurse. "Do as he says, Mara. After all, the Gestapo is guarding Colonel Hogan."

"Jawohl, Doctor," Mara replied. She watched Prust turn abruptly and storm away down the hall. When he was out of sight she looked at the Major and swallowed. "I will return shortly with the Colonel's medications, Major."

"Excellent, my dear. I will be waiting." Avery watched, smiling, as Mara turned and walked away. To him, she was a looker coming and going. Once she was out of sight, he faced Alice. "Make sure you have that syringe ready for the switch."

"Jawohl," Alice said removing the bleach-filled syringe from her pocket and concealing it in her hand. "I am ready." Her eyes belied her nervousness. The Major smiled at her calmly.

"Relax, my dear. Stay calm. I will keep Mara distracted for a minute only. That's all the time you need to make the switch. Do this, and your husband will be out of your life permanently. I give you my word."

Nodding, Alice took a deep breath and exhaled. But the butterflies still persisted. She had never killed anybody before, much less during the performance of her official duties as a nurse. But to rid herself of Karl Dietrich permanently was too good to pass up. And what luck, she thought, to meet a Gestapo agent who felt the same way regarding her dislike of Americans. She just had to stay calm. She took another deep breath and this time slowly exhaled. It was then she noticed Mara coming their way carrying a tray on which rested three syringes; one for penicillin, one for pain, and one with a sedative.

Dietrich slowly patrolled around the inside perimeter of the fence watching each prisoner closely while giving the indication he wasn't. He wanted them to think he wasn't paying attention; this way he could watch them and see what they were up to. But really, there was only one prisoner he was interested in and that was Sergeant Derrick. Ever since he had killed Corporal Sanger, he suspected Derrick was biding his time before making a move against him. He even wondered how much longer he would have to wait before Derrick made his move. If it wasn't soon, Dietrich figured he'd have to force Derrick's hand. It was then he spotted the Sergeant sitting outside his barracks staring at him. The German smirked in his direction almost as it daring him to do something.

Derrick fought hard to control his emotions as well as to resist the urge to pull out the gun from his pocket and simply open fire on the guard. This is between you and me, bastard. You will pay for what you did. But I don't want innocent prisoners to be caught in the crossfire when I blow you away. But you are gonna pay. He just continued staring at Dietrich, his face impassive. His hand touched the jacket pocket in which rested the weapon getting some comfort knowing it was there. Casually getting to his feet, Derrick pulled out a pack of cigarettes, stuck one in his mouth, and lit it. He took a long drag before he walked away from the barracks and headed in the direction of barracks two. He could feel Dietrich's eyes following him across the compound.

Mara sat the tray on the counter of the nurses' station and waited as the Major separately picked up each syringe and sniffed it's contents making certain there were no strange scents in any of them. After he had tested and closely examined each of them, he deemed them all to be safe. But as Mara reached for the tray, Avery suddenly gently but firmly gripped her arm and spun her around so that her back was to the nurses' station.

"I find you very attractive, my dear," he said charmingly, staring into her eyes. "When do you get off work? I hope you will have dinner with me this evening." Out of the corner of his eyes he looked at Alice who nodded slightly at him and smiled.

"I, I'm very flattered, Major," Mara replied nervously. "But I am currently involved with someone right now, and he wouldn't like it if I went out with someone other than girlfriends. He's sort of the jealous type." She really wasn't involved with anyone much less even seeing anybody, but she didn't want this Gestapo Major to know that. Anything to dissuade him from pursuing her. She hoped she was convincing enough that he believed her. Chuckling, he released her arm.

"A pity," he murmured. "But I make it a point never to get involved with another man's woman. Too messy. Besides, the Fuhrer does so hate scandal of any kind. He recently ordered the execution of two of his officers over scandalous behavior. And I do not wish to get on the Fuhrer's bad side by becoming number three on his list. But our Fuhrer is right. Please accept my apology."

"It's quite all right, Major," Mara replied with a slight smile. "But I must get back to work. So, are you satisfied the medicines are safe and I can give them to Colonel Hogan?"

"But of course, my dear. In fact, even while we were talking, I had my eye on the tray. I can assure you nobody touched it. Therefore, you may proceed with your duties."

"Danke, Major." Mara picked up the tray with the three syringes on it and was about to walk away when she noticed Avery wink at her and smile warmly. Feeling uncomfortable, she quickly walked down the hall and in the direction of Hogan's room. Reaching her destination, she smiled at the three guards posted outside the door each of whom returned her smile. One of them opened the door, allowing her to enter the room. She noticed Dr. Prust and Athena already there; Prust, just finishing his examination, looked up.

"What happened with Avery?" he asked.

Mara sighed as she placed the tray on the table beside the bed. "Well, other than trying to make a date with me, he said there was nothing wrong with the meds that he could find." Then she grinned, a bit amused. "Then he winked at me and said something about Hitler executing two other officers over scandals and that he would hate to be number three on the list, and that Hitler was right, so he apologized and backed off."

Prust looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure he said he didn't want to be the third on the list and that Hitler was right?"

"Yes, sir. Those were his exact words."

"That's the code Kinch and I devised as a means of alerting us if Alice tampered with the syringes," Prust said. "Third on the list and Hitler was right is code for the third syringe on the right." Picking up the appropriate syringe, Prust removed the protective cover off the needle and sniffed it; his face showed his horror. "There's bleach in this syringe," he explained angrily. "Possibly mixed with water to try and mask it; but there's no masking the smell of bleach."

"My God!" Athena exclaimed, horrified. "If we hadn't been suspicious of Alice, Papa Bear might have received this injection and he'd be dead possibly within minutes if not seconds."

"It's a good thing Colonel Hogan was given his medication earlier than normal," said Prust. "But we still have one more part to carry out." He looked at Mara, handing her the tainted syringe which she pocketed. "You know what you have to do."

"I hope I can be convincing enough that Alice will believe me."

"You have to be, Mara," Athena said. "And you'll have the tainted syringe in your possession. Also, Papa Bear's man will be there as well."

Prust looked at his watch. "Wait a minute or two and then go."

Avery, smiling, leaned forward on the counter looking at Alice. He checked his watch. "It shouldn't be long before we hear some news."

Alice rubbed the back of her neck. "I'll just be glad when this is over and he's dead," she said. "At least I can relax knowing that Karl will be out of my life for good. In that aspect, this was worth it." Both of them suddenly turned when they saw Mara running towards them hysterical. Avery turned calmly, looking at her.

"Is there a problem, my dear?" he asked the young nurse. He could see she looked devastated, as if she were about to cry. He glanced at Alice who came from behind the counter of the nurses' station and put a 'comforting' arm on Mara's shoulder.

"Mara, what is it? What's happened?" she asked.

"It, it's Colonel Hogan," she cried, her eyes brimming with tears threatening to fall. "He, he, he's dead!"

"What?!" roared Avery. "He can't be dead! What happened? What did you do?!" He glared at her with intense anger.

"I, I don't know," she said in a trembling voice, the tears now rolling down her cheeks. "I gave him his medication and he had a violent reaction to one of the injections. He, he had a seizure and died seconds later." She covered her face with both hands and began to sob.

Alice, removing her arm from Mara's shoulder, stared intently at the young woman. "So it was you all along, Mara," she said accusingly. She saw Mara look up with red eyes into those of her accuser.

"I didn't do anything. I swear it! I didn't kill Colonel Hogan! And I had nothing to do with the first attempt on his life. I didn't do anything! Somebody must have tampered with the medication."

Shaking his head sadly, Avery reached for his belt and removed a pair of handcuffs. "You are under arrest I'm afraid," he said, looking at Mara.

Alice smirked. "Serves you right, Mara," she said coldly.

Avery suddenly shifted his eyes to Alice, grabbed one arm and clamped a handcuff onto her wrist. "She's not under arrest, but you are," he said. He then pulled her other arm behind her back and clamped the handcuff on her other wrist.

"Wha…what are you doing, Major?" she asked, surprised. "What is the meaning of this?"

"You're under arrest for the attempted murder of Colonel Robert Hogan."

"What are you talking about?"

Mara, reaching into her pocket, removed the tainted syringe and held it up for Alice to see. Her eyes widened. "This syringe, Alice. It contains bleach. You apparently switched it when the Major and I were talking. You were hoping I would inject Colonel Hogan with it and then he would die with me taking the blame. How could you, Alice?"

Alice, glancing over her shoulder at Avery, appeared confused. "I thought you wanted the American dead, Major," she said. "You were going to help me if I killed the American for you."

Avery smiled. "Now why would I help someone who wanted to kill my commanding officer," Olsen said in his natural American voice. "And by the way, it's not Major Felix Avery, Gestapo. I'm an American." Olsen took the syringe from Mara and put in inside his coat pocket. "You did a good job, nurse," he said. "Is the Colonel all right?"

Mara smiled as she wiped her eyes. "He's fine. Dr. Prust gave him his medication before I went and prepared it. He is resting comfortably." She glanced at Alice for a minute before turning back to Olsen. "What's going to happen to her?"

"You needn't concern yourself with that. I have to go. Please give Dr. Prust my thanks."

"I will."

Touching the brim of his cap, Olsen kept a firm grip on Alice's arm and proceeded to escort her out of the hospital to his waiting car for the journey back to Stalag 13.