Chapter 19

"Who are you?" asked a nervous Alice sitting beside Olsen in the front passenger seat of his car as he continued driving. "Where are you taking me?" Glancing sideways at his prisoner, Olsen didn't respond immediately and turned his eyes back to the road. He couldn't allow himself the luxury of feeling sorry for this woman. She was willing to kill his commanding officer because he was an American. That was something Olsen could not forgive nor understand.

"You'll find out when we get there," was all he said, eyes still on the road ahead.

"You're American," Alice said as if this revelation just came to her. "You're an American just like that…" she didn't finish as she saw the dangerous look in Olsen's eyes. She went back to staring out the closed window wondering what had gone so terribly wrong so quickly. Her captor was American and she now suspected had been part of some kind of sting set up to protect this Colonel Hogan, and she had been so desperate to get Karl Dietrich out of her life that she walked right into it. Her captor's silence only made her feel more nervous as she wondered what fate awaited her. She also wondered what would become of her two children; but she supposed because they were in the Hitler Youths they would be all right; and she did have relatives who could look after them. Thinking of her sons gave her hope for a moment. She turned back to Olsen with renewed optimism. "I have two children," she said. "What will happen to them?"

Olsen kept his eyes on the road. "You should have thought of them when you tried to kill Colonel Hogan. How old are they if I might ask?"

Alice swallowed the imaginary lump in her throat. "Karl Jr. is fourteen and Hans is fifteen. They are both in the Hitler Youths."

"Umm hmmm," was all Olsen said as he slowed the car down and veered suddenly into the woods. He continued on for a couple of feet before finally pulling the car to a stop. He pocketed the keys and got out of the car. Walking around the front of the car, he opened the passenger door as he pulled his weapon and pointed it at her. "Get out, ma'am," he said motioning with his weapon, stepping back allowing Alice room to get out. When she stood in front of him he ordered her to turn around with her back to him. He removed her handcuffs and then with his gun pressed into her side, Olsen took her arm and led her to the tree stump. Her eyes widened like saucers when she saw the barb wire, guard towers and the layout of the prison camp before her eyes.

"A prisoner-of-war camp?" she exclaimed in shock.

"Yep," Olsen replied. "But don't think of it as a POW camp but as a home away from home." He raised the lid of the tree stump and waving his gun urged her to climb down. He followed her down, closing the lid behind him just before the searchlight passed over where they had just been standing only a scant few minutes ago.

By the time Olsen stepped off the ladder, he saw Carter holding Alice by one arm with a gun pointed at her; Kinch was beside him. He smiled at Olsen.

"You did good," he told the younger man. "Dr. Prust contacted us and told us to expect you and Alice here. Any other trouble we should know about?"

Olsen grinned. "Not a thing. Kinch, that plan of yours was brilliant. Worthy of the Colonel himself."

"You did the Colonel proud," Carter with a smile.

Alice meanwhile, seemed overwhelmed with what she was seeing: tunnels, men coming and going, all within the confines of a prisoner-of-war camp. She looked around at her surroundings still not believing what she was seeing. Finally, she looked at the man called Kinch with visible disdain. Her reaction didn't escape the three men.

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked nervously.

"You are going to spend the remainder of the war in a nice British POW camp," Kinch assured her grimly. He was accustomed to her reaction to his skin color even if he didn't like it. He held his temper in check.

"But you tricked me!" she stated with more nerve than she felt at the moment. "I wouldn't have done what I did if it wasn't for him," she continued with a nod of her head at Olsen.

"You could have said no, y'know," Kinch reminded her.

"Have you ever tried saying no to the Gestapo?" Alice asked smugly eying Kinch up and down.

Kinch and Carter looked at each other before looking at the nurse. "We tell 'em drop dead every chance we get," Carter said matter-of-factly. "See, the difference between you and us is that as scared as one of us might be of the Gestapo, nothing, and we mean nothing, would make us do something we didn't want to do anyway."

"You haven't heard the best part, Kinch," Olsen said. "Her estranged husband is Sergeant Karl Dietrich."

Kinch and Carter looked at Olsen, stunned.

"The same Karl Dietrich who's a guard here?" asked Carter. "That Karl Dietrich?"

"The one and the same," Olsen replied. "There are also two children in the Hitler Youths, ages fourteen and fifteen."

Kinch studied the woman. "Do you have any relatives who are still alive?" he asked.

She glared at Kinch. "Why should I tell you anything?"

"Perhaps you'd want your husband to have them?" Olsen asked with a raised eyebrow. "From what you said in the hospital you're afraid of your husband."

Alice glanced over her shoulder at Olsen. With shoulders sagging in defeat, she looked up at him. "I don't want Karl to have them. It's bad enough he made sure they joined the Hitler Youths. If he gets custody of them there's no telling what he'll teach them to do. My brother and his wife might take them. They dislike Karl as much as I do."

"We'll make sure your children are cared for by you brother and his wife," Kinch said. He glanced at Carter. "Carter, you and Olsen escort our guest to a vacant area of the tunnel and tie her up so she can't get away. After that, Olsen, go change. I'll contact the underground about taking her off our hands in a day or so and getting her on her way to London. But first I want to contact the hospital and check on Colonel Hogan."

"Right, Kinch," the young Sergeant replied as he, followed by Olsen, led Alice away.

"Oh, and Carter?"

The young man stopped and looked over at the Staff Sergeant. "Yeah, Kinch?"

Kinch smiled. "When you're done, why don't you go to the infirmary and visit with Newkirk for awhile. If we need you we'll know where to find you."

Carter grinned in response. Then, he led Alice away.

Wilson, seated beside the bed, was finishing checking on his patient when Newkirk's eyes opened just a crack and a painful faint smile appeared.

The medic, noticing the Englander watching him, smiled himself. "Glad to see you awake, Newkirk," he said cheerily. "How do you feel?"

"Me entire body aches and it hurts to breathe. Am I gonna live, Joe?"

"You're going to be fine, Newkirk, as long as you give yourself time to heal. Remember, you've got three cracked and one broken rib and your right wrist is fractured. Your injuries are beginning to heal nicely and you should recover completely."

Newkirk took a deep breath and winced from the pain. "You sure?" he asked weakly. "Because right now I feel like bloody hell."

"I'm sure," Wilson said with a chuckle. He suddenly looked up and smiled. "Looks like you've got a visitor, Newkirk."

The Englander, turning his head towards the door, allowed a weak grin to appear when he saw Carter. "Hey, Andrew," he said.

"Hey yourself, buddy. How d'ya feel?"

"In pain."

Carter looked questioningly at the medic who got up from his seat. "He'll be fine in time." He motioned for Carter to have a seat. "I have some paperwork to do so you can visit for awhile but not too long. I want Newkirk to rest."

Newkirk rolled his eyes as Wilson talked. "You're worse than me bleedin' mum, you are, Joe. But you're not as pretty as she was."

Chuckling, Wilson shook his head as he walked to the other end of the infirmary while Carter sat in the vacated chair. The young Sergeant leaned forward with his arms on his thighs.

"So how are you really doin', Newkirk?" Carter asked, worried.

"It hurts to breathe if you must know. Any word on the Gov'nor? How is he? Nobody'll tell me anything."

"The Colonel's doin' fine last we heard," Carter chose his words carefully. He had been warned by Kinch not to tell Newkirk anything about Alice or her attempt to kill Hogan. "In fact, we're hoping Michael will soon bring him back to consciousness and that he'll be able to come home."

Newkirk's eyes narrowed as he studied his best friend's face. He suspected he wasn't being told everything. "Andrew, what aren't you tellin' me? Has something happened to Colonel Hogan?" Newkirk was becoming agitated and it was apparent it was causing him pain. Carter immediately gently laid a hand lightly on his friend's chest.

"I'm tellin' you the truth. The Colonel's fine. Kinch is checking with the hospital now to find out when the Colonel might be released. I swear it. Last we heard was that he was expected to recover completely. He'll just have to take it easy for awhile when he gets back. You can check with Kinch later if you want if you don't believe me."

"No, that's okay. I believe you, mate. It's just that, well, we came so bloody close to losin' 'im is all and I'm worried 'bout 'im. Have any of you been able to see 'im yet?"

"Not yet. It's kinda hard with Dietrich in charge and Klink being under his thumb and all."

"What d'ya mean with Klink bein' under Dietrich's thumb? What's been goin' on, mate?"

"Kinch found out the reason Klink hasn't been believing anything we tell 'im is because Dietrich is blackmailing 'im. Kinch says he's never seen the Kommandant so scared in his entire life."

"That bloody bastard, Dietrich," Newkirk muttered with disgust and winced in shooting pain while trying to take a deep breath. Seeing the look of deep concern on Carter's face, the Englander forced a grin to his face as beads of sweat were forming. "That wasn't very smart of me now was it, mate? Shoulda known better than to try takin' a deep breath with broken and cracked ribs." He paused a few minutes to allow the wave of pain to subside. When it finally did, he turned towards Carter again. "So, what's been happenin' in the outside world while I've been cooped up in here? Anything?"

Carter shrugged. "Things have been kinda quiet, actually, come to think of it. Even Dietrich hasn't bothered us of late. Kinch says that's not a good sign and he might be planning something."

"Humph. Wouldn't put it past the ruddy bastard." Newkirk suddenly let out a loud yawn. "Sorry, Carter, but I'm kinda tired. Think I'll take me a bit of a snooze. Tell the others old Newkirk says hello." His eyes started to flutter closed.

"I will. I promise," Carter said as he started to his feet.

"Oh, and Andrew?" said a sleepy voice.

"Yeah?"

"Two more things. If you get to see the Gov'nor, tell 'im ole Newkirk says hello and is thinkin' 'bout 'im. And finally, thanks for bein' such a good friend, Andrew. Understand you been here mostly the entire time since they brought me in. Thanks mate."

Smiling with his face turning a shade of crimson, Carter was about to reply when he heard the sound of his friend's steady breathing along with a gentle snoring. He smirked.

"You're welcome, buddy," Carter replied as he quietly walked away and headed in the direction of the door.

Olsen, having changed back into his Allied uniform, found Kinch seated at the radio table putting the finishing touches on the incoming message.

"Our guest is securely bound and gagged," he said with a grin. "Speak with Michael yet?"

"Yeah," Kinch replied as he removed his headset. "Told 'im we had Alice safely tucked away and would be sending her on her way to England. He didn't seem upset by it and said he would make sure the children were looked after for us and not to worry about that."

"Glad to hear that at least," Olsen replied grimly. "I felt kind of bad knowing she has children. But, she did try to murder Colonel Hogan and really can't be trusted."

"I know what you mean. But he did give me a bit of wonderful news though."

"What is that, mon ami?" asked LeBeau who had appeared from around the corner with two cups of hot coffee. He handed one to each man. "Saunders is keeping watch upstairs. I heard Olsen was back and thought you both could use some coffee. So…" he said with folded arms and a smile. "…what is this wonderful news?"

"Well, Michael wants us to be at the hospital tonight after evening roll call."

Olsen took a drink of hot coffee. "What for?"

"Apparently he's going to awaken the Colonel from his two week sedation and thinks things might go better for him if there were some familiar faces present." Kinch was immediately bombarded with questions as Olsen and LeBeau excitedly started talking at the same time. Kinch held up a hand.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Hold on a minute. He also added that once Colonel Hogan wakes up he probably won't remain awake for more than five minutes if that. He'll still be under the effects of the sedative so not to be alarmed if he suddenly falls asleep on us."

"If who falls asleep on us?" asked Carter who had just arrived. Olsen filled him in on the news. The young Sergeant's face brightened considerable. "Hey, that's great! Are we going, Kinch? Can we?"

"I'll address that in a minute," the radioman said. "Michael added that he's going to keep the Colonel hospitalized an additional week after he awakens to allow the sedative to work itself out of his body. And, if all goes well, he could be back at Stalag 13 by the end of this coming week."

LeBeau suddenly frowned. "And back to where Dietrich can get to him," he hissed.

"Hopefully we've have gotten rid of Dietrich before the Colonel gets back," Kinch said. He let out a deep breath. "Now, Carter, you, LeBeau, and Olsen go to the hospital after evening roll call and see the Colonel. Go dressed as Gestapo."

"What about you, mon ami?" asked the Frenchman. "You should come with us. You should be able to visit the Colonel with us."

Kinch shrugged his shoulders. "Me in a German hospital? It would bring unwanted attention. Besides, somebody has to mind the store. Just make sure you give the Colonel my best and tell 'im I'm thinking of him."

"We will, mon ami," LeBeau said with a sad smile, resting a hand on Kinch's arm. "But it isn't fair. You have just as much right…"

Kinch held up a hand. "I'm not arguing with you there. But it's just the way it has to be. The Colonel will understand. Although, I don't think he's going to be to aware of anything after being asleep for two weeks."

"You think Klink'll let us go to the hospital?" asked Carter, concerned.

Kinch smirked. "Who said we're gonna ask 'im?" That brought grins and chuckles from the others.

"What about our guest?" Olsen asked.

"I spoke with Otto. They'll take custody of Alice tomorrow night at 2200 hours and hide her until a British sub can pick her up the following night. They'll let us know when she's been put on board and is on her way to England."

"How's Newkirk doing, Andrew?" asked a concerned Olsen.

Carter shrugged. "Okay I guess. He's still in a lot of pain. But he was more concerned about the Colonel, but I didn't mention anything about somebody trying to kill 'im or anything. But he still suspects I was keeping something from him."

Kinch folded his arms. "I'll talk to 'im later. But that brings up another issue. Now, I doubt seriously Colonel Hogan will be awake enough to even notice. But if by chance he should ask, don't, under any circumstances, tell him about Newkirk or Corporal Sanger. Understand? If he should ask about Newkirk, tell 'im he wanted to come but he's helping me with something important."

"And if he asks about Sanger?" asked LeBeau. "What do we say about that?"

Kinch pursed his lips and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tell 'im with Dietrich around, we haven't had a chance to speak with him because we're being watched constantly. He might not buy it but it's the best I can come up with right now. Besides, I doubt he'll even ask but why take chances." Kinch checked his watch; it was nearing 1400 hours. He slapped his thigh and smiled. "Louie, what's for lunch? I'm starving."