Chapter 9
Hogan slammed the barracks door behind him so hard some of the prisoners thought it would come off it's hinges; only his core unit knew the door slamming was solely for the benefit of Schultz and Klink in case they were watching. Once he was in the sanctity of his barracks, Hogan heaved a sigh of relief knowing it would be short-lived.
"Schnitzer hasn't shown up yet, sir," Carter said looking at the Colonel who was pouring himself a cup of coffee while LeBeau placed a covered plate on the table.
"That smells good, LeBeau," Hogan stated as he started to sit down with his coffee. "What is it?"
"Your favorite, Colonel. Scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast. I saved you a plate. Everybody else has already eaten."
"Good, because I'm starved."
LeBeau sat down across from his commanding officer as Hogan dug into his food; pleased at watching the way the Colonel ate obviously enjoying his food. "Colonel, can I ask a question?"
"Sure," Hogan replied between stuffing a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.
"When I prepare dinner, permission to poison the new prisoner's food." He saw Hogan give him a dirty look. "Just thought I'd ask," he said innocently.
Hogan nibbled on a slice of buttered toast. "I know how you feel, LeBeau. But as I've already stated, all we're going to do is watch and observe our friend for awhile." He stuffed another forkful of food into his mouth. "There is going to be no action taken against him until we know who he is and what his game is. Only then will we deal with him accordingly in a way that won't jeopardize our operation or Klink's no escape record. Understand?"
"Oui, Colonel. Je comprehends." He then got to his feet to wash the breakfast dishes of the other prisoners. (1) By the time he had finished the dishes, Hogan had finished eating, and the Frenchman took his plate and left the Colonel to finish his coffee. Soon the dishes were all clean and put away. It was shortly afterward that the barracks door opened and Schultz trudged in holding the arm of the new prisoner in one huge hand.
Sighing, Hogan and the new prisoner stared at each other intensely, neither one liking nor trusting the other. Schultz's eyes shifted back and forth between the two officers.
"Colonel Hogan," Schultz began looking at the man with the black hair. "Here is the new prisoner who has been assigned to your barracks as you were told by the Kommandant."
"Who bloody cares, Schultzie," said a completely disinterested Newkirk sitting at the table involved in a game of solitaire.
LeBeau, having just finished drying his hands on the dishtowel, tossed the towel over his shoulder and glared at the prisoner up and down disapprovingly. He then put away the towel before sitting down at the table beside Newkirk. Kinch, reading a paperback at the table, glanced upward for a split second before going back to his book. Only Carter looked up at the American and smiled.
"Hi," was all he said, his voice somewhat strained.
"Try not to kill each other, please," Schultz begged as he released the prisoner's arm and with a final concerned look around, exited the barracks.
The prisoner folded his arms as he watched Hogan place a foot on the bench and lean one arm on his thigh as he drank from his coffee cup. When he wasn't drinking, he held the cup between both hands. He looked over at his namesake.
"The only vacant bunk is in my quarters," Hogan explained pleasantly. "I usually take the upper." He took a sip of coffee. "Carter, take him to my quarters and show him around."
"Yes, sir." Carter slowly got to his feet. "It's this way," he said to the other Hogan gesturing to the small room in the corner where there was a door.
As the prisoner followed Carter, he glanced around at the other prisoners and noticed each one staring at him, some with curiosity, others with dislike, and some with flat out hate etched on their faces. A look of amusement appeared on his face.
"I guess the prisoners in this barracks are somewhat attached to this Colonel Hogan, eh?" he asked softly as he followed Carter inside Hogan's quarters. The prisoner looked around as the young Sergeant closed the door behind him and began pointing out his commanding officer's footlocker, closet, and other personal items.
"I wouldn't say that too loudly out there," Carter explained. "The other prisoners wouldn't like it and there could be trouble."
The prisoner folded his arms across his chest and gazed at the young man. "Let me ask you something, Sergeant."
"You don't have to call me Sergeant. You can just call me Carter. Everybody does." He paused. "What did you want to ask me?"
"Why does everybody here believe this guy is really Colonel Hogan? What I mean is, why are people here so convinced he's the real deal?"
Carter, both hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket, shrugged his shoulders. I guess because he cares about the prisoners here and not himself. Everything he does is for the benefit of the prisoners. He looks out for us, he takes care of us, and he protects us. Heck, he'd even give his life for us."
The prisoner arched both eyebrows. "He may just do that," he told himself. He smiled at Carter innocently. "So would I. But have you ever wondered why a phony would do that? I mean, have you even asked yourself that question?"
"What question?"
"The question as to why would a phony Colonel Hogan go through all that for the prisoners?"
"Because that's the way he is. He cares. And he's not a phony."
"Because he cares? Is that what you think?" He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "Want to know what I think?"
Carter merely shrugged. "I guess so."
"What better way for a Nazi spy to ingratiate himself into the prison population than by showing the prisoners how much he cares about them; to let them think he cares about them. And once he has their complete devotion and allegiance, that's when his true colors come forth and he betrays them."
Carter was about to respond when the door opened and Newkirk stood just inside the doorway; his green eyes shifting from the prisoner to Carter, and back to the prisoner again.
"Everything all right in here, Andrew?" the Englander asked warily.
Carter grinned at his close friend. "Yeah. Everything's fine. We were just talking."
"I'll just bet," Newkirk replied eying the prisoner.
"And you are?" asked the prisoner pleasantly.
"Me name's Peter Newkirk, mate. And just so you know; I will be watching you. If you try in any way to hurt the Gov'nor, you'll regret it. We understand each other?"
"Perfectly, Newkirk," the prisoner replied remaining calm. "And I hope you'll give me a chance to prove to you that I am the real Colonel Hogan and that the man in the other room you seem to trust so much is nothing more than a Nazi spy who's biding his time before revealing who he really is to all of you."
Newkirk saw red then. Reaching out quickly, he roughly grabbed the front of the prisoner's shirt in both fists pulling him close to him; his green eyes flashing angrily and his face turning a deep shade of crimson.
"Why you bloody bastard! You better watch your mouth when you…."
"Newkirk!" a voice boomed from behind the Englander. All three men looked and saw Colonel Hogan standing behind Newkirk. "Let go of 'im, and that's an order!"
"But, Colonel….you should've heard what he called you," Newkirk said not releasing his hold and still looking at the subject of his anger.
"I don't care what he called me. I said let him go," Hogan ordered in his authoritative voice.
Newkirk roughly shoved the prisoner away from him as he let the man go, but he continued staring hard at him. "It's gonna take a lot more than him sayin' he's Colonel Hogan and having R.E. Hogan stitched onto the breast pocket of his ruddy jacket to convince me." He tossed one final glare at the man. "You just remember what I said, mate." He then turned and brushed past Hogan and into the common room.
Hogan looked at his young Sergeant. "Carter, go join Newkirk in the other room while our friend here and I have a little talk."
"Yes, sir," Carter replied. He walked past his commanding officer and left the room, closing the door behind him. Now alone with his namesake, the two Hogans squared off.
"Let's get one thing straight right now," said the Hogan with the black hair. "I don't like you. And I'm going to be watching every move you make, so I suggest you forget trying to turn my men against me. For one, these prisoners are not as gullible as you think they are; and two, I won't let you take over this camp. I'll find a way to stop you."
The prisoner chuckled and then smirked. "Not unless I stop you first," he said still calm. "You see, Colonel, you will never see it coming when I make my move against you. I will see that everybody in this camp knows who and what you are. You won't have a single friend in this entire camp when I'm done; not even those four men in the other room who think so highly of you. You will have nobody to turn to and will be looking over your shoulder all the time." He could see that Hogan's face was turning a deep shade of crimson and his dark eyes were flashing angrily. Smirking, he stretched his arms in front of him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Colonel, I think I will take a nap. It's been a tiring day and I didn't get much sleep last night." He sat down on the bottom bunk. "Be a good man and close the door on your way out." He then stretched out on the bottom bunk with hands behind his head.
Newkirk, mumbling, stormed out of the barracks slamming the door behind him leaving Carter, Kinch, and LeBeau watching him. As the vibrations of the slamming door were felt, Carter started to his feet.
"Let him be, Carter," Kinch said calmly. He saw the younger Sergeant pause and look back at him.
"Newkirk's my best friend," he explained. "I need to make sure he's okay."
"Trust me, he is," Kinch continued. "He's just angry right now. Just give him some space and let him calm down some. You approach him now and he's just liable to go off on you." He watched Carter slowly sit back down.
"Where's Newkirk?" asked Hogan as he approached the table.
"He stormed outside a few minutes ago," Kinch explained.
"I'll be right back," Hogan announced over his shoulder as he headed out the door in search of his Corporal. He didn't have far to look as he found Newkirk seated on the bench outside the barracks with both arms resting on his thighs, a lit cigarette dangling between two fingers. The Englander looked up at his commanding officer who stood to the side with his arms wrapped around himself.
"I'm sorry, Colonel," Newkirk said softly as he took a drag on his cigarette. "I lost me head in there when you ordered us not to. But I just couldn't help meself. When he called you a Nazi spy I just went bloody crackers."
"Newkirk, trust me when I say I understand how you felt. But I can't emphasize how important it is that cooler heads prevail here. I can't have you going off half-cocked every time he says something whether or not it's about me that you don't like. I know you don't like him; I don't either. But that's not the point. What is the point is that we need to find out what he's up to and stop him. And I can't focus on that if I have to constantly worry about keeping an eye on you when you're about to lose it."
Newkirk took another drag on his cigarette. "I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again. You have me word." He looked up sadly and saw a small smile on Hogan's face.
"That's good enough for me," Hogan said quietly. Then with a sigh, he leaned a shoulder against the wall of the barracks. "Exactly why did you go into my quarters to begin with, and what did you hear between our friend and Carter when you did?"
Newkirk, taking a long drag on his cigarette, shrugged his shoulders. "I went in because in my opinion, it was takin' too long for Andrew to only be showin' the bastard around. As for what I heard, sir," he explained. " 'Bout the only thing I heard 'im say was something about true colors showing or some rubbish like that. I'm afraid I didn't hear very much. Sorry."
"Don't be," Hogan said with a sigh. "My guess is he was probably trying to turn his charm on Carter and turn him against me."
"You don't have to worry 'bout Andrew none, Gov'nor. Me mate, Carter, is true blue all the way. He might not show it, sir, but he's as loyal as they come."
"I know he is," Hogan replied thoughtfully. "But that's not what worries me."
"Then what is it, Gov'nor?" Newkirk acknowledged to himself that he had never seen his commanding officer so worried about anything before.
"There are several dozen prisoners in this camp who haven't been here very long and either don't know me very well or at all, and are not involved in our operation. All our friend has to do is undermine my authority with a couple of them and they can do his dirty work for him."
"We won't let that happen, Colonel," Newkirk promised. He saw his commander chuckle.
"I love your confidence, but I have a feeling things are going to get worse before they get better." He sighed wearily. "I just wish Schnitzer would get here so we can get a message to Otto."
"I think you're about to get your wish, Colonel," the Englander replied, his eyes looking in the direction of the front gates.
Hogan looked in the direction Newkirk was looking in and saw the veterinarian's truck entering through the front gates. He straightened up. "Go get LeBeau," he ordered tugging on the ribbed bottom portion of his jacket. "I'm gonna need that diversion in a few minutes. Remember, keep it going for a few minutes until I show up."
"On me way," Newkirk replied jumping to his feet and hurrying inside the barracks, emerging shortly with the little Frenchman.
"You two know what to do," Hogan stated.
"Oui, Colonel," LeBeau replied as he and Newkirk darted past Hogan and to the far portion of the compound where a small group of prisoners were gathered tossing a football around. As one of them released the football, Newkirk jumped into the air, caught it, and made sure he crashed into the man the football was meant for causing both men to land on the ground with Newkirk on top.
"Get your bleedin' hands off me!" The Englander shouted shoving at the man beneath him. He brought his face close and whispered the word 'diversion' in his ear and noticed the man slightly nod. "I said get your bleedin' hands off of me you bloody Aussie!"
"Hey, who you calling a bloody Aussie, you stupid Brit!" the man yelled. He grabbed at the Englander.
"Hey, leave my friend Newkirk alone," LeBeau shouted as he jumped into the fray. Soon, punches were being thrown with other prisoners joining in. The knowledge that Hogan needed a diversion had been spread throughout the combatants so the punches thrown did not cause any injury. Soon, Schultz and several other guards were hurrying over to the combatants to break up the skirmish.
After watching a few minutes of the skirmish, Hogan quickly walked over to the dog pen where Schnitzer was replacing several dogs in the pen. Hogan shook hands with the elderly man, who had been a member of the underground as long as Hogan could remember, and a good friend to him and his men.
"I assumed when I saw the fight break out, Colonel, that you needed to speak with me," Schnitzer said as he returned to the back of the truck and removed another dog, grabbing it by its collar.
Hogan glanced over his shoulder. "I need to get word to Otto. We're waiting for him to check on something for us and let us know what he finds. But we're currently on radio silence thanks to a radio detector truck in camp till further notice. I need you to tell him to relay what he finds to you and have you relay that info to us."
The vet, after putting the dog in the pen, locked the pen door. "I will do my best, Colonel," he said. "But how do I get the message to you? I will not be back to change the dogs until next month."
Hogan glanced over his shoulder again and noticed the guards were now trying to pull apart the battling prisoners. He also noticed Klink emerging from his office and hurrying down the stairs. He turned back to Schnitzer.
"Come back to camp with one dog. If anybody asks, tell them the Gestapo has asked for one of the dogs here and you are bringing us a replacement." He smirked. "Just make sure to leave us Heidi. We're kind of fond of her."
"It will be done, Colonel. But you'd best go before you are caught." He and Hogan again shook hands and the Colonel then hurried away and in the direction of the fighting prisoners.
"What is going on here!" Klink shouted as he got closer to the skirmish.
"Herr Kommandant," Schultz said in between gasping for breath as he grabbed the squirming LeBeau by the back of his shirt collar trying to keep him away from the Australian prisoner while the other guards were trying to break up the nine other prisoners who were still fighting.
"Break up this fight immediately!" Klink bellowed waving his arms.
"We are trying, Herr Kommandant," said Corporal Langenscheidt with both arms wrapped around Newkirk who was still in the clutches of the Australian who was still beneath him.
"What the hell is going on here!" Hogan's loud voice was heard over the chaos. When nobody seemed to have heard him, the Colonel put two fingers in his mouth and blew a shrill whistle that caused immediate silence to all. Seeing their commanding officer's face, the prisoners immediately stopped their fighting and slowly climbed to their feet. "Who started this fight?" he asked angrily. He wasn't surprised when nobody spoke. "I'm waiting."
"It was Newkirk, Colonel," said the Australian. "Me mates and I were tossing the football around when he just barged into the game and started calling me names. I apologize for losing me temper."
"You bloody squealer," Newkirk hissed trying to charge at the man but was being held back by Langenscheidt.
"That's enough, Newkirk," Hogan said. "You are in big trouble starting a fight. All of you all know I don't approve of fighting among the men under my command. There will be serious punishment for those responsible."
"Those responsible?" asked Klink with wide eyes. "Colonel Hogan, all of these men will suffer the consequences. I do not approve of fighting among the prisoners and all ten of them will not only have two weeks in the cooler, but all privileges revoked for an additional two weeks!"
Hogan allowed his jaw to drop. "Kommandant, you can't punish all ten of them for the actions of two men. Let the other eight go and punish only Newkirk for starting things, and LeBeau for joining in."
"Hogan, your men have to learn to obey the rules." He then looked at Hogan warily. "Unless of course you are not Colonel Hogan and your men know that, and feel they don't have to obey you any more."
Everybody, including Schultz and Langenscheidt all glanced from Klink to Hogan waiting for Hogan's reaction to that statement. Hogan, somehow, managed to control himself and keep his face impassive. But to Newkirk and LeBeau, they could see the hurt in Hogan's brown eyes.
"My men know who I am, Kommandant," he said calmly. "And I expect them to obey my orders. How about reconsidering your decision?"
"My decision is final! Schultz, Langenscheidt, take the ten guilty prisoners away to the cooler. And that's an order!" Without another word, he turned and stormed away.
(1) Je comprehends means I understand.