A/N: Beginning with chapter 9, there are no more 'recaps' at the beginning only because some people have PM'd me that they didn't like them. No biggie. So they have been discontinued from chap 9 on for those who hadn't noticed.
Chapter 15
As the men fell outside the barracks for roll call, Hogan number one was still somewhat upset from the night before. He knew what LeBeau had said was true, yet a small portion of his mind still wondered if there was any possibility that just maybe….no, he would not allow himself to think it. He gave a dirty look to the man standing between him and Newkirk as Schultz began his count of the prisoners.
As the rotund guard reached Hogan number one, he noticed the Colonel staring hard at him, and wondered what was wrong.
"You have a big mouth, Schultz," Hogan number one murmured without looking at the guard who was now behind him counting the second row of prisoners. Schultz paused in his counting and turned. He tilted his head towards the man.
"Me, Colonel Hogan? What did I do?" asked a wide-eyed Schultz.
"After roll-call, Schultz," was the terse reply.
Worried that Hogan was apparently upset with him, the guard had trouble with the remainder of his counting. He had just finished with the last prisoner when Klink's voice shattered the morning quiet. Schultz turned and saluted the Kommandant.
"All prisoners present and accounted for, Herr Kommandant," he said.
"Excellent, Schultz," Klink momentarily eyed the two Hogans before looking back at his Sergeant-of-the-Guard. "You may dismiss the men."
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant," Schultz replied exchanging salutes; then watching Klink abruptly turn and walk away in the direction of his office. He turned towards the prisoners. "Prisoners, dissss-missssed." As the men dispersed, Schultz quickly walked over to Hogan number one, worry etched on his face. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Hogan number two approach Carter and drape a friendly arm around the younger Sergeant's shoulders, and gently lead him away from the others. He then turned his full attention on Hogan number one again.
"You wanted to talk with me, Colonel Hogan?" he asked nervously.
Hogan wrapped his arms around himself mindful that Carter had walked away with his namesake, and that LeBeau, Kinch, and Newkirk were standing around him. "Schultz, I am grossly disappointed in you. How could you do that to me of all people?"
Schultz's eyes widened. "How could I do something like what to you?"
"Tell that bloody fake about the Colonel and Hilda," Newkirk chimed in.
"Oui. That wasn't very nice," added LeBeau unhappily.
"Not to mention it was personal," said Kinch.
"What have you got to say for yourself, Schultz?" Hogan asked, looking hurt. He really wasn't angry with the guard, but it was a question he needed the answer to.
"But Colonel Hogan, it wasn't me," Schultz replied. "I swear it wasn't me!"
Hogan shook his head. "C'mon, Schultz. Who else could it be? You're the only one who knows about Hilda and I. Just admit what you did."
"Colonel Hogan, I swear on the heads of my five children it wasn't me. I don't even like the man, and I don't trust him. He is trouble. Why would I tell him anything after the first time? Please believe me!"
Hogan exhaled deeply. He could tell by looking into the guard's eyes that the man was telling the truth. He sighed. "I believe you, Schultz," he finally said.
"Danke," Schultz said with a cheery smile on his face now. "But I just remembered something." His face had become serious again causing Hogan's eyes to narrow with unexplained worry.
"What is it?" he asked warily.
"I saw Private Hill talking with that other Colonel Ho….that man yesterday. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it appeared that Private Hill was becoming quite friendly with him."
Kinch tilted his head towards his commanding officer. "What do you think, Colonel?"
"I don't know. Thanks, Schultz. And sorry I blamed you." Hogan looked at his men. "I need to take a walk around the compound for a bit."
"But mon Colonel, breakfast will be ready soon," said LeBeau.
"I'm not really that hungry," Hogan replied before walking away, thumbs hooked in the pockets of his leather jacket.
"Is Colonel Hogan all right?" asked Schultz, looking at the others, worried.
"Would you be, Schultzie?" asked Newkirk.
"Carter, I'm going to get straight to the point," Hogan number two said with a grin, thumbs hooked in his pockets. "I'm beginning to worry about you."
"About me?" Carter asked, eyes wide. "Why?"
"Well, you seem to be hesitant where this other Colonel Hogan is concerned. What I mean is, you seem to be letting him maintain control over you, and it concerns me."
"Jeez, is that what you think? Well see, that's where you're wrong. If I wanted to leave all I have to do is tell Colonel Hogan I want to leave and he'd let me go."
"Simple as that, huh?"
"Simple as that, boy….I mean, sir." Carter then narrowed his eyes. "Why'd you ask anyway?"
Hogan number two sighed. "I don't know. Maybe it's the way you looked at your girl's picture the other day while you were writing a letter to her." He noticed Carter's surprised expression. "Don't be so surprised, Carter, I notice everything. I could tell how much you miss her. Admit it. You want to be with her more that here. Don't you?"
Carter bowed his head and shrugged. "Well, sure….but…."
"But nothing. You know I'm right." Hogan number two spun Carter towards him and gripped both the young man's shoulders. "Look at me." He waited until the young man raised his head and looked directly into his face. "Help me convince the other prisoners in this camp, and Klink, that I am the real Colonel Hogan, and the first thing we'll do is get rid of this phony, and then I will see that you are sent back home to that girl of yours. And not just you. Any prisoner who doesn't want to be here will be sent home as well. I promise."
Carter lowered his head again and shuffled his feet nervously; then, he looked up again. "You'd really send me back home to Mary Jane?" he asked tilting his head.
"You have my word on it. What d'ya say? Will you help me?"
A slow smile broadened on Carter's face. "You got it, boy! I mean Colonel."
Hogan number two patted the young Sergeant's arm and smiled. "Good man."
"Carter, why are you talking to this phony?" asked a voice. Both men turned, and noticed Hogan number one, Kinch and Newkirk standing there. Hogan's question was met by silence. "Answer me, Carter."
"Screw you!" Carter told Hogan who's jaw dropped in shock. "You're not my commanding officer and never were. And you can't make me stay here anymore either!"
"Andrew," said a stunned Newkirk. "Have you gone bloody crackers or what?"
"No. I've just finally seen the truth is all. We've been showing loyalty to a fake all this time," Carter said, glaring at Hogan number one with disdain.
Hogan number one's face fell and a look of sadness came over it. "Carter, no. Not you." His voice sounded anguished. "Please don't tell me you believe this….this crap." He bit his lower lip to keep it from quivering and with his chin gestured at Hogan number two.
"If anybody's full of crap it's you, whoever you are," Carter said defiantly. He saw the hurt in Hogan number one's eyes and felt badly.
"I'm hurt, Carter, I really am," Hogan number one said. "I never thought…." he didn't finish. With a shake of his head, Hogan number one abruptly turned and stormed away leaving Kinch and Newkirk behind.
"You miserable bloody traitor," hissed an angry Newkirk before he turned and marched towards the barracks.
Kinch didn't speak but just looked at the younger Sergeant. He shook his head disapprovingly before abruptly turning and leaving as well.
Carter, frowning, hung his head sadly. "And Newkirk was my best friend," he said softly. "And now he and Kinch are both mad at me." He kicked at the dirt with his foot. "And soon as LeBeau finds out, he'll hate me as well. I'm gonna lose all my friends."
Hogan number two gripped the young man's shoulder and squeezed it. "It's all right. Just consider it a temporary setback. As soon as they see the truth, they'll not only be your friends again, but they'll be grateful to you as well." He smiled when he saw the lopsided grin reappear on Carter's face.
Feeling both angry and betrayed, Hogan walked around the compound with thumbs hooked in his pockets, and his eyes downcast. He never thought he would see the day one of his own men would turn against him, and of all people, the one he least expected was Carter. Now he was without a demolitions expert on his team. He found himself distracted. But not so distracted that he didn't notice several prisoners gesturing or pointing at him with looks on their faces; looks of mistrust and suspicion, and sighed. Apparently, word was infiltrating the camp a lot faster than he thought. Besides the looks, and shared whispers between some men as they watched him, he noticed many of these men hadn't bothered to salute him as he walked by. This obvious lack of respect from several of the prisoners not only had him miffed, but he knew he'd have to do something about it before things became worse. He was then passing by barracks six when he noticed one of the new prisoners, Private Gifford, hurrying towards him. Despite not being in the mood for company, Hogan didn't want to be rude or unapproachable either. He stopped and waited.
"What can I do for you, Private?" he asked.
"Sir, I really need to talk to you about this other Colonel Hogan."
"Let's walk and talk," Hogan said as he started to move, but stopped at seeing the panic in the young man's eyes. Gifford had only been at Stalag 13 for three weeks, but after what happened with Carter, Hogan began to wonder if other prisoners, especially the new ones, might be swayed as well. He noticed the younger man's hesitation. "What's wrong?" he asked curiously.
"Well…." Gifford began nervously glancing around, noticing some of the prisoners from barracks nine watching. "Sir, I can't talk to you out here in the compound. Can we go someplace private? Maybe the rec hall perhaps? I think right now it might be empty."
Hogan studied the young man closely and sensed the Private's panic. The boy was obviously terrified of something. He looked at the man with narrowed eyes. "What are you afraid of, Private?"
Gifford kept his eyes on the small group from barracks nine. "Please, Colonel. I can't be seen talking to you with them watching me. You don't know how many of the new prisoners he's got convinced you're a Nazi spy. Please, Colonel. I'm scared! I'm afraid they might kill me!" The man appeared ready to cry.
Hogan sighed. "All right. You go to the rec hall and wait for me there. I'll be along in about five minutes." He then watched the young man race away in the direction of the rec hall while he himself glanced over at the prisoners outside barracks nine, and noticed they were looking in the direction the Private had gone. Then, exhaling through his nose and shaking his head, he headed in the direction of the rec hall.
Barracks Chief Captain Jerry Horner and Corporal Todd Blessings emerged from barracks nine just in time to see the man they knew and trusted as Colonel Hogan heading in the direction of the rec hall. Both were worried about the Colonel as the Corporal had overheard snatches of conversations between Private Hill and Sergeant Rowland; and Horner had overheard part of a conversation between Corporal Stoddard and the others, and both suspected these three were against the Colonel and on the side of the phony. They had made sure to report what little they had heard to Hogan who thanked them, and promised to deal with it. Captain Horner was about to follow Hogan when he noticed Private Hill and Corporal Brisbane from barracks six with the Corporal carrying a baseball bat in his hands, jogging quickly in the direction of the rec hall as well. Horner gave Blessings a shove. "Get to barracks two, Corporal," he ordered. "I'm heading to the rec hall and see if I can help Colonel Hogan."
Sensing there was trouble brewing, Blessings looked at his Barracks Chief. "What do I say?"
"Tell them Colonel Hogan's in trouble! Now go!" Horner hurried in the direction of the recreation hall while Blessings ran in the direction of barracks two.
Hogan opened the door of the rec hall, and came to an immediate stop just inside the doorway when he spotted Corporal Stoddard and Sergeant Rowland of barracks nine, and Private Gifford of barracks six, waiting. Hogan noticed that Rowland held a piece of pipe in his hands and was slapping it against the palm of his other hand with a smirk on his face. Stoddard was holding two lengths of rope of which Hogan had no idea from where he had obtained them, and Gifford was cracking his knuckles loudly.
"Okay, what's going on here?" Hogan asked warily eying each man separately. The first feelings of fear permeated his body.
"Thought you'd get away with it, didn't you, Kraut?" Rowland asked taking a menacing step towards Hogan.
"What's the rope for, Corporal?" Hogan asked Stoddard ignoring Rowland's question, and gesturing at the rope with his chin. "You planning on tying me up?"
Stoddard smirked. "Maybe." He then made sure that Hogan's eyes caught sight of the noose at the end of one length of rope. "Then again…." he didn't finish his sentence.
"Ah ha," Hogan said softly. He took a step backward, but was so roughly shoved inside that he stumbled and tripped, landing on his side on the floor. Looking behind him, he noticed Private Hill from barracks nine and Corporal Brisbane of barracks six standing just inside the room; Brisbane was slapping his open palm with the bat head, while Hill pulled out a homemade knife from his pocket. He chuckled as he slammed the door of the rec hall shut and leaned heavily against it.
"Nazi bastard!" Hill shouted at Hogan waving the knife in front of his face.
Hogan slowly got to his feet while looking around at the men hoping somehow, that he could reason with at least one of them before something bad happened that could not be undone.
"Look," he began slowly, "Given the circumstances, I'm willing to overlook all of this if all of you will drop your weapons and return to your individual barracks." He noticed that nobody moved or made any attempt to drop their makeshift weapons. Hogan quickly knew he would have to defend himself possibly, but didn't want to injure any of his men in the process. Regardless, these were still his men. He suddenly noticed Hill approach him and brought his knife very close to Hogan's face.
"I'm gonna enjoy slitting your throat, you Nazi bastard," he hissed moving the blade lower just a bit so Hogan could feel its sharp point touching his Adam's apple. "I've never killed a Kraut before, y'know."
Hogan licked his dry lips. "You won't be now," he said trying to remain calm.
"Enough talk," said Brisbane. He and the others all moved in closer surrounding Hogan. "Time for action." He then raised the bat.
The moment Hogan saw Brisbane raise his bat out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly elbowed the man in the abdomen while covering his head, and roughly pushed his body forward into the man forcing Brisbane away from him and into Stoddard while at the same time, using his other elbow to connect with Rowland's jaw as the man raised his pipe, knocking the man backward into Gifford causing Rowland to drop his weapon. Seeing Hill lunge at him with his knife, Hogan managed to block the swing of the knife, but not before the man managed to slash open the back of Hogan's left hand. With blood now flowing freely and dripping, Hogan's right fist connected with Hill's face making the man stumble backward.
Hogan then scrambled to reach the closed door, but was quickly set upon by Stoddard, Gifford, and Brisbane who roughly seized Hogan and forced him down on the floor to his knees. As Hogan struggled to get away, his arms were roughly jerked behind him as Hill and Rowland now joined the fray; Rowland, using one length of rope, tightly tied Hogan's arms behind him which caused extreme agony to the left hand and arm. They then forced him down onto his back and held him down as a smirking Brisbane, having retrieved his dropped bat, approached the now restrained Hogan. He grinned at Hill, Gifford, and Rowland.
"When I'm done with 'im, you guys can take a turn," Brisbane said. He then looked at Stoddard. "Once we're done you can string 'im up." He saw the delighted look on Stoddard's face. Stoddard then looked down at the still struggling Hogan.
"We're gonna show you what we do to Nazi spies who think they can jerk us prisoners around," he hissed with a nearly demonic look on his face.
The Colonel stared at Stoddard first, and then Brisbane not caring at this moment if he sounded like he was pleading.
"Don't do this," he said. "You'll regret it in the end when the truth comes out. Also, you're all already in serious trouble for assaulting a Senior officer. Besides, how would you explain killing an officer in a POW camp? You have to listen to me!"
"Colonel Hogan will cover for us and Klink will believe whatever he tells him," said Stoddard. "We'll be okay."
"He's not the real Colonel Hogan," Hogan number one said. "I am."
"Shut him up!" Brisbane ordered. "I'm sick of hearing his Nazi mouth." He watched as Stoddard removed a handkerchief from his pocket and shoved it roughly into Hogan's mouth; but Hogan continued speaking out against the gag, his words muffled. "Hold 'im steady."
At this precise moment Hogan's fear had changed to something more. He inwardly realized that since this mess began, he had failed to think things would escalate to the point where some of his own men would decide to kill him.
"Let's play baseball," Brisbane sneered at Hogan. "I have the bat, and you will be the ball." He then raised the bat high over his head.