A/N: Sorry for the delay. Had a case of writer's block, allergies(still), depression, and just not feeling well.

Chapter 23

After leaving the cell with Langenscheidt behind them, Hogan glanced at Olsen; the look in his eyes indicating Olsen was to take off on his own and warn Schnitzer, then come straight back to camp. The Sergeant nodded ever so slightly indicating he understood. Reaching the barracks, the two prisoners went inside; then, Hogan cracked open the door to see where Langenscheidt was. He saw the guard heading in the direction of the main gate. He then instructed Olsen to head out to barracks eight and use the tunnel entrance there as both men knew there were no newbies there, and head out. Once Olsen left, Hogan closed the door, anger clearly on his face and in his eyes.

He stormed to his private quarters and burst through the door where he found Hogan number two on the lower bunk reading a paperback novel. He glanced up at the Colonel and for a brief moment, Hogan number one thought he noticed a look of utter surprise in the other man's eyes at seeing him. Hogan number one, not only feeling his rage growing by the second, and knowing he'd be in no condition to control his men, slammed the door shut behind him. Before the man on the bunk could react or say anything, Hogan number one roughly seized the man by the front of his shirt and jacket, and ignoring the pain in his hand, pulled him off the bunk and onto his feet. He jerked him up close so their faces were almost touching.

"You bastard!" he shouted. "When you coerced some of the new prisoners into attacking me in the rec hall, that was one thing. But when you injure and nearly kill one of my men, you crossed the line! This is now strictly between you and me. My men are all off limits to you. Do we understand each other?"

Hogan number two smirked. "I already have one of your men on my side as well as others, Colonel. Your time of being in charge here is rapidly drawing to a close. But as far as injuring one of your men I have no idea what you're talking about. I never laid a hand on any of your men."

"You tampered with the pack of smokes I had in my footlocker. I gave them to Newkirk and he became very ill from smoking two of them. Our medic believes they were laced with liquid nicotine which I believe you meant for me instead, not thinking I would share them with my men." He then thrust the other man away from him as if just touching him burned his hands. How he was controlling his temper he had no idea at this point. Glaring down at the man lying half-on and half-off the bunk, Hogan number one shook his head and pointed his finger at the man. "You just keep in mind what I said, because I will be watching you every minute. And if there's any way I can prove you had something to do with what happened to Newkirk, you'll have to deal with me after you deal with the Kommandant."

Hogan number two chuckled. "Y'know, I think you suffered brain damage in that attack in the rec hall because you're crazy! All your accusations prove is that you don't belong in charge of these prisoners because you're dangerous!"

Hogan number one's eyes darkened dangerously. "I suggest you leave this barracks because there's not enough oxygen in here for two people."

Seeing the look in Hogan number one's eyes, the phony slowly got to his feet, tossing the paperback on the bunk and glared at the Colonel. "That's the first thing you've said I agree with, Colonel. There's not enough air in here for two people," he hissed. That said, he marched towards the door, yanked it open, and shoved his way through the throng of prisoners gathered outside having been attracted by the shouting inside letting the door of the barracks slam shut behind him.

"We heard shouting, Colonel," Kinch remarked. "What was that all about?"

"How is Newkirk, mon Colonel?" asked a frightened LeBeau.

Hogan took a deep breath as he placed both hands on his narrow waist. He knew he had to tell his men what happened to Newkirk, but first he needed to calm himself down. He glanced over at his men. "Not now, fellas. I'll explain later."

"But mon Colonel…." LeBeau began before Kinch put a hand on the little Frenchman's arm silencing him.

"Sure thing, Colonel," Kinch said softly. "Whenever you're ready to let us know." The radioman then ushered everybody to leave the doorway. Being the last one out the door, Kinch started to close the door when Hogan called his name.

"Sir?" he asked, pausing and looking back over his shoulder.

"Thanks," was all Hogan would say before Kinch saw him collapse onto the chair at his desk and run both hands down his face before closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. Kinch quietly closed the door leaving Hogan alone. The moment Kinch turned away from the door, he was confronted by several of the prisoners all talking at once. The radioman raised both hands in front of him and shushed them before motioning for them to back away from the smaller room.

"Okay everybody, just calm down," Kinch ordered. "The Colonel will let us know how Newkirk is after he's had time to calm down. So until he's ready to talk to us, just give him some space and if you have any questions or concerns before then, bring them to me. Don't disturb the Colonel." His eyes scanned the room and saw nobody had any questions. "Okay then, everybody just go back to what you were doing. Saunders, watch the door." The men slowly dispersed and returned to their individual bunks except Corporal Saunders who cracked open the barracks door to keep watch.

Sitting down on the bench at the table, Kinch faced Carter who was seated on his bunk.

"How you doing, Andrew?" he asked. "You okay?"

Carter shrugged, a sad expression on his face. "I'm worried about Newkirk. Does the Colonel really suspect the phony's responsible for making him sick?"

"I don't know," replied Kinch, trying to keep his voice neutral despite the rising anger he was feeling at the moment. "Considering how upset the Colonel was when he returned, I'm pretty sure he believes it."

"Batard!" LeBeau muttered as he sat down beside Kinch, an angry look on his face. "I bet anything he did something to Pierre to make him ill. I have never seen the Colonel so enraged as he was when he came in. He looked as if he was ready to kill somebody. And we all have an idea who that somebody is."

Kinch's eyes suddenly narrowed. "LeBeau, can you tell us anything? What I mean is, did anything unusual occur after you left here with Newkirk's dinner?"

The Frenchman shook his head. "Non. The Colonel gave me his pack of cigarettes to give to Pierre as I am guessing he ran out of his own. I never even saw the batard outside. Why?"

Kinch exhaled. "I don't know. I was hoping that maybe if you ran into him we might be able to figure out what…." he suddenly paused. "Damn! I know what he might've done."

"What?" asked Carter, puzzled.

Kinch shook his head. "I'd rather not say before the Colonel tells us. I could be wrong."

"You are never wrong, mon ami," LeBeau said. "Just like the Colonel," he added with a small smile.

Kinch smirked. "Thanks for the compliment, but uh, I've been known to make mistakes every now and then."

"Mistakes about what?" a voice asked from behind Kinch.

Kinch and LeBeau both turned, and Carter looked up to see Colonel Hogan standing at the pot belly stove pouring himself a cup of coffee; he was looking at the three men as he took a drink.

The trio noticed the Colonel's face looked tired, but he seemed to have calmed down some from earlier.

"Are you all right, mon Colonel?"

Hogan exhaled deeply. "I'm still angry, LeBeau, but I'm somewhat calmer than I was before." He looked at his second-in-command. "Now, what is it in which you claim you make mistakes every now and then?"

Embarrassed, Kinch chuckled. "It's not important, sir."

Hogan found himself chuckling. "I see. Well, for what it's worth, LeBeau is right." He took another drink and then smiled. "You're never wrong, Kinch." He saw his radioman look as if he was blushing if he could, then, he sat down at the table. "Newkirk was poisoned by the cigarettes I gave you, LeBeau." He went of to explain about the cigarettes in his footlocker being treated with liquid nicotine and the effects of smoking two had on the Englander.

"Mon Dieu!" LeBeau echoed angrily.

"Will Newkirk be okay, Colonel?" asked Carter quietly.

"He should be in a couple of days," Hogan answered. "Olsen found him in time when he went to get him for the assignment and got Schultz's attention and made him get help. Wilson had to induce vomiting. He then noticed Kinch looking at him seriously. "What is it? What's troubling you?"

"Colonel, I suspected our friend tampered with the cigarettes in your footlocker as it was the only thing that made sense because we all had the same food and coffee as Newkirk and we're all fine. That being said, I was just thinking, do you think those poisoned cigarettes were meant for you?"

Hogan noticed LeBeau and Carter watching him also. Pursing his lips, he stared down into the dark liquid in his coffee cup for a few moments before looking up again and sighing. "Yes. I think he'd probably seen me smoke one or two, tampered with the remainder of them, and waited for me to smoke another hoping I'd become sick, incapacitated, or worse. But I ruined his plans when I gave the pack to Newkirk instead." He shot a look at LeBeau who muttered a string of what he was certain were French obscenities from the little high school French he recalled. Finishing his coffee, Hogan put his empty cup on the table and folded his arms across his chest. "But there is one thing that troubles me," he added.

"What is that, Colonel?" asked the Frenchman.

"Where did our friend get the liquid nicotine from? He would've been searched once he arrived here in camp, and we searched him again ourselves, and he didn't have it on him. So I ask again. Where did he get it?"

"He could have had it smuggled in to him somehow," Kinch commented. He saw Hogan shake his head.

"That's a possibility," Hogan replied getting up, poured himself a second cup of coffee, and returned to his seat. "Somebody had to smuggle it into camp to get it to him. One of the two things that concern me is who was it."

"What's the other thing, Colonel?" asked Carter.

"How did our friend let whoever it was know that he needed it? Somehow he got a message to somebody on the outside that he wanted the poison," began Hogan. "And that tells me he has someone in this camp working with him." He turned his attention to his young Sergeant. "Carter, you've hung around with him the most. Besides other prisoners, who else has he spoken with that you found unusual?"

"Gee, Colonel, I'm not really sure," Carter found the others looking at him. "I mean, he was pretty careful about me seeing him with anybody but other prisoners. Although I did see him one time with one of the guards having what looked like a private conversation. But they didn't see me."

"Private conversation?" asked Hogan with arched eyebrows.

"Yeah. But I couldn't get close enough to hear what they were talking about though," Carter explained.

"Which guard?" asked Hogan.

"Corporal Gower. He's one of the new guards assigned here within the last two weeks," Carter said.

Kinch looked at his commanding officer. "Corporal Hans Gower, Colonel. He was assigned here about twenty-four hours before our friend showed up."

"Did we check him out yet?" Hogan wanted to know.

"Sorry, Colonel," LeBeau looked apologetic. "We were going to the same day our friend showed up in camp, and with the resulting confusion I guess we forgot."

"LeBeau, during the ensuing confusion resulting from the diversion, and after you disable the radio detector truck, I want you and Kinch to slip into Klink's office and photograph Gower's file. Klink will be outside surveying the chaos so you should have I'd say about thirty minutes to do what has to be done."

"Oui, Colonel. It will be done."

Hogan smiled briefly. "Anything else you can tell us about this private meeting, Carter?"

Carter slowly shook his head. "Not really, Colonel, except I saw the phony hand what looked like a folded piece of paper to Corporal Gower before they split up."

Hogan rubbed his chin while thinking. "That could have been when our friend passed on the request for the poison. And as Gower's never been outside the camp since he's been here, that means if he's the other man, he either somehow got the liquid nicotine himself, or passed the information onto someone on the outside who got it and then brought it into camp to give to the phony. And the only visitor our friend's had is that Captain van Kueren of the Gestapo."

"Which could mean Gower's either Luftwaffe who's working with the Gestapo and is a spy for them…." began Kinch.

"…or he is a dirty Gestapo Bosche himself posing as Luftwaffe," finished LeBeau.

Hogan number two kicked angrily at the dirt as he walked in-between the barracks making sure to keep out of sight of the guards and of the searchlights. Damn that Hogan! he thought. Why'd he have to give those cigarettes to that damn Englander for? Letting his back fall hard against the back of barracks five which he knew was currently empty, he slid down until he sat on the ground, drawing up his knees to his chest. He clasped his hands together and rested them on top of his knees as he sat thinking. "There's only one thing left to do," he told himself.

"I thought I saw you heading this way," said a voice.

Hogan number two, recognizing the voice, looked up at the German guard who stood over him; it was Corporal Gower. The guard, seeing the expression on the prisoner's face, knelt down beside him. "Was ist los?" he asked. "You look quite angry."

"It's that damn Hogan! He's gonna make it impossible for me to take over this camp and uncover his operation."

"How? Did he find out who you really are?" Gower asked, concerned.

Hogan number two shook his head. "Not yet. But if I don't do something about him and soon, he just might, and then all Major Hochstetter's plans will be for nothing."

"What has Hogan done then?"

Hogan number two went on to explain about the cigarettes and what happened. "Now he's going to be watching every move I make. I have to get rid of him and permanently."

Gower exhaled deeply. "Major Hochstetter won't like you killing Hogan. He wants that pleasure for himself when he has him in front of a firing squad once we have proof he's really Papa Bear."

Hogan number two smirked. "Then Hogan will die regardless. But I have to think how and plan it very carefully now that Hogan's watching me more than before. I'd like to make it appear he committed suicide after being exposed as a German agent, but I don't think even that idiot Klink would buy that."

"Why don't you get one of his men to kill him? Didn't you tell me you had turned a few of them against him?"

A devious smile suddenly appeared as Hogan number two put a hand on Gower's arm.

"You just gave me a brilliant idea, Hans," he said.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to arrange for one of Hogan's men to kill him in front of me so I can be sure he is dead, and then I will take over as Senior POW officer."

"Any idea who you'll use?"

Hogan number two chuckled. "I'm going to get Sergeant Carter to shoot him."

Gower appeared puzzled. "But what if he should refuse to do it? He has bunked with the man for a long time."

Hogan number two smirked. "He's not going to have any choice."