Carter watched from his position on the ground as the patrol marched off with both Newkirk and Jake. Staying silent, he waited until they were nearly out of sight before he got off the ground. Thinking hard, Carter tried to figure a way out of the predicament, but nothing was coming to mind. Might as well follow them, he decided. Taking a few steps forward he followed the path that the Heer had taken only moments before, he tried to stay a good deal of a distance back, as to not be noticed by those in front of him. As Carter went along, he found he was able to get his footing easier with practice. He was still tripping occasionally on pieces of chocolate, and slipping on condoms left over from the raid, I thought the Germans were the only ones using condom bombs (1), Carter shook his head slowly, but was better able to walk silently. At least I'm not stepping on twigs, Carter smiled happily. And my leg is keeping up…. Carter absent mindly rubbed it again, which is more than I can say for my nerves….but I dunno how much longer either are gonna last. He started to depress himself.
The walk wasn't more than half an hour before the group ahead of Carter entered the town. He watched from the shadows as the men met up with another patrol, and then starting biding his time before he moved in. I need to think of something, and quickly.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
Newkirk stood still, watching Jake's movements as the patrol met up with another returning from the raid. Starring up at the sky, he tried to make out the constellations, but it was difficult with the bright moon, which had been hidden earlier by cloud cover. Well, at least they had a bomber's moon tonight. Newkirk smiled at the thought of all the Germans getting sick off of all the chocolate (2).
Newkirk turned as the men who captured them started talking loudly. With the bright moon no longer covered by clouds, he was able to easily make out the features of the men near him. One of the men, an older man than who was taking to the one who had captured Newkirk, turned and started walking directly towards him.
"Wie heißen Sie? (What's your name?)"
"E-E-Emil….Emil Tischb-b-bein (3)." Newkirk managed to come up with. He wasn't sure why that particular name was the first to jump into his head, but was alright by it.
"Emil Tischbein?" The man laughed. "Wie der Emil aus Emil und die Detektiv? (As in Emil from Emil and the Detective?)" The group of Heer started laughing. Newkirk mentally slapped himself. Of course! That was where he heard it! He had been reading it last week after having swiped it off of Schultz.
"J-J-Ja, ja, der g-g-gleiche. (Y-Y-Yeah, s-s-same name.)" Newkirk smiled.
"Und wie heißt er? (And what's his name?)" The man pointed at Jake.
"Er? Ähm, J-J-Jacob Tischbein. M-M-Mein, mein Cous-s-sin. (He? Uhm, J-J-Jacob Tischbein. M-M-My, my Cous-s-sin.)" Newkirk quickly thought up. The older Heer man nodded slowly. Newkirk looked at him, he seemed to be in his early thirties, and Newkirk noticed that he was still just a Leutnant. "Also…d-d-dürfen wir d-d-denn g-g-gehen? (So… m-m-may we g-g-go?)" Newkirk asked tentatively.
"Nein. Leider nicht. Ich hab' einige Fragen für Sie. (No. Unfortunately not. I have a few questions for you.)" The Leutnant motioned for the men to give incentive to Newkirk and Jake as to move forward.
"Ähm….d-d-darf, darf ich f-f-fragen, woh-h-hin wir g-g-gehen? (Um... m-m-may, may I a-a-ask, w-w-where we are g-g-going?)"
„Ja...Sie dürfen fragen...aber antworte ich nicht. (Yes… you may ask… but I will not answer.)"
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
Carter watched as the patrol lead Newkirk and Jake inside a small building. He sat down in the shadows nearby and rubbed his leg, which he could tell from the discolouration was bleeding. Rubbing it again, Carter needed to make a non-lethal distraction, in which to rescue the men inside. I wish I had help from that contact, but he is probably long gone. Carter sighed depressed. Looking around, something here must be able to help me. Still sitting, giving his leg a rest, Carter looked around the shadowy ally.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
"Warum waren Sie draußen? (Why were you outside?)" The same Leutnant yelled at Newkirk. Newkirk shrugged.
"W-W-Waren v-v-verloren. (We w-w-were l-l-lost)"
"Sie lügen! (You're lying!)"
"W-W-Wirklich? Und w-w-wieso m-m-mache ich d-d-das? (R-R-Really? Und w-w-why would I d-d-do a th-th-thing like that?)" Newkirk leaned casually back in the chair from the interrogation room.
"Ich weiß nicht. Aber Sie sind mit dem Untergrund! (I dunno. But you are with the Underground!)"
„Der Unterg-g-grund? N-N-Neiiiin. Als die A-A-Amis bombieren, laufen m-m-mein Cousin und i-i-ich. Wir war-r-ren im Haus a-a-als die Bombe f-f-fielen. A-A-Aber Gott sei d-d-dank, d-d-dass wir nicht z-z-zu H-H-Hause später waren. Das w-w-war in d-d-die L-L-Luft gegangen... (The underg-g-ground? N-N-No. When the A-A-Americans were bombing, my Cousin and I-I-I ran. We wer-r-re at Home w-w-when the bombs started to f-f-fall. B-B-But th-th-thank God th-th-that we were not a-a-at H-H-Home later. It was destroyed)" Newkirk buried his face in his hands, pretending to be heart broken. "M-M-Meine Frau…s-s-sie….s-s-sie… (M-M-My Wife…. sh-sh-she…. sh-sh-she…) " Newkirk continued to put on an act. The Leutnant's features softened, but he was still not convinced.
"Wieso denn genau waren Sie verloren? Und wo sind Ihre Papiere und Ausweise? (Why exactly were you lost? And where are your papers and IDs?)"
„V-V-Verloren! W-W-Wir l-l-liefen, und l-l-liefen, vers-s-suchen wir weg v-v-von d-d-den Bomben...und i-i-im Dunkel, könnten w-w-wir denn n-n-nicht s-s-sehen...und w-w-waren wir v-v-verloren. (L-L-Lost! W-W-We r-r-ran, and r-r-ran, t-t-tried to get a-a-away from th-th-the Bombs… and i-i-in the Dark, w-w-we couldn't s-s-see anyth-th-thing… and g-g-got l-l-lost.)" Newkirk hung his head in mock shame. The man acrossed from him stroked his chin.
"Na… (Well…)" The German rubbed the back of his neck, as if pondering. „Okay. Nichts passiert. Aber, ob ich Sie nach 21 Uhr noch mal draußen sehen... (Alright. Nothing happened. But, if I see you outside again after 9PM...)"
„Dank-k-ke. N-N-Nein, natürlich n-n-nicht. D-D-Danke, D-D-Danke! (Tha-a-ank you! N-N-No, of course you w-w-won't. Th-Th-Thank you! Th-Th-Thank you!)" Newkirk got up to go, when a second man walked in.
"Er spricht nur Französisch, Herr Leutnant! Keinen Deutsch! Und hat keinen Ausweis! (He only speaks French, Lieutenant! No German! Und he has no ID Card!)" Newkirk's breath became faster, as both men glared at him.
"Die F-F-Familie m-m-meiner Mutter waren F-F-Französisch. M-M-Mein C-C-Cousin war in Frankr-r-reich g-g-geboren. A-A-Aber, er wüsste, d-d-dass Deutschland und Nationalsozialism-m-mus n-n-naturlich besser w-w-war, und w-w-war nach Deutschl-l-land u-u-umgezogen. (M-M-My Mother's f-f-family was F-F-French. M-M-My C-C-Cousin was b-b-born in F-F-France. B-B-But we knew th-th-that Germany and National Socialism w-w-was n-n-naturally better, and m-m-moved to Germ-m-many.)" Newkirk quickly spun the tale, not realizing what he was going to say until he said it. "S-S-Sein Auswei-i-is w-w-war im Haus…, wie mei-i-in, a-a-als wir lie-e-efen. (H-H-His ID C-C-Card i-i-is like mi-i-ine w-w-was in our house, w-w-when we r-r-ran.)" The Leutnant laughed.
"Wirklich? Hahaha! Tja, los. (Really? Hahaha. Okay, go.)" He opened the door. "Meine Großmutter war Französisch. (My Grandmother was French.)" Newkirk smiled politely and exited. The second guard shook his head deeply ashamed and embarrassed at what the Leutnant had just did, but went and released Jake, before going to write a report up on his Leutnant.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
Carter saw two figures exit the building. He tried to make them out, but as the moon was once again hidden behind the clouds it was near impossible in the darkened streets. Picking up the bottle off the ground, he positioned himself to strike, swinging it down on both men before either knew what happened.
Carter leaned down at the figures before him, and started to pull of one's dinner jacket, before realizing that it was no a uniform, but instead civilian clothes. Taking a closer look, he realized it was Jake and Newkirk. Carter crawled backwards, horrified at what he had just done. Taking a moment to compose himself he crawled back out. Instantly relived at both men still breathing.
"Jake…Jake….hey Jake…." Carter shook the man's shoulder quietly. "Jake…come-on buddy…wake-up….boy I'm sorry….come-on Jake…" Jake started to stir.
"What….what just hit me?"
"Um…I did." Carter admitted ashamed. Jake started to laugh, surprising Carter, but quickly stopped as the laughing wasn't helping his ranging headache.
"You have a good arm."
"Thanks…" Carter smiled. "I used to play baseball."
"I bet." Jake said as he rubbed his head, before turning to Newkirk. "Is he still alive?"
"Yeah, I think so. You know. With the pale moon light, through those clouds there, he is starting to look familiar…." Carter's eyes widened as the moon once again emerged. "It's! No… yes… but…. How… oh boy…." Carter sputtered finally realizing it was Peter Newkirk, his former bunkmate.
"Care to explain?" Jake looked around, looking for a place to drag and hide Newkirk.
"He…. He….. we….." Carter was completely speechless. "Come-on. We gotta wake him up, or get him someplace safe. Something!" Carter was anxious as he felt guilty for bonking both on their heads, but even more so, since here in front of him was a man who had extended his friendship, yet Carter never got to explain why he suddenly left, and was going back to England without everyone.
Jake stood up, swinging Newkirk over his back, and wobbled towards the woods outside the town again, before laying him back down on the ground.
"Come-on, we need to wake him up." Jake started shaking Newkirk. "Come-on! Wake-up! Rise and shine!" Carter leaned in and started whistling Reveille, which received a strange look from Jake.
"What? The British I'm sure know it. We've been at their bases long enough, you know, and well-"
"Nevermind." Jake rolled his eyes. "Newkirk! Wake up, or there is a blond bird here to see you."
"Whaaaat?" Newkirk started to stir.
"I had a feeling that would work. It hasn't failed me yet with a Limey." Jake grinned at Carter. Carter looked down at Newkirk guiltily.
"I'm sorry, I really am. Boy am I ever sorry."
"Wait. 'At was you?" Newkirk tried to sit up, while his pounding headache told him to stay lying down.
"Um yeah. I can explain on the way, we need to get outta here-"
"Wait a minute. Blimey! You're Carter!" Newkirk's eyes went wide as he saw Carter's face clearly for the first time.
"Yeah…I am."
"Do ya know, 'ow 'ard we've been lookin' for ya! Bloody 'ell! We lost Klink cuz of ya! And Schultz! W'at the 'ell do ya think you were doin'! The guv was on 'is way to break ya out and everythin'!" Newkirk managed to stand up, although uneasy, and stare at Carter as he rubbed his head.
"Look! I'm sorry alright, boy!" Carter watched as Newkirk picked up a rock and throw it off into the distance. Scrunching up his face as he heard it impact, and was imagining his face on the receiving end.
"Come-on. The guv will be glad to see ya. NO runnin' off, ya 'ear me!" Newkirk fumed stilled rubbing his head. Carter merely nodded. Jake watched in horror and confusion at the interaction between the two, and decided to keep his distance. Newkirk groaned angry and started to lead the group towards Stalag Luft 13. Secretly relieved that he had found Carter, but also incredibly angry at what happened when he went missing in the first place.
Carter watched Newkirk, feeling more guilty by the second, that he had had no control over what had happened, and wishing he had never set foot in this war.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
The troop slowly made their silent way over the damaged countryside. Newkirk fumed the entire distance, and in doing so was able to ignore his ranging headache, thinking only what to tell Colonel Hogan when he got back. Carter was second, slightly messaging his arm and leg. His arm had been hurting him since he fell out of the bunk a week and a half ago, as it hadn't had a chance yet to heal. He also rubbed his leg which, with every step, sent waves of fire through his body, but Carter was determined to ignore both, and focus first and foremost on what was going to happen to him once Colonel Hogan saw him again. Jake took up the rear, utterly confused at the obvious history between the two men in front of him. He wished with every step that he was back home with his girlfriend, and family. In that order, Jake smiled to himself.
''Ere." Newkirk crouched down next to a tunnel stump.
"What's this? Where are we?" Jake whispered. Newkirk grinned for the first time that evening.
"Why, we're 'ome!" He pealed back the stump, which much to his relief, was now hinged onto its lower half, instead of completely detached which it had been.
"'…Follow, follow, follow the tree stumps.'" Jake muttered to himself amazed.
"In ya go, don't wonder far." Newkirk indicated for Jake and Carter to climb down.
Carter climbed down, surprised to find a ladder where there had been earlier only a hanging rope, making his trip down a thousand times easier than his trip up.
"This is incredible!" Jake said upon reaching the bottom of the ladder. "Are we really underground?"
"Yes we are." Newkirk closed the stump above him before climbing down to join the others "Now follow me." Newkirk walked through the pitch black tunnel, yet seemed to know exactly where he was going. Carter and Jake were forced to make a train as they blindly followed the sound of Newkirk's footsteps. The three walked in silence for several minutes before Newkirk suddenly stopped. Carter having been only once in the tunnels had no idea where they were at, yet Newkirk seemed to know exactly. He walked over a few steps, followed by the sound of the movement of objects, before he struck a match which lit up the room like a firework.
"'Ere we go." Newkirk help up a candle. You fellas wait 'ere okay? I'm gonna go get the Colonel." Newkirk handed Carter the candle.
"Wait. Colonel who? I thought I was meetin with Papa Bear?" Jake asked confused.
"You are. 'E's just upstairs." Newkirk turned and walked towards another tunnel section, leaving a very nervous Carter, and an excited Jake alone.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
Carter was watching was his entire life flashed before his eyes…and he wasn't enjoying the ending. His breath was short and he felt adrenaline shooting through his body. He had no idea what to say to Colonel Hogan when he saw them, especially if everything Newkirk said was true. But there were so many questions he had. He was still utterly confused as to why he ended up going on a train-blowing-up escapade anyways. And his mind was still racing about what the Gestapo man said about his brother. Maybe Colonel Hogan had helped him out of Germany too? If what Jake said was true, then it was possible….maybe his brother was really alive…. Carter turned as he heard movement coming down the hall, and a shadowy figure appeared. As the light danced across his face, Carter could make out Colonel Robert Hogan.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
Jake jumped to attention and gave Hogan a sharp salute.
"Jacob Warrington, Flying Officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force!" Jake could barely contain his excitement. Hogan glanced over at him, and gave a half-hearted salute back before turning his full attention back at Carter.
"Welcome back, Sergeant Carter." Hogan's voice was pleasant, but his eyes gave him away as a man who was as far from the pleasantries in his voice as Siberia was a tropical paradise.
"Um…Sir." Carter raised his hand to give a salute as well, before Hogan waved him away. Hogan turned to Jake who was still standing next to Carter.
"Flying Officer Warrington. I'm curious, how did you find out about our little establishment?" Hogan leaned against the tunnel wall, splitting his attention between Jake and Carter.
"Well, Sir, I heard about it from the men in my prison camp. They taught me a song, and I just followed it here." Jake was slightly shaking with excitement at the prospect of going home.
"Ah I see. I'm curious, which one was it?"
"'Follow, follow, my dear boy follow'."
"Oh I've always liked that one. My other favourite, is 'do you know the papa bear'? Anyways. Where did you break out of?"
"A Dulag Luft. I was sent there after being in the hospital. I was injured when they shot me down."
"Ah I see." Hogan was only partly paying attention. "Anyways, Newkirk here will get you fixed up. There isn't anything we can do tonight, but we should be able to get you out of here within the next few days."
"Thank you, Colonel! Thank you so much!" Jake in his excitement gave another salute before being pushed out of the room by Newkirk. Hogan turned to Carter who was still holding the candle.
"Carter, come with me. I want to talk to you." Hogan said seriously, leading Carter ahead of him down the tunnel, and into a small, private section. Carter's heart felt as if it were trying to leap out of his chest.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
Hogan and Carter walked to the recently established parlour at the end of the tunnel for some privacy, even though almost all the men were still out having "escaped", Hogan didn't wish for the conversation to be overheard by those still in the tunnel. Sitting down Hogan leaned forward and focused all his attention on Carter, who hung his head down and starred at the ground.
"Alright Carter," Hogan kept his voice calm, even though inside he was screaming, "tell me exactly what happened. Do not leave any detail out." Hogan waited as Carter took a minute in starting.
"Well, Sir…" Carter fiddled with his thumb, "I was going out to the latrine. And boy, that is all I was gonna do, you know? And well…I was walking back and I see this guy go under the dog pin. So I figure he is escaping. And boy, I wanted to join! So I snuck over there too! And I get down there, well here, since we are in the tunnel, and I'm walkin' around, and I see a radio. And then this guy comes up, and well, gives me this tour. Then he tells me since I'm an expert in explosives, which I really don't consider myself, since well, I mean I was gonna go to school for it, well what I mean is I will, well I want to, and I kinda already did there, but since I really like chemicals, I did experiments as a kid with my twin brother-"
"'Twin brother'?"
"Yeah. He's my twin. Except he's older."
"Identical twins?"
"Yep. We used to pull pranks on my mom and dad all the time. Well more my mom, since she was around more, with my dad working and-"
"And your brother was Air Force?"
"Yeah." Carter shrugged, as he looked up. "You know something funny. I mean not funny-funny, like haha-funny. But strange-funny. When I was being interrogated by the gestapo… the major who was doing it, said my brother was alive." Carter got a funny look on his face. Hogan's eyes suddenly went wide as his mind raced trying to process everything. He got up and putting his hands on his head started to pace.
"Wait! Wait! Wait just a second! You were interrogated by the gestapo? Hold on… they said your brother was alive? Wait." Hogan was trying to process too many ideas at once as they all came tumbling out of his mouth. "Major who?"
"Ummm…I'm not sure, boy, I mean I wasn't really paying attention. Not with what they were doing to me." Carter shook his head and shuddered. Hogan stopped pacing and looked sadly and worriedly at Carter.
"Did you talk?"
"Well I sang the ABCs a couple of dozen times…I think? And I started spinning tales, but other than that no."
"What all did they do….?" Hogan wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. As he saw for the first time the dark circles under Carter's eyes, the tiredness of his voice, and the blood on his pant leg as he rubbed it.
"They forced me to listen to German Opera! I hate Opera! And I had to eat Döner meat…. without the rest of the Döner! And to top it all off, I had to sit through every one of that Nutbar's speeches, before reading War and Peace to everyone! (4)" Carter yelled out his frustration. Hogan half fell and half sat down as he heard Carter's description of what happened.
"Andrew…. I…. I'm sorry." Hogan spoke softly, with genuine sympathy in his voice. Carter didn't say anything, his back was to Hogan as he had stood up during his shouting match. "Andrew….I tried to get you outta there…what happened…how did you escape? What happened to your leg?"
"It wasn't hard." Carter shrugged again, not yet turning around. "If you know your chemistry you can open almost any lock. Soap can be turned into a corrosive acid if you know what you are doing. After that all it is, is a matter of steal a uniform and not talking much. Easy as cake."
"Isn't it Pie? Anyways," Hogan muttered before he quickly went on, "you turned your soap into acid?"
"It's more complicated that than, but that's the general gist yeah. As for my leg, I cut it while escaping." Carter turned around, and sat back down.
"You sure know your chemistry." Hogan was truly impressed.
"Well I had to get out of there, boy! I had to get back to England, I have to know what happened to my brother…. and get home to Mary Jane."
"That brings me to another point, Carter." Hogan paused as he wanted to word the next section carefully. "Your twin brother. What was his name again?"
"Anthony Jimmy Carter. Well, Anthony Jim Carter. Well Jimmy. We called him Jimmy."
"I see….um….what was his rank?"
"Lieutenant." Hogan's eyes went as wide as they could go.
"And…and…." Hogan could bearly contain his voice as he asked the next question. "You said that the major who interrogated you said he was alive? Did he say how he knew this?" He held his breath, and could hear his heart race in his ears.
"Um yeah. It was weird. He said his informant in England says he keeps track of everyone who manages to escape back. And he wanted to know how my brother made it back to England." Carter scrunched up his face again slightly confused. A moment paused before both men realized what had happened.
"Holy cow!"
"Oh my gosh!"
"That was your brother!"
"It was you!"
"It all makes sense now!"
"Wait…. Wouldn't I have been informed if he hadn't been killed in action and had been captured instead?" Carter's enthusiasm was being quickly replaced once again with confusion. Hogan quickly intervened.
"Not necessarily. They must have assumed he died when his plane crashed, and he must have been in a POW camp a while. It takes a while for the Red Cross to get names, and from there to here, he was I believe up north-"
"The major said Stalag Luft IV."
"Yeah that's Northeast. It takes several days, if not weeks to get there, and from here it can take days or weeks to get to the meet point, and from there weeks or months to get back to England."
"Oh. So he probably got back…wait…I would have still been in England. He should have visited me!"
"Probably wanted to. And the Red Cross would have informed you, but seeing how busy they are, they probably got around to it after you left." Hogan laughed. Carter cracked a small smile. Hogan sighed with relief. "How did you meet up with Newkirk again?" Carter told the tale from after he escaped from the prison to managing to book a hotel, to escaping from Hogan, "I couldn't face you, Sir," to running into the underground, "you were really lucky, Carter", to the train bombing, and the owner of the pub.
"Hahaha! I'll have to thank him." Hogan smiled.
"Newkirk really saved us. He managed to talk his way out of being killed."
"Newkirk spoke German….to Germans?" Hogan's eyes were full of surprise. "And he lived?"
"Well, yeah. His German is really good. Better than mine."
"And he lived?"
"Yeah…Sir." Hogan tried to wrap his mind around that concept. Everything he had ever heard was truly negative when it came to people with disabilities such as stutters. Slowly an idea started to play in his head. If Newkirk can pass as a German who stutters, it would be one more small way to fight back, disproving the theory of their ethnically crazy purity laws… Hogan smiled.
"Um, Colonel?" Hogan turned as he heard Newkirk's voice softly floating from behind him. "Sorry to interrupted. But I took care of the Canadian, und I am gonna 'ead back to the barn, seein' as I should be 'ere when they come lookin' for us."
"Thanks Newkirk."
"Night, guv. Carter."
"Wait. Newkirk?"
"Yes, Colonel?"
"Did you really put talk your way out of being thrown in jail tonight?"
"Well I dunno if I'd go 'at far. It was a bit of fun though." Newkirk smiled. Hogan nodded considering what Carter had said.
"Alright, night Newkirk."
"Night, guv." Newkirk disappeared down the blanked tunnel. Hogan turned back to Carter.
"Well Carter. For now I am going to keep you down here, until I get things sorted out with Klink and Schultz. After that we can figure out what to do with you."
"What do you mean? Sir, what exactly goes on here?"
"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now." Hogan chuckled. Carter shook his head. He was so tired it was like trying to think through cotton.
"We are our own private underground resistance group. We help downed flier like your brother get back to England. And lately we have been going outside the wire and doing a little sabotage. Such as the mission that you went on."
"Oh." Carter tried to process the information. "Wow! That's neat, doing all that from inside a prison camp…we are under it aren't we?"
"That's right."
"Boy! That's neat!"
"Well I need to get some shut-eye before my very own roll call tomorrow. I will lead you to the Flier's Quarters and give you a few matches. If you need anything just holler, someone will hear you. If they don't there is a bell, I don't want you wondering around down here. I will be gone most of the time tomorrow morning, since being the currently only prisoner, it is suspicious for me to disappear too long, but I will come back and check on you. I want to talk some more."
"Thank you, Sir." Hogan lead a limping Carter to a cot. After making sure he was settled, and helping him to put on a fresh bandage, as Wilson was outside the wire, he went back up to sleep, feeling better and more at ease than he had since the lorry first brought Carter in a week and a half ago.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
Hogan woke the next morning still worn out, but felt that the day hold some good potential. Langenscheidt enter he barracks and brought Hogan out of the building and into the early morning light. Oberfeldwebel Bähr nodded as he saw that Hogan was still here, before turning to report to his father that their one prisoner had indeed not escaped during the night. Langenscheidt dismissed Hogan, before going to attend to his other duties, leaving Hogan alone to ponder his next move. Summing up his courage, he went to talk to Burkhalter about his men. Hoping that by getting the General to act, that he would be able to bring back both Klink and Schultz.
Hogan entered the office, winked at Helga as she was trained her replacement, Hilda, before stepping into Klink's old office.
"Das stimmt. Nein. Das ist mir scheiß egal, Klink! Ähm? Doch. Doch, Klink! Bis dann! Auf Wiederhören! (That's right. No. I don't give a damn, Klink! Hm? No it isn't. No it isn't, Klink! See you then! Goodbye!)" Burkhalter yelled into the phone. Hogan looked at him curious.
"Trouble in the happy family?"
"Hogan what are you doing here?" Burkhalter spun around in Klink's chair.
"Wer ist dieser Mann? Was macht dieser Mann hier? (5) (Who ist his man? What is this man doing here?)" Hochstetter who had been standing to Burkhalter's right stepped forward, pointing his finger at Hogan. Burkhalter rolled his eyes, since Bähr had already explained that to him the day before.
"Colonel Hogan. What are you doing here?" Burkhalter leaned calmly forward across Klink's old desk.
"I was just checking o see if any of my men were found. Or if they all made it to Switzerland, in which case, I would like to request some cake and streamers. Have a little party you know." Hogan smiled as he slid down into the chair.
"Hogan…." Hochstetter sneered. "You will tell us where your men are. Or things can get quite….unpleasant for you."
"What? More unpleasant than this conversation?" Hogan reached to take a cigar off Klink's desk, but Hochstetter's hand flew down and struck his.
"Hogan-"
"Major." Burkhaler stood up giving a stern look towards Hochstetter, before turning back to Hogan. "As a matter of fact, Hogan, your men are already being dealt with." He crossed over so he was looking directly down at Hogan, who swallowed nervously.
"What….what do you mean? 'Being dealt…dealt with?'" Hogan had visions of all his men having been recaught while he was sleeping.
"Oberst Klink and Feldwebel Schultz will be here by the end of the day." Burkhalter shook his head disappointed. Hogan tried to hide the smile on his face by handing his head down.
"Oh."
"And if you try anything, anything before they arrive, I will insure that you are not here to great your men when they return. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly." Hogan stood up slowly, continuing the act of a defeated man. "By the way. Where is Kommandant Linguist?"
"Kommandant Bähr! He is currently packing." Burkhalter had a bad taste in his mouth. "Aber ich versteh' noch nich' wie es möglich war, dass alle die Männer geflogen sind. Bähr war ein starker Mann. (But I still don't understand how it is possible, that all of the men escaped. Bähr was a strong man.)" Hochstetter continued to stare at Hogan.
„Isch weiß..., und isch weiß, dass es ihn nicht allein war. Es gibt jemand, jemand hier, der möglich macht- (I know..., and I know that it wasn't him alone. There is someone, someone here, who makes it possible-)"
„When is Klink arriving?" Hogan interrupted Hochstetter before he was able to finish his thought.
"None of your concern Hogan. Dismissed." Burkhalter puffed on a cigar. Hogan shrugged and turned the handle on the door.
"I'm watching you Hogan…."
"Well if you really don't have anything better to do, Major. Than by all means. I am just a simple prisoner."
"Hogan…if you are a simple prisoner than I am Winston Churchill."
"I've always wanted to meet you, Winnie. But I would have thought Burkhalter here would be more appropriate," Hogan patted his belly, "for the role."
"Hogan! Out!" Burkhalter yelled pointing at the door.
"Alright! Alright! I'm leaving!" Hogan smiled as he shut the door before him. Indeed, this day held much potential.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
(1) In one episode, since in the German version the bombs tend not to be „real", the Germans dropped bombs filled with condoms on England, in the hopes they would stop reproducing.
(2) The Allies would drop chocolate on Germany in order to give everyone stomach aches, and in hopes of rotting their teeth, in order to get them to hopefully surrender.
(3) I got this name from a very famous, required reading, children's book: Emil und die Detektiv by Erich Kästner.
(4) Sorry guys. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't write a torture scene. Yes I alluded to it earlier, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I've been to the real places, and see firsthand where and with what these HORRIFIC practices took place, and in good conscious I could not write it. So I took a page out of cannon and went with something completely unrealistic, and silly. Besides, who knows, maybe Hochstetter would have done this instead, we all know he's a little strange (he hangs out with Klink after all :P )
(5) Again, I do not own either of these lines.