A/N: Apologies for the delay, school began again and took away any resemblance of a life. Warning: contains a minor torture scene.
Perkins winced in agony as another blow was dealt to his head.
"You seem to be hard of hearing, Corporal," an SS man sneered at the Brit. "Again I shall ask you, where is the document hidden?"
The man narrowed his eyes as his question was met with silence for what seemed to be the hundredth time that evening. Drawing back his fist, his gaze suddenly caught the already sorry state of Perkins' right shin. With that, he planted a direct kick, sending the Corporal crumpling onto the floor.
From the back corner of the room, Dietrich watched in silent horror as the rest of the SS men joined in, continuing to beat the Englishman despite the fact that he was now being held up by his arms. His external composure remained cold, though internally, he was sick to his stomach.
After having received notice earlier in the day that the remainder of the Rat Patrol were still in the area, Dietrich had been elated. With a little bit of luck, his newfound distraction would give him a viable excuse to be absent from the camp all afternoon. More importantly however, the prospect of having to watch Perkins' interrogation with the SS wasn't sitting too well with him, and any excuse he could use to get out of it was a good one.
Of course, luck had never exactly been on his side. Failing to capture the Rat Patrol yet again, Dietrich had subsequently found himself back at the prison camp almost as soon as he'd left. The only real consolation of it all had been the fact that he'd managed to obtain Hitch's kepi and glasses, which he'd used to try and break Troy psychologically.
In all honesty, the Private deserves it for all the trouble he's caused.
A sudden cry from Perkins instantly brought Dietrich back to reality, and he inwardly chided himself from having allowed his mind to drift away in the first place. He cringed as he noticed the Corporal's chin begin to swell up, lifting a hand to his own as if to reassure himself that he wasn't the one in the line of fire. As a fist drew back yet again, Dietrich sighed in a mix of anger and disbelief.
For heaven's sake, they're going to kill him!
Pulling together every ounce of courage he could muster, the Captain took a step forward and raised his voice. "Do you not think it would be wise to give the prisoner a break?"
The room became silent, all heads turning to face him. From the opposite end of the room, Colonel Strauss glared at Dietrich, seeming to have only just remembered his presence in the room.
"And what exactly do you mean by that, Captain?" Strauss asked, irritated.
"I'm merely being practical, sir," Dietrich replied coolly, stretching himself to his full height. "What good is a dead man if you can no longer extract information from him?"
The SS men appeared to ponder over Dietrich's words for a moment, however it seemed the Colonel had other ideas. Folding his hands behind his back, Strauss began to move slowly towards the Captain, an amused grin on his face. "I'm sure you would very much like this interrogation to be over, no?"
"It was merely a suggestion, sir," Dietrich replied, staring straight at his superior officer. The last thing he needed was to give off the slightest hint that he was feeling anxious.
"Of course it was," Strauss replied, chuckling. "However, it seems that you haven't had a chance to participate yet, Captain."
Dietrich's breathing hitched as the Colonel stopped just in front of him. Averting his gaze towards the only door in the room, he wondered whether he could make it out of there if he ran fast enough.
Don't be ridiculous, you wouldn't make it two feet.
He glanced back towards Perkins who, despite his injuries, was attempting to stand up by himself. Taking a deep breath, Dietrich tried to wrack his brain for an answer. It was at that moment he almost wished the Rat Patrol would come rushing into the camp, guns blazing. At least that way he'd have some sort of diversion, a way to stall for time and get them both out of there.
That's it.
If there was one thing Dietrich could take away from his many encounters with the Rats, it was the art of an impossible escape. Brushing past the Colonel, Dietrich slowly walked towards Perkins who it appeared had given up on his attempts to stand properly. Aware that all eyes in the room were on him, the Captain tried his best to appear as ruthless as possible.
With one swift movement, Perkins was out cold.
"It's alright," Perkins mumbled from the bottom bunk he'd been placed on. As he struggled to sit up, Troy turned to help as Roberts looked on from the other end of the room. "Mick don't have anything to do with it."
From the other side of the room, Roberts looked on guiltily while nursing his now bruised shoulder. "I'm so sorry Perkins. Really, I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
The Englishman nodded slightly. "Don't matter now, anyhow."
"Question is, can you still go through with the escape?" Troy asked.
Perkins nodded again. "It ain't gonna be a picnic, but I'll manage."
"Alright." Troy began to pace, trying to think of the least strenuous way possible to execute their caper. Suddenly, he stopped and turned towards Perkins again. "Wait a minute, just how exactly did you get out of there?"
"What's that, Sarge?"
"The interrogation," Troy elaborated. "They knew you hid the document, and the SS aren't the type to give up just because the guy they're interrogating is half out of it."
Perkins rubbed his swollen chin, trying to sort through the blur of images which had made up the last minutes of his encounter with the Germans. "I barely remember what happened by the end of it. The Kommandant was real angry at one of the Jerries, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I think it was that Captain."
"Dietrich?" Troy repeated for the second time that day.
"Right, I think that's his name," the Corporal replied. "You know him, Sarge?"
"Yeah." Troy sighed, rubbing his temple as a headache began to form. "Do you know how long he's been here?"
"He just showed up today," Roberts pitched in. He rose from his bunk, joining the other men. "Me and Perkins saw him with you this morning. I just figured he was coming and going, a lot of krauts do."
"Right," Perkins agreed. "Now that I think about it, he's the reason I got out of there. Knocked me out cold, not much the Jerries could do with me after that."
Troy nodded slightly, the new revelation sinking in.
"Alright get some rest Perkins, you can clean yourself up later. Then at 2200 hours, all of us, and I mean all of us," he said, glancing at Roberts. "Are making a break for it."