Chapter 21---Close Call
The minute the door to the cooler opened, Hogan was roughly shoved inside so hard he stumbled, lost his balance, and fell on his knees landing against the bunk. Before he could move, two guards were upon him and while one held a luger pressed against his head, the other handcuffed his wrists around the bed frame at the bottom of the bed. Then, both guards backed away and walked out of the cell, but left the door open.
Hogan, seated on the floor, strained with everything he had hoping to free himself but without success. He couldn't even move from the floor to the bed. He had a sickening feeling what was going to happen, and once again, he was unable to stop it. He looked around when Baker was violently shoved inside the cell by one of the guards who had handcuffed Hogan. Baker fell on the bunk. He started to struggle to his feet, but stopped when the guard produced his weapon, aimed it at him, and shook his head.
Metzger eased past the armed guard and stepped into the cell. He glanced at both men with a smirk. Then, he looked over his shoulder at the guard. "Leave us," he ordered.
The guard, holstering his weapon, turned and quietly left the cell, closing the door behind him. Metzger stood over Baker who was half on and half off the bed. The smirk on his face suddenly disappeared, and his face turned dark. "You need to be taught your place, animal," he sneered. Then, an evil grin appeared. "However, I will let you wonder what lesson I will teach you. Right now I have something I must do before we can begin." That said, Metzger turned and walked out the cell, slamming the door shut behind him.
Hogan glanced over his shoulder at Baker who managed to sit on the bunk. "You all right?" he asked the young Sergeant.
"Yes, sir. You?"
"I'll survive." Hogan looked around. "I just wish I knew how we're going get out of here before Metzger gets back."
It took a few minutes for the men of barracks two to get over the shock of what had just transpired in their barracks. When Kinch finally came out of his stunned trance, he looked at Carter. "Andrew, hurry to Klink's office and tell him what's happened. Hopefully he'll intervene before Baker and the Colonel get hurt."
"On my way," Carter replied halfway out the door as the words left his lips.
"LeBeau, go find Wilson. Tell him what's happening, and that we're probably gonna need his services again."
"Oui, Kinch. Right away." The little Frenchman raced out the barracks door.
Carter burst through the outer door of the Kommandantur, past a startled Hilda seated at her desk typing, and without knocking, yanked open the door to Klink's inner office. The startled Kommandant looked up from his paperwork to see the out-of-breath young sergeant standing before him.
"Sergeant Carter, what is the meaning of this?" Klink asked, annoyance in his voice. "You can't just come barging in here like this. You know all complaints and requests must go through Colonel Hogan. Now please leave and go back to your barracks."
Carter had managed to get his breath enough to speak. "Kommandant, its General Metzger, sir."
Hearing Metzger's name caught Klink's attention. He slowly stood up. For the first time he noticed Carter was really terrified. He walked around his desk until he stood facing Carter.
"Tell me what's happened?" Klink asked anxiously.
"General Metzger took Colonel Hogan and Sergeant Baker from the barracks! He had Baker in handcuffs."
With a look of horror on his face, Klink grabbed the phone. "Fraulein Hilda, get Sergeant Schultz right away! Have him bring three other guards with him and meet me at the cooler. And after that, place a call to General Burkhalter in Berlin, priority call. Explain to him that General Metzger is abusing the prisoners and to come to Stalag 13 right away. Hurry!" Hanging up the phone, Klink motioned for Carter to follow him out the door and in the direction of the cooler. They both noticed Metzger heading towards his guest quarters. They quickened their pace to the cooler.
Hogan pressed his forehead against his manacled wrists as his mind raced to come up with some plan to get Baker out of the cooler before Metzger returned. But his mind couldn't function for some reason. The sudden sound of the cell door being unlocked caused him to look around and Baker to look up. A sigh of relief could be heard from both men when they saw Klink, Schultz and three other guards enter with Carter behind them.
"Colonel, are you and Baker okay?" Carter asked nervously.
"We will be," Hogan replied with a grim smile. He held up his hands showing the handcuffs binding him to the bed frame.
Klink glanced at his fat guard. "Schultz, release Colonel Hogan and Sergeant Baker immediately. Hogan, once you and Baker are freed, hurry back to your barracks before General Metzger gets back."
"You can count on it, Kommandant," Hogan replied rubbing his sore wrists after Schultz had unlocked the handcuffs. As Schultz freed Baker, Hogan massaged his sore throat. He slowly got to his feet. As he, Baker and Carter headed towards the open cell door, they found their way suddenly blocked by Metzger, his face red with rage. He shifted his eyes to Klink.
"What is the meaning of this outrage, Klink?!" he shouted. "I haven't questioned these men yet regarding the stolen ammunition and you dare release them?!" He moved closer to Klink. "I ought to have you shot for interfering in my investigation. But, I will deal with you later." He again looked at Baker and Hogan. "But right now, I have an interrogation to perform."
Klink, however, stood his ground with more courage than he felt. He knew he was risking both life and limb by incurring the wrath of a General who, in his opinion, had a few screws loose. "General Metzger, I cannot allow you to interrogate Colonel Hogan or Sergeant Baker. In fact, I forbid you to question any more of my prisoners. I have placed a call to General Burkhalter and he is on his way here. So until he arrives, I suggest you stay away from the prisoners, especially Colonel Hogan." Klink swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt his stomach twist into knots. He glanced sideways at his Senior POW officer.
"Hogan, you, Sergeant Baker and Sergeant Carter head back to the barracks."
Hogan glanced at Klink and glared at Metzger before motioning for Carter and Baker to follow him out of the cell. Metzger's eyes followed Hogan as he walked out the door before turning back to the Kommandant. Metzger wasn't overly concerned; he considered Burkhalter's imminent arrival only a minor problem to be dealt with. But after Burkhalter departed, he would then teach Baker his place while having Hogan watch. But Metzger reached another decision as well. Once Hogan got his art collection back for him, he would kill Hogan personally, expose his entire operation, reveal Klink's incompetence in allowing Hogan's activities to take place under his very nose, and maybe even bring down Burkhalter in the process.
Hogan, Baker and Carter hastily made their way back to barracks two. Upon entering, they found Kinch, LeBeau, Newkirk and Wilson waiting anxiously. Wilson was just finishing placing Newkirk's broken hand in a hard cast when he noticed Hogan and Baker and saw they appeared to be uninjured.
"Colonel, you and Baker all right?" Wilson asked.
"We're fine thanks to Klink, strange as it sounds," Baker replied noticing the Colonel seemed to be having a slight problem with his throat.
"Klink?" asked LeBeau with raised eyebrows.
Baker chuckled. "Yeah. Believe it or not, Klink stood up to Metzger when he showed up unexpectedly after leaving the Colonel and I alone for a few minutes."
Hogan suddenly leaned forward with both hands, palms downward, on the table. The perspiration was running down his face. He was wheezing.
In an instant, Kinch, LeBeau and Wilson were at Hogan's side and helped him sit down. Wilson then made a quick examination of his throat.
"Colonel, how's your breathing? Are you having problems?" asked Wilson, deeply concerned.
Hogan nodded. "Yes," he managed to get out hoarsely. "What is…happening…to me?"
"What's happening, Colonel, is exactly what I suspected would happen," Wilson explained. "You have swelling and likely bruising inside your throat as well as outside. I suspect the stress you just went through probably aggravated it and caused you to have difficulty breathing. I insist you go to your quarters, lay down, and keep an ice bag on your throat. It should help reduce the swelling. And limit using your voice. The more you talk the worse your throat will get."
Hogan shook his head. His breathing was becoming a bit easier. "Can't…Metzger…"
"Colonel, I'm not asking you. I'm ordering you. Should you refuse I'll sedate you."
Hogan managed a wry smile. "Enjoying…this…too much. You…win…for now." He started to slowly get to his feet, but Kinch and LeBeau each held one arm.
"Make sure he lays down in his quarters," Wilson ordered. He then looked at Carter. "Carter, get some ice for the ice pack. It should still be in the Colonel's quarters. And make sure he keeps it on his throat. I'll be back in the morning to check on him." He then glanced at Newkirk. "Newkirk, before I leave, I'll give you a painkiller."
"Bloody lovely," The Englander replied as Wilson rolled up Newkirk's sleeve and filled a syringe. He jabbed it into the Corporal's arm, then rolled down his sleeve. As he did so, he saw Newkirk's concerned face looking up at him. Wilson smiled faintly.
"The Colonel should be fine as long as he does what I tell him."
Newkirk smiled at Wilson and nodded slightly. But it didn't alleviate the fear he had. He promised himself Metzger would pay for what he was doing to the Colonel, and no broken hand would stop him.