Chapter 48---Twenty-Five Seconds and Counting

From his position where he was hiding, Kinch knew there was no way he could get off a shot without striking the Colonel; he also knew Newkirk had a better vantage point; but guessed the Englander hadn't fired because the Colonel was too close to Skyhawk. He glanced at his watch nervously. Only twenty-two seconds remained.

"C'mon, Gov'nor, just move a little bit to the side," Newkirk murmured, partially to himself. Right now he didn't have a clear shot, but sensing time was growing short, he might have to risk one. But his gut told him to be patient because the Colonel would come up with something to give him a clear shot at the last minute.

Skyhawk, now in the mine with Hogan beside him, released the Colonel's arm and ran a hand lovingly over several of the boxes and crates in front of him. He still held his weapon in his hand. So absorbed was his attention with the boxes, Skyhawk didn't notice Hogan glance at his watch; eighteen seconds until the explosion.

Hogan knew he had to make his move now if he was to have any chance of surviving. He slowly began backing towards the mouth of the mine, his eyes focused on Skyhawk the entire time. Hogan knew if he was anywhere even close to the mouth of the mine when the explosion came, he would not survive it's force. He glanced slightly over his shoulder and noticed he was almost at the opening of the mine.

Skyhawk decided to open one of the boxes he had been running his hand over. Forgetting about Hogan momentarily, he put his weapon down on top of one of the boxes but out of reach of Hogan, and raised the lid of one of the smaller boxes sitting on top. His eyes widened in horror when he saw a timer showing twelve seconds on it.

"Damn you Hogan!" he screamed snatching his weapon and, turning sharply, saw Hogan suddenly turn and run as fast as his legs would move. He had just cleared the mine when he felt a burning sensation rip through his flesh, but he kept moving, despite stumbling when he felt the bullet tear into him. Skyhawk aimed his weapon again.

"That's it!" Newkirk said softly and pulled the trigger. His shot struck Skyhawk in the chest, sending his second shot astray. The SS Major staggered and fell to his knees, dropping his gun and clutching his chest, blood running between his fingers. Knowing he was dying, he struggled to reach for his weapon. But just as his fingertips touched it, there was a tremendous explosion that sent him into oblivion and forever buried him and the empty boxes and crates in the mine in a dense cloud of smoke and dust.

"Colonel!" LeBeau screamed, starting forward but stopped by Carter who grabbed his arm.

"Hit the deck, Louie!" Carter screamed as he dropped to the ground. The last thing he saw was the Frenchman hit the ground beside him.

Hogan was knocked off his feet by the force of the explosion and landed hard, face-down, sending a stabbing pain in the area of his ribs in addition to the burning from the bullet. He lay where he fell.

LeBeau and Carter slowly got to their feet. Brushing themselves off, they quickly ran towards Hogan who still lay unmoving on the ground. They knelt beside him.

"Kinch must've shot the filthy Bosche when the Colonel got out of the way," LeBeau remarked.

"Colonel?" asked a nervous Carter who touched Hogan's shoulder and immediately felt something wet and sticky. Pulling his hand away, he saw it was covered with blood. He looked up at the Frenchman who paled at the sight of blood and looked as if he was about to faint. Somehow, LeBeau held it together and pressed two fingers against his Colonel's neck. He looked up.

"He's alive!" he said, relieved.

Carter wiped his hand on his dark pants. "He needs medical attention," he said.

Just then, both men looked up as Kinch, followed by a Luftwaffe soldier carrying a rifle appeared from the bushes. LeBeau and Carter both drew their weapons.

"Hold it!" Kinch held up his hand. "It's Newkirk!"

Carter and LeBeau both lowered their weapons and stared in shock.

"Newkirk?" asked Carter.

"Who the bloody hell do you think it is, Andrew?" asked the Englander. "How's the Gov'nor?"

"He's been shot in the shoulder," Carter explained. "Looks like it went straight through."

"Then why's he unconscious?" asked Newkirk, removing his helmet; concern on his face and in his voice.

Kinch knelt beside Hogan, and gently rolled him over onto his back. The Colonel moaned with the motion. Kinch then let his hands roam over Hogan's entire body checking for injuries and even felt the Colonel's head to see if perhaps he had struck his head when he hit the ground. He heaved a hugh sigh of relief at finding nothing. Hogan moaned again and winced in pain. He didn't want to open his eyes, afraid of what he might see. But when he heard Kinch's voice, he forced them open just a slit. He turned his head slightly.

"Kinch…" he whispered through clenched teeth. "Skyhawk…"

"Dead and buried, Colonel," Kinch replied.

"Explosion…killed…"

Kinch, Carter, LeBeau and Newkirk all exchanged concerned looks. Finally, Kinch spoke.

"Not exactly, Colonel," he said.

Hogan's eyes narrowed. From his expression, it was obvious the Colonel was puzzled.

"After you were shot by Skyhawk, Newkirk here took him out with a sniper's rifle before he could shoot you again. Then the explosion happened a few seconds later. But he is definitely dead, sir."

"Newkirk…" Hogan murmured as intense pain in his side made him wince. He momentarily squeezed his eyes shut. Opening them again, he saw that Newkirk had changed places with Kinch and was now cradling his head in his good hand. "Thought I…told you…stay home…"

The Englander smiled slightly. "You can court-martial me later Gov'nor," he said softly as he laid Hogan's head back down on the ground. The Colonel winced again.

"My ribs….hurt…bad…" he managed to get out.

Kinch looked at the others. "Carter, get the truck and bring it close. We'll have to put the Colonel in the back and get him back to camp so Wilson can have a look at him."

"On my way," Carter replied getting to his feet and racing off where they had hidden the truck. He was back in about ten minutes and slowly backed the truck as close as he could to where the Colonel lay. He then got out and rejoined the others.

"Now comes the hard part, Colonel," Kinch remarked. "Do you think you can stand?"

"Think so…" Hogan allowed Kinch and LeBeau to help him sit up; that motion alone caused Hogan to take as deep a breath as allowed. He bit his lower lip, the pain was so bad. He then struggled to get to his feet. But that was as far as he got. He swooned and his knees began to buckle. Kinch managed to catch him before he hit the ground. The radioman noticed his commanding officer had passed out, and in one way, he was glad for that.

"Newkirk, LeBeau, get in the back of the truck. I'll need your help with the Colonel. Carter, get behind the wheel and be ready to leave when I tell you."

As the others hurried to do what they were told, Kinch gently scooped the Colonel into his arms, hoping he wasn't causing further injury to the Colonel's ribs. "I'm sorry about this, Colonel," he said softly, looking at Hogan's face. "I just hope you stay unconscious until we get you back to camp." Gingerly, he walked towards the back of the truck and carefully handed Hogan over to LeBeau and Newkirk who took an equal amount of care not to jar their commanding officer's body. Kinch then hurried to the front of the truck and climbed in beside Carter.

Let's go home, Carter," he said with a smile.

None of the men knew exactly what time it was when Carter pulled the truck to a stop as close to the emergency tunnel as he dared. He and Kinch got out and walked around to the back.

"How's the Colonel doing?" asked Kinch looking at his CO.

"He's been in and out of consciousness," replied Newkirk as he pressed a handkerchief against Hogan's shoulder wound trying to stem the bleeding.

Kinch looked at the Frenchman who seemed to be somewhat pale. "Louie, go into the tunnel and find Wilson. He might be in the infirmary. Tell him the Colonel's been hurt and to meet us in the tunnel."

"Oui. Right away." LeBeau hopped down from the truck and hurried to the tree stump. He ducked down just in time before the guard tower's searchlight spotted him. When it had passed, he quickly raised the lid and climbed down the ladder.

Meanwhile, Kinch turned his attention back to the people in the truck. "Carter, Newkirk, gently slide the Colonel toward me. I'll have to carry him the rest of the way and then, Carter, you'll have to help me get him down into the tunnel. Hopefully, LeBeau will have Wilson waiting."

With the greatest of care, the two men moved Hogan's body toward Kinch. The only indications any of them had that Hogan was still alive was his shallow breathing, and the occasional moans from the pain that came from his lips. After what seemed like forever, Kinch finally had the Colonel in his arms. He cradled him as he would a child, mindful of his injuries.

Carter steadily made his way to the tree stump and after the searchlight passed by, raised the lid and climbed down where he found LeBeau and Wilson waiting.

Kinch, holding the Colonel, carefully lowered Hogan down into the waiting arms of LeBeau, Carter, and Wilson. Moments later, Kinch and Newkirk followed. The radioman looked at Carter.

"Carter, move that truck deeper into the woods where nobody will find it except us, and then come back through the emergency tunnel. Joe, can we get the Colonel upstairs and into his quarters where you can then treat him?"

"We'll have to," Wilson replied. "The bleeding from his shoulder has slowed a bit and the bullet appears to have gone straight through." He looked at Kinch. "Did he have any complaint about his ribs?"

"Yeah. Before he passed out completely, he said his ribs hurt very badly. You don't think there's a problem with the broken ribs?" Kinch's face was very worried.

"I won't know for sure until I can examine him fully. Now, help me get him upstairs. LeBeau, go on ahead and have a couple of the guys in the barracks standing by to help get the Colonel upstairs."

"Oui." LeBeau replied as he disappeared in the direction of the ladder leading to the barracks.

Kinch slid his arms under Hogan's body again and cradled him in his arms. He glanced at the Englander. "Newkirk, you'd better change before you come upstairs."

"Right," the Englander remarked as he turned and headed in the direction of the wardrobe room.

"Newkirk?"

The Englander turned and looked back at Kinch. "What is it, mate?"

"You did a great job out there," Kinch told him with a smile. "The Colonel could've died."

Newkirk smiled slightly. "Not that your thanks doesn't mean something, mate," he said. "But the best thanks I could get is for the Gov'nor to recover. Take care of him, Joe." He then turned again and went into the changing room.

Meanwhile, Kinch followed Wilson who gripped his medical bag tightly, heading in the direction of the ladder that led to the barracks.

A short time later, Hogan was lying on the lower bunk in his quarters with Wilson sitting on the edge of the bed. Kinch, LeBeau, and Carter were crowded in the doorway watching silently.

Wilson had cut away the black turtleneck sweater to allow him to get a better look at the bullet wound and the ribs. Even though he was positive the bullet had gone clean through, the wound was still very serious. He checked Hogan's vitals and was relieved to find them all normal. He then removed a bottle of alcohol from his bag along with some cotton. He looked over his shoulder.

"Kinch, I'm gonna need you to hold him. As he's been in and out of consciousness, I can't say what his reaction will be when I clean his wound."

Kinch made his way into the room and, sitting down on the bed, held Hogan's bare upper arms down gently but firmly. Then, Wilson proceeded to clean the wound in the front and the back. Hogan reacted to the stinging sensation, and his eyes cracked open.

"You should at least warn a guy when you're gonna do that," Hogan muttered softly.

"Glad to have you back, Colonel," Wilson said. "You're very fortunate. There's no sign of infection but I'm going to give you and antibiotic anyway along with a painkiller."

"Swell," was all Hogan replied.

"I understand your ribs hurt also?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think you did any further damage to your broken ribs, but I'll check." Wilson knew the Colonel had to be hurting quite a lot to so readily admit he was in pain. "Your lungs are clear and your vitals are good. How's your breathing?"

"It hurts to breathe and to take a deep breath. But I had that problem before tonight."

Wilson bandaged Hogan's shoulder wound before giving him injections of penicillin and morphine. The morphine took effect quickly and Hogan drifted into a peaceful sleep. As he slept, Wilson proceeded to examine the area of the broken ribs and was greatly relieved to find that apparently there was no further damage done. He therefore believed the pain in that area was from landing hard on an already sore area.

Getting up, he motioned for Kinch to follow him out of the room. Before he left, Kinch pulled the blanket over the Colonel up to his shoulders. He turned off the desk lamp and exited, closing the door. They found LeBeau, Carter, and Newkirk waiting, worried looks on their faces.

"How is the Colonel?" asked LeBeau.

"He's very lucky," the medic explained, relief heard in his voice. "An inch or more to one side and the bullet could have fractured his shoulder blade. There's no sign of infection.

Also, there's no further damage to his ribs except for landing on an already sore area just made that area more sore from the impact. He's gonna be hurting for a few days. I gave him a shot of morphine and penicillin, so he should sleep for several hours. I don't expect any problems, but I'll be back in a few hours to check on him."

"But the Colonel's gonna be okay?" asked a still worried Carter.

"He should recover completely if he allows himself the time to recover," Wilson remarked. "This time should he refuse to listen, I will have him moved to the infirmary where he'll stay for ten days and I can make sure he does what he's told."

"Good bloody luck with that," Newkirk said with a chuckle.

Sighing wearily, Wilson rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, before I forget, I do have some more good news for you guys. Sergeant Baker regained consciousness tonight for a short while."

There were a chorus of whoops and cheers at the news. Kinch looked at the medic.

"Will he recover from what Metzger did to him?" he asked, worried.

"Well, he knew what had happened to him, and he remembered Colonel Hogan. His one eye is still swollen shut but we should know in about a week or so when the swelling has gone down completely how his vision will be in that one eye. But overall, I have high expectations he'll recover completely."

"Thank God this whole thing is finally over," muttered LeBeau with a sigh.

Kinch shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid it's not quite over yet, LeBeau," he said tiredly.

"How can you say that?" asked Carter, puzzled. "I mean, Metzger's dead, and now so is Skyhawk. What else is there?"

Newkirk looked around at the others. He knew what Kinch was going to say. "What Kinch means, is that we still have to prove that Metzger was not only killed by Skyhawk, but that he was killed over black market business." He looked at the radio man. "Right, mate?"

"That's exactly it. And also, whatever we come up with will have to satisfy Burkhalter and Hochstetter so he'll hopefully leave the Colonel alone with this." He let out a deep breath. "Then, and only then, will it officially be over."