Chapter 50---Hogan's Dilemma
Once he was off the telephone with Reichsfuhrer Himmler, Burkhalter had a guard go to the cooler and bring Hochstetter back to the Kommandant's office at once.
In Hogan's quarters, meanwhile, Hogan and Newkirk were going over exactly what he would say to Captain Fuchs when the door to his quarters opened and Kinch walked in, closing the door.
"Well?" asked Hogan looking up.
"I contacted the underground as you asked, Colonel. They said it'll be no problem."
Hogan smirked. "That should get the ball rolling," he replied. He then noticed the look on Kinch's face. "What else?"
"Olsen's keeping watch at the door, Colonel. He just saw a guard bring Hochstetter into Klink's office."
Before Hogan could reply, Newkirk plugged in the coffee pot. They heard the door to Klink's inner office open and close.
"Herr General," Hochstetter growled, saluting. Burkhalter smirked as he returned the salute. Hochstetter than glared at the Kommandant and issued a somewhat sloppy salute to the man behind the desk who seemed to wilt under the stare. "Herr Kom-man-dant!" he growled loudly.
Burkhalter clasped his hands over his large stomach. "Tell me, Major. Did you spend a comfortable night?" He saw the Major's body stiffen at the mention of his stay in the cooler. His eyes never strayed from Klink who wished he could shrivel up and hide somewhere. Hochstetter spoke without taking his eyes off Klink.
"With no disrespect intended, Herr General. This empty-headed nobody you call a Kommandant had the gall to lock me up when he has a murderer running loose in this camp. Both of them should have been locked up in a cell last night instead of me!"
"You must mean our mutual friend Colonel Hogan," Burkhalter said cheerily.
Klink looked up at this point. "Major Hochstetter, you know very well that Colonel Hogan was in the infirmary and that fact was verified by one of my own guards."
"BAH!" the Major waved a hand at Klink. "You think I believe anything you or your guards say, Klink? You're all covering for Hogan."
Newkirk chuckled at this point. "Y'know, old Hochstetter does a pretty good impersonation of a sheep," he joked. The others chuckled and continued listening.
"Am I covering for Hogan as well, Major?" Burkhalter asked. He again saw the Major's body stiffen.
"Of course not, General. You word is never questioned."
"Thank you. Now Major, I recall asking you this question before, and I will ask it again. What evidence do you have that Hogan committed this crime?"
"The only evidence I have is what I showed you previously. The dried blood on a pair of his shoes. But if I have more time…"
"Seems to me you've had plenty of time already, Major. And all you've done with it is fixate on Hogan. And let me go one step further, Major. You are so intent of proving Hogan guilty when both Klink and I told you there was no way he could be guilty, you still persisted."
Hochstetter had been looking at Burkhalter nervously; he could feel the shoe was about to drop, so to speak. "But General…" he began.
"Don't interrupt me, Major! I am not finished!" Burkhalter jumped out of his chair, his stare at the smaller Gestapo Major having the desired effect. The Major seemed to wilt.
"Jawohl, Herr General."
"You were warned to stay away from Stalag 13 and Colonel Hogan and to continue your investigation. But you ignored my warning by having Colonel Klink lured out of camp so that you could intimidate your way inside, hoping to arrest Hogan and get out before the Colonel returned. Did I leave anything out?"
"Nein, Herr General."
"It might interest you to know I just got off the phone with my dear friend, Reichsfuhrer Himmler. We spoke at great length about you. He was not happy to say the least. He spoke to your superiors who also were not very happy with you. In fact, I just got off the phone with Gruppenfuhrer Freitag (1) who was informed by Herr Himmler as to an appropriate punishment for disobeying a direct order from me."
Hochstetter became noticeably pale. "What did…the Gruppenfuhrer have to say?" he asked in a small voice.
"Glad you asked that question. It seems the Gruppenfuhrer and I reached an agreement. You are going to be given two choices, Major. The first, you will leave Hammelburg for two weeks and go visit your family. I believe you have a mother who lives in Bamberg."
"And the other choice?" He asked, suspecting he already knew.
"Should you refuse the first, your other choice is to spend two weeks in a Gestapo prison in Berlin. Whichever you choice begins immediately and will be considered you are on leave." Burkhalter looks at his watch. "You have one minute to make up your mind."
Hogan and the men exchanged amused looks.
"I see my favorite comedy duo has added a straight man," Hogan joked.
"Old Burkhalter sure has Hochstetter right where he wants him," Kinch added.
"Shhh," said Hogan. "Listen…"
"Well Major, time is up. What is your decision?"
"I think I'm overdue to visit my mother in Bamberg."
"A wise decision," Burkhalter said with a wide, satisfied smile. "I suggest you go to your office and inform Captain Fuchs that for the next two weeks he will be in charge. You will then go home and pack a suitcase and head for Bamberg. Understood?"
"Jawohl, Herr General. Am I dismissed now?"
"You are. I will inform the Gruppenfuhrer of your decision. You are dismissed, Major."
"Jawohl." Hochstetter saluted Burkhalter and then, glaring at Klink again, saluted him but not as sharply. He headed for the door and, gripping the doorknob, yanked open the door.
"One more thing, Major," Burkhalter remarked. Hochstetter didn't look at him; he had been humiliated enough. "When you return from your leave, I suggest you give Colonel Hogan, this camp, and it's Kommandant a wide berth. I will be watching you, Major. Should there be even the slightest hint you are out for revenge, you will wish you had chosen Gestapo prison in Berlin."
Hochstetter slammed the door so hard Hilda thought it would come off its hinges. He glanced in her direction with a look that frightened her for some reason; it was of a man who wanted revenge.
"Unplug the coffee, Kinch," Hogan said, with an amused expression. "Y'know, I never thought I'd see the day Burkhalter would stand up for Klink."
"Sounds kinda strange to us as well, mon Colonel. But at least Hochstetter won't be bothering us for the next two weeks. And with Bluebird in charge, he'll make sure we don't have a problem."
"That reminds me, Kinch. Contact Bluebird and advise him of Hochstetter's situation so he'll know. Can't trust Hochstetter to give him all the facts."
"Got it," Kinch replied. He quickly left the room. Hogan then sent LeBeau and Newkirk out of the room. He didn't want any of them to know exactly how much agony he was really in. The morphine had long worn off and the pain was intense. He slowly slid down in the bed, holding his side. The intense pain caused tears to come.
When a knock came on his door, he quickly wiped the tears away before telling whoever it was to come in. It was Kinch.
"Colonel, I reached Bluebird and explained everything to him." A wry grin appeared. "He said to tell you he wondered what it would take to get Hochstetter to take leave."
Hogan tried to grin, but a sharp pain caused him to wince instead. He gritted his teeth and held his side. Beads of sweat formed on his face.
"Colonel, are you all right?" Kinch asked, suddenly concerned.
"Kinch, do me a favor. Go find Wilson and bring him here." Hogan's expression changed to indicate something was not right.
"Colonel, what's wrong?" Kinch was becoming scared. Hogan never asked for the camp medic for himself before.
Hogan's eyes fell on his radioman. "Kinch, just get him. Please. Something's not right."
"Gotcha. Just hold on, Colonel. I'll be back with Wilson as soon as possible." Kinch strode out of the room, closing the door. He ignored the looks from Newkirk and LeBeau as he left the barracks.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" asked LeBeau, puzzled.
"I haven't the foggiest, mate," the Englander replied. "But I don't think I like what I'm thinking," he started to his feet, his eyes focused on Hogan's closed door. "C'mon," he added. He and LeBeau walked towards the Colonel's quarters. Newkirk knocked on the door.
Receiving no answer, he knocked again, a bit louder this time. He heard Hogan tell them to enter, but his voice sounded strange. Opening
the door, the duo looked at each other before entering. Once they were inside, they froze at the sight that met their eyes.
The Colonel was curled up on the bed, under to covers, clutching his side; his face bathed in sweat. He was obviously in intense pain. He could barely shift his head to look at them.
"Mon Colonel!" LeBeau cried out as he and Newkirk raced forward together, each sitting on the edge of the bed. The Frenchman began stroking the Colonel's matted damp hair hoping it would comfort him to some degree, while Newkirk clutched the Colonel's hand. He felt the pressure on his hand whenever Hogan winced.
"Gov'nor, what happened? You look bloody awful. Is there anything we can do?"
Hogan gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as another sharp pain overtook him again. "Ribs hurt…bad…" he managed.
LeBeau looked at Newkirk. "Kinch must've gone to get Wilson."
Just then, Kinch walked in with the medic behind him, clutching his medical bag.
"Okay, everybody out right now," Wilson said with urgency in his voice, seeing the apparent pain Hogan was in. He noticed the men were hesitant to leave their commander's side. "I promise all of you I'll let you know how he is after I examine him."
The men slowly left the room reluctantly, but they did as Wilson asked; Kinch closed the door behind them.
Laying his medical bag on the desk, Wilson sat down on the edge of the bed. "Okay, Colonel, tell me where it hurts."
"Everywhere…" Hogan uttered. "I hurt…everywhere."
Wilson first removed the bandage from Hogan's injured shoulder so he could reexamine the gunshot injury. He was satisfied at what he saw. "Your shoulder looks good, Colonel, despite all the stitches I had to put in. There's no leakage anywhere." Reaching into his bag, he quickly re-bandaged the shoulder. "What about your ribs?"
Hogan didn't or couldn't answer. Wilson carefully eased him onto his back and gently applied pressed on the injured area. Even the slightest pressure caused Hogan to cry out in agony.
"I don't think you did any additional damage to those broken ribs, Colonel." He rummaged through his bag again. "However, I understand, you've had a lot on your plate lately and were probably running on pure adrenaline so you didn't feel the pain as much. However, now that the threat to your operation and men is over, and the adrenaline rush is gone, your feeling all the pain your body suffered recently, and your body just can't take anymore and is shutting down. That and the fact that you haven't done what I ordered you to do which was complete bed rest." Wilson produced a vial and a syringe and began to fill it.
"What…is that?" Hogan asked through clenched teeth.
"It's an antibiotic. Even though I didn't see any infection, I don't want to take any chances. Next, I will give you a shot of morphine, and then a sedative so you'll sleep for the rest of the day and night." Rolling up Hogan's sleeve, Wilson injected the antibiotic. He then filled another syringe with morphine and injected it. Hogan began to feel relief from the intense pain almost immediately. Until that point, he hadn't said much; but then he noticed Wilson preparing another syringe.
"No sedative," he told Wilson, the intense pain now reduced to a dull throbbing.
"Colonel," Wilson was exasperated. "You are the most difficult man I have ever known. I want you to rest, and if giving you a sedative is the only way…"
"No sedative, Joe. Please. Tomorrow. Just give me until tomorrow." Hogan was starting to become sleepy.
"What's so important that you want me to hold off on the sedative until tomorrow?"
"Need tonight to end threat to my men and operation." Hogan yawned. "Need tonight. Please, Joe. Just give me tonight. Tomorrow you can give me all the sedatives you want."
Wilson sighed wearily. "All right, Colonel. This seems very important to you, so I'll give you tonight. But after tonight, I will have you admitted to the infirmary. Is that understood?"
"Whatever…." Hogan mumbled nearly incoherently; his mind already planning on how to talk Wilson out of it tomorrow. He drifted off into a sound sleep.
(1) Gruppenfuhrer Freitag was Hochstetter's superior in Two Nazis For the Price of One.