Chapter 52---Wilson's Victory

Hogan awoke sometime the following day, and was shocked to see the sun shining brightly through the windows of his quarters. He glanced at his watch and saw it was after eleven a.m. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position in bed. He massaged his side which ached but not as much; nor did his injured shoulder. He looked around when the door to his quarters opened and LeBeau walked in carrying a tray with soup and a glass of water on it.

"Mon Colonel, you are awake. I am glad because I don't have to wake you for lunch. You slept through breakfast."

"Never mind lunch, LeBeau, where's Wilson?" There was an edge to Hogan's voice.

"I do not know, Colonel. Truthfully, I don't."

"Then I suggest you find him and get him here!"

LeBeau put the tray on Hogan's footlocker and backed away. "Oui, Colonel, right away." He left the room.

Hogan was fuming. He had asked Wilson not to sedate him until today; to give him last night and he had agreed; then, he went back on his word. He'd better have a good explanation. Hogan looked up again when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" he snapped. The door opened and Kinch, Carter, and Newkirk entered. Hogan could tell by their faces that LeBeau had told them.

The Colonel held up a hand stopping them before anybody spoke a word. "I don't want to hear anything," he said.

"That's too bad, Colonel, because you're going to," Kinch replied. "Colonel, you were in very bad shape yesterday. You were in so much pain you even asked me to get Wilson for you, and you never do that. Never. According to Wilson, your body was shutting down because it couldn't take anymore."

"Kinch is right, sir," Newkirk chimed in. "We knew what your plan was to prove Metzger was killed by the black market. We knew what we had to do. There was no need for you not to get some rest. So, the four of us decided it would be better if Wilson sedated you so you could rest for the night while we did what you wanted."

Carter looked puzzled. "We did? I don't remember…" he shut up when Newkirk's elbow jabbed him in his ribs.

"You had no right," Hogan replied, anger in his voice. "No right at all to make that decision."

"We had every right, Colonel," Kinch continued. "Your health and safety is more important to us than anything, and if you don't know that by now, then you don't know us as well as you claim. You taught us how to handle things. So we handled everything yesterday as you planned and everything went without a hitch. We're just waiting to hear from Bluebird."

"So you see, Gov'nor, there was nothing for you to do," Newkirk added. "Besides, what could you have done anyway? I'll tell you what you would have done, sir. You would have been worrying the entire time, pacing the floor and who knows what else."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Newkirk," a voice said from behind them. The men turned to see Wilson and LeBeau standing in the doorway; the medic had his medical bag in his hand. He slowly edged his way into the room. "I think you fellas better wait outside while the Colonel and I talk." He smiled. "I promise there won't be any bloodshed."

The men looked at each other before reluctantly leaving with Kinch being the last one out. As he closed the door, he looked at Hogan again.

"Just keep in mind what we said, sir. That's all we're asking." He closed the door.

Wilson pulled out the chair from Hogan's desk, turned it around and sat down facing the Colonel. He could see the anger smoldering in Hogan's eyes. "I understand you wanted to see me Colonel? Well, here I am."

"Sergeant, you had no right giving me a sedative instead of morphine. I told you why last night was important to me and you agreed to hold off."

"And I was. Then I spoke with your men. Colonel, your men are quite capable of handling things on their own if you're incapacitated, which you were. Your men knew what they had to do and they did it. There was nothing for you to do or could have done."

"You don't know that," Hogan snapped. "Suppose something went wrong? Suppose…"

"If something had gone wrong your men would have dealt with it," Wilson interrupted. "You taught them well, Colonel. How about having faith in them to do what needed to be done? Or do you have so little faith in your men's capabilities that you believe they can't do anything unless you're leading them?"

"That's not fair and you know it. You know I have tremendous faith in them. They're the best at what they do. I trust them with my life."

"Well, if that's true, then why are you so angry?"

Hogan ran a hand over his dark hair. He was still angry. "Because you could have put this entire plan in jeopardy sedating me as you did. Suppose something went wrong that required this entire camp to be evacuated? Suppose the Gestapo had come? I need to be able to deal with these things, and I can't do that if I'm drugged." He shook his head. "If there was anything lower than private in the military, you'd be it."

"Colonel, I understand you are responsible for the lives of all the men in this camp and I know that is a responsibility you don't take lightly. But you have to realize something as well. What good are you going to be to your men or to anybody if you're so incapacitated that you can't function at all?"

Before Hogan could respond, there was a knock on the door. Sighing wearily, Hogan gave permission to enter. Kinch opened the door and, somewhat surprised to see both men still alive, allowed a small smirk. He then looked at his Colonel.

"Colonel, good news. We just heard from Bluebird. He just spoke with his superiors and the determination has been made that General Metzger was killed due to his black market activities by Major Jaeger who also seems to be responsible for the death of the man who contacted Bluebird. They're searching for the Major now. Unfortunately, the Major seems to have disappeared as well. The SS and the Gestapo both think he's on the run now."

Hogan closed and opened his eyes. "What about Burkhalter?"

"Bluebird said he contacted Burkhalter already and the General accepted the explanation of Metzger's involvement in the black market which led to his death. Burkhalter told him in his opinion, he now considers the investigation of Metzger's death closed."

Hogan allowed a smile to appear for the first time in a long time. "It's over," he said softly. "It's finally over."

Kinch grinned. "Congratulations, Colonel," he said.

"Thanks, Kinch." Hogan suddenly looked at Wilson, but addressed his second-in-command. "Kinch, get the others and then come in here."

"Right away, sir." Kinch closed the door.

"Congratulations, Colonel," Wilson said softly.

"Thanks," was all Hogan would say. Both men looked around as the door opened and Hogan's team walked in with Kinch closing the door.

"Kinch said you wanted to see us, Colonel," Carter said.

"Yeah, I did. I want to tell you guys how proud I am of all of you. You handled everything perfectly while I've been out of commission. I guess I need to be reminded every once in awhile that I don't have to do everything alone. And now that this mess is over, we can all rest peacefully."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Colonel," Wilson said with a grin while rummaging in his medical bag, removing a syringe and a vial.

Hogan eyed the syringe with suspicion. "What is that for?" he asked nervously. He was beginning to hate needles.

"It's a sedative, Colonel," Wilson explained as he filled the syringe. "Now that the danger has passed, I'm pulling rank. You are going to the infirmary for the next few days."

"I don't need to got to the infirmary," Hogan protested. "I can relax right here in my quarters. Besides, last I checked, my eagles outrank your Sergeant's stripes."

"Colonel, your eagles have just landed and are being grounded," Wilson announced with a grin.

Hogan looked at his men; his eyes pleading for help. He noticed each of his men fold their arms and give him a stern look that said 'you're on your own.' Hogan again looked at Wilson. "You can't do this, Joe."

"Well then, sir, you have three choices. One, you can let me administer the sedative and move you to the infirmary. Two, I can go to Klink and have him put you in the cooler for thirty days. Problem with that is he'll notice your injured shoulder. Or three, I could have you restrained here in your quarters. The choice is yours, Colonel."

Hogan stared at Wilson, amazed and stunned with disbelief at the same time.

"I can't go to the infirmary," Hogan protested, willing to try and talk his way out of it. "I'm needed here."

Wilson glanced at the men. "Can you fellas do without Colonel Hogan for say, the next week?"

"Without a doubt," Kinch replied, seeing Hogan give him a dirty look.

Seeing he was outnumbered, Hogan sighed and held out his arm. Wilson proceeded to inject the sedative and wait.

"Pleasant dreams, Colonel," Wilson said sweetly. It only took a few minutes before the Colonel was sound asleep. Wilson checked Hogan's vitals, then looked up.

"Everything's fine," he said. He nodded to Kinch. "Kinch, you can bring it in now so we can move him."

Opening the door, Kinch stepped outside and returned momentarily with a stretcher. He laid it on the floor beside the bed. Then, Kinch, Carter, and LeBeau carefully moved their commander from the bed to the stretcher. Then, Kinch and Carter picked up the stretcher.

"LeBeau, hold the Colonel's hands on top of his body," Wilson said. "I don't want the stitches in his shoulder to pull."

"Oui." The Frenchman held the Colonel's hands in place after they were folded atop Hogan's midsection. Then, with Wilson following, the men led the way out of the room.

Baker stared at the ceiling for the umpteenth time. He was bored. If his body still didn't hurt so much, he'd try and convince Wilson to release him. But he had a feeling that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. He sighed wearily at the prospect of having to lay flat on his back in bed. A sudden commotion at the far end of the infirmary caused Baker to look over to where the door was. He was surprised to see Kinch, LeBeau, and Carter holding a stretcher with Wilson walking behind them. But, try as he might, he couldn't see who was on the stretcher.

Wilson walked around the stretcher and led the way towards the vacant bed beside Baker's. "Place him here," he ordered. "This way he and Baker will have each other for company."

As the others moved closer, Baker was stunned to see his commanding officer lying on the stretcher, apparently unconscious. He held his breath as Hogan was moved from the stretcher to the empty bed. Before they left, Kinch, Carter, and LeBeau exchanged greetings with Baker who managed a weak smile at seeing his friends. They promised to return later to visit before they left.

Wilson pulled the cover up to Hogan's chin. He then patted the Colonel on his good shoulder.

"Doc? What happened to Colonel Hogan?" asked Baker, worried. "You told me he was all right."

"And I didn't lie to you. The reason the Colonel's here has nothing to do with Metzger. Trust me. I wanted him here because I can't trust him to rest in his quarters like I ordered."

"But what happened to him, doc? I don't understand. How did the Colonel get hurt? Why is he unconcious?"

"He's not unconcious, Richard, just sedated." Wilson pulled up a nearby chair and sat down facing Baker. "But if you have the time I can tell you all about it."

Baker laid his head back down. "I'm not going anywhere."

Wilson leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and crossed his legs. "Well, it all started…."

THE END