"How is he doing?" Hogan asked climbing up the ladder into the barracks. It had been four days since Carter had been shot.
"I believe I can safely say, Carter has turned the corner and I expect a full recovery," Wilson answered with a joyous smile. "The fever is gone, there's no sign of infection, and his color has improved greatly."
"That is wonderful news," Hogan had a smile of his own.
"I'm glad too," Carter said with a deep yawn. "Problem is all I seem to do is sleep."
"That's all you need to be doing. In a couple of days, we'll let you sit up. For now just rest and keep your leg straight," Wilson replied. Carter mumbled something incoherent as he fell back asleep. "He really is doing remarkably well, sir."
"Thank you. Have Newkirk and Olsen made it back yet?" Hogan asked closing the tunnel entrance subconsciously rubbing his injured shoulder.
"Haven't seen them. I'll be back later to change your dressing unless you want me to do it now."
"No, it can wait until later," Hogan realized he was rubbing the shoulder and stopped.
"Then I'm going to head back to the infirmary. Gotta a couple of patients that need my services," Olsen said packing up his bag.
"Anything I need to be concerned about?" Hogan asked with a questioning look.
"No, sir. Just the normal stuff, too much sawdust in the bread. I'll let you know if it becomes serious," Wilson promised leaving the barracks.
Tiger was working in Carter's lab when her husband entered the area. "What would Hogan say if he knew you were working with dangerous chemicals?"
Tiger took a deep breath before responding. "Why would he mind?" She didn't look up at François instead concentrating on the compound she was working with.
"I can't imagine he'd be happy to know you're playing around with their supplies," François answered leaning against a post watching her work.
"Obviously you don't know him. He's not the pig you are, and knows women make valuable contributions to the war cause," she threw at him then with an experienced hand mixed a combination of chemicals.
"How exactly did you learn to make W-Salz*?" he asked impressed and horrified simultaneously as the white crystalline began to take shape.
"I needed a skill in case you ever entered my life again," Tiger replied with a dangerous grin. "What do you want?"
"I don't want to fight. I'm curious what you did when you went to Paris. How did you support yourself?" he kept his distance knowing the chemical was safe at room temperature, but Marie had several things that wouldn't be good if thrown at him on the workbench. This was not a side he ever expected to see of his wife and unnerved him.
"For a time I lived with a family until I had a chance to heal from the last beating you'd inflicted upon me. The wife had once fled from a similar situation and helped me to understand it wasn't my fault. Once I was ready to leave, I found employment with an elderly couple. They'd helped many women in similar situations over the years. Due to their advanced age, I was their caretaker until they died. They taught me what real love was between a man and woman." She stopped and smiled at the remembrance. "She died first and within a few hours, his grief took him too. It was equally beautiful and sad at the same time."
"They sound like people I would have wanted to know," he said shifting his weight. Tiger scowled wordlessly, and François swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry you lost them, they obviously meant a lot to you. What did you do after that?"
Tiger was quiet for a few moments as she continued to work on the compound contemplating what to tell him. "A friend invited me to work at a bookstore, where I spent my nights reading and learning. One day while speaking with a scientist with whom I'd become friends, she invited me to work in her laboratory where I learned the appropriate mixture of chemicals to make bombs and other things that has come in handy with fighting the Boche. War was inevitable and she hoped her work would assist the war effort, and it did until France fell. When France surrendered, it was a defeat many of us couldn't accept," Tiger answered.
"Who was the scientist? Would I know her work?" her husband asked with ulterior motives.
Tiger glared at him, she'd never tell him how much Suzanne Lechay** meant to her or her name. Even Hogan didn't know of their friendship, it was safer that way until the war was over. The Germans had Suzanne working on synthetic fuels, but her knowledge was far greater than they realized. Lechay worked in the underground for a long time on the run from the Germans. "What did you do after the fire?"
He didn't want to push his luck; at least she was talking and not throwing things at him. "I stayed at the university and also helped with the war. We'd built rockets that we'd hoped would save the country. Once France was conquered, I was forced into service by the SS. It wasn't a pleasant experience," his eyes lowered to the floor as he subconsciously rubbed a scar on his chest. The story he'd told Hogan and his men about the university being captured was real. At night, he still had nightmares of his friend's death. "At first they forced us to cooperate with the threat of death constantly. Armed guards stood over us to ensure we didn't blow up the laboratories. If we didn't meet their timelines or expectations, then they had no trouble killing one of the workers. I don't know if you remember Laurent, my lab assistant. We were sent to another laboratory closer to Germany about three months after the capture. One day an experiment failed miserably, and the SS officer in charged killed him in front of me. Then they dumped his body into an incinerator like trash to be burned. I don't even know how long I was there, but about a year ago, I was transferred to the facility near Hammelburg. Things were a bit better there; at least they respected the science. My greatest hope was to make contact with the underground, and obviously, that worked out," he explained.
"I'm sorry about Laurent, he was a nice man. Too many people have died and I fear many more shall before it's over," Tiger said.
"I only hope that the Allies can truly put Germany back in its place. I want our home freed from the tyranny. Hopefully in some small way, my work can make that happen. But as you say, many have perished, and many more shall before the end. How did you become involved in the underground?" He sat down on a stool still a good distance from her.
"Out of necessity, and the contacts I had. For a while, I was able to travel with relative ease throughout France then took on other roles as the organization became more defined. As I said, France under German rule isn't something many can accept," Tiger stopped talking concentrating on the explosive she was mixing.
"What do you do for them besides escorting people and making W-Salz? How did you meet Hogan and his men?"
"Those are questions I can't answer. It wouldn't be safe for the underground, me, or even you. The less you know…," she trailed off leaving the sentence unfinished.
He nodded his head understanding. "Is there anyone special in your life? Did you remarry? A beautiful woman like yourself, I'm sure you've had many suitors."
"Non, I've never married again. There is someone but until the war is over it wouldn't be fair to either of us. Now with this complication, we'll have to figure out what to do," Tiger watched him closely. "What about you?"
"I dated some before the war but never found anyone to settle down with. Since France was lost and I've been in SS custody, well there's been no opportunity. It's sad to hear you call our marriage a 'complication'. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I really do love you. You're the only woman I've ever loved, and I hope you'll change your mind and come to England with me."
"Non, that shall never happen. I don't love you and never have. Whatever fantasy you've built up will have to end. Our marriage was nothing more than a cruel charade, a way for my father to pay off his debt," Tiger said forcefully.
"What about your family, do they know you're alive? Did your father die thinking you were gone?"
"I couldn't contact my family, it wouldn't have been safe. Papa had been dead for a long time before I heard. Most of my brothers had followed into our father's footsteps, except for Etienne. I ran into him in the underground, he'd been in the Army and when it was disbanded became an active member in the underground. We see each other occasionally," she answered.
"How cruel of you to allow your poor father to believe you died in such a manner. That's why he died, drank himself to death over the grief," François threw out standing up moving close to her.
"He was a drunk long before he thought I'd died. I was not responsible for the choices he made," Tiger's eyes blazed.
"Your brothers are alive because of my generosity and I paid handsomely to ensure their safety. No matter what you think you were included in that deal and will do as you're told," he grabbed her arm roughly.
"Let go of me," Tiger demanded hitting him with her free hand. He backhanded her forcefully causing her to fall to the ground hitting her head on the stool.
*W-Salz was an explosive used by both sides during WW2, more commonly known today as RDX. Similar to TNT but yielded a higher explosive rate. W-Salz was the German code name used for RDX. http: / de dot wikipedia dot org/wiki/Hexogen (take out the spaces)
**Episode Hogan and the Lady Doctor