A couple days went by, and Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, and LeBeau had newfound hope that the operation would be saved. Hogan squeezing Newkirk's hand had given them a reason to keep fighting and hoping for a good turnout to their current difficult situation.
The four men were in Hogan's quarters trying to think of a way to expose Matthews's hidden identity to Klink and get rid of him, so a plan for saving the operation could be put into play. Kinch paced back and forth like Hogan always did, Carter sat in Hogan's chair, LeBeau stood by the window, and Newkirk sat on Hogan's bottom bunk.
"Why don't we just say we found the ID card lying around and give it to Klink?" Carter asked.
"Too obvious; Kommandant would suspect something with everything going on, right now." Kinch said, pacing still.
"Not only that, but how would you explain it to Burkhalter and Hochstetter?" Newkirk asked, trying to think of an idea.
"We need something else...something simple, but not too suspicious." Kinch said, trying to think. Thousands of ideas were rendering in his mind, but he could not think of just one to use.
"What if one of us dresses up as a gestapo officer and request Matthews's return to headquarters?" LeBeau asked.
"It's a good idea, Louis, but what if Kommandant calls Burkhalter and Hochstetter to come out here? They would recognize us the moment they saw us." Newkirk said, as he tapped his fingertips on his leg thinking.
"Klink will call Burkhalter and Hochstetter regardless with everything going on here, right now. We need a plan that not even those two can foil." Kinch said, continuing to pace the small room.
"But what, is the question." Newkirk sighed.
The four men continued thinking, when a knock at the door took them out of their thoughts. Kinch walked over and opened the door to let Olsen in.
"Message from the Underground, Kinch." Olsen said, handing the second in command the folded piece of paper. Kinch unfolded it and read through it thoroughly before handing it back to Olsen.
"Tell them Newkirk and I will go out tonight after roll call." Kinch said.
"Got it, Kinch." Olsen answered, and he left closing the door behind him.
"Send us out where, mate?" Newkirk asked, suspicious.
"The Underground says it's getting too dangerous where they have Colonel Winters hiding out. He's coming with Barbara and Vulture tonight to have him hide out in our tunnels, until we can find a way to get him out of Germany." Kinch answered.
"And if a gestapo Kraut gets a hold of us, what do we do then?" Newkirk asked, slightly irritated.
"I don't know, mon ami. It's too dangerous with all those filthy bosche out there." LeBeau said, a little worried.
"We have to go through with this mission and do it successfully, or it's game over for all of us...and I'm sure all of us wanna save Colonel, so he can wake up and come back to us." Kinch ordered.
Newkirk, LeBeau, and Carter all exchanged looks with one another and sighed, nodding softly. They all wanted that, and they all knew it well, too. The last thing they wanted was for the operation to be exposed, and Hochstetter to kill Hogan, when they now knew there was a chance of him coming back to them, again. No, they were going to go through with it. They owed their commanding officer more than that after all the times he had stuck up for them, protected them, and risked his life for them each and everyday of the war.
"Yes, Kinch." Newkirk said, softly.
"I'm willing to do it for Colonel." Carter softly spoke twiddling his thumbs.
"Me too, mon ami." LeBeau added.
"When do we leave, Kinch?" Newkirk asked.
"After roll call, we'll leave at 2200 hours." Kinch answered.
"What do we do about Matthews, though?" Carter asked.
"Matthews...or Freitag, as we should call him, always has an hour walk around camp at night. We'll be back before he comes back to the barracks." Kinch said.
Newkirk nodded.
"Our blacks are ready, when we need 'em, mate." Newkirk said, with a nod.
"Good," Kinch replied.
"But how do we get him out of Germany?" Carter asked.
"For now, we don't; not until we figure out how to get rid of Freitag." Kinch said.
"That could take weeks, though, mon ami." LeBeau cried.
"Come on, guys; would we all do this, if it were the Colonel giving us these orders?" Kinch asked.
Again, the three men sighed and nodded.
"Yes, Kinch." Carter sadly answered.
"Oui, Kinch." LeBeau said.
"Count me in too, mate." Newkirk sighed.
"I sure miss Colonel." Carter said, sadly.
"We all miss him, Andrew; but Colonel's not here, right now, so we gotta muddle along as best as we can without him." Newkirk sadly said, with a hint of irritation.
LeBeau snapped his fingers and smiled.
"That's it, Pierre!" LeBeau cried.
"What's it?" Newkirk asked, confused.
"When we all start to doubt ourselves and feel as if we can't accomplish anything, to motivate us, we'll think of how proud the Colonel will be, when he comes back to us!" LeBeau answered.
"Hey, Louis, I like that idea!" Carter said, smiling.
"Beautiful, mate." Newkirk added.
"Alright; now that were motivated, let's get back to work." Kinch said, smiling boldly.
"Where will Colonel Winters sleep?" LeBeau asked.
"In one of the guest tunnels, as usual." Newkirk said.
"Don't you think a colonel deserves something a bit better than a guest tunnel?" LeBeau remarked, crossing his arms.
"What about that big room we hardly ever use? We could move one of the beds in there; give the guy more privacy." Carter suggested.
"Alright; that settles sleeping arrangements." Kinch said.
"Do you think the Gov'nor knew this guy?" Newkirk asked.
"We'll have to ask him, when he gets here, tonight." Kinch simply replied.
"Well, we gotta lot of planning to do before tonight, so let's get right down to it." Newkirk said.
The four men walked out of Hogan's room, shut the door, and started making preparations for that evening.
Night had fallen, and Newkirk and Kinch were standing silently behind shrubbery in the forest, as they waited for Barbara and Vulture to bring Colonel Winters. Kinch kept looking down at his watch growing anxious as time passed by. As Kinch was about to turn and tell Newkirk they were going home, they got the signal they needed: a flashlight turning on and off twice. Newkirk replied with two flashes and one long shine. Both he and Kinch came into the clearing and met with Barbara and Vulture, who had spiky red hair and dark blue eyes.
"Vulture, good to see you, again." Kinch said, shaking hands with his friend.
"As to you, Kinch. Newkirk." Vulture greeted.
"G' evening, mate." Newkirk replied, smiling.
Kinch looked at Barbara and smirked.
"So, this is the girl Louis's crazy over." Kinch chuckled.
"Blimey, don't get that started, again." Newkirk moaned.
Barbara giggled.
"Let me guess; you and the little Frenchman aren't gestapo, are you." Barbara said, smiling.
"Far from it," Newkirk replied.
"And Major Hochstetter's your uncle, huh?" Kinch asked, crossing his arms.
Barbara sadly sighed.
"I love my uncle dearly, but I hate what he's doing to Germany."
"You should see what he does to us." Newkirk mumbled.
Barbara could not help but giggle, again.
"Turns red, starts screaming at everyone, and invades your personal space?" Barbara asked, as if she had been there with him and all his friends the many times Hochstetter had come to Stalag 13.
"General Burkhalter's not any better, but he's another story." Newkirk answered.
"So, where's this famous 'Colonel Winters'?" Kinch asked, smiling.
Barbara turned around and gestured for someone to come out in the clearing. A man, about Hogan's age, came out into the opening. He had Hogan's exact uniform on, had green eyes, dark brown hair, facial fuzz, and a bit taller and slightly thinner than Hogan. The man walked over and shook hands with Kinch and Newkirk.
"Colonel Winters, an honor to meet you. I'm Sergeant Kinchloe. This is Corporal Peter Newkirk." Kinch said, gesturing to Newkirk.
"How are yah, mate?" Newkirk asked, friendly.
Colonel Winters smiled.
"Doing just fine, and don't feel hesitant to call me 'Jerry'. You guys are saving my life, after all." Jerry said, smiling.
Kinch and Newkirk smiled.
"Don't feel hesitant to call me 'Kinch' then, either." Kinch chuckled.
Jerry chuckled back and nodded.
"Well, we better get going; we got a bug problem back at camp we have to take care of." Kinch said.
"Oh no; termites?" Vulture asked, concerned for his friends.
"Worse; an undercover gestapo officer who's got more arrogance than old Bubblehead up in Berchtesgaden." Newkirk answered back.
"Oh, and tell the Frenchman I say 'hello'." Barbara said, smiling.
"If he behaves himself." Newkirk replied back.
The three men waved back to Barbara and Vulture, then they disappeared into the night.
Kinch and Newkirk had made it safely back to camp and were talking with Jerry at the radio table with cups of coffee, when Carter and LeBeau came down the ladder to see how it went.
"Everything go alright?" LeBeau asked.
"Just fine." Kinch said, smiling. He and Newkirk had changed back into their Allied uniforms and cleaned their faces of the black smudges on their cheeks.
"Andrew, Louis, meet Colonel Jerry Winters of the United States Army Air Corps." Newkirk said, gesturing to their guest of honor.
"Boy, it's sure an honor to meet you, sir. I've heard a lot good things about you." Carter said, a little shy. Sure, Hogan was a colonel, but this guy was like a celebrity in the USA armed forces currently. He was probably even Hogan's role model, he thought.
"Welcome to Stalag 13; our 'home sweet home', as you Americans may call it." LeBeau said, holding out his hand.
Jerry smiled and shook the little Frenchman's hand grateful.
"I appreciate the warm welcome. Papa Bear must have taught you well." Jerry said, smiling.
"Boy, did he ever!" Carter said, proud of Hogan.
"Will I get a chance to meet the famous Papa Bear I've been told about?" Jerry asked.
The four grew silent briefly, before Kinch answered.
"More than unlikely, Jerry."
"Why is that?" Jerry asked.
Newkirk sighed before speaking. In case this man did know Hogan, he wanted to tell him easily of what was going on.
"Jerry...do you know a 'Colonel Hogan'?" Newkirk asked.
"Colonel Hogan...Robert Hogan?" Jerry replied, in shock.
"You know him?" LeBeau gasped.
"We were best friends in college. I wouldn't even be a colonel, had it not been for him! He's Papa Bear?!" Jerry cried.
"He sure is, Jerry." Kinch said, with a sad smile.
"Boy, Robert; you just keep on amazing me! Wow, I gotta see him! It's been far too long!" Jerry said, excited.
"I wish you could see him, mon ami." LeBeau sadly said.
Jerry's excitement grew into sudden worry and fear.
"What's wrong...is he alright?" Jerry asked, fearful.
Newkirk sighed, again.
"Sort of, Colonel...you see, the Gov'nor was out with us on a mission about a little over a month ago. We were to explode and demolish a ball bearing plant. Everything went well, but Colonel forgot his hat back at the explosion site and went back to get it, before the bombs went off…" Newkirk gulped and continued. It still pained him deeply remembering that night. "He hit his head pretty bad and got a nasty cut from the shrapnel in the belly...he also inhaled a lot of smoke." Newkirk said, starting to choke up. He could not go any further, or his guilt would start eating him alive, again.
"Colonel's in a coma and fighting a bad case of bacterial pneumonia along with it. He was still recovering from viral pneumonia, when the mission happened, so his bacterial pneumonia is about five times worse than what it usually is." Kinch finished, trying to ease the shock for Jerry.
Jerry shook and slightly slid back in his chair. He shook his head, trying to comprehend what was going through his mind.
"Oh...Robert...what did you get yourself into?" Jerry gasped.
"I'm sorry, Jerry." Kinch said, sadly.
Jerry nodded, closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath. He then opened his eyes again and looked at Kinch.
"It's alright...just...when I get back to London, radio General Berkman and tell me what happens regarding him...he'll be in every thought and prayer of mine until then." Jerry said, sadly.
"Of course," Kinch replied.
"Well, we better get going. We wanna get back before Matthews does." Newkirk said.
"The gestapo agent?" Jerry asked, as if he already knew the answer.
"You catch on fast, mon ami." LeBeau said, slightly disgusted with the thought of Matthews in his mind.
Jerry chuckled softly and said his goodnights to the men, then he headed off towards his room to sleep in for the meanwhile.
The four men had started a game of gin with each other. Olsen was up in his bunk watching them play. Their peace and quiet ended, when Matthews came in with Schultz behind him.
"And that is the last time you go out of the barracks after curfew!" Schultz ordered.
"What's the matter, Schultzie; don't like our new pet?" Newkirk asked, smiling sly.
"Jolly joker; who let this man out of the barracks?" Schultz demanded, not sounding threatening at all.
"Would you believe us, if we said 'we all did'?" Carter asked, innocently.
"This man will follow the same orders as all of you! I will have to report this to the Kommandant, and he will not be very happy." Schultz said.
"Schultzie, wait," Newkirk said, getting to his feet. He walked over to Schultz and started working his magic. "You wanna know why we really let him out?"
"Ah, I hear nothing; nooooooothhhhing!" Schultz cried, then he turned on his boot and marched out of the barracks, closing the door behind him.
Matthews snorted and glared at where the big sergeant had once been.
"Imbecile," Matthews muttered, aggravated with the fact he did not get to finish his nightly stroll.
"What's the matter, Matthews? Sad you got thrown into the le chenil?" LeBeau teased.
Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, and Olsen had to fight back from smirking or bursting out into laughter. It did not matter, as Matthews gave all of them an evil glare.
"I don't find your humor amusing, pip squeak." Matthews snarled.
"I don't find your face that appealing, either." Newkirk retorted over his shoulder.
Kinch, LeBeau, Carter, and Olsen started smirking. Keeping their laughter back was becoming harder to control.
Matthews continued glaring at the men, then he stomped off to his bunk to sleep for the night. After he left, the five men began snickering softly, finding their encounter with the undercover gestapo officer a treat worth waiting for.