Chapter 7:

About four and a half hours went by since Langenscheidt had been brought in for emergency surgery. While Hogan paced back and forth, Kalina sat on a cot with her eyes closed and quietly imagined herself in another situation far away from where she was now.

A long curtain that stretched from one side of the room to the other separated the two from Wilson and Langenscheidt. It was a very light blue with a dark blue pattern sewn within it.

Eventually Kalina opened her eyes and looked up at Hogan slowly for reassurance. Her answer was met with silence and an unsure look in his eyes.

The colonel paced a little longer and was about to go behind the curtain to see what was taking so long, when Wilson came out, and the two men nearly ran into each other.

"How is he, Joe?" Hogan asked, soft.

Kalina quickly sided up against Hogan and felt the officer wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"It's not good, Colonel. Langenscheidt lost quite a bit of blood and suffered a pretty serious injury to his heart. He nearly crashed on me at one point." The medic answered, his voice not much higher than a whisper.

"Is he okay?" Kalina asked, with a quiver in her voice.

Wilson shook his head faintly.

"I don't know," he said.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Hogan asked.

"Langenscheidt's slipped into a coma. He is completely unresponsive to any stimuli."

"What's that mean?" Klink's daughter questioned. "When will he wake up?"

"...I don't know if he will wake up," Wilson said, with sorrow.

Kalina felt her eyes begin to burn and well up, shook her head a few times, then buried her face into Hogan and let her tears stream down.

The colonel hugged her and rubbed his fingers through her hair.

"Can we see him, Joe?" He asked.

Wilson nodded.

"Just be quiet around him. His heart is still very weak," the medic said.

Hogan nodded and took Kalina behind the curtain to see their ailing friend. They found Langenscheidt on a bed to the right. He wore a white hospital gown with a dark blue bathrobe tied around him. He was covered up with sheets and blankets, had an IV in his right hand, a tube giving him blood transfusions in his arm, and had pale skin with nearly black eyelids.

Kalina slowly made her way to Langenscheidt's left, carefully wrapped her arms around him, then lay her head against his chest and silently sobbed.

Hogan came up behind the young teenager, put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and turned to look at the ailing German corporal.

"Hang in there, Langenscheidt. We'll make sure Schumann sees punishment for this. You just focus on getting well," he said, encouraging.

Langenscheidt remained deep in sleep.

"You think he can hear us, Colonel Hogan?" Kalina asked, wiping her red eyes.

The American smiled and nodded.

"I think he can," he answered, soft.

Kalina gave a small smile back, then lay her head back against Langenscheidt's chest and closed her eyes.

"Please wake up, Langenscheidt...you're my best friend." She croaked.

"He will, hon. I promise. Just give him a little while."

"Colonel Hogan...I might lose Papa, I can't lose Langenscheidt, too."

"You're not gonna lose either one of them. We're going to think of a plan to expose Schumann and get him to serve your father's sentence...whatever Berlin decides that might be."

"It's not good if Berlin's deciding what it'll be."

The colonel gave a heavy sigh.

"No, that it certainly isn't...come on. Let's give Langenscheidt some time to rest."

"Will he be alright, Colonel Hogan?"

"He'll be right here in the morning when you wake up. Cross my heart."

Kalina nodded, gave Langenscheidt a big hug and kiss on the cheek, then quietly left with Hogan for the barracks.

The next day came by fairly quickly. Hogan and his men sat at the barracks table trying to think of a new way to spring Klink and expose Schumann. At the moment, though, they were discussing Langenscheidt's current medical state.

"Heard anything about Langenscheidt, Sir?" Newkirk asked, genuinely concerned.

"Wilson said nothing's changed since last night. He's still unconscious and unresponsive. As of now, the only way Joe can tell if Langenscheidt's still alive is when he checks his vitals." Hogan answered, taking a drink of coffee.

"Poor Langenscheidt," Carter said, hanging his head in sorrow.

"Why would anyone want to hurt a nice guy like Langenscheidt?" LeBeau grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Same person that would try and get Klink assassinated for treason," Kinch said.

"We have to get rid of Schumann...but how?" Hogan asked, shaking his head for an answer.

"What if we planted some dynamite sticks on him, Colonel? Burkhalter finds that, and he'll have to let Klink go free." Carter suggested.

"It's a good idea, Carter, but there's just one thing: how do you plan on sneaking it on him?" The colonel replied.

The young sergeant rubbed the back of his neck and thought for a moment.

"Newkirk?" He answered, unsure of himself.

"Not even I could pull off a bloody move like that. Not with that Kraut at least," the Englishman in questioned said.

"What if we got another guard to confront Schumann with Burkhalter?" LeBeau asked.

"And have the same thing that happened to Langenscheidt happen again to another guard, forget it." Hogan answered.

"We can't be the only people in this camp that think Burkhalter and Hochstetter's suspicion is absurd," Kinch said.

"But how do we find one is the question?" Newkirk asked.

Hogan went deep into his thoughts, trying to desperately think of a solution, when he heard a gentle knock on the door. He rose to his feet, made his way towards to door, and opened it. He was not surprised to see who it was.

Kalina looked up at him with red, puffy, wet eyes and sniffling.

"You alright, Kalina? Did something happen to Langenscheidt?" The officer asked, worried.

"No...Langenscheidt's the same. I just found out what Papa's sentence is. He leaves for Berlin tomorrow morning." The girl whimpered.

"Firing squad?" Carter asked, with a frown.

"Lethal injection with cyanide."

"That's low even for the filthy bosche." LeBeau growled.

"Papa…"

"He's gonna be alright. He'll never get that injection...in fact, he'll never set foot out of this camp," Hogan said, wrapping an arm around Kalina. She wiped her eyes with her arms, when Kinch stood on her other side and handed her a kleenex.

"What are you thinking, Gov'nor?" Newkirk asked, seeing a mischievous twinkle in his commander's eyes.

"Kalina, who's Langenscheidt's closest friends here?" The colonel asked, looking down at his little ally.

"I know he and Sergeant Kristman are best friends. They tell each other everything," Kalina said.

"Gentlemen, I think we just found our man for the job," Hogan said, a grin growing on his face.

Both Hogan and Kalina made their walk to the recreation hall, where Kristman was standing guard for the day. When they got to the sergeant, Kalina gave a sharp salute, and Hogan kept lookout for any possible eavesdroppers.

"Guten morgen, Sergeant Kristman," she said respectfully.

"Kalina! How's Langenscheidt, they won't let me see him." Kristman asked urgently.

The young girl frowned and shook her head.

"He's not good...he's in a coma, and it's unknown if he'll wake up again."

"No...it can't be. Karl can't die, he's my best friend."

"I know...he's mine, too...I actually didn't come here to talk about Langenscheidt, though."

"What is it then, kleines Fraulein?"

"Sergeant, I need to ask you a question...what do you think of Sergeant Schumann?"

"Sergeant Schumann you say. Why?"

Kalina did not answer for a long while.

"He made the order to open fire and shoot Langenscheidt last night," she finally said.

"What?" Kristman gasped.

"He's also the one who made a phony call to Hochstetter saying my Papa was responsible for the train that was sabotaged by the underground. I have a transcript of everything Schumann said if you wish to read it."

Kristman grinded his teeth, his head shaking slowly back and forth.

"I knew Schumann was up to no good...he's been acting very strangely ever since the Kommandant was arrested." He snarled.

"Sergeant Kristman, please help Colonel Hogan and I. I can't lose Papa, Sergeant Kristman, it'll kill me. And if Langenscheidt…" Kalina stopped for a moment to fight back her emotions. "If Langenscheidt doesn't pull through, I know you don't want his killer running around loose either."

"Jawohl, Fraulein Kommandant. What do you want me to do?"

Kalina looked back at Hogan and gestured for him to come over. The two met halfway in the middle and swapped places. Hogan now speaking with Kristman, and Kalina now keeping lookout.

"Sergeant, who gave the orders for Corporal Langenscheidt to be patrolling outside the gates last night?" The colonel asked, crossing his arms.

"Sergeant Schumann claims that General Burkhalter did, but I don't believe it."

"Have you confronted General Burkhalter with this?"

"Nein, I have not. Should I?"

"Tomorrow. Right before the Kommandant leaves for his death sentence in Berlin. Now here's what I need you to do."

Hogan began to explain to Kristman his plan and how they would get both Klink back as their kommandant and Schumann to serve a sentence for his crimes.