This is for Katbybee. Thank you for the suggestion. I really love this episode. Why hadn't I thought of it? By the way, I'm still open for requests. I might do a few more. So keep them coming in. :)

Chapter 6: Swing Shift

Hau! I'm Felix Carter and I'm back with another real-life adventure. Carter is teaching me Lakota. I am going to be quadrilingual! Is that the term? I'll have to ask my cousin. He's a walking dictionary. Actually, no, I will know five languages. Lakota, English, French, German, and Mouse. Though the last isn't too useful. Only a few mice still speak it. It's too archaic for them.

LeBeau was telling the fellas about some bird he met in France. Ah, France, the country of romance, fine art, and of course cheese. Oh cheese. Brie and camembert and Rocquefort; they are so soft and creamy. I love France's cheese. The birds I don't care about. I have a lovely girlmouse. She's beautiful. Long, blond fur and big brown eyes. Oh, she is a beauty!

Well, LeBeau told them her name was Michelle. I didn't care about her name. I'm sure she is a very beautiful girl; of that I can be sure. But I do wish LeBeau had told us about the cheeses he had eaten there. Carter seemed interested in Michelle.

"Michelle, why that's one of my favorite names."

Newkirk told Carter he'd start calling him that. I laughed when I heard that. Michelle is a girl's name. Even Michael is not close to Andrew or Carter. "M" is twelve letters away from "A" and ten away from "C". See? No similarities at all. Sometimes Newkirk really confuses me.

Anyways, LeBeau finished his story. He said the girl had spiked his drink and had stolen his wallet. Served him right, I think. He should have been sampling cheese instead of girls.

The men were disappointed with the conclusion of the story, Newkirk especially.

"You twister," he said. You know, I'm not exactly sure what that means. I'm sure it wasn't meant as a compliment, though. I was about to scamper off and ask one of my cousins, when I saw a General Burkhalter's car enter the camp. He got out with a fancy dressed civilian. Klink met them at the car and they went into his office. We thought Colonel Hogan would be interested in this, so we went to his office. He told us to get out the coffeepot. To listen in, not to make coffee. The last time we did that, Kinch got as close to mad as I've ever seen him.

In Klink's office, General Burkhalter told Klink about the civilian.

"Hans Speer is the leading man in Germany in converting factories to the production of war materials. He's the best."

Herr Speer told Klink he was very impressed with his no escape record. I laughed at that. Impressed with his record is right. With him? No. No one could be impressed with Klink. He acts like a bumbling idiot in front of the brass. Well, Herr Speer asked Klink for some guards to protect his factory. Klink protested. He said he was shorthanded. (It's because of all those guards deserting.) General Burkhalter cut in.

"Klink, are you going to stand in the way of the war effort anymore than you already do?"

Klink shook his head quickly. "Of course not, Herr General."

"Then it's settled."

Colonel Hogan told Kinch to radio London for an airstrike. Unfortunately, London was too busy. They had other things to bomb first. Like a drugstore in Dusseldorf. Colonel Hogan raised his eyebrows when he heard that.

"Maybe somebody made a reservation," suggested Kinch.

As it so happened, that's exactly what it was. The Underground did make a reservation. The Germans were using the drugstore as front for a special lab. I heard it from my cousins. Like I have told you, we know about things before even the humans do.

Well, Colonel Hogan said they were just going to have to do the job themselves.

"Do you think we can do a job that big, Colonel?" asked LeBeau.

"How will we get into the factory?" put in Carter.

"What's the matter? Haven't any of you ever worked a swing shift before?" Colonel Hogan planned to get into that factory. LeBeau asked some fellows who worked at the factory for help with his car. They finally agreed and then we jumped them. They put up a pretty good fight. I had to bite a few of them to calm them down. It worked marvelously. They took the men's badges and work clothes.

When they got to the factory, Schultz was checking the men to make sure each man had their badge. He didn't even notice Colonel Hogan and the rest of them pass through. They went to the assembly line. It was their job to make sure none of the flak cannon barrels were defective. They reset the machine while Carter distracted the inspector. The machine started turning out plugged barrels. Oh, my human is so clever! He was the one who pointed it out to Colonel Hogan.

It turned out the badge Newkirk had made him a foreman. I thought Carter should have been made foreman. What does Newkirk know about flak cannon barrels?

Everything was going well until Schultz discovered us. Colonel Hogan managed to talk him out of turning us in. He said that Schultz would be in trouble for letting us escape.

"Schultz, we'll only be here for a couple of days."

That seemed to appease Schultz and he left. Carter came and told Colonel Hogan that the place was loaded with gunpowder. It would be easy to blow the place up. I beamed. My human knows exactly what he's talking about. He became really excited and started making exploding sounds. LeBeau nudged him to be quiet.

"One of the great pyromaniacs of our time," Colonel Hogan said. He is right. Carter is a master at his craft.

Just then Herr Speer came with an announcement. He said Muller, which Newkirk, would be going into the Wehrmacht. I was shocked. We all were. I watched as the guards led him away. I contemplated whether I should stay with Carter or go with Newkirk. I decided to go with Newkirk. He might need me. The German army is scary. Who knows? He might need me to give someone a nip or two.

When we arrived at the enrollment center, the medic said he was fit for the army. If he was breathing he was fit. They really are desperate for soldiers. Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, Colonel Klink came to look for more guards. He picked some men including Newkirk. That really made my tail start to twitch. They had put him into a uniform when Herr Speer called. He asked for Muller (Newkirk) back. Apparently Colonel Hogan convinced Speer Muller was essential for the factory. As soon as we got back to the factory, Carter had everything wired to blow. It was et to blow at the factories whistle. We left the factory in a hurry.

That night it blew up. You should have seen my human's face. It was worth the trouble I went through to make sure they all stayed safe.

"Congratulations on a job well done," Colonel Hogan told Carter. I was very proud of him. He really is the best at his craft.

That night at roll call, Klink gave his boring and long no escape speech for some new prisoners. He said he had personally trained every guard himself. I guess he didn't notice Private Addison next to him. Addison made a good German. We should use him on some future jobs.

Anyways, I really must be going. I think I caught Newkirk's cold he faked during Klink's inspection. Who knew you could catch a fake cold? I already got fake German measles. It was bad enough catching the American kind. Well, I'm off to my bed. I think Carter cleaned it for me. He's so nice. And Newkirk gave me a piece of cheese. I'll eat that.

Until I write again.

Bye-

Felix Carter