A/N: Welcome to the 4th installment of my Hogan's Heroes series! I am trying something new with this story. Up until now, I have written the Hogan chapters in third person and the Klink chapters in first person. This time, I am going to experiment with doing both of them in first person. Let me know what you think! First chapter is Hogan's POV...

Warnings: Same as for my other stories.

Disclaimer:I make no profit. Characters and plot lovingly and respectfully borrowed.

Movies Are Your Best Escape - 1

About a week after Colonel Crittendon was transferred back to Stalag 18, we got in a few downed British flyers. When Newkirk introduced them to me, he assured me that they checked out.

Just as we were discussing the logistics of getting them back to England, a small commotion was heard outside. Schultz was apparently herding all the prisoners back into the barracks. We quickly got the Brits back down in the tunnel just before Schultz came in the barracks door.

It only took a moment for us to get Schultz to confess the reason for the sudden confinement. Apparently a certain General von Kaplow had arrived with a mysterious briefcase handcuffed to his person.

After Schultz left I did some quick thinking. I wanted to see what was so important that a general would have it secured so tightly. What sort of ruse could we use to get inside the general's briefcase? Obviously a distraction would be needed. If Newkirk could get to the case, it would be a matter of moments for him to be inside of it. Two of the best distractions would be drinking or romance. Not much chance of the latter, but we might be able to manage the former.

I told LeBeau and Newkirk that I would find out what was going on from Klink.

"How are you going to do that, Colonel?" asked Newkirk.

I responded, "LeBeau, get out your best recipes. They say the way to a man's big mouth is through his stomach."

I exited Barracks 2 and made my way over to the Kommandantur. Although we were supposed to be confined to barracks, none of the guards bothered to stop me. I had convinced them all that as senior POW officer I had the right to go see Klink at any time of the day or night.

Helga was working in the outer office, Klink's door was closed.

I went up to Hegla, "Hi honey," I said and kissed her on the forehead.

"What's the general doing in there with Klink?"

Helga's warm smile turned into a slight frown of disappointment.

"The only reason you kiss me is to get information from me," she pouted and turned away.

"Come on, honey, that's not true," I insisted, "there are other reasons. For openers: I'm a man, you're a woman."

"Mmmm," Helga replied skeptically, and turned away again.

"That's about all I remember from those training films," I mused. Mental note: remember to request more silk stockings for Helga next time we contact London.

"So, what about the general?" I asked again.

"The only thing I know is that he pinched me," replied Helga with a disgusted eye-roll.

"Well, at least we know what he likes," I teased.

I went into Klink's office and was nearly shot by the armed guard just on the other side of the door.

Wow, this general is not joking around!

Fortunately, in spite of Klink's immediate protestations I was able to get the general's interest. He was an extremely dour looking man with an eye patch that was probably the result of fencing, as the side of his face with the missing eye also bore the mark of a long scar.

What is it with these Germans and their fencing scars? Thank God that's not a look that's popular in America!

I also noted the briefcase in question, which I was pleased to see was handcuffed to the general with a fairly lengthy chain. The longer the chain, the easier it would be to access the contents.

I was able to ingratiate myself to the general by concocting a story about it being "Repeal of Prohibition Day" and that we were cooking a special meal and wanted to include our loveable commandant.

"Colonel Hogan, you know that I never fraternize with the prisoners," Klink said with a strange tightness in his voice.

But, I managed to pique the general's interest and after I invited him as well he immediately accepted.

We fixed the time for 7:30pm in Klink's quarters. Klink seemed reluctant about hosting, but was quickly overridden by the general.

I left feeling extremely pleased. I had been looking for an excuse for some time to get into Klink's personal quarters. It was one of the few places we still didn't have linked to our tunnel system, as we did not know the exact layout of the place. Being inside would enable me to draw plans and we could decide where best an entrance might be constructed. I also wanted to have a good look around the place in order to learn more about Klink. So much about him was still obscure and somewhat puzzling to me. Having a look at his domestic arrangements would go a long way to revealing the man. The more I knew about Klink, the more useful he could be.

I hurried back to Barracks 2 and informed LeBeau. It was arranged that he and Newkirk would have immediate access to Klink's kitchen and whatever food stores the camp possessed. They set off immediately, carefully guarded because we were all still officially confined to our barracks.

At 7:30 I set off for Klink's quarters along with Schultz. We were met by Klink, the general and Helga. Apparently, the general had insisted that Helga attend the dinner as well.

Even better! She's more of a distraction than the food and wine put together!

As final dinner preparations were made, Klink gave us a quick tour of his quarters, which were small, but fairly comfortable. There was a sitting room that had a dining area at the back, a kitchen with modern appliances, a tiny but modern bathroom, and a bedroom with a large bed covered in a blue and white quilt.

The furniture was surprisingly traditional, rather than military issue. I could only assume that the pieces must belong to Klink personally. Hmmmm, likes the comfort of familiarity and homey-ness.

The decor was very basic, mostly antique weapons. I again assumed they must be from a personal collection. I'll have to ask him about them some time. People love to tell the stories behind their possessions.

As I wandered through the sitting room I happened upon a record player with a large stack of records beside it. I looked through them a bit and discovered that they were the records Klink had confiscated from us last week while he was in a fit of pique over one of our pranks. He had threatened to smash them, but instead he was apparently listening to them.

I glanced at the record on the machine. It was Tommy Dorsey's "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You." I smiled to myself. I was trying to picture stiff, fussy Klink listening to such sensuous, romantic music.

I was interrupted in my musings by Newkirk. Apparently LeBeau had everything ready in the kitchen, so it was time to sit down to dinner...and take a peek in the general's briefcase!

To be continued...

A/N: Please let me know how this is going! Next chapter will be from Klink's POV...