A/N:Well, gee whiz! Has it been a long time since I've been writing for this fandom or what?! I'm excited to be back after an over a year break from writing and posting stories on this site. My first year of college is over, I've gotten lots of advice from other writers from this fandom and other ones, and I'm hopeful that it has made my writing stronger and more profound than it was before. Well, to start my run back into the 'Hogan's Heroes' world, I'll begin with something I've been putting my heart and soul into for over a year, now. It's the sequel to ColHogan's 'Lost In the Darkness' (if you hadn't read that, already). Kind of my salute to her for being an awesome role model and hope to follow in her footsteps as I grow older and write more and more. I'm gonna shut up now, and let you guys read. Glad to be back, and I hope you enjoy 'Coming Into the Light'!
Chapter 1:
Summertime; the season where everyone was in a good mood and busy with either socializing, playing sports, planning activities, or whatever else that happened to come up. The weather was generally pleasant to be outside, except for the occasional thunderstorms that passed by every once in awhile.
It was the middle of July, and in Stalag 13, there was a volleyball tournament currently going on. All teams consisted of six prisoners each. It was down to the final four, and Carter and Newkirk's team were one of them. Kinch and LeBeau stood in the shade watching the game go on. LeBeau was cheering and clapping his hands for his friends, while Kinch simply smiled and watched back and forth between their team and the opposing one.
Carter set the ball, and Newkirk used his famously known spike and scored another point for his team. The score was now 22-24: game point.
LeBeau cheered louder and clapped his hands. He was hoping Newkirk and Carter would win and move on to the championship game. By how the game had been going for the evening, the little Frenchman was pretty confident that his wish would become reality.
A staff sergeant, Maxwell Segal, who also roomed in barracks two, served the volleyball and started what LeBeau and Kinch hoped was the last round. They wanted to declare Carter and Newkirk's team the winners and send them to the championship.
As the game continued, Baker came out of the barracks holding a piece of paper. He tapped Kinch on the shoulder and handed him the note. Kinch read it, nodded, and handed it back to Baker. Baker went back inside the barracks, where he was monitoring the radio in the tunnels, and closed the door behind him. Kinch sighed, then turned his attention back to the game and smiled again.
Carter set the ball high in the air, hoping Newkirk's next spike would win it.
"Get it, Newkirk!" Segal yelled.
Newkirk made a running start, jumped up, and smacked the ball. Another prisoner on the opposite team went diving for the ball, but he landed on the ground three seconds too late. The ball had hit the ground and bounced off to another prisoner on his team.
LeBeau cheered, jumping up and down. Kinch was clapping his hands and smiling.
"Yeah, Newkirk!" The sergeant cheered.
Newkirk looked over at LeBeau and Kinch and smiled, waving at both of them. After high fiving everyone on the opposing team for a good game, Carter and Newkirk made their way to their friends.
"That was great, Pierre," LeBeau said beaming.
"Thanks, Louis," Newkirk said blushing.
"Good game, guys. You did well," Kinch said.
"I say we all celebrate. Louis could make a special dinner for the four of us," Carter said with glee.
"Oh, Louis; can yah make that special chocolate cake?" Newkirk asked, dreaming of the excellent delicacy.
"I will see what I can do, Pierre." LeBeau replied, smiling. He then turned to Kinch with a more serious look on his face and changed the topic of conversation. "Hey, Kinch; what was that note that Baker gave you about?"
"Is it about the Colonel?" Carter asked.
"I'd like to hear this, Andrew," Newkirk said, crossing his arms.
Kinch looked to make sure no one else was around. Still feeling slightly uneasy, he turned back to look at the three of them.
"Let's take this inside, shall we?" He asked.
The three nodded and followed Kinch inside and to the small room in the barracks. Carter closed the door and sat down in the desk chair. Newkirk and LeBeau sat down on the lower bunk, and the tall sergeant stood in front of the window.
"What's going on here, mate?" Newkirk asked.
Kinch sighed and began speaking.
"First, it's not about Colonel Hogan. It's not even from London. I got a message from the underground...and it wasn't the pleasant of messages."
"What did it say, mon ami?" LeBeau asked, relieved and saddened it was not from London or about Hogan.
"Something about the ball bearing plant we blew up last week?" Carter asked.
"No...nothing involving a mission of ours...but it does involve someone." Kinch answered, being vague.
The three men before Kinch looked at one another, then back at him again.
"What are you saying, mate?" Newkirk asked, growing leery.
"...It's Major Hochstetter. The Gestapo have been investigating the area for the past four weeks and are growing suspicious. He's expected to make a surprise visit to Klink sometime tomorrow evening."
"Great; what's that bloody Kraut want now?" Newkirk moaned.
"Wasn't the surprise visit he made two weeks ago enough for him?" LeBeau sneered.
The four men hated whenever Major Wolfgang Hochstetter showed up around Stalag 13. It always meant trouble for the four. Heck, even Kommandant Wilhelm Klink shivered in his boots whenever the Gestapo officer showed up unexpectedly. But then again, Klink always shivered in his boots regarding someone from the Gestapo.
"I don't know, but Harold said it didn't sound like Hochstetter's in a good mood," Kinch replied, crossing his arms.
"Wonder what he could want; we haven't done anything much recently besides one sabotage assignment," Carter said, trying to think of an explanation.
"It's Major Hochstetter, André; he doesn't need a reason to show up." LeBeau groaned.
"I bet it's just to snitch to Klink about another sabotage by the Allies." Newkirk replied.
Carter sighed and began to frown.
Kinch looked at the young sergeant.
"What's wrong, Carter? You look sad," Kinch said with sympathy.
"It'll be alright, mate; we've dealt with Hochstetter more than once. It's a piece of cake by now to handle him," Newkirk said, giving a friendly smile.
"No, it's not that...it's just...it's just today, is all," Carter sadly said.
At first, it did not register in any of their minds as to what Carter was talking about. After having it roll around a couple of times in his head, it dawned on Kinch exactly what the young man was referring to.
"Oh yeah...today marks six months since the Colonel left."
Colonel Robert Hogan had been taken to London six months ago due to the loss of his godson, Terry Carpenter. It had made him mentally snap along with the guilt he had developed due to a bridge explosion gone wrong that had been assigned by London. Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, and LeBeau had him flown to London to be treated in a psychiatric hospital, knowing the ones in Germany that he had originally been assigned to travel to ended in dire consequences...mostly the deaths of their patients from torture and abuse.
"God...has it been six months already?" Newkirk asked, in shock. He could not believe they had now been living without Hogan for half a year now.
"I can't believe we've survived six months already without mon Colonel," LeBeau sadly said, hanging his head.
"I miss him, guys." Carter sighed.
Kinch gave the young sergeant a sympathetic look, walked over to his friend, and he gently patted his shoulder.
"I know...I know...we all miss him, Carter."
"I wonder how he's doing. We haven't heard from London since the second week the Gov'nor first left," Newkirk said.
"Either nothing has changed regarding his condition, or nothing worse has happened," LeBeau said, putting a hand on his chin.
"I keep hoping he'll someday just walk in here, and he'll be alright and healthy, again," Carter whimpered.
"We all want that, Andrew...but you know we can't do that this time. The Gov'nor's not healthy or safe here in his current medical condition, and everyone believes he's dead. Sadly, there's no way for us to bring him back again," Newkirk said, wishing there was some God given solution to enable them to bring Hogan back without any suspicion or harm. All of them wanted that, but they knew it was just not logical this time.
"I miss his smile...and his wisecracks he'd make to us and Klink," LeBeau said, smiling sadly as he remembered his beloved friend and commanding officer.
Kinch smirked.
"I miss his sense of humor. He always knew how to put a smile on someone's face."
"I miss the way he would always watch us play sports and his crazy yet ingenious ideas for assignments," Newkirk said, recalling his own happier memories with Hogan.
"I miss talking to him and his advice...and him always saying 'Shut up, Carter' to my idiotic ideas," Carter said.
"Not all your ideas are idiotic, mon ami," LeBeau replied.
"Yeah, don't beat yourself up like that, Andrew. I mean, who else would've gave the Colonel the idea to send Adolf Hitler to camp and scare Klink right out of his boots?" Newkirk asked, smiling small. (1)
Carter gave a sad smile and turned his head slightly to the left as he continued thinking of Hogan.
"I wish I could see him just one more time." He quivered, swallowing a knot in his throat. Kinch continued rubbing the young sergeant's back.
The four men sighed as they continued recalling past memories of their well loved commanding officer and best friend.
The next night came by faster than anyone could imagine. Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, and LeBeau were outside in front of the barracks. LeBeau sat on the bench besides Carter, Newkirk was smoking a cigarette, and Kinch was standing besides the Englishman watching the other prisoners wrap up their activities for the evening, when they saw a staff car with Gestapo flags flapping in the early night breeze.
"Looks like we got company, guys," Kinch said, turning his head to the three besides him.
The three got up and surrounded Kinch, as they watched Hochstetter step out of the car and returned Schultz's salute.
"I wonder what he wants," LeBeau said, as he pondered possibilities in his mind.
"I don't know, but by the look on his face, he wasn't all too happy," Carter observed.
"When's Hochstetter ever happy?" Newkirk replied, a hint of irritation in his voice.
The big guard followed the major up the steps, into the Kommandantur, and into Klink's office.
"Guys, I think it's time for our evening coffee break," Kinch said.
"Right, Kinch," Newkirk replied.
The four of them hurried inside the private room in the corner of the barracks to turn on the coffee pot, and listen in on Klink and Hochstetter.
(1) Carter dressed up as and impersonated Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler, in the second season in the episode "Will the Real Adolf Please Stand Up?"