Hogan wandered up to Schultz and leaned against the outside of barracks two. "Hey, Schultz", he said casually as he reached into his flight jacket and pulled out two candy bars. "Care to tell me when Klink's next bed check is?"
Schultz hesitated for a minute and then grabbed the candy bars from Hogan's hand. "Tomorrow night at eight o'clock", he said muttered.
Hochstetter came around the corner just then and snatched the candy from Schultz' hand. "Just what is going on here?" he demanded. "Taking bribes from the prisoners, sergeant?"
Schultz babbled helplessly at Hochstetter for a minute but grew silent when Hochstetter glared at him. "I think a little time at the Russian front will lessen your taste for chocolate", he sneered. He turned in the direction of Klink's office and sharply motioned for Schultz to follow him.
A dejected looking Schultz followed along behind the Gestapo major.
Hogan's eyes widened in shock. That was not what he had meant to happen. He turned and quickly made his way back inside the barracks to inform the other men of what had just happened.
"You've got to be kidding", Kinch groaned. "Just like that and we lose the best kraut we've ever had?"
Hogan nodded and went to his office to plug in the coffee pot so they could listen in on Hochstetter and Klink's conversation.
Twenty minutes later, Hogan yanked the plug out of the wall angrily. "Great. That's just great", he fumed. "He's going and there's not a damn thing we can do about it".
The men were somber and silent for minute, worry gnawing at them. Despite the fact that Schultz was technically the enemy, the men seemed to genuinely like the large, German sergeant.
"Wot if...?" Newkirk's voice trailed off and he shook his head silently.
"What?" Hogan asked. "Come on. I need all the ideas I can get", Hogan urged when Newkirk didn't seem very forth coming. "I don't care how crazy it sounds".
"If they take 'im in a truck, why can't we 'ide out in the back and rescue 'im?" Newkirk said, looking down at his shoes as he waited for Hogan to tell him what a stupid idea it was.
"That's it", Hogan declared. "He's only a sergeant so he'll travel by truck and he'll most likely be doing the driving".
"He's not leaving until the night guards take over so that gives us plenty of time", Lebeau piped up hopefully. Out of all the men, the little Frenchman seemed to have bonded the most with the German sergeant.
Hogan patted Lebeau on the shoulder and smiled. "We'll find a way to rescue him and then get him re posted here".
Lebeau smiled back at Hogan and began making preparations for their coming adventure.
At 7:45 p.m. Hogan and his men saw the truck that was to transfer Schultz to the Russian front pull up in the middle of the compound. "Let's go", he said grimly.
The men scurried across the compound and one by one, they climbed into the back of the truck.
A short time later, Schultz came out and got into the passenger seat of the truck and cpl. Langenscheidt got into the driver's seat. Langenscheidt and Schultz were both somber and silent as Langenscheidt started the truck and drove through the front gates.
The men huddled in the back of the truck, under some tarps, waiting for a very long ride to the Russian front but four hours later, the truck pulled to a stop.
Schultz and Langenscheidt got out and headed into a building.
Hogan waited for several more minutes and then cautiously poked his head out from under the tarp. "It's safe", he whispered and slowly, the men began coming out of hiding. They all hopped from the back of the truck and quietly made their way to the building.
Seconds after they got out of the truck and into the shadows of the building, Langenscheidt came out and got into the truck and drove away by himself.
"Schultz is in there somewhere", Hogan said between gritted teeth.
"Colonel?" Carter whispered in shock. "This is Gestapo headquarters".
Hogan looked at the building a little more closely in the dim light and he gasped softly. "It is", he said in surprise.
They studied the building for a minute or two and then Hogan pointed to a window. "Look, that's the only one with light coming through. "That must be where they took him".
Hogan motioned to his men and they crept up to the window and were gratified to see that it was partially opened so they could hear what was going on.
"You idiot", Schultz was screaming. "Langenscheidt nearly took me to the train depot to send me to the Russian front. I should have driven myself".
"I...I...I...I'm sorry, Herr General", Hochstetter's voice could be heard stammering. "I didn't think...".
"That's the problem with you", Schultz snapped. "You never think. All these years you've been keeping an eye on that piece of trash, Hogan and his men and you've never once caught him at anything".
Hogan's eyes were nearly popping out of his head as he listened in on the conversation. Then, he motioned to Kinch and Lebeau, who drew near him. He began pantomiming to them, wanting Kinch to lift Lebeau so he could get a peek in the window to make sure that he was hearing things correctly.
Kinch nodded and put his hands on Lebeau's waist and lifted him up.
Lebeau peeked in and gave a silent gasp when he saw the beloved sergeant of the guards of Stalag 13. He had changed from his sergeant's uniform and was now dressed as a general and he was still giving Hochstetter a dressing down.
Hochstetter stood in the middle of the room, staring straight ahead, not daring to speak as Schultz continued to rail against him.
Lebeau motioned frantically for Kinch to let him back down and the American sergeant quickly put him back on the ground.
Hogan raised his eyebrows, silently asking Lebeau if it really was Schultz in there, yelling at Hochstetter.
Lebeau swallowed and nodded quietly.
Hogan looked as though he had been punched in the stomach but he quickly pulled himself together and motioned to them to move out. They had to get out of there and they had to go back to Stalag 13 and evacuate everyone.
They began creeping away but Carter stepped on a twig and there was a loud snap as the brittle wood broke under his heel.
Everybody froze at the noise and then the window was pushed open and Schultz leaned out, pointing a gun directly at Hogan. "Freeze, all of you", he snarled. Then he turned to Hochstetter. "Go out and round them up", he ordered. "There should be five of them".
Hochstetter hesitated for a minute and then drew his gun and did as he was told. He went outside and around the building until he was face to face with Hogan. "Let's go", he said tightly.
Hogan and his men sighed grimly and marched inside.
"So, you decided to try and rescue me?" Schultz sneered with undisguised disgust. "That was a big mistake, colonel", he added in the same tone.
"I'm beginning to see that", Hogan dead panned.
"You thought you were so smart", Schultz continued in a superior sounding tone. "But all along, I was watching you, waiting until I had enough information to nail you to the wall".
Lebeau glared up at Schultz and began speaking angrily in French.
Schultz wheeled around on Lebeau and pointed a finger at him. "Silence", he roared. "I might still have a use for you so you might get out of this alive. The rest of you...not so much", he added a harsh voice.
Lebeau was about to say more but Hogan put a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. If he could keep at least one of his men safe for a while, he would do what he had to.
Lebeau grew silent but continued to glare at Schultz.
Schultz smirked at Lebeau before turning back to face Hogan. "We will now sit down and have a little chat, colonel", he said smoothly. "And you will tell me everything".
"You're off your nut if you think I'm telling you a damn thing", Hogan growled.
Schultz drew back his fist and struck Hogan in the jaw, causing the American colonel to stagger back.
Newkirk reached out and steadied Hogan but then surged forward at Schultz but was prevented from reaching him when Kinch grabbed him. "Don't do it, Peter", he whispered softly. "He's as looney as can be. He'd kill you as soon as look at you".
Newkirk was rigid with fury but he stopped and nodded silently.
Carter put a comforting hand on Newkirk's shoulder but he gave Schultz a betrayed look.
Schultz turned to look at Hochstetter. "Lock the others up if you think you can handle something so simple", he sneered. "While you're doing that, Hogan and I will have ourselves a little chat".
Hochstetter nodded and motioned for Kinch, Carter, Newkirk and Lebeau to follow him.
"You can do what you want with the others but leave that one alone", Schultz said shortly as he pointed to Lebeau. "The only thing that was ever the truth was that I enjoyed his cooking", he added smugly.
Hochstetter nodded again and began quickly prodding the men out of the room.
Once they were alone, Schultz motioned Hogan into a chair.
Hogan reluctantly sat and stared warily at Schultz.
"If you cooperate", the big German said. "I can make things easier on you. I'll send you to another camp, one that's not run by that idiot, Klink. I plan to have him executed anyway so you won't be going back to Stalag 13 no matter what".
"I'm not going to tell you anything, Schultz", Hogan snapped.
Schultz hand came up and he grabbed Hogan by the jaw, lifting him and inch or two from the chair. "That is GENERAL Schultz to you", he screamed as he threw Hogan back down onto the chair.
Hogan's jaw tightened but he tried his best not to show the fear that was growing inside of him.
How could things have turned so crazy in such a short amount of time?
How could he have missed all the warning signs?
Was Schultz really that good of an actor?
"Klink knew nothing of what was going on", Hogan said quickly. "He's a loyal German. You don't have to execute him". Despite Klink's stupidity and vanity, he was a basically decent human being and if Hogan could get him spared then at least it was something.
"I know he didn't know anything", Schultz said uncaringly. "But he's still stupid".
Hochstetter got the men down to a cell and began prodding them in while a guard watched.
"What did you say?" Hochstetter snarled, grabbing Newkirk by his shirt front and pulling him close.
"I didn't say a ruddy thing", Newkirk protested as he squirmed in Hochstetter's grip.
"Well, make sure that you don't", Hochstetter snapped as he shoved Newkirk the rest of the way into the cell.
He turned then and stormed off, leaving the guard to watch over them.
As soon as Hochstetter was gone and the guard had wandered off up the hall, Newkirk shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it. I just can't ruddy believe it", he muttered in shock.
"I don't think any of us can believe it", Carter sighed miserably.
"No, I really, really can't believe it", Newkirk whispered as he opened up his jacket and showed them the gun that Hochstetter had just slipped to him while he was roughing him up.
"Has the entire world gone crazy?" Kinch asked as Lebeau crowded close. Schultz wants us dead and Hochstetter is trying to help us".
"Well, we can't do anything right now", Lebeau whispered. "That guard is coming back and he's looking right at us".
"Yeah, we want to be able to take him by surprise", Carter put in.
Hogan sat back in the chair and eyed Schultz coldly. "What is it that you want to know?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
"I want to know the names of all your underground contacts", Schultz said harshly.
"Go to hell", Hogan snapped.
Hochstetter reentered the room just then and Schultz smirked at him. "Take colonel Hogan to a cell and bring me one of the others", he ordered. "But don't put Hogan in with his men. In fact, put him down a different hall so that he has no contact at all with them".
Hochstetter nodded and grabbed Hogan's arm, pulling him to his feet and out the door. He led him along a different hall until he came to an empty cell and then he opened the door and pushed Hogan in. As he walked away, he dropped a key and then kicked it in between the bars before he walked off.
Hogan's jaw dropped and then he quickly scooped up the key and slipped it into his pocket.
Hochstetter next made his way to the cell where Hogan's men were and he motioned for the guard to unlock the cell. Once the cell was unlocked, he went in and motioned the guard away. Once they were alone, Hochstetter's face softened to a look of regret. "He wants to talk to one of you", he said quietly.
"What about the guvnor?" Newkirk asked. "Is 'e alright?"
Hochstetter nodded and pointed around a corner. "He's up that hall". He looked the men over again. "Which one of you wants to go?" he asked quietly.
"I'll go", Newkirk offered.
"No, I'll go", Kinch said.
"We should draw straws or something", Lebeau suggested.
But Carter shook his head. "I'm going", he said firmly.
"Andrew, I don't think that...", Newkirk started to say but Carter cut him off sharply. "No, Newkirk", he said sternly. "I outrank all of you and I say that I'm going to be the one to go".
"But, Andre", Schultz already said that he won't kill me", Lebeau protested. "I should be the one to go".
Carter simply scowled at Lebeau until he became silent and then he turned to Hochstetter. "Let's go", he said grimly.
Hochstetter nodded and then led Carter out of the cell. Once they were out in the hall where the guard could see, Hochstetter grabbed Carter's arm and roughly pushed him along. "Lock the cell", he snapped at the guard.
The guard nodded and locked the cell after Hochstetter walked away.
Hochstetter led Carter along until he came to Schultz office and then he led him inside.
"You can leave us now", Schultz said to Hochstetter.
Hochstetter hesitated and then left the room, after saluting Schultz.
As soon as they were alone, Schultz wheeled around on Carter. "Sergeant, I want to know who your contacts in the underground are".
"I'm not about to tell you anything", Carter said. "You're the biggest creep I've ever seen".
Schultz drew back his hand and struck Carter in the face, knocking him down and then he advanced on him, his hands balled up into fists.
Newkirk looked at the others hesitantly. "Should we make a move on the guard now?" he asked.
Lebeau nodded eagerly and even Kinch was anxious to get started. "Hey, you", Newkirk called out. "Me little friend is sick. 'e needs 'elp".
The guard glared at them as he drew near. "What do you want?" he snapped.
"Me little mate is sick", Newkirk said. " 'e needs a doctor".
Lebeau collapsed to the floor and began to moan.
The guard came right up to the bars and peered through them at the little Frenchman.
"Open the door an' be quiet about it", Newkirk snapped as he suddenly pulled the gun from his jacket and stuck it through the bars and right at the guard's stomach. "If you don't, I'll blow a ruddy 'ole right through you".
The guard stiffened and then slowly and carefully unlocked the door.
Hogan's cell was located closer to Schultz office and he jerked violently when he heard Carter start to scream in agony.
"Carter!" he yelled as he rushed at the bars and began shaking them. "Schultz!" he yelled. "Leave him alone".
The guard in Hogan's hall, came to stand right outside the bars and he brought his night stick up and thrust it between the bars and brutally shoved Hogan back. "Shut up", he yelled, right before he turned and walked away to stand a little further up the hall.
Hogan lowered his head until his forehead was up against the bars and he closed his eyes and began to pray. He had a key but he could do nothing until he could get rid of the guard.
Lebeau's eyes widened when he heard Carter's screams in the disance. "It is Andre", he choked out.
Kinch tied and gagged the guard and then grabbed the gun from Newkirk. "Let's go", he ordered as he began creeping up the hall, followed by Lebeau and Newkirk.
They rounded a corner and then ducked back when they saw Hogan's guard. "Distract him so I can get a jump on him", Kinch said to Lebeau. As the least threatening in appearance, the guard might not even draw his gun against Lebeau.
Lebeau stepped into view then and smiled at the guard. "I seem to be lost", he said. "I can't find my way back to my cell".
The guard scowled and charged at Lebeau but he froze when Kinch and Newkirk suddenly stepped around the corner and into his view, the gun in Kinch's hand leveled at his heart. "Grab his gun", he said to Newkirk.
Newkirk gave a curt nod and went up and snatched the gun from the man's holster. "In there", he ordered, taking the guard's keys as well and opening a nearby cell. They quickly tied and gagged the man and then went and unlocked Hogan's cell.
"Carter?" Hogan asked in a horrified voice.
"He is not screaming any more", Lebeau said. "Maybe Schultz stopped whatever he was doing".
"Maybe", Hogan said as he began leading the way towards Schultz office.
Schultz stood over Carter's battered body and swore angrily when he realized that the young American was no longer breathing. "Weak Americans", he sneered as he gave the lifeless body a kick.
Hogan and his men reached the office and found Hochstetter locked out in the hall.
"Carter?" Hogan asked worriedly.
Hochstetter shook his head. "I don't know", he admitted. "He locked me out once I delivered Carter to him".
"You don't have a key?" Hogan asked.
Hochstetter shook his head. "No, I gave it to you".
Hogan's eyes widened. "I thought it was a key to my cell".
Hochstetter shook his head again. "I suspected he would lock the door and I thought that if something happened to me then someone else would have the key to get in to him. He needs to be stopped".
Hogan reached over to unlock the door but Hochstetter stopped him. "Let me do it", he said. "We need to catch him by surprise".
Hochstetter motioned them back out of view and then unlocked the door. "Are you ready for another one?" he asked, his heart twisting with grief when he saw the dead man on the floor.
"Do you have another one out there?" Schultz asked heatedly.
Hochstetter nodded, not taking his eyes off of the gun that Schultz was wearing at his hip.
He leaned out the door and motioned and Newkirk stepped through.
"Ahhh, Peter Newkirk", Schultz said smugly. "Maybe you will be a little smarter than your young friend", he added, pointing to the lifeless Carter on the floor.
Newkirk's eyes widened in horror when he saw that Carter had literally been beaten to death. "You son of a bitch", he snarled.
Schultz turned to look at Carter's body in triumph and it was then that Hochstetter pulled his gun and pointed it at Schultz. "General Schultz", he called out coldly. "Please turn around and don't, I repeat, don't reach for your gun".
Schultz slowly and carefully turned around and faced Hochstetter.
"You make me ashamed to be a German", Hochstetter growled as he fired a shot, hitting Schultz squarely in the chest.
The large German gasped as blood began spreading out on the front of his uniform and then he collapsed lifelessly to the ground, falling on his face.
Hogan and the others rushed into the room and dropped down beside Carter.
Hogan buried his face in his hands for a minute but then he looked up at the others, he still had a responsibility to them, even if he could do nothing more for Carter.
"Let's get out of here", he ordered.
"Kinch reached down and gently lifted Carter. "I'm sorry, buddy", he said softly.
Lebeau was nearly overwhelmed in his grief and Newkirk put a comforting arm around him, even as he tried to cope with his own pain.
"We need to go", Hogan urged worriedly.
The men staggered towards Hogan but Hochstetter stopped them. "This place will be crawling with guards in just a moment", he said. "Leave sergeant Carter's body and I will make sure it gets home to his family but I have to take you out of here at gun point so I can get you past the guards".
The men looked to Hogan, who nodded reluctantly and Kinch gently lowered Carter to the ground.
Hochstetter led Hogan's men out into the hall and then looked at Hogan. "Lock the door so that we have a little time before they find the general".
Hogan nodded and locked the door.
"Let's go", Hochstetter said, drawing his gun and pointing it at them. "Once I get you outside, I'll get you a car".
Hogan nodded and he and his men began marching towards the exit.
"What happened?' a guard yelled as he came rushing up.
"It is all under control", Hochstetter said. "These men tried to escape and I had to fire a warning shot but general Schultz ordered me to take them to a more secure area and question them some more so I will need a car".
The guard nodded and raced off to get one for Hochstetter.
By the time they made it outside, a car was waiting for them. Hochstetter motioned with his gun and the men climbed in. "You", he said to Hogan. "You drive so that I might hold a gun on you".
Hogan climbed into the driver's seat and Hochstetter got in beside him.
The guard watched until he was sure that Hochstetter had everything under control and then he turned and walked back into the building.
Hochstetter finally lowered his gun and sighed deeply. "I am sorry for the loss of your man", he said regretfully. "I did what I could".
Hogan started the car and began to drive. After several minutes, he turned to look at Hochstetter. "Why?" he asked simply.
Hochstetter sighed again. "I took a position with the Gestapo so that I could try and disrupt the German forces from within. When I realized what was going on at stalag 13 with you and your men, I made it a point to be assigned to investigate you and your operation so that nobody else would find out what you had been doing. As for Schultz, he suspected that the underground was working in the area long before you started your operation so he had himself posted at stalag 13 as a guard so he could investigate further without raising suspicion but then when you started operating out of stalag 13, he decided to keep an eye on you and eventually trap you and all of your underground agents".
"What's going to happen now?" Hogan asked.
"I'm going to take you to where you can catch a ride on a sub back to England", Hochstetter said. "Once they find general Schultz, it will not be safe for you here".
"We need to go back to Stalag 13 first", Hogan said. "I need to evacuate the camp and I'd like to get Klink and Langenscheidt out of there too".
"I can understand your own men but...Klink and Langenscheidt?" Hochstetter asked in confusion.
Hogan shrugged and gave Hochstetter a small smile. "Langenscheidt's a nice kid and as for Klink, he's an idiot but he's not a bad person and when all this is found out, they're going to want to string Klink up for it".
Hochstetter smiled at Hogan then. "You are an honorable man, colonel Hogan", he said kindly as he drove to Stalag 13 to begin the evacuation.
They evacuted Stalag 13 successfully and soon they were all back in England. After their debriefing, Hogan's remaining men gathered together in a London pub.
"I can't believe it's over", Newkirk said as he nursed a beer.
"I can't believe we lost Andrew", Kinch said sadly.
"I can't believe that Schultz turned out to be so evil". Lebeau said softly.
"I can't believe that Hochstetter was the one that saved us", Hogan said quietly.
The men grew quiet as they realized that all along they had known nothing.