A/N: First, thanks to 80sarcades for permitting me to use an incident in his story Requiem, for a Memory, as a basis for this story. The first part may slightly resemble the beginning of Requiem, for a Memory. It was necessary for the purposes of this story. I do not own Hogan's Heroes or any of it's characters, but I do the DVDs and enjoy watching them. Only the OCs are mine. Please read and review.

The Evil That Follows

Prologue:

Arlington National Cemetery

March 13, 1955

Today it was just the four of them huddled together against the chilly afternoon breeze that was blowing on this crisp, clear day. But today was unlike the last time they had been here. At that time they were only four out of dozens of others both military and non-military who had gathered to say goodbye to a fallen hero who had passed much too soon. But now, a year later, they each gazed down at the white marble headstone on which was engraved the name: Robert Edward Hogan and beneath it, Lt. General, and the date of March 13, 1954.

Newkirk, Kinch, Carter, and LeBeau each leaned forward and placed their bouquets of flowers in front of the headstone, then straightened back up and folded their hands in front of them, continuing to gaze with bright eyes at the name on the white marble.

Each man was lost in their own thoughts as they recalled the day a year ago when they had heard the terrible news of Hogan's death in a plane crash during a thunderstorm; mechanical failure was the official explanation.

Captain James Kinchloe, being one of Hogan's aides from the moment Hogan received his promotion to Brigadier General, was the first to hear the news of the crash. At first he didn't believe the report as he knew that although a young pilot and co-pilot were at the controls of the military transport on which Hogan, now a Lieutenant General, and his senior aide-de-camp, Major Jack Bergman, were en-route to some military function, that Hogan being an experienced pilot in his own right, could take over in an emergency.

But soon Kinch discovered the story was sadly true; the plane had crashed two hours after take-off having tried to fly around a thunderstorm; but the plane was struck by lightning causing mechanical failure. Hogan, his aide, the pilot, and co-pilot were dead on impact. Kinch couldn't believe it. Hogan, having survived years at Stalag 13, the Gestapo, the SS, and whatever other dangers the Germans threw at him, died in a plane crash on American soil. The first thing Kinch had to struggle with was the sudden shock and grief over the death of his close friend and commanding officer. He mourned the young pilot, co-pilot and aide as well, but it was Hogan's death that shook Kinch to his core. An hour after the news had been verified; Kinch locked himself in Hogan's office, buried his head in his hands, and cried uncontrollably.

Once he had managed to get control of his emotions, he quickly phoned Newkirk, Carter and LeBeau each of who were no longer in the military with the news. The entire team had remained close since their liberation, and was stunned and grief-stricken by the news. Newkirk and LeBeau both immediately flew from their respective countries to the United States for Hogan's funeral. Carter had arrived a day before their international friends, and with Kinch, met their friends at the airport.

Standing now at the grave-site, each man crossed himself. Kinch then sighed before turning and slowly walking away, leading the quartet from the grave-site and to their parked car.

"I don't know about you mates," remarked Newkirk grimly with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his tweed outer coat. "But I could sure use a stiff drink right 'bout now."

"So could I," Kinch agreed readily. "I know it's been a year, but I still find this day hard to get through," he continued as he and the others got into the parked car with Kinch behind the wheel with Newkirk beside him, and Carter and LeBeau in the back seat. Kinch slowly pulled away from the curb and took off down the street.

"Y'know, I still can't believe Colonel Hogan's gone," Carter said quietly. "It was just a week before he died that he and I spoke on the phone and made plans for him to fly out to North Dakota and visit with my family and see the new baby. I think he was embarrassed when I told him we had named him Robbie."

"Oui, Andre," LeBeau remarked. "I remember when I received my last letter from him. He had just been promoted to Lieutenant General and Kinch to Captain. Le Colonel was more proud of Kinch's promotion than his own. He was looking forward to finishing his career with the Army. It is not fair. Le Colonel was much too young to die."

Newkirk smirked. "Blimey, it's ruddy hard to think that the one thing the Gov'nor loved more than anything was what killed 'im. I mean, he loved flying so much and missed it something awful."

Their conversation ceased when they came to a bar/restaurant a few miles from the cemetery. After parking the car and getting out, the group approached the establishment. Kinch pulled open the door and allowed the others to enter before he followed behind them. Once their eyes grew accustomed to the darkened interior, the men made their way to the back of the room and finding an empty booth, sat down. They each ordered a beer when the waitress approached and handed each man a menu after taking their drink orders.

The men remained silent as the waitress returned with their mugs of beer and placed one in front of each man. Ready to take their food orders, Kinch asked her to give them a few more minutes; the waitress smiled and promised to return in five minutes.

Feeling hungry, each man ordered either a hamburger or a sandwich when the waitress returned along with a side order of French fries; the waitress, after taking their orders, collected the menus and walked away.

"Carter's right, y'know," Newkirk said after the waitress had left. "I mean, the Gov'nor was always so careful and all. Ruddy hard to believe he's really gone."

"Yeah, well…." Kinch took a sip of his beer. "I saw the official report, Peter. "The plane was trying to fly around a thunderstorm but was struck by lightning. It can happen to anybody, even the Colonel. Regardless, from what I understand he, his senior aide, the pilot and co-pilot all died quickly and apparently didn't suffer much before the end came."

"But still, mon ami," LeBeau chimed in. "It seems strange to be discussing Le Colonel in the past tense. He should still be here with us instead of….." He waved his hand in the air at nothing in particular without finishing his sentence. The conversation ceased again as the waitress brought their food. After she walked away, the men began eating their meals and changing the conversation to talking about old times. They eventually finished their meals and then sat around sipping their beers and remembering their fallen leader. Finally, Kinch held up his mug.

"You've been gone a year," he said. "But you're still greatly missed by those of us who served with and under you. Here's to the finest officer to ever wear an Allied uniform. To Robert Hogan." The others repeated their former commander's name then everyone clinked glasses and took a long draught of their beer.

Present Day-September 17, 1955

Kinch, Carter, LeBeau and Newkirk were all seated in a booth in the same bar/restaurant they had visited when they had gotten together to remember Hogan six months ago. But this time their conversation consisted of what was currently happening in each man's life to how were their individual families and what were their individual plans and how Kinch was doing since Hogan's death, having been reassigned to General Montgomery Forbes as his senior aide.(1) Kinch went on to explain that although Forbes, in many ways, was similar to Hogan, he was a bit different as well. But he was glad Forbes had fought to secure him as his aide after hearing of Hogan's passing and knowing being a black man in the Army, Kinch would have a difficult road ahead of him despite being a highly qualified officer. Also, Forbes had been a close friend of Hogan's for many years and both had been Colonels during the war, and after the war, when both men were promoted, he even envied Hogan having Kinch as an aide after seeing how qualified the man was and saw in him what Hogan did. So Kinch swallowed his grief and made sure he did his job the way he did when Hogan was alive. And Kinch admitted he liked General Forbes very much and found him to be a good man who treated him with respect and dignity to which the others were happy to hear. They had all secretly been worried about what would happen to their friend after Hogan's death. There was a few minutes of silence as the men drank their beer before Newkirk looked Kinch directly in the eyes looking as if he had grown tired of waiting for something.

"So, mate," Newkirk asked setting down his mug. "What was so bloody important you sent me a ruddy letter askin' me to meet you here today?"

Kinch raised his eyebrows. "What letter? I never wrote you a letter."

"You got one too, mon ami?" asked the Frenchman before the Englander could reply to Kinch's statement.

"You mean you guys each got a letter too?" asked Carter with arched eyebrows. "I thought I was the only one who got one from Kinch."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Kinch held up his hands, palms forward. "First off, I never sent anybody any letters. Second, I have no idea what you're talking about. And third, Peter, I received a letter from you stating you, Carter and LeBeau stating it was imperative all of us meet, and and that you'd explain when we got together."

Newkirk's eyebrows arched. "I never sent you any bleedin' letter, mate."

"You sure, Peter?" Kinch asked reaching into his inner jacket pocket and pulling out a wrinkled envelope and handed it to Newkirk. "I got it right here. It's your handwriting all right, Peter. Take a look." He handed the envelope to the Englander who removed a single sheet of paper from inside and unfolded it. He read it out loud:

"Kinch, I realize we just got together to remember Colonel Hogan; but something important has come to my attention that requires you, Louis, and Andrew to meet me in person to talk at the bar/restaurant we always go to after visiting the Gov'nor's grave. Whatever you do, do not call me as it's too risky to discuss it over the phone. See you on September 17th, 1955. Peter."

Newkirk glanced at LeBeau and Carter as he folded the paper and stuck it back in the envelope. "You both got letters as well?" They both nodded their heads as he handed the envelope back to the black man. "Well, all I can tell you is that I didn't send this letter or any other letter. But apparently somebody wants you to think I did, Kinch."

"Well if you didn't write them," said LeBeau. "Just who did then?"

"I wish I knew, mate. But appears someone wants us all here today. But I have no ruddy idea why."

Just then, the waitress who had brought their beers approached. "Excuse me," she said looking at Kinch in his uniform. "Are you Captain James Kinchloe?"

The men exchanged looks before Kinch looked directly at the woman. "I'm Captain Kinchloe. How may I help you?"

Reaching into the pocket of her apron, the woman removed a sealed envelope and handed it to Kinch. "A older gentleman brought this in earlier and said to give it to you, and that you'd know what to do with it." She handed the envelope to Kinch.

"What did this bloke look like?" Newkirk asked, curious.

The waitress shrugged. "I didn't really pay attention. All I could tell you was he was of average height with gray hair. I'm sorry," she said apologetically.

"That's okay. Thank you," Kinch replied with a sigh as he waited until the waitress walked away before opening the envelope and removing the contents, noticing it consisted of several sheets of paper, a couple were stapled together. One was a copy of Hogan's death certificate, another was a copy of the report of the plane crash, the ones stapled together were the autopsy report, and the last was a letter addressed to Kinch. Scanning the contents he then read the letter out loud to the others:

"The end is not what it appears to be. The answers you will seek to the questions you have are in the enclosed documents."

"What the ruddy hell does that mean?" asked Newkirk of nobody in particular. "What ruddy questions?"

"I have no idea, but whoever left this envelope included a copy of the General's death certificate and a copy of the report."

"What for?" asked LeBeau. "I mean, what could be the reason behind it?"

"Yeah," Carter added. "We all know the Colonel died instantly in the plane crash, and that it was caused by mechanical failure."

"I haven't the slightest idea, Louie, except it appears whoever left this for me wanted us all here together." His eyebrows suddenly knitted together as he continued to study the documents. "Wait a minute."

"You see something, mate?"

"On General Hogan's death certificate the cause of death has been highlighted in yellow and so is the cause of the crash on the report."

Carter seemed confused. "Why would somebody do that? We all know what happened."

Newkirk appeared thoughtful for a few minutes before a look of horror appeared on his face. "Kinch, is it even remotely possible that whoever wanted us all here and then made sure the contents of this ruddy envelope was given to you is tryin' to tell us the Gov'nor didn't die in that bloody crash, or that maybe there was something wonky about it ?"(2)

"Mon Dieu!" LeBeau exclaimed. "Pierre, are you suggesting someone possibly killed Le Colonel?"

"That's ridiculous," Carter said. "Who'd want to kill the Colonel? The war's been over for several years."

"Blimey, Andrew, do I have to explain every ruddy thing to you? You know the Gov'nor made enemies while in Germany. Ole Hochstetter for one; then there's Burkhalter."

"We can't limit ourselves to only World War Two," LeBeau reminded him grimly. "The Cold War is still going on, but Le Colonel probably was involved in it to some degree, as well as the Korean War. He could have made enemies in both places. Also, from what I have heard, both Burkhalter and Hochstetter escaped punishment by getting out of Germany and were last heard to be in Argentina. Hochstetter would be my first choice."

"We need to check what enemies the Gov'nor might have made while he was involved in the Cold War as well as those he might have made in the Korean War," said Newkirk. "But how are we gonna do that?"

LeBeau smiled slyly. "Marya will know about the Cold War."

Newkirk rolled his eyes in exasperation at the mentioning of the woman's name. "Blimey, LeBeau. Don't even mention that bloody woman's name. She caused trouble every time she showed up in Stalag 13. Drove the Colonel balmy, she did. Probably isn't even a spy anymore. Besides, she ain't been heard from in years."

"Perhaps not by you," the Frenchman replied with an amused grin.

The Englander suddenly looked at the little Frenchman with his smirk and slowly shook his head. "No. Oh no. Don't tell me you've been correspondin' with that woman. Please tell me it ain't true. We don't need her bloody help."

"The last letter I received from my beautiful Marya was the day of Colonel Hogan's funeral apologizing for not being able to attend. Even if my angel is not a spy anymore, she could still have heard things and might know what enemies le Colonel made during the Cold War. We cannot ignore her as a possible source of information."

"Doesn't matter, mate. Ole Hochstetter hated the Gov'nor for making a bloody fool outta him at every turn. And the Allies are still searchin' for them ruddy Nazi spies in the United States and England."

"Now wait a minute," Kinch stated. "We're jumping to conclusions here. We have no proof of anything. All we have are several pieces of paper, two of which possibly raise questions about the crash and the General's cause of death. But being on the inside as I am, I can positively state I went over the report thoroughly and there was nothing suspicious about the crash or the General's death. If there was I'd be one of the first to know. So would General Butler even though he retired after the Korean War."

"That may be," Newkirk quickly pointed out tapping the papers in Kinch's hands. "But somebody thinks otherwise for a reason, and we have to at least consider looking into it. We could be doin' the Gov'nor a grave injustice if we let it go and there was something wrong here."

Kinch looked at the others. "LeBeau?"

The Frenchman exhaled deeply. "I would hate to think somebody hurt mon Colonel on purpose. But would it not be better to find out the truth than for somebody to have gotten away with murder and taking him from us? I say we check into it, mon ami."

"Andrew?"

Carter shrugged his shoulders. "I sorta feel like LeBeau. I mean, I hate the idea that somebody may have hurt the Colonel. But if there's a chance somebody did, isn't it better that person pay for what they did? I mean, wouldn't Colonel Hogan do the same thing if it had been one of us who'd been killed possibly under suspicious circumstances?"

Kinch sighed as he folded the papers and after putting them back in their envelope, stuffed the envelope inside his inner jacket pocket. "When I return to the office, I'll speak with General Forbes and then make one or two phone calls and see what I can find out. Newkirk, since General Butler is retired and was the General's commanding officer during the operation, why don't you go and speak with him directly. He knew the General as well as anybody."

"What about us, mon ami?" asked LeBeau. "What do Andre and I do?"

"Louie, I want you and Carter to search the newspapers for anything you can find on the crash and make copies of what you find. We need to see if the media reported anything that the military didn't. If any of you discover anything, keep it to yourselves until later this evening and we'll meet back at the hotel in town. No sense in arousing suspicion where there may not be any."

(1) Col. Forbes is from Easy Come, Easy Go, Season 6. I promoted him to Major General. He also had no first name so I invented one.

(2) Wonky means 'not quite right.'