The men of Stalag 13 had been busy during the past few months. Colonel Hogan was proud of them and was keeping tab on the many things that they had done. He was well aware that any good Gestapo man could do some real harm to him and his men at any time. Also, the things that they had done to the German war effort must be getting the attention of someone.
But his biggest fear happened on this cold February day. The men had just gotten back from bombing a train and had just entered the barracks once again when he heard several cars pull up. The men watched from the window as three cars arrived along with a radio detector and Hochstetter. They were headed right over to Klink's office.
The men immediately took out the coffee pot and leaned over to listen to the men who were now in Colonel Klink's office. The Gestapo man could not stand Colonel Klink. He thought of him has a major reason as to why the war was starting to be a losing situation. This was something that Hochstetter could not chance. He was a Nazi through and through.
As Colonel Hogan and his men listened Klink was stuttering. This major was a Gestapo agent and very capable of sending him to the Russian front, something that he feared more than anything else.
"There is a large group of saboteurs in this area. We have kept track of all of these instances here. He was showing Colonel Klink his map and encircled around all the espionage was Stalag 13. Do you see what I mean Coloenl?" he asked him.
Colonel Klink was well aware of the many acts of espionage that were occurring in the area, but he had never seen any connection between his camp and the amount of bombings . He tried to sound sure of himself, but knew that his voice was shaking as he spoke. "There are many homes in the area major. There has never been an escape from here let alone anyone doing any espionage." he told him.
The major was not as sure as Colonel Klink about the innocence of the people at this Stalag. He had met Colonel Hogan the leader of the prisoners and knew that he was a smart and cunning man. Somehow he was sure that Colonel Hogan had something to do with the espionage . He was going to bring a prisoner there to spy on Colonel Hogan's men.
"Colonel Klink, I want to make sure that everything is as it appears here at Stalag 13. I am sending Colonel Hans Becker. He was born and raised in the United States, and quite frankly has a German accent. He did not come to Germany until four years ago and will fit right in with the men. I want him to be assigned to Colonel Hogan's barracks. He will be arriving tomorrow as captured radio man from a downed airplane."
The plan sounded good to Colonel Klink, and he was glad that for once the Major was not interested in him. He looked at the map that the major had made and had to admit that Stalag 13 was in the dead center of the espionage activity. But, he was sure that Colonel Hogan had not been doing anything. He saw the man everyday. He was a prisoner at his camp for god's sake.
Colonel Hogan and his men stood back from the coffee pot and looked at each other. This was going to cause a real problem for them and their missions. A mole was being placed in their barracks and they were going to have to get rid of him. They were going to have to be very careful not to let the man know that they knew who he was and yet not let him know anything. That is until they were ready for him to find out.
Things would have to be done through the alternative barracks that the Colonel and his men had set up months ago. From there they could continue doing their acts of espionage without the German thinking that anything was going on. Colonel Hogan was thinking 'We cannot stop doing anything, for then the Germans will surely suspect that we have something to do with the bombings in the area. No we must have one of the biggest acts done while he was there at the Stalag. Then they would send the Colonel back to England to sit out the rest of the war.
The plans for the bombing of the ammunition was going to be the first on their list of new things to take care of. There was a compound just three miles away from where they were now living. The plan was that they would go out in three nights and bomb the plant. Leave it so that the mole Colonel Hans Becker looked to be the real spy. He was an American and easy prey to the prejudices of the German people.
The men stayed up most of the night getting things prepared for the act against the German war effort. Once the mole got there they would not be able to talk about it, except when he was not around and things had to be planned down to the moment.
The alternative barracks was told of the plans and the men of the barracks readied their place once again. This was an honor because the alternative barracks had not been used often. The only time that Colonel Hogan and his men had used the other barracks had been times when a German other than Schultz had come to the barracks. Soon the men might be missed and by them coming out of the other barracks acting as though they had been playing cards or something, the Germans had not become suspicious. But, now their barracks was going to be the center of activity and they wanted things to be right.
That night very few of the prisoners got much sleep, but they were ready for Hans Becker and waiting for him also.