Author's Note: I don't own Hogan's Heroes. This is a fictional story any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

The rain had started twenty minutes after she had boarded the train in Berlin and was coming down heavily. She had been traveling for just over two hours.
The underground had told her to get the package and get on the train out of Berlin. No explanations. No further instructions. So, she had boarded the train and waited. People had come and gone from the various stops they had made, but no one had tried to speak with her. No one tried to take the package.

It had been ten minutes since they had left Hanover and there was no one who appeared to be the contact. She shifted in her seat and picked up her book from the seat beside her. The door to the rail-car opened, causing her to look up. Her heart jumped into her throat as two Gestapo officers stepped in, surveying the passengers. Her mind raced as she tried not to look suspicious. The Gestapo men walked slowly down the isle, until at last they came to a stop at her row of seats. One of them smiled at her,
"Good afternoon, Fräulein. Are you traveling alone?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and managed to get out, "Hello...Um, yes...yes, I am."

"Where are you going?" he asked, smoothly.

"Um...Well...I, uh...I don't know..." she stuttered, then cursed herself for such a stupid answer.

"You don't know where you are going?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Um...You see...I, uh...was supposed to meet a friend in Hanover." she was starting to panic, "But she must have missed the train." she finished, lamely.

"Oh, I see." he said, studying her, "Papers, please."

She flinched slightly then tried to smile, "Is, uh, that really necessary?"

"Papers, please." he repeated, stonily.

She reached down slowly and grabbed her handbag. She dug out her papers and handed them over, praying they would pass inspection. The Gestapo officer studied the papers and then handed them to his companion, who also inspected them carefully.

"Ja, ja, they appear to be in order, sehr gut." said the other Gestapo officer, handing the papers back to her, "Auf weidersehen."

"Danke." She said, flashing them a warm, relieved smile, "Auf weidersehen."

The officers continued through the rail-car, pausing to question an older gentleman, before moving on and exiting the car. As soon as she heard the door close behind them, she breathed deeply, marveling at how close she had come to being caught. She was so deep in thought that she was startled by a young man who dropped into the seat in front of her. He studied her for a moment, before saying, cautiously, "Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home. Your house is on fire."

"And your children shall burn." She finished, softly.

He relaxed, slightly, "The Gestapo are searching for you and your package."

"They didn't take me." She replied, keeping her voice low.

"No, but they suspect you." He said, pointedly, "Get the package to Dusseldorf. You will meet an agent in the hotel dining room at 10 o'clock, code-named, Papa Bear."

"Papa Bear?" She asked, making sure she heard it right.

"Ja, Papa Bear. Give him the package. Then leave town...disappear." he said, this time grabbing her wrist, "Do not go back to Berlin."

She nodded, trying to keep from trembling, "How will I know this Papa Bear?"

He grinned, "He will say, 'Jack sprat could eat no fat.'"

"And I'll say, "His wife could eat no lean'?" she asked, a smile spread across her face.

"Nein." he said, softly, "You will respond with, 'London Bridge is falling down.'"

She frowned, "Who comes up with these codes?"

He chuckled, "I do not know. I must go now. Good-luck, Ladybird." he started to stand and leaned closer to her, "Remember, do not return to Berlin." he turned and exited the car, quietly. She looked down at the watch pinned to her blouse.

Five hours until the meeting.

1************************************************1

The heroes were seated at the dinner table, still arguing over who should go on the mission that night. Carter, Newkirk, and LeBeau had all volunteered. Hogan sat quietly amused as they each made their case as to why they should be on the mission. After fifteen minutes of them arguing, Kinch laughed out loud, "I've never seen them so eager for a mission."

Hogan grinned, "Now, that's not exactly true." he said, with feigned seriousness, "Remember the three Gestapo women, that Hochstetter brought in to question us?"*

"True." Kinch nodded in agreement.

"All right, Colonel." Newkirk said, "We all want to go, the only fair thing ta do is ta draw lots."

LeBeau looked at Newkirk, suspiciously, "Oh, yeah? I bet you'll find a way to rig it, like you always do."

"I 'ave no idea what you mean." Newkirk said, feigning innocence.

"I'll bet you don't." LeBeau quipped.

"Enough." Hogan said, holding up his hands to stop the bickering, "Here's a novel thought, how about we do it the old fashioned way."

"How's that, Colonel?" Carter asked.

"I'll choose who goes." Hogan said, taking a big swallow of coffee, "LeBeau and Newkirk, be at the Dusseldorf hotel's dinning room, at 10 o'clock."

"Aww, Colonel." Carter complained.

"Take it easy, Carter, you'll get the next one." Hogan said, "The contact is code-named, 'Ladybird'. Probably means it's a she."

"Never can be sure, though." Newkirk interrupted, "Not with our code team."

"Well, he or she will have red hair." Hogan continued, "The code phrase is 'Jack Sprat could eat no fat.'"

"Oh, lovely." Newkirk said, rolling his eyes. Hogan ignored him and turned to LeBeau, "Ladybird will reply, 'London Bridge is falling down."

"The people in that 'otel will think we're a bunch of nutters." Newkirk complained.
LeBeau rolled his eyes, "Don't be so negative, Pierre."

"LeBeau, I want you on lead." Hogan commanded.

LeBeau shot a quick glance over at Newkirk, who had stiffened, "Oui, mon colonel."

Hogan, done with his meal, stood and headed for the tunnel, "Kinch, with me. I want to talk to London." he climbed on to the ladder, before stopping to tell Newkirk and LeBeau to get ready for the mission when they were done with dinner, then he disappeared into the tunnel with Kinch.

"I don't think he meant anything by that." Carter said to Newkirk, "I mean it's not like he doesn't trust you or anything."

"Oh, sod off." Newkirk snapped, putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it. He walked over to his bunk and jumped up.

"Pierre?" LeBeau said, cautiously, "The Colonel wants us to get ready."

"'E said when I'm done." Newkirk said, his voice clipped, "I'll be down when I'm done with my cigarette."

Down in the tunnel, Kinch got on the radio and tried connecting to London. After a couple of minutes a posh, British voice came over the line, "Oh, Hello, Papa Bear. This is Goldilocks."

Hogan took the microphone, "Goldilocks, do we have a way to get our package home?"

There was silence for a moment, before the voice answered, "Affirmative, Papa Bear. The sub will be waiting, in the usual spot, at midnight."

"Roger, Goldilocks. Over and out." Hogan said, signaling Kinch to shut off the radio. He turned to LeBeau, who had joined them, and said, "Bring the package back to the tunnel as quickly as possible. Carter and I will get it to the sub."

LeBeau nodded, "Oui, Colonel." He turned and went further down the tunnel to the wardrobe room, to find himself a civilian outfit. As soon as LeBeau was out of ear-shot, Kinch turned to Hogan, "You don't think Newkirk is ready, do you?"

"I don't know." Hogan said, softly, "We'll see."

Hogan and Kinch didn't talk any further because Carter and Newkirk had entered the radio room. Newkirk didn't stop, but rather, joined LeBeau in the wardrobe. Newkirk dug through several suits on the rack, until he found one he liked. He also dug up a pair of shoes and a tie. Glancing briefly at LeBeau, who was almost done getting dressed, he said, "Not that hat."

LeBeau turned, and asked curiously, "Why? What's wrong with this hat?"

Newkirk grinned, as he pulled off his uniform shirt, "It's too expensive for the suit you picked." he pulled the dress shirt on and quickly buttoned it up, "You want the black fedora on the top shelf, not the 'omburg."

"But, I like this one better." LeBeau argued. Newkirk reached over snatched the hat off of LeBeau's head and replaced it with the fedora, "You'll thank me later, mate." he said, with a wink.

"Merci, mon ami." LeBeau said, sarcastically, with a slight bow. Newkirk gave him a playful shove, and then went on getting dressed. About twenty minuets later, the two were finished getting dressed and had gathered up their forged papers. Now, they were at the entrance to the tunnel, where Hogan was going over their mission one more time,

"Where do you meet Ladybird?"

"The Dusseldorf Hotel's dining room." Newkirk and LeBeau said in unison.

"Your code phrase?" Hogan questioned.

"Jack Sprat could eat no fat." They replied.

"And she responds with, 'London bridge is falling down'." Newkirk said, with a grin, "And we get taken away to the mad 'ouse."

"Then we after we get out of the mad house, we bring the package straight home." LeBeau continued, "Where you and Carter take it on from there."

Hogan laughed, "All right, you got it. Just be careful." he looked from Newkirk to LeBeau, "Don't take an unnecessary risks."

"Right, Colonel." Newkirk said.

"The underground left a car about two miles outside camp, just off the main road. You can't miss it." Kinch said to them as the climbed up the ladder, out through the emergency tunnel.

Hogan looked at his watch and sighed, "I need some coffee. It's going to be a long wait."

1********************************************1

Lutzen sat at his desk, receiving a report from the several gestapo officers he had sent to all the train stations and bus stops. He sipped his glass of schnapps and nodded, "Ja...Ja...Gut!" he hung up the phone and went to the door to the office beside his. "Hochstetter!" He said, entering the office, "Get your best men. I want them in plain clothes. I will be catching the elusive Papa Bear, tonight."

"Jawohl, Herr general." Major Wolfgang Hochstetter, a dark-haired man in his early forties, "You have a lead on Hogan?"

Lutzen turned his cold blue eyes on Hochstetter, "Colonel Hogan is NOT Papa Bear." he said, with disdain.

Hochstetter flinched slightly, "With all due respect, I think we should focus on Stalag Thirteen."

Lutzen rolled his eyes, "You have absolutely no evidence that Hogan..."

"What about all of the sabotage activity in the area?" Hochstetter interrupted.

Lutzen shrugged him off, "Just a coincidence."

Hochstetter snorted and muttered under his breath, "Only an idiot believes in coincidence."

Lutzen crossed his arms, "Is that so?"

Hochstetter looked down, sheepishly, "Herr, general, I..."

"Don't give it a second thought, Major." Lutzen interrupted, smiling cruelly, "Just make sure the men are patrolling the Dusseldorf Hotel tonight. Oh, and when you're done with that, all of the reports on my desk need to be filed."

"I'll have one of the secretaries take care of that right away." Hochstetter said, grabbing the phone.

"No, Major, you don't understand me." Lutzen stopped him, "I want you to do the filing personally. You're not to leave this building, is that clear?"

Hochstetter clenched his jaw, but nodded, "Jawohl, Herr general."

After Lutzen left, Hochstetter picked up the phone and called his second in command, Lieutenant Karl Friedmann and set up Lutzen's patrols around the hotel. He put the phone back in it's cradle and pushed himself away from his desk. Moving quietly, he went to the door adjoining the General's office. He knocked on the door, waited a moment and then stuck his head in. The general was nowhere in sight.
Must have gone to supper, he thought. He walked over to the desk and began sorting the numerous folders.
"It's just a coincidence." he mimicked the general an then scoffed, "Hogan is behind this, but that fool cannot see. He is blind, worse than Klink."

He stopped sorting through the files and sat down in the chair, an idea was rapidly forming in his mind. He smiled, grabbing the phone, he asked the operator to connect him to Colonel Wilhelm Klink at Stalag Thirteen.

Lutzen won't catch Papa Bear tonight, he thought, not if I have anything to say about it.

1*************************************************1

Ladybird climbed down from the train and asked the conductor where the hotel was. He gave her directions and she set off at a brisk pace. After walking for a few blocks, she noticed the Gestapo officers from the train were following her. She almost groaned in frustration, of course they were suspicious of her. She instinctively quickened her pace when she saw the hotel, practically running up the steps.

"Guten Abend." she said to the clerk, a little out of breath. Glancing behind her, she noticed that the gestapo had not followed her in to the hotel, "I would like a room, please."

The clerk motioned for her to sign the register and after she had done that, he handed her a key,
"Room 103. Top of the steps, second door on the left."

"Danke." She smiled, warmly. She made her way up the steps, still looking over her shoulder. She found room 103 and unlocked the door. After glancing up and down the hallway, she stepped in and locked it behind her. She felt ridiculous, There's no need to be this paranoid. She shook her head, taking a deep breath, and want over to the window. With the lights off, she could see clearly into the darkness. There at the door to the hotel were the officers that followed her from the train. She sighed, there was no doubt that they were on to her. How can I meet Papa Bear?, she wondered, frantically.

After a few minutes, she emerged from her room, clutching the package in her left hand. She made her way back to the stairs, standing at the top, staring down. Suddenly, she spun on her heel and made her way back down the hallway. Ladybird checked to make sure that she was still alone. Then she came to a stop at a small table with a small plant on top of it, and a mirror above it. Digging up some of the dirt, she placed the small package in the dirt and covered it up.

There, she thought, at least if the catch me, they won't get the package.

She went back to the staircase and went down the steps. As she entered the dining room, she really hoped she didn't look as nervous as she felt. Sitting down at a table in the corner, with a good view of the door, she ordered a drink and her dinner. The waiter returned within minutes, setting her cocktail on the table. She quietly sipped her drink and waited for her contact.

*From the episode, 'To the Gestapo with Love'

P.S. Hope you enjoyed this latest installment. It didn't take me to long to update, did it?
If you have any thoughts, criticisms, or questions send me a PM or a review.
Much love!