Chapter 2:
Hours went by, and Kalina had finished her cleaning. Thankfully, there had not been much to pick up. As for Hogan, Newkirk, and LeBeau, they had Kinch in the radio room and sat outside barracks two while they waited for a response from either London or the underground. The three of them watched a game of volleyball that Carter was participating in. Kalina soon joined them and eventually Schultz did, too.
They continued watching, when Kalina spotted her father heading over in their direction. She gasped and soon shot up from her spot, making her way quickly behind Carter.
"Kalina, where are you going, mate?" Newkirk asked.
"Papa's coming! I can't face him yet!" She answered, then went behind the young sergeant and mimicked his movements to hide her limbs from showing.
Carter looked back briefly, then went back to the game without any questions.
"Schultz," Klink said, making his way beside his guard. "Have you seen Kalina anywhere? I need to talk to her."
"Kalina who?" Schultz asked.
"You dummkopf, my Kalina!"
"I think she's in Paris. Needed a little fresh air." Newkirk answered.
Klink shook his fist briefly at the corporal, then spotted something strange behind Carter. He made his way closer to get a better view and realized what it was. He stood beside the young sergeant for a brief moment, then gently shoved him out of the way and revealed Kalina covering her eyes.
The kommandant said nothing and tapped his daughter on the shoulder, making her slowly remove her hands from her eyes. She turned her head cautiously to examine the look on her father's face. It was neutral, which made her more worried.
"I'd like to speak with you in my office," Klink said.
"Yes, Papa," Kalina said, starting to shake a little.
The two Klinks walked in silence all the way to the colonel's office. Klink took off his jacket, cap, and gloves and made his way to his desk. He looked up to see his daughter was still standing in the doorway, looking like she was unsure on whether to enter or not.
The kommandant became confused.
"Why are you standing there?" He asked.
"Papa, I...I...I'm…"
"Kalina, I apologize for yelling at you earlier. That wasn't good parenting in my eyes."
Kalina's jaw dropped and gaped at her father briefly. Klink had every right to scold her earlier. She broke a rule, put herself in a dangerous position, and had to face the consequences.
"Papa, why are you apologizing? I'm the one who needs to say 'sorry'. I'm the one that climbed up on the roof."
Klink's response was getting to his feet, walked towards his daughter, then wrapped an arm around her and gave her a soft kiss on the head.
"I just worry about you. I know you wouldn't do anything to put yourself in danger, but...you're my whole life, Kalina. I don't know what I would do without you," he said, running his fingers through the girl's hair.
It was then Kalina made a longer frown and looked up at her father.
"Are you really leaving?" She asked.
"Yes, I'm really leaving," Klink said, with a nod.
"I don't want you to go. I don't trust the Gestapo, Papa."
"I'm just going for a week. I'll help with the intimidation, the flyer will talk, and I'll be back before you know it."
"You promise?"
Klink smiled.
"Cross my heart," he said.
"And...would it be possible to reduce Colonel Hogan and his men's punishment? They didn't do anything wrong." To pull it off, she even made puppy dog eyes.
"Ah, how can I say 'no' to that face?" Her father grumbled, then let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll reduce it to 48 hours."
Kalina smiled back, then gently wrapped her arms around her father and leaned her head against his chest. The kommandant did the same in return and rubbed his daughter's head.
"I love you, Papa," Kalina said.
"I love you, too, süßling," Klink answered.
The two continued to hug one another for a little longer, then released themselves. Kalina's father took his fingers and made them crawl up his daughter's arm, making her jerk.
"Stop, that tickles." She said, holding back a giggle.
Klink smirked.
"You remember the tickle monster?" He asked.
Knowing what was about to happen, Kalina sprinted out of the room laughing with her father trailing behind. She made it as far as the filing cabinet outside in Hilda's office, when Klink picked her up and spun her around. At that point, both of them laughing. Eventually Klink put Kalina back on the ground, who then gave another hug to him. He smiled and held her close to him, then gave her another kiss on the head.
Three days went by, and it was time for Klink to head off for Berlin. He had his things packed and in the trunk of his staff car and a guard already in the driver's seat ready to go.
Hogan and Kalina stood before the kommandant saying their 'goodbyes' and final wishes to him while he was away for a week.
"Well, Kommandant, this is it. Oh, bring me back a souvenir won't you? I've always wanted something with Scatterbrain's face on it to throw in the stove," Hogan said.
"I do not buy souvenirs for people that negatively comment about our Fuhrer." Klink remarked, in disgust.
"We might like you better if you did, Sir."
Klink shook his fist and made a 'hmph', then looked at Kalina very seriously.
"Watch him while I'm gone. Send him to the cooler if you have to," he said.
The girl giggled and nodded.
"Yes, Papa, I'll watch him," she answered.
"Hogan, if I come back here, and General Burkhalter tells me Kalina was on the roof, you will not see another sunrise until the end of the war!" The German colonel threatened unconvincingly.
"Kommandant, relax. Kalina will be just fine. I'm not going to let her do anything dangerous," Hogan said.
Klink nodded.
"Good," he said. His facial expression then went from serious to worried. "Take good care of her, Hogan. Make sure she's okay."
The American gave a sincere smile.
"I will, Kommandant. You have my word," Hogan said.
Klink smiled back, then turned towards Kalina and had his arms open wide.
Kalina made her way to her father and held him tight. She felt Klink's arms wrap around her and suddenly felt warm and protected. When she was with her father, Kalina felt that no one, not even the Gestapo, could harm her.
"I'll miss you, Papa," she said.
"I'll miss you, too...my little sweetpea. I'll call you every chance I get." Klink answered.
They hugged each other a little longer, then Kalina gave her father a kiss on the cheek. Klink kissed her head in response, then ran his fingers through her hair.
"Good luck, Papa. Show that flyer who's in charge."
Klink gave a thumbs up, one more kiss on Kalina's cheek, then got into the car and soon was out of camp and out of sight.
The teenager gave a sad sigh, as she looked off into the horizon.
"Miss him already," Kalina said.
"We'll keep you busy, don't worry. A week will have gone by before you know it," Hogan said, with a smile.
"What do we do in the meantime?"
"Oh, do any assignment the underground might assign us...bother the guards...make General Burkhalter's life a nightmare during his stay."
Kalina giggled in response.
"Alright, let's get going, kid. Kinch has the information back from London on who this flyer is your father's going to see." Hogan added.
Without a word, Kalina followed the American towards barracks two and prepared themselves for the news their friend would bring them.
"What do you got, Kinch?" Hogan asked, stepping into the barracks. As soon as Kalina entered inside, he closed the door behind her. They made their way to the table where the radioman himself, Newkirk, LeBeau, and Carter were gathered. Newkirk, LeBeau, and Carter were in the middle of an intense game of gin, and Kinch was fumbling with a piece of paper in his hands.
"General Berkman and Otto both got back to me with what they knew. This is all they could dig up," Kinch said, handing his commander the blue slip of paper.
Hogan took the piece of pad paper and read off the information.
"United States Air Force Corporal Christopher Tyler. Born January 5, 1924 in Boulder, Colorado. Graduated high school last year in June and was immediately pulled into the service. He was a part of the 517th Bomber Group and shot down over Berlin three nights ago and captured by the Gestapo."
"How soon do we need to spring him, Colonel?" Newkirk asked.
"As soon as possible. Says here that Tyler was the 517th's best aircraft technician and was in charge of maintenance in the Norden Bombsights. Losing him would mean risking possible engine failure in all of our planes when fighting the enemy."
"Gee. He sure sounds important," Carter said, impressed with the corporal's record. He was just a year younger than the sergeant himself was. A loss like him could mean a total devastation to the Allies.
"And holds quite a bit of information on our aircrafts. If the Gestapo manage to get him to talk, it could be a huge advantage to the Krauts." Hogan added. "We have to get him out of there."
"Do we even know where Gestapo Headquarters is in Berlin, Colonel? I mean the city's huge!" Carter asked.
"Kinch, get on the radio with Otto. Tell him to make arrangements for the underground to get him out of there and send him our way. We'll make plans with London for an airplane once he gets here."
"Yes, Sir," Kinch said, and hurried back down into the tunnels.
"You think the underground can get Corporal Tyler out of Headquarters, Colonel Hogan?" Kalina asked.
"Never doubt the underground, hon. Otto will make sure to send our best agents there. Corporal Tyler will be out of custody and headed for London in a flash," Hogan answered.
"Then what do we do in the meantime?
"Well, Klink's away on business...we could put up that dartboard Carter made and stick a picture of Ol' Crazy Eyes on it as a target." Newkirk suggested.
"How did you get a picture of Adolf Hitler?" Kalina gasped.
"I have me sources, little mate."
Klink's daughter gave a silent laugh.
"You wanna play, Colonel?" Carter asked, full of excitement.
Hogan chuckled and put his left hand on his hip.
"Sure. One round can't hurt," he said.
The five pushed the table back a couple feet to make room and prepared for one crazy night.