No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is implied or inferred. Copyright belongs to others and no infringement is intended. Copyright text, original characters and storyline are LJ Groundwater's. Thanks.

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Klink was waiting when Hogan walked into the office, and barely acknowledged the sketchy salute offered by the other Colonel. "I want some answers, and I want them now. You are quite certain that your men did not escape, and I want to know why."

Hogan just shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"That's not good enough!" Klink snapped in reply. "You gave me your word of honor that there would be no escape attempts, and look what has happened! Two prisoners, men who live right in your barracks, have vanished without a trace! How can you expect me to stand here and listen to you say you have no idea how it happened?"

"Because it's the truth!" Hogan snapped back. "I told you they wouldn't try to escape, and they didn't. I want you to go back out and try to find them. They must be in some kind of trouble."

"They are not the only ones that are going to be in trouble if they are not found and returned at once." Klink circled behind his desk and dropped heavily into his chair. "It is quite possible that every man in this camp will be in some sort of, as you say, trouble."

Hogan frowned deeply as he looked down at the Kommandant. "Every man in camp?"

"Yes, Hogan." Klink leaned forward, elbows on his desk as he stared at the neat stacks of paperwork that awaited his attention. "Every man. German and American alike."

"Why's that?" Hogan asked, very certain he wouldn't like the answer.

Klink didn't move, nor did he say anything for several long moments. When he finally did look up, he gave Hogan a long, searching look. "Because General Burkhalter left Berlin first thing this morning, and should be arriving here within a few hours. He was most displeased when he heard about the missing prisoners."

Hogan grimaced. He had considered the effects of the loss of Klink's perfect "no escape" record, but had pushed that problem to the back of his mind, more concerned about the fate of his men than Klink's issues. "Well, you can tell him I'm pretty displeased as well," Hogan said grimly. "And don't you think if we told him there was some sort of foul play involved, it would go over better than an escape?"

"There is no evidence of any sort of foul play, Hogan. My men have been over the area repeatedly, and there simply isn't anything to be found."

"I'm telling you, Kommandant, it's not right!" Hogan insisted again. He paused, then added with probably more sincerity than he intended, "Le Beau and Carter wouldn't just take off like that, sir. They would have come home, just like I promised they would. Something's happened, Colonel, and I want to keep trying to find them."

"I still have men out searching, Corporal Langenscheidt especially. The threat of a train ride east is a great motivator." Klink sighed. It was entirely possible that this fiasco would ultimately put him in a seat right beside the young guard before it was over.

"Let me search with them," Hogan implored.

"That is impossible." Klink shook his head sadly. "If you are not in camp when the General arrives, it will go badly for everyone. And I do mean everyone, Hogan. Your men as well as mine. I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to leave at this time."

Hogan straightened. "I don't want to have to investigate this on my own, Colonel Klink," he said finally.

"You are still confined to quarters, Colonel Hogan. Do not force me to change that to the cooler," Klink responded. "And please do not force me to make a show of issuing reprisals against your men if you do try to leave the camp."

Hogan shook his head and leaned in as he spoke. "You'd never even know I'm gone," he said in a low voice. Then, before Klink could answer, Hogan stood up again and cleared his throat. "But I'm with you, Kommandant; everyone needs to be here when Burkhalter shows up. You have my word of honor I'll be at every roll call."

Klink stood, watching the American closely. "See that you are, Colonel."

Hogan nodded once as he kept his eyes locked on Klink's. "I wouldn't have it any other way. May I go now?"

Klink didn't break eye contact. "I will see you at roll call. Dismissed."

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

General Albert Burkhalter sat down at Klink's desk a little more comfortably than the Kommandant liked. And Klink cringed, mostly to himself, when the large officer leaned back in his chair, resulting in a creak that the Colonel was absolutely certain would one day be the precursor to a terrible crash that would result in Burkhalter spluttering and shouting from the floor and Klink finding himself on the way to the Russian front.

He brought himself out of these distracting thoughts as the General spoke. "So, it looks like there has been a successful escape from your prison camp, Klink," Burkhalter said. "And not only one, but two."

"Yes, Herr General, but I assure you that—"

The General leaned forward. Another creak from the chair, this time one of relief, Klink couldn't help thinking, as Burkhalter pressed his point. "I do not want your assurances, Klink. I want those two men found! Or you will find yourself someplace very chilly!"

"Yes, Herr General! I have patrols out searching, and I have confined the prisoners to the barracks until further notice. They will be found, sir."

Burkhalter screwed up his face. "Yes, but who will find them first? Your patrols, or the Allies in England?" Burkhalter considered. "Have you spoken with Hogan about this?"

"I have. He, of course, denies everything." Klink shook his head.

"He cannot deny the facts, Klink. And neither can you! I'm afraid your perfect record is now tarnished—and there is very little else holding you in this position except your record."

"He does not deny the facts, Herr General." The Colonel shrugged a bit, resigning himself to the idea of using Hogan's own desperate theory to save himself. "But he says they did not go willingly; that there must be some sort of foul play involved."

Burkhalter raised his eyebrows. "Foul play?" Burkhalter leaned back again. The chair creaked loudly. Klink felt his stomach tighten. "I would have expected Hogan to gloat about this. Tell me, Klink: why does he refuse to think his men simply ran away when they had the chance?"

"Colonel Hogan had given me his word that there would be no escape attempt while the men were on the work assignment. He says his men made him a similar promise, and he believes they meant it."

Burkhalter drew his face into a stern frown. "He is covering up for them," he accused sharply. "He will know what has happened. We must question him, Klink. An escape at this time would not be fortuitous."

"'At this time,' Herr General?" Klink replied with a puzzled look. "Surely no escape is fortuitous at any time."

"That is especially true for you, Klink, since the fact that you have had no escapes is probably the only thing keeping you this far west." Burkhalter stood up and headed for the Kommandant's brandy decanter. "But at the moment, we have troops heading south, and they will be passing by this area soon. It would not be good for anyone to see them. Especially if he was heading back to the Allies, if you see what I am saying."

"Yes, yes, of course, Herr General. I was unaware that any of our glorious fighting forces would be moving anywhere through the area." Klink winced slightly as Burkhalter picked up the bottle and poured himself a generous measure, though he made certain the General didn't see the expression. Clearing his throat, asked, "May I ask where they are heading?"

"You may not," Burkhalter answered. He took a long drink from his glass and began refilling it. "You do not need to know. Those prisoners must be found!"

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

Kinch emerged from the tunnel with a grim look on his face. He punched the catch on the bunk to let the mattress fall back into place, then steadied himself with a breath before heading toward Hogan's closed door.

Looking up from the cold cup of coffee he'd been nursing, Newkirk let out a soft sigh when he saw Kinch's expression. "Doesn't look like you had any better luck than I did, mate." He stood and followed the Sergeant to the office door. "Just got back myself. I figured I'd wait on you before I told the Colonel, in case you had anything better."

Kinch just shook his head and kept walking. Great, so the Colonel gets double king-hit, he thought, not angry at Newkirk, but not happy with his own report. He pushed open Hogan's door, which had been left slightly ajar, and before the Colonel had a chance to hear the belated soft knocking, Kinch saw the effect the last twenty-four hours had had on his commanding officer. Hogan was sitting on his bottom bunk, his elbows braced on his knees, his hands pressing into his tired eyes. He was exhausted and keyed up and discouraged and angry, and Kinch knew he wouldn't be cutting himself any slack about this mess.

At the sound of his men entering, Hogan quickly raised his head up and dropped his arms. "Anything?" he asked immediately. He searched their eyes for any sign of success, and when he didn't see one, he let his eyes fall away from them. But the question still hung in the air.

"No, sir," Newkirk said quietly. "I've finished talking with most of the blokes that were on that detail—even managed to chat up a couple of the guards; not a one of them heard or saw a thing." He shook his head helplessly. "They all agree that Le Beau and Carter went out to get firewood, and just didn't come back."

Hogan looked at Kinch, expectant, desperate. "Kinch?"

"Sorry, Colonel." The radio man's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Our contacts are looking for the guys, and the message has been passed to the safe houses up the line to the coast. But no one's seen either of them."

Hogan dropped his eyes and slowly shook his head. He said nothing for a minute, during which Kinch and Newkirk shifted uncomfortably but could find nothing to say. Finally, Hogan said softly, "They didn't escape."

Newkirk traded glances with Kinch, then looked back at the Colonel. "We'll find them, gov'nor," he said softly.

Hogan didn't answer. His mind was still replaying all the events that led up to the awful news that Le Beau and Carter had not come back to camp as planned. His heart was still telling him he should have found some way to foresee the situation and prevent it. His body was contradictorily pleading for action and begging for rest. All of it added up to a crushing feeling of despair, one that he couldn't share with the two men before him now. "I'll go back out tonight. Ask some questions… talk to some people… see what I can find…" He knew he wasn't making a lot of sense. But what else could he do?

Kinch suggested softly, "Colonel, you're beat. Why don't you lie down and get some sleep? Everything that can be done is being done already." He gestured toward Newkirk. "We'll keep an eye on things, and we'll let you know if we hear anything. Won't we, Newkirk?"

Newkirk nodded in agreement. "Righto, mate. You get a bit of a kip in, gov'nor, and we'll mind the shop for awhile."

But Hogan was shaking his head even as the words were coming out of their mouths. "That's not how it works," he said, not really looking at either of them. "Burkhalter's still here, Klink's still uptight, and we're still coming up empty-handed. The only chance we've got is if I can convince Klink of the truth for once—that Le Beau and Carter wouldn't have taken off on their own, and we need help from the Krauts to find them and bring them back." He paused and took a deep, slow breath. "And if we can't find them, even without the Germans looking…" Hogan's determined mask started to crumble, exposing a face full of worry and just a trace of fear. "…then…" He let his thought trail off, unspoken, and stared into the distance, at nothing.

"Just for awhile, sir," Kinch pressed gently. "If Burkhalter starts leaning on you later, you'll need to have your wits about you."

"Yeah, I guess," Hogan answered. He stood up and looked squarely at Newkirk and Kinch. "You stay in camp," he ordered them. There was no room for negotiation in his tone. "Until I decide this is all over, no one goes out without me… and no one goes out with me." Hogan waited to make sure his seemingly contradictory statement sunk in. "When I go out tonight, I go out tonight. You got that?"

"All right, Colonel," Newkirk agreed reluctantly.

"Right, sir," Kinch said quietly. He looked quickly at Newkirk, then watched as Hogan ran a hand over his face and climbed tiredly up to his top bunk. He had a feeling that no one would be getting any sleep tonight.