He wasn't sure what to make of it all. Maybe he was still in shock. That wasn't so surprising, was it? After all, he had just witnessed an American plane land in enemy territory- on purpose!
"He must've had a good reason!" Carter began excitedly as they travelled quickly towards Stalag 13. "I mean, you don't just decide one day to land in the middle of Germany for no good reason! Maybe they're controls were going all screwy, maybe the pilot was having a heart attack, maybe-"
"Carter!" Hogan warned with a low growl. The rambunctious sergeant grew quiet. More softly, Hogan continued. "I already told you, there's nothing we can do about it. As soon as morning rolls around, I'll see what I can find out from our 'beloved', loosed-lipped Kommandant. Quiet, we're getting close to camp."
"No pro- oomph…"
Hogan rolled his eyes and helped Carter pick himself off the ground. "Carter, maybe you should just carry around a stick of dynamite at all times."
"Huh?"
"Never mind," Hogan muttered. Carter shrugged and followed the colonel. Soon, the camp was in sight. The two ducked and weaved their way to the entrance of the emergency tunnel- a hollowed out tree stump. They crouched down behind it and waited for the camp's search light to pass over them before popping open the top and climbing down the ladder. Following the wide tunnel, they soon reached the heart of the tunnel system, the radio room. Kinchloe, LeBeau and Newkirk were there, waiting for them.
"Welcome back!" Louis LeBeau greeted brightly.
"Back without a scratch even," Kinch noted. "It must've gone well."
"Went well? We could see that ruddy factory go up from 'ere! You've finally done something right, Andrew!"
"Aww shucks," was all Carter could say. He knew he should be offended, but he also knew Newkirk didn't mean any harm.
Kinch was the first to notice the troubled look on Hogan's face. "What's wrong, Colonel?"
"Let's just say that not everything went according to plan tonight," Hogan began, not sure how to explain what they had seen.
"What do you mean, mon colonel?"
"Yeah Colonel, everything went off great! Boy, you guys should've been there! We had to take out three guards and one of them was smoking! Smoking next to an ammo truck. Boy, he was just asking for it. And then it blew up and then we were in the forest and this bomber landed right in the middle of that field- you know, that big one by the road. I mean, except for that, everything went well, wouldn't you say, sir?" Hogan rolled his eyes. He should've known Carter would blurt that out.
"Colonel, what is he talking about?" Kinch asked, his eyebrows crawling high onto his forehead.
"We were on our way back when suddenly, there were all these bombers. And one of them came down and landed in the field," Hogan said, succinctly repeating Carter's story.
"Was he on fire or something?"
"No, that's the crazy part. There wasn't a thing wrong, as far as I could tell. He just broke formation and came on down." Kinch furrowed his brow as he listened, looking as confused as Hogan felt.
"Do you think Jerry stole a plane and brought it down?" Newkirk asked, trying to come up with a plausible explanation.
"I don't think so. I mean, the Germans looked just as surprised as we were."
"So now what, Colonel?" Kinch asked.
"The colonel says there's nothing we can do about it right now, but he'll talk to Klink in the morning," Carter answered before Hogan could even open his mouth.
"Thanks Carter," Hogan said with soft sarcasm. Carter just grinned sheepishly. "But he's right. I'll talk to Klink in the morning and if needs be, we'll get 'General Kinchmeyer' to get on the horn and bully the Luftwaffe." He glanced at Kinch and shared his smirk. "Until then, I say we all get a good night's sleep." And with that, Hogan turned from his men and made his way up to the barracks above.
Getting a good night's sleep had been easier said than done. Hogan just hadn't been able to shut off his brain. So, he was understandably tired when it was time to fall out for roll call. Klink was saying something in the background, but Hogan ignored him. He had other things to worry about. There are some strange things happening around here and I won't rest until I get to the bottom of it. Had he just thought that? Ugh, he'd obviously been here too long. He was starting to sound like Klink!
"Colonel Hogan!"
Speak of the devil… Hogan shook himself and glanced up at the Kommandant from his spot in the roll call formation. "Colonel Klink?" he replied cheerfully.
"You didn't hear a word I said!"
"I'm sorry sir, could you repeat that? I didn't hear a word you said."
Colonel Wilhelm Klink, Kommandant of the 'toughest' POW camp in Germany, narrowed his eyes, nearly losing his ever present monocle in the process. "The insolence!" Shaking his fist at the cheeky POW, Klink turned his attention away from him and to Schultz. "Schultz! Tell Colonel Hogan that if it is all right with him," his words dripped with sarcasm as he gave a side-long glance at his American counterpart, "I would like to see him in my office after roll call!"
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!"
"Diiiiissss-missed!" Klink said with a salute, before turning on his heel and marching back to his office, riding crop tucked tightly under his arm. The prisoners broke formation and went about their business. Schultz lumbered towards Hogan.
"Colonel Hogan, Kommandant Klink says that if it is all right with you, he'd like to see you in his office, right away!"
"Really? When did he say that?"
"Just before he left. You didn't hear him?" Schultz looked at him incredulously. Sometimes, he wondered about the American's sanity.
"Nah, I try to tune out annoying little noises like that."
"Oh…" He paused and then grinned. "HAHA! Oh, that is a good one, Colonel!" Schultz laughed. He almost slapped the American on the back, but thought better of it and walked away, laughing the whole time.
"What do you think he wants?" Carter asked as he and the other heroes gathered around Hogan.
"Oui, do you think it has something to do with that bomber?"
"Or the factory?"
"Or both," Hogan amended. "All right, I'll go and see what ol' Blood and Guts wants. You boys listen in on the coffeepot." The men nodded and filed into the barracks. Hogan straightened his leather bomber's jacket and made a beeline towards Klink's office.
"You wanted to see me Kommandant?" Hogan asked brightly as he burst into Klink's office without so much as a knock.
Klink looked up from his paperwork and shot Hogan a frustrated look. "Yes I did, Hogan. So nice of you to grace me with your presence. Make yourself comfortable. Schnapps? Cigar?"
"No thanks, I'm trying to cut back," Hogan gave the Kommandant a cheeky grin as he rocked back and forth on his heels. He nonchalantly peered at the papers on Klink's desk, expertly reading the upside-down German. Klink seemed to notice for once and quickly pushed all the papers together. "Now why'd you do that?"
"Hogan, these papers are top secret!"
"Oh I understand, sir. We wouldn't want the enemy to find out how much sauerkraut you're ordering. It could undermine the whole German war effort!"
"Hogan you are the enemy."
Hogan snapped his fingers and winked. "I keep forgetting that. So, what you want to see me for?"
"I called you here to inform you that Berlin has given me permission to let you and your men listen to the radio once a week in the rec hall."
"That's great! I can't wait to listen to the BBC sir."
"You will not be listening to the BBC!" an exasperated Klink shouted. Sometimes Hogan was such a pain. Correction, Hogan was always a pain! "The order allowed for me to play Berlin Betty and that is all."
Alarms sounded off in Hogan's brain. Berlin Betty? His mind raced back to the other night and the strange feelings that had overcome him and his men while listening to the program. "Well, that's great Kommandant… Uh, did Berlin give any reason for this unexpected kindness?"
"No they didn't. Is something wrong Hogan?" Klink asked, noticing the apprehension in the other man's face.
"Uh, no Kommandant. If that's all, I'll be going now." Hogan turned and trotted out of Klink's office and into the reception area. He leaned against the door, racking his brain. Something was up. And whatever it was, he'd bet his bottom dollar that this was one of the pieces he needed to solve this current mystery.
Oh damn! He forgot to ask Klink about that bomber...
Before he could do much more about it though, the door burst open and a short man dressed in a black uniform marched into the reception area. Hogan frowned. Major Hochstetter- Gestapo. Hogan loathed the man and glared at him with unconcealed contempt. Hochstetter returned the sentiments.
"Out of the way, Hogan," the major growled. Hogan raised an eyebrow and stepped aside, letting him pass. Hochstetter yanked open Klink's door and stomped in. Hogan, of course, turned to follow, only to have the door slammed on his nose.
"Unfriendly lot that Himmler crowd."
"Are you all right, Colonel Hogan?" Klink's pretty- and extremely well built- secretary, Hilda, asked with concern.
Hogan gave a pathetic sigh, playing for sympathy. "As long as I don't sneeze anytime soon," he answered, rubbing his offended nose. Just as he had planned, Hilda came up and gave him a peck on the nose.
"Better?"
"Much," he grinned, returning the favour. But as much as he was tempted to continue, he had other things to do. "See ya later, Hilda," he said with one last quick kiss before making his way outside. He was greeted by a SS guard who, after recognizing him as the enemy, grabbed his arm. "Hey!" Hogan protested. The guard said nothing and ushered him away from the building and, incidentally, the truck parked outside it. Three guesses as to what, or who, is in there.
"Just drop me off here," Hogan told his chaperone as they approached his barracks. He guard loosened the tight grip he had over Hogan and stood by the door, waiting. "Nice travelling with you." The guard didn't move. "Expecting a tip? Sorry, but us POWs are on a limited income-"
"Get in," he sneered, pushing Hogan forward.
"All right, all right. Last time I do business with your travel agency." Hogan opened the barracks door and shut it firmly behind him. He turned and stuck his tongue out at the guard on the other side. Juvenile, sure, and maybe unbecoming an officer, but it made him feel better anyway. Straightening his jacket from the manhandling he just received, he made his way to his office to find his men in there, hovering over his desk. In the center of their gathering, sat an old coffee pot which served as the receiver for their tap in Klink's office. At the moment, it was relaying Hochstetter's rather one-sided conversation with Klink.
"What did I miss?" Hogan asked Kinch.
"Seems a train station in Dusseldorf was bombed last night," Kinch relayed what they had heard so far. "Hochstetter wants to keep a few prisoners here until he can arrange for their safe transport to Berlin."
"Since when do the Boches care about the safety of prisoners?" LeBeau spat, with more than a hint of disdain.
"Since they practically landed in the Gestapo's lap," Hogan answered.
"You think the prisoners are the bomber crew from last night?" Carter asked.
"I'd put money on it."
"So what's the plan, Colonel?"
"First off, I want to talk to them, find out what the hell happened. And to do that, we need to make sure they aren't sent to the cooler."
"Why? Couldn't you just go up through one of the tunnels and-"
Hogan cut Carter off. "If these guys purposely surrendered, do you really want to give them a glimpse at our operation here?"
"I guess not," Carter conceded, deflating a little.
"All right, so how do we keep them out of the cooler?" was Newkirk's question. "Prisoners this important, Hochstetter's going to insist on it."
Hogan shrugged. The fact they were Gestapo prisoners was going to make it a little more difficult. In the background, he heard Klink assure Hochstetter that the prisoners would be kept under heavy guard in the cooler. Thanks a lot, Klink. He looked at his men, searching for the solution. It suddenly came to him from an unexpected source.
"Not the cooler!" Hochstetter's voice barked. "I want them put into the barracks with the other prisoners!" Hogan raised an eyebrow.
"But, but, major Hochstetter, all new prisoners-"
"I don't care. I want them with the other prisoners. I have a feeling they can teach them a lot."
"Now what does that mean?" Kinch was suddenly very, very suspicious.
"What do you mean?" Klink asked at the same time.
"These prisoners are very special," Hochstetter explained. "They surrendered to the Third Reich quite willingly, bringing an intact B-17 with them. If nothing else, they will serve to shake the morale of the men in the camp."
"Oh, I assure you Major Hochstetter, the morale in this camp is already low. Every prisoner here is thoroughly cowed, thoroughly…" The silence coming from Klink's office was deafening. Hogan could practically see Klink shrink under Hochstetter's glare.
"Make sure one of them is sent to Hogan's barracks," Hochstetter said curtly. A moment later, they heard the door slamming shut. Kinch unplugged the coffeepot and pushed it aside.
"Well Colonel, now what?"
"LeBeau, spread the word across camp. No one tells them anything. Kinch, contact London, see if they know anything about this. Carter, find out which barracks they're being sent to and make sure the barracks chiefs understand the situation. I'm going to want to know anything and everything these new prisoners have to say. Newkirk, pump the guards for any information."
"We're on it, Colonel," they chimed in unison. "What're you going to do Colonel?" Kinch asked.
"Well, someone has to be here to greet our new roommate." Hogan shooed his men out of his office and joined them in the main room. A moment later, the door opened and Schultz stepped in, trailed by an unfamiliar man.
"'Ello Schultzie! What've we got here then? A new prisoner?"
Schultz stepped aside, motioning the man in. "Ja, new prisoner. Major Hochstetter brought him and a few others here temporarily."
"Well that was awfully nice of him. Thanks Schultz ."
"You're welcome." Schultz stepped past the new man and left.
"All right, it's probably safe to go now. Get going," Hogan ordered his men quietly before turning to greet the new addition to the barracks. "Hi there. I'm Colonel Robert Hogan."
"Captain Theodore Anderson."