"Hogan, I have need of a work detail today for one of the local farms. I want you to pick out some men for it." Klink started then took a closer look at his senior Prisoner of War officer and asked with unusual concern. "Hogan, are you feeling all right? You don't look well this morning." As a German soldier, he shouldn't care about the well being of those in his charge, but the humanity in him often shown through. He wasn't an uncaring man, but a man in a difficult position needing to appear to be hard on the prisoners to his colleagues and superiors. When his own ethics told him, they were men no different than he was.
"I didn't sleep due to a nasty headache," Hogan said rubbing his temples hoping that it would get him out of this job; he really needed to be in camp today. Normally, he went on most of the out of camp details to use them as scouting opportunities. "What's the work detail for, Kommandant?"
"It's to cut down some trees that were damaged in the last storm, and bring the wood back for use to heat the buildings. Your men will get thirty percent of the wood stack for the barracks," Klink tried to barter with him.
"Now Kommandant, you know the arrangement is we get half the wood if we do the work. If you're going to go back on your word then your men can cut it." Hogan wasn't in the mood to haggle today, especially over something that had long been established.
"Forty percent Hogan, no more this time." The look in his eye told Hogan something else was going on.
"What do you want the extra wood for, sir?"
"General Burkhalter is arriving tomorrow for a few days, and you know how warm he likes to keep it," Klink answered almost sheepishly. Hogan could easily manipulate their spineless Kommandant.
"Why is he coming for a visit?" This was not welcomed news. Too much going on the have to worry about the General, and all the extra guards that would be out to make sure no prisoner escaped while he was there. Stalag 13 was known for being the toughest prisoner of war camp in Germany with a perfect record that there had never had an escape. In actuality, Hogan was responsible for the record because he didn't allow escapes. It kept the incompetent Klink in charge and allowed him run his sabotage activities in relative safety.
"He's coming for an inspection," Klink's voice revealed how unhappy he was about the visit.
"How about we split the wood as usual, and we'll make sure Burkhalter has enough to stay warm. We can work something else out later in exchange. I'm assuming you'll want LeBeau to cook some meals for him."
"All right Hogan you have your deal, we'll work something out. But LeBeau will need to cook dinner each night he's here," Klink gave in. LeBeau was a master chef and often cooked for visiting dignitaries as well as for the men in barracks two.
"It's a deal. How many men do you need for the work detail?"
"I think eight should be plenty. Hogan, if you can guarantee me there will be no escapes today, then there's no need for you to go with them." Klink wanted to give him an out to take care of his headache.
"Thank you, I can promise you there will be no escapes, sir. I'll send Captain Martin to be responsible for the group." Hogan agreed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Martin had been there for nearly two years, the men respected him, and he knew the drill. Martin's initial arrival in camp was delayed by several hours due to a shipment of gold bricks the Germans were moving. The gold had been removed from the bank of France after the occupation. Hogan and his men manipulated Klink to get the gold into camp where they replaced it with bricks dipped in gold. The real gold was safe and awaiting return to France after initially being dipped in red paint to replace the bricks on a project. When it became apparent, the gold bricks wouldn't hold up in the weather they were replaced and safely stored awaiting the end of the war.
"Dismissed Hogan, have the men report to Corporal Berger in an hour." Klink left quickly to get out of the cold after returning a salute from Hogan.
Hogan went inside the barracks where LeBeau was cooking breakfast and poured himself a cup of hot coffee. He ran a hand through his hair; this day was not getting off to a good start. Where in the world was that aspirin?
"Colonel, what did Klink want?" Kinch asked him and then had a coughing spell. When he recovered, Hogan answered him.
"A prisoner detail for chopping some trees nearby for firewood," turning towards the rest of his men he added. "Newkirk, I want you to go tell Captain Martin he's in charge of the work detail today. He'll need eight men and to meet Berger in an hour. Then find Wilson and tell him I want him to examine Kinch this morning."
"Yes Gov'nor," Newkirk quickly left the hut.
"Sir, I don't need to see Wilson. I'm all right," Kinch tried to protest as he stifled a cough. He didn't feel the needed to be poked and prodded by the camp medic. Not when there was so much to do today.
"You will let him examine you and that's the end of the discussion on the matter. Now why don't you ask our guests to come up for breakfast? I'm sure they could use some warmth after a night below," Hogan ordered. Kinch went down, found O'Neill inventorying their backpacks and Sam working on the radio, and invited them up for breakfast. With everyone sitting around the table, Hogan dropped the next bomb on them. "General Burkhalter is arriving tomorrow, so that means extra patrols in the woods and maybe middle of the night bed checks. We're going to have to be extra careful."
"Who is General Burkhalter?" Sam asked.
"He's in charge over all the Luftwaffe Stalags. Klink we can handle, but Burkhalter is a bit more difficult," Hogan answered her.
"What do you need from us?" O'Neill asked putting his coffee cup down. "I'm going to need to scout our rendezvous point for some information we need."
"To stay out of sight and work on your project. After dark, we'll try to inspect your departure point. It's going to depend on how heavy the guards are." It wouldn't do any of them good if they were captured while trying to figure out how to get home.
"That we can handle," looking at Sam, he asked, "How is the radio coming along?"
"The fire did some real damage, but I might be able to rig something up for a temporary fix if I can find the right parts. I was able to repair the resistor, but the capacitor is giving me some trouble. Kinch, do you have any other parts that we might be able to cannibalize and make a new one?" Sam asked looking at the radioman.
"You fixed the fried resistor?" Kinch asked incredibly, "I didn't think that was possible. Would you show me what you did? I'd love to learn. There are a few parts we can pull from other things for the rest."
"I'd be happy to show you what I did," Sam assured him with a smile.
"Anything you need for the radio, go ahead and pull from whatever you need. When it's up and running, I need you to contact Bluebird and ask about anything strange that happened last night. Any rumors, strangers, weird stories, you know the drill. Also, arrange for the new radio parts. After you see Wilson," Hogan ordered him getting a yes sir in response. "Newkirk and Carter, I want you to make sure the bugs in Klink's quarters and office are up and running, so we can keep tabs on Burkhalter while he's here."
"Sir, guards are coming," Floyd said from his lookout post on the door. "There's no time to get them in the tunnel."
