Chapter Seven: A Change of Plans

Soon enough it was evening, and after LeBeau made dinner, he took some down to the three men in the tunnel. They ate it gratefully; Kirk remarking more than once how good it was. Spock skipped the meat portion of the meal, but it didn't go to waste; Kirk and Chekov ended up dividing it.

Kinch came down a little later to monitor the radio. He didn't say much at first, but then Spock wandered over and started asking him questions about the radio equipment – how it was built, how he had set it up, what kind of range it had – and before long Kinch was chatting away at Spock, who listened attentively.

"I think this place fascinates him, sir," Chekov whispered to Kirk, nodding in Spock's direction.

Kirk grinned. "Everything fascinates him."

Before long it was time for the nightly roll call, and Kinch climbed up to the barracks above. He joined the rest of the men getting ready to go stand outside in the dark, chilly air, and when Schultz arrived to announce it was time, he followed the others out. He took his spot behind Hogan, and prepared himself for standing there for the next hour or so.

Schultz came around to count them and, satisfied to find they were all there, stopped in front of Colonel Hogan and smiled at him.

"You're in a good mood this evening, Schultz," Hogan commented.

"Ja, I am, Colonel Hogan. It looks like I won't have to work at that new facility, after all."

"You won't?" Hogan asked curiously.

"No, I won't," Schultz replied happily. "The Kommandant said that General Burkhalter told him not to send any guards from Stalag 13 until the whole mess with the Russian plane crash is cleared up."

"He did, did he?" Hogan murmured, becoming annoyed. He would have to have a talk with Captain Kirk about this.

The prisoners stood there for what seemed forever. Klink finally showed up after an hour, just long enough to get the report from Schultz and dismiss them. The men filed back into the barracks; Hogan making a beeline for the tunnel entrance, Kinch, Carter, Newkirk and LeBeau following.

When they got below, Hogan immediately confronted Kirk.

"So, was it your bright idea to have your ensign, here, crash that plane outside of camp?" Hogan asked tersely, pointing to Chekov.

"How else could we get a man in here?" Kirk replied.

Hogan frowned. "Well, thanks to you and that plane, they're not sending Sergeant Schultz to the facility now."

Kirk's brow furrowed with confusion. "Why not?"

"Because none of the guards from Stalag 13 can be reassigned until there is a thorough investigation of the crash!" Hogan exclaimed. "I don't suppose that occurred to you when you planned that little stunt of yours." He glared angrily and Kirk and Chekov.

"And just how were we supposed to know you were bribing a guard that was going to be sent there?" Kirk countered hotly.

The two men stood there, fuming at each other once again. It was Spock who finally intervened. "Colonel, since the guard will not be working at the lab, I suggest we come up with an alternate plan."

"You got something in mind, Lieutenant?" Hogan snapped at him.

"A reconnaissance mission would be the next logical step; I understand you do them all the time," Spock answered calmly. "And you may call me Mr. Spock," he added.

Hogan sighed. "Yes, we do, Mr. Spock, but they're a lot more dangerous than bribing a guard."

"That's true," LeBeau piped up, "But, Colonel, you know Schultz; he might not have told us anyway."

"He has a point, sir," Kinch said, "Schultz has been able to keep his mouth shut before." (1)

"Yes, I know," Hogan sighed in exasperation, "But I figured it was worth a shot."

"Yeah, usin' ol' Schultzie would 'ave been nice," Newkirk said, his voice filling with sarcasm, "Instead of us 'avin' to go risk our necks out there."

"Well, we'd have to go out there eventually, anyway," Carter said. "At least this way, we'll know exactly where it is."

Kirk nodded. "That's a very good point, Carter."

Carter beamed. "Thank you, Captain."

Hogan briefly scowled at Kirk. Then he glanced at the men around him and said, "All right, it looks like we'll have to send a team out. But first, it would be nice to have some idea where to start looking." He swiveled his head to look at his radioman. "Kinch, contact the Underground, see if any of their agents have heard about a new facility that was built near here, and if they have an idea where it is. Oh, and if any of them want to do some snooping around for us, we would appreciate it. Just tell them if they find anything, not to get too close; I'm sure it's pretty well-guarded."

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied, and put his headphones on.

"As for the rest of us; there's not much we can do tonight. I suggest we get a good night's sleep; I have a feeling we're gonna need it." He looked over at the three Navy men. "There are some cots just down that tunnel; you can use those tonight."

Kirk glanced in the direction Hogan was pointing, and nodded. "Thank you, Colonel," he said.

Hogan opened his mouth, about to come back with some witty retort; then thought better of it and replied instead, "You're welcome." Then he headed up to the barracks; on a mission to get some sleep, himself.

Morning came too early. The men woke up yawning and rubbing their eyes, feeling like they'd just gone to bed. Kinch came up to the barracks shortly before roll call, and slipped into Hogan's office. The colonel was just finishing getting dressed, and glanced over as his door opened. When he saw who it was, he asked, "What's the word, Kinch?"

"They still don't know where the facility is," Kinch replied, "But they're looking into it, and they're gonna send someone here later this afternoon with some possible locations."

Hogan nodded. "Okay, thanks." He finished putting on his jacket, grabbed his crush cap from the upper bunk where he'd tossed it earlier, and followed Kinch out into the main barracks.

Once again they stood at roll call for an hour, and when Klink finally showed up, he didn't seem at all happy. After receiving Schultz's report, he scowled at the line of prisoners for a moment; then yelled, "Dismissed!"

Klink was about to head back to his office, when Hogan stepped up to him and asked, "What's wrong, sir? You seem troubled this morning."

"It's none of your business!" Klink snapped; then his face filled with worry and he lowered his voice. "Colonel Hogan, what am I going to do? Major Hochstetter found out about the Russian pilot, and contacted General Burkhalter. Now he's angry at me for letting that pilot go!"

"Major Hochstetter?" Hogan replied, "What's he complaining about? The Gestapo have the Russian pilot."

"No, they don't, Hogan," Klink said, dropping his voice even more, "Major Hochstetter has never even heard of Colonel Kirkmeyer. No one seems to know who he is, or where he went…" He paused for a moment; looking at Hogan curiously. "You didn't happen to notice anything strange about that Colonel yesterday, did you?"

Hogan slowly shook his head. "No, not really. He was the perfect model of a Gestapo officer – insufferable and pig-headed."

Klink heard the sincerity in Hogan's voice, and knew the colonel meant it. "Well, in any case, until they find him and that Russian pilot, General Burkhalter is holding me personally responsible."

"What? That hardly seems fair, sir."

Klink nodded vigorously. "I know, I know. I just hope they're found soon."

"Me too, sir," Hogan replied with mock sympathy.

Klink's expression softened. "Thank you, Hogan. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Colonel," Hogan said. Then he gave him a smart salute and turned towards the barracks.

"Oh, Hogan," Klink called out before the American colonel had taken two steps, "If you think of anything regarding Colonel Kirkmeyer that would help in the investigation, let me know."

Hogan turned back briefly. "Yes sir, I will," he replied; then proceeded to the barracks. When he got inside, he found his men already seated at the table.

"What's the matter with our fearless Kommandant this mornin'?" Newkirk asked.

"Oh, Burkhalter is holding him responsible for the disappearance of the Russian pilot," Hogan told him.

"Hmph! They should be holdin' the Gestapo responsible; as far as they know, they're the ones, what took 'im away."

"Yes, Colonel Kirkmeyer is a very sought-after fellow right now," Hogan remarked.

"He better stay 'ere then; wouldn't want to take a chance 'im gettin' picked up by the Krauts, would we, Colonel?"

Hogan frowned. "Not my first choice, no."

"Well, sir, Kinch told us the Underground's sending an agent here," Carter piped up, "Hopefully he'll have the location of the lab."

Hogan nodded. "Hopefully," he murmured under his breath.

Later that afternoon, Hogan and his men were down in the tunnel, along with Kirk, Spock, and Chekov, waiting for the Underground agent to appear. Suddenly they all heard a noise coming from the direction of the emergency entrance, and braced themselves, just in case. A lone figure appeared, and Hogan – as well as the rest of his men – instantly recognized her.

"Tiger!" Hogan exclaimed, hurrying over to her, "I didn't know they were going to send you."

Tiger smiled. "I asked to come. I know how important this mission is."

Hogan nodded, knowing her penchant for taking on dangerous missions. "So, do you know where the lab is?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Tiger replied, a look of disappointment in her eyes. "But we have an idea where it might be. If you have a map, I can show you."

"Of course," Hogan smiled at her, "Right this way." He guided her over to the large table in the middle of the room, where Kinch was already spreading out a map of the local area. As everyone gathered around, hunching slightly over the map for a better look, Tiger scrutinized it closely for a few moments; then pointed to an area a few miles south of the camp.

"There is a large section of forest here," she explained, "Certainly not an area to draw a lot of attention. But the local farmers say they have seen an increase of activity in the area, and some of them have admitted they've been told to stay away."

"That's gotta be where it is, sir," Kinch remarked.

"Oui, Colonel, it is the perfect location."

"I think so, too, LeBeau," Hogan agreed.

Kirk, who was on the opposite side of the table from Hogan, looked up at him and asked, "Can you take us there?"

Hogan straightened up and folded his arms. "We'd better make sure it's there, first." He turned to his Frenchman and said, "LeBeau, you and Carter will go out tonight and scout this area." He pointed to the area on the map that Tiger had shown them. "See if you can confirm the lab's location."

"I'm going, too," Tiger stated resolutely.

"Tiger, I think you better stay here – "

"No, Colonel Hogan," she cut him off, "I know the surrounding area better than your men." She saw Hogan open his mouth to protest, and quickly added, "Besides, I also know a few of the farmers…the ones who would be willing to hide us, if necessary."

Hogan frowned at her. "You've already thought this through, haven't you?"

"Oui." Tiger smiled. "Don't worry; I know how to be careful."

Hogan sighed. "I know."

"Mr. Spock and I are going, too," Kirk stated matter-of-factly.

Hogan shook his head. "We can't risk it, Captain. The Krauts are looking for you – or rather, Colonel Kirkmeyer. We can't risk you getting captured."

"I can go, Captain," Spock said.

Kirk eyed him thoughtfully. "No, Mr. Spock…if the Krauts, er, I mean, the Germans are looking for me; that means they're probably looking for you, too. I don't want you getting captured, either."

"Vut about me, Keptain?" Chekov asked.

"The Krauts are looking for you, too," Hogan reminded him.

"Yes, but if he were captured," Kirk replied, "They'd initially question him about me. I'm sure we could get him back before things got rough."

Chekov swallowed hard. "Rough, sir?"

Kirk patted his shoulder. "Trust me; it wouldn't come to that."

"I don't like it," Hogan said, "It's still too big a risk."

"Colonel, I want one of my men to go on this mission. Now, if you refuse to let Mr. Chekov go, I'll go, myself, whether you like it, or not."

Hogan and Kirk stood there, glaring at each other.

"Blimey, not again!" Newkirk murmured and was about to step between them, when Tiger intervened.

"It's all right, Colonel. Mr. …?" She glanced at the Russian for help.

"Chekov," he said, smiling at her.

She looked back at Hogan. "Mr. Chekov can come with us." Then she glanced over at LeBeau and Carter, and asked sweetly, "Is that all right with you?"

"Oh, sure!" Carter exclaimed.

"Oui!" LeBeau replied.

Tiger smiled at them. Then she looked to Kirk and Hogan. "There, it's all settled!" she replied happily.

Hogan heaved a sigh. "Who's running this operation, anyway?" he mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Tiger to hear. She reached up and cupped his cheek.

"Don't worry, mon amour, everything will be all right," she whispered to him.

Hogan could only hope she was right.

(1) Hogan's Heroes episode, At Last - Schultz Knows Something, season five