Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental multi-fandom project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 4 October.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: Hogan's Heroes is the property of CBS, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.


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"Wanted"
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

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The three men shifted nervously as their commanding officer looked hard at them. That same commanding officer lifted a piece of paper on his desk and took another look at it himself before turning it to face the men before him.

"Mind explaining this?" Colonel Robert Hogan, U.S. Army Air Corps, demanded of his men.

'This' was a wanted poster, specifically one that proclaimed 'Wanted by the Gestapo for Acts of Sabotage' above a handdrawn picture of a bear in an Allied uniform - that of an RAF Group Captain, to be exact - and underneath it the title 'Papa Bear'. Until recently, it had been hanging in one of the side-tunnels rarely used by the main operations team. The forger, the petty theft man and the outside man looked at each other in silent conversation, each one trying to convince one of the others to step forward and speak up so that they themselves wouldn't have to do so. Finally, the forger took a single step forward.

"Could you be more specific, Sir?"

"Who's idea was this poster?" Hogan wanted to know, "Really, who came up with this?"

"It was a group effort, Colonel," the petty theft man stepped up to stand beside the forger, only for the outside many to join them.

"We were all in on it, Colonel," the outside man admitted, "It was supposed to help morale."

"Morale?" Hogan repeated in disbelief, "Are you forgetting that it's bad enough if the Germans ever find out about our operation, but it would be even worse if they had any kind of proof that 'Papa Bear' operates out of Stalag 13?"

"Well, that's why he's a Group Captain, Colonel," the forger spoke up, "Anyone that didn't know any better would think it meant Papa Bear was a British officer, not an American."

"Oh, and that's really any better?" Hogan asked with unmeasured sarcasm,

The outside man made a noise, muttering something under his breath.

"Say it out loud, Olsen," Hogan ordered.

"I said 'Crittendon could be blamed', Colonel," the outside man repeated more clearly.

The forger rolled his eyes, "Like anyone who's met him would actually think 'Critten-don't' could be 'Papa Bear'..."

"Crittendon's besides the point," Hogan snapped sharply, "You know the rules, nothing that can be traced back to Stalag 13 is supposed to be produced underground, nothing that can be traced back to the operation is supposed to be brought up into the camp, and absolutely nothing that could reveal our identities or any of our contacts is to be kept and not destroyed. Yes, it's a good poster, it's even funny, but think about what the Gestapo could get from it; yes, it's the wrong service, but it can tell them that 'Papa Bear' is an Allied officer, so what do they do? They start by moving all the prison camps out of the area because they're full of Allied officers and men, there goes our whole operation."

Hogan sighed, "Look, I understand morale has to be kept up; especially when you take into consideration the fact that everyone here has to watch the escapees we process take the trip we all wish we were going on. But if we start to let security slip and the Germans find out what we have here - and I mean the hardcore Nazis like Hochstetter, not guys like Schultz or Klink or even Burkhalter - none of us will ever be making that trip, no matter who wins the war. Now..."

The Colonel handed the 'wanted' poster back to the outside man with a sigh, "Take this back down in the tunnels and dispose of it - properly."