Chapter Seven -

Early the next morning, as the heroes awoke in their barracks, they were alarmed to see Newkirk and Jacobson's beds empty.

"Where the heck could those two have gone?" Carter said.

"And why didn't they clear it with me first?" Hogan wondered. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"And with good reason, Colonel." Kinch said. He held up the note. "Newkirk left this on his bunk."

"What does it say?" Hogan asked, hurrying over.

"It says 'Jacobson was sneaking out, so I followed him. If I'm not back by morning, you'll know that I was right about him!' Signed Peter Newkirk, 0031hrs.

"Oh my God." Hogan said quietly. He had a terrible sinking feeling. "Newkirk was right the whole time! I can't - I can't believe I didn't listen to him!"

"Maybe they just got picked up by a patrol." Carter suggested. But he didn't sounds as if he really believed that.

"Both of them separately?" Hogan asked doubtfully. "Besides, Jacobson was sneaking out in the middle of the night. That's more than a bit suspicious. I just wish Newkirk had asked for back up in this case."

"Well what are we going to do, mon Colonel?" LeBeau asked. "We can't just sit around doing nothing!"

"You're right about that, but we don't even know where Newkirk and Jacobson went last night. Kinch, get on the radio and contact someone from the local underground. Ask if they have any news about Gestapo arrests made within the last few hours. Something like this is likely to be off the record, but at least we can try."

"Sure thing, Colonel." Kinch said, and he went down into the tunnel.

"What do we tell Klink?" LeBeau asked. "We have roll call in a few minutes."

"We tell him they escaped. Then, I'll casually suggest contacting the other Stalags in the area, to see if they are they were picked up by members of the Wehrmacht. If so, we can get them back."

"If not?" LeBeau asked.

Hogan didn't reply.

Kinch came back up a few minutes later.

"Well?" Hogan asked. Everyone stood up, anticipating the news.

"Hans Schwarz was arrested in the middle of the night."

"The owner of the Hofbrau in town?"

"That's right. His brother wasn't arrested, though. They own the Hofbrau together. He was working last night, too, but wasn't aware that anything was going on."

"Is he willing to talk to us?" Hogan asked.

"If it will get his brother back, I'm sure he would be."

"Well, unfortunately I can't promise we'll get his brother back. Newkirk is our first priority. But we'll try. I'll go into town tonight after lights out and talk to him."

"By yourself, Colonel?" Carter asked.

"It's my fault Newkirk is missing. He's my responsibility. Besides, it's a one man job, I'll be fine."

"ROLL CALL! RAUS, EVERYBODY!" Schultz's bellowing voice came through the door before he did.

"RAU- oh. You are all awake already." Schultz said. "Roll call."

"We're coming Schultz." Hogan said.

Ten minutes later, and Hogan was standing in Klink's office. Klink had 'called out the guards' and they were currently scouring the area for the missing prisoners.

"You know where they are, Hogan, now talk!" Klink ordered.

"I honestly don't, Kommandant." Hogan said, wishing that weren't the truth.

"You're lying!" Klink accused. "What will become of my perfect record? No one has ever escaped…"

"Well hey, don't give up so easily, sir." Hogan said. "Maybe you should try contacting the other Stalags in the area. If they got caught they might be in another camp. And then you could request they be transferred back here."

"You're right!" Klink said. He picked up the phone and began to dial the nearest Stalag.

"That's right," he said. "Two prisoners. An American and an Englander. Yes. Escape? Of course not, I've never had an escape here at Stalag 13! I'm asking…out of curiosity?"

Hogan rolled his eyes.

"No? Alright. What? Oh yes, Heil Hitler." He hung up the phone, dejected.

"It's no use." Klink said.

"You know what they say, sir, if at first you don't succeed …" Hogan picked up the phone once more and handed it back to Klink. He reluctantly called the other Stalags in the area. But they weren't at any of the other camps.

"What about the Gestapo?" Hogan asked.

"Are you crazy? I'm not going to willingly contact the Gestapo! Besides, I would like to keep this little situation under wraps as much as possible."

Hogan sighed.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and one of the young guards entered.

"Herr Kommandant, we found this at the edge of the woods near town." He held up a set of British ID tags.

"Who do they belong to?" Klink asked anxiously.

"A…Cpl. Daniel Whittaker, sir." The guard said, his face falling as he read the name aloud for the first time.

Hogan straightened up at the mention of that name. Newkirk's fake dog tags. They must have been ripped off at some point, or were in his pocket and had fallen out. Now he was pretty sure that Newkirk had been at that Hofbrau.

"Dummkopf! We are looking for a Cpl. Newkirk and Sgt. Jacobson! Keep looking." Klink moaned.

"Am I dismissed, sir?" Hogan asked.

"Yes, Hogan. Dismissed." He offered a heartless salute, which Hogan hastily returned.

Back at the Barracks, Hogan filled in his friends.

"So you think the Gestapo has him, Colonel?" Carter said sadly.

"I'm afraid so." Hogan replied. "I'll go out tonight."

There was a moment of quiet before the group started o get ready for the day. After all, they had two RAF pilots coming in that day, that had to be processed, and their counter part prisoners had to escape.

That night, after lights out, Hogan donned some civilian clothes, and exited camp. When he got to the Hofbrau, he immediately spotted his contact.

Hans' brother Christoph was cleaning glasses at the bar when Hogan approached.

"Are you Hans' brother?" Hogan asked quietly, taking off his hat.

The man's eyes shot around the room anxiously before nodding in reply.

"Listen, I need to know what happened last night before your brother arrested."

"I want to make something clear. I'm not a member of the underground. I am a neutral. I just want my brother back." Christoph said. He was eyeing a couple Wehrmacht officers in the back of the room.

"And all I want is to get my man back and your brother back. All I need to know is what happened last night."

"I was behind the bar all night. Friday is our busiest day of the week, and we are open much of the night. Hans was in the kitchen. I heard him talking to someone, I thought maybe one of our suppliers. I didn't pay if much mind. Anyway, there was a Gestapo major in yesterday. He had a man with him, an American. They were sitting over there, at table 6."

"I know who the American was." Hogan seethed. "Can you describe the Gestapo officer?"

"He was average height, brown hair. Oh, and he had a scar across his right cheek." Christoph traced the area on his own cheek.

"I know exactly who you are talking about. That's Major Lindhorst. He's conducted business at Stalag 13 a few times. Not a very friendly type. But, I know where he is stationed. Hopefully, if I am right, he is holding both your brother and my soldier at his Headquarters. If that's the case, I should have them out by this time tomorrow."