A/N: I don't own Hogan's Heroes, and I don't get paid for this; it is truly a labor of love.

Behind the scenes of "The Top Secret Top Coat".

Heidi Schnitzer smoothed her maid's uniform and looked down at the two elderly German shepherds who were patiently sitting on the floor of the farm kitchen. Each of them had a disapproving look in his eye, and Heidi felt bound to make some sort of explanation to her guardians.

"It is only a job, you know!"

Albrecht and Günther slowly shook their heads, and Heidi began to feel a bit defensive. "I know, I know...there's more to it than that. But I must do my part for the Resistance! Just accompanying Onkel Oskar to the stalag so I can distract Schultz for him is not enough. And Kurt has agreed to this, so there is nothing to worry about, I promise!"

Albrecht heaved a sigh, and Günther flopped down on the floor, his head on his paws.

Heidi picked up the neat white cap and the starched apron that completed her outfit. "This is the last time I shall be going to the Baron's, you know. I'm to help at the party this evening while he transfers the secret plans to Colonel Hogan, who will be posing as Kommandant Klink. The Baron's such a dear old man, you know, and so brave. These plans he has prepared will be very important to the Allies. Once he turns them over to Colonel Hogan, all will be well."

She bent to kiss each dog on top of his head. "I must hurry now, or I shall miss the bus." With a swirl of her skirts she was out the door.

Albrecht looked at Günther, who shrugged and said, "We have done our best to train her to be safe, but she still insists on taking these chances. I wish she weren't going to the Baron's."

"She seemed especially nervous today," said Albrecht. "She forgot to let us out."

"Ach! Now what do we do?" complained Günther. "I can't stay indoors very long...at my age a dog has to worry about his prostate, you know."

Albrecht went to the window and planted his front paws on the sill, craning his neck to look out over the fields out back of the house. "Not a problem...I can see Kurt coming in from the fields right now...he'll be here in a few minutes."

It was more than a few minutes, though, as Kurt needed to unharness the horses and bed them down before he headed to the house. As he pushed the kitchen door open, Günther slid past him in his haste to get outdoors. Kurt grinned and shook his head, then he turned to Albrecht. "Where's Heidi?"

"She left to catch the bus," replied Albrecht.

Kurt seemed to understand the woof, as he so often did. "Gone already? I wanted to wish her luck at the Baron's tonight."

He went to the kitchen sink to wash his hands, and was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. Kurt reached for the receiver, still dripping, and cradled it between his shoulder and ear as he dried his hands with a towel.

"Hallo, Onkel Oskar...ja, she's gone. What? We'll have to try to get to her before that party starts...can you pick me up? Danke!"

There was a scratching at the door as soon as he replaced the receiver, and he automatically opened it to let Günther back in. Kurt's normally placid face was drawn and pale, and his voice grim as he addressed the two dogs. "The Gestapo suspects the Baron, and they plan to arrest him tonight!"

"What about Heidi?" Günther looked at Kurt anxiously.

"I knew something like this would happen!" Albrecht fretted. "I wish Wolfgang were here."

"Well, he isn't," said Günther. "But we need to act."

Within ten minutes the dog truck arrived in the farmyard, with an unwonted squealing of brakes, and Oskar Schnitzer climbed out and hurried toward the house. Kurt met him in the yard and said tensely, "The party is due to start in an hour."

"We'll make it, son. Get in the truck...Max will meet us there." Oskar moved to get back into the truck, and he looked down to see two determined dogs blocking his way. "What is this?"

"I think they want to come too," said Kurt. "They are as worried as I am."

His uncle frowned, and then said, "Why not?" He opened the rear door of the truck and Albrecht and Günther jumped in.

It was almost dark, and Heidi pulled the curtains across the french doors of Baron von Auchberg's study. The Baron was still talking to his valet Rolf, and she pretended not to listen as she waited for Rolf to leave. The Baron would have some last-minute instructions for her, she was sure. It was so very important that the transfer of the plans go smoothly tonight.

Finally the valet bowed slightly to the Baron, and headed for the door leading to the hallway. He paused for a moment, one hand on the doorknob, but then turned around abruptly to reveal a Luger clenched in his other hand. "You will come with me quietly, Baron. They are very anxious to question you at Gestapo headquarters."

The Baron drew back, his bushy eyebrows snapped together in a frown. "Rolf? What is this?"

The valet's bland expression did not change. "You did not know I work for the Gestapo? How foolish of you. Our eyes and ears are everywhere, you know. And we know that you have made arrangements to turn the plans for Operation Dragonfly over to the Allies...for a price. A quarter of a million dollars, to be exact."

The Baron's voice was even. "I do not know what you are talking about."

Heidi was frozen with shock for a moment, but the next instant found herself filled with rage. The treacherous Rolf had no right to say such things. The Baron was a patriot! He would never sell out his country...but he was doing his utmost to help rid Germany of Hitler. The fact that the Gestapo was vile enough to claim the Baron wanted money for his efforts made her almost forget the danger she and the Baron faced, but she bit her tongue and hid her anger.

Instead, she looked from one man to the other with an innocent and vaguely stupid air. "Shall I see to the preparations in the dining room now?"

Rolf flicked her a glance of contempt. "No, you will not. I am sure the party will proceed quite well without your presence. You and the Baron are coming with me, now. My colleagues will soon be here to take the Baron into custody, but my work in unmasking him must be acknowledged! I plan to take full credit for his arrest."

The Baron lifted one hand in protest. "You will do what you must, of course. But why take the girl? She is only a simple housemaid. What could you possibly want with her?"

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, unfortunately. Now, no delaying tactics, Baron." The valet moved toward the french doors and gestured with the Luger. "You will both come with me now."

Heidi noticed a slight billowing of the curtains behind Rolf as he spoke, but she remained carefully expressionless, her hands folded primly at her waist. The Baron remained silent, but a flicker of his eyes let Heidi know that he had noticed the movement of the curtains as well. Someone had opened the french doors from the outside!

Then, in a silent rush, two dark shadows emerged from behind the curtains and lunged for the valet.

Albrecht plowed into the man, striking him right behind the knees, causing them to buckle. At the same time Günther's jaws clamped on the man's wrist, with enough force to make the pistol drop from suddenly nerveless fingers.

Heidi darted forward to pick the gun up from the floor, and she looked up to see Kurt, Max, and Oskar burst through the curtains as well. With a speed born of long practice, Max and Oskar had the struggling Rolf bound and gagged within seconds, while the two dogs stood guard over him. Kurt went to Heidi and carefully removed the firearm from her hands before enfolding her in an embrace.

The Baron watched the proceedings with a slight smile. "Dear me," he said.

Max straightened up, with one last contemptuous look at the neatly trussed valet on the floor. "Baron, we came to warn you, but it looks as though we were a bit too late."

"Yes, too late to warn me, but precisely on time to save me, fortunately. And we must leave immediately, I can see that...but what shall I do about delivering the plans to Colonel Hogan?"

Heidi spoke up. "I'll do it."

Kurt's grip on her tightened, and he looked down at her in consternation. "What do you mean?"

Heidi had never been more frightened than she had been in the last few minutes, and her heart quailed at the thought of encountering any more Gestapo agents, but she said bravely, "The party should proceed as planned, Baron, to cover your escape for as long as possible. I am just an ignorant housemaid, of course, so I'll just say that you are expected at any moment. And when Colonel Hogan arrives, I'll give him the plans."

Max and Oskar exchanged glances, then Max said slowly, "That would be best, of course. But if the Gestapo should question you..."

"It's not likely they will do anything at the party," said the Baron. "Too many high-ranking officers of the Wehrmacht have been invited for the Gestapo to wish to make a disturbance; it's me they are after, and they will keep a low profile while they wait for me to show up. But my dear, you should not try to contact the Colonel directly. When he arrives, take his coat as you would for any of the guests, and hide the plans in the lining when you place the coat in the foyer closet. Then, the first chance you get, slip out while the party is in progress."

"I can do that," Heidi said, albeit in a shaky voice, and Kurt's grip tightened again.

It was a difficult assignment that Heidi had given herself, but she was determined to carry it out. It was clear the Baron needed to disappear, and Colonel Hogan would be at the party expecting to take possession of the plans for Operation Dragonfly. She straightened her spine, lifted her chin, and remembered how the two dogs had come valiantly to her rescue.

If they could do that, I can do this, she told herself as she greeted each guest with a polite smile that masked her inner anxiety. Many of the guests had arrived and were mingling freely; they were obviously all old acquaintances who appreciated a pleasant evening with good food and wine.

The other servants had wondered about the Baron's absence, but she had shrugged, saying, "No doubt he has been busy all the afternoon in his study and has lost all track of time. And his valet Rolf told me he was not to be disturbed. But I am sure he will make an appearance soon."

But where was Colonel Hogan? She froze as the elderly butler Klaus opened the door to two new arrivals.

The rotund toad-like person could only be General Burkhalter. And the other person was Colonel Klink...the real Colonel Klink!

Heidi's mind raced. Colonel Hogan was to have posed as Klink, and it was very evident that was no longer possible. Now what should she do? The plans rustled slightly where they were hidden under her apron, and she knew she dare not hold onto them. How could she possibly get the plans to Colonel Hogan now?

Even as these thoughts went through her head, she walked up to Colonel Klink with a smile, and said, "Guten Abend, Herr Oberst. May I take your coat?"

Much later, in the farmhouse kitchen, the Schnitzers and Max gathered around the scrubbed kitchen table to restore their jangled nerves with a little schnapps.

Maria fussed over Heidi. "Weren't you frightened?"

"A little," Heidi confessed. "But I knew what I had to do. I was supposed to be at the party helping out, anyway, and no one paid any attention to me. People don't tend to notice maids, you know."

"So you gave the plans to Colonel Hogan?"

"Not exactly. He was supposed to be there, disguised as Colonel Klink, and I was told to hide the plans in the lining of his coat. But he wasn't there - Colonel Klink was there, himself!"

"What did you do?" asked Maria.

"I decided the best thing to do was to get the plans out of the house, and to the Luftstalag...and so I hid them in the coat of the real Colonel Klink."

Max chuckled. "Very quick thinking on Heidi's part. I radioed Colonel Hogan to let him know where the plans are; he can take it from there. I have no doubt he'll have his hands on the plans in no time."

Maria shook her head. "All this business with the poor Baron having a Gestapo agent secretly working as his valet! And this man was going to arrest the Baron, and you too, Heidi!"

Heidi smiled at the two dogs who sat raptly watching the humans at the table. "Albrecht and Günther weren't going to let that happen. I never knew they could move so fast!"

Emil, who had just returned from taking several Allied airmen to a rendezvous with the sub, was still a little disgruntled over missing all the excitement. But at this he brightened, and said smugly, "One should never be surprised at what an old dog can do. Why, look at me! Eighty years old last month, and I'm as active in the Resistance as anyone. I've done things I'd never dreamed of."

Max smiled. "We all have, my friend."

On the hearthrug, Albrecht chuckled and shook his head. "We should be used to it; being underestimated by humans, I mean. They probably think we just lie around in the sun all day."

"Well, we do that quite a bit," Günther admitted. He scratched his ear thoughtfully and added, "Wolfgang would be proud of us, I think. Except...he always told us not to bite anyone. And I bit that Gestapo human as hard as I could. I was glad to do it!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Albrecht reassured him. "You were protecting Heidi, and the Baron too."

"Ja, that is true." Günther smothered a yawn. "Do you think it will be difficult to return to our usual routine?"

"Maybe." Albrecht didn't even try to smother his own yawn.

Günther stretched out on the hearthrug, closing his eyes and giving a sigh of satisfaction. "I think I shall be very happy tomorrow to be just lying in the sun."