Chapter 13:
The night Thomason and the others had been preparing for had finally arrived. Newkirk and Kinch had spent most of the previous evening preparing their best pistols, ammunition, even snatched a pair of handcuffs from Schultz's waistband. Chloroform rag, rope, Gestapo batons, they only had one shot at doing this correctly, and nobody was going to take any chances. While Thomason and Kalina met up with one of their agents on the whereabouts and suspected plans of Buckley, Kinch and the others would scope out the area for the mad captain all the while doing the normal stakeout routines. If Buckley was spotted by either one of them, their code was to howl like a wolf.
Once certain that Klink had gone to bed, they headed out. Thomason strapped his pistol tightly to his holster and made his way to Kalina, who was struggling to let go of Hogan's bomber jacket. She carried it with her everywhere she went as if it made her feel close to the father figure she had lost and missed so dearly.
Sensing her discomfort, the colonel knelt down before her and looked up at the little teenager's blue eyes. She licked her lips as he began to speak.
"I know you don't wanna let go of him, but it'll just be for a few hours."
Kalina looked down at the jacket and held it tighter.
"We'll be back before you know it. Then you can hug it all you want." He continued.
Kalina swallowed and nodded softly, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to find Baker standing there with an encouraging smile.
"I'll take very good care of it for you. I won't let it leave my sight for one moment," the sergeant said.
The little Klink held the jacket out in front of her, brought it in for a kiss, then gently handed it over to Baker. She looked back at the colonel, who was still grinning at her. He rubbed her arm and gestured with his head towards the fake bunk exposing the tunnel entrance.
"Let's do this thing, kid," he said.
Kalina gave a small smile and nodded.
As the two made their way to the fake bunk, Kinch's head popped up from below and looked at the duo.
"You ready, Colonel?" He asked.
"I was born ready," Thomason answered.
"Let's get going then. Buckley won't wanna stay around for long."
"Let's get her done."
After Baker wished them luck, Thomason and Kalina climbed down into the tunnels, met up with the others, and the six of them soon set out of camp to the rendezvous spot. Tonight was the night they would finally meet Buckley face to face.
Thomason and the others got about twenty feet from their destination before pausing, and the colonel turned around to face the rest of them, his pistol clutched in his hand.
"Okay, one last time," he said. "Kalina and I will meet with the agent, get that information, then we'll meet you at the bottom of that large hill and rocky ledges leading to the waterfall. What are you four gonna do in the meanwhile?"
"Spread out about 15 feet from one another and scope the area for Buckley or a Kraut patrol. Newkirk takes east, Carter goes west, LeBeau north, and I south," Kinch answered.
"Good. And if any of you see Buckley, what's the code?"
As Carter was about to make a howl, Newkirk covered his mouth and eyed the young man. "Just tell the man. Before you attract attention." He growled.
Certain they all had the plan committed to memory, Thomason looked in the direction of the rendezvous spot, then at the men once more.
"Alright. Get going, and good luck," he said.
Kinch, Newkirk, LeBeau, and Carter all nodded, then parted ways with their commander and Kalina. Once the four flyers were out of sight, Thomason turned to face the small teenager.
"You ready?" He asked.
Kalina nodded.
"Jawohl, Herr Colonel," she said.
"Good. Follow me."
Kalina did as told, and the two of them made their way to the rendezvous point and stopped in the center of an opening in the forest. Thomason scoured the area with the agent, when Kalina spoke.
"Colonel," she said. "Do you think he's here yet?"
"I couldn't tell yah. You know the signal to give him?"
"Yes, Sir." The girl pulled out her flashlight, pointed it outwards from her, then flicked it on and off a few times. Two white, two blue, two more blue. She waited silently for about two minutes before receiving a response. Three blue, two white, then one more blue. She turned to Thomason. "He's here, Colonel."
Thomason turned behind him, saw the direction she was pointing in, then the duo made their way towards their contact. Kalina grinned widely once she saw Otto and ran towards him. The old underground agent smiled and rubbed her back gently.
"Star, it's good to see you again," he said sincerely, using her old underground codename.
The colonel approached the two and held his hand out for a shake. "Night Owl, an honor to finally meet you," Thomason said.
"The same to you, Colonel...I am deeply sorry for the loss of Papa Bear," Otto answered, his smile fading.
"Thank you, Sir. We were told by the agent in Thulba that you would alert us as soon as you had visual of Buckley in this area."
"Yes, one of my contacts at the Hofbrau spotted him wandering around a few hours ago. It was difficult to tell what he was wearing from it being so dark out. It looked like he was headed in the direction of Stalag 13. We suspect he plans on killing the kommandant and returning to the city to murder Major Hochstetter before vanishing off again."
Kalina swallowed a large lump in her throat. Her eyes were the size of saucers. "Papa," she croaked.
"Yes, my dear. I'm afraid your father is next on his hit list," Otto said, with sympathy.
"Are your guys certain of that? Should we send Klink into hiding?" Thomason prodded.
"We aren't sure definitely, but we are fairly certain based on his criminal record. Knocking off the only kommandant with no escapes from his camp would be a gold mine to Buckley. As for sending Klink into hiding, I don't think it would be necessary as long as three armed guards were surrounding him or the premises he's in at all times."
"Colonel, he can't kill Papa, he can't! I can't live without Papa," Kalina said, her voice shaking with terror.
"Buckley's not gonna go anywhere near your father," Thomason promised. "He'll be in our custody before he gets the chance to."
"Are you sure you want to do this? This man is armed and extremely dangerous. He sees you and gets enough time, he could wipe both of you out within seconds," Otto stated.
"We know the risks, Night Owl, and we've come prepared. I got four other guys scoping the area for him as we speak. Do you have any idea where his next destination might be after Hammelburg?"
The underground leader gave a slight chuckle. "No one knows where Buckley plans on going after his previous crime. His next murder could take place in Lübeck for all we know."
"Where do you think he is now?" Kalina asked, still shaking knowing her father was all alone back at camp. The idea of Klink being Buckley's next suspected victim was enough to make her scream. She had just lost Hogan, she was not losing her best friend, too. Losing her papa would be enough to make her lie down on the ground and die.
"He could be anywhere in this area, my dear. Where Buckley hides and waits no one can manage to solve yet. It's why the Gestapo has yet to find him," Otto said.
"Thank you, Night Owl. You've been a major help to us on this assignment," Thomason said.
Otto gave a grin back in response. "I'm just doing my part to help the Allies. Now be careful out here. Buckley suspects you two are after him, his next target might be you."
"Yes, Sir. The same to you," the colonel said.
Thomason saluted Otto, then he and Kalina made their way back into the clearing and turned to look at one another. Thomason shook his head. "I should have known Buckley might come to Stalag 13. A prison camp with no escapes on its record. What kind of mad Allied officer would pass up that opportunity?" He asked, particularly to no one.
"I won't let him do it," Kalina said. "I won't let Papa die even if it means I have to."
"And he won't die. None of us are gonna die. We have to find Buckley before he finds Stalag 13, though."
"How do we do that?"
"Let's keep walking and go meet up with the guys. I think a collaborative discussion is in order."
The small Klink nodded, and the two of them resumed their nightly trek through the forest. The sooner they found Kinch and the others, the sooner they could save Klink from an untimely death.
Bahnsen and his search dog, Magnus, were walking through the forest that night on their own assignment: to catch Thomason and Klink's daughter in some suspicious act to prove Hochstetter and everyone else back at Stalag 13 that he was right. The two walked in silence when they came to a barbed wire fence and a big silver sign with bright red paint plastered all over it. On it with the red paint in capital letters read 'Kein Jagen. Kein Zutritt!' (1)
"No hunting, huh?" Bahnsen asked himself, as he read the sign. He looked back down at his Doberman. "I wouldn't consider this hunting, would you, boy?" He knelt down to the ground and grabbed out a pair of wire cutters issued to him by the Gestapo. "Just gonna find us a rotten colonel." He cut the wires, then released the leash on Magnus and had him sniff a piece of leather that had fallen off of Thomason's jacket. "Alright boy, sniff them out. Find me that damn American."
Magnus followed orders and ran off to start tracking, his owner not too far behind him. He searched trees, rocks, bushes, and different trails, but no scent of Thomason could be found. Meanwhile, Kinch and the others were making their way to the meeting point, when they heard footsteps coming from ahead of them. Kinch held out his arm to stop the others, put a finger to his lips to silence them, then the four listened closely to try and detect who it was that was walking by.
It took about fifteen minutes into their walk before they came across a sandy and gravel intersection in the middle of the forest. Magnus got to the center of the intersection, his ears stood up straight, and started growling.
"You have something, boy?" Bahnsen asked, kneeling down beside the dog. He looked at the paths down his right and saw that it was in the direction of Stalag 13. He felt a crooked grin crawl onto his face and gave a low chuckle. "Good boy, Magnus. Those two will be coming right through here back for Stalag 13 if outside the wire...but they won't make it back there alive."
(1) Kein Jagen. Kein Zutritt - No hunting. No entry!