Story 2
Flash Point
Summary: Come rain or shine, the bridge must blow, even if it takes all the ingenuity you've got. After all, even the most important operations are limited by wartime resources.
Disclaimer: I own no rights to Hogan's Heroes.
Author's Note: 88 F is approximately 31 C.
Everyone thought the previous day's downpour would help cool things off, but it only added humidity. German, Frenchman, Englishman, and American alike all went about their days sweltering, the only exceptions being the South Texans of Barracks 15 who were overheard happily commenting on how Spring was finally getting started. Even they, however, packed away their Texas flag knitted blankets in their footlockers as the day progressed.
In Barracks 2, the situation was more urgent, and not even the 92 F reading on the thermometer was reason enough to stop the latest mission, even if other circumstances seemed fit to do it for them.
"I'm sorry, Colonel, but I just don't have any timers left," Carter explained, feeling somewhat guilty even if it was not his fault London had yet to send his requested supplies. He was getting more anxious about it as time went on, needing the supplies to do his job safely.
"Have you double checked in the backs of all your cabinets?" Hogan asked, the heat doing nothing to help his patience.
"Yes, Sir."
"Well, then, triple check. We need that bomb to go off tomorrow while the general is here to provide an alibi for us. I don't know who Hochstetter contacted to get his theories heard, but we need to disprove them as fast as possible."
With that, the meeting was dismissed, and Carter found himself going back down into the tunnels. It was cooler in them, but even that would not last long if the temperatures kept rising. As he looked through the drawers for the timer he knew was not there, Carter began reviewing all the chemicals that would start having problems if they got too hot. Mostly, he tried to keep large quantities of dangerous chemicals out of his lab area and in a special cellar the Colonel had made for him outside the camp, but he built bombs, and there were some that it was more dangerous to leave alone than keep with him. He gulped, thinking of the bottle of styrene he had in a footlocker. It was dangerous even to inhale, and it required regular additives to keep it safe.
Carter stopped suddenly, reaching for his chemical catalog to double check something about styrene. If he was right, they might not need a timer after all.
"You want permission for what?" Hogan asked, knowing Carter only asked for permission before conducting his most dangerous experiments.
"I want to build a mirror bomb, I guess you could call it. Or a magnifying glass bomb. I don't really know…"
"What's different about it? Does it make all the Krauts look ugly?" Newkirk asked.
"They're already ugly. Any more and it would be against the Geneva Convention for us to see them," LeBeau declared.
"No, it can't do that. But you know how the sun shining through glass and bouncing off mirrors can make it even hotter? Well, some chemicals are so flammable that they can explode when they get hot enough, even without a fuse or timer or outside flame. The chemical starts evaporating, and then BOOM! It can explode and keep burning! I have one of them in my lab right now."
"Wait, you mean we've been living over a bomb that could go off at any minute?" Hogan asked seriously.
"Not like that. I've been keeping it docile, but if tomorrow is as hot as today, then I think we can make a bomb casing that can magnify the heat enough to make the styrene reach its flash point. Technically it can do that starting around 88 Fahrenheit, according to my books."
Hogan exchanged an uneasy look with Kinch. He knew that Carter knew how to take care of the bomb lab, but there were times he preferred to follow Schultz's lead and know as little as possible for his own peace of mind. Still, Carter's idea seemed sound, and they needed to blow up the bridge. "Does it have to be glass and mirrors?"
"No, just something that magnifies the heat as much as possible. I figure if we take it to the bridge tonight, put it somewhere the sun can warm it, and put something else like dynamite around it, it should work."
"If it's something reflective, someone might notice it," Kinch cautioned.
"There really are no timers?" Hogan asked Carter again.
"No, Sir," came the expected reply.
Hogan considered it for a few more seconds, hoping there was some other option he had missed up until now. But in the end, there was only one option. "Okay, build it. The boys in the workshop should be able to make a metal box for you."
Carter nodded and headed back into the tunnels. Hogan was just glad he would be getting rid of that chemical.
The next day, Carter and the others went about their daily business, sweltering in the heat under the watchful eyes of the Germans, including the visiting general. Newkirk had already broken into his briefcase and photographed the documents inside, and now they had only to wait for the bridge to blow. As much as Carter tried to be confident, he had never made a bomb like this before, and he only hoped it worked as planned. Thankfully the heat wave still held. If it had cooled down like everyone else wanted, there would be a much lower chance of success.
"As you can see, the prisoners are thoroughly cowed," Klink told the general from their shady spot on the Kommandantur porch. "Over there are Colonel Hogan and his men, just as dispirited as all the rest."
"Perhaps it is the heat instead of their actual attitude, if what Major Hochstetter tells me is true."
Just then a bomb went off in the distance, and Carter kept his face perfectly schooled. The general could see them all there, clear as day, the bridge was no more, and his new bomb was a success.