Chapter 4:
It took a little over four hours before the inspection was complete. General von Aschenbrener saw everything from the way Klink talked to how sanitized the buildings were and up to date. Once every inch of Stalag 13 had been covered from head to toe, Klink, the two generals, and Kalina returned to the kommandant's office for refreshments. And while the grown men sipped on brandy, little Kalina drank a glass of the German equivalent of 7-Up with a lemon wedge on the rim of the glass. The two Klinks stood side by side, while Burkhalter sat in the chair beneath the picture of Hitler with the hidden microphone, and von Aschenbrener stood behind the one before Klink's desk.
"Colonel Klink, I must commend you on an excellent job you are doing here," von Aschenbrener said. "You've passed every part of the inspection with flying colors and a rating of one degree above 'superior'. In fact, you're the first Luft Stalag that I have gone through and declared a passing grade on."
"Herr General, I am merely just doing my part to serve our glorious Fuhrer and the Fatherland." Klink replied, making a very poor attempt at sounding modest.
"Colonel, I have done a great deal of reading on all the POW camps here since being transferred to the Ministry of Inspection. The only one that has made a good impression for itself is you and Stalag 13. You should see some of the other stalags I have gone through. Stalag 18 has a kommandant embezzling camp money for his own personal use, Stalag 41 has prison riots by the day, and Stalag 7 has such a horrible escape record that even some of the guards have tried to escape."
"Some of the guards have tried to escape? From their own camp?" Kalina asked, baffled.
"Let's just say the kommandant there is now serving in a combat unit in much more of a...let's call it a colder climate." von Aschenbrener explained.
The color from the little Klink's face drained quickly, and she gulped as she nuzzled up against her father and hugged him with her free arm as tight as she could without hurting him. Her muscles relaxed slightly when she felt Klink gently rub her arm, then place his hand on her shoulder.
"You know, Klink," the inspector general continued, pacing leisurely across the room. "A lot of POW camps could learn from you. If there weren't so many camps to go through, I would have you go around all of Germany to present your methods and handling to the other kommandants. So this is my proposal; how's a promotion to general sound to you?"
Klink felt the air get sucked out of his lungs as he dropped his glass of brandy and stared at von Aschenbrener like he had just pulled a gun on him. "Ge, ge, ge, ge ge, general?" He stuttered, trying to figure out if he was still awake or dreaming.
"Head Commander of POW Camp Supervision." von Aschenbrener added. "Besides, I'm sure General Burkhalter would appreciate a second set of hands to lighten his load of duties."
"I would appreciate a six month vacation to a tropical island, but a second set of hands to assist me will do for now." Burkhalter grumbled, taking another sip of his brandy.
"A general?" Kalina squealed. She turned to her father, a huge grin on her face. "Say yes, Papa! You work so hard; nobody deserves it more."
"That is a matter of opinion," Burkhalter muttered to von Aschenbrener.
"Why do I get the feeling Kalina is more excited about this than he is?" von Aschenbrener asked. "He still hasn't said a word."
Burkhalter sighed. "You have to give his brain a moment or two to catch up, General. Sometimes Klink isn't the quickest to catch on."
The kommandant was hastily processing the unexpected offer while he cleaned up the mess. He could have had one of his prisoners do it, of course, but it gave him time to think. He did not want to look stupid when he spoke. Even so, it took every ounce of his self-control not to jump up and down in excitement. So after he stood up straight and tall once more, he nodded once. "I graciously accept, sir. Danke!"
Kalina gave her papa a hug. "Yay! Just think, you'll finally have those white stripes on your trousers. I know how long you've wanted them."
"We don't know that part for certain, Süße. I might not get a new uniform unless this one gets damaged," Klink said gently. "Let's wait and see how things go for us, alright?" He hoped he would get a new one, but he did not want his daughter to be disappointed if that did not happen. Resources were precious in a war.
"Excellent," von Aschenbrener said. "You will start packing immediately."
The wide grin that was plastered to Klink's face quickly faded into a frown as he furrowed his eyebrows together. "Pack?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"You don't expect to keep your post here at this little stalag here, did you?" von Aschenbrener began to chuckle. "Goodness no. You'll be on your way to Berlin the day after tomorrow, Colonel. Another officer will arrive shortly afterwards to take command of Stalag 13, and you will obtain one of the finest offices Luftwaffe Headquarters has to offer."
Kalina gasped as her blue eyes twinkled with glee. She looked back at her father eagerly. "Papa, did you hear that?! We're going to Berlin, Papa!" She squealed.
"We," von Aschenbrener remarked, befuddled. "Surely you don't believe you're going along, my dear, do you?"
"Of course I am," Kalina said, then looked up at Klink, who was gently rubbing the back of his daughter's head, again full of pride. "I wanna be front and center when Papa turns his colonel jacket in for a general's."
The SS general licked his dry lips as he tried to carefully find the words to break the news to the young girl. "Uh...Fraulein Kalina, I...I don't exactly know how to tell you this, but…" He trailed off as he watched Kalina's smile turn into a long frown, her pupils dilating twice in size.
"I'm going, aren't I?" She asked, meek. "Papa's not leaving without me, right?"
Again, von Aschenbrener fell silent and struggled to tell Kalina the bad news. His eyes set on Klink, who did not need a verbal statement to understand. The colonel swallowed a lump in his throat and frowned himself. "My daughter's not coming with me, is she," he said somberly.
"No," von Aschenbrener answered, shaking his head. "It's safer for her that way. Berlin is no place for a child currently...I'm afraid she's staying here, Colonel."
Kalina shook her head as her eyes shone with unshed tears. She put her fingers to her mouth as she began to whimper and her body wracked with grief. She looked at her father, then at von Aschenbrener, then at her father again before bolting off for her room in tears. Not even three seconds later did Klink go running after her, leaving the two generals to themselves.
"Go to Berlin with her father, is that child mad?" von Aschenbrener asked Burkhalter.
"Kalina and her father are very close to each other," Burkhalter explained, taking another sip of brandy. "Frankly, he's been her best friend since birth. Being separated from him is like trying to take oxygen away from a human being."
"Yes, but Berli…"
"Let Klink handle her now, General. At the moment, he's the only one that will make her see it that way."
Newkirk unplugged the coffee pot on Hogan's desk, while the colonel himself sat in his chair and shook his head. His stomach was beyond nauseous, his heart was heavy, and an overwhelming feeling of dread weighed on his shoulders like a 200 pound dumb-bell.
"Unbelievable," he finally said, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I feel sick just thinking about it."
"It's not your fault, Colonel," Kinch said, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "We made him look too good."
"Klink going to Berlin? Who will that leave us with after he's gone?" Carter asked.
"Some big shot with the sense of humor of a badger, that's who," Newkirk remarked, irritated.
"What do we do, Colonel?" LeBeau asked, turning to Hogan for another one of his genius plans.
Hogan shook his head. "LeBeau, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to." He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Boy, I really blew it this time, didn't I."
"Nobody's perfect," Kinch said gently. He hated it whenever the colonel beat himself up over things that could not be helped. It was not as if being an officer made you automatically know everything. "None of us could've guessed von Aschenbrener would promote Klink."
"Oui. I know this is not necessarily good news for us, but at least le Commandant will be happy," LeBeau pointed out. "He has wanted a promotion for many years."
"Yeah, Gov. And me little mate will still be here," Newkirk added. "We'll have to arrange visits for her somehow, check up on ol' Klink every now and again. Go out on a few dates in Berlin, maybe. I ain't seen a problem yet that time with a pretty bird couldn't fix."
LeBeau shook his head. "Pierre, sometimes I think the only German words you care about knowing are 'fräulein' and 'liebchen'."
"What's your point, Louis? Them's the best ones."
"And maybe the new Kraut won't be so bad. We could get lucky," Carter chimed in. "Personally, I say let 's wait and see what happens."
Hogan held up his hand for silence. Then he put his fist under his chin for a few minutes, a thinking pose his team was very familiar with. "All of you make some valid points," he began. "But this is a tough call, fellas. If we lose Klink, I'm not sure if we'll be able to get him back. And the next kommandant could be a real stickler for the rules. I'm sure none of us have forgotten Sergeant Franks, right?"
"I haven't forgotten the expression he had when Klink saw the victory symbol on his shirt, that's for sure," Newkirk snickered. "It had to be one of the funniest things to happen in this war."
The colonel groaned. "That's not what I meant, Newkirk."
"I know, Gov'nor," he replied. "Just makin' a little joke, that's all."
"I can always blow the new guy up if you want me to, boy...I mean, Sir," Carter offered. "I've got this new prototype bomb I've been..."
"Andre, you can not blow up everything and everyone you don't like; not even the Bosche," LeBeau interrupted him.
"Gee, why not?"
Hogan held up his hands before they could start arguing. "Hold it, hold it. I've made my decision."
"Which is what, Sir?" Kinch asked.
"We're gonna wait and see what the new kommandant is like. If he turns out to be a problem for us, I'll come up with a plan to get Klink back," the colonel answered. He sighed and added, "I just hope I'm not making a big mistake."
Klink opened the room to his daughter's room and found her just as he suspected; lying down on her bed crying with her face buried into the pillow. His frown grew longer as he silently closed the door behind him, then sat down by Kalina's side. He gently rubbed her shoulder, causing Kalina to look up at her father with damp red eyes. She sniffled a few times as Klink wiped a few stray tears away with his thumb, giving her a hopeful smile. He rubbed the back of her head, causing her to shudder a bit, then Kalina wrapped her arms around him, nuzzled her face into his chest, and started to cry again as Klink held her close and softly hushed her.
"I'm sorry, Papa…" she wept. "I'm being selfish, aren't I."
Klink gave his daughter a kiss on the head and hushed her again. "There's nothing selfish about missing someone you love," he told her. "But I don't think I want to go if I have to leave you behind."
"Papa, no." Kalina pleaded. "You want to be a general so bad, please don't turn it away. No one deserves to be a general more than you do."
Klink's smile grew a touch in size, his blue eyes twinkling with unshed tears. "I left you once, and you ended up mentally traumatized from it; I couldn't do that to you again," he said, shaking his head.
"Papa, please. Please don't give this up. I'd never forgive myself if you stayed just for my sake. I want you to have your promotion. I want you to show those big shots in Berlin just who the best Luftwaffe general is in Germany. And you remember what General Burkhalter said; if you ever left Stalag 13 again, he would do an intense background check on the officer he sent here to prevent another Koch from happening." Kalina took a hold of one of her father's hands and squeezed it tight, looking up at him tearfully. "Don't give up on your dream, Papa. Go to Berlin for me."
"What about you?" Klink asked, rubbing his daughter's head again. "My sweet baby girl."
"I'm gonna miss you. Every single day I'm gonna miss you, but I'll be so proud of you knowing you're serving Germany so gallantly. You'll be the best general out of the entire High Command."
A tear rolled down Klink's cheek as his heart swelled. His little girl's words meant so much to him. And knowing how much Kalina wanted him to follow his dream, he could not argue with her. If she wanted him to go to Berlin to earn his stripes, then that's the path he would take. He kissed her forehead, then nodded slowly. "Okay," he said. "I'll go. But I will call you every night before bedtime, I promise you. There will not be a single day that goes by that you don't hear my voice."
Kalina broke down and cried again, burying her face back into her papa's chest. "Oh Papa...I'm gonna miss you so much." She wept.
"I'll come back for you," Klink promised. "I don't know when it will be, but I will come back for you some day...I love you more than anything, baby girl." He hugged his daughter close and kissed her head as he continued to rock her from side to side.
Kalina sniffled a few times and nuzzled her face against Klink. "I love you, Papa," she croaked. "More than infinity."
And for the next several minutes, neither one of them spoke a word. No one made a single sound. All Klink and Kalina did was hold each other tight and enjoy their final hours together.