Chapter 5:
The next two days went by within the blink of an eye, and it was soon time for the moment everyone at Stalag 13 was dreading. Today was the day everyone would have to say 'goodbye' to Klink and 'hello' to a new kommandant they only knew as a Major Eitel Krump. He had passed every single one of Burkhalter's background checks to the letter and had an incredible record with the Luftwaffe. The only thing that was left now was for him to pass Hogan's background check.
As Klink loaded the last of his luggage into the trunk of his staff car, Hogan and his boys, Kalina, and Schultz all gathered around the newly promoted general to say their farewells and wish him the best of luck in Berlin. Klink would be celebrated at a sumptuous award dinner and given his new uniform as he walked across the stage and shook hands with no other than Hermann Goering himself. He would then be assigned a new office at Luftwaffe Headquarters, then Burkhalter would familiarize his new adjutant with all the ropes of being a head commander of POW camps. It sounded like a complete fantasy to Klink, but to everyone else at Stalag 13, it meant a nightmare was about to begin for them.
Klink closed the lid of his trunk, turned around to face the group behind him, then made his way to Schultz. A sergeant that had although drove him insane at times, he had also become one of the kommandant's closest and dearest friends during his three years stationed at Stalag 13. A friend that he was going to miss and always remember as he took his new command post in Berlin. Klink gave Schultz a friendly smile and nodded once.
"Well Schultz," he began. "Although you have cost me my last nerve several times in the past, it has been an honor being your commanding officer. I truly wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors."
The fluffy guard sniffled a few times, then hung his head as tears slipped down his cheeks and started to weep.
"Schultz, are you crying?" Klink asked, his expression both puzzled and surprised.
"It's, it's my allergies, Herr Kommandant," Schultz said, not willing to admit he was going to miss his commanding officer. "The pollen is terrible this time of year."
Sensing the real reason behind the sergeant's tears, Klink gave Schultz a gentle grin, then patted him on the shoulder before making his way to Hogan. Another man that had become a good friend to him. Neither one would ever admit it to each other, but a good friend was indeed what Hogan had become to him. Even though the American had caused him an aneurysm or two in the past.
"Kommandant," Hogan said, holding his hand out for a shake. "We're gonna miss you, Sir."
Klink smiled and shook the colonel's hand. "Hogan, take care of yourself and the men under your command."
"Say, do me a favor when you get to Berlin and tell Ol' Bubble Beard I say 'hello', won't you?"
Klink immediately yanked his hand away from Hogan's, made it into a fist, then threw it down with a loud 'humph'. He then stopped at the last person that waited for him and smiled again; the person that he was going to miss most of all.
With tears streaming down her face and a damp handkerchief clutched in her hand, Kalina bolted from her spot beside Hogan and wrapped her arms around her father as she lay her head against his belly and began to cry uncontrollably. Klink hugged his daughter close and kissed the top of her head as she continued to sob. "Papa...I'm gonna miss you so much."
Klink gave her another kiss on the head, then wiped the tears on her face away with his thumbs. He cupped her cheek with his hand and gave her an encouraging grin. "I'm one phone call away," he told her. "You call me whenever you wish, and I will talk to you every night before you go to bed."
Kalina grabbed a hold of her papa's arm, fearing it would be the last time she ever saw him again. "I love you, Papa...forever."
The new general kissed his daughter's head once more, then rubbed the back of her head as he gazed down at her lovingly. "I love you, baby girl. I'm always with you," he said softly.
Kalina gave her father one more hug and did all she could to make sure she remembered how they made her feel to the smallest detail. The immense warmth and love that filled her body. The ring of safety that shielded her from the rest of the world. The strength her papa's hugs gave her when she just wanted to collapse and give up. The sense of wholeness she felt when she heard her father's steady heartbeat. She held onto him for a few minutes longer, then reluctantly let go of him and allowed more tears to fall as Klink rubbed the back of her head once more.
Satisfied that he had said 'goodbye' to everyone closest to him, Klink walked towards the backseat of his staff car, where a Luftwaffe guard stood waiting to be his chauffeur to Berlin. He paused as he was about to step inside and looked back at his daughter, prisoners, and senior sergeant once more. He gave them a warm smile and wave of his hand, then he crawled inside the staff car, and the guard closed the door behind him. Soon the guard himself stepped into the driver's seat, started the ignition, then followed the large truck carrying Klink's furniture and boxes out of camp and out of Hammelburg.
Once Klink's car was out of sight, Kalina clenched her eyes shut as her heart broke into a million pieces. She resumed crying as grief consumed her little body, when Hogan took her into his arms and held her close as he tried to comfort her. He gently hushed her and rubbed her back, while the rest of Hogan's core unit surrounded them and did their part to make their 'little sister' feel better again.
"Don't cry, kiddo," Kinch said. "Your father's gonna make you proud as can be."
"Yeah, and just think of the fancy leather chair he's gonna be sitting in behind his new desk. Boy, why if I were Klink, I'd never wanna leave Berlin. Maybe he'll even get his own nameplate to put on his desk. And he's gonna go to all those extravagant general's parties, tell other kommandants how to do their job, and…"
"Carter," Newkirk interrupted. "Quit yah ramblin' before you cause me little mate to go deaf."
Hogan opened his mouth to say something to Kalina, when the sound of another car became louder and louder to him. He looked up towards the front gate and let out a heavy sigh. "Oh boy," he said. "I don't have to guess to know who that is."
The Luftwaffe staff car pulled to slow halt alongside the kommandantur, and a Luftwaffe major stepped out of the driver's seat. He was a bit taller than Klink was, slim in weight, and wore wire-framed glasses over his dark blue eyes. His hair was a graying black, but it appeared that the major had an actual full head of hair unlike Klink did. There was only one person it could be: Major Eitel Krump. The new camp kommandant of Stalag 13.
Krump scanned his new surroundings with hawk-eyes and took in everything to the smallest detail. The condition of the buildings, the behavior of the guards, the temperament of the prisoners wandering around the compound, and everything else in between. Right off the bat he did not give off a welcoming and friendly aura to Hogan and his team. In fact, the six of them were not exactly sure if 'friendly' was a word in the major's vocabulary.
"You think he's another one of the filthy Bosche, Colonel?" LeBeau asked quietly.
"He certainly ain't another Klink, that's for sure," Kinch said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
As Krump continued to analyze the current state of Stalag 13, Schultz rapidly made his way to his new commander's side and gave him a proper salute. "Herr Kommandant," Schultz stated. "Sergeant Schultz at your service."
The major did not return the gesture and simply scanned the fluffy guard from head to toe and back to his head again. "You're my Sergeant of the Guard?" He asked, flat.
Despite his slight hurt feelings at not getting a salute back, Schultz clicked his heels together and stood as straight as he possibly could. "Jawohl, Herr Kommandant."
Krump gave Schultz another scan up and down, then frowned in disappointment. "Not much, but you'll do," he answered, then made his way towards Hogan without giving Schultz a second glance.
Certain that the major could not hear him, Schultz narrowed his eyes and grumbled something under his breath regarding his feelings towards the new kommandant.
Krump stopped a few feet before Hogan, who gave the major a sloppy salute before introducing himself. "Colonel Hogan, Senior POW Officer. You must be Major Krump."
"That's Kommandant Krump to you," Krump hissed. He eyed the colonel like a predatory animal ready to go in for the kill. "So you're this Colonel Hogan General Burkhalter warned me about. Let me be the first to warn you, Colonel; I don't handle sharing command so easily. Stay out of my way, and I won't make you into a skinned carpet in my new office."
Hogan gave no response other than the same predatory stare Krump gave him. He observed the man cautiously, holding onto Kalina as tight as he could while studying the new kommandant. Usually he would give a witty remark, but the energy coming off the enemy officer made him think twice. Krump was definitely not someone to pull jokes around. He was about as deadly as an angered tiger just waiting to be released from its cage. He was cold, calculating, and the threats he made towards Hogan were more than just threats; they were promises patiently waiting to be carried out at the right time.
Krump gawked at Hogan for a few seconds longer, then snapped his attention down at Kalina. He pointed at her. "That is General Klink's daughter? Kalina?" He asked.
"Yes, Sir," Hogan said, tightening his hold around the girl a bit more, while Kalina did the same with Hogan.
"She looks helpless," the major said.
Kalina began to shiver under Krump's icy stare and gulped a large knot down her throat, pressing her face against Hogan's belly as if it made her invisible and out of sight. This man frightened her. Not as much as Koch had, but certainly enough that she would not question any order he gave her. She would not argue with any statement he gave even if it was incorrect. She would not like this man like she adored her beloved papa.
Krump opened his mouth to say something, when he heard the sound of a supply truck pulling into camp. "What the…" He trailed off when he saw two Luftwaffe officers sitting in the front of the truck and four more that were armed in the flatbed guarding three Allied officers. One was an RAF captain, and the other two were with the United States Army Air Force. One a captain, the other a major. All three of them wore handcuffs and had a rifle pointed directly at the temple of their heads, warning them that someone was ready to shoot them at any moment should they decide to pull something. The saboteurs of Operation Main. They had finally arrived.
"Hold onto Kalina for me," Hogan ordered softly to Kinch. "I'm gonna go see if I can't get any information out of those guys."
"Right, Sir," Kinch answered, with a nod. He took Klink's little girl into the safety of arms from Hogan, and the colonel's core unit watched as Hogan left their side and approached the truck.
Krump exchanged salutes with the driver, another major, then nodded. "Major," the new kommandant said.
"You're the kommandant of this camp?" The major asked monotonously.
"Jawohl, Herr Major. Major Eitel Krump. I just arrived from Berlin this morning."
"These are three prisoners sent from the Luftwaffe High Command. RAF Captain Charles Dawkins, US Army Air Force Captain Jerome Kirk, and US Army Air Force Major Scott Forrester." The major gestured to the three Allied officers. "They are to be held here under maximum security until the Gestapo is ready to come pick them up for further interrogation. Orders come from the Fuhrer himself."
"I can assure you, Major, these Allied swine will be under guard by the best men under my comman…"
"Gentlemen," Hogan said to his comrades, cutting Krump off mid-sentence. "Allow me to introduce myself. Colonel Robert Hogan, Senior POW Officer."
"What are you doing here?" Krump snarled.
"Just introducing myself to the fellas here, Sir. Informing them of their rights as POWs and everything, just standard protocol." Hogan turned his attention back to the three officers and opened his mouth to speak, when Krump cut him to the chase.
"I did not give you orders to speak to these three men, now go back to your pigsty where you belong!"
"Kommandant, I mean this in the most respectful way possible, but as Senior POW Officer it is a right under the Geneva Convention to introduce myself to new prisoners and inform them of their rights while being held captive under the German military."
Krump began to laugh hysterically to the point his face turned a bright shade of pink. "The Geneva Convention, huh?" He remarked. "I happen to carry a copy of the Convention on me. See this?" He pulled out a stapled packet with the Geneva Conventions typed on each page from his inner jacket pocket and tore it to shreds. Once it was nothing but bits and pieces of paper, he threw it up in the air right in front of Hogan's mortified expression. "THAT'S WHAT I THINK OF YOUR GENEVA CONVENTION!"
"I could have you reported to the Red Cross!" Hogan exclaimed, still not completely out of shock. He was about to protest, when a sudden blow to the stomach caused him to collapse with an 'Oh!' He placed a hand on his belly as he tried to regain control of his breathing, grimacing at the searing pain that was more than likely coming from the beginnings of bruises forming.
"Colonel Hogan!" Kalina cried, tears streaming down her face.
As he fought back the tears stinging at the corners of his eyes, Hogan slowly opened his eyes and lifted his weak expression to Krump, who bent forward and glared at him like a predator coming in for the kill. "You've been warned, filthy mutt," the kommandant snarled through his teeth. "I would hate to see your corpse be hung from a tree." He spit in one of Hogan's eyes, then straightened his posture before looking back at the Luftwaffe officers. "Take these vermin to the cooler and into solitary confinement. Anyone that comes near those three men are to be shot without warning...Especially this Hogan mutt here."
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant," the major answered, with a salute. He turned to his partner, a lieutenant. "Take these gentlemen to the cooler and have a guard posted outside their cell immediately. We will return to Berlin once the arrangements are made."
The lieutenant nodded, then gestured for the four guards to follow him. With the butt of their rifles, the guards shoved the three Allied officers forward, and the party of eight soon became tiny ants in the distance.
Once they disappeared inside the cooler, Krump turned his icy stare in the direction of where Schultz stood. "Sergeant," he barked, then pointed to the kommandant's quarters. "Take my things to my new quarters and get everything neatly put away."
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant. At once," Schultz said, giving his new commander a proper salute.
"Gut," Krump answered. He grabbed a ginormous suitcase and swung it into Schultz's arms, who gave a short grunt as he used all his strength to not drop the five ton baggage. "You can start with my clothes." The major saluted his subordinate, then stormed up the stairs of the kommandantur, slamming the door with a loud thud as Schultz again grumbled something distasteful in Krump's direction.
"And I thought Kommandant Klink's ego was big," he said softly, then heaved a few more grunts as he struggled to carry Krump's things to the kommandant's quarters, leaving Hogan's men and Kalina to themselves.
On sheer instinct, Hogan's core unit abandoned their spots and all but dashed to their commander's rescue. LeBeau and Kinch stood around Hogan while Newkirk and Carter gently pulled the colonel up into a sitting position and pulled him to lean against the porch of the kommandantur.
"Help me get him up, Andrew, won't yah?" The Englishman asked.
"Sure thing, buddy," Carter said, as they continued to assist Hogan, who was still trying to catch his breath and somewhat grimacing from the pain in his abdomen.
Once the duo had him sitting up, Hogan put his hand back onto his belly and let out exasperated breaths as Kinch turned to LeBeau. "Get him a glass of water, Louis," he said.
"Oui, Kinch," LeBeau answered, with a firm nod, then sprinted off for the barracks, while Kalina sprinted for her second father at full speed. She came to a slow halt as she neared Hogan, then got down on her knees and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest and sobbing uncontrollably.
Hogan turned his gaze to his youngest friend, gave her a tired smile, and wiped Kalina's tears away with his thumb before placing his hand on her cheek. "I'm alright, hon," he reassured her. "I'm just out of breath still."
As the colonel continued to calm Kalina, LeBeau ran back across the compound with a glass of ice cold water and handed it to Hogan, who took it gratefully after saying, "Thank you." He took a generous gulp and sighed with relief as he swallowed. His breathing became more regular, and his muscles gradually relaxed. He nodded. "I need that, LeBeau."
"You alright, Colonel?" Kinch asked, his face plastered with a concerned expression.
"You want me to blow him up for you, Colonel?" Carter asked innocently.
"I'll gladly be of any assistance," Newkirk growled, his eyes flashing with white flames of rage.
Hogan shook his head. "No, no," he said. "We're not blowing anybody up. We'll get rid of Krump another way."
"How, Colonel Hogan? How?" Kalina asked meekly, still holding onto him for dear life.
Hogan let out a heavy breath of air, then closed his eyes and hung his head before turning back to the little teenager. "Kalina," he answered. "That's exactly what I'm still trying to figure out."