Copyright of the Hogan's Heroes characters

belongs to others and no infringement or

ownership is intended. Copyright of original text and original characters

belong to ML Breedlove.

CHAPTER 12

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The cooler was especially cold tonight, or was it the circumstances that necessitated his visit, that made it feel that way? Klink pulled his jacket collar up as he made his way down the cement steps. Schultz, with an armful of blankets, was close behind.

The sounds of their boots echoed hollowly as they entered the corridor that lead to the isolation cells. Schultz stepped forward to lead the way.

"Colonel Hogan is on the far end, Herr Kommandant."

As Schultz fumbled with his keys to open the cell door, Klink looked down the line of cells reminding himself that there were men on the other side of the glistening wet walls in front of him.

This was a terrible place to be, Klink thought. Not only because it was cold, wet and dark, but because you were alone with your thoughts with nothing to distract you. It was no wonder men were known to go mad if left there to long. It's use as a deterrent was saved for extreme breaks in discipline. And even then it was ordered with a heavy heart.

The cell door opened and Schultz, followed by Klink, entered. Light filtering in from the corridor seemed to only deepen the darkness that lay beyond its reach.

"There you are." Hogan rolled over on what passed for a bunk. "It's about time."

"On your feet, Hogan. It's late and we need to talk."

Turning to Schultz, Klink ordered, "Distribute the blankets, Schultz, and wait for me in the corridor."

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant." Schultz handed two blankets to Hogan before exiting the cell.

Hogan gratefully took them. If Klink hadn't been there he would have wrapped them over his shoulders right then. Instead, he reluctantly laid them on the bunk.

A heartfelt , "Thanks, Schultz." was offered, as Hogan acknowledged this act of kindness. Not all prison camps had humane captors. Ironically enough (as long as he could keep the top brass and Gestapo out of it) it was that quality, in these two men, that allowed many of his plans to work.

Stepping into the narrow stream of light entering through the cell door, Hogan nodded to Klink, "You first."

"The Gestapo is going to hold a hearing. General Burkhalter will let me know when that will be."

Hogan, felt his heart pound, as he looked hard at Klink. "The Gestapo?"

That was not what he was hoping to hear.

Stiffening, he asked, "Am I being turned over to them?"

"No…at least not at this time."

Before he could feel any relief, he had to know, "What story did you give them?"

Since the Gestapo was presiding over the hearing, it was very possible Klink told them everything.

"Why the truth of course…" Klink answered.

Hogan closed his eyes as a wave of heat swept over his body moistening his skin with perspiration. Not wanting to think of what lay ahead, he turned to pace. "Kommandant, I…"

"…that I was on your trail immediately and chased you to the barn where Major Hegel got the drop on you, unknown to me of course, and that Hegel came out with a gun and was mistaken for a prisoner."

Hogan stopped mid-sentence. Sagging slightly with relief, he exhaled. Klink had played that well.

"You did that on purpose."

"Just like you purposely aren't telling me everything. A German officer is dead, Hogan. And while I agree, what he was doing was unethical and would have ended in our deaths, I'm not sure two wrongs are going to make it right. I just can't see any other way right now."

"That's because there is no other way." It wasn't that Hogan didn't understand. He did. He had his own demons to contend with. But in war things could not always be done, 'by the book', not if you wanted to survive.

Hogan's thoughts were flying at breakneck speed. There was still one more question begging to be answered. Hochstetter undoubtedly uncovered Hegel's body at the barn, and he would have sent it back for examination before filling out his report.

"How did you explain the 'diamonds'?"

Klink reached into his pocket. "You mean these."

Astonished, Hogan straightened, and then just as suddenly realized, they may still be a problem.

"Where did you…? Hochstetter didn't see them?"

"I took them off Hegel before I went into the barn to check on…I mean…to get… you and your men."

This was a major victory, and it was the first time Hogan had smiled in days.

"Sometimes, you surprise me, Kommandant. You really do have a head on your shoulders."

Stiffening, Klink huffed, and pressing the swagger stick more tightly under his arm, promised, "You know, Colonel Hogan, solitary confinement could become a permanent address for you."

"That was meant as a compliment!" Putting his best innocent expression on, he quickly changed the topic.

"I have one more question."

"Of course you do, I've never known you not to have one more question." Klink cocked his head in anticipation, "Well, what is it?"

"What did Hochstetter mean when he said there were dead soldiers down the road."

Back on track, Klink nodded. "Not just soldiers. Evidently, his secretary was found dead there as well."

"Myra? Hegel said she was dead. Evidently, he was getting rid of anyone who had knowledge of what he had been doing."

Klink looked questioningly at Hogan. "How did you know his secretary's name was Myra?"

"What...? Oh, Hegel called her by name when he was in the barn," Hogan, quickly, lied.

Still somewhat suspicious, Klink, slowly, nodded as the implication of that statement sunk in.

"Hogan, if Hegel killed his secretary, that would mean…"

"You've got it, Kommandant. He killed his own men as well."

Klink, looked at Hogan. "You're lucky to be alive. When Hegel came out of the barn, gun in hand, I thought you may already be dead."

"Is that why you brought a machine gun with you?"

Klink looked accusingly at Hogan, "It's not the only reason."

Hogan cocked his head. Maybe Klink was more formidable than he gave him credit for. Regardless, it paid off!

"Well, if you hadn't arrived when you did, you very well may have found us dead. And you wouldn't have survived much longer yourself."

He hoped Klink would never know the disaster he...they... sidestepped tonight.

"Is that your justification for this?" Klink reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the gun Schultz had taken from Hogan.

An eyebrow raised, as Hogan rubbed the back of his neck. "I wondered when you were going to get around to that."

Continuing to stare red faced at Hogan, Klink said nothing.

Flustered, Hogan pleaded his case, "Kommandant, I didn't plan to just stand there and be shot or watch my men be shot…not without a fight."

Klink broke his silence and in a firm voice demanded, "Why didn't you give it to me in the barn?"

"Frankly, Kommandant, I wasn't sure where I stood. You were still deciding what to tell your superiors. As long as I had it, I could still look for a chance to ditch it. And keep you and the Gestapo from ever knowing about it."

"And that's your justification, it was okay as long as I didn't know about it?" Klink pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Looking back at Hogan, he observed, "Obviously, that chance never came."

Hogan shrugged his shoulders. "Your security was tight."

Klink took momentary pleasure in that admission before, suddenly, realizing that the gun was in Hogan's pocket when he had presented Hogan to Hochstetter to be searched.

Trying to impress on Hogan the error in his thinking, he stated the obvious. "You do realize that if Major Hochstetter had found this on you, you wouldn't be standing here right now!"

Klink's reprimand was an opportunity to become humble and diffuse some of Klink's anger before he ended up in Colditz. Hogan nodded, "Yeah, I know. I was holding my breath on that one."

Klink's demeanor softened. "You should have told me before you went to meet Hegel. You took an unnecessary risk. "

Feigning embarrassment, Hogan uncrossed his arms and looked humble.

"You may be right, but I didn't want to put more burden on you." He hoped this answer would placate Klink. The truth was, it wasn't up for discussion.

Appreciating Hogan's concern, he still had a prison camp to run and guns in prisoners hands was a problem. "Where did you get the gun?"

Hogan again folded his arms defiantly. "There you go. Asking questions I can't answer."

Raising his voice, Klink shouted, "Hogaan! If you weren't already in solitary, you would be for withholding information."

"Pacing across the cell. He immediately paced back, stopping within inches of Hogan, and again demanded, "Are there more?"

"That's the only one I have…had."

It was just a slight stretch of the truth. It was the only one he had on him at the time.

"Colonel Hogan…" Klink stopped himself. He couldn't warn him that General Burkhalter was trying to prepare him for more testing. And that any secrets he had may not remain secrets much longer.

Klink started again. "Colonel Hogan, I hope for all our sakes you're telling the truth."

"Kommandant…"

Holding up his hand, Klink interrupted. "You will be kept in solitary confinement, at least, until the hearing. I'll let you know when that will be as soon as General Burkhalter gets back with me."

"Great." Hogan grumbled, looking around at the four dank walls that contained him.

"Kommandant, is it necessary to keep my men locked up in solitary? They were only following my orders. I accept full responsibility. Move them out to the cells."

Klink continued to move toward the open cell door as he answered. "I will think about it."

Watching his cell door close, Hogan disgustedly shook his head and went back to lie down.

"There he goes…thinking again!"

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Kinch made his way to the hidden entrance and helped push the block out.

"Wilson?"

"Kinch?"

Crawling out into the tunnel, Kinch smiled. "Boy, am I glad to see you. What time is it?"

"0400—Is everybody all right?"

"Yeah."

Wilson studied, Kinch's face. "I mean, completely, all right."

As camp medic, it had been Wilson's experience that Hogan and his men's definition of 'all right' and his own definition of 'all right' didn't always match.

"Everybody's okay, Wilson." Kinch assured.

Looking down the tunnel, Kinch saw Claude and Kyle, the other two medics, checking into two more cells. Newkirk and Carter soon joined them in the tunnel.

"You guys all right?" Wilson asked.

Kinch looked at Wilson incredulously. "Sheesh, Wilson! Why bother asking if you're not going to believe me?"

Looking at Kinch and ignoring the question, he asked, "Are LeBeau and the Colonel here, too?"

"Yeah."

Kyle and Claude quickly went to open the next two cells while Wilson lit two additional lamps located on the tunnel wall. When he turned back around, LeBeau and Hogan were climbing to their feet.

"You two okay?" Wilson asked, as he looked them up and down.

Kinch threw his hands up.

"We're okay." Hogan assured.

Kyle couldn't stand the suspense. "Are we evacuating, Colonel?"

"No." The answer was immediate. "I had a visit from Klink. He told the story we hoped he would—a routine escape attempt that ended in an accidental shooting. We're still in business—for now."

"Accidental shooting?" Wilson scanned the five men again, "Who was shot?"

"Hegel."

"He's dead?"

His men began talking all at once. Hogan held up his hand and they quieted.

"He's dead. There's going to be a hearing and the Gestapo are in charge of it."

Hearing this news for the first time, his men momentarily froze.

"Holy Cow, Colonel!"

Hogan again held up his hand. "I don't know when, yet, but…" Looking at the medics he continued. "…keep everything ready for an evacuation. If things don't go well…"

"What do you mean, 'if things don't go well'," Wilson asked?

"If they shoot us or haul us away-evacuate immediately."

Newkirk, looked at the ground. "Marvelous."

"Oui, Mon Colonel, why don't we all just leave?"

"Whoa," Kinch stepped forward. "We didn't work this hard trying to save our operation just to throw it all away, now!"

Placing his hands on his hips, Hogan agreed. "Kinch is right. If we can beat this, we can continue getting airmen out of Germany and back into the fight, as well as help the underground to continue to wreck havoc on the Germans plans. It is definitely worth the risk."

Wilson checked his watch. "I hate to say this, but, we should probably get you back in your cells and we need to get back to our barracks. Gruber ordered a five o'clock roll call. I just wanted to be sure our services weren't needed. We'll be back to see if you need anything later."

"Right." Newkirk mumbled, "Back to the dungeon."

"What are you complaining about, Newkirk." Hogan asked as he dropped to his knees to crawl back into his cell. "You still have six hours of light to look forward too."

A muffled "Bloody, marvelous," escaped just as Newkirk's cell sealed closed.

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General Kaltenbrunner called an immediate meeting.

"The man is blown up and wounded on a bridge and we no more get that taken care of when he's shot by ricochet in his barracks. Is somebody trying to kill him?"

The room was silent.

"I asked a question. Do you think the Allies are afraid we are getting to close to achieving our goal? And having failed to kill him, tried to organize his escape to get their hands on our test subject"

Talk about knocking the wind out of a room full of people, these statements succeeded.

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Having been summoned while eating his breakfast, Schultz paused at Klink's door to swallow the last of his toast and wipe his mouth. Then knocking, he waited.

"Come in."

"You sent for me, Herr Kommandant?"

"Yes, Schultz. I want you to take Hogan's men out of solitary confinement and place them into the holding cells."

"What about Colonel Hogan?"

"He is to stay in isolation."

"But, Herr Kommandant, he…"

"He stays, Schultz!"

"Jawohl."

Lowering his voice, Klink added, "Those are General Burkhalter's orders. Dismissed!"

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Watching Schultz head for the stairs Kinch called out. "You're forgetting someone aren't you, Schultz?"

"Nein."

Newkirk grabbed the bars on his cell. "You aren't going to leave the Colonel in solitary are you?"

Schultz looked at the four men he had just removed from isolation. "It's General Burkhalter's orders. Just be glad the Kommandant moved you out."

"It doesn't work that way!" LeBeau shouted.

"Yeah, if we knew you weren't taking the Colonel out, we wouldn't have left either!"

"There's nothing you can do about it. Don't cause any problems. You have enough to worry about." Schultz slowly turned and headed for the stairs.

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Hogan paced in the dark in his cell. After a few unfortunate encounters with the walls, he soon learned how many steps he could take. With four days in solitary under his belt, he found himself sleeping more than he normally would. What else was there to do with Eighteen hours of darkness. Pacing helped to keep him awake, and he used it to plan and practice for the hearing.

The hardest thing about being locked up was not being able to keep his eye on Klink. From what he heard from Schultz, Klink was playing out the scenario they had discussed in the barn, but would he fold if pressured?

The overhead light suddenly blared on and Hogan quickly shaded his eyes. The sound of keys rattling in the cell door reached his ears. Turning he was greeted by Schultz bringing his meal.

"How are you doing, Colonel Hogan?"

"Have you ever thought about installing a bell to warn a guy when you are going to turn the light on?" Hogan growled.

"That is one of the unpleasant reasons your not supposed to like being in here." Schultz answered, unfazed.

Squinting and rubbing his eyes, Hogan answered, "In that case, I'm doing as well as anybody can be when locked up."

"Here, this should make you feel better." Schultz held out a tray of food.

Hogan raised the lid on his meal and smiled. "I must say, the Kommandant is out doing himself."

"Ja," Schultz nodded. "He said he wants to be sure you stay strong and healthy for the hearing. He wants you at your best.

Hogan sat down and began eating. "Schultz, you don't have to sit with me everyday while I eat."

"My orders are to stay while you eat and bring out the tray. I think the Kommandant wants to be sure what comes in on the tray goes back out."

Schultz looked at the tray of food afraid Hogan would see he was lying. He had been told by Kommandant Klink which food Hogan was to be encouraged to eat during a meal. It wasn't long before it was realized the coffee was always consumed.

"What? He's afraid I'll use a spoon to dig my way through rock walls?"

"Colonel Hogan, I'm just following orders."

Hogan took a good long drink of coffee. "This is good coffee. Where is Klink getting real coffee?"

Schultz shrugged his shoulders. "Probably the same place he gets his caviar and wine. Wherever that is."

Smiling and nodding, Hogan asked, "How are my men holding up. Have they been told the hearing is today?

"Nein, after the Kommandant had me move them out of solitary, he said they were to be told nothing and would remain there until after the hearing. He is still upset with you for not telling him how Hegel communicated with you and where you got the diamonds."

Hogan sighed and wiped his mouth on his napkin. "You know about the diamonds?"

Schultz face dropped. He had been told by Kommandant Klink to listen for any information about the gun and the diamonds.

"I was there when the Kommandant took the diamonds off of Major Hegel's dead body." It was only a half truth. He saw a box taken off of Hegel's body. He didn't put two and two together until later, when Klink asked him to listen for slips of the tongue.

Hogan shrugged his shoulders, "He has a long wait."

Schultz believed him. After all if the High Command hadn't been able to get information from him, what hope did the Kommandant have?

"How was the food, Colonel Hogan?"

"It was good Schultz, maybe just a little heavy on the salt but good. In fact, I almost feel a little guilty laying around in here eating and sleeping."

Standing, Schultz instructed, "No nap today. Now that you're done eating, I'm to take you to the showers and your clothes to be washed and pressed."

Hogan downed the last of his coffee.

"A shower sounds good." Looking at his watch he added, "In six hours I should know if it's my last."

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