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belong to ML Breedlove.

Chapter Two

The brakes squealed, and the truck jerked to a halt. Hogan shivered involuntarily, inciting a nudge from the gun at the back of his head and the added weight of a German boot pressing into his back. His men were shoved past him and out the back of the truck.

"You may get up, Colonel Hogan."

"Thanks!" Hogan answered sarcastically.

Two soldiers grabbed him and shoved him out to join his men. Stumbling forward, he looked around for Newkirk, LeBeau and Carter. They were standing a few feet away with their hands on their heads, lined up in front of a door. The area was brightly lit, making the darkness behind the lights even darker. Myra stepped in front of him. "Follow me."

Hogan snorted, "I'd rather not."

Shoved from behind, he was led to the head of the line. He looked around and defiantly left his hands at his sides. Nobody had ordered him to put them up, and he was not volunteering. Instead, he glanced left and right at the guards surrounding them, looking for any opportunity to escape. The guards had their guns raised; any breach would be dealt with quickly. Relenting, he followed Myra, who led them down a set of stairs. He doubted they would be walking back up them.

LeBeau, Carter, and Newkirk followed the Colonel's lead, and lowered their hands as they entered the building. At the bottom of the stairs, another guard moved them toward a well lit room, where Myra directed them to line up in front of a desk.

Trapped, angry and running out of ideas, Hogan marched past a large furnace on his way into the room and growled, "Okay, lady, so far you've been a barrel of laughs. Now what do you want with us?"1

He quickly looked the room over. A Nazi banner was just inside the door next to a picture of Hitler.

Strange, he thought. This isn't Gestapo Headquarters. What's Hochstetter up to now? He was no less surprised when a Gestapo Major other than Hochstetter entered the room and announced himself to be Major Hegel, alias "Robinson Crusoe."

The story that unfurled pulled the rug out from under him. Hogan listened intently, denying every accusation, but Hegel had learned everything—tunnels, sabotage activity, code names, and their involvement with the Underground… Hope was fading fast.

No longer able to deny the inevitable, Hogan finally had to ask, "Who blew the whistle?"

Hegel smiled as he watched the last shred of hope drain from Hogan's eyes. "You remember Sergeant Williams, a POW transferred from Stalag five to your camp?" Hegel took great delight in telling the rest of the story.

Hogan learned that Hegel had infiltrated their operation, planting one of his own men in camp, undoubtedly one that had spent at least part of his life in the United States. Hegel had succeeded where Hochstetter had failed.

Hogan went numb, all feeling drained away. It was what he had told himself all along; It's not the enemies you know that get you, it's the ones you don't know.

Hegel began walking down his line of prisoners, looking them over, and threatened, "I can shoot you as escaping prisoners, or I could report the matter to Berlin, get a medal, and then have you shot. It's a choice."

There was no denying it. All Hegel had to do was go to camp and reveal the tunnel system. All the proof he needed was there. Hogan stared straight ahead. This was it; the real end of their operation—and of their lives.

Still sarcastic, Hogan muttered, "Take all the time you want to think it over." From this moment on, every second is a gift.

And then it happened…

"Hogan, I know how important your operation is to London. It's also important to me."

Hogan breathed, suddenly aware he hadn't been, and quickly wrapped his mind around Hegel's words, devouring their implication. A spark of hope returned. He turned his head to make eye contact and came face to face with Hegel.

"What's your angle?"

"I've been wearing this uniform for a long time, waiting for a chance to make it pay, and pay big."

"What's big?"

"One million dollars in diamonds."

Hogan smiled inwardly. The rest was music to his ears and much more melodious than Klink's violin. Hegel had a weakness. Greed! That didn't mean he wasn't a loyal Nazi, or that he would let them live. But it did mean they had gained time—precious time.

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The door to the radio detection truck opened and Myra entered.

"There you are, my dear. Did you have any trouble delivering our pigeons back where you found them?" Hegel asked.

"Nein." Myra chuckled. "That one… um… Carter… he even thanked me."

Hegel shook his head and turned back to his radio controls. He had talked her into monitoring the radio, telling her that the fewer people who knew, the safer they would be. What he didn't tell her was that he would have fewer "loose ends" to tie up later.

"I've got this set to the frequency they use. All you have to do is listen and take down every word. We have to be sure they aren't sending out any coded messages. You shouldn't have any trouble, but if a patrol comes by, show them these orders." Hegel tapped a folded pack of papers next to the radio.

"Can't you stay with me?" Myra purred, running her fingers through his hair.

Hegel turned and pulled her onto his lap. "Not now. Major Hochstetter will become suspicious if I don't check in. He gave me permission to set up a temporary base in town to continue questioning the residents about Schiller and his Underground connections. If I don't make it look productive, we could lose our base of operations outside of Gestapo headquarters."

Running her finger down Hegel's cheek, Myra stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

"Now, now my dear, just think about the diamonds and all the time we will have together when this is over."

Hegel raised Myra's chin and kissed her passionately before sliding her off his lap as he stood to leave. "I'll bring breakfast in the morning. Remember to take down every word. That shouldn't be difficult for an accomplished stenographer like you."

Myra watched the doors close on the back of the truck. She plopped down in the seat Hegel had just vacated, finding comfort in the warmth he left behind.

Placing the headphones over her ears, she sighed, "Okay, Papa Bear, or whoever you are, let's get this over with."

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Kinch paced between the radio and the tunnel for the hundredth time.

Where are those guys?He looked back at the radio and then again down the tunnel toward the emergency exit. Waiting! It seems like I spend all my time waiting! When this war's over, I'm…

Kinch stopped. What's that? He recognized the voices.

It's about time! They'd better have a good explanation… I hope everything went okay. Kinch listened, trying to account for everyone in the tangle of muffled words filtering through the tunnel. It was difficult. Everyone seemed to be talking at once.

They're all excited about something. He broke into a run. Maybe something is wrong.

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"That's it, Colonel."

Hogan nodded and watched the antenna, alias the flag pole, telescope down.

"That's one bloody Kraut I'd like to meet in a dark alley!" Newkirk threw the butt of his cigarette down and ruthlessly ground it under his foot.

"He sent his own man off to be killed!" Carter uttered, wide-eyed. "His own man!"

"All right, all right, we're not going to accomplish anything more tonight. Everybody upstairs to bed." Hogan took a step to lead the way.

Newkirk's mouth fell open. "You're kidding me, right? We're just going to go up and go to bed like nothing happened?"

"You have a better idea, Newkirk?" Hogan asked, turning to face the Corporal.

"Yeah, let's close up shop and get out of here!"

"And go where?" LeBeau asked.

"Anywhere," Newkirk answered.

Kinch walked to within a foot of Newkirk. "Hegel will be watching for that. You wouldn't get ten feet."

Hogan held up his hands. "Look, we're in a spot. But we have time to come up with a plan. Let's not panic."

"I already have!" Newkirk huffed.

"Oui, I know!" LeBeau looked at Newkirk and folded his arms. "Englanders… they're so melodramatic."

"Right, and that coming from a Frenchman who faints at the sight of blood!" Newkirk shot back.

Hogan had heard enough. "All right! Knock it off! That's just what Hegel wants… to keep us off balance."

Kinch placed his hands on his hips and widened his stance. No matter what army you were in, this stance was universal among staff sergeants and meant that—the talking was over! "The Colonel's right! Now do what he says and go up to bed."

Newkirk visibly relaxed. He had let off his steam and regained his senses. "Sorry, mates. I…"

"Forget it. Let's just go to bed." Louis gave Newkirk a gentle shove toward the ladder.

"Right, it's off to bed with the lot of us. Come on Carter."

"Yeah, I'm tired," Carter yawned, following Newkirk.

LeBeau looked over his shoulder. "You coming, Kinch?"

"Yeah, Louis, I just need to talk to the Colonel for a minute."

As the three disappeared up the ladder, Kinch turned to face Hogan. "Colonel… I didn't know Williams… I should've…"

Hogan held up his hand. "There was no way for you to know about Williams. There was no way for anyone to know." Hogan turned to pace. "Hegel's good. I'm beginning to suspect he may have been the one Morgan's father was dealing with."

"What makes you think that?"

"Remember, we said they didn't take us to Gestapo headquarters. They took us somewhere in town. It was hard to see beyond the lights they had blaring at us when we got off the truck, so I couldn't get a fix on where we were. But the room they took us to had a large furnace in it, the kind you would find in the basement of a store or business. I can't help wondering if…" Hogan stopped and stared at the floor.

"If what, Colonel?"

Hogan looked up at Kinch. "If it wasn't the basement of Schiller's bakery."

Kinch leaned back against the radio table wide eyed. "If that's the case…" Kinch shook his head. "We know what he's capable of."

"Right, he doesn't leave witnesses." Hogan pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted. They had already decided that whoever the officer was that took Morgan's father away the night they had gone out to blow up Hochstetter's factory had to have been the one that killed him and left his body to be found.

Kinch jumped to his feet as everything became clear. "That means… Hegel was the one in the woods the night you were shot. It was his gunfire we heard when Lutz and I were bringing you back."

Hogan turned to pace again. "He's been on our trail, Kinch." Hogan stopped and looked pointedly at Kinch. "So you see, you needn't feel guilty. You couldn't have known about Williams… or whatever his name was; Hegel's too good. He's thorough and...patient."

"Two deadly combinations," Kinch added.

"Right," Hogan nodded. "And we're going to have to be better!"

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1 This scene between Hegel and Hogan contains direct quotes from the episode, "Diamonds in the Rough".