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.

Between The Lines

Chapter Seven

"Good morning, my dear."

Hegel removed his hat and coat and paused. His secretary's customary playful greeting was replaced by icy silence.

Purposely keeping her back to the Gestapo Major, Myra placed a hot cup of coffee on his desk.

"Come now; you aren't still mad at me?"

Maintaining her silence, Myra continued her morning routine. Taking the flagged folder from its place in the filing cabinet, she sashayed past Hegel and laid it on the desk next to his coffee.

Hegel frowned. This would not do. He could not risk losing control of Myra. Not at this late stage in the game.

"Myra, you can't blame me for being upset yesterday. You and Major Hochstetter were having a very intimate conversation when I arrived and…"

"Major Hochstetter was having the 'intimate conversation'. I was enduring it," Myra huffed.

Hegel, unaccustomed to being interrupted, irritably began again. "How was I to know that? I walk in and all I see is…"

"How could you possibly think… that I would…?"

Momentarily shocked and enraged by her audacity to talk back, he froze as Myra closed the distance between them and continued her tempest. It was then he realized that she must care very deeply for him.

"…that I could ever…"

All he had to do was play on that weakness. Hegel pulled her into his arms, physically taking control of her and his temper at the same time.

"Please…forgive me," he begged. Kissing her passionately, he felt her stop struggling, and he pulled back to evaluate his strategy. Myra, her eyes still closed, swayed slightly in his grasp. A smile eased onto Hegel's face.

I've almost got her. Raising his hand, he gently placed it against her cheek and lured her closer.

"I'll never doubt you again, as long as you live… I promise."

Those were the words Myra wanted to hear, or so she thought. She had been trying to get some sort of commitment out of Hegel for a long time. And now, it appeared, she had a life-long commitment. Opening her eyes, Myra melted into his arms, rewarding his surrender, and unaware that she had just stepped into the "spider's web".

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"Roll call, Colonel!"

Kinch began to pull the door closed and then, hearing no response from his CO, stopped. He usually got some kind of acknowledgement, even if it was only a grunt. Opening the door again, he called out, "Colonel?"

Still nothing—except the sound of heavy breathing.

Stepping closer, it was obvious his commanding officer was deeply asleep. Kinch's first inclination was to let him be. If the Colonel was sleeping that soundly, he obviously needed it. But he knew once Klink found him missing at roll call, the Kommandant would march right into the barracks and get him.

Sorry, Colonel, you'd have my hide if I let that happen!

"Colonel?" Kinch gently jostled Hogan's shoulder, eliciting a light moan.

"Colonel Hogan? Sir?"

A sudden intake of air preceded Hogan's attempt to use muscles that were almost, but not quite, healed.

"Ugh!" Hogan groaned. He fell back into the warmth of his bunk.

"Are you awake, Colonel?" Kinch asked.

"Huh?" Hogan squinted at the light coming through his door.

Trying to shade his eyes from the glow infiltrating from the common room, Hogan questioned, "Kinch?"

"Yeah, Colonel, sorry to wake you, but it's time for roll call."

"Roll call? Already?" he asked while trying to see the hands on his watch. "What time is it?"

"0600."

Hogan slid his legs over the side of his cot and his feet hit… something. Leaning forward he looked down.

The floor?

"What the…?" Rubbing his face, he looked up and in the light coming from the room beyond, saw a bunk above him. Now he remembered; the lower bunk was as far as he got last night. Glancing at Kinch, he flashed an embarrassed, half-smile.

Kinch grinned back. Hogan would never admit he was that tired. "Sleep hard, Colonel?"

"Mmm." Taking in a deep breath, Hogan stretched and realized, "You know, I feel pretty good!"

Kinch laughed. "Well, don't sound so surprised. We've all been telling you to get some sleep."

Hogan smiled and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't even remember dreaming! I haven't felt this rested in a long time."

"Hey," Newkirk shouted, suddenly sticking his head in. "Schultz is yelling for us!"

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Closing the file, Hochstetter shoved it to the side and grumbled, "We have to be missing something." There was very little evidence collected from the previous month's sabotage activity. Just a few shreds of paper and a lot of destruction.

He pushed himself away from his desk and trudged to the window. The sabotage activity hadn't stopped either. Not even with Major Hegel's dead saboteur.

What was his name…?

Returning to his desk he again flipped open the file he had just discarded.

Schiller! Yes, Schiller; the baker who had two sons in the service and a third who disappeared along with Mrs. Schiller.

The usually glove-clad hand rolled into a bare fist. How could a baker have the knowledge to orchestrate all the sabotage activity that has been going on around here?

Hochstetter punched the top of his desk. He couldn't. Well at least Major Hegel's dead partisan has pacified Berlin—for a while. But, I still say the infamous Papa Bear has not been caught. He's out there somewhere, and I'm going to find him!

The waste basket sitting next to his foot was suddenly airborne, as Hochstetter's boot made contact. Leaning in frustration on his desk, he decided, He has to be a man with military training—not some baker! No! He's someone who can see all the possible outcomes and strategize to maneuver between them. Someone like…

Hochstetter straightened and charged back to the window staring out in the direction of Stalag 13.

But Klink swears the American was shot before any of the explosions occurred, and that his men were under guard and confined to their barracks as punishment for fighting at that same time.

Ring—ring—ring!

Hochstetter looked at his watch. It was early… and he hadn't heard any explosions to instigate a phone call!

"Hello!"

Nodding impatiently, Hochstetter answered, "Yes, yes! This is Major Hochstetter!"

Idiot! Who did you think would be in my office at this time in the morning?

In the silence that followed, Hochstetter was told about the enemy plane that had dropped something by parachute during the night.

"Search the… You have? Did you find… you did! Don't touch anything! I'll be right there! What…? Ja, ja, Heil Hitler!"

Hochstetter's lips curled into a sneer as he slammed the phone onto the receiver. Grabbing his coat and pulling on his gloves he grunted with satisfaction. The woods were heavily patrolled. It would be impossible for someone to travel very far without being seen.

And the only facility close by was… Stalag 13.

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Duty rosters, a mundane task at best, filled the need to keep busy.

Hogan looked up from his desk at the knock on his door and answered, "Come in."

"Sorry to interrupt, Colonel."

Hogan pushed the papers in front of him aside and answered with a smile that gradually melted into a look of concern.

"What is it, Kinch?"

"I finally got a reply back from, London. Morgan confirmed your suspicion. It was Hegel who took his father away the night he was killed."

The muscles in Hogan's jaw hardened as a wave of anger washed over him. His contempt for Hegel had just doubled.

Kinch answered Hogan's silence with a statement. "This confirms what we thought."

Breaking out of his anger, the Colonel looked at Kinch. "Definitely. He must have killed Schiller to throw Hochstetter off our trail, which means…"

"He wanted us for himself!" Kinch reasoned.

Hogan looked away. "And, he's had lots of time to plan this out."

Kinch nodded. "He got rid of his man Koger after he was done with him; just like he got rid of Schiller when he had finished with him."

Hogan nodded. "And we're next."

"Now what, Colonel?"

"We don't have a choice. Hegel is holding all the cards; we have to meet him or he'll come here."

Hogan stood to pace.

"The question is; will Hegel risk killing us now with the diamonds still in his possession? Or will he take the money and disappear with his girlfriend? With that kind of money he could start a new life away from the war."

Kinch listened quietly. Hogan was still staring at the floor as he paced, which meant he was still processing.

"Or… will he pretend to go through with the agreement, hide his money away, and then come back and either try to extort more money from us or…"

"…kill us." Kinch finished.

Hogan paused in his pacing and rubbed at the tension growing in the back of his neck. "Our only option is to go through with the deal and pray he opts to run away with Myra or, at the very least, kill us later. At least that will give us more time to come up with an alternative plan."

A quick rap on the door and Carter stuck his head in. "Trouble, Colonel."

"Now what?"

"Hochstetter, just pulled into camp!"

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-BAM-

Klink's door burst open. Hitting the wall, it bounced back, only to be redirected again when it came in contact with the incoming Hochstetter.

Marching across the room, the Gestapo Major dumped a dirt-encrusted parachute on the Kommandant's desk, spreading clumps of dried mud and fragments of dead leaves across Klink's papers.

Hochstetter placed his hands on his hips and waited for the expected question. He wasn't disappointed.

Jumping to his feet Klink stared down at the mess on his desk. "What's all this?"

"What does it look like, Herr Kommandant?" Hochstetter snarled.

"A parachute?"

"Very good! I knew you would figure it out."

Try as he might, Klink could not make a connection between the parachute, Hochstetter, and his desk. "But…?"

Hochstetter was fuming. Why wasn't it as obvious to Klink as it was to him! "We found it shoved under a log in the woods. There was an enemy plane overhead last night probably dropping guns and ammunition." Leaning across the desk, he hissed, "Where was Colonel Hogan last night?"

"Colonel Hogan?" Klink sputtered.

"Never mind!" Hochstetter straightened and sneered. "I'll ask him myself. I've already sent my men to get him."

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Before the "coffee pot" could be plugged in, two Gestapo guards stormed into Barracks Two and grabbed their prisoner. Now, shoved ahead of them to the Kommandantur, Hogan stumbled into Klink's inner-sanctum, slightly disheveled from being searched.

Hochstetter pointed at the chair he had situated front and center, and the guards unceremoniously threw the American into it. Hogan, red-faced, struggled to stay upright as the chair skidded back. Regaining his composure, he tugged his jacket down and looked from Hochstetter to Klink, "What's this all about, Kommandant?"

"Colonel Hogan…" Klink began, taking a step forward, "Major Hochstetter has…"

"Stay out of this Klink!" Hochstetter stepped in front of Hogan and grabbed him by the front of his jacket. "You will save us both a lot of time, Colonel Hogan—by confessing!"

Hogan attempted to look around Hochstetter to Klink. "Confessing to what?"

"Major Hochstetter has some fool notion that you were outside of camp last night rendezvousing with…" The rest of Klink's answer disappeared in Hochstetter's bellowing.

"It's over, Colonel Hogan. We found the parachute!" Come on, grab my arm. Hochstetter curled his fist into the bomber jacket that was wrenched behind his knuckles, and pulled Hogan closer, daring him to resist. "No one else could have gotten through the woods last night. There are too many patrols. And this is the only installation in the area."

"You're barking up the wrong tree!" Hogan kept a death grip on the chair, knowing any knee-jerk reactions at retaliation would put him securely into Hochstetter's hands.

Grudgingly realizing that Hogan was not going to give him the pleasure of arresting him for assault, Hochstetter clenched his teeth and swore. "It has to be you!"

Hogan looked back into Hochstetter's face—relieved. A parachute didn't prove anything!

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Major, but I was right here asleep last night. In fact, it was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. I almost slept through roll call this morning."

Hochstetter shook as he barely controlled his urge to smack the smugness off of Hogan's face. "That story won't work with me. I…"

It occurred to Klink that Hogan was telling the truth. He was already on the verge of passing out when he had Schultz escort him back to his barracks last night. Now it was his turn to feel relieved. There was no way Hogan could have run through the woods dodging patrols and burying parachutes; he was too drugged to even stand up! Klink cleared his throat and stepped forward, full of confidence. For once, he had the upper hand, and General Burkhalter and Oberst Knefler would back him up. "Colonel Hogan, you're dismissed."

"What?" Hochstetter bellowed, releasing his grip on Hogan, and turning to face Klink. "I have not dismissed him!"

Klink bounced haughtily toward the door and held it open. "I said you are dismissed. Go back to your barracks."

Surprised by Klink's actions, Hogan gladly stood and headed for the open door. He had gone a round or two with the Gestapo Major a few times before, and he would just as soon avoid doing it again if at all possible. So whatever it was that had gotten into Klink, he wasn't going to question it. After all, Klink was a Colonel; maybe he finally decided to pull rank. Still… the opportunity to harass the enemy was there and he couldn't quite resist the temptation to take advantage of it. Looking back over his shoulder, his eyes sparked and he smirked, "If there's anything else I can help you with, Major—don't hesitate to ask."

Klink seethed. Stomping his foot, he ordered, "HOGAN—OUT!"

The element of surprise was only good for a short time, and Klink's best chance to keep Hogan in camp was to get him quickly out of sight. Although he had an iron-clad case for Hogan not being capable of being out of camp last night, Hochstetter could wreak all kinds of havoc on the American Colonel before he could get in touch with General Burkhalter to call him off. And if Hogan ended up incapacitated again, further delaying Knefler in his experiments… well, it wouldn't go well for Klink.

Hochstetter momentarily stunned at the course of events, suddenly bellowed as his anger flared, "What are you doing, Klink? Bring him back! I have not finished with him!"

"Oh yes, you have! You have no evidence linking my prisoner with that parachute."

"I have reasonable suspicion that…"

Klink folded his arms and looked smugly at Hochstetter. "Take it up with General Burkhalter!"

Hochstetter quieted. Klink would not have the gumption to stand up to the Gestapo unless he was sure Burkhalter would pull him out of the fire. But for the General to do that, he in turn would have to feel pretty confident that Berlin would back him up. Now why would Berlin…? Of course! That had to be it. Hogan was back under the microscope!

Hochstetter's eyes narrowed as he looked back to Klink. "Neither you, nor General Burkhalter, nor Berlin, can save Hogan if I prove he is Papa Bear. And I will prove it! Eventually he will leave your camp again. And I will have so many patrols in the woods that a mouse won't even be able to hide from me! Bah!"

Grabbing up the parachute, Hochstetter stormed past Klink and out the front door.

-Bam- The door slammed shut!

Klink dropped into Hogan's empty chair and took a breath. He did it. He had ousted Hochstetter—at least for now.

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Myra pulled her coat on as Hegel continued, "I'll take you to where I have my men staked out in the woods. Stay with them. After I have the diamonds, I'll send Colonel Hogan and his men back to Stalag 13. My men will be waiting in the woods for them. And when they are within range, they will kill them. I'll be right behind them and hand the diamonds off to you. Then I'll go to Stalag 13, expose the tunnels and arrest Klink."

Myra nodded, smiling. Hegel would indeed make General for this. And she would be right at his side—as his wife. She would have both prestige and money. Her future was looking up.

It was a wonderful plan, if Hegel had any intention of sharing his wealth, which he didn't. He did, however, plan to go to Stalag 13, expose the tunnels, and arrest Klink. But by that time not only would Hogan and his men be dead, so would Myra and the few guards Hegel had working with him. Once again, there would be no loose ends.

Myra, still believing herself to be part of Hegel's future, asked, "What are you going to do with the people you have been interrogating? We won't need them after Papa Bear is dead."

"Oh but I… we… will. There are still Underground units out there. The death of the invincible Papa Bear should start some tongues wagging. If I do this right, I may be able to round up more of the Underground leaders, which can only improve my future."

"So you will leave your prisoners here? There won't be anyone here to guard them!"

Hegel shook his head. "No. I have some guards coming from Gestapo headquarters to take them in and hold them for more intensive interrogation." That much was true. He didn't plan to stop with the death of "Papa Bear". His goal was to become a member of Hitler's High Command, and to do that he was going to have to rip this Underground hub and all its factions apart.

Myra smiled. She was now more certain than ever that she had picked the right man to partner with. Her future was, indeed, assured.

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Hochstetter's little side show had added another layer of danger to the mix. The patrols were guaranteed to be increased. And as LeBeau and Carter had warned, they were already tough to dodge.

"It's about time to head out. Have you got the wire cutters, Newkirk?"

"Right here, Colonel!"

Hogan checked his watch. "All right, we have to stay in uniform. If we're caught out of uniform it's automatically the firing squad, which means we'll be easier to spot if a patrol gets close. So space yourselves and stay low. Once we leave we'll use hand signals as much as possible."

Carter, antsy, shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Boy it sure seems strange to be going out through the wire."

"Oui! Mon Colonel, are you sure Klink has pulled the guards from the fence?"

"Yeah, the bloody blunder-head never gets anything else right; are we sure he knows what he's doing?"

Kinch frowned. "Klink's got as much at stake as we do. He'll pull the guards away!"

"Kinch is right; he always comes through when it's his neck on the chopping block. Look at how he handled Hochstetter this afternoon." Hogan still hadn't quite figured that one out. But he didn't have time to think about it now. Sometimes you just get lucky!

"All right then. Let's go." Hogan took one last look at his men. There was no hesitation in their eyes. They would follow him. He knew that without having to ask. Feeling for the gun in his pocket, he prayed he wouldn't let them down.

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Tiger and her group had watched as the guards had all left Hegel's makeshift headquarters. They were just about to slip in to attempt a rescue when a truck pulled up with more soldiers.

"Reinforcements?" Lutz asked.

"Maybe fresh troops… Wait… Hegel's getting in his car." Marie handed the binoculars to Lutz.

"Yeah, it looks like their moving Gustoff and the others. Probably taking them back to Gestapo headquarters."

"Let's go!" Tiger tapped Lutz on the shoulder. "We'll have to act now; we may not get another chance!"

Lutz grabbed his rifle. It would all be over with shortly. One way—or another!