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Hogan held up a hand. "Pipe down!" he ordered, a slight frown crossing his face. "I've had a… talk…with Hochstetter," he said, rubbing his stinging wrist, "and he's very convincing."

"Colonel, you can't let it happen—it would mean the end of everything!" Carter pleaded.

"I know he hurt you, gov'nor, but we'll get you out of here before he comes back again—you don't have to worry about that. We'll explain to London somehow—" Newkirk blurted out.

"Oui, we will protect you, Colonel," Le Beau promised.

"Hold it, hold it!" Hogan protested, irritated with their presumption but grateful for their offers to keep him out of harm's way. Kinch gave a half smile as the men stopped their babbling. He hadn't bothered to get excited at Hogan's statement, though he did feel a small thrill of fear when he first heard it. Somehow he knew there was more to come; Hogan always had a plan. If only the others would be patient enough to wait for the explanation. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'm not afraid of Hochstetter, and I'm not running back to England." The relief in the room was palpable. "If Hochstetter investigates Klink on his own he's bound to confirm his suspicions about how incompetent he is, and he'll take over the camp in no time. That would make our lives very difficult." The men nodded, understanding. "On the other hand, if we help the Major out, we can convince him how ingenious Klink is, and we might have the Gestapo out of our hair for awhile. Got it?"

Kinch laughed as the others sighed in relief. "Gee, Colonel, I thought you were saying we were really going to help Hochstetter," Carter admitted.

"Carter," Hogan said seriously. "No amount of torture could ever make me work with that man. Not in any way that would help the Third Reich. I'd die first. And he'd rather have it that way as well."

The others agreed quietly. Hogan had not complained about his injuries when he returned. In fact, he seemed to take them all in stride. How they thought he might have been tempted to protect himself against any further encounters with the Gestapo they didn't know. And Le Beau was embarrassed to have thought it at all. "Oui, Colonel," he said. "We should have known."

Hogan grinned. "Not that he wasn't good—you should have heard the offers. I'll have to explain it all to you, so you know what we're supposedly selling Klink out for."

The door to the barracks opened, and Schultz came in, followed by the camp's POW medic, Sergeant Joseph Wilson. "Colonel Hogan," Schultz said. "The Kommandant says you are to be examined by Wilson, and do whatever he says."

Hogan took his foot off the bench and sighed. "I surrender already," he said. "I don't have the energy to fight you today."

"Good," Wilson said. "You're a tough enough patient as it is."

"I try," Hogan quipped. He opened his arms in a show of defeat. "Do your worst."

"Let's go into your quarters, Colonel. I want to have a good look at you."

"I was afraid of that." Hogan turned to his men. "We'll pick up where we left off in a minute."

"You'll 'pick up where you left off' when I'm through with you, which will be longer than a minute," Wilson countered.

"Okay, okay," Hogan said, resigned. "Let's get it over with."

Thirty minutes and a couple of surprised shouts of discomfort later, Hogan and Wilson emerged from Hogan's quarters. Wilson was shaking his head. "Stubborn as a mule," he muttered to Kinch as he passed. "He could make a nun swear."

Kinch chuckled. Hogan was well known for his impatience with medical treatment. But Wilson had obviously won; Hogan was sporting a bandage under his eye, and his wrists were wrapped tightly. He wondered what was underneath Hogan's shirt that no one else could see. "Mainly some bad bruising," Wilson explained to the others. "Inside and out. I've told him to take it easy for a few days, but I think we all know how well that's going to be followed." He turned to Hogan. "I mean it. Take it easy. Grab a couple more of those hot showers for your back if you can. I'll tell Klink it's doctor's orders."

Hogan nodded. "Thanks," he said sincerely. "If I take anyone's advice, it will be yours."

"I feel honored," rejoined Wilson with a grin. "Come see me later and I'll redress your wrists." With a nod to Hogan's men, he left.

Hogan took in the looks of his men as he came back to the table. "I survived, see?" he teased lightly, trying to dispel their concern. Reluctantly they seemed to relax. "Now, let's get back to business. Hochstetter said he'll be contacting me tomorrow to get started on this. We're going to need to have a plan in place. This is a chance for us to blow Hochstetter's theory wide open. If he doesn't get what he wants, he might lay off long enough for us to get some serious work done."

"What does he have in mind, Colonel?" asked Newkirk.

"An escape. And the blowing up of a bridge." Hogan looked around the table. "If we're lucky, we can make that a reality… right under his nose. And he'll never know it was us."

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"Colonel Hogan, I want you to take these with you," Schultz said. Standing outside Barracks Two the next day, Schultz shoved two candy bars into Hogan's hands. The men had recently bribed Schultz with these precious items from their Red Cross packages, to keep him from seeing an escaped prisoner being smuggled out of camp. But now, he was pressing Hogan to take them.

"What's this for, Schultz?" Hogan asked, bewildered.

"The Kommandant has told me that the Gestapo will be coming to take you back to Hammelburg today," Schultz started. Hogan nodded. It had been part of the plan: Hochstetter would arrest Hogan again, to get him out of camp to make arrangements for the downfall of Klink. "I know they do not feed you well there, and you will need your strength. Take this, try to hide it so you can have it when you need it."

Hogan was touched by the guard's gesture. "Schultz, I don't know what to say. That's really human of you, even for an enemy."

"You boys, you are like sons to me—you need to be looked after. You don't know how to take care of yourselves. You are too naïve to understand how the Gestapo works."

Hogan laughed grimly under his breath. "I think I'm getting the idea pretty well now," he said.

"Do not laugh, Colonel Hogan. The Gestapo is the future of Germany," Schultz said regretfully. "Do what Wilson has told you to do before the Major arrives. You won't have the chance later on."

"Thanks, Schultz," Hogan said thoughtfully, as Schultz shouldered his rifle, and walked away.

Hogan pushed the chocolate bars into the pocket of his jacket and made his way inside. Schultz's fatherliness touched him. If Klink was ousted, Schultz would no doubt follow; Hogan would have to make sure neither man was touched. Letting out a heavy sigh, Hogan decided to follow Schultz's advice. Grabbing a towel, he headed back to the showers, where he gratefully accepted the soothing flow of the hot water, caressing his aching body, and temporarily driving anything but thoughts of a soft, warm bed—back in Connecticut—from his mind.

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"Major Hochstetter, I must protest you taking Colonel Hogan again," Klink said boldly. Hogan was surprised; the last time he had been standing before the Gestapo agent in Klink's office, the Kommandant had very little to say. Now, Klink seemed to have found his voice. "When you arrested him earlier this week you said you would interrogate him fully. Obviously you found nothing substantial and returned him—taking him again will upset the prisoners and the smooth running of this camp."

Hogan shot a glance at Hochstetter, who seemed to be carefully processing Klink's every word. The Major scowled at Klink. "Do you think it is of any concern to me if the prisoners are upset, Klink?" he berated him loudly. Hogan frowned, and Hochstetter turned his attention to him. "What's the matter, Hogan, do you not approve of prisoners being treated as such in a prison camp?" he asked.

"To be honest, Major, I think Colonel Klink treats us humanely and under the directives of the Geneva Convention."

"Geneva Convention—bah!" Hochstetter spat. "The Geneva Convention is for retired Generals and weak camp kommandants."

"Don't hold back, Major; tell us how you really feel," Hogan said sarcastically. He had to admit to himself that working with Hochstetter was going to be a challenge for him. If he and his men didn't get caught out over the operation and shot as spies, Hogan might still get himself killed through his inability to keep him mouth shut about his feelings for Hochstetter.

Hochstetter's eyes flared, and he turned on Hogan fiercely. "We will see how flippant you are when we are back at Gestapo Headquarters," he said, grabbing Hogan by the jacket. Klink moved to stop him, but the SS guard that accompanied Hochstetter readied his rifle. Hochstetter delivered a surprisingly strong punch to Hogan's gut, and the American gagged as the breath was knocked out of him. His hands still on Hogan's jacket, Hochstetter felt the bulge in the pocket and roughly pulled out its contents. "Chocolate?" he announced, shoving Hogan away and holding the candy out in front of him. "You won't be needing this American rubbish," he said. And he crushed the bars in his hand and threw them across the floor. Hogan merely blinked, rubbing his abdomen. He noticed Schultz's eyes followed the candy, and felt a pang of sympathy for the guard whose kind act had been sabotaged. Their eyes met and Hogan tried to convey his appreciation for the man's attempt at compassion.

"We will go back to Hammelburg. Klink, you will concern yourself with the running of this camp. You would be well served to concern yourself less with Geneva, and more with Russia," Hochstetter said nastily.

Klink visibly paled at the thought. "I will run this camp as efficiently as always, Major," said Klink.

"I am very sorry to hear that," Hochstetter said. "I was counting on Germany winning the war."

Touche, Hogan thought.