Author's Note: Others own the Hogan's Heroes characters. All others are my creations. Please don't use them without my permission.
Beyond the End - Part 9
By Diane Maher
As Geist saluted, they parted ways. Klink realized that the Oberstleutnant had tested him to see what sort of man had taken over from him as senior POW. After hearing Gruber's comments about how some of the men thought of him as a cringing bootlicker, Klink was glad that Geist had done what he'd done.
Klink wondered if perhaps this would be his one chance to get rid of his old reputation of bungler and coward. The more he thought about it, he realized that for his own safety as well as the good of the men, he had to change his reputation. Among the prisoners were the men of his command. No doubt some of them hated him for surrendering to Colonel Hogan, but he couldn't track down every man who disliked him and explain his reasons personally. Besides, as their commanding officer, he didn't have to explain anything to them. He wondered if perhaps he should explain to Gruber and Schultz. Walking back to his barracks, Klink realized that his actions must speak louder than his words.
As Klink lay in his bunk that night, he wished that he had crossed paths with Geist a long time ago. He felt as though his eyes had been opened by his acquaintance with this man. Oberstleutnant Geist was the kind of officer that Klink had always aspired to be. However, in watching him and talking with him, Klink realized that as an officer, he couldn't compare to Geist and that humbled him.
Klink wondered about Geist. The look in Geist's eyes and some of his mannerisms reminded him of Colonel Hogan, there was a presence about him, something that made Klink feel like he could trust this man to back him up if necessary. When they had talked, Geist hadn't told him much about himself. He wanted to get to know him better.
One morning, when the prisoners assembled for roll call, they saw a truck parked near the fence. Klink and Schultz took their place in the formation just as Crenshaw strutted towards them from the administration building.
"Today, you will begin planting geraniums," barked Crenshaw. "And you will continue until the truck is empty. All digging tools will be accounted for at the end of each day. Any questions?" Crenshaw glared at the assembled prisoners as though he dared them to speak. None of them met his gaze, except for the four officers, and even Heinzmann seemed reluctant to meet it for long.
Klink looked at the truck, and then at Heinzmann, who merely scowled back at him. That man's not happy with this turn of events! mused Klink.
"What is going on here?" Klink called out to Crenshaw.
"You are to beautify the camp. To refresh your obviously faulty memory Klink, this is a contest. If this camp wins, you'll get more food."
Klink's brow furrowed in anger. He reached up, slowly removed his monocle from his eye and frowned. "My memory isn't faulty, Crenshaw. However, it's been a month since you last mentioned anything about the contest."
Next to him, Sergeant Hawkins barked, "Show the commandant respect!"
"I outrank the commandant. He should show me respect!" Klink exclaimed indignantly.
"Do you want to get yourself some time in the cooler?!?" demanded Crenshaw.
"I want you and your men to show me respect!" replied Klink.
"Sergeant, bring this man to my office," growled Crenshaw. To the rest of the prisoners, he said, "If there are no further questions, you're dismissed." With that, Crenshaw stormed back across to the administration building.
Hawkins muttered, "Get moving, Klink!"
A few minutes later, Klink stood in front of Crenshaw's desk. "What did you think you were doing out there, Colonel?" demanded Crenshaw slamming his fist down on the desk.
"I was merely stating the facts. You demand unconditional respect from me when you don't give me any in return," replied Klink. He was just holding his temper in check.
"You are my enemy and my prisoner. As my enemy, you deserve to die. As my prisoner, you will be treated as a criminal. You have very few rights."
Klink was taken aback at Crenshaw's sudden hostility and wondered what caused it. Should I placate him? he wondered. He tried to remember what Colonel Hogan did when he had gotten angry. Humph! He made me angrier. However, I don't think it's wise to anger Crenshaw more than I already have.
Crenshaw continued to shout at him. "If anything like this ever happens again, you'll spend a month in the cooler! Do I make myself clear?!"
Klink replied quietly and with dignity, "Yes, commandant. You've made yourself clear. However, you don't need to shout at me, I'm not deaf."
"You certainly weren't paying attention to me," Crenshaw said.
"Do you blame me? An arrogant fool like you..." muttered Klink.
"What was that, Colonel?" asked Crenshaw, his lips twitching in anger.
Verdammt! Crenshaw heard me! thought Klink. "Nothing," he replied sullenly.
"Sergeant!" barked Crenshaw.
Hawkins came into the office. "Yes sir?"
"Take this man back to his barracks!" ordered Crenshaw.
Klink watched Schultz take a box of geraniums, put it on the ground, and with Langenscheidt's help, ease himself down to his knees. The corporal handed Schultz a small shovel.
How long have we been here? wondered Klink. A little over a month? How much longer must we wait? Schultz appears thinner and he looks miserable and resigned.
Someone touched his shoulder and said, "Herr Oberst?"
Blinking, Klink turned to Geist. "Yes?"
"Our men are spread along the whole length of fence. May I suggest that we officers spread out and observe them?"
Klink looked over Geist's shoulder and saw Gruber already standing near the fence. "I agree, but I'd like to have a few words with you. Wait here. I'll see to it that the Major posts himself over there and then I'll return here, out of earshot."
As Klink walked away, he mulled over the questions he would ask Geist and why he wanted to ask them. He approached Heinzmann and said, "Major, keep an eye on these men. Make sure that there isn't any monkey business with the men or the guards."
"Jawohl, Herr Oberst," Heinzmann replied.
Klink turned and went back to where Geist stood. Relieved that Heinzmann had spoken to him in a civil tone for once, Klink returned to where Geist stood waiting.
"Your man Schultz is doing well, Herr Oberst," commented Geist quietly. "But he keeps muttering about strudel."
Klink chortled. "Yes, I almost feel sorry for him. He looks like he's lost a couple of pounds. Poor Schultz! No more chocolate, no more strudel."
Geist blinked in mild surprise. "How would he get chocolate or strudel, sir?"
Klink shrugged. "I don't really know where he got the chocolate. Perhaps he had an arrangement with some of the prisoners when their Red Cross packages arrived. As for the strudel, there was this Frenchman who cooked for the prisoners – I even got him to cook for me on occasion – who made the best strudel I've ever tasted. Schultz was my food taster. He volunteered."
Incredulous, Geist asked, "A Frenchman cooked for you without adding poison to the food?"
"Yes. You see, if the Frenchman cooked for me, the prisoners usually got a reward," replied Klink without a second thought.
"Don't you realize that some officers would consider such activities fraternization?"
Klink's relaxed expression instantly turned to one of fear. Geist continued, "As far as I'm concerned, you needn't worry. I'm not one of those officers."
Klink heaved an audible sigh of relief. He said, "The only people I ever knew who would care about something so petty were in the Gestapo."
There was a pause as the men stopped for a break. Geist watched the men disperse. Then he turned to Klink. "Colonel, how did you treat your prisoners?" asked Geist. "Were there many escapes from your camp?"
An impish grin came over Klink's face. Klink drew himself erect and smiled. "I am proud to say that no one ever escaped from Stalag 13."
A look of horror came over Geist's face. "You mean that you killed anyone who tried to escape?"
"No! It wasn't like that at all!" protested Klink, aghast. "My prisoners didn't seem to want to escape. I mean, of course there were attempts at escape, but none were successful."
Geist looked at him, seemed to measure him. He calmly folded his arms across his chest and inquired, "What else did you want to talk to me about, sir?"
Klink glanced behind him before responding, "I wanted to know more about you, Oberstleutnant Geist. I feel like I knew more about Colonel Hogan than I do about you and he was an enemy officer." He paused and frowned. "Come to think of it, I didn't know a lot about Hogan either."
Geist clasped his hands behind his back. He watched Schultz dig a hole and gently place a geranium plant in it. He spoke almost reluctantly. "There's nothing special about me, Herr Oberst. I was born in Frankfurt am Main. My parents were aristocrats. My sister informed me that they were killed in an air raid last year."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Go on," interrupted Klink.
"As far as my military background, you know that already," said Geist.
Nodding, Klink said, "The 12th Panzer Brigade."
Geist shrugged. "That's about it."
"That's all? No family of your own, other than your sister? No wife and children?" asked Klink.
Geist was silent for a moment. "I don't discuss the details of my family, Herr Oberst," he replied in an icy tone. "Those that are still alive will remain that way."
"Oh," Klink shivered inwardly at Geist's sudden change in tone. He finished with a weak nod. "Of course, I understand. The woman I love is still in Germany."
"Oh?" asked Geist. His voice lost its chill. He briefly looked down at the ground, as if trying to hide a deep emotion.
"I worry about her day and night," whispered Klink. "I fear that the Russians might make it to Hammelburg and possibly rape her or kill her."
"I see. Yes, I've heard that the Allies are not much better in that regard than the Russians. You would think these animals could control themselves. Our women are defenseless in the face of our nation's defeat. It makes me sick," muttered Geist.
Klink saw how strongly Geist felt about this. Thinking of Sofia, he realized how helpless he was to protect her. Hastily changing the subject, Klink said, "I hope our camp gets the extra food. Even I am feeling weak from hunger."
"I agree with you, sir," commented Geist. They watched the guards hustle their men returned to work. "Was there anything else, Herr Oberst? If not, I wish to resume my supervision of the men."
Klink looked at his subordinate's withdrawn, austere countenance. "Nein, Herr Oberstleutnant. Danke," he said softly.
Klink had stood over the men for four days, and he was faint from hunger. He went over to a bench next to Barracks 1, sat on it and leaned against the wall. He turned his mind towards his family but instead found himself worrying about Sofia Lindemann. During the evenings before lights out, he had spent his time writing letters to her – letters that expressed his love for her. Letters he could not send. Due to the chaos in Germany, he didn't expect them to get through to her. He only hoped that one day he would be able to tell her how he felt in person.
One night, in the middle of his dreams of Sofia, Klink was woken by Schultz's talking about strudel in his sleep. Closing his eyes again, Klink muttered a curse and thought, And I was getting somewhere with her too!
Klink entered Crenshaw's office four days later, just after the evening roll call. The Englander had just hung up the phone. "How much longer do the prisoners have to put up with this gardening?" demanded Klink.
"Colonel, I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now. However, Colonel Crittendon will be here tomorrow to inspect this camp and will let us know then which camp has won his little contest," snapped Crenshaw.
"That's good to know. The men are tired of it all," said Klink calmly.
"Oh really?!?" Crenshaw asked sarcastically.
Klink nodded once. "All we want is some more food, surely you can understand that?"
Crenshaw nodded. "I understand. However, I can do nothing to help you until after Colonel Crittendon's visit tomorrow."
Sniffing the air, Klink smelled food at the mess hall. He didn't know what it was, and it didn't even smell good, but food was food. He turned and left the office.
As he crossed the compound to his barracks, Klink was immersed in his tumultuous thoughts and his hand repeatedly gripped the handle of his riding crop. Major Heinzmann followed Klink inside the barracks. When the door was closed, he sarcastically said, "Herr Oberst, I hope that you have decided to stop cozying up to that idiot Crenshaw."
Klink turned on him with a scowl of pure anger on his face. The men in the barracks hastily drew back from the two officers.
Klink slapped his riding crop on the table and shouted, "How dare you speak to me - your superior officer - like I'm some kind of fool!"
Heinzmann recoiled. Then his eyes narrowed in anger, the muscles on his neck standing out like steel cords, he sneered, "If you had any backbone and defended us from Crenshaw, his rules and...and this stupid gardening, I might have more respect for you. As it is..."
Klink's lips tautened into a straight line. "I've stood up for the men! I went along with this whole gardening foolishness to try and get us some more food. If you don't like it, I'm sure we can find someone to eat your share!" He didn't have to look at Schultz to know that he was salivating.
Heinzmann's brow furrowed. "For the moment, I'll leave you, sir! I would suggest that from now on Klink, you had better watch your back," he said through clenched teeth.
Klink saw the former Gestapo agent's burning eyes. He drew himself to his full height, set his jaw and tried not to show fear. Heinzmann turned and left, slamming the door behind him. Klink let out his breath in a sigh of relief.
Klink didn't notice the men as he shook his fist at the door. "That narrow-minded Gestapo fool! He has no idea of what I do!"
Schultz came over and nervously asked, "Herr Kommandant, what will you do if the major returns with some of his men?"
Klink picked up his riding crop. All his angry bravado drained out of him. "I don't know, Schultz. Tell Oberstleutnant Geist that I need to speak to him now."
"Jawohl, Herr Oberst," Schultz replied. He looked around the room at the staring men, and leaned toward Klink, lowering his voice. "What do you think the major is going to do?"
"I think there will be a lot of trouble," Klink replied slowly. He watched Schultz leave. Then he sank upon Schultz's bunk and waited for Geist to arrive.
