No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is inferred or implied. Copyright belongs to others and no infringement is intended.
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Swirling lights. Flashes of pain. Sounds of agony. Where was all this coming from? Hogan wondered. There was another moan-God, another lightning rod rammed down his boot. ~What is going on?~~
Opening his eyes he realized the moan was coming from his own lips. "Kill that light," he managed to whisper. Someone turned a bright light away from him. What felt like a vice tightening around his ankle drew his attention to his leg. "Stop! Stop that!" he ordered hoarsely, as he saw Kinch about to cut through his boot.
"Colonel, you've got to get this looked at-" started Kinch.
"I said stop it," Hogan repeated angrily. "Now more than ever, I can't be seen to be injured." He tried to sit up, but was quite easily detained by Carter. "What happened?"
"After Hochstetter left you collapsed, sir," answered Newkirk.
"How long have I been out?"
"About twenty minutes," said Le Beau. "We brought you into your quarters to try to help you, mon Colonel."
The Frenchman sounded almost hurt. Hogan didn't want to hurt his friends. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful." God, the agony! He couldn't let on, or they would find some way of making tonight's mission impossible for him. "It's just if I'm seen hobbling around camp now, Hochstetter will have all the evidence he needs, don't you think?"
The others murmured agreement. "I don't know how you did that, Colonel," said Carter. "I thought for sure you would've fallen ov-"
"Blimey, Carter, you sure know how to show confidence in the gov'nor," interrupted Newkirk.
"That's all right, Newkirk. I wasn't sure I could do it myself. But it was that or get taken to Gestapo headquarters."
"You did not say anything about encountering the SS last night, mon Colonel," said Le Beau.
"No, I didn't. That settles tonight, Newkirk. There's no way you're coming with me. They already suspect something's going on, I won't have you putting yourself in unnecessary danger. I can do this alone."
The others protested loudly. "And what about sabotaging the munitions shipment?" Kinch said over the din. "Do you think you can do that alone, in your condition? We should tell London to change their plans."
"You know it's too late for that, Kinch. Besides, Hansel and Gretel are expecting me, and it's too late to put in a substitute. I'll go it alone." He sat up and put on his best command voice. "That's an order. Understand?"
"Yes, Colonel," they mumbled.
Hogan's men could have talked themselves blue in the face; they knew there was no point in trying. So they spent the rest of the day trying to make Hogan comfortable, offering him food, offering him drinks, being so solicitous he wanted to knock their heads together. His normally genial self was being replaced by a short-tempered grouch-- it was not in his nature to be waited upon, and he wanted to be left alone to concentrate on what he needed to accomplish tonight--now alone.
He shooed away Le Beau and his repeated attempts at loosening Hogan's belt, but asked Carter to stay. Instead of allowing himself to be babied, however, he interrogated the young explosives genius about what he needed to do to destroy the munitions shipment he was to be briefed on this evening. "It's hard without knowing exactly what line it's going to be on, Colonel," explained Carter. "You might need one type of charge in one spot, and another type at another spot."
"Give me your best all-rounder," Hogan said. Sitting up in his bed, he gingerly shifted his injured leg under the blanket. ~~ Hmm--shouldn't have done that, Robert E,~~ he grimaced to himself, trying to stop himself from crying out. Still unbearable. ~What were you trying to prove back there?~ he asked himself. But then again, what choice did you have?~ He was almost certain now that the ankle was broken, which was going to make tonight even more difficult. He berated himself for being so stubborn, but he couldn't send his men out there now. And the job had to get done. Better for one to suffer than all. He fleetingly wondered if this meant he was a control freak. But he just as quickly dismissed the idea--no, he just had to protect the people whose lives he held so dear.
"I sure wish you'd let me go with you, Colonel," Carter was saying. "I could bring a little of everything--we'd blow that shipment to Kingdom Come!"
"Thanks, Carter, but it's too dangerous now--they're out there, and they're watching."
"No offense, Colonel, but if they're out there, they're looking for you, too. It's just as dangerous for you--even more so now."
"All part of the spy business, Carter. The king's musketeer always has to have an evil Cardinal's Guard as a foil."
"But there's always a trusty sidekick, too, to watch out for him," insisted Carter.
Hogan lightly punched at Carter's shoulder. "Go on, trusty valet. I promise I'll dodge the sword thrusts. Just get me the stuff I need." ~Enough for now~, he thought. ~Rest your weary head, Hogan. Got to be alert for tonight.~ "I'm going to take a nap. Tell Le Beau I'll expect some of his finest cooking when I get up. Papa Bears like BIG bowls of porridge before going out for their walks."
Carter could do nothing but agree.
* * * * * * * * *
Klink paced his quarters for a full fifteen minutes after Hochstetter and Burkhalter left. He downed a glass of schnappes, found that did nothing to calm his nerves, and had another. He was a wreck after that confrontation in Barracks Two. Hochstetter was so certain that Hogan was involved in espionage. He couldn't be, thought Klink. How could Hogan have gotten out? -- And yet....
He tried not to think about it. After all, what man in his right mind would escape from a prison camp, and then come back? But if all of that were true, then he, Klink, was merely a puppet, and Hogan was playing him for a fool. He couldn't stand the thought. For, no matter what nationality and what status Hogan had in this camp--prisoner under Klink's command-- he couldn't help thinking that Hogan actually liked him somehow. In different circumstances, the two men could even be friends. ~But under different circumstances, would Hogan suffer such a fool as myself?~ Klink prided himself as a man who did not suffer fools gladly. ~Perhaps that's why you are such a disappointment to yourself,~ he admitted bitterly.
Klink had not liked the way Hochstetter tried to humiliate Hogan this morning. It took all his strength not to cheer when Hogan faced the Gestapo officer and jeered him with his talk about children's games. It was true that Hogan had seemed extremely unwell. But even the senior POW surely couldn't have withstood the injuries Hochstetter had described without giving it away, and Hogan had done no such thing. No, Hochstetter was certainly wrong--Hogan had been in the camp all night. ~What would become of me if you left for good?~ he thought. ~And who would really try to understand what I am doing here?~
He made up his mind and then changed it for the third time, to visit Hogan. He kept replaying the moment when Hochstetter made his final attack. Klink had been horrified at the sheer brutality, not to mention the attempt at humiliation, of Hochstetter's swing of that rifle, and he had winced when he saw the weapon connect with Hogan's leg. The thought made him feel shame at being German next to a man like Hochstetter. But it also made him ashamed of himself for not being able to accept that this type of cruelty should be second nature when dealing with enemies of the Fatherland. He wouldn't blame Hogan for being furious at him, Klink, over the incident. He couldn't visit Hogan; it would seem like he was being too kind-hearted.
Klink was spared any further self-torment by the knock on his office door. "Come!" he called, almost visibly relieved.
"Herr Kommandant," said Schultz, entering the room. "I have made the rounds of the Barracks as your requested, Herr Kommandant. All the guards are prepared to increase patrols tonight as ordered by Herr General. With particular attention to the wire around the side of camp where Barracks Two is located, as ordered by Major Hochstetter, Herr Kommandant."
~That fool Hochstetter, thinking Hogan would try anything when he knows full well you're lying in wait.~ "Thank you, Schultz." Klink sat back at his desk, then looked out the window. "Have you seen Colonel Hogan this afternoon?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"Nein, Herr Kommandant. But I have seen Le Beau"-- indeed he saw Le Beau. His stomach was still grinning from the lovely meal he had gotten as promised for raising the blankets and medicine the men had requested. "--and he tells me Colonel Hogan is sleeping off his flu. And," he confided, "complaining loudly about the bruise that the rifle left on his leg."
Klink nodded absently. He'd better do a surprise bed check tonight...just in case.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Swirling lights. Flashes of pain. Sounds of agony. Where was all this coming from? Hogan wondered. There was another moan-God, another lightning rod rammed down his boot. ~What is going on?~~
Opening his eyes he realized the moan was coming from his own lips. "Kill that light," he managed to whisper. Someone turned a bright light away from him. What felt like a vice tightening around his ankle drew his attention to his leg. "Stop! Stop that!" he ordered hoarsely, as he saw Kinch about to cut through his boot.
"Colonel, you've got to get this looked at-" started Kinch.
"I said stop it," Hogan repeated angrily. "Now more than ever, I can't be seen to be injured." He tried to sit up, but was quite easily detained by Carter. "What happened?"
"After Hochstetter left you collapsed, sir," answered Newkirk.
"How long have I been out?"
"About twenty minutes," said Le Beau. "We brought you into your quarters to try to help you, mon Colonel."
The Frenchman sounded almost hurt. Hogan didn't want to hurt his friends. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful." God, the agony! He couldn't let on, or they would find some way of making tonight's mission impossible for him. "It's just if I'm seen hobbling around camp now, Hochstetter will have all the evidence he needs, don't you think?"
The others murmured agreement. "I don't know how you did that, Colonel," said Carter. "I thought for sure you would've fallen ov-"
"Blimey, Carter, you sure know how to show confidence in the gov'nor," interrupted Newkirk.
"That's all right, Newkirk. I wasn't sure I could do it myself. But it was that or get taken to Gestapo headquarters."
"You did not say anything about encountering the SS last night, mon Colonel," said Le Beau.
"No, I didn't. That settles tonight, Newkirk. There's no way you're coming with me. They already suspect something's going on, I won't have you putting yourself in unnecessary danger. I can do this alone."
The others protested loudly. "And what about sabotaging the munitions shipment?" Kinch said over the din. "Do you think you can do that alone, in your condition? We should tell London to change their plans."
"You know it's too late for that, Kinch. Besides, Hansel and Gretel are expecting me, and it's too late to put in a substitute. I'll go it alone." He sat up and put on his best command voice. "That's an order. Understand?"
"Yes, Colonel," they mumbled.
Hogan's men could have talked themselves blue in the face; they knew there was no point in trying. So they spent the rest of the day trying to make Hogan comfortable, offering him food, offering him drinks, being so solicitous he wanted to knock their heads together. His normally genial self was being replaced by a short-tempered grouch-- it was not in his nature to be waited upon, and he wanted to be left alone to concentrate on what he needed to accomplish tonight--now alone.
He shooed away Le Beau and his repeated attempts at loosening Hogan's belt, but asked Carter to stay. Instead of allowing himself to be babied, however, he interrogated the young explosives genius about what he needed to do to destroy the munitions shipment he was to be briefed on this evening. "It's hard without knowing exactly what line it's going to be on, Colonel," explained Carter. "You might need one type of charge in one spot, and another type at another spot."
"Give me your best all-rounder," Hogan said. Sitting up in his bed, he gingerly shifted his injured leg under the blanket. ~~ Hmm--shouldn't have done that, Robert E,~~ he grimaced to himself, trying to stop himself from crying out. Still unbearable. ~What were you trying to prove back there?~ he asked himself. But then again, what choice did you have?~ He was almost certain now that the ankle was broken, which was going to make tonight even more difficult. He berated himself for being so stubborn, but he couldn't send his men out there now. And the job had to get done. Better for one to suffer than all. He fleetingly wondered if this meant he was a control freak. But he just as quickly dismissed the idea--no, he just had to protect the people whose lives he held so dear.
"I sure wish you'd let me go with you, Colonel," Carter was saying. "I could bring a little of everything--we'd blow that shipment to Kingdom Come!"
"Thanks, Carter, but it's too dangerous now--they're out there, and they're watching."
"No offense, Colonel, but if they're out there, they're looking for you, too. It's just as dangerous for you--even more so now."
"All part of the spy business, Carter. The king's musketeer always has to have an evil Cardinal's Guard as a foil."
"But there's always a trusty sidekick, too, to watch out for him," insisted Carter.
Hogan lightly punched at Carter's shoulder. "Go on, trusty valet. I promise I'll dodge the sword thrusts. Just get me the stuff I need." ~Enough for now~, he thought. ~Rest your weary head, Hogan. Got to be alert for tonight.~ "I'm going to take a nap. Tell Le Beau I'll expect some of his finest cooking when I get up. Papa Bears like BIG bowls of porridge before going out for their walks."
Carter could do nothing but agree.
* * * * * * * * *
Klink paced his quarters for a full fifteen minutes after Hochstetter and Burkhalter left. He downed a glass of schnappes, found that did nothing to calm his nerves, and had another. He was a wreck after that confrontation in Barracks Two. Hochstetter was so certain that Hogan was involved in espionage. He couldn't be, thought Klink. How could Hogan have gotten out? -- And yet....
He tried not to think about it. After all, what man in his right mind would escape from a prison camp, and then come back? But if all of that were true, then he, Klink, was merely a puppet, and Hogan was playing him for a fool. He couldn't stand the thought. For, no matter what nationality and what status Hogan had in this camp--prisoner under Klink's command-- he couldn't help thinking that Hogan actually liked him somehow. In different circumstances, the two men could even be friends. ~But under different circumstances, would Hogan suffer such a fool as myself?~ Klink prided himself as a man who did not suffer fools gladly. ~Perhaps that's why you are such a disappointment to yourself,~ he admitted bitterly.
Klink had not liked the way Hochstetter tried to humiliate Hogan this morning. It took all his strength not to cheer when Hogan faced the Gestapo officer and jeered him with his talk about children's games. It was true that Hogan had seemed extremely unwell. But even the senior POW surely couldn't have withstood the injuries Hochstetter had described without giving it away, and Hogan had done no such thing. No, Hochstetter was certainly wrong--Hogan had been in the camp all night. ~What would become of me if you left for good?~ he thought. ~And who would really try to understand what I am doing here?~
He made up his mind and then changed it for the third time, to visit Hogan. He kept replaying the moment when Hochstetter made his final attack. Klink had been horrified at the sheer brutality, not to mention the attempt at humiliation, of Hochstetter's swing of that rifle, and he had winced when he saw the weapon connect with Hogan's leg. The thought made him feel shame at being German next to a man like Hochstetter. But it also made him ashamed of himself for not being able to accept that this type of cruelty should be second nature when dealing with enemies of the Fatherland. He wouldn't blame Hogan for being furious at him, Klink, over the incident. He couldn't visit Hogan; it would seem like he was being too kind-hearted.
Klink was spared any further self-torment by the knock on his office door. "Come!" he called, almost visibly relieved.
"Herr Kommandant," said Schultz, entering the room. "I have made the rounds of the Barracks as your requested, Herr Kommandant. All the guards are prepared to increase patrols tonight as ordered by Herr General. With particular attention to the wire around the side of camp where Barracks Two is located, as ordered by Major Hochstetter, Herr Kommandant."
~That fool Hochstetter, thinking Hogan would try anything when he knows full well you're lying in wait.~ "Thank you, Schultz." Klink sat back at his desk, then looked out the window. "Have you seen Colonel Hogan this afternoon?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"Nein, Herr Kommandant. But I have seen Le Beau"-- indeed he saw Le Beau. His stomach was still grinning from the lovely meal he had gotten as promised for raising the blankets and medicine the men had requested. "--and he tells me Colonel Hogan is sleeping off his flu. And," he confided, "complaining loudly about the bruise that the rifle left on his leg."
Klink nodded absently. He'd better do a surprise bed check tonight...just in case.
