Ownership of the Hogan's Heroes Hogan's characters is not inferred or implied. Copyright belongs to others and any infringement is unintended.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Kinch slowed the truck down to a crawl and turned off the headlights. In the distance, the foursome observed a convoy of trucks, moving slowly through the night.
"They're following the railroad line," noted Kinch.
"Well, what do you know?" said Newkirk. "Looks like the bloody Krauts can't tell the time. I'd bet you your magazine pin-up girl that that's the munitions shipment Colonel Hogan was told about."
"I would not take that bet, Pierre," said Le Beau. "I like les filles too much. Look at the backs of those trucks."
A closer inspection of the line of oversized trucks showed heavy weaponry protruding from the back flaps, in some cases the barrels of several huge pieces of artillery pointing defiantly skyward.
"Holy cow," breathed Carter. "Look at that. No wonder London wanted it stopped."
"There must be at least half a dozen of them," Kinch said. "How did they expect us to get all of them?"
"By using the railroad line."
The four of them turned to the voice that came from the floor of their vehicle. "What do you mean, Colonel?" asked Carter.
Hogan had opened his eyes and was struggling to get to the window. Without waiting to be asked, Newkirk helped support the Colonel, and propped him up as he studied what was going on ahead of them. "The trucks-are following the railroad line," he panted from the exertion. "They were supposed to travel together. Obviously they separated somewhere along the line, so the-trucks - are still following the-route." Hogan slid down against Newkirk, fighting his pain and his weakness. They still had a chance; they had to take it!
After a moment, Hogan opened his eyes to find Le Beau staring intently. His head was throbbing in time with his leg, which until he had decided to get up to look out the window he had actually managed to almost forget. His injuries were all competing with each other for his attention, something that was now making him nauseous. But he didn't want this mission to be lost, so he persevered.
"They're hugging the railway tracks, using them as a guide. You have to get ahead of the trucks," he said in a whisper. "Get far enough ahead to give yourself time to lay charges on the line-the longest strip you can manage. Set them off when the trucks are all aligned with them. Then the trucks are destroyed along with the railroad. Get it?"
"That's bloody brilliant," Newkirk said, for once not being sarcastic. "Two for the price of one. It's cheap at half the price."
"I had to-leave my charges behind," Hogan continued, feeling his small pocket of strength ebbing. "Carter, what have you got with you for a job like this?"
Carter happily started digging through his pockets and a pack he had carried with him on the truck. "Oh, I've got everything you could want, Colonel. Long timers, short timers, dynamite, powder explosives, nitroglycerine, specialty charges---"
"Okay, Carter, we get the idea," Hogan said. "You'll have to set some pretty big ones on the sleepers, maybe toss a couple of sticks of dynamite onto the trucks if you can manage it. It's going to depend on how heavily manned they are in the back. Timers won't be good enough, we're going to have to be able to set them off on our own. Have you got enough wire to keep us far enough away, but close enough to see what's going on?"
"I could get us from here to Berlin," Carter chirped.
"My eyesight's not that good," Hogan quipped. He felt himself slipping into blackness; it just took too much energy to fight the pulsing pain. "Just make sure you're...far enough ...away...." And he was gone.
"Colonel?"
"He is unconscious again," Le Beau fretted. "Forget the trucks; we must get the Colonel back to camp."
"No, Louis; the Colonel wants us to get that convoy. And as long as he's in command, we've gotta do what he says," Kinch countered. "Besides," he added quietly, looking at Hogan's still form, "we owe them for doing this to him."
Newkirk fidgeted unhappily. "Kinch is right," he said. "The Colonel put his life on the line to get the plans to stop this shipment; it's up to us to make sure he didn't waste the effort."
Le Beau argued with himself, then reluctantly agreed. "D'accord, we will do it," he said. "We cannot have le Colonel think we do not carry through his orders." But he continued to frown at the others.
"Okay," said Carter, who was fishing through the explosives pack. "If we want to do this right, we're going to need pretty long wire. Newkirk, can you see how many sticks of dynamite we've got in that bag over there?-And make sure we set some pretty long fuses on them, like I showed you a couple of weeks ago." The young demolition expert was in his element, and in this area the others always deferred to his expertise. "Kinch, we're going to need some time to lay the charges, so you're going to have to manage to get about two or three miles ahead of the convoy."
"Check," responded Kinch, starting to back the truck up slowly.
"Louis, think you'll be able to get some sticks of dynamite into the trucks like the Colonel said?"
"If anyone can do it 'e can," said Newkirk. "'E's the smallest of us, if anyone's gonna sneak past the Krauts it's not gonna be Kinch."
"Oui," Le Beau answered. He forced himself to look at Hogan's swollen, pale face and almost flinched outwardly. "If I can get in between those trucks I will do it for mon Colonel."
As Kinch manoeuvred through the area, Carter pulled out the tools of his trade and got to work assembling the firepower they would need to pull off the job. Le Beau fidgeted nervously, while Newkirk kept watch over Hogan, who seemed more at peace than the RAF Corporal had seen him all night. He noticed the gash on Hogan's face had stopped oozing blood, and was now inflamed. Absently moving a blanket over the injuries he knew were hidden, Newkirk repeated his silent vow that this would not be allowed to happen again.
"Okay, we're here," Kinch said, pulling into an area of heavy undergrowth. "The convoy won't get here for probably another 10 minutes. If we're lucky."
"Right. Let's go," Newkirk said. And with a last look back at Colonel Hogan-- ~~We'll be back, gov'nor.~~ the four of them burst out into the darkness.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Kinch slowed the truck down to a crawl and turned off the headlights. In the distance, the foursome observed a convoy of trucks, moving slowly through the night.
"They're following the railroad line," noted Kinch.
"Well, what do you know?" said Newkirk. "Looks like the bloody Krauts can't tell the time. I'd bet you your magazine pin-up girl that that's the munitions shipment Colonel Hogan was told about."
"I would not take that bet, Pierre," said Le Beau. "I like les filles too much. Look at the backs of those trucks."
A closer inspection of the line of oversized trucks showed heavy weaponry protruding from the back flaps, in some cases the barrels of several huge pieces of artillery pointing defiantly skyward.
"Holy cow," breathed Carter. "Look at that. No wonder London wanted it stopped."
"There must be at least half a dozen of them," Kinch said. "How did they expect us to get all of them?"
"By using the railroad line."
The four of them turned to the voice that came from the floor of their vehicle. "What do you mean, Colonel?" asked Carter.
Hogan had opened his eyes and was struggling to get to the window. Without waiting to be asked, Newkirk helped support the Colonel, and propped him up as he studied what was going on ahead of them. "The trucks-are following the railroad line," he panted from the exertion. "They were supposed to travel together. Obviously they separated somewhere along the line, so the-trucks - are still following the-route." Hogan slid down against Newkirk, fighting his pain and his weakness. They still had a chance; they had to take it!
After a moment, Hogan opened his eyes to find Le Beau staring intently. His head was throbbing in time with his leg, which until he had decided to get up to look out the window he had actually managed to almost forget. His injuries were all competing with each other for his attention, something that was now making him nauseous. But he didn't want this mission to be lost, so he persevered.
"They're hugging the railway tracks, using them as a guide. You have to get ahead of the trucks," he said in a whisper. "Get far enough ahead to give yourself time to lay charges on the line-the longest strip you can manage. Set them off when the trucks are all aligned with them. Then the trucks are destroyed along with the railroad. Get it?"
"That's bloody brilliant," Newkirk said, for once not being sarcastic. "Two for the price of one. It's cheap at half the price."
"I had to-leave my charges behind," Hogan continued, feeling his small pocket of strength ebbing. "Carter, what have you got with you for a job like this?"
Carter happily started digging through his pockets and a pack he had carried with him on the truck. "Oh, I've got everything you could want, Colonel. Long timers, short timers, dynamite, powder explosives, nitroglycerine, specialty charges---"
"Okay, Carter, we get the idea," Hogan said. "You'll have to set some pretty big ones on the sleepers, maybe toss a couple of sticks of dynamite onto the trucks if you can manage it. It's going to depend on how heavily manned they are in the back. Timers won't be good enough, we're going to have to be able to set them off on our own. Have you got enough wire to keep us far enough away, but close enough to see what's going on?"
"I could get us from here to Berlin," Carter chirped.
"My eyesight's not that good," Hogan quipped. He felt himself slipping into blackness; it just took too much energy to fight the pulsing pain. "Just make sure you're...far enough ...away...." And he was gone.
"Colonel?"
"He is unconscious again," Le Beau fretted. "Forget the trucks; we must get the Colonel back to camp."
"No, Louis; the Colonel wants us to get that convoy. And as long as he's in command, we've gotta do what he says," Kinch countered. "Besides," he added quietly, looking at Hogan's still form, "we owe them for doing this to him."
Newkirk fidgeted unhappily. "Kinch is right," he said. "The Colonel put his life on the line to get the plans to stop this shipment; it's up to us to make sure he didn't waste the effort."
Le Beau argued with himself, then reluctantly agreed. "D'accord, we will do it," he said. "We cannot have le Colonel think we do not carry through his orders." But he continued to frown at the others.
"Okay," said Carter, who was fishing through the explosives pack. "If we want to do this right, we're going to need pretty long wire. Newkirk, can you see how many sticks of dynamite we've got in that bag over there?-And make sure we set some pretty long fuses on them, like I showed you a couple of weeks ago." The young demolition expert was in his element, and in this area the others always deferred to his expertise. "Kinch, we're going to need some time to lay the charges, so you're going to have to manage to get about two or three miles ahead of the convoy."
"Check," responded Kinch, starting to back the truck up slowly.
"Louis, think you'll be able to get some sticks of dynamite into the trucks like the Colonel said?"
"If anyone can do it 'e can," said Newkirk. "'E's the smallest of us, if anyone's gonna sneak past the Krauts it's not gonna be Kinch."
"Oui," Le Beau answered. He forced himself to look at Hogan's swollen, pale face and almost flinched outwardly. "If I can get in between those trucks I will do it for mon Colonel."
As Kinch manoeuvred through the area, Carter pulled out the tools of his trade and got to work assembling the firepower they would need to pull off the job. Le Beau fidgeted nervously, while Newkirk kept watch over Hogan, who seemed more at peace than the RAF Corporal had seen him all night. He noticed the gash on Hogan's face had stopped oozing blood, and was now inflamed. Absently moving a blanket over the injuries he knew were hidden, Newkirk repeated his silent vow that this would not be allowed to happen again.
"Okay, we're here," Kinch said, pulling into an area of heavy undergrowth. "The convoy won't get here for probably another 10 minutes. If we're lucky."
"Right. Let's go," Newkirk said. And with a last look back at Colonel Hogan-- ~~We'll be back, gov'nor.~~ the four of them burst out into the darkness.
