No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is implied or inferred. Copyright belongs to others and no infringement is intended.
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Wednesday morning's roll call was a hurried and tense affair, thanks to Klink's well-known anxiety in the face of any kind of inspection, or any encounter with the Gestapo. This suited Hogan down to the ground, as he had too much to do to stand in the cold, trying to divert Klink's attention from his own edginess over the work at hand. As soon as they were dismissed, Hogan and his men made a bee line for the barracks, to gather around the table for a final review of the day's plans.
"Okay, this is it. Voelker and the 'Oberfuhrer' are scheduled to arrive at noon precisely. Le Beau, at that time you're going to be at the entrance to the emergency tunnel, where Voelker's wife and kids are going to come down. Remember the boy will be blindfolded. When you're fully inside the tunnel, and you know he can't figure out how he got here, take the blindfold off, pronto. Otherwise we're going to have trouble of a different sort. Keep them down there, make sure they have everything they need to be comfortable."
"Oui, Colonel."
"Carter, Newkirk, you two are going to create a diversion near the gates as the party comes in. This will throw Klink off enough to draw the guards' attention to you, instead of to what's happening outside the wire, just in case one of the guards is actually doing his job and scouring the perimeter."
"Right, Colonel," they answered.
"Kinch, as soon as they're in here, contact the Underground and tell them we'll be ready for the dog truck. Then coordinate with our contacts for the pickup to get them out of Germany. The plans are all made; we just need to make sure we're on time."
Kinch nodded. "Yes, sir."
"I'll get Voelker myself." Hogan's men watched him carefully. Hogan knew what they were thinking. The thought of giving Voelker a dressing down for putting the operation in such jeopardy had indeed crossed his mind. But he had already dismissed the idea as impractical, fruitless, and in some ways, heartless. His only intention was to get the man out as soon as possible, and let him live with his own conscience. "Once he's done apologizing to Klink, I'll make sure he gets to take an inspection tour of the barracks…without Klink in tow." The men nodded understanding. "And now… all we can do is wait."
Waiting was the hardest part for most of them. The days since Sunday's discovery had been filled with planning, calls to and from the Underground and London, meetings and operational strategy sessions. A section of the emergency tunnel had been made into a makeshift sitting room for the Voelkers, as they would have to wait several hours at least to slip back out of camp. Hogan had pulled Le Beau aside quietly and asked him to pay close attention to the young boy, Erich, to make sure he was kept in lighted areas, and kept away from any conversation that might frighten him. The best way to keep a child of his age calm was to keep him occupied, so Hogan also had the men construct a couple of simple wooden games for the lad to play with, so his mind would not be on all that was happening around him.
Hogan had ordered his men to catch up on their lost sleep in the interim, but found it eluded him personally. Every now and then he would doze off, only to find himself still trying to answer the question that had been posed so many times: How do you defend yourself? He still had no clear answer, and woke up from tossing and turning no more rested than he had been when he shut his eyes.
Days of this were beginning to take their toll on his outlook. So when the time came for waiting, Hogan found himself taking to his bunk instead of pacing as usual around the barracks, engaging only in more unsettled sleep. As noon approached he got up, rubbed his face and eyes, splashed himself with cold water, and made sure his uniform was presentable to the "visitors". He made sure the men were in place, sent Le Beau out through the tunnel, and went outside to set things in motion.
Just on midday, the front gates to the camp opened wide and an impressive black car bearing Nazi flags came through. Hogan pulled his back away from the barracks wall to get a better view of the proceedings, and nodded once to Newkirk and Carter, who started tossing a ball back and forth casually in the middle of the compound.
The car pulled up near Colonel Kink's office and a door opened, revealing Voelker dressed in his officer's uniform. He got out and opened the rear door to the car, where a man dressed in the clothing of a Nazi Oberfuhrer stepped out and took a surveying look around him at the camp. Hogan slowly, casually, followed as they headed to Klink's office.
Klink came out of his office, coat tails flapping, as the visitors came started up the stairs. Hogan shook his head in amusement as he watched Klink nearly knock them back down, then apologize profusely as he led them back inside to his office. Hogan decided to spend a few minutes with Hilda before barging in on the meeting. Let's get things warmed up a little, he decided. Then I'll crash the party.
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"This way. Come, you must hurry, this way."
Le Beau took the trembling woman by the arm to lead her to the entrance to the emergency tunnel. She, in turn, was tightly gripping a young boy, who was whimpering as he stumbled in the underbrush. "Anna, take your brother's other arm," she ordered shortly. A teenaged girl obeyed the woman immediately, keeping her eyes averted from Le Beau. Une belle fille, he noticed with a tinge of sadness. Trop jeune.
"It will be all right, Erich," Anna said. "We are nearly there."
Le Beau took the heavy backpack that the woman had carried all the way to the meeting place. "Madame Voelker, you cannot carry this. I will take it."
"You are kind, sir," she said, relinquishing her bundle.
"It is not far from here," Le Beau told her. "But we must get out of sight as quickly as possible." A short distance to go, but Le Beau was feeling very vulnerable out in the daylight. He hoped Newkirk and Carter were putting on a good show.
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"I believe you know our senior POW officer, Kapitan Strohm. Oberfuhrer Becker, this is Colonel Hogan." Klink made introductions shortly after Hogan burst in, all righteous anger over Strohm's presence. Under his breath, Klink threatened, "Hogannn…"
"General," acknowledged Hogan, nodding slightly.
"Hogan. Yes I believe you are the reason the Kapitan has accompanied me on my inspection today," Becker said, making unmistakable eye contact with Hogan, who merely raised an eyebrow. "Something about an interrogation in Hammelburg."
Klink laughed nervously as he detected annoyance in the Oberfuhrer's tone. "Well we don't have to worry about that now," he said, trying to keep the atmosphere light. "We have an inspection tour to conduct! And I think you will find, Oberfuhrer—"
"Now, hang on a minute, Kommandant!" Hogan said, raising his hand. "Now this Captain Strohm was way out of line when I was in Hammelburg, not only with me but with what he was saying about you! And I think it only fitting that he humble himself before you, sir, as a gesture of repentance for his arrogance." Hogan looked from Klink to the others and back. "After all, when a man's not there to defend himself against some pretty insubordinate cracks from the likes of Strohm… well, as an officer and a gentleman I was offended."
"You often take offence at matters that are none of your affair, Colonel Hogan?" asked Becker.
"Begging your pardon, General, but Captain Strohm here was pretty rough on me. And on Colonel Klink's command. A command under which I am proud to be a prisoner of war. And when he insults the Kommandant, he insults me and my men." Oh, brother! Hogan rolled his eyes before he could stop himself and hoped Klink hadn't noticed.
"A commendable attitude for a prisoner to have. Colonel Klink, you seem to have gained the respect of your charges. This is the sign of a fine officer." Becker turned to the man beside him. "Kapitan, it seems you would do well to pay your proper respects to Colonel Klink. And to Colonel Hogan as well."
Now this'll be worth the price of admission alone, Hogan thought, eyeing Voelker.
"Very well, Herr Oberfuhrer," began Voelker. Was he glaring at Hogan for real? Or was he just showing again what an extraordinary actor he was?
Hogan never got to find out, because it was then that all hell broke loose outside. Shouting, running, dogs barking: Carter and Newkirk, Hogan thought. Right on cue. More screaming. And then the door to the office burst open and Sergeant Schultz came in, breathless and upset. "Herr Kommandant, the men are fighting!" he said.
Klink responded immediately. "Hogan, you will come with me and discipline your men!" he ordered. "Excuse me, Herr Oberfuhrer," he said, sweeping past.
Hogan and the others followed. Sure enough, a swarm of about two dozen men were shouting and cheering, crowding in around a skirmish. There were so many people jostling for a view and picking smaller fights that the people at the core of the riot weren't even visible. Two of the dogs had been released and were barking incessantly. Several guards had run from the outer perimeter of the camp, rifles at the ready. But they were simply watching, boys themselves watching boys fight. Hogan allowed himself a thin smile before stepping into the fray. "Awright, fellas, knock it off! Break it up!" he shouted, pulling two men off each other and nearly getting decked in the process. "Knock it off!" He pushed his way through the flying punches and wrestling bodies until he got to the centre: Carter and Newkirk. "Cut it out, you foul balls!" he ordered, tearing them apart. The prisoners started to settle. "This has gone far enough. Colonel Klink has an important visitor today, and you're not making a very good impression on him!"
Hogan stepped back, straightening his own jacket and resettling his cap, then turned to Klink, who looked like he had gotten the business end of a few fists as well. He picked the Kommandant's monocle out of the dirt and handed it back to him. Klink practically snatched it away. "Hogannn," he growled again, shaking his grimy monocle at him. "The men responsible for this display will be severely punished!"
Hogan turned to quite obviously bring the Oberfurher's attention to the situation. Klink followed Hogan's eyes and immediately put on a slippery smile. "Of course, sometimes men just have to release some pressure." He laughed as the stern face of the Oberfuhrer relaxed. "Ten days in the cooler for these two," Klink said with a frown, pointing to Carter and Newkirk, who were now brushing each other off and shaking hands in reconciliation.
"But Colonel, it's Carter and Newkirk who were going to help you take the visitors on their tour of this fine camp! After all, we're the ones who help keep this place in the tip-top condition you see before you," Hogan said.
"Is this true, Colonel Klink?" asked Becker.
"Well, the men do take a certain pride in the condition of Stalag 13. It is one of the many reasons that our escape record is spotless here, Herr Oberfuhrer," Klink grovelled.
"Then I should like the men responsible for the camp's presentation to be the ones who show me around," Becker replied. Hogan felt a smile creeping onto his lips. Nice touch.