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The muscles in Hogan's throat constricted as he watched Oppenheimer hand Tiger up to the German soldier standing in the upper hatch of the Panzer. The image of his dream flashed before his eyes— Where are you going? Come back!—and he swallowed uncomfortably as he watched her briefly disappear from sight.

Arms crossed and brow furrowed, Hogan knew that everything was now in the hands of his men. And God. How else are we going to be able to pull this off? How do we ever pull any of these insane schemes off?

Oppenheimer had been firing off his camera for the last thirty minutes, with Carter holding up the proceedings by being just too shy to easily slip his arm around Tiger's shoulders. A bit of gentle coaxing didn't seem to have any effect, so finally Tiger herself grabbed the Sergeant's arm and wrapped it around her. The gay smiles and the laughter that were called for, however, seemed forced, and Oppenheimer was trying his best to get a wider grin from a wildly blushing Carter, when Le Beau spoke up.

"Monsieur Oppenheimer, the lady might look more like she is enjoying herself if she is nearer to the young soldier in the tank." Oppenheimer considered, then called for the Lieutenant perched in the hatch to come down. "No, no, no," Le Beau countered quickly. "Let her go up there."

Oppenheimer smiled and gave his approval, then, after fighting off Newkirk's fussing, handed Tiger up the tank to the soldier, who smiled a little too happily for Hogan's taste. "No," Newkirk complained, "it's too crowded up there; her clothes aren't the best as it is, and the wind is playing havoc with her hair."

"Oui, you are right," Le Beau conceded. Hogan shook his head and looked at Kinch, whose expression indicated he knew the kind of trouble the pair would have been in if Tiger had not been in the middle of a dangerous assignment. "Pull the soldier down here; let her be up there on her own."

"On her own?" Hochstetter repeated. "I don't think that is such a wise idea."

"Certainly, Hochstetter," Burkhalter countered. "What do you think she is going to do by herself—steal it?" He laughed derisively.

"Not a chance," Hogan piped up. "We took the keys out last night when we thought General Werden was too drunk to drive." He let out a slight laugh, only to wipe the irreverent grin off his face when German glares assaulted him.

He turned his attention back to the tank. Newkirk had climbed up and was making a show of fluffing Tiger's hair and straightening her collar. That's it, Newkirk—make sure she's all set to go.

"Now pop yourself down in there and fix your hair out of the wind before you come back up," he heard Newkirk demand.

"Hey, Newkirk, you're going to make her cry soon!" Kinch called. "Try a bit of honey instead of vinegar."

Newkirk turned and looked down at Kinch. "When you are the fashion consultant, you can run this any way you like." He turned back to Tiger, who had hesitated. "Now get down there and fix yourself up." Tiger disappeared from sight. "Bloody amateurs," Newkirk muttered, "you think you know everything."

Hogan bit his bottom lip, knowing now was the critical time. Le Beau stood nearby, trying to seem impatient. Carter shifted from foot to foot, and Newkirk poked his head down the hatch. "You going all right, love?" he said in a low voice.

Tiger was turning from one panel to the next, aiming the lapel of her dress at them and activating the small camera. "I don't know what I am looking at," she said in a worried voice.

"That's all right, darlin'; someone will." She gave him a grateful look. "All you need to do is give them something to look at."

"Hurry up!" they heard Oppenheimer call from below. "I'm sure she is fine as she is."

"Heathen," Newkirk muttered. Tiger smiled at his lightness. No wonder Hogan managed to keep a positive outlook in the face of impossibilities. "You haven't looked close enough, then!" he called back to the German. "Sorry, love," he said to Tiger.

"I am sure my 'rat's nest' won't be so bad when you are done with it," Tiger shot back. Newkirk gave a start, then smiled when he saw the laughter in her eyes.

"Hey, I tell you what," Hogan said, unable to handle the suspense, and worried about how long it was taking. "Why doesn't Carter step up there with her?"

"I thought you were against this, Hogan," Klink observed.

"Oh, I am, sir, but if Carter's going to do this anyway, he might as well look good. What do you think, Le Beau?"

"Hmm, it might work. But then the lady might look better on her own up there, with the trees and the barbed wire framing her face…." Hogan shot Le Beau a look that quite clearly reminded him who was making the suggestion, and why they were doing this in the first place. "Oh, uh—no, of course, you are right, Colonel," he hastened to add. Nearly got carried away in the role and forgot the objective! "Carter, why don't you go up and stand where Newkirk is?"

Carter nimbly hiked up the war machine and nudged Newkirk. "My turn to stand next to the pretty girl, Newkirk," he said with a grin.

"Charmin'," Newkirk muttered under his breath. "She's nearly done."

Tiger looked up and flashed her determined eyes. "Finished."

"Great," Newkirk said. Then, for the benefit of the others, he said, "That'll be quite enough, darlin', I don't think we're going to be able to improve on it."

"He's pushing hard," Kinch said under his breath to Hogan.

"Any harder and she'll push him right off the tank," Hogan replied.

"That's it, Andrew; get right inside with her," Le Beau was coaxing.

Hochstetter started to protest, but Burkhalter waved away his concerns and watched as Carter hopped into the tank. The Sergeant grinned at Tiger in the small space. "Excuse me, ma'am," he said.

Tiger smiled briefly and removed the camera from her clothing, handing it to Carter, who put it deep into one of his pockets. Then the pair popped their heads out of the tank, finding it nearly impossible to move in the small space of the hatch. "No, that's not going to work," Le Beau said, shaking his head. "Come on down, Carter."

Carter hopped back out, slid down the side of the tank, and came to stand beside Hogan and Kinch. Hogan gave him a sideways glance, which Carter responded to by nodding slightly as he rocked back and forth on his toes, never taking his eyes off the tank. "I can't watch this any more, Kommandant," Hogan complained.

"Just a few more, Colonel Hogan; just a few more." Klink was still rivaling the Chesire cat with his smile; he was quite enjoying Hogan's apparent discomfort.

"Can't you let my men go?" Hogan persisted. "Surely they're not needed any more." He glared at Carter for the Germans' benefit. "I have to have a word with some of them about loyalty."

"That's fine, Hogan," Klink sang, casually waving his hand in their direction. "Take Carter and Kinchloe wherever you wish. We have what we need right here."

"What about Le Beau and Newkirk?"

"Oh, no, not them, Colonel Hogan. Not yet!" Klink countered. "The Frenchman and the Englander will need to stay to be in the final photographs."

"What final photographs?" Hogan asked.

"The one the Herr Oppenheimer will surely want to take, showing that even with a No Escape record, I can still be a compassionate and fair Kommandant." Klink's chest expanded as he drew in what he surely saw to be a regal and honorable breath.

"Of course," Hogan said, turning away and practically pushing Kinch and Carter back toward the Barracks. Then he called out over his shoulder, "Just make sure they don't get hit with any flying debris when the camera breaks; I want something left of them to chew out."