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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Carter listened carefully as the muffled voice of Klink filtered through the metal of the car to his ears. "Schultz, you dummkopf, there is no one here; you must be in the wrong place!"

"Oh, no, Herr Kommandant," Schultz responded. "I followed the directions you gave me, sir!"

"Get out of the car and look around," Klink commanded wearily. Carter heard the door to the car open and shut, then footsteps moving away from the vehicle. Very slowly, he worked the trunk open and stopped, listening again, before he snuck out and silently closed the hatch, creeping unnoticed into the nearby woods, and toward the secondary bridge that was his target.

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Kinch's eyes followed the brown jacket back and forth across the common room, but he said nothing. He had gotten used to the idea that pacing was his commanding officer's way of working things out. Carter was late coming back, and Hogan was worrying.

"Colonel, Schultz and Klink are not back either; he would be coming with them!" Le Beau insisted, for the third time in fifteen minutes.

Hogan merely shook his head and kept walking, crossing and uncrossing his arms, stopping suddenly and then starting again. Newkirk pulled a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke out high into the air; Hogan's nerves were starting to affect him, too. Le Beau madly stirred something in a pot on the small stove, and even Kinch started tapping the back of the book he was holding, unable to concentrate.

"Newkirk, take another look," Hogan said.

Shaking his head, the Corporal peered carefully through a crack in the door. "Nothing, gov'nor."

Hogan grimaced. "No Klink, no explosion, and no Carter. I thought we sent them out on a wild goose chase; where are they?"

"Probably still chasing the goose," Le Beau replied. Hogan shot him a warning look. Le Beau explained, "Klink may go all over the countryside looking for Feldkamp if he thinks it will help get him on his good side."

"Yeah, and if he stops on the bridge, and it's already wired, then we lose Carter!" Hogan snapped back, then wished he hadn't as the realization of what he said dawned on the others.

Newkirk looked around the room uncomfortably. The thought of losing the eager young American had always been a possibility—it had always been possible that any of them could be shot at any time, no matter what the supposed rules were as lain out by the Geneva Prisoner of War Convention. But that fear had always been left unspoken.

Until now.

Hogan cleared his throat and said into the quiet, "That was a stupid thing to say." He swallowed. "Carter's too smart to hang around when he's placed one of his own explosives somewhere. I'm sure he'll be back any minute."

"That's right, Colonel," Le Beau replied, anxious to forget the whole conversation.

Hogan looked up again as a sound from the outside drew his attention. "Newkirk?"

Newkirk didn't have to be told twice. He looked back out the door. "It's them, sir," he said, obviously relieved.

Hogan's face broke into a wide grin. "See? Told you!" he said gleefully. "He turned and headed for his office. "Let's find out what's going on. Le Beau, watch the door and make sure Carter makes it back here. Kinch, let's get the coffee pot warmed up."

"I can see the trunk of the car opening, Colonel!" Le Beau called out.

Kinch relaxed and followed Hogan into his quarters. The tension had been broken. Somehow it was always okay.

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"What took you so long?" Hogan asked as Carter stretched his arms and legs. Le Beau handed him a cup of coffee; Kinch handed him a cigarette.

"Well I didn't have any choice about when to come back, sir," Carter replied. "I mean, Klink had Schultz driving all over the place. Thought he'd made a mistake in the directions." He stopped and grinned. "But he didn't."

Hogan smiled. "No. He didn't."

"Anyway, so we got there, and when I heard Klink yelling at Schultz about how they couldn't find Colonel Feldkamp, I figured it was safe. So I snuck out and wired it all up. Took two seconds flat; it was easy. All I had to do was make sure Schultz and Klink didn't drive off without me!"

Hogan shook his head, still amazed that Carter was standing babbling before him, still immeasurably relieved that Carter was safe and obviously unaffected by the events of the night. "So how come we haven't heard any explosions?" asked Kinch.

"Oh, that!" Carter replied. Hogan raised his eyebrows. Carter started shifting from foot to foot. "Well," he said, avoiding Hogan's eyes, "um, well, I know you said you wanted, you know, twenty minute timers and all, Colonel, but um…" Carter shoved his hands in his pockets, faltering.

"Yes?" Hogan asked, starting to worry.

"Well, sir, um… I wasn't sure how long it would take Klink to get out of there. And the way he was hovering around waiting, I just didn't think he was gonna move the car until it was too late… so I set them for an hour, just in case." Carter looked at the floor. "Sorry, Colonel."

Hogan let his shoulders relax. He smiled gently at his young subordinate. "Carter," he said, "you were the one out there. You were the only one who could judge what was best. You improvised. That's what I expected you to do. You don't have to apologize; you did good. What's more, I'd expect you to do it again, if you needed to."

"Gosh, Colonel—disobey one of your orders?" Carter gasped.

"Only if I'm not around and it endangers your life or the lives of the men you're with in a way that isn't necessary to protect the operation." Hogan shrugged. "It's a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants job, Sergeant. If you're out on a mission, you have to be prepared to adapt to the unexpected. And if you're going to remain a part of this merry little band, you'll probably have to do it all the time." His eyes swept the room to make sure the others understood their inclusion in his declarations. "You can think on your feet; it's one of the many reasons you're part of the core group." Carter straightened, feeling proud. "But if you ever disobey one of my general orders," Hogan shot at Carter with mock strictness, "I'll see your can court-martialed from here to North Dakota!"

"Oh, no, sir, boy!" Carter replied loudly, snapping to attention. "Um—I mean, no sir, Colonel. I wouldn't do that, Colonel, no, sir. I mean, I know you say it's okay to do what I have to on the outside, and I understand that, sir, but I sure won't be making a practice of it. I wouldn't dream of not doing anything else you said, Colonel Hogan, sir—"

"Carter!" Hogan stopped him, laughing. "I accept your loyalty, and I'm grateful! So when do we expect the fireworks?"

"Fireworks? I only placed—" Carter cut himself off and grinned. "Oh, you didn't mean fireworks, did you?" he guessed. "You meant—um," he looked at his watch, "about… five minutes."

"I can hardly wait."

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"Repooooooort!"

Klink's voice echoed across the compound in the early morning light. Hogan blinked sleepily, hands jammed into the slit pockets of his bomber jacket, head down, stifling a yawn. The noise in the camp after the explosions finally went off last night had kept the prisoners hopping. Cars flying out of camp, cars roaring into camp, footsteps, searchlights, shouting, and an extra roll call about twenty minutes after the initial explosion that forced everyone out into the cold night while they were counted, and recounted, and counted again. Then another count an hour later. No one was answering questions.

"Herr Kommandant, all prisoners present and accounted for!" Schultz barked.

"Very good, Schultz!" Klink answered.

Hogan considered getting Klink all wound up, then decided against it as the stiff morning wind snaked its way through the assembled men. As it turned out, he didn't have to do a thing—it had all been done the night before.

"Gentlemen!" Klink started. Hogan sighed. "All prisoners will be confined to barracks until further notice!" Klink stopped, lightly bouncing his riding crop under his arm as his eyes ran up and down the lines of men. Hogan recognized the move: a precursor to an accusation of some injustice done to himself or his precious camp's reputation. He didn't have long to wait. "Last night there was some unusual activity a few miles from here. A bridge was blown up, and no one is claiming responsibility."

"Well some of the best works of art are done anonymously," Hogan piped up. The men around him snickered.

"The Gestapo is searching the woods as we speak!" Klink continued, ignoring Hogan as best he could. "The perpetrators will be found!"

"Uh-huh, just like they found the ones who blew that ammo dump, right, Kommandant? What are you doing to guarantee the protection of my men, in case one of those explosions gets out of hand?"

"There will be no more explosions to worry about, Colonel Hogan," Klink answered, coming face to face with his senior Prisoner of War. "But if you have any concerns, you can urge your men to heed my order to stay inside the barracks."  Hogan merely raised an eyebrow. Klink turned on his heel and started pacing in front of the men. "Now in the heat of last night's… events… it also became apparent that there has been more tampering with camp vehicles. I have doubled the guard at the motor pool. And anyone caught trying to get near the cars will be severely punished!"

"I think you've got the fox guarding the chicken coop, Kommandant," Hogan declared.

Klink squinted as he tried to assimilate what Hogan had said. "The fox, Colonel Hogan?"

"Well, obviously my men had nothing to do with it—you've said yourself a guard drove right out of camp the other night without permission; sounds like you've got a revolution on your hands, not mischievous prisoners."

"That's enough, Hogan," Klink seethed. "Just make sure your men stay away from the cars."

Hogan shrugged. "Okay, but your car's due for its ten thousand mile check. I wouldn't want to be held responsible if the brakes fail or the carburetor dies, or…"

"I'll take my chances!" Klink responded, frustrated. He added, almost under his breath, "It's better than trying to win an argument with you."

"Whatever you say, sir."

"Hogan, if only that were true, I would feel much better about you being in this camp."

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"Are you sure it's all clear?"

"Yes, Colonel—we swept the area; the Gestapo has moved out. They must think the saboteurs have moved on to another area."

"Great. We'll make our move on the plant tonight. Tell the Underground to make sure Ludwig and Alida are ready. The time for waiting is over."