No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is implied or inferred. Copyright belongs to others and no infringement is intended.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Sergeant Schultz stood in front of the desk in Klink's office at full attention. Surrounded by brass, he was in no fit state to relax. He had handed his rifle to the guard outside as ordered, and had saluted the officers in the room with a trembling hand. He tried not to let his voice shake as he answered their questions.

"Exactly how long have you known Kommandant Klink now, Sergeant?" asked Hochstetter.

Schultz tried to calculate time. "Three and a half years, Herr Major. We were both assigned here when Stalag 13 was opened."

"And during that time, Sergeant, you have developed a close relationship with him?"

Schultz let his mind flicker over the time he had been working under Klink's command. "Herr Major, there were time that the Kommandant said I was like a son to him. But other times, I felt somewhat disinherited."

"So you feel very strongly about the Kommandant."

"Oh, yes, Herr Major!"

"And how did you feel when he was arrested and placed in the cooler?" Hochstetter asked politely.

Schultz shook his head sadly. "Oh, that was very, very sad. You see, Kommandant Klink is not used to the cold, and it is not a warm place to be. Without his gloves, his fingers would have cracked—"

Hochstetter waved for Schultz to stop his descriptions, and the guard lapsed into silence. Burkhalter spoke up from behind the desk. "I think what the Major is trying to find out, Sergeant, is if you took any action when Kommandant Klink was arrested that would be considered... unusual."

"Unusual, Herr General?" Schultz repeated, uncertain.

The other officer in the room, clearly exasperated with the proceedings, spoke up. "Did you or did you not help Kommandant Klink to escape from the cooler?" he asked sharply.

"Nein, Herr Oberst!" Schultz denied vehemently. "Nein, I did my duty!"

"Now, now, Colonel Hassler," Burkhalter interjected smoothly. He could see that the questioning was unnerving the Sergeant, and he believed he could get farther with Schultz with gentleness rather than abruptness. "There is no need to upset Sergeant Schultz. He has always proven himself to be a loyal—if not somewhat oblivious—soldier of the Third Reich."

"Danke, Herr General," Schultz said.

General Burkhalter grimaced, as though Schultz had just proven his point. "There is no reason to believe that he did anything but his duty the night that Colonel Klink disappeared."

But Hassler wasn't having any of it. "And what about the night your American officer disappeared? Your prison cells seem to have magic walls that fade away at night!" he mocked. "You are trying to tell me that this man would know nothing about any of this? Why, he was on duty at the time that the prisoner escaped. And as there was no indication that the walls had dissolved, and since this man had the only key to solitary confinement, it does not take a genius to figure out what must have happened!"

"No, no, Herr Oberst!" Schultz said, starting to feel dizzy. "No, I did not unlock Colonel Hogan's cell, I swear to you. It would be worth my life!"

"It may yet be," Hochstetter interjected. Schultz shuddered. "But at this stage, I agree with General Burkhalter. Sergeant Schultz may be of more use out of prison than in. He certainly understands how Klink's mind works. Perhaps with the Sergeant's help we can track down the missing Kommandant in time for his trial."

"From what you say, Major Hochstetter, it sounds like he and the American Colonel are probably together."

"I don't think so," Burkhalter disagreed. "Colonel Hogan would have been in no condition to help Klink to escape. And since, after all, they are on opposite sides of the war, it would not be likely that they would have been helped by the same people." Burkhalter stood up. "Colonel Hassler, I am afraid your visit here has been wasted. You came expecting to put Colonel Klink on trial for treason, and instead you have found a shambles."

"My report to Berlin will be most unfavorable, you can be sure of that," Hassler said. "Here you are, protecting an inconsequential Sergeant of the Guard, in a camp where both you and the head of the local Gestapo were in charge at the time that two vitally important prisoners escaped; I can only imagine what the repercussions will be. Perhaps there will be a trial on charges of treason after all. But with you as the defendant!"

With a quick salute to Burkhalter, Hassler turned on his heel and left. Burkhalter turned to Hochstetter, stunned. Schultz stood trembling, trying to figure out who to salute. "Major Hochstetter," Burkhalter hissed, "you will find Klink. Or you will find yourself facing more than just a trial."

Hochstetter himself, normally not prone to panic when threatened by anyone, had turned slightly pale. Despite his outward appearance during the interrogation of Sergeant Schultz, he was smart enough to know that his own career—indeed, his own life—could be at stake, and for more than one reason. Berlin was expecting a report indicating that the Fuhrer's orders to eliminate all enemy air corps officers had been followed, something that he could not declare. To make matters worse, the person whom he could point the finger of blame at for this failure was also missing. And Hochstetter had been in camp the whole time, so there was no chance of him being declared innocent of any part of the fiasco. I should have known that Stalag 13 would be the place where it all fell apart on me, he thought. "We will find Klink," he assured the General. "I will not rest until he is brought to trial."

Burkhalter turned to Schultz. "Captain Eichberger will have the final say in what he does with you, Sergeant. If you are lucky, he will still consider you trustworthy enough to remain Sergeant of the Guard. If you are not, then you may find yourself wishing you had disappeared along with Colonel Klink and Hogan." I know I'm beginning to wish I could have.

"Jawohl, Herr General," Schultz answered weakly. "Am I dismissed?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, Sergeant. You may be pleased to know there are no prisoners in the cooler at the moment. So there is no chance of anything else unusual happening."

Schultz saluted, feeling sweat dripping down the back of his neck. "No, General Burkhalter, nothing unusual at all." He backed out of the office, grabbed his rifle, and practically ran back to his post. He would have to talk to the prisoners in Barracks Two as soon as he knew he wasn't being watched. Schultz could honestly say this time that he knew nothing, but he knew that wasn't the case with Hogan's men. And what they knew might very well save Klink's life—or his own.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Kinch pulled the plug out of the coffee pot, absently thinking that they were going to need a new cord soon with the work out this one was getting lately.

"That's bad," Newkirk observed. "They're going after Schultz now."

"Burkhalter seemed to stand up for him a bit. But we've gotta be careful," Kinch warned.

"Yeah, I mean Schultz knows a lot more than nothing," Carter added.

"And it will not take a lot to get it out of him," Le Beau predicted. "One session with Hochstetter and it's the end of the tunnels—and the end of us."

"Looks like it's all gonna depend on this Captain Eichberger," Kinch said. "Let's just hope he's more even minded than Hochstetter. And that Burkhalter can hold up against him and Hochstetter if he's not."

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

"We can't just have Schultz disappear, too; Stalag 13's going to start to look like the Bermuda Triangle." Hogan's mind started spinning when he heard what had just transpired in Klink's office. "On the other hand, we know he's a weak link. He's held up pretty well so far, but he hasn't had to go a full round with Hochstetter either." Hogan furrowed his brow. "Okay," he said finally. "We have to think of the future of the operation. Things haven't been going very well so far. London's been quiet," he said, with more than a hint of anger in his voice, "we've got the Gestapo all over us, and now we've got Klink to think about, too. That list he has is too important to the Allies to just let him go. We can't take any chances on something happening to him, and we can't take him out now." Hogan sighed. "So," he continued, "what to do about Schultz—to be fair to them both, we have to admit that if it weren't for him and Klink, we wouldn't have survived as long as we have. We owe it to them to keep them out of harm's way."

He paused, clearly debating all the factors involved. Hogan's men watched him carefully. "Kinch, what have you been able to find out about Eichberger?"

"Not much, Colonel. All we could get was that he's a real live wire. He's Luftwaffe, but he's come up through the ranks pretty quickly. Not known for his bedside manner, but nothing stands out about him, either."

Hogan nodded, still thinking. "Okay. We'll watch what happens tomorrow. If he turns up the heat too high, we'll have to get Schultz out, too." He turned to Le Beau. "Louis, I'm afraid this might mean some extra cooking for you. Think you can handle it?"

"It would take three chefs to handle it, Colonel. But you can count on me."

Hogan smiled. "I knew I could. Let's just hope it doesn't come to this. The more obvious we make our actions, the less chance we're giving the operation to survive. And I'm still hoping we—you—can come out on top of this, somehow. Me? My work is nearly done, right? Thanks to ol' Scramble Brains I get to duck out early, even if I am a little worse for wear."

Carter looked closely at Hogan, who seemed to be visibly melting. "You look tired, Colonel."

Hogan smiled patiently. "Always in with a compliment, Carter," he said.

"Sorry, Colonel—but you do." Newkirk shoved him a little less than gently. "Well he does!" Carter protested.

"Nice one, Carter. Don't you think the gov'nor—?"

Hogan held up a hand. "Never mind, Newkirk. I'm sure it was said out of concern for my welfare."

"Yeah!" Carter piped up.

"And yes, I am tired, and yes, I am going to bed. Louis, make something special for Klink tonight; he's had quite a trying day. I just told him about the operation and he's in a bit of denial. Go easy on him, but don't let him leave, whatever you do."

"Does he know about the list, Colonel?" Newkirk asked.

"No. All he knows is, he's important to the Allies and we can't let him out of here." A now familiar wave of tiredness swept over Hogan, and he sat down. "I'll explain more only on a need to know basis."

Hogan groaned in relief as he lay his head down on the cot. Staying up and alert for so long had used up more energy than he had expected. "Get some rest, Colonel," Le Beau urged.

"I plan to," Hogan said. "Just watch out for Klink and Schultz... and the bad guys... and you'd better blow up a bridge or two once the goons have cleared out... otherwise they'll know for sure it was me. And we can't... let Hochstetter win...." Hogan's voice drifted until the men realized he had fallen asleep. Then they went their separate ways, to carry out their work, and hope for a future different from the only one they could imagine now.