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Hogan walked back to Barracks Two, shivering both from the cold of the evening and from the news that Eichberger had delivered. Hochstetter coming to camp tomorrow? Eichberger's reasoning had been solid enough; there was only so long he could hold back the Gestapo Major from doing an inspection. If he delayed any longer, it would look suspicious. And Burkhalter was coming because as a Luftwaffe General he wanted to keep an eye on what Hochstetter was doing. Hogan was not sure whether he should take comfort in that or not. But he was starting to feel distinctly uneasy about the prospect of facing either man again.
Better to do it now and get it over with, he considered, as he entered the barracks. Watchful eyes looked expectantly at him, waiting to hear what news Eichberger had delivered. Hogan pasted on a nonchalant smile and made the announcement: "Hochstetter and Burkhalter are coming for a visit tomorrow." Was he mistaken, or had he detected a slight waver in his voice? Steady, boy.
Le Beau was on his feet instantly. "They will not take you again, Colonel! I will lay down my life—"
Hogan held up a hand. "Easy, easy, Le Beau," he said. Le Beau stopped. "I appreciate the gesture. But Eichberger says they're just coming here on inspection. A lot has happened here, and they want to make sure I've been put in my place." He grimaced at the words, but accepted their necessity.
Newkirk spoke up. "I don't like it, sir."
"Neither do I," Hogan agreed. "But I wasn't likely to be able to go the duration of the war without seeing either of them again. And if Eichberger was planning anything, he wouldn't have made the mistake of warning me the way Klink did. This time I'd be completely unaware, especially since he could have had his pick of times in the last few weeks to just pluck me—or any of us—out of here." Hogan sighed. "No, this is just something I need to face. And better now than later."
"What do you want us to do, Colonel?" asked Kinch.
"Nothing. And I mean nothing. As long as they're in camp I don't want any activity at all. You're just ordinary prisoners of war. See if you can't fake that for a day, could you?"
Hogan's men grinned. "That's quite an acting job you're asking for," Kinch declared.
"It should be a breeze for Hogan's Traveling Troupe. Just don't travel outside of Stalag 13 for a bit, okay?"
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A knock on the office door interrupted Eichberger as he was making his guests comfortable with an offer of a drink or a cigar. "Come!" he called, as Hochstetter made little show of hiding his disapproval of either offering.
The door opened and Hogan took a confident step inside. "You wanted to see me, Captain?" he asked politely, refusing to look at either Hochstetter or Burkhalter.
"Actually, I wanted to see you, Hogan," Burkhalter said.
Hogan turned with effort and nodded in the General's direction. "Good afternoon, General," Hogan said. He felt his stomach twist into a knot. Easy, man. Take it easy.
"I just wanted to see you for myself. After all, the last time I saw you, you were not in a state to have visitors," Burkhalter said.
Hogan fought the thrill of panic running through him. He couldn't remember seeing Burkhalter at all while he was in Hochstetter's hands. The lack of control frightened him. Steady, now; we're just talking. "So I'm told," was all he said.
"It was of great interest to everyone how you managed to escape from solitary confinement," Burkhalter continued.
Hogan swallowed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hochstetter moving in. Involuntarily, he tensed.
The Major noticed. "Yes, Hogan, I was very curious myself about how you escaped from a locked cell." He came closer. Hogan looked straight ahead. "Obviously, you had help. I suspect the came from your beloved Kommandant Klink. But as you can see, he is not here, either."
Hogan remained silent, a small bead of sweat tracing a path down his temple.
"Would you care to enlighten us, Colonel?" Hochstetter persisted.
Hogan turned to Eichberger, stone-faced. "Hogan, Robert E., Colonel, US Army Air Corps. Serial number 0876707."
Eichberger laughed loudly as Hochstetter balled his fists in frustration. "You see, gentlemen? It is exactly as I told you: you will not get a single word out of Colonel Hogan that he does not want you to know, so you might as well give up."
Hogan took a second to try and look Eichberger in the eye. But the Captain was quite clearly enjoying the advantage he had over the others, and was not paying attention to his senior POW. Hogan turned back to Burkhalter. "So what brings you to our little corner of paradise today, General?" he asked, continuing to pay as little attention as possible—at least on the surface—to Hochstetter.
"We were invited here to take a look around, Hogan. To inspect the camp and see how well things are running under the supervision of Captain Eichberger," Burkhalter replied. "I am pleased to note so far that everything seems to be going well."
Hogan noted the word: invited. "Nice of you to drop by," he said coldly. He turned to Eichberger. "May I go now?"
"Please prepare your men for inspection, Colonel," Eichberger said formally. "We will be over momentarily." Eichberger smiled. "We may even have a roll call. So don't go escaping on me between now and then, will you?"
Hogan nodded stiffly and offered Eichberger a salute. Then without looking at the others, he turned on his heel and quickly left the office. He was about a quarter of the way across the compound when he succumbed to the trembling and sank down on one knee.
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"The Colonel!" Le Beau cried, peering out the door of the barracks. From where he was standing, the Colonel had just virtually collapsed in the middle of camp. He immediately opened the door to run out.
"Wait!" Newkirk ordered, firmly stopping the door from opening wide enough to let Louis out. He looked outside to judge for himself. Hogan wiped his face with the back of his hand, then drew himself up to his feet and continued heading toward Barracks Two. "He's just pulling himself together. Give him some space," Newkirk concluded.
Le Beau agreed reluctantly and moved to the stove to prepare a hot cup of coffee for Hogan. At least that might help steady the Frenchman's own nerves. He couldn't stand the inability to take action for long.
Hogan appeared a minute later, looking a shade paler than normal but putting on a calm face. "They just wanted a bit of a show," Hogan said. "Probably roll call in a couple of minutes. Get Kinch upstairs; they'll be on their way soon."
Carter nodded and headed for the tunnel. Le Beau pushed a cup of steaming coffee into Hogan's hand. Hogan nodded his thanks and gratefully sat down at the table. "What's going on, Colonel?" Newkirk asked.
"Burkhalter says he and Hochstetter were invited to camp," Hogan said, disturbed to find his voice still carried a slight tremor.
Newkirk gave a start. "Invited?" he exclaimed. "You mean that bloody Kraut asked that pair to come here?"
"That sounds pretty suspicious, Colonel," Kinch said, as he followed Carter back up into the room.
"Well, I'll give Eichberger one thing: it was great to watch someone get the better of Hochstetter. He laughed right in his face."
Carter grinned. "Well, he can't be all bad, then, can he?"
"They are all bad," Le Beau muttered.
Footsteps outside brought Hogan to his feet. He looked over to make sure the tunnel entrance was closed, then he nodded and Carter opened the door. Schultz appeared. "Roll call," he said smartly. "Everybody out for roll call."
Hogan sighed. "We're coming, Schultz; we're coming."
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"What made you think I'd feel like being paraded in front of those two maniacs?" Hogan asked Eichberger that evening, exasperated. "You told me they insisted on coming—Burkhalter says you invited them!"
Eichberger waved a hand dismissively. "Burkhalter—he is just as big a fool as Hochstetter. He rang to ask about the progress of the camp under my care. I casually mentioned that he had not seen it in some time, and he latched onto it as a personal invitation. I did not want him here. And I certainly could have lived without seeing Major Hochstetter myself."
Hogan relaxed, just a little. "Well, it was a lovely shade of red he turned when you laughed at him," he admitted. "I think I needed that."
"I think you did, too," Eichberger said. "Now that you have faced your demons, you can move on."
Hogan nodded. There was sense in what Eichberger said. And much as he hated to admit it, he knew that if he had never seen Burkhalter and Hochstetter again, he would have wondered if he ever could have stood in their presence without fear. Now he knew the answer: he could stand in their presence. But there would always be fear.
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"News from the Underground, Colonel," Kinch said as he hopped up from the tunnel a couple of days later.
Hogan felt his stomach tighten again. "And?"
"And they're willing to accept the route you've picked to take Klink out. But not for another couple of weeks."
Hogan nodded, waiting for the knots to loosen; they did, but only slightly, and very reluctantly. "Why the delay?"
"They say they want to put a few other people in place to help," Kinch said. Then he added, "I think they feel guilty for dumping out on you before now. This time they want to make it just right."
Hogan nodded and allowed himself a small smile. "Great. Looking forward to seeing some of them again. I just wish it could be under better circumstances." He stood up. "I'd better tell Klink what's coming up. And we're going to have to get into his belongings; there are a couple of things I promised him I'd get."