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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Hogan was sitting with his head hanging down, his elbows on his knees, when he heard the familiar scrape of the loose stone that led from the tunnels under Stalag 13 to the cooler. He gave a cursory glance to the moving rock, only mildly surprised when the head of Louis Le Beau popped through, followed by a tray brimming with goodies that any other time would have coaxed a smile from the Colonel. Today, though, it was just a nice gesture that he couldn't stomach.

"I brought you dinner, Colonel," Louis explained needlessly. Hogan just went back to staring at the floor. The Corporal spoke again, hoping to draw Hogan out of his obvious melancholy. "Everyone is done for the day. Even Smallwood has left the site. You were right, Colonel; it was a brilliant way to get his attention away from les Boches. He could talk of nothing else."

Hogan nodded vaguely but said nothing.

"He is asleep now. Newkirk checked on him. Stigler and the others wanted him to start spilling his secrets tonight but they could barely keep him awake. They were angry, but they still feel they are doing the right thing, so they have left him alone. Kinch says they figure as long as they are keeping him happy and have his attention, he will come through with what he promises, so they will be patient."

Le Beau waited for Hogan to give him instructions to carry back to the others. He waited for one of Hogan's characteristically glib remarks about the conditions of the cooler and about the room service he was receiving now. None of it was forthcoming. "Colonel…"

"I keep thinking about it, you know?" Hogan said, almost in wonder. He sat up straight and braced his hands on his knees. He let his eyes wander the upper third of the small cell, as though seeing the entire sky before him. "'What if I had done something differently? What if I could have kept Goldilocks in the sky just a little longer? What if I'd had us turn back earlier?'"

Louis took his time before answering. "We cannot change what has happened, Colonel," he said finally. Hogan let his hands slide off his knees and resumed his dejected slouch. "You did everything you could do that day. No one doubts that but you, and that is because you are a good commander who cares about his men. 'What ifs' are not healthy, Colonel. 'What ifs' are for writers of fairy tales. But if you are going to do that, then try this one: 'What if you had not come to Stalag 13? What would have become of all those men who have come through here? What would have become of us?'"

Le Beau wondered for a moment if Hogan had heard him, for the American made no move and no sound, and continued staring at nothing. Then he let out a long breath and turned toward the Corporal, with a small gleam in his eye. "Thanks, Louis."

Le Beau shrugged in reply.

Hogan smiled determinedly now, in a deliberate attempt to clear his mind. "Look, I'm stuck in here for the duration. But you all know what to do, and I want it done."

"Oui, Colonel," Le Beau answered, heartened by the return of Hogan's "take-charge" attitude.

"Don't deviate from the plan; we're running out of time, fast. Tell the others it goes down tomorrow, as soon as possible. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Well, there's one good thing about being stuck in here, I suppose," Hogan said.

"What is that?"

Hogan grabbed a drumstick off the tray and took a large bite out of it, his appetite making a sudden and fierce return. "The Krauts can't possibly think I had anything to do with what's going to happen next!"

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"What do you mean you have to stop?" Kinch asked incredulously, when Le Beau approached him sometime late the next morning.

Le Beau braced himself against the cold, stiff wind that had crept up around the camp overnight. "Oui, that is what I said. Les experts archéologiques say that we have to stop. We have hit solid rock and cannot go any farther." He shrugged. "They are disappointed, but there is nothing we can do with mere shovels."

The Underground leader approached Le Beau. "S'il vous plaît, pourrions-nous avoir la permission de faire exploser la roche ?"

Le Beau turned back to the man. "Non, non, mon ami, les Boches ne comprendraient pas pourquoi vous auriez besoin d'utiliser d'explosifs. Ce n'est pas possible."

"What is he saying, Corporal?" Hochstetter asked, now more relaxed looking after Smallwood, since Hogan was no longer a threat. He shivered underneath his long coat.

"He is saying that they would like to blast the rock out of the way so they can keep going, Major. But I have told him that is not possible."

Hochstetter nodded approvingly. "You are certainly correct about that," he said.

Stigler came down to the men from outside the pit, smiling. "This may not be a bad thing after all, Herr Major," he began.

"What?" Hochstetter gasped, unbelieving. "Using explosives? In a prisoner of war camp? Herr Colonel—"

"The interlude may give us some time to spend with Herr Smallwood, discussing matters of great importance. He can always return to this later, when there is more for him to do."

"But Colonel, I—"

Stigler waved his hand dismissively. "It is ideal, Major Hochstetter," he said, with a look that indicated he would accept no protest. "Get the materials, and have the prisoners do the blasting." At Hochstetter's look of shock, Stigler added, "If they have to worry about blowing themselves up, they aren't likely to conduct any… monkey business, are they?"

Hochstetter could only shake his head.

"Come, Herr Smallwood. Why don't you get cleaned up? We will meet you in Colonel Klink's office in half an hour." Stigler smiled and patted Smallwood on the shoulder, then turned, accepting a salute from Hochstetter, and walked away.

Le Beau finished translating for the archaeologist beside him, and received an answer that he relayed to Hochstetter. "He says he has what he needs to make small explosions with him in the truck these men came here in," Le Beau explained.

"Very well," Hochstetter growled. "I will send my guards with them to make sure no one pulls any funny business."

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"This machine is intended to break the codes devised by the German Lorenz cipher machines. A test was conducted recently, and it was quite a smashing success by any standards. You may well find that in no time at all, your supposedly superior designs will be simply child's play to the Allies if this machine is duplicated and used regularly." Smallwood looked almost smugly at the Germans, who were listening with great interest. Major Lugsden was taking non-stop notes.

"It all sounds very impressive, Herr Smallwood," Stigler praised, nodding. "How many of these machines are the Allies planning to build?"

"There are plans to put together as many as ten, Colonel."

"Where will they be kept?"

"At various points throughout Allied holdings. But they are just in the first stages at the moment, so there is no need to move the prototype out of London."

"Please explain, Herr Smallwood, exactly how this marvelous piece of equipment works."

"Colossus has two cycles of operation," Smallwood said. "The first is controlled by the optical reading of the sprocket holes punched between—"

"Kommandant! Hey,Kommandant!" A cry from outside interrupted them.

Klink stood up and opened his window, ready to reprimand the person shouting. "What is it? What's going on out here?" he called. He nearly shut the window rather than face the bitter cold without his overcoat.

"We weren't allowed in the office by the guards," called Newkirk, coming up to the window. He glanced inside, saw Smallwood clearly paused mid-speech and Lugsden holding down his papers against the wind. "But we thought your friend Smallwood might like to know the blasting is done and there's an awful lot of stuff down there that wasn't there before. The boys are just pulling out pieces of ceramics left and right now."

Smallwood moved toward Newkirk, oblivious to the cold. "What are they getting? What?"

Newkirk shrugged. "I don't know, gov'nor," he said innocently. "I just see a lot of broken pots. I don't know what any of it is."

"Perhaps a storehouse, a burial site… they may have struck an absolute treasure trove!" Smallwood exclaimed. By now used to having his whims catered to, he turned to Stigler and said, "We must go there now, Colonel. I may never have an opportunity to be so close to this kind of discovery again."

Stigler pursed his lips, then considered the progress they had already made. "In light of your obvious willingness to continue, Herr Smallwood, I cannot see where this short distraction will matter." He smiled. "After all, my orders are to keep you safe… and satisfied… while you are here." He stood up. "Come, gentlemen, we will all view this marvelous find."

"'The Klink Discovery,'" the Kommandant sighed quietly.

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"Newkirk, I thought you said the blasting was finished!" Klink shouted, as the earth trembled beneath their feet.

"It was, Kommandant," Le Beau said, approaching the Germans. "But they found one small spot that they could not get past that they believe is holding some very important artifacts."

"May I help?" Smallwood asked eagerly.

Le Beau looked at Smallwood with loathing in his eyes. Newkirk nudged him gently, and the Frenchman's face twisted into a smile that was not reflected in his voice. "Of course," he said. His teeth threatened to crack from how tightly he was clenching them together to keep his smile in place. "Why don't you come with me?"

"I do not recommend this, Herr Oberst," Hochstetter said to Stigler. "This area would be quite unstable." He pulled his collar up to try to stave off some of the chill.

"I assure you, I shall be quite safe," Smallwood replied. "Come, Corporal. Show me where this is."

The pair descended into the pit and over to the far corner. Uncomfortable with the distance between him and his charge, Hochstetter also moved in. As they observed, Stigler, Klink, and Lugsden wandered down as well, taking in the work done in the pit. Newkirk stayed close by them.

Suddenly a larger blast rocked the earth, leaving the Germans to fight for balance. Newkirk brushed up against Major Lugsden. "There you go, Major," he said, holding the officer upright.

"Danke," he said, brushing himself off.

"Perhaps Major Hochstetter is right," Stigler conceded. "We cannot afford to risk the wellbeing of Herr Smallwood." He moved further down to where Le Beau and the Englishman had disappeared.

"Look out!" shouted Newkirk, as another explosion was heard. This time, it was much stronger than the one before. Smoke belched out from the area, and for a brief moment, flames shot high up into the air, as the cave-like cavern they had created collapsed around them.

"Louis!" called Newkirk. The Germans and Newkirk were lying on the ground from the impact. Newkirk pulled himself up, pulling on Lugsden's coat as he did so. Papers came flying out from inside Lugsden's pocket, only to be drawn up into the wind.

"No, I need those!" the Major cried as he struggled to get off the ground.

Newkirk took a brief second to watch the papers fly over the fence and out of sight, then raced toward the site of the blast.