The T.V. show Hogan's Heroes belongs to CBS and was a Bing Crosby Productions. No ownership of the Hogan's Heroes characters is implied or inferred, and no infringement is intended

Chapter Five

Getting It Together

"Schultz, what can I do for you today?" Otto asked.

"They've sent me to get some pipe and parts to repair our water line." Schultz mumbled as he lumbered into the store. Taking the list from his pocket, he unfolded it and handed it to the storekeeper.

Otto looked at it, and rubbed his chin, "Mmm, this will take a few minutes to gather up. Come to the back with me and we can talk while I get this for you. We haven't seen each other for some time. How are your wife and children?"

Schultz waddled along behind as they disappeared into the back room.

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"Otto should have had time to get Schultz to the back of the store. Come let's get it quick before they finish."

Gunther and Rudolph, dressed in civilian clothes, casually began walking down the sidewalk toward the truck. "I'll stand lookout, get under there and get it—and do it fast." Rudolph looked quickly up and down the street.

"Are you sure it is under the truck and not on the motor?" Gunther asked.

"The coded message over the phone said plan B. That means it's below the truck. Now get…hold it!"

Rudolph grabbed Gunther's arm and started walking. Gunther soon saw the reason. Two SS officers had rounded the corner, and were walking toward them and the truck. Sweat began to form under Gunther's suit as they continued on past the two black clad officers. Once passed they slowed their steps, still hoping to go back and get the message from Papa Bear, but a quick glance over their shoulders told them all might be lost, as the two officers stopped at the truck and began looking it over.

"Now what do we do?" Gunther asked.

Rudolph bent to tie his shoe, "Pray they don't look under that truck! If they don't move on soon, we won't…uh oh, too late. Here comes Schultz! Let's get out of here."

Schultz sauntered out of the store with his arms full of plumbing supplies. The two SS officers turned to look at him as he approached.

Schultz seeing the men in black, swallowed hard, and thought about walking on, pretending he knew nothing about the truck, but decided that that would only make him look guilty of…something, especially when they discovered the truck came from Stalag 13. And they would discover the truck came from Stalag 13. Besides, how would he get his plumbing supplies back?. So instead, he tried to salute.

"Who are you and what are you doing?" the officers asked as they accosted Schultz.

"I…I…I am Sergeant Schultz from Stalag 13. The Kommandant sent me to pick up these supplies," Schultz answered nervously.

"Let us see your orders."

"Jawohl!" Schultz reached for his pocket and his load began to shift, forcing him to make a mad grab to regain control. "I need to put these down to get to my papers, Herr Major."

The Major motioned Schultz to the rear of the truck and after a few more minutes of fumbling, Schultz managed to get the supplies into the back of the truck. With his arms now cleared, he handed the SS officer his papers. The Major looked them over, and said, "The Gestapo and SS are conducting a search for some traitors to the Fatherland. They have stolen some important documents. Have you seen anybody suspicious or out of place, Sergeant?"

Schultz hurriedly answered, "Nein, Herr Major, I've seen nothing! I only leave the camp for supplies and that is not often."

"The Major nodded. "Your papers say you are stationed at Stalag 13. Isn't that where Major Hochstetter is holding the prisoner he caught last night?"

"Ja," Schultz answered casually making a disgusted face, and then realizing his mistake, straightened and more formally confirmed, "Jawohl, Herr Major."

"These seem to be in order, Sergeant." Looking thoughtfully at Schultz, the Major nodded, handing him back his papers, and commented, "Well, since Major Hochstetter is at Stalag 13, we will assume all is as it should be there. You may go, Sergeant."

"Danke, Herr Major," Schultz saluted…and saluted again nervously.

"Keep your eyes open, Sergeant, and tell us if you see anything unusual."

"I don't want to see anything…I mean, Jawohl, Herr Major," Schultz saluted again, before making his way behind the wheel. Oh, boy! Tell them if I see anything unusual they say. If I told them what I've seen, they wouldn't believe me…or they'd have me shot! What am I saying…I've seen nothing…nothing!

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Hogan looked at his watch and frowned. Throwing the pencil he had borrowed from Klink down on his table, he crossed his room and opened the door. Looking around the common room, his eyes fell on LeBeau, "Not back yet?"

LeBeau shook his head. "Do you think something went wrong?" he asked, as he closed the outside door and leaned against the wall.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Hogan paced to the middle of the room.

"What could go wrong, Colonel? I mean, we've sent Schultz into town with messages lots of times," Newkirk said, throwing down a card.

Hogan paced back to his office.

Looking at the card Newkirk had tossed down, Kinch frowned and said, "Yeah, but Hammelburg and the surrounding countryside is full of SS looking for those stolen plans."

Hogan quietly disappeared into his room.

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Schultz slammed on his brakes as he came around the curve. What is this? The truck jolted to a stop. "Potatoes?"

A man dressed in farm clothes excitedly approached the truck. "I'm sorry, but my horse got scared by a rabbit and my cart spilled. It won't take long for me to pick them up."

Schultz frowned, "This happened because of a bunny?"

Gunther nodded, putting his hands on his hips he turned and looked at the mess shaking his head, "It's amazing what one little bunny can do! Please, Sergeant, I depend on selling these at the market, allow me to pick up my potatoes before you pass."

Schultz's, anxious to get back to the safety of the prison camp, moaned, but his good hearted nature left him no choice. "All right, but hurry, I'm already late getting back to Stalag 13."

The farmer looked at Schultz and slyly suggested, "It would go faster if you helped."

Schultz made a face, I'd rather nap, he thought.

"I'll give you some of my potatoes, if you will give me a hand," the farmer tempted.

Schultz perked up. "How many potatoes?"

"Ten," Gunther promised.

"Twelve," Schultz countered.

"Ja, ja, twelve," Gunter agreed.

Schultz climbed out of the truck and began tossing potatoes back into the farmer's cart.

"So you are one of the brave soldiers guarding us from the enemy prisoners," Gunther acknowledged.

"Well …" Schultz began.

As the two talked Rudolph crept out of the woods and slid under the truck. He looked frantically for the message box. Where is…there…that's it.

"I hear the prisoners are always trying to escape," Gunther continued.

"You do?" Schultz said, surprised.

"Ja, and they fashion weapons out of anything they can get their hands on. And they spit at you when you take them their food. Oh it must be terrible to work there. You are very brave, Sergeant."

Underneath the truck, Rudolph quickly opened the box without removing it from the frame and took out the message, then, just as quickly, placed his own message back inside.

Back at the potato cart, Schultz puffed up at the mention of his bravery and boasted, "Ja, you have to keep your eyes open all the time. You have to be very strong with them and let them know who is boss."

"I'm glad we have men like you there to keep them in their place. It makes me feel better to know there has never been a prisoner able to escape thanks to men like you."

"No one ever escapes from Sergeant Schultz!" Schultz bragged.

"You are too clever for them!" the farmer praised as he looked beyond Schultz to the truck and saw his accomplice disappearing back into the woods. "Danke, Sergeant, thank you for your help. Here, for one of our brave fighting men, a bag of potatoes!

Schultz smiled. "Danke, these will taste very good made into potato pancakes." He licked his lips at the thought.

"I have delayed you long enough; you had better get on your way," Gunther encouraged.

"Ja," Schultz agreed and, taking his bag of potatoes, headed for the truck.

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"Schultz's back, Colonel!" Carter announced, bursting into the barrack from the compound.

"Finally!" Hogan answered, setting his coffee down and heading for the door. "Let's go find out what took him so long. Newkirk, you and Carter get our letter carrier off the truck while we distract him. All we need is for Hochstetter to go nosing around and find it."

"Right, Colonel." Newkirk tossed his cards down and pulled his cap out of his belt.

"Be careful. The camp's full of Hochstetter's men waiting to catch us doing something wrong," Hogan reminded, as they all headed out the door.

"Oui, they even inspected my laundry before they would let me hang it up. Now, what did they think I was hiding in there?"

Kinch followed Hogan out the door. Walking next to his commanding officer as they made their way to the motor pool, he lowered his voice saying, "I'll feel much better when Baum is in the hands of the Underground."

"Me, too, Kinch. Things are getting a little too hot around here with the SS in camp and the Gestapo wolves outside the wire."

Schultz had just parked the truck, when he was immediately accosted by three questioning POWs.

"Hi ya, Schultz!" Hogan greeted. "Did you get the pipes and fittings?"

"Ja, ja, they are in the back." Schultz got out of the truck pulling his bag of potatoes after him.

"What do you have in the sack, Schultzie?" LeBeau asked.

"Potatoes," Schultz proudly announced.

"So that's what took you so long, you went to the market," Hogan guessed.

"Nein, I helped a farmer with a spilled potato cart on my way back to camp and he gave me some potatoes," Schultz answered.

"A spilled potato cart?" Hogan questioned.

"Ja after the SS stopped me in town…"

Hogan, Kinch, and LeBeau, looked at each other. "The SS stopped you in town?" Hogan quickly asked.

"Ja they were waiting at my truck for me when I came out of the store." Schultz started to walk toward the kitchen.

"Wait a minute Schultz, is that it? Is that all that happened? They just waited for you at the truck?" Hogan asked.

"Yeah, Schultz, I didn't know they just stopped people and talked to them normally," Kinch said.

"Oui, they didn't arrest anyone while they were waiting for you to come out of the store?" LeBeau asked.

"Nein," Schultz answered, looking at the three puzzled. "Who would they…? Why are you so asking if they arrested somebody?"

"No reason, Schultz, we just find it odd that they would stop you when you obviously hadn't done anything to arouse their suspicions. What kind of questions did they ask?" Hogan continued.

"They just wanted to see my papers."

"That's it?" Hogan asked.

"Ja…" Schultz looked at the three prisoners suspiciously. "Colonel Hogan, are you up to something?" Schultz questioned.

"Me, Schultz? Now, what could I be up to?" Hogan immediately changed the subject, "Hey Schultz, instead of taking all of this stuff out of the truck why don't we just pull the truck over to the maintenance hut and pull it out as we need it? There's really not room enough to take all this inside and still have space enough to work."

Schultz thought for a moment and nodded, "Ja, ja, go ahead. I'll meet you there after I drop off these potatoes with the cook."

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"Back it up a little more…more…more…stop! That's good Louis," Hogan called out.

Hogan felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder from behind him and before he knew it, he was shoved into the building he was standing next to. "Hold it," Hogan protested. He had brought his hands up to keep from slamming face first into the wall and the guards now pulled them behind his head. Hogan took the hint and clasped his fingers together keeping his hands in full view.

"What are you doing?" one of the SS sentries, brought in to double the guards inside of the camp, demanded.

"Hey…" Kinch began to protest but was stopped by a gun barrel pointed at his mid section. Kinch following the motioning of the second guard raised his hands, too.

Louis ducked back behind the truck as soon as he saw what was happening, and ran to get Schultz.

The SS guard began patting Hogan down.

"What do you think I have?" Hogan asked incredulously. "I'm a POW!"

Hogan again felt a hand on his shoulder and was spun around to face the guard.

"What are you doing with that truck?" the guard demanded.

"Sergeant Schultz told us to bring it over here, so we could finish our work," Hogan answered.

"I do not see Sergeant Schultz." The SS soldier motioned with his gun for Hogan to start walking in the direction of the cooler.

Hogan and Kinch had barely gone twenty feet, when Shultz followed by LeBeau appeared. "What is going on here?" Schultz asked, approaching the guards. "I am guarding these men!"

"Schultz!" Hogan exclaimed, relieved to see his friendly guard. "Would you tell these guys we've got permission to be here?"

The guard looked at Schultz, "Major Hochstetter has ordered we bring anyone who is breaking the rules or looks suspicious to him" Gesturing to Hogan and Kinch he added, "We found these men with that truck."

Schultz waved his hand dismissively, "Nein, these prisoners have been ordered to fix the water lines by the Kommandant. I told them to bring the truck over here, so we could get our supplies out of it."

The guard, keeping his gun trained on Hogan, stepped over to the truck and looked in the back, then lowered his gun and holstered it. Looking at the second SS guard he nodded and the other guard lowered his gun, also.

As the two guards went back to their patrol, Hogan and Kinch lowered their arms.

"Thanks, Schultz," Hogan sighed. "I wasn't looking forward to seeing Hochstetter, even if I hadn't done anything wrong."

"I better not leave you boys alone for awhile." Schultz looked around at the changes that had taken place in camp since he had been in town.

"Man, Hochstetter's not taking any chances on you getting away is he, Colonel?" Kinch asked, just as another guard appeared from around the corner of the building.

Hogan pulled his shoulders back and smirked, "Hochstetter's feeling the heat."

LeBeau came up behind Hogan, "Do you notice how they tend to gather on whatever side of the camp you're on, Colonel?"

"Which is another reason, why there should be no monkey business," Schultz said.

Hogan began to answer and stopped, "Yeah, I…"

Kinch looked up at Hogan and followed his gaze—Hochstetter was exiting the cooler.

"Do you think he's done interrogating Baum?" LeBeau asked.

Before Hogan could answer, Hochstetter had taken notice of him and was making his way over.

"Oh boy," Schultz turned his back to the approaching Hochstetter, "Colonel Hogaaan…" Schultz began, he wanted to warn Hogan to not cause any trouble but he was too late; Hochstetter had arrived.

Hochstetter sauntered up and stopped in front of Hogan. No words were exchanged. The Gestapo Major removed his bloody gloves and, smiling, emitted a low guttural sound before turning and heading to the visitor's quarters.

Hogan looked from Hochstetter to the cooler. I can imagine what you've been up to, Hochstetter. He opened and closed his fist in frustration at not being able to prevent it.

"What was that about?" Carter asked as he and Newkirk joined the others.

"Just a little show of force," Hogan answered. He's trying to make me worry about what Baum's saying."

"Well, it's working. I'm plenty scared!" Newkirk admitted.

"He doesn't have anything, if he did, he wouldn't be wasting time trying to scare me. He'd drag me to the cooler and do it right," Hogan said.

"How could he have anything on you?" Schultz asked.

"He can't, Schultz. But since when has Hochstetter let that stop him?" Hogan answered.

Schultz looked at Hogan suspiciously and then decided to drop it. "Okay, let's get started on fixing the pipes. I don't want to be up guarding you all night." Schultz dragged himself and his rifle over to the bench outside the maintenance hut and sat down.

"Okay fellas lets check out the supplies," Hogan ordered, while Schultz yawned and stretched, settling in for a nap. Making their way to the back of the truck, Hogan looked at Carter and Newkirk, lowered his voice and asked, "Any problems getting our letter carrier off the truck?"

"No," Newkirk answered, sounding puzzled.

Hogan, looked questioningly at Newkirk, "Something wrong?"

Colonel," Newkirk pulled a piece of potato peel out of his pocket. "This was in the box when we opened it. How do you suppose it got in there?"

Hogan picked it up and smiling nodded. "It's the Underground's way of letting us know they had to arrange their own pick-up point." Passing the potato peel back to Newkirk, Hogan warned, "Watch it: goons!"

Newkirk slipped the peel back in his jacket and moved to examine some pipe fittings.

LeBeau tugged on Hogan's sleeve, "Mon Colonel," he said nodding in the direction of the kitchen.

A guard carrying a covered tray was on his way to the guest quarters.

"Guess, Hochstetter's just taking a lunch break," Kinch said.

"Yeah, I guess even he has to eat," Carter added.

Hogan rubbed his chin, irritating the bruised skin on his cheek, reminding him that he owed Hochstetter a thank you. He glanced at Schultz sitting on the bench with his eyes closed and said, "LeBeau, Newkirk, I want you two to get back to making it look like you're working on the water problem. Focus on repairing our boiler…" Hogan's voice trailed off as an idea came to him. "Louis, Kinch give them a hand, and when Hochstetter goes back to the cooler, work your way to the guest quarters and turn the hot water off."

LeBeau rubbed his hands together smiling with delight, "Oui, Colonel, with pleasure!"

"Working on our boiler, I understand, Colonel," Newkirk stated. "It won't take long."

"I want you to stretch out the repairs. Don't get any water back to the kitchen yet. I need to have you welding into the night, and I need you outside next to the truck. When Hochstetter moves Baum, and the fun begins, I want Hochstetter acting on instinct. He needs to think we're using Baum's transfer out of camp as a diversion for an escape attempt."

"More guards," Kinch warned.

The five milled around the truck, until they passed.

"What if Hochstetter doesn't buy it, Colonel?" Carter asked.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at Carter. Hogan wouldn't allow that thought into his head. Looking back at the others, he asked, "Does everybody understand what they're doing?"

"Oui, Colonel," LeBeau answered, while frowning at Carter.

This time, knowing there were no other alternatives, even Newkirk did not want to acknowledge the possibility of something going wrong and shook his head, saying, "Sounds like a marvelous plan to me, sir!"

Kinch nodded and moved toward Carter.

"Good, let's get to work then," Hogan turned to go to his office.

Carter, wondering why his question wasn't acknowledged, drew in a breath to repeat it, and Kinch quickly placed his hand over Carter's mouth. Hogan continued on, as did half the guards patrolling that side of the camp.

Kinch removed his hand and looked at Carter.

Newkirk, took his hat off and popped Carter on the head. "What do you think you're doing?"

Louis, pressed against Carter as he reached into the truck pretending to examine a fitting.

Carter looked at his friends and said, "I'm sorry, I just thought…"

"No, you didn't," Louis answered.

"Andrew," Kinch began, "We all know the 'what if's', but we have no choice. We have to do something, and voicing the possibilities of something going wrong doesn't help."

"Sorry," Carter mumbled.

Louis softened, "That's okay you didn't say anything the rest of us weren't thinking."

"Yeah," Newkirk added. "just next time, wait until the gov'nor can't hear you, so we can all panic, secretly, together."