Chapter 21

As soon as Carter had concluded his briefing, Hogan pulled Klaus aside.

"We need to talk."

Klaus presented him with an unreadable expression, neither agreeing, nor moving from the spot.

Sensing he was being watched, Hogan looked across the room, and was unsurprised to find Hermann staring at him over LeBeau's head. The warning in the basilisk stare was easy to read, and Hogan acknowledged it with a nod. Hermann's stony expression never wavered.

Still water, Hogan thought to himself. Klaus had observed the silent exchange, and with an impatient shake of his head, gestured to the door.

"Lead on, oh wily one," he intoned, bowing, as a servant would to their master.

"Coming from you," Hogan sighed. "That sounds like an insult."

Once in the barracks, he stopped at the camp stove. Taking the coffeepot off the stove and grabbing up two battered tin cups, he motioned Klaus onward, toward his quarters. "Have a seat in there. I'll bring coffee."

Klaus sauntered on by and into the room. After raking a glance over the room and its contents, he chose to sit upon the lower bunk. "Real coffee?" he called back to Hogan through the doorway.

"You share Kurt's passion for it?"

Klaus chuckled. "Yes, but not as much as Hermann does."

Filing that minor tidbit of information away, Hogan entered his quarters and handed off a cup. Klaus dipped his nose toward the steaming liquid and took a deep, appreciative sniff. Grinning at the familiar mannerism, Hogan sat down at his desk with his own coffee. For a few moments, neither spoke as they enjoyed the simple pleasure. Klaus' gaze lazily roved about the room and eventually returned toHogan.

"How long have you known Kurt?"

"Awhile," Hogan drawled, leaning back in his chair and casually crossing his legs.

"'Awhile?'" Klaus echoed, frowning. He sat his cup upon the floor with enough force to dent the metal. "There is no give and take with you, is there, Hogan? Even now, after all that Hermann and I have done and revealed, you still refuse to reciprocate. There was nothing more to my question other than curiosity. I was not seeking information to use against you, or worse, to use against Kurt. Surely you can see how much my family means to me." He leaned forward, giving Hogan a very good look at angry, silver eyes. "Verdamnt, Hogan, I have entrusted my sister's life to you!"

Hogan nodded, calmly set his cup aside on his desk. "Yes, you have. And I promise to protect her as I would my own sister –"

"You love her, I hope?"

Hogan's head jerked up, a furious response on his lips. Klaus gazed back at him with a bland expression, but his eyes were alive with laughter. Hogan shook his head, relaxed with a chuckle.

"Okay. You got me."

Klaus grinned and leaned back, shrugging. "We are both on edge. Forgive me. If our positions were reversed, I would not be very free with information, either."

Hogan nodded. "Then you'll understand when I point out that there is a lot more people and a much more important organization relying on me for protection than one family and a handful of men I don't know."

Klaus' expression tightened. For several long moments, he said nothing. And then a grim smile eased across his face. "That's most truthful statement you have made to me since we met."

It was Hogan's turn to shrug. "I promise to be as honest with you as our circumstances allow." Turning slightly, he picked his cup up for another sip before the coffee cooled.

"Fair enough," Klaus declared with a nod. "You have my word that I will do the same." His gaze sharpened, brow knitting slightly. "And while we are on the subject of honesty . . . what exactly are your intentions regarding Risa?"

Hogan nearly spit out the mouthful of coffee. Setting the cup down again, he wiped his chin and stared at Klaus with wide eyes.

"My intentions?"

Klaus' nostrils flared. "I believe the question was clear enough."

"I have none!" At Klaus' skeptical look, Hogan sighed and spread his hands wide. "Look. She's beautiful. I mean, I'd have to be dead not to appreciate . . ."

Klaus' expression turned wooden, his eyes half-lidded. Hogan suddenly grinned. Here they were in the middle of a war, about to go into a highly dangerous mission, and they were squaring off over a young woman's honor.

"Look, Klaus. I like Risa. But I have no intentions of trying to court her, get her to fall in love with me, take her virtue or anything else, all right? She's a brave kid, who's shown she's good at thinking on her feet. And she obviously worships the ground you walk on, though I really can't understand why."

A little of the tension drained from Klaus' posture and his eyes lost their angry squint. "It would not be wise tocall her a 'kid' while in her presence."

Hogan chuckled, his grin turning mischievous. "Another thing that's obvious is how much she loves Hermann and vice-versa."

Klaus bowed his head, sighed heavily. "Yes." The sudden sadness in his voice erased Hogan's grin. Noticing his silence, Klaus looked up. "I hope that they have the chance to fully enjoy that love. There are times, Hogan, when I find myself wishing that I had never allowed Hermann to join me in this crusade against Hitler's regime. And now . . ." his head bowed again, his hand rising to rub at his temple. "against all my precautions, Risa is involved as well."

The desire to protect friends and family was one Hogan could relate to all too well. His voice softened in empathy. "What's done –"

"Is done," Klaus finished forcefully, raising his head again. He bent down, picked his cup off the floor.

"Is Hermann up to finishing the mission?"

Klaus took a sip from his cup, grimaced down at the cold coffee. "Yes."

"You're sure?"

"He is quite sore, but the injuries are not debilitating. He's had much worse." Klaus' lips pressed into a thin smile. "Besides . . . do you think he would allow anyone to prevent him from going?"

Hogan cocked his head, pretended to think about it. "Nope. He seems pretty capable."

"I would rather have Hermann at my back than an entire squad of Hitler's best-trained personal guard."

"That good?"

"That good." Klaus abandoned the cold coffee, got up and restlessly circled the small room. "Your men seem quite capable in their own right."

"There are none better," Hogan declared with obvious pride.

Klaus stopped at Hogan's picture of Rita Hayworth. After a moment's study of the beautiful woman, he walked on to the window, skimming his fingertips across the wooden shutters as he passed. He made another complete circuit of the room, finally came to rest back at the bunks. Hogan smiled to himself when the German's fingertips immediately started brushing back and forth over the blanket on the top bunk.

"There is more you wish to ask, is there not?" Klaus asked.

Who's reading whom around here? Hogan thought sourly. Pushing the surge of irritation away, he got to the other reason for their meeting. "Something's bothering you."

Klaus gave him arched look. "You hardly know me well enough to make that assumption."

That's what you think, Hogan laughed to himself.

"I might simply be nervous."

Hogan merely returned his stare.

Klaus studied him, surprise and amusement flickering over his face. "You are quite determined about this."

"You're preoccupied about something. We need to figure out what it is, because it may affect the mission. Hermann's not it, so what is?"

Klaus' eyes flicked to his hand, now lying motionless upon the blanket, then back to Hogan. His expression grew faintly sheepish. "I am not sure."

"Is it Risa?"

"No. Yes." Klaus looked away again. "Her safety and well-being are always at the back of my mind. But that is nuh . . ." His gaze suddenly locked on a point in the distance, his brows slowly drawing down.

Hogan kept still and quiet, unwilling to break his concentration.

"Rosstal," Klaus murmured, absently tapping a finger upon the blanket. "The only time he strayed from Arkel's side was after the explosion in the lab. That's when I lost track of him."

Hogan tensed, shifted forward on his seat. "You never saw him any time after that?"

"No."

"Strange time to disappear," Hogan thought aloud. "Almost as strange as Hochstetter leaving after a blow up in one of the labs during an important tour. He kicks up a fuss if the birds don't sing in German. So why would he leave for Berlin without at least insisting on extra security measures?"

Klaus' finger tapping ceased and his face went blank. "Perhaps he felt safe to do so because other safeguards were already in place?"

"Like another Gestapo officer?"

"Rosstal," Klaus groaned, closing his eyes.

Hogan nodded grimly. "Rosstal."

Thank you for reading!To be continued . . . soon (I hope) ;-)