Chapter 22 --- To Save a Kommandant

Hogan sat up straight in his chair when he saw Langenscheidt. The Corporal lowered his eyes and looked at the floor. Hogan and the others looked at Carter curiously.

"He wanted to speak with you himself, Colonel," Carter replied softly. "So, I thought I'd bring him with me."

"It's all right, Carter," Hogan assured the young Sergeant. He casually laid his crush cap on top of the microphone to conceal it from sight. As it was unplugged he didn't have to worry about Baker's voice coming over the mic. He looked at the Corporal with interest in his eyes. "Carter said you wanted to talk with me, Corporal."

Langenscheidt looked up and at Hogan. He was extremely nervous and afraid. Afraid he had been seen coming into barracks two. Afraid he would be found out he had talked. But still, the young Corporal needed to speak with someone about what he knew. He licked his lips.

"Colonel Hogan, can you help the Kommandant?" he asked.

Hogan glanced at his men before again looking at the Corporal. "I'm going to try. Why do you ask?"

"I need to talk to somebody before I go crazy. But I'm afraid I'll be killed if he finds out I'm here and that I spoke with you."

"Afraid of who, Corporal? What are you talking about?"

"Corporal Koch. He's not really Luftwaffe. He's a Captain with the SS."

Hogan folded his arms and pursed his lips for a moment. "How do you know he's with the SS?"

"We went out to the Hofbrau for dinner one night. Corporal Koch was treating. When he took out his wallet to pay the check, a card fell from his wallet. He didn't know I had seen it. He picked it up quickly and hid it back in his wallet. It identified him as SS Captain Henrik Koch."

"Why would an SS Captain be masquerading as a Luftwaffe Corporal?" asked Kinch of Hogan.

"Good question," was Hogan's reply to no-one in particular. He again looked at Langenscheidt. "What else can you tell me about him?"

Langenscheidt swallowed hard. "I saw him one day in camp. He was speaking with Sergeant Mitchell. Neither of them saw me so they didn't know I was watching. I saw him hand Mitchell a gun."

Hogan's eyes momentarily shifted to his men and back to the Corporal. "What else?"

"I don't trust him, Colonel Hogan. The day Captain Davidson was killed, I saw him in the area of the motorpool with Sergeant Mitchell. They were doing something with one of the cars. Then later the car they were doing something with almost struck you and killed Captain Davidson. Colonel Hogan, that man frightens me. I wouldn't put it past him to see that the Kommandant is shot by a firing squad for killing that Von Strasser. I like Colonel Klink. He is a fine man. I don't want to see anything bad happen to him."

"It won't. The Kommandant will be fine. You have my word. As for Corporal Koch, you need not be concerned about him. And nobody will know that you came here or that you spoke with us."

A small smile appeared on the Corporal's face. "If you say not to worry, Colonel Hogan, then I won't. I trust you. You've always been very kind and friendly to me."

Hogan rubbed his chin, lost in thought. "Corporal, does Corporal Koch have anybody he's close to in camp?"

"No sir. Nobody likes him. He's pretty much a loner."

Hogan slowly got to his feet. Putting a hand on Langenscheidt's shoulder, he slowly walked the Corporal the short distance to the door. Hogan held it open. "Don't worry about anything," he repeated.

"Thank you, Colonel. And for what it's worth, I'm glad Von Strasser did not kill you. And I shouldn't say it, but I'm glad the Kommandant killed him. He was an evil man!"

"No disagreement from me about that," Hogan replied.

Langenscheidt quietly left the room and the barracks. Closing the door, Hogan returned to his chair. He sat down and sighed wearily. He rubbed his tired eyes with his hand.

"So what do you think, Colonel?" asked Newkirk. "Sounds like this Koch is the bloody Kraut in question who was helpin' Mitchell."

"We'll have to play this carefully," Hogan explained. "Newkirk, I need you to find Schultz. Get him to give you Klink's weapon. If he won't give it to you, use your ten magic fingers to get it. But make sure you get it. Then, I want you to look in our vast arsenal and find an identical weapon of the same caliber."

"Check," the Englander replied, still puzzled. "What do you want me to do with both weapons when I get them?"

"You're going to plant the identical gun in Klink's safe, and then bring me the weapon Klink used. I'm gonna want you to plant Klink's weapon on Koch."

"Consider it done, sir," Newkirk replied heading out the door.

"Tomorrow we make our move, gentlemen. Carter, after roll call, I want you and and LeBeau to create a disturbance near Koch and keep him busy long enough for Newkirk to plant Klink's weapon on him."

"Oui, Colonel," LeBeau replied with a smile.

Carter smirked. "You got it, boy. I mean Colonel."

Hogan then looked at his radioman. "Kinch, I have a special job for you. I need you to come up with phoney radio transmissions from Koch to this Major Thomas Brendel in London confirming the plan to kill me, but with a slight twist to it. I want the transmissions to indicate Brendel ordering Koch to frame Klink and me so Brendel can then replace Klink with his own man, Von Strasser, in control of Stalag 13."

"I can understand the part about Klink, Colonel, but how do you fit into the equation?" asked Kinch.

"Easy. I accidently stumbled onto Koch's plan and he decided on his own to kill me because I was a threat to him. And he didn't like Von Strasser being sent here he felt to spy on him by Brendel, so he also decided to kill Von Strasser and me and frame Klink."

Kinch allowed a smile to appear. "There's no way Koch could talk his way out of that with Burkhalter."

"Not if everything goes the way it should." Hogan looked at his watch. "Hopefully Newkirk will be back soon. I realize it's late. But Kinch, I need you to get to work on those phoney radio transmissions for tomorrow."

"On my way, Colonel," Kinch replied with a smile as he headed out the door to the radioroom.

"But, Colonel," Carter began. "Klink knows he shot Von Strasser. How are you gonna stop him from blabbing to Burkhalter?"

Hogan let a slight grin appear. "By playing to Klink's insecurities. Problem is, which one do I play to. He has so many."

Just then, the door opened and Newkirk reappeared with a wide grin on his face. Reaching inside his jacket, he produced a German luger.

"Tah dah! Like taking candy from a baby, Gov'nor." He handed Hogan Klink's gun.

"Any problems with Schultz?" Hogan asked.

"None whatsoever, sir. Schultz handed it over the minute I asked for it. He said to tell you if there's anything else you need just ask."

Hogan smirked as he looked at the gun. Then, he looked at Newkirk. "Did you get the duplicate luger?"

"That I did, Gov'nor," Newkirk said removing the look-alike luger from his other jacket pocket. "You can't tell the bloody guns apart, sir."

"Good work, Newkirk." Hogan handed the Englander the look-alike. "Okay, I need you to take the look-alike and put it Klink's safe now. Then, we all better turn in and get some sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow. LeBeau, go with Newkirk and act as a lookout."

"Oui, Colonel." LeBeau followed Newkirk out of the door, out of the barracks and across the compound to the Kommandantur. Newkirk peered through the closed window and then ducked down. He turned to LeBeau. "It's Klink! He's sittin' at his bleedin' desk with a ruddy bottle of liquor in front of 'im."

"You're kidding," exclaimed LeBeau. He peered in the window and then looked at Newkirk. "What do we do now?"

"Well, we sure can't go in there with him in there," Newkirk replied as he wracked his brains to come up with an idea. Suddenly, his face brightened. "I got it!" he whispered. "Go get Schultz. Tell him we need him to somehow get Klink out of his office for five minutes tops."

"On my way," LeBeau replied hurrying away to find the rotund guard, leaving Newkirk alone to keep watch as Klink proceeded to pour himself another drink.