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THE TRIAL OF MAJOR HOCHSTETTER

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The courtroom was hot- unbearably so. The air was thick and stuffy, made only worse by the amount of people crammed into the room. But no one dared open a window. The breeze from outside offered no relief. It was just as hot and, worse, it reeked with the smell of death- the smell of hundreds of bodies still trapped under the rubble of the bombed out German city.

The defendant scowled.

The evidence was irrefutable. He knew it. Of course, he didn't think he had done anything wrong- it was a war and he had just been following orders. But these judges, these Americans, didn't seem to think that those qualified as solid excuses.

They would find him guilty of course. And then they would hang him, he was certain of that. No life imprisonment for him- he would see to that.

Major Hochstetter searched the crowd from his seat at the side of the courtroom. His eyes fell upon the object of his hate. He noted that Colonel Robert Hogan, flanked by two of his men, was glaring back at him with such intensity that it almost made him squirm. But he didn't and instead channelled all of his hate into his own glare.

"Any further comments council?" he heard the judge ask his lawyer. Hochstetter scowled when he heard his lawyer answer in the negative. "Very well. Court is dismissed. We will have the verdict tomorrow, 0900." With the bang of a gavel, the judges stood and left the room.

Hochstetter, prompted by his escorts, also stood and was led out of the room. He kept his eyes on Hogan as long as he could. When he was forced to turn, he could still feel Hogan's white hot glare burning into his back.

--

Sergeant Kinchloe stood up and let out a heavy sigh. "One more day of this," he muttered.

"Oui, the last day is almost here," Louis Lebeau agreed, his voice flat. Lebeau glanced over at Hogan who still hadn't taken his eyes off the door Hochstetter had disappeared through. "They'll find him guilty."

"Course they will," Kinch agreed.

"Yeah, for what good it'll do," Hogan finally muttered as he stood up and straightened his uniform.

Kinch cleared his throat, not wanting to think of Hochstetter's crimes more than he had to. "Come on, we better head back. Tomorrow's going to be pretty rough."

"You guys go, I have something I need to do."

Lebeau and Kinch exchanged worried glances. "Leave it alone Colonel. Be happy that-"

Hogan turned a dangerous eye on the little Frenchman. "Happy?" he snorted bitterly. "Listen, don't worry. I'm just going to talk to him."

"What for Colonel?" Kinch pleaded in frustration. "Don't torture yourself. It won't-"

"Get back to HQ. I'll meet up with you guys later." There was no room for argument when the colonel spoke like that. Grudgingly, Kinch and Lebeau agreed. Shooting one last worried glance back at him, the two enlisted men marched out of the building.

Hogan sighed and sagged slightly. Did he really want to do this? Yes, yes he did. He wanted to and needed to. Determined, Hogan straightened up and marched through the courthouse and into the street outside. The wicked smells hit him like a train, but he ignored it.

"Colonel? Sir?" Hogan watched a young private march up to him, a questioning look on his face. "Sir, your men just drove off. But I can-"

"No thanks. I've got other business I need to attend to. I need you to drive me to the prison."

"Yes sir." He offered a salute and climbed into the closest jeep. Hogan did the same and a moment later, they were driving through the dilapidated city. Ten minutes and a few jeep-sized potholes later, they pulled up to a dreary looking building. A wave of emotion hit Hogan. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to be sick or amused. The building had once been Gestapo headquarters. He decided to push aside bad memories and be amused. How fitting that Hochstetter should be locked up here.

"Thank-you Private. Listen, you hang around. When I come out, I'll want to go back to HQ."

"Yes sir, I've got nowhere else to go." Hogan smiled and patted him on the shoulder before jumping out of the army-issue jeep. Marching up to the building, he stood motionless outside the door for a moment to collect himself before plunging in. He took a moment to soak in his surroundings before marching up to the desk.

"Sergeant?"

The rotund sergeant looked up from his paperwork and offered a salute, which Hogan returned. It was an odd experience. It had been three long years since he had been saluted with such regularity. At Stalag 13 he had been given all the respect he had deserved, and then some, but it wasn't shown in such hollow military ways. "What can I do for you Colonel?"

"I need to see one of your prisoners. Hochstetter."

The sergeant looked Hogan up and down and then turned to his paperwork. "Reason?"

Hogan arched an eyebrow. "Do I need one?"

"No, I suppose not… Let's see… Hochstetter, Hochstetter… right, he's in a holding cell downstairs." He snapped his finger and a corporal marched up. "Corporal, take the colonel to 13, huh."

"Sure. This way Colonel." Hogan thanked the sergeant and followed the bouncy corporal down a flight of stairs and through a narrow, dim hallway. Hogan shivered, feeling like he had been there before. The corporal handed Hogan off to a sentry and left. The sentry led him to the end of the hall.

"Hochstetter," the ornery sounding sergeant growled as he knocked on the steel door. "Got a visitor for you. Heaven only knows why." He snapped open a small window at the top of the door and motioned the colonel forward. Hogan scrunched his nose. He would've liked to go in, but the sergeant just shook his head, as if reading his thoughts.

"Who is it? Go away!" the German snapped.

"Hiya Major," Hogan greeted, disguising his malice with the warm cheekiness that Hochstetter hated so much.

Hochstetter, who was lying on an uncomfortable looking cot, glanced up at him and sneered. "Colonel Hogan. I should've known it was you. What are you doing here?"

That was a good question. What was he doing here? Now that he was face to face with the man who'd made his last few month of captivity a nightmare, he had no idea what to say.

"Comfy?" Hogan managed, putting on a condescending smirk.

"Bah!" Hochstetter jumped up and started to pace slowly. "You like seeing me like this, don't you Hogan."

"You bet I do," Hogan spat. "How does it feel to be the one who's trapped?!"

"Temporary. They won't find me guilty tomorrow. I've done nothing wrong."

Hogan couldn't believe it. Was he serious?! "Nothing wrong?! Hochstetter, you've murdered dozens of people!"

"Bah!" Hochstetter waved it off. "Not murder. I interrogated, I questioned, I held prisoners of the Third Reich-"

"Hochstetter, when you torture someone to the point of death, that's murder." He felt his face turn red. He felt like going in there and throttling the smug little Gestapo man.

Hochstetter noticed Hogan's frustration and smirked. "You want to kill me, don't you Hogan."

"More than anything. But I had my chance. And if it hadn't been for Carter-" his heart tightened, but he managed to keep his voice steady. "If it hadn't been for Carter, you'd be with the devil right now. But he didn't want me to stoop to your level."

Hochstetter smirked. "You're a foolish man Hogan."

Hogan returned the smug look. "Oh, I think not. I think this is a much better punishment for you. I know what it's like to be a prisoner, remember." Hochstetter scowled at that which made Hogan smile. "Yeah, it's just tearing you up, isn't it? You hate being trapped." Hochstetter didn't answer, content to just glare at the American instead.

"Well, don't worry, it won't last too much longer. Tomorrow they'll sentence you." A dark smile crossed Hogan's face. "Yeah, I'm glad I didn't kill you. If I had, I wouldn't get to see you hang- and they are going to hang you, you know."

Hochstetter paled slightly. He knew it was true. He wished Hogan had shot him before. It was humiliating being Hogan's prisoner. And now they were going to hang him? Hochstetter shivered. "They won't hang me, I've done nothing-"

"They're gonna hang you! And I'm going to be there until your feet stop twitching!" The hatred that dripped from every word surprised even him.

Hochstetter watched the American try to get control over himself. A small smile played at his lips. Hogan always had a tight reign on his emotions, it was interesting to see him lose his grip. Hochstetter decided to give a little push, just to ruffle Hogan's feathers a little more. "All this over a few men-"

"My men!" Hogan snapped bitterly.

"Yes, your men. Then it must've been your fault that they were captured." Something flashed past Hogan's eyes that told Hochstetter he had thought a lot about that. He smiled slightly. "In any case, they weren't much use. They were loyal to you until the end. Too bad you can't say the same." The hurt look on Hogan's faced soothed Hochstetter's soul. "Your sergeant, Carter knew you would come. Knew it. He never said anything like that of course, but I could tell he was just waiting for you to burst in and save him. And you did, I suppose… Too late to help him of course-"

"Shut up Hochstetter."

"Quite touching, your little good-bye scene you shared. What was it like to have one of your men die in your arms and know there was nothing you could do about it?"

"There was something I could do about it," Hogan said quietly.

Hochstetter looked at him curiously. "Whatever it was, it didn't-"

Hogan's eyes locked onto Hochstetter's stopping him dead. "I could make sure the man who killed him and Newkirk got what he deserved. And you're going to get just that!" Turning on his heel, Hogan started down the hall. "Have a good sleep Hochstetter."

Hochstetter watched him go and started to pace. Have a good sleep indeed. How could he, knowing what awaited him? Hogan was right, it was tearing him up being a prisoner. This was far, far worse than if Hogan had just killed him. Worst of all, Hogan knew it.

--

Hogan stepped out of the building and took a deep breath. Somehow, the stench outside was far more pleasant than the suffocating air inside the old Gestapo HQ.

He shook his head. Things had not gone as he'd planned, but it hadn't been a total waste. It was reassuring to see Hochstetter in his current position- a prisoner awaiting execution. It unnerved him to know that Hochstetter still felt no remorse, but maybe that would change when he faced the gallows. But, knowing Hochstetter, the smarmy little man would probably protest to the end.

"All done?" Hogan's driver asked as he bounded up.

Hogan let out a long sigh. "Yeah. Let's get out of here." He climbed into the jeep and sat back as his driver started it up and began driving through the city.

As they travelled, his mind wandered back to Newkirk and Carter. It had been his fault they'd been captured. Why hadn't he gone after them sooner?

The answer hid in the recesses of his memory. It didn't really matter. Whatever the reason, he hadn't made it in time. Surprisingly enough, Carter had held out longer than Newkirk. Neither of them had uttered a single word about the operation. He should've been proud of that, but he felt nothing but anger and guilt.

He kidded himself into thinking that he'd be able to put it to rest when Hochstetter's sentence was carried out. But he knew their memory would haunt him for a long time to come.

"Holy Mother!" Hogan's driver yelled, snapping him out of his dreary thoughts. The jeep's tires squealed and Hogan looked ahead to see what was wrong.

His brain didn't even have time to register before they drove straight through the wire.

--

Hans Scharff grinned and jumped out of his hiding place. His trap had barely been set up before that jeep had come around the corner. That was just as well- it kept it from being spotted by American foot patrols, which weren't affected by it.

Casting an uninterested glance towards the jeep and its beheaded occupants, Schraff quickly went to work taking the sharp wire down from its posts at the opposite sides of the road. He'd move it to another, oft used road and hopefully get a few more Allies before the day was out.

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