A big thank you to 80sarcades for Betaing this story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Hogan's Heroes.
The bright rays of a new day filtered somberly through the bars on the windows while Katie was washing her face in the sink. She eyed the dirty sink with disdain.
They could use a housekeeper, she thought as she glanced toward the cell door. Well Ms. Katie, it's time for that ol' game of Dupe the Kraut. Good thing Major Steiner is a regular contestant. She bit her lip. Of course, if I lose . . .
Katie immediately reprimanded herself. Stop thinking like that! It never got you anywhere. Just then, the scraping of stone on stone heralded the arrival of a secret visitor. Colonel Hogan, a grin on his handsome face, popped his head through the opening.
"Don't you ever knock?" Katie groused, though the sparkle of delight in her eyes said otherwise. She moved aside to let him crawl into the room.
"Good morning to you too," he said cheerfully, his hands reflexively adjusting his bomber jacket as he straightened up. "How'd you sleep? You weren't too cold, were you?"
Katie gave him a wan smile. "I was fine Colonel. But I'm sure you didn't come here to discuss my health."
"No, I didn't." Hogan glanced toward the cooler door. The concrete walls echoed with soft noises and sounds. "Shift change," the POW explained. "They'll bring your breakfast in a minute. LeBeau's trying to stall Schultz with some strudel." He paused before his thoughtful eyes looked into hers. For a moment – but only for a moment – Katie felt her knees turn weak.
"We finished copying down the information from the notebook," the American continued, unaware of the effect he was having on the nearby woman.
"Already?" Katie asked, surprised. "You work quickly, Colonel."
Hogan pressed on. "I hope you do," he warned. "If you can't convince Major Steiner then we're all in trouble."
"I can do it," she said firmly. "Don't worry."
The Colonel snorted. "Tell that to my insurance company," he joked, the dry words falling flat as the bounced around the room. "After you convince the Major . . ." Katie picked up on the lingering doubt in his voice. ". . . we'll pass it on to you before you leave," he explained. "Just be ready. One small problem though," Hogan casually let his eyes roam up and down her lithe form. "Where are you going to hide it?"
Katie thought for a moment. "I could hide it under my sweater," she suggested. "The notebook is small enough."
Hogan sighed. "That'll have to do." Noises, accompanied by the rasping of metal and footfalls, echoed down the corridor. Hogan darted for the tunnel and slip inside before he looked at Colonel Klink's newest "prisoner."
"Good luck," he said simply. And then, the hold was replace by a solid wall. Katie morosely stared at the arriving breakfast – or, more accurately, the lack thereof – and sighed.
Well, this is it. There's no going back now.
Despite Hogan's concerns, Katie had no problems squaring off with Major Steiner. The Colonel may not have not been too happy about it – and who could blame him? - but she knew her boss.
As she expected, Major Steiner was enraged; however, most of the anger seemed to be directed at the other senior – and somewhat cowed – officer in the room. He listened politely as his secretary recounted her story. As she did so, Hogan and his men sat hunched around the Coffee Pot, listening in on the conversation.
Major Steiner was quite for a moment after Katie had told him her story. "But, why Trudy?" he softly asked, curious. "You could have come to me if you had had problems."
Katie shrugged. "I thought we were in love," she said quietly, feigned sadness lacing her words. She looked down at her shoes. "I guess I was wrong."
"Of course you were," the Major soothed. "There was no reason for such deceit, my dear." His dark eyes suddenly turned icy as they bore into hers. "And you must never let it happen again! His harsh voice commanded.
Trudy started to cry. "I'm sorry Herr Steiner. I won't do it again," she pleaded. "I promise." She sniffed loudly for effect.
A now-compassionate Major Steiner laid his friendly hands upon her shoulders. "There, there," he said kindly. "No harm done. As a matter of fact . . ." he let his eyes drift to the Luftwaffe officer. "I believe Colonel Klink owes you an apology for detaining you."
"Now see here, Major Steiner!" the older officer thundered. "She was caught with an escaped prisoner . . ."
The Major speared Klink with a hateful glare. Katie watched through her crocodile tears.
". . . and of course I should apologize." Colonel Klink mumbled as he sank back into his chair. "My apologies, fraulein."
"Well Colonel," Steiner said graciously. "I don't think we will bother you anymore." He smiled at Katie. "Right?"
She nodded. "Right."
With that, she followed her superior outside.
"Well, that seemed to go rather well." Newkirk declared as Kinch turned off the Coffee Pot.
"Better than I thought," Hogan admitted, his voice impressed. "But we're not out of the woods yet."
"He's right." LeBeau chimed in. "We still have to return the notebook." At that, Carter frowned.
"Colonel," he began hesitantly. "Wouldn't it be better to just deliver the notebook to her tonight? Seems like an awful risk to take."
"Normally, I would," Hogan said as he looked out the window. "However, the quicker we can get that notebook back into his desk, the better. If he discovers it missing and suspects Katie, she's finished." His eyes fixated on the Kommandantur door.
"All right fellas, it's show time," he ordered. "Everyone outside. You know what to do. Be ready to distract our guests if they start to leave. I'll pass on the notebook." Colonel Hogan, his jawline set, headed for the barrack's door.
Steiner and Klink were talking in front of the Kommandant's office. "I want to thank you for finding Trudy for me Colonel." Steiner said, his tone slightly insincere. "If you hadn't called, I would have done something regrettable."
The two men looked over at Trudy. She was standing next to Steiner with her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes staring demurely at the ground. She didn't say anything.
"Yes, yes, well, all in a day's work!" Klink laughed. "Um, Major, you don't find this situation embarrassing at all, do you?"
"Not in the least." The Major boomed. "Trudy has her own social agenda to uphold; who am I to keep her from it?" He then leaned over towards Klink. "Women," he scoffed softly. "Always too emotional about trivial things."
Suddenly, Hogan bumped into Trudy. "Whoops!" he said cheerfully. "Pardon me, Fraulein. Are you okay?"
Trudy waved him off. "Es ist in Ordnung. Machen Sie sich dewegen kcine Sorgen." (It's okay. Don't worry about it.)
"HOOO-GAANN!" Klink yelled, finally noticing the American's clumsy behavior. "Watch where you are going!"
"Sorry Colonel," the American officer said unabashedly. "I was just admiring Major Steiner's car." He turned to the visiting officer. "It really is a nice one."
Steiner nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Danke," he said politely as he eyed the new arrival.
"Hogan, you are not allowed to admire it!" Klink suddenly realized something. "How do you know Major Steiner?"
"Everyone knows Major Steiner." Hogan countered. "I can't talk to one person in this camp without his name coming up."
The Major laughed and shook his head. "My reputation precedes me," he said and turned to his charge. "Shall we go?"
"Well, I've got to get going myself," Hogan said casually before Klink could say anything more. "It was nice meeting you Major . . . uh, Frauline." He touched the brim of his cap and nodded in her direction before leaving. Trudy nodded back, concentrating on balancing the notebook in her hands under her sweater. It was harder to do than she had imagined. Several of the pages were loose and the finish on the cover was somewhat slippery. Even so, the plan was a success.
"Unfortunately, Klink, we must be getting along. Thank you for taking care of Trudy for me." He raised his right arm in a salute. "Heil Hitler!" he barked. He then turned and gestured toward the car. "Come Trudy," he ordered.
As Katie turned, she felt her hands lose her grip on the book. Oh no!
Waft. The notebook, and all of its contents, spilled onto the ground.
Steiner stopped. "What's this?" he asked, puzzled.
Meanwhile, Hogan walked over to his friends with a large grin on his face, unaware of the unfolding events. "Well, that went better than expected."
"Uh, mon Colonel," LeBeau pointed. Hogan turned around to see Major Steiner bending over to pick something up. Katie looked ill. And in the Major's hands . . .
Just great! Hogan fumed.
Oh shoot! Katie didn't know what to do. She wanted to look at Hogan, but she didn't want to compromise his operation. So she reluctantly kept her eyes on Steiner.
"Klink, does belong to you?" Steiner asked.
"No. No, I don't think it does." Klink said nervously.
"That's funny . . . Wait a minute. This is my manifest. This is my train manifest." Steiner looked up. "What were you doing with this, Trudy?"
Katie didn't say anything, trying to think of something to avoid giving up her place in the Underground. The Colonel, himself a helpless bystander, merely looked on.
"Colonel, are you goin' do something about this?" Kinch asked quietly. A dozen possibilities leaped to Hogan's mind; reluctantly, he rejected them all.
"She's on her own," he bluntly announced. "At least for now."
"Trudy." Steiner was getting impatient.
Katie sighed. It was over. She looked at Steiner for a brief moment. When she finally spoke, all traces of a German accent were gone. "I was going to take it to London, Major," she casually deadpanned. "What else did you expect?"