Chapter 19:

It was soon dinnertime, and Carter and Kalina had not left Hogan's side for one moment. They talked to him when he was awake, and they talked to one another when the colonel was asleep. Klaussner and other doctors continuously came in and out of Hogan's room checking his vitals, drawing blood, or asking him simple questions when he was awake.

Currently, Hogan was awake, and while he and Kalina were chatting with each other, Carter and Klaussner stood off to the side, anxiously waiting for the man they only knew as Landwehr. They were constantly checking their watches, looking out into the hospital hallways, but no one matching Blue Panther's description made an appearance.

Klaussner had briefly stepped outside to again check the hallways, and Carter watched Hogan and Kalina talk during his absence. The medic came back into the room, and Carter turned his head in the direction of where the sound of footsteps was coming from. He spotted Klaussner and quickly made his way to the doctor's side.

"Anything?" Carter asked.

"Not a thing," Klaussner answered, shaking his head.

"Boy," the sergeant said. "He said he would be here by 7. It's almost half an hour late now…You don't think someone discovered him, do you?"

"Blue Panther is one of our best agents, my friend. By how well he keeps his identity hidden, even several underground agents don't know his real name. I don't even know his real name. If he's late picking you two up, he's got a damn good reason for it."

Carter gripped onto his Gestapo jacket sleeves and wrung them a bit as he and Klaussner looked back at Kalina and Hogan, who again had his hand on her cheek and gently rubbed it with his thumb.

"He burned your jacket, Colonel Hogan," she told him, regarding Hanley destroying the beloved bomber jacket. "Right there in the middle of the compound. A huge bonfire that he used to burn every Nazi item in camp. 'Nothing but a piece of junk', he called it."

The colonel gave her a tired smile. "Just a jacket, hon," he said. "I'm sure London will give me another one to replace it…Nothing to cry over."

"But it was the last thing I had of you."

Hogan softly shook his head, his eyes closed. "What did I tell you, hon? I'm always with you. I'm right there inside of you. When you're happy. When you're scared…" He opened his eyes and smiled at her again. "You don't need something physical to have me with you."

It was Kalina's turn to smile. "Well, it doesn't matter, now," she said. "You're alive and recovering, that's all that matters. Soon you'll be back at Stalag 13, and we can start taking Germans out again one assignment at a time."

Hogan began to frown and swallowed a lump down his throat. He knew he had to tell her and Carter. He knew it was necessary to do so before they left for Burkhalter's hidden location. But how did he break the news easily to them? Carter would be heartbroken, and his little girl would be devastated. The fact it was his two most sensitive ones he had to break the news to practically killed him inside. He didn't know how to do it. He didn't know what to say to make the blow less intense.

The colonel opened his mouth to say something, when the sound of approaching footsteps became louder and louder. Everyone's attention turned to the threshold of the hospital room as a very tall man in a black trench coat and fedora stepped inside and tediously scanned the room for anything suspicious. His dark hazel eyes were stone cold, while his expression showed absolutely no sign of emotion. It made Kalina carefully latch onto Hogan, while Carter swallowed a large knot forming down his throat.

"B, B, b b, Blue Panther?" Carter stuttered, the last part just barely above a whisper.

The man continued to stand there and observe the four people inside. Like he was using x-ray vision to confirm that none of them were Nazis in disguise. His gaze slowly became somewhat soft and made direct eye contact with the sergeant.

"I'm Jannik Landwehr, ordered to escort a Colonel Antony Claus and Lieutenant Klara Kästner back to their hotel a few miles from here," he finally spoke. "Have I come to the right room?"

"Will the General be there waiting for us?" Carter remarked.

Blue Panther gave a slight nod as a response.

Kalina turned to Hogan to see if he suspected the strange man for the truth or an imposter. She watched him give her a couple nods to ease her nerves. He was legit.

"I'm on a tight schedule tonight," Blue Panther stated. "We must be going now if you're going to make it in time."

As Carter made his way to the agent's side, Kalina looked back at Hogan and gave him one last hug. She felt full and warm when he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a gentle kiss on the head.

"I love you, Colonel Hogan," she said softly. "I can't wait for you to come home."

Hogan swallowed again and looked at her with empathetic eyes. "Sweetie…I'm not coming back home."

Kalina lifted her head and stared at the colonel with a baffled stare. She shook her head as her jaw slightly hung from its hinges. "Not coming home…Colonel Hogan, what do you mean 'You're not coming back'?"

Hogan waited a moment before answering. "I'm being sent back to London, Kalina…with all the attempts against my life for the last year, they've deemed it too dangerous for me to stay here. As soon as Richard's cleared me to leave the hospital, I'll be taken to a hidden airfield here…and I'll go back to London for reassignment…Somebody would probably come after me the minute I got back to camp, anyways…this is London's way of ensuring my life will no longer be in harm."

Tears flooded the little teenager's eyes, shaking her head again as they slipped down her cheeks. "You're, you're leaving? Forever?...No. No, no no no, I don't want you to leave." She started to cry hysterically, while Hogan gently hushed her and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"Sssshhhh," Hogan said tiredly. "Don't cry for me, hon…I don't wanna go back to London knowing you're miserable here because of me."

"Colonel Hogan, don't go." Kalina buried her face into his chest, while her arms hugged his belly tight. "I don't want you to go. Don't leave us, please."

"Colonel," Carter said, slowly coming out of the shock. "You're sure there's no other way? Some way to have you here and still keep you safe?"

Hogan shook his head. "I have my orders, Carter…only bad colonels defy a general's orders."

"But, but…what are we gonna do without you? We can't do this without you, Colonel. You're the whole heart behind what we do."

The colonel smiled. "You guys can do anything…as long as you stick together. As a team…as friends…a family." The last part he said with growing fatigue.

Carter swallowed a growing lump down his throat as tears came to his own eyes. "You'll always be a part of our family, Colonel…always."

Hogan made his gaze back to Kalina and gently rubbed the bottom back of her head and gave her one last kiss on the head, holding her close to ease her shaking body. Kalina lifted her eyes to him and watched him smile at her through slits in his eyes. He placed his hand onto her cheek and rubbed it.

"I love you, baby girl," he barely said, his breathing starting to become labored. "Stay strong for me." He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Kalina again buried her face into Hogan's chest, latching onto his body as tight as she could without hurting him. She knew the minute she let go she would never see him again. She wanted to stay there with him, but that wasn't possible. She had to let go of him eventually, but she had no idea where to find the strength to do so.

Carter walked over to the sniffling little teenager's side and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kalina looked up at him and saw his comforting gaze. Carter nodded at her, a silent indicator that they had to leave now. He watched her give Hogan one last hug, then she allowed the sergeant to pull her to her feet. Carter held the silently sobbing girl close and gulped as tears streamed down his own face.

"Goodbye, Colonel," he croaked.

"We love you, Colonel Hogan," Kalina barely squeaked.

Carter and Kalina left Hogan's bedside and approached Blue Panther. Carter nodded at the agent that they were ready, and the trio walked out the door. Kalina and Carter paused a few steps out the door and looked back at their sleeping commander once more. This would be the last time they ever saw him. The last time they ever heard his voice. The last time Carter would ever salute him or Kalina hug him and have him kiss her head.

With more tears streaming down their faces, they stood straight and tall and gave Hogan the best salute they could possibly muster up. When they were at ease, Carter and Kalina hung their heads and left with Blue Panther. Without their commanding officer. Without their best friend. Without hearts that weren't broken in shatters.


It took a little over forty-five minutes for Blue Panther to reach the hidden bunker's location. A place in the middle of nowhere disguised as an old abandoned cave. The underground agent parked his car alongside the road and turned off the ignition before turning to his two passengers behind him. He pointed in the bunker's direction.

"Over there," he said. "That's where you'll find your General Burkhalter."

"But how do we get in?" Carter asked.

"There are two armed guards standing in front of a metal door a few yards down the cave entryway. Stop before them and tell them you are Gestapo in an emergency situation and need to see the general immediately."

"What if they don't let us in?" Kalina worried, her hands gripping the side of the car window.

The agent scoffed. "Only an idiot would deny the Gestapo, my dear."

"But you're sure he's in there," Carter said.

"I sent my best man looking for this spot," Blue Panther answered, his eyes narrowed. "If he couldn't find Burkhalter, no one would…Now get going. I need to get out of here before someone sees me."

"Yes, Sir," Carter replied. "Thank you, Sir."

"Danke, Herr Blauer Panther." Kalina added sincerely.

"No trouble at all," the agent said. "Now hurry. The longer you wait, the more danger your Stalag 13 will be in."

Carter and Kalina stepped out of the backseat and closed the door behind them as Blue Panther's car disappeared into the night. Alone, the duo stealthy and silently made their way up the embankment, occasionally hiding in the shadows to check the coast around them. Once deemed safe, they continued onwards until they reached the mouth of the makeshift cave.

Kalina licked her lips as she turned to Carter with an apprehensive gaze, her muscles tensing with growing anxiety. "You think he's in there?" She asked him softly.

The sergeant pulled out his pistol, loaded it full with bullets, then cocked it. "Only one way to find out," he said, then gestured for her to follow.

The two started their trek down the poorly lit cave to the bunker's only entrance and stopped a few feet away from the Luftwaffe guards before hiding in the shadows again. Carter turned his head to Kalina and mouthed, "Get your gun." The little Klink did as instructed and silently pulled out her fully loaded pistol and carefully cocked it before returning her eyes to Carter and nodded.

They emerged from the shadows and approached the guards, one of them tensing in stance and straightening his position. "Halt," he cried. "Who are you? Identify yourselves."

"I am Colonel Claus, and this is Lieutenant Kästner, Gestapo," Carter said, with a firm German accent. "There is an emergency back in Hammelburg, we must speak to General Burkhalter at once."

The guard narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I don't know who you're talking about. You must leave immediately."

"Are you denying Gestapo orders?"

"I apologize, Colonel, but unless without written authorization, I can not let you in…" He and the second guard's eyes widened when two pistols were pulled on them and then cocked. They stared in horror at Carter and Kalina, who's expressions were icy cold. The guard gulped, then unlocked the door. "Go to the front desk, and the guard there will escort you to the meeting room."

"Danke, Sergeant," Carter said, him and Kalina sliding their guns back into their holsters. "I would've hated to have wasted one of my bullets on a simple guard."

Without another word, the two stepped inside the bunker and walked towards a lonely corporal sitting at a wide wooden desk and flipping through some sort of magazine. When he saw the two 'Gestapo officers' making their way to him, he shot from his feet and gave them the best salute he could possibly give.

"Herr Oberst," the corporal gasped. "What, what, what are you doing here at this hour?"

"We are here to see a General Albert Burkhalter," Carter told him, icy. "You will take us to him immediately. Top priority."

"But, but, but, but but, Herr Oberst," the guard babbled. "I, I, I I am not allowed to intrude on the general's proceedings."

"I assure you that you will receive no consequences or punishment for taking us to him. Show us which way to go to get to the meeting room, and we will leave you here unharmed."

The corporal's frantic green eyes never left the sight of Carter and Kalina as he pointed off to a wing on the left. He watched the two 'officers' storm off in the same direction and only let out a breath of relief when they were no longer in sight. He plopped back down in his chair, then removed his cap for a moment to run his fingers through his auburn hair.

"They don't pay me enough to do this job," he muttered to himself.