I'm so pleased that people are still liking this enough to review. So, here's a new chapter, early! And now longer! With more words! And stuff! And Klink!

I really do love to hear what parts you like best, and I know, Newkirk is catching heck right now. Someone has to be in trouble, and he drew the short straw(probably because they didn't let him hold the straws). I promise, thrilling heroics are in his future.

Huge thank yous to TinySprite for putting up with me, Bits and Pieces for all the chatter we share about Hogan's Heroes and life, all of the great HH authors who inspire me to write and a special thanks to SamRosinenbomber for posting the new fic that really lifted my mood when I read it. Artwork WILL happen.

Also, thank you to all you readers who are sticking it out to see how Newkirk gets out of all this!

On to the fic reading.

Chapter 9

Klink paced the length of his office, hands clasped behind his back while Schultz stood patiently. Pausing at the window, the Oberst checked the compound and gestured dramatically. "Look, there's prisoners taunting the guards again. I should put them all in the cooler! Let them realize that the Iron Eagle is not to be trifled with."

Schultz looked dutifully and then gazed at Klink. "Should I go and take them to the cooler?" He did not sound enthused over the idea.

Throwing his hands up, Klink moaned. "Nooo. It could cause the prisoners to riot." He paced away from the window again. "How can I fix this? How can I enforce the iron discipline when any action against one of the prisoners might set them all off in a revolt?"

"Perhaps... you could just be nice to them?" said Schultz.

"Dummkoph! If I do not enforce the rules, they will revolt and overrun us all! I will have to order the guards to put down the unruly prisoners and if prisoners die, it's on my head!" Klink folded his arms and went back to the window. He couldn't help himself. Every time he looked out of his office, he half expected to see his prisoners taking over the entire camp.

"I do not want to hurt anyone." said Schultz quietly.

"I don't want to hurt anyone either, Schultz! The prisoners have always loved me as a father figure. Now..." He waved his hands. "Now thanks to Hendrich, everything is ruined. There is nothing I can do."

Schultz stepped over hesitantly. "Maybe you could do something that isn't so nice but maybe is nice? Then the prisoners would not be so unhappy. But!" He held up one pudgy finger. "But they would respect you. Because you were nice when you did not have to be nice."

Klink frowned at him. "What could I do? Give them extra food? They would see right through that." He grumped to himself. "If someone gets injured, we probably don't even have enough medical supplies to treat them." Bending to watch a small knot of prisoners walking across the compound to their barracks, Klink's frown deepened. "I want you to go check on the medical supplies that the prisoner medic has. What's his name? Wilcox?"

"Sergeant Wilson, sir." Schultz swallowed. "He does not have many supplies though, sir. The prisoners told me so. Some of them won't even go to see him. They don't want to use the last medical supplies in case someone else needs them more." He paused before adding. "I told Wilson that I would ask for more things. He said they need aspirin and antiseptics for cleaning wounds and bandages."

Klink started to wave him off and then began to think. "We need more medical supplies anyway, and if I get a little bit extra, who's to know? And giving Sergeant Wilson some supplies can only make the prisoners see that I am not a bad guy." He turned abruptly to Schultz. "I want you to send Langenscheidt to town to get supplies. If it doesn't placate them, at least we will have supplies to treat anyone who ends up shot." Klink had paled at the thought of shooting but tried to pretend he was gruff and stern.

"Yes, herr Kommandant, but maybe you could also try to get Colonel Hogan back? Or if you could get Newkirk back? The prisoners are very angry because both of them are gone. They would be less angry if one of them came back to the camp." Schultz did not add that he thought Colonel Hogan could probably fix everything if he was here. Even Newkirk might be able to make the other prisoners happier. The Englander was a clever boy. Mischievous yes, but he was also clever.

"Schultz! If I could get Colonel Hogan or Newkirk back don't you think I would have already?!" shouted Klink. "Colonel Hogan was taken by the Abwehr! No one can tell the Abwehr to bring back a prisoner even if he is a prisoner of war!" He groaned then. "I can't even tell Major-General Hendrich to bring back Corporal Newkirk. He would just laugh at me and remind me that he outranks me. He could have me sent to the Russian Front!"

"Ja, herr kommandant." said Schultz. "It is too bad that you are not a big shot general like General Burkhalter. If General Burkhalter told Major-General Hendrich to bring Newkirk back, he would do it then." Schultz nodded firmly.

"That is it!" Klink grabbed Schultz by the arms. "I will call General Burkhalter! He can make Hendrich bring back the Englander and the prisoners will be happier and then they won't riot and everything can go back to normal!" He stopped suddenly. "But if I tell Burkhalter that I'm missing a prisoner, he'll send ME to the Russian Front."

Schultz tutted. "Nein, herr kommandant! He cannot blame you for the Major-General ordering you to not interfere. The Major-General is the one who took the prisoner without proper authorization."

"That's right!" Klink became hopeful. "He's the one in the wrong! He shouldn't have even been here." said Klink disdainfully. "Why, he isn't in the Luftwaffe. Taking one of my prisoners without any paperwork! It just isn't done! I will report his actions to General Burkhalter and then we'll see who ends up at the Russian Front!"

Neither of the Germans noticed the shadow near the window dart across the compound. If they had, they might have wondered why a prisoner had been listening just outside the office.

Kinch and LeBeau looked up as Olson and Carter entered the Colonel's quarters. Kinch spoke up quietly. "How is it out there?"

Olson shrugged elaborately but Carter answered. "There's a lot of very unhappy POWs in this camp right now. They were upset that Colonel Hogan was taken away and now they took Newkirk and now everyone is afraid they might be next." Carter looked around sheepishly. "Heck, I kind get nervous thinking about it, and I know what's going on. We can't blame them much."

LeBeau agreed. "It is hard to reassure people when we can't tell them that Colonel Hogan wasn't really taken for questioning."

Kinch said "Well, we can't tell the whole camp what's going on. Colonel Hogan will be back soon, maybe within a day. That will help calm everything down."

"Oui." said LeBeau. "Colonel Hogan will make everyone see that things will turn out right."

There was a quiet moment until Olson spoke up. "Who's gonna tell Hogan we lost Newkirk though?"

"Mon dieu!" spat LeBeau. "We did not 'lose' Newkirk! He will be back."

Holding up a hand defensively, Olson tried to reason with the excitable Frenchman. "Look, I know, Burkhalter said he'd look into it but that doesn't mean that he's going to find Newkirk in time or even if he's going to help him. The guy is a Nazi, he might just shoot him."

LeBeau puffed up angrily. "Non! Newkirk will come back! You will see!" He stormed out, fuming under his breath in French.

Kinch sighed as Olson apologized about upsetting LeBeau. "It's okay, I'll talk to him later. There's about a hundred things I need to do 'later'. How did Colonel Hogan ever keep up with all this stuff?"

Carter shrugged. "He was always doing stuff? I mean, he had you to help him, but you don't have a Kinch to help you because you're Kinch. Of course, Newkirk was helping since he was supposed to be you, I mean, you know, in charge..."

Kinch was just opening his mouth to tell Carter to stop, but just then LeBeau came rushing back in. "Kinch!"

Olson spoke up quickly. "Hey, I'm really sorry..."

LeBeau put a hand on him, shaking his head. "Non, quiet! Kinch! Adams just said he overheard Klink saying he's going to call Burkhalter! If he talks to Burkhalter and finds out someone already reported Hendrich and it wasn't him, even Klink will suspect something! What do we do?" LeBeau grabbed Kinch's arm tightly. "Burkhalter will know something is up!"

"Shoot... shooot... " said Kinch. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. "Come on, we can intercept the call!" They all rushed for the tunnel, letting Kinch go first. LeBeau plugged in the phone lines while Kinch grabbed the handset and earphones. "Quick LeBeau!"

"Now, try it now!" LeBeau wrung his hands as he stood next to Carter, both of them anxiously watching the black radioman listening to the earphones. "Well?"

"Nothing... wait... he's dialing. We got it." Kinch waited for Klink to come onto the line and affected a light tone in heavily accented German. "How may I connect your call?" He waited and then continued in the same bored tone. "Please hold."

Kinch handed the headphones and mouthpiece to Olson. Olson cleared his throat before nodding. "General Burkhalter's office, please state your business." He waited while Klink gave him a longwinded explanation. "Please hold Colonel Plink, I shall see if the General is available."

Flipping the mouthpiece off, Kinch took the equipment back and straightened himself up, trying to get into the mindset of the overweight general. Finally he switched it on. "Klink! What do you want?" He scowled at nothing as he spoke in General Burkhalter's voice. "What do you mean, you lost a prisoner! Did you have an escape? What? Hendrich? He's not in the Luftwaffe! Why did you allow this, Klink?" Kinch huffed angrily. "I will look into it, Klink! I can not believe that you allowed anyone to remove a POW from your camp without proper authorization!"

Olson had his hand over his mouth making little choking noises as he struggled not to laugh. Carter and LeBeau watched intently, trying to figure out the other side of the conversation.

Kinch barked out the German with an expert flair in a remarkable mimicry of Burkhalter. "I said that I would take care of things, Klink! You do not need to ask about the details! And furthermore, you will not allow another removal of a prisoner without all the proper written authorization! I! Don't! Care! Unless it is the Fuhrer himself, you will require the proper forms! Am I understood? Good!" He hung up without waiting for Klink's goodbyes. Wiping his face with both hands, Kinch finally relaxed. "Well, seems he bought it. Now both of them know what they need to know."

Carter's eyes were wide. "Kinch I will never get used to how well you speak German. I think you're part German."

Kinch rolled his eyes and turned to Olson. "Okay, so keep questioning the guards. When Schnitzer comes to camp later today, I'll ask him if he's seen anything. Right now, I have to figure out how to report all of this to London."

LeBeau's eyes widened. "You haven't told them yet?"

"Would you rush to tell London?" Olson snorted.

When a special roll call came midday, the prisoners of Barracks Two exchanged significant looks but began to file out slowly. Carter's voice rose in pitch as he grabbed at the edge of Kinch's jacket. "Kinch! Why are they calling us out now?"

"Calm down, Carter." Kinch motioned the others out as he stood by the door. "Klink is just nervy. The men are acting like they're going to riot, we should have expected extra roll calls." He put his hand in the middle of Carter's back to nudge him out the door.

Olson trotted over to take his place in line. "Hey, guess the Krauts think we're all plotting now, hey?" He elbowed LeBeau who drew his coat around himself tighter and glared. "The guards were doubled along the outer fencelines too."

"Like that would help them if we all decided to turn on them." LeBeau gave Olson another glare to make sure he knew the Frenchman hadn't forgiven him for his pessimism about Newkirk's chances.

"Ease up, LeBeau." said Kinch. "No one is revolting against Klink yet. Remember, the Colonel is on his way back. Burkhalter is looking for Hendrich. We just need to keep things running here for a little while longer." They all lined up and waited while Langenschiedt counted heads.

Klink was standing in the middle of the compound as all of the barracks guards reported in. Then he strode back and forth twice before speaking. "I'm sure that all of you prisoners have noticed by now that your Man of Confidence Corporal Newkirk was... removed... by Major-General Hendrich." He paused while a dangerous rumble made it way around the camp. The prisoners glared and muttered and Klink fingered his riding crop a bit nervously before clearing his throat and continuing. "At any rate... this means that a new representative needs to be assigned. As kommandant of the camp, I shall assign a prisoner to take over these duties."

A voice rose from the ranks of prisoners as Private Adams stepped forward a little. "We elected one already. Sergeant Kinch is the POW representative now."

Kinch stood a little straighter in his place at the front of Barracks Two. A second rumble, of approval this time, came from the prisoners. Klink looked around and stiffened his posture. "Sergeant Kinchloe is not an appropriate choice. So I have chosen..."

Carter stepped forward and spoke over Klink. "Begging the kommandant's pardon, sir but we have elected our representative."

LeBeau stomped forward himself to shout loudly. "Oui! And we gave you a 'more appropriate' choice for our representative! Corporal Newkirk! And we all see how that choice was treated!" Shouts of agreement came from many throats making Klink even more nervous. Several guards clutched their rifles more tightly. LeBeau ignored it to shout louder. "IF you want a 'more appropriate' man to represent us POWs, then go get Newkirk back!"

There was an uproar of shouts and demands from the POWs then. Klink was stepping back and beginning to look paniced as the barracks guards began to try to regain control over the unruly prisoners. Kinch worried that they would have a unplanned riot soon. He stepped forward, giving Langenschiedt a reassuring nod. Raising his voice to a parade ground bellow, he shouted, "Quiet!" It only took a moment for everyone to settle back down with only a few mutters. "Colonel Klink, I am willing to continue with my duties as the POW Man of Confidence, sir." He engaged in a stare-down with Klink. Perhaps the wise choice would have been to allow Klink to assign a new figurehead. But the men were too on edge to allow it now. "Sir. Considering the record of the last two prisoner representatives, I would suggest to you that you allow the men's choice to stand."

Klink had begun to wring his hands and visibly composed himself and straightened, tucking the riding crop back under his arm and walking over to stand in front of the Barracks Two formation. Kinch could see the sweat on his face and a slight tremor in his hand as he gestured. Klink's voice was steady however. "As a gesture for goodwill to my prisoners, I will allow their choice of representative to stand for now." When Kinch nodded politely in reply and a soft murmur of approval came from the assembled prisoners, Klink gained confidence. "I will also inform you prisoners that I have doubled the guards at the perimeter and ensured that no escape attempts will succeed." A mutter of grumbles made Klink move on quickly. "I have also taken steps to prevent any additional removals of prisoners from this stalag by unapproved personnel. Furthermore, I have enlisted some assistance from General Burkhalter in attempting to locate and regain custody of Corporal Newkirk. I have every confidence that he will be returned soon if..." Klink faltered and changed his words quickly. "He will be returned soon."

Kinch listened to the rumble of confusion. The men were uncertain whether to believe Klink's promises but they sounded more positive than before at least. He cleared his throat loudly and the voices died out. "Thank you Kommandant Klink."

"Yes yes... well... " said Klink. He suddenly decided to try to keep the new slightly positive tone. "Prisoners dismissed." He strode quickly back to the kommandantur, gesturing for an extra guard to take a place on the office steps.

Several of the other prisoners gathered around Kinch along with the usual crew. Some of the other barracks chiefs nodded or reached out to slap his back, expressing their support. Others made disparaging remarks about Klink's attempt to unseat their chosen leader. Kinch nodded back, thanking them and probably looking more uncomfortable than confident.

Private Adams stepped up and glowered at Kinch. "Damn Krauts ain't telling us who gets to boss us." He frowned at Kinch for a long moment. "Master race, my Aunt Betty's fat butt." He leaned in closer. "You better get Newkirk back though. My girl is expecting a romantic letter and I can't write that mushy stuff."

End Chapter

I hope you enjoyed your early, extra long, extra Klink chapter! Thank you for reading.