Notice: Shout out to my awesome friend for helping me create this awesome conversation between Klink, Burkhalter, and Hochstetter! You are amazing! :)
The next day had arrived, and Burkhalter was in Klink's office talking to him further regarding the investigation. Hochstetter soon arrived after breakfast, and he was red in the face and absolutely furious with something. He too joined Burkhalter and Klink in the Kommandant's office and told him his outrageous story.
"Colonel Hogan is behind it all, I tell you!" Hochstetter bellowed.
Klink had slightly leaned back in his chair and was quivering, seeing how angry the gestapo major was.
"Colonel Jerry Winters," Klink gasped, now realizing who the major was talking about. "He's the best commanding officer currently in the United States Army Air Corps!"
All three of them had found out early that morning that Jerry had escaped out of Germany sometime during the night, reading the morning paper or listening to the morning radio news that he had safely made it back to London unharmed.
"I know that, Klink! Would I be so furious of his escape out of Germany, otherwise?!" Hochstetter snarled.
Klink sunk further down into his chair, hoping it would make him disappear from sight. The last thing he wanted this morning was to be involved in an argument between Burkhalter and Hochstetter.
Burkhalter raised an eyebrow then got up from his chair and looked painstakingly into Hochstetter's eyes.
"Major...did I hear you just say that you believe Colonel Jerry Winters was somehow hiding in the cake you took home with you the other day, arrived at gestapo headquarters, and escape away from you, while in plain sight?" Burkhalter questioned carefully.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, General!" Hochstetter snarled.
Burkhalter sighed and shook his head.
"Major Hochstetter, I think you need some cold, fresh air to clear your head." Burkhalter spoke, hinting at what he was referring to.
"But, Herr General; it's the truth! Those delinquents of Klink's have a secret tunnel and everything!" Hochstetter snapped. He slammed his fist on Klink's desk, making the old Kommandant jump and slouch back even further.
"And you've also stated that the one, Sergeant Carter, is a brilliant chemist who is an explosives expert. Those delinquents of Klink's are no smarter than Klink himself."
"I heard it! Klink's so blindsided by Hogan's constant excuses, he can't see and hear what's in front of his stupid, idiotic eyes and ears! Question the man behind it all himself!"
"Because anyone can question an unconscious man. And you also don't seem to be able to see what's in front of your eyes...too much Schnapps, perhaps, Major?"
"What's in front of my eyes, General?" Hochstetter warned. "What are you trying to say to me? Are you questioning the ways of the gestapo?!"
"Only the hallucinations and delusions of a crazy man." Burkhalter said, dryly.
"But, Herr General, I…"
"I believe you are in need of a nice, long rest, Major. You should consider putting in for a leave."
Klink swallowed and decided to interfere at this point of the conversation. He stood up, still trembling, and opened his mouth.
"May I just say something regarding this whole situation?"
"No, you may not!" Burkhalter spat.
"But...Herr General, I just have one little suggestion that I…"
"Shut up, Klink!"
"Yes, sir; shutting up, sir."
Klink tremored back down into his seat and continued witnessing the argumentation going around his office. How he wished for Hogan to be there right now to stop all of it with his usual ways of persuasion to draw the two mens' minds away from the matter at hands.
Burkhalter and Hochstetter turned their attention away from the trembling bimbo and continued their discussion...or argument, as you will.
"Now, General Burkhalter, I am 100% honest with you, when I tell you that Colonel Hogan is behind all of these sabotages. Not just this one, but all of the ones that have occurred in this general area. He has a whole operation underneath a bunk bed in his barracks!" Hochstetter snapped.
"Even if a man could fit an entire operation beneath a bunk bed, and even if you did drive out of camp underneath a giant cake, and even if the prisoners were celebrating an unknown holiday to us, that...I can't believe what I'm saying." Burkhalter said, surprised at what was coming out of his mouth. He was beginning to feel as stupid as how he thought of Klink himself.
"So, you believe me, when I say that Colonel Hogan's behind all of this! I bet the man's faking his own coma, even! The man's insane, I tell you, and he'll completely destroy the entire Third Reich!"
"Major Hochstetter, the only man who might destroy the Third Reich right now is you with your rambling!"
"General Burkhalter…"
"Major, do not test my patience with your stories anymore than you already have!" Burkhalter warned, coldly.
As Hochstetter was about to reply, Klink, again, decided the urge to butt in.
"Can I say something now, General Burkhalter? And may I say, I admire your excellent interrogation skills and…" Klink was cut off by the now more than mildly aggravated general.
"Get on with it, Klink." Burkhalter demanded.
"Well, General Burkhalter, as much as I admire your intelligence and excellent work in the Third Reich, I'm still confused." Klink began.
"Ha! Ain't that a shock!" Hochstetter hissed.
Burkhalter glared harshly at Hochstetter to zip it and let Klink finish his thought.
"Now, General...why would Colonel Hogan fake being in a coma?" Klink finished.
"I have no idea, Klink. Perhaps the Major could enlighten us, here." Burkhalter sneered, turning to Hochstetter.
The major had full blown lost it, now. He was as red as the swastika wrap on his arm, and his eyes were consumed with fire and rage.
"Well, how else would he get away with something so great as this?! He probably thinks that if he acts so 'deathly ill', we won't be able to question him regarding my honest opinion!" Hochstetter shot back.
"Now that we've reached this point in discussion, how do you know the crush cap you found that night belonged to Colonel Hogan; for all we know, it could've just as well belonged to Colonel Jerry Winters." Burkhalter said, observantly.
Klink's eyes darted back and forth from Burkhalter to Hochstetter.
Hochstetter was about to protest, then stopped. That thought had never occurred to him. No, he thought. Was he going to be out stumped by Hogan, again? He would not let that happen. He had come too far to lose this fight now. He knew the American was behind it, and would not quit fighting, until he got Burkhalter to give in and agree. Klink would be easy to persuade. Being such a kiss up, he would instantly agree with Burkhalter's opinion.
"I didn't think so." Burkhalter said back, smiling wickedly.
"General Burkhalter, I am convinced with all the evidence I have gathered so far that.." Hochstetter was cut of by an enraged General Burkhalter.
"Major, that's enough! I have had it up to here with your false accusations regarding Colonel Hogan's involvement with the explosion! You will call off the investigation at once and report back to gestapo headquarters to carry out regular routine!" Burkhalter ordered.
"NO!" Hochstetter hollered.
Klink sighed with relief, then quickly fixed composure and went back to sitting up straight and nodding to Burkhalter.
"I agree with you, sir; your brilliant mind at work once again!" Klink said, trying to force a smile. It quickly faded, when Burkhalter gave a warning glare at him and turned back to Hochstetter.
"As of now, the investigation regarding Colonel Hogan's involvement in the explosion is officially closed." Burkhalter ordered.
"BAH!" Hochstetter bellowed. He stomped out of Klink's office and slammed the doors exiting Klink's office and the Kommandantur's. He got into his staff car and immediately drove off leaving Stalag 13.
Kinch, Carter, Newkirk, and LeBeau had been listening to everything in Klink's office via the coffee pot in Hogan's room. As soon as Hochstetter left the office, Kinch had turned off and put away the coffee pot. The four of them started cheering and celebrating.
"We did it!" LeBeau cried.
"We saved the operation, guys!" Carter cheered.
"Oh, I can finally smoke a cigarette in peace!" Newkirk said, as he grabbed one out of his pocket. He lit it up and began to take a drag on it.
"Way to go, guys." Kinch said, proud of everyone.
"It was your idea, mon ami; not ours!" LeBeau pointed out.
"Yeah; Kinch deserves all the credit." Carter added.
"Hey; I couldn't have made a good looking cake had it not been for LeBeau." Kinch said, smiling at the little Frenchman.
LeBeau could not help but blush and be bashful.
"It's mere skill, I tell you." LeBeau blushed.
"Hey, you can talk to Barbara now without any danger, Louis!" Carter said.
"Oh," LeBeau said, beginning to dream of Hochstetter's niece. "Ma petite chérie."
Newkirk glared over at Carter.
"Great, Andrew; way to get him on that, again!" Newkirk moaned.
Carter shrugged his shoulders innocently.
"Sorry, buddy; I thought it was a good thing." Carter meekly said.
Newkirk rolled his eyes and took another drag on his cigarette. The only problem they had now was keeping LeBeau from getting lovesick and madly thinking 24-7 of Barbara. The Englishman did find her a beautiful lady, but he knew she was also trouble being related to Hochstetter. Loyal to the Underground or not, she still could turn around on them at a second notice and blab to her uncle about everything. It was a risk he would not take.
"She's pure, Pierre! I tell you she would not do a single thing to hurt us!" LeBeau said, defending his love.
"You sound like as if Marya were here, and Colonel was doubting her for some reason." Kinch said, holding back from laughing.
"She's better than Marya. The voice of angel, the look of the sun, she's beautiful, mon ami! So exquisite and unique!" LeBeau said, daydreaming of Barbara.
"Louis, I'm gonna beat yah to a ruddy pulp, if yah don't snap out of this phase you're in." Newkirk warned, highly irritated with his friend.
Carter had grown quiet and was frowning slightly. Kinch turned to look at him confused.
"Carter, what's wrong; you should be celebrating! We saved the operation!" Kinch said, trying to make his friend more upbeat.
"It's just bringing up Colonel...he should be here with us." Carter sadly said.
Newkirk sighed and agreed with his fellow mate.
"Andrew's right, Kinch; he should be here to celebrate with us." Newkirk spoke, depressed.
Even LeBeau sighed and grew sad.
"Oui...he's a part of this team as much as the rest of us. If not, more!" LeBeau added in.
Kinch then sighed and agreed with the rest of them. Hogan had a missing effect on all of them. They all wanted him there with them. Celebrating, cheering, laughing, and making jokes to one another...the American officer was sadly still in a hospital bed fighting for his life and still had a good chance of not surviving. Kinch then thought of an idea that might make them all feel better.
"I know something that might make us feel better." Kinch said, thinking it was an alright idea.
"What is it, mate?" Newkirk asked, depressed.
"Can it bring the Colonel back to us?" LeBeau questioned, sadly.
Kinch sighed.
"No, it's not that great, but it'll help us well enough." Kinch started. "How about we hold off on the celebration? When Colonel finally wakes up, we can all go to the hospital and celebrate with him there."
"Hey, mate; that's a splendid idea!" Newkirk cheered.
"I like the sound of that, mon ami." LeBeau agreed.
"That way Colonel can celebrate with us." Carter added in.
Newkirk rolled his eyes.
"I think that's already been established, Andrew." Newkirk said, playfully.
Carter slouched down feeling a little embarrassed.
"Sorry," He simply spoke.
"Well," Kinch sighed. "At least there's one good thing that came out of this."
"What's that, mate?" Newkirk asked, taking another drag on his cigarette.
"We can finally go back to having things slightly normal around here, again."
Two months had gone by, since Hogan had been injured in the ball bearing explosion. It was the middle of July, so most of the time the prisoners were sitting in the shade with bottles of water or playing sports with others outside. Hardly no one stayed in the barracks, since it was so hot in them during the day. Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, and LeBeau, however, were a different story.
Kinch, Newkirk, and LeBeau were playing a game of gin, while Carter sat next to LeBeau and was wandering his mind with thoughts. He had a grim expression on his face and sighed sadly once and a while.
After a while, Newkirk grew concerned for his best friend.
"What's the matter, Andrew? Yah look awful down for some reason." Newkirk said.
"I'm alright...I'm just sad today, is all." Carter meekly replied.
Newkirk was puzzled for a moment, then it dawned on him why Carter was so saddened by today's arrival.
"Oh yeah; it's the Gov'nor's birthday...been so wound up with getting things back to normal around here and with all those missions assigned to us last week, I guess it slipped my mind." Newkirk said, growing sad now. He stared at the cards without really seeing them and slowly put his hand down on the table.
LeBeau threw in his hand and sighed. He could not keep pretending that today was just another day. Now that Carter had said something, he was free to open up and show his displeasement. The little Frenchman nodded.
"Oui, mon ami. Instead of the Colonel being here with us to celebrate, he continues to lay in a hospital bed fighting for survival." LeBeau said, depressed.
"I can't believe it's been two months already, and Colonel's still hasn't come out of his coma." Newkirk sadly said.
"I hope this doesn't mean anything." Carter whimpered.
"We'll know something soon enough, guys. Colonel wouldn't want us to worry about him, though." Kinch said, trying to lie to himself. He was just as worried about Hogan coming back as much as the rest of him. He was starting to subscumb to despair and pessimism. He was sure that Hogan would have waken up by now. Sadly, he had not, and the men were starting to have second thoughts unintentionally.
"Well, then why are we all so terrified, then?" LeBeau asked.
The four of them sat in silence, when the barracks door opened, and Klink came barging in. He seemed to be out of breath and fear had grown all over his face. The four prisoners turned to face the panting Kommandant and grew petrified.
"Kommandant, is everything alright?" Kinch asked, trying to keep his cool.
"I just got a call from the hospital. Colonel Hogan's condition has changed." Klink gasped.
"Good? Bad? What, Kommandant?" Newkirk exclaimed, shooting out of his seat.
"I don't know. Dr. Klaussner would not specify. All he said was to bring you four to the hospital right away." Klink replied.
"Oh, God; please don't be anything bad, sweet Heavenly father!" LeBeau pleaded, putting his hands together and staring to the ceiling.
"Come on, guys. The sooner we get there, the better." Kinch ordered.
The four of them followed Klink out to his car and left for the hospital at once.