Chapter 4:
"Major Hochstetter, this is absolutely absurd! Klink had nothing to with that sabotage and was asleep all night long when it occurred. Now, you have no proof connecting Klink to the crime!" Burkhalter clarified. "I want you to release him at once and drop him as a suspect."
Hochstetter made his way in front of the general and glared hard at him.
"Then why did I receive a phone call from an anonymous source saying he spotted Klink the night the train was blown up near the railroads with sticks of dynamite in his hand?" The major remarked, with a low growl.
Kalina's jaw dropped in horror. Who had made such an outrageous statement? Klink would never hurt, let alone kill innocent lives. Enemy or comrade, her father did not believe in violence as an answer to situations. Why would he suddenly snap into a different mindset one night and turn into a completely different person?
"That's ridiculous!" Klink cried. "I was here all night when the attack happened! You can even ask Sergeant Schultz. He was working the entire night."
"Enough with your claims, Klink. You will be taken to solitary confinement in the cooler until I hear from Berlin on what your punishment shall be...and I guarantee you you'll be wishing for combat duty at the Russian Front." The major snarled. He got the German colonel to gulp and quiver in response.
"That's a lie! You're lying!" Kalina cried, her voice filled with both fear and defensiveness.
"I have a transcript of the entire phone call if you wish to see it," Hochstetter said.
Kalina looked at her father about to be taken away in terror, then snapped her head to Burkhalter for help.
"General Burkhalter, do something, please!" She begged.
"There's nothing I can do to help your father now, my dear." The general turned to Klink and looked at him with no emotion. "I do not give aid to those who betray the Fuhrer."
Klink again swallowed a lump in his throat, looking at his commander with mercy.
"General Burkhalter, I would never ever do something to hurt the Third Reich. I am a loyal German officer and a loyal member to my country and its men." He pleaded.
Burkhalter looked at the kommandant briefly, turned to look at Kalina, who was holding her hands together and about to kneel down to beg for mercy, then he turned his head back to Klink.
"Hochstetter," he said, with no emotion. "Take him."
"No!" Kalina wailed.
"Gentlemen, escort our prisoner to solitary confinement." Hochstetter ordered.
"Jawohl, Herr Major," one of the Gestapo men, a captain, said.
"Papa!"
"I'll be alright, darling. You listen to General Burkhalter now," Klink said, surrendering to the Gestapo. A phone call from an anonymous source claiming he was spotted near the crime scene and now his own commanding officer against him. There was no hope left for him. He knew his fate. Soon both Hochstetter's men and Klink were gone and headed for the cooler.
Tears streaming down her face, Kalina bolted out of the office and hurried to Hogan's barracks.
"Colonel Hogan!" She called for. "Colonel Hogan, help!"
Inside the barracks, the American officer and his men were playing a game of gin when the faint yelling of a young teenager's was heard.
"Kalina?" Hogan gasped.
He quickly made his way to the door and flung it open to let a frantic Kalina in. She grabbed onto Hogan's arms tight and looked up at him with terror filled eyes.
"Colonel Hogan, help! You have to do something!" She cried.
"What happened?" The colonel asked, both concerned and a little stunned.
"Someone made a hoaky phone call to Hochstetter and said Papa was at the crime scene the night the train was blown up. They took Papa into solitary confinement, General Burkhalter disowned him, I don't know what to do, Colonel Hogan!" Kalina replied. Her small figure was engulfed with anxiety, and her blood veins were rushing full of adrenaline.
Hogan hushed her and rubbed her shoulder gently.
"Don't worry. We're gonna get your father's name cleared and find this crook who framed him," the American said, reassuring the young teen.
"How?!"
"Sssshhhhhhhh. Don't panic now; your father needs you now. He needs all of us now more than ever. We can't do that if you freak out, though."
"I can't help it! I'm panic when I'm scared!" Kalina wailed, her body shaking violently. Hogan rubbed her shoulder again to try and calm her. He kept hushing her and promising her that everything would be alright.
"I got an idea, Sir," Newkirk said, speaking up. "We go into the cooler when everyone's asleep, sneak Klink out of solitary confinement, then we ship him off to London until the end of the war."
"And just how are you going to get passed the men guarding Klink?" Hogan remarked, skeptical.
"Still working on that part unfortunately."
The colonel shook his head, then looked back at Kalina. He wrapped an arm around and held her close to his side.
"I don't want Papa to die! Don't let him die, Colonel Hogan!" She pleaded.
"He's not going to die. I promise he will not die. We won't allow it," Hogan said. "First we need to find out who made and where that hoaky phone call came from."
Kalina seemed to calm down slightly, but her body continued to rack with shaking. If there was anyone that could save her father now, it was Colonel Hogan and his unit.
Kinch stayed up until four in the morning that night tracking down any leads on who could have made the hoaky phone call to Hochstetter regarding Klink. He came up with very little, but found something that could be a big help into clearing Klink's name and getting Colonel Hogan and the rest of the guys out of suspicion.
After morning roll call with Burkhalter and Hochstetter leading it, the prisoners of barracks two made their separate ways, and Hogan found Kinch at the table and sat down beside his second in command.
"Kinch, you find anything?" The colonel asked.
"Not much, Sir. But after hours of contacting underground members and possible enemies Klink made in his past, I was able to get a recording of the conversation that happened between Hochstetter and that anonymous caller." The radioman answered.
"How did you manage to get that?" Hogan questioned, stunned at what he was hearing.
"You remember that recording device and phone tap we put in Hochstetter's office for one of our previous assignments?"
Hogan gave a wicked grin.
"Kinch, you're a diabolical genius," he said.
"Gee, Colonel...making me blush," Kinch said, with a shy smile.
Hogan took a drink of his morning coffee, when the door opened, and Kalina made her way inside. She looked drained, tired, and her eyes were puffy and pink from a night with little sleep.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Colonel Hogan," she said, ashamed she had not knocked first before entering.
"Not at all, kid. Sit down, and Louis'll get you a glass of milk." Kinch answered friendly.
Kalina sat down beside Hogan and leaned her head against the man's shoulder with a heavy sigh.
"How are you doing, hon?" The colonel asked.
"Numb," was all Kalina said.
"Don't be sad, buddy. We'll get Klink out of this, we always do," Carter said, with a hopeful smile. He sat down on Kalina's left and rubbed her arm gently.
The girl sniffled, never turning her eyes away from the table.
"Hochstetter and the Gestapo won't back down easily. I know they won't. I've seen people get dragged away by the Gestapo in the city...once they think you're a criminal, it's almost impossible to change their mind," she said, with pessimism.
"That may be true, but we're gonna do it, little mate. In fact, Kinch has something that'll give us a lead on who made that phony call to that Gestapo Kraut," Newkirk added, with confidence.
"What is it?" Kalina asked, lifting her head and looking at the Englishman with curiosity.
"I got a recording of the phone call between Hochstetter and the anonymous caller that occurred last night. We have a recording device and phone tap in his office from a previous assignment. It's not much, but better than nothing." The radioman answered.
"You think you might be able to find someone based off their voice?" Kalina asked, looking up at Hogan.
"At the moment, it's the only thing we can go off of...come on, guys. Let's go see if we can pinpoint this crook," Hogan said, getting to his feet.
The four enlisted men and Kalina followed the colonel down into the tunnels and headed off in the direction of the phone room.
Everyone gathered around Kinch, as he pushed a button on a small device to replay the recording.
"Hello, who is this?" Hochstetter's voice could be heard saying.
"Bloody Kraut." Newkirk grumbled.
Hogan hushed his English corporal and continued listening with Kalina standing on his left.
"Is this Major Hochstetter?" A gruff voice on the other end asked.
"Ja, this is he."
"I know of the sabotage that happened to that train last night. I know who caused the explosion."
"Who are you? Identify yourself."
"I can not. I am a part of the Luftwaffe, but that's all I can say for security reasons. The guilty party you are looking for is Kommandant Klink of Stalag 13."
"And how do you know this?"
"I'm a guard there and followed the Kommandant that night to the railroad tracks. He was carrying seven sticks of dynamite and a detonator with him. He wired the railways, blew the train up, and quickly left the scene before any patrols came to investigate the sudden 'booming' sound."
"If you are a guard at Stalag 13, then why are you turning in your commanding officer?"
"I serve no one but the Fuhrer, Herr Major. Anyone who is a traitor to them I must report to the Gestapo as a fellow member of the Third Reich."
"I see. Danke. I will look into this immediately."
"Heil Hitler."
"Heil Hitler."
And with that, the recording had ended, and Kinch turned in his chair to face the others.
"I recognize that voice," Kalina said, her face growing deeply puzzled.
"You do?" LeBeau asked, surprised.
"I've heard it before...I don't know where I've heard it, but I've definitely heard it before."
"If we were to listen to all the guards talking, you think you'd be able to identify it?" Hogan asked.
"If I saw who it was, yes." The young Klink answered.
"Newkirk, get a list of every guard in this camp and bring it back here as soon as your done. Exclude Schultz and Corporal Langenscheidt from it, though."
"Yes, Sir," the English corporal said, and hurried up the ladder into the barracks.
"Colonel Hogan," Kalina said.
The colonel turned his head towards her.
"Is there a way you can get me in to see Papa? I'm worried about him."
"I can try, but the cooler will be on tight security."
Kalina nodded.
"I understand," she answered sadly.
Hogan gave a gentle smile and put a hand on Kalina's shoulder.
"Come on, now. I think your father could really use seeing his little girl right now," he said.
Kalina smiled small and walked with Hogan out of the tunnels, out of the barracks, and headed towards the cooler.