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If You Want To Play Games, Okay...But I'll Win	By : WW2_Lover Category: G through L > Hogan's Heroes Views: 1043 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own ANY of these characters, ANY part of this series, or make ANY money from Hogan's Heroes. I'm just borrowing them for a little while. Any words with a * in front of them are lines directly from the show.

Chapter List
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Any words with a * in front of them are lines directly from the show.

Kommandant = Commander
Luftwaffe = The German name for their Air Force
Oflag = Short for ‘Offizierslager’, which translates to ‘Officer’s camp’
Stalag = Stalag is short for ‘Stammlager’, which is short for ‘Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager’. It translates to ‘prisoner-of-war camp’
Ja = Yes
Herr = Mister
Jawohl = Yes sir
Halt! = Stop!
Wehrmacht = The collective name of the German armed forces from 1935 – 1945
SS-Reichsführer = Leader of the Reich SS (Heinrich Himmler’s title)
Mein Gott = My God
Kommandtur = Commander’s office
Bitte = Please
Kriegsmarine = The German name for their Navy

Inside the Kommandtur, outside of Klink’s office…
It hasn’t even been two weeks since the last time something happened! Why me? Why did I listen to LeBeau’s crazy idea about that agent? Colonel Hogan’s heart was racing as he knocked on Klink’s office door. After their last two ‘discussions’, Hogan already knew he wouldn’t be able to sit properly for a while after tonight!
He just knew Colonel Klink would be extremely upset about all of this. Who wouldn’t be in his shoes?
It was one thing for Hogan to mess with Klink by himself, since he did it all the time. However in this case, he’d gone and gotten the Gestapo involved too! Not members of the Underground in disguise either, mind you. They had been honest-to-God ‘shoot you first and ask questions later’ members of the Gestapo.
Not to mention that they’d stolen the Kommandant’s staff car and scared Klink half to death. Making Klink think that Himmler himself had showed up while he was locked in a jail cell in Paris’ Gestapo headquarters had that effect…especially since the tall German hadn’t done anything wrong!
But the cherry on top was if he wanted to get technical about it, both him and LeBeau had ‘successfully escaped’ from Stalag 13. That last one would mean Klink’s perfect record ‘no escape’ record was destroyed if it had been reported. That record was the only thing that the German colonel seemed be truly proud of, and the younger colonel had almost shattered it. It was also the only thing that kept General Burkhalter from transferring Klink to the Russian Front.
This Hogan knew, since Burkhalter had said it in front of him on more than one occasion. He shuddered at the idea of what could have gone wrong, which was almost everything, like usual for most of his plans. Overall, he thanked his lucky stars that fate had been on his side. The added fact that the Germans were so terrified of their own government was a huge bonus, and it often came in handy for the Unsung Heroes’ operation.
As all of these memories flowed through Hogan’s mind like a movie, almost all of his courage left him. While the American colonel wasn’t a man who backed down from anything – ever – he felt like there was no time like the present to start, right? Klink had been simply furious last time, and that was over a firing squad! Okay, he could agree that being left to contemplate your own death was a horrible thing.
But being left to contemplate your own death and anticipating torture? Hogan was well aware of both how ‘hospitable’ the Gestapo could be, as well as their renowned ‘creative’ interrogation techniques, having been their unwilling guest before he’d arrived here. He also knew that this time, he had gone too far. And he wasn’t looking forward to the end results of his mistake!
With his mind made up on that matter, the remainder of his courage joined the large group of it that had already gone. He just couldn’t handle this conversation right now, so he spun on his heel and headed for the door. Hogan was eager to go back to his barracks and crawl under the thin blanket to get warm. That way, he could wait for the older man to calm himself down. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long for that to happen, and he could try to reason with the older man at that point. Alternatively, spending the rest of the war under the blanket in his bunk suddenly sounded like a great idea!
Hogan turned to the beautiful secretary, who was smiling at him. “Hey, Hilda? Tell the Kommandant I’ve got some urgent business to take care of, yeah? I’ll –”
Hogan was interrupted when he heard an annoyed “Enter!” from Klink’s office. Pretending he hadn’t heard it, the American waved to Hilda and walked towards the door. His hand was on the doorknob, just mere inches from blessed freedom. As soon as he got out that door, he’d be home free.
And that’s when heavy bootsteps were heard as the office door quickly swung open. Standing there – and looking ready to spank him within an inch of his life – was none other than the current Kommandant of Stalag 13. It was Colonel Klink, and Hogan was indeed grateful in that moment that looks couldn’t literally kill.
Damn, but Klink moved even faster when he was pissed off. And he was undoubtedly pissed off now. Hogan tried not to think about just how he knew Klink could move quickly at any other time, since that wouldn’t help him to stay calm and composed. Focus on the situation at hand, Rob, he told himself. You need to calm Klink down, and you need to do quickly!
“HOOO-GAAAN! Are you deaf now?” Klink’s words were sharper than any blade and colder than ice. He jabbed a long, slender finger at the inside of his office. “I do not know where you think you are going, but when I send for you, you will come and you will obey!”
Hogan slowly turned around at the sound of Klink’s voice, his heart sinking. Oh yeah, Klink was mad. Yet ‘mad’ was too polite a word to describe the German’s mood. ‘Livid’ would still be too soft a description, but it was more accurate. Despite everything, his stupid mouth still shot off of its own accord.
“Woof, woof,” he replied sarcastically, trying to distract himself. His stomach muscles were clenching unpleasantly as he desperately tried to figure a way out of this meeting. “But really, you’re gonna talk to me like that? I’m not a dog, Kommandant, and –”
Klink sliced a hand through the air sharply to silence him. “That is true. A dog listens far better,” he sneered. “In my office! NOW!” he yelled. Then he stood to the side and waited for Hogan to pass.
Hilda looked at Hogan quizzically, for she had never seen her boss this upset. He shrugged at her, trying to look nonchalant about the whole thing. “Cancel that request, I guess. See you later, Hilda.”
He straightened his shoulders as he walked toward the office, but a sharp glare from Klink made them slump as he shuffled inside. Well done, his common sense said sarcastically. Bravo! He heard mocking applause in his head as it mocked him. Klink’s already beyond livid, and you decide to antagonize him because you can’t keep your smart-ass comments to yourself. I hope you know that you deserve whatever you get.
Mentally snarling at that unhelpful part of him to shut up, Hogan quickly sat down in his normal chair as so to keep the inevitable target of Klink’s wrath protected. He didn’t think that anything would happen to him right now, not where anyone could walk in on them or even hear it. But he wasn’t taking any chances. Deciding that it was also best to put some distance between him and his self-appointed disciplinarian, he scooted the chair away from the desk.
Klink all but slammed his office door before briskly walking behind his desk and slamming his palms on it. He debated whether or not he wanted to sit down as he glared icily at Hogan. The younger colonel was holding his crush cap in front of him like a shield and attempting to become invisible. That sight alone would have been funny if he wasn’t so angry.
“So.” The older colonel came out from behind his desk and slowly walked in a circle around Hogan, sizing him up as he thought about what to say next. “Colonel Robert Hogan does it again.”
His voice dripped with anger, and his German accent was thicker than Hogan had ever heard it before. Klink was actually difficult to understand right now, and normally Hogan understood the him just fine. The German officer never used his rank and both of his names together at the same time either, so this was clearly serious.
“A thick-headed, stubborn troublemaker who will just not listen to me, nor learn how to behave!” By that time, Klink had come full circle and slammed his palms on his desk again for emphasis.
It took every ounce of self-control Klink had not to grab Hogan’s arm and march him across the camp to his quarters, irregardless of what anybody else thought. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was the knowledge that everyone out there would see them, which meant that the prisoners would likely riot in protest of their commanding officer’s treatment. And he didn’t need any more problems at Stalag 13, damnmit!
But oh, how Klink longed to do just that…followed by spanking his unruly troublemaker until he could never sit down again. And I do mean ‘never’, he thought angrily. He would discipline the sly American every day if he had to, but he would get his point across!
What is wrong with Hogan? the tall German thought. Is he insane? He not only left the camp somehow without any of the guards seeing him, but then he drags another person into his shenanigans? Does he not know that escaped prisoners are typically shot on sight?
Judging by the continuous death glares he was receiving from the Luftwaffe colonel, he hadn’t succeeded in becoming invisible. And Klink walking around him like that wasn’t helping his nerves! Sighing, he debated his next move as he looked at the older man. Was it bad that he actually preferred the semi-affectionate term ‘brat’ to ‘troublemaker’? But not in a romantic way or anything like that! It’s just...well, Klink’s usually teasing me when he uses that term is all. There’s nothing weird about wanting things to stay on friendly terms, right?
Looking over at the German officer, he flinched slightly at what he saw in the other man’s eyes. This wasn’t their usual games of teasing, going back and forth as Hogan baited him. There was no joking around as Hogan got Klink to give him valuable information on accident. No, this was a hardened soldier, the man that Klink must have been in World War One. A man who, at the moment, could give the SS goons a run for their money in intimidation. And unfortunately, all of that ire was directed at him.
“What? Cat got your tongue?” Klink sneered. “Or have you finally run out of excuses, Hogan?”
As the American colonel opened his mouth, Klink shook his head before dropping in his chair with a sigh. He buried his face in his hands and spoke, but it was muffled.
“Um…what did you just say, sir? I couldn’t understand you.” Hogan really didn’t want to know, since he was sure it meant nothing good for him. But at the same time, his curiosity couldn’t be denied.
Klink lifted his head and sighed, looking quite tired and done with it all. He massaged his temples as he gave Hogan a weary glance. When he spoke again, the anger was gone from his voice. Instead, it was instead replaced by resignation. “I said, why do even I bother? Why do I even try?”
The older man gave Hogan a quick glance. “Obviously, you do not care to change your behavior. You insist on causing me problems at every turn. To be frank, I cannot understand why you are even here. As an officer, you really should be in an Oflag. Yet my life has been nothing but one big headache since you arrived. And I am done with it.”
With a sigh, Klink spoke with a resigned tone of voice. “And transferring you to another stalag would do no good, since I have no doubts you would just begin your mischief anew there.”
He had considered his options and didn’t like the only one that was left. “I suppose I should call up Major Hochstetter and tell him to come get you as soon as he is able. He can take you to the Hammelburg Gestapo headquarters and take over responsibility for you.”
The mere mention of that idea left a bitter taste in Klink’s mouth. If there was one thing he had always able to do efficiently, it was protecting his prisoners. And yet he had managed to fail at that too! I can already see the triumphant look on Hochstetter’s face when he shows up, Klink thought with disgust as he continued on.
“I cannot stand him, you understand. Neither can some of the members of his special ‘club’. But I see no other option anymore. I cannot handle this stress, and I cannot handle you, Hogan. I have tried reason. I have tried the cooler. And I have tried punishment. Yet you persist in this foolishness, and I can do no more to help you. I cannot try to protect a man who insists on putting himself in harm’s way with his tomfoolery!”
Klink’s voice rose as he expressed his frustration with the younger man and the reasons behind his chosen course of action. If he was spineless enough to turn the American officer over to the likes of Hochstetter, he felt Hogan at least deserved to know why.
Then the tall German shook his head. “I know you and I do not always see eye to eye. Yet I have to think of all the prisoners, not just you. And I must think of the men under my command as well. Perhaps if he has you – the man he ridiculously keeps claiming is Papa Bear – he will leave Stalag 13 in relative peace.”
His blue eyes fell upon the younger man, his expression full of pain and pity. “I am sorry, Hogan. Truly, I am. But I have the needs of many to think of.”
And I wish there was some other way, Hogan. I will never forgive myself for this, Klink thought. He had no clue how he was going to inform Hogan’s men of this, nor how he would explain why he’d done it.
Even though he wasn’t obliged to tell them anything, the older man knew how it felt to have decisions made for you and not be told why. After his current senior POW officer was gone, Klink would at least do Hogan’s men that small courtesy. It was the least he could do, considering he was well aware of the irate major’s temper and unwarranted vendetta against Hogan. Thus, he knew that it wasn’t likely that Hogan would survive the war once he had left Stalag 13.
The American colonel’s emotions were bouncing all over the place as he kept silent for once and listened to the tall German speak. He knew he was actually supposed to be in an Oflag, because in this country, officers were separated from enlisted men. Yet some important general had ordered him to be placed here instead.
And he only knew that much because the Gestapo officer who’d taken the phone call had kept repeating the words “Ja, Herr General” and “Jawohl, Herr General!” It would have been easier to solve the mystery if the officer had mentioned a name, or if he’d been close enough to hear the other end of the conversation. Regrettably, he’d been chained to a metal chair across the room at the time, only half-conscious.
Frankly, Hogan owed his life to whoever that mysterious general was. The agents in Hammelburg hadn’t been happy with his refusal to give them anything other than his name, rank and serial number. One had put his hand on his gun holster threateningly, while the other one had picked up a few rather nasty looking items to use on him.
They’d been in the process of heading towards him with them too, unpleasant grins on both of their faces. He’d been awake enough to see that much, but he couldn’t have stopped them even if he’d wanted to. And the chair had been bolted to the wall, so it wasn’t like he could’ve even tipped it over or something. Not that would have helped anyway, mind you.
But that fateful phone call had changed everything for him. The next thing he knew, a sharp “Halt!” had rung through the air, followed by rapid-fire orders in German being barked by the senior Gestapo officer at the two others. And they still hadn’t mentioned a friggin’ name!
Hogan spoke fluent German and normally would have understood exactly what they said, except that his mind had still been foggy from their ‘interrogation’. Well, if you could even call it that. Luckily, the word ‘halt’ was easy enough to understand. Even in German, it apparently held the same meaning as its English equivalent.
He’d been untied from the chair and yanked roughly to his feet. His hands had been chained in iron manacles behind his back, with matching leg irons on his ankles. Then he’d been all but dragged outside and stuffed in the back of a black truck with the bold SS runes painted on the side in white. One of the agents had sat next to Hogan with a loaded pistol pointed at his heart. They’d arrived in record time at Stalag 13, where they’d then turned over custody of him to a clearly confused Colonel Klink.
The German officer had asked the Gestapo agents why a full colonel was being assigned to his camp instead of an Oflag. But the answer had been a vague “Because the general said so. Call himself yourself if you require more details.” How Klink was supposed to call a general when he didn’t know their name was beyond him. The American officer just chalked it up to German bureaucracy issues.
Thankfully, the goons had left right after that. Hogan couldn’t say he was sorry to see them go as he’d been processed and assigned to Barracks 2. After that, he’d settled into life the senior POW officer at Stalag 13. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but it beat his previous treatment at the Gestapo headquarters any time.
And after meeting Major Hochstetter months later, Hogan was eternally grateful the irritable man hadn’t been the one in charge of him that day. Given how much they clashed, he highly doubted he would’ve lasted too long before the Gestapo officer shot him.
But the rush of memories quickly faded into the background as Hogan continued to listen. Huh? He’s transferring me? No, he can’t do that! Hogan thought angerly. Theoretically, the American supposed that actually wasn’t true though. He was only a prisoner of war, after all. So he kind of had to go wherever they sent him.
Hogan’s anger also faded as shock replaced it. He’s handing me over to that lunatic? No, no! Klink had always tried to protect all of his prisoners as best as he could, so that didn’t make any sense. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that the two Germans barely tolerated each other, so what was going on here?
The answer to that question was soon forthcoming as the older man spoke. So, wait…Klink’s transferring me into Hochstetter’s custody because he feels like he can’t protect me? What the fuck kind of logic is that?
None of this was adding up, so Hogan was panicking as Klink began to reach for the phone. As a result, he didn’t hear the part about him supposedly being Papa Bear. I can’t let him do that! I don’t care about me, but my men, our operation…no! He grabbed Klink’s slender wrist, his grip strong.
“No, wait! Please, just listen to me first,” the senior POW officer begged. He’d need every trick he had up his sleeve to nip this in the bud now, unless he wanted to end up dead eventually inside of Gestapo headquarters.
The German colonel blinked in surprise and looked down at his wrist, which the younger officer held in a firm grip. He probably should have been more concerned about that, but it didn’t exactly occur to him in that moment. “Wait for what? You wish for me to delay that phone call?”
Hogan nodded frantically, causing the older man to roll his eyes. “Why? You know as well as I do that sooner or later, that foul-tempered man will barge in here and start making demands anyway. Demands that I either cannot or will not meet. He will want to take you from here as he always does, and I will not stop him this time.”
As the American begged him to hear him out, he sighed heavily and groaned. “I do not even know why I am listening to you, but…alright. I shall give you one more chance. Give me a reason not to call him, Hogan. A real reason, and not one of your lies!”
Though he hated to admit it, he was relieved at the temporary reprieve. He didn’t want to see the shorter man even whenever he decided to show up here, so he wasn’t exactly relishing the idea of inviting the irate major to his camp! Klink really disliked Hochstetter with all of his constant screaming and threats.
The tall German despised anyone visiting him here, if he was being honest with himself. It seemed like visitors brought nothing but trouble. Klink just wanted to run his camp in peace, which was why he often overlooked his Sergeant of the Guard’s habit of ‘seeing, hearing and knowing nothing’ bit that he did so often. Klink only wished he could do the same…but as the Kommandant of Stalag 13, he simply didn’t have that luxury.
Hogan gulped but let go of Klink’s wrist. Here it was, the end game. It was double or nothing and his next play would make or break his operation, so he needed to make this good. He sat back in his chair as he scooted it back to the normal spot. Then he allowed himself to look as helpless as he currently felt, too anxious to try and hide his feelings at the moment. His next words would decide not only his future, but that of his men and their mission. That being the case, he sucked in a deep breath.
“Let’s start with an apology from me,” replied Hogan unexpectedly. Klink looked at him with fire blazing in his blue eyes, which looked surprisingly eerie due to the shade of blue they were. Yet Hogan pressed on, needing to make Klink understand that he actually wanted to be here instead of anywhere else if he had to be trapped in Germany.
God help him, but despite his previous jokes about it, Hogan actually considered this a second home of sorts now. It wasn’t the location that made it a home, but the company around him. His men were the most loyal friends he could’ve ever asked for, and even the guards were decent enough people.
In any event, the American officer needed Klink to know that Hogan wasn’t actively trying to make trouble for him. So he needed to make this count. Maybe revealing a little truth and mixing it with a lot of lies would help?
“I’m sorry, Colonel Klink. I’m sorry more than you can ever know. Things weren’t meant to go this far. Everything just sort of spiraled out of control, as it usually does around here.”
The younger officer shrugged, a wary look on his face as he debated what he could safely reveal. “There was never any intention to get real members of the Gestapo involved, and I –”
Klink growled before losing his temper again. Why had he bothered giving the younger colonel another chance? Hogan was handing him a load of crap instead of telling him the truth, as he always did.
“Of course they did! They always go too far whenever you are involved, Hogan. But what you fail to realize is this…it is not just me you put in danger. You put yourself in danger, you foolish troublemaker! Not to mention the French cockroach. I –” The older man cut himself off as Hogan’s words registered. What kind of tall tales was his sneaky brat trying to tell him now?
“I beg your pardon? Members of the ‘real’ Gestapo?” Klink rolled his eyes at the sheer insolence of the American colonel. What nerve…he asks that I listen to him and then hands me such lies! “Hogan, every member of the Gestapo is a ‘real’ member. Next I suppose you will tell me that you know some Gestapo impersonators!” retorted Klink.
His eyes met the other colonel’s, who was quiet for once as he looked away. Hmmm…interesting. Normally, Hogan will not ever shut up, mused the tall German. He also keeps eye contact with me as a rule.
Sighing wearily, Klink prayed for even a shred of patience as he tried to figure out what game Hogan was playing now. ‘Real’ members of the Gestapo indeed! The thought crossed his mind as he frowned.
Something unsettling had just occurred to him, and the Luftwaffe officer didn’t like it at all. But if Hogan knows people who impersonate Gestapo members, then that means he knew them before he was shot down. That is a highly unlikely occurrence for an American. And who would want to pretend to be in the Gestapo anyway?
Klink’s brow furrowed at the direction his logic was headed in. But then…how did he contact them and tell them where to be? He is a prisoner of war, and there has never been a successful escape from Stalag 13! The only other explanation is…oh no. His eyes widened a little bit as the only answer that could be correct occurred to him.
No, I refuse to believe it! The Kommandant looked at his senior POW officer questioningly, who was squirming slightly in his seat. His body language additionally indicated that he was nervous. Since Hogan was usually calm as a cucumber, the squirming by itself only added to his suspicions.
Klink wasn’t as dumb as everyone seemed to believe. He knew perfectly well there was no way that Sergeant Schultz could ‘see nothing’, ‘hear nothing’ and ‘know nothing’ all of the time, especially given that he was always in Barracks 2. Even though socializing with the prisoners was forbidden, the fat sergeant had a way of just ‘happening to be there’ when it was most convenient on a regular basis. Anyone with that many vision and hearing issues would have never qualified to be in the Wehrmacht at all, never mind become a pilot in the Luftwaffe.
And Sergeant Schultz had fought in World War One, just like he had. He also knew that he himself was guilty of turning a blind eye to some of the more ‘unusual’ incidents involving his senior POW officer and/or his men. He disliked playing the fool immensely, but it successfully kept him out of trouble with General Burkhalter. It also kept him out of trouble with Major Hochstetter and his Gestapo goons. Until now, anyway.
The older man glanced at the younger colonel again as something occurred to him. “Hogan, that Gestapo man in Paris…he said you knew SS-Reichsführer Himmler on a first-name basis. I thought he had gone mad, until I saw you interact with the man. You called him ‘Heinrich’. Now tell me the truth! Was that actually Himmler? Or is this yet another trick you were playing?”
Klink shook a slender finger at Hogan. “Himmler is not a nice man by any means, Colonel Hogan. He has no sense of humor, and he does not play games of any kind.” And he wasn’t kidding when he said that! Well, none of the men in black have a sense of humor anyway, he reasoned.
A dark look crossed his features as he considered the possibility that somehow, his troublemaker had gotten the leader of the SS/Gestapo involved in his mischief. Klink himself couldn’t just call Himmler’s office and be put directly through, even if he wanted to. Not that he ever did, mind you. That being the case, how had Hogan managed such a thing? For that matter, what phone had he used? There were no pay phones in the camp, and he knew no such calls had been made in his office!
Scowling, the tall German stated, “God help you and your ability to sit down in the foreseeable future if you have involved him in one of your crazy schemes, because I will –”
Klink paled and cut himself off as what exactly would happen in the end occurred to him. “I will be shot. Mein Gott, they will kill me! And Major Hochstetter will be all too happy to lead the way, as you know he dislikes anyone and everyone. And I know that with me that it goes beyond mere dislike, it is actual hate. He has made no secret of that fact.”
He placed his head in his hands. “Oh no. Oh no, this is terrible.” He sank down in his chair, a terrified look on his face. The older man needed to know if he should be expecting a black staff car with the bold SS runes in white on the side to be rolling through the gates at some point, and if so when he could expect them to be here.
And how would he even go about finding that out anyway? Klink certainly wasn’t going to call the man in question and ask! The mere question might plant a suggestion in Himmler’s head if it hadn’t been there before, since the leader of the SS/Gestapo was notoriously trigger-happy.
Not to mention that it would raise questions that he didn’t want to answer, such as the security of Stalag 13 and the numerous odd things that happened here…which again, would end up with him facing a firing squad. Only in that case, it’d be for incompetence. Either way, I am a walking dead man, he thought gloomily.
The Luftwaffe officer had no desire to end his long career in such a dishonorable way, which was what appeared to be the case now. And Hogan still hadn’t answered him. By now, the German officer was scared of what the answer was. Surely if the answer was a ‘no’, the American colonel would have told him so by now, right? Oh, this wasn’t good.
“Answer me, Hogan! Was that or was that not Himmler? I need to know if I need to get my affairs in order! You owe me that much.” Then Klink’s mind begun to race as he considered what he needed to do next, and which items had priority.
Hogan swallowed hard, since he didn’t particularly want to answer that. Yet he didn’t want to be at the whim of Hochstetter’s tender mercies either. He decided to answer the question anyway. Even if Klink really did decide to spank him within an inch of his life later on for this – and the odds for that were increasing rapidly by the moment – it was still better than the alternative!
“First of all, just relax, Colonel Klink. That wasn’t the real Himmler. I don’t know him, and I don’t want to know him. It was just an imposter.” He gave a shadow of his normal grin and continued on.
“That is, unless Himmler’s ditched ol’ scramble-brains, is now supporting the Czar and has developed a Russian accent.” Hogan had noticed how distressed Klink was and was trying to calm him down. After all, it wouldn’t do if the Iron Eagle decided to take flight out of panic. Or even if he decided to off himself before the perceived threat to his life arrived. And his ‘American sense of humor’ – as Klink often put it – seemed like the best way to accomplish his goal.
“Hogan! Do not say such things, someone will hear you!” Klink looked nervously at his required picture of Hitler that hung on the wall. He wished he could take it down, but that would also raise questions he didn’t want asked!
“Mind you, I do not know how you did this. I do not wish to know either, not that you will tell me anyhow. But if that was an imposter dressed as Himmler, then does that mean that the Gestapo men were –”
He cut himself off, unable to voice the question. Was it really true? Did he dare to get his hopes up? Klink had always had his hopes and dreams crushed every time he’d dared to think of them before. So it went without saying that he was leery of having it happen yet again.
“Fake? Yeah.” Hogan grinned, glad Klink seemed to be understanding him. As a bonus, the older man didn’t appear to be upset with him anymore. He’d done it! He had successfully avoided another spanking. Wow, that feels like a really weird thing to be happy about.
“At least those particular ones were, but don’t worry…the real ones were under control. Like I said before, Kommandant, I’d never put you in any danger,” the American colonel stated.
He coughed and added, “Although LeBeau and I did requisition your staff car and blamed the Gestapo for it, so –”
“YOU DID WHAT?!” Klink bellowed as he leaped to his feet. While he was grateful that the real Himmler hadn’t been mixed up in all of this – and that he would live yet another day – this was still unacceptable behavior.
“There you go again, you troublemaker! You and the cockroach stole my staff car, let me call the actual Gestapo instead of making sure I reached the imposters, let make a fool of myself by blaming them for it, and –”
What am I even saying? This is utter madness! he thought as he cut himself off, sitting back down with a sigh.
“Hogan, you will be the death of me one day.” Klink looked at his senior POW officer, who was the perfect picture of innocence. The American colonel also looked very pleased with himself, presumably about his latest scheme.
Well, he will not look so happy in a moment, the German officer thought. Even though he wouldn’t be transferring Hogan anywhere, Klink still had to make it clear that he would not get off scot-free. “Once again, we will have a ‘discussion’ about this tonight. You will meet me at 2200 hours in my quarters. You know the routine by now.”
As expected, this announcement wiped the smile off of Hogan’s face. He thought he’d gotten himself out of hot water earlier. Guess I celebrated too soon, he thought sadly. His stomach twisted in anticipation of the long wait until that time, since it was only noon right now.
The younger man also really, really didn’t want to know what Klink would use on him tonight! Given the fact that each time his butt hurt worse than the time before, he wasn’t eager to find out just how bad things could get for him. The last time, it’d taken almost a week before he only had faint marks.
Sadly, it seemed as if he would be doing so anyway. And I told you before, you deserve whatever you get, came that snarky voice again. Just be happy you’re not getting transferred anywhere and shut up! But Hogan wasn’t a man who could just let things go, which was the main problem he had during these discussions.
“But sir! I thought I just told you what happened,” he protested feebly.
“You have told me what I am sure is only half the story, Hogan. We have other issues to discuss later on, of that I am sure.” Klink frowned as Hogan mumbled something else.
“Speak up, Hogan, I cannot understand you when you mumble! What did you say?” the tall German asked sharply.
Hogan closed his eyes in shame before repeating his last statement. “I said, I don’t want a spanking, sir.” His stomach was in knots now and he felt sick. Somehow he didn’t think his protest was going to do him any good, but he had to try. And he was proven to be correct rather quickly.
Klink got his ‘nasty-happy’ grin on his face. “Well, as I said before Hogan, you should have thought of that before you got yourself into even more trouble. Rest assured, your spanking tonight will be well-deserved.” And just how well-deserved it will be is something you are unaware of right now, my troublemaker, thought Klink. He remembered very well the promise he’d made that first night right before his brat had left, even if Hogan didn’t. And after the scare the American had just given him, he was certainly going to keep it.
“It’s always well-deserved, according to you,” Hogan shot back as he opened his eyes. He wished as he saw Klink’s wicked grin that he hadn’t said that, but it was too late now. All he could do was avoid further putting his foot in his mouth.
Klink raised an eyebrow. “Are you being a smart-mouth, Colonel Hogan?” He smirked at the American officer, amused by his inability to know when to keep silent.
“I do not think that is wise in your present situation. But if you do, feel free to carry on. I will wait until you are finished.” The older colonel gave Hogan a questioning look, wondering if he was really going to dig the hole any deeper than he already had.
“Well, go ahead.” You are already in for a world of pain tonight, Hogan…do not make it worse! He silently willed the other officer to somehow figure that out for himself, because he sure wasn’t going to say what he was thinking outright!
Hogan shook his head, unwilling to earn himself a single swat more than whatever Klink decided to give him. “Uh…nope. No one’s being a smart-mouth over here, sir. And it’s definitely not me being one in any way. I was just giving you my opinion, and there’s no harm in that, right?” Speaking of swats, he still didn’t know what would be used on him tonight!
The next ten hours were going to be pure torture, seeming to drag on forever. That was what always happened, and he had no reason to expect that it’d be any different this time. Part of him wanted to ask his question outright, but his common sense disagreed. So for a change, he actually listened to it and kept his big mouth shut. The younger colonel was already starting to feel sorry for himself, and he was convinced that it showed on his face.
Klink gave a small smile. “Indeed there is not…and that is what I thought.” He gave Hogan an appraising look, noting that he already looked remorseful about his earlier words. That was encouraging, at any rate. “That is all, and I will see you tonight then.” He gave the senior POW officer a salute. “Dis-missed!”
Hogan returned the salute, but it was half-hearted. “Sure. See you then, sir.” He turned and left Klink’s office, heading back to his barracks. Maybe Carter would be willing to play some checkers and help him kill the time. As he closed the office door, Hilda gave him a hug and he returned it.
“What was wrong with the Kommandant? I have never seen him so furious before,” she whispered as she took in his forlorn expression. “Colonel Hogan, what have you done now?” she asked as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Me? Not a thing,” said Hogan with forced cheer and a fake smile. “He’s just mad because our boys keep picking off the Germans like fish in a barrel. Guess he needed someone to yell at and vent to, but he’s fine now.” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you later, sweetie. I’ve got business to take care of.” He waved and left the Kommandtur, closing the outer door behind him.
Klink groaned to himself as his office door shut behind Hogan. He wasn’t quite sure what possessed him to give the wily American colonel yet another chance, but that’s what he was apparently doing. So Hogan thought he had him wrapped around his little finger, eh? Well, nobody pushed Wilhelm Klink around!
The tall German would make this lesson so severe that Hogan would have to literally be dead to forget it. Which, at the rate he kept having to up the severity of discipline, was a possibility. No, I will not kill him, he thought.
But I will teach him to listen to me, or so help me God he will be my prisoner even after the war ends! Who knows, his superiors might even thank me. The very idea of being thanked by the Allied brass for keeping a behavioral leash – so to speak – on Colonel Hogan brought a smile to Klink’s lips as he returned to his paperwork.

2200 hours, Klink’s quarters…
Klink was sitting on his sofa, awaiting the arrival of his trouble-making senior POW officer. He hadn’t moved the coffee table away from it this time, as there was no need. This time they would be in his bedroom with rope restraints. As he had told Hogan before, he had no wish to harm or injure him. He just wanted to provide some much needed discipline. He heard a knock at the door as he glanced at his watch. Whatever else you said about Hogan, he was punctual! Well, when he wanted to be anyway, said his inner voice.
“Enter!” he called out. Klink had left the door unlocked tonight, so that the American would be able to enter at will. The door opened, and in trudged a very unhappy-looking Colonel Hogan. “Hi, Colonel Klink,” he said miserably. He could honestly say that he wasn’t looking forward to this at all.
As expected, the last ten hours had been mental anguish. Hogan had finally given up worrying about what was to come, preferring to get a nap in instead. That had worked for exactly forty-five minutes before he woke up. The rest of the time he’d alternated between pacing, losing spectacularly at cards and helping to dig their newest tunnel.
He took off his bomber jacket and crush cap, hanging them both up before shuffling over to the older man. His expression was a mix of gloomy and remorseful. “Let’s just get this over with so I can go figure out a comfortable position to lie down in and cry myself to sleep in my barracks.”
The statement was said with as bland a tone as he could manage. Then he looked down at the table, which unlike the previous two times hadn’t been moved. “Hey, did you change your mind?” Hogan’s voice might have sounded hopeful, but he wasn’t counting on being that lucky.
Klink raised an eyebrow. “You surprise me, Hogan. You claim you hate being spanked, yet you all but demand a quick start to the main event.” He saw Hogan looking at the table and heard the hopeful tone of voice as he asked his question. Will this brat never learn? he wondered.
He let a smirk cross his face as he replied. “You are not that fortunate,” he added. He watched the younger man’s face fall and continued. “I have just have a few questions for you first, and then we will proceed. As I told you before: a German officer does not joke about such things, nor does he break his word. I assure you, I will always keep my word to you on this, Hogan.”
“Gee, thanks. You know, feel free to joke about or break your word to me regarding this at any time, sir,” Hogan quipped. “I would hate for you to go to so much trouble on my account,” he added.
Klink’s smirk only grew. “Ah, but it is no trouble at all Hogan. After all, I would hate for you to feel unwelcome. I wish for you to feel wanted,” he said with a smile.
“That’s what I was afraid of. I don’t mind feeling unwanted…really. Honestly, it’s not a problem at all,” pouted Hogan as he sat down next to Klink. Since it seemed like his rear end was safe for the moment, he thought it was best to keep it protected as long as he could!
“But it is rude to make someone feel unwanted, Hogan. That is just bad manners.” Klink’s smile vanished as he looked at the American, with a glower replacing it.
“Now, since you are so eager to begin your punishment, answer me this: in what strange way did you rationalize not only risking being shot as an escaping prisoner of war, but taking another prisoner with you? Out of Germany, no less!”
Klink’s voice was firm, with no warmth to it at all. “I am not so much concerned for my own welfare, although being a pawn in your scheme does irritate me. But the fact that you put yourself in danger is foolish, Hogan! And not just you, but Corporal LeBeau as well.”
Hogan looked down at his hands. What could he say? He couldn’t give away the real reason why he and LeBeau had hitched a ride on Klink’s staff car. “Oh yeah, by the way Colonel Klink, we stowed away on the roof of your staff car so we could free an underground agent in Paris. But we always intended on coming back to Stalag 13 after we were done, so no hard feelings, right?”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. Hogan also couldn’t answer how they’d gotten out, not unless he wanted to condemn every POW here to a firing squad. And he definitely wasn’t going to do that. Either way, he had to come up with an explanation, and quick.
Hogan had just managed to come up with something that sounded somewhat plausible that might satisfy the inquiry made. That is, until he remembered that the older colonel liked to have eye contact when being spoken to. So he looked up and met Klink’s eyes, That was a mistake, because he could see the curiosity in them. And oddly, there appeared to be a feeling of betrayal in them as well.
All at once, the planned lie he had concocted evaporated into the air. Fortunately for Hogan though, he worked well off the cuff, and so he opted to tell the tall German a vague truth mixed with a lie. “I’d love to tell you, sir. Really, I would. But…I can’t.”
Hogan sighed before adding “It’s better if you don’t know anyway, as it’ll be safer for you.” His voice sounded choked up as he added, “Just know that while there was some danger, we always had a backup plan. And LeBeau volunteered to go, so don’t be mad at him sir.”
He finally broke eye contact and looked down, ashamed. “If you’re gonna be mad at someone, I’m the guy you want. I’m their commanding officer, and my men can only follow my orders,” he finished weakly. This wasn’t going to end well for him, he just knew it.
Hogan might have thought Klink was joking after the first punishment. That is, until he’d received the second one. That event alone left him no doubt that Klink meant what he said before, and a chill ran down Hogan’s spine as he recalled an earlier conversation they’d had on the subject. “I meant what I said. The next time, you will feel my riding crop. And my belt if it happens a third time.”
The senior POW officer quickly did some calculations in his head. If he’d already been here twice, that would mean…oh no. Surely this wasn’t that serious a situation, right? You know that’s a lie, or he wouldn’t have been so furious earlier, said his common sense.
Okay, then wasn’t almost getting Klink killed far worse than this? Maybe the German was just joking with him! Sometimes Klink tried his hand at being intimidating, which usually failed. It was at that time the American officer recalled something else he had been previously told: “I can assure you Hogan, a German officer never jokes about such things. And we always keep our word.”
Apparently not, then. Well…shit. I’m so screwed, the younger colonel thought. It was shaping up to be another restless night as he tried to find a good position to sleep in, plus another few days of not sitting down comfortably.
But somehow, Hogan had a feeling that this spanking would be the worst yet. He felt a tingling sensation in his sit-spots as the blood drained from his face. While he didn’t have firsthand experience with such a thing, Hogan knew people who did. To say being punished with a belt was extremely painful was putting it lightly. German discipline clearly wasn’t the thing he should be testing, and yet he managed to do it anyway.
That’s because you’re an idiot who can’t follow instructions, and clearly you’re a glutton for punishment as well, Hogan’s common sense snapped at him. Klink gave you two orders; stay out of trouble and control your men. And you can’t even do that? You deserve every swat and more! You almost gave the Iron Eagle a heart attack earlier, you scared him so badly.
While Hogan knew he tended to ‘run wild’, as the Kommandant so eloquently put it at times, it couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t even forty yet and he was already a full colonel, which gave him an inflated ego. In addition to that, he was currently a prisoner of war in ‘the toughest POW camp in all of Germany.’ There was an active war going on, yet Hogan was unable to contribute to the fight as much as he wanted to. He was stuck in the heart of enemy territory, running an espionage ring instead.
Hogan didn’t like being a captive in any shape, form or fashion. He liked to be free to do whatever he wanted to do, whenever he wanted to do it. And that’s why he’d joined the Army Air Force in the first place, because he wanted to fly. He got his greatest adrenaline rushes and his greatest joy when he was piloting an airplane. The man who’d shot him down – General Biedenbender of the Luftwaffe – had once called him ‘an eagle in a cage.’ To be honest, that description was completely accurate.
Klink steepled his fingers as a curious look came over his face. He saw the blood suddenly drain from his senior POW’s face and wondered what he was thinking about. More importantly, had the grave seriousness of everything he’d done sunk into that thick skull of his yet? The German colonel didn’t know…and he hadn’t really expected Hogan to give him a straight answer, if he was being honest with himself.
Klink was still upset about getting tossed in jail at the Paris Gestapo headquarters, although he had to admit that Hogan was a sly one. The fact that Hogan hadn’t ordered LeBeau to go was a point in his favor, and the fact that they had both returned to Stalag 13 in the end was another one. Which reminded him…
“How exactly did you get to Paris, anyway?” he inquired. This would be interesting to hear. “Especially as I called Stalag 13 and spoke to you here.”
The Kommandant gave Hogan a knowing glance. “Even a man of your apparent talents cannot be in two places at the same time, Colonel Hogan.”
Another question came to mind as he spoke. “For that matter, how did you call that impersonator and tell him where to be?”
Hogan winced. Klink was asking questions he couldn’t answer, not if he wanted to keep the ‘traveler’s aid society’ up and running. His mind was racing as he tried to think of an excuse. “Would you believe we flew there?” he offered weakly. “And I called him from the hotel, of course.” That sounded reasonable enough, right? He sure hoped so.
Thankfully, Klink seemed to buy that part of his lie, even as he shook his head. “Not a chance. On what airplane? Or did you suddenly sprout wings like a bird?”
He sighed. Dealing with Hogan was an exercise in pure frustration! “Try again, and tell me the truth this time,” he advised.
Now he was even more curious about what had really happened. Hogan could lie like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, that much Klink knew. Though at this point, he seemed to be all out of excuses. So instead, Klink just sat there and patiently waited.
The American colonel sighed wearily. “Look, I can’t tell you that either, sir.” Seeing the unhappy look on Klink’s face, he added, “I can’t tell you any details about any of it; how we got there, what we were doing, how you talked to me here at the camp when I was in Paris or anything else.”
He looked up at the German colonel, and his eyes were both pleading and sincere. “I don’t wanna lie to you, sir. I’ve got no problem messing with Schultzie on occasion, but I have enough respect for you that it would make me feel worse than I already do. So please, just let it go,” Hogan requested as he hung his head.
To his absolute shock, Hogan found that his words were sincere. He already knew that Klink would still spank him – and the word ‘spank’ still made him squirm uncomfortably, by the way – but he found that his answer to Klink’s question wasn’t an attempt to get out of it. It was an honest answer. For once in his life, he wasn’t trying to fast-talk his way out of a problem.
To be perfectly candid, that scared him. He wasn’t quite sure when he had gained new respect for Klink – who was (or at least appeared to be) a bumbling idiot at times – but he knew that it now existed. That’s just great. Way to go, Rob. What do you think you’re doing, exactly? his inner voice demanded. Get your act together!
Klink considered his troublemaker thoughtfully. The American colonel sounded genuine, something that was a rarity. Even so, he appreciated Hogan’s honesty – such as it was – and his unwillingness to lie to him. It just reinforced his opinion of the younger man, and it made him wish that they were on the same side. He could clearly see his senior POW officer sitting there looking ashamed, which was a good thing in this case.
But the fact that Hogan had gone pale as well bothered him. What was he hiding? Klink would make sure he found out when the war finally ended…assuming that he survived that long. He didn’t see why he wouldn’t, since the officers who ran the prisoner of war camps weren’t normally in danger. But he also knew Stalag 13 was anything but normal in that regard, which meant there was some cause for concern.
Or was he thinking about his upcoming spanking? Klink had to admit that Hogan had never looked more like a little boy in deep trouble then he did now, and he wondered if Hogan recalled their previous conversations. He knew the younger officer could add, and what did one plus one equal? Two. That was two spankings he’d already gotten. And two plus one was…not a good number for Hogan tonight.
Out of nowhere, Klink just shrugged and said “Alright.” That was all he said, but it was enough to trigger a reaction.
Hogan’s head snapped up, not trusting his ears. “I’m sorry, what? Did you just say ‘Alright’? Like, ‘Alright, you don’t have to tell me’ alright?” He wasn’t sure if he believed it, since Klink was notorious for wanting a straight answer when he asked a question. Yet he couldn’t help but feel a huge weight lift from his shoulders. The lives of his men and their operation were still safe!
Klink’s lips curled up into a smile. “Yes, that is what I said. Some things are secret in this camp, even to me. And like it or not, we are on opposing sides. Even if I wish it were otherwise at times.” Hogan looked astonished at this remark, which caused Klink to chuckle before continuing on.
“However, that does not, in any way, excuse your reckless behavior. You put not only your life at risk, you also put Corporal LeBeau in grave danger.” The American colonel started to protest, but the German one held up a slender hand. “I know, I know…you had a backup plan. But no plan is foolproof!”
The tall German’s voice rose as his anger returned. “Had you been caught, you would have been shot as an escaped prisoner! Not only you, but LeBeau too. I may not always get along with the little cockroach, but that is still not right. Upon such a discovery, the SS would have shown up at Stalag 13 even quicker than you can imagine. And I can guarantee they would not have been merciful to anyone.”
Maybe the younger officer didn’t know what would have happened, but the German colonel doubted it. He sure seemed to know everything else most of the time! “Every prisoner here would have been slaughtered, and every guard here branded a traitor before they were killed. And I do not mean officially court-martialed with a firing squad, I mean shot dead where they stood. So tell me, is that what you want? Nothing is that important, Hogan, nothing!” Klink’s voice boomed in the quiet room as Hogan did his best to disappear into the sofa.
The older colonel heard himself yelling and tried to calm down. “For God’s sake, can you not understand? I do not wish to see anyone here hurt. I just want to survive this war in one piece, and I want to keep everyone else that way too. My job as the Kommandant here is to keep everyone here safe, and that means everyone. Including my prisoners.”
He closed his eyes briefly, unwilling to show the American officer the pain that his death would cause Klink emotionally. “I do not want to see you hurt, Hogan. I like you a great deal, certainly more than I like any of the other prisoners. And not just because you are my senior prisoner of war officer, so thus we must interact every day. As I said before: *had we met in another time, another place perhaps, we could have been friends.”
He opened his eyes and looked over at Hogan. “Do you understand me?”
Surprisingly, Hogan did. If it hadn’t been clear before, it was now; Klink actually gave a rat’s but about his well-being. Well, duh! About time you figured it out, his inner voice piped up. He cares enough about you to keep you safe and doesn’t want you hurt. Klink’s not mad you won’t give him details about Paris, he’s mad that you put yourself and your men in danger. He wouldn’t take the time out of his night to correct his ‘troublemaking brat’ – as he puts it – if he didn’t care about you. Get with the program, Rob; how dumb are you? Gee whiz. With a nod of his head and a flick of his fingers, Hogan told his inner voice to shut up. Even though he knew the voice was right, it didn’t mean he wanted to hear it!
Hogan looked at Klink, his stomach twisting in uncomfortable knots again as it had earlier. He didn’t do emotional stuff well, and the anticipation of his spanking that was yet to come was making him antsy. “Yeah, I understand. And I get it, I made you worry about me. About both of us,” he amended. “I…I’m sorry I made you worry, Colonel Klink. That wasn’t okay, and you’re right, it could’ve gone very badly. Obviously for everyone, not just me and LeBeau. So, I…I…I apologize.” he said stiffly.
“Look, with all due respect, sir…I’m not good with emotional stuff. Can we get on with this…spanking…already?” He stumbled over the childish word and knew Klink saw it, so he tried to deflect from it. “Not that I’m in a hurry or anything, mind you,” he said hastily, “but it’s getting late and I’m sure you have important things to do before roll call in the morning. Things like…well, like sleeping, for example.” He finished his sentence weakly and gave Klink a small smile.

Preparing to be worn out…
Klink hadn’t missed Hogan’s slight pause at the word ‘spanking’. But to his credit, he chose not to comment on it. Instead, he stood up and gestured for the bratty POW officer to follow him. He stepped into his bedroom and flipped on the light.
“Alright then, troublemaker, let us get started.” He motioned to the bed, where there was a piece of nylon rope tied to all four corners of the bed. “You should know the drill by now, Hogan. Off with your uniform trousers, and make sure that you fold them. You may place them on the dresser.”
Hogan followed Klink into his bedroom. He looked around and smiled. It was modest to be sure, but it reflected Klink’s personality everywhere. There was a bookcase with three shelves full of books. They held a little of everything, from classic literature like Dracula to what appeared to be more modern stories. He was surprised to see that while some were in German, most of them were in English. There were classical records on the very top shelf and there was a record player on the dresser.
The bed itself looked comfortable as well. It was by far better than what Hogan and his men had to sleep on, but then everything was probably better than what they had in the barracks. Yet the most surprising thing was the lack of Nazi flags or a picture of Hitler on the walls. He gave the tall German a curious look.
“This is a nice place, and it’s very comfortable looking. I like the books,” he said, pointing to the shelf. “But I think you forgot some of the decorations.”
As he spoke, he unbuttoned his uniform pants and removed them. “Not that I’d want it in my bedroom, mind you…but where’s the flags with the swastika on them?
As he picked up his pants up off of the floor and folded them, Hogan inquired, “Where’s the picture of the little messenger courier that everyone on your side seems to have up on their walls?”
Klink gave an exasperated sigh. “Please, give me some credit. I do not keep such things in my bedroom. Why in the world would I ever want a picture of Hitler on my wall? I am not a member of the Nazi Party, nor will I ever be. Thus, the flags are not necessary either. There are laws prohibiting members of the Wehrmacht or any of its branches from joining a political party anyhow, so I am not too concerned about it.”
The American nodded and replied, “Okay, so I have another question. What’s with the rope, Kommandant? I appreciate the unusual thought and all, but I like women.”
He gave Klink a glance as he placed the uniform pants on the dresser as previously instructed. After he’d done so, Hogan began slowly shifting toward the wall. It was the farthest he could possibly get both from the bed and his inevitable spanking due to take place there.
The older man looked at Hogan with annoyance. “Insolence! This is not the time for your American sense of humor, Hogan.”
As he did so, he noticed the other officer moving as far away from the bed as he could get. While he was trying to look causal while doing it, Hogan was failing terribly as doing so.
After seeing that, Klink just shook his head and smirked at the younger colonel. “And just where do you think you are going?”
Then he motioned to the bed. “Go and lie down on the bed, bitte. Make sure you are lying on your stomach. The rope is here in order to restrain your wrists and legs, as well as keep you from moving. I do not wish to accidentally strike your face or back with the belt, should you move. You may prop your head up on a pillow first, if you wish.”
Having been caught in the act of trying to gradually inch away, Hogan looked absolutely forlorn. But he did as Klink had told him to do anyway. Yet he still had another question. “Okay, I get that. The Allies don’t like him either, but…but you have a picture of him in your office. And you have one of Himmler in there too! By the way, he looks like a weasel. So why do you have those up in there then, if you don’t like them? Seems kind of weird to me.”
As he laid on his stomach on Klink’s bed, it occurred to him that this was perhaps the strangest thing he’d done yet in World War Two. While Hogan wasn’t thrilled about being tied up, he had to agree that the Kommandant was correct. And once again, Klink was concerned for his safety.
Well, at least the pillow is soft, and the bedding is comfortable! He sighed sadly, resigned to his fate at this point. Clearly, there was no backing out of this. So he made the best of it instead by propping his head up on the pillow.
Klink growled with annoyance with his troublemaker, yet he conceded that Hogan had a fair point. Deciding to humor the American, he explained the reason why. “Because my dear Hogan, as you said before…it is in my office. I have both Burkhalter and Hochstetter in there on a regular basis, as well as others who do not share my point of view.” He paused and looked down at Hogan.
“Do not get me wrong. I am a loyal German officer who has fought, and continues to fight in a way, for his homeland. But I am loyal to Germany, not the madman in Berlin and his select group of favorites. The same men who cannot see that four Allied enemy countries outnumber three countries who are – for the moment – aligned for a common cause. I want my country restored to what it was before World War One, not the war-torn mess it is currently.”
He took a deep breath and continued. “The picture of Hitler is necessary to keep up expected appearances. The one of Himmler is only there since I have Gestapo and SS officers here as well. Himmler is their leader, so it makes them happy when they see it. No one ever comes into my bedroom.” He gave a small smile. “And I concur, Himmler does rather resemble a weasel.”
Briskly changing the subject, Klink said, “Now, I am going to tie these ropes very securely. I want you to make sure that you cannot get loose after I tell you to do so. And be honest, Hogan!” he said sharply. “As I said, if you accidentally get loose and get hurt, I would feel horrible. And so would your behind from the immediate spanking you would get for lying to me…just as soon as you recovered from this one,” he added with a nasty smirk. “So do not test me on this.”
As Klink began to tie the four different ropes, Hogan’s mind raced. This was it. He was really going to be punished by Klink, and with a belt of all things! He felt quite secure as the last rope was tied and knew that he wasn’t going anywhere until Klink decided to let him up. This was different than the other two times.
In each instance before, Hogan could have simply gotten up, put his uniform pants back on and left if he’d wanted to. He had only stayed because he was stubborn and wanted to prove he was tough enough to handle whatever Klink dished out. That thought alone was enough to make him wonder how he got himself into these situations.
However, this time was different. This time, he didn’t have the option of just leaving. Like it or not, he had to put his faith in Klink. He had to put his faith in the Kommandant’s ability to know when enough was enough, and not cause him to be permanently injured. Though as he had proved before, the German colonel appeared to be the accomplished disciplinarian. He was also quite good at what he did.
Admittedly, he didn’t want to think just how bratty Klink’s nephews were that they enabled him to get so good at giving spankings. Hogan also didn’t want to think about how much practice the older man was going to get by wearing his tail out as long as he was a prisoner here! His musings were soon interrupted by Klink’s next words.
“Alright Hogan, now I want you to try to escape. I need to make sure the ropes are secure enough.” Klink chuckled at what he had just said. “Imagine that, I have actually told you to try and escape. Strange world, eh?”
“Oh yeah, very strange sir.” Hogan tried to move each leg individually, then each arm individually. Then he tried to move both legs at the same time and then both arms at the same time. Finally, he tried to roll onto his side in both directions. It was no good…he was stuck.
He looked up at Klink, who was causally removing the belt from his uniform. “I’m not going anywhere, because these knots are really tight,” he reported dejectedly.
Actually, they were exceptionally well done knots for a pilot! Maybe the older man had been in whatever the German version of the Boy Scouts was as a kid. “Have you ever considered a career in the Navy – no wait, what’s the German word for it – the Kriegsmarine, sir? Because these knots are really good,” he complimented the German officer.
Klink finished removing his belt and nodded, pleased Hogan knew the correct word in his language. “Yes, that is correct. Very good, my bratty troublemaker.”
He didn’t miss the sour look that appeared on Hogan’s face at the nickname. “But no, I get seasick quite easily. So that would not have been a good career move for me.”
The tall German folded the belt carefully in half and set it by Hogan’s head. Then he walked over so that he was standing by the American’s hips. “You know how we do things by now, and that means that these come down. Lift your hips slightly.”
If he could have, Hogan would have crossed his arms in front of him. As it was, he stuck out his lower lip and began to pout. “Really? C’mon, Colonel Klink…it’s not bad enough that you’re doing this to me, but do you have to do it on…on my…”
No matter what he did, he couldn’t force the embarrassing words out. Still, Hogan thought it was best to comply with the request. Otherwise it would only result in deeper trouble for him later on.
There was a time and a place it was safe to test Klink’s patience. And that was any other time than during these ‘discussions’. Or you know, when he was in public…preferably with a lot of people around! People meant safety, right? Or at least a temporary reprieve? Best not to find out, his common sense said. Do you really want to know what happens if it turns out that you’re wrong?
Klink gave him a smirk. Oh yes, he knew that these punishments mortified Hogan to no end, which was all a part of the discipline process. If nothing else, he hoped the resulting shame factor would help deter his wayward troublemaker from being so reckless. “Bare bottom? Is that what you were trying to say?” He received no answer except a scowl, the slight trembling of Hogan’s lower lip and his deepened pout. Chuckling wickedly, he answered the question anyway.
Did he have a slightly evil streak in him that gave him pleasure in embarrassing Hogan a bit when he was doling these spankings out? You bet you do, said Klink’s inner voice. You are only giving him what he richly deserves, and hopefully saving yourself some stress down the road as well.
“Because, young man…all spankings to naughty children and young brats in Germany are given on the bare bottom. And since I am German and you are in Germany, well…you get to experience it all firsthand. Wonderful, ja?” Klink said dryly as he emphasized the childish terms.
“By the way, that also means that any and all punishments you receive in the future from me will be doled out in the same manner,” Klink clarified for his unruly troublemaker. He lowered Hogan’s briefs as he had done before, exposing his bare behind but leaving everything else covered. Then the tall German walked over and grabbed the belt near Hogan’s head, securely holding the buckle part in his hand.
“Yeah…simply wonderful. I’m just happy as a clam over here,” Hogan muttered. “But hold on a minute, you said before that you’re Prussian!”
“Technicalities, my dear Hogan,” said Klink as he did a few test swings. The leather belt made a whistling sound as it swung through the air and Hogan winced. That didn’t sound pleasant at all!
“You still have some very faint bruises from the last time, but this issue cannot wait to be resolved. Therefore, I shall address it now. I will make it quite clear, once and for all, that you are not to put yourself in danger! Or anyone else! Do you understand me, Hogan?!” Klink’s accent was sharp and thick again, with his tone clearly being a ‘no nonsense’ one as he asked Hogan the question.
Well when Klink used that tone of voice, there was really only one answer Hogan could give. “Yes sir, completely. I read you loud and clear.”

Reaching his breaking point…
“Good, good. Now, I am going to begin your spanking now. I know it will hurt a great deal, but do try and hold still.”
And with that, the punishment began. Faster than he could process what was going on, Klink swung the belt through the air. The thin leather made a sharp whistling sound before cracking down onto the American’s bare bottom. SMACK! The smacking sound was deafening, and suddenly the Kommandant went still. He made no further movement, and Hogan wondered what he was waiting for. Perhaps he had missed somehow?
Then everything happened all at once, and Hogan quickly found out why Klink had waited. He was waiting for the first blow to register! He knew this because without any warning at all, he felt as if someone had branded his rear end with a hot poker. This topped anything else he’d experienced so far, no question about it.
The American colonel opened his mouth in a soundless scream, but the pain was so intense no sound came out. At the same time, he heard a harsh, “Bury your face in the pillow, since it will help muffle the sound,” from Klink. And then the punishment began anew.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWW! OWW, OWW, OWW!” Even with the pillow muffling it, the sounds of pain were clear. This was worse than anything Hogan had ever experienced in his life. And it had only just begun! Even the most sadistic ‘interrogation’ technique the Gestapo goons had used on him didn’t hold a candle to this. He didn’t know how he was going to get through this…he really didn’t.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWW, OWWWW, OWWWW! Oh fu –”
He was in such pain, he cut himself off mid-sentence. This was it. He was going to actually die from the agony. Okay, maybe he wouldn’t actually die. But he’d definitely wish he were dead! How long had it been so far? Maybe five minutes? And who was keeping track of time anyway?!
In reality, it had only been maybe two minutes, but it felt like five years! It was a good thing he wasn’t being interrogated in the moment, because Klink had found his breaking point regarding how much pain he could handle. Right now, the American would speak fluent Japanese and learn how to fly if Klink had ordered him to. Anything he wanted, anything at all, so long as his spanking stopped.
But the blows just kept on coming, and Hogan screamed into the pillow. Granted, he was tough. But this was an even higher level of pain than anything that he’d experienced so far. He’d thought the riding crop was bad before? Right now, he’d gladly take lying over Klink’s lap and getting spanked with the riding crop all night over this.
There was no question about it. This was unbearable agony, that’s what this was. There was also no comparison between the two, pain-wise. One of them definitely hurt far less, and it wasn’t the one currently being used on him! The German colonel had told him that before too, but the American one hadn’t believed him until now.
Hell, if there was a next time he’d not only willing lie over Klink’s lap without complaining, he’d do it without being told to! Anything was better than this. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWW, OWWWW, OWWWW! OWWWIE!” He was feeling utterly sorry for himself, since he knew he was never going to be to able sit down again. And that was a fact.
“Now, Hogan…” Klink began to lecture as he continued spanking him, “do you understand how serious this is? How serious I think it is that you would risk your life needlessly?!” SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
“Or anyone else’s life?” SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
“Do you think that was such a great idea now?” SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
“Well, do you?!” the Luftwaffe colonel demanded to know. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Was Klink serious right now? He was doing good to take air into his lungs at the moment, and Klink thought that this was the best time to ask him questions?! Hogan shook his head frantically, trying to convey his answer.
However, the tall German was having none of it. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
“Answer me, Hogan. Because I can do this all night, if need be.” SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! The blows rained down rapidly, and Hogan felt like his rear end was once again covered in lava. The lava was unfortunately becoming a close acquaintance with how much it visited him, and he dearly wished it would go visit somebody else for a change.
“OWWWW, OWWWWW! OWWWWIE, OWWWWIE, OWWWWIE!” Hogan wailed in pain, unable to think. What was it that Klink was asking him again? Oh yeah, if he thought it was a good idea to risk his life or anyone else’s life needlessly. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to focus during all this, but he would try.
He was supposedly trained to handle pain during interrogations. ‘Supposedly’ was the key word there, since no military training had prepared him for this. In any event, the senior POW officer gave it a shot and tried to answer the other colonel. “I…I…”
Unfortunately, he truly couldn’t make his mind work at the moment. It had other pressing concerns, such as conveying his state of agony.
“Stubborn troublemaker! Damnmit Hogan, do not make me come up with something else. I am quickly running out of both ideas and patience regarding you,” Klink said. His German accent was so thick with emotion that he was hardly understandable, but the meaning behind his words was quite clear to Hogan.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
“OWWWW, OWWWW! OWWWWWWIE!” Hogan was frantic by now, so he let whatever words decided to fall escape his mouth. He could do damage control later, and in his present condition he was one hundred percent certain that he’d be standing for the rest of his days. Holy hell, the monocle-wearing German officer would have made a great Gestapo interrogator. If he did this to any of their prisoners, they’d crack in less than five minutes. But he wasn’t about to suggest that to Klink!
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWIE, OWWWW! Okay, okay! No, I don’t think it’s a great idea!”
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWWIE! I don’t think it’s even a good idea!”
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWWW! I’m sorry, sir, I’m sorry!”
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWWWWWWW! Please, stop it! Please, please!” he pleaded desperately. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Geez, what other question was he supposed to answer again? Oh yeah, the one about the seriousness of the situation. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWWWIE! Fucking hell, I –”
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWW! Sir, I’ve learned my lesson! Please!”
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWWW! OWWWWWIE! No…I mean, yes! Yes, I understand everything! Please stop! It’s very serious and I get it now and just please!”
Hogan had slurred his last sentence together, but enunciating clearly wasn’t a high priority of his right now. A higher priority was getting this over with as fast as he could.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWWWIE! Oh God, help me!” he begged, as if hoping for a miracle to fall from the sky.
Regrettably, none was forthcoming to save him. By now the lava had invited a few of its friends to the painful party raging inside the skin of Hogan’s buttcheeks, and it became altogether too much for him to bear.
Hogan was done with it all. There was no other answer he could possibly give to that question, nothing else he could say. As the belt came down a few more times on his thoroughly thrashed behind, he broke under the waves of pain as he begged again for it to end.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! “OWWW! Mercy! I’m – OWWWWIE! – sorry, sir! OWWW! I’m – OWWW! – really sorry! Please, stooooop!”
Klink had succeeded admirably in yet again fully lighting his tail on fire. He began to sob, and the sound was a heart-wrenching one to hear. He didn’t care about what was happening anymore. Klink could carry on with this spanking all fucking night if he wanted to. If it made the situation better, and if it made Klink not mad at him anymore, then why not?
He cried openly, the tears running down his cheeks. In his sorrow, he didn’t notice that his spanking was over. He just laid there and sobbed.
Suddenly, he felt the ropes around his ankles and wrist fall away. Barely registering it and not caring at the moment anyway, he continued to sob into the pillow. His voice was muffled as he spoke. “Sorry…sorry…sorry.”
Hogan hiccupped and squeezed the pillow for dear life. And the entire time, he just kept repeating the word ‘sorry’, chanting the word like it was his new mantra.

Becoming thoroughly exhausted…
There was a dip in the mattress as Colonel Klink sat next to him. Hogan was still lying there, spread eagle on his stomach as he’d been tied. He was also seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Klink looked at Hogan’s bottom and grimaced. The skin was a purplish color and was definitely bruised. Indeed, it was a sight to see and he knew it had to be quite painful. But he also knew that comfort was needed first.
That decision made, he gently rubbed soothing circles on his young brat’s back, trying to soothe him. “Shh, shh…it is okay, Robert. You are a good boy. You did so well, you are a such a good boy.”
The older man continued to rub Hogan’s back soothingly until he felt the American’s breathing return to normal. “I am very proud of you. You took your punishment quite well, and now it is over.”
Given what had just taken place, Klink squeezed some skin repair lotion into his hand and gently began to rub it into his chastised brat’s sore bottom. As expected, Hogan jumped from the feel of the cold substance.
Hogan gasped as the cool lotion touched his inflamed butt. It was an entirely new sensation…but while not unwelcome, it still hurt! “What…huh? Ow,” he said rather pitifully.
“Shhh, it is only lotion, Robert. It will help the skin heal faster. Hold still,” said Klink as he rubbed the lotion into the skin.
He did so as gently as he could, but he still winced whenever Hogan did. He had been on the receiving end of this sort of thing before himself, so he knew it hurt terribly.
In an attempt to help ground Hogan into reality again, he told him so. “I told you that I have had this happen to me before when I was a young boy. After a particularly bad spanking from my father, my mother would do this for me. Lotion has always proven to help the skin repair itself, and this is a lotion designed specifically for that purpose.”
Hogan wasn’t quite understanding the German officer. “It’s…to help…after spanking?” he managed to say, still visibly distressed as he wondered where that type of thing was sold.
But Klink only chuckled and shook his head. “No, child, it is designed to repair the skin in general.” After he finished rubbing it in, he carefully pulled up his senior POW officer’s briefs.
“I know, your bottom has to hurt terribly right now. And I am truly sorry that I had to be so hard on you tonight. But I care about you, and when I learned what you had done…I was scared out of my mind when I thought of what might have happened. The night we came back to Stalag 13, I did not sleep a wink. I was so scared, and then I was so angry with you afterward!” the German officer explained.
Klink paused for a moment. “I could not even deal with you then, because I was far too upset and might have caused you permanent damage in my anger. I would rather cause you some pain now and know you are alive, than let you do something foolish and know you are dead. And anyway, the pain will help you to remember this lesson. Or at least, I sincerely hope it does.”
Shaking his head, the tall German added, “I have no wish to ever repeat such a lesson, but I will do if I need to. I know you will not believe me, but it hurt me to do that to you just as much as it hurt you to receive it.”
He tapped his chest, where his heart was. “It hurt me here. I felt as if my heart had been ripped out and stomped on with spiked boots…and then run over with a tank. Several tanks,” he added.
The words were melancholy, but they painted a funny picture of Nazis in skirts doing those things for some reason. Why they were in skirts was unknown to him, but the mental images made Hogan smile.
“Remember it? It’s etched into my mind forever,” said Hogan, who had recovered enough by now to speak. “And that’s terrible.”
“Truly? That is good. Then there will be no need for an encore, correct?” Klink asked wryly.
Hogan groaned. “Please, no jokes about that sir. I can’t handle it right now.”
He sighed. “That was without a doubt the most intense pain I’ve ever felt in my life...and that includes my time in Hammelburg with the goons in black.”
Then he sniffled and added, “Congratulations, sir, you even topped them. What is the war coming to when even the Gestapo and the SS can’t prepare you for the wrath of your Kommandant?”
As Hogan went to roll onto his side, he yelped and quickly flipped back onto his stomach as his right buttcheek touched the comforter. “Owww. Okay, that was a bad idea.”
Klink gave Hogan a small smile. “I could have told you not to roll over, my little troublemaker.”
While he didn’t comment on anything else the American had just said, Hogan’s “prepare you for the wrath of your Kommandant” bit eased some of the guilt the older man felt in disciplining his bratty charge so thoroughly. He knew it had to be done, but it still had hurt him emotionally to have to do it! And if Hogan could still make jokes, he was going to be fine. He wouldn’t be sitting comfortably for a while, but he’d be fine.
“Well, why didn’t you? A warning would’ve been great,” griped Hogan.
Klink shook his head in amusement. The American colonel had a mulish streak a mile wide and even in severe agony, he still shot off his mouth. “You did not ask me, for one thing…you brat,” he added impishly as he grinned.
Hogan’s eyes narrowed before he gave a small grin. “Okay, fair point. You got me there.”
“I believe, Colonel Hogan, that I got you everywhere. Or did you forget what just happened so quickly?” teased Klink as a twinkle appeared in his eyes. He couldn’t help making the joke, since the younger man had left the door wide open for that one.
Hogan rolled his eyes. “Oh, very funny. Let’s all laugh at the well-spanked American colonel…ha fucking ha.” Hogan found that word ‘spank’ didn’t bother him. Well, for the moment, at least. However, he reserved the right to change his mind about that in the future at any time.
“Why don’t you call my men over to see this too? Or better yet, just invite them to watch it live next time?” he asked sarcastically.
Yet as soon as the snarky sentence left his lips, Klink raised an eyebrow at him “Language, Robert. And I had not planned on doing that. But since you would like an audience, I can go and get your men. I am sure they would be happy to laugh at you.”
He started to stand up, only pretending as if he were going to get Hogan’s friends. In reality, he would never do such a thing to the younger man.
But Hogan didn’t know that, so he freaked out momentarily at those words and grabbed Klink by his uniform jacket. “NO! No, that’s okay, there’s no need for that. An audience of one is fine, just fine,” he said hastily.
That’d been a dumb thing to say, and he was grateful that Klink wasn’t twisted enough to have considered such an idea on his own.
Klink was astounded at how fast his brat could move, even now. He let Hogan yank him back down to a sitting position, but just couldn’t resist teasing him again. “Well, alright then. But only if you are sure about that.”
“Quite sure, thank you. I swear to you, sir, I’m never doing a single thing to earn your belt again. Or any other belt,” he added hastily. “Not one thing. Ever. Nope, I’m going to be a model prisoner of war here, and that’s that.” Hogan stated firmly as he pushed his hair out of his eyes.
“I had the strangest thought when the…um, punishment…was happening. Now mind you, it could have been caused by blinding agony,” he added hastily when Klink looked at him, “but it occurred to me anyway. I just thought it was interesting, that’s all.”
Now Klink was curious. “And what might that be, my brat?” he prompted. Hogan rolled his eyes but continued. He was a little embarrassed to admit it now. Yet he’d come this far, and he wasn’t going to back down now.
“Well, I was thinking near the middle of the spanking...and I was in total agony, mind you,” Hogan said as Klink gestured for him to continue, “that at that point in time, I would gladly take lying over your lap and getting sp…punished with the riding crop all night over getting punished with the belt.”
His cheeks grew hot, even as he forced himself to continue on. “There were no doubts in my mind in that regard. And there was also no comparison between the two, pain-wise. One of them definitely hurts a lot less, and it wasn’t the one you were using. So I told myself that I’d not only willing lie over your lap the next time without complaining, I’d do it without being told to do so. Because honestly, anything would have been more pleasant than what was happening in that moment,” Hogan concluded.
The younger colonel felt his blush intensify and promptly buried his face in the pillow. Why did I even admit that? Am I indirectly asking for more trouble in sitting down? For that matter, am I nuts? Those were good questions right now, honestly!
Thankfully, Klink didn’t burst into laughter, although he did grin. Hogan was obviously mortified about the thoughts he’d had, but it took a lot of nerve to admit them out loud. He had to give credit where credit was due, if nothing else. “Robert. Robert, look at me.”
Hogan shook his head, embarrassed beyond all reason as he kept his face buried in the pillow. Klink rolled his eyes at how dramatic his senior POW officer was being, but he didn’t force the American colonel to look at him. “Robert, listen to me. It is natural to make such a comparison when one is in pain. It is like…well, have you ever had a broken bone?”
When his troublemaker nodded, Klink continued. “And have you ever been shot?” Again, Hogan nodded.
“Well, it is like that. A broken bone is utter agony…but after you are shot, the broken bone seems more pleasant in comparison. Punishment follows the same rules. One always seems like the worst thing in the world until something more agonizing comes along, then the first one does not seem so bad by comparison. Am I making sense to you?”
“Surprisingly, yeah.” Hogan lifted his head and looked at his Kommandant. “That was actually a good analogy. Thanks.”
Klink shrugged. “It was not a problem. But I have a question for you: did I hear you say ‘next time’? Mein Gott, are you already planning more trouble, little brat?” If he is truly already up to something, then Hogan really is a glutton for punishment, thought Klink.
Hogan sucked in a sharp breath. “Me? Planning trouble? I don’t have to plan to find trouble, it finds me well enough!” Clearing his throat, he added hastily, “Present company excluded, of course.” He shook his head as he spoke. “Nope. I’m not planning any kind of trouble over here. I’ll leave that to my men.”
Then the American’s hands flew over his mouth as he remembered what Klink had said the first time about him and his men, along with the consequences. “Wait, that’s not what I meant! I –”
“You meant exactly what you just said, my brat,” replied Klink drolly. “Never apologize for being honest with someone…or try to deny doing so.”
His eyes danced with mischief as he added, “However, I will remember your feelings in this regard and your cooperative spirit for the next time. And knowing you, Robert, there will be a next time. Of that, I am very certain.”
Then Klink rose and said, “You will sleep here in tonight. I shall take the guest room.”
Hogan’s face flushed, but he thought it was wiser to say nothing more on that subject. “Huh? What will I tell my men? They’re gonna wanna know where I am.”
Klink glanced at him and said smoothly, “There will not be an issue. I shall send one of the guards over to inform them you are sleeping. Your excuse is that we were playing chess and you fell asleep, so I let you stay the night here. After I send the guard with the message, I will lock the door.”
His blue eyes met the other colonel’s brown ones. “Do you wish some assistance to crawl under the blankets? Or can you manage on your own?”
“I’ve got it. Thank you though, sir, for letting me stay. It’s very nice of you,” mumbled Hogan as he slowly got up to pull back the covers. He was emotionally and physically exhausted, and now that the adrenaline had faded he found he was rather tired.
Klink nodded and turned off the lamp before heading to the door. “Your uniform trousers are on the dresser. I will wake you an hour before roll call so that you may go back to your barracks and eat breakfast.” He had reached the doorway and just before he closed it, he said softly “Good night, young troublemaker. Sleep well…and I suggest that you lay on your stomach to sleep!”
“You’re making this an interesting war,” was the faint reply Klink got from Hogan in response as he did just that and pulled the blankets over himself. Klink smiled to himself as he shut the bedroom door and made his way to the guest bedroom. He only hoped his message had gotten through his senior prisoner of war’s thick skull, but he wasn’t counting on it. With Robert Hogan around, life was never boring!
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If You Want To Play Games, Okay...But I'll Win