ON TIME
A Hogan's Heroes story
By Deana

This story is dedicated to my dear friend, Bits and Pieces. My muse has apparently gone on a vacation in recent months, making me lose all inspiration, but she really hoped that I'd write for the first-sentence contest, so I somehow came up with a plot and managed to do it! Yay! LOL

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A full-grown man in the grip of uncontrolled panic is not a pleasant sight, especially when it's completely unexpected.

Newkirk blinked, wondering why Carter's face bore such a serious expression. He suddenly realized that his head was throbbing and he closed his eyes, before gasping when something tightened around his neck. His eyes flew open, and he saw that it was someone's arm…an arm wearing a German uniform.

Carter gasped too, when he saw Newkirk slump in the German's grasp, before the man hitched him up higher in a chokehold. "Let him go!" he shouted.

"No," the German replied.

A *click* sounded right next to Newkirk's ear, and he couldn't stop a moan when it increased his headache. It was obviously a gun, and Newkirk fought to remember how he'd gotten into this situation. It took a few seconds, but it all came back.

They'd been setting explosives on a bridge. Newkirk didn't remember anything after setting his timer, but from the pain in his head and the blood dripping down his face, the German had obviously attacked him from behind. Newkirk tried to focus on his surroundings to see if there was any way out of this situation, but it was too dark outside, and he couldn't see very well.

Carter still wore the panicked expression, and it made Newkirk angry to see his friend so upset. He struggled in his enemy's grasp, which only served to make the German tighten his hold further, almost completely cutting off his air.

Carter's heart was pounding a mile a minute, especially when he saw how desperately Newkirk was trying to breathe. "This bridge is about to blow up!" he shouted.

The German smiled. "I know, and when it does, the unit headed by Papa Bear will no longer be a thorn in our side."

"But then you'll be dead too!" Carter exclaimed, hoping to change his mind…and quickly!

The German shrugged. "A small price to pay for the Fatherland." He shoved the gun deeper against Newkirk's head. "Where are the rest of you?"

Carter shook his head. "It was just the two of us."

The German frowned. He knew that neither of these men were Papa Bear…he'd foolishly assumed that the whole unit would be here.

Carter looked around wildly, searching for any way to save his friend's life. If only he'd seen the German before he'd attacked Newkirk! He couldn't even see where his gun had landed when the German had told him to drop it. Boy, Colonel, he thought. If we ever needed you badly, it's now!

Newkirk struggled again. "Can't…ruddy…breathe…!" he gasped.

The German chuckled and tightened his hold. "Good."

"Look!" Carter shouted. "This is getting us nowhere! Let him go, and I'll remove all the explosives!"

Before their enemy could answer, a gunshot sounded behind them and the German turned, flinging Newkirk away from him. Before he even had a chance to point his gun, another shot sounded, and he was thrown to the ground.

Newkirk was barely aware of anything that was happening, as oxygen finally made its way to his lungs. He gasped desperately, his chest aching for air and head pounding in time with his heart.

Carter dashed over. "Newkirk! Newkirk!" He quickly flipped him over and grabbed him under the arms, dragging him away from the bridge, which was due to explode any minute.

Newkirk himself had no idea how much time they had left before the explosion, and scrambled to get to his feet. Hands helped him up and held onto him as they ran…and it took a minute before he realized that there were two sets of hands.

"Colonel!" he exclaimed with surprise.

Hogan glanced at him as they ran, clearly wanting to assess the Englishman's health, but knowing that they needed to get a safe distance away first.

Having been dazed from his head injury, Newkirk had completely forgotten that Hogan had accompanied them on the mission…especially since Carter had lied to the German about it only being the two of them. He said no more though, fear of being blown up causing his heart to pound and nearly making him forget all about his headache.

After a few minutes of running, Newkirk didn't think he could go any further. Hogan and Carter suddenly stopped running, as if they knew, and the Englishman suddenly found himself sitting on the ground.

"Boy Colonel," Carter said, catching his breath. "You're always on time when one of us needs saving! If you hadn't shot that German when you did, we'd both be dead!"

"How did that happen, anyway?" Hogan asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

Carter shrugged, kneeling beside his friend. "That German knocked Newkirk out cold!"

That statement niggled at Newkirk's pride. "I'm fine!" he said, before unexpectedly swaying.

"Sure you are," Hogan remarked. He knelt and took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to the Englishman. "This will have to do for now, we have to get out of here in case there are more Germans around."

Newkirk pressed it to the wound with a wince, before suddenly noticing the frown on Carter's face as he looked at his watch. "What is it?" he asked.

"The bridge should've blown up four minutes ago."

Newkirk and Hogan exchanged shocked looks. "What?" Newkirk exclaimed. "We were still being 'eld at gunpoint by that German four minutes ago!"

All three men were silent at the realization. Before anyone could speak again, an unbelievably loud sound filled the air, shaking the ground so it felt as if the earth was splitting in two.

Newkirk opened his eyes, having not realized that he'd closed them. Something was on top of him, blocking his view of the bridge's devastation. Eventually, the noise died down, with only the sound of flames remaining.

Hogan uncurled himself from his position on top of his men, having sheltered them from the blast. "Well, gentlemen," he said. "We should be glad about two things."

"What?" Newkirk and Carter both asked, as they sat up.

Hogan grinned. "One: that I was on time, and two…that Carter's explosives weren't!"

THE END