"What's a gorgeous girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"Good morning, Colonel Hogan," replied Hildegard, without looking up from her typewriter. "Do you want to see the Kommandant? He doesn't want any interruptions this morning. He's catching up on his paperwork."

"Well, I'd hate to disturb his morning nap." Hogan came to plant a soft kiss on the top of her head. "You know, it's been almost a week, and you still haven't told me about your night out with Helga. How was it?"

"It was nice," she said primly.

"Is that all?" He sat on the edge of the desk. "Two of the prettiest girls around, out on the town, and all you can tell me is, it was nice? Come on, there has to be more to it than that."

He was wearing that aftershave again; it was very distracting. So was the hint of laughter in his eyes. But Hilda wasn't giving anything away just yet. "It wasn't a night on the town," she said. "It was just a little get-together. We went to the café, had a glass of wine, and talked."

"Just you and Helga?" He tilted his head, regarding her with that easy, confident smile of his, and her resolve wavered.

"We met some friends," she murmured at last.

He quirked his eyebrows. "Anyone I know?"

Drawn in as usual by his insouciant charm, she hesitated on the brink of telling him the whole story - Marya, Tiger, Helga's arrest and rescue, even Udo's part in the adventure. But before she could even start, the thud of boots on the porch outside broke the spell. By the time the door crashed open, Hogan was already standing in front of the desk, giving a textbook demonstration of petulant importunity.

"But I only want to see him for a couple of minutes," he said. "It's really important."

Hilda picked up her cue at once. "I'm sorry, Colonel Hogan, but the Kommandant doesn't wish to be disturbed. He has to finish his reports by lunchtime."

"Is that so?" snapped Hochstetter, from the doorway. "Well, he can sleep on his own time. No, don't get up, Fräulein, I will announce myself. Hogan - " He jabbed a finger towards Klink's office. "You will come with me. That will save me the trouble of having my men drag you back from the barracks."

He turned to the two men who had followed him in. "Allow nobody to enter this building." Without waiting for a reply, he swung round and stormed into the inner sanctum. Hogan winked at Hilda, and strolled after him.

Left in charge, the senior ranked SS man turned a cold glare on his subordinate. "Go and stand guard outside," he ordered. "If anyone gets in here, you will answer to Major Hochstetter."

As soon as the man was gone, Hilda relaxed into a smile. "Good morning, Udo."

He smiled back, slightly tentative, slightly shy. "Hello. It's good to see you." He hesitated briefly, then lowered his voice. "Is it safe to talk here?"

"Yes, it's safe," she replied. The prisoners had the main office bugged, but not this room; and she was pretty sure they made short work of anything planted by the authorities.

Udo gave a sigh of relief. "You look well, Hildegard," he said. "I was worried in case...well, with all that happened..."

"I'm fine, Udo," she interrupted. "And Helga got home safely. I had a postcard from her. She couldn't say much, of course, but she's all right."

His face lit up; but any response he might have made was sent spinning into oblivion by a bellow of sheer elemental rage coming from the inner office.

"Major Hochstetter seems to be in a very bad mood," observed Hilda uneasily. "Did he get into a lot of trouble?"

Udo nodded, rolling his eyes. "His career is hanging by a thread. General Hausenberg threatened to have his head, unless Tiger is found. The only thing in his favour is that some of the other generals want Hausenberg out, and they're using this as a chance to get rid of him, by making him the scapegoat for the whole affair. If they succeed, Hochstetter will be off the hook. But either way, he's determined to track down the Underground cell responsible. It's a matter of personal pride."

"He doesn't suspect you, does he?" asked Hilda.

"No more than he does everyone else. He's been unbearable, all week," sighed Udo. "He's turning over every pebble and fallen leaf in Hammelburg, looking for Tiger or her friends. That's why we're here, wasting our time chasing after Underground operatives. In a prisoner of war camp, of all places."

"Does he think someone here is helping the Underground?" In spite of herself, Hilda's voice trembled a little, at the thought of what would happen if Hochstetter found the proof he was looking for.

Udo noticed her agitation, and hastened to reassure her. "Don't worry, Hildegard. He doesn't have any idea that you were involved. And he knows now that he arrested the wrong woman, because the dossier from Paris finally arrived, with photos of the real Tiger." He gave a sudden boyish snicker. "Except I got to the file before he did, and switched the photos with the ones from a different investigation. He's going to spend the rest of the war looking for someone who already escaped to England a year ago."

"Oh, Udo, how clever of you!" Hilda gazed at him, astonishment merging into admiration. "But what if he finds out?"

"It won't matter," he said, his colour rising. He paused, regarding her with anxious diffidence, then spoke at a rush. "I won't be here. I've put in for a transfer to Berlin."

"You're leaving Hammelburg?" She couldn't hide her startled dismay, and Udo went even redder.

"It's for the best," he mumbled. "Tiger says they need an inside man in the central administration office, so they can get access to the files. I'm good with paperwork, and I've got a clean record with the department, so I'm in with a good chance of the job. I just wish...I mean, it would have been nice..."

He trailed off, too embarrassed to articulate the feelings which were written clearly on his face. Hilda couldn't think of anything to say. She had never really known her old schoolmate, until that night in Hammelburg. Now, just when she wanted to know more, he was going away; and if this new undertaking went wrong, he might never come back. She had a sudden impulse to ask him not to go; she blinked, and looked away.

He had to go, of course. It was right.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" he faltered after a few moments.

"Of course not. I'm proud of you," Hilda replied, looking up again, her eyes very bright.

"You are?" He drew himself up, incredulous delight breaking across his face, as if the sun had just come out after a long darkness. "M-maybe before I leave...if you're free one evening..."

His tentative advance came to an abrupt halt, as the door of the inner office was flung open, and Hochstetter came hurtling out. Apparently the interview had not gone in his favour; he seemed within spitting distance of apoplexy. He glowered at Udo, opened his mouth to bark an order; then just snarled incoherently, and stormed out of the building.

Udo hesitated. "I'll call you," he whispered, and scuttled off after the major.

Hogan had followed Hochstetter out of the office in time to hear this. "Friend of yours?" he asked, as he watched Udo run down the steps to the car. "No, never mind, I shouldn't have asked."

He came back over to the desk, and sat down, right where he'd been a few minutes earlier. "Now, where were we? Oh, that's right, you were just going to tell me all about your night out with Helga." He was still smiling, but there was a slight tension in his voice which hadn't been there before. Something he'd found out in the last ten minutes had set alarm bells ringing. Maybe Hochstetter had said something about his dealings with Marya, or about Tiger being in Hammelburg that night, or about the unknown woman who had been mistaken for her. Hogan wouldn't need more than a hint or two before he started drawing conclusions.

At that moment, Hilda knew what she had to do. If Hogan ever heard the whole story, he'd be furious; with Marya, with Tiger, possibly even with Helga and Hildegard. More than that, he would start worrying about them. It might distract him from his work, and she couldn't let that happen, not after all they'd been through. She looked him straight in the eye, and smiled.

"Oh, it was nothing exciting. Just an ordinary girls' night out," she said.

Note: the photographs Udo substituted on Tiger's dossier came from the file on the Underground member Greta, who escaped to England at the end of "The Battle of Stalag 13" (Season 2). Hochstetter never saw her, although another Gestapo officer who looked very like him did.