Sophie panted as she pedaled into town. She didn't remember it being this far away. Of course, she usually didn't travel by herself either. Parking her bike in a safe location, she fingered the money in her pocket. All she needed to do was buy enough food to last them through the month. Sounded simple enough. She glanced at her watch. It was almost noon. A girl her age did not want to be out alone in the evening and this errand would take some time.

As she ran-walked past the fountain, she noticed a woman in a white jacket standing by the structure with her back to the water. The woman wasn't doing anything, just standing and staring down the street. That was odd. Sophie shrugged it off as wartime stress and continued on her way.

Her progress was halted, however, when a sudden gust of wind ripped the shawl off her shoulders and blew it towards the fountain. Sophie squealed and chased after it. The shawl fluttered through the air until the edge of it caught on part of the stone décor in the middle of the fountain. Sophie leaned against the wall of the fountain with a sigh of relief. She stiffened when two men in foreboding black uniforms and red armbands approached the fountain. Sophie panicked. What would the Gestapo want with her? Had they heard some of her anti-Nazi talk? Her fears were quelled when the men instead began to question the woman in the white jacket.

With a sigh of relief, Sophie stretched her arm out to grab the shawl. It was best not to mess with the Gestapo, and today was no exception. However, the shawl had landed just out of her reach. She grunted as she stretched her arm across the rippling water. One ear focused on the nearby conversation. The woman's voice remained surprisingly calm in the face of the interrogators.

"But I assure you, Herr Major, I know nothing about what happened last night."

"Is that so, Fraulein? Then how come we picked up heavy radio activity coming from your building just before the sabotage occurred?"

So, it was sabotage after all. Sophie leaned farther forward, partly to get a better reach and partly to hear more of the conversation.

"There are many people living in those apartments. It could have been any one of them."

"True, but we have been monitoring that building for days. Out of all those people, you have had the most suspicious activity."

The wind started up again, blowing the shawl further from Sophie's straining fingers. With a grunt of frustration, Sophie crawled onto the wall of the fountain and balanced on her knees.

"What type of activity are you talking about, Major?"

"Fraulein, we will continue this conversation at Gestapo headquarters. Franz, search this woman."

At that moment, Sophie lost her balance. Flailing her arms wildly, she splashed into the fountain. The impact caused a wave of freezing cold droplets to wash over the two Gestapo men and their victim. While the Major coughed and spluttered in abhorrence, the woman rushed to Sophie's aide. Sophie stood up, shivering part from cold and part from terror. The woman grabbed her arm and helped her step back over the wall.

"My goodness, child! You must be more careful. Were you hurt?"

"N-no. I'm o-okay," Sophie stuttered back, wringing the water out of her hair. The woman twisted the ends of Sophie's skirt to release the extra water.

"Don't you realize you could catch pneumonia? What were you trying to do?"

Sophie glanced at her shawl, which still hung from its perch, and hugged herself tightly.

"I see. I see. I'll get it for you," the woman responded.

Patting Sophie's sides once more, she reached over the edge and retrieved the shawl with ease. Hardly had she wrapped it around the girl's shoulders before the red-faced Major snatched her forearm.

"Enough of this! Fraulein, you will come with us to Gestapo headquarters. Raus! Raus!" Sophie clutched tighter at her shawl as she watched the Gestapo major practically drag the woman across the street. She took a few breaths to calm her racing heart. That had been too close for comfort. At least the Major didn't seem to notice her. Tightening the shawl around her shoulders, she set her mind back to her task.

The money! What happened to the money? Sophie stuffed a hand in her pocket, panic welling up once again. To her surprise, she found more than a wad of soaked bills. Her fingers wrapped around a folded paper. She pulled it halfway out of her pocket. It looked like a map of some sort, but how could it end up in her pocket?

Her many questions were interrupted when she noticed a man in a dark overcoat watching her from across the street. She gulped and hastily shoved the map back in her pocket. Wringing out her wet clothing, she glanced around for anything else he may be looking at. She was the only one by the fountain. He was definitely watching her. Rubbing her forearms to dispel the goosebumps, she glanced about for the grocery store. The man ambled towards her. This was not good. Sophie shuffled backward, searching for somewhere to hide. She bumped into a soft barrier. Whipping around, she found herself face-to-chest with a tall, dark-haired man with a thin mustache and white overcoat.