Sophie followed Hogan and Newkirk eagerly through the forest, glancing over her shoulder every now and then. She'd lost track of their trail long ago, and highly doubted she could find her way home. All the more reason to stick closer to the two agents. Suddenly, Hogan stopped short and crouched behind a shrub. Newkirk followed. Sophie eyed them in confusion for a moment. When she didn't understand a wild hand signal, Newkirk snatched her arm and yanked her down beside him.

"Hey, watch it!" she snapped, only to find a hand slapped across her mouth.

Hogan set a finger to his lips. Sophie grew still as the sound of footsteps reached her ears. She held her breath as a Luftwaffe soldier, albeit a large one, appeared out of nowhere and marched through the trees, passing inches from their hiding spot. Only when he was out of earshot did she dare breathe again. Hogan beckoned to a tree stump off to their left.

"You want to take a break, Colonel?" Sophie whispered. "We have been walking a while, but I'm not that tired yet."

"That's not what I meant," Hogan replied.

He crept to the stump and, to Sophie's amazement, lifted off the top to reveal a secret tunnel. She blushed.

"Of course, it's a tunnel. I knew that the whole time."

"Sure thing, love," Newkirk chuckled as they clambered down the ladder.

As her feet hit the dirt floor, Sophie's jaw dropped at the scene before her. Rows of spacious tunnels supported by wooden beams converged in a large underground room. A group of men in various worn-out uniforms sat around an expensive-looking radio. All eyes rested on Sophie. No one seemed too pleased to see her. The girl chuckled and fiddled with her shawl. Hogan pushed her towards the group.

"Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Snowgoose, also known as Sophie. Sophie, this is Sergeant Kincheloe, Sergeant Carter, and Corporal LeBeau."

Each man nodded as his name was called.

"You're Snowgoose?" asked Kinch, eyebrows raised in doubt.

"Of course, I'm Snowgoose. I had the blueprints you wanted. See?"

She gestured towards Hogan, who pulled the paper in question from his pocket. Carter shrugged.

"Seems like the perfect cover to me. I mean, who'd expect a sweet little girl like that to be an Underground agent?"

Sophie blushed and tried to ignore a twinge of guilt. Hogan spread the blueprints out on a small table.

"We'll have plenty of time to talk about her brilliant cover after the mission. For now, Sophie, what can you tell us about this laboratory?"

Once again, all eyes shifted to Sophie. She gulped and stammered for an answer.

"Um, well, it's a laboratory. I know that for sure. And it's really important that we do something about it."

She spotted a layer of doubt growing on the Colonel's face. This was not what he wanted to hear. She shrugged.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't get enough time to learn much more about it."

Newkirk gently elbowed her. "Don't worry about that, love. It's like the Colonel here often says. A good agent gets what he can and get out before getting caught. Or she, I suppose."

"Yep, that's what happened, all right. Good thing I didn't get caught."

"It sure is," replied LeBeau, "You look hungry. When was the last time you ate?"

"Well, I had some bread and milk for breakfast."

The Frenchman scoffed. "Bread and milk? Is that all? No wonder you're so thin!"

He grabbed her arm and practically dragged her to the far end of the room where a table sat with a pot of hot coffee, a plate of apple strudel, and a host of French delicacies that Sophie had never seen before. Her mouth began to water at the smell. When was the last time she had freshly baked strudel? The smell brought on a flood of long-lost memories and a twinge of heartache. Still, it didn't take much coaxing from LeBeau before she wolfed down every pastry on the table.

"Boy, you were hungry," Carter remarked.

"Well, food is kind of scarce these days, with the war and all." Her words sparked a recent memory. "Food! Colonel Hogan, I need to get back! My papa sent me to buy food for us and I'm almost out of time!"

"No problem. LeBeau, set this little lady up with some supplies. And grab her some dry clothes while you're at it. How much food do you need, Sophie?"

"A month's worth for two people. But I can't pay you for it. You saw what happened to the money."

LeBeau gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You've given us more than enough with those blueprints."

As he disappeared to gather the supplies in a basket, Hogan continued his planning.

"Since we don't know much about the security of the lab, we'll have to do some scouting tomorrow. Newkirk, you and LeBeau will go with Sophie to find out more about our target while the rest of us develop a plan."

"Wait a minute," Sophie said, "you want me to go scouting with you? Tomorrow?"

Hogan nodded. "You're right. Waiting until tomorrow could lose us precious time. You'll go tonight under cover of darkness." He beckoned to a map of Hammelburg and pointed out a secluded intersection in the roads. "You'll meet my men at this crossroad at midnight."

"Midnight? Tonight? That sounds… um… perfect! I'll be there, Colonel."

Shortly after, LeBeau reappeared with a basket stuffed with bread, vegetables, and even assorted meats that Sophie hadn't tasted in months. She squealed with delight as she gripped the basket handle.

"This is incredible! Where did you get this?"

"Let's just say we have our connections," Newkirk replied with a swift wink.

Sophie giggled in excitement, images of all the delicious meals she and her father would be sharing raced through her mind.

"Papa and I haven't eaten like this in days. How can I ever thank you?"

"Just be at the rendezvous point at midnight. That's all we ask," said Hogan.

Sophie saluted with her free hand. "You can count on that, Colonel."

"Perfect. Carter, make sure this little lady gets home safely, will you?"

"Sure thing," Carter replied.

He offered his elbow to Sophie, which she graciously took. Together, they left the tunnel and picked their way back through the forest, chatting in low voices and ducking for cover whenever a guard passed by.

"So, you really operate out of a stalag?" Sophie asked.

"Oh, sure. It's the perfect cover. By the way, where'd you learn how to speak English so well?"

"I learned some in school, but most English I learned from reading your American comic books. I get them from a friend in the black market. Don't tell anyone. Even my Papa doesn't know."

"Don't worry, I won't say a word. By the way, who's your favorite?"

Sophie's face lit up as she spoke. "I like the new character, Wonderwoman. It's because of her that I wanted to be an agent."

Dusk had long arrived by the time they reached the farmhouse. Carter said goodbye a safe distance away, leaving Sophie to walk the rest of the way with the basket in hand. As she reached the front door, she scrambled to find an excuse for her absence. Scarcely had the door creaked open before her distressed father pounced on her.

"Sophie! What took so long? I've been worried sick!"

His embrace was comforting. Sophie hated to lie to him, but she didn't have much choice.

"Don't worry, Papa. Everything is fine. In fact, it's even better. I got more food than we ever could have imagined!"

She held out the basket for inspection. Johan dug through the food with trembling hands.

"But how? How did you manage to find meat this fresh? And how did you ever pay for it?"

"Well, the grocer happened to have some stored away and I… traded my bicycle for it."

That sounded like a good enough explanation. After all, her bike was sitting somewhere in town anyway.

"He gave you all this for a child's bicycle? I wonder what he needed it for." He beamed. "Oh well, what does it matter? He got his bicycle. We got our food. And tonight, we eat like kings."

With a deep laugh of satisfaction, Johan bustled to the kitchen, basket in hand, to prepare their supper. Sophie stole a glance out the window. She longed to tell her father about the great Papa Bear and how kind he had been to her, but she held her tongue. Maybe after this mission was over, she could tell him all about the nail-biting adventure that was about to happen.