Lieutenant Vinnie Pratt was still getting used to being an officer. Vinnie spent a good chunk of the Great Depression as an enlisted military policeman assigned to March Field in California. The Army wasn't his first choice of careers, but they did offer three hots and a cot. In the late 1930's, Pratt was accepted to Dartmouth as part of their ROTC program. Now he was wearing the uniform of a butter bar second lieutenant assigned to G2 (Intelligence). Not bad for a kid from Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. Vinnie would rather be where the action is, but the Army has him doing background checks of all things.

At first the assignment wasn't so bad. He was told he would be going to his old stomping grounds, New York City, to pick up his partner and do a deep check of an Air Corps Captain named Bellows. All appeared to be in order with this Bellows chap. Vinnie and his partner talked to Bellow's classmates and professors at Columbia, hell they even talked to his mom. Everything appeared to be as it was. Alfred Bellows graduated from the Pre-Med program at Columbia, bound for some Ivy League Doc Shop until the war got in the way. Then young Alfred did his patriotic duty duty and signed up to fly P-51 Mustangs. Everything was all wrapped up in a bow. But nothing seemed to satisfy the CID PIA they saddled Pratt with as a partner. A West Point grad by the name of Captain Samuel Flagg.

Flagg wanted to dot all the i's and cross the t's. Vinnie ran into his type quite a bit during his enlisted time. Pratt quietly heard some of the younger enlisted MP's refer to Flagg as "Captain America" behind his back. Flagg was bucking for Major, and no doubt would achieve the rank soon. After completing the paperwork to Flagg's satisfaction, the two headed to Grand Central Station.

The two day train trip with Flagg was excruciating. Pratt finally started getting some sleep, half dreaming of a much more memorable train trip on the Boston and Main with fellow Dartmouth student John McIntire. Not long after dozing off, Vinnie awoke to the barking sound of Flagg's voice.

The Captain said, "You know what's wrong with you, Pratt?"

Vinnie replied, "I'm sure I don't, Sir."

Flagg explained, "You still think of yourself as enlisted. You are an officer now, son. You need to take command!"

Pratt acknowledged, "I will, sir. Thank you, Captain." Vinnie did bristle a bit at being called "son" by somebody who was actually a couple of years younger than he was. Pratt also knew that by being former enlisted, it gave him insight that Flagg will never have.

Mercifully, the conductor called out, "Dallas, Union Station coming up."

There was a staff car waiting for Vinnie and Flagg. Being the junior officer, Vinnie drove. Their destination was the Nelson home somewhere near Fort Worth. It seemed they were driving aimlessly for hours on farm to market roads. Flagg had is nose in a map.

The Captain ordered, "OK, turn south at the fork in the road."

Vinnie acknowledged, "Yes, Sir." Then Pratt brought the car to a screeching halt.

"Lieutenant! Are you trying to throw me through the windshield?" Flagg Bellowed

Pratt explained, "Sir, there is a steer blocking the road!"

Flagg looked up from the map, "Hmm, I guess there is. But try to be more careful."

Biting his tongue, Pratt just said, "Sir, I think we are here." Pratt then pointed at a lone farmhouse

The Captain observed, "It looks abandoned."

The Lieutenant agreed, but noted, "It is the address on Nelson's file."

As the two approached the house, it looked like no one had lived there in at least a decade. The officers walked the perimeter of the residence, but found nobody home. Upon getting no response after knocking, the intelligence men entered the house. Even though it was mid-day, it was very dark inside. There was also a musty smell to the place.

A woman's voice behind them said, "Can I help you boys?" Both trained military men jumped, as she seemed to come out of nowhere.

Flagg answered, "Ma'am I'm Captain Flagg, this is Lieutenant Pratt. We are here to do a routine background check on Major Anthony Nelson."

Vinnie noted that while the woman appeared to be older than the two officers, she was very attractive. She wore her gray well. Then, all of the sudden the musty smell was replaced by the scent of cookies. When the woman raised the shades, the farmhouse no longer seemed abandoned. It was tastefully furnished with vibrant colors.

The woman said, "I'm Anthony's Aunt Jean. Most Folks around here call me Miss Jean. I'll be glad to help you any way I can."

Flagg again took the lead asking, "Do you have any records of Major Nelson's schooling? A birth certificate, anything we can use to confirm his identity."

Miss Jean looked alarmed, "Oh my! Is Anthony all right?"

Vinnie hesitantly said, "Ma'am, I am authorized to inform you that Major Anthony Nelson was captured by the Germans. But by all indications he appears to have been treated well, and is not injured."

The older woman left the room and shortly came back in with a box, a tray of cookies, and some lemonade. Vinnie thought 'that was fast.' If the woman was upset, she was hiding her emotions like a true Texan.

In the box was Anthony Nelson's birth certificate and high school diploma. His grade and high schools wer abandoned during the dust bowl of 1933 and never reopened. Nelson studied aeronautics in Versailles France. A very prestigious school without a doubt, but the German occupation of that country would make it difficult to verify. On top of it all, Nelson's parents both passed away at a young age. Miss Jean did provide a wealth of documents and photographs to show who Anthony Nelson was, but no way to validate any of it.

Captain Flagg said, "Thank you for your hospitality Ma'am, I think we have what we need."

When the two officers returned to the staff car, Pratt inquired, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Flagg paused, then allowed, "Granted."

The Lieutenant continued, "Captain, you were very thorough in our background check of Captain Bellows. Almost too thorough, considering the wealth of information we had on him. Yet you seem satisfied with this very superficial check on Major Nelson, where none of the evidence given could be verified."

Flagg explained, "Son sometimes you just got to go with what you have."

Vinnie was puzzled, wondering what spell came over his partner. The junior officer then drove the staff car back to Dallas. The two officers then got on a Northbound train to Iowa.

When the to got to Des Moines, Healey's background story was eerily similar to Nelson's. Pratt got the feeling that they were a bit more expected here than in Texas. Again it was a farmhouse, except this time it was in the middle of a corn field rather than a cattle ranch. However, they were greeted at the door this time. Except it wasn't a woman, it was a man. He looked like a slightly older version on the photos of Healy that were in the files. Like Nelson, Healey's parents had passed away. But instead of living with his Aunt, Healey lived with his Uncle Howard.

Howard had diplomas and photos of Healey growing up, just like Miss Jean had of Nelson. But like Nelson, everything was hard to verify. Roger went to a large school that lost most of its records to flooding. Howard had copies of yearbooks, but Healey seemed to be a loner as a kid, as there wen're many autographs in the books. And Healey's old school was torn down during the Great Depression by the WPA to make room for a new location, so even the old buildings were no longer there.

Healey was another bust, but Flagg again seemed oddly satisfied. Lieutenant Pratt returned to Fort Meade with Captain Flagg. The two filed their reports with the G-2 office, who then sent the information on through several cryptic channels and relays to its destination deep within enemy territory.

Kinch, Newkirk, Carter, LeBeau, and Hogan crowded into the tiny radio shack underneath Stalag 13. The communications sergeant quickly decoded the message.

Sergeant Kinchloe reported, "All three newcomers check out with G2, Colonel."

Hogan replied, "Well that's good to know."

Kinchloe listened for more of a message amended his report, "Colonel- the junior officer, a 2LT Vincent Pratt, does have some reservations about Healey and Nelson. The senior officer, a Captain Samuel Flagg, doesn't share in his partner's apprehensions. But Pratt doesn't think Healey and Nelson's backgrounds are as solid as Bellows."

Carter scoffed, "Leave it to a butter bar to question two majors' credentials."

Hogan looked thoughtful and said, "I was stationed with Vinnie Pratt in Riverside before the war. He was an MP Sergeant who really helped out some of my men. Pratt saw the value of turning around a good airman who made a bad decision rather than booting him out of the service. In fact, I recommended Vinnie for the ROTC program at Dartmouth. He had good instincts and I felt he would make an excellent officer. The only reason I didn't recommend Pratt for West Point is that I thought the academy might actually be too rigid for him. I'm not as familiar with Flagg, but I heard he is very by-the-book. I felt Flagg would be a good counter balance to Pratt, which is why I requested those two officers to investigate our latest guests. But if Vinnie has reservations, I think we need to keep an eye on the two majors."

While everyone else was in the tunnel, Jeannie popped in with Roger and Tony.

Jeannie reported, "Master, I have returned from Texas and Iowa."

Nelson smiled, "Great Jeannie! You did as I asked, giving Roger and I cover stories that are somewhat, but not too, believable?"

Jeannie sighed, "Of course, Master."

Roger seemed confused and asked, "Wait, you want Hogan suspicious of us?"

Tony explained, "Not really, but I need Hogan to trust Bellows. Since Bellows is from this time, his story would stand up better than anything Jeannie can create. We are used to being the objects of suspicion and can avoid revealing too much. If Hogan lets Bellows into his 'inner circle,' it will make our lives in the future much easier."