Hammelburg, Germany

Moffitt wasn't sure what to make of Hogan's expression when he and Carter entered the room. The colonel looked confused and almost angry, like he was expecting an explanation of some kind. Moffitt had a feeling he knew exactly what this was about. I was correct. He is the bear. All four players in the prophecy are known—almost. Only Troy doesn't know who the deer and bear are.

"What are you, Sergeant?" Hogan asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Moffitt gestured to himself. "What am I?"

"Yes. Are you a warlock?"

"No, sir."

"I have an operation to run. I can't be involved in a prophecy with a person I never met."

"I have no control over this, sir. I merely told you what the prophecy was."

"Yeah, and you said you had no idea what it meant."

Moffitt looked at his boots. "I will admit, I lied. I shouldn't have lied. I didn't want it to burden your mind if I told you that I already know who and what everyone is."

"Tell me, who is everyone in your zoo?"

"Well, I am the snake. Sergeant Troy is the jackal. Carter is the deer, and you, Colonel Hogan, are the bear."

"And what makes this Captain Dietrich guy so important?"

"I don't know, sir. I've been wondering that for the past two years."

"What is the abyss that—" Hogan gestured to Moffitt and Carter, "you and Carter have to show him?"

"I don't know, sir. Anah, my cobra, would know, but she's still being held by the SS."

"I know. I saw that in the vision I just had."

"Vision?"

"Yeah. A vision. A vision where a bear was charging through the gates of an SS compound, you and Carter running in behind it. Your snake was having its venom squeezed out of its fangs into a jar by an SS officer with crutches."

"Sturmbannführer Augenstein. The officer in charge of the project."

"There were two other men behind you. One with an Australian hat and a German captain."

"Sergeant Troy and Captain Dietrich. What else did you see, sir?"

"That was it."

Moffitt drew in a breath. "Sir, I do not wish to be rude or demanding during my stay, but I must rescue Anah. The SS wants to use her power and we can't let that happen. It could cost us the war."

"You're not doing it alone, that's for sure."

"I know."

"Colonel," Carter said, "what did the compound look like?"

"Looked like a hospital," Hogan replied.

"I think I know which compound that is. Veidt's told me about it. It is an old hospital, actually, decommissioned a few years before the Nazis came to power. The Sorcery Division took over the building and use it for experiments."

"Well, we can only communicate by raven until we can get the radios repaired. Send a message to Veidt. If we're going to this compound, I want every blueprint on it."

"Right, sir." Carter left the room.

Hogan turned to Moffitt. "You know, I was assigned the codename 'Papa Bear.' I didn't pick that name myself."

"Like I said, sir, I don't know how this works."

"But your snake knows."

"Yes. She just doesn't like to give away too much information. She's very cryptic and it annoys the dickens out of Troy. Hopefully, now that we all know who we are, she'll tell us more."

"Why would two people who've never met Dietrich be involved, though?"

Moffitt shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, and I know Dietrich. I am surprised, though, that you agreed to take on this mission so quickly."

"If I didn't have Carter over the last couple of years, I wouldn't believe any of this. If a vampire hadn't saved Kinch's life, I wouldn't believe any of this. If I hadn't had to deal with the Sorcery Division, well—" Hogan shrugged, "I wouldn't believe any of this."

"You took it better than Troy did."

"We're getting close to the end of this war. I don't want it dragged out any longer, by magic or anything else. All of my men want to go home, and I'd rather send them home sooner than later."

Moffitt nodded. "How long until the radios are fixed?"

"With all the snow, it'll take a few days. We have to make sure everything is unburied, then we have to make sure the rest of the Underground is doing alright and doesn't need anything immediate."

"Alright. I just hope Anah can wait that long."

Augsburg, Germany

Veidt accompanied Kaschel to the laboratory where Augenstein was holding the cobra. The area was mostly shoveled after the blizzard tore through, but it was still bitterly cold and ice was a constant hazard.

Kaschel had ordered the search for Moffitt be expanded to all of southern Germany. Veidt had managed to return home just as the search started, and avoided suspicion entirely. He was still anxious, but kept it inside. There was nothing anyone could say that would pin him to Moffitt's escape. Kaschel did ask him if Moffitt said or did anything in the truck on the way to his temporary prison cell, and Veidt said no.

Veidt was afraid of what they were going to find when they entered the laboratory, but he wondered what the worst could be when it came to trying to torture a two-thousand-year-old immortal cobra. As the two stepped inside, they found Augenstein looking over a notebook, and the cobra still in her restraints. It was hard to tell what was on her mind, given that snakes don't blink. She lifted her head a little when Veidt approached her, but didn't say or do anything.

"Have you gotten anything out of her, Sturmbannführer?" Kaschel asked, glancing over at the snake.

"Nothing!" Augenstein snapped. "She is stubborn and no matter how many times I shock or injure her, she heals and still says nothing! I am growing tired of this! Where is that damned Englishman?!"

"He is still loose." Kaschel remained calm in the face of Augenstein's outburst.

"I know what will get him back. Get Captain Dietrich. Hang him by his wrists, slit his belly open and watch his entrails fall! Keep him alive with only a basic regeneration potion! Send word throughout Europe that I will kill him if Sergeant Moffitt does not return."

"Right. I am sure eviscerating Dietrich will allow him to remain alive even if you do get Moffitt back."

"He deserves death anyway. That traitor—" Augenstein slammed one of his crutches against the floor, "will suffer."

Kaschel didn't respond. "I will see what I can do, Sturmbannführer, but do have patience. It may take time with all the snow we received."

"Yes, sir."

Kaschel looked at Veidt, beckoning for him to follow. The two men went upstairs and out of the old hospital, where Kaschel paused a few meters away from his staff car. "I am beginning to think Augenstein needs a rest when this is over. I have known him for five years and never saw him talk to Standartenführer Wahler or me that way."

"The stress of this operation is getting to him, sir," Veidt said.

"Indeed." Kaschel let out a sigh. "I hope success will put his mind at ease."

"No doubt it will, sir. Do we have any other plans for the day?"

"There are other projects to inspect. I am quite curious to see how our telepathically controlled Tiger II is going."

Out of all the projects Kaschel and Veidt inspected that day, the telepathically controlled Tiger II was the only one actually seeing a large degree of success. That was good for Veidt, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he returned to his apartment that evening.

While making himself a light dinner with a cup of tea, Veidt's thoughts were interrupted by a tapping on one of his windows. He went over to the window to see a raven perched outside, an envelope tied to its body with a blue ribbon. "I was not expecting any mail today," Veidt said. "Thank you." He gave the raven a bit of food before closing the window and opening the envelope.

"V. – P. B. wants to meet with you. Bring blueprints of ZA hospital laboratory. – C."

Veidt paled. The blueprints are in Kaschel's office. This will be a bit of a challenge. He mulled it over while finishing his dinner and tea. I am the only person who can go in Kaschel's office without permission, but he will suspect me of something if one of our blueprints goes missing, especially one for an important place like the central laboratory.

He continued thinking about it while getting ready for bed. Taking pictures of the blueprints will suffice, but I will need a discreet camera. That is certainly something Colonel Hogan would have. After putting on his nightclothes, Veidt penned out a quick response. "C. – Tell P. B. I need small camera for blueprints. Anything nondescript will do. – V."

Western Belgium

Over the next few days after his conversation with Major Tausemann, Troy was finding it harder to sleep. The abyss is Dietrich's own head. That can't be right. I don't want it to be right. He was hesitant to bring it up with Tully and Hitch, especially as he himself kept wanting to deny it. I actually wish Moffitt's damn snake were here. At least she could give us something that resembles an answer. He couldn't believe he actually wanted Anah back, but his frustration over a lack of answers and growing concern over the fact that Dietrich had considered shooting himself made him start praying that the cobra was alright.

She's keeping Moffitt safe, isn't she? She better, or I'll bring her back to Libya and kick her out back where we found her. Troy sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his face. Being unable to do anything about saving Moffitt was getting to him. His thoughts were running rampant and he was powerless to stop them. The most he could do during the day at times was angrily pace the room.

He thought he was going to go mad one morning when the door to his room opened and two officers, accompanied by a handcuffed Tausemann, entered. Troy looked past the officers to see Hitch and Tully waiting outside. He recognized Captain Boggs, but not the lieutenant colonel with him.

"Sergeant Troy, I understand you've been having discussions with this prisoner about the whereabouts of your old nemesis in North Africa, Captain Dietrich," Boggs stated plainly.

"I have," Troy replied. "Is that a problem?"

"If Sergeant Moffitt wasn't missing, it would be, because getting Dietrich out of Germany would be considered a personal mission. We can't afford personal missions right now. However, if everything about this… prophecy is true, then getting Dietrich out may become more important than we realize."

"And why is that, sir?"

"The SS wants Moffitt's cobra, and Dietrich would be perfect bait if Moffitt were to escape. Removing the bait means the SS has very little chance of getting the snake."

"It's funny you say that, sir, because I remember you wanted us to get rid of her when you saw her sunbathing on the hood of a jeep."

That got a slight smile out of Boggs. "If she's as powerful as Moffitt claims she is, I'd rather keep her on our side."

"What exactly are you trying to say, Captain? Are you giving this mission the go-ahead?"

"The British Army gave it their approval, and after what happened with Moffitt's brother, I think it's important we get him back so his parents don't lose their only other child."

"That's a fair point, sir."

"Lieutenant Colonel Bowman will give you more details. Sir." Boggs stepped aside to let an older man approach Troy.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sergeant." Bowman held out his hand.

"Thank you, sir." Troy shook his hand firmly.

"How's the shoulder?"

"Gradually improving, sir."

"That's good to hear. I can't imagine the last week has been easy with your British companion missing."

"No, sir."

"Well, I'm here today to tell you that in the next couple of days, with approval from the medical officers, you, Private Hitchcock, and Private Pettigrew will be sent into the heart of Germany to rescue Sergeant Moffitt. This is probably the most dangerous mission you will undertake, so you will be sent with a number of tools to help bail you out of trouble. We've been working closely with the OSS on this one, and they already have a number of agents inside Germany who have set up contact with a resistance group known as the League of Gentlemen Sorcerers and Lady Witches. They are aware of the situation with Moffitt's cobra and have expressed full cooperation. They can be reached by raven."

Troy gave Bowman a confused look. "By what?"

"By raven, or any other member of the corvid family."

"I'm sorry, they communicate by what is essentially pigeon mail?"

"Yes, Sergeant."

"Explain to me how that's going to work in the field, sir."

"You will be given magic ribbons, which you tie your letter to the bird with. Tell the bird who you want the message sent to, and they will deliver it."

"Magic ribbons." Troy sighed. "Okay, sir."

"I know, it seems strange, but they have been using these birds for thousands of years. The raven is almost like a patron saint to all magic folk."

"Is there a list of names we can use?"

"Yes." Bowman produced a sheet of paper. "Locations, codenames, real names. All here. Be careful discussing them in public. The Nazi High Command doesn't even know that this group has been operating against them."

"How's that possible?" Troy looked over the list of names, and noticed a similarity between almost all of them. "They're Germans."

"Most of them operate within the German military, including the SS."

"Well, that's gotta be tough."

"Indeed. The fact that they communicate without radios is largely how they've kept hidden."

"So, who's getting rescued first, though? Moffitt or Dietrich?"

"Moffitt. You'll be dropped as close to the city of Augsburg as possible."

"No jeeps?"

"Unfortunately, no jeeps. I'm sorry. You'll be airdropped in as close as possible to the city. From there, you will—"

Tausemann cleared his throat, looking a little nervous. "I do not wish to interrupt, but—" he glanced at Troy, "I think there is something you should tell Bowman."

Troy looked down at his lap, unconvinced that Boggs and Bowman would believe him. "They won't believe it, Major."

"Going to Augsburg would be a waste of time if what you saw and heard is true!"

"What's he talking about, Troy?" Boggs asked.

Troy still felt bringing this up would be futile, but said anyway, "The prophecy, Captain. I… heard in a dream several nights ago that 'the snake has met the deer,' and Anah told us two years ago that the bear and deer are in a POW camp with 13 in its designation. Tausemann said that there is a camp near the town of Hammelburg that's right in the middle of resistance activity. Stalag 13. If what I heard is true, then Moffitt is in Hammelburg, not Augsburg."

"This is a very risky idea to go off of," Bowman said. "There is a wide gap between those two places."

"I know it sounds ridiculous, sir, because we'd be betting on a dream and the words of Moffitt's snake."

Bowman glanced at Tausemann. "Didn't you say that Dietrich is currently stationed in Würzburg?"

"I did, Colonel," Tausemann replied.

"That is fairly close to Hammelburg?"

"It is, Colonel."

Bowman turned back to Troy. "We will be putting a lot of faith in you and your team for this."

"Does that mean the mission is a go, sir?" Troy asked.

"It has my approval, but now it will need the approval of the medical officers here."

Troy bit back a curse.

"This will require a bit more patience, Sergeant." Bowman smirked. "I understand that is not one of your strong points."

"No, sir."

"We will have an answer for you by tomorrow evening. Rest well, Sergeant."

Hammelburg, Germany

Carter hadn't expected Hogan to take the news well that he was the bear in the prophecy, but when Moffitt was asleep in the tunnels later that night, he and the rest of the team were summoned into Hogan's office to talk.

Hogan summarized what he learned from Moffitt about the prophecy, then became silent, letting his team think about what they just heard.

"A prophecy to help a German?" LeBeau scoffed. "Nonsense."

"Moffitt told me that Dietrich isn't a bad guy," Carter said. "He's saved Moffitt's life on more than one occasion."

"Sounds more like he's confused about what side he's on," Newkirk said.

"We don't know anything about him other than what Moffitt has said about him," Kinch added. "We just have Moffitt's word and no one else's."

"You're not saying that you don't trust him, are you?" Carter asked.

"No, but… I'm not sure. We just met him and suddenly he's dumping all this information on us, like we don't have enough to deal with."

"It could be a trap," Newkirk muttered.

"Veidt wouldn't have brought him here if there was something wrong," Carter argued.

"He might've fooled Veidt."

"Before this gets outta hand," Hogan said, "I want everyone's thoughts. Carter, do you think we should help Moffitt?"

"Absolutely, sir," Carter replied.

"One 'aye.' Newkirk?"

"Skip me for now, sir," Newkirk said.

"Alright. Kinch?"

"I'm undecided, too," Kinch said with a shrug.

"LeBeau?"

"No. Send Moffitt back to wherever he came from," LeBeau said.

Hogan looked at Kinch and Newkirk. "I'll give you time to think about this. Spend some time with our guest and form your own conclusions."

Carter tried not to look disheartened in front of the others, but he did wonder if perhaps he did trust Moffitt too quickly. Then again, he didn't think his own dreams were lying. He didn't think that was possible.

The next morning, the snow was at its lightest, which gave Kinch a chance to start repairs on the radios. Almost as soon as one was repaired, a message came in from an Underground unit stating that a different unit needed replacement parts ASAP. Hogan arranged for a reply to be sent stating that there would be parts sent that night, and selected LeBeau to go.

Hogan was still the same person, and Carter didn't think any prophecy was going to change that. He listened on the coffeepot bug as Hogan convinced Colonel Klink to send them all out to Würzburg to help with snow removal.

"Come on, Colonel, don't you think the Führer would be happy to know you stepped up to help his convoys in a desperate time of need?" Hogan was saying. "It could get you a medal, or even that promotion to general you always wanted."

Sure enough, that worked, so Carter had to get to work making bombs to plant on all of the trucks headed to the front in Belgium. He spent the majority of the day in his lab, building time bombs and setting each individual one off somewhere safe when they were finished. He noticed Moffitt peering into the room in the corner of his eye, and turned to face the tall Englishman. "Hey. Need something? I got… a lot of explosives here."

"What are all of those for?" Moffitt gestured to the time bombs.

"A supply convoy in Würzburg that'll be leaving for Belgium soon."

"Ah. Would you like help?"

"Uh… sure. If you're offering. I've got five already made. I need seven more." Carter made room for Moffitt to work. "You know how to make these?"

"They don't seem too dissimilar to explosives we used in North Africa and Italy."

"Well, don't do anything if you're not sure what you're doing." Carter felt bad for sounding harsh, so he added, "Please. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't feel confident."

The two were quiet as they worked. Carter would occasionally glance over at Moffitt, thinking about what the others had said about him last night. He wasn't sure it was right to discuss what had been said, especially since Kinch, Newkirk, and LeBeau really hadn't had a chance to interact with Moffitt. At the same time, Carter was getting tired of the silence. "You know, this is the first time someone's worked with me down here. I usually make all my bombs alone."

"You're the sole provider of explosives?" Moffitt said.

"Yeah. Chemistry was one of my best subjects in high school, and I worked at a pharmacy part-time during the summer. I didn't actually get to work with any of the drugs—I was just a clerk, but I learned a lot just by listening and observing."

"I'm a bit surprised that turned into you being the resident explosive expert."

"Well, we don't have much else, unfortunately. A lot of this has been hands-on and trial-and-error, although with this, you really don't want to make errors. I've had bombs not go off when they're supposed to, and some of the guys would give me a hard time over it. I'm not an expert, but I feel like I have to be now."

"When I joined the Scots Greys, I didn't consider myself an expert with horses. I had to become an expert really fast when I was assigned a rather temperamental beast that decided he didn't like me."

"That must've been fun," Carter muttered.

"I grew quite fond of that horse once we learned to trust each other, and he showed me the same fondness in turn. Actually, he saved my life a few times. When it was announced that the Scots Greys were completely switching over to tanks, I fought to have that horse sent home, and now he's being cared for by my father."

"Sounds like something to look forward to when you go home."

"Indeed it is. How about you? What do you have waiting for you at home?"

Carter paused. "Well, I used to have a girl waiting for me."

"Used to? What happened?"

"She decided to end our relationship. I'm still not entirely sure why, and even though it's been two years, I'm still not completely over it."

"You cared for her that much."

"Yeah. I was convinced we were going to get married after the war."

"Ouch. You were serious, then."

"I was. Mary Jane wasn't, which is strange because for a long time, I thought she was, too. I guess she didn't pass the patience test."

"Most couples are fortunate not to have to go through that. I reckon there are a lot now who are enduring it."

Carter nodded. "I would've waited."

"If I had a girl waiting for me back in England, I would hope she is still waiting."

"Have you ever dated?"

"Only a handful of times. Turns out most young women don't like sitting through lectures on Alexander the Great's trip to Egypt, or the composition of rocks in Algeria. I need someone who shares similar passions, so we can surprise each other with new facts about our fields. Really the only person I could do that with is a woman ten years older than me."

"I know ten years seems like a bit of a gap, but did you ever try?"

"No. There was something telling me that we were always going to be good friends and colleagues, but not romantic partners. I haven't seen her in a few years. I know she was captured in North Africa by a German regiment shortly after the Second Battle of El Alamein, and that she was sent home, but I didn't have the time to stop by and say hello when I returned to England before D-Day."

"The Germans let her go?"

"Yes. She even got to meet Field-Marshal Rommel in person."

"Have you? I only ever saw him in newsreels back home."

"I have. He is—was quite friendly. I was a bit rude the first time I met him, but that was largely because I had gotten out of surgery the day before and was not happy about the idea of staying in a German camp for weeks on end before getting released to a POW camp. Luckily, I was rescued by Troy and the others."

Carter looked over the bombs laying on the table in front of them. The time had gone by a lot quicker with someone to talk to. "Well, now we just have to wait until we go into Würzburg to help dig out that convoy. Thanks for the help, Moffitt."

"You're quite welcome, Carter. I'm glad we had the chance to talk."

When Moffitt left the room, Carter found himself hoping that the rest of his team would have a similar experience, but he still couldn't help but wonder if he was jumping a bit too quickly at the chance to help this time.