Ty burst into his room, searching for Kato. He was gone. But where?

Ty beat his fist on the door to Nora’s adjoining room. He heard the pitter-patter of her feet, and the door slowly creaked open, revealing her tired, pale face. She had still been asleep. But she looked almost sick to Ty.

“You okay?”

She nodded, eyes half closed. “I think the time zone change and stress is finally catching up to me.”

He pushed the door open and hugged her and whispered in her ear, “Where’s Kato?”

“I don’t know.”

“I found it. Where I think they’re holding your counterpart.” That seemed to wake Nora up. She stared at him.

“We’ve got to find Kato,” he whispered. “Quickly.”

*

In her room, Maria sat on a plush sofa, staring at the sun through the tall window. It was like an executioner’s blade, rising. When it fell, and night came, she would have to take the stage and perform.

She knew if she thought about it too much, it would get her too worked up. She would spiral. She needed distraction.

She set about practicing her performance of “A Hymn for The World After.” After three full renditions, her nerves still wouldn’t settle.

She knew what she needed. The bottle of pills was hidden on the plane. Bringing the drugs with her would have raised questions at the security checkpoint—namely, how a physician in Nashville, Tennessee could have prescribed methadone for her. Especially given that Nashville, Tennessee

was uninhabited in this world and had been for a long time. But she could always say she forgot something on the plane, return there, and take a pill. That was the backup plan she’d made with Nora.

The pills waiting there beckoned to her. They would chase the demons away, leaving calm in their wake. For a while.

The pills would also sedate her. If she was too sluggish for the performance, someone might suspect she wasn’t the real Maria Santos.

She knew the fear of being caught was driving some of her nerves— almost as much as performing in front of the crowd.

But there was another fear. If she was caught, it would put the whole team in danger. She didn’t want to let them down. That terrified her as much as the stage. And the demon inside of her.

One pill would make the cravings and fear back away. Or maybe half a pill. That was the answer.

No.

The answer was neither. She had something she didn’t have before.

Something more powerful to give her calm and confidence.

She exited her room and walked down the hall. At Nora’s door, she knocked and waited.

Nora was still in her pajamas when she opened it. Ty was there too, by the window, looking out as if searching for something. Or someone.

Maria entered and motioned Nora to the bathroom, where she closed the door and turned on the shower, the soft noise distorting their voices for any listening devices that might be present. “I was thinking about going to the plane. For the pills.”

Nora studied her face. “You can take a half if you need it. It should wear off by tonight.”

Maria shook her head. “I don’t want to take any chances. I don’t want to let you guys down. I just… needed someone to talk to about it.”

*

In the hallway outside the power plant’s foyer, Kato watched his counterpart march into the building. Two Gestapo personnel were waiting for him. When he came to a stop, they raised a straight-arm salute and barked, “Sieg Heil!”

He returned the salute, and they began what was clearly another tour of the facility, with an emphasis on the hour-by-hour activities of the day.

There was tension there between the Gestapo officers and Kato’s Sicherheitsdienst counterpart. It was likely a matter of pride. And perhaps rivalry to some extent.

It wasn’t clear to Kato exactly how the Reich Europa armed forces were organized, but on his home world, the Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst had both been groups within the Schutzstaffel, or SS. The SS itself had originated as a group of Nazi party volunteers called the Saal-Schutz, or Hall Security. In the early 1930s, the Saal-Schutz was charged with securing meeting locations for Nazi party gatherings. As the SS grew into a major paramilitary organization, it was integrated with the German armed forces.

Here, it was clear that the Gestapo had been charged with securing the location, but the Sicherheitsdienst was conducting the counterintelligence operations. The recent incursion by the Pax operatives had probably encouraged them to be extra cautious.

Kato waited as the three men passed by, talking in a strained conversation. Some of the words Kato didn’t recognize. Maybe they were names of places here at Peenemünde. Either way, he needed to brush up on his German. Assuming he lived through this.

The group kept referencing the “Bunkier,” which translated to bunker. Was that where the missiles were controlled? If so, where was it? There was talk of the chapel, oxygen factory, and raid shelters.

Suddenly, the group doubled back. Kato didn’t dare alter his course or react. He marched straight ahead, not avoiding eye contact but not focusing on his counterpart, who was barreling toward him.

The man threw up a hand. “Halt.”

Kato stopped, keeping his distance from him—and mentally preparing to fight.

“Are you following me?”

“I’m doing my job,” Kato said. Saying “no” would contradict the accusation and invite conflict.

“Security,” his counterpart spat out, “is our job.” Kato nodded.

“From here out, you are to remain in the common areas or your room. Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

“Go.”

Kato turned and walked away, feeling the man’s eyes upon him.

He had been caught—and he was certain that his counterpart was even more suspicious now. Worst of all, his movements were now confined. Making his assault on his counterpart would be more difficult. He would have to wait until he was in the common areas—if he ever ventured there.

But time was running out for him to make the swap. It was already afternoon, and to make matters worse, his counterpart was suspicious. He needed to replace him soon.

Kato sat down at a table in the boiler house café and watched the foyer, waiting, hoping his counterpart would come through again.

Out of his peripheral vision, Kato spotted his counterpart moving past the boiler house, down a long corridor that led deeper into the power plant. The two Gestapo agents were still with him.

Three against one. Those were bad odds—especially since one of the three was a clone of him.

But Kato sensed that this was his last chance to make his move.

He watched as his counterpart was about to turn down a corridor leading away from the boiler house. He stopped and spun and locked eyes with Kato. For just a small fraction of a second, the man’s face changed. Kato saw a flash of alarm. The man had seen him. Not just seen that Kato was there in the café watching—he had seen him. It was the eyes. Before, Kato had made an effort to keep his gaze passive and nonthreatening. Now his counterpart had seen something else: a predator. He had seen his own eyes staring back at him.

He knew.