"Like mincemeat pie?" Riq asked.
"It's a code, not a dessert. I mean mincemeat as in slang for a dead man. You know, kaput, kicked the bucket, cashed out, toast. If you're dead, you're mincemeat."
"And some dead guy is going to save the war?" Sera asked.
"That was the plan," Dak said. "But in the history I learned, the plan didn't work. In fact, it backfired in the worst possible way. The Allies never recovered."
"Mincemeat!" Riq shouted. "Yes!"
"Could you say that louder?" Dak said. "The only way for everyone to know you're a spy is if you SHOUT OUT YOUR PLANS!"
Riq glared at Dak, then lowered his voice and said, "Mincemeat -- I've heard some people whispering about that. They got the body of a dead homeless person and dressed him up to look like a British officer. They call him Major Martin."
"That's him!" Dak stopped walking, this time because he realized he had no idea where he was going. Then he turned around to Riq. "The Allies are going to plant fake information about their next invasion on Major Martin. They want the Germans to discover it and believe what they're reading. But that's where they run into problems."
"What problems?" Sera asked. "The plan seems simple enough."
"To win this war, the Allies have to invade Sicily, right?" Dak's thoughts were still racing, but he tried to say everything slowly so he wouldn't have to explain it a second time. Or a tenth time, in Riq's case. "So their fake information has to do two things: First, it has to convince the Germans that the Allies are not going to Sicily."
"Even though they are," Riq said.
Dak nodded. "Right. But the Germans are going to see the Allies preparing for an invasion, so they have to make them think their target is actually somewhere else."
"Greece!" Riq said. "I heard people talking about Greece."
"I get it!" Sera said. "So the Allies want Germany to think they're invading someplace they're not, and that they're not invading somewhere they are."
"Yeah," Dak said. "Way to clarify that. Nice job."
"I still don't understand the problem," Riq said.
"In the history we learned, Hitler did get Major Martin's fake papers, but he never believed them. If Germany knows the story about invading Greece is a lie --"
"Then they know the story about not invading Sicily is a lie, too --" Sera said.
"So instead of tricking Germany, Mincemeat Man told them exactly where the Allies were going to attack!" Riq finished.
Dak folded his arms, satisfied with himself. "In our history -- the wrong, SQ-twisted history -- Sicily was a disaster for the Allies. The Nazis were ready for us, and we never recovered. The only way to fix things is to make sure the wolf -- Adolf Hitler -- believes Major Martin is a real British soldier carrying real plans for the invasion of Greece."
"How do we do that?" Sera asked.
Dak eyed Riq. "For a start, you have to get us inside Room 13."
RIQ SIGHED. Dak had asked to get inside Room 13 as if that were something simple. As if they could just walk into the Admiralty, open the door, and peek at some of the most top secret plans of World War II. Sure, anyone could do that!
Then Sera pointed out that this was exactly the kind of thing they had to do in order to influence the war from behind the scenes. Easy for her to say. Two kids who were caught sneaking around would just get kicked out of the building. But Riq was older than they were, and he had a job there that involved sensitive matters of national security. If he was caught, could they put him in military prison? Could he be tried as a traitor?
It wasn't a pleasant thought, but Riq knew that Dak was right. They had to get into that room!
It took Riq most of the afternoon to wander the corridors of the Admiralty and its connecting buildings until he found an old, unguarded room in the basement with a window large enough for Dak and Sera to squeeze through. It was a good thing that he didn't have to come and go this way, but they were a little shorter and should be able to fit.
That was where he waited for them that night. What had started as a drizzle an hour before had turned into a heavy downpour. At any other time, that would've been a problem, but tonight, it was very good news. The rain would help camouflage Dak and Sera from the soldiers who patrolled the area, and hopefully lower the soldiers' guards a bit. Even so, he breathed a huge sigh of relief when the secret tap they'd devised came to the windowpane.
Riq inched the window open, which took more effort than he had expected. Who knew how many months or years -- or decades -- had passed since it was last opened?
A soaked Sera crawled through first, then Dak followed. They dripped on the floor so much it was as if they had brought the rainstorm inside with them.
"Next time, I'll stay in the warm building while you sneak through the rain," Dak told Riq through chattering teeth.
Riq had a nice response ready, but decided to save it for later. At least until Dak looked less like a wet puppy.
He started to close the window, but Sera said, "We should leave it open, in case we need to make a quick escape."
"Good idea." Riq frowned at the water now puddled on the floor, but decided it would dry long before anyone happened upon it. "Let's get this done."
He opened the door to the hallway, and then froze, certain he had heard a shuffle in the bushes outside the window.
Dak looked out, but only shrugged his shoulders. "Nobody except us is crazy enough to be out on a night like this. Must be the wind."
"C'mon, then." Riq led them into a narrow and dark hallway with low ceilings and worn paint. Outside, the rain seemed to have picked up speed. The pelter of drops echoed through the hallway, which masked any sound they might make, but it also made Riq nervous. It concealed any sound from an oncoming guard on his rounds, too.
Room 13 was marked clearly, but for a place that held such powerful secrets, it didn't seem to be anything special. Maybe that was the idea. If a German spy got in here, the last place he'd think to look for top secret plans was behind an ordinary door in a narrow basement.
Dak stepped forward and tried the door handle. "It's locked."
Sera shoved a hand in her pocket and pulled out some slim pieces of metal. "No worries. I've gotten pretty good at picking locks by now."
"Excellent," Riq said.
Sera went down on her knees and stuck the metal pieces inside the handle. While she did, Riq explained to Dak how the few men and women who worked inside this room mostly kept to themselves and seemed very serious about their jobs. "But they're still just regular people," he whispered. "Everyday people trying to stop a really bad guy."
"Real spies don't have all the cool gadgets you see in the movies," Dak said, watching Sera struggle with the lock. "Though I sure wish we had a sonic screwdriver right about now."
Riq wasn't sure he got the reference, but he raised an eyebrow knowingly.
Sera continued fiddling for several minutes, all the time muttering to herself about the feel of the tumblers. Riq and Dak huddled in close to watch, and neither of them moved when she told them to back off.
"I can't . . ." she said. "This won't . . ." And then, halfway through a sentence that began "We'll never --" her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "That did it!"
The lock clicked. Sera rotated it and pushed. "Let's go in," she whispered.
"Why don't we all go inside?" someone behind them said in an English accent.
All three kids turned, and sighed in unison. A tall man with wavy brown hair, prominent cheekbones, and bushy eyebrows was motioning them inside Room 13.
Once inside, he turned on the lights, then shut and locked the door behind him. Sera stood between the two boys, holding each of their hands. Or rather, locking their hands in a death grip. Riq would've pulled away, just to preserve some blood flow in his fingers, but Sera looked like she needed his support.
Okay, he was scared, too.
"Who are you?" Dak asked.
"Call me Anton." Then he chuckled. "I've always wanted to get inside the Ad
miralty, but I never thought three kids would make it so easy for me."
"So you're a spy?" Sera asked.
"I suppose you could say that." His eyes rested on Sera's sack, the one with the Infinity Ring inside, and Riq leaned closer to her to block Anton's view of it. Anton continued, "But I do not work for Britain or for Germany. They're too caught up in their war to see the bigger things happening in this world."
Riq jutted out his chin. "We don't care whose side you're on. We're not here to fight. We don't have anything to do with this war."
Anton's smile only widened. "Maybe not this war. But our war is even bigger, eh, time travelers?" He chuckled again. "That's right. We know what you look like now. There is no safe place for you in this era."
Riq's heart sank, and Sera squeezed his hand tighter, if that was possible. He cut a glance toward Dak and saw that the younger boy's eyes were fixed on some papers on a nearby desk. Riq suppressed a groan. Even if the secrets of the universe were on those papers, it wasn't the best time for Dak to be distracted.
"Do you have kids, Anton?" Sera asked.
The man looked her way. "What?"
Sera shrugged. "You're wearing a wedding band, and it's tarnished, so I bet you've been married a long time. Do you and your wife have any kids?"
"They live very happily here in London. Why? What's it to you?"
"It's nothing to me. Your kids are going to be fine," Sera said. "Because the SQ does win here. Big congratulations for that, by the way. You're about to get a lot of power and control, and pretty soon your children will have everything they want. But their children are going to have a lot to worry about. And your great-grandchildren -- the ones who'll be around in the time we come from -- they won't do so well at all."
"Why not?"
Sera continued. "The SQ is going to destroy the world -- literally destroy it. I've been there. I've seen it for myself. If you don't let us go free, your grandchildren will face one disaster after another and your great-grandchildren will not survive to adulthood."
Anton's eyes darted from one kid to the other. "You're lying."
Riq shook his head. "You're a Time Warden, so we know what your orders are. But we are the last hope for your family. What you choose to do right now can either save them, or destroy them."
Anton hesitated for a moment, and then frowned. "You're lying. The SQ will save this world. In time we will control everything and everyone, and then there will be no more war or starvation or catastrophe. The woman in red has promised it."
Dak snorted, then went back to reading the paper.
Anton looked offended that his speech had failed to impress any of them. He stepped closer to Dak to get his attention. "I'm deciding whether to kill you and your friends. You might at least listen to me."
"Huh?" Dak looked up. "Sorry, I know you're under orders, but . . . wow." And his voice trailed off again as his focus wandered back to the papers.
Anton withdrew a pocketknife from his pants and opened the blade. "Tell you what. You all come with me, nice and quiet, and I'll take you back to Tilda. She'll know what to do with you."
"Hold on," Dak said. "I'll be finished in a minute."
"You'll come with me now!" Anton advanced with the blade angled toward Dak. "Or else."
"You wouldn't be threatening me if you knew how brilliant this plan is," Dak said. "But it's already in motion."
"What is?" Getting no response, Anton strode over to Dak and shoved him aside to look at the papers for himself. When he did, Dak picked up the heavy telephone from the desk and swung it at Anton's head. The man tumbled to the ground, unconscious.
"That was a great idea!" Sera said. "Getting him to look at the papers so you could attack him."
"That wasn't my plan," Dak said. "I really was reading the papers. I only thought of the telephone after he pushed me."
"So, what's on them?" Riq asked.
"We're almost out of time. They've already set sail with Major Martin's body, which means it'll wash up on the shores of Spain any day now."
"Why Spain?" Sera asked. "Why not send him directly to Italy or Germany?"
"That would be too obvious," Riq said.
"Spain is the perfect choice," Dak said. "Officially, they're a neutral country in the war. But unofficially, a lot of people in the Spanish government are on Germany's side."
"So we have to hope the people who get Martin's body support Germany and slip them the phony plans," Sera said.
"I think I know what we need to do about Mincemeat Man," Dak said, "but we're going to have to split up."
Behind them, Anton began to stir. "Tell us about it later," Riq said. "Let's drag this guy away from the top secret intelligence and dump him in some bushes before he wakes up!"
THE NEXT morning, Dak stood with Sera and Riq at the ferry docks near London. He had explained to them everything he'd read the night before while in the Admiralty, but neither of them seemed too excited about the jobs ahead.
Riq handed scraps of paper to Dak and Sera with a phone number written on them. "That's for a pay phone near the Admiralty," he said. "Memorize the number, then destroy the paper, because we're spies now. I'll be at that phone every night at nine o'clock my time. Call once, then hang up, then call again. That's how I'll know it's one of you."
Sera shoved her paper into her pocket. "We'll both call every night. I don't like splitting up."
"Me neither," Riq said. "If the body is already on its way to Spain, I won't do much good here."
"If something goes wrong, we need someone here in London to warn the officials," Dak said. "You already have a job at the Admiralty, so it makes sense to keep you here, just in case."
"But what if Anton comes back?" Sera asked. "Or someone like him? I knew there would be SQ among the Axis powers. But the British are fighting for their freedom and survival. How can Anton really believe he's doing the right thing by supporting the SQ over the Allies?"
"Tilda lied to him," Dak said. "Just like the SQ lies to everyone else. She's made him believe that he's saving Earth from the Cataclysm."
"When they're the ones causing it," Riq added. "Don't worry about Anton. I'm sure it'll take him a few days to see straight again. You two just get your jobs done."
"I'll make sure Spain believes Major Martin is a British officer who drowned a few days ago in the ocean," Sera said. "Not a homeless man who died from rat poison a few months ago."
"I'll bet you know more about science than any of those coroners," Dak said confidently. "Fight science with science."
Sera bit her lip. "Riq and I have jobs that make sense. But why do you have to go to Germany?"
Dak didn't want to go behind enemy lines. But even if Riq and Sera did their jobs perfectly, none of it mattered unless Germany believed Martin's papers were real. Somehow, Dak had to get to Hitler.
"He was brutal," Sera said. "If Hitler suspects you're there as a spy --"
"Just do your parts right and maybe I won't have to do anything," Dak said quickly. "Mincemeat Man was a good plan, but everything had to fall in place perfectly for the plan to work."
"And if it doesn't, Hitler could have you sent to the concentration camps," Sera said. "Or even killed."
"I'm already dealing with the Cataclysm. If I can face that, then I can deal with Hitler." Dak shrugged, then a mischievous smile crossed his face. "That sounded pretty brave, right? We should remember that, for the book they write about me one day."
"You'd better go before I lose my lunch," Riq told Dak. "Besides, you don't want to miss your boat."
"You first," Dak said to Sera. She was going to use the Infinity Ring to warp to the morgue in Huelva, Spain, where Major Martin's body was expected to be taken. Traveling there by boat and across land could take a week or more, which would be too late.
Sera nodded and ducked into a thicket of trees nearby. She pulled the Infinity Ring from its bag, crouched low, and then pushed the button that would send her away.
Dak and Riq watched her go
, and Dak was surprised to feel himself already missing her. It wasn't that he liked her, or at least, he didn't like her in that way, but things were never quite right when she was gone.
"Your turn," Riq said. "Is everything set?"
Dak hoped so. The easiest way to get into Germany was on a shipping barge. It had come from a neutral country and was only making stops at ports for businesses unconnected to the war. Dak had spent the entire morning talking a deck supervisor's ear off until he finally said Dak could have a job swabbing decks if he would just promise to stop talking.
"I'll try to call you tonight, from wherever I am," Dak said.
He started to walk off, then Riq said, "Quick question: plans like this in history . . . how often have they worked?"
Dak frowned back at him. "Something this big? Almost never."
With that, he waved good-bye to Riq and looked back at the area where Sera had disappeared, then ran up the gangplank and onto the ship. Once on board, he gazed over the railings of the ship . . . and then quickly ducked down low.
Tilda was on the dock, her head darting around like a pigeon's as she scanned the area. She was searching for him and Sera and Riq, no doubt. Carefully, Dak peeked back over the railing and groaned. Riq wasn't far from her, still watching Dak's ship as it sailed away. He was completely unaware of Tilda.
Tilda turned to a woman nearby to ask a question, and the woman looked Tilda over with clear disapproval before finally shaking her head and walking away. Only then did Dak pay more attention to her appearance.
She had on a tight red skirt and a shiny black jacket with a bright ruby pin on the lapel. It was totally out of place for the time period, and practically screamed for everyone to notice her. With her red hair pulled up high on her head, she almost looked like a burning ember of fire. In fact, in many ways, Tilda reminded Dak of fire: Get too close, and you'd get burned.
Still on the shore, Riq gave Dak a final wave good-bye, then started to walk off. Tilda bobbed her head in Riq's direction, but Dak didn't think she had spotted him. Or had she? The ship was far from shore now. All Dak could hope was that Tilda was looking for three kids, and ignoring the single boy walking away.
By that time, the deck captain had begun shouting orders, and he put Dak to work cleaning the railings. It kept him busy, and that was better. The work helped keep his mind off of Tilda and the Cataclysm, the world war, and the fact that he was heading straight into the wolf's lair.