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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.”

R IQ 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