Frozen for a moment, Nico started his dive to retrieve it just as Rolf plucked it from the floor.

"You're giving me a souvenir?" he asked, his thumb running over the cube as if he knew just what made it different.

The last thing Nico could do was wrest the cube from his cousin's hand, even though he knew it would be easy. Attaching any importance to the cube could be fatal for an entire resistance unit. He had to get it back.

With blank face, as if he might have been mentally as well as physically impaired by his wounds, Nico pointed to the expensive gold watch on Rolf's arm. When Rolf held out his arm proudly, Nico nodded yes, then made juggling motions and pointed toward the stage.

Nico nearly despaired when Rolf looked at him without a shred of understanding. Doggedly he went through the pantomime again, but had no better luck. Rolf simply grinned at him like a skull.

"He has to go on soon," the third officer prompted.

Nico wanted to pat him on the back, but shaming Rolf would yield nothing. Nico simply stood and waited, his eyes dulled to hide their fire.

"Your father would be so proud of you," Rolf said caustically. With a sneer he tossed the cube into the air. It arced over Nico's head, on its way into the crowd behind him.

Springing as high as he could, Nico reached into the blue haze and grasped

the wayward cube. He landed without crashing into the next table, but now there was new accusation in Rolf's eyes. "You were always quick with your hands," he spat out.

Expression wiped from his face, Nico nodded once more to his cousin and retreated toward the dressing rooms.     But instead of going through the door, he sank down on the steps, shielded by a black drape that matched his mood. The odds against his getting the cube into the right hands had just doubled.

The door above him opened, and the stage manager burst through it. "Nico, there you are! Ingrid is sick. You'll have to go on in her place."

Nico ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Was he going to be on stage when his only chance came?

As he passed the backstage clock, Nico saw that it was getting late. The crowd would soon dwindle, especially without Ingrid's throaty voice and black garters. Damn the timing!

From behind the curtain Nico watched his cousin as the MC announced his set. Rolf stood and snapped his fingers for the check.

Instantly Nico did an about face. He ran to the door and down the steps into the cabaret, already juggling when he reached the first table. Desperate now, he got anyone who looked sober into the act, throwing them a cube and working it into the pattern as they threw it back. This was a risk, but one he had to take.

By the time he reached Rolf's group, the spotlight had found him, and he started to sweat. Changing his rhythm, he began to throw cubes over his head, catching them behind his back.

Rolf paused directly in front of him, whether just to throw him off, or to give him a punch, Nico didn't know. But Rolf was too close.

Nico stepped back enough to look like retreat, while he kept his hands moving. Just then Rolf turned sharply away, and the third officer followed, walking behind Nico. From the corner of his eye, Nico could see the gray hat with its Nazi insignia, turned upside down in the officer's hand. Nico grabbed the important cube from the basket on his belt and threw it over his head. He reached behind him, but the cube was not there to catch.

The third officer put on his hat, adjusted it on his head, and walked on. Uncle Seigfried, Nico thought as he moved on to the next table, I wish you Godspeed!

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