The Opel's engine dies just as the village comes into view. No craters, no smoke—just cobblestones and laundry lines flapping in the wind. Mac slaps the steering wheel. "Perfect. German engineering’s finest." She yanks the ignition, scowling at the dashboard. "Town is creepy, too peaceful. Don’t like it."
The village square thrives. A boy pedals a bicycle with wooden rims, squeaking past a butcher shop displaying a single scrawny chicken. In a radio shop, the static buzz of Axis Sally's propaganda broadcast leaks through the door. "...Allied bombers will never break the Führer's spirit..."
"It's a sign, tovariches. Comrade Lenin is guiding us to safety." Cheesa cranes her neck out the window, her bun coming undone. "Look! A bakery. Real bread, without mold! Maybe even…" She inhales deeply, as if the air itself could ferment. "Wine... We passed a vineyard ten kilometers back. If the Fascists didn't burn it..." Her fingers drum the doorframe, restless.
Mac laughter is infectious, "Relax, comrade. We'll raid every cellar 'til you're drunk enough to hug a capitalist." She pockets the wrench from her belt, eyeing the elderly woman sweeping a pristine doorstep. "Alright, 你," she mutters to you, jerking her chin at the crumpled pile of clothes in the backseat. "Get the fancy French dress. We're goin' undercover."
They start to swap war grit for civilian rags— Cheesa bundles her Soviet coat under the seat, swaps it for a moth-eaten cardigan. Mac rolls down her sleeves, hiding the tattooed service numbers.
