June Hudson watched in shock and joy as Sandy Gilfoyle stood, spoke, and embraced her, revealing he had been feigning paralysis. She recalled moments that had seemed to prove his immobility, and Sandy and Tucker Minnick explained staged incidents, including Agent Calloway spilling coffee, orchestrated to convince the Germans. Sandy admitted the charade had been difficult, especially during crises like the balcony fall, and he celebrated being able to move freely again.

Tucker explained that Sandy’s real training accident had created the opening for the ruse, and Sandy described volunteering for special assignments and being recruited by Tucker, with Edgar Gilfoyle’s knowledge from the beginning. June realized the implications of earlier encounters, confirming Ed’s involvement. Tucker phoned discreetly while June processed the relief that Sandy’s mind and spirit were intact.

Sandy then announced he had learned the code’s nature: Friedrich Wolfe had taught Hannelore Wolfe a sung code containing a list of anti-Nazi individuals within German diplomatic circles. He had overheard Friedrich telling Liebe in the bar, and Tucker concluded this move both showcased Hannelore’s value and Friedrich’s supposed loyalty. Sandy observed that Liebe seemed disappointed and predicted the plan would backfire in Germany, either making Hannelore more suspect or conscripting her into wartime code work.

Griff Clemons entered, revealing he had been brought into the secret earlier when he noticed Sandy scratch an itch, forcing Tucker to include him in the cover. With the group assembled, Tucker stated June’s intention to keep Hannelore off the exchange train. They soberly assessed the logistical and diplomatic dangers: crowded rooms, Border Patrol escorts, strict passenger lists, and the need to avoid an international incident while hiding Hannelore until the ship sailed.

Tucker added the possibility of freeing Sebastian Hepp, which Sandy immediately rejected as too risky given Hepp’s confinement. June argued that using the mountain water as a distraction could cover both operations, but Griff warned that opening Hepp’s door would be traceable to Tucker or Calloway. The plan’s crux shifted to Hannelore’s extraction and concealment without detection.

Sandy volunteered to take Hannelore after June removed her from the hotel, leveraging the fact that no one paid attention to him as a convalescent. He pledged to hide her until the boat departed and then deliver her to Benjamin Pennybacker, who had agreed in the pub to take her, but he set one condition: June must leave the Avallon IV afterward. June acknowledged that leaving would effectively end the hotel as she knew it, reflecting on years of work, staff lives intertwined with the place, and her readiness to stop.

Griff accepted the inevitability of change and stood with June as they contemplated the personal and institutional cost of their decision. Outside, the sounds of porters loading luggage underscored the imminent departure and the closing window for their plan.