Maddie rescues the rear gunner from the cell in the Ormaie Gestapo headquarters where Julie was held until her death. Maddie and the rear gunner bond as, being female and Black respectively, they both face discrimination as they fight in World War II. The rear gunner also helps Maddie think of herself as brave by describing how his best friend, a pilot, heroically flew a plane into the ground so everyone else could bail out—describing almost exactly what Maddie did when she and Julie first flew to France.