The Finale
Chapter 1
Lieutenant Garrison drove carefully; he had a lot on his mind. His last two missions had been failures. The first, they had had an accident on the way to the airfield and the men who had been sent in their place were missing and presumed dead. There was nothing to say they would not have met a similar fate but his competitive nature said he could have done better. The next mission's practice had blown up in their faces, literally. Hopefully they could redeem themselves this time.
In spite of his anxiety he could not help noticing his surroundings. The call had come late last evening for him to be at headquarters at oh-seven-hundred this morning. Always an early riser he had set his alarm in time to get in a short run, shower and a quick breakfast. Chief was still recovering so he had gone alone. Now he was on the road. This part of the country was beautiful at any time of the day but especially at this time of the morning. The trees and the fields that were emerging from the early fog were especially green. The narrow roads were lined with hedges and trees that sometimes met overhead providing chilly tunnels to pass through. Other times there were large gaps revealing sloping meadows. Everything was so peaceful that he could not help releasing some of the tension he felt about the upcoming briefing. He took a deep breath, enjoying the smells. It would be fall soon and then winter with the cold and snow so right now he was going to enjoy what was here.
His destination was in the American compound in London near the US Embassy. It was a non-descript office building from the outside but was heavily guarded on the inside. This was the European Headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS. He found a parking spot then entered the building. The guard inspected his papers, decided they were in order and allowed him to proceed to his destination.
The second floor office was occupied by a grey metal desk and a typewriter. Behind that were three equally grey metal filing cabinets. Sitting behind the desk was a young baby-faced Corporal who was trying to look older. His looks would serve him well as he aged but he probably saw it as a hindrance now. To compensate, he sat poker straight and looked sternly at the intruder as he gestured for the Lieutenant to sit.
With time on his hands Garrison turned his thoughts to his men. Chief seemed to be on the mend now. He had certainly given them a scare. What that young man had faced and continued to face would daunt a lesser man, yet he survived. He was tough. Were all Guardians that tough? He had heard they did not live long, with that kind of life, it was no wonder.
Had he supported him enough? Chief was his Guardian; the ceremony had bound them together, each to protect the other. Chief took this to heart. Had he kept his end of the bargain? Had he looked after him? Chief did not make it easy, always denying there was a problem.
Then there was Goniff. The only thing he denied was his guilt. In spite of that or maybe because of that the man was so positive. Too bad Chief couldn't learn some of that.
Speaking of learning, Actor's report on Chief's reading was good news. He knew the young man was intelligent; maybe this achievement would help convince him. It was a good thing the other two were on board with that. He kept the smile from his face as he remembered Goniff offering to read the book to Chief and seeing the Indian refuse, saying he wanted to read it himself. Goniff had looked and sounded all right with that but Garrison was sure he saw relief as well. He had not heard Goniff read aloud and wondered if he was comfortable doing it. That was a testament to Goniff's good nature and a sign of the depth of his friendship with the Guardian that he would offer to do something that might be hard for him. The man was a gem.
Casino was looking a lot better too. The swelling was down and the bruising had faded. He was almost back to normal, or at least normal for Casino. He was a man of strong opinions. They were fortunate that his opinion was in favour of Guardians. He seemed to have taken to Chief, razing him but defending him whenever necessary. He was a good man to have on the team even if he did irritate him occasionally.
And Actor, the ideal second. He could take over the team and he was sure they would follow him, he was that good yet he had never attempted it. They had followed him on that jewel heist but when Garrison was there he never challenged his authority. The Officer doubted it was the promised parole at the end that was stopping him.
Was it respect for him? He might respect him but he did not think that was enough to keep him in his position. It had to be a shared desire to see the enemy defeated. Whatever it was he was going to continue to do as he had been doing. They worked well together.
They were a good team and he was lucky he had been chosen to lead them. He had been asked on their first mission how he had ended up with them and he had said, 'just lucky'. He had been right. Due to the secret nature of their work he did not know any of the other teams so he could not compare but all in all he was happy with his team. They were good and they worked well together.
A sound and then a tinny voice broke his into thoughts and he watched as the Corporal react to the sounds of the intercom. He listened intently then replied. It was his signal to enter the Major's office. Garrison's anxiety level rose. Major Johns was not one of his supporters but as long as he ignored the snide comments he would get through this. He rose and entered the lion's den.
Lieutenant Craig Garrison strode into the inner office ready to face the future. He and his men were ready.
"At ease."
Garrison complied but Major Johns waited a beat before dropping the bomb.
"Your unit is to be disbanded." Garrison was so shocked that he almost missed what was being said next. "You will be transferred back to your unit in North Africa at your present rank pending an investigation."
His mind swirling in confusion he dared. "May I ask why, sir? We're ready to go, we're trained, my men are good, we've just had some bad luck."
The Major held up his hand. "You have been made; your cover is blown so you are of no use to us now. That is why you have been reassigned."
"What about my men?" Garrison heard the tension in his voice and hoped it did not show. A good commander cared about his men; he cared about his men.
"I have no option but to send them back to where they came from."
"But Sir," protested Garrison barely reining in his anger, "they did everything that was asked of them. They put their lives on the line because they were promised a parole. You can't just turn around and send them back. This was not their fault."
"Wasn't it?" asked the Major coldly.
"No. They did nothing wrong."
"Then explain to me why someone rigged that safe to blow up. This was a practice run on English soil. Why?"
"We asked the same question." The indignation had gone out of his voice. Here was his chance to explain. "All we could come up with, was that it was tied to the two missions we were sent on to Villa San Giovanni in Italy." Major Johns sat waiting. At least he appeared to be listening. He still had a chance.
"I was sent with a civilian named Haydon. My men were sent shortly after with Captain Shaffer to the same location. Neither of us knew about the other. My men arrived at our location and Haydon put a gun to my head. One of my men shot him."
"And you want me to believe that one of his friends came after you," he said sarcastically. "Why don't you tell me the truth, Lieutenant, instead of making up these ridiculous excuses?"
This was it. "It is the truth, sir. When the rest of the team arrived at my location, Haydon was glad to see them saying that he knew the Guardian would come. He wanted to know when he had sensed me. I didn't understand what he was talking about but later I had a visit from a man named Douglas Hughes from G-CAT and he wanted to know about Haydon and how the Guardian had found me. He was asking the same questions that Haydon had. Haydon had to have been from G-CAT too."
Sticking to the official version he said, "Casino was the one who shot Haydon. Casino is our safecracker and it was the safe that was rigged. It was deliberately set to kill Casino; the man who killed Haydon."
The superior officer looked doubtful. Had he understood what Garrison was trying to say? Did he believe him? He would need all the facts so he added, "There is one other thing." This was the most dangerous part.
"Oh?" he asked suspiciously.
"Yes. Not long after, I was called to London and right after I left, Hughes from G-CAT arrived to take the Guardian back."
"Why would he be there to take the Guardian? He's been signed over. They have the right to inspect but I have seen no orders to release him back. So what has that got to do with it?"
"The timing, sir. It was as if he knew when I would be away. The last time he came to get Chief I managed to stall him and he left. This time he waited until I had left before he tried again. It was as if someone told him I wouldn't be there."
"You're suggesting someone from this building told him?" His icy tone and narrowed eyes said he did not like that insinuation. Or was he protecting someone or himself?
"Someone in OSS, someone who knew I had been called away from our base."
"That is a dangerous accusation." John's eyes narrowed. "Are you prepared to back it up?"
"We have been trying to figure out how?"
"You have no proof. You will remain in the building for the next forty-eight hours. Your transfer will have been processed by then."
"Permission to speak to my men, sir."
"Permission denied. Dismissed."
Seething, Garrison saluted and left. Damn, what was he to do?
Goniff was in full stride, regaling his listeners with the story of how he had pulled a fast one on the coppers when he was just a lad. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw something move that should not move. He whipped around and squawked.
"Warden?" That was the cry of two other startled voices. "What are you doing?" demanded the second voice.
"That was easier than I thought," said Garrison as he climbed in through the window. He surveyed the room. Goniff stood rooted to the spot staring. Casino was sitting up on his cot and Actor was standing in front of his chair. All wore expressions of disbelief. Chief was sprawled out on his cot but he wore a small smile. He had heard him coming and was pleased. For some reason he had not revealed his approach to the others.
"Gather round," he said as he walked over to the table. "We don't have much time."
"What's going on," asked Goniff. "Why didn't you use the door?"
"Because he didn't want to be seen," answered Casino, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You on the lam, Warden?"
"So 'oo you 'iding from?" asked Goniff curiously. "Not the coppers, I 'ope."
"Yeah. I'll bet you weren't just trying out our way in, were you?" added Casino.
"Leave'm be. He don't want to admit he's like us."
That shocked the Officer. The look on Chief's face matched the saddened tone of his voice. Was it because he believed it? Did it matter what they thought? Should it?
He knew it did. They were cons and they had come to terms with that and took a measure of pride in their abilities no matter what side of the law they were on. He could not do that. He was going to fight to stay on the right side of the law but to do that he was going to need their help.
He did not need to look at his watch to know that time was wasting, time they could not afford. Skip the preliminaries. "We have to find Hughes and whoever he's working with, and we have to do it fast. Ideas?" He looked around the table. Any reaction to Chief's words was overridden by the thoughts of getting revenge on G-CAT.
"Hughes is most likely staying at a hotel in London, if he is still here."
"That narrows it down to, what, a hundred places and a thousand rooms?" asked Casino. "How're we going to stake out all those hotels?"
"Leave that to me," said the con man with a confident smile.
"So we locate him, then what?" Casino was on to the next step, confident the con man would find him.
"We leave him a message to meet with the mole…"
"Then we follow him. That'll work." Turning to Actor he asked, "How long you figure?"
"I will require a phone and a directory."
Garrison nodded. He knew Actor would come up with a con to get the information he needed. Next step was to determine what message to leave. Because they did not know who the mole was, that meant they had to trick Hughes into leading them to him. What if the mole was a woman? They would have to take that into consideration.
Five men headed for the front door. They would go to London, get a room with a phone and start the search.
"Is Mr. Hughes in?" asked the hurried whisper. Actor had repeated the phrase so many times he feared losing the urgency that would prompt the receptionist to do his bidding. The others had originally sat waiting but as the calls went on endlessly they wandered off. Garrison had started off calling out the numbers for him to dial until Chief had taken over. He had simply sat down at the table and after looking to see where he was on the page, he had pulled the book over in front of himself and called out the next number. Casino saw the exchange and had approached Actor. All he had to do was look at him expectantly and gesture to the hand set. He would take over if the conman tired. He might have gotten his chance except on the next inquiry he got the correct response.
"No, there's no time. Just give him a message. Tell him I need to see him right away." The receptionist wanted more details but Actor cut her off with, "No. He knows where I am," and he broke the connection.
Everyone was smiling but Goniff spoke first. "So, where is the bugger?"
Chief looked down at the place marked by his finger and read off the numbers then paused. Casino, who was closest, leaned in and said, "Queensborough Terrace. How far's that?"
Actor was about to consult the map when Goniff piped up. "I know the place." They were on their way.
Garrison flagged down a cab but he was not amenable to their plan.
"I'm sorry Gov'na, I can't just let me cab. I'm the driver. What's to say you'll bring 'er back?"
"I will give you my watch as a surety. You keep the watch until we return your cab."
There was no hesitation. "I'm sure it's a very nice watch but me cab is me living. I need my cab." Then he asked, "You're not thinking of doing anything illegal are you? I'll not be party to any a that."
"No," said Actor with a grin. "We are playing a game with a friend of ours. A few minutes ago we sent him on a wild goose chase and now we want to follow him and see his reaction when he finds out."
The cabbie gave them a sly look and then grinned. "Well, why didn't you say so. You just point 'im out to me and I'll follow 'im. Where to?" He put the car in gear and they were off.
Queensborough Terrace was a pleasant street lined with ornately decorated buildings but they had no time to enjoy the sights. As the cabbie drove down the street the men were too busy checking the sidewalk for pedestrians and cars for passengers. They did not know how long it would take to get the message to their quarry or how fast he would react. The fear was that he had already left. They kept their eyes open as the cab pulled into a space and stopped. He indicated the address they had given him and they watched intently. What floor was he on? Had he taken the bait? They had discussed a back entrance but had to assume that he would not be that suspicious. He had no reason to suspect. They waited.
"There, comin' out now." Chief had sat in the front so was the first to see the man wearing dark glasses, a hat and overcoat even though the weather was mild.
"You sure?" asked Actor. Sitting behind Chief he had a clear view from the side window but the glasses and hat were enough to cause doubt. He might doubt himself but not Chief.
A cab pulled up as he reached the curb and he climbed in. Anticipating the next order their driver put the cab in gear and pulled out into traffic keeping a discrete distance behind. He said nothing but he must have picked up on the tension. There was no eager anticipation or smiles that their prank was working.
The lead cab turned onto Bayswater Road and continued even after it became Oxford Street. Two right turns and the cab stopped. Their driver pulled into a spot down the street and waited. Several of his fare wondered if he had done this before. Their quarry disembarked and headed for the door. Garrison paid off their cabbie and they got out.
"If we get closer, you think you could track him? Listen in?" asked Garrison quietly as he stood close to the Guardian. A shake of his head dashed that hope. Following someone's footsteps inside a building was too much to hope for.
"We will have to go in," said Actor.
"You won't get past the guards."
"What guards?" asked Goniff. There was no indication on the outside that this nondescript brick building was anything other than an office or apartment building.
"Later," was all he said.
"Business associate, lawyer…" suggested Actor.
Garrison turned to him but saw the look of understanding. He knew. "Split up but don't go far. Chief, you're on me." The two men would return the way Garrison had so recently left. Though the European Headquarters for the Office of Strategic Services was guarded, there were always means of breaching their security. Sometimes a diversion was helpful.
The irate man barged in through the front door and charged up to the desk. "I want to see Dorthey Evens and I want to see her," his fist struck the desktop, "now!" He tried to go around the desk to reach the elevator but was stopped by the iron grip that circled his wrist. Before he could react his arm was twisted up behind his back and he cried out as he was slammed up against the wall.
"Look, all I want to do is talk to her. Please." He tried to turn his head but the pressure on the middle of his back increase and he grunted in pain. "She took my wallet." He swallowed audibly, "I don't care about the money. She can keep it. I just want the wallet back. Please."
There was only silence for a moment until he heard, "What address were you looking for?"
"What?," he asked not believing his ears. "She told me this was where she lived; Grosvenor Hill. That's what she told me. I just want my wallet back."
The pressure eased and his arm was released. Casino reached up to his abused shoulder as he turned around to face the man who had attacked him. Keeping to his part he looked wounded. "Look, I'll wait right here. Just tell her I want my wallet."
"You have the wrong address." The man dressed in civilian clothes was standing just out of reach but his posture was the same as Garrison's when he was waiting for an attack. Civilian clothes be damned, the guy was military.
"What'a you mean. This is Grosvenor Hill." Then he changed his expression to dismay. "She lied to me. Of all the stupid… How am I supposed to …"
"This is Grosvenor Street. Grosvenor Hill is one block over."
In shock he said, "Shit," before turning suspicious. "You're not pulling a fast one are you; to get rid of me? I told you I wouldn't hurt her." Then, "Hey, I'm sorry." He brightened. "Hey, maybe she didn't lie. Maybe I can still get my stuff back." Straightening his shirt, he asked, "What's the fastest way to get there? You wouldn't happen to have money for a cab, would ya?" He looked sheepish. "She's got my wallet."
"It's only a block over. You can walk there."
Casino moved toward the door then turned back. "Which way?" he asked as he wagged his finger up and down the street.
"It's the street directly behind this building." He had not moved.
"So I go out here …"
"Go down to the next corner and turn south. The next intersection is Grosvenor Hill."
Casino rolled his eyes up toward the ceiling as if he were trying to figure something out as he mumbled, "south."
"That way," said the man dressed as a civilian, as he gestured over his shoulder.
"Yeah," he brightened. "Thanks," and he pushed open the door and walked out making sure he headed down the street until he was out of sight.
"Think they're in?" asked Goniff as he stepped out of the doorway to meet the safecracker.
"They better be," grouched Casino as he rubbed his shoulder. "Guy's as good as the Warden."
"They were most likely trained at the same facility," pointed out the conman as he joined them.
"Now what? We just wait?"
"We wait," echoed the other two.
Inside the building the two men, an Officer and a civilian, make their way down the hall. As they approached the corner they heard footsteps. Not wanting their faces seen the two spun on their heels and began walking back the way they had come. Ever alert to his surroundings, Garrison noticed something was different but filed it away for the time being. The most important objective was to find Hughes and listen in on whoever he met with. Even if Chief could hear his voice and commit it to memory, they would somehow find out who the mole was. That was the only reason Hughes was here. He thought his source was in trouble or had information for him.
A door knob turned and a door opened behind them as the two were about to run out of hall. The door closed and the Officer stopped. His team member whispered, "They're gone." The two turned and headed back down the hall again intent on reaching the elevator. A hand on his arm stopped him three doors down. He turned to Chief and saw the look. He had heard something. Keeping an eye on the hall he followed Chief as he backtracked and stood listening.
In the distance he heard the groan as the elevator rose. Was it coming to this floor? He turned his head to listen. If it stopped here he would have to find a way to deflect suspicion. Two men standing silently in the hall would attract attention. The lift stopped and the rattle of the doors confirmed his fears. Short strides probably meant a woman was coming. As she came around the corner he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and began looking through it as if he was searching for something. It must have worked; she walked to the first door, knocked and entered. They were safe.
A closer look told him that Chief was slipping and he moved in closer until their shoulders were touching. Quietly he whispered his name but there was no reaction so he moved far enough away so he could grasp his forearm and squeeze. He would have to be careful of being overheard. There was also the problem of Hughes leaving. Once they knew that something was up Hughes might bolt or the mole might. They had to get away. Surely Chief had heard his voice by now. Had Chief twitched? Was he returning? He tugged gently. They had to go, they were too exposed here.
Chief's face turned toward the hand on his arm but Garrison was unrelenting. They had to go. His first step was a stumble but he straightened and they moved off back toward the end of the hall.
Garrison was desperate to know what his Guardian had heard so he urged him to the end of the hall. As they walked he wondered about his anxiety. He had gone up against the enemy, risking his life to get that little bit extra. He had always been worried about getting caught but this time… Why was this time different? Was it because he was going against his own government, his own organization, OSS? That was non sense. He was trying to get the goods on G-CAT and a mole, a G-CAT spy. Except the G-CAT spy was part of OSS. The enemy would torture and kill him. Could his own government do anything worse? Then why was he so worried? Because he knew his own could do much worse.
Would Major Johns believe him? He had sounded skeptical, not upset or worried. If he was in on it, what would he do when Garrison came to him with a name? What if it was Major Johns himself? If it was, the man was very good at hiding his guilt or fear of being exposed. What would he do? There were ways to get rid of people who knew too much. That thought brought a chill. He had to get Chief out and fast. Once he was back with the rest of the team they would look after him even if something happened to him.
No one was around so he asked the questions. "What did you hear? Did you get a name?"