Chapter 1
It was damn cold in the belly of the Halifax bomber. There wasn't much talk among the men as they concentrated on trying to keep warm, hands in jacket pockets and collars turned up to chins. Three of the men sat on the bench that lined one curved wall of the plane. Garrison and Actor sat on the opposite side.
Craig kept an eye on the Italian. Actor had been withdrawn before they had even left the mansion. Now, he kept to the far end of the bench, pulled in on himself, whether for warmth or illness or depression, Craig did not know.
"How's your head?" Garrison called loudly to be heard over the roar of the engines.
"I am quite fine, Warden," replied the con man, not looking up and with a tone that invited no further conversation.
"Then you're the only one, Beautiful," Casino shouted back.
Actor ignored him. He sat alone, contemplating his life. His memory was fully intact now. The bad part was, he also remembered what it was like to briefly not be a convict, a liar and a thief. He had no desire to go back to his larcenous ways, but he did not know how to prevent it. It was what he did. It was the only thing he did. What could he do instead? He had not finished his surgeon's training. No one would accept him into a program with his prison record. What else was he good at? He could please the ladies in bed and he did love pleasing the ladies. He could become a gigolo and be kept by one woman or another. He had done that when he had been starting out. It was degrading. He could think of nothing else he was accomplished at besides lying, cheating, and thieving. His eyes squeezed shut against a growing headache and lightheadedness. The altitude and diminished oxygen were not helping the remnants of the concussion. Hopefully, he would feel better once they were on the ground.
The jump did not improve matters any. The jerk of his body in the harness when the chute opened jarred his neck and head and he almost passed out. When he landed, he went down on one knee in the snow and had to rest a moment to get his wits about him before he could gather his chute. This left him with a cold wet pant leg which did not help his discomfort any. What he did remember from stir was that you did not show any sign of weakness, so by outward appearance, he seemed unaffected.
They had a five mile walk to their rendezvous. It was through dark woods and they meandered around patches of snow to leave no tracks. Chief took the point. In a change of routine, Craig put Actor behind him and had Casino take up the rear. His second still wasn't acting right and Craig was worried that Actor wasn't well enough to be doing this. Garrison stopped frequently, ostensibly to consult his map, though Chief knew where he was going, but for the real purpose of giving Actor a rest. If the con man knew what he was doing, he did not address it. He silently accepted the frequent breaks to rest. That worried Garrison even more. Casino was aware of what was going on and wondered also if the con man was up to the task.
Reaching the meeting place, Craig and Actor stealthily crept forward under cover of bushes and waited. After a few minutes, there was movement in some nearby bushes.
"Roulette," hissed a quiet French accent.
"Jackpot," replied Craig just as low.
The three men met beside a tree.
"Arnaud?" asked Craig.
"Garrison?" replied the Frenchman.
The three, all dressed in peasant clothes, exchanged glances. They passed each other's inspection.
"It is another mile to the safe house," said Arnaud.
Garrison nodded and motioned for the other three men to join them. They followed Arnaud and four more men through the woods. The safe house turned out to be a rustic hunting lodge. It had one bedroom, and a combination living room and kitchen.
Actor picked out a large cushioned chair, stretched his long legs out, turned his head to the side and went to sleep. His behavior worried Garrison. The Italian rarely slept on the shorter missions. He was taking no interest in the planning. At the rendezvous, Actor had said nothing, seemingly content to stay in the background. That definitely wasn't his second. Craig remained concerned that it was the aftereffects of the concussion.
In the wee hours before dawn, Casino and Goniff went into the town to procure a vehicle and uniforms. They returned a couple hours later with a Mercedes staff car and uniforms for all of them. Casino dumped the clothes on the table and looked askance at Garrison.
"This is it," said the safecracker. "The pants are gonna be short on His Highness."
"'Ey," objected Goniff. "It was the best I could do. They must not make SS officers as big as 'im in this part of France."
"He'll make it work. He always does," said Garrison.
The commotion had awakened Actor. He glanced at the clothing with disinterest and went outside to relieve Chief on watch. Craig wasn't sure this was a good thing for the Italian, but knew if he broached the subject of Actor's health, the man would deny any problems. Chief came in and casually made his way to Garrison's side.
"Somethin' ain't right with Actor," he said in a low voice. "He's too quiet, even for Actor."
It did not give Craig a good feeling to know that someone besides himself had picked up on the con man's unusual behavior. "It's probably the concussion. He's pulled it off before with his chimes rung. He'll be okay."
"Hope so, Warden," said Chief. He wandered off to get a piece of bread and cold bacon that had been left by the resistance, before going to stretch out in another chair.
An hour later, Garrison sent Goniff out to relieve Actor with the excuse of wanting to go over the plans with him. The tall man came in and looked at the map on the table. His demeanor seemed almost normal as he and Garrison rehashed the plans. Actor and Craig would go in the front door of the Wehrmacht headquarters and keep the guards occupied. Chief would stay with the car. Goniff and Casino would enter the commandant's office through the window. Casino would open the safe and remove the papers. The two would then exit the way they came in. Actor and Garrison would leave irately out the door to keep the attention on themselves. They would then drive out to an abandoned field for a touch and go plane pick up under the watchful eye of the resistance.
Craig called Casino over and Actor took his chair again. Normally the safecracker would have pitched a fit. Instead he just exchanged a concerned glance with Garrison before sitting down at the table. Craig pulled out a piece of paper with words written in German. Casino could not speak or read the language, so would have to rely on memorization of the spelling to identify the papers. Just as a lesson, Garrison tried to teach Casino the pronunciation of the words. The safecracker had a great deal of difficulty wrapping his mouth around the umlaut letters. They both gave it up as a lost cause for now. Craig wadded up the paper and tossed it into the fire.
It was getting late. The others had already changed into their German uniforms, but still, the door to the bedroom remained closed with no signs or sounds of Actor. Garrison knew it took the con man a long time to get perfectly dressed, but this was going to be a record. Chief was out by the car. Goniff and Casino were chomping at the bit to get this over with.
"What the hell's taking him so long?" groused Casino.
"You'd think 'e was getting ready for a bird," added Goniff.
Garrison finally went up and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Cautiously, Craig opened the door, concerned he was going to find the con man flat on his face on the floor. Actor was sitting on the end of the bed, holding the white shirt of the SS officer. He was still completely clothed in the garments he had worn in. The man did not look up at the officer's entrance, but stared at some invisible spot on the floor in front of him.
"Actor, what's going on?" asked Craig. "We should be on the way in right now."
"I am sorry, Warden," said Actor slowly. "I cannot do this."
"What do you mean you can't do this?" asked Craig with concern. "What? Are you sick? What?"
"No," replied the con man, still not looking up. "I cannot do this anymore. I cannot go back to the lying and the conning. I cannot go back to being that person."
Craig could not believe what he was hearing. "You have got to be kidding!"
The con man shook his head.
Garrison's concern turned to anger. "Damn it, Actor!" he swore through gritted teeth. "I don't care what you do when this war is over, but right now you are a vital part of this team. I need you out there being an SS colonel. Now get that damned uniform on!"
The Italian's head slowly turned back and forth. "I am sorry, Lieutenant. I cannot."
It was then that Craig realized he really wasn't going to do it. With a string of oaths, Garrison went to the door and flung it open. "Get Chief in here," he ordered to a startled Casino and Goniff, before slamming the door shut. He started taking off the uniform he had on. Angry eyes flashing, he said, "Actor, if I had time, I'd kick your ass all the way back to England for this."
The con man remained wooden and seemingly unfazed by Garrison's anger.
Chief came running in, shoving the door shut behind him. The Indian caught on reflex the tunic and blouse that were flung at him. Wide-eyed, he looked back and forth between a livid lieutenant and a catatonic confidence man.
"Put those on," ordered Garrison. "You've just been promoted to Major."
Chief stared at him in disbelief. "Warden, I don't look like no Kraut officer! Hell, I don't even speak Kraut. I don't know how to be a major."
"You're going to learn fast. Just keep your mouth shut and stay behind me. Stand straight. Pretend there's a gun in your back."
"That'll be easy," said the Indian, quickly putting the clothes on that Garrison was taking off. "I'll probably have a gun in my back." He watched Craig yank the colonel's uniform from Actor's unresisting hands. "What's the matter with Actor?" There was no response from the man.
"Apparently a sudden attack of conscience."
Chief finished dressing first and watched Garrison put on the clothing and persona of a German officer. He stood still and watched with interest as the lieutenant straightened his uniform and adjusted the trappings of a colonel.
"Come on," said Garrison.
"What about him?" asked Chief.
"We'll pick him up on the way back . . . if he's still here," replied the angry man as he stormed out of the room.
Chief took a last look at the unmoving confidence man and slowly followed Garrison.
"What the hell?" exclaimed Casino as he saw the obvious change in plans.
"Get a move on!" ordered Craig.
"Wot about Actor?" asked Goniff worriedly.
"Later! Move it!"
Chief slowly drove the big car down the dark and deserted street. Casino was sitting sullenly beside him. Goniff was in the back with the lieutenant. Chief pulled to the curb a block from the Gestapo building and let the safecracker and the pickpocket out. He watched as they disappeared into the shadows. Chief's hands were sweaty despite the cold temperature. He wiped them on the heavy material of the riding britches. He pulled the car to the curb, right wheels on the ice in the gutter.
"I gotta leave the engine runnin', Warden," Chief cautioned.
"Okay," replied Garrison.
They both hoped the car would be there when they got out. If they got out. Craig took a minute to steel himself as Chief came around to open his door. Garrison could pull off being a German officer without any difficulty usually, however, he was not stupid. He knew with his boyish good looks he could not present the necessary intimidation Actor could with his greater height and disdainful bearing. There was nothing to be done about it. Garrison just hoped his rank would be sufficient to scare the night guard. Then there was Chief. The younger man seemed to be trying to imitate the con man. At least he was straight and had a closed expression.
Craig got out of the car. He strode up the granite steps, Chief skirting around him when he halted, to open the door. Garrison swept inside. Chief stayed behind him and a step to the right so the knife hand was clear. The very young corporal seated behind the desk along the wall of the empty main hall, focused on the colonel's insignias and the SS runes, and leapt to terrified attention.
Craig did his level best to look haughty. "I am Colonel Kessler and this is Major Gunter. We are here to inspect the security of this facility," he said in German.
"I-I will call Colonel Mueller," stuttered the young man.
"You will not!" ordered Garrison. "If the SS wished for him to cover up any inefficiencies, we would have notified him of the inspection. You will remain at your station while we check the building."
The corporal knew he was going to be in trouble with his colonel. Belatedly he remembered what he was supposed to do.
"Sir, may I see your papers please?" he asked hesitantly.
"You should have asked for our papers immediately!" barked Garrison. "We will make a note of your laxity. We are SS, we do not need to show you our papers. You will wait here!"
The two SS officers strode down the hall, leaving the hapless corporal to collapse onto his chair. They made their way up and down the side halls, stalling for time to give Casino and Goniff time to break in and get the papers from the safe. The first floor done, they went to the second floor and did the same.
Goniff got the window open to Colonel Mueller's office. Casino bypassed the single strand alarm system and the two stealthily climbed into the room. Casino pulled the blackout drape closed and flicked on a small hand torch. As seemed to be customary with the Krauts, the wall safe was behind Hitler's portrait. He wondered if they thought the Fuhrer would protect their safes just with his picture.
Goniff held the torch while Casino worked the dial of the safe. He was inside in under thirty seconds. Opening it, he grinned at the contents.
"Bingo," he whispered to the Englishman.
Casino pulled out and examined the papers, checking for the correct wording before stuffing them inside his jacket. Goniff peered inside the safe and grinned, reaching in to pull out a packet of French currency. The two quickly emptied the safe of a large amount of money. Casino closed it up, wiped it down, and replaced the portrait, wiping it down too. Goniff was back out the window first, followed by the safecracker. They erased any signs of entry and high tailed it down the alley to wait by the street for their pick up.
Inside, Garrison came down the stairs, followed by Chief. They had been there long enough. Chief, being used to covering the tail, lagged behind as the 'colonel' strode down the hall toward the door, not dignifying the guard with even a look. The unhappy corporal had enough time to become more worried about what his commanding officer would say than these officers who would be leaving. He waited for the colonel to get to the door and called out to the major who was behind.
"Herr Major," he tried to hide the fear in his voice. "I need to see your papers."
Chief froze, not understanding anything but the first two words. He didn't know what to do or how to respond. The two stared at each other. Garrison turned and started back. He knew the crap was about to hit the fan. The corporal came to the conclusion these two weren't what they said they were and pulled a pistol on the major. Chief's arm flashed out, but the gun went off.