The usual disclaimer applies. No infringement of the copy write held by the rightful owners is intended and I derive no monetary gain from the story that follows.
gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
Deception and Dumb Luck
Garrison called the briefing in the library. All they had to do was talk. There were no maps, aerial photos, stolen documents or secret files to go over on this one. Not yet. Just two photos of the same young man.
"So what is it this time? They want us to fly over there and kidnap Hitler or somethin'?" Casino was pulling absently at the fabric on the arm of the sofa where he'd thrown himself.
"We're doing that next month, Casino, but it's supposed to be a secret." Garrison was standing in front of them, arms crossed on his chest. "But I think you'll like this one."
The safe cracker raised an eyebrow, interest causing a chink in his carefully crafted bored demeanor. "Yeah? Why's that?"
"No planes, parachutes, subs… Just a nice car ride, and a little time on the back of a truck."
"Hey! We got us a job right here in England?" Leaning forward on his elbows Goniff grinned up at the Warden. He didn't like subs, or jumping out of airplanes anymore than Casino but he usually let the other man do the complaining for both of them.
"That's right." Garrison couldn't help smiling back at the cockney thief.
"Doin' what?" Chief asked from his usual place near the windows.
"Two nights ago they found this man with technical info on a new radar system he had no reason to have." Garrison handed the photos to Goniff who studied them before passing them off to Casino. "They want to know how he got it."
"Why don't they just ask him…nicely?" The second story man thought he knew the answer and it made working at home a little less appealing.
"They can't" Garrison finally settled himself in one of the chairs. "He's dead."
"Figures." Casino snorted as he passed the photo of the dead man to Chief.
The young man glanced at the face in the photographs and walked them across to Actor. "So what'd they want us to do about it?"
"Corporal Warren Mitchell worked on base where they're testing that new equipment. We're going to go up there and try to find out who's been passing information."
Actor turned from studying the books that rested on the shelves along the walls of the room, he took the photos and committed the face to memory before looking up to catch Garrison's eye. "Surely he didn't just carry the files away with him. How was he transporting the information?"
"They found a small antique book on him. The information was on film hidden in the binding."
The tall Italian crossed the room and folded himself into an arm chair that sat near the sofa. "The military usually handles these kinds of cases themselves, why are they sending us?"
Garrison shrugged. "I guess they figure we have a better chance of spotting the bad guys since we've been known to do this sort of thing ourselves."
"Kind of a 'takes one to know one' kind a thing?" Goniff chimed in. "So they don't think he was workin' alone?"
"No." Garrison gave a quick shake of his head. "He wasn't up there long enough. There has to be at least one other person maybe more. If we can find them, they want us to try and trace the information to the other end. If there's a network working up there we need to know about it."
"How'r we gonna do it?" Chief moved to stand behind Casino and waited for Garrison's plan.
"You and Casino will be assigned to the base. Goniff's going to work in the town outside, and I'm going up as an advisor."
"What about Beautiful here?" Casino waived his hand towards Actor. "What's he gonna be up to?"
"Actor, I want you to go through this guy's record. Everything they've got on him. See if you can spot anything intelligence might have missed that would make him susceptible to something like this" Garrison tossed the file to his second.
"When do we leave?"
"Couple of days." The Warden said with a shrug. "As soon as the paperwork's ready."
Casino laughed. "It's taken' them a couple a days! Cross the channel it'd only take a couple hours."
Garrison nodded his agreement. "Well Casino, they have to come up with complete backgrounds and military files on all of us in case the guys we're after can access military personnel records. That's not too hard for me, but it's taking some time on the rest of you."
ggg
"Look Colonel, I know you don't really want me to do this, but I feel I have to. I don't trust the brass to honor this arrangement anymore than the men do. I'll go over your head if I have to, sir, but I'd rather have your cooperation and backing on this." Garrison and Reynolds were waiting in the Colonels' office for the final paperwork to come through on the mission, and Garrison had taken the opportunity to present him with the reports and requests he'd been working on over the last few weeks.
"I understand Lieutenant. I'll see to it these get to the proper departments." Reynolds accepted the sheaf of papers and slid them into a large envelope that he settled in the top drawer of his desk. If he hadn't worked with these men personally he'd be turning the papers out into the trash receptacle as soon as the meeting with the Lieutenant was over, but he understood why the young officer was so determined. He'd been on the ground in Europe with these men and knew how capable they were, and had seen first hand the bond of loyalty and respect that had formed within the group. He didn't believe the commitment to these men would be honored either, but at least he'd try and see the reports and requests that might prick at commands' conscience, if they had one, would go through.
There was a tap on the door and it swung open admitting a young clerk holding a file. "Here they are sir! Hot off the presses."
Garrison accepted the papers with a nod and started going through them checking to see that they matched the story that had been worked out. "It looks like it's all in order." Looking over at his superior he asked. "Have they cleared a contact on base yet?"
"Not at this time. We don't know who's involved in this or how high up it may go. We can't take the chance. It's being left to your discretion, but if you feel the need to take someone into your confidence you are to contact me. We'll check them out, thoroughly for you, before you do."
ggg
"Alright, we've got our papers and orders." Garrison handed copies of the personnel records that had been developed to the men. "I want you guys to read through all of this and get to know it. You'll probably be answering questions up on the base."
"How come?" The youngest member of the team asked as he flipped through his paperwork. "We gotta do some kind a interview to get the jobs?"
"No, you've got the jobs." The Lieutenant laughed. "But you'll need to fit in and there's nothing more interesting to a bored serviceman than a replacement."
"I can think of a couple a things that might be more interesting!" Casino contributed with a knowing leer, causing the others to laugh.
The Warden nodded solemnly in Casinos' direction, "I stand corrected." and waited while they settled down, addressing Casino and Chief. "Your papers say you're coming straight out of basic in the States, so you won't have to come up with any war stories."
"But we got those!" The little cat burglar protested.
Casino fixed the pick pocket with a sarcastic stare. "Nothin' we can use, dummy!"
"They've also got you coming from your own home towns so you won't have to study up on that, and they've got you two shipping over together. That'll make it more likely you'll be housed together on base." The Warden indicated the files each man held with a nod. "And you'd better read each others files. You'll be expected to know something about each other by now. We lucked out, the base has already put in for some replacements so you'll be going up with them."
"So what'r we gonna be doin'?"
"We had to work with the positions that needed to be filled on base so you're going in as a mechanic and driver, and Casino as part of the guard detail." He caught the safe cracker's frown as he considered all that marching back and forth. "Sorry I couldn't come up with anything more glamorous, but neither of you qualify as a pilot or bombardier. You guys better study up fast, you ship out in the morning." Turning on the cockney "Goniff you're going up by car this afternoon. I just want you to look for work. Anything you can find in the town will be fine. Oh, and you busted an ear drum when you were a kid, so you're not eligible for military service. You're deaf in one ear."
Leaning forward with a hand cupped around his right ear Goniff asked "What's that Warden?"
"Very good. Just see to it you remember which ear's bad."
"How is the mans death being accounted for?" Actor asked.
"Easiest thing is to stick with the truth. He died when his car went off the road and caught fire. Ah,,, they're leaving out the bit about finding the film on him. As far as anyone's concerned it's all just a tragic accident."
"So how'd they tumble to this bloke passin' secrets anyway?"
"Just plain dumb luck Goniff." Garrison shook his head. If there hadn't been an accident, or the fire had been worse, no one would have known about this leak. "His car really did go off the road and catch fire. When they were taking the body out somebody noticed the book and found the film hidden inside."
"When'r you gonna be up there?"
"I have to report on Wednesday." Garrison caught the gleam that came into the little thief's eye. "That'll give you guys' time to settle in and have a look around. Try and stay out of trouble, will you? There won't be any connection between us so I won't be able to pull you out of the stockade or talk you away from the local police."
"Lieutenant! Have we ever let you down?" Goniff turned to the others with mock indignation as Garrison arched a brow and walked out of the room. As the door swung closed behind him Goniff grinned at the other three. "This is great! I got an uncle up there. I think I'll try and look him up before the Warden gets there." But his face fell as a voice drifted back through the closed door from somewhere down the hall.
"I said I had to report to the base on Wednesday Goniff, I didn't say anything about when I'd be up there."
Goniff frowned at the closed door for a moment scratching his chin before turning to look at Chief with a shake of his head. "You know, me Mum could always do that too."
ggg
Casino had been trying to talk his way off the grounds, or at least onto the phone before they took off. "But I promised her…"
"I understand that Casino, but that's why sometimes it's not good to get involved with…"
"Because I could buy it on one of these little escapades of yours?"
"Well I was thinking more about how often we have to change our plans at the last minute because they've handed us a mission, but, yes, that could happen." They'd just been given an assignment and the rules were no movement of information or personnel on or off the estate. There was a good reason for that rule and they both knew it, and as much as Garrison hated to consider it, there was a chance every time they went out that someone might not be coming back.
Casino had thought about that when he'd made this decision. He'd written to his family about it before he'd ever brought the subject up to Garrison, and he still hadn't said a word to the fellas about it. He just hated to go off without a word. What if something did happen? "Well it doesn't matter, 'cause I told my family all about her and they'd still want her. I just need to know we could get her over there."
Garrison watched him pace the room and hoped he was making the right decision. There were still official hurdles to clear before this could be approved, and there were no guarantees. "I'll look into it for you. If you're sure."
"I'm sure Warden." Casino stopped his prowling and grinned back at his commander. "She's the one."
The Lieutenant returned the man's smile, mentally crossing his fingers that they could pull this off. "Alright, I'll have Rawlins take care of it while we're gone. If you're lucky he'll have all the paperwork ready for you when we get back."
ggg
They'd been packing, more of a chore for Goniff and Actor since they'd be using civilian clothes and gear, the Army had provided everything for the other two and it was already folded away in their lockers, all they had to do was transfer them to the car. The cockney thief was just finishing up, and rather than think of all the things that might go wrong on this latest job he preferred to concentrate on when it was all over, and they were back on the estate, triumphant, and cleared for a night or two of fun. "Come on, Casino! We all know you're sneaking out of here and meetin' up with a bird down in town. Now you can't go forgettin' your mates like that. You ought to find out if she's got some chums for the rest of us."
Stretched out on his bunk watching the other men work, Casino grinned back "Well, you know I been tryin' to arrange that, but the Warden's kinda gettin' in the way."
"Really?!" They'd been on the prowl together in town before, but this new girl, he'd kept her all to himself. This must be serious. Goniff was glad for him and happy they were finally going to get a chance to meet her. The possibility of a night in the company of one of her friends wasn't exactly hard to swallow either. But any further information he was going to get on the girl, or her friends, would have to wait, as the Wardens shouted announcement cut across his questions.
"Come on! Hustle it up you guys. The car's here."
Garrison had decided against sending Goniff up on his own. It wasn't that he didn't trust him to stay out of trouble, which he didn't, he just didn't like any of them being on their own without back up if he could help it. The operation was running here in England where they wouldn't have to worry about the language or firing squads but that didn't make it any less dangerous. He watched them come down stairs and shepherded them out onto the steps at the front of the building. "Alright as soon as you guys get settled up there send your location to the mail drop. And" he made eye contact with his cat burglar, speaking slowly and clearly, "stay out of trouble."
"Now Warden, what makes you think I'd be getting into any trouble?" Goniff placed his right hand on his chest and asked the question with a fair attempt at wounded dignity.
"Let's see, Goniff, I think it had something to do with a snuff box…. Besides I need you to keep an eye on Actor."
"What!?" The con man snorted in shock as the others laughed. They all knew he was at greater risk than the rest of them of running afoul of the locals. His cover was good and while there were hundreds of people from the occupied countries working with the Allies here in England some of them were still looked on with distrust, especially in the smaller communities outside London. Garrison would be glad when they were all in place up there and he knew where they were and how to reach them. He watched the car pull out. Actor would arrive in town in style, but the con man would drop Goniff off several miles away to make the final leg in on one of the local buses.
"OK you guys, throw your stuff in the back and let's get out of here." He was taking the other two to the assembly point across London himself. They'd be billeted there over night and then loaded on trucks that would make their way through the countryside, dropping men and supplies at bases along the way. Garrison would be worrying about these two until they got to their assignments. Air defense over England was good, but it was still all too common for German fighters and bombers to get through, and if they were spotted convoys were prime targets. This was going to be a long thirty-six hours.
ggg
"So where is this Tohatchi place?" Casino had been pumping Chief for more information and he was beginning to wish he'd packed a pair of pliers or a stick of dynamite in with his gear.
"New Mexico." came the monotone reply.
"Great! Well at least I know the state now. WHEREis it, what'sit like, when'dyou leave there? Jeeze! Didn't you hear the Warden? We're 'spose to know somethin' about each other." All this time, Casino thought, and this is the first I heard anything about New Mexico. "Look, kid, you got me cold. Somebody asks you a question and you'r gonna make a pretty good showing. Me? I got nothin'"
Chief thought about what the Warden had said. And Casino was right, they all knew almost everything about him, mostly because he found it hard to shut up! If they did get some questions he was gonna have to answer them somehow, he might as well practice on Casino and put him out of his misery. "Alright. It's on the border, over by Arizona. It's dry, and my grandfather used to say you could watch the sun go down from the top a the mesa on one side, and turn to see it come up on the other side 'cause we could see so far. You can travel all day and see, maybe three or four other people. My grandfathers' place was there, that's where I was born… I stayed there 'til I was ten."
That was the most information he'd ever gotten out of the Indian in one sitting. Casino didn't know if he'd be pushing his luck, but he thought it might be worth it to ask another question now that there seemed to be a crack in the dam. "You live with your granddad or just in the same neighborhood?"
The young man laughed before he could stop himself. Casino really didn't have any idea of what lay outside the big east coast cities. "No neighborhoods, Casino. I think the next place was probably four, five miles away, off in another little canyon. See there's no water, so people have to spread out. 'Sides we don't like livin' right on top a one another like you guys do."
"No wonder you don't talk. You never had anyone to talk to!"
"Oh I talk. When I have somethin' to say."
"Well…? Come on then, now ya got started." Casino leaned his elbow on the table and watched the young man decide.
Why not? What was it Goniff said,,, 'in for a penny, in for a pound.' He settled his arms more comfortably on the table and played with the spoon he'd left in his coffee cup. They'd eaten their meal and had found a corner to themselves. No one seemed interested in getting to know anyone else, not if they were going to be dropped off at different bases in the morning. OK, Chief thought, here goes "We lived with my mothers parents. My dad didn't have anybody. He kinda worked where ever he could 'til he got in with an oil and gas drillin' company. When they told him he'd have to move if he wanted to keep workin' for 'em he went. 'Bout six months later he sent for my mother, and she went. I was seven, I think."
"They left you there 'til you were ten?" Being taken care of by family was nothing new to Casino, but being separated from his folks as a kid was. Even after Joey died and his parents had been so tied up in their grief that he and the two older kids had to run things with the help of his uncles, they were there with them. They didn't just leave them with some relative and walk off.
"Yeah." He continued to stare down in to the cup, remembering. "But it wadn't so bad. We always had stuff to do. He ran sheep, had a couple a horses and some dogs around. He taught me to find food and water out there, to lay traps and how to hunt,,, well, rabbits." Chief smiled to himself thinking how many times when they were living rough on a job the others complained about the rabbits he'd brought them. "I was a little young for anything bigger. We grew corn and squash and beans 'n stuff down along the river."
"River? I thought you said there weren't any rivers where you come from?" That he did remember. That's why the kid had to learn how to handle a raft just like the rest of them. 'Course, if it was some kinda outdoor stuff he took to it real fast.
Chief looked up at the other man and smiled. "Oh it was there, it just didn't have water in it most a the time. When the rains would come the Red Willow'd flood, and that was the only water the crops would get, unless we watered them by hand with buckets. That took a lot a time!"
As different as it was from his own world it was obvious the guy had liked it out there. Casino wondered what kind of life he'd be living now if he had stayed. "Your folks take you outta there when you were ten?"
"Yeah. My grandmother died 'bout a year after my mother left. When the old guy got sick he sent her a letter and told her to come home 'cause he was dyin'. She didn't come 'til he was real bad. When he died we couldn't use the house anymore so we left to go find my old man."
"What'd ya mean, you couldn't use the house? Some other relative or landlord put you out or somethin'?" He knew about stuff like that. The guy down the block from his folks did that to his own sister. The old folks died and he put her right out on the street so he could sell the place.
"No, Casino, nothin' like that." It was hard explaining stuff he really didn't understand himself. "He died inside the house, so we couldn't use it anymore."
The only reason the safe cracker could figure for that would be some kinda real bad disease. "He die a plague or somethin'?"
Chief took a deep breath and tried to tell it right. "He died inside, so his bad spirit couldn't go free. It was trapped there in the house. You don't use a place like that again 'cause it can make you sick. You don't go inside a place like that."
Great! More witch stuff. "But he was your granddad! There wasn't nothing' evil about him was there?" Casino had never thought much about grandparents being evil until he'd heard about the Wardens. If Chief's was bad too…
"'Course he wadn't evil! But we all got bad things inside us. Good things and bad things. When you die you need to be outside so the bad stuff can take off. If you trap those things in a building they stay there. The people knock holes in the walls a places like that, to let the bad stuff out, but some of it sticks around… At least that's what the old people say. It's what he believed." And that's why Acheii wouldn't go to the hospital, Chief thought, to many people dyin' in one building, too many bad spirits. He was scrawny as a kid and hadn't been strong enough to pull him out under the open sky, and he couldn't make himself leave him in there all alone, even after he died, so he'd just sat in there beside the old mans' body until his mother came back from the sheep that night. She'd never looked at him the same after that, didn't seem to want him around. When he'd started getting into trouble she didn't even try and stop him, just said she didn't expect nothin' different outta him.
The safe cracker watched as the younger man remembered, then asked quietly. "So, did you ever go back there?"
"Yeah. I went back after my mother died. I found the place." Chief stared off towards the other side of the room, but he wasn't seeing where they were now, he was back in that little canyon, backed up against the red cliffs looking out across the flats and mesas. "I hung around there for a couple a days. I just never could make myself go back into that house." He looked at Casino and shook his head. "I don't think I believe in ghosts or anything, and I done a lot a stuff he'd a figured was wrong, but I just couldn't make myself go in there. I don't know why… Stupid, I guess."
Casino watched him for a minute before he said anything, and then he surprised both of them. "No it wasn't stupid. You were just honorin' his memory and what he believed in, that's all. That wasn't stupid."
Chief looked away, but Casino thought he caught a slight smile. "Ah,,, where'd you go after that?"
"L.A."
Jeeze! "AND?"
ggg
"You need a lift, sir?" The Brit NCO asked as he brought the jeep to a stop next to the Lieutenant.
"Are you following me Sergeant Major Rawlins?" He'd gone out for a run and was leaning against a large tree out at the edge of the estate waiting for the cramp in his side to give up so he could finally catch his breath.
"No sir… Well, yes sir." He eyed the young man critically. These young officers didn't have sense sometimes and needed looking after. "You shouldn't be pushing so 'ard yet, you know. You aren't over that last one."
"Can it, Gil. I've already got Riley and Actor telling me what to do I don't need you singing that song too. What's this?" He reached out and picked up the mail that lay on the seat next to the Sergeant.
"Just came in, sir. I thought it'd give me a good excuse to drive out and pick you up."
Garrison shook his head as he climbed in and the jeep took off. Just what he needed, another mother hen. He tore the first envelope open and scanned the contents. "Actor and Goniff are in position." He'd heard from Reynolds and knew the convoy had made it through safely, he'd just been waiting for this telegram to know how to contact the other two. The way it was worded it appeared they'd found lodging in the same place. That would simplify things. The contents of the next envelope caused him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. That was fast! Acknowledgment of the reports he'd sent through Reynolds with a promise his requests would be considered. It was about time these guys got the recognition they deserved. "Sergeant I'm going to need certified copies of this one, can you manage that?"
"Yes sir!"
"Good I want you to send them out for me. I've got the addresses for you up in my quarters." They'd pulled to a stop in front of the broad steps that led up to the mansion. "I'll meet you in my office after I've changed."
g
"Sergeant Major if anything else comes through while I'm gone I want you to copy it, send it out to the addresses I've given you, and put the originals in there."
"Yes, sir. I don't think the lads know about this one yet." They were sliding the large desk the Lieutenant used back over the safe that had been installed in the floor. They always left it in position on the carpet so it wouldn't leave scratches on the floor and there'd be no mismatched depressions in the carpet pile to give them away. It was quieter this way too. The chairs were moved aside to set in front of the long sofa and then each one of them took up a corner of the rug and pulled. As soon as the heavy desk started to move it was a simple matter to pull it out of the way. It was going to be a bit trickier to do on his own, but he'd tried it, under the Lieutenants' watchful eye.
"I don't think they do either." They shared a moment of amusement that turned quickly serious as Garrison turned to the British NCO with a request. "Gil, if anything should happen… I want you to see to it they get any paperwork that's in their files in this safe. Will you do that?"
"Of course, sir, I'll see to it. But nothing's going to…"
"Thanks Sergeant, but I don't need your reassurance, I just need to know it'll be taken care of if I can't do it,,, for any reason. They're going to need this stuff if I'm not around Gil, dead, missing, or just hurt bad enough that they could be shipped home before I came out of it. Have I got you word on it?" As the man solemnly nodded his agreement, he reached out and they shook hands. "Good! Have them bring the car around. I've got to get up there before they have a chance to get into too much trouble."