Could it be?
They were running. Their mission was complete, now all they had to do was make it to the field where the small plane would pick them up. All was going well until they had been spotted crossing the road. No one had heard the group of soldiers who were apparently camped at the side of the road just around the bend. Casino had sneezed and by the time he was about to jump the ditch a soldier had appeared and fired at him. Goniff on the other side waiting heard the shot and froze. Chief immediately headed around to flank the enemy with Garrison following. Actor who was closest to Casino fired at the soldiers to keep them pinned. Casino crawled to the vine covered fence and returned fire as well.
Within twenty minutes the soldiers lay dead but with all the firing they feared re-enforcements so they ran. They were exhausted by the time they saw the sheep herder's shelter. It was not defensible but it was starting to rain. They stopped behind the sheep pen while Garrison crept up to check it. He circled then stopped. He had heard a voice, a man's voice. It was low, too low to be intelligible. Should they risk it? Maybe not. He turned to go back. They would look elsewhere. The man might be alone, might not. He had only taken two steps when he heard the cry. It was a woman's anguished cry, filled with pain. He could not ignore a woman in distress. He turned to go back to get the others but they had heard and all rushed to him. Chief slipped in then signaled.
Inside was a single room with a fireplace at one end and a straw pallet at the other. The man was on his knees beside the woman, his back to the door. Garrison was about to rush over but was stopped by Chief's firm hand on his arm. He looked not knowing what to expect but was stunned to see the smile on Chief's face and the finger on his lips.
The tiny cry stunned them and they could not help stepping closer to see. They all had the same expression as Chief. A baby had just been born. The man sat back and looked up in fear at the men. Seeing their rapt expressions he relaxed and smiled. He started to speak then stopped abruptly in fear. Seeing the lack of reaction he said, "Es war ihre zeit."
"Junge oder ein Mädchen?" asked Garrison.
"Ein Junge
"Herzlichen Glückwunsch" said Actor.
"Danke", he said and turned back to the woman. She was lying propped up against the wall, an old horse blanket pulled up and over her one shoulder. She smiled weakly, her face glistening in the candle light, her hair plastered down with sweat.
The contented suckling was music to their ears. A child had been born, alive. In these times of war and death and brutality the simple wonder of a child's birth warmed them all. They thought only of the present not the danger he faced, the possible starvation, the war that did not care your age, just continued to kill indiscriminately. All that would be later. For now there was a new life, a birth, a new beginning. These men would go on killing until it was over, but for the moment, there was life and with life there was hope. As they turned away to give her some privacy it was Actor who noticed the kippah. He mentioned the significance to Garrison. They were Jewish.
The five intruders had settled down. Actor was over talking to the new father and after consulting his map, Garrison had taken the watch. There would no flight tonight. Casino was trying to get some of the dirt off his clothes where he had had to crawl to safety. Goniff came over and said. "You know what day this is?"
Casino looked up puzzled. "Yeah." He drew it out, obviously not getting the significance.
"It's Christmas and a baby was born in the straw." He indicated with a tip of his head, the pallet where the mother and baby were now sleeping. "Well, I was wondering if, maybe, his name was Joseph."
The father's head come up and he looked over to the other cons expectantly.
Casino finally got it. Was his name Joseph? "And if her name is Mary then are we the wise men?"
"We sure didn't make many wise decisions in the past" said Chief. "Maybe it's him 'n the Warden." The three men stood looking, considering.
"Nah," said Casino as he shook his head and turned away. "Couldn't be. Hey where you going?" he asked as Goniff headed for the door.
"Just thought I'd go see if there's a star."
"It's raining. Won't see no stars."
"Rain stopped," said Chief quietly.
Goniff went out and returned after a few minutes. He gestured frantically. Casino and Chief both went to see. He led them outside and pointed up. "There. Just watch." All they saw was black skies. The cloud cover was complete. Then for just a moment there was a break and a star appeared. The three wise men stood and stared until it was again obscured by clouds. They went back inside.
Were they wise? Chief said they had made bad decisions in the past and that was true. What was also true was they had all made the wise decision to join the Lieutenant as part of Garrison's Gorillas.
The baby and his parent fled the country that was persecuting them. They made their way to a port in Denmark where they bought passage to a country where they could be free. Joseph, Mareike and Daniel would eventually become American citizens.
All characters in this story are fictional, though it could have happened.