One Minute
As a general rule the men found it hard to ignore Sergeant Major Rawlins. When he arrived in a room his appearance was usually accompanied by a door slamming back against a wall as he barreled through it and a shout of 'On your feet you lay abouts!'. This was his approach at all hours of the day and night as he rousted them out of bed to begin their day or harassed them out of the house and onto the grounds for the training sessions he and the Lieutenant had devised to keep them in shape; or tire them out in an effort to keep them out of trouble…something that very rarely worked.
Actor was the first to notice the British NCO as he stood white-faced and mute in the doorway to the quarters the men shared.
"Sergeant Major, is there a problem?"
Casino and Goniff's bickering faded away and Chief turned from his surveillance of the grounds outside their window. Rawlins moistened dry lips as all the attention focused on him.
"About an hour ago… There… There was an explosion."
"Where?" Casino interrupted, but all of them already knew where by the look on his face.
"The Warden?" Chief asked.
"They're still bringing casualties out of the rubble… They haven't found 'im yet."
All of them were on their feet and heading for the door. Gil stood in the Way. "We're ordered to stay here until headquarters informs us of 'is location and condition.."
Casino pulled up in front of him for a moment. "Yeah? Well, the Hell with that!" and then muscled his way past followed by the others.
"I was hoping you'd see it like that," Rawlins mumbled to himself as he turned on his heel and brought up the rear as the men clattered down the stairs and made their way out the back to the car pool.
g
'Headquarters' wasn't just one building but several structures that were within walking, or at the most as short car rides, distance. The imposing main building was where the commanding officers worked; another more modest one was loaded with analysts. There was a large storage facility below the 'tube' that held the intelligence reports, another place housed prisoners that had been brought back and were under lock and key while they were being questioned. A small hotel had been commandeered to put up the 'friendlys', people who worked with the Allies and were willing to bring information out and transport instructions and supplies back in…. Unofficially a good number of the new missions were dreamt up in that hotel. Contacts were made or renewed between civilian and military operatives and ideas exchanged and potential problems hammered out. After the groundwork was laid the suggestions were presented to the higher ups and once they officially put their stamp of approval on them groups were assigned and the planning and training started in earnest.
They could see the smoke and smell the fire but because of emergency equipment and roadblocks they couldn't get close enough in the car to see the building, they had to get out and walk. Rawlins talked their way past the hastily erected security check points.
"Blimey!" Goniff said it for all of them when they finally rounded a corner and caught sight of the destruction.
The front façade of the hotel had been blown away. Bricks, beams, and roofing tiles, filled what had once been the reception area and the public rooms. The front desk lay half buried under debris. Walls of the rear half of the building remained intact but the hallways and rooms were open to view. Fire crews continued to wet down blackened timbers while a team of men methodically made their way through the rubble. Windows had been blown out in the surrounding structures and their facades were pockmarked and charred by the explosion and fire. Local police and military personnel continued to go door-to-door checking for casualties. Two soldiers stood guard over a few shrouded bodies laying side-by-side on the pavement while one lone ambulance still waited hopefully at the curb.
Gil scanned the men milling around the edge of the scene until he spotted one with a clipboard. Rawlins called out as he made his way towards him. "I'm looking for a Lieutenant Garrison?" He got no response. "Corporal," he called out to the Yank again but still he got no reply. "Corporal?" Gil tapped him on the back of the shoulder as he reached him and after a moment the soldier turned around. It was a very young man, too young to be cataloging the dead and maimed Rawlins thought. He tapped the battered clipboard, the check-in sheet rescued from the front desk in the facility. "I'm looking for our CO, Lieutenant Garrison. He come up for a meet with an underground chap named Andre Dumont. Is he checked off on your list there?"
The boy blinked, saluted, and then took a deep breath before he scanned the list of the injured, dead, and missing. He shook his head as he looked up. "Haven't got a status for him on here Sergeant." He gestured reluctantly towards the row of bodies. "We might look over there. We haven't been able to identify all of them yet…"
The men knotted together, silent as the started towards the row of bodies. The guards were alert, ready to block any attempt these unknown civilians might make to molest their charges. Rawlins, followed by the corporal with the clipboard, stepped around them and quietly told the senior guard why he needed to view the bodies. The guard came to attention, saluted, and then escorted the two soldiers to the first corpse. The cons started after them but Rawlins waved them back and, for once, they did his bidding without argument.
They watched as the procession made its way down the row of shrouded figures, the guard standing a moment at the head of each individual before he leaned down and lifted a corner of cloth. The Sergeant Major shook his head at each viewing but, like the guard, spent a silent moment gazing at the dead in homage before moving on. When the covering was raised on the last body Rawlins went to his knees and despair washed over the four men who'd been left waiting on the curb. Goniff turned his back on the scene and Casino laid a hand on his shoulder as he and the other two watched their NCO put his hand out as if to put the hair off the face of the dead man.
They waited as Rawlins talked to the corporal and the young man wrote on his board… Then the guard gave him a hand up. A few minutes later Rawlins walked back over to them shaking his head. "Sinclair," he said. "He was a good lad… He and his wife have a baby on the way."
Chief shrugged his shoulder in the direction of the ruin. "Can we help?"
All of them were eager to join the search but Rawlins held them back. "They know what they're doing. They'll have set out a pattern and they'll clear the place section by section. If we try and join in now we'll just be duplicating what's already been done, or they'll have to pull someone off to direct us and that will just slow them down. According to the list there's only three left unaccounted for…"
Gil's voice faded away as they heard a series of sharp whistles that seemed to originate deep in the rubble. The ambulance attendants started forward with their litter when they spotted a group of rescuers making their way over the shifting bricks with a body. The man in the lead waved them back and the procession made its way to the line of dead.
"…two." Gil said quietly as he started towards the men who were escorting the corpse to join its fellows.
The team stayed together on the curb while Rawlins went back to see if he could help with the identification. It was apparent by the diminutive stature this latest victim was not the Warden.
Another series of whistles sounded before the body had even been laid out on the pavement.
"One." Goniff intoned, keeping the count.
The cons turned and watched two men, a victim slung between them, struggle over the rubble. The man was alive and writhing in pain on the makeshift litter.
Even through the coating of dust, blood and grime they recognized the Warden. The men started forward and relieved the exhausted rescuers of their burden. Carefully negotiating the debris they stopped on the sidewalk and Actor accessed the damaged while the attendants eagerly brought the gurney from the waiting ambulance.
"He's a bad gash over his left eye, a probable concussion; and I think his legs may be broken." The con man told them as they relinquished responsibility for the injured man to the attendants. Actor reached a hand out as the two who'd brought the man out of the wreckage turned to resume their search. "Where are you going?"
"We have to go back. There's still one in there."
"You have them all." The con man told them.
"What?"
"I said you have found them all." Actor turned and hailed the men who were still grouped around the dead. "Corporal? Corporal, will you bring your list over here please?"
The Italian reached a long arm out and relieved the corporal of his clipboard. Turning he present it to the man standing, dazed, at the edge of the group.
Garrison took the list and scanned it, mentally checking off the latest victim who was being loaded into the ambulance. He stopped at the one name that still lacked a status. He studied it for a moment. "But…"
"Didn't you tell him who you were?" Actor asked as he took the list from the Warden's hand and returned it to the corporal.
The Lieutenant shook his head. "I don't remember… I think I just grabbed the first man that showed up, shoved the list in his hand, and told him to check people off as we sent them out to him." He turned to the young soldier, "Corporal..."
'Andrews, sir."
"Corporal Andrews, how many did we lose?"
"Four, sir." Andrews made a vague wave towards the bodies on the pavement with his clipboard. "And a couple we sent to the hospital were in real bad shape, sir."
Garrison's shoulders sagged a little as his eyes rested on the shrouded figures.
"How many were in the building?" Rawlins asked.
Andrews scanned the list. "Fifty-nine are on the residents list. Not everyone was here…Twelve were checked out for the day."
Gil surveyed the wreckage and then turned and addressed himself to their CO. "Less than ten percent… That's a miracle for a mess like as this one."
Garrison rubbed absently at the back of his neck. After a moment he met the Sergeant Major's eye gave a brief smile and nodded his agreement.
"C'mon, you'r holdin' up the ambulance." Chief told their leader as he stepped around to take a position behind him.
The Warden waved the medics away. "I'll ride over in the car with you."
"What?" Casino asked, only half joking. "You don't gotta go and make some kind a report first? No meeting with the brass?"
He was either too tired to hear the sarcasm, or too tired to respond to it. Garrison looked down and took stock of himself and just said. "Maybe after I get cleaned up."
"What happened?" Goniff asked as they started away towards the car.
The Warden stopped and turned back to look at what was left of the hotel. "I don't know. On minute it was standing there and the next minute it wasn't." When they turned around again Chief was pulling up with the car.
g
"Aw, Blimey! Can't you leave a bloke alone for a minute?" Goniff protested when he saw the man in the hall.
Reynolds put a hand up and continued walking towards them. "Save your indignation, please. I'm just here to see how he made out and let him know what we've found so far."
"So what was it?" Chief asked. "Some kinda unexploded bomb or somethin'?"
Colonel Reynolds shook his head. "A leak in the gas works. The inspectors think the latest bombing probably caused a crack in one of the pipes."
"Jeeze! The whole block could 'a gone." While they were standing there too, but Casino didn't have to mention that he could see the others had figured it out for themselves.
"Yes, you're right. It could have been much worse." Reynolds turned towards Dr. Phillips who had just stepped through a door into the hallway and stepped out to stand with them. "How is he, doctor?"
"Battered. Bruised. Exhausted from the last mission and very, very lucky."
"You gonna try and keep him?" Chief asked.
Phillips laughed. "No. I'd never get him to stand for that. Besides he'll rest easier out at the mansion." He turned to Actor, the man who filled in as medic for the small unit. "He's got some dressings that will need changing and he's a little congested from the blast and all the dust so keep an eye on him… And no running!"
The con man only had a chance to acknowledge Phillips with a nod before the door opened again and Garrison joined them in the hallway. He started to come to attention when he spotted Reynolds.
"At ease." Colonel Reynolds watched Garrison not quite relax. "I wanted to congratulate you on the work you did out there today Lieutenant."
Garrison started to protest but Reynolds put a hand up to stop him. He knew the younger man's mind was turning on the four people that had died at the site. "Just stand there, Lieutenant Garrison and accept your commendation, will you? Are you aware that there was another explosion after you brought the last casualty out? If you hadn't gotten the search started as quickly as you did and matched the injured and dead against the register there would still have been people combing through the ruins." Reynolds reached out and shook the younger officer's hand as he watched that sink in. "Well done, Lieutenant."
"I understand your contact, Dumont, didn't make it," the Colonel continued.
"No, sir. His was the first body we brought out." Garrison told him quietly.
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant." "I know he was a friend of yours."
"Thank you, sir."
Silence descended on the group of men. After a moment Goniff started to shuffle his feet then he glanced up, "You looked knackered Warden. 'Ow 'bout a pint?"
g
At the start they found things to talk about but as the drive continued the conversation faded away into companionable silence. Chief slid the car to a stop in front of the Doves and Goniff lifted the door latch up in order to get out; he turned when he felt Casino's hand on his shoulder. The little pick pocket followed the explosive expert's lifted chin and glanced into the back seat where the Warden was propped in the corner sound asleep. Goniff smiled around at the others, he quietly secured the door again as Chief carefully pulled back onto the road and headed home.