Pneumonia

Chapter 1

Terry Garrison and Pierre stood by the wall at the middle of the arching stone bridge, trapped. There was an armored vehicle with a machine gun at the end of the bridge in front of them and two trucks of troops advancing behind them. The five members of their cell, hidden in the brush below the bridge, were tremendously outnumbered. The only hope for the two on the bridge was if they were taken prisoner. A volley of shots rang out, putting an end to that hope. The Wehrmacht weren't taking prisoners.

Pierre caught a bullet in the leg, almost going down. He grabbed his leg with one hand to keep himself upright. With the other hand, he grabbed the arm of the woman who was their co-leader and helped boost her over the railing. Terry looked at the river, swollen with springtime runoff and churning rapidly far below her. Another volley of shots rang out, ripping Pierre's hand from her and flinging the man like a lifeless rag doll. Terry took the only avenue left to her and jumped.

She hit the water feet first, the coldness stunning her and the swift current sucking her under and along at a fast clip. She struggled to the surface, gulped air and dove back under as bullets laced the water around her.

The strong current dragged her rapidly downstream as Terry fought to angle toward the shore. The landscape changed from woods to open pastureland that offered little in the line of cover. Just when she thought she could no longer hang on, she spotted a small copse of trees and bushes overhanging the river. Somehow, through the exhaustion and cold, she made it to the shore and grabbed a tree root with numb hands. Breathing heavily, she wedged herself in between two roots and rested a moment. She had to get out of the frigid water. With grim determination, Terry grasped slippery branches and roots and began to pull herself up. The growing rumble of large vehicles made her drop back down and burrow into a hole with a slight overhang for cover.

While she was freezing, the soldiers were hot in the open sun. Of course, they pulled up and parked under the shade of the trees. They decided this was as good a place as any to set up a roadblock. Terry was trapped.

After hours in the water, Terry's entire body was now numb with the cold. Time and again, a soldier would walk to the edge and scan the river, presumably looking for her. She stayed motionless and silent, even as a stream of yellow water arched into the water to her right. Great, she thought, I'm going to die in a German toilet and none of my family is going to know what happened to me. It was her last semi-coherent thought.

The small band of Jaguar operatives stopped by the trees. After a couple hours, the German patrol figured there was no chance of the girl coming through there and they left. Terry was oblivious to their departure. She was also oblivious to the man who climbed partway down the rugged bank, eyes sweeping the edge of the water and spotting her sodden pants leg. He motioned with a wave of his arm and another man joined him in the water and lifted her to the others. She was bundled in blankets and driven as quickly as possible to a waiting boat at a small fishing village. A brief wireless message notified Jaguar headquarters to pick her up.

GGGGG

Madge looked with worried eyes at the flame-haired woman who was standing beside her in the basement of the bar. Kit absently chewed on a fingernail trying to let the message sink in. It was a fine time for Shiv to decide to visit France. Terry had to be in a bad way to not contact the bar herself. A husband and wife team from Hastings had been contacted to pick up 'the package' and deliver it to the Fox.

"Wot about the Lieutenant?" asked Madge. "'Ow are we goin' to tell him?"

"We aren't," said Kit firmly. "He went in without the guys. He's not back yet as far as I know."

"So what do we do?" Terry had come back before with bullet holes in her, but always under her own steam. This was new.

"I don't know," admitted Kit. "I guess we wait and see how bad she is."

The arrival of 'the package' an hour and a half later did nothing to relieve the situation. It took the couple and the two women to half carry and half drag the blanket wrapped bundle down the stairs and into the basement. The sodden woman was placed on the only cot they had and the damp blanket replaced with a dry one.

The slightly crippled older man shook his head sadly at the woman who was breathing harshly and semi-comatose. "She's been mutterin' in French and German 'bout a bridge an' Krauts," he said.

"Can you manage her, Dearies?" asked the graying wife with kind concern.

"We have to," replied Kit. "Can't put her in a hospital this way." She shook her head. "Thank you for bringing her."

"Anything we can do, just let us know," said the man. His leg was too damaged from the previous war to do anything with the military, but this little group of resistance offered him a way to participate in the current war.

He and his wife left the two women with their charge and made their way back up the stairs to the back alley. Kit watched them leave, and moved to the cupboard to get towels. She knelt beside the cot and began trying to dry the tangled, muddy mass of auburn hair.

"Wot do you want me to do?" asked Madge.

Kit concentrated on what she was doing. "Call the Mansion and see if Craig is back yet. If he is, I'll have to think of something. If he isn't, tell Actor to come.

GGGGG

The phone rang at the mansion. Casino was walking past the base of the stairs with a cup of coffee and answered it. "Gorillas."

"Is Lt. Garrison there?" asked a Cockney female voice.

"No," said Casino, puzzled and recognizing Madge from the Blue Fox. "You wanna leave a message?"

"Let me speak to Actor please," said Madge formally.

"What? I ain't good enough tuh take a message?" said the safecracker sourly.

"Give me the Big Bloke now, yuh bloody idjit!"

Casino pulled the receiver away from his ringing ear and stared at it. "Fine. Seein' as yuh asked so nice." He set the receiver down on the table and shook his head before looking at the con man.

"She wants you," he said just as sourly to Actor. "It's the Fox."

The Italian frowned and got up, striding across the room and picking up the phone. "This is Actor."

"You need to come," said the woman in a calmer but concerned voice. "It's Terry. She's in a bad way. 'Ere's Kit."

"Kit, what happened!" demanded Actor as soon as the redhead got on the line.

"Everything went to hell, Actor," said Kit. "They got her out, but she's really sick and out of her head. I can't put her in a hospital. She's saying things she shouldn't. And I can't get her out of here."

"I will be there immediately," said Actor curtly, half in anger and half in fear.

"Actor!" Kit got his attention before he could hang up. "Come to the back door in the alley."

Actor hung up and bounded up the stairs, two and three steps at a time. He went into Teresa's room and retrieved her aid kit. Striding back down the stairs, he paused at the bottom and looked at the cons.

"What's going on?" asked Chief.

Actor shook his head. "I don't know exactly."

"Terry?" asked Casino.

Actor shook his head, refusing to say. The three other men knew instinctively this had to be about Terry and it wasn't good.

"When you comin' back?" asked Goniff.

"When you see me," replied the con man evasively.

"How we gonna reach you?" asked Chief.

"I will contact you."

"What are we 'sposed tuh tell the Warden?" demanded Casino. "And shouldn't one of us go with you?"

"You can tell the Warden whatever you like," replied Actor with flaring irritation. "And no! You will not come with me, or follow me." He stormed out the front door.

Chief watched from the window and the other two joined him. They saw Actor get in the Packard and leave with a squeal of tires that was uncharacteristic of the way they had seen the man usually drive. He did not stop at the end of the drive, but turned sharply and gunned the big car up the road toward Brandonshire.

"Sump'in' bad's 'appened to Terry," said Goniff with certainty.

"That's a sure bet," replied Chief.

Casino turned away sullenly. It irked him when Actor got so high and mighty, especially when it concerned Terry. Did Beautiful think he was the only one who worried about the crazy woman?

GGGGG

Actor pushed the big car as fast as he dared on the country road that led to Brandonshire. The first haying was being done in the area. With the rationing of petrol, the farm machinery was pulled from farm to farm by horse or mule. They were slow-moving and wide enough to make passing difficult at best.

Terry was 'sick' and 'talking out of her head.' This was not a simple gunshot wound. It had to be something worse. Worse worried him greatly. The woman came back with bullet wounds all too frequently. Actor supposed she was getting to be like her brother . . . taking the risky business onto herself to protect those she was with. The fact that he was so concerned for her was something he pushed to the back of his mind, unwilling to admit he was becoming a bit too concerned about the young woman.

Despite the obstacles in the road, he made it to Brandonshire in good time according to his watch. To the Italian it had seemed agonizingly slow. Realizing the Packard could be recognized by someone from G-2 if it was seen in front of the Fox, Actor zigzagged through the village to reach the entrance in the alley that ran behind the bar. He knew the back entrance was there for deliveries, but had never had occasion to go in that way. Now he parked behind the garbage bin, picked up the aid kit and went to the dented metal door. Glancing around from habit, he knocked and waited impatiently. The door slowly eased open an inch and an eye could be seen peering cautiously up at him. Satisfied, Madge opened the door the rest of the way and motioned the tall man inside.

Actor stepped past her and waited as she quietly closed the heavy door and bolted it. The woman who seemed to be the only hired help the bar had, looked up at him with trepidation. The confidence man realized his bearing was probably that of an SS officer and softened his features a bit.

"Where is she?" he asked, tone still brusque, as he glanced around the storage room.

"Downstairs," replied the woman, opening the door to the basement stairs.

Foregoing his usual gracious manners, Actor pushed ahead and descended the aged wooden steps. At one time or another, all the cons had pondered what exactly was in the basement of the bar. Actor should not have been too surprised, judging by Teresa's mysterious activities, but was still brought up short by what he now observed.

The room was cavernous, floor cemented, walls of stone from an earlier era. A wooden table hugged one wall across from the stairs. It had a telephone and a large radio. Not the kind of radio meant for listening to music and news broadcasts. Books and folders were stacked haphazardly by the telephone and a note pad lay in front of the radio. Tall file cabinets flanked the table. Actor turned to look into the center of the room. Many dangling light bulbs illuminated the table in the center of the floor and the stacks of various sized boxes that lined two other walls. Only one isolated stack held liquor for the bar. It was difficult to ascertain what the other boxes held. The con man seriously doubted the contents were legal.

Actor turned his attention to the wary woman who had come to stand beside him, her face still and concerned.

"Where is she?" asked the Italian in a steely voice.

"This way," said Madge quietly.

She led him across the room, giving wide berth around the center table that held a large map, to a door concealed from his view by the stacked boxes. With a sharp rap of knuckles on the wooden door, she opened it and stood back so Actor could enter.

The Italian's eyes automatically swept around the unadorned room looking for danger. Kit was sitting on a straight wooden chair in front of a cot. The blanketed bundle on the makeshift bed could only be recognized as Teresa by the strands of lank auburn hair that escaped one end. The bundle shivered uncontrollably. Kit sprang to her feet and backed away as Actor strode forward. He dropped to sit on his heels beside the cot and lifted the blanket away from the top half of the woman.

Teresa did not respond. Her color was gray, made all the more pale by the rosiness of her fevered cheeks. Her breath was loud and wetly labored. Her clothes were more than damp. As the cool air of the room reached her, Teresa's shivering intensified.

Actor swore loudly in Italian, tucking the blanket back around the ill woman and pivoting on his toes to glare thunderously at Kit. "What happened to her?" he demanded.

Kit sucked on her lower lip. Shiv would have her hide if she told Actor, but the con man was the only one who could help Terry right now. "She spent several hours in a river in Belgium. She was hiding from the Krauts. They killed her contact. It took awhile for her people to get her out. The Krauts were right on top of her."

"How long?"

Kit looked at the livid countenance of the man she was rather afraid of to begin with and swallowed hard before answering. "Day before yesterday."

"Dio!"

Actor turned his attention back to Teresa, lifted the blanket again and took closer assessment of the woman's condition. Her face was hot, but her extremities were like ice. He could tell through the damp, clinging clothing that she was using every muscle she had in her chest to breath. Her lips moved, the words too quiet to be heard. Actor leaned closer and listened as she spoke again. The words gasped out in French, mentioning someone named Pierre and the Krauts. After a moment of gasping air, she spoke again, this time in German. That put an end to any thought Actor might have entertained of taking her to a hospital. She needed to be someplace warm, and quickly. The mansion, no matter how fast he drove, was too far away. Actor tucked the blanket back around the girl, his touch gentle even in his anger.

Rage emanated from him in waves as he rose to his feet. He pinned the Gallagher woman with flashing eyes. "I will take her to her flat for now. She needs someplace warmer than this cold basement. And she needs penicillin. Do you have any down here?"

Kit shook her head, afraid to speak.

"But you know how to get some, don't you?" Actor's voice was accusingly certain.

"I can get it," admitted Kit, "but I don't have the money for it right now."

Actor's upper lip curled up in a sneer. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills. He grabbed her hand and flipped it over, slapping the money into it. "Now you have money. First, you will help me get her to her flat and then you will go get penicillin. I don't care where or how."

Kit nodded. She had never liked the Italian con's arrogance, but now she wished she had more on her than a switchblade she wasn't all that good with. His anger was frightening. What was worse was she considered he was right.

Actor handed the aid kit to Kit and carefully tucked the blankets more securely around Teresa. Kit watched the gentleness of his touch in wonder. As angry as the man was, his actions showed a concern for the comfort of the woman that might explain Terry's friendship with Actor. The con man picked the blanketed bundle up in his strong arms, whispering soothingly in Italian to Terry before turning toward Kit.

"Lead the way," he instructed in a voice not quite as harsh to her as before.

Kit nodded. She turned toward the door and saw Madge back up and sprint for the stairs. Kit followed her and waited at the top for Actor, who was climbing carefully. Madge held the door to the store room open and Kit went to open the door to the alley.

Actor paused at the top of stairs and looked at the Cockney woman who seemed wary and concerned at the same time. "My apologies, Madge," said Actor in a low voice. "Thank you for notifying me."

Madge nodded and touched his sleeve lightly. "You need anythin', call," she said.

Actor nodded and followed Kit outside. The redhead had the back door of the car open. Terry was placed on the seat and Actor trotted around to the other side, opened that door and guided the blanketed woman back until she was lying along the seat. Both back doors were closed and the two got into the front seat with Actor driving.

Pulling to the curb in front of the girls' flats, Actor shut off the engine and reached in his jacket pocket for the key to Teresa's door. He looked at it in his palm, stifling memories of how he had come to have the key. He held it out toward Kit. If the woman was surprised that he had it, she didn't show it as she took it from him.

"What about the landlady," asked Actor, wondering what kind of con he would have to weave.

"Shouldn't be a problem," answered Kit. "She takes a nap at this time every afternoon. If we don't make noise, she probably won't know we're here."

The two got out and moved to the front door by the sidewalk. A quick look around showed no one to see them. Kit held the door while Actor struggled to get Teresa into the foyer. He shifted her in his arms and followed the other girl up into the building. They moved silently past the landlady's door and up the stairs. Kit opened the door to Terry's flat and followed Actor in. She shut the door and turned to find the man striding across the living room and into the hall, directly to Terry's bedroom.

Kit stayed by the bedroom door and watched the con man. He gently placed the blanketed woman atop her bed and carefully arranged the blankets to be less binding. A hand lightly smoothed the damp strands of hair from Terry's face. Kit watched and tried to piece it together.

She knew Actor was the medical person for Craig's band of misfits. She also knew Actor and Terry were a team on the missions. There was one time that she was aware of that Terry had allowed Actor to stay in her flat alone. This was more than an older man's concern for the sister of his superior officer. She wondered if Craig knew. Certainly not. Thinking about it, Kit wondered if Terry and Actor realized it themselves. The tall man turned and looked at her.

"What can I do?" asked Kit.

"You can go get the penicillin," replied Actor with exasperation. He collected himself. "I can take care of things from here," he said in a milder tone. "She needs the penicillin."

Kit tossed the key to him. "If you think of anything else you need, call Madge."

"Thank you," said Actor.

Kit gave a half smile and disappeared back into the living room. A moment later, the sound of the door closing reached the confidence man.

Actor went to the fireplace and started a fire, even though it was the beginning of summer and the closed up apartment was not chill. Once it was going, he rose and turned back to the bed. A hand reached out to turn on the bedside lamp before he removed his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. Head cocked to one side, he looked down at the woman on the bed.

"Oh, Teresa," he said softly and sadly.