"I don't like it."

Lt. Craig Garrison looked at his second with frustration. The Italian confidence man was glaring at him. They were sitting in a car across the street from an abandoned three story brick warehouse.

"I don't like it either, Actor," said Garrison wearily, "but those are our orders."

"And who came up with this scheme, Col. Yates?" continued the con man. "Why so specific? They have never told us who has to make the contact before. They tell us where to meet the contact and leave the planning to you and I. Why the sudden change?"

Craig shook his head. "I can't answer that either. All I know is this is what we've been ordered to do and this is what we are going to do."

"I think this is a trap," persisted Actor.

"That makes two of us," drawled Chief from behind the wheel.

"Actor, give it a rest," said Garrison.

Actor was like a dog worrying a bone. "If you insist on going through with this, leave Teresa out of it."

"He can't." said Terry. "The contact is specifically looking for a blond man and a woman."

"Hey, Actor can make Goniff into a pretty good lookin' broad," offered Casino.

"Gee thanks," quipped Goniff. "For Terry I'll do it, Mate."

Terry grinned and reached over the back of the seat in front of her to squeeze the Englishman's shoulder. "Thanks, Goniff, but you don't speak the language."

"Enough," said Garrison, allowing some irritation in his voice. "We're doing it and it's time to go now."

With a last scan of the deserted street, Garrison and his sister got out of the car and hurried across to duck into the shadows of the bombed out building next to their target. They waited, listening and watching. There were no sounds and no movement.

"I got a bad feeling about this," said Terry, "and I don't have their instincts."

"I know," replied Craig. "Come on, let's get this over with."

They slipped down an alley, leapfrogging and covering each other's backs. There was little light and lots of trash and broken brick to stumble over. Halfway down was a door standing ajar.

"Welcome to my web, said the spider to the fly," whispered Terry cynically.

"Quiet," hissed her brother.

They slipped inside and stopped again to listen. Craig pulled a small torch from his pocket and held it with his left hand covering the lens, fingers parted just enough to let out a small beam of light. They continued on to a large room with a set of stairs going up to the second floor. Garrison went first, slow and cautious, followed by Terry. The second floor was as empty as the first. They advanced up to the third floor.

The silence was deafening. The cavernous room held several metal barrels scattered around a wooden table. Craig motioned Terry to the left and he took the right. They moved slowly round the barrels. There was liquid on one of them. Terry dipped a finger in it and held it to her nose.

"Petrol," she hissed to her brother.

Garrison walked up to the table. There was something sitting on it. He took a closer look and saw the timer. Thirty . . . twenty-nine . . .

"Bomb!" he shouted. "Run!"

They raced to the stairs. Garrison herded his sister down ahead of him. They made it to the second floor and around to the stairs. Terry was running down as fast as she could. She could hear Craig following her. Reaching the bottom, she glanced back at her brother partway up behind her. It threw the count she was doing in her head off. She sprinted for the door. For a brief moment, she thought they were going to make it. The explosion was the last thing she heard. She never felt the force from the bomb toss her like a rag doll out the door and across the alley to slam five feet up the brick wall of the adjacent building.

The men in the car stared in shock and disbelief as the building blew out and fire lit the street with a flickering orange glow. Forgetting caution, the men leapt out of the car and tore across to the alley. There were piles of burning rubble and brick all over the already littered alley. Eyes searching and hands pushing aside hot metal and mortar, they moved toward where the door used to be.

It was Chief who spotted the crumpled body. He threw brick and a piece of the door jamb off of the girl. Her clothes were in shreds and covered in blood. She was motionless. A pool of blood was forming under her head. Chief tried to feel for a pulse but wasn't sure if he felt one or if it was his imagination.

"Actor!"

The Italian looked up at the panic in the younger man's voice. The three men converged on the spot. Actor shoved his way through to drop to one knee beside Terry. He felt a faint pulse in her throat. Taking charge, he looked at the others. "I have her. Find the Warden. We don't have much time." He turned his attention to the woman. Blood was flowing freely from a laceration on the back of her head. She was completely unconscious. Fighting the panic that wanted to take over, he carefully felt her skull. There did not seem to be any depressions, but that did not mean her skull was not fractured. He pulled out his big linen handkerchief and held it to the wound with one hand, the other feeling along her limbs and back. Her left wrist was swollen and possibly broken. He wasn't sure about the condition of her spine.

The other three men covered the rest of the alley. There was no sign of the lieutenant. They met in the middle of the alley and looked at the burning building. The heat hit them like a wall.

"If he's in there, he ain't comin' out," said Casino grimly.

Sirens could be heard faintly in the distance, coming closer. Having no way to stabilize her spine and having an urgent need to get away from the area, Actor lifted Terry in his arms.

"Come!" he called out. "We have to get out of here."

"What about the Warden?" protested Chief.

Actor looked at the burning building. "If he is in there, there is nothing we can do for him. Teresa is alive, but barely. We have to get her to medical attention. Come on!"

All of them hating the idea of leaving Garrison behind, if there was anything left of him, they hurried to the car. Terry was laid on the back seat. Goniff and Casino sat on the floor behind the front seat and piled their coats on the injured woman. Chief drove and Actor navigated. They made it out of the city without being stopped.

The sun was starting to color the clouds a bright pink when Actor instructed Chief to pull to the side of the road. He got out and opened the door by Terry's head. The blood soaked cloth at the back of her head was starting to turn a dark brown. The bleeding had stopped or at least slowed down. The woman was still deeply unconscious.

Actor pulled the map from under his shirt and spread it on the hood of the car. He frowned and studied it carefully.

"What are we gonna do, just leave the Warden?" demanded Casino. He was more frustrated than angry. "Come on, Actor, we can't just leave him there!"

Actor straightened and fixed an angry glare at the safecracker. "Casino, shut up! I can't think over your mouth. There is nothing we can do for the Warden now. Our priority is trying to keep Teresa alive. Now be quiet and let me work this out!"

Casino wanted to come back at Actor, but he knew that wouldn't help Terry any. And the Italian was right. There wasn't anything they could do for Garrison except pray for his soul and hope it had been a quick death.

Actor looked back at the map. He motioned Chief over and pointed to a village. "We have to turn here and go to this village. We can get help to get out there."

"That ain't the way the Warden showed me we were goin'," objected the Indian.

Actor took a deep breath to keep himself calm. "We were set up," he said, "by the Army. They will expect us to make for the sub. We will instead choose a different way out."

"How?" asked Goniff.

"With help from the underground."

"You can contact them?" asked Chief uncertainly.

"Yes."

GGGGG

The three men in the car watched Actor through the window of the bakery shop. He seemed to be his suave persuasive self. They didn't remember ever being in this village before and wondered how the con man knew where to contact the resistance. The Italian came out of the shop with a long loaf of bread under his arm. He got back into the front seat.

"Go down two blocks and turn right. There will be an alley on your left. Take it to the end. There will be a doctor's office there," Actor instructed Chief.

The doctor was waiting for them. They carefully pulled Terry from the backseat and Actor carried her into the house. She was placed on an exam table and the doctor and Actor were able to examine her more closely than the con man could previously. Her head was sutured and bandaged and the left wrist was splinted. She had still not regained consciousness.

An hour later, a hearse pulled up to the back door. Terry was placed on a stretcher and slid into the back. The four men climbed in and sat on either side of her. It was a long drive to the coast and a waiting fishing boat.

It was a somber group on the boat back to England. Terry was placed inside the cabin with Actor in constant attendance. The others took turns coming in to check on the girl. It didn't seem real that Garrison was dead. And just looking at Terry, the men had doubts that she would survive.

An ambulance was waiting at the dock for them. Actor remained glued to Terry's side and climbed in the back as she was loaded.

Casino shook his head. "How the hell did he pull this one off?" he asked in amazement.

"That musta been some underground contact he made," said Chief.

Goniff looked at the other two. "Ole Actor's pulled off some bloomin' big cons before, but 'e musta passed 'imself off as the bloody prime minister or something."

They all climbed into the back of the ambulance. With sirens blaring, they made good time from the coast to the hospital in London. Another surprise for the men was when Actor checked her in as Teresa Mancini, not Garrison.

Actor was pushed out into the waiting room with the men while the hospital staff took over Terry. He was not happy to be parted from the woman, but could do nothing about it. It gave the cons an opportunity to question their new leader.

"What kind of a con are you pullin,?" asked Casino. "Why Mancini?"

"To give us as much time as possible before Col. Yates discovers we are back," said Actor.

"You think Yates set us up?" asked Chief.

"Don't you?" tossed back the con man.

Casino was getting angry again. "We ain't gonna let him get away with this are we? What are we going to do?"

"I don't know!" shot back Actor in frustration. The others fell silent and watched him. "First things first. Chief, call Christine. Do not tell her anything about the Warden. Just tell her to come here. We need someone on our side. I am going to call Major Richards. He won't do anything for us, but he might for Teresa."

While Chief called Chris from a pay phone, Actor took Goniff and went to find another one. Actor looked at the little pickpocket. "You do a reasonably good impression of the Warden. I will place the call. All you have to do is tell the person on the other end you wish to speak with Major Richards on urgent business and that you are Lt. Garrison. And do it in Garrison's voice."

The Englishman looked at the con man nervously. "I don't know, Actor . . ."

"You can do it," said Actor in a calming voice. He placed the call. Goniff pretended to be Garrison and gave the phone to Actor.

A few minutes later, Major Richards came on the line. "Garrison? What is so urgent?"

"This is Actor, Major," said the Italian. "Please, Sir, listen to me. We are at the London General Hospital. The Lieutenant is dead. Teresa is in critical condition in a coma with a head injury. We were set up, probably by someone higher up than you. We need your help. If you do not wish to help us, then please do it for Teresa and the Lieutenant. Come talk with us, then decide what you wish to do."

Richards was stunned by what he heard. He tried to digest it. "Garrison's dead you say? And you think it was an army officer who planned this?"

"Yes, Sir," replied Actor. "If you would just please come and hear us out, Sir."

There was a silence on the other end. "I think I would like to hear this. I will be there shortly."

"Thank you," said Actor.

Terry was placed in a private room. X-rays had revealed a minor skull fracture at the back of her head. Her wrist and several ribs were broken. Her left lung was contused, but that seemed to be the extent of any internal injuries. The life threatening injury was the skull fracture and resultant severe concussion.

Actor sat beside the bed. The adrenalin was wearing off and he was tired. Tired and grieving. The Lieutenant had become like a brother to him. This was the kind of pain he had hoped to never feel again. It was why he had distanced himself from others over his life. Then Teresa had come along and she and her brother had broken through his barriers. Actor lay his hand atop hers, willing a response that was not going to come. He heard rapid boot heels clicking up the hall. It brought him from his reverie. This was going to be particularly painful.

Actor rose as Chief let Christine into the room. The Indian stayed by the door. Chris looked at the haggard face of the con man and flashed to the figure on the bed. She skirted around the big man and stood looking at her sister. She reached tentative fingers out to touch Terry's shoulder. There was no reaction.

Actor stood behind her and quietly gave a clinical rundown of the woman's injuries. Chris turned to him finally.

"How? What happened?"

"We think it was a bomb. We think it was a set up designed to kill both of them."

Chris was stunned. "Craig? How bad is Craig? Where is he?"

Actor swallowed trying to find the courage and the words to tell her. "He didn't make it, Christine."

The younger sister looked up at him and saw the truth in his eyes. She shook her head. "No." Actor did not deny it. "No – o – o . . ." she wailed. She burst into tears. Actor gathered her to him and held her. She sobbed against his chest, hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. All he could do was stroke the dark head and try to block the tears that threatened his eyes.

"Actor," came a soft drawl from the doorway.

The Italian turned his head. Chief was holding the door open for Major Richards. The officer was taking in the scene with a still face.

"Chief," said Actor. "Why don't you take Christine to that chapel down the hall where she can have some privacy. I will speak with the major here."

Chief moved around the officer and gently loosened Chris's grip on Actor's shirt. He pulled her to him and guided her out the door. Richards brushed a hand down her shoulder in passing. He assumed this was the younger sister he had never met.

When the door closed, the major walked up to Terry's head. He stood looking down at the woman. The vibrant, cocky, irreverent essence of her was missing. He turned to the oldest con.

"You say Garrison's dead? Do you know that for a fact?"

Actor sighed. "He did not make it out of the building. The fire was too hot for us try to find his body. No one could have survived that. And we had to get Teresa out of there. She was injured beyond my small capabilities."

Richards chewed on his cheek. "Tell me who you think is responsible and why you think this."

Actor sat on the edge of Terry's bed and Richards took the chair. Actor started relaying the information and their suspicions to the officer.