ALONE

This story is associated with the episode War Games so if you haven't seen it, be warned, there are some spoilers. And, as others have said, 'still don't own it, still don't get any money for it.' Enjoy. (For whatever reason of it's very own FFN will not let me format the way I usually do, so, sorry) dale

It took a few moments for him to figure out where he was, finally it was the hissing from the radiator and the cloying smell of gasoline that tipped him off. He was laying against the steering wheel of a jeep that was nose down in a ditch off the side of a road. How he got there was another puzzle. Concentrating on it was hard, his mind seemed to want to wander, but he thought he remembered a bright flash in the road… Must have been a bombing raid, he thought. He tried to push himself up so he could get a look at his surroundings to confirm his theory but he didn't seem to have enough strength to manage it. Relaxing back against the steering wheel he remembered the Home Guard would be out checking the roads right after the 'all clear'. All he had to do was wait…

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…Ice cold rain hitting the back of his neck brought him awake with a jolt that got all sorts of unpleasant things started. Everywhere seemed to hurt at once, but his left knee drew special attention. It seemed to be jammed up under the dash. Garrison tried hitching the leg back a bit only to have pain flash up into his hip and down into the floor of the jeep through his foot. The sharp gasp that caused, and the discomfort in his chest that went with it, told him he'd probably bruised some ribs on the steering wheel too. Pain in his left hand flared in time with his heart beat and there was an underlying throb to the lack of feeling in the left side of his face that promised to turn very unpleasant as that numbness wore off.

Rain? Maybe that bright flash was really just a lightening strike. No one will be checking the roads if it's just a simple storm. Craig took a careful breath, brought his right hand up and gripped the steering wheel. This isn't going to feel very good, he thought, and he pushed until he was leaning back against the seat cushion. He tried to get a look around but it was nearly dark. Funny. He was almost certain it had only been mid afternoon when he took off.

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"Anybody seen the Warden?"

"He took off before lunch. Ain't seen him since." Chief answered. "Why?" The question was posed with a hopeful glint in his eye. He was trying his best to teach Goniff to play chess. The young scout was generally pretty patient when it came to anything that didn't have to do with Casino, but Goniff's constant squirming around and all of his questions were starting to get to him. It didn't help that the little pick pocket persisted in trying to use the chess pieces like checkers and kept making those galloping sounds every time he moved the knight either….

"Well I figure we did a good enough job the last time out that we deserve a little break in town." Casino lounged in the doorway, grinning at the sweat frustration had helped bead across Chief's forehead.

Actor dropped the book he was reading into his lap. "And you are certain the Lieutenant will share your opinion, Casino?" They'd been back for more than forty-eight hours now, their own debriefs were done, and he agreed with the safecracker, they deserved a little time off the grounds. They just hadn't been given permission yet…, but that had never stopped them before.

Casino shrugged in the con man's direction. It was late afternoon and he was bored. He decided he'd rather risk a dressing down by the Warden and a couple of trips around the obstacle course than stay cooped up in the mansion. "Hey, we know him good enough now, right? He'd give his OK if he was around. It just must a slipped his mind or somethin'."

"Think you can sell the Sergeant Major on that one, Pappy?" It didn't really matter. Half the fun of going off grounds was getting past Rawlins and his crew. Chief watched and listened as Goniff galloped his knight across the board once more…He was more than ready for a break.

"Well, see… he's off the grounds right now too…. So…."

Goniff didn't want to be thought of as a quitter or anything, but annoying Chief into letting him off the hook on learning this chess stuff hadn't worked out exactly like he'd planned. Going into town to the pub sounded loads better than sitting here trying to remember all the crazy rules about how every piece moved different. "Blimey!" He grinned around at the other three, and as he swept the pieces off the board into the box that held the set, he kept one secreted in his hand… maybe if a piece went missing Chiefy wouldn't try and teach him again. "What'r we waitin' for? Let's go!"

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He'd tied his coat around him when he left the meeting in London but he hadn't buttoned it up, and he'd lost his cap somewhere. Rain was coursing off his head and face, soaking down into the collar of his shirt and seeping its way into his jacket. Garrison started to shake and decided to lay it to the drenching he was getting rather than any serious injury or shock from the accident. If it was just from the cold rain as soon as he got inside where it was warm and dry everything would be alright. If it was from the other, … Well, then he was in a little more trouble than he wanted to admit to right now. He was still shoved back against the back of the seat, he had to keep his right arm stiff to stay there and it was beginning to tremble with the effort. All he had to do was get out of the jeep and go find someplace where he could get out of the rain… Craig tried to keep track of the throbbing in his face and leg for a while, it didn't seem to be getting any faster. His breathing seemed to be steady too, it hurt, but it wasn't going shallow on him. No internal bleeding then, no problem with the lungs. Alright, he ordered himself, let's get this done.

The left side of the jeep was lower than the right. He could pull himself around using the steering wheel and just slide out that way. Seemed like a simple enough plan but when he tried it there was just one little problem. The left knee didn't really want to bend, Craig forced it anyway and his breath caught in his throat.. He got turned in the right direction but he couldn't convince that damned left leg to pull up high enough to swing over the side on its own and he lost his balance when he let go of the steering wheel to lift it up with his hands. Stars exploded across his vision when the shift jammed into his ribs as he fell backwards in the seat and then he couldn't seem to get himself upright again. He couldn't get a good enough grip on the steering wheel, the best he could manage was to twist off the gearshift and lay draped over the seats. The effort made him dizzy and it was so much easier to just lay there. Rain splattered down out of the sky and the last conscious thought he had was how good the cold water felt on the side of his face.

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"Come on, we'd best be back at the mansion before the Warden shows up." Actor lifted the glass off the table and finished his wine. It wasn't up to his usual standards, but it was the best the pub had to offer.

There was another roll of thunder and the sound of heavy rain reached them even in this lower level. "Are you nuts. He's hole up in London somewhere till this blows over. We got all night."

"And how can you be so sure about that, Casino?"

"Jeeze! Cause I checked the motor pool and he took off in one a the open jeeps.. That's how!" Casino smirked across at the Italian know it all. "Even if he took off before the storm started he'd have to pull off somewhere til it blows over. All we gotta do is keep an ear out. We leave when it stops and we still beat him back to the house."

Actor couldn't argue with the man's logic and he had no desire to hike back to the mansion through this down pour. Besides if the Warden had returned to the manor and found them missing he would have already been in to pick them up, or at least called down to the Doves to make certain they were there. He scanned the faces of the men ranged around the table and knew that, even with Casino's grumbling, they would probably return to the mansion if he took the lead. There was another roll of thunder and the cadence of the rain increased. "Well in that case," the con man shrugged and then raised his hand and beckoned to the waiter. "I believe dinner is in order."

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The rain had stopped. There were people moving around him, he could hear them talking in hushed tones… but what he heard through the roaring in his ears didn't make much sense…

"Dieses Auto ist zu uns unbrauchbar."

"Es gab ein Auto am letzten Haus."

"Gut! Wir nehmen ihn."

"Und der Mann?"

"Er auch."

"Dieses ist eine dumme Idee, Karl. Dieser Mann wird und zu uns unbrauchbar verletzt.". The voice was wary, practical as it continued. "Wir müssen uns schnell bewegen, und er wird uns verlangsamen."

"Sie sind falsch!" The answer came in an excited, optimistic tone. "Die Verletzungsmittel ist er nützlicher."

"Wie?"

"Des Amerikaners geben ihren verletzten Urlaub. Sie verhätscheln sie." The speaker was obviously impressed with his own knowledge of their enemy. "Es ist für die diese Behörden er ist weg von seinen normalen Aufgaben annehmbar."

"Dann beharren Sie." And it was just as obvious that this man didn't share his companion's confidence. " Dann möchten Sie ihn mit uns nehmen?"

"Wir müssen, Wilhelm. Er stellt uns sicheren Durchgang zur Verfügung."

"Dummkopf! Diese verrückte Idee wird uns getötet sehen!"

"Drücken Sie mich nicht, Leutnant Broiler! Ich bin verantwortlich für dieses jetzt." the statement was wrapped in growing ire and the dignity of superior rank

"Jawohl, Herr Oberleunant Lebrecht!" and accepted with sarcasm.

"Ruhe! Der Mann fängt an zu wecken." he cautioned in a carefully lowered voice

Garrison felt a hand close around his arm and another grab at his shoulder, pulling him up and pushing him back against the seat. The volume on the roaring inside his head spiked and he had to strain to hear over it.

"…all right?….. Lieutenant? I said, are you all right, sir?"