In the Beginning
Chapter 1 Before
"If you were any real safecracker, yuh wouldn't be here."
"Yeah? You know all about bank jobs? All you did was drive a car. Any idiot can drive a car."
"Gentlemen, please . . ."
"Butt out, Actor."
"Yeah, I'm tired of you actin' all superior. You aren't any better than any uh the rest of us."
"I beg to differ with you."
"Aww . . . "
"Come on, fellas. We aren't 'sposed to fight. Besides, what good does it do?"
"You ain't nuthin' either, Goniff. We eat guys like you for a snack."
"I ain't nuffin'?"
"Knock it off!"
GGGGG
Garrison had remained in his fatigues after his morning run and was sitting on the edge of his bed, re-lacing up his combat boots. His mind went back to a conversation with Sgt. Davidson the previous day in his office. The sergeant had come in to give his report.
"How are they doing, Sergeant?" asked Garrison, leaning back in this chair.
Davidson shook his head. "They just aren't learning to work together, Sir. The wall is still a problem. They won't help each other so, except for Goniff, none of them got over again.'
Garrison nodded. "Keep at it, Sergeant,"
"Yes, Sir."
Craig straightened and stood. Today he was going with the men along the obstacle course. No matter where he was or who he was with, he did not ask anything of his men he would not do himself. Hopefully, through orders and demonstration, he could get the men at least over the wall.
When Garrison came down the stone steps to the car park, five pair of eyes followed him in a mix of surprise and distrust. Sgt. Davidson was the only one who did not react. He already knew the Lieutenant was joining them.
"You comin' wiff us, Warden?" asked Goniff cheerfully.
Garrison nodded.
"You think you can keep up with us, Soldier Boy?" asked Wheeler derisively.
"I have no doubts about it," replied Garrison. "Come on," he said to the group.
With that, he led them through the tall wooden gate to the manicured lawn behind the Mansion. From there, Craig broke into a jog until he was sure the men were behind him. Once they were all moving, he picked up the pace and headed for the path into the woods. It was interesting observing the men. Chief soon joined him in the lead. Craig eyed him and the ground covering lope he settled into. The officer adjusted his pace to equal that of the Indian. No words were spoken.
The path wound narrowly through the trees. Tree roots and shrubs made the group move into a single file, with Garrison in the lead. The first obstacle was a downed tree. Craig cleared it with one foot on the top of it. Chief followed in the same way. Wheeler climbed over it, holding up the other three men. There were loud grumblings. Sgt. Davidson patiently followed along behind to make sure there were no stragglers.
They approached the next obstacle. Chief slithered quickly and easily under the rows of barbed wire that were strung low to the ground. Garrison was on his heels. As usual with the amount of rain this part of England received, the ground was muddy and both men emerged with filthy clothing. Chief looked at Garrison when the officer made no move to follow him further. Garrison gave a jerk of his head, telling the Indian to continue on. Chief trotted off.
Goniff slipped under the wires with ease. Casino came out, face muddied and grumbling about the stupid course. Garrison motioned both of them to continue on.
Next came Wheeler. The chunky man made it halfway through before getting the seat of his pants and his backside tangled on the sharp barbs. Craig hadn't heard such a string of foul language in a long time. It was with effort the officer stifled a grin.
The delay gave the straggling Actor time to catch up, Sgt. Davidson following. The tall Italian was not even breathing hard.
"Nice of you to join us," said Garrison wryly.
He received a small smile in response. Garrison saw the con man study Wheeler's predicament and the smile become the tiniest bit wider.
"You bums just going to stand there? Get me outta here!" shouted Wheeler angrily.
Actor stepped aside to lean casually against a tree, arms and feet crossed, to watch. Sgt. Davidson shook his head and moved between the rows of wire. Pulling gloves from his back pocket, he carefully grasped the wire and tugged it free, ripping the pants material and some of Wheeler's hide.
"Hey, watch what yur doin'!" howled the man. "That's me attached to that thing."
"Keep moving, Wheeler," ordered Garrison.
With much swearing, the wheelman made it through and stood up. He turned to the Garrison before noticing Actor and his stance.
"What 're you lookin' at?" demanded Wheeler.
Actor merely gave an elegant shrug of one shoulder and forbore to reply 'a buffoon.'
"Move out, Wheeler!" the Lieutenant ordered. He looked at Davidson. "Stay with him."
The three men watched the stocky man walk away, a three corner tear in the right back of his trousers, flap hanging down along with a bit of regulation underwear.
The Sergeant moved up to Garrison and said in a low disgusted voice, "Thanks a lot, Lieutenant."
Garrison didn't respond except to smile and the sergeant moved around him to trail after Wheeler. Now Craig turned his attention to Actor. The tall man eyed him inscrutably and continued to lean against the tree.
"Your turn, Actor," said Craig.
The Italian straightened and walked over to the rows of wire. He paused and shook his head. "How degrading."
"I don't know," mused Garrison. "Which is more degrading? This or dying from getting shot in the . . . 'culo'?"
A raised eyebrow tilted his way at the use of the Italian slang word. "Punto," Actor replied, point taken.
With a sigh of resignation, the con man slipped down under the first wire in the mud. Garrison watched him. "Slide under," Craig cautioned, "or you'll end up looking like Wheeler."
"Not likely, Lieutenant," shot back the Italian, lowering his bottom.
Garrison met him at the other end, noting the look of disgust on Actor's face when the man looked down at his soiled fatigues. "Move out," said Craig.
The two men broke into a trot together. The Italian was to his right side, running easily. So, he could move when he wanted to, thought Craig. Just to see, he stepped up the pace. Actor stayed with him. Apparently the sedate appearance was another deception. Craig wondered if there was anything real about the confidence man.
They approached the log across a sandy-bottomed ditch with a trickle of water running through it. Brambles and brush clung to the sides of the ditch. The log was wide enough to walk quickly across and had rough bark to keep feet from slipping. Garrison stepped to the side and let Actor cross first. His gait was steady. The con man stopped on the far side and waited for Garrison to cross. Together, they continued on; still no conversation between them.
Reaching the wall, they slowed and came to a stop. Goniff was straddling the top of the wooden structure. There seemed to be an argument at the base. No one was paying any attention to Sgt. Davidson. Garrison walked up.
"Okay, Wheeler on one knee. Chief, use him for a leg up," instructed Garrison.
"I ain't helpin' that dirty Indian," grossed Wheeler.
"You'll do as I tell you or you're going back to prison," said Garrison in a tone that brooked no nonsense from the thug. Wheeler just looked him, dare in his eyes. "We've had this conversation before, Wheeler. Don't push me. You won't like the results."
Taking his slow, sweet time, the bald man lowered himself to one knee beside the wall. Chief placed his left foot on the man's knee and hoisted himself high enough for Goniff's hand to grab his wrist and pull. Chief scrambled up and straddled the wall, facing the pickpocket.
Garrison went next, easily clasping the wrists held down to him. He flung a leg over the wall and stopped. "Goniff, down."
The pickpocket threw his leg over the top of the wall and slid down to the ground on the other side of the wall from the rest of the men. Garrison slid back into his place and looked down at the three remaining men.
"Casino, you take Wheeler's place. Wheeler, your turn up."
Garrison didn't know how strong the smallest member of his group was, but did not want to find out by Goniff either dropping the thug or being pulled off the wall. Casino went down on one knee facing Wheeler. The stout man rose, put a foot on the safecracker's knee and attempted to lever himself up. Garrison and Chief found themselves holding tightly to the top of the wall so they could lean far enough over to just barely grip the wheelman's wrists. It was a strain hauling the man up. Wheeler practically fell down the other side of the wall.
"Okay, Casino, it's your turn up now. Actor, give him a leg up."
Actor took Wheeler's place on one knee beside the wall. Casino stepped on his knee and scrambled high enough to be caught by the two men on top. Chief slid down the other side and let Casino have his place.
"So how're we supposed to get Beautiful up here?" asked the safecracker.
"Lean as far down as you can," said Garrison, leaning over and gripping the top of the wall.
Casino was not too sure about this, but followed the officer's lead. Actor had already walked back about ten yards. He watched for Garrison's nod and ran forward, launching himself upward at the wall. Both of his wrists were grabbed by the two men and, with help, he scrambled up the wall to haul himself up between them. Actor slid down the other side. For a tall man, the con man probably did not weigh much more than Casino and not nearly as much as Wheeler.
Once they were all back on the ground, Garrison led the way toward the water obstacle. It was a rope dangling from a thick tree branch over one end of the only pond on the estate. He stood back as Goniff flung himself with ease over the water to grab the rope and allow his momentum to carry him to the other side. The Englishman swung the rope back. Wheeler managed to grab it, but not with enough of a run to make it all the way to the opposite bank. He dropped feet first into the mud and scrambled to maintain his balance enough to climb up on dry ground. The rope returned to its starting point. Chief shook his head, took a running jump and swung across like Goniff had. Casino followed with ease. He sent the rope back so Actor could grab it and swing across. The tall man landed on his feet a yard past the edge of the bank. Now he tossed the rope to Garrison. This was child's play for the young officer. He had done this since childhood back home at the swimming hole.
"And that is how it is done," Garrison said when he joined the group. "If you work together, it's easier and faster."
There were various reactions of boredom, thoughtfulness, and agreement. Maybe, just maybe, it was a start.
"Okay, back to the Mansion," ordered Craig. He didn't need to say that twice.
As he jogged along a trail that was more of a wide animal path than anything else, Craig pondered the need for a developed mile-long running path around the estate. If they pulled off the mission, if they weren't all killed, if the men didn't cut and run, if they returned to England, and those were big ifs, he knew the Army would renege on the promise of the parole after one mission. If this worked, the cons would be in for the duration, or until they were killed on a mission. Well, at least he could make a decent track.
Back at the Mansion, the men were escorted one at a time to take a shower. Garrison went in his bedroom and took a five-minute shower before all the hot water was gone. He changed into his working uniform and went downstairs. There was a myriad of paperwork, a job he detested, which included a report to Major Schaeffer and Colonel Hammond on the men's progress. Garrison elected to eat lunch in his office instead of with the men. The guards would report anything suspicious or negative to him from the cons.
Craig could have had one of the corporals type up his report to the two superior officers, but with the different nature of his team, he chose to do it himself. Typing was another job he detested.
Sgt. Davidson was again in charge of teaching the men about Europe and the Nazi regime. It gave Craig time to finish his report and most of the paperwork before the jump training. Surprisingly, Davidson had reported before, that with the obvious exception of Wheeler, the men seemed interested in what they were being taught. Goniff had made an offhand remark that those in stir had not been kept informed of what was happening in the rest of the world.
An Army linguist arrived to give lessons in German and French. Except for Actor, who was already was fluent in those languages, it was another lost cause. Garrison would have to be happy with 'yes', 'no' and 'show me your papers.' It meant he would have to rely on his confidence man for back-up, but that was what the man was there for, if he could trust him.
Feeling like a boy who had been released from school early, Garrison followed the men out to the parachute jump. He watched, arms crossed in front of him, as the men took their turns on the jump tower. They were better at tuck and roll now, except for Wheeler who seemed destined to forever land like a sack of potatoes. They were about ready to try their first real jump.
GGG
By the end of the week, the men had improved on the obstacle course enough for Garrison to cease accompanying them. Wheeler remained a loner. He would not work with any of the other men unless Sgt. Davidson threatened him; not with the stockade, which would have prevented him from participating at all, but with the group repeating the course until he did as he was supposed to. A little peer pressure helped. Though he knew the rules, Davidson would have looked the other way if the four cons had teamed up to teach the lazy bully a lesson. Unfortunately, in the Sergeant's eyes, that didn't come about.
A couple days passed, not quietly, but with a little less grumbling from half the group. Garrison had his back to his door as he fingered through the folders in his file cabinet, looking for one particular file. He heard the front door slam shut but was not quick enough in turning to see who had come in. The swift, loud stomping of feet on the steps told him it was one of his bigger men. Craig went back to his files, found the one he needed, extracted it and returned to his desk.
He remained in his chair contemplating his men. It would not be seemly to go upstairs to see who the one was having a temper tantrum. It didn't stop him from pondering who it might be. The steps had been heavy; again indicating one of his bigger men. The steps had been taken two at a time judging by the number of steps heard. If it had been Wheeler, there would have been cursing and yelling. And the chunky bald man didn't move that fast. Goniff was too light to make that kind of tromping. The pickpocket would have been whining and probably in the office if something had upset him. Chief was quiet. He would have taken the stairs one at a time and less noisily. Casino? Like Wheeler and Goniff, he would have been loudly cursing and complaining . . . and in Garrison's office. That left Actor. And most likely it was the tall confidence man. He could take the steps that fast and wasn't a complainer. Usually the Italian was pretty easy going. But, Garrison was sure that underneath the façade lay a temper. He would bet even money it was his con man. That was if he were a betting man.
The sound of the water pipes creaking told Craig whoever had gone upstairs was in the shower. Well, the men were being taken through the obstacle course. There was water and mud. Actor was neat to the point of fastidious. Yup, probably Actor.
No further noise came from upstairs after the water had been turned off. Neither of the guards had come down to report anything, so it was something that could wait. It was another half hour before the others returned. By head count, the missing one was indeed Actor. The cons noisily made their way upstairs. Sgt. Davidson did not follow them, but came to Garrison's office. The Lieutenant accepted the salute from the non-commissioned army sergeant and gave him permission to enter.
"At ease, Sergeant," said Garrison.
The man went into the wide stance that was only a little less stiff. "Sir, did Actor come in?"
"He's upstairs," replied Garrison. "What happened?"
"Well, Sir, do you remember that log across the stream bed at the end of the property?" At Garrison's nod, he continued. "I think the bark was coming loose on it. It gave under the man's foot and he fell off. He landed in the bramble bush. I don't think he was injured, other than scratches, but the others were laughing at him. He didn't seem to take it well." Davidson was working hard to stifle a grin. "I made the others continue on. Actor climbed out of the ditch and stormed off this way. I had Private Harris follow him to make sure he was headed for the house, Sir."
Yes, vain with a big ego. Actor would not have taken being laughed at any too well.
The next two days were uneventful, for the cons. With the exception of Wheeler, the men seemed to be handling the jump tower fairly well. It was time to give them their first real lesson.
GGG
Lt. Garrison stood on the ground with binoculars trained on the approaching plane. This was the first jump from an airplane for all of the men. Now they would find out the difference between a parachute landing and stepping off a platform with lines attached regulating their descent. Chief was the first one out, falling away from the plane and grabbing the straps as the static line opened the chute. His head was bent forward, eyes seemingly staring at the ground that was rising to meet him.
Actor was next. He held onto the sides of the opening, hesitating before falling forward, like a downed tree. He did reach for the straps.
Goniff followed without hesitation but seemed confused about handling the straps to control the parachute.
Next was Wheeler. He was looking out the door and started to turn back, but apparently had some help making up his mind as he fell out sideways. His mouth was moving so fast, it took him a couple seconds to grab his straps. Casino followed right behind him, if not enthusiastically, at least with an attempt at correct procedure.
Wheeler landed on the ground like a sack of feed. No finesse and not even close to the white cross laid out as a target. Chief was extracting himself from some bushes on the edge of the clearing. Actor landed behind some bushes on the opposite side of the clearing, but was up almost immediately. Goniff was part way up a tree in the distance. Casino tucked and rolled, but he was only a few feet from the runway and a good 100 yards away from the landing zone.
This wasn't going to look good in Garrison's report.
"I've seen supplies land better than they did," said a sarcastic voice behind him. Col. Joe Gallagher stepped up beside his friend, Craig Garrison. "You sending them up again?"
"Yes," said Garrison stubbornly. "They're going to do it over and over again until they get it right."
"I don't think they're ready for night jumps yet," remarked the Air Force colonel snidely.
Garrison looked at him. "Joe, it's only ten o'clock in the morning."
"Yeah, but from the looks of them they won't get it right much before midnight, Craig."
Garrison shook his head as his 'men' headed toward him. "You may be right."
It took until almost dusk to get the men landing close to the designated area. It would just have to do. Garrison sincerely hoped transportation for the first mission would be by submarine.