"Priceless"
Craig Garrison ran a hand through his hair distractedly and then winced as he caught the still tender bruises that parti-coloured one side of his face. There were times, he thought sourly, when he really regretted ever having agreed to his current assignment. Baby-sitting four cons was no joke despite what everyone else thought. He could accept getting injured on a mission, it was an ever present hazard of the job but when he got beaten up trying to pull Casino out of a pub brawl, well enough was enough. Especially as Casino had come out of it in one piece while he had ended up with a broken arm and a size nine boot print where the left side of his face used to be. And that wasn't the worst of it. No, what really galled him was that he had been hauled ignominiously back to the manor by the MPs and promptly raked over the coals by Colonel Howlett. Garrison supposed that, considering his last run in with the colonel, he was lucky not to be facing a court-martial as Howlett had threatened but just confined to base again. Even so, it still rankled. The Gorillas were having a field day, teasing him unmercifully at every opportunity, even Casino once he had got over his first over-solicitous remorse and Actor, who was usually above such things.
He tossed his pen down in frustration, his mind not on the seemingly endless paperwork that went with every mission and moved over to stare blankly out of the big window, trying vainly not to fret about the Gorillas. He cursed Casino for ever getting into that fight and himself for being careless enough to get hurt. Because being hurt meant he was stuck at the manor, grounded, with only his paperwork for company while they were enjoying themselves in London. Craig had decided to take advantage of the situation to give the Gorillas a 48-hour liberty pass - having a broken arm at least meant that they were getting a respite from the war and the string of back to back missions they seemed to have been getting lately - but even though the cons had more than deserved the break and had promised not to get into trouble (the five of them had come to an agreement about that the first time Garrison had trusted them alone on leave), Craig was still uneasy. Usually it didn't affect him so badly because he was busy out and about with little time to spare for them but this time, confined to his office and the mindless drudgery of form filling, he had to admit that much of his uneasiness sprang from loneliness. The fact that they were overdue didn't help either.
The simple truth was he missed the four of them about the place, missed their irreverent, albeit sometimes irritating, company. They weren't the only inhabitants of the manor but Craig had increasingly found that he preferred to spend his limited off-duty time with them rather than with his fellow officers. Although they were all intelligence officers and therefore somewhat less hidebound than most army personnel, Craig still found many of them to be a bit conventional and stiff. His own record for insubordination was almost as erratic as his Gorillas.
The buzzing of the intercom distracted him from his thoughts. "Yes?"
"They're back, lieutenant," the sergeant-major informed him. "Just coming up the drive."
Craig was relieved. "Send them up here as soon as they get in," he ordered, settling himself back down at his desk and pulling another mound of files towards him purposefully. He was damned if he let the four of them know that he'd been worrying over them.
He ignored the opening of the door and shuffling feet as the cons lined up in front of the desk guiltily. "You're late," he finally growled, eyes still on the paperwork.
"Ah, Warden..."
Craig hid a smile at Goniff's predictable whine and, putting on a glare, looked up. His eyes narrowed ominously.
"Where is he?" he demanded quietly.
Goniff, Chief and Casino exchanged a look.
"Who, Actor?" Casino said innocently.
"No, the man in the moon. Of course, Actor," Garrison growled sarcastically. "Where is he?"
"Well, you see... We... ah, sorta lost him," Goniff finished in a rush.
"Lost him," Garrison repeated flatly.
"There was this dame," Casino told him with a smirk.
"Ah," Garrison said in sudden comprehension. "And?" he probed sharply, not bothering to conceal his anger.
"Last night we all met up for a drink in this pub and there was this woman by herself..." Goniff began, having been silently elected as spokesman by the others.
"A real classy piece, if you know what I mean."
"A lady," Goniff emphasised, ignoring Casino's interruption. "Actor went off with her."
"Just like that?" Garrison queried.
"Well, yeah. You know Actor. He said he'd see us later but he never made it back," Casino said with a shrug.
"We waited for him this morning," Chief added. "That's why we're late."
Craig considered their story for a moment, scanning their faces for signs of subterfuge but found none. It sounded all too plausible. If Actor had got into trouble with the authorities, the tale would have been far more elaborate than this.
"Who was she?" he asked finally.
Chief shrugged. "Didn't introduce us."
"Not an old friend then?"
The three cons considered the question for a bare moment and then shook their heads in unison. "Nah, she was someone new," Goniff said certainly.
"Alright," Garrison nodded. "That's all. You can go," he dismissed them abruptly, picking up his pen and pulling the next file on the heap towards him determinedly. The Gorillas stood for a moment, surprised by his attitude ad then turned to file out, glad to escape so easily. "But, gentlemen," Craig's voice pulled them up short, his tone glacial. "Until Actor returns consider yourself confined. And when he gets in, tell him I want to see him immediately. Understood?" he checked sharply. The three of them nodded and filed out subduedly, knowing that for once Garrison meant what he said.
Left alone again, Garrison tossed his pen down and leant back in his chair, one foot propped against the desk, anger warring with unease. Although easily side-tracked by any woman, Actor rarely got so involved that he actually disobeyed orders. Still, there was always a first time - for which he would catch merry hell from Garrison - and, after all, what else could have happened to him? There had been no air raids reported last night over London and if he had been picked up by the law someone would have notified him by now. They always did.
Garrison pushed the nagging feeling to the back of his mind, determined not to let the conman disturb his day any more and picked up the discarded file again. There would be time enough for recriminations when Actor got back.
Someone was groaning. Actor noted the sound with vague annoyance, wishing whoever it was would stop as the noise seemed to reverberate around the small room and through his aching body. He raised his head, discovering in the process that he was lying stretched out on a concrete floor and looked for the other person but could see nothing. Just to make sure he really was awake he squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again but it was to no avail. Either he was blind or the room really was pitch dark.
He finally noticed that the groaning had stopped. "Who's there?" he called, his voice a hoarse croak that echoed rustily about the room. He listened intently for an answer but, as none came, realised suddenly that he was alone and that the groaning must have come from him as consciousness returned. With that realisation he became aware of the pain clamouring through his abused body and, as if in sympathy, the memory of what had happened to him flooded back.
Actor groaned again but this time it wasn't from the pain. How could he have been so stupid, so blind? he chastised himself. True, the woman had been beautiful and wealthy too by the look of her clothes but that was no excuse for falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book. She had caught him, hook, line and sinker, luring him outside to where her two compatriots were waiting to bundle him, blindfolded, into the back of the a car. The Italian had no idea why he had been kidnapped or even who was holding him. The only people he had seen were the woman and the two men who had systematically and thoroughly beaten him up. They could have been German agents for all he knew but, although neither of the men had spoken, the woman was undoubtedly English. Not that that meant anything: the Nazis had agents of all nationalities. The whole idea seemed ludicrous, however. Why on earth would the Nazis want him when there were so many more important men currently in London? Unless, of course, they wanted to use him to get at Garrison.
That thought stirred him into motion and he rolled over, crawling on hands and knees until he found a wall. He sank down against it thankfully, even that small movement sending pain screaming through his nerves. He dropped his head in his hands and dragged in several deep breaths, trying to control the nausea that threatened and mentally catalogued his injuries. As far as he could tell no major bones were broken though a couple of the fingers on his right hand were throbbing ominously beneath the swelling. He vaguely remembered throwing up that hand to protect his head at one point and having it knocked away painfully. By the feel of it, they had done a number on his face as well as the repeated blows to his body. His face felt stiff and puffy and one eye was swollen almost shut. He hated to think what colour he'd come out of this. He'd probably match Garrison.
Garrison. By now the others must have gone back to the manor and told the lieutenant what had happened. Or rather what they thought had happened. Garrison, thinking that he had outstayed his pass because of a woman again, would be furious, probably even now setting the MPs on him, though at that moment Actor would have welcomed them, greeting them with open arms if only they would walk through the door. The likelihood of that, however, was remote. No-one knew where he was except his kidnappers. The only way out was to escape himself, he decided. He refused to consider that he wouldn't make it out but some small, unbidden voice at the very back of his mind determined that he would die before he broke, whatever they wanted of him.
Through the pounding in his head, Actor heard someone outside the door, fumbling with the bolts. He pulled himself up, clutching at the wall to steady himself, determined to meet his persecutors on his feet and felt his stomach rebel. The sudden blinding light as the door opened stabbed through his head and he crumpled back to the floor, retching helplessly. Someone came into the room and a booted foot caught him in the ribs. He sprawled were the kick had left him, squinting up at the man who stood over him through a haze of pain. There was something vaguely familiar about the silhouette. Recognition danced at the edge of his mind, confirmed as he heard the lightly accented voice.
"Hello, Actor. Remember me?"
"Lieutenant." Chief approached Garrison reluctantly, wary of the man's uncertain temper.
"Yeah?" Garrison growled, making no effort to bite back the irritation in his voice. It wasn't Chief's fault that Actor was AWOL but, with the conman still absent after 36 hours, Garrison wasn't feeling very charitable towards anyone.
"The lad from the village brought this for you." Chief held out a package.
Garrison came back to his desk and sat down to scrutinise it curiously. It was a plain, legal-size envelope, bulky at one end, with only his name and rank and the address of the manor on it. There was no return address and no postmark. "You said it came up from the village?" he queried, turning it over and over in his hands, strangely reluctant to open it.
Chief nodded. "Yeah, the kid said it was left at the post office for you. They thought it might be important so they sent him up with it." He hovered by the desk as Garrison opened the envelope, curious to know what it contained.
Craig tipped the contents out; a letter, another smaller envelope and a small cloth-wrapped bundle. He picked up the letter and scanned it, his breath catching sharply as its import sank in.
"Warden?" Chief asked anxiously as the lieutenant ripped open the second envelope, all the colour draining out of his face.
"Go get the others," Craig managed to order harshly. He hardly noticed as Chief left the room at a run, his eyes riveted on the photographs clutched in his hand. He cursed himself for not listening to the gut instinct that had told him something was wrong. He should have known better, should have trusted Actor. His hand strayed to the final package and he toyed with it, afraid, in light of the photographs, of what he might find. Taking a steadying breath, he opened the cloth.
When the three Gorillas charged into the room he was cradling Actor's dogtags in one hand, thumb unconsciously stroking over the ominous brown stain on them.
"Lieutenant?" Goniff probed, alarmed as Chief had been by the look on Garrison's face.
Craig pushed the photos over the desk. "Actor has been kidnapped," he said baldly, watching the surprise rippling over their faces turning to horror as Casino spread the pictures over the desk top. Actor, chained to the wall and covered with blood, was hardly recognisable as the elegant man who had walked into that fateful bar 48 hours earlier.
"Who?" Casino growled.
Garrison shrugged, one good hand raking through his hair. "Don't know," he admitted. "The note just said that if I wanted him back I'm to meet them tonight with ten thousand pounds."
Goniff whistled at the amount. "What are you going to do?"
Craig shook his head helplessly. "I have no idea. I'd better go see Colonel Howlett though." He stood and gathered the scattered package together reluctantly.
"What do you want us to do?" Chief asked him quietly.
Garrison thought for a moment. "Go down to the village and see if you can find out where this came from. Apart from that don't do anything until I get back. Okay?" he checked and then left to find the colonel.
Aware that he was not Howlett's favourite person at any time and least of all at the moment, Craig was reluctant to face the man. The colonel had never made any secret of the fact that he neither liked nor approved of Garrison's unit but even he would see that some action must be taken.
He found Howlett in his office.
"Lieutenant," the colonel acknowledged Garrison's salute briskly, his gaze taking in his junior officer's shaken appearance with some alarm.
"This has just delivered to me, sir," Garrison said flatly, handing over the package, refusing to allow Howlett's look to intimidate him. He watched as the older man's eyes widened at the sight of the note and his face close into rigid lines as he reached the photographs. Howlett might not care for Actor much but the sight of his battered body still left the man coldly furious.
"Tell me everything. When, how, who," he ordered, waving Garrison to a chair.
Craig sat, debating where to start. "From what I can gather, he was snatched two evenings ago whilst on leave in London," he finally began, going on to tell the colonel everything the Gorillas had reported to him. "This arrived half an hour ago," he finished, aware that Howlett's face had become steadily more expressionless as the recital continued.
"You knew he was missing two days ago and it didn't concern you?" The colonel's sarcasm was biting. "You didn't think maybe he'd deserted, that the MPs should have been alerted?"
"No, sir," Craig said firmly. "Actor's had plenty of chances to run before now and never taken them. I thought he'd be back after a couple of days with this woman."
"And you condone that?"
Garrison nodded, knowing that Howlett would never understand the delicate balance of power and trust between him and his team. In small matters such as this Craig was prepared to let Actor have his head, knowing that when it really mattered the conman would be at his back all the way. "It didn't seem important. While I'm still in plaster, there won't be any missions for us."
"Any idea who's got him?" The grim set of Howlett's jaw promised that the breach of discipline would not be forgotten but it could wait until after Actor had been retrieved.
Craig shook his head again. "I would say it's personal rather than anything to do with us. They asked for money straight out, nothing else," he added in explanation. "Besides, why would the Germans snatch him? He doesn't know anything; he's not important enough."
"You are," Howlett pointed out. "They could be using him to get at you."
"No, that doesn't feel right, sir," he disagreed. "If the object was to blackmail me into betraying secrets there would have been threats. Whoever has Actor must know that I'd report to you."
Howlett considered his argument for a moment. "I agree. So if it is personal, where does that leave us? Who's got a grudge against him?"
Garrison let out a breath of despairing laughter that soon faded into a heartfelt sigh. "Who hasn't? It could be almost anyone. Someone he's conned. An avenging husband." Craig shrugged helplessly. "I've got Chief checking where the package came from but I doubt if it will help. The only other lead we've got is the woman in the hotel."
"You know the official line on this sort of situation," Howlett said. Craig nodded tightly. The army would not, could not, give in to blackmail. Actor would be hung out to dry. "However," the colonel continued. "These are not normal times, which gives us a bit more leeway. I will not leave one of my men in some sadistic bastard's hands without even trying to get him back."
Craig let out the breath he had been holding on a sigh of relief. He had been deathly afraid that that was exactly what Howlett had been going to do. "Thank you, sir," he murmured.
Howlett searched his face. "Don't thank me yet. I may feel that way but whatever is done will be unofficial. If anyone ever finds out about this I will deny all knowledge. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Garrison acknowledged, understanding all too well the responsibility he was taking. If the army strung anyone up, it would be him.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Try and find him. Someone must have seen the woman, knows who she is. Goniff has still got contacts in London. They might have heard something."
The colonel's look was sceptical. "In fourteen hours? And if you don't find him?"
"Then I'll keep the rendezvous," Craig said simply. "He's one of my people."
"And the money?"
"I have friends who can provide it," Craig told him cautiously, unwilling to name names.
"Very well." Howlett didn't ask any more but he could guess who the lieutenant meant. He remembered vividly and still with anger the influence Garrison's British friends could wield. "Keep me informed. If you do decide to meet them, I want to know."
"Yes, sir." Garrison saluted and left the room, heading back to his own office, his thoughts grim. Despite what he had said to the colonel about finding Actor, he admitted to himself that their chances were very slim, probably non-existent. London was a big place and it was all too easy for someone to just disappear without trace in the stews of the city, never to be seen again. Even if he paid the ransom there was no guarantee that he would get Actor back.
Casino was waiting for him. "Chief and Goniff have gone down to the village," he explained at Garrison's look. "Figured I'd stay here and go through Actor's things. See if there was any clues."
"And were there?" Garrison asked, cocking a hopeful eye at the cracksman.
Casino shook his head. "Nothing that I could see. That man doesn't believe in hoarding anything. That little black book of his might have helped but he was carrying that with him. What did the old man have to say?"
"Officially he will do nothing but if we can find Actor before the deadline, he'll give me whatever backup I need. If we can't and it comes to paying the ransom, then the decision is mine. As are the consequences if anything goes wrong," Garrison told him steadily, pulling the telephone towards him as he spoke. "Go scrounge up a car. I need to make a few call before we leave..."
Craig sank down into the chair wearily, head dropping momentarily into his hands in despair. The four of them had spent hours scouring London, asking questions, following up every stray scrap of information they received no matter how slight or improbable and all for nothing. It was after nine and he still had no word of Actor's whereabouts or who his kidnappers were. It seemed hopeless.
He sat up straight as the three remaining Gorillas entered the room but one look at them told him that they had nothing either. He slumped back.
"Are you alright, Warden?" Casino asked in concern, his worry about Actor fading momentarily in the face of the strain etched in every line of his officer's body.
"Yeah, I'm alright," Craig said, brushing aside the exhaustion, more emotional than physical, that seemed to permeate every fibre of his body, ignoring the throbbing ache in his still healing arm. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag, the nicotine rush calming his tattered nerves a little. "Okay, we've got less than two hours until the deadline," he continued, stating what they all knew all too well. "So let's go through what we've got one more time. See if anything fits."
"We ain't got nothing, Warden," Casino exclaimed harshly. "Nada. Not a thing."
"There's got to be something."
"What? He went off with some broad but no-one even remembers seeing her, let alone knows who she is," Goniff chipped in.
"The package was left at the village post office but it was busy in there and the girl behind the counter didn't notice it until after the post van had delivered. It could have been left any time, by anyone," Chief reported once more.
"Ah, hell!" Garrison came to his feet, pacing restlessly around the room, his frustration at the situation finally boiling over. "It would be easier to find him if we were on a mission," he exclaimed. "At least then we'd know the Germans had him. As it is..." he trailed off, one expressive hand completing the phrase.
"So what are you going to do, Warden?" Chief asked quietly, looking up at Garrison from under his brows, only the hands restlessly playing with one of his knives betraying his own tension.
"What choice have I got? I'll have to meet them."
"You'd do that for Actor? Pay the ransom. Where the hell are you going to get ten grand from?" Casino said not quite incredulously.
Garrison's mouth quirked into a smile and the familiar gleam crept into his eyes. "Oh, I've got the money, that was no problem," he said, motioning towards the small case sitting beside his chair. "But who the hell said anything about paying?"
"Lieutenant?" Goniff squawked, sitting up abruptly.
"Listen up, guys, this is what I want you to do..."
The alley was dark and creepy, the familiar black-out conditions still prevailing throughout the city despite the infrequency now of the big German bomb raids that had marked the early years of the war, but Garrison didn't allow it to bother him as he strode down to the agreed meeting place, Goniff at his back. He had operated in far more dangerous situations deep inside enemy territory where any false move could spell his death but here, in the heart of London, the worst that could happen was being busted by the police although, given the stakes, that could mean disaster for them all, Actor especially.
He came to a halt under a lamp-post situated about halfway along the alley and, leaning one shoulder against it casually, peered at his watch by the dim beam of a flash light that Goniff produced from one of his cavernous pockets.
"We're early," Garrison reported, shrugging deeper into his jacket to ward off the night chill, at the same time easing his gun in it's shoulder holster. Although dressed as he was in civilian clothes he should not have been armed, Craig was glad for the familiar and reassuring weight of the weapon. He hoped that he wouldn't have to use it but he was prepared to if necessary. Actor's life was at stake as was all of theirs if the kidnappers tried to double cross him, deciding that once they had the money it was better to leave no witnesses to the crime.
Somewhere in the distance a clock chimed and, as the last echo faded away, Craig heard a car engine and waited tensely as a big Bentley turned into the other end of the alley and pulled to a stop twenty yards away. As two men got out of the car a third man, uncaring of the blackout laws, flicked the headlights on, flooding the alley with light. Garrison glanced around the shadows, relieved to see no-one hiding there and then turned his attention back to the two men approaching. One he dismissed immediately as hired muscle but the other, well dressed and smooth, was surely the boss. Craig felt a small start of surprise that he had come in person but concealed it as he stepped forward to meet the other man, gesturing for Goniff to stay where he was.
"I hear you've been busy, Lieutenant Garrison, trying to find your man." The accent was English and refined though it lacked the effortless smoothness that went with true breeding and Garrison immediately summed the man up as someone who had come up the hard way and, now that he had money, wanted to pretend that he was a gentleman, as witness the ostentatiousness of the Bentley. For all that, however, Craig didn't make the mistake of thinking that he wasn't dangerous.
Craig shrugged in answer. "Let me see him," he demanded.
"The money?"
Craig held up his right hand, the case securely cuffed to his wrist. "It's all there," he said quietly. "Ten thousand in nice new notes. You can count it if you like. After I see Actor," he added, his voice hardening.
The two men weighed each other up for a moment more, the Englishman taking in Garrison's battered face and plastered left arm before raising a hand. At the signal the man remaining at the car opened the back door and leant in, finally dragging a fourth man out, propping him up as he sagged against the car bonnet. Hearing Goniff's snarl, Garrison stiffened and he barely suppressed his own reaction as the light revealed Actor's battered state. He did at least appear to be conscious which was something.
Grim faced, he turned back to his opponent and opened the case, holding it steady as the man flicked through a couple of bundles of notes before replacing them with a nod.
"Very nice, Lieutenant."
"I'm glad you approve," Garrison returned sarcastically, unlocking the cuff and handing the case to the other man. "That's my career you're holding. Goniff," he ordered. "Go help with Actor."
"Not so fast, gentlemen," the Englishman countered with a smile, guns suddenly appearing in both his and his goon's hands. "You didn't really think I'd just let you walk away, did you?"
Garrison, half expecting the move, had his own weapon out almost before the other man had begun speaking. "No," he confirmed. "That's why I brought this," he said, gesturing towards his gun.
The man laughed. "Two against one? Don't be stupid, lieutenant, I can kill you where you stand. And with me holding both Actor and the money, you won't shoot me."
Craig smiled casually. "I know. But they will," he said as the distinctive click of rifles being cocked echoed through the quiet night. "Casino, Chief."
The two Gorillas emerged from the shadows where they had been hiding for the past hour, Chief on the flat roof of one of the warehouses that lined the alley and Casino appearing behind the car from piled rubbish.
"Drop your weapons. Now," Garrison snapped as the two men hesitated. "Goniff, get Actor back into the car. Chief, Casino," he called as he backed towards the car, gun held firmly on the two men under the lamp-post. "Don't even think about moving," he warned, aware that behind him Casino had dealt with the driver, leaving him unconscious in the gutter and that Chief had slid behind the wheel of the big car. "Move it," he barked as soon as he got in the car. Chief slammed the car into reverse and they shot out of the alley backwards, tyres squealing.
"We did it!" Goniff exulted as, minutes later, they hit the open roads.
"Yeah." Craig echoed his grin, feeling the high action always gave him burning through his blood. He twisted in his seat. "How's Actor?" he asked, anxiously scanning the man slumped between the others.
"I've been better," the conman mumbled, opening one swollen eye to peer at Garrison woozily before lapsing back into semi-consciousness.
Actor pulled himself up in bed, leaning back thankfully on the pillows Goniff hastily arranged behind him, as Garrison walked into the room.
"Warden," he greeted with an attempt at a smile, appreciating once again what Garrison must have gone through since the fight in the pub had left his own face multi-coloured.
"Actor," he acknowledged, seating himself on the end of the bed, all the chairs being occupied by the other cons. "You're looking better," he added, reflecting that although the Italian's multiple bruises had turned a lovely shade of purple, Actor was indeed looking better than he had when they rescued him three days ago. The beating had been severe, leaving him with three broken fingers, a cracked rib and a concussion that had had him throwing up every time he moved over the last two days. The broken bones would take a while to heal but at least the concussion seemed to be wearing off now.
"So who were they?" Craig asked bluntly.
"His name is Maurice, Jack Maurice. Ten years ago he was a bookie in Southampton but he had business in most of the towns along the south coast. I, ah, persuaded him to part with rather a lot of money. For some reason he seems to have held it against me, I can't think why," he ended whimsically.
"Yeah, we noticed," Casino interjected dryly.
"Lieutenant," Actor continued seriously. "Thank you for getting me out of there. For a while I honestly didn't think I was going to make it. Those bastards enjoyed what they did to me. And he watched."
"Men like that always do," Garrison told him bleakly. "You made a fool out of him before, he lost face. The money didn't matter as much as his revenge."
"Hey, what happened to the money?" Casino asked suddenly.
"I let them take it."
"You what?!" The cons exclaimed in unison.
"You gave them ten grand? What the hell for? You could have picked it up again," Casino continued.
"We should have killed them for what they did to Actor," Chief added.
"The money doesn't matter, guys. It served it's purpose," Garrison said calmly, a smile hovering around his mouth.
"But..."
"Warden?" Actor queried, over-riding Goniff's protest as he saw the familiar gleam.
Garrison laughed. "I just had a call from a friend in London. The Police arrested Jack Maurice and three other men this morning for trying to pass counterfeit money," he reported with a wide grin.
"Lieutenant, you set him up!" Goniff said delightedly. "Remind me never to try to blackmail you."
"And I thought I was worth something," Actor protested mournfully.
Garrison met his eyes. "You are," he said quietly. "You all are. To me. You're priceless."