Chapter 1

Garrison looked around at his group as they waited on the deck of the fishing boat. On the seat in front of the wheelhouse, Casino had Goniff this time, trying to keep him from throwing up. Chief and Actor were standing at the far side, talking, watching the water, and Actor smoking his pipe. Craig turned to the bow of the ship to watch his sister happily catching the warm wind in her face.

He still wasn't sure why Terry had decided to come along. Maybe it was to get away from the cold and snow in England. That didn't seem right as they were used to eight months of cold and snow in Montana. It could be just because the girl so loved Italy. The winters they had spent in Rome with their aunt had a different meaning for each of them. Craig remembered the lessons and loves he had experienced. Terry had embraced the land, the culture and the people. She would probably be just as happy living there as on the ranch. Maybe more so now that she had been away from home so long.

They had taken a sub to Sicily where they had picked up this fishing boat to take them to the mainland. Their mission was to break into a safe at a villa during a party and replace some documents in a safe with forged ones. Actor would be an Italian dignitary at the party of mixed German and Italian officers and nobility. Terry's presence was not needed, but the con man had shown no objection to taking her along. They both knew the girl's Italian was fluent Roman as was Actor's. Well, she could probably use the practice.

Craig chuckled to himself. His sister had taken to the con game like she had been born to it. After her initial doubts, Terry had readily excelled in the lessons on sophistication and elegance. Garrison had experienced his own doubts when the con man and his sister kept up the routine of kissing, touching and conversing in other languages at the mansion. At first, he was unsure of Actor's motives, but soon saw the rightness of his theory. Terry could at times be the Italian's irreverent sister and at other times be a high class mistress or a duchess. It wasn't quite second nature to her yet, but it was improving.

Garrison looked between the two with contemplation. He still wondered if there had not been an affair in London between his second and his sister. Actor had flat denied it. Terry had called him an ass. She didn't seem to mind when the aristocratic Italian spent the night with some woman. In fact he had seen her nudge the con man and point out a particularly beautiful woman for him in a bar in London not long ago, chiding him because he had not noticed her first.

Terry left the bow and wandered back to the wheelhouse. She stroked the top of Goniff's head. "How are you doing," she asked the Cockney.

"I'm dying," he replied, still sounding miserable.

"It shouldn't be much longer," reassured the girl.

About ten minutes later, they pulled up to the dock. Dressed as ordinary working people, the six disembarked. Casino was carrying the duffle with their clothes and Actor's makeup kit. Terry had Goniff by the arm. Craig and Actor led the way and Chief brought up the rear. They slowly ambled down the street, eventually coming to a warehouse. Actor did all the talking to their contact in Italian. Garrison found himself watching between Actor and Terry, realizing Terry could understand the conversation better than he could and could alert him if there was a problem. Maybe there were advantages to having his sister along.

They were given an open backed truck. Actor drove, with Terry in the middle and Craig on the passenger side. The other three sat on benches in the back. As they drove out into the country, Terry gazed around at the scenery with a smile on her face. She glanced at the two men. Actor was dressed in faded blue work clothes, shirt open at the neck, sleeves rolled partway up him forearms, one elbow resting on the window edge. Craig was dressed similarly, but was not quite so relaxed. It could almost have been a nice leisurely drive in the country.

"Are you happy now?" asked Craig.

Terry nodded. "I'd be happier if there wasn't a war on, but at least I'm back in Italy."

"Just why did you want to come?" asked her brother.

"I don't know," said Terry. "Something just told me I should come along."

"The practice won't hurt," remarked Actor.

They drove for another hour until they hit the first roadblock. Actor slowed the truck down and pulled to a stop. He had a dull, unintelligent look on his face. Craig pretended to be sleeping against the door frame. Terry adopted a bored, uninterested expression. A Wehrmacht soldier walked up to the open driver's window and asked for their papers in German. Actor looked at him blankly and reached over to bat Terry clumsily on the leg. Her head jerked around to look at the German.

"Ach, verzeihung," she apologized in Italian accented German. "Mein Onkel kann nicht Deutsch gesprechen."

She reached inside Actor's shirt and pulled out his papers. Craig did not move as she pulled his papers from his pocket. Handing them over to the soldier, she then got hers from her handbag and handed them over also.

"Where are you going?" asked the German as he studied the documents.

"We heard there is factory work to be had up by Roma," explained Terry. "My uncle and I and these men from our village are going to see if we can get jobs."

The soldier looked at the vague expression on the Italian's face. "What is the matter with him?"

Terry smiled and patted Actor on the chest. "He is very strong," she said, "aber der kopf is kaput. North Africa."

"Ahh," the German nodded in understanding. He handed the papers back.

"Is it safe up ahead?" asked Terry, feigning concern. "I heard there was bombing last night."

"It is secure," assured the soldier. "There is a road crew about 10 kilometers ahead, but you should have no difficulty."

"Danke sehr," smiled Terry. She tucked Actor's papers back inside his shirt and told him in Italian he could drive on.

They drove a couple kilometers before Actor glanced at Terry. "Mein kopf is kaput?" he said indignantly.

Terry grinned. "Yes, Caro. And you looked the part so well. Not at all like a SS general."

Craig leaned forward to look at his second. "Don't you think you were taking a bit of a chance back there?"

"What? With Teresa?" asked Actor. "No. Your sister is very capable as you saw. She thinks well on her feet . . . or her culo." He said the last under his breath.

Craig shot a sharp look at the man, understanding the Italian word. His sister choked out a laugh.

"Oh, touché, Actor," she said. "I guess we're even."

"We are not anywhere close to even," said the con man haughtily.

They continued on. The road crew came as no surprise and they got past it without any problems. Another hour down the road and Craig directed Actor to turn up a dirt track. Winding around hills, they eventually arrived at what must have once been a nice villa. It was now overgrown with weeds and looked as though it had been abandoned for at least a year.

The men got out and spread out, looking to see that the area was secure. Terry scooted over and drove the truck into a dilapidated building that might once have been a stable. She waited by the door until Craig motioned it was clear for her to come to the house. Walking past remnants of an old herb garden, she looked at the olive and citrus trees bordering it.

The inside of the house was clean and comfortable. Someone had gone to great pains to make the outside of the villa look abandoned.

"Bet this was a nice place at one time," remarked Terry.

Actor studied the antique furniture. "Undoubtedly."

Goniff, over his seasickness, had scrounged in the kitchen and come up with cheese, bread and a bottle of Chianti. Chief slapped together cheese and bread into a sandwich and let himself out to take first watch.

Terry grabbed some food and parked next to Actor on the sofa. "Okay, who are we?"

Actor took the half of a sandwich Terry offered him. "We are Roberto and Teresa DeMarco. We own a villa in Switzerland and an apartment in Roma. We are pro-Mussolini, but we tolerate our Nazi 'benefactors.' We deal in antiquities."

"You deal in antiquities," said Terry. "You need to teach me that. Why are we down here?"

"To check on the apartment," replied Actor. "With the bombings and all there might be damage."

"Casino and I are your bodyguards," continued Garrison. "The Conte is thinking of relocating some oil paintings and antiques from the apartment up to Switzerland."

"So why are we going to France for pickup?" asked Terry. "Seems a long way to drive."

"Because if we are watched, we will be expected to go north," explained Actor. "To go back the way we came would draw suspicion."

"Can we make a detour in Roma?" ventured Terry.

"No!" said Craig firmly. "We don't have the time and it wouldn't be safe."

Terry bobbed her head in acknowledgement of the rightness of what he said. "What about the Riviera? I do good in Monte Carlo."

"Did you bring money?" asked her brother sarcastically.

"No," replied Terry. "But I bet he did." She cocked a thumb at Actor. She looked up into one of his inscrutable expressions. "Guess not."