"Buon Dio!" Actor turned and called over his shoulder, "You see! I told you they'd be here." The Italian leaned his rifle against the wall as he started to moved into the room. All he could see was his two teammates wrapped in bloody bandages and laid out on the floor. They should have come here first, he should have insisted. All that time wasted searching through the town and they were here...
Casino fought his impulse to go to Goniff and Chief. There were only just the two of them and by the looks of it they couldn't've got themselves out here... He laid a restraining hand on the con artist's arm "I wouldn't move very fast if I was you."
Turning back to face him Actor pulled his arm out of the other man's grasp and demanded "Why? What are you talking about?"
The safecracker motioned with his chin and said quietly. "Take a look over in the corner." He hesitated a moment then held his arms away from his body and dropped his pistol on the floor.
The late afternoon sunlight that spotted the room through the torn curtains glinted off the barrel of a weapon. They could just make out the Lieutenant watching them from the shadows.
Actor started forward into the room again only to be held back, "I think I better go first Herr Major…" Shrugging out of the heavy overcoat he let it drop to the floor, "Unless you really want a hole in that nice uniform a yours?"
Casino let his eyes travel along the smear of blood until it disappeared into the shadows. They were gonna be in big trouble if the Lieutenant didn't get around to recognizing them pretty damn fast. He took a deep breath and stepped around the con man and started across the room, calling out with more confidence than he really had, "Come on, babe, shootin' us for bein' late's a little over the top, don't ya think?"
He moved carefully, he still couldn't see the Warden's face but the barrel of the pistol dropped a fraction of an inch. When he reached him he was able to lift it out of his hand and jam it down in his belt as Garrison peered up at him through glassy eyes. Casino took another deep breath as the Warden struggled to get to his feet and enjoyed the fact that he was still alive. Reaching out he caught the Lieutenant before he could stumble and fall face first on the floor.
"Take it easy Warden. We got it covered now." Casino tried to ease the him back down on the floor and was surprised to have a fight on his hands as their commander struggled to get past him, back to the middle of the room where Actor was checking on Goniff and Chief. "Jeeze, settle down, will ya." But when he felt the pistol being pulled out of his belt Casino grabbed a wad of jacket in each hand and shook Garrison until he heard his teeth rattle. "Come on Freddy! Knock it off!"
The Warden's head snapped up at that and the look he turned on his safecracker was almost in focus. He rested a hand on the man's shoulder and gave him a split second's warning, "I think I need to sit down," before his knees buckled and he sank back down onto the floor.
Casino kept hold of him and swung him around so he could lay out flat. "You back in the real world, Lieutenant? You gonna lay there nice and quiet so I can go over there and help Actor?" When he got a nod for his answer he twisted around to help with the other two. Jeeze! This was just great! Three of 'em busted up at once. Their 'perfect job' had sure turned into a nightmare. He shot a quick glance behind him, he still didn't like the look in the Warden's eyes.
"Actor, you wanna take that damn jacket off before he goes nuts again and kills both of us?!"
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"What d'you think?"
Actor rocked back on his heels. "I'm amazed he got them out of there on his own." The small first aid pouch the con man carried hadn't come close to meeting their needs. They'd used the pile of towels and linens Garrison had collected and even scrounged the house for more. Other than soap and water there wasn't anything else of use to be found. "But none of them are in any shape to travel."
All three men had wounds from the debris caused by the bombing. Goniff's was the largest, running from one side of his abdomen to the other. The laceration was shallow but without anything better than the binding they'd created to secure it, every time the little cockney moved it opened up and started to bleed again. Chief had been hit from behind, a chunk of concrete when the gas main blew the con man reasoned, that had left him with a concussion and a stone fragment in the back of his shoulder, that according to Goniff, the Warden had managed to take out. Though the young man responded when Actor spoke to him, he still hadn't managed to wake fully. Garrison had dozens of small wounds, most of them to his legs, the worst a chip of stone that had buried itself in the bone just below his left knee. Try as he might Actor couldn't prise it free, there wasn't enough projecting up to get a hold of and the con artist was reluctant to go after it with a knife, he didn't want to risk snapping it off. All he could do was carefully wash and wrap it against further damage.
They'd blown the first rendezvous with the sub, and unless they got some help there was no way they'd make the second meet, and there were only the two. Casino leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. They'd waited for the contact to come out and check on the place, figuring with all the trouble in town he'd know they'd need help, but nobody came. The guy probably bought it in that damn bombing raid.
"Those idiots've gotta start coordinatin' the jobs over here, or I'm gonna refuse to come on these little capers."
Actor laughed in spite of his worry. "I'm sure Colonel Reynolds will understand and agree with your decision completely."
The burly explosives expert opened his eyes and frowned. "I'm gonna kill him." He'd lost track of how many times he'd made that threat, but this time he meant it. "If that guy knew what was gonna go down, and sent us over here anyway, I'm gonna kill him."
"Reynolds didn't know, Casino. He'd have told me."
"And you'd've told us, right Warden?" Casino looked across the room at Garrison. They couldn't persuade him to stay down, he was propped up in the corner convinced he was in good enough shape to keep watch over the other two while they went out to try and make contact with the underground.
"Quiet, both of you!" Actor shoved up onto his feet and took a position behind the door. They could all hear rapid light steps heading towards the house. The Warden's gun was already in his hand as Casino took cover and aimed at the door.
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It was silent, no one breathed, no one moved. The wind rattled the branches that leaned over and rested on the roof of the farmhouse. They could hear the soft sound of fine gravel hitting the north wall as the gusts pushed it around the yard. The board in front of the door gave a slight squeak, the knob started to move and the door slowly swung into the room.
Casino tensed and then clambered to his feet as Actor closed the door and pulled the young woman into a hug. "Lady, you could get your head blown off pullin' a stunt like that." Motioning with his pistol he shot Actor an irritated look. "I guess this is the dame from the party?"
"Camille, what happened? Where's your father?" Garrison called to her from the corner as he tried to get to his feet.
She stepped across the room and sank to the floor next to him. "The bombers, they hit the shop where he was waiting." They shared a long look and he pulled her into his arms a moment before she pushed away, ran the back of her hand across her eyes and continued. "I'm sorry, I couldn't get here sooner. The Germans have patrols out, someone reported seeing people in the street outside the headquarters building. They already have road blocks set up. They are searching for you, you must leave now or they will find you here."
The farm seemed remote enough but it wasn't far from the town and if they'd finished there and were making a systematic search of the surrounding countryside now it was well within the circle Garrison would throw around the town if he were in charge.
The Warden motioned Casino to him with a wave of his hand. "Get me up." The tone of his voice left no doubt that it was an order and not a request. When he was on his feet he tried to take a step on his own and had to grab hold of his safecracker to keep from falling. Camille slipped under his arm to support him and he shoved the east coast thief away.
"Help Actor with the others" Turning to the girl he asked. "How'd you get out here?"
"Along the path that leads up from the village."
"Can we get out that way?"
"No." She shook her head as she looked over at the others. "It's too rough, you would never make it."
"How wide is it? Would a postal van make it?"
"Not all the way, but yes!" The vehicle the village post master used was small but sturdy and powerful enough to climb the steep winding roads that ringed the town. "It runs past here, over the hills and into the next small valley. There's a place where it comes close to the road, if you can make it that far you may be out of the area the Germans will search."
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"Verdammen Sie es! What's taking him so long?"
Actor watched as the Warden struggled along, he'd found a stout stick laying in the weeds outside the farmhouse and insisted on using it, leaving the others free to deal with Goniff and Chief. He wasn't going far in either direction, but he was definitely pacing off his irritation and concern.
"It hasn't been that long." The con man finished adding another layer to Goniff's dressing and slid out of the van. "He'll be here."
Garrison turned on his second. "I never should've let him go!" They'd gotten out, as far as he could tell they were outside the cordon the Germans had thrown around the town, but Casino insisted he could shove the car over the side of the road somewhere and keep the search parties busy enough with that they'd have a clear run to the coast…get the pressure completely off of them, and he'd fallen for it.
When the Warden pulled the map from his belt pack Camille had quickly located the farm and traced the path along behind it, indicating its winding course back into town and the track it took through the hills above the house. It swung close to the road in two places, the closest was where they stopped and let Casino off. He swore it wasn't far to the ditch where the car was hidden. He promised he'd dump the vehicle and meet them, run all the way if he had to, to get there…
"Where in the hell is he?!"
Actor watched as the Lieutenant started to pace again. This just wouldn't do. Stepping into his path he blocked his progress and reached out and took the stick away from him and tossed it into the bushes. Slipping under the Warden's arm he forced him to the back of the van. It wasn't hard the wounds in his legs had opened up as soon as he'd gotten on his feet back in the farmhouse. Garrison should have passed out before this but he was too stubborn to give in to a minor thing like blood loss and he was too worried about Casino and the rest of them. The big man propped his commander against the back of the van and climbed inside. Turning he hooked his hands under Garrison's arms, ignoring his protests, and hauled him up onto the floor, pulling him back where he could lean against one of the mail sacks.
Climbing down he tossed a pistol in the Warden's lap and leveled a steady gaze at their hard headed leader. "Don't even think about getting out of there." Dusting his hands on his pants he turned and stalked up the trail in search of their missing member.
Garrison sat frowning after his second a moment before starting to shove himself back towards the opening.
"Hey Warden, lookit this." Goniff grinned at him, and patted a groggy Chief on the hand.
"Thank God!"
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"Alright! So I'm not gonna win any races. I got here didn't I?"
The little color the Lieutenant had left disappeared at that. Actor thought Casino should be glad he'd managed to take that stick away from the Warden.
"Of all the idiotic…" But he couldn't finish, he'd started shaking too badly.
Casino stretched up and pulled a couple of empty sacks off a hook on the side wall of the van and wrapped them around Garrison's shoulders. He couldn't see what all fuss was about, he'd only been gone twenty minutes more than he figured… And the dodge worked, that's why he was late, he'd stayed to make sure. He found himself a nice steep little cliff and the car had gone over with a bang. The explosion and fire drew the Krauts in like a magnet. If there was one left within a five mile radius that wasn't standin' on the road enjoyin the bonfire and makin' bets as to how many saboteurs had just gone up in smoke it was 'cause he was deaf and blind and wouldn't cause them any trouble anyway.
"Don't make me do it." Garrison mumbled.
"What's that Warden?" The guy'd stopped shakin so hard, but he was white as a sheet and startin' to sweat. Casino pulled him off the mail sack and tugged him around where he could lay him out flat.
Garrison was fighting a losing battle to keep his eyes open and his words were a little bit slurred. "Don't make me write that letter to your folks."
That brought him up short and it took a minute before he could answer. "Not a chance Warden… Not this time."
But by then Garrison was out of it and didn't hear him, he wouldn't have been able to hear one a those damn bombs if it'd landed right next to 'em on the road. Casino laid another couple a sacks across the Warden's legs and then twisted around to rest his back against the side of the van. He balanced the automatic rifle across his knees, he was the only one in the back capable of handling a weapon.
Actor slammed the doors to the van closed and walked around to the cab, the vehicle rocked as he climbed up behind the wheel and started off along the road. It wasn't very far, if they were lucky they'd be enjoying the hospitality of another underground group in less than three hours. Camille sent word ahead and the next group was on the watch for them. Two hours out he finally started to relax. Just short of three hours out he was facing a German road block.
He watched as the soldiers surrounded the van, checked in the mirror and prayed that they wouldn't open the back doors. Stepping out of the cab he turned his most bemused smile on the young man in front of him, but before he could open his mouth he had a rifle pointed at the center of his chest.