Fevered Mind

Chapter 4

Actor kept a close eye on the Lieutenant. He was resting if not comfortably, at least silently on the stretcher on the floor of the plane. Stringy strands of dark blonde hair lay against a pale forehead. The paleness of Garrison's forehead contrasted with the dark circled eyes and fever brightened red cheeks. At best there wasn't much room to maneuver in the cramped quarters, but now the stretcher was taking up all the available floor space. The other three men were also silent. It was unusual for them, but this whole mission had been unusual. There was no bickering even though the men were scrunched up against each other, knees almost to chins as their legroom was taken up by the stretcher.

The confidence man chewed on a dilemma. What to do with the Warden. The man obviously needed medical care beyond what he could provide. The solution was to place him in the base hospital at Archbury under the care of Major Kaiser. However that brought up the next problem. When the Warden woke up enough again to start rambling, the things he was saying would be devastating to the group. The accusations he kept making against mainly Actor, but also the other men, would be enough for the Army to round up the cons and ship them immediately back to prison, or shoot them for treason, without giving them any chance to defend themselves. So the alternative was to spirit the ill man back to the Mansion and continue to try to combat the fever.

Garrison had been nothing but upright in his dealings with the men. He had given them support and chances for a better life when no one else would have bothered with them. He taught them, by word and example, and he covered for them when it was in his best interest to let them rot in prison. The man deserved to come first.

"So what are we gonna do when we get to England?" asked Casino.

Actor turned weary eyes on the safecracker. "He needs to be in a hospital."

"Yeah," agreed Casino. "But when he starts spoutin' off about us sidin' with the Krauts, we're dead meat." The safecracker figured anything aimed at one of them would be leveled at all of them.

"Warden needs to be in a 'ospital, so we leave 'im at the base 'ospital and we scarper."

"To where, Goniff," asked Actor tiredly. "We are in German uniform. Even if they allowed us to leave the base without the Lieutenant, how far do you think we would get?"

"Come on, Mate," scoffed the Englishman. "If you can get us out of Germany, you can get us out of England."

Actor nodded. "I could arrange that, but only if I had time to set things up, get us papers, uniforms, safe houses. We would not be able to go back to the Mansion. What would you have us do, Goniff? Ambush an officer's vehicle and kill him for his clothes and papers? An Allied officer, here in England? Could you in all conscience do that?"

The blond man's face fell. "I didn't much think o' that."

"And where would we go? Switzerland? Sweden?" asked Actor sarcastically.

"Too blinkin' cold, Mate," replied Goniff, not catching Actor's tone. "I was thinkin' more like Australia . . . New Zealand."

"Yeah, right, Goniff," said Casino with as much sarcasm.

"There's something else none of you are thinking of," said a low quiet voice. All eyes turned to the normally reticent Indian. "What about Terry? Warden's her brother. She oughta have a say in what we do with the Warden. She's taken care of him before when he's had the fevers." Chief looked directly at Actor. "I know it ain't the type of medicine you use, but what she does might work."

Actor chewed on that a bit. Chief was right, but he felt as though he were dumping the responsibility onto Teresa; responsibility that had become his. However, Teresa was family and they were not.

"Girl's got a right to say what happens to her brother," spoke Casino, musing aloud.

Actor nodded. "Okay, then are we in agreement, we call Teresa and if she wants him in the hospital we do that?" He looked at Goniff. "And then we attempt to scarper."

"Either way it gives us some kinda chance," said Chief. "I'm in."

Goniff nodded.

Casino looked at Actor. "Guess that's the plan."

As they neared the British coast the pilot came to the doorway from the cockpit. "You want me to have Doc Kaiser meet us on the runway?"

Actor put on a benign smile. "That won't be necessary. We are quite accustomed to caring for the Lieutenant when he gets these fevers. Though, we will call his sister first. She has the final say in this matter."

"Okay," said the pilot dubiously, turning and going back to the cockpit.

Casino looked at the expression on the confidence man fade from smiling to inscrutable. "Actor, you are so full of shit," he said with a small chuckle.

"It is keeping you alive!" snapped the con man.

Casino held his hands up, "Hey, I meant that as a compliment."

"'Ey, Casino," said Goniff softly. "Leave 'im be. "E don't find it funny. And 'e's doin' the best 'e can . . . for us and the Warden."

The safecracker looked at the Italian who had withdrawn back into himself and was ignoring the group. "Yeah, I know." Casino really was thankful Actor was along. He didn't envy the man the position he was in.

When Actor heard the plane's engines change pitch as they slowed, he pulled the last styrette from his pocket and administered the morphine to Garrison. Between the four of them, they wrapped the single blanket tightly around the lieutenant's body, keeping his arms and legs imprisoned so he couldn't fight or grab a weapon and to keep the injured leg protected.

When they landed, Garrison's stretcher was unloaded to the side of the plane. Chief hitched a ride on an air force jeep to where the Packard was parked. He nodded his thanks when he was let off and hurried to the car, driving it back to the waiting men.

Actor and Casino picked up the Lieutenant's fever-ridden limp body, feeling the heat through the blanket, and managed to wrestle him into the backseat of the car. Goniff was on the far side, pulling the top half of the unconscious man up against him. Casino got in and took the injured leg across his lap. Actor got in the front and Chief drove them back to the buildings where there was a public phone.

The men waited tensely in the car, their eyes never leaving their new leader, while Actor went to the phone and placed a call to the Mansion. They wanted off the base as quickly as possible, to get themselves and the Warden to their perceived safety of the Mansion.

Actor listened to the ringing on the other end and prayed Teresa was home. There was no answer. He placed another call to her flat. On the third ring, a groggy voice answered.

"Hello."

"Teresa, it is Actor."

"What's happened?" asked the girl with dread in her voice, suddenly wide awake.

"The Warden has been injured; a bullet wound to the leg," said Actor. "However, the problem is he is having one of his fevers. This one is different. He is out of his head and saying things that would not be advantageous to us if anyone in the military heard him." Actor paused. "He needs more medical attention than I can provide. He needs to be in a hospital." The con man omitted saying what effect that would have on the men.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. He knew the girl well enough to know she was weighing all the options. As it was he did not see the commanding officer of the base stride up to the car behind him and look inside.

"Bring him home," said Terry with certainty in her voice.

The colonel strode in rigid anger over to the confidence man. "Actor, what the hell is going on? My men reported Garrison was injured and you're trying to take him off the base. The man's unconscious!"

"Col. Gallagher," greeted Actor formally. "The Lieutenant is merely sedated for the plane trip."

"Bullshit! What are you trying to pull?" demanded Gallagher.

Actor had lowered the receiver from his ear at the officer's approach. "Actor. Actor!" he heard stridently coming from the phone. He raised it back to his ear. "Yes Teresa."

"That's Joe. Put him on the phone."

Actor held the phone out to the angry officer. "Teresa wishes to speak to you."

Gallagher took the phone, keeping a jaundiced eye on the taller confidence man. "Terry."

"Joe, let them go. I want Craig home. I can take care of this. I have been for months now," said Terry.

"Terr, you haven't seen him. He's unconscious. He needs to be in the hospital."

"I know. It's sedation." Terry's voice held just the right touch of pleading. "Joe, if the Army feels he isn't safe to lead the group, they'll discharge him on medical grounds. You know Craig wouldn't want that. Let me take care of my family, Joe. I can do it. I promise if he gets too bad I'll bring him back to the hospital."

"He looks too bad right now," said Joe, not liking any of this.

"Joe . . ."

Gallagher sighed and looked icily at Actor. "Okay, you can take him. But, Actor, if anything happens to him, I'll see you hang for it."

"It'll be fine Joe," assured Terry.

Gallagher handed the phone back to Actor and turned to his driver. "Go tell the gate they can let this car through." He grabbed a blanket from the back of his staff car before it left. Though it was beginning summer, it was still cold and they only had one blanket around Craig.

As the man drove away to follow that order, Joe turned back to Actor. The two men faced each other and silently glared. If Joe hadn't been so angry, he might have had second thoughts about the malevolent glare in the older man's eyes. After a hard moment, the colonel went to the back of the Packard and opened the door. He handed the blanket to Casino, took another worried look at his friend, then strode off toward the base hospital. Actor lifted the receiver to his ear and spoke calmly. "Teresa?"

"Actor," said Terry. "Don't worry about Joe. Just bring Craig home. I'll meet you there."

"We will be there shortly," replied the con man.

"Okay," said Terry.

After he heard the phone disconnect, Actor got into the front of the car. Chief wordlessly started it up and drove to the gate. There was an inaudible collective sigh of relief when they were allowed through.

GGGGG

Chief blew the horn for wounded as he pulled up to the mansion. The MG was parked at an angle as though it had been left there in a hurry. Terry was at the top of the steps waiting for them when he shut their car off. The Indian and the Italian got out first and Actor opened the back door on his side of the car. Casino got out and bent over to pull the Lieutenant out. When Goniff was freed, he jumped out and hurried around. The four men took hold of shoulders and legs and struggled to work together to get Garrison up the steps. Terry held the door open for them, craning to get a look at her brother as the men jostled into the house.

Actor's frustration level was at an all time high. "Give him to me!" he ordered angrily.

Terry skirted around him and up the stairs. She paused to look back in time to see Actor straining to lift the injured man over his shoulder and start up the stairs to a chorus of objections from behind him.

"Actor!" Terry cried in protest.

"Move!" he ordered.

Terry ran ahead of him as he carried Garrison up the stairs and down to his room. Terry stood on the opposite side of the bed as Actor laid the man down as gently as possible and arranged his limbs in a more comfortable position.

"Idioto," said Terry without heat.

"Well, that's one I haven't been called in the last forty-eight hours," muttered the Italian.

Terry shot a look at Actor, but turned her attention back to her brother. A hand went to feel the heat radiating from Craig's forehead. She didn't like his state of consciousness and lifted an eyelid to look at the pinpoint pupil beneath it.

"Morphine?" she asked.

"Yes," admitted Actor, with a guilty tone to his voice.

"Well, if you used it, I imagine it was necessary," she said, opening Craig's shirt to allow the cool air of the room to reach him. "Can you get aspirin in him?"

"It's not been helping," said Actor.

Terry looked down at the leg with the bulge of a bulky dressing under the pants. She pointed to it.

"It's a clean wound," reported the Italian. "No signs of infection. We just can't get the fever down."

Terry nodded. She turned toward the door and flapped her hands at the other three men to move them into the hall out of her way. She strode past them and headed for the stairs, the three trailing behind her. Partway down the stairs, she stopped and hung over the railing to reach the phone. The men moved on past her. Terry stuck the receiver in between her shoulder and her neck and dialed the number to the Fox. She looked down and saw the men watching her. Madge answered on the other end of the line.

"Hey, tell Gallagher I need ice, lots of it, out here right away," said Terry.

"You have wounded?" asked the Cockney woman.

"Yeah."

"Do you need anything else?" Madge asked.

Terry thought about the men listening to the conversation. "Ask Shiv if he has any penicillin."

"I'll send some with Kit," replied the woman. "Do you need Shiv? 'E should be back in tonight sometime."

"I don't know yet," replied Terry. "It's Craig. We can't use a hospital on this one. I'll call back if I need him. And thanks."

She hung up and leaned over to put the phone back on its table. Straightening, she looked at the three men watching her from the bottom of the steps.

"Any of you get hurt?" she said. When they all shook their heads, she continued. "There's food in the kitchen. I didn't have time for much. I did get your rooms ready before you got here."

"Thanks, Babe," said Casino, suddenly tired.

They turned to go to the kitchen. Terry started down the stairs. "Chief?"

The young man stopped and came back to the stairs. Terry waited for the other two to get to the kitchen before stopping on the bottom step close to Chief.

"Do me a favor, Rainey?" she asked in a whisper. "When you're done eating, could you go in Craig's office and use his phone? See if you can track down Chris and tell her to get on a train here."

"Sure," agreed the Indian. He looked uncomfortable.

Terry eyed him worriedly. "There a problem?"

"Not my place to say," said Chief hesitantly.

"Say it anyway," coaxed Terry.

"It's Actor. The Warden's been givin' him a real hard time. I think he's at the end of his rope."

Terry nodded. "I can see that. At some point, after you guys have gotten some food and some rest, somebody's going to have to tell me what happened." She was only a little surprised at the concern the younger man had for the older one. She smiled. "Don't worry about Actor. I'll take over watching Craig. I think I can get Actor to get some rest."

"Just be careful," warned Chief. "The Warden can get a little – uh – violent sometimes."

Terry nodded. "Get some food and call Chris, then get some sleep."

Chief nodded. "If you need help with the Lieutenant, you get me."

Terry smiled. "Thanks, Rainey."

She waited until Chief had gone around the corner toward the kitchen before going back upstairs. Stepping into her brother's room, she saw the back of Actor in a chair to the side of the bed. She stepped up to him and rested a hand on the con man's shoulder. Actor looked up at her. The laugh lines around his eyes were deep creases and there were dark shadows below haunted hazel eyes surrounded by the gray skin of exhaustion that was both physical and mental.

Terry's eyes moved to her brother and noted he was still not awake. She took in the unhealthy red blotches on pale cheeks. His skin was hot and sticky with fever. His hands and shoulders twitched uncomfortably.

"It okay to leave him alone for a minute or two?" she asked.

Actor glanced back at the Lieutenant. "I believe so," he said reluctantly.

Terry pointed her head toward the door and preceded him out into the hall. Not stopping, she walked next door to the Italian's room and waited for him to join her. She turned and stood looking up at him.

"You wish to know the story," he said wearily.

"I think that will take a long time," said Terry. "Have you gotten any sleep?"

Actor shook his head. "I couldn't."

"Didn't think so." She stepped closer and placed her hands on either side of his waist, never breaking eye contact with him. "It can wait. There's food in the kitchen if you want it first, but you need sleep, amico mio. I'll sit with Craig. I've got ice coming to help cool him down. There anything I need to know?"

Actor nodded. "He can become rather agitated."

"Actually I was told violent," she prompted.

He nodded again in reluctant agreement. "You need to be careful. If he gets bad, do not try to handle him yourself. Call us." Actor sucked in a cheek. "I should have insisted he go to the base hospital."

Terry released his waist and took his hands in hers. She could tell how exhausted he was, physically and mentally, by the fact he allowed her to touch him like she was. She rubbed her thumbs over the backs of his hands. "If he was saying things that can hurt you guys, then we both know that wasn't an option. He would want it this way."

In light of the accusations the Lieutenant had been making against him, he wasn't so certain of the Warden's wishes. Actor retreated behind the mask he usually wore. Still, he looked down at the hands wrapped around his and squeezed them, appreciating the returned pressure.

"Get some rest," said the girl gently, worried by the Italian's withdrawal that could only be from hurt. "I'm sure you've done more than your share of worrying about him. Let me do the worrying for awhile. I promise if he gets worse I'll get you."

Her hands released his and she stepped away, turning and going out of his room and back to Garrison's. Actor sat down on the edge of his bed. Part of him wanted to strip down and crawl under the covers, seeking the oblivion of sleep, but the other part of him realized he had not eaten in two days. With a sigh and great effort, he stood up and walked back into the hall.

Downstairs, Actor went into the kitchen. The other three men were at the table with bread, butter, a jar of peanut butter and one of jam. As he sat in one of the chairs, Goniff set a glass of milk in front of him. An empty plate was pushed over to him. He smiled in amusement. Actor couldn't remember the last time he had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. One hand reached out and picked up a slice of bread, laying it on the plate. He picked up the knife that was across the butter dish, scooped up a bit of the butter and spread it on the bread. Next he dipped into the jar of peanut butter, spreading that on top. A long arm reached out for the jar of strawberry jam and he spooned some of that on his bread with the spoon that was stuck in the sweet spread. Concentrating on what he was doing, he folded the bread on itself and took a bite.

Casino looked at him questioningly. "That all you're eatin'?" he asked.

Actor nodded. Despite his hunger, it was almost too much effort to eat that little bit. The strain and exhaustion were telling on him. He did not notice the stealthy looks of concern he was receiving from the other men.

Chief left the table first. He rinsed his plate and glass and left them in the sink. Without a word, he left the kitchen and disappeared into Garrison's office, closing the door behind him so the others would not see him using the phone.

Goniff got up from the table next. He too was looking dubiously at the half sandwich Actor was taking the last bite of. "You not eatin' any more than that?" he asked.

Actor shook his head.

"Don't like peanut butter?" asked Casino.

"It is not something I eat often," replied the con man vaguely.

"You done then?" Goniff reached for the jar of spread.

"Quite finished," said the Italian.

Goniff put the food away while the other two picked up the dirty dishes, rinsed them and added them to the sink. Together, they went back upstairs, all three pausing to peer into the Lieutenant's bedroom through the open door at Terry wringing out a wet cloth from a basin and laying it across her brother's forehead. Garrison seemed to be sleeping, but restless. Leaving him in the girl's capable hands, they each went to their respective rooms and shut the doors.

About ten minutes later, Chief appeared silently at the open door and motioned for Terry to come out. They stood in the hallway, both keeping an eye on the recumbent officer.

"Chris is taking the eleven o'clock train," said the Indian in a whisper.

"Thanks," said Terry.

"Wake me up when it's time to get her," said Chief. "I don't mind going."

Terry stifled a smile. She was sure the young man did not in the least mind losing sleep if it meant he could spend some time alone with her sister. Besides, it would allow her to stay with Craig. "Thanks Chiefy," she said. She waited until he had gone into his room and shut the door before returning to her brother's side.

The young woman had been aware of the three men stopping outside the door on their way to their rooms. Usually, they would have just come into the room to check on their leader. Even Chief had remained outside of the room. She stood beside the bed and looked down at the flushed face of her brother, a frown on it even in sleep.

"Oh, Craig, what have you done?" she whispered.