Chapter 1 – Change of Command

Early next morning Garrison and Chief went for their morning exercise while the rest of the team slept off the previous evening's revelries. This time they increased the pace to a jog and, under Chief's watchful eye, Garrison completed the circuit without incident. They got back and each went off to get showered and changed before joining the rest of the team for breakfast.

Casino looked up and grinned as Garrison walked in the kitchen. "Mornin' Warden, how you doin' babe? Geronimo take it easy on you out on the track?"

Garrison poured a cup of coffee and took a slice of toast off the pile on the kitchen counter. "I feel fine thanks Casino, I let Chief beat me on the sprint home again," he glanced over at his scout and got an amused, raised eyebrow in reply.

"Good night last night weren't it?" commented Goniff as he passed round his cigarettes. "By the way Warden, did that 'grouchy Lieutenant' of ours catch you after we got in?"

Actor took one and lit it. "If he discovers we were all out down The Doves last night we could end up in the stockade."

Garrison smiled as he took a cigarette and accepted a light from Actor. "I managed to give myself the slip, so I think we're safe."

Casino lit his cigarette and waved it in Garrison's direction. "So how come it ends up in a fight every time you're in The Doves with us? That's the second time it's happened, good job you got Geronimo over there to bail you outta trouble!"

"Warden didn't start any of it, Pappy," objected Chief as he poured out a cup of coffee.

The safe-cracker nodded in agreement. "True, but he made sure he finished it. You're gonna get yourself arrested along with the rest of us if you ain't careful babe."

Goniff laughed. "Yeah, then who's gonna bail us out if we're all in the clink? Behave yourself next time we take you out Warden!"

Garrison took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke. "I'll try Goniff. It was a good job we were there, someone could've been hurt in that robbery."

Casino snorted. "Someone did get hurt 'n he deserved everythin' he got, messin' with you 'n makin' Geronimo angry, that punk had no chance after that. We should be good for a few free beers next time we go down there."

Actor glanced at the safe-cracker. "As well as some hugs and kisses from Madge for saving her, you're her knight in shining armour."

Casino smiled and preened himself. "Hey, I never thought o' that, I'm a real bona fide hero ain't I? I'll phone her later 'n set up a date so she can thank me properly."

"Unbelievable!" Garrison rolled his eyes, poured himself a second cup of coffee and went to his office and the never-ending mountain of paperwork that awaited him. Just before noon the phone on his desk rang, he picked it up, five minutes later he poked his head out the door and shouted. "Chief, get the car keys, we're going to London, we got a mission." He looked at the front door, smiled and shook his head, his scout was already standing there, ready to go.

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Chief waited in the car as Garrison marched into HQ, expecting another frustrating briefing with General Fremont, he smiled to himself as he imagined the look on the Warden's face when he found out who he'd be meeting in there instead, Drummond had given him the heads-up earlier.

Garrison was intercepted by a corporal as he walked towards Fremont's office and directed to another door down the corridor, he entered and stopped dead as he saw Major Richards standing by his desk waiting for him.

"Sir?" said Garrison as he saluted.

Richards reciprocated before indicating they should both sit down, the British commando addressed Garrison in his clipped English accent. "Lieutenant Garrison, I'm pleased to inform you that General Howard convinced General Fremont that your team would be better suited to be under my supervision, after all I am running covert operations out of Colchester. I think you would agree, it would be better if your missions were overseen by someone who appreciates your rather, shall we say, unorthodox methods."

Garrison smiled as he realised he wouldn't be dealing with Fremont any more. "Yes Sir, I have no objections and I expect my men will be happy to hear that as well. May I ask why Sir?"

Richards steepled his fingers and looked over them at the Lieutenant. "In light of recent developments, it would be better if you and your men were in my chain of command."

Garrison's interest was piqued. "May I ask what developments they are, Sir?"

The Major recalled a very determined Chief glaring a warning at him and General Howard, he leaned back in his chair. "I'll have a long talk with you later when you get back from your mission and we have more time. The mission I have for you is an urgent one, you and your men will be leaving in four hours, we can't afford to wait." He paused. "Are you sure you're fit to go out on a mission Lieutenant?"

Garrison put on his best, honest face – the one he'd learned and perfected working with Actor. "Yes Sir, I got the all clear from the base doctor a day or so back."

Richards gave the officer a speculative look and raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Hmmm."

Garrison leaned forward, all other thoughts forgotten except for what lay before him. "What do you want us to do Sir?"

Richards regarded the Lieutenant, Fremont had been an idiot to dismiss this man and his team out of hand because of who they were. "You'll be going to Caen, the Germans have captured two high ranking Resistance leaders and are holding them for interrogation in what appears to be a medical facility. We think it's something more than that but you'll have to go and see the situation for yourself." Richards handed over a briefcase and Garrison handcuffed it to his wrist. "All the information you need is in there, aerial photos, reports, every scrap of intel we could gather, any questions Lieutenant?"

Garrison stood up and gave a brief shake of his head, this was a refreshing change from Fremont who gave only the barest of intelligence. "No Sir, thank you Sir."

Richards looked up at Garrison with an amused look in his eyes. "My operations are located in the army base next to the mansion so I'll be keeping a very close eye on your team's activities. We'll brief and debrief there in future, we met here today because I was in a top level meeting that I now must get back to. Very well Garrison, pleased to have you and your men on board."

Garrison gave a curt nod. "Thank you Sir." He saluted, turned on his heel and left the office, he strolled outside to find his scout waiting in the car outside the door, ready to leave, he jumped in and settled back as Chief drove to the security gate, once they passed through he gunned the engine and they roared off back to the mansion.

On the way Garrison told Chief about the change of command from Fremont to Richards, Chief nodded his head but didn't ask any questions. Garrison wondered at his apparent lack of interest - it was almost as if he knew already. The conversation with Richards played through his mind, he turned and looked at his scout. "Major Richards said he was going to have a talk with me about 'recent developments'. You know what those developments are don't you Chief? Is all this connected to what you and Drummond have been doing?"

Chief realised he couldn't drive and have this conversation at the same time, he pulled over, turned off the engine and looked at Garrison expectantly. "Yeah, it is. Did he talk to you about it?"

Garrison shook his head. "No, he said there wasn't enough time." He looked his scout in the eye. "What have you been doing for Major Richards that's so damn secret you haven't been able to tell me? Now he has us under his command is he going to order me to release you to another team? I want to know what's been happening, tell me now Atsilí." He realised, too late, that he'd allowed his annoyance to colour the tone of his words, but everything he'd suspected or worried about for the last month or so was now coming to a head. He knew he'd deliberately used the Navajo word for 'little brother' to remind Chief of their friendship.

Garrison watched as his friend's expression turned to one of consternation, Chief looked everywhere but directly at him. "Warden, please don't ask me to do that. I wanted to tell you for weeks but I can't tell you anythin' 'bout it 'til Richards does. I gave him my word 'n I can't go back on it any more'n I'd break my word to you. I told him I'd leave his project if he didn't talk to you, I don't wanna do nothin' behind your back, believe me."

Garrison realised Chief's inner turmoil was tearing him apart, he could see the struggle between keeping his word to Richards and telling him what he'd been doing, he couldn't ask him to do something he would never think of doing himself, he relented. "Why did you have to give Major Richards your word Chief?" he asked quietly.

Chief took a deep breath, pulled himself together and looked back into Garrison's eyes. "We had ta keep it secret, if Fremont got wind o' what Richards was plannin' he would've sent us back to prison 'n you to some hellhole in North Africa outta spite. I couldn't risk that happenin' to you or the team."

Garrison reached over and put his hand on Chief's arm. "I believe you, I've been worried about what other people were planning to do, I don't want to lose you from the team. Can you at least give me your word I've got nothing to worry about?"

Chief gave Garrison an intent look. "You already got my word Ánaaí, gave it to you months ago. I told Richards there's only one way I'll leave you 'n the team, if you don't believe anythin' else you can believe that."

Garrison knew Chief's oath to his Ánaaí, his 'big brother', was solemn and binding, he silently breathed a sigh of relief he wasn't losing him to Richards' project. "That's all I needed to hear, I can wait for Richards' explanation when I see him next, then you can tell me all about it."

Chief still seemed uncertain. "You ain't angry?"

Garrison sat back in his seat. "Not with you Chief, I'm angry with Richards and Drummond, they put you through this and it wasn't fair, you shouldn't have had to make that choice. I'm sorry I made you think I doubted you, it'll never happen again." He watched as the strain of the last few weeks drained away from Chief's face. "But we do have a mission to complete before I have words with those two, let's go back to the mansion and plan it."

Chief nodded. "Whatever you say Warden." He started the engine, pulled back onto the road and put his foot down to make up for lost time. Garrison settled down to watch the countryside fly past in a blur as they sped along the roads to Essex.

GG-GG-GG

Less than an hour and a half later they were back at the mansion, Garrison was always amazed at how quickly Chief could negotiate the sixty odd miles of rough country roads without mishap. He went into his office, undid the cuffs to the briefcase, opened it and spent the next half hour reading through the documents, he then assembled his team in the briefing room. They gathered round the table, Goniff and Chief sat down while Actor and Casino stood looking over their shoulders.

Garrison glanced at them as he lit a cigarette. "Major Richards is sending us to France for our next mission. We're going to Caen in a couple of hours," he leaned over and pointed to a spot on the map not far from the French coast."

Goniff looked puzzled. "What's Richards got to do with this Warden? He's a British commando ain't he? We swappin' armies now?" He got a pack of cigarettes out of a pocket, pulled one out and waved the pack over the top of his head so Casino could grab it from behind him, Casino pulled out a cigarette and handed the pack back, Goniff took the pack and slipped it into his pocket.

Casino shrugged. "Yeah, not that I mind, he's ok for a stiff-lipped Brit. Will we get another bottle o' that brandy if we pull off whatever caper this is for 'im?" He gave Chief a match, took out another, struck it, lit his cigarette and tapped Goniff on the shoulder, the thief tilted his head back and accepted the light.

Actor took a puff of his pipe. "Why is Major Richards giving us our orders now Warden?"

Garrison looked over at Chief. "Didn't you tell them about the change of command?"

Chief took the matchstick out of his mouth. "Uh uh, it's your job to tell 'em not mine."

Casino shook his head. "What's it matter? Yanks, Brits, we're all one big happy army. Still I'd like to know why."

Garrison straightened up and took a drag on his cigarette. "Major Richards told me General Howard persuaded Fremont to transfer command of our operations over to him. He convinced him that our remit would be more in line with his covert activities in Special Forces. It also means that, as he's operating out of the base here at Colchester, I won't have to travel to London every time we get a new mission or debrief afterwards. That'll help with the petrol rationing."

"Looks like Enzo Ferrari here will have to find other ways to break the speed limits!" laughed Actor and dodged as Chief flicked his matchstick at him.

"Who's Nazo Furry?" asked Goniff.

Casino sighed and waved his cigarette. "En..zo..Fer..ra..ri. A famous racing driver Limey. Don't you know nothin'?"

"Never heard of him either Goniff," said Chief in support of the thief. Casino and Actor looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Garrison shook his head at them. "Knock it off, all of you."

Casino waved facetiously at the map. "Oh, please continue Warden."

Garrison inclined his head. "Thank you Casino. As I said we're going to Caen, it's a short hop across the Channel by plane. The Germans have captured two high ranking Resistance leaders, Pierre Martin and Victor Durand." He pointed out a spot on the map. "They're holding them here for questioning in a so-called 'medical facility' outside Caen, only we think it's much more than that." He spread the aerial photos out on the table and pointed. "German trucks, here, here and here, they wouldn't normally be based somewhere like that."

Actor narrowed his eyes and looked up. "You think Martin and Durand are being subjected to more than just 'questioning' don't you? Does Richards think the Germans have an interrogation unit based there?"

Garrison ground out his cigarette in the ashtray. "I can't say until we see for ourselves, but yes, we suspect the Germans have a unit there, or something worse. We'll have to act as quickly as we can to get them out before they divulge any allied invasion plans, they know codes and strategic locations so leaving them there isn't an option."

"How long have they had 'em?" asked Goniff.

Garrison glanced up at the thief. "Just over a day."

Casino frowned and gave Garrison a worried look. "We ain't got orders to kill 'em if we can't get 'em out have we? Tell me this ain't another mission like Poland."

Garrison stood upright, lit another cigarette and slowly shook his head. "Sorry Casino, that option is always going to be on the table but I'll only use it as a last resort, we can't risk the Germans finding out what they know."

Goniff blew out a cloud of smoke. "Anyway the Warden didn't hafta shoot that Mazur bloke, he got him out didn't he?"

Casino gave the thief a jaundiced look. "No he didn't hafta shoot him Limey, Geronimo got shot instead, remember?"

"Knock it off you two." Garrison looked back down at the map. "Time is against us so we'll be leaving by plane and parachuting in just south of Caen." He pointed to a spot just outside the city. "We'll meet up with Pierre Martin's brother, Jean-Claude, here."

Chief leaned forward and looked closely at the map, suddenly he felt as if someone was walking over his grave. He jerked back and shuddered as a cold chill swept through his body and a terrible sense of foreboding loomed in his mind, he glanced quickly at the others, no one had noticed his sudden movement. He looked up at Garrison talking through the mission, pointing out locations on the map and calmed himself by thinking he'd just had a reaction to Casino and Goniff talking about him being shot in Poland. He took a deep breath and continued to listen to the briefing, whatever had happened before he'd still follow the Warden without a second thought about the consequences.

Garrison stepped back and regarded them all. "Grab your gear and get ready, we leave in half an hour."

"Ah Warden, now I've gotta cancel my date with Madge 'n I only set it up an hour ago," complained Casino as he walked out with Goniff. "This war's really puttin' a crimp in my love life!"

Chief hung back as the others went upstairs to get their gear ready, Garrison looked up from the paperwork on the table. "Everything alright Chief?" he asked.

Chief still felt uneasy, he looked at the map, took a deep breath and pulled himself together. He looked at Garrison. "Everythin's fine Warden."

GG-GG-GG

A phone rang in an office in Washington. It was picked up by a large hand, a deep voice with a Georgia accent answered. "Hello... Yes... No, it's ok, it's mornin' here... Are they?... Interestin'. I'll tell my man to let our friends know so they can pass it on, hopefully we'll have better luck than Norway. That Indian ruined things for both of us. Great work Captain, I'll reward you later... Make sure no-one finds out what you're doin'. Goodbye."

The receiver was put down and then picked up again, the call was put through to London. "Hello, O'Connor, I gotta a job for you, let our friends know that Garrison and his cons are on their way to Caen to rescue some Resistance leaders. Yeah that's right, they're on their way now. I'm comin' over in a couple weeks, I'll see you then."

The phone was replaced. "Well Garrison, looks like you and that no good team of yours are off on another mission. I'll make sure this'll be your last."