Chapter 2 – The Navajos

Garrison and Drummond crept quietly into the back of the Training Hall, Drummond held up a hand. "Wait here and watch Lieutenant. Don't worry, I'll make sure Chief doesn't get hurt."

Garrison gave a soft snort as he recalled Chief's unbeaten record cage fighting in prison. "Worry about the other guys Drum, Chief may not be a hundred per cent but I'd put my money on him every time."

Drummond nodded. "So would I. He had those bad ribs when he first came over to start training and he still put me down every time in combat practice. He's not just a fighter, he's a warrior, I'd love to have him in my Commandos."

Garrison smiled. "In Poland they called him 'Dzielny Wojownik', it means 'Brave Warrior'." He slipped into a dark area behind a tier of raised bench seats, rested his cane on the third row and peered through the gap as Drummond walked over to the main entrance door, he opened it up to admit the latest squad to be trained.

The training hall echoed to the sound of army boots as the squad of four marched in, they'd passed the stringent requirements to train as Special Forces recruits and most of them felt cocky, thinking these sessions of combat training would be a breeze – they already knew how to fight! One of them looked around expectantly and seemed disappointed that only Drummond was there.

"Right my lads, you can stop there, get your jackets and boots off," shouted Drummond. The recruits milled around in confusion, where was the command to halt and come to attention? They removed their jackets, took off their boots, looked around and watched, along with Garrison, as the door opened again to admit a slim, dark-haired figure dressed in a khaki vest and camouflage fatigue pants.

The newcomer padded silently, barefoot into the hall, carrying his boots in one hand and the other holding a jacket that was slung over his shoulder, he put them down close to the door, removed his vest and threw it on top. He walked to the centre of the area, rolled his shoulders to ease his injured back, shook his head and stood waiting, arms loose at his side, there was a leather sheath on his right forearm. The men stared open-mouthed at the livid bruises, wounds and slashes covering his body, many of them still had stitches in them, angry burn marks from the electric shock treatment were still painfully obvious.

Drummond addressed the bemused men. "This here's your instructor and he's going to teach you a few things you never thought possible which will probably save your lives. Pay attention and you just might learn a thing or two."

The largest member of the group looked the newcomer up and down, this guy looked as if he'd been the loser in his last few fights, plus he was much bigger and stronger than this pipsqueak. "What the hell is he gonna teach us, ballet?" he snorted in derision

Drummond, shook his head, there was always one! He nodded to Chief "Let's start the lesson shall we?"

Garrison took a deep breath as he watched his scout take position, Chief's injuries still looked bad and he didn't know how he could even move in that condition. He swallowed hard, Chief had gone through hell and nearly died when he'd taken his place to save his badly injured Lieutenant from further harm. He'd been tortured for information he didn't have, Garrison could still hear the screams as Chief suffered intolerable pain for hours on end while he and Goniff desperately waited for Actor and Casino to arrive and get them out; he had nightmares about it.

Drummond looked at the soldiers and then winked at Chief. "As you can see he's been in a bit of a scrap recently so I've promised you'll be gentle with him."

"Been in a fight with the WAAFs has he? Heard some of them've got long fingernails," said the big squaddie laughing and looking around at his compatriots for support.

Drummond stared at the man coldly. "Do you want to know the name of the man you're about to beat into a bloody pulp?" he asked casually.

The soldier laughed. "No Sir, doubt he'll be around long enough to get to know. Lets get on with it."

Drummond kept his eyes on the man, crossed his arms and tilted his head towards the lone figure. "I wasn't talking to you lad, I was talking to Chief."

The squad member who'd been looking around earlier had been studying Chief since he'd walked in, he smiled and nodded his head as he looked intently at the unassuming figure standing before them, he nudged the man next to him and whispered in his ear. The second man stared at Chief and looked questioningly at the first man. Garrison could lip read everything. "That's him?" was mouthed to the first man who grinned and nodded. The second then quickly whispered to the third. Everyone, except Chief's antagonist stepped five or six paces back and tried to look as inoffensive as possible.

Chief shifted slightly and stood, poised on the balls of his feet, ready to spring into action.

That movement took Garrison back nearly a year to when he'd watched Chief take that same stance as he stood shackled in Warden Finch's office in Attica the day he'd found him and asked him to join the team. He'd spent two months tracking him down and hadn't regretted a single day since. He smiled to himself, he knew how capable his scout was, that soldier didn't stand a chance even against a badly wounded Chief. He leaned forward expectantly and rested his elbows on the row of bench seats in front of him.

Drummond kept his gaze on the loudmouth. "Dalgleish, you're a boxing champion aren't you?"

"Yes Sir, two years running, middleweight, Sir." Dalgleish looked around and seemed surprised to see the rest of the squad was now standing ten feet behind him, one of them was shaking his head and trying to mouth something at him.

Drummond waved a hand. "Well here's your next opponent my lad, show us what you can do!"

Dalgleish swaggered forward, raised his fists and started to bounce on his feet. Chief didn't move. The soldier stepped quickly forward and struck out with a vicious left jab that connected with thin air, the next thing he knew his feet had been swept out from under him, he received a glancing blow on his neck and Chief was rolling up behind him. "You're dead, just broke your neck," said a quiet voice.

Again Chief took his stance. Dalgleish got up and shook his head, he raised his fists once more, stepped forward and unleashed a powerful one two combination that would've felled a normal man. Once again Chief wasn't there. Dalgleish felt an arm snake round his neck, a leg hooked around his and he was thrown backwards onto the ground with Chief kneeling beside him. Chief banged him on the chest. "Dead again, blade in your heart!"

Dalgleish got up and took a breather, he stepped forward holding up his fists, feinted to go left before shifting quickly to the right and lashing out and up with with his left leg. Chief darted forward and slid under it on one knee, giving the soldier's other leg a hard push as he went through. Dalgleish crashed to the ground and realised Chief was now kneeling on his spine, pulling his head up and back to expose his throat. A hand cut across it. "Dead!" Chief rolled neatly away, stood up and took his stance yet again.

Dalgleish got up, looked at his team mates and then again at the slim figure standing before him, no way was he going to be shown up in front of his squad by this little man! He roared defiance, spread his arms and rushed forward to grab his opponent in a bear hug. Chief stood still until the last moment and then darted forward, grabbed Dalgleish by the shoulders and threw himself backwards. As they went down he brought his feet up against his opponent's abdomen and flipped Dalgleish over his head, he spun round on his back and with lightning speed, wrapped his legs around Dalgleish's neck in a choke hold. It had taken less than ten seconds to take his man down. Dalgleish's face turned red as he struggled to breath and break free but he couldn't. "Give in yet?" drawled the soft voice.

"Yes, yes!" spluttered Dalgleish and banged his hand on the floor to emphasise his surrender.

Chief quickly released him and rolled to his feet, Garrison was amazed to watch as his scout bent forward with a broad smile, extended his hand to the man on the floor and hauled him up, he patted him on the back. "Well done, you put up a good fight Dalgleish."

"Right who's next?" enquired Drummond nonchalantly as a small, artful smile played across his lips, mostly hidden by his bushy beard.

The other soldiers looked at each other and then the man who'd first recognised Chief stepped forward. "None of us will fight you Sir, but we'd be more than willing to learn all we can from you. I know who you are." He smiled and offered a hand. "You're Chief, you operate behind enemy lines with your Special Forces team Garrison's Gorillas. My brother's in Navajo 1 and he told me all about you, he said what you taught him has already saved his life, it's an honour to meet you Sir."

Chief took the proffered hand and shook it. "What's your brother's name?"

"David McAllen, Sir. I'm George."

Chief nodded and gave George a quick smile. "Your brother was at the hospital with Drummond watchin' over me 'n the Warden. He's a good man. Happy to meet you George. Just one thing, don't call me 'Sir', I ain't no soldier, just call me Chief 'n we'll get along fine."

George beamed. "Yes Sir – I mean Chief. David said you told him we had to change our way of thinking if we were to survive behind enemy lines. Any other advice you can give us?"

Chief thought for a second. "Trust your team 'n watch each other's backs. Drum 'n Richards are good commanders 'n good ones are hard to find." Chief's soft voice carried over to Garrison and he felt embarrassed at eavesdropping.

Chief called over his shoulder. "You can come out now Warden, I know you're there." Garrison retrieved his cane, slipped out from behind the bench seats and limped over.

"It's Garrison, oh my God!" gasped George, in awe of the new arrival.

Garrison looked at Chief, his mouth curled up into his crooked smile. "How did you know I was back there? One of your 'old Indian tricks' again?"

Chief dusted himself off. "Could see you clear as day hidin' behind the seats over there, you gotta learn how to stay quiet 'n keep still Warden, even Goniff could've spotted you."

Garrison laughed. "That bad eh? Ok, will do Chief."

Drummond turned to face the squad. "Now then lads, what was that very important lesson Chief's just taught you that could save your lives?"

George grinned. "Know who your opponent is and what he can do before you take him on, Sir!"

Drummond gave a nod of approval. "Well done McAllen." The squad stepped eagerly up to their trainer and his leader, the questions came thick and fast.

"You're really Lieutenant Garrison? We've been hearing about you and your team and the missions you pulled off, you're legend." Garrison rolled his eyes at Chief at that remark.

"How do you plan your missions? Tell us about them."

"Which one? There's been a few."

"Where did you learn to fight Chief?"

"Prison."

"Were you really in prison?."

"Uh huh."

"How long has your team been operating?."

"We've been active over six months now."

"How did you choose which men to recruit for your team?"

Garrison glanced at Chief. "That's easy, I chose the best."

"How do I get on your team Lieutenant Garrison?"

Garrison smiled. "Be a con for starters and none of you qualify on that front."

"But, if we were?"

"You want me to take that one Warden?" asked Chief.

Garrison waved him forward. "Please do Chief."

Garrison rubbed his nose and glanced sideways at his scout in amusement as Chief gave the soldiers a stern look, his voice was low and intent. "To get the Warden's attention you gotta be real good at what you do, robbin' banks, stealin' jewels 'n cash 'n connin' people."

"What about you Chief, what are you good at?" asked Dalgleish.

Only Garrison noticed Chief's split-second hesitation as he relived the hell he'd endured fighting in prison and what he'd been forced to do. "Killin' people."

Chief held out his right arm, flexed his hand and his knife leapt into his palm, it opened with a satisfying snick, everyone took a step back as he waved the weapon slowly in front of them, every eye was hypnotically following the blade. "Once you got a rap sheet a mile long 'n spent some quality time in the joint the Warden just might consider talkin' to you!" He smiled, twirled the blade, folded it up and put it back in its sheath, everyone let go of the breath they didn't know they were holding. "By the time you done all that the war'll be over, Warden won't need you 'n you'll still be in stir. I don't recommend it."

Dalgleish looked at Garrison. "What will happen to your team when the war is over Lieutenant? Will they be going back to prison?"

Garrison shook his head. "Not if I can help it. They've been promised paroles and I'll do my damnedest to make sure they get them," he glanced at his friend. "They've done more than enough to earn them."

"Ok lads let's get back to business," shouted Drummond. "These men are giving up their precious free time to help you."

GG-GG-GG

For the rest of the afternoon Chief took the squad through their paces, he told them these sessions weren't going to be like normal combat training where you stood facing your opponent, went through the motions got up and went back to where you started. They listened intently as he explained how his sessions were going to be like a real fight, a continuous flow of action and reaction, they weren't going to leave their opponent on the floor to walk back to their starting point, allowing that opponent to get up and stab them in the back. He told them he was going to teach them to fight for real, you killed your adversary and walked away, the squad were all ears, they knew this man was talking from experience.

Chief first took them through various exercises in slow motion showing them the best ways to disable and kill an opponent, they hadn't learned any of these moves in normal combat training, this was fighting prison style! He insisted they try out their moves on him first to make sure they got them right before practising on each other. Garrison noticed how they held back when going through the moves with Chief, careful not to aggravate his injuries.

It wasn't long until Garrison was dragged, good-naturedly, into proceedings, he took off his cap, jacket and tie and leaned on his cane with a bemused look on his face as Chief used him to point out pressure points and where the best targets were to kill him. Chief then asked the soldiers if they would like to strike an officer while the going was good, this was combat training after all and they'd never get the chance again, Garrison turned and gave his scout his best 'You wouldn't dare' glare, Chief countered with his best 'Oh yes I would' look.

At the end of the session Chief turned away, Garrison seized his chance, stepped forward and swung his cane in a sneak attack, before it had travelled halfway it had been snatched out of his hand, whirled round and held across his throat, a hand on either side of his neck. Chief pulled a little tighter and Garrison gave an exaggerated cough. "Ok Chief, can't blame me for trying to get my own back."

"Not bad for someone with a bum leg 'n sore ribs Warden." Chief twirled the cane thoughtfully. "Wait 'til we're both over our injuries 'n we'll come back here 'n see who's the better fighter," he looked at his leader. "I seen you fight Warden, you're good, better 'n most, wouldn't be surprised if you could take me." Chief handed back the cane and walked away to pick up his vest.

"I doubt it, don't forget I've seen you in action too," answered Garrison, stunned at Chief's acknowledgement of his fighting skills, he shuddered as he noticed several trickles of blood running down his scout's back. "Dammit. Hold on Chief, you've busted some stitches." He frowned as he quickly inspected Chief's back, taking in where the stitches had pulled through and barely healed wounds had opened. "You shouldn't be here doing this, you only got out of hospital a few days ago." His voice was full of concern, the sight of his friend's injuries filled his vision and the nightmare started to come back to haunt him.

Chief pulled on his vest. "Had to fight with worse injuries than this in stir Warden. Don't worry, I'm fine, besides I needed to get away from Goniff."

Garrison breathed deep to control himself, the nightmare faded away. "You know damn well he's been worried sick about you. He was there too." He added quietly.

Chief nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I promised Drum I'd help here, it's important."

Garrison sighed in exasperation. "Ok Chief, you know your limits just don't take it too far or we'll be having words."

Chief picked up his socks and boots. "Whatever you say Warden, you're the boss."

Garrison leaned on his cane. "So why can't I ever get you to obey one of my orders?"

Chief gave a short laugh. "You said it yourself Warden, I ain't no soldier."

The squad was amazed at the easy talk between the two men, all through the session they'd acted together as a team. This was a relationship between equals and comrades, not commander and subordinate, built on the obvious bond of mutual respect, trust and friendship between them. They also got the sense that Garrison only had to give the order and Chief would follow it without question or hesitation.

Drummond's voice rang out. "Right lads, you're all dismissed, Chief will be back tomorrow to continue your education unless Lieutenant Garrison here takes him off gallivanting behind enemy lines again."

Garrison shook his head and hit his cast with his cane. "Not with this bum leg Drum, it'll be another two or three weeks before we can go gallivanting again."

The squad gathered round, shook Chief's and Garrison's hands and went off to the barracks, they were talking animatedly and practising moves. Drummond smiled, shook his head and turned to the Lieutenant and his scout. "Seems you and your merry little band are getting famous round here Garrison."

Garrison raised an amused eyebrow. "Infamous would be more like it Drum, considering the havoc my guys cause at The Doves most nights."

Chief sat down on a bench and pulled on his socks and boots. "So Richards told you what we're up to at last Warden. I hated all that keepin' things quiet, I needed you to know I was never gonna leave you 'n the team, that's why I kinda forced his hand to get things moving with Fremont."

Garrison nodded, picked up his jacket and put it on. "Drum and Major Richards let me in on your little secret a couple of hours ago. I told the Major I wasn't happy he'd made you keep it from me but you did tell me the reason why before we went to Caen and I understand."

Chief looked up. "You ain't angry no more?"

Garrison looked at his friend and smiled. "No, I told you I wasn't angry with you." He fixed Drummond with a stern look. "But I'm still annoyed with you and Major Richards. How much longer do you think you could've kept this from me? Did you think I wouldn't let Chief do it? I've already heard his training is saving lives, I think its a great idea." He paused for a second in thought.

Chief knew that expression all too well, he could see that ideas were forming in Garrison's head, he was planning something. "What you got on your mind Warden?"

Garrison gave the Sergeant Major an enquiring look. "Drum do you think that learning other skills such as basic theft, safe-cracking and lock-picking would help your men? Actor and I could help out with language skills, planning and strategy."

"Wouldn't hurt as long as we don't cause a crime wave round here," laughed Drummond. "The Major wouldn't like it if his staff car went missing!"

Garrison looked at Chief. "You know how the guys are always moaning about how bored they get when they haven't got anything to do and need to keep in practice? Don't you think this would be the ideal solution?"

Chief grinned. "Can hear Casino complainin' already!"

Garrison turned round to Drummond. "Drum can you get hold of a couple of old cars, safes and some locks?"

Drummond considered the request and smiled, Major Richards had been certain that Garrison would wholeheartedly support the project once he'd found out what it was about. "No problem Sir, I'm sure there are some in storage, I reckon we can supply a few other things you'll need as well, leave it to me. What time do you want to start tomorrow?"

"How about eight so we can get a full day in?" Garrison looked at his watch. "You'd better drive us home Chief, we need to get back before Goniff calls out the tracker dogs."

"Had those on my tail before, outrun 'em too!" said Chief proudly.

Garrison gave his friend a droll look. "Doubt if you could at present, I bet even Goniff could catch you in your current condition."

Chief looked at Garrison and gave a soft snort. "That's just mean Warden."

GG-GG-GG

A jeep roared up to the mansion, Casino got up from the card table, wandered over to the window and looked out to see it was being driven by Chief, Garrison was sitting beside him. "Looks like Geronimo's in trouble, the Warden's found him."

Goniff walked up, stood beside him and looked out. "Wondered where they'd disappeared to, don't look like Chief's in trouble, they're both smilin'. Looks like somethin's up though."

Casino walked back to the table and sat down. "As long as it don't include me babe."

Garrison and Chief walked into the common room, the Warden looked at his men. "Right, I want you all to be ready to leave by 07:30 tomorrow morning."

Casino stared at him in confusion. "There's no way we got a mission Warden, not unless you 'n Geronimo ain't comin' along. You been to see Richards?"

"Yes I have and we've got a mission of sorts Casino, I think you'll like it." Garrison grinned as he sat down at the chess table and invited Chief to join him.

"Now I know I'm not gonna like it," declared Casino throwing his cards down and turning round to glare at the Warden. Goniff took the opportunity to see what he'd been holding and swapped out a couple of his own from the deck.

Actor looked at Chief. "Do you know what's happening Chief?"

Chief sat down opposite Garrison and helped set up the chess pieces. "Uh huh."

Actor puffed on his pipe and stared at the quiet figure. "Are you going to tell us?"

Chief put his chin on his hand and considered his opening move. "Uh uh."

"Oh come on Chief, give us a clue," pleaded Goniff, "you know Casino don't like surprises."

"Navajos," said Chief as he moved a pawn.

"Navajos? Is Geronimo acting even more crazy than usual?" exclaimed Casino.

"Navajos, they're your tribe aren't they Chief?" asked Actor, he paused in thought. "I've heard that word a couple of times in the past few weeks."

Casino looked at him quizzically. "Has the Nation suddenly moved to England? Wouldn't we see a load o' teepees 'n totem poles in Hyde Park or somethin'?"

The conman shrugged. "Not as far as I know, but we'll find out what the Warden and Chief have planned for us tomorrow. I suggest we get an early night after dinner so we're ready for whatever those two are going to spring on us."

Garrison and Chief swapped amused glances over the chessboard.