ggg

The staff car was well off the road and backed in under the trees. They'd brushed the tire tracks out before they left it, and torn branches out of the trees and off the surrounding bushes to repair the damage they'd done as they pushed through the foliage when they turned off the road. For now, anyway, someone driving past would never know they were back there.

Casino took over their security while Chief checked the vehicle over. According to the gage the fuel tank was full. He raised the hood; the engine looked good, clean, almost new. He was careful as he opened caps, pulled dipsticks and checked the battery. He shook his head as he worked. The way this job was going he might end up sipping champagne at some banquet where greasy hands and dirty nails would give them away. Radiator was topped up and the oil was at the right level, and looked and smelled clean, no sign of corrosion around the battery terminals, the tires had plenty of tread. So far, so good.

Actor used the time to rework the Warden's bandages with the supplies they found in the car's aid kit. He helped him into his uniform before the two of them turned their attention to the radio. Actor cranked a charge into the unit and provided power while Garrison fiddled with the dials. Before he'd parted from him, the conman and the resistance leader had set a schedule for possible radio contacts; they were about five minutes from one of those windows now.

"Quick thinking on the trail back there." Garrison complimented as Actor continued to work the crank. Coming across the patrol as they did had made them wary of talking for the remainder of the hike to the car, so this was the first time they'd been comfortable and secure enough to talk.

"It's a shame we can't use that scenario again." Actually, it had been his original plan. The Lieutenant's appearance would have supported the ruse too, and it would have left him as the wild card if they were discovered. To look at him, no one would expect he'd be armed and capable of going on the offensive… however short that offensive might prove to be. Actor turned his head and peered down at the plain shoulder boards on his jacket. The sleeves had ridden up and the front gaped open a bit between the buttons. The pants were also a bit short, the trouser band slightly too tight, and the boots too small. "This is another reason we should carry our own tailored uniforms."

Garrison chuckled at the note of disgust in his second's voice as he honed in on the proper frequency. "That would mean hauling suitcases along, paying porters, and tipping bellboys. Might make transport a little more complicated than it already is." He shifted his position to ease an ache in his foot. "Boots that fit would be nice though."

Actor smiled and continued to power the radio as Garrison flipped the switch and sent their message out. They were answered immediately. After a short conversation the Warden spun the dial to another frequency. Within seconds there was a query which he responded to. Another short exchange and the connection was broken. The conman stopped cranking and started packing the radio away again.

"So, what was all that about?"

"I told them we had to give up the safehouse and the docks. He said he couldn't believe anyone of his group would betray them."

"But there have been raids, and several of his people are missing." The Italian added the information he'd gleaned during his meeting with the underground leader. He settled the heavy radio on the floor of the car next to his feet and shrugged as he straightened again. "People can be made to do almost anything given enough motivation."

"You mean enough cash." The ever-cynical Casino countered.

"Or a threat to their life or that of a loved one." Garrison leaned back against the leather cushions. Anything was possible but he'd worked with Abreo before and didn't think he could be fooled into allowing a turncoat into his group.

Chief let the hood down and the car rocked as he secured the latch. He was cleaning the dust off his hands as he shut Garrison's door and walked around to climb in the front. Turning to address the man sitting in the back, as the others took their places, he asked. "How'r we gonna play this Warden?"

g

Getting the car and the uniforms had been a little tricky, that's why they'd shown up with the selection of uniforms they had; there was no time to keep looking for something better. German activity was increasing in the area. That was probably due to the information the Krauts had on the resistance, where ever that was coming from. There were more patrols in town and on the road, so it wasn't going to be long before they'd be stopped, or have to get through a roadblock. While they'd talked about what they might do, there was no way of knowing if it would work until they tried to pull it off. The car came around a curve in the road and, all too soon, fate presented them with their first opportunity.

Actor opened his door and stepped out just as the car came to a halt. He'd have to play this with just the right balance of deference and demand. Without seeming to, he took a quick survey of the men working the roadblock. All of them were enlisted, but there was a large truck parked off the road. If they were lucky, it would not contain an officer. When the guard approached, he took command of the interview by asking what the barrier had been constructed for, why they were being delayed, and who'd issued the orders. As he listened to the man's reply he turned to check on the vehicles that had pulled up to wait their permission to pass. There were only two at the moment, a supply truck with only an enlisted driver, and a motorcycle and sidecar, both men appeared to be sergeants. They were the highest-ranking officers on the road. That could change at any moment though.

He answered the first questions put to him pleasantly enough, but when it came to producing identification papers and orders, he let a note of irritation creep into his voice. He turned and gestured towards the staff car, giving the name and rank of the officer it contained. It seemed to have the desired effect. The man saluted the car with a stiff arm and a click of his heels, then the Italian conman got the same treatment, without the heel clicking. With a shout the wooden barrier was carried out of the way. Actor took a seat in the car again and closed the door as they slowly pulled through the slalom of the remaining sandbags.

"That wasn't so bad."

"That's because they were all enlisted, and none of them were SS."

g

Garrison was determined to find the breach in the underground's security. That meant staying in the immediate area until they turned up some clue as to what was going on rather than just beating it for a place on the coast where they could radio for a pick up. Casino complained, of course, reminding him what kind of risks they'd be running, but he didn't have much hope of changing the Warden's mind. After all, with the information already on safely its way back to England the only thing he was risking was them…

g

Each roadblock they'd gone through, and there'd been several because the Warden insisted on looping through an area once they'd been stopped and doubling back along another road; each patrol they came across, they tried to get a little more information. They'd finally come across a morsel that had brought them here.

They only had a rumor to go on. Actor had wheedled that out of a German lieutenant who'd been in charge of the patrol they'd stopped on the road about two miles out of town. He spent time schmoozing the guy while he laid out Garrison's demands for information. The junior officer grumbled about being under the thumb of thugs, and Actor, well out of ear-shot of the officer he was supposedly working for, commiserated with him, his tone and manner that of anyone who had to suffer the arrogance of the SS. The man said he'd be pleased to go back to his own base and let the SS do their own searching, and that the man in charge of the local prison camp should have just shipped his prisoner off to Berlin for questioning when he'd first picked him up, rather than beating the information out of him and radioing that back instead.

The lead seemed a little slim…

"What'r we gonna do?"

"We're going to go in there and get him out." Garrison told them calmly.

"What if he's not the right guy?"

The Warden made eye contact with his driver in the rearview mirror. "Then we'll let him out someplace safe and we'll keep looking."

Casino held his commander's gaze in the reflection for a moment before he put the car in gear and started forward. "Swell. This whole setup stinks."

g

They followed their informer's directions and arrived at the gates of a small installation. It was new enough the tower was still under construction and the rest of the structures were just raw wood. Actor got them through by telling the guard he was the assistant to an SS Colonel who was demanding to see the kommandant of the camp. All it took to get the man over wanting to look at their papers was a flash of sunlight off the runes on Garrison's collar.

"Am I stayin' with the car?" Casino asked as they rolled to a stop in front of the unpainted building. He didn't like anything about this job, and he'd already told the Warden that, but he didn't like the idea of sitting out here all on his own, wondering what in the hell was going on inside either. Even if they were both done up as common soldiers he was usually on the inside because of the safes, and Junior was left outside with the motor running. He didn't know why that didn't drive Chief nuts. But since the kid was the one who fit in the German lieutenant's uniform this time he could hardly cool his heels out by the car.

After a short conference in the backseat, they put the safe cracker's concerns to rest, at least temporarily. Actor was going to go in first, and see if he could sweet talk the prisoner into their custody. Chief would go in with him as backup. If they couldn't swing it then the big guns would roll into action, and they'd go in en masse. The explosive expert gave a snort…all four of them.

They watched Chief and Actor disappear inside the building without moving their heads to look in that direction. Casino gripped the steering wheel to stop himself from drumming his fingers and fought the urge to ask what was taking so long. He checked on the Warden in the mirror. The guy looked like he needed to just lean back in the seat and close his eyes. They were out there under the watchful eye of the men stationed on either side of the door though, so he sat there, upright, and gazing straight ahead while the seconds ticked themselves into minutes. Several of those minutes later Actor and Chief appeared at the door and made their way back to the car. Actor opened the door and perch on the seat, Chief walked around to stand at attention next to Garrison's door.

"No go on the charming stuff, huh?"

"Can it, Casino." Garrison took in a breath and let it out, he hadn't really believed that was going to work. "What the hang up?"

"Your papers and orders, I'm afraid." Actor's uniform came off a man the other two had rolled and then dumped in a ravine, so he had a set of papers he could flash as the very last resort. Unfortunately, Garrison's garb had come off the rack of a cleaners. His pockets were empty.

"What'd you tell him?" he asked so they could keep their story straight.

"The same as we've used on some of the others. That you've become a bit unhinged after being captured and questioned by a group of local resistance. That you managed to escape, but now you are determined to hunt them all down and exact your revenge." The conman smiled. "And that I wouldn't want to be the one to get in your way."

Garrison returned the smile and pulled on the handle to unlatch the door, waiting for Chief to come to attention and swing it open for him. "Obsessive, vindictive and crazy, huh? I think I can manage that."

Casino couldn't help himself. He shot, "shouldn't be much of a stretch," over his shoulder as he rolled out of the car and got ready to be part of the honor guard.

g

The German captain that greeted them when they entered the office was just about as pale as Garrison. He had that fawning expression on his face that usually greeted them if they were playing SS, and he looked like any minute now he'd start wringing his hands. Garrison didn't say a word to him. After a few moments the man stuttered out, "Verzeihen Sie mir, Oberst. Ich muss Ihre Papiere sehen."

Garrison seemed to get taller. Actor said something conciliatory that he ignored as he brushed past him to stand nose to nose with the kommandant.

The man tried out ingratiating. "Bitte, mein Herr, Ihre Papiere."

It didn't work. Garrison stripped his gloves off and started tearing at the fasteners that held high collar closed. "Meine Papiere? Meine Papiere, oder? Ich werde dir meine Papiere zeigen, du Idiot!" He was advancing on the man, backing him towards the door that separated them from the handful of cells in the back room as he worked the top button loose. His voice was pitched low, and even if Casino and Chief had been able to understand, they really couldn't make out individual words after the initial outburst. The two kept moving away from them, until the German captain's back hit the door, and the Warden stopped dead in front of him. He only lasted a few seconds before he dropped his gaze to study the floor between his feet. Actor continued to hold them back. They only knew Garrison had spoken again because the guy nodded his head. Still, he didn't move…until an SS Colonel roaring 'Sofort' in his face sent him scurrying through the door like a scared rabbit.

Chief's mouth was bone dry. The white-knuckle grip Casino had on the rifle should have splintered the butt or bent the barrel. Actor just stood there with his arm held out a little and his palm turned towards them to keep them from moving. Garrison turned around for a moment, the corner of his mouth quirked up and he rolled his eyes before he turned back to stare through the door the hapless Hauptman had left open behind him.

There was a murmur of voices in the other room. Metal grating on metal and the grinding squeak of a hinge let them imagine what was happening. More voices and what might have been a scuffle if there'd been any shouting. A moment later the German officer appeared in the door. The man in front of him was handcuffed. He looked like he'd spent sometime with interrogators, and from the look on his face he was terrified.

Garrison's head had come up. He was standing rigidly erect. His face made of marble. He glared at the prisoner for a few seconds and then spat on the floor at his feet. "Schwein. Nimm es weg." He turned his back on the men in the doorway and reached out to retrieve the first glove, meticulously adjusting each finger while the captain moved his prisoner out into the room for the handoff.

Actor finally let his arm drop back to his side. Chief took his cue from Garrison and moved up to stand in front of the shackled man. Casino moved around behind him and elbowed the officer out of his way. He prodded the man in the back with the rifle barrel to get him moving and then shouldered the weapon and got a grip on the short chain between the cuffs. Actor opened the door and stood back out of the way and they marched out. Chief stared at the German officer for a few seconds and then just held his hand out until the key to the cuffs was placed in it. By then Garrison had both of his gloves on and was ready to leave, they ignored the officer and Actor as he bowed them out of the office as they left. He stayed behind and watched the man make his rubber-legged way back to his desk and collapse into his chair before he arched an eyebrow up to send a silent 'I told you so' in his direction before he, too, turned on his heel and left.

g

Casino and the prisoner were standing next to the car when Chief and Garrison, followed by Actor paced confidently down the steps and up to the staff car. The door was opened for him by Chief, and Garrison seated first. Chief saw him comfortably settled and closed the door. The prisoner was shoved in next, on the opposite side of the car, and prodded into the middle of the seat with a jab or two from Casino's rifle. Actor loaded in after that and managed to close his own door. Chief walked around the car and opened his door, but did a little adjusting of his own gloves so he could keep an eye on things while Casino climbed in and got the car started. When the engine roared to life and then settled down into a throaty purr he slid into his seat, closed the door and they took off.

They stayed in character on the drive out of the compound. No one spoke. No one even looked at the prisoner. They kept it up until the gate and the half built guard tower disappeared behind them as Casino guided the car around the first curve in the road. Chief finally turned in his seat so he could get a good look out the back. "We're clear," he declared as he handed the key to the cuffs off to Actor.

The man they'd just rescued didn't seem to believe it. He just sat there looking at each of them in turn. "Je ne comprends pas," he stammered before shifting to accented English. "I, I do not…"

"You work with Guillaume Abreo." It was a statement, not a question, so Garrison didn't wait for the man to answer him. "So do we," he said kindly. "Now lean forward a little so Actor can get those cuffs off you."