Chapter 2 – Casualties of War

"Oh look it's Hamburg, again," commented Goniff as he looked out the starboard window and watched the bustling docks pass by: gunboats, destroyers and freighters jostled for position with tankers and fishing vessels along the river banks.

Garrison throttled back the engines and the flying boat glided down to land on the River Elbe with barely a splash, he grinned as he piloted the plane through the busy river traffic to the very same dock he remembered stealing it from weeks ago.

Goniff walked forward and peered out over the bow of the plane. "I recognise that place ain't it where...?"

Garrison nodded. "You're right Goniff, we're going back to the Dragon's old lair."

Goniff rested his hand lightly on Garrison's good shoulder. "Bloody hell Warden, you got some big, brass ones!"

"Thanks." Garrison grinned, the game was on and he felt the rush of adrenaline in his system, he looked over at his co-pilot to see the same look on his face. Chief scanned ahead to see the guards waiting for them on the dockside, he checked his blade and pistol to make sure they were ready if needed.

De Vere, Eaton, Mason and Ward stood by the hatch waiting to disembark, Mason opened the hatch, threw out the mooring ropes to some German soldiers and watched as the plane was tethered to the dock.

Garrison stepped forward to take the lead and was stopped by a hand on his arm. "Leave 'em be Warden. You're flight crew, you can't be seen to be givin' orders."

Garrison stopped. "You're right, but I know them and I feel responsible for them."

Chief nodded towards the Navajos as they stepped confidently forward. "They're my men too but they ain't our team, they got this, we trained 'em well." They watched as Eaton berated a guard for having a button undone on his uniform and then stride off out of the dock area followed by the rest of the Navajos. They would meet up with Captain Lucas and his crew at the rendezvous location and give them the uniforms they were carrying with them before setting off on their own mission.

Goniff smiled. "Ol' Actor'd be proud, that was nearly as good as him." Garrison had to admit the thief was right.

The three men got out of the flying boat and made a show of inspecting the engines. They walked over to the guards and produced their papers, the soldiers waved them through after a cursory glance, the important personnel had already passed through, the flight crew was of no consequence.

GG-GG-GG

Goniff delved into the large flight bag and pulled out three jackets with SS insignia on them, he and Chief put on the Lieutenants' uniforms while Garrison swapped his Flight Captain's jacket for that of an SS Major. The three men stood in a dark alley next to the large, imposing headquarters building and waited for the right time. Garrison glanced at his watch. "Alright, they'll be changing shift in half an hour so everyone will be less than alert, let's go."

Chief adjusted his cap and lead the way, he opened the door, saluted and waited for Garrison to march through with Goniff close behind before following. Garrison strode up to the soldier on reception, took off his grey gloves and threw them on the desk. "I am Sturmbannführer Krüger, my staff car has broken down and I need to contact my office to arrange another one. I will require an empty room for me and my men to make arrangements and wait for a replacement car and driver."

The corporal looked at the officers, saluted and pointed down the hall, he'd totally forgotten to ask for papers in the face of Garrison's officious attitude and Chief's uncompromising glare that promised trouble if he didn't comply.

Garrison nodded, beckoned to his men and marched down the hall, he opened a door and peered in. "This'll do nicely."

Chief watched the door as Garrison took a building plan out of his jacket pocket. He laid it out on the desk and inspected it closely. "The Major's office is two doors down, do you think you can crack his safe Chief?"

Chief shrugged. "Don't know 'til I see it Warden, if it's one of those Pappy trained me on I can do it, maybe not as fast as him but I'll get the job done. If not I'll give it my best shot."

"Good enough for me." Garrison nodded and looked at Goniff. "Get Chief into the office and then watch the door while he's working, I'll distract the guard." The three men walked out, Garrison headed towards the reception desk while Goniff and Chief headed the other way to the Major's office. Goniff crouched next to the door and picked the lock while Chief kept lookout, a few seconds later they slipped into the room.

Chief took the portrait of Hitler off the wall, looked at the safe, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, he knew this one. He flexed his fingers, put an ear to the safe door and started to turn the dial. Goniff stood by the door and fidgeted. "How's it goin' Chiefy?"

Chief frowned at the interruption. "Be a lot better with some quiet so why don't you can it while I'm workin' Goniff."

The thief looked back out the door to watch Garrison talking to the corporal, his tone didn't sound very pleasant and the soldier seemed nonplussed. "Looks like the Warden's givin' that Kraut a hard time, Actor's rubbed off on 'im, that's for sure."

Chief sighed. "Knock it off Goniff, just give me a minute to get this done." The last tumbler clicked into place, Chief grinned in triumph as he swung open the door and looked inside. He became aware of a face looking intently over his shoulder at the contents of the safe. "Goniff!"

The thief reached for the valuables as Chief reached for the documents in the safe. "Bloody hell Chiefy, look at all this – cash, bonds, oh 'n some lovely jewels," he held up a pearl and diamond encrusted brooch. "Me mum'll love this!"

Chief rolled his eyes. "You shoppin' for your mother, again! She must have more stuff than a museum!"

The thief loaded his pockets until they were full and then proceeded to cram the rest into Chief's. "She's an old lady with no pension, I'm just bein' a good son 'n lookin' after her."

Chief found a space in his shirt to store the documents, he shut the safe, spun the dial put the portrait back and turned to the door. "Ok, let's get outta here before someone finds out 'n cancels your mother's retirement plan."

The two cons crept quietly out of the office and headed to the one they just left. Once inside Chief turned right round, opened the door again and beckoned. "Sturmbannführer Krüger."

Garrison looked over and nodded, he glared at the soldier. "My replacement car is on the way, we'll wait for it outside." He waved to his men to follow and marched outside, they walked calmly down the street and darted back into the alley where they'd stored the bag with their flight gear.

Chief handed over the documents, Garrison took them and thoroughly inspected what they held, Goniff and Chief took the opportunity to store the swag in the bottom of the flight bag.

Garrison looked up, Goniff stood to attention and looked as innocent as only he could. "This is great, well done. The guys at home will have a field day with this. He indicated the bag. "Better get the flight gear back on."

Goniff obliged and handed out the uniforms. "Here you go Warden, Chief."

Garrison looked at his watch. "I'll go meet up with Captain Lucas, it only needs one, you two might as well get back to the Dragon, keep an eye out for patrols."

Goniff hefted the carry bag over his shoulder with a big smile. "No problem Warden, see yah later."

GG-GG-GG

Garrison walked slowly down a street and counted off the numbers, 341, Navajo 4 had left the staff car they'd stolen earlier parked outside and he found the keys resting on the front wheel. He knocked on the door and waited, the door opened and he walked in to be confronted by five guns pointed at him. "Captain Lucas? I'm Lieutenant Garrison, I'm here to get you out."

The Captain stepped forward and held out a hand, he was a tall, thin sandy-haired man, he looked nervously at the newly arrived officer. "Thank goodness, we've had a hell of a few days avoiding the damn Krauts. What's your escape plan?"

Garrison looked at the five men, they were dressed in the uniforms they'd received from the Navajos. "I've got a BV-138 Sea Dragon moored up at the docks to take us out of here. Just follow me and let me do the talking, the guards will think I'm bringing you back from a staff meeting."

The Captain of Lucas' flight crew looked at the Lieutenant in surprise. "We're flying out? How the hell did you get your hands on a Sea Dragon?"

Garrison regarded the Flight Officer. "My team and I stole it during a previous mission, the R.A.F. let us borrow it for this one."

Captain Lucas patted his pockets and found a pack of cigarettes which he passed round. "Astonishing, was that your team we met earlier?"

"No, that was a different special ops team, they met up with you before they went on their mission while my men and I stole intel from SS Headquarters, we'll all meet up at the docks." Garrison tilted his head towards the door to encourage the Captain and his team to follow him.

The Captain blew out a cloud of smoke and regarded Garrison. "Are you the Lieutenant Garrison who has a gang of convicts under his command?"

Garrison answered warily. "I'm the Lieutenant Garrison who's got the best covert team in Special Forces." He remembered how his revealing his team's abilities had got him in trouble in Rome when the Rossetti brothers kidnapped him to take advantage of their skills.

Lucas looked at his flight crew. "Very well Lieutenant, let's get out of here."

GG-GG-GG

Goniff and Chief hid in an alley and watched the road block, there was a long queue of people and vehicles. The thief turned to his companion. "Ain't there no other way to the docks?"

Chief consulted his internal map and shook his head. "Sorry Goniff, there's only one road that goes in to the docks from here 'n that's it. We can try 'n find another way, it'll add a couple miles to our journey."

The thief sighed. "Nah, those Krauts can't stay there all bloody night, we'll just have to wait til they move on. We should've gone with the Warden, hope he waits for us."

Chief watched the German soldiers closely. "He'll wait, he won't leave us behind." He frowned as he realised there was a Captain in the mix who might try to take over command of the mission but he had faith Garrison would prevail.

The thin wail of air-raid sirens started up, Goniff looked up and listened to the faint, distant drone of Flying Fortresses. "Oh great, the Warden's brother's bombin' us again, as if we didn't have enough to worry about!"

GG-GG-GG

The sirens were still wailing as Garrison walked through the dock entrance, he nodded at the guards, they were the same ones as earlier. "Do you want to see our papers again?" he asked. One of the guards looked out of the hut, shook his head and waved the men through, he took a worried glance up at the sky before ducking back in to take shelter.

Garrison waved the Captain and his men over and lead the way to the Sea Dragon, he opened the hatch and climbed in. The flight crew inspected the flying boat, they explored the fuselage and looked out of the gun turrets, the Flight Lieutenant looked at Garrison, he had placed himself between them and the cockpit. "Amazing, this is the first time I've seen one of these, I've heard about them but I never thought I'd get to fly in one. This is the Luftwaffe's main, seaborne, long-range maritime patrol and naval reconnaissance aircraft isn't it?

Garrison nodded. "It's a good plane, easy to fly and the Krauts won't try to shoot it down as they still think it's theirs."

The Flight Lieutenant laughed and slapped the rear-firing 13mm heavy machine gun that was fitted in the middle of the upper fuselage, just behind the mid-set engine nacelle. "I bet this baby can give as good as she gets. Will the R.A.F. recognise it as one of our own? Don't want to get shot down by our own side crossing the channel."

"We'll be fine if we radio ahead, they know the plane." Garrison started to feel uneasy.

Lucas looked out of the open hatch and watched the distant explosions as the American bombers dropped their payloads on the city. "Where are your men Lieutenant? Shouldn't they be here by now or are they off somewhere else robbing a bank? I've heard about them and their 'skills', they can't be trusted."

Garrison shifted slightly and put his hand casually on his sidearm. "I don't care what you think, there are two teams on this mission, they'll be here soon, they have to walk here and there are a lot of patrols and road blocks, there wasn't enough room to bring everyone in the staff car."

Lucas took a last look outside and glanced at his watch. "Well we can't waste time waiting for a bunch of cons, let's go."

Garrison shook his head and started to draw his gun. "No Captain, Navajo 4 aren't cons even if my men are, we're waiting for everyone to get back."

Lucas snorted as he stepped forward to distract Garrison from what the Flight Lieutenant was doing. "You have the intel, we don't need some worthless criminals and dog faces."

Too late Garrison felt a man behind him, he turned, a sharp blow to his head dropped him to the deck and he was rendered helpless. Lucas shut the hatch and turned to his crew. "Tie him up. Can you fly this piece of Kraut crap Lieutenant?"

The Flight Officer nodded. "Yes Sir. You sure you don't want to wait for Garrison's men?"

"Get us out of here now, that's an order." Lucas sat down and watched as the Lieutenant and his second took the cockpit seats, the other two men tied Garrison's hands behind his back.

Garrison struggled and tried to kick out. "We're in no danger, wait for my men to get here."

Lucas shook his head. "My team and I are more important than your bunch of convicts, I'm sure you can replace them, there are plenty more where they came from. As for the soldiers – casualties of war. Let's go Lieutenant."

"No, you don't understand, they're all the best at what they do, we can't replace them. For God's sake wait for them!" Garrison shouted as the flying boat left the dock and headed out to the river. "We came here to get you out, don't leave my men behind, they'll be killed."

Lucas turned away and went to sit in a seat. "We are going Lieutenant, be grateful I didn't throw you out to join your cons."

Garrison pushed himself up to lean against the fuselage. "You'll wish you had Lucas," he said breathlessly.

GG-GG-GG

The flying boat banked over the North Sea and headed towards England. Lucas looked at the Flight Lieutenant. "We'll head up the Thames and land in London."

Garrison lifted his head from where he's been sitting on the floor. "No, this plane is based at Colchester, on the River Colne, we have to let them know we're coming in or we'll be shot down."

Lucas frowned. "Alright Lieutenant, how do we contact them?"

Garrison shook his head. "Only I know the frequency, they know my voice. If they hear you they'll assume you're a Kraut and shoot you down."

The Warden's gamble paid off, the Captain nodded. "Alright, let them know we're coming in."

Garrison was helped up, his ties were cut and he stepped forward to the radio, he picked up the mouthpiece, turned the dial to the frequency for Special Ops in Colchester, glared at Lucas and spoke. "This is Garrison, put me through to Drummond."

"Yes Sir."

The familiar voice of the burly commando came through the speaker. "Garrison?"

Garrison breathed in deeply and spoke calmly. "Hello 'Captain' Drummond. I'm coming back from our mission, do you have any service teams available to meet us when we land? I know team 4 isn't available, the plane was acting up on the way out, we'll need the 'Chief Mechanic'."

Garrison heard the tone in the Sergeant Major's voice change as he picked up the clues and understood the situation. "Certainly Lieutenant, I've got a couple of tech crews, Chief Mechanic Richards will be waiting for you."

"Thank you." Garrison stepped back, handed back the mouthpiece and looked at the Flight Lieutenant. "When you reach the Colne head upriver and land at Colchester, our mooring spot is near the Red Dragon Pub, I'll show you where to go."

GG-GG-GG

The Sea Dragon landed on the Colne with a bump and a splash, Garrison hid a small smile as he knew he would have done a lot better, the plane powered over to the mooring and one of the floats hit the dock with a thud. The Flight Lieutenant shrugged as he and his co-pilot got out of their seats. "Kraut crap, what's another dent?"

Lucas threw open the hatch, looked at the men assembled on the dock and spied a large, bearded man. "Don't just stand there you idiot, tie this thing up and get us out of here."

"Yes, Sir!" Drummond gestured for his men to secure the mooring lines, the flying boat dipped to one side as he stepped into the fuselage and noted the bloody wound on Garrison's forehead, he glanced around at Lucas and his men and the otherwise empty plane, he gave Garrison a questioning look. "Where are Chief, Goniff and the Navajos?"

Garrison nodded towards Lucas and his men. "Those bastards jumped me, tied me up and left them behind, they didn't get a chance to reach the plane."

Lucas shrugged. "They were inconsequential, I'm a Captain, now take me to London immediately, I've got important information."

The flying boat dipped again as Major Richards stepped aboard and gave Lucas and his men his best glare. "I'm afraid that won't be happening, you're heading straight to the stockade." His tone was menacing. "I don't give a damn who you are Captain, I'm a Major and you're in over your head as far as I'm concerned. You've not only left behind one of my elite covert teams, you've left behind Chief, the man who trains them as well as Goniff, who helps with specialist skills. If it's true what the Lieutenant says, and I do believe what he says, you'll be tried for cowardice and dereliction of duty."

Lucas paled as he saw the Major's uniform and his no-nonsense expression, he spluttered. "My information is important!"

"Your information will make it to London, you won't." Richards fixed the officer with his cold, blue eyes. "Captain, we do not leave our men behind, my Navajos, Chief and Goniff would never have done that to you."

Lucas tried bluster to get out of the situation he feared was now getting serious. "Those men were not as crucial to the war effort as I am. My Uncle is General Fremont, he'll get this sorted out, phone him."

Richards shook his head. "Fremont has no influence on me or my command. You're on your own and you will answer for your actions."

Garrison stormed up to Lucas. "You left my men behind, you coward. I should kill you where you stand." He drew back a fist and landed a solid punch that sent the officer flying backwards.

Lucas sat up and held his bleeding, broken nose. "You saw what he did, arrest him for striking a superior officer!"

Drummond looked around at the two Navajo teams he'd brought with him. "Did you see anything lads?"

The Navajos shook their heads. "No superior officer round here apart from the Major, didn't see a thing Drum," replied Peterson of Navajo 2.

"Neither did I." Richards glowered and nodded towards Lucas and his flight crew. "Arrest them and take them to the stockade. There are a lot of tripping hazards getting out of the truck and going down the stairs to the cells, make sure they meet every one of them!"

Drummond smiled. "Yes Sir!"

Richards turned towards Garrison and gave him a critical look. "You alright Lieutenant? You look like crap."

Garrison nodded. "Yes Sir, apart from this cut on my head I'm ready to go back and get our men."

Richards sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry Garrison, apart from the fact you can't fly the Dragon on your own, the R.A.F. will be taking her back in an hour." He looked at the damage done to the float. " Wing Commander Williams won't be happy when he sees that, I'll add criminal damage to Lucas' list of charges."

Garrison looked at his commanding officer in disbelief. "You can't be writing off Navajo 4, Chief and Goniff? I'll go back and get them, just give me something, anything – a boat, plane, even a truck!"

Richards put a hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder. "Garrison, by the time you get back there they'll be either captured, dead or long gone. They're all resourceful men, you can't help them, as much as you would like to."

Garrison shook his head, he wanted to tell Richards that it was his brother he'd left behind but he knew that wouldn't be taken into consideration. How could he tell his family? How could he tell Trish that Rainey was lost?

The Major looked at the dejected man and waved towards a car. "Get back to the mansion Garrison, get some rest and we'll decide what to do next."

Peterson opened the front passenger door. "Come on Lieutenant, orders are orders," he said encouragingly.

"Orders? You think I'm bothered about damn orders when my men are in danger?" Garrison turned to the Major once again. "Let me go back out there, I'll find them!"

Richards fixed Garrison with a stern glare. "You know that's not possible, go back to the mansion or I'll have you locked in the stockade next to Lucas and his men until you see sense."

Peterson laid a gentle hand on Garrison's shoulder and guided him to the car. "Come on Lieutenant, you know the Boss wouldn't want you to get in trouble because of him. If Chief can get back he will and he'll have the others in tow."

Garrison relented and got into the car, he watched Peterson climb into the driver's seat and start the engine. "You really think Chief can get everyone out of Hamburg?"

Peterson turned his head and gave the Lieutenant a knowing grin. "You think he won't?"

Garrison returned the grin with his crooked smile. "I've never doubted Chief."