94. Getting Back to Normal
Chapter 3
When the road into London finally opened up, it was one lane of traffic. Craters and torn up dirt lined the other lane. Once past the damage, Casino picked up speed through the city and nailed the accelerator pedal when they came out on the other side. It was almost 1800 by the time they made it back to the Mansion.
GGG
Terry walked inside and tossed her purse on the table, followed by her sweater. It was four hours later than she had planned. She had to hurry to get supper started or they would not eat much before ten o'clock. That in mind, she headed toward the kitchen. The common room was empty, but she assumed the guys were upstairs.
She heard voices as she neared the swinging door between the dining room and the kitchen.
Cautiously, Terry pressed on the door and peeked around into the kitchen. The first person she saw was Actor, with his white cast, standing at the stove, in front of her stew pot.
Chief and Goniff were lounging at the table which was full of vegetable peelings, knives, dishes, and a communal ashtray.
Actor's head swiveled around in the woman's direction. "Ah, you finally made it back," he said. "Were there problems?"
"With Julie, no," said Terry, stepping into the kitchen. "Two raiders bombed the road on the west side of London. Traffic was stopped. You guys are making dinner?"
"O' course we are, Love," grinned Goniff.
"When you did not arrive back by three," said Actor, "it seemed we should cook if we wanted to eat." He sounded grumpy, but there was a twinkle in the hazel eyes that looked at her.
"Hey, where is everybody?" came a familiar yell.
Terry grimaced, but only the Italian saw it. He had predicted it would not be a pleasant trip for the young woman.
"Kitchen, Mate!" called out the Cockney.
Terry quickly stepped over beside Actor. As anticipated, the door swung open and hit the refrigerator.
Casino looked around and focused on Terry. "See, you don't have to cook. We could have stopped and gotten something to eat."
Actor felt Teresa tense beside him. He took a teaspoon that was on the stove, scooped up a taste of the broth and held it out to her.
"Is the seasoning to your approval?"
Terry's eyebrow rose and she took a taste. "Oh, that is so – o good. Is that partridge?"
"Yes," replied Actor. "We did not think you would be happy if we butchered one of you chickens, so Chief kindly obtained a partridge on the estate."
Terry turned around and gave the young man's shoulder a quick squeeze. "Thank you, Chief."
"Needed to get in some practice anyway," replied the man, off-handedly, allowing the touch.
Casino recognized he was practically being ignored. "So are you going to take over cooking," he asked the woman.
"No, she is not," said Actor firmly. "Look at her. She is exhausted." He addressed Terry, "You have time to take a little nap or something while this is simmering."
"Where's Craig?" asked the woman.
"He is resting with his leg up on his bed with a book, I believe," replied the Italian.
"I think I'll go check on him," said Terry. She turned and looked pointedly at the safecracker who was blocking the door.
Casino sidestepped between the table and the counter to let her pass.
GGG
Garrison was lounged atop his bed, back resting against pillows stuffed up against the headboard and leg up on another pillow. H was enjoying a book Actor had picked out for him from the Mansion's library. It was an aged leather-bound book with dog-eared yellowed pages. Craig usually didn't read fiction, but this was an engrossing murder-mystery, set during the middle of the last century on a train in France. Luckily the book was in English, though some of the books in the library were in other languages. The familiar sound of boot heels on the hallway floor reached him. They were moving slower than usual. Craig placed the bookmark between the pages, closed the book and set it on the bed beside him.
The woman who entered his room without knocking and shut the door quietly behind her looked closer to Actor's age than younger than himself. Garrison noted the lines at the corners of the eyes that were above the darkened circles. There was no smile either. He watched her turn the desk chair around to face him and sit.
"Where the hell have you been?" asked Craig.
"Sitting by the side of the road for three, maybe four, hours," replied the girl.
"What happened?" Craig was frowning now.
"Raiders," said Terry. "Strafed and bombed the road just outside London. Casino was going to turn around, but we thought it would just be a matter of an hour at most. Thought it was a car accident. I guess it was too much trouble for the bobbies or whoever they were to get someone to direct turning us all around."
She jerked her chin toward his nightstand with the pack of cigarettes. Craig reached over and tossed the pack to her, followed by his lighter. She tapped a cigarette out, put it between her lips and lit in, taking a deep inhalation and holding it.
Craig watched her. "Did you get Julie situated alright?"
Terry nodded. "Good thing I stopped to talk with Betty," said the girl. "We might have been on the road when the Jerries hit." She shrugged. "I didn't see any sign of vehicles."
"Casino?"
Terry gave a little harrumph. "He was Casino, maybe a little less so."
"Next time let Chief drive," Garrison admonished her.
She shook her head. "Actor can handle himself, but even he has a limit to how much he can take. We'd have had to bury Casino's body somewhere or lose our con man."
Secretly, Craig had been thinking the same thing. Casino was good in a fight, but the sedate-appearing Italian could fight, and fight dirty, probably even one handed. Mostly the bulging-eyed, irate SS officer was a good acting job. Garrison did not want to see the man really lose his temper. And anything perceived as being against Julie would be the perfect catalyst. Maybe not. Garrison and Actor both knew the safecracker wouldn't do anything that would hurt the young girl. And Julie wasn't afraid of him.
Terry slouched in the desk chair and slowly smoked her cigarette. Finally, she looked at him. "What's with you? You don't do this." She gestured at his reclined self on the bed.
Craig shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just not bouncing back. I tried to work on intel, but my brain wouldn't wrap around it, so I gave up for now."
Terry shook her head. "I feel the same way. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble bouncing back."
"Well," said her brother. "You had a bad concussion, a broken arm, and five bullets that didn't kill you. That might have something to do with it."
"Guess it wasn't my time," said Terry philosophically.
"Wasn't any of our times," said Craig. "By rights, every one of us should be dead."
"This is getting morbid," remarked Terry, taking a puff of her cigarette. "What are you reading?"
He held the book up so she could see the title. "Oh, yeah, that was a good one. Actor gave me that one to read a while back."
"Don't tell me the ending," said Garrison quickly. It got the first smile from his sister. "Do you want to come along with us to see the doctor tomorrow?"
"Are you kidding," said Terry adamantly. "And leave Mutt and Jeff home alone? Who knows what jail we would find them in."
"Too much of a ride again so soon?" asked her brother knowingly.
He got a nod in reply. Terry snubbed out the butt of her cigarette in the ashtray Garrison held out to her and stood up.
"I think I'm going to take a nap before dinner, and I have a huge sink full of dishes to do."
"I'll dry," said Garrison.
"I may hold you to that," said Terry with a tired smile as she went out the door.
GGGGG
Garrison sat on the exam table, waiting for the doctor to return. Actor had been taken to have his arm x-rayed, and Chief had stayed in the waiting room. As he waited, the officer contemplated ordering more hand weights, seeing there would be at least three of them trying to use the ones Actor had. Craig knew he didn't really need them because his arms were working okay. He just wanted to get his strength back. Terry was using them. Casino was using them when he could get them away from Terry. And if Actor was able to have the cast removed today, he would need his weights back. Yes, two more sets at least.
Dr. Horner walked into the room and looked at the Lieutenant. "The leg is looking better now. You can start exercising it slowly, walking at first. Take it easy on the activity though. You have had a very bad concussion. Let your brain heal in its own good time."
"The Army isn't going to like that," said Garrison.
The doctor smiled. "Oh, I know how to deal with the Army. It's way too soon for you to be going up in an airplane, let alone jumping from one. And fishing boats and submarines would just aggravate the dizziness and headache. You would not be at your best in any emergency."
Craig had figured that much, but also knew the Army didn't care. They would be trying to send them back to the Continent as soon as possible. The other concern was his con man.
"Doctor, is there any word on Mr. Borghese's arm yet?" he asked.
The doctor crossed his arms and leaned back against the door. "I did a wet read of his x-rays. The humerus looks healed, but I am waiting for the films to dry and our radiologist to look at them. He can tell better how strong that bone is now." Dr. Horner straightened and smiled. "You can get dressed now, Lieutenant. You are not cleared for active duty, and I want to recheck you again in two weeks."
"Thank you, Sir," said Garrison.
He waited for the doctor to leave before allowing a frown to come to his face. Two more weeks. Great. The Army was going to go nuts, and his men already were acting up at the inactivity. There wasn't any of the three people who could possibly lead this group – himself, Actor, or even Terry – who were capable of doing that right now.
Craig dressed in his uniform and let himself into the hallway. He was basically ignored by staff members out there. He made his way casually down the hall to the second door where Actor was. It was closed, but no voices could be heard so he tapped lightly.
"Enter," came the Italian's voice.
Craig opened the door and slipped in, closing it quietly behind him. He turned to face his con man.
"Ah, Lieutenant," smiled Actor. "Are you cleared yet?"
Garrison was aware his second in command knew enough medicine to know the answer to that one. "Neither of us is," he said. "At least for another two weeks. Any word on your arm from the radiologist?"
"Not yet," replied Actor. He frowned in frustration. "You know, Warden, as accommodations go, the Mansion is miles better than any of our previous places of incarceration. However, I believe all of us, yourself included, are beginning to go stir crazy." He lifted an eyebrow. "Some of our group more than others."
Craig knew exactly who he was referring to. "Yes, but he seems to have settled down a little bit. I'd love to know what Terry said to him."
"She is not saying," said Actor. "I tried to find out." A twinkle came to the hazel eyes. I know she left her switchblade at the Mansion. But I am surprised she did not leave him in one of the bomb craters."
That brought a chuckle from the woman's brother. Craig took a chair in the corner, out of the way. It was another ten minutes before Dr. Horner entered the room. He did not seem at all surprised to see his other patient there. He smiled at the Italian.
"Well, Mr. Borghese," said the doctor, "I have been told the break is healed. That does not mean you can go back to doing the somewhat strenuous activities I assume your group is used to doing. Start slowly. If you can find something to use as a light weight and work your way up . . . I want to see you again also in two weeks. You are not cleared for duty."
When there was no response to that, Dr. Horner set up and removed the cast from the Italian's arm.
Actor looked questioningly at Garrison.
Craig anticipated that and said, "I'm ordering more hand weights when we get back to our base."
Dr. Horner stepped back toward the door. "When you return in two weeks bring Miss Garrison with you. I want to give her a final check-up."
"Thank you, Sir," the Lieutenant.
When the doctor left, Garrison's attention went to the two forearms the older man was holding up in disdain. The top of the left forearm was covered in thick black hair, twice as much as his right forearm.
"I know this is normal for wearing a cast for as long as I have. But it is somewhat uneven. It reminds me of a gorilla. You know, the kind we are referred to rather derisively."
Garrison chuckled even more at the man's vanity. "So what are you going to do about it?"
Actor sighed dramatically. "I suppose the same thing Teresa had to do with her arms. Shave them." His lip curled. "It is so prickly and itchy as it grows back."
"Well, you could just keep shaving them," teased Craig, earning himself and dirty look.
"Hardly."
Actor reached for his shirt that was laying across the pillow on the exam table and quickly put it on, buttoning it as he stood up.
"Warden, let us leave quickly, before he changes his mind," said Actor.
"I agree," grinned Garrison.
They both made for the door, to get Chief from the waiting area and get out of there.
Chief glanced at the shirt-sleeved covered arm of the con man. He had expected the cast to come off and was not surprised to learn the two men were not released for active duty. It was going to be another long two weeks.
Two hours later, they pulled up and parked in the car park by the steps up to the Mansion. The two oldest men got stiffly out of the car and headed up the steps.
Terry was waiting by the door when they came in. She tilted her head and eyed the cloth covered left forearm of the Italian.
"Okay, show me," she said.
"No," replied Actor bluntly.
Chief and Garrison watched the interplay.
"Oh, come on," teased the girl. "I want to see it."
"It looks like yours did," said Actor as he headed for the stairs.
"Want me to shave it for you?" offered Terry.
"I am perfectly capable of shaving it myself," replied the con man indignantly.
Terry grinned at his back and did not follow him. She turned back to the other two men.
"How long this time?" she asked, certain they were not cleared yet.
"Two weeks," said Garrison. "And you are coming with us."
"Figures," said the girl in disgust. She turned and walked back to the kitchen.
The two men exchanged grins.
7