Coming Home
Chapter 1
By WildClover27
Teresa Garrison stood away from the crowd, watching the dancers and swaying ever so slightly to the music. She nursed the glass of champagne in her hand. It was taking too long. They should have gotten the information out of the safe and been out of here by now. There was no sign of her brother or Casino or Chief.
She sensed him behind her though she had not heard him. When and how had she become so attuned to the man? The large hands lightly glided up and down her upper arms. She did not look back but tilted her head to the left and turned her chin ever so slightly back to accept his kiss on her cheek. Her expression never changed, but she was acutely aware of him nuzzling her neck. That wasn't in the plan. Soft, warm breath caressed the skin beneath her ear. She heard him inhale gently of the scent behind that ear. Damn, he was getting into this role. His lips nibbled at the side of her throat, causing a flush of warmth through her body. It startled her that she was responding to him so readily in the middle of a mission.
"We must leave here," was softly breathed into her ear with some urgency. "The Warden and Casino were caught. Chief got away."
The smile never left her face, but it was strained, as she turned around to move into his embrace. His arms enfolded her, pulling her in close, as he moved to nuzzle the other side of her throat. She stretched her chin up and tilted her head to lay it against his shoulder, giving him more access and bringing her lips closer to his ear.
"And how are we going to do this?" she murmured, pulling on his earlobe with her lips. "We can't just walk out to the car, can we?" She felt a minute stiffening of his muscles as she teased his ear.
"May I suggest we step out onto the terrace and see if there is a safe escape route?"
"Lead on, caro," she murmured back to him.
He straightened and slipped his hand between her body and her upper arm. She wondered wryly if the brushing of the side of her breast by the backs of his fingers was accidental or calculated. When they returned to England she would have to suggest to Craig it was time for the guys to have another 48 hour pass to London. Or maybe a 72 hour pass in the Italian's case. That was if they were able to return to England with Craig and Casino. That thought brought her back to seriousness.
He led her outside. She came to stand at the edge of the terrace stones and looked casually around. Actor slipped his arms around her, guiding her back against him. He held her tightly, but his eyes too were scanning the area. They could see down the drive to where there were cars and lights. Garrison and Casino were escorted none too gently into the back of one of the vehicles. Their arms were tied behind their backs.
Booted footsteps sounded behind them. They pretended to not hear.
"My, I wonder what they did?" said Terry in German. "I never heard anything."
"Do not watch too closely," suggested Actor, also in German. "I believe those are SS officers with those cars. It would not do to look too closely at the activities of the SS."
Actor turned her to face him and bent his head to give her a sensuous kiss. Her arms went around his neck and a hand went to play with the hair at his nape. Both were aware they were being watched and put a little extra passion into the kiss. The men who had followed them out, stayed a few moments and watched before finally deciding there was nothing of importance with the couple and returning to the ballroom. Actor extended the kiss a moment longer, just to be on the safe side.
"You two comin' up for air soon?" drawled a whisper from the large bush next to the embracing couple.
Terry gave a startled jump, before recognizing Chief's voice.
"Can you get us to a car?" asked Actor in a low voice.
"Yeah, think so," was the reply.
"Where's Goniff?" asked Terry, concerned about the little pickpocket.
"Don't know," replied Chief. "Think he mighta headed for the cars too."
The Indian stepped out of the bushes and brushed leaves off him, all the time looking around to study the area. He led the way around the building. Actor had a hand on Terry's upper arm, keeping her close to him and shielding her as much as possible. There was a stretch of open lawn between the building and the parking area. With another glance around, the three headed across it. A guard came around the corner of the building.
"Halt! Hande Hoch!"
The three skidded to a stop, Actor keeping himself between the man and Teresa. For whatever reason, the guard fired two shots. Chief crumpled sideways and Actor came down on top of Terry, pinning her. Chief was close and she reached out for his arm to get the knife out of the sheath, not taking the time to wonder why he had not thrown it.
"No," whispered Chief in pain. "Boot." He eased his leg up where she could reach the knife.
Actor was sprawled heavily atop her. The angle was awful, but she threw the knife anyway. It landed, but not in a vital spot. The guard took aim at her. A single shot rang out and the guard crumpled. Terry looked around and spotted Goniff running up to them. He pulled Chief to his feet. The Indian swayed but stayed upright. Actor groaned as he regained consciousness and tried to sit up. This elicited another groan. Goniff grabbed him under the right arm and tried to haul him up. Terry pulled herself out from under the big man and stood up behind him. There was a great deal of blood on his left sleeve. She bent and grabbed him around the waist.
"Come on, Sweetheart," she grunted, trying to lift him with Goniff's help. "Get your feet under you. We have to get out of here."
Actor tried to help as much as he could. The pain washed over him in waves with each movement. Between Terry and Goniff, they got him to his feet. Terry ducked under Actor's right arm and gripped him around the waist. She had seen the left arm dangling loosely. It scared her, having a good idea what had happened to it.
"Goniff, get the gun and the knife," she ordered. He sprang to do her bidding. Terry glanced at the Indian who also looked to be in a great deal of pain with blood spreading on his left shoulder. "Chiefy, can you make it?"
"Yeah," was the strained answer.
They started forward. Actor tried to fight through the pain, concentrating on moving his feet. He was leaning very heavily on Teresa. With a burst of sheer willpower, the Italian straightened and walked on his own. Terry did not release her grip on him. Goniff ran up and handed her the closed switchblade. For lack of anyplace else, she slipped it down the front of her dress and into her bra.
Terry chose a sedan at the far corner of the parking area, hidden from view by the other vehicles. Goniff helped Chief in the backseat and came around to help her get Actor in. A movement out of the corner of her eye had Terry grabbing for her chest. She retrieved and snapped the knife open, throwing it in one continuous motion. This time her aim was true.
"Goniff!"
The Englishman ran over to the guard. Terry shut the door behind Actor and ran to the front of the car, opening the hood. Goniff ran up with her knife and a schmeisser. The woman tucked the blade back in its new sheath. Goniff got behind the wheel as Terry reached above-the-elbow-white-gloved arms into the engine and expertly hotwired it as Casino had taught her. Goniff started the engine and watched Terry slam the hood down and latch it. To his surprise, she opened the driver's door and motioned him to move over. She would normally have gotten in the back with the two injured men and left the driving to the pickpocket, but Goniff was just a tad conservative in his driving, and they didn't have time for that. Despite and because of the wounded two in the back, they couldn't afford cautious driving.
"Hang on back there," she warned, "this is going to be rough."
She took off across the lawn toward the rear of the estate. She followed the map of the estate in her mind, jumping the curb and turning onto a back drive. The big car headed for the guarded gate. Seeing the twin flags on each front fender, the guards reacted automatically without thinking and opened the gate for the general's staff car. Terry hung a right and turned left at the first crossroad, zigzagging through the back roads to get going in the opposite direction and toward the safety of the farm house. She had turned the headlights off and took the curves in the road too fast and slowing by shifting gears instead of using the brakes which would have shown lights from behind.
Hitting a straightaway, she called out, "You guys okay back there?"
"Actor's passed out," said Chief tightly.
"Where's he hit?" she asked.
"I don't know. Left arm I think."
It wasn't like Actor to pass out over an arm wound. That worried her. "How's your shoulder?" she asked the Indian.
"I'll live," he replied.
Goniff turned around in the seat and peered into the dim back seat.
"See anything else?" asked Terry.
Goniff shook his head. "Looks like just the arm."
"Artery?"
"Don't think so," said Chief. He tried to maneuver so he could check the con man better, but Actor was unconscious and leaning on Chief's injured shoulder. "He hit that arm against the door on one of those curves. That's when he passed out."
Terry concentrated on her driving. By sheer luck they got to the safe house without signs of pursuit. She slowed going up the bumpy dirt lane to the house. Pulling up close to the steps into the farmhouse, Terry shut off the engine. Goniff got out and went up the steps to make sure the house was safe. Terry twisted in the seat.
"Chief?"
"I'm okay," the Indian replied.
"What about Actor?"
"I am fine," said a tense low Italian voice.
"Yeah, like I believe that one," said Terry, happy he was conscious.
Goniff bounded down the steps as Terry got out of the car. "It's clear," he assured her.
"Help Chief."
Goniff opened the passenger door and helped the younger man out. Terry opened the other passenger door. As she reached to help Actor's injured arm, he held his other bloody hand up to stop her.
"Don't touch it, Teresa. Please!"
"Okay," she agreed. She stood back a step as the con man carefully moved around so his legs were out. His right arm was across his chest, holding his left elbow tight to him. Terry stepped forward and slipped her hand inside his right arm and groped until she got hold of his belt again. With difficulty they got him to his feet. Now, she saw for certain that he had no control of the left arm from above the elbow down. He stopped, straightened and took several long deep breaths. Temporarily back in control of himself, Actor started for the house. Terry still kept a hold of his right arm and his belt. They took the steps one at a time.
Once inside the dark house, Goniff lit a lamp. Chief was seated on a kitchen chair at the table. He watched Terry and Actor. Goniff stepped forward to help and found himself under Actor's glare.
"I've got him," said Terry. "See if you can find an aid kit."
Goniff nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.
"Where?" Terry asked Actor.
"Sofa," gasped the con man.
The eased over to the sofa and Terry helped him down. It still elicited a sharp hiss from the man.
Terry reached for the front of his dress jacket. Actor shook his head.
"Take care of Chief," he said. "I must rest for a few minutes."
Terry nodded and turned away to go to the Indian. Chief watched her with dark eyes that darted worriedly toward his Italian counterpart. Terry shrugged and shook her head at his silent question of how Actor was. Goniff returned with a worried look on his face.
"There's no kit, Terry," he said.
Terrific, thought the young woman. "Try the car." As the pickpocket went to do her bidding, she started to remove the shirt from Chief. The wound was high up on his shoulder, still bleeding. She watched the symmetrical expansion of his chest with each breath. At least it hadn't hit the lung. Goniff was right back in.
"No kit in the car either." He looked to the woman for more instruction.
"See if you can heat up some water and find some towels. Is my bag still in the bedroom?"
"Yeah," replied Goniff.
While he was getting the water, Terry went into the bedroom and changed into her pants, shirt and boots. She came back into the front room carrying the ball gown. Calmly she spread it on the table and taking her switchblade, cut a several inch wide strip off the bottom.
"Teresa!" objected Actor.
She paused and turned to him in exasperation. "Actor, I can replace a gown, I can't replace the two of you." She went back to what she was doing.
A smile tickled Chief's lips. It wasn't often Terry attempted to dress down the older man. He watched her fashion pads from the material. Goniff brought out a pan of warm water and a sliver of soap.
Terry set about cleaning the wounds on the front and back of Chief's shoulder. "Actor, can you talk to me?"
"Yes," replied the con man.
"Tell me who our contact is and how I get hold of him."
Actor looked at her a moment and began briefing her on the locations, the people and the passwords. All the while, she worked at cleaning and dressing the shoulder wounds as best she could. When she finished with Chief, she turned her attention back to Actor.
The con man's face was pale and sweaty. Terry knelt on the right side of the couch and unbuttoned the jacket. Neither spoke. Hazel eyes watched her. She motioned him to lean forward. He took a breath and did, releasing the hold he had on his left elbow. Actor did not usually show pain. This time he grimaced, clinched his teeth and tried to suppress a groan. Terry carefully helped him ease the good arm out of the jacket and pulled it around his back. She stood and tried to peel it down the injured arm. The grimace on his face, plus the holding of his breath, made her stop. Terry stepped around and squatted down on her heels in front of his left arm. She took the end of the sleeve in both hands and tried to slide it down. His face contorted in pain, and he tried not to make a sound. He was unable to suppress a small noise as the jacket slid over the wound. She got the jacket off and flung it aside. Actor was trying to maintain control and breathing deeply. Terry gave him a rest. She lay her left hand on his knee and gingerly lay the tips of her right first and middle fingers atop the radial artery inside the wrist of the injured arm, relieved to feel a strong pulse. She felt for warmth in his fingers and pressed the nailbeds to further check his circulation. Her eyes traveled up his arm. The upper part of the sleeve was soaked in blood and tight. Terry tucked her hair back behind her ears, got the switchblade out of her bra and glanced up at Actor's face. He nodded. She carefully began slitting the sleeve from the cuff upward, aware of the tension in him and the ragged breathing as he fought to not show the pain. Peeling the sleeve away from the arm, she saw the injury for the first time and gasp, fingers flying to cover her mouth.
"Madre di Dio! Why didn't you say something before?" she demanded. Her eyes never left the wound.
"What would you have me do, Teresa? Tell you while you were driving. What? You would stop in the middle of the road, tell the Germans to take a time out while you fixed this?" He eyed her. "As talented as you are, cara, I really do not think you can fix this. It is a compound, comminut-."
"Actor! I know what it is!" She knew and was horrified at the prospect of dealing with it. "And I know I can't fix it. There's nothing here to work with and I would at least need Craig and Casino's strength to get it back in alignment if I did have supplies."
The bleeding was down to oozing. The upper arm was swollen, bruising and almost appeared to have a joint where there wasn't supposed to be one. With the open wound it was ripe for infection and if not treated could end up in gangrene and loss of the arm.
Goniff stepped up to see, eyes widening like saucers. "Cor . . . bloody 'ell. That's a bullet wound?
Terry heard him swallowing hard against the bile rising in his throat. "Goniff, don't you dare!"
"Sorry." The second story man turned his back and gulped air.
"What is it?" asked Chief. "I can't see from here."
Terry pivoted on her toes to look at Chief. Gesturing and using layman's terms she tried to explain. "The bullet hit the bone in his upper arm and broke it. The ends shifted and with his strong arm muscles the lower part of the bone got pulled up on an angle overlapping the top part of the bone. And it's an open wound."
Chief levered himself up and walked carefully to look over Terry's shoulder. He shot a glance at Actor's face. "Man, no wonder you passed out when your arm hit the door."
He turned his attention to the woman as she lay pads of dress over Actor's wound and tied them in place with more strips of cloth. "What are we goin' to do now?"
"Well," said Terry, sitting back on her heels, "I've got to get you two out of here and to a hospital in England in the next 24 hours."
"Wot about the Warden and Casino?" asked Goniff. "You goin' to leave them behind."
Terry shot a sharp look at the Englishman. "I don't know, Goniff? Do you?" She asked in frustration.
Actor tried to work through his pain. He reached his bloodied good hand out and grasped the woman's hand.
"Cara," he said to get her attention. "You are going to have to go find the Resistance and see if they have any word on the Warden and Casino. See what they can do to get them out of wherever they are at, and get us out of here to someplace hopefully a bit safer." The look she gave him spoke of her fear of leaving them alone."
"We will be fine," the Italian said reassuringly.
"You better be here when I get back," she said. Terry turned to Goniff. "Cut up the gown into two slings for them. You know how to put a sling on. Cut some more pads and save the rest."
Actor squeezed her hand and switched to Italian. Softly he said, "You know what you have to do. And we both know you can do it. Be careful."
The woman did not answer. She just squeezed his hand back and released it. Looking at her hands, she very carefully wiped the blood off on the split sleeve of Actor's dress shirt with a shrug of apology to him. Taking one last look at the confidence man, Terry rose to her feet and looked out the window before opening the door and slipping outside.
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