Chapter 2 – An Impossible Mission

Chief drove back to the mansion, all through the journey his thoughts were with his family, they'd done so much for him and now they were in pain. He pulled up, strode inside and ran up the stairs to his room. A greeting rang down the corridor from the common room. "Hey Geronimo, come here we got somethin' for you." Casino thrust an envelope in Chief's hand as he wandered into the room. "The Warden gave us a couple day's leave startin' tomorrow, London here we come." He paused and looked at Chief's expression. "Come to think of it he handed 'em over and then left in a big hurry with you. Now you're back without him. What's goin' on babe?"

Chief sat down and threw the envelope unopened on the table, he looked up at the three men gathered round him. "It's Craig's... my... our brother Rick, he flies B-17 bombers, his plane got shot down over Germany. They don't think there were any survivors. Richards sent Craig to Hampshire to be with his family, he's taken the girls with him."

Goniff got out his cigarettes and passed them round. "Ain't Rick the guy we're always jokin' about, sayin' he's tryin' to kill us?"

Chief nodded. "Uh huh, only it ain't no joke this time."

Goniff shook his head. "God, no wonder he looked as white as a sheet. Poor bloke, poor you as well."

Actor gave Chief a concerned look. "Shouldn't you be with them? After all you are a Garrison."

Chief gave a short, cynical laugh. "Not Garrison enough for the army." He took a matchstick from Goniff and chewed on it for a few seconds before looking up at Actor. "You know what happens to downed airmen if they get captured?"

Actor lit his cigarette and sat down. "Not really, I expect they're interrogated and put in a prisoner of war camp, the same as they do for soldiers."

Chief thought for a moment, pushed himself up off the chair and headed for the door with a determined look on his face.

Casino narrowed his eyes. "Where you goin' Geronimo?"

Chief stopped and quickly turned to look at them. "Gonna see Richards 'n find out if there's any reports o' downed aircrew." He hurried out the door, moments later the jeep roared down the road to the army camp.

Casino turned to the other two. "You know what he's gonna do don't you?"

Actor nodded. "If there's any news he'll go over there to rescue his brother."

Goniff gave a short laugh. "He wouldn't go on his own would he?" He looked at the others and grimaced as he remembered Chief rescuing Garrison in Norway. "He would, wouldn't he?"

Casino nodded. "Yeah Limey, nobody messes with Geronimo's family 'n gets away with it. Look what happened to Pryor."

Goniff took a nervous puff of his cigarette. "We can't let Chiefy go by himself can we? I mean the Warden can't lose another brother, he's only just got this one. Why don't we go along 'n look after him just to make sure he gets back alright."

Casino snorted softly. "You mean you'd rather go behind enemy lines for a couple days than go to London? You're crazy 'n so am I for agreein' with you. Actor?"

The tall conman ground out his cigarette. "I'm in, let's get our gear ready for when Chief gets back."

GG-GG-GG

Major Richards looked at the silent, dark-haired man standing by the window in his office and frowned, his clipped, British accent showed his exasperation. "For goodness sake Chief, it'll take at least a couple of hours for news to get back to us."

Chief glanced at him. "It's ok, I'll wait."

Richards threw down his paperwork. "Not in here you won't!" He relented. "Look, I know he's your brother but you can't make things go any faster by standing around in my office, I've got work to do. Why don't you go see Drummond? He'll appreciate your help training the Navajos. I'll let you know the moment I hear anything."

Richards breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind Chief, he'd seen him in action in Italy and, more recently, close up when he'd taken out Colonel Pryor going up against a gun armed only with his blade. He grimaced and rubbed his wounded shoulder as he recalled what happened, he knew how dangerous Chief could be, but right now he felt totally different, there was a grim determination that had wound him into a tight spring ready to send him nearly six hundred miles into occupied German territory to rescue a brother he'd never met. Richards looked at the door again, he'd always considered himself to be a highly capable commando, afraid of nothing, a force to be reckoned with, then he met Garrison's quiet, deadly scout and realised there was a higher level of ability he'd never attain. He sighed, returned to his paperwork and prayed that news about Rick Garrison would come soon.

GG-GG-GG

Drummond and Chief were putting Navajo 12 through their paces on the obstacle course. Drummond was amused to see how the men kept a respectful distance from their instructor, he nudged Chief in the ribs. "You keep glaring at 'em like that and it'll be a relief for them to face the enemy."

Chief gave himself a mental shake. "Sorry Drum, I'm worried about Rick. You know I hate standin' around, I need to do somethin'."

Drummond waved at the course. "Well then, get your ass out there and show those kids how it's done! Fetch 'em back in a couple of hours." He watched Chief run over to the squad, gather them round for a talk and then set off round the course. He strode purposefully back to his office and sat by the phone.

Richards had started things in motion as soon as he'd heard what had happened, he'd secretly put in a few calls and now he sat and waited, he knew his unofficial lines of communication were a lot more efficient than the regular channels used. He'd known George Garrison for years and had come to respect his son and the team. It wasn't long before the call he was expecting came through, he jotted down a few lines on a piece of paper. "Thanks, I owe you a drink. You sure they'll be there? Great, we'll tell him now." He put a call through to Drummond.

The Sergeant Major took down notes as Richards passed on his information. "Thank you Sir, I'll let Chief know right away." He looked at the piece of paper, smiled and jotted down three extra words. "That'll be ten pounds you owe me George my lad."

Drummond waited outside and watched as Chief and the new Navajos walked back from the obstacle course, he could see that his friend was more relaxed than earlier as he smiled and talked to the men, the hard physical exercise had been just what he'd needed to get his mind off his troubles. Drum regretted he had to bring him back to reality, he called Chief to follow him back to his office and waited for him to sit down, he held out the piece of paper. "Richards came through, I got intel for you. A Flying Fortress came down near Dortmund, seven aircrew survived and were taken prisoner by the Krauts."

Chief took the piece of paper, read it and looked at Drum. "Thanks for this. Do you think they've been taken to this Dulag Luft place?"

Drum nodded. "I expect so. Nearly all Air Force personnel captured in German occupied Europe are taken to Dulag Luft it's in Frankfurt-am-Main. There's three installations there: the interrogation centre at Oberusal, the hospital at Hohemark and the transit camp at Wetzlar."

Drum watched as Chief eagerly rose to leave. "Where you going Laddie? Sit down, I've got more to tell you." Chief reluctantly sat back down. "They'll be kept at the interrogation centre for only a few days, from there they'll be taken over three hundred miles away to Stalag Luft One. It's an Air Force Prisoner of War camp run by the Luftwaffe located two miles north-west of the village of Barth, on the Baltic Sea. It's all written down for you."

Chief looked at the last three words. "What's this Drum?" he queried.

The burly Sergeant Major leaned back in his chair. "My contacts will be meeting you near Kirn, it's south-west of Frankfurt. That's the recognition code."

Chief shook his head as he reread the code. "You're joshin' me Drum."

Drummond stood up straight-faced. "Deadly serious my friend. There'll be a plane standing by ready to take you out in two hours, go get your gear." He held out his hand. "Good luck Chief, come back safe."

GG-GG-GG

Drummond stood and watched the jeep hurtle down the road to the gatehouse, he became aware of Major Richards walking up and standing next to him. "Chief on his way Drum?"

Drummond regarded his superior officer. "Yes Sir. Thank you for getting the information."

Richards snorted. "Thank you for taking him off my hands for a couple of hours. It was very disconcerting having him lurking around my office waiting for news."

Drum laughed. "Chief's a good lurker, one of the best. Anyway you'll be pleased to know under his leadership Navajo 12 completed the obstacle course in record time."

Richards smiled. "Every cloud has a silver lining Drum."

Drummond turned to his commander. "What do you think his chances are, Sir?"

Richards frowned. "He got Garrison out of Norway, but this is Germany." He looked at Drummond. "We both know he would've gone in on his own. We've given him everything we can to help him, let's hope it's enough."

GG-GG-GG

Chief burst through the door of the mansion and ran up to his room. His mission bag was always kept ready in the armoire, he picked it up, took one last look round his room and left. He ran down the stairs and pulled up short when he saw Actor, Goniff and Casino waiting for him, they had their heavy coats on and their bags slung over their shoulders ready to go.

"Wotcha Chiefy," grinned Goniff.

"Yeah, where do you think you're goin' Geronimo?" enquired Casino.

Actor pointed to the large cabinet where the maps were stored. "We need to know so I can get the right maps for the mission."

Chief stared at them in shock, he pulled himself together and shook his head vehemently. "Uh uh, this is my family, my business 'n I'm goin' to Germany alone."

"Where exactly in Germany are we going?" enquired Actor as he walked over to the cabinet.

Chief remained quiet, Casino tapped him on the arm. "The man asked where we goin', answer him."

Chief relented. "We think Rick has been taken to Frankfurt-am-Main, Dulag Luft. I already told you I'm goin' on my own, it's an impossible mission 'n I won't involve anyone else in it."

Actor rummaged in the cabinet, Chief watched as the con man nonchalantly sorted out a couple of maps of Germany, folded them up and put them in his mission bag.

Casino humphed. "Sure, you can go on your own Geronimo but we're comin' with you. What would the Warden say if we didn't look after his little brother? If that means taggin' along with you on your unofficial caper, so be it."

Goniff smiled. "Look Chief, it's like this. Rick's a Garrison so he's family, our family 'n we look after our family. Ain't I right Casino?"

Casino nodded. "Damn right Limey. We're Army, he's Air Force, we're all brothers-in-arms and we help each other out. So no arguin' Geronimo, we're comin' whether you like it or not."

Actor looked pointedly at Chief. "The Warden did give us a couple day's leave, we can go anywhere we want and Germany is so nice this time of year."

Chief looked at his friends, he realised they weren't going to take no for an answer. "Thanks guys. Hope you don't regret your decision."

Goniff patted Chief affectionately on his shoulder. "Nothin'll happen to us, we got you watchin' our backs."

Chief looked at his watch. "We got a flight in less than an hour, we'll have more'n enough time for Actor to come up with a plan on the way over."

The front door closed and the empty mansion echoed to the sound of the jeep roaring down the drive towards the air base.