Love and Kisses

by Tarascani

3rd Story In My Series: The team is sent on a mission to Poland to kill a captured agent. They have to split into two groups to get the job done. Garrison gets a surprise and nearly loses one of his own.

3. Gdansk

Chapter 3 - Gdansk

Garrison swayed in the breeze, he knew he was caught up in a tree but how far up? He couldn't see anything, there was no moon and the clouds prevented any starlight. He could be thirty feet up or thirty inches, he debated whether to release the harness and find out.

Chief's amused voice floated up to him. "Whatcha doin' Warden? You just gonna hang around or can we get goin'?"

Garrison breathed a sigh of relief. "Chief! How high am I?"

A hand banged his foot. "'bout ten feet, you can drop."

Garrison hit the ground and rolled. He stood up and heard Chief's soft chuckle. "The only tree in the field and you gotta find it, that's a rare talent you got there Warden."

Garrison was glad Chief couldn't see him blush, or could he? The scout's night vision was very good. Chief decided to placate him. "Only just missed it myself," he lied convincingly.

Garrison felt around for the bag carrying his gear. "Little more to the right," whispered Chief.

"Thanks. How can you see? There's no light."

"Old injun trick," said Chief quietly, he smiled as he pocketed the small torch; he'd switched it on and kept his body between it and Garrison.

Garrison slung the bag over his shoulder and thought he could just about make out the shape of his scout. "Which way?"

Chief nodded east. "This way." He realised Garrison couldn't see anything in the pitch blackness. He took a deep breath and braced himself. "Put your hand on my shoulder, I'll lead you."

Garrison hesitated. "You don't like anyone touching you, just talk and I'll follow your voice."

Chief reached out, grabbed Garrison's hand and put it on his shoulder. "Only people I don't trust. I trust you now. In future let me see what you're doin' first, I don't like surprises."

Garrison smiled into the darkness, he felt privileged by Chief's concession. "Thanks."

Chief set off. "Come on Warden."

GG-GG-GG

Dawn found them sheltering at the edge of a wood. Chief was keeping watch, he turned round and walked silently over to Garrison, he was slumbering on the ground. He reached down and gently shook the Lieutenant's shoulder. "Wake up Warden."

Garrison woke with a start, he hadn't remembered falling asleep. The walk in the dark had been long and tiring. He looked up into Chief's level gaze and gave him an embarrassed smile. "How long have I been asleep?"

Chief looked at his watch. "Only a couple hours. We're not far from the rendezvous point." He gave Garrison an amused look and pointed. "That tree's safe to use if you need it."

Garrison regarded it with mock suspicion. "I haven't had much luck with trees lately. How do you know it's safe, did you threaten it?"

Chief stretched out his right arm to reveal the sheath holding his blade. "Uh huh, told it I'd turn it into firewood if it attacked you like the last one."

Garrison laughed out loud. A few minutes later he returned after his commune with nature and stood next to his scout. "How far?"

Chief pointed down the track. "About half a mile, you sure you can trust 'em?"

Garrison shook his head. "No, but I've got to trust the intel. I've got the codewords and I know who I'm meeting. Let's go."

Chief held up a hand. "You go, I'll cover you. Best they don't know I'm here until we know for sure."

Garrison picked up his mission bag, slung his rifle over his shoulder and took the first step down the path. He stopped and turned round. "Chief..." He was on his own. He shook his head and marvelled how his scout could just disappear into thin air. He knew he was nearby and watching him, just like in France. He headed off towards the rendezvous feeling as safe as if he was at home in the mansion.

Half a mile further on he stopped and waited. Three young, armed men walked down the track towards him. Garrison looked at them. "Autumn."

"Spring." Came the response. " Lieutenant Garrison?"

Garrison relaxed. "Yes."

The leader of the men stepped forward with a puzzled smile. "I was told there would be two of you."

Garrison smiled and indicated the man who'd just stepped out of the trees behind the group and was covering them with his rifle. "This is Chief, my scout."

Chief nodded, his voice was low and menacing. "Put 'em down."

The three startled men men laid their weapons on the ground and put up their hands. Garrison looked at the leader of the group. "I'm sorry but I've got to make sure you're who you say you are."

The man was obviously nervous with a gun pointed at his back. "I am Pawel, this is Borys, and this is Andrezj."

Garrison looked at Chief and nodded, he lowered his weapon slightly. He turned back to the Pole and indicated they could retrieve their weapons. "Pleased to meet you Pawel."

Pawel picked up his rifle and looked more comfortable. He glanced apprehensively at the quiet, menacing man standing behind him noting he was still ready to raise his weapon, his dark eyes were watching them and his expression was the exact opposite of Garrison's friendly demeanour.

Garrison tried to look and sound reassuring. "Where we going Pawel?"

Pawel pointed back down the track. "We have a safe house in Kowale. It is a small village eight kilometres south west of Gdansk, you will be safe there. Come, it is only about five kilometres away, it won't take long to walk." He motioned for the two men to follow him and paused when he realised there was only one, he looked around anxiously. "Where is your friend?"

Garrison hadn't noticed Chief disappear. He smiled to cover his own bemusement. "He's around, don't worry. Chief likes to have a good look round, he doesn't like surprises." He remembered the last mission. "He'll turn up if I need him."

The walk to the safe house took them out of the trees and across a wide open field. Garrison felt uneasy about being so exposed to enemy eyes, he casually looked round, trying to find any sign of his scout but there was nothing as far as the eye could see. He took a deep breath and continued walking, trusting Chief to keep him safe.

A small flock of birds flew up from the hedgerow a hundred yards ahead of them. They stopped, knelt down and looked around, guns raised, nothing happened. Pawel motioned for them to continue and they carried on towards a gate. Garrison smiled as he spied Chief perched on top, the smile quickly turned to a concerned frown as he noticed he was cleaning his blade.

Chief swung off the gate as the others clambered over, he turned and grabbed Pawel by his collar, his face was furious. "What'd you think you were doin' walkin' out in the open like that? You could've got Garrison killed." He pointed down and to the right, the young man followed his direction and gasped as he saw two German soldiers dead on the ground, one with his throat cut and the other with a chest wound. Borys and Andrezj looked at all the blood, put their hands to their mouths and tried not to throw up. Andrezj shuddered. "We have not seen a German patrol round here in weeks." He took one look at Chief's angry expression and stepped back fearfully.

Chief glared at him. "Don't mean they weren't here!" Chief turned his attention back to Pawel, his right hand came up, it was holding his blade, he held it close enough to Pawel's neck to draw blood and leaned forward until their faces were an inch apart. "The next time you put Garrison in danger you'n me will be havin' more'n words, you understand?" His voice left Pawel with no doubt as to what would happen.

Pawel was afraid that if he nodded his head he'd cut his own throat on the razor sharp blade. His eyes were wide as he stared into the scout's face. "Yes, I understand," he whispered.

Chief let him go and turned away. He put away his blade, grabbed a German soldier by the collar and dragged him further into some undergrowth, Borys and Andrezj followed with the other.

Pawel turned to face Garrison, he raised his hand to his throat and then looked at the smear of blood on his fingers. "I'm sorry, we were not expecting German soldiers to be here."

Garrison's eyes followed his scout as he disposed of the bodies. He turned back to face the young Pole. "You won't make that mistake again will you?" Borys and Andrezj came back, their faces were pale, Chief stood behind them.

Pawel stared at the quiet, dark-haired figure. "How did he know they were there?"

Garrison looked Chief square in the eyes as he answered Pawel's question. "I did tell you Chief doesn't like surprises. He's the best scout I've ever known, I trust him with my life."

Pawel turned in the direction of Kowale and set off at a slow walk, all three Resistance men were alert and held their rifles ready.

Garrison sensed Chief was just behind him off his right shoulder, a quiet voice drifted over. "How many scouts you know Warden?"

Garrison stopped and turned, he slowly reached out and put his hand on Chief's arm. "Just telling it like it is. You are the best, me standing here now is testament to that. There's no-one else I'd rather have watching my back. I do trust you with my life."

Chief looked at the man who'd saved him from death in Attica and given him a second chance to live free. He felt Garrison's hand on his arm and accepted the contact, this touch didn't mean pain as it had in prison. "Thanks Warden."

GG-GG-GG

The safe house was a cottage on a farm. Pawel lead them in and invited them to sit down. "This was my grandparents' house, you will be safe here."

Chief glared at the young man. "Yeah, just like you were safe earlier." He glanced at Garrison. "I'll scout round and make sure." He slung his rifle over his shoulder and went back out.

Borys watched Chief leave, he turned to Garrison. "You said he was scout, like in movies? Is he Indian? Maybe Apache?"

Garrison looked at Borys quizzically. "Why do you want to know?"

Borys gave him a huge grin. "I read about it in books, I go to movies. You said his name is Chief, like Indian. I've always wanted to meet a real Indian."

Garrison relented in the face of Borys' enthusiasm. "Yes, Chief is a real Indian, he's Navajo."

Borys punched the air in delight. "Yes! That is why he is so good. I must tell my family, they will want to meet him too. We love the stories about Indians."

Garrison smiled ruefully as he considered how badly Chief had been treated in his own country. "Sorry Borys nobody must know we're here, this is supposed to be a secret mission."

Borys visibly deflated. "I understand." He smiled. "You need food, I go get." He ran out the door.

An hour later Chief walked back in. "All clear for now. I'll go back out in a couple hours."

Garrison nodded and looked at his watch. "It's gone midday, Actor and the others should be scoping out the HQ by now." He looked at Chief. "Get some sleep, I'll stand watch for a few hours." He thought about how obstinate his scout could be, he nodded to a door. "There's a bed through there, don't even think of arguing!"

Chief walked into the bedroom, he stopped and looked around at the four walls, he walked over to the window and checked it, it was nailed shut, no chance of escape from here. He looked back at the door and realised he trusted Garrison to watch over him as he slept, something he never thought he'd be able to do. He was still fatigued from the previous mission and he'd stood guard while Garrison slept, a couple of hours rest sounded good, he stretched out on the comfy bed and fell asleep.

Four hours later there was a gentle tap on the door. "Chief, you awake?"

Chief's eyes flew open, he looked at his watch and realised he should have gone out on watch a couple of hours ago. Garrison must have let him sleep. "Yeah, sorry Warden. I'll be out in a second." He got up, rubbed his face, ran his hand through his hair and opened the door. He saw Garrison standing there and then paused as he saw at least a dozen people behind him, ranging from small children to some who looked to be in their eighties. He looked at Garrison in bewilderment. Garrison turned and held out his hand to indicate the visitors. "This is Borys' family and they've always wanted to meet a real live Indian." Garrison smiled. "Borys has told them all about what you did, evidently you are now a local legend."

Borys stepped forward and grabbed Chief's hand to lead him forward, he snatched it back and gave Garrison a look of uncertainty. Garrison realised what was going through his scout's mind, he stepped forward and put a reassuring hand on Chief's arm, his voice was low and calming. "It's ok, they don't mean any harm. They just want to meet you." He indicated the table, it was loaded with food and drink. "They brought dinner."

Borys smiled. "Yes, we all love the stories about Indians. We are honoured to have you here. I must introduce you to all my family, I'm sorry they don't speak English but I will translate. Uncle Gustaw has brought his camera to take pictures."

Chief looked at the people smiling at him, he fought the urge to bolt out the door and stood still, breathing deeply to steady himself. He glanced quickly at the Warden. "Why didn't you tell 'em I was a worthless breed," he whispered.

"Because you're not," Garrison whispered in reply, he smiled, it would be good for Chief to know that he was appreciated and admired by people. He watched as Borys' family crowded round the young Navajo, eager to shake his hand and have a picture taken. Eventually Uncle Gustaw motioned for Garrison to come over and stand next to Chief. "Smile," yelled Borys, the camera flashed. Garrison turned to Borys. "Tell him I want two copies." Borys translated for his Uncle who held up a thumb.

Borys turned to the table. "Now we eat!"

It was gone nine when everyone left, hands were shaken and farewells bid as the happy visitors left to beat the local curfew, each one solemnly promising not to tell anyone about their honoured guests. Garrison grinned and gently patted Chief on the shoulder. "Well done, you made us a lot of friends today."

Chief shook his head in disbelief, he still couldn't accept people actually wanted to meet him. In the States he'd been insulted and attacked, here he was welcomed and made to feel at home. He picked up a bottle and sniffed it, he recoiled at the smell of strong alcohol. "What the hell were they tryin' to make us drink? You can run a car on this stuff."

Garrison chuckled. "It's locally distilled vodka and I expect they do put it in their cars. Didn't you like it?"

Chief grimaced. "Poured mine down the sink when no-one was lookin' and drank water."

Garrison grinned. "So did I. I'm a bourbon man myself, but I bet you Casino and Goniff would've drunk the lot!"

Pawel and Andrezj volunteered to stand watch overnight to allow Garrison and Chief an uninterrupted night's sleep. Chief gave them a meaningful look. "Remember what I said." They nodded. Chief turned and followed Garrison into the bedroom. "You take the bed," he said as he grabbed a couple of blankets, threw them on the floor between the bed and the door and made himself comfortable. He placed his gun on the floor within easy reach and laid his blade next to it, if anyone was going to come in after the Warden they'd have to go through him first.

Garrison turned on his back and looked at the ceiling. He thought about what Chief had said earlier in the day. "You could've got Garrison killed ….The next time you put Garrison in danger." He hadn't said 'us', just 'Garrison'. Chief was more concerned about his safety than his own, that realisation shocked him. He thought about the friendship and bond of trust that was slowly growing between them, the unlikely alliance of two people from totally different backgrounds. He felt thankful he'd found Chief in time to save him from death, fighting in the cage in Attica.

GG-GG-GG

It was daylight when Garrison woke, he looked at his watch, seven thirty. He looked round the room to find he was alone, Chief's blankets were folded and at the end of the bed, he hadn't heard him go out. He sat up rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and went out into the other room, Chief was sitting at the table, eating leftover party food for breakfast. He headed towards the outhouse that served as a privy. "Don't forget to leave me some," he called over his shoulder.

He heard Chief snort. "I ain't Goniff Warden, but you better hurry back."

Garrison sat at the table and helped himself to ham, bread and cheese. He took a huge bite and savoured the taste. "Damn this is good, did I smell coffee?" Chief nodded, picked up a large pot and poured out a steaming mugful. Garrison leaned back in his chair, lit the first cigarette of the day and inhaled a deep, satisfying lungful of smoke, he breathed out and watched the smoke curl up to the ceiling. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?" he asked.

Chief shrugged and sipped his coffee. "You expectin' to go runnin'? Might as well get all the sleep you can Warden, it might be in short supply later. Besides I needed to have a word or two with Pawel, somethin' didn't sit right yesterday and now I know what it is."

Garrison took another bite of breakfast, he looked intrigued. "Tell me."

Chief tilted his head at the young Poles. "They ain't Resistance, they're just kids who volunteered to help 'cos the others are off somewhere else. They don't know the first thing about fightin'. Hell the biggest thing they've killed is a rabbit."

Garrison regarded Pawel over his mug as he took another sip of coffee. "No wonder they were a little green around the gills when they saw those bodies."

Chief nodded in agreement. "What we gonna do? We can't take 'em with us they'll get themselves killed. Don't want that on my conscience."

Pawel heard the quiet conversation, he looked over at the two men. "We can fight, we want to fight the Germans. You need help and there is no-one else. We will do what we can to help you."

Garrison thought for a moment. "Ok, but if we tell you to run, you run like hell and don't look back, you understand?"

Pawel nodded. "We are not cowards, but we will do as you say."

Garrison smiled grimly. "I know you're not cowards, but you aren't soldiers either. You can help, Chief and I will keep you as safe as we can." He finished breakfast and looked at his watch. "We'd better set up our unofficial telegraph station and hope the guys were successful."

GG-GG-GG

Chief clipped the leads to the telegraph wire and swung down the pole, he handed them to Garrison to attach to the key. They waited for a few seconds and then smiled as the small device started clicking out messages in Morse code.

Pawel nodded to Borys and Andrezj to stand guard. Their hiding place had been well chosen, the telegraph wire had gone through a thick wood and they were concealed from prying eyes. Garrison sat on the cold ground and watched as Chief left to go on a circuit to make sure everything was alright. He returned fifteen minutes later and nodded as he sat, cross-legged next to him. "All clear."

They sat and waited for the message to come through. Chief kept scanning and listening for any sign of danger. He was just going to get up and make another circuit when Garrison raised his hand. He started writing as the key clicked out its message, when it stopped he pulled the wires from the line. Chief looked at him expectantly. "Hi Ma, Dawid going to Berlin for interview today seven o'clock train. Love and kisses." He looked at Chief. "It's on."

GG-GG-GG

The five men huddled together at the railway station. Garrison looked at Chief. "Alright, let's go and see what's happening." He crept off silently followed by the shadow that was his scout.

Borys looked at his friends and smiled. "He's a lucky man to have Chief watching his back, I read a book last night and it says the Navajo are brave warriors."

Garrison settled behind a large crate and watched the activities in the train yard. He was close enough to see everything clearly and still remain hidden. A movement in the air told him Chief had arrived next to him, he pointed to the right. "Car comin' in, you think it's them?"

Garrison nodded and settled his rifle on the crate ready to take aim. "The time's right. Get ready."

They watched as a staff car pulled up and two German officers got out, they turned and dragged out a third man, he was handcuffed. Garrison took a close look and suddenly sat back. "Damn!" he muttered.

Chief looked at him. "What's the matter?"

Garrison looked at the prisoner again to make sure. "It's Dave Mazur, I knew him at West Point. He's got Polish parents, no wonder he's working here. I didn't recognise the Polish pronunciation of his name, Dawid." He looked at Chief. "I can't kill him."

Chief looked at the prisoner and went to grab the rifle. "He's your friend, we're runnin' outta time, you want me to do it?"

Garrison shook his head. "Wait a second."

Chief watched Garrison's face, he'd come to know that expression, he could almost hear the Warden's brain ticking as he came up with a plan. Thinking on his feet was one of his skills, one that Chief was beginning to admire. "What you want me to do?"

Garrison looked around, saw barrels of fuel lined up by the track and called Pawel over. "Wait two minutes and then set those alight." Pawel nodded and scrambled away to the others. He turned to Chief. "You and I are going to the end of the train, as soon as the fuel explodes we go in and get Dave out. There should be enough confusion to cover us."

Chief looked at the yard, there was enough shadow and cover to help their escape. He nodded and drew his gun. "Ok Warden, let's go. Follow me."

Garrison breathed in deeply as he hid in the shadows next to the train. He nodded to Chief and slipped forward to quietly open a carriage door, they slid in and waited for the explosion and chaos. Another door opened and the German officers dragged their captive inside, he struggled and was subdued by a couple of punches to the face. "Dranie," he shouted at them.

Garrison smiled. "He just called them bastards. That's Dave all over, you just can't keep him down."

Chief watched the scene. "Be a shame to kill him then wouldn't it?" he said quietly.

The sky lit up as a huge explosion shook the area. Garrison and Chief ran forward and quickly killed the distracted German officers. Garrison grabbed hold of Mazur and swung him around. "Hi Dave, you want to go to Berlin or come with us?"

Mazur looked at his rescuer in disbelief. "Craig? What the hell you doing here?"

Garrison held his arm and dragged him away. "Later, let's get the hell outta here buddy." Chief followed closely behind, watching for any sign of pursuit.

They jumped out of the carriage and headed for the back of the train, suddenly four soldiers appeared in front of them and raised their rifles. "Halt, Hände hoch," came the command.

Three figures rolled out from under the train and raised their rifles. "Dammit, those kids are gonna get themselves killed," shouted Chief as he ran forward. He flexed his arm and his blade jumped into his hand, it opened and flew past Borys' head to bury itself in a soldier's throat. He dived between the young Poles and rolled up to catch the soldier as he fell, he pulled out his blade and struck out to fell another.

The three young Poles watched dumbstruck as Chief crouched and swept the legs out from under the third soldier, a swift blow with his blade ended any resistance. Chief rolled up and embedded his knife under the last soldier's chin, he followed him down before removing it. The whole thing had taken less than thirty seconds and they hadn't fired a shot. Chief got up and walked over to them. "You ok? That was a really brave and really stupid thing you just did."

Borys looked at Chief in amazement. "How did you do that?"

Chief looked at the bodies, he didn't want to tell them he was a convicted killer, a no good, worthless breed. He glared at them. "I'm trained, you ain't. Let's go before more arrive." They followed his back and joined Garrison and Mazur outside the station, they climbed into a car and drove away. When it was safe they stopped and everyone got out, the three young Poles stood at the side of the road as Garrison, Mazur and Chief walked a little distance away to talk.

Mazur looked at his rescuer in disbelief as he undid his cuffs and held out a hand. "Craig Garrison. Haven't seen you in years. What are you doing here?"

Garrison looked at his battered friend, he was bruised and limping but seemed to be alright. He grinned and shook the proffered hand. "Oh we were just in the area and decided to look you up."

Mazur raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Yeah right." He looked Garrison in the eye. "Thanks for getting me out, I didn't give them anything, that's why they were taking me to their 'experts' in Berlin. I presume you had orders to kill me."

Garrison looked down at the ground. "Yeah, but once I saw it was you I couldn't do it. I had to get you out, luckily I got backup."

Mazur looked at Chief. "Yeah, I saw your backup in action, impressive."

Garrison smiled. "Yes he is. Dave meet Chief, my scout. Chief this is Dave Mazur, fluent Polish speaker and ladies' man!"

Mazur held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you Chief," he turned to Garrison. "Ladies' man no longer buddy, I found me a great gal and settled down, got three kids and another on the way. What about you?"

Garrison shook his head. "Not married yet, got a fiancée, but she's in the States."

Mazur turned to Chief. "What about you?"

Chief shrugged and turned away. "Ain't got nobody." He walked back down the road and stood guard, looking for danger.

Garrison clapped his hand on Mazur's shoulder. "You coming back with us? You can do a lot in Intelligence, your interpreting skills will be invaluable."

Mazur shook his head. "Sorry buddy, but Katarzyna and I live here. We'll fight our little corner of the war, I'm glad to see you and Chief are fighting the rest. You two make a good team, he's a great fighter. Where did you find him?"

"Attica." Garrison watched his friend's expression change to one of incredulity.

"He's a con?" Mazur said in disbelief. "Your backup is a con?"

Garrison laughed. "That isn't all of it Dave, you're not going to believe it when I tell you about the rest of my team."

Mazur listened to Garrison's description of his men and laughed out loud. "Craig, only you could come up with something that crazy and make it work." He looked down the road at Chief and spoke quietly. "You got a killer watching your back, you sure you can trust him?"

Garrison followed his gaze. "Chief's the best there is. I trust him with my life, which is a good thing, he's already saved it more times than I care to think about."

Mazur smiled. "Then I got no worries about seeing you after the war ends. Come back when it's over, bring Chief and the others and we'll have a party to end all parties."

"You're on Dave. Take the car, we can walk from here." Garrison held out his hand. "Be safe my friend. See you after the war."

Mazur took Garrison's hand and shook it warmly. "See you Craig, take care." He got in the car and drove away. Garrison watched the car disappear into the night, he looked down the road, Chief was watching him, he waved his hand. "Mission accomplished, let's go home Chief."