Chapter 7 – Reasons Why
The next morning started to dawn bright and clear. Garrison woke, looked out the window and decided to put on his fatigues and go for a much needed early morning run to clear his head and loosen up his muscles before he started work. It was 6 am and he didn't expect any of the cons would be awake for at least another hour or two. He padded quietly down the stairs and let himself out of the mansion. At the bottom of the stone steps he did a few stretches to warm up and gently jogged down to the overgrown running track that meandered for about five miles through the grounds of the mansion. He noticed someone had been doing some work on it – the more troublesome weeds and tree roots he'd navigated a week or so back had been dug up and deposited out of harm's way and potholes filled in. Perhaps some of the soldiers billeted in the camp next to the grounds had done it.
He followed a gentle, curving slope down to the open, newly mown grounds and picked up the pace on the level stretch. The breeze carried the scents of cut grass and wild flowers. Garrison breathed deep, enjoying the smells and the cooling touch of the wind on his skin. This was more like it!
Suddenly he felt that all was not as it should be. He felt as if he was being watched, maybe it was a sound out of place or a sixth sense but something wasn't right. He slowed his pace, stopped and knelt down, pretending to tie a shoelace. He looked out the corner of his eye but nothing was there. This was stupid he thought to himself, he was in the middle of a secure army base with armed guards but he sensed he was being hunted – the hairs on the back of his neck felt as if they were standing upright. He shook his head and continued running down the path to where it turned right to go into a wooded area that surrounded the large lake that occupied the middle of the extensive grounds. He suddenly darted off the path, dropped into the long grass between a couple of large trees and waited, watching for any sign of movement.
"Lookin' for somethin' Warden?" said a quiet voice behind and to the right of him.
Garrison swallowed his heart back down into his chest, turned on his left elbow and looked up into Chief's face. He was standing next to him, leaning on a tree with a stalk of grass in his mouth and an amused look in his dark brown eyes. He was also dressed for running, wearing fatigue pants and a vest.
"Jesus, Chief! You scared the shit outta me!" gasped Garrison. "What the hell are you doing out here?"
Chief took the stalk of grass out of his mouth. "Been comin' here for a run for a couple weeks now to get away from the others. Can't sleep in there with Casino's snorin' and Goniff's mumblin' and twitchin'," he looked at Garrison, "and the room stinks of cigarettes. Hard to breathe easy in there."
Garrison snorted softly. "I smoke too you know Chief."
Chief looked at the piece of grass in his hand. "How'd you think I tracked you? Could smell you a mile off, also heard you comin' the minute you left the mansion."
Garrison ignored that remark. "But how'd you sneak up on me like that? I didn't hear a thing!"
Chief gave Garrison a dry look. "Warden you're forgettin' who I am. I may be a 'dumb Indian' accordin' to Casino but I got skills. Besides I made enough noise to alert you. Not my fault you didn't hear me."
Garrison looked back in the direction of the mansion. "Don't the others notice you're not there?"
A small smile played over Chief's mouth. "Uh uh, put a rolled up blanket under the covers so it looks like I'm sleepin'. None of 'em dare come near me now, guess they're too scared of gettin' my blade where it hurts!"
Garrison shook his head and grinned. "Your secret's safe with me Chief."
Chief extended a hand and hauled Garrison up next to him, he noticed the new sheath was on his scout's right forearm. "How's that working out for you? Is it what you wanted?"
Chief turned around to face a thin sapling standing twenty feet away, Garrison watched as he dropped his arm to his side and flexed his fingers, he heard a quick, soft snick as the knife leapt into his hand and opened. Chief's hand flashed up and the blade was suddenly quivering in the slender tree, Chief gave Garrison a satisfied look. "Uh huh, seems to be workin' fine Warden"
They both walked over to inspect the target. Garrison crossed his arms, tilted his head to one side, looked at his scout and then back at the stricken tree. "Seems you need more practice, that's at least a quarter inch off centre," he commented with a wry smile.
Chief grinned, pulled the blade out, wiped it on his vest and inspected it before folding it up and reinserting it in the sheath. "Wanna carry on runnin'?" he asked.
Garrison gave him one of his crooked half smiles. "Sure. Just stay where I can see you and I won't have another heart attack!"
They ran side by side for another couple of miles along the track around the lake. Garrison was amazed at Chief's effortless stride which just ate up the distance, he wasn't even breathing hard and he found himself struggling to keep up. Suddenly Chief hesitated and stopped, he turned to Garrison and looked him in the eye. "Why me?" he asked quietly.
"What do you mean, why you?" Garrison bent over and rested his hands on his knees, grateful for the chance to catch his breath.
Chief glanced briefly in the direction of the mansion. "The others keep shovin' it down my throat: Actor's the best conman in the business, Casino's a master safe-cracker, Goniff's the best thief. So why am I here? You said you spent two months lookin' for me. I'm nothin' special."
Garrison realised this morning's conversation was the longest he'd had with Chief since they'd arrived in England and the first time he'd voluntarily approached him. After he'd gotten Chief out of Attica he hadn't had much of a chance to talk to him as he'd spent some time in hospital being treated for his broken ribs and other injuries. Once they'd arrived in England the team had been occupied with four busy weeks of intensive basic training which filled their days, Garrison himself had constantly been called away to London on other matters. He'd noticed the young man's silence and reluctance to interact with the others as they'd settled into the mansion. The other members of the team had begun to get to know each other and started to form friendships, of a sort, well at least they talked to each other, or argued, or fought. He thought things had started to get better after Wheeler's death.
Then they'd gone on their second mission to Norway which resulted in Actor later telling Garrison how Chief had finally found a reason to speak out – it was for him! Now here he was, appearing out of nowhere and apparently wanting to talk to him.
Garrison straightened back up and looked around for somewhere to sit. He walked over to a wooden bench situated on a grassy bank leading down to the lake, sat down and motioned for Chief to join him. He thought he understood what was troubling the young man, Chief had doubts about his suitability to be on the team and the others hadn't helped with their constant sniping about his background and apparent lack of achievements – Casino sprang immediately to mind. Damn him and his big mouth! If only they really knew what Chief had done and what he was capable of doing!
Garrison collected his thoughts as he stared out over the water and then looked Chief in the eyes. He'd only known him for two short months but he'd already developed a healthy respect for his scout's abilities. He knew that honesty was the best approach, he didn't want to lose the fragile trust he hoped he'd started to build with him after what happened on their last mission. He also knew Chief would smell a lie a mile off.
"You want to know why I picked you Chief?" Garrison looked at his scout as he nodded silently. "I didn't have a lot of choice with the others. Yes, they are the best in their fields and I would've been an idiot if I hadn't recruited them. I had no choice with Wheeler, he had a bad reputation, but the Warden at Alcatraz said if I wanted Actor then I had no choice but to take Wheeler as part of the deal. I think he wanted to get rid of a problem and I was the solution. I thought he was a dangerous threat to the team and he proved me right in the end."
Garrison paused for a moment as he plucked a long stem of grass and rolled it in his fingers. "If you repeat what I say next I'll deny it, but you did us all a favour by taking him out." Chief looked at him but said nothing.
Garrison continued. "You were the only one I had a real choice in. I was given a list of a dozen men, each of them was said to be a getaway driver, mechanic or..."
"A vicious, cold-blooded killer?" added Chief softly. "That's what the guard told you I was in Attica, was that what you were lookin' for Warden?"
Garrison shrugged and shook his head. "No, if that was all you were, you'd still be in Attica; you're no Wheeler. There were lots of reasons why I chose you over the others; none of them were as good as you, you know how to fight and survive, they didn't have the skills or the resilience to keep going against the odds like you do. I don't think you're a cold-blooded killer Chief, I know you were forced to fight for your life in prison. I'd read your file and, as soon as I saw you, I knew that you were the one I wanted on my team."
Chief gave Garrison a questioning look. "Why?" he asked.
Garrison gave a quiet laugh in recollection. "I remember, you stood there in your shackles and stared me down, you were fearless. I felt as if you were deciding if I was good enough be your commander rather than me deciding if you would be my scout. I knew in my gut you were the one I was looking for, that's why I got you out of there straight away." He paused. "You've already shown me that my faith in you wasn't wrong." Garrison stared down at the grass stem in his hand and then continued. "I know what happened in Norway, Chief."
"Actor told you." Chief said quietly.
Garrison nodded. "Yes he did. He said you were the only one pushing to rescue me when I was taken prisoner. The others were all for coming back to England without me, but you spoke up, forced them to change their minds and then backed Actor's plan to get me out. He actually thought you'd go in on your own if they hadn't agreed. You risked your life for me. Thank you."
Chiefs dark eyes darted around looking at everything except Garrison, as if embarrassed. "You'd already saved my life twice by then Warden. You got me outta that hellhole in Attica and then killed that guard when he had me cold. You didn't have to come get me, but you did. No-one's ever done anythin' like that for me before. Wouldn't have been right if I hadn't tried to do the same for you. I still owe you. Forget it."
Garrison took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Believe me, I'll never forget what you did." He looked out over the lake. "I keep trying to get everyone to understand that we all have to trust each other and work together. Personally I think you've got the hardest and most important role of all. The others don't realise it yet, but when we're behind enemy lines we need you and your skills to keep us alive so they can do their jobs. I've no doubt you'll do that, even if they fight you all the way, I know they won't thank you for it. You in turn can trust me to keep you as safe as I can."
Garrison turned and looked sincerely at the young Navajo. "Don't you ever doubt your place on my team again Chief. As far as I'm concerned you're already the best scout anyone could have. Can I trust you to watch out for us when we go back over there?"
Chief was quiet for a moment. "Trust goes both ways Warden. You haven't let me down, I won't let you down." He paused and smiled tentatively. "Can't I let Casino get wounded just a little bit?"
Garrison laughed out loud. "Don't tempt me Chief. I just might take you up on that one day."
They both sat in silence for a while, then Garrison got up and stretched. "Race you to the mansion?" Chief nodded, got up and they sprinted off down the track. Garrison was totally outpaced and found Chief waiting for him, sprawled out, relaxed on the bottom two steps of the elaborate stone staircase leading up to the front door.
Chief stood up and smiled. "Gotta give up the cigarettes if you wanna catch me Warden."
Garrison laughed. "I think I will." He looked at the ivy-covered walls of the mansion. "Just one thing Chief, how do you manage to get out?" He turned around and found he was talking to thin air – Chief had vanished. He knew it would be a waste of time trying to look for his elusive scout, he'd find him when Chief wanted him to. He shook his head and entered the mansion.
Garrison went to his room, showered, donned his uniform and wandered downstairs to the kitchen for coffee and toast before going into his office. Halfway through he was interrupted by Goniff stumbling in declaring that he was starvin'. He started rifling through the cupboards and fridge for anything remotely edible. He was quickly followed by Actor and then Casino rolled in, running his fingers through his damp hair.
"Hey Beautiful, how's the coffee?" he asked Actor.
"Warden made it," was the unenthusiastic reply.
Casino grimaced as he tasted the brown liquid. "Dammit, Warden, can't you wait for a real Italian to do it properly? Your efforts are an insult to coffee lovers everywhere!"
"Sorry Casino but I would've died of thirst waiting for you to get up." Garrison replied drily. "Where's Chief?" he added innocently.
"Dumb, lazy Indian's still in bed as usual. I ain't gonna wake him up, I like my kidneys where they are," declared Casino. He gave a wicked grin. "Well he's got the cold water shower – again. Serves Geronimo right if Goniff eats all the breakfast too!"
"I'll save Chief some toast," said Goniff as he threw a couple of thick slices of bread under the grill.
Garrison smiled to himself, he'd heard the communal shower running while he was having his own. Chief had finished before the others had even woken up and, by the look of the clean mug and plate by the sink, he'd eaten breakfast too. He realised he was having serious thoughts about who was the real con man on the team.
His thoughts were interrupted by the shrill ringing of the phone in his office. He went in, closed the door and took the call. Ten minutes later he walked out and addressed his men, although it was obvious they'd been eavesdropping by the door. "We've got a mission, everyone get packed ready to leave. I'll be back with the details in a few hours." He looked around and saw Chief standing by the front door, ready to go. "Chief, you can drive me to London."
"Drive on the left Geronimo," shouted Casino.
Chief rolled his eyes at the safe-cracker. "Thanks for the advice."
Garrison walked over to his scout. "Let's get going Chief."
Chief smiled at Garrison as he opened the door "You're the boss Warden."