Italy - January 3rd, 1944

The saloon car got them within a couple of miles of the coast before it finally ran out of fuel. It was hard countryside to walk through, with scrubby trees and deep valleys, so where possible the group stuck to the road, diving for cover at the approach of any vehicle and skirting around villages and the occasional farmhouse. Eventually, scratched and somewhat sore they were close to the beach. "OK, lets rest up. We've a few hours until the boat arrives. Chief, see if you can find an empty house or barn."

With a nod, the Navajo slid away managing to move quietly through the trees despite the deep, rustling leaf litter. The others made themselves as comfortable as they could, propped against tree trunks. "At least it's warm," commented Casino. He was finding it hard to stay alert. It had been an early start and for the moment his adrenaline levels were low. His eyes closed and his breathing deepened letting both Garrison and Diesel know the safecracker was fast asleep.

Diesel looked at Garrison, who shook his head. "Let him sleep, he'll wake up fast enough if something happens."

The Lieutenant's statement was prophetic. A burst of rifle fire from down near the water had everyone leaping to their feet.

"Chief?" Diesel was already on the move, his own weapons in his hand as he slithered and scrabbled down the slope to where the noise had come from. Speed rather than silence was his priority. He could tell from the noises behind him that the other two weren't far behind. He managed to pull up just before he crashed out onto a small road. Garrison lost his footing but managed to save himself too by virtue of grasping a small thorny tree. Casino's slide ended as he landed against both the other men's bodies, nearly dislodging them again.

About a hundred meters away, four German foot soldiers were stalking around the perimeter of an abandoned farmhouse. They had their guns at the ready. Of Chief there was no sign. Waiting until the soldiers backs were turned, Garrison dropped down onto the road and scurried across into the undergrowth. Diesel and Casino followed suit. They needed to get as close as possible to take out the soldiers and, if they weren't to alert half of Italy, they needed to do it quietly.

Garrison had made good progress and managed to position himself close to the wall of a collapsed animal pen, from where he could see both the positions of the Germans and how close his other two men were. The first soldier walked past the Lieutenant without seeing him - and lost his life instantly as two strong hands snapped his neck. As the man fell, his rifle clattered against the stonework, alerting the other three who rushed towards the source of the noise.

Shocked, they looked down at their fallen comrade and that moment's hesitation cost them their lives too as Diesel's blade slit one man's throat, Casino garotted a second and Garrison knifed the third. Casino's man was still struggling, although well on the way to suffocating.

"Don't play with your prey, man. You're not a cat." Diesel stepped up and dispassionately dispatched the final victim.

"Now where's that goddamed Indian?" muttered Casino, heading for the farmhouse.

They found him eventually by following the trail of blood up to a room on the second floor. He was conscious and kneeling on the floor in a small pool of blood. Pain-glazed dark eyes stared at the man who'd discovered him, then he relaxed as he realised who it was.

Garrison clattered up the stairs moments later, stopping in relief as he saw his man was still alive. "You took one. Are you hurt bad?"

"Bullet's still in there," was the only reply they got.

"The kits are up in the woods. I'll go get them." Diesel shot off at speed. They would need to get Chief patched up and moved quickly. When the patrol didn't return, these woods would be crawling with Krauts before long.

"OK, let's take a look." Garrison moved closer to try and assess what the damage was, but Chief clearly didn't want him any closer.

Suddenly Casino guffawed. "They shot him in the ass." Chief in avoiding Garrison had given the safecracker a good view of the injury site. Even Garrison smiled slightly. This one was going to be interesting given the Indian's dislike of being touched. Casino pulled off his neckerchief and handed it to the Lieutenant. "Here, use that to see if you can stop the bleeding until that dammed Mohawk gets back."

"I'll do it." Chief loosened his belt then reached out his hand for the wad of cloth which was duly delivered. It was awkward, but he managed to get the pad into place and apply some pressure, even though it hurt like hell.

"Casino, better hide those bodies somewhere out of sight and see if you can wipe out any tracks. It might buy us some time."

As Casino disappeared from sight, Garrison locked eyes with Chief. "You're going to have to let one of us get that bullet out. It's three hours before the boat comes then you've got to wade through the surf and sit in wet clothes all the way to Naples. There's probably cloth debris in the wound, so it's going to be infected. Even with sulfa you'll have a fever before we can get you out."

Chief sighed in acceptance. He knew the Warden was right, but it went against everything he was to show weakness.

A noise outside had Garrison reaching for his pistol, but the distinctive whistle told him it was just Diesel returning with the kits. "Let's get you outside where we can see. The light'll be going soon. We need to get this done whilst we can see. Can you walk?"

"I can walk." Painfully Chief hauled himself to his feet and let himself be helped downstairs and out into the now setting sun. Diesel had dragged an old kitchen table out into the rear yard in a spot that couldn't be seen from the road and spread it with a ratty blanket. Carefully Chief lay face down on the table and let Garrison slide his pants and shorts down to expose the wound and apply a local anaesthetic injection. The Lieutenant quickly realised that matters could have been much worse. The bullet had entered at an angle, creating a furrow through the muscle. It had come to rest not far below the surface and was easily removed. "Riccochet," he commented, handing over the bloody item to his patient to inspect. He extracted as much debris as he could then rinsed the site as well as he could, but without sterile instruments that was all he could do for now. He had to hope that it would suffice until they arrived in Naples. Sulfa and a field dressing would have to be enough for now. Carefully he helped Chief hoist his shorts, regain his feet and secure his pants.

"Least it missed the family jewels," joked Casino, knowing he'd probably pay for the remark once the Indian was fit enough to fight back. He couldn't let his team mate know that he'd actually been worried about him back there.

"You gonna let me see to your hands now, Warden?"

Garrison was surprised to see Diesel advancing on him with a pair of forceps and antiseptic cream. Neither were standard First Aid kit items, but then his group weren't standard Army. They'd learned through bitter experience they needed to be as self-sufficient medically as they could be. In the heat of the moment the Lieutenant had ignored the thorns that had lacerated both hands. "It can wait. We need to get away from here. The search parties'll be coming this way soon."

"We could take their truck," offered Casino.

"Which truck?"

"The one that's about half a mile back down the road. Saw it when I was stashing the corpses."

Garrison shook his head. "Too obvious, but we need to get it out of sight."

"I'll do it," offered Diesel. "I can run faster than him."

"Why you..." Casino's fist was up as he prepared to throw a punch at the laughing Mohawk.

"Knock if off, both of you. Diesel, dump the truck. Casino give Chief a hand. We might as well get down to the beach whilst we can still see our way."

GG GG GG GG

With the disappearance of the sun it was cold down on the beach. Chief was shivering badly, partly from the cold, but mostly in reaction to the shock of the bullet wound.

Diesel had found them easily, despite having to run the gauntlet of a search party up on the road. So far though, no-one had ventured near their hiding place and of late any sounds of vehicle movements had stopped. Presumably the search would restart at first light.

"They're here." Diesel had been the first to spot the incoming MTB as it nosed into their small cove. Garrison switched on his small torch and flashed the short morse signal, hoping that the crew were watching. They were - and this time they'd brought a small inflatable rubber boat.

"Garrison?" whispered the man who'd paddled it ashore. "Need to be quick. We stand out like a sore thumb with this moonlight."

It was late morning when they nosed into Naples harbour. Chief was quickly transferred to the hospital to have his wound properly cleaned. Garrison went with him, partly to keep an eye on his man and partly to have his splinters seen to before they became infected. Diesel and Casino headed for the cots they'd been allocated. You took sleep when you could get it in this game. Garrison returned first, sometime just after midday.

"How's Geronimo?" asked Casino, stifling a yawn.

"He's good. The doctors have agreed to let him fly out with us. They'll take him straight to the airstrip." The Lieutenant threw himself down on an empty cot. "They're coming for us at two." It was the last thing he said before sleep overtook him.