Vendetta di Sangue
Chapter 5
Trying to carry Garrison down the rocky escarpment to the rendezvous point on the stony beach was a trial. Actor had the head of the stretcher out of necessity and Chief had the foot and the lead. Christine helped Goniff as best as he would let her while she watched their backs. Milo had dropped them off and left.
Reaching the shore, they set the stretcher down to await the rafts that would take them back to the sub. Actor split his attention between the sea, the area around them and Garrison. Chief had moved back up the trail to watch from anyone following them. The pickpocket was unnaturally quiet for him as he sat on his heels beside Garrison and Christine.
Craig shivered in the cold wind that was blowing off the sea. Actor removed his coat and draped it over the lieutenant.
"No, I'm okay," objected Craig. "You need it."
"I am 'fine'," said Actor gently. "You need it more than I do. We will be in the sub soon and you can give it back."
It was another half hour before the first raft landed. The non-com in the front of the raft, climbed out and Actor approached him. The navy man looked around.
"Where's the rest of your group?" he asked. "We were told there were seven of you."
"They are not coming," was all Actor would say. "The lieutenant is in poor condition, and one of the others has a bullet injury."
The naval man had seen enough before to just take this in stride. "Okay, we'll load the Lieutenant, you, and the girl in the first raft. Your injured man and the other man can ride in the second raft." He took in the stretcher with a frown. "Can he sit up?"
"I can do whatever I have to," said Garrison. He attempted to sit up without help.
"Allow us to assist you, Lieutenant," admonished the con man.
Chief stepped forward and between he and Actor got Garrison unsteadily to his feet. They practically carried him to the raft and got him situated on the middle seat. Chris was helped by Actor to get in behind Garrison while their group's medical person took a seat beside the Lieutenant. Actor was going to be the solid, steadying bulwark next to him if he could not make it to the sub upright on his own. When they pushed off, the other raft landed and picked up Goniff and Chief.
Garrison's strength was flagging by the time they reached the sub. Actor and one of the crew managed to get him onto the observation deck. Actor went down the ladder first, using his body to hold Garrison up on the way down. Craig wasn't about to descend like he had the last time. Once down, he slid down the bulkhead and sat on the floor. By that point he did not care about the humiliation of not maintaining his feet. Chris hurried down and crouched beside her brother, a hand lightly on his shoulder.
The sub's doctor hurried up and looked down at the officer, shaking his head in recognition. "Again?"
Actor nodded. "We have another man coming with a bullet wound to the upper arm."
"You people play rough," remarked the doctor. He eyed the young woman beside the Lieutenant. "You bring your own nurse this time?"
"No," said Chris, "that's my sister."
The doctor turned questioning eyes to Actor. "Is she coming too?"
"No, she has remained behind," he answered, with disgust.
Two sisters, and one stayed behind? "I don't want to know."
"Believe me, you don't," agreed Actor.
The doctor turned to his business calling to some of this crew. "Bring two stretchers and take the wounded to sick bay."
GGGGG
The delivery truck pulled up to the safe house and Milo got out, leaving the engine running. Casino came up, sensing the urgency in the Norwegian. The resistance man looked up as the two Garrisons came outside.
"Did everything go okay?" asked Kelly, also sensing there was a problem.
"No," replied Milo. "We must leave this place and get you to the other safe house. We left dead Germans back there."
"What happened?" demanded the boy.
"We were stopped by Wehrmacht. The young woman tried to trick them, but it ended up in a shoot out anyway." Milo was already trying to herd them toward the back of the truck.
"Any of our people hurt?" asked Kelly.
"The blond Englishman was shot in the arm," said Milo.
He opened the doors on the back of the truck and Terry and Casino got in. Kelly paused.
"Did they catch the sub?" he asked worriedly.
"I don't know. I dropped them off and left. I do not know if the German's had time to report my truck to headquarters." He motioned Kelly inside.
The boy complied and met the other two in the front of the truck.
"I have blood," said Terry almost accusingly. "Too much for Craig. Who's hurt and what happened?"
"Goniff got hit. Arm. I guess they got stopped and Chris tried a con. It didn't work. They shot their way out."
Casino swore. "Did they catch the sub?"
Kelly shrugged. "Milo dropped them off and left. We won't know until we get back to England."
"Terrific," said Casino glumly.
Terry slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "Actor and Chief can handle things," she said trying to be optimistic.
"Sure, unless the Krauts followed 'em."
"You're a bundle of joy," said Kelly to the safe cracker.
"Yeah," broke in Terry, "but he almost always has a valid point."
Casino sat on a smelly box and contemplated the two people with him. What a mess. Terry was pretty capable, but the boy was really an unknown factor. Sure he could speak the lingo and he knew the layout, but how was he going to be when they had to do something? Grudgingly, he had to admit Actor, who was good at sizing people up, seemed to have some faith in the kid.
They wove around the city before pulling over by a fish market. Figures, thought the safe cracker, he would never get that smell out of his nose. The three were ushered inside where they were handed over to Knut. He urged them upstairs to the living quarters and then up a ladder into the attic.
The space they were given was small, but fairly comfortable as attics went. There was a table with a lamp and a cloth covered tray with cheese and bread. Thankfully, to Casino, there were no fish. Along one wall was a small bed. The windows were painted in black to keep light out but would also keep light from coming in.
Terry lit the lamp before Knut left with his torch. Casino turned a chair around and straddled it. He flipped the cover back off the food, sliced a piece of bread and cut off a wedge of cheese to go with it. With an inward sigh, he looked up at the girl.
"You got a plan or am I wingin' this?" he asked.
Terry cut a sliver of cheese and handed the knife to her brother. "I have a plan, but you're going to have to fine tune it. You're the one with the explosives know-how."
"So wadda yuh want I should do? Bring the building down and everyone in it?" It was what Casino expected.
"No," said Terry. "That was my first instinct, but that would take out too many innocent people."
Kelly snorted. "With the exception of Jenny and maybe a couple of the kids, there ain't anybody in that place whose innocent."
"Probably not," said Terry.
Casino watched her while chewing on bread and cheese. "So what do you want?"
Terry sat down on one of the other chairs. "Can you set smoke bombs to get the people to evacuate and then blow the place up before the fire department gets there?"
"I can set 'em on timers," said Casino confidently. "So when's the best time of the day when the fewest number of people are there?"
"Noon," said Kelly. "The patrons have left and most of the help has gone home."
"They don't stay there all the time?" asked Casino.
Kelly shook his head. "Just the people who own it and one of the managers."
Casino was thinking. "So there would be empty rooms on all the floors?"
"Yes."
"Okay, tell me the layout of the whole place."
Kelly described the building and what was in it from the basement, up the two floors, to the attic. Casino pulled a stub of a pencil from one of his pockets. Kelly handed him a white handkerchief. With a frown of concentration, Casino began making a 'grocery list' of supplies he would need.
"We're going to need to get our hands on this Alex person before we blow anything up," said Terry.
"Why?" asked the safecracker. "You wanted him dead, so why not blow him up with the building?"
Terry gave him a look of disbelief. "You are bloodthirsty, aren't you?"
"He don't sound innocent, Babe. So what do you want to do with him?"
"Take him back to England and hand him over to G-2. He probably has information they could use."
"You wanna drag this guy out with us?"
"Why not?" asked the girl. "Not like you haven't done it before."
Casino gave a cynical laugh. "Yeah, we have. The five of us, not just me and you two."
"We can do it," said Kelly steadily.
Casino was beginning to wonder who was worse, the Warden or the rest of his family. He lost that train of thought when Knut came back up. Casino handed him the handkerchief with the list of supplies. Kelly translated in Norwegian. The fishmonger studied the list and nodded. He spoke to Kelly and went back down the ladder.
"He says he has a cousin who does demolition. He can get everything you need from him," said Kelly.
"Okay, we'll see what he comes up with," said Casino.
Kelly looked at his sister. "I got some sleep. You two should probably get some. I can keep watch."
Casino looked at the small bed. They had slept on worse. "Okay, come on, Sister. Ain't like we ain't done this before."
Kelly's eyebrows rose. Terry laughed.
"It's alright, Brother," she said. "I've slept with all of them a time or two."
"Craig, know that?"
That got a grin from her and Casino. "Of course," replied Terry. "He was there most of the time."
"Okay," said the boy, not totally sure about his sister sharing the small bed with the safecracker.
Casino placed his gun on a box by the head of the bed. Terry got on the bed with her back against the wall and Casino lay down facing her. He pulled her tight to him and they went to sleep. Kelly turned a chair around quietly and sat down with a pistol on the table beside him and faced the trapdoor that was the only entrance and exit to the attic.
GGG
It was close to morning when Casino awakened. The woman was still asleep in his arms. He could really like this, he thought, at the same time knowing that wasn't likely to ever happen. A noise at the trapdoor had Kelly up and to the side, gun drawn. Casino sat up quickly and grabbed his gun. Terry swung legs over and was up beside the safecracker with her blade in hand.
The trapdoor eased open and Knut whispered his identity before opening the door the rest of the way. Two guns and a knife remained trained on him until the ones in the attic were certain he was alone.
"I have the supplies you want," the Norwegian said to Kelly.
The boy put up his gun. "He's got the stuff you asked for," he told Casino.
"Okay."
The cracksman stuck his gun in his waistband and walked over to the trapdoor. Knut handed packages up to him. Kelly took them and put them on the table. When Knut closed the trapdoor, Casino started going through the items and packages to see what he had been given. Terry and Kelly joined him and watched.
"Got everything you need?" asked the girl.
Casino sorted things out on the table. "Yeah, his cousin knows his stuff." He looked at Kelly. "So when does this Alex guy show up at the club?
"Not until around five-ish," replied the boy. "He pretty much has a routine. Shows up around then, drinks, talks to the patrons, maybe samples one of them or the regulars, and leaves around one or two in the morning."
"He's a fag?" asked Casino in disgust.
"Hey, it's that kinda place," said Kelly.
"And you worked there?" asked his sister in frustration.
"I brought in supplies, I didn't work the place," retorted the boy. "And neither did Craig if that's what's on your mind."
"Settle down, you two," said Casino. "I'm thinking."
"He thinks?" said Kelly to his sister teasingly.
"More than you probably do," shot back the safecracker.
"He thinks," said Terry. She waited until Casino seemed to have come to a conclusion. "So what's your plan?"
Casino sat down and looked between the two Garrisons. "Okay, we put the snatch on this bum and make sure he ain't goin' anywhere. We can't set the bombs to go off because we don't know if and when we can take this guy. So, we get him first. Tonight if possible. Then tomorrow, I go in and set the bombs. I don't want you," he said to Terry, "anywhere near explosives after the last time. And I don't want Junior around them either."
Kelly took umbrage with that. "Yeah? Well, you're gonna need me to show you were the places are to set them. And how are you going to set the bombs on four floors by yourself?"
"He's got a point," said Terry before Casino could explode himself. "That's a lot of territory to cover. And he knows the layout of the place. We've both had some explosives training by SOE."
"I don't like it," grumbled Casino.
"I'm not asking you to like it," said Terry. "I'm asking you if you can do it."
Casino glared at her. "Yeah, I can do it." He knew there was no other way than to involve the two. "I'll make the bombs up today so all we have to do is set the timers when we place them and get out."
GGGGG
Garrison lay on the gurney that was attached to the floor in the sick bay of the sub. He was quiet and withdrawn, answering when spoken to, but not initiating any conversation. Goniff was on a chair, arm dressed and in a sling, watching the officer worriedly. This wasn't the Warden. That was the exact same thought Actor had. The con man would have liked to talk to the lieutenant in private, but privacy wasn't an option. So he waited until the doctor had left, before walking over to lean down close to the Warden's head.
"Lieutenant," he said in a quiet, sympathetic voice, "I understand how difficult this is for you right now, but when we leave this sub and go to the hospital we need you to act as though you are merely injured. If you stay within yourself as you are now, they might send you for psychiatric evaluation. You know how the military is."
"Bloody 'ell, Actor," said Goniff is disbelief the con man would say things like that to the Warden.
Garrison ignored the Englishman and turned his eyes to Actor's. "Yes, I know how the military is. I'll try to con them."
Actor smiled, "Just until we get you back to the Mansion. Your reaction is understandable under the circumstances, but the army still must be kept in the dark about all the circumstances. They will not deal kindly with you if they find out of your true relationship with the young lady."
"You know?" asked Garrison in surprise.
Actor nodded. "Yes. Kelly told me. I don't think Teresa knew either."
"Kelly was the only one," said Garrison.
"Wot are you talking about, Actor?" asked Goniff.
The con man looked down into the hazel blue/green eyes and received a blink of permission. Now was not the time though.
"It is something we will discuss after we get back to the Mansion," he told Goniff. "The fewer who know about this right now, the safer for the Lieutenant."
"Know what?" persisted the Cockney. He hated it when Actor get condescending.
"We'll discuss it later," reinforced Garrison with a fine bit of steel in his voice. "You did not hear anything in here."
At least that was more like the Warden than he had been since they rescued him. Goniff didn't like it any better, but if the Warden said later, he wouldn't talk about it until later and that was all there was to that.
When they reached the sub pens, Garrison refused to be hoisted out on a stretcher again. Even one handed, Goniff was able to climb the ladders without any problem. It would not be that easy for the officer.
Chief went up to the middle landing and knelt by the opening. Craig started up slowly, the strain on his shoulders giving him a lot of pain. Actor came behind him, trying to shield the lower half of Garrison in case he lost his grip. It was slow and painful, but they made it out. An ambulance was waiting at the dock with a stretcher. Garrison was thankful for the option of lying back down.
Actor hovered, face stern, making sure the officer was treated attentively. Goniff was helped into the ambulance and seated on a side bench with Crystal beside him. The lieutenant's stretcher was slid along the floor. Actor took the other bench so he was close to the officer's head. The two medics climbed in on either side. Chief rode in the front with the driver.
At the hospital, Garrison was taken into an emergency bay, followed by Goniff and Actor. Chief remained in the waiting area, the bay being too closed in for his taste. Chris stayed with him, even though it was her brother. It was too crowded in the bay for her to stay too and Actor was in charge so he needed to be there. The white coated doctor and a nurse entered. Dr. Owens had taken care of all the members of the team at one time or another and Garrison several times.
"What happened this time?" he asked. "He looks as though he has been tortured."
Garrison's eyes followed the doctor, but he allowed Actor to do most of the talking.
"He was captured and this is the work of the Gestapo," said Actor as though talking to a colleague. "He seems to have a concussion. Multiple abrasions and contusions of the face and upper torso. Probably cracked or broken ribs. He has abrasions of the wrists and both shoulders are stiff."
"They hung me from the ceiling by my wrists," added Garrison.
Dr. Owens shook his head. He ordered x-rays of the shoulders and chest. He looked down at the Lieutenant and noted the eyes that looked a bit unfocused. Concussion, and not the man's first by any means.
"We can put you in a room tonight for observation," he said.
Garrison's eyes focused sharply. "I'd rather not," he said. "I just want to get back to our base and my own bed." He forced a smile, that only Actor could see was a con.
Owens turned back to Actor. "The sister there to take care of him?"
Actor answered smoothly. "She is not there at the moment but will be shortly. And the other sister is here also."
Owens nodded. "Okay. Pending the results of the xrays, I'll release him to the base, but he will probably need a couple weeks of rest."
Actor smiled. "We will see to it he gets all the rest he needs, if you will clear it with G-2."
The doctor then proceeded to check Goniff's arm out. It had been adequately tended on the sub so he was released to go back to the Mansion also.
The xrays confirmed broken ribs and strained but not dislocated shoulders. Dr. Owens released Garrison and Goniff in Actor's care. They were all loaded back into the same ambulance for the two hour trip back to the Mansion they were all thinking of as home now.