Vendetta di Sangue
Chapter 6
Casino had all the parts laid out on the table. He carefully made the first of six smoke bombs. The Garrisons, sitting at the table, were watching his every move. As Casino finished up the second one, Kelly picked up a box, a clock and some wire. Casino opened his mouth to yell at the kid, but stopped as he watched the care the boy of using in following the exact steps the safecracker had used.
"You done this before?" asked Casino.
"No, shown how by OSS and SOE," said Kelly. "I've just been watching you." His eyes never left what he was doing.
When Kelly had finished the one he was working on, Casino slid a second set of parts to him. The two finished up the last of the smoke bombs together. Now, the safecracker started on the explosive bombs. Kelly watched intensely. When he was done with the first one of six, Casino looked at the boy and wordlessly moved a set of parts and plastic explosive toward Kelly. He watched the boy carefully assemble the bomb and assemble it correctly.
"You two know how to set these?" he asked.
Kelly nodded.
"Yes," added his sister.
"You coming in with us?" Kelly asked Terry. He hadn't been sure if she would or not.
"I want to, but I don't see how," said Terry. "I'm kinda the wrong sex."
Kelly studied her a moment. "Tie the udders down and put your hair up in a cap and we could probably pass you off as a boy."
Casino took a pointed look at the 'udders' and said, "That oughta hurt."
Terry gave him a dirty look.
GGG
Terry had the opportunity to try out the disguise that evening. Dressed in pants, she used a long strip of cloth obtained from Knut, to flatten her chest. She borrowed a loose peasant shirt to cover it. It definitely did not feel good, but she wasn't about to let Casino know that. Her hair was loosely braided and tucked into a fisherman's hat.
The three staked out the brick building housing the club from an alley across the street. Kelly watched the street in both directions. There was foot traffic, but it was close to curfew, so it was lightening up. It was an hour before Kelly smiled grimly.
"That's him," he whispered. "The one in the tan jacket, dark pants and green shirt."
Casino made a quick decision. "Let's snatch him before he gets to the club. Who knows when he'll come out and it'll be dark." He looked at Terry. "You stay here."
"I'll stop him," said Kelly. "I don't think I can keep him occupied for long though."
"I'll be right behind him," assured Casino.
Kelly moved out of the alley and crossed the street on an angle. He looked up in seeming surprise at seeing the British agent in front of him.
"Hey, Alex," he greeted in Norwegian.
"Eric, what are you doing here at this hour?" The man stopped and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, not offering one to the boy.
"Just on my way to a friend's house," said Kelly.
With both hands full as he lit the cigarette, the man was unprepared for what had to be a pistol being shoved into his back. He was further surprised by the switchblade that suddenly appeared in the boy's hand.
"You wanna finish that cigarette," said Casino quietly in English, "then you just act like nothin's wrong and we're just old buddies out for a stroll."
Alex glanced between the two as Kelly moved around to his side. "You won't shoot me on the street. You'd never get away with it."
"No," said Kelly in English, his knife now poking the man sharply in his left back underneath the jacket, "but you try anything and you'll be missing a kidney. Of course you still have another one."
"And my finger might just slip on the trigger," added Casino
They angled back across the street, seemingly in conversation, with Alex between them. Glancing around first to make sure they weren't being watched, they strong armed the man into the alley.
Alex came face to face with a feminine looking boy. Any other time, he would have been interested, but things had suddenly taken a bad turn. The boy in front of him was eyeing him like he was a cockroach.
He glanced at Kelly. "You're American?"
"Surprise, Asshole," said the blond boy.
Casino shoved the man to his knees. Terry took the gun and aimed it at Alex's head while the safecracker tied his hands and ankles securely with rope supplied by their host.
"What's going on?" asked Alex. He was putting on a brave front, but there was a hint of fear in his voice.
"Oh, we're just going to take a little trip," said Terry, not bothering to disguise her voice, "back to England."
"Who are you people?" asked Alex. "What do you want, money? I can get you whatever you want."
"You can't get our sister-in-law back," said Terry. "You ratted on her. They killed her and tortured our brother. But then I guess you know that."
Alex eyed her, it was a her, back with studied unconcern. "Kiera? She and Petr were allied agents."
"Yeah and you're a traitor," said Casino.
"Want me to take him out?" Kelly asked his sister seriously.
"No," said Terry. "We're going to take him back with us."
"Why?' asked Casino, going along with her.
Terry continued to watch Alex with distaste. "I'll give Craig first chance at him. If Craig doesn't want to deal with him, he's mine."
"What did you have in mind?" asked Kelly.
Terry made a contemplative face. "I was thinking along the lines of calf fries."
Kelly grinned, "Sister, you have gotten wicked since leaving home."
"What are calf fries?" asked Casino. By the look on Alex's face, he didn't know either.
Kelly looked at Casino with a raised eyebrow and then looked at his sister. "He doesn't know what calf fries are?"
"He's a city kid," explained Terry. "He gets his meat at a butcher shop already processed."
"Oh could we have fun with him at the ranch," chuckled Kelly.
"Kel-ly," said Terry warningly.
Kelly looked back at Casino. "Calf fries are what you have left when you cut a bull and turn him into a steer."
Casino looked at Terry for verification. Terry was smiling evilly. She reached down to her boot and came up with the switchblade, flicking it open in front of Alex. "Yeah, you skin 'em, slice 'em, bread 'em and fry 'em. They're pretty tasty. Of course his are probably miniscule."
She played with the tip of the blade and lightly scratched it along the buttoned opening of the man's trousers.
Alex had turned white. "You wouldn't do that."
Terry grinned humorlessly, "After what you did to our family, you bet your sweet life I would, in a heartbeat."
Casino leaned down close to the man's ear. "Okay, yuh got a choice. You come along quietly with us, or I let her have fun with you. You won't be stickin' that thing where it don't belong after that."
Alex looked around at the three faces. They weren't joking. He nodded.
Casino untied his ankles and grabbed him by an upper arm, jerking him to his feet. Tightly surrounding him, the three frog-marched him down the alley to a car they had borrowed. Terry climbed in the driver's seat and Alex was shoved into the back seat, flanked by Kelly and Casino.
Terry drove the car into the alley behind the fish shop. Three of the resistance men came out of the shop. Kelly got out and was quickly replaced by one of the men. Another man took Casino's place. Terry got out and joined Casino.
Kelly spoke to the third man in Norwegian. "Be careful. He's slimy," said the boy. "If he tries to get away, kill him. He knows too much."
The tall blond grinned. "And we know how to make a body disappear for a long time."
Kelly grinned back. "I'm sure you do. Thanks."
The man nodded and walked around to get behind the wheel. The three Americans watched the car depart before going into the backroom of the shop.
GGGGG
Garrison was carried on the stretcher, despite his half-hearted protests, up the stairs and helped into his bed. He was tired. So very, very tired. Actor checked him out briefly and made sure he was fairly comfortable. Crystal was hovering. A movement at the bedroom door drew Actor's eyes. Goniff was peering in, trying to see the lieutenant. The con man went over to him.
"Goniff, could you perhaps sit with the Warden for a while. It would give Christine a break before she needs to start cooking."
A bright grin crossed the gamin face. "O' course I can, Actor."
Chris watched the Cockney dubiously as he pulled the desk chair out and sat down. "Are you going to be okay like that?"
"Sure," he scoffed. "It's my turn anyway."
"Okay."
Chris still wasn't sure about this, but she allowed Actor to guide her out of the room. They went downstairs, but Actor stopped her before she could head to the kitchen.
Actor looked down at Christine. "Young lady, I would like to have a word with you. Would you please step into 'our' office." It was more of a command than an invitation.
That was the last thing Chris wanted to do, but she squared her shoulders and preceded the Italian into the library. He shut the door behind them. The girl turned and looked up at the stern-faced man.
"Actor, please," she said. "I have seen you and Terry fight. I do not want to do that. I know you are angry with me about the Germans. I was trying to help. I'm not an innocent at this. Besides, I doubt you will ever have to work with me and Kelly again."
Actor studied her. He had the impression she was afraid of him again, but it wasn't shown in the brave front she had put on. The youngest kitten was growing her own claws.
When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I realize this must be difficult for you, working with Terry and me. You are Italian after all. Ma told us about Italian men. You are used to being in charge. You don't take any advice from a woman and you think all women should be in the home, taking care of the husband and having a million babies, while the man has his affairs."
Actor's eyebrows rose at that. This was becoming interesting, so again, he waited.
"At the ranch, the women do most everything the men do. We herd cattle, pull calves, brand, feed, rope, fix fence, anything that needs to be done. And if we have some down time, we like to ride broncs. Well, I don't, but Terry, Kelly, Monty and Craig do. And Terry and Kelly race horses. You wouldn't be happy on the ranch."
"And your mother does this also?" he asked dubiously. "She seems like a nice refined lady."
Chris laughed. "We know you are writing to Ma. She takes care of the house, but she does know most of the things we do and she helps when needed."
Actor changed tactics. "Who taught you the con?" he asked instead. "The Warden said you did not go to Italy or have the training they did."
"No," said Chris, wondering why he wasn't yelling. "I did go through SOE like Terry did and I've been learning on the fly when I go into France."
"Your German is excellent, as is your French. No, Italian?" Actor asked in curiosity, his posture relaxing.
"A little Italian. Not enough to do anything with. I wasn't allowed to go to Italy like Craig and Terry. I was sent to Dad's relatives in Ireland. They taught me Gaelic. The German was picked up through classes and SOE."
Actor nodded. "Just a word of caution, carina. That was a very good attempt you made, but do not try it again if you do not have backup. It can get you into more trouble than if you keep quiet."
He turned and left the library. Slowly, Chris followed, watching him climb the stairs with his usual energy. She looked questioningly at Chief who was in the chair by the window, playing with his blade.
"Didn't hear no yelling," he remarked.
Crystal shook her head. "I don't know why he changed his mind."
"Hard to say with Actor," said Chief. "He's used to fightin' with Terry. Maybe he didn't wanna scare you."
Chris shrugged. She didn't know. What she did know was she wished her sister and brother and Casino would get back safely and quickly.
Actor passed the Warden's bedroom and went into his own, closing the door. Stripping down, he took a quick shower, threw on pajama bottoms and lay atop his bed. As he relaxed, he allowed himself to review the conversation with Christine and her apparent opinion of Italian men; himself lumped into that.
For the most part, she was right. It was the way he had been brought up. It was common and expected. Except for him. Marriage was a trap and he had no desire for progeny. Women were there for his pleasure, nothing more. Well, there had been one exception in his younger days, and then there was Teresa. His 'relationship' with her was not merely sex. And right now he could have cheerfully strangled her. Vendetta di sangue? She was American for heaven's sake, not Italian. He doubted she had learned that from her mother. Three days without sleep caught up with him, but Actor only slipped into a fitful doze.
Supper was a quiet affair with just the three of them at the table. Chief washed the dishes so Chris could take food to the Warden and sit with him for a bit. He had slept for a little in the chair by the window. Goniff retired early. Actor, unable to sleep for whatever reason, sat in his chair with a cigarette and a book. Chief joined him in the common room after the dishes were done and went through the ritual of cleaning and oiling his blades.
Christine came downstairs and walked over to Actor in his chair. She asked him if she could speak to him in private, a frown on her face. The Italian rose from his chair and escorted the young girl into the library, which seemed to be the conference room now.
"What is wrong, Christine?" asked Actor after closing the door for privacy.
"It's Craig," said Chris. "I don't know what to do."
"What specifically is the matter?" probed the con man.
Chris looked up at him. "He won't talk to me. He just lays there and stares at the ceiling."
Actor sucked on a cheek. "Carina, he has been tortured and he just lost his wife. It will be difficult for him to talk about it. You are his youngest sister. He is even less likely to talk about it to you. What do you want him to say? He has to come to terms with what has happened. And he may not be able to talk about it, nor wish to."
"I guess it's me," lamented the girl. "I feel like I need to be doing something to help."
Actor smiled. "I am sure he is taking comfort from having you close," he said. "You are family." The con man felt bad for the girl, but he also understood Garrison. "Why don't you take a break and find something to occupy your mind. I will go up and sit with him for awhile."
"Will you talk to him?" Chris pleaded.
"Only if he wishes to talk with me," said the Italian with gentle firmness. "You cannot force him to talk about something he is not ready to discuss."
She nodded. "Thank you, Actor."
The Italian tapped lightly on the closed door to the lieutenant's bedroom. When nothing was forthcoming, he slowly opened the door and looked in to see if Garrison was asleep. Eyes looking back at him from the bed indicated that wasn't the case. Actor entered and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the chair beside the bed and sat down.
"I don't need a sitter," muttered Garrison.
"Don't you?" asked Actor. "You have been injured before and we have taken turns sitting with you as we do with each other."
He pulled his pipe out and set about making a smoke. From the tops of his eyes, he watched the lieutenant turn his head and go back to staring at the ceiling. Perhaps it would do him good to talk about it. The direct approach would not work. It had to be done subtly. And there was only one way Actor could think of and it would be difficult for him too. But the Warden was the only person of the group he felt he could safely open up to.
"I have been on my own for the past twenty-four years," he started as though telling a story. "I have had only myself to rely on and I pride myself in that I have been able to do that. Then you came along and pulled me from prison. My first thought was to flee to Switzerland at the earliest opportunity. But when the opportunity came, on that first mission, I realized I wanted to see how this was going to play out. You intrigued me. You are not the typical career army officer. I felt I could always disappear at any time I chose so I stayed. I think that was my undoing."
Garrison's head turned to look at him. He had expected questions he didn't want to answer, but not a confession from the older man.
"I don't even know how or when it happened, but I found I was being relied on and there were others, mainly you, I could rely on. That was something I was not used to. Despite the army, you have developed this policy that no one gets left behind." He took a puff on his pipe to keep it going, watching the grayish-white smoke blow from his lips like from a steam engine and then drift lazily toward the ceiling. "Oh, yes, we have had to leave people behind before, but you always managed to come back for them. I was not physically tortured as you and Casino, but . . ." He drifted into his mind, remembering his thoughts in the hospital and prison camp.
"But what?" prompted Craig quietly. He wasn't sure where this conversation was going, but it wasn't like Actor to talk about himself without some degree of bragging. He knew he had to be careful or the man would close up.
Actor found it hard to admit, but maybe now he could get it out. "When I was placed in that prison camp, I knew you were not coming to get me. It was like being in a deep hole."
He paused again. This time Garrison waited, allowing him to take his time. He had never expected the arrogant man to talk about his feelings.
"I felt as though I had lost everything again. I lost my family at sixteen. I made it a point not to get close to anyone. I did not want to feel that pain again. There was a woman I allowed myself to become close to, but I lost her too. It was almost the same feeling. Then you came along with the others, and your family, and they have become my family. In the prison camp, I realized you could never find me . . . that nobody was going to come for me. I was injured and could do nothing to save myself. That dark hole in my mind seemed endless." By now Actor was staring at the pipe in his hand, but not seeing it. His eyes watched the red glow of the tobacco fade to gray. "I still wake up sometimes, in the dark, and feel that emptiness; that utter, cold, emptiness." He could not go on.
"Like part of your soul has been ripped from you," said Craig.
Actor looked up and saw the understanding in the younger man. He nodded and looked down again.
Garrison took up the story. "I've been interrogated before. This time was worse. The pain should have been enough to keep my mind from functioning, but the pain of losing her, of knowing what they had done to her and that I would never see her again." His voice broke. Taking a deep breath he continued. "The knowing was worse than anything they could do to my body."
The two men exchanged a look saying they knew what the other was talking about.
"I had the chest wound. That was enough in itself," said Actor. "But they never tortured me. I kept waiting, but it never came. I believe the same as you though. The physical pain is not nearly as strong as the . . . other pain."
That was a big confession coming from the confidence man. Garrison felt the need to say more to this man who had always been there for him and the others, even when he slipped into his old ways.
"I guess I had this idea of you as some bigger than life person. I figured if I couldn't get you, eventually you would get yourself out and come back. But as time passed and nothing, no word, no sign that you were alive, and you didn't come back, I began to start thinking maybe you were dead. I'm sorry, Actor. We never gave up trying to find you through the undergrounds, but I think we all began to feel you had been killed. I let you down."
Actor looked up sharply. "Warden, there was nothing you could do. We both know that. It took me a long time to recover from getting shot, but eventually I made it back. You did not give up on me when I was in Germany and you did not give up on me when I returned. You could just as easily have kept Carter and had me sent back to stir, or let me go back to Switzerland. No, you did not give up on me."
The Italian relit his pipe to give him a chance to examine what was in his mind. He had come up to see if he might be of help to the lieutenant and instead it was himself who was being helped. Still, the younger man had started talking. Possibly it was a start at healing.
A phone rang downstairs. In a short time, Chris appeared at the door.
"I'm sorry, Actor," she apologized. "Major Richards is on the phone and asked to talk to you."
So much for putting that off. Actor rose from the chair and patted Garrison's lower leg. "This should be interesting." He smiled, his façade back in place.
"You want me to come down and talk to him?" offered Garrison, not sure how he would do that in his current condition.
Actor shook his head and pasted his best con man smile on. "I can handle it," he said.
Craig nodded, confident the man could handle it and well.
Actor went into Garrison's office and sat at the desk. Chief came to the door with a questioning look. The Italian nodded it was okay to stay and listen.
"Major Richards," said the con man. "How may I help you?"
"You can start by telling me what's going on," said the British commando major dryly. "I was informed you were back with Garrison and he will need a couple weeks to recuperate."
"That is what Dr. Owens ordered," agreed Actor, not offering anything more.
"I was also informed you left three people behind, two of them with the last name of Garrison. Would you care to expand on that?"
Actor looked at Chief and rolled his eyes, bringing a grin to the Indian's face.
"Our mission and priority was to return with Lt. Garrison. There was new intel that needed to be taken care of. It was not in the lieutenant's best interest to remain in Norway while that intel was followed up on. Teresa is quite capable as you know. The boy, Kelly, is fluent in Norwegian, so his presence was needed. Casino stayed with them."
"And when will they be back and how are they getting back?" asked Richards.
"That I do not know, Sir," said Actor. "I'm sure they will return soon," he added confidently.
"But you don't know how."
"No, Sir."
"Hmmm. Well, I do not want to have to inform Gen. Garrison his son and daughter are missing in Norway."
Actor could not resist. "Are you not the one who contacted Teresa in the first place and gave her carte blanche to do whatever she deemed necessary? As I am sure you know by now, she will follow that to the letter."
"Touché, Mr. Borghese," said Richards with a touch of humor. "You will notify me if you hear from them."
"As I am sure you will do the same."
"I will be by tomorrow afternoon to see Lt. Garrison," said the major. "Good night."
"Good night," returned Actor.
He hung up the phone and looked up at Chief's grinning face.
"You ain't afraid of anybody are you?" asked the Indian with admiration.
Actor smiled widely back at him.