No Honour Among Thieves
Chapter 3
Richards glared darkly at the man standing stiffly at attention in front of his desk. "Do you have any idea what you have done Corporal?"
"Yes Sir, I do have some idea Sir. Richard is my brother Sir, but…" Percival Bird hung his head dejectedly "…I had no choice Sir." Percival lifted his head, straightened his shoulders and stared at a point on the wall behind Major Richards. "Richard threatened Kathleen and Tilly, Sir. He said if I wanted them to stay healthy I had to help him." Percival looked squarely at Richards. "I couldn't let anything happen to them Sir."
Richards sighed, he might not be a father but he understood his Corporal's desire to protect his family. God knows he would do anything to protect his sister and her children, his niece and nephews. "Alright Corporal, sit down and tell me everything that you told your brother."
Percival slumped into the chair in front of the desk with a heavy sigh. "What about Kathleen and Tilly, Sir. If Richard discovers that I have spoken to you…"
"They will be protected and the only way Richard will find out about this discussion is if you tell him." Richards declared. "Now, what exactly did your brother want and what did you tell him?"
Richards laced his fingers and then rested his chin on his joined hands as he contemplated all that his Corporal had told him. "Do you have any idea where your brother could be holding Garrison and Chief, or what the job is he wants them to do?"
Percival shook his head. "No Sir. Richard has a number of hide away houses and warehouse throughout London. They could be in any of a dozen different places and as for the job." Percival shrugged, "my brother has his finger in just about everything going."
Richards sighed. "Can you find out where my men are Corporal?"
"No Sir. I'm not a part of Richard's organization. Not since…I don't have any contacts…nobody would trust me enough to tell me."
"And why is that Corporal? What aren't you telling me?" Richards snapped.
Percival rubbed his hands over his face. "I…I had to make a choice. Seven years ago. My brother or my wife and unborn child. I chose the latter. Richard blames me for the time he spent in jail. This demand for information is his way of getting payback Sir. Once a snitch, always a snitch. Ask Garrison's men Sir. They'll tell you the same thing."
GG
Actor reached forward and lifted the handset off the cradle, slowly bringing the earpiece to his ear. "Hello." He answered politely. He listened to the voice on the other end of the line, nodding to Casino and Goniff, confirming their unasked question as to the identity of the caller.
"We were out. Had I known you were going to call I would have made every effort to be here."
Casino snickered.
"And what makes you think we have changed our minds?" Actor asked.
Goniff fidgeted in his seat.
"I can assure you Mister Bird; I have no idea as to what you are alluding."
Casino groaned.
"How do I know that you are telling the truth when you say you have Lieutenant Garrison and Chief? They are not men to be taken easily."
"They alright?" Goniff asked sitting on the edge of his seat.
Actor glared at the pickpocket, indicating he should keep quiet with a wave of his hand.
Goniff ducked his head as Casino slapped him from behind, earning a second glare from Actor for his troubles as well.
"If you have hurt them…" Actor left the warning hanging.
Casino stood abruptly and began pacing across the office.
"Not unless you tell me what it is we are supposed to steal for you." Actor snapped before leaning back in the chair. "Because we do not do a job before first casing the building we are going to break into." Actor grabbed a pen and paper and quickly wrote down the details relayed to him. "What time? We'll be there." He hung the handset back on the cradle and looked at the two agitated men on the other side of desk.
"Has he got them? Did he say how they are? What do we have to nick?" Goniff rattled off the questions without taking a breath.
Actor lit a match and placed it against the tobacco in his pipe, drawing in a long breath before allowing the smoke to curl around the stem and his lips. "Yes he has them but he won't say in what condition they are."
"One of them has to be injured." Casino growled. "They'd never have allowed themselves to be caught like this."
Actor nodded, "And I fear that it is Chief and quiet seriously."
"What makes you say that Actor?" Goniff asked worriedly.
"Bird indicated that if we wanted the Warden back alive we had to do what he said or he would kill him."
"He's bluffing." Casino snorted. "Even he isn't stupid enough to top an army officer."
"Bluff or not Casino, he has us over a barrel and there is nothing we can do about it except play along if we want Craig and Chief back alive."
"If Chiefy is still even alive." Goniff mumbled.
Actor shrugged. "Bird said so and I believe that is true at the moment or Craig would have found a way out by now."
"Well there ain't nothing we can do about them for the moment;" Casino stated, "so what is this job he wants us to do?"
GG
Richards watched the door to his office silently close before scrubbing tiredly at his face. Damn, he thought. What a bloody mess this was. Not only had this Richard Bird character put two of his men at risk but he had also jeopardized a very important mission that could cost the lives of a number of resistance members as well. He fingered the list of Bird's known properties that Percival had given him. Hopefully Garrison and Chief were been held at one of them. The problem was going to be finding suitable men who were trustworthy to checkout each of the premises without arousing suspicion. At any other time Richards would have called on Garrison and his team for such a job but they were now the ones in trouble and sentiments against the Gorillas ran high in some quarters of the army. Richards sighed as he reached forward and picked up the phone. He might as well check in with Actor, see if the conman had any better news than he himself had to offer. "Actor?"
"Major Richards," Actor replied calmly, "Any news about the snitch?"
Richards snorted in response, eliciting a raised eyebrow that he would never see. "The snitch was Richard Bird's younger brother Percival who is a Corporal here at headquarters. It seems that Richard threatened Percival's wife and young daughter unless he gave him the information he wanted.
"I see," Actor replied thoughtfully, his anger towards the man tempered somewhat at the news that a woman and young girl had been threatened.
"What'd he say?" Casino demanded.
"Does he know where Garrison and Chief are been held?" Actor asked ignoring Casino's dark glare.
"I'm afraid not Actor," Richards replied solemnly, "However Percival did give me a list of properties that his brother owns. I'm just not sure how to go about checking them or who to trust." Richards admitted quietly.
"I can take care of that Major Richards. A gentleman will be around later this afternoon to collect the list, but Major; you are to ask no questions of him. Is that understood?"
"Under the present circumstances, do I have a choice?" Richards snapped.
"No you don't." Actor replied.
"What about you Actor," Richards decided to change the subject, "Has Bird contacted you yet?"
"Yes, about ten minutes ago. He has confirmed what we believed that he is holding Garrison and Chief. He has been trying to contact us for the past four hours or so and wasn't very happy that we weren't here. I didn't let on that we already knew the two men were missing, but Major, I believe Chief may be injured. Bird kept iterating that unless we pulled this job for him we wouldn't see Craig alive again. He made no mention of Chief."
"Do you think Chief is already dead, Actor?" Richards asked quietly.
"No Sir. If he were then Craig would have escaped by now and there would no doubt be a trail of dead men across London."
Richards nodded before realizing the other man couldn't see his agreement. "Yes, I do believe you are right about that Actor. Has Bird told you what he wants you to steal?"
"Jewels and cash among other things. Apparently a wealthy industrialist and his wife have recently arrived in the country from Austria with a considerable amount of valuable assets that they do not want to fall into German hands. They are staying on one of the garden estates in London."
"When do you have to do this job?" Richards asked hesitantly.
"We are to meet Bird later today, after we have cased the property, but it is not a job that can be done in five minutes. That at least will give us sometime to locate Chief and Garrison, hopefully before we are required to provide Bird with our talents."
"Alright," Richards decided, "I'll leave those details to you Actor, but I expect to be kept in the loop at all times. In the meantime I will wait for your man to arrive and hope he can come up with something before this whole mess blows up in all our faces."
"The mission Sir, that Craig was to be briefed on. How long do we have before it becomes unviable?" Actor asked.
"Forty-eight hours Actor. That's all the time we have." Richards disconnected the call at his end, leaving Actor to stare silently at the black handset in his hand.
GG
Garrison startled awake when Chief's body was wracked by a hacking cough. The man shivered uncontrollably in his arms, soft moans and coughs emanating from the slack mouth. The warehouse was damp and cold and Garrison was under no illusions that he needed to get Chief out of there and into a hospital as soon as possible. "Easy Chief," he whispered drawing the injured man higher up his chest in an effort to ease the laboured breathing.
"War…den?" Chief gasped breathlessly. "W…where?"
"Don't talk Chief," Garrison cautioned as Chief coughed weakly in his arms. "We're in a warehouse somewhere in London. The doors the only way out and its bolted from the other side. Looks like we're stuck here until the others find us." Garrison frowned in worry, realizing he had already had this conversation with Chief several hours ago.
Chief shivered, moaning as the movement caused pain to flare through his injured chest. "C…cold."
"Hang on Chief," Garrison leant forward, wincing at the groan his movement had caused the injured man. Garrison struggled out of his dress jacket, grimacing in disgust as his shirted back came into contact with the damp wall behind him. He draped the jacket across Chief's chest and shoulders, tucking it as best he could around the Indian. "Better?" he asked quietly.
Chief nodded. "You…'ll…need…it."
"No I won't Chief; well be out of here before you know it. Now just rest."
Chief nodded and lapsed into silence. Garrison sighed as he felt Chief settle against him. None of it made any sense. Why kidnap Chief and himself or work Chief over like they had, unless… Garrison groaned as he recalled his conversation with Chief in the jeep prior to the accident. Accident my foot, they had been waiting for them but how?
"It's…Bird." The words were so soft that Garrison nearly didn't hear them. "Re…cog…nized…Jim…my from the…pub."
"When did you recognize him Chief?" Garrison asked, not that it really mattered. Knowing the information any earlier wasn't going to stop what had happened.
"In…the van. Sorry…should…a…"
"Not your fault Chief and there was nothing you could do, nothing either of us could do," Garrison admitted bitterly.
Chief coughed, "How…"
"…Did they know where we'd be?" Garrison finished the sentence to Chief's slight nod.
"I don't know but you can bet that Actor and the others know by now that Bird has us and they'll be looking for us."
"The…job?"
"Most likely. You guys said no so he had to find some way to make you do it."
"Sor…ry."
"Apology not needed Chief, now try and sleep."
GG
Actor filled Casino and Goniff in on his conversation with Richards before ushering them from the room. As soon as the door closed behind the two cons he picked up the phone again and dialed a number, waiting impatiently for the phone to stop ringing at the other end. "Charles," Actor spoke without preamble. "You are to go to the Army Headquarters in London and ask for a Major Richards. He will ask no questions but will give you a list of properties belonging to Richard Bird. I need you to check each one out. There are two men missing. One is Lieutenant Garrison and the other one is Chief. If you can safely rescue them, please do so. If not, relay their whereabouts to me immediately. You will be well reimbursed for your troubles, I promise you." Actor waited only long enough for an acknowledgment of his orders before he hung up the phone. Next he rummaged through Garrison's desk draws until he found the item he was searching for. Checking that it was in good working order, he pocketed it and then left the room, hurrying to meet up with Casino and Goniff who had gone to ready the Packard for the coming trip back into London.
"So Actor, any chance we can nick this loot and keep it for ourselves?" Goniff asked hopefully. "I mean all the trouble Dicky's gone to to get us to do this job, it'd be a pity to disappoint 'im."
"Are you stupid Limey?" Casino demanded. "This job ain't worth it, not with the Warden and Geronimo as the bait."
"I guess I 'adn't thought of it like that," Goniff admitted, "But it would be nice to get one over on Dicky. Show 'im 'Ee can't get 'is own way all the time."
"Don't worry Goniff," Actor interrupted, "if all goes to plan old Dicky will have a lot more to worry about than getting his own way."
Casino eyed the tall conman from the driver's seat. "You've got a plan, don't you? Care to fill us in on it?"
Actor was quiet for a moment as he put his thoughts into order. "I have some ideas, yes. Currently I have a reliable friend out searching the list of properties that Bird owns in the hope of finding Garrison and Chief. What he finds will determine our next move. In the meantime we will have a look at this estate for ourselves and then meet with Bird, see what he has to say. After that I will decide the best course of action."
"That's it." Casino snapped.
"It is all we can do until we have more information Casino. It will do no good confronting Bird if we don't have Garrison and Chief. Any confrontation could well sign their death warrants and Bird isn't a man who likes to bluff."
"So why do you reckon he needs us in the first place? Surely he has his own men who could break into this estate." Casino huffed.
"Don't know about Actor and me, but I know why 'Ee wants you Casino." Goniff supplied. 'Is safecracker Light Fingers McCoy had a little accident a while ago. Lost 'is fingers when a safe door was slammed shut on them in a bad caper."
"And no doubt I am to be the diversion with this Industrialist while you gain entry for yourself and Casino," Actor nodded as another piece of the puzzle fell into place.
"So we're supposed to pull a con, like we do on the Continent, there's gotta be more to it than that." Casino added suspiciously.
"For once Casino I have to agree with you." Actor confirmed. "What if this Industrialist has brought more with him than just jewels and money? What if he has valuable war secrets that could be sold on the black-market?"
"Blimey, never thought we'd be pulling a caper like this 'ere." Goniff stated.
"Well if we do Goniff, it will be for the right reasons and not because some English racketeer has coerced our assistance." Actor replied.
"Well what do you think Actor?" Casino asked as he passed the binoculars to Goniff so the little pickpocket could get a look at the estate they were supposed to break into." They were hidden amongst the trees in the park across the road from the estate.
"I wish Chiefy were 'ere," Goniff interrupted. "'Ee's real good at seeing problems and with the security systems."
"A point that Bird seems to have overlooked." Actor agreed dryly. "We will have to see if Bird has any floor plans for the estate. And I will have to come up with some reasons to have two aides with me."
Goniff groaned, "Let me guess, I'm the driver and Casino's the…'ey Actor, what's Casino going to be then?"
"I'm sure I'll think of something suitable," Actor smirked as he rose to his feet and headed back to the parked Packard. "In the mean time we had better get going if we want to make the meeting with Bird."
GG
Richards wasn't sure what to expect when Actor told him that he would send a man to retrieve the list of properties but he was sure it certainly wasn't the dapper little Englishman in the bowler hat and carrying a walking cane who appeared at his door, announced only that he had been sent by Actor and left not a minute after arriving with the required list tucked safely into the inside pocket of his suit coat. Richards sighed, who, where and how came to mind but he had a feeling he would never get an answer to any of those questions and did it really matter if the man was successful in his endeavours. There was nothing left for him to do for now but to wait for either the mysterious Englishman or Actor to contact him with news on the whereabouts of the two missing men.
GG
Casino parked the Packard by the curb in front of the Lazy Dog and got out of the drivers seat, quickly followed by Actor and Goniff. "Now remember, let me do the talking." Actor advised. "We don't want to arouse Bird's suspicions or make him angry enough to retaliate against Craig and Chief. We need to allow my man time to check out all the properties."
"About that," Casino asked, "Just who is this man of yours?"
Actor shook his head, "Nobody you need worry about Casino. Just know that he is trustworthy and has never let me down in the past."
"Yeah well he had better be Actor," Casino warned as he pushed past the conman and opened the door to the Lazy Dog.
Actor slipped his hand into the pocket of his jacket and fumbled with the object he had placed in the pocket earlier, satisfied when he felt a slight vibration for a moment. He stepped into the dim, smoke filled interior, allowing his eyes time to adjust to the light before crossing the floor to where he could see Richard Bird and Jimmy Fender waiting for them in a booth. Flanked by Casino and Goniff, Actor came to stop several feet from the booth and eyed the two muscle men, the ones no doubt that had kidnapped Garrison and Chief, standing behind the English racketeer.
"Bird," Actor acknowledged without preamble or attempting to sit down.
"Actor, please," Bird smiled, indicating that the conman at least should sit. "I am so glad that you have changed your mind and wish to join my little venture."
"We have changed nothing Bird," Actor replied, "You have merely forced our hand at present. So tell me, how do we know that you actually have the Lieutenant and Chief and that they are indeed still alive?"
Bird shrugged, "You have my word on the matter is all you need to know, although why you would even care about some army brat and an Indian is beyond me. Both seem to be well out of your league, the Indian particularly."
"They both have their uses, I can assure you, now exactly what is it you want and when do we get our men back?"
"I like a man who comes straight to the point." Bird exclaimed with a smile that quickly dissipated as he leant forward on the table. "What I want is for you to retrieve a bounty of jewelry and cash from the estate you cased this afternoon and then the two men will be returned to you."
"And how do you propose we do that exactly?" Actor enquired. "You are holding our security man. Chief takes care of the security systems and any unwanted witnesses for us."
"The Indian?" Bird demanded. "He is nothing but a wheelman."
Actor shrugged apologetically. "What can I say? Your information is inaccurate. That was perhaps true at the start but he proved to be quite adept at disarming both security systems and guards. He is also the one who cases the jobs, works out the logistics and obtains the necessary equipment. We work as a team or not at all." Actor hoped he wasn't pushing it but if he could get Bird to release Chief, they may well have a chance at following and releasing Garrison as well.
Bird glared darkly at some point beyond Actor's head for a full minute before turning back to focus on the tall conman. Was this a con he was trying to pull or was the damn Indian more than what Percy had led him to believe? Not that there was anything the Indian could to do to help, not after Tiny had worked him over.
For his part Actor sat patiently waiting for Bird's decision, his face an unreadable blank. It would do them no good to give away the worry and turmoil that he felt in regards to the two missing men. If this didn't work they would have to rely solely on Charles ability to locate the men for them. Actor's stomach dropped at the glint in the racketeer's eye.
Bird shrugged, "Ah well, that is too bad to hear as I believe the man is, shall we say, temporarily incapacitated, so it would seem that you will just have to do the job without him."
Actor remained impassive despite his churning stomach as he studied the man before him. "What do you mean by incapacitated?"
Bird smirked, "I believe he was injured in the accident."
Casino growled and moved forward, only to be stopped by Actor's raised arm.
"In that case it will take us an extra twenty four hours to pull off the job as we will have to sort out the security measures."
Bird stood, followed by Fender. "Twenty four hours or you won't see your men again."
Actor slipped his hand into his pocket, withdrawing it a moment later, to rest beside the one on the table.
"What the hell Actor," Casino snarled as he dropped into Bird's vacated seat.
"What did you think you could achieve by attacking Bird, Casino? Other than have him retaliate against Chief and Garrison. At least this way we have bought them and us some more time."
"Yeah well what makes you think Geronimo has that much time? He has to be bad hurt for him and the Warden to have allowed themselves to have been captured. Did you even bother to think of that?"
"Of course I have Casino," Actor snapped irritably, "and I'm just as worried about them as you and Goniff are but provoking Bird is not going to help the situation."
"Come on mates, this isn't 'elping either." Goniff proclaimed quietly, nervously watching the standoff between the two Italians.