Chapter 3

Garrison stood motionless his mind stilled. What was he to do now? Emptiness swirled. No thoughts just emptiness. What was he to do?

"You have any idea where this Mr. Haydon is now?" asked the General.

"He's dead. He was shot when he put a gun to my head."

"That's right. You said he was dead."

"Sir, I was there," and he gave the dates. "I went in by air, a night drop. He met me and took me to a building at the end of the plaza." His eyes widened. "I was briefed and debriefed by Major Comber. Maybe he misfiled the reports." He didn't think so but he had already accused the wrong man once, he did not want to do it again. The General would figure it out.

If there had to be a bright side, it was that the General had found out about the missing files. Now the question was what was he going to do about it? Had the Major 'misplaced' the files? Was he the source of the leak to G-CAT? Or was it someone else and they had taken the files? They had to find out. What he wouldn't give to see the confrontation between the General and the Major. Surely the General would be able to tell if the man was lying. He didn't get to be a General by misreading people.

"Sir, permission to talk to my men." He got a questioning look so he added, "They were debriefed after that mission by General Kramer. They might be able to add something."

"General Kramer. You sure?"

"Yes sir. That's the name they gave me."

"You weren't there?"

"No, sir. They were debriefed separately."

"And did the Major brief them too?"

"No, sir. As I recall it was a Colonel Grayson."

The frown on the General's face meant trouble but for whom? It did not look to be aimed at him in particular but then he had seen how well the General kept his face neutral earlier.

"One other thing, General, I am to be sent to Africa. Orders are to cut today."

"And you want to see this through before you go?"

"I want to see it through and stay. My men are good. They're trained and we make a good team." There was more he wanted to say such as to remind him how his men had survived their suicide mission and then gone back and gotten the German General who had defected but he could see he was interrupting. He wanted, most of all, for the General to get to the bottom of this and clear them to continue.

"Where are your men? At your base I assume?"

He could not keep a straight face. His chagrin showed. "No sir, they're here in London."

"In London?" A pair of angry eyes grilled him. "And they just happen to have passes? How convenient." He had not bothered to keep the ire or the sarcasm from his voice.

Shit, thought Garrison. No explanation was called for so he did not offer. If the General wanted one he was going to have to ask. Never volunteer in the Army, especially when you worked OSS. The silence dragged on with the General in command and Garrison waiting.

The intercom on the desk squawked and a tiny voice reminded him of an appointment he had in fifteen minutes. Without moving his eyes he hit the switch and told the box to reschedule the meeting.

"And what would it take to contact, 'your' men?" he asked after releasing the switch.

"It wouldn't take long, sir." He sat a little straighter. Would he let him go?

"Where are they?" He was getting angrier.

Maybe… No, don't volunteer anything but he could think of no way to get around this. Close by? No that sounded an obvious cover up. Maybe he should have lied and said they were at their base but then he might have sent a car for them.

"You are asking for my help here," said the Commanding Officer. "The easy route would be to sign your orders and be done with you and your men. Now, where are they?"

He took a deep breath and released it. This was it. He was either gone or still in the fire. "They're out in the street." If he was expecting shock, he was disappointed. What he saw was relief? What the hell?

"They were spotted," said the General. "Your men may be good but mine are better." There was no pleasure in his words. "Now, we might as well have a word with them." He checked his watch. "Front gate in half an hour. Dismissed."

Dare he hope? The General had listened. Trying not to look too eager he saluted, turned and marched out. As he headed for the exit he hoped his men were still there. They wanted G-CAT out of their lives as much as he did but… the lure of all that potential loot. Which was stronger? He knew what Chief would do but then they were a team and where one went the others followed. How far was the closest museum, art gallery, palace? No, they wouldn't stoop that low. Stay positive.

Once on the street he took several steps away from the door then stopped to light a cigarette. Hopefully they would see that as a signal that all was well. Not wanting to meet here in front of the building he headed for the restaurant where they had had breakfast.

The place was small and popular which meant there were no tables available. He waited. And waited but no one showed up. A glance at his watch said he was almost out of time when the waitress waved to him indicating that a table was available. Not wanting to call attention to himself he made his way to the table and asked for a cup of tea.

He watched the street but no one he recognized showed at the door. He was beginning to get worried when a familiar figure pulled out the chair and sat across from him. Another scrape and a second, third and a fourth man sat down. They had come in through the kitchen. They never ceased to surprise him.

"Good morning Lieutenant. I trust you slept well." Four pleased faces altered enough to let him know that they had not.

Not to be outdone he said, "No, I didn't." It pleased him that that was not the answer they were expecting. Letting that drop he turned to his Guardian and said, "I need to know what you heard in that office."

"It was muffled so I couldn't hear all the words but the one guy was angry. Something about how he wasn't supposed to come here. The other guy said he had every right to. There was quiet an' then…"

"Morning gentlemen," said the waitress as she placed Garrison's cup on the table. "Tea for you gents?"

"Yes, thank you," said Actor turning on the charm. There was no reason but that was Actor.

"I'm sorry, we don't have time," said Garrison quickly before she had a chance to leave. She looked disappointed but hurried off to another table as Goniff expressed his disappointment. To settle the score he reached over, took Garrison's cup and helped himself.

Chief resumed. "He asked about the message, how he had got it an' if he was sure that maybe it was meant for someone else. I don't think he was too happy about that. Nobody talked for a bit then the guy said he would have to check the log." Chief looked unsure as if maybe he had gotten it wrong.

Garrison nodded his understanding and explained. "Each person who enters is logged in and out, time and date."

"He asked why."

"This is Hughes who was asking?" put in Garrison in an attempt to keep this guy and the other guy straight. He did not want any confusion. The look of pain on Chief's face made him regret that decision. By keeping it impersonal Chief was avoiding the memories associated with that name and who he was associated with. To his credit he paused only for a second before continuing.

"He said he thought, it might be you and Hughes shoulda never gone after… the dog." Anxiously he added, "He knows. He knows we're after'm."

"So that's all that you heard?"

"No. H-Hughes said he wanted to set up… another test of Haydon's idea."

"Don't worry Chief. We won't let him." Chief did not seem convinced but there was nothing else he could do right now.

Casino leaned in a little closer. "So I take it they don't know about…" They all saw the slight shake of his head. "And you want to keep it that way." He did not expect confirmation. It made sense. The less G-CAT knew the better.

"Before we go," asked Garrison, "Did you recognize the voice?" The head shake dashed that hope but then it had been slim. If he had recognized it he would have said so. He stood and the others followed while he placed his money on the table. A movement caught his eye as he was about to leave. Turning back he saw Goniff's hand on the table halfway between the cup and the money. He grinned and pulled his hand back. They filed out into the street.

"While you were whiling away your time, being all warm and comfortable," gloated Goniff, "we've been busy." That got Garrison's attention but there were people about and here was not the place to discuss what they had been up to.

Actor's hand on his arm stopped him just before they reached their destination. "Have you been able to learn anything?"

"After lights out," said the Lieutenant, "I went back to the room where Chief heard the voices. I checked inside…"

"So who's office was it?" interrupted Casino seeing the connection.

"Wasn't him. Our stool pigeon must have…"

"Stool pigeon?" scoffed Goniff. That earned him a glare. "I just never thought of you saying…" he tapered off.

Garrison saw the grins on the con's faces, even Chief's. "Whoever he met with took him to that office because he knew it was empty."

"If we could verify with the building security…" started Actor.

"Yeah. That guy wouldn't let just anyone in."

"I…"Garrison stopped abruptly and stared at Casino.

"Yeah," he admitted ruefully. "I tried."

Garrison pulled back and the look on his face told them what he thought of that move. Bonehead came to everyone's mind.

"Hey, we thought you might need a diversion to get in, you know with Chief being…"

"I don't need no help."

"Yeah, I know…"

"Enough."

Inside the front door the men came face-to-face with a Corporal who was standing looking at his watch. He did not have to say it. They were late. After a suitable pause he led them to the elevator and to the office upstairs.

"Gentlemen, be seated," said the General as he hung up the phone."

Garrison and Actor took the two chairs in front of the desk and Goniff and Casino took the other two which had been brought in from somewhere else. Chief ignored the last chair, electing to stand by the door. The General gave him a look that said he expected to be obeyed.

The Lieutenant saw the look and although the man in question was out of eyesight, the extra chairs being slightly behind, he knew Chief had to be at the door or window. The direction of the General's glare said door. He knew that he could fix that with a word but did he want to? Did he really want to show the General he could get results where the General couldn't? No, so he let it drop. Fortunately so did the General.

"I did a little digging. Mr. Hughes is an Administrator for the Guardian Control and Training Center. He has logged in to see Major Brozek on several occasions including yesterday. That is all perfectly legal, Major Brozek is the Official Liaison between the OSS and the Guardian Control and Training Center. He oversees the acquisition and deployment of …"He looked to Chief. "Guardians."

"Is there an Officer named Major Comber on staff?" asked Actor. That earned him a glare from the superior officer. Understanding what that meant he introduced himself as Garrison's second in command. The look was unrelenting so he followed up with, "I spoke with Mr. Hughes and he mentioned that his brother-in-law also works for this branch of the military.

"You what?" demanded Garrison. As soon as he spoke he knew he should not have but it had so surprised him that he had blurted it out.

"Oh yes, we had a pleasant conversation." Actor was in his glory, the center of attention, the man with the information. "He was most helpful. He mentioned that his brother-in-law had come over to visit before the war," he smiled, "from London where he works for the Military."

Garrison looked to the General. Was this helpful? Did he know the man in question? Maddeningly he gave no clue.

"And you are sure he was telling the truth?"

"Absolutely."

Garrison knew the conman, adept at telling and detecting lies, was also good at getting people to tell him what he wanted without even realizing what they were doing.

Lacking the files, the General questioned the cons on their part in the Italian mission. Actor gave him the highlights including the name of the Officer in charge of the debriefing, General Kramer. Just in case the file showed up, Actor stuck to the official version with Casino shooting Haydon.

Garrison watched the General. His face was almost neutral but a slight tension in his cheeks showed his pleasure. He was trying not to smile.

The Corporal knocked once then entered. Moving quickly he placed a folded piece of paper on the General's desk then retreated. The door closed behind him with a click as the Commanding Officer opened the paper and read.

"Wait outside." The General's voice had taken on the same deadly calm the cons knew so well. Trouble.

There were no chairs to sit on; they had all been taken into the General's Office so they headed for the hall. Casino was all for taking a walk outside but Garrison knew to stay close. Their fate might be being decided right now or it could be something else altogether. Either way he wanted them close.

Time stretched, interrupted by the ring of the phone, a voice muffled by the closed door then silence. More silence.

Finally the door opened and the Corporal beckoned to the men. Once inside the room he told them they were to report to Major John's Office immediately. Looks were exchanged and they left.

"What d'ya think's 'appening now, Warden?" asked Goniff. He had been the last one into the office so the second one out after Chief. Not knowing the way, he paused to let their leader take charge, then fell in beside him.

"I don't know."

"It was John's who disbanded us, was it not it. Do you think the orders have come through?" asked Actor quietly.

Four sets of feet stopped as the implications of Actor's question sank in. One arm snaked out grabbing the Officer's arm, yanking him to a stop.

"You're not going in there are you?" demanded Casino in a hoarse whisper. "You gotta give us a half hour start, at least." His face twisted in a snarl. "Or are you planning on rolling over?"

"Casino," said Garrison giving him his no nonsense stare. Then he looked to each of the other faces. They were grim. Unfortunately they had a point. Why else would they be told to go there? Did the Major want to apprehend the men himself? Did he want to see the looks on their faces as he arrested them?

Shit.