Chapter 1

The team arrived at the airfield in plenty of time for their flight and were shown to a room set aside for them , while the ground crew finished their routine checks, before take off. It was fairly basic, just a number of wooden chairs and an old table, with one window facing towards the runway. Through the blackout curtain, the clangs, shouts and engine noises from outside, did nothing to soothe the nerves now that they were on the edge of a new mission. A sudden tap at the door, focused everyone's attention, as an NCO stepped into the room.

''Lt. Garrison? There a telephone call for you in the office, Sir.'' The NCO retreated outside the room as Garrison followed. He paused at the door and looked back at his men...

They knew what was coming but Casino said it anyway. ''Yeah we know. 'Don't go anywhere and stay out of trouble till I'm back.' Fat chance...'' But Garrison had gone, a glimmer of a smile touching the corner of his mouth.

''Hey guys, you think they've gone and cancelled the mission at the last minute?'' Ever the optimist, hope gleamed in Goniff's eyes. These missions might be what he signed up for but he'd be happy to return to the Mansion, if only for another few days.

''More likely some bright spark at HQ has decided that, while we're in the area, we might as well rescue a couple of important scientists as well. As if the Warden don't come up with enough additions of his own,'' grumbled Casino.

GG

''I'm bushed. Can't we stop Warden, we seem to have been walking for ages,'' griped Goniff, slumping down on a fallen trunk nearby.

''Alright, take five,'' agreed Garrison. He knew he had pushed his men hard this morning, probably because he was aware he would have some explaining to do once the others realised where they were. They had parachuted in before daylight and moved quickly away from the drop zone. By now they would normally have met their contact but Garrison had led them across country and avoided any signs of habitation. The team had been walking for the best part of three hours and now they were wet, cold and miserable, meaning the least tolerant members of the group were beginning to grumble about their enforced trek. For the past hour they had threaded their way through a pine forest and had just emerged onto the edge of a small glade.

''So where's the sun, vineyards and olive trees? I thought this was supposed to be Italy?'' Goniff continued to moan.

''We're not in Italy, are we Warden?'' Actor asked, an observation rather than a question.

The other men turned to stare at their commanding officer, who shook his head, knowing his next words would come with a barrage of questions. ''No. Our orders were changed at the last minute. We're in Germany.''

''What! But the place is full of krauts!'' exclaimed Casino. ''What we doing here?''

''Looking for a large installation...''

''Well a big building shouldn't be too hard to find, there's nothing else here but trees, bushes and grass!'' interrupted Goniff, looking around the landscape.

''...underground,'' Garrison continued.

''What!'' exclaimed Casino. He swung his arms wide, gesturing at the surrounding area, as he glared at Garrison. ''It could be anywhere. Be like looking for a needle in a haystack.''

''No problem 'ere then,'' Goniff grinned at Casino, who frowned at him in confusion. He pointed to the ground with a stick. ''Well it's a pine forest, ain't it? Place is full of needles!'' His team mates just shook their heads in disgust, too tired to do anything else.

''Why's it so important, they need to hide it underground?'' Chief asked. He didn't like surprises and wanted to get some idea of what they were going to be up against.

''We're not really sure,'' Garrison held Casino's stare, daring him to interrupt. ''The Germans have been tunnelling underground since the 1930s, if not before. It's an ideal place for hiding factories, carrying out experimental work or even for storing stolen artwork, well away from prying eyes and Allied bombers.''

''If the Allies have known about these tunnels for some time, why the sudden interest in this particular construction?'' Actor inquired.

''There's been a lot of high ranking German officers visiting this part of Germany in recent months and everything points to something new going on here,'' replied Garrison. ''Our job is to find out what that might be.''

''And then what? We just go home?'' smirked Casino. ''Let's face it Warden, we all know if you find something down there, you won't be able to leave it at that.'' The others nodded in agreement, they had been together long enough to know how Garrison's mind worked.

''How are we going to locate this underground installation, Lieutenant? I assume there are no Resistance in this area or you would have contacted them already,'' Actor asked. He was already having misgivings about this mission. He may not like climbing mountains but he wasn't very keen about crawling through caves and tunnels either.

Garrison had been wondering that himself. The information he had been given from HQ was quite sketchy about the exact location of the site. ''What we need to find is the entrance to the factory or, better still, another way in. Something like a ventilation shaft.''

Casino was just about to make another derisory comment when Goniff tapped the ground with his stick, making a clanking noise. ''What, like this one?'' He had been scuffing the ground where he was sitting and uncovered part of a metal grill. The others all gathered round to look. Clearing away the rest of the vegetation, they soon revealed a rectangular shape set into the ground. Once it was prised open, a shaft dropped vertically downwards into a black void, metal rungs protruding down one side, forming a ladder. Casino dropped a stone and they heard it land, with a dull thud, on something solid.

''It doesn't seem to be very deep.''

''Goniff, do you think you can get down there and see what's at the bottom?'' Garrison asked.

Goniff peered down the hole and shrugged. ''I can give it a go, so long as those rungs ain't rotten.'' The cat burglar swung his legs over the side, found a foothold in the shaft and made his way down into the inky blackness, until even the top of his blond hair disappeared from view, by those watching from above. Only moments later, he scrambled back up.

''Blimey Warden, it's a ruddy railway tunnel, '' Goniff shuddered as he quickly clambered out of the shaft.

Garrison glanced at his map. ''There's no rail track marked on here.''

''I tell you Warden it's a railway line. I thought some ruddy engine was gonna take me bleedin' feet off.'' As they listened, the low rumble of an engine could be heard, coming from below, then fading away.

''It could be an underground railway. Possibly part of the factory we are looking for,'' decided Garrison. ''Check it out again Goniff, only this time be more careful. We don't know what or who might be down there.''

With a resigned air, Goniff climbed into the hole again and made his way down, more cautiously this time. After about ten feet, he became aware of a pale light below him. As he left the shaft behind, the rungs became a ladder, descending onto a wooden gantry about six feet below. Goniff crouched down and looked around. Below him was a long, wide corridor that stretched, seemingly endlessly, in both directions. There was no sign of any rails but ruts in the floor suggested something heavy was regularly using the tunnel. The light came from small bulbs attached to one side of the tunnel, just above head height, joined together by loops of wire. The area where he crouched, was about six feet higher again, meaning he was in shadow and almost invisible from below, though there didn't appear to be anyone about to notice his presence. On the lit side of the tunnel, another ladder allowed access from the gantry to the floor. As his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, he could make out dark areas at intervals along the sides of the tunnel. A low sound from one of them caught his attention. As he watched, a small jeep towing an empty trailer, drove out and passed below him. Aboard were two men, one appeared to be a worker, accompanied by a German soldier. Neither were aware of his existence.

GG

Above ground, Chief had been patrolling the area. He had an uneasy feeling about the place and needed to be away from Casino's constant bickering, to concentrate his senses. He had quickly discovered flattened vegetation nearby, where something, or someone, had remained stationary for a while. Widening his search, he came across a deeply rutted track leading to an abandoned shack. A quick glance inside showed it was empty apart from some old sacks and probably hadn't been used for many years, as ivy and ferns had penetrated through the walls near the door and a boarded over window. Fortunately, it was fairly dry inside as the roof was still intact. He returned to the others just as Goniff came back up the shaft.

Garrison questioned both men carefully about everything they had found, gleaning as much information as he could. It only took him a few moments to make a decision as to their next move.

''Goniff, Casino, you're with me. We'll have a look around down there and see if we can find out what's going on. Actor, Chief, hide our bags in that old shack for now. Then see if you can find any more of these ventilation shafts or even locate the entrance. If they are taking heavy vehicles along that tunnel there must be a sizable opening somewhere nearby.''

With Goniff leading the way, Garrison had disappeared down the shaft. Casino, with a fatalistic shake of his head, had reluctantly swung his legs into the void and followed, leaving Actor and Chief alone in the clearing.

''A large facility will probably need a source of water. If we make our way downhill, hopefully we will find a stream or a river and that might lead us to an entrance,'' suggested Actor, as he started to gather up their belongings. However, he soon stopped what he was doing when he realised Chief hadn't moved over to help.

''What's the matter,'' Actor asked their scout, who was scanning the surrounding trees intently. ''Do we have company?''

''Dunno. Have a feeling someone's nearby.''

''Soldiers?''

''No... Gone now. Maybe an animal...'' Chief cast his eyes over the edges of the clearing once more, then joined Actor. Together they made their way to the track and followed it to the shack where they placed everything in a dry corner, scattering sacking over the top.

GG

Once the three men reached the floor, they were amazed how big the tunnel was. In addition to the height, not far short of eighteen to twenty feet, it was wide enough to allow a large truck, or even two smaller vehicles, to pass along it easily. They followed the main tunnel for some distance, Garrison checking out some of the smaller openings, which led off on either side. Most were empty caves carved into the rock but some had been enlarged and were being used for storage, anything from old pieces of mining equipment and wooden beams to boxes of tinned goods and blankets. Further ahead, they could see a larger gap in the wall of the passage. Here, they discovered that one side of the tunnel had been cut out into a huge, cavernous space. A vast quantity of boxes, were piled neatly together on one side, while a number of other boxes, some broken, could be seen scattered along the far wall.

''Wow! Look at the size of this place!'' Goniff's voice echoed slightly, even though he had only whispered his comment.

Garrison led his men to the nearest pile of boxes, where he began studying the labels. Several bore a skull and crossbones. Casino and Goniff didn't need that translating for them. Quickly bored, the pair left Garrison and gravitated towards the boxes by the far wall. One of the crates contained discarded lengths of wire and a couple of broken timers, whilst nearby were two rusting pickaxes and some shovels, presumably abandoned after the tunnels were first created. Carefully, Casino prised open the lid of one of the intact boxes. It was full of plastic explosive, though how long it had been there and what condition it was in, it was impossible to tell.

A low rumbling sound approaching along the tunnel, had them all ducking for cover in the shadows. Moments later, a large truck loaded with coal emerged from the direction they had just travelled. The driver swung into the huge hollowed out space and then backed into the tunnel, carrying on his way in reverse. Judging by the marks in the floor, this was a regular manoeuvre. Sounds of the vehicle continued for a short while before it stopped and they could hear the load being tipped into something metallic. Within minutes the truck's engine roared into life and it started back along the tunnel, past where Garrison and his men were hiding, continuing up towards the shaft and beyond. Garrison began to wonder if the main entrance was in that direction and they were walking into the working heart of the factory. Once all was quiet again, Garrison joined the others to see what they had found.

''What you wanna do now Warden?'' Goniff asked quietly.

''I want to see where that truck tipped it's load, before another one arrives.'' Together they crept cautiously further along the main tunnel. After a few hundred yards, the tunnel opened to reveal piles of scattered coal, beyond which were the tops of metal chutes. Hiding in the shadows they watched as a gang of workers shovelled any remaining coal into the chutes. Beyond and below, they could hear the sounds of more men working, German voices giving orders and machinery rattling.

''We can't get any closer here without being seen. We'll have to look for another way.'' Garrison led his men back to the cavern. ''We need to find out what 's actually going on here. These chemicals are highly dangerous and combustible. The dates on the labels show these boxes have been placed here recently. You don't just store chemicals like these on such a massive scale for no reason. The others won't be back for a while yet. Let's see if there is another way out of this cavern that might lead to the area below those chutes.''

A glow to the rear of the chamber, indicated another tunnel. This one was smaller and led gradually downwards. A few chambers and passages led off, allowing them to move carefully from one space to the next. As they neared the end of the passageway, the sound of machinery got louder and they began to distinguish voices, mainly German. Approaching warily, they found themselves on the edge of a platform, overlooking a scene of apparent chaos in a large chamber below.

Piles of coal, probably dropped from the chutes they had seen earlier, lined one side of the chamber. This was shovelled by a gang of men onto conveyer belts, where it passed under a series of rollers before falling into a large container. The crushed coal was then loaded into barrows and transported to more silos, from which small quantities of coal were fed into the holes in the top of large granite blocks, allowing the coal to be ground into fine particles. Alongside each belt, workers swept up anything that dropped to the floor, while others removed stones and debris, narrowly avoiding the rollers as they did so. The air was a haze of suspended coal dust, choking and acrid. A layer of black grime coated everything.

Goniff took one quick look and retired rapidly to the safety of the passageway. The scene evoked memories of sketches he had seen in some of Actor's books, relating to harsh conditions in Victorian factories and mines, and he wanted none of it.

They had only been there for a few moments when a guard suddenly appeared in front of them, taking everyone by surprise, the guard included, who quickly raised his rifle. Casino was still standing beside Garrison, allowing Goniff the chance to swiftly crouch down and slink back further into the shadows. The others had no chance.

''Hande hoch. Was tun sie hier?'' the soldier demanded, gesturing with his rifle at the two men, who slowly raised their hands.

Goniff slid further still into the tunnel. He could hear Garrison talking in French to the guard, who ignored or didn't understand, and certainly did not seem at all convinced by their presence on the platform. Continuing to point his rifle at them, he gestured to Garrison and Casino to precede him towards a set of wooden steps.

''What happened to the Limey?'' whispered Casino, as they made their way down the steps to the factory floor.

''I don't know. Let's hope he doesn't get himself caught.'' He managed to whisper back before the guard prodded him in the back. They both knew that Goniff staying at liberty, was their only lifeline.

Goniff hesitated for just a moment. He knew he had to get help but he also needed to know where the guard was taking his team mates. Silently he watched from the shadows as they were herded down the steps and through the mayhem below. They threaded their way towards a German officer standing on the far side of the conveyor belts. Having listened to the soldier, the Captain glanced up at the platform, then barked an order. Goniff didn't wait to see what that order entailed, he was already scampering back the way they had come.