99. A Fox in the Hen House
Chapter 1
Lt. Garrison walked inside, briefcase cuffed to his wrist. He looked around the common room and did a quick head count. They were all there, including his sister who was mending clothes. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. That gave them time to have a decent dinner before leaving tonight. It was going to be a long night.
Actor was sitting in his chair, pipe in one hand, book in the other. He looked up, eyes immediately checking out the briefcase and cuffs. "Where are we being sent this time?" he asked resignedly.
"Italy," replied Garrison.
"Any particular place in Italy?" pursued the older man with more interest in his voice.
"The northern half," replied the lieutenant.
That got their attention, even his sister's.
Casino stopped with a playing card held upright in his right hand. "When?"
"Tonight," came the reply. "Come into my office and I'll brief you."
"Me too?" asked Terry. At her brother's nod, she secured the needle into the shirt she was working on, folded the garment up and dropped it into the basket with the other damaged articles of clothing.
Slowly the occupants of the common room rose from their seats and wandered into the office behind their leader. As Garrison stood at his desk, unlocking the handcuffs, they took their usual chairs at the conference table. It wasn't often they saw the Lieutenant place the briefcase under his desk.
Garrison removed his uniform jacket and draped it over the back of the desk chair. From there, he moved to sit down in his usual seat at the table. All eyes were on him and his swept around the faces.
"All right, here it is," he began, "as much as what we have to work with. As most of you are aware, the Allied forces are advancing on Rome. Hitler knows he can't hold it. He doesn't have enough troops. But, he isn't about to give it up intact. He has moved some of his troops and injured into the Vatican." Craig noted that grabbed Actor's attention. "He has said he intends to sack Rome as they leave. He wants to make Warsaw look like a cake walk. Our words, and mostly his. And he doesn't want to leave any of Rome's treasures behind. They are looting all the museums and some of the cathedrals. The artwork, mainly paintings, are being sent north, to Germany, in trucks and trains."
"Wot?" broke in Goniff, "like what they did with that Van Loon."
"Yes," nodded Garrison. "But on a much larger scale. The partisan cells in the northern half of Italy are hitting those trucks and trains and trying to save the artwork. The problem is, they know how to blow them up, but most of the artwork is blowing up or burning up too.
"Merda," breathed Terry.
"Our mission, if you can call it that is three-fold," continued the Lieutenant. "Casino, we need to teach them how to blow up the train engines and trucks without everything else going up in the explosion or setting fire to the artwork or the train cars. Part two, Actor will catalogue what paintings and other possible artwork are going to which caves. Part three, if we have the opportunity, is to do a little smash and grab from the Germans ourselves and get the art to the partisans."
"Do we know when and where?" asked Actor. "Northern Italy is a large area."
Garrison shook his head. "The Germans are usually methodical, but not this time. They are in a hurry. The Allies are just north of Naples, but in heavy fighting. Their entry date into Rome is uncertain. Word from the partisans in Rome is not getting out to the northern cells until sometimes too late."
"I might be able to help with that a little bit now from here," said Terry. "We have a small cell in Roma and a couple up north that sometimes work with the other resistance cells." She smiled broadly. "Borrow your office phone?"
"Be my guest," replied Garrison. "Is there going to be a problem with you if we run into somebody you know?"
Terry frowned. "I don't know. I guess we'll have to see what happens. By the way, not that I mind in the least, but why am I going?"
"Because we don't know how much stolen artwork we will be dealing with. You may have to help Actor." The officer looked at his second-in-command for his reaction.
The con man nodded. "Teresa knows some of the art and where it comes from. At the very least, she is capable of spelling the artists' and the museums' names."
"Glad I'm good for something," said Terry, getting up from the table. Her eyes met Actor's and she winked.
As she sat down in the desk chair and pulled the telephone closer, her brother told the others to pack some heavy clothing. No uniforms this trip. They grumbled at the thought of the cold weather in the north of Italy right now and no decent places to sleep. Actor and Garrison stayed behind at the table.
Teresa dialed the basement of the Blue Fox and waited through two rings before it was picked up. It was answered by Malinda.
"Hey," said Terry. "got one for you." She listened to the response to that. "Yeah, both groups from here . . . I know, this is a strange one. I want you to contact our cell in Rome. Tell them, if they aren't already, they are to watch and find out when the art from the museums in leaving Rome, whether by train or truck. They are to send that information to our cells in northern Italy and they, in turn, either stop those vehicles or give the information to the other resistance cells." She listened for a moment. "Yes, I know Rome is being sacked and anyone on the streets is in danger . . . No, we aren't going to Rome. That's why we need their help in this . . . We're going in tonight . . . I guess wherever they kick us out of the airplane . . . I'll be in touch. Or Aigle will . . . Thanks, Malinda." She listened again and frowned. "Beats the crap outta me," Terry said. "We just hope it doesn't come to that."
Teresa hung up and sucked in her cheeks.
"What was that last about?" asked Actor with concern.
Terry shook her head. "First time she's ever asked me what to do if you and I both get killed."
GGGGG
The Dakota was able to touch down in a field somewhere in the triangle between Bergamo, Milano and the Lakes just before dawn. The group got out quickly with their kits and the two boxes of explosive parts that seemed to be the personal property of Casino. A group of partisans slowly emerged from the woods as the plane took off again.
Garrison stepped forward to meet the middle-aged, dark-haired man who walked with a limp. The two stopped and assessed each other.
"I don't have a password," said the Lieutenant.
"You are Garrison?" the Italian asked in heavily Italian accented English.
"Yes, I'm Lieutenant Garrison."
"My name is Giorgio," said the man. "Come we must get away from here."
He motioned with his hand for his men to come and Garrison did the same to his group. A horse-drawn wagon was brought forward. Casino would let no one besides himself load the boxes of explosives. He had set them up as far as he safely could on the flight over. Luckily he had them finished and boxed back up before the landing to refuel on Gibraltar.
Garrison and Chief walked with the partisans while the others rode in or on the wagon. Casino and Goniff were on the built in bench on one side and Actor and Terry were on the other. The con man nudged the girl with his elbow.
"Have you been here before?" he asked in a voice so quiet the other two men could not make out what was said.
"No," replied Teresa. "I am usually sent more to the east side. And nobody here looks familiar."
"I suppose that's good," said Actor.
It was now the girl's turn. "Have you guys been here before?"
"No," replied the Italian. He wasn't ready to volunteer he was familiar with the area south of Milano, where one of the family vineyards was.
The rest of the ride was in silence. They emerged from the woods and followed a dirt track along a river. The sun was almost up when they arrived at a small villa with rows of grapevines that were mostly bare, with a scattering of crisp, dried, brown leaves.
"Is that what they are supposed to look like this time of year?" asked Teresa.
"Probably," replied Actor. "This is farther north than Tuscany. They would still be harvesting there now, if there was not a war going on."
"You know about growing grapes too?" asked Casino somewhat derisively.
"Somewhat," answered the con man in a sarcastic tone. "I was taught at an early age. I obviously do not grow grapes."
"Let's not get in a fight guys," muttered Terry. She wondered what Casino's problem was this time and decided she really did not want to know. Craig could deal with him if he got too out of hand.
The wagon went around to the back of the small two story villa. It was square and made of the familiar reddish stone blocks. There was an addition of a third story tower on the northeast corner. They stopped close to a backdoor and Garrison approached the back of the wagon.
There must have been some conflict, thought the Lieutenant. Actor and Terry stayed seated until Goniff and Casino had jumped down and were taking the boxes out of the back. Only then, did the woman and the Italian stand up, collect the kits and climb down.
"Where's Chief?" asked Terry glancing around.
Her brother chuckled and glanced up at the tower. "He asked if he could go up there to keep watch. They're letting him."
The remaining five of them were escorted by one of the men into the building. They were led through a kitchen area and to a salotto that was about the same size as the second floor common room at the Mansion. Giorgio had disappeared for a time and now reappeared from down a hallway.
He addressed Garrison. "There is a shipment by train coming this way and going into Switzerland before going into Germany. It has mostly paintings and some smaller statues."
"How soon will it get here?" the Lieutenant asked.
"Sometime in the early morning hours through Como," was the reply.
Garrison pulled his map from the inside of his jacket, opened it atop a table, and smoothed it with his hands. "Where exactly are we?" he asked.
Giorgio bent over the map, beside the officer. Actor and Terry moved to the opposite side of the table. Goniff and Casino sprawled on an antique sofa and watched from a distance.
"We are here," said the Resistance leader, touching a spot on the map with his finger.
They were closer to Como than Milano or Bergamo, which was where Actor had thought they might be. It would still be a distance to the train tracks.
"How do we get there?" asked Garrison.
"A truck," said Giorgio.
This bothered Actor. "Isn't there a lot of German traffic on those roads?"
Giorgio shook his head. "They rely mainly on the trains."
"What about the cattle cars?" asked Terry, in Italian. That brought sharp looks from the two Italians.
"They go through too," replied Giorgio in Italian. "And through the Brenner Pass into Austria."
Terry nodded.
"Excuse me," said Garrison tersely. "I don't speak much Italian. Would one of you translate that into English?"
"Sorry," apologized Terry. "The Germans mostly use the railroads over and through the passes into Switzerland or Austria. They also use these routes for the trains transporting Jews to German prison camps, and Italian men to the work camps. It might get a little crowded."
"How do you know this?" asked Giorgio cautiously in Italian.
"Sono libero professionista," replied Terry easily. "I freelance," she translated to her brother.
Actor eyed her narrowly. "So you are familiar with this area?"
Terry shook her head. "No, not the St. Gotthard Pass. The couple times I helped with the trains was along the Brenner Pass." She glanced at the men on the sofa. Casino was sitting forward, intently watching her. Great. Well, he'd find out sooner than later that she had been blowing up train tracks.
"You know how to blow up train tracks?" asked Giorgio with interest.
Casino would have to find out now. "Not without destroying a lot of the things, and people, on the trains. I do better with trestles."
Garrison had caught sight of Casino's response to the conversation. A side glance saw the safecracker drop back against the sofa, shaking his head.
"That's why this group has Casino," added Terry, trying to defuse things a little, and knowing it probably wouldn't work.
The said safecracker spoke up from the sofa. "Seeing as we're hitting the first train sometime during the night, when can I work with your men on setting up the explosives?"
"Later this afternoon," replied Giorgio. "We have some people from other groups coming to learn from you also."
Casino nodded, apparently satisfied.
They waited in the salatto, talking about the trains and trucks, and how Switzerland allowed the Germans to move not only the art works, but the Italian prisoners and the Jews through the passes and to Zurich before going on to Basel and into Germany.
"Why would they do that?" asked Goniff. "I thought they were a neutral country."
"About as neutral as Portugal," remarked Garrison.
"But why?" persisted the pickpocket.
"Money." It was uttered in unison by both Garrisons, Actor and Giorgio.
"Terrific," said Casino in a tone that implied the opposite.
A young girl entered the room and waited.
"Maria will take you to where you can rest," said Giorgio.
Terry managed to move herself alongside of Casino as they headed for the stairs behind the girl. She leaned into him.
"I need to talk to you," she whispered.
"Figured that was comin'," he whispered back. "The answer's gonna be no."
"Just hear me out," hissed Terry back. "Please."
"Yeah," he sighed.
Upstairs, they were led down a hall. The first room on the right was small and held a single bed. The woman did not speak English, but told Teresa in Italian the room was hers. Terry thanked her, but remained by the door to see where the others were going. They all stopped in the hall and the woman said there was a room with two beds and one with four. They could divide up as they pleased. Actor had to translate.
Garrison wasn't at all certain about this set up in a villa, no matter how small it was. Switzerland had been different circumstances, even before he found out that villa had belonged to Actor's family. He told the con man he would prefer to room with an Italian speaker. Casino knew enough to be able to translate some for the other two men. Craig realized he could move his sister in with him, but that might be a little awkward. These resistance people did not need to know they were related.
The men went into their rooms and the girl went into hers. Casino waited until doors were closed before telling the Limey he would be back in a minute and slipping back into the hall. Terry's door was open a tiny bit. Not bothering to knock, he moved inside the room and closed the door behind him.
He didn't wait for her to begin. "Sister, I don't want you anywhere around explosives," he said firmly.
"A little late for that," said Terry from where she was sitting on the end of the single bed. "I've been doing train tracks, trestles, trucks, and ammo and fuel dumps for months now." She tilted her head to look at him. "I don't have your expertise in doing it with the least damage to the – uh – contents."
Casino shook his head. "The last time I showed you how to blow up tracks, I blew you up. I'm not doing it again."
Terry's voice was quiet. "Charlie, you didn't blow me up. Whoever set up your timers did." The expression on his face did not look like he was in agreement. "Did somebody else set these explosives up?"
Blasted woman was going to win out in the end, Casino knew. "I set 'em up myself. I've been doing my own timers and checking my own explosives since that happened." And she knew it. And he knew she knew he knew it.
Terry looked at him with a sigh. "You aren't going to stop me from working with explosives. It would be better for everyone involved if you showed me how to do it right."
"Yeah, Lady, and how come you didn't ask me before now?" he asked with a touch of belligerence.
"Because I knew you wouldn't."
That almost made sense, but not quite. "Why now?"
"Because you're teaching the fine art of it to people who probably don't know any more than I do," she replied. Her eyes bore into his. "I'm going to keep doing it. Wouldn't it be safer for me to know how?"
Casino glared at her before backing down. He hated it when she made so much sense. "All right, Sister. You can watch. But I'm warning you right now, if the Warden has a fit about it, you're done."
"He won't," Terry said with surety in her voice. "He knows I do it and he'd probably feel better if you taught me."
"Who did teach you?" asked Casino. "Wasn't me."
Terry smiled. "I was watching you, mainly with the trestles. They taught me in Scotland that time I went to be trained."
"Didn't train you good enough," grumbled Casino in defeat. He watched the smile spread across her face.
"Thanks, Charlie," she said with sincerity.
"Yeah, sure, Babe."
Shaking his head, he went back into the hall. He muttered to himself until he reached the room Garrison and Actor were sharing. Not bothering to knock, Casino opened the door and let himself in, closing the door behind him. Garrison was sitting on the edge of one bed, in his underwear. Actor was already under the covers in the other bed. Both men looked sharply at the safecracker.
"Warden, your sister is nuts," said Casino. "You know that?"
Garrison sat straighter and looked resignedly at the irritated man. "What now?" he asked.
"You know she's blowing up stuff?" demanded Casino.
"I know she has," replied Garrison. "We learned that with the fuel dump that time."
"Now she wants me to teach her how to blow up trains and trucks 'the right way'."
"It sounds reasonable," said Actor as resignedly as Garrison.
Casino turned on the con man. "And what's your problem? You're supposed to be her second-in-command. Why aren't you stoppin' her?"
Actor sat up on the side of the bed and crossed his arms, eyes narrowed to glare at the safecracker. "I am her reference person. I do not plan the missions. Most of the time I don't know she has gone in, or where, with whom, or what she is doing."
"Let her join the group you are going to teach this afternoon," said Garrison. "You should know by now, you can't stop Terry from doing what she wants. It's better if she learns how to do it correctly."
"She's your sister . . ." objected Casino.
"Yes, and I have known her a lot longer than you have," pointed out her brother. "Go ahead and teach her."
"Would you mind returning to your room?" said Actor sarcastically. "Some of us would like to get a couple hours sleep before we begin tonight's part of our mission."
When Casino opened his mouth to snap back at the con man, Garrison stood up and pointed to the door. "Out!" he ordered firmly.
Casino knew it was useless to argue further, but couldn't resist one last word. "She's gonna get herself killed."
"We all are, most likely," said Garrison wearily. He sat back down on his bed. He proceeded to ignore the safecracker.
Shaking his head and muttering, Casino left the room and shut the door behind him, not slamming it, but close.
9