Recovery
Chapter 2 Revised
Days went by, more lessons on cards and arts and music, and missions. For some reason, perhaps Lt. Garrison's little conversation with Major Richards, the missions did not involve Terry. Still pushing herself, she went back to tending bar at the Blue Fox in Brandonshire. Actor reported to Garrison that as a confidence woman, she was pretty much back to normal. He did not report she still had no real memory of him.
The men had returned from a mission that had not gone well, but no one had been injured. Terry was back into her old routine and their beds were opened and waiting for them when they arrived back at the Mansion. Exhausted, the men had fallen into their beds. When they arose, the girl was in Brandonshire tending bar.
Casino dealt himself another game of solitaire. He didn't know what time it was, but he couldn't sleep. Moving a dog-eared red queen on an equally dog-eared black king, he looked up sharply as the door opened and closed quickly. Terry stopped and looked at him.
"I don't know why I didn't hear you drive in," said Casino by way of apology, "or I'd'a turned the light off."
"It's all right," said the girl shrugging out of her jacket and hanging it on the coat tree. "The light from Actor's chair doesn't show that much and I was quick."
She ambled over and looked at his game, reaching a hand down and moving a nine onto a ten. Casino slapped her fingers lightly. She rested her hand on his shoulder and watched him place an eight on the nine.
"What are you doing up?" Terry asked. "I would have thought you would be dead to the world."
Casino shook his head. "Can't sleep."
"That bad of a mission?" the girl asked with concern in her voice.
"Wasn't good, Babe. But none of 'em seem to be lately."
"Seeing as it's just you and me, take your shirt off and I'll work your back. Maybe it will help you sleep."
He had wondered if she had forgotten she was supposed to work on the scar tissue on his back every couple of days. It had been weeks since she had done it last. Pushing the chair back, the safecracker stood and pulled his shirt out of his pants, removing it and the singlet. They were tossed on the table, cards forgotten now. Casino swung the chair around and straddled it, resting his forehead on his crossed arms atop the back of the chair.
The girl's hands tentatively slid up his neck and back down onto his shoulders before moving over the white ridges on his back. As she started the kneading and rubbing, he could have groaned at the relief he always got from her back rubs.
"You're tight," said the girl softly. "I'm sorry. I should have been doing this all along. Charlie, why didn't you tell me?"
"Figured you got enough on your plate," replied the man, relaxing under her ministrations. "I didn't want to bother you."
He could hear the smile in her voice. "Doesn't stop you from bothering me with anything else."
"Yeah, well . . ."
"So, tell me what happened."
"Nuthin' unusual really. We almost got caught is all. Warden and Actor talked our way out."
"Something extra Craig had you guys into?"
Casino rocked his head. "Naw. Wasn't the Warden this time. Bad intel."
He could have melted. Not only did the scars loosen up, but his muscles relaxed. Girl had good hands. Getting this kind of attention from her almost made the torture he had endured worth it, almost, okay not quite. But he'd be happy to have her do this every night. No matter that she worked on his back, shoulders and neck for quite a while, it was still too soon when she stopped. He could have gone to sleep while she worked on him.
Reluctantly, he stood up and put the singlet back on, but just slipped his arms through the sleeves of his shirt. Terry headed for the stairs and he went over to turn the light off beside Actor's chair. When he made his way to the stairs, the girl was waiting there for him.
"Better?" she asked in whisper.
"Yeah. Thanks, Baby." He put a hand out on her arm to stop her from going up the stairs. "Practice?" he suggested.
She hesitated and then smiled. "Sure, just one."
He pulled her close and kissed her. She not only did not resist, she slipped her arms around him and returned the kiss. When it ended, they remained almost nose to nose.
"Am I getting better?" Terry asked.
"Not bad," replied Casino, "but I think you need a little more practice."
What he got was her finger jabbed into his ribs, making him jump back. The white-toothed grin he received with it told him she was just teasing him. Arm in arm, they went up the stairs.
Pausing at her door, the safecracker leaned nearer to whisper in her ear, "Sleep good."
"You too," she whispered back.
Terry went into her room and Casino walked down the hall to his.
GGGGG
The headaches became less frequent and not as severe. Occasionally the girl went on missions with Garrison and his men. Until her memory returned completely or it was decided she would recover no more of it, she would remain with Garrison's group.
As much as Major Richards and Lt. Johnson would have liked her back working with that group too, it was felt to be less confusing for Terry to go in with the original team. The girl seemed to have no objections and neither did Lt. Garrison. However, even this was not a guarantee that things would go right.
GGGGG
The private concert in the manor house outside Paris that made the Mansion look like a slum, reached an intermission. The SS Major and his 'friend' stood and followed the rest of the audience back into the ballroom for refreshments. The major they were trying to get information from excused himself and went in search of the men's room, leaving Actor and Terry together, but alone. Some faint shift in the cadence of the conversation in the room, made both of them look up but in opposite directions. What Terry saw made her swallow hard. A quick glance at Chief in his usual place by a large potted plant showed him staring at the back of an officer who had just arrived. Terry and Chief exchanged looks of concern. The expression on the girl's face closed down to a faint smile. She averted her head and looked up at Actor from the tops of her eyes. Naturally, he was eyeing a well-endowed little blond.
"Actor," hissed Terry. The man's eyes shot back to her. "Hunch your shoulders and don't turn around."
"Teresa?" he asked, rolling his shoulders a smidgen forward to soften his normal straight stance.
"Remember that Field Marshal at the party last month?"
He gave a little nod.
"Well, he just walked in. And we are not using the same names."
Actor swore in his mind. They were outside of Paris, not Bonn. What was the man doing here? They had to get out. This mission was over.
"Perhaps a breath of fresh air?" suggested the con man to his partner.
He held his elbow out for Terry to take. She shot a glance at Chief as she placed her hand on Actor's arm. The younger man took a backward step into the hall and disappeared. Actor held the door to the balcony open and escorted the girl outside.
"Now what?" she asked. "We're on the wrong side of the house from the car."
Actor looked around. They were alone on the balcony. "Jump."
"Great."
Actor took another look around and threw a long leg over the railing. Bringing the other leg over, he dropped off to the ground. Terry had slipped her high heeled shoes off and dropped them to the Italian. He stuck one in each big pocket and raised his arms to try to catch her. Terry lifted her long, tight dress, giving the con man a brief look at more of her than he had seen in a while. She climbed over the railing and dropped down to be caught and steadied by Actor. Her shoes were handed back to her and as she slipped her feet back into them, he removed his jacket. The white formal shirt made a good target, but Terry's green dress would be recognized more readily than his expected uniform. The jacket was draped over her shoulders, covering the dress almost to her knees. At a leisurely pace, the couple strolled toward the front of the house.
Chief made his way to the door of the office he knew Garrison and Casino were in. The Indian made a show of hunting for a cigarette as a couple walked past. When they were out of hearing range, he scratched at the door, waiting a moment before slipping inside.
Garrison had his gun out. Casino was at the wall safe. The safecracker did not look away from what he was doing.
"Trouble, Warden," said Chief in a whisper. "That field marshal showed up. The one from Bonn. Actor and Terry bailed outside."
Casino pulled the door of the safe open. "Now what?" he asked the Lieutenant.
"We have to get out of here. Casino grab the stuff and let's go," instructed Garrison, mind spinning fast.
"I thought we were gonna just take pictures," said Casino, already stuffing papers and money inside his shirt.
"No time," said Garrison.
The cracksman shut the safe and quickly wiped it down with his handkerchief. Craig moved to the door, opening it a crack to look down the hall. The lights in the ballroom flickered and dimmed to inform the audience the concert was about to resume. Sticking his head out, Garrison saw there was no one in sight. Beckoning his two men, he led the way into the hall and toward the ballroom, which was between them and the front entrance.
Head held high with a small smile, the German officer, followed by his two men, walked past the ballroom and down the hall to the steps down to the atrium. The manor house was built into a slope so part of the floor was almost ground-level and the back was a full story higher. Garrison led the three of them straight out the front door and past the guards with a return salute that was as informal as some of the ones his second would flick.
Actor guided Terry around bushes toward the front of the building. The green grass of the manicured lawn silenced their footsteps. The confidence man knew there was no possibility of them making it to the car without running into guards. He was right. A patrolling soldier came around the corner of the house and stopped upon sight of the couple where no one should be. The guard pulled his rifle strap from his shoulder, not aiming at the couple, but had the ready.
"Pretend you're not feeling well," said Actor in a low voice.
"I don't have to pretend," murmured Terry.
He looked at her with concern.
The guard eyed the uniform of the tall man. The coat that was draped around the woman held the insignia of a major.
"Was tun Sie?" he asked
"The woman is not feeling well," said Actor in condescending German. "I am taking her to our car."
"Kann ich Ihnen, Herr Major helfen?" asked the soldier, not lowering his weapon.
"Nein," barked Actor. "Machen Sie Weg!"
The soldier lowered his rifle and stepped aside to stand at attention. Actor guided Teresa past the man and continued to where the car was parked. The soldier resumed his rounds.
Goniff jumped out of the car and opened the door for Actor and the girl. Garrison, Chief and Casino moved quickly to join them.
"Start the car," ordered Garrison, climbing into the back seat with Terry and Actor.
Goniff got behind the wheel, but Chief pushed him to the middle while Casino got in the passenger side.
"'Ey," objected the Cockney.
"Let Chief drive," said Garrison.
"Where to?" asked the Indian.
"Safe house if we aren't being followed."
Chief started the engine and pulled unhurriedly away.
Miffed, the slight man asked, "Wot 'appened?"
"Unexpected company," said Casino. "Man, Europe is gettin' too crowded."
"That was unexpected," agreed Actor. He looked at Teresa and asked "Are you all right?"
"Sure," she replied. "It's the same as jumping out of an airplane," she said with a grimace. "Hitting the ground jars my head, even if you did catch me."
"Hitting the ground?" asked Garrison. He was turned in the seat, watching out the back window for any signs of pursuit.
"We went over the balcony," explained the Italian.
"That must have been some sight," said Casino with a grin, knowing how tight Terry's dress was.
"Casino," said Actor in disgust. "You can be so uncouth."
"You were the one under her."
"Knock it off," snapped Garrison, noting his sister didn't even bother to object.
Actor refrained from mentioning the girl's dress had been hiked up to her waist. Nor did he mention he now knew she was wearing the silk undergarments he had bought her months before. Instead he looked at Garrison.
"Of all things the Field Marshal had to come to Paris for a concert? I wonder what else he was here for."
Garrison shook his head. "It may be in the papers we took, or we may never know."
Actor reached in his pocket for a cigarette. "I take it you did not have time to photograph them?"
Garrison shook his head and turned back around to face forward. "No."
"So, you have the papers, which means they will be looking for us."
"What are we going to do?" asked Terry.
"Get our things from the safe house, change clothes, switch vehicles and make a run for the coast," replied Craig. He looked at his sister. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, it's not as bad as it has been."
They reached the safe house without incident. Terry changed into pants and blouse, removed the diamond pins from her hair and pulled it back, tying it and allowing it to flow down her back. With a handkerchief, she scrubbed the make-up off her face. The pins went into Actor's make-up kit and the dress was carefully folded and rolled before going into their duffle bag with the kit.
Chief uncovered the car he had hidden on their earlier arrival to the safe house and put the other one in its place.
Garrison and the other men changed into peasant clothing. Now they were people looking for work. The duffle bags were stowed in the trunk and the order of seating was changed. Garrison drove, with Actor in the front passenger seat and Terry wedged between them. The other three men were packed into the back seat.
Garrison left the safe house at a leisurely speed. He took the first road south even though they needed to go slightly northwest. It was going to be chancy no matter what they did. If they kept on in the middle of the night and were stopped it would be impossible to explain what French peasants were doing driving at night. If they hid somewhere until dawn, they were certain to run into more road blocks. Craig continued driving for another half hour and then pulled up a dirt track with high weeds.
The grasses and branches scraped along the sides of the car. Well, it would just make the vehicle look more like it belonged to peasants than the wealthy people Chief had 'borrowed' it from. When Garrison was satisfied they were far enough off the road, he carefully turned the car around to face the way they had come in.
"Why are we stopping?" asked Goniff.
"We're workers looking for jobs. We wouldn't be driving at night," explained Garrison, shutting the engine off.
"Isn't that gonna give the Jerries more time to set up road blocks?" asked Chief, not liking this.
"Yes," replied Actor. "But in daylight, we have a better chance of talking our way of trouble."
Not even waiting to be told, Chief got out and disappeared in the darkness back toward the main road to watch for trouble. Goniff slid over to lean against one door and Casino leaned against the inside of the other door. Terry tried to scoot forward into a comfortable position, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The two leaders stayed awake and alert.
Dawn came and those in the car got out one at a time to stretch cramped muscles. Garrison started the engine and moved slowly forward. Chief stepped out next to the track about halfway back to the road. Craig stopped so he could get in the back.
"Anything?" asked Garrison.
"Nuthin'," replied the Indian.
They knew 'nuthin' wasn't going to last. It didn't. It was about five miles from the crossroad that Garrison had to take to head back north, when they came across the first roadblock.
Garrison stopped and rolled down his window. By now the men had the beginnings of whiskers and the girl had let her hair the rest of the way down and messed it up.
"Where have you come from?" asked a soldier in German.
Garrison shrugged his shoulders and acted as if he did not understand the question. "Nous ne parlons pas d'allemand."
This soldier spoke some French and repeated the question in that language.
"Chartres," replied Craig.
"Where are you going?"
"Rennes," replied Garrison.
"We were told there is work there." Actor leaned forward around the girl.
The soldier had his rifle ready as he looked at the six people crammed into the car. They tried to look more tired than afraid. Terry yawned. The soldier studied Chief.
"He does not look French," he said suspiciously.
Actor picked up the response. "He is my sister's son. His father is from Spain." Actor's head gestured toward the back seat. "Carlos is not very smart, but he can work. What do you expect from these Spaniards," said Actor with disgust.
Apparently satisfied, the soldier motioned for two guards to move the wooden barriers so the car could pass.
Garrison drove forward as though in no hurry to get anywhere. He kept at a steady, slow pace until he turned onto the road that would take them north. The road he chose was a narrow backroad to Cherbourg. Here he picked up a little speed, but not enough to draw undue attention to them if they came across anyone.
"Actor?" The drawl came from the backseat.
"Yes."
"I figure you were talking about me back there," said Chief. "What was that about?"
Actor shrugged. "He was concerned you did not appear to be French. I just said you are a cousin from Spain."
"All that for that?" asked the Indian suspiciously.
"Pretty much."
It was a good thing the occupants of the back seat could not see the smiles that were unsuccessfully stifled by the Garrison siblings in the front seat.
Another road block was encountered when they had to take a major road. Between Actor and Garrison, they were allowed through without any problem.
GGGGG
As it was, they did not get back to the Mansion until evening. None of them were hungry and Garrison decided the debriefing could wait until morning. He had called Major Schaeffer and briefly explained what had happened. The Major was not happy. He did agree to postpone the formal debrief with the Lieutenant until a decent hour in the morning.
About to follow the others upstairs to get some badly needed sleep, Garrison was stopped by an upset Sgt./Major.
"I'm sorry, Leftenant," said Collins. "Major Schaeffer insisted I had to meet with him about how things were going here at 0700 this morning. It made me miss the farm market and the bakery, Sir." He grimaced, "We're out of bread and a few other items."
Naturally, thought Craig. Nothing seemed to be going right. "That's all right, Sgt./Major. We'll deal with that in the morning." It was going to be a busy morning.
He climbed the stairs, stopped at his sister's bedroom and tapped lightly on the door. At her "come in," he let himself in and shut the door. The girl was in bed, but the bedside lamp was on.
"Sorry, Terry," apologized Craig. "There's a problem."
"Isn't there always?" she asked with mild disgust. "What now."
"The Sgt./Major had a meeting and missed the farm market and the bread line. I guess we're low on food again."
Terry gave a resigned sigh. "Okay. I'll take care of it tomorrow."
Garrison nodded and headed back toward the door.
"Hey, Craig," Terry stopped him. "When you debrief with the guys. I didn't hear anything again. We didn't have time."
Craig looked back at her. "Just take care of the food problem. You don't need to debrief."
"'Night," said the girl, turning off the lamp.
"'Night."
9
