Casino was just at the edge of the forest, too far away to do them any good, when he saw Goniff and the Warden retreat to the other side of the building in the face of the oncoming guards. He shot a look around for Actor and Chief but couldn't see anything of them…. Garrison only had one choice, he knew that; he would head for the other side of the complex and make his way out. If the other two were around to see it they'd be getting ready to cause a diversion if the Warden needed it. He could try and find them, if he could, and help, or he could stick with a sure thing and hook up with Garrison and Goniff. Casino started moving through the trees. He'd have to move fast if he was going to pick them up on the other side.

He knew he had to stay back in the trees and keep out of sight but that meant he had much farther to go, it also meant he couldn't keep the fence in sight all of the time, so unless Casino saw them do it, he wouldn't know exactly where the other two went through the wire. When he got to the other side there was no sign of them. He moved cautiously along the edge of the forest as it paralleled the fence line. Peering through the darkness, praying they wouldn't take the time to roll the chain link back into place, Casino strained to see where they'd breached the damn fence. He felt a burning sensation building and brought his hands up. Screwing his eyes shut he pressed hard on either side of the root of his nose and breathed a relieved sigh as the sensation faded. Clearing his watery vision with the heels of his hands he checked the fence again. He'd gone too far… That had to be it…. He was practically half way to the other end of the joint! As he turned around to start back the other way he caught movement near the trees. Just as he took off back that direction he heard something that caused his heart to stop.

"Halten Sie an! Was tun Sie dort?"

Casino fought the urge to break into a flat out run. It was only just him out here. He didn't know how many Krauts had the drop on the other two men. If he gave himself away by crashing through the forest he wouldn't do them a damn bit of good. He moved from tree to tree, taking the time to scan the area around him before he made his next move. He could see the guard moving in. He watched the Warden drop his gun. Watched him take a careful step back. Scanning the open area between the fence and the trees Casino didn't pick up any sign of another man… Must be just the one guy. The guard had moved up another step and the Warden had moved back a little more. Casino knew what was going to happen next, he'd seen Garrison pull this move before, but he didn't settle back to enjoy it, he still had too much ground to cover.

"Umdrehen. Langsam!"

He caught the signal between Goniff and the Warden and watched as they turned to face the guard. Just as the Limey made his move the burning returned with a vengeance. Casino's hands flew to his face, covering his mouth and nose. His fingers pressed in, just at the inside corner of his eyes. His eyes screwed closed on their own. He could hear the brief struggle but he couldn't see it. His maneuver had quelled the sneeze alright, but it screwed up his vision too. Gluing himself to the trunk of a tree he waited for it to clear. He wiped the tears away with his sleeve just in time to see the building go up. Casino dropped to the ground next to the tree and watched as debris started falling. Too much black powder, he thought as he carefully got to his feet again and took off in the direction where he'd just seen the others, but they'd already disappeared.

He figured Garrison would work his way through the trees to the road that lay to the North. If they got up there ahead of him, and were lucky, they'd nab a car and be gone without ever knowing he was trailing them. Just as he made the decision to give them a shout he heard something that convinced him silence was a healthier option for all of them.

"Halt! Hände hoch!"

Casino went back to skulking from tree to tree. They were up in the underbrush of the forest now, he was having to rely more on hearing…but there wasn't anything more to hear. The Warden was probably playing it quiet again, trying to keep from drawing any other Krauts in on their position. Casino moved another few feet in the direction he'd marked and then froze, listening.

"Stillstehen. Jede Bewegung werden Sie geschossen!"

'geschossen' Shit! He knew that word! That was the Kraut word for 'shoot'! Casino picked up his pace, still trying to be quiet, still trying to preserve the slight advantage surprise would give him. He could see the back of a German helmet just over the top of the bush in front of him. Parting the leaves with his outstretched arms he carefully moved through them and just as he found himself crouching right behind his target the burning hit again, turned itself to needles that drove straight into his brain and he let rip… there was no way he could stop himself.

He could hear the action taking place right in front of him. He knew Garrison would be taking advantage of the shock he'd probably just delivered to the Kraut. He heard flesh hit flesh and the grunt of bodies falling. Wiping furiously at his watery eyes Casino caught sight of a dark shape still looming up in front of him, there was a helmet on it, and he caught movement on the ground. The Kraut was still on his feet! He made a grab for the German guard but before he could connect the guy brought his rifle up and got off two quick shots.

Casino didn't wait for his vision to clear. He brought his hands together, interlaced his fingers and slammed his fists down on the back of the man's neck. When his victim fell the safecracker went down with him. Straddling the soldier's back he got his fingers around the lip of the German's helmet on either side of his head, twisted as hard as he could and gave it a violent shove over to the left. When he had time to remember it later, the sound of the bone breaking made him sick…

Scrambling on his hands and knees Casino crossed the distance between them and sat on his heels looking down at the two men sprawled unmoving in the dappled moonlight that reached the forest floor. There was enough light that he could see the hole in the pack the Warden carried, the bullet took him right square between his shoulder blades, another one hit him in the side. At point blank range the slugs must have cut straight through him and got Goniff too… "Aw, Jeeze! Warden…" Reaching a trembling hand out Casino laid it on the pack and closed his eyes. After a moment he felt movement, his eyes flew open and locked on the Limey's hand where it clutched and dug at the dirt under it. "Goniff? Goniff!"

Casino clambered to his feet, straddled the two bodies and slipped his hands under the Warden's arms to carefully lift as much of the weight off the little pick pocket as he could. He watch, open mouthed, as the little man scrambled and squirmed free. "Jeeze! I thought you were a goner!"

"I ain't dead." Goniff hissed back. "I ain't even hurt. Just the wind knocked out is all… But the Warden's hit,… bad, I think." Pulling his knees under him he turned back in time to see Casino gently lay the Lieutenant face down in the leaves. "Aw, Blimey!"

Casino glanced at Goniff… he'd been certain he was dead just a minute ago…maybe! He felt along the strap that secured the pack at the Warden's waist for the small bail that would release it, then he slipped the shoulder straps down and lifted the weight off his back and set it aside. Any hope that had been building in him disappeared. The fabric was torn, the moonlight filtering through the trees revealed a large stain forming on Garrison's jacket where the blood was seeping up in the middle of his back, another stain darkened the cloth and made it cling along his side.

Casino settled down on the ground next to the Lieutenant and gently pulled him over so that Garrison rested on his outstretched legs. If he was still alive he wouldn't let him die face down in the dirt, and if he was already gone he didn't want to leave him that way. Goniff shuffled up on his knees and leaned in close as Casino brushed the dirt and leaves from the Warden's face. They were both startled when he a took in a gasping breath and his eyes snapped opened.

"Easy Warden. We got ya, mate…" the cockney's voice trembled. "We got ya."

Casino swallowed hard and watched as Garrison took one excruciating breath after another. He struggled to get his 'poker face' firmly in place, to keep the fear and sorrow shoved aside as their leader's eyes lost their faraway look and gradually focused on him. He leaned closer when the Warden's fingers clutched into the fabric of his shirt and pulled him down.

"Get going," came out in a harsh whisper. Garrison licked at the blood that trickled slowly from the corner of his mouth. "I'll follow you…..later."

"S' no good, Warden." Casino told him quietly. "We ain't leavin'."

The Lieutenant strained to get another lungful of air before he tried again. "You have to. Too important.."

"Save it, Warden."

"Damn it!" Muscles corded in his neck as he took another painful breath. "For once in your life… do as you're… told." His eyes closed and he could only manage shallow, rapid, gulps of air, his chest barely moved.

Casino glanced up and shared a look with Goniff. He shook his head slowly and turned his attention back to Garrison as he stirred in his arms.

Craig pulled in as much air as he could, mustered the last of his strength and pushed the words out. "Get the Hell out of here! … That's an order," then lay still and silent.