The cot groaned and squeaked as its occupant wrestled with the demons that assailed him in the dark. The noise roused two of the others he shared the room with. Before they could get to him he'd rolled off the bed, fought his way clear of the sheets, and stood crouched and ready, not quite awake.

"C'mon, Junior," Casino called out softly. "Snap out of it."

Chief took in a deep breath, his eyes darting around the darkened room. He wet dry lips and stood a little straighter as he recognized his surroundings.

Casino didn't move until the group's scout made eye contact with him then he started across the room, slowly, still not entirely sure of him.

"Is everything all right?" Actor asked from his cot in the corner.

"Yeah." Casino answered from the foot of Chief's bed. "I got it. Go back to sleep."

The creaking of the springs under the cot announced the con man's decision to take his advice. He stood there and listened as Goniff continued to snore through the disturbance. Casino waited for his young teammate's breathing to slow back down to normal before he walked past him to the window at the head of his bed. He pulled back the heavy brocade blackout curtains, turned to settle a hip on the windowsill and waited for the other man to do the same.

Chief flipped the latch on the window and pushed it open. Leaning an elbow on the casement he took a deep breath of the cool mist laden air.

"Okay," Casino said quietly. "Give."

Chief turned and settled next to the older con; it was a few moments before he began to speak. "We got separated." He said slowly. "Actor n' Goniff. You n' me with the Warden. He was hurt. We found a barn off by itself in the woods and stashed him there so we could go get us a car. The place was on fire when we got back." He glanced at the man sitting next to him. "We couldn't get him out."

It was early; the sky was just beginning to lighten through the trees to the east. They sat there side by side in silence until they heard a creak on the stairs followed a few minutes later by the downstairs door closing and then a rhythmic crunch of gravel under foot that faded off into the parkland that lay at the back of the property. Chief rose and headed for the wardrobe.

"You gonna join him?" Casino asked.

"Guess so."

"You guys are nuts," the safecracker declared as he crawled back between his chilled sheets.

g

They were both breathing hard, each man laboring under the shared burden of their injured companion. Bars of sunlight, visible through the trees, caught the younger man's attention and he changed their direction. Within a few moments they were standing on the edge of a small meadow. Cautiously keeping to the trees they made their way to the building that sat on the other side of the clearing.

Casino opened the door when they arrived and the small barn breathed out the moist, warm, sweet smell of newly mown hay. He started to move into the safety of the building but Chief held back, refusing to move.

He rounded on him. "Jeeze," he hissed. "That was a dream you idiot!"

Chief shook his head and stood his ground. He scanned the surrounding area and silently indicated a faint path with a lift of his chin. Casino was the one that held back this time, causing a stalemate. They both looked to the man they had propped up between them but he was in no shape to cast the deciding vote. Finally the safecracker gave in with a curse following the Indian's lead as they struggled off through the underbrush. Less than five minutes later they were standing in a small structure that smelled of sheep.

"The other place was warmer." Casino's nose wrinkled. "Smelled better too," he announced as they laid their burden down on a pile of last years hay that Chief had covered with some feed sacks he found in the corner.

They each shrugged out of their tunics and draped them over the injured man. Casino headed back out towards the trees, after several steps he realized he was alone and turned back.

"C'mon. We don't get us a car we're never gonna get him outta here."

Chief stood, indecisive, straining to hear any sound of pursuit. Except for birdsong and the rustle of leaves as the breeze moved through them it was silent. He shared a long look with the man laying, exhausted, in the straw; at his nod he turned on his heel and moved off into the trees. Casino was right. They'd never make the meet on foot. They needed a car and it would be faster, safer, if both of them went.

They crossed a road less than a quarter of a mile from the shack. Chief's instincts led him north and Casino followed without argument. At the end of a five-minute run they were at the edge of a small town. Ten minutes after that they were in a car heading back the way they'd come.

"Jeeze! Are you tryin' to kill us?!" Casino shouted when the Indian cranked the wheel over without warning and sent them careening off the road. But Chief remained silent, crouched forward as he gazed up through the windshield. Casino leaned forward to see too and his throat went dry at the sight of dark smoke curling up into the sky. The trees closed in ahead, blocking their path.

The car skidded to a stop and the men threw the doors open and hit the dirt running. They arrived at the shed just as their injured man stumbled through the door in a vain attempt to put distance between himself and blaze. The building wasn't on fire yet but flames licked up through the treetops behind it and they were moving fast. Each of them took an arm and turned back for the car at a dead run, dragging the other man between them.

Casino wrenched the back door of the car open and then shoved the man's hands into the sleeves of the great coated they'd swiped for him. Pulling the coat up onto his shoulders Chief did up the buttons, straighten the collar for him and added a military cap to his head before they bundled him into the back seat and propped him the corner.

There was smoke swirling around them and flames were crackling overhead as they climbed in the car and Chief started the engine. There was no room to turn around, the scout threw it into reverse and sent them hurdling backwards through the trees toward the road. When the rear tires hit the black top after a heart-stopping ride he cranked the wheel over, sending them into a skid. Tapping the breaks once and then laying on the gas when they were pointed in the right direction he accelerated away from the smoke, flames and heat.

Casino turned sideways in the seat and studied his teammate for several moments. "Say, next time you have one a those premonitions I wanna know about it."

Concentrating on the road ahead Chief shook his head. "Like you said; that was just a dream. Premonition and that'd be Warden in the backseat, not Actor."

The older con swiveled in the seat and watched the fire recede behind them. "Well, whatever it was, if you get another one don't keep it to yourself." He turned and settled his back more comfortably against the seat. "You know where we gotta meet up with the other guys?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

Chief shot a look along his shoulder at the other man. There was a slight smile on his face. "I'm sure. I had a dream about it."