The smell wafting under his nose wasn't very tempting. When he finally relented and took a sip from the cup being urged on him his opinion of the possible contents was verified. The coffee was bitter and verging on cold… it was strong though, the jolt that ran through him confirmed that.

"Don't try and blame me for the coffee."

The cup bearer gave a laugh. "Can't do much with stale stuff. It was a little better when it was hot. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

There was another laugh. "Sure you are."

He hadn't allowed himself to hope when the men doing the questioning him pulled him up out of the chair he was in and hauled him to an office down the hall. There were two Gestapo officers there with the head of operations. The bigger one was getting his cigarette ready for a light by his aide. When the guards yanked his arms up and dropped them over the back of the chair they shoved him down in the pain in shoulders and the muscles across his back and chest made his head swim. By the time his vision cleared the larger man had one hand on his shoulder and the other cupping his chin so he could turn his face up to peer into it. He was talking to him, but the beatings had his mind muddled enough that he knew he was being questioned he just couldn't come up with an answer. He felt the hand on his shoulder give a slight squeeze and watched the other man rise to his full height as he turned and walked to the edge of the desk. There was more talking over there and another question that had an angry edge to it.

Things faded in and out after that. He remembered being manhandled down a hall and out a door. He got hoisted off the ground and tossed into the back of a truck next. Then he thought he heard the sound of gunshots. Now he was suffering through another swallow of godawful coffee. He knew they must be at a safe house, which one didn't matter. There was a lumpy mattress under him the squeaked when he moved. He could feel dressings around his wrists and the hug of tape supporting his battered ribs. There was even a smell of something more palatable than the offering in the cup that was still hovering under his nose. With effort he put his hand up and shoved the cup away.

"Get that away from me unless you want it all back", and he closed his eyes and willed that not to happen. He heard the cup being set on a wooden table nearby and the sound of a chair being moved back. When he opened his eyes again the man sitting next to him was getting to his feet.

"Why?"

"Why, what?" He asked the man who'd just stepped back from the bed to reveal the rest of the room. There was a wood stove in the corner next to a counter that held a sink and had some cabinets over it. Across the room was another bed. Actor was on a chair next to it; he held a bowl in his hand and was offering a spoon of the contents to the occupant.

They'd been ordered over to the continent to do two jobs. The first one had been accomplished without much trouble. The documents located, the safe opened, pictures taken. No problem. But instead of taking the film and heading back to England they'd passed it off and started on the second leg of the trip. This time it was an agent to find. They found him dead, unfortunately. But they located the coded notes he'd kept on the job he was doing and were on the way out with them when they picked up a tail. The car they were in blew a front tire during the high-speed chase and they ended up in a ditch. They all knew the location of next safe house, so they split up to make their getaway. Goniff caught a bullet though and when he went back to help him they'd been surrounded and taken prisoner.

The questioning started in the back of the truck and intensified when they were transferred to the cells. They'd identified him as the leader of the two, which was just the way he wanted it. If they turned their attention on Goniff he pulled it back with taunts and promises and by telling them things that sounded like they might be true. It didn't always work but he'd kept them away from the injured pickpocket as much as he could. He looked across the room and watched Goniff take the food Actor was offering him. He was in good enough shape to eat, that meant the bullet hadn't done that much damage and he'd done the job he'd set himself.

"Okay", he told the man that was close to the door now. He lifted his chin towards the other bed and the man in it. "Alright, that's why." The door was open now, he settled back on the pillow and made eye contact with the man standing in the opening. "I get it. Doesn't mean I won't keep askin'."

"I wouldn't expect any less, Casino." Garrison gave a chuckle and went out to relieve Chief.