part 3
Actor closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "It's called survival."
The con man could feel Garrison shaking his head. "There should have been some other way. I should have been able to find it."
"How old were you?"
"Thirteen"
"Are you sure you killed him?" Actor asked quietly.
"There was so much blood. We didn't.... I don't know. I wanted him to be dead, but I couldn't move. I couldn't make myself go close enough to touch him. We just ran." His shoulders finally sagged, taking a deep breath he turned and faced the house. "I should torch this place when we leave."
Actor turned and gazed at the house for a moment, then faced Garrison. "It won't do you any good to try and burn it," he said, and to the other man's questioning look he shrugged a shoulder up, "It's made of stone."
The Warden studied him a moment and as he turned away Actor thought he saw a ghost of a smile. "One of Casino's charges then." When he walked away into the trees Actor let him go.
Walking back into the kitchen Actor was faced with the worried stares of the other three cons. "Well?" As he sat and told them, he could see the drama as it had unfolded in this room. He heard the fighting and saw the bruises the blows left. He felt the pain that thirteen year old boy must have felt, that the man still carried. When he finished the others sat stunned for several minutes before Casino finally spoke.
"Damn. I always figured the Warden came from one of them All-American, small town families. You know, the ones that guy draws on the front of the Post at Christmas time."
Goniff just sat, chewing at his finger ends.
"Well, that explains it." When the others turned to him Chief shrugged his shoulders, "How he can still talk German when he's out of his head."
"It explains somethin' else too," Casino turned and looked at the portrait again. "Explains how he can take a beatin' and still keep his mouth shut."
"Yeah. I guess he's had enough ruddy practice."
Dieter found them sitting silently around the table and saw the portrait that still sat on the floor against the counter. Where the grandson had his father's dark gold hair and his mothers warm hazel eyes, the grandfather had hard cold eyes of icy blue, and hair that was nearly white it was so blond, but, the determined set of the jaw, the shape of the face and the broad shoulders were the same. The face that stared stonily from the painting though had lost any evidence of human kindness. Pulling a chair out, he sat down with them and said quietly. "He was a horrible man, very wealthy, very powerful. Everything you see down in the town belonged to him. He ruled his family and his people like a despot, as his grandfathers before him ruled this whole area. He believed in beatings and used them freely on the boy, as he had on his mother when she was a girl. Looking around at them he explained, "I used to see them when he was a boy, when they were still allowed to come into the town, there hasn't been that great a change in him. The old one hated her, you know. He was one of the industrialists who funneled money to Hitler as he was getting the Nationalsozialistische started, and she was a blot on his record of loyalty and support to the cause." Looking up he offered a sad smile that still revealed his sense of loss. "She met the boy's father when she volunteered in the hospitals during the first war. He was a prisoner and it was just at the end, when Germany collapsed. When the war ended and he was sent home, she went with him to become his wife. I don't know why she ever came back here once she was free. I suppose it was very hard for her, an enemy, a German woman alone with a small boy to raise over in America. And then women hope more than we do, she may have believed things would be different here than they were in the beginning. But when she returned home it was worse for her. His wife, her mother, had died. There was no one left here to intercede for them, and then after the older boy was killed, all of her father's rage was turned on her, and her boy. A man should cherish what is left to him but..." They were watching him as he told his story. "I saw her once in the market," reaching up his hand he let the fingers trace down the side of his face, "a great bruise on her. I tried to get her to leave with me, but by then he had them separated. The boy was either away at school or in one of the camps and she wouldn't go without him." Unable continue he rose, sighing, from the chair. "I must return to my shop. I have spent too much time away from it and I may be missed."
Dieter made his way out the door and started the long walk back into the town. Turning as he reached the drive he looked back and saw a figure sitting alone at the top of the hill. Standing there he frowned, watching, and then taking a deep breath he started a slow ascent to the top of the rise. The Lieutenant had seen his approach and sat waiting. Moving to sit on the ground next to the young man, he groaned and shook his head at the creaking of his bones as he arranged himself and settled in to wait. Garrison had turned away and they sat for several minutes, shoulder to shoulder, before he asked quietly. "You recognized me?" The old man nodded his head. "Because I'm so much like him."
Gehrlig reached out and gripped the young man's arm tight, hard enough to make him turn and face him before he answered. "No! You are nothing like him! Because you are so much like her!" He relaxed his hand but left it laying there, patting the youngster's arm he continued, "It is the eyes. You have the same look about you. She always looked like she believed in all the possibilities that life held." Casting a look back at the house, "Even coming from this. That's why we all admired her so."
Garrison shifted so that he sat facing the older man. "You knew her then?"
"I was in love with her," he admitted, with a wistful smile. "All of the young men in the town were." And then with a dismissive wave of his hand he continued, "Your grandfather would never have given her to one of us. She was kind, though, kind enough to speak to me in the market and let me carry her packages now and then." Leaning forward again he looked eagerly in the face that reminded him of his youth. "How is she, your mother? How does she do over in America?" He read his answer in the sorrow that flashed in the eyes that gazed back at him.
"She died less than a year after we got back."
He dropped his head and crossed his arms, bringing a hand up he rested his chin on it and shook his head. "I am sorry. She should have lived a long time, surrounded by many grandchildren." Heaving a sigh he looked up at the youngster again and smiled sadly, "I should not have brought you here. I don't know what I was thinking."
Garrison offered a slight smile in return, "It's alright. As soon as I realized where we were I wondered if the place was still here," and turning he stared back down on the town below, "and if there was a way I could use it. It serves the old bastard right, having an Allied team up here."
It was an hour before Garrison came back through the door. When they turned towards him he knew Actor had told them. Looking over at the elegant face he read the concern and sympathy there. He considered him a moment and then gave a subtle nodded of his head.
Casino swiveled around on his chair and stared up at him. "You know, a couple a well placed charges would turn this place into a heap a rubble."
"No"
"What'd you wanna do?" Casino looked into his eyes
He set his mouth in a grim line and stared back. "I want that refinery."
Casino nodded slowly. "Family business?"
Garrison's eyes narrowed and he nodded his head. "What do you need to do the job?"
They'd moved back out onto the bluff at the edge of the grounds to the side of the house, where they could look down on the valley below and make their plans. "How big is that place?" gesturing at the refinery that lay on the far side of the city, along the river, Casino turned to Garrison and waited for his answer.
"It was big when I was a kid, and it's grown. He used to take me down there. There was a rail line into it, and it had its own docks so the barges could just tie up and take on a load of oil, or fuel."
"D'you remember the layout good enough to get in where we can cause the most damage?" Chief asked as he leaned on his elbow on the grass, tracing patterns in the dirt with his finger.
"I don't know. I think so. It can't have changed that much."
"Well the dock and the rail spur's probably gonna be your best bet," Casino offered.
Goniff shifted his gaze from the rail yard to the refinery. "How'd ya figure that?"
"They'll have pumps and stuff runnin' from all over the plant to there."
"It'd be the same for the burn stack, where they fire off the derivatives of the process?"
Casino shrugged his shoulders. "Sure."
"Then we could shut production down while they repaired the pumps?" Actor asked.
"We could blow the whole place." To the questioning looks he got, Garrison answered, "We could start a chain reaction throughout the refinery."
"With just the little bit of stuff we got?" Chief looked around at them frowning his doubt. "You sure?"
"Sure!" Casino leaned back and looked at him. "All you gotta do is set it in the right spot, kid... I had an uncle worked in a plant like that. A fire started at the bottom of one of them stacks and the whole place went up," turning to look back at the town he frowned. "Took half the town with it."
Garrison had been studying the town, sitting up here on the bluff in the rain through the first night, and for an hour after Gehrlig had left him. "The place is surrounded by industrial sites. It doesn't look like there are any homes nearby. I think we can take it without too much in the way of civilian casualties"
"Well how'r you gonna get in there?' Goniff rubbed at the bruise around his eye as he looked around the group.
"Simple," the Warden said as they turned to stare, waiting. "We just tell them they have a bomb somewhere inside."
"And we will offer to find it for them?" Actor asked.
"And plant the charges while we're 'lookin'." Chief finished.
Casino and Goniff looked around at the other three and then shared a glance. Casino waved his hand, "Go ahead, you say it."
"Piece a cake." Goniff offered up, which earned a grim smile from Garrison.
"Come on." He slapped Chief on the shoulder and stood, reaching down to help hoist Casino to his feet. "Let's get some rest. We're going to be busy tonight."
Goniff stood and staggered to his left as a bout of dizziness hit him. He grabbed the hand Actor had reached out to steady him and closed his eyes against the nausea. "But won't it be crawling with Jerries?"
"Maybe not. They leave the operation of the refineries, shipyards and rails to people who know what their doing. There'll be military oversight, but the day to day operation should be civilian."
"That will work for us," the con man speculated. "They will be used to taking orders from the military."
"But 'the military' is gonna be right there! How'r you gonna get past them?" Goniff still worried as Garrison helped him towards the house.
"I'd bet the big wigs don't stay there after hours."
"You want to go in at night?"
"The place runs round the clock. I want to go in near the end of the third shift."
"Well that figures!" Casino groused, "Now that I'm laid up, you go an get some sense."
"We could wait until you're feeling better," Garrison offered "and go in around noon."
"Naw, naw, that's OK, Warden, I think I'll just sit this one out and watch the fireworks from up here for a change."
They'd reached the house again as and the others made their way off to find their beds Goniff pulled out a chair and slouched down at the table.
Garrison turned back to him. "You need some help, Goniff?"
"No. I was just wonderin'...." The little cat burglar worried his thumb nail with his teeth, but didn't say anything more.
"What? What is it?"
"Well.... Why'nt you tell us any a this before now?"
"It's not exactly something that just comes up in conversation."
Goniff nodded his agreement. "But you know everything about us, 'n we don't know nothin' about you."
Garrison looked down at him. "Why didn't you ask?"
"What'd you tell people, when they ask you where you come from?"
He looked up a moment and then shrugged, "Some times I tell them where I was born, sometimes where my cousins place is, sometimes I just tell them I'm in the Army so I'm 'from' where ever they have me stationed."
"What about when they ask about your folks?"
"All you have to say is 'they're dead'. People stop asking pretty quick."
Goniff thought that over for a while before suddenly looking up, "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For just thinkin' you grew up... You know...... normal."
With a sigh Garrison pulled out a chair and sprawled into it. Crossing his arms and stretching his legs out in front of him. "God, Goniff, what's normal? I used to think this was." Looking around the room, "What went on here.... That's what scares me."
"What'd ya mean? You're not scared a nothin'."
Looking at the little man, "You're wrong", he slowly shook his head, "I'm scared that this is normal.," Answering the other man's questioning look, "Normal for me, for my family. I'm scared to death that I'll do the same thing to a kid. That I won't be..."
"Oh, Hey now! None a that, Warden. You'll be a great Dad."
The confidence of the statement made him smile. "How do you figure?"
"Well, look at all the practice you're gettin'. And your doin' OK with Casino 'n me, ain't ya?"
"OK, so if you're goin' down in there for the uniforms your best bet'll be a cleanin' establishment." Goniff slid forward in the chair leaning on his elbows. "Now when ya get what ya want, see, you take the tags off 'em, and start swapping 'em around with th' other stuff in the shop. Change up where stuff's hangin' too, and they'll not know what's really missin' for days and days."
"Thank you, Goniff."
"Yeah, and you better make sure the place is really deserted before you try your hand on the locks, babe, 'cause it's gonna take you a lot longer than it takes me."
"Thank you, Casino, I know that."
"And those watches that you get. What you wanna look for......'
They finally managed to get out the back and had started down the back roads towards the town. Garrison looked back over his shoulder as Chief moved on ahead to take the point. "For crying out loud! I didn't get that much advice when I went out on my first date!"
"I don't suppose you'd care to tell us about that while we make our way into town?" Actor laughed as he walked next to him,
"Not on your life!" But after a moments pause, he went on, "Of course, maybe I could've used a couple a pointers from you." The muffled sound of laughter drifted back to them from somewhere ahead in the shadows.
There was a vehicle maintenance yard towards the edge of town and Chief split off there to find a staff car for their use. Actor and Garrison continued on, looking for the streets where the small businesses they needed to raid would be. Luck was with them and they found both a cleaning establishment and a small clockworks and repair shop setting side by side on a square that was nearly empty and backing on to an alley that was already deserted. They spent half an hour watching the area before finally moving around to the back to try their hand at breaking in.
Garrison slipped a small set of tools from his pocket and set to work. After a few tense moments there was a satisfying 'click' and the door swung in admitting them to the dark interior. As they stood still, waiting for their eyes to adjust Actor spoke quietly, "You really are getting quite good at that."
Garrison smiled as he moved off into the shop, "Yeah. Well don't tell Casino, I don't want him getting jealous!"
"Look at this!" He'd been searching along the racks for several minutes and held a general's dress uniform out for Garrison's approval. Holding it up against his chest, turning to look at his reflection in the mirror.
"Actor, I really don't think they'd let a general get himself blown up looking for a bomb. I think you'd better set your sights a little lower this time."
He hung the garment back in its position on the rack his fingers brushing the braid on the shoulder. "Pity," turning away with an aggrieved sigh, "It was just my size too."
Garrison shook his head and handed him another hanger. "Here, try this one."
Actor reached out and took the uniform that was held out to him, marveling at the change in the Warden's mood. He was still grimly determined, but with the decision made to strike at the refinery he'd lost, or at least mastered the agitation that had plagued him since Gehrlig had first driven them onto his grandfather's property. The man was resilient to be sure, shaking his head the confidence man turned back to the mirror to check the new uniform, groaning to see that the cuffs and pants fell at least an inch short of a proper fit. He really did need to have a uniform tailored to fit him, he thought in disgust.
They made their way carefully back to the garage carrying the supplies for the timers wrapped in the uniforms they'd taken for Casino and Goniff for their trip out of town. Chief was on the watch for their return and stepped out to guide them back into the far reaches of the lot. They took time to change their clothes and when they had secured their supplies in the car he slid behind the wheel, started the engine and headed back towards the town. The next order of business would be to secure the papers they'd use to get into the refinery. They'd need to be back where officers gathered, and the caf�s along the main streets of the town would serve them very well even at this late hour.
Finding an alley that opened onto the square that held the caf�s and beer halls, they settled in to wait. They'd have to find men that matched the rank on the uniforms they'd helped themselves to, as well as an approximate physical match to fool anyone who might get a look at the physical description on the identification papers. After a frustrating hour they spotted their first 'mark'.
Actor nudged Garrison and pointed, "He looks like a good match." He nodded and stepped out of the car motioning Chief away down the street so that he could come up on the officer from the back while he held his attention. If Goniff had been with them the man might only have lost his wallet and papers, but tonight he was going to lose his life because of his appearance and rank. Chief moved quickly down the opposite side of the street and then crossed over and doubled back, coming up behind the unsuspecting man. Garrison stepped away from the car and hailed him with a question. Asking which of the caf�s might offer the best service he stopped him just in front of the alley where the car was hidden. As the man considered his answer Chief slipped quietly up behind him and pushing him into Garrison ended his speculation with a quick, deadly thrust of his knife. Garrison reached out and helped carry the body quickly back into the alley before they could be seen. Laying the man out he rifled through his pockets and took the papers and money he found there.
"Come on, help me get him in the back. We can't afford for anyone to find him."
The next man they set their sights on met the same fate. They found him in one of the caf�s already close to being drunk. With the money they now had in their possession they'd just helped him along until the owner demanded they leave. Hauling the man up from the table and staggering out the door with him they guided him to the alley as well. Driving down along the docks down river from the refinery they dumped the bodies and turned to check out the plant, carefully noting the guard detail on the gate and checking out various escape routes away from the facility before turning back towards the house on the hill.
Gehrlig had pushed his cart up from town in the morning, bringing them food, the small store of first aid supplies he kept, and boots to use from the many he had in the shop for repair. He listened to their plans and suggested additional routes away from the industrial area, marking them on the map he brought them. If all went well they would reach the house just as the bombs exploded, pick up Casino and Goniff and be gone before there was time for the authorities to stop traffic on the roads. He wouldn't see them again, and took time to say his goodbyes. When he came to the young Lieutenant, Margots' son, he shook and held the strong hand a long time. When the young man urged him to come with them he smiled and told him. "I am an old man and I have no intention of dying anywhere other than in my own bed, here, where I started." After a moment he was released and left them to return to town.
They sat around the table in the kitchen assembling the explosives, Casino instructing and complaining as he worked. "All we need is clocks and batteries, see. You just have to send a charge into this stuff to set it off. But there's only the three of you."
"What's the matter, Pappy? Don't think we can do the job?"
"It's not that, it's just, that's a big place, is all. You'll have to leave a long time to get outta there."
Goniff completed voicing their concern, "The more time on the timers, the more chance that the bloody charges'll be found."
"Well have to chance it."
Goniff looked the boss, shaking his head. "No plans. Not enough stuff. No back up from the Resistance."
Casino chimed in "No Resistance!" but Goniff continued without missing a beat.
"And two fellas short!" Then he shrugged and rolled his eyes at the group. "What am I worried about, it sounds like most of the capers they send us on!"
They drove straight at the gates, braking sharply, just in time to skid to a halt, inches from the guard that stood there.
"Ihr Service ist verglichen worden? Lassen Sie uns jetzt durch und erhalten Sie Ihren Vervalter, sofort!" Actor demanded attention, insisted on instant obedience and between the urgency in his voice, and the SS uniform he wore got it. The barrier swung open, out of their way and the young guard who stood there directed Chief to the large two story structure ahead, while his fellow snatched up the phone in the small shack they shared and spoke urgently into it.
"Chief get this thing turned around so we can get out of here fast, and then follow us inside" He laid a hand on the young man's shoulder in passing, "You're part of the search team!"
They hadn't waited for permission to enter the administrator's office. Garrison reached to open the door, brushing the assistant aside and Actor strode in, tipping his head he looked down his nose at the man behind the desk, "Ich bin Major Muller, diese bin mein Adjutant, Hauptmann Neumann. Sie mussen Ihren Betrieb unten schlieben sofort. Wir haben Informationen dort konnen eine Bombe sein, die hier versteckt wird."
The administrator pushed his chair back and stood. Starring at them for a moment before he spoke, "Sprechen Sie langsam oder sprechen Sie franzosisch! Mein Deutsch ist nicht genug fur dieses gut!"
Garrison heard the door behind him open and knew when Chief stepped up to stand just behind him.
Actor eyed the man standing at the desk in front of him, "Sprechen Sie Englisch?"
"Yes."
"We have had reports that your plant has been sabotaged. You must shut down immediately and evacuate your workers."
"What! There has been no trouble here. Oberst Meier has told me of no such report."
"It has not reached him yet, you fool. Do you shut down, or do you allow this refinery to be destroyed while you wait for confirmation from your superior?"
Chief moved a step closer. "He's not buyin' it," he breathed.
Garrison turned to walk to the window looking out on the grounds and said quietly as he moved past, "Let it work on him a minute."
The administrator continued to stare at Actor, his hand hovering over the phone but Actor suddenly won their battle of wills when the man dropped his gaze and reached for the microphone that sat on the corner of his desk. Flipping the switch on its base he brought it to his lips and his words echoed across the facility, "Aufmerksamkeit! Aufmerksamkeit! Geschlossen! Geschlossen! Alle Arbeiter mussen sofort gehen!"
"Good! Do you have plans of the plant here?"
"Yes, of course." And with hands that shook slightly the man opened a cabinet behind him and removed a roll of blue prints. Sweeping the top of his desk clear he smoothed the papers out flat with his hands and then looked up, waiting.
"Where are the most sensitive areas?" Actor demanded. "Where would a bomb do the most damage?"
The man blanched as the reality of his situation sank in, but he didn't have to think about his response. Reaching out he tapped eight places through the plant.
Garrison stepped forward now. "Mark them. Do you have another set of plans?" Turning to Actor, "We should start the search immediately, Herr Major."
The administrator turned to lift a second set of plans from the drawer, he laid them on the desk and looked at Actor as he said, "I will go with you."
"No!" Actor took charge again. "You must get your people safely away from here. At least until we have searched these sensitive areas." And then he added, "Do you have your own firefighters?"
"Of course."
"Then have them assemble just outside the gates. Once your people are clear of the plant we will need them for a more systematic search." Picking up the plans and handing the marked set to Garrison he stepped to the door, waiting only a moment before Chief jumped to open it for him. "Neumann, get started! Keller! Bring the tools from the car."
As they reached the car Garrison glance over his shoulder and watched as the administrator marshaled the men that had gathered outside on the steps of the building to start the evacuation. Stepping up to stand next to him Chief asked, "D'you think he bought it?"
"I hope so. Actor, you keep that guy busy and for God's sake keep him off the phone." Turning back to the car he spread his set of plans across the hood and tapped three spots on them. "We'll set the charges here, here and here, and then," circling his finger over the center of the blue prints, "we'll leave one somewhere in here for them to find." Looking up again he locked eyes with the older man. "Try and give us thirty minutes, if you can, before you let them back in to start their search, and work them from the entrance back, I can direct them from inside, keep them away from us. Tell them not to touch anything, just report to me... Any questions?"
"Yeah. How long r'we gonna search the place with that Kraut crew?"
"No more than two hours after we set our last one. We have to keep them away from our charges while the timers run down, and make sure they find their bomb so we can take it out for analysis. That's our ticket out of here and I want to be gone half an hour before this place goes up."
Actor cocked his head back towards the office building, "You know that would have been easier if you'd let me take the general's uniform."
Garrison's mouth quirked up in a quick smile as he shook his head, "Take off!"
Carrying their bag of 'tools' Garrison and Chief headed away from the car at a trot going to the large pumping station that sat next to the truck bay near the entrance. For the benefit of any observers they searched carefully along the controls there before angling off through the shadows towards the large stack at the edge of the complex near the dock. This is where the by-products of the refinery process were burned off and the plans showed a complex set of manifolds right below it that led to different tanks throughout the plant. One of the live charges they carried would be set there, somewhere hidden from view. The next charge would be set at the control panel at the base of the large holding tank two hundred yards away. If this could be set off it would blow a crater in the berth where the largest barges docked to take on their cargo of fuel and oil. When they finished concealing the explosives they moved along the edge of the dock, out of sight until they reached the far corner of the plant, stepping back into the light they worked their way to another of the areas the administrator had deemed critical and set the small charge there, concealed but leaving a metal tipped strap dangling loose to draw attention as it tapped against the pipes as the breeze blew in off the river.
Garrison stood with his back to Chief keeping watch as the other man secured the last device to the underside of an outlet pipe on the side of one of the large holding tanks near the rail spur that lay near the middle of the complex. Checking his watch he turned to speak over his shoulder, "Hurry up, we're almost out of time."
"Hang on, I've almost got it." With one more twist to the wire that held the device Chief stepped back. Jerking his head towards the pipes, "D'you see anything?"
Garrison turned and stared up where the pipes disappeared into the darkness and smiled "I can't see a thing. Let's get out of here" He checked his watch as they started back towards the administrative building. It'd had taken them nearly forty-five minutes to set all their charges, the German crew should be combing the front of the complex.
They'd been directing the search teams that Actor had sent in, always angling them away from the devices that were ticking down towards zero. He'd keep the search crews busy for another hour and then they had to make sure one of the teams found their trophy so they could start making their way out of the plant and back up the hill to pick up Casino and Goniff.
After a tense fifty minutes a cheer rose from the group that had been aimed towards the small decoy. They'd found their prize and one of the men ran to bring Garrison back with him to defuse the device.
The administrator was waiting on the steps in front of his office. The rest of the men from the plant who were trained to fight fires and handle emergencies were milling around him, waiting to be ordered into the facility. As he walked towards them Garrison carefully held the small bomb out in front of him. Stepping into the light he carefully laid it on a bench that sat near the front entrance to the building and slowly took his hands away, taking a step back he pointed at the object. "This is what your men must look for." Motioning them forward. "If you remove these two wires," reaching out he carefully touched the wires that Casino had left extending from the small clock face, and bent them outward, away from one another, "the device will be disabled." Letting out a relieved breath he rolled his shoulder to release the tension. "Do not let the wires touch, and do not drop the device. It could go off on impact."
With a nod of his head Actor motioned Garrison forward. He reached out and retrieved the device, cradling it against his body, and stood waiting further orders. Turning on the administrator the aristocratic con artist explained, "We will take this back with us. With luck our analysis will lead us to the people who planted it here."
"But" the other man stammered, "What shall we do if we find others? Kapitan Neumann said they could still explode even if we disable them!"
"Once you have the wires disconnected immerse them in oil, or water until the demolition specialists can remove them." Garrison advised him with a reassuring smile.
"Thank you, Major Muller, Herr Hauptmann." Turning back towards Actor he continued, "I will call Oberst Meier again and let him know." Before he could turn away from them a clerk had stepped to the door and called out to him.
"Herr Auel, den es Oberst Meier fur Sie, geehrter Herr, es sehr ist, is dringend."
"Forgive me a moment, gentlemen."
Actor shot a worried look at his companions. "Again?!"
They waited a heart beat before turning toward the car. "Go! Don't hurry. Don't turn around! Just go!" Garrison told them quietly.
They could hear raised voices and angry words from the administrators' office and then a shout of "Halt!" a splint second later a shot rang out and Garrison watched as Chief fell against the door of the car and then struggle to stay on his feet, to get in and drive them out of the mess this had just turned into. Turning he took the 'bomb' in his hands and threw it as hard as he could back towards the administrative building, watching with satisfaction as the people there scrambled for cover. Pulling his weapon he laid down fire along with Actor as they closed in on the car. The presence of the refinery search team was hindering the guards ability to return fire. Yanking the door open he shoved Chief into the back seat and then slid under the wheel, ducking down out of the line of fire he started the heavy car moving towards the gate as Actor climbed in the back with Chief. Slamming his foot down on the gas pedal he wrestled the car through the barrier and turned away, running along the docks, turning again between the large warehouses there he drove through them and out the far side of the plant before heading at a more sedate pace back towards the refinery to meet the on coming search as they sped by in their jeeps and trucks. As soon as the column passed out of sight behind them he picked up speed and headed out of town, back up into the hills.
"Actor! How bad?" he called over his shoulder.
Actor knelt on the floor and tried to hold the young man on the back seat as they drove. "I can't tell," after a pause he continued, concern evident in his voice. "He's unconscious. He's bleeding badly."
"Do what you can."
They pulled onto the estate grounds and around to the back of the building. Garrison rolled out of the car and jerked the back door open reaching in to help Actor lift Chief from the vehicle, shouting for the door to be opened as they carried him between them towards the house.
Goniff pulled the door out of their way and then slammed it closed behind them. "Blimey! What 'n the hell went wrong?" he moved up to help Actor as Garrison dashed back out to hide the car.
"Goniff," Actor directed calmly, "See if you can find some table linens that we can use" and when he heard him hiss in pain, without looking up from his efforts "Casino, sit down! It won't do Chief any good if you collapse on the floor." When Goniff stepped back in with an armful of supplies, "Casino, start tearing those up, Goniff, I need water and soap."
The door opened and just as Garrison stepped through three closely coordinated blasts sounded in their ears and the ground rumbled under foot. The trees in the back of the property were lit up by the fireball that climbed into the sky.
"I don't think it's going to be safe to stay here."
"It isn't going to be safe to move him until we get the bleeding stopped!"
Garrison shoved his sleeves back and stepped in to help Actor as he worked. They carefully stripped Chief's uniform jacket off and pulled the shirt away from the wound, wiping the blood away, turning him to find the bullet had gone through the muscle just below the boy's right ribs. The little they had in the way of medical supplies were soon exhausted as they fought to control the bleeding. After an hour they began to win the battle, but they'd lost the cover of darkness for their escape, the sun was coming up.
There was the sound of an engine overhead and Garrison stepped to the door, cracking it open he looked up into a sky just turning pink with the dawn. "They're using those small planes to search for us."
"How'r we gonna get to the car? We can't run for it."
"Get Chief ready, I'll be right back."
He'd found an narrow ladder in one of the old work sheds and they'd topped it with boards and padded it with linens, laying Chief on it and tying him in. Actor took two woven straps from the first aid kit and tossed one to Garrison. They each slipped the loop on each end of the strap over the ends of the ladder. Actor threw the strap over his head to rest on the back of his neck and stooped to pick up the foot of the litter. Garrison stepped to the head and letting his strap fall over his shoulder and across his chest he reached behind him, gripping the handles just in front of the straps.
Casino leaned heavily on Goniff and as they followed, he led them down the stairs into the cellars, back into the far dark reaches, where the dust and cobwebs were thick. Reaching the end wall, he stopped and set the stretcher down carefully before putting his hands up, running them quickly along the top of the shelves that were pegged into the stone there. There was a muted 'click' and the shelving swung silently away from his hands, into the dark beyond. This is the way he'd gotten out before. The route, the way to open the secret doors, was burned into his memory, so deeply he wasn't even thinking now, just reacting.
"Through here." He bent to pick Chief up again and stood as the other two moved past, Goniff lighting the way with a flash light. Carefully maneuvering the litter through the opening he set it down again, walking back to push the section of wall with his shoulder, swinging it closed. He turned to them as he picked up his burden again, "Come on. Goniff, just keep following the wall along to your right" Explosions were still sending vibrations through their feet as the fire worked its way through the refinery.
They moved quietly downwards, along a twisting corridor. Two hundred yards or so, it turned sharply to the right, and started to angle gradually upwards, ending at a dead end against another stone wall. Goniff crouched down against the wall this time when they stopped and reached trembling hands up to press against the sides of his head. Garrison pulled his strap from the end of the stretcher, and slipped the ends under Chiefs arms, wrapping them around the rungs that lay under the young man's shoulders, he turned the strap so it lay flat across his chest, turning to Actor he took the band held out to him and ran it through the loops. Using projecting stone and voids in the mortar he climbed up the wall. Ducking his head as he neared the ceiling, he put his shoulder against the stone overhead and shoved, then moved down, as the panel dropped, swinging down in his hands to hang along the side wall. He motioned for them to be quiet, to wait, as he disappeared up through the opening. A moment later there was a sound of stone moving on stone, a brief flash of light overhead and then it was dark and silent again.
"Blimey" Goniff whispered, "I feel like I'm in me ruddy tomb!"
He moved quietly towards the ornate iron gates that protected the crypts from the outside world. He'd promised himself he wouldn't look at the tomb when he went by it. He knew what it said. He knew what it meant. But his eyes were drawn to the heavy marble slab on their own, betraying him. He stopped in his tracks, looking, not believing what he saw there. The dates... The dates were wrong. And as the truth sank in, something seemed to crack and break inside of him. A weight he didn't know he'd carried fell away. He hadn't killed his grandfather all those years ago. He shook himself and kept moving, there was no time for this. He slid along the wall, up towards the gates and peered out. The mausoleum was on a hill above the house and had a view of the city as it stretched away towards the river. The glow from the fires competed with the sunrise and he prayed they were far enough away to be outside the cordon he knew the military commanders must be throwing around the town.
Turning back he slid the panel at the back of the vault aside again and stepped up to the opening in the floor, sitting on its edge a moment before dropping through to the ground below. "Alright, doesn't look like anyone's coming up this way. Actor, help me stand the stretcher up. You'll have to hand Chief up to me once I get up there." Climbing up the wall again he pulled himself through the opening, laying on his belly he reached back and grabbed the strap Actor held up for him. Slipping the loops over his hands he gripped it and stood, pulling the litter up as Actor guided it from below. As the back of the ladder came through and laid against the edge of the opening he called down, "Hold on a minute." He waited for Actor to brace the foot of the ladder so he could shift his grip. Reaching out he pulled the litter up, grating along the stone, until it lay out on the floor next to him. Bending down he pulled the strap away from Chief's chest and made sure the injured man had suffered no harm from his ascent. Turning back he lowered the loop back down to where the others waited. "Come on, hurry up."
He'd herded them quickly past the tombs and helped steady Casino as he worked to open the lock on the gates. The car was setting in the trees just below the knoll. As soon as the gates swung open the Warden ducked out to bring it in close so they could load. Sliding across the back seat Goniff cringed as his hand came down where Chief's blood had soaked into the fabric. Actor and the Warden rested stretcher across the sides of the car just behind the front seat, Actor holding it from the front and Casino and Goniff holding tight to it from the back. Chief groaned and moved his hands up to grip his side. Opening his eyes it took him a minute to focus, he locked eyes with Garrison, "D'we get it?" Getting a grim nod as his answer, he insisted, "I wanna see." Actor slipped his arm under his neck and shoulders raising him so he could see the fire that engulfed the refinery.