by Saler
Now, his eyes followed the guard as he reached the end of the passage, turned the corner and moved from his field of interest. At a hiss from Goniff three figures separated from the shadows and joined him in the main corridor, before they continued cautiously towards their goal. They each carried a package protectively wrapped in paper, the necessary components of their task.
Against all expectations, this had proved to be one of their more awkward missions. Not from lack of information - they had all the details they needed of the internal building layout - but it seemed that somebody had got wind of their planned foray and had taken steps to prevent its success. First, there had been the extra guards on duty who had not been there before; then there were t he doors that should have been open but had been locked. This wasn't a really problem when they had Casino with them, but it was a delay they hadn't counted on and time was of the essence.
This mission was different from anything the team had done since it was formed, but the guys felt that they could carry it off successfully. Casino, of course, had initially groused and argued against the idea but, in the face of the others' optimism, he had been debating a lost cause.
They were on their own this time. Circumstances dictated that Garrison could not be included in this part of the exercise. They would meet with him later and from him they would learn just how successful their efforts had been.
The first part of the plan, carried out in broad daylight the previous day, had gone like clockwork and they had been able to acquire everything they required to accomplish this second, and most important, part of the mission. All these items had been smuggled back to the quarters they had been assigned and made ready for tonight's infiltration, then they had lain low until the appointed hour for their excursion.
Chief took the lead as they passed down another corridor and up a flight of stairs, his small package securely jammed in his pants pocket. Casino followed; necessarily silent but inwardly still thinking it a fool's errand. He had a long tubular package strapped to his back and it irked him the way it bounced between his shoulder blades. Goniff came next, constantly on the lookout as befit his former profession of cat burglar; he carried a large, flat package in his hands, continuously turning it over and over. Actor brought up the rear, his urbane demeanour unchanged despite the dangers inherent in the mission; his small square package tied with string and swinging from his fingers.
Silent as a wraith, Chief slipped up the staircase to the first landing, where he paused, listening. He signalled the others to follow and headed for the floor above. At the top he stopped suddenly, freezing in h is tracks, then sinking into a crouching position against the wall. The others copied his actions. As they waited, unmoving, the sound that had alerted Chief came to their ears and three sets of lungs let out a breath no one realised they had been holding.
Somebody was snoring. "A regular roof-lifter,"Goniff might have said under other circumstances. Somewhere down at the end of the corridor -- just the direction they had to go! Chief listened to the steady, rhythmic cadence of the snores and decided that the sleeper would not prove a hazard to their mission, as long as they stayed silent and did not disturb him. He held up his hand, signalling the others to wait while he checked the floor above, then insinuated himself around the corner and was gone.
The others remained where they were until Chief returned, only a matter of seconds in reality, but each one dragged like an hour. He signalled them to follow and headed along the corridor toward their target -- a room near the end of the hall.
Even without the blackout curtains in place, the corridor was almost pitch black, with only the cold gleam of starlight filtering in through the window to relieve the gloom, but Chief's unerring instincts took him straight to their objective without mishap, the others following silently close behind. He reached the door and, with his ear against the wood, listened for any sign of life on the other side. Hearing none, he stepped back and waved Casino forward. The safecracker checked the door, then, taking al l of 5 seconds to deal with the lock, he opened the door slowly to lessen the risk of squeaking hinges, and led the way into the darkened room. Carefully, he shut the door behind them. A swift flash from the torch Actor carried gave them the layout of the room they had entered.
After handing his package to Actor, Chief took up his post as lookout by the door while Goniff checked the connecting door to the next room. As expected, it was unlocked. After listening for a few seconds, Goniff eased the door open enough to slide his head through the gap. The sleeper in this room was silent, although he moved restlessly in his sleep - his rhythmic breathing betraying the depth of his slumber. The Limey withdrew his head and silently closed the door. Actor risked using his flashlight with his fingers across the glass to mask its brightness. He led the others across the carpet, skirting the large desk in the centre and heading for the far side of the room.
Casino unfastened the straps holding the package to his back and shrugged off his burden. He followed Actor's example and placed it on small console table standing under the wall safe, which they knew to be concealed behind the early Renoir. Goniff joined them and added his bundle to the pile, then he and Actor stood back so that Casino could do his stuff.
Suddenly, Chief snapped his fingers. Actor clicked off the flashlight in a practiced motion and they all froze in place, hardly daring to breathe. The Indian's sensitive ears had picked up the sound of a footfall in the carpeted corridor outside the door -- just the guard doing his rounds, he hoped. He listened to the footsteps pass along the hall and return shortly thereafter. When they had faded completely he signalled the others and they finished their undertaking with a new sense of urgency.
They rejoined Chief at the door, wanting to be out of this place without any unnecessary delay. Another time, they would have been very interested in the official documents and other information they knew to be concealed within this room but on this occasion they concentrated on the task at hand, knowing it to be all important, and knowing also that the Warden would be unforgiving if they deviated from their mission.
Chief opened the door a crack, his excellent night vision checking the corridor for movement. Satisfied that the way was clear, he opened the door wider and, with the others following him, retraced his steps along the corridor and down the stairs.
Other than having to pause on the stairs whilst the downstairs guard went by on his patrol of the ground floor corridor, they experienced no further problems. Goniff cast a final, lingering look at the shepherdess as he passed the cabinet, then followed the others out through the entrance hall.
They returned to their quarters without incident, and all that remained was to wait for Garrison to join them. They hoped that he would be happy with their efforts, but you never knew with the Warden - lately he would blow his top over the smallest thing.
While they waited they made themselves as comfortable as possible, as there was no telling how long it would take the Lieutenant to make his way there. That was one of the problems inherent in this mission, being unable to properly time the Warden's part in the scenario. They had, of course, worked it out as closely as possible, but his role would necessarily be a one-off for which there could be no preliminary run-through. As such, it created an unknown factor that could put paid to their carefully laid plans if things didn't run to the presupposed schedule.
As they sat around the room on the ill-assorted collection of chairs, their thoughts all turned to the new life they shared. Even Chief had abandoned his customary station by the window and sprawled in an old leather armchair, his fingers unconsciously playing with his blade. Not wanting to draw attention to their presence they had lit only one candle, which cast an insubstantial glow over their group, and in the flickering light it was easy to imagine themselves half a world away before they had ever heard of Lieutenant Craig Garrison and the crazy plan that was to change their lives.
Conversation was sparse, and necessarily whispered, but by the few words spoken each man knew that the others were following a similar line of thought to himself. Although they could now function like a well-oiled machine when it came to teamwork, there had been times when no one would have given tuppence for their future as a unit. Garrison had stuck up for them to be given a chance and had made sure that they hadn't thrown it away by personally overseeing their training in the sometimes unconventional skills required of their group, as well as the more basic military skills. And sometimes he had turned a blind eye to some of their more outlandish escapades, knowing that they could not be treated in the same vein as regular soldiers and willing to make a few allowances when the results merited it. There were times, like now, when it seemed that they had been together for a much longer time than the facts supported.
Suddenly, Chief sat bolt upright in his chair, waving the others to silence. Goniff blew out the candle and they all sat stock still, straining to hear what it was that had alerted their colleague. They soon became aware of footsteps striding towards the room they occupied, making little attempt at silence.
The door swung open and Garrison strode into the room. He snapped on the light switch, then closed the door firmly behind him using his foot. In his arms were more packages, similar to the ones the guys had taken with them, but not quite the same.
"Well, I suppose you think you did well, don't you?" he asked. Four heads nodded in agreement. "But, if you had been on the ball you would have seen and retrieved these bits and pieces," he informed them. "Only then you could have called the mission an unqualified success."
"But, Warden, we didn't know about 'em," Goniff sulked, "and we didn't go there to take anything."
"And you call yourselves 'thieves'? On this evidence, you couldn't steal second base! If you had been more observant you would have seen them."
"I told you it was a stupid mission!" Casino threw in with his usual good cheer. "Whatever we do lately isn't good enough for the Warden."
"No, Casino, he's right," Actor justified their CO's point of view. "We ARE supposed to be professionals. It is inexcusable to slip up on such a basic point, even if we haven't been specifically briefed on it."
"But," Garrison continued, "what you did, you did well, I'll give you that. Not one of the guards was aware of your presence."He placed the packages he carried on a table in the centre of the room. "You guys want to check these out?"
"Sure. Warden." Goniff stepped forward, eagerly, "what are they?"
"I guess so, if you want us to." Casino managed to make it sound like he was doing Garrison a favour.
"I think we should," Actor agreed, moving over to the table.
Chief, meanwhile, stayed in his chair, watching the proceedings - his carefully composed features betraying no interest whatsoever. He had been in this kind of situation before and it had always left him with a feeling of disenchantment. He was not in a hurry to repeat the experience.
"Chief?" Garrison said questioningly. "You should be in on this, too. You were part of the mission, weren't you?"
"You know I was," he sighed, as he pulled himself out of the chair and walked slowly towards where the others were checking out the contents of the packages.
"Here, Chiefy, here's one for you to open," quipped Goniff, tossing the last package to the Indian, who caught the missile without seeming to look, giving the pickpocket a black glare. He slit the wrapping with his switchblade, flashing Garrison an enquiring glance as he saw the contents revealed.
The four of them silently took stock of the items contained in the Warden's packages.
"Well, isn't anyone going to say anything?" Garrison asked.
"Yeah, Warden. There is only one thing to say in this situation," Goniff responded. "Shall we tell the Lieutenant, mates?"
"Sure, why not?" Casino conceded, a little more graciously now.
"It would be appropriate, under the circumstances," Actor agreed.
"Er, yeah, Lieutenant," Chief mumbled. "Nothing else to say, except --"
"MERRY CHRISTMAS, WARDEN!" they all chorused.
