21. Timing

Part 1

Chief kept his post at the window, two of the others watching him intently. As soon as he saw the last glimpse of the Warden's jeep disappear down the road toward Brandonshire, he snapped his fingers. Casino and Goniff were on their feet in an instant. The three moved as silently as they would on a mission and let themselves out the front door.

Actor remained in his chair, not willing to be a partner in this particular escapade. He knew the plan was to push the Packard down the drive to a spot where the engine could be started outside the hearing of the mansion. It was another ten minutes before Terry emerged from the kitchen with a basket of neatly ironed and folded clothes. The con man watched her stop short at the almost empty common room. She appeared to listen and sent a frown his way.

"Where are they?" she asked.

"I believe Casino had an errand to run," said the Italian with a total lack of concern.

"He left?" asked Terry in astonishment.

"Yes," replied Actor, opening the latest edition of Stars and Stripes.

"Goniff and Chief went with him?" Terry was dumbfounded. Craig had not even been gone a half hour and the men had taken off.

"Yes," replied Actor.

Terry set the basket on the floor and her hands went to her hips. "Where did they go?"

Actor was still seemingly unconcerned. "I am not aware of the exact location."

"But you knew they were going and you just let them go?" Terry stared at the con man in disbelief.

Actor lowered the newspaper until his eyes appeared above it. "Teresa, I am not their keeper."

"No, I am! And you're not helping."

The newspaper rose up to cover the grin on the Italian's face. "Teresa, just continue what you were doing. They will return in due time."

He missed the infuriated look on her face.

"And how come you didn't go with them?" she asked sarcastically.

"Because some of their activities lack style and finesse," he intoned calmly. "Could you please be sure to hang my dress pants separately from the others? When they are placed too closely together they tend to wrinkle." He did not see the balled up pair of socks that was almost lobbed at him. He did hear her stomp up the stairs with her basket, muttering what he was sure were obscenities in several different languages. His grin grew wider.

It was an hour and half before the Packard returned. Terry was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her wayward wards to come in. The door opened to laughter. Goniff bounced in first followed by Casino, who was carrying a large box with a burlap cover over it. Chief brought up the rear, closing the door behind them.

Casino looked up at Terry's pinched mouth countenance. "Hi, Babe."

"Casino . . . " Terry started.

Her tirade was stopped before it could get a good start by sounds coming from the box. Her head tilted and she stared at it, not sure she was hearing what she thought she was hearing. Cautiously, she stepped forward and drew back a corner of the burlap to look inside. Her face broke into a wide smile.

"Chickies!"

Actor gave her a dubious look at that word. Undignified is what it most certainly was.

Casino grinned at her. "You got a nice chicken coop and nothin' in it. Ma always got her chicks around this time of year."

"Where'd you get them?" asked Terry in delight.

"A dame I know," replied Casino off-handedly.

Terry looked up at him, "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothin'." At her confused look he grinned more. "She took it out in trade."

Terry stared at him. The thought of the safecracker trading sexual favors for baby chickens caused her to sputter with laughter. "Only you . . ." She hooked a finger at him. "Come on, let's put them by the stove. They need to be kept warm."

"You are not planning on keeping those creatures in the kitchen where you prepare food are you?" asked Actor in disgust.

"I am," said Terry with a grin at the fastidious con man's distaste. "Have you ever even seen a baby chick?"

She lifted a little yellow fuzzball out of the box and held it out to the elegant confidence man, who eyed it with a look of disdain.

"Of course I have," said Actor, giving her an indignant look. "What do you take me for?"

"A city kid," shot back Terry in a teasing tone.

"Naw," said Casino, joining in. "Beautiful was never a kid."

"I know," replied Terry before the Italian could answer. "You're probably right, but I try to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Actor raised his back edition of the three-penny Daily Worker, deciding not to dignify Terry and Casino by engaging in word play with them.

"I don't suppose you brought feed with you?" Terry said to Casino while placing the chick carefully back in the box with its mates.

"Wadda yuh take me for?" he parroted Actor. ""Course I brought feed."

Casino glanced with a smirky grin at the con man, who was glaring at him over the top of his newspaper.

GGGGG

Garrison returned from London just in time to sit down to dinner. As his seat was close to the entrance to the kitchen, he could hear the cheeping of the chicks whenever Terry opened the door.

"Where'd you get chicks?" he asked his sister in idle curiosity.

Terry looked up at Casino's smirky grin. "You really don't want to know," she told her brother, eliciting chuckles from three of the men.

"Lieutenant," started Actor again. "I must object. Teresa is keeping those farm creatures in the kitchen where she prepares our food."

Craig looked up with raised eyebrows in surprise at the man's objections. It was a common occurrence at the ranch as it apparently was for the other three cons.

"City kid," repeated Casino from the earlier conversation.

"Casino!" Actor reacted strongly.

"Gentlemen," intoned Terry warningly. "No fighting at the table. Wait until after we are finished eating and take it outside."

Garrison tried to defuse the situation. "Actor, it's perfectly fine. By the time they get big enough to get out of their box, it will be warm enough to put them out in the coop."

"Hey, Warden," said Chief, trying to help defuse the interactions at the table and curious besides. "You came in with a briefcase. We got a mission?"

"Yes, we do," replied Craig, taking a bite of potato. When he was done chewing, he continued. "We go tomorrow night."

"All of us?" asked Terry.

"Not you."

"Good, I can stay here and take care of my chickies and maybe get a start on the garden," said Terry with satisfaction. "Cinder mailed me a box of seed. It should get here soon."

"Great," said Garrison. "That should help with the food situation."

"Yeah," replied Terry. "Fresh vegetables, eggs, an occasional chicken. A dairy cow would be nice," she broached jokingly.

"Don't push it."

The chicks decided to chirp to that, bringing a snort from Actor. Terry, sitting beside him, brought her napkin up to wipe the grin off her face so as not to further irritate the fastidious con man.

The rest of the meal was uneventful. Terry did the dishes while Craig briefed the men. The next evening, after an early supper, they were gone.

GGGGG

Terry spent the next two days working the soil in the vegetable garden. She had the rows in and the pathways mulched, ready for the eagerly awaited package of seeds from Montana. After taking care that her small fuzzy charges were safe, warm and secure, she went into Brandonshire and tended bar. It was there she had guarded, quiet conversations with Shiv about Jaguar and added some input to improve the mechanics of the small underground.

It was on the morning of the third day after Garrison and the men had departed Terry heard the horn coming up the driveway. She sprinted to the door and down the outside steps to meet the Packard as it pulled to a stop. Craig and Casino got out of the front seat. Casino went to open the back door as Garrison came around the front of the car. No one else was getting out.

Craig and Casino helped Chief out of the back seat. There was blood on his pants and he could not bear much weight on his right leg. The older men each wrapped one of Chief's arms around their necks and stood him up.

"He caught one in the hip," said Craig.

"Did Actor fix it?" asked Terry.

"No," replied her brother.

When Casino kicked the car door shut with his foot, Terry realized Goniff and Actor were indeed not with them. "Craig . . .?"

Garrison heard the fear in her voice and looked at her wide eyes. "Don't get in an uproar. It's all right."

"In case you haven't noticed, you're short two people."

They started up the steps. Garrison explained as they went. "Actor and Goniff got separated from us. I've been in contact with Actor. They're all right. Sub's going to pick them up tomorrow."

"If you saw them, then why didn't they come out with you?"

"I didn't see them. It was telegraph."

"So how do you know it was them?" demanded Terry, scooting ahead to get the front door.

Casino gave her an exasperated look. "Who else besides you would send 'love and kisses'?"

Terry shrugged. Even Chief tried to grin through a grimace. Terry focused on the Indian. "Tell me the bullet's out."

"It's still in there," said Chief.

"Great, Shiv's not around," moaned Terry. He had gone on another of his little ventures after the bar had closed the previous night.

"We'll get it out," said Craig. He and Casino lifted the younger man between them to get up the second set of stairs to the bedrooms.

"Get him situated where I can work with it and I'll get the supplies," said Terry.

By the time she got to his room with her arms fully loaded, they had Chief on the bed with just the wound uncovered. Terry looked closely at it. The covering clot had dislodged and it was oozing blood. At least there was no pus. She glanced at Chief and he looked away. Frowning, Terry felt around the wound as gently as possible, determining the exact location and depth of the slug.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I know I'm hurting you."

"'S okay," said the young man quietly.

Terry glanced at him again. He had stiffened and she didn't think it was just from the pain of what she had been doing. He glanced up at her concerned expression, forced himself to relax, and gave her a nod.

"Warden?" said Chief quietly.

"Yeah, Chief," replied Garrison.

"If you want, you can walk her through doin' it," offered the Indian. "She's gonna hafta learn."

Terry shot him a sharp glance. "I don't think so," she objected.

"He's right, Babe," said Casino. "You're gonna hafta learn sometime. Might as well be now."

Terry wasn't happy with that idea, but the no-nonsense look on her brother's face told her she would be doing it.

A half hour later, Terry dropped the slug into a basin with a clink and set about stitching up the wound. "I've got it from here," she said. "Why don't you two go get something to eat or drink and go to bed? I'll finish up here and get him cleaned up."

Craig and Casino left without any further encouragement. Terry sat down and began stitching. Chief watched her silently.

"Thank you," he said.

"Your welcome, I guess," said Terry. "I hate inflicting pain on you guys."

"Ain't your fault," said the Indian. "Krauts are the ones cause the damage in the first place."

Terry started washing dried blood off his hip and down his leg. She felt the tenseness in him. Casually she said, "I'm done hurting you. And I'm not going to do anything bad to you."

"I know," he admitted. He couldn't explain to her that he wasn't comfortable being touched . . . and especially not why. There were things that sometimes happened in stir that were too degrading and embarrassing to talk to Terry about. He did not want to take the chance of losing the woman's friendship and respect. There was also the possibility Terry would talk to Christine about it. His relationship with the younger sister was too fragile and tenuous right now. He most certainly did not want to lose Crystal's respect and friendship.

Terry dried his skin and pulled the covers over him. "Rainey?" she broached with the same casual voice. "Between you and me, how old are you?"

The dark eyes watched her warily now. "Twenty-six."

"Horsefeathers," she replied softly. "You're not older than me."

"Twenty-six," he repeated defiantly.

Terry paused and gave him a steady look.

"Twenty-two," he admitted just barely above a whisper.

"And you were in prison six years before Craig got you out?"

He nodded.

"Mother of God," breathed Terry. "You had no business being in an adult prison."

Chief shrugged. "Don't matter none. I'm just a dirty filthy injun."

"No, you're not," said Terry firmly. "I don't want to hear you talking like that. We went through that same nonsense when we adopted Monty. Chief, you are a brave man and an honorable one. The things you are doing in this war are helping people who need it and can't help themselves. You are a good person, Rainey Sands, and you deserve to be treated with respect. And don't you forget that!"

"Yes, Ma'am,' said Chief.

"And don't ma'am me either." She smiled to soften the words. "How am I going to be 'Little Sister' if I'm older than you?"

"Nobody else knows," said Chief, "except Chris."

"True," said Terry.

She stood up and put the supplies away. Coming back by the bed, she looked down at him. The wariness wasn't as evident. She decided to push it a little. "All right if I touch you?"

He watched her, but slowly nodded.

With a crooked grin, she reached a hand down and brushed his hair back. "Take a rest. I'll bring you up something to eat."

The next day, Craig had to take the jeep to London for more debriefing. While Casino watched Chief, Terry took the Packard to Folkestone to pick up the two missing members of the group. Casino hadn't been in sight when she left, so she had grabbed his leather bomber jacket and scooted out the door. It was too big for her, but it was warm and smelled nicely of leather, tobacco, and Casino.

She waited in front of the dock as the other two men got out of the sub and started her way. Actor looked no worse for wear. Goniff was a little green around the gills. Terry met them halfway.

"You two okay?" she asked. She eyed the Cockney, "Except for a little seasickness?"

"We're fine," assured Actor. "How is Chief? Is he at the Mansion?"

"He's doing okay," said Terry. "Yeah, Craig brought him straight home."

"Was the Warden able to get the bullet out?" asked the con man with some concern.

"Nope," said Terry. At his frown she continued. "I got outvoted. I took it out."

Actor nodded his approval. Goniff was still too green to care. Terry pulled a flask out of her purse and handed it to the pickpocket.

"Wot's this?" he asked.

"Blackberry brandy," replied Terry. "Settle your stomach."

Goniff took the flask gratefully and took a pull off it. Actor looked at Terry haughtily.

"And where's mine?" he asked.

Terry cocked a sideways look at the tall man. "I didn't bring it. It wasn't sitting out in plain sight in your room and I didn't want to dig through your belongings to look for it. Besides your stomach doesn't need settling," she said. "You, Sir, will have to wait until we get to the Fox. I have to stop and pick up more libations for the Mansion."

"Would you like me to drive?" offered the con man.

"Why? Want to get there faster? I can drive faster," she teased.

"No that is quite all right. I have ridden with you driving fast," he replied teasingly.

"No sense of adventure," she mocked.

"Strong sense of self preservation," he countered.

She tossed him the keys. Goniff proceeded to get in the back of the car and sprawl across the seat, contentedly imbibing from the flask. Terry shook her head with a grin and got in the front with the Italian. Actor eyed Terry's apparel.

"Isn't that a bit large for you?" he asked indicating the bomber jacket.

"Yeah, but it's warmer than my jacket," said Terry.

"Does Casino know you're wearing it?" asked the con man with a twitch of a smile.

"Probably, by now." Terry shrugged it off.

Actor shook his head in amusement. He could hear Casino spouting off because his jacket was missing.

The trip back to Brandonshire was indeed shorter with the Italian driving. The three walked into the Blue Fox to find only a few customers at the tables. They chose the bar, lining up with Terry in the middle, Actor on her right and Goniff on her left. Kit looked at them sourly, still not happy having the cons in there, even if they were on their best behavior.

"Courvoisier," said Terry, nodding toward Actor. "JD for me and . . ."

"A pint of bitter," said the Cockney cockily.

Terry looked at him with a grin. "Stomach must be better," she remarked.

"Right. I'm on ruddy land now," he replied with an answering grin.

Kit pulled a pint for Goniff, set a bottle of Jack Daniels and a shot glass in front of Terry and then went into the back to get the bottle of Courvoisier Terry had hidden there for Actor. When she returned with the bottle and a balloon, Shiv was with her.

Terry waited until Actor had his glass of cognac before touching her glass to his and then Goniff's. She took a sip and fixed the tall blond man behind the bar with a sour look.

"You have wonderful timing, Jake," Terry said.

"You never had a problem with my timing before," said Jake with a sly look. He shot a quick glance at the Italian. Actor's face remained impassive, but the eyes were deadly.

"Oh, that's very funny," said Terry with disgust.

"You're timings going to be funny too if you keep that up," Kit said to her lover.

Jake was satisfied he had gotten to the con man. "Okay, what's wrong with my timing?" he asked Terry seriously.

"I had to dig a bullet out of Chief," replied Terry.

"Good. You know, I'm not their personal physician," Shiv said.

"No," agreed Terry. She turned her gaze toward Actor. "He is, but he wasn't here."

Actor took a sip of his drink, with no change in his expression. Touché, he thought. "I am sure you did a fine job," he said to Terry.

Shiv turned back to Actor. "So where did you study medicine?" he asked, expecting some little school in the backwaters of Italy.

"La Sapienza," replied Actor with nonchalance.

Terry turned her head to stare at the Italian. "The University of Rome? Are you kidding? You've got to be the best . . ." she cut herself off to prevent further conflict. If Actor had taken his training at La Sapienza then he had to make Jake look like a piker as a surgeon.

Actor said nothing, just looking at her with a slight bit of arrogance as the realization dawned on her.

"Couldn't cut it, huh?" smirked Jake. "You didn't finish."

"Jake, quit being an ass!" said Terry heatedly.

"My reasons for not finishing are not your affair," said Actor casually.

"You tell 'im, Mate," said Goniff tipsily. Four pair of eyes turned to the grinning pickpocket.

"How much has he had to drink?" asked Kit, knowing she had only given him a pint.

Terry reached behind Goniff and plucked the flask from his back pocket. It was much lighter than when she had given it to him. She held the flask up.

"Oh about that much brandy before the bitter." Terry turned to Actor. "Make sure you still have the car keys."

Actor could feel them in his right front pants pocket. He nodded to Teresa with a crooked grin.

"I am perfectly fine, Love" said Goniff with a wide grin.

"Of course you are, Mate," replied Terry with a grin of her own. Craig wasn't going to be happy she had gotten the Englishman drunk. Oh well. She turned back to Shiv. "Well, seeing as you're in such a snotty mood, Jake, why don't you put my box of booze in the trunk of the Packard?"

Jake was about to object until he saw the glint in Terry's eyes. He knew that meant not to cross her. "Sure, why not," he said magnanimously.

While Shiv was loading the mansion's libations, Terry paid for them and the drinks the three had just imbibed. As the three were leaving the bar, Actor spoke to Terry, a hand possessively resting on her back. "Thank you, Cara." It might have been coincidence that he uttered those words right after passing Jake, though it couldn't be discerned by his countenance.

"You're very welcome, Caro," Terry replied.

Actor drove them the rest of the way to the Mansion. He carried the box of liquor into the house and set it on the dining room table before going upstairs to check on Chief. Goniff headed straight for his room and Terry began putting away the bottles.

Several hours later, Craig returned and tossed his hat onto the coat tree in his office. He hung his jacket up and rolled the sleeves up on his shirt. As he sat in his chair behind the desk, Terry entered with a cup of coffee for him.

"They back?" he asked, accepting the coffee with appreciation.

Terry nodded. "They're upstairs sleeping."

"They okay?"

"They're fine." Terry neglected to mention Goniff's inebriated state.

"How's Chief?" asked Craig with a tinge of concern.

"He'd fine. He's resting. Wound looks good."

Garrison frowned. "Where's Casino?"

"He's out back," grinned Terry, "fixing me some trellises for the beans and peas."

"You've got him wrapped around your little finger, don't you?" Craig shook his head in wonder at his bristly safecracker.

"He's being useful," replied the girl with a smile. "You want anything else to eat or drink?"

Garrison shook his head and pulled some paperwork out of his in box.

"No mission?" Terry asked hopefully.

"Not tonight," replied Craig, already distracted. "I have a meeting with Hammond in Schaeffer's office tomorrow morning."

"Figures." Terry left him to his work.

Later that afternoon, Actor and Goniff were up and partaking of some sandwiches at the dining room table. Casino had finished his outdoor work and washed up to join them. Terry left them alone and went upstairs to check on Chief.

He smiled at her entrance, but there was something wary about him. He moved under the covers to slip his shorts down so Terry could check the dressing. She carefully eased the covers back just enough to inspect the gauze. It was clean and dry, but a piece of the tape was curling up. She smoothed it back down with a finger, startled as he tensed and shifted away.

"Sorry," she said contritely. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," he replied avoiding her eyes. "'S okay."

Terry replaced the covers and smiled to cover her concern. "Can I get you anything?" she asked.

Chief smiled at her as though nothing had happened. "No, I'm fine. Thanks."

Terry headed for the door. "Well, if you need anything, holler. I'll be back later."

"Thanks."

Moving thoughtfully downstairs, Terry glanced over her shoulder before walking into the Warden's office, turning to shut the door quietly behind her. Hesitantly she sat down on the corner of Craig's desk and looked at her brother with curiosity.

He glanced up from his paperwork. "Okay, what do you want to know about them?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. He was getting to know that look.

"What's with Chief?" she asked. "I have to be very careful if I take care of a wound on him. He doesn't like me touching him. Is it something I did? Did I offend him in some way?"

"No," said Craig. "It isn't you." He had hoped he would not have to have this conversation with her, but she was observant and she cared about the guys, so it was inevitable it would come up. "I don't know for sure, but I have my suspicions. I don't ask and he doesn't tell me."

"Tell you what?" Terry frowned.

"How much do you know about prison life?"

Terry shrugged. "They are in cells, usually with another prisoner. Except Actor. He always talked his way into a private cell."

Craig grinned. "You've been talking to Actor?"

"I always talk to Actor. Sometimes he actually answers me. Depends."

"Okay, what else?"

"They mostly are kept in their cells. They're let out into a yard for exercise once a day and meals three times a day. If they act up, they are put in solitary."

To give himself time to work out how to answer the girl, Craig took a cigarette out of the packet on his desk and lit it. He inhaled deeply and let it out in a long sigh. "There is a hierarchy. Basically the strong over the weak and the young. Some of those men have spent their entire lives in prison. Men have needs." He paused.

"Like Actor chasing women?" inserted Terry.

"Yeah, something like that." He hesitated. "There are some men who aren't too particular about where they take care of those needs," he finished diplomatically.

Terry was starting to get the picture and her eyes widened. "You mean like men and – uh . . ."

Craig nodded. "If there are weak or young ones that can be subdued . . ."

"Oh my God," breathed Terry. "And you think Chief . . .?"

Craig shrugged. "I don't know for sure. I think Chief is younger than he says he is. It's a possibility. And it would explain his loner attitude and the touching thing. If you've noticed, he doesn't even like anyone to stand close to him – he moves away. It's as though he needs the space around him to protect himself."

Terry was trying to grasp this. She gestured toward the common room. "And they all know this goes on?"

"Of course."

"Do they all . . .?" She couldn't say it.

"No," said Craig adamantly. "I would guarantee that none of those four would do that. And two of them I know for sure would not be on the receiving end."

The color drained from Terry's face. Ashen, she stood up, turned and went out the door. Craig got up and hurried after her. She could not look at the cons as they chatted over lunch at the dining room table. Instead she focused on the outside door.

"Terry! Where are you going?" asked Craig with worry.

The girl stopped and did not turn. "I need to go for a walk."

"I'm sorry," said her brother. "I shouldn't have told you."

"No, Craig, you did right. I need to know these things if I'm going to be here. It's just right this second I can't . . . I need to go for a walk."

Casino came out from the kitchen with a refilled mug of coffee. He had heard the two talking as had the others, but couldn't make out what they were discussing. His entrance caught the girl's attention and for a brief moment, Terry's eyes met his before she quickly looked away. Casino wasn't sure what he had seen in her eyes, but he didn't like it. It worried him. He watched her go outside and shut the door.

Casino turned to Garrison. "What rattled her cage?"

Craig rubbed the back of his head as he did when he was frustrated or upset. "Something came up in conversation," he said. "We just had a little talk about prison."

"What about prison?" asked Casino with suspicion.

Not answering, Craig turned and went back in his office, shutting the door quietly behind him. Casino and the other two men exchanged worried looks. Goniff got up and looked out the window.

"She's 'eaded down the running path," he observed softly.

Casino and Actor exchanged looks. "I'll do it," mouthed Casino setting his mug on the table next to the door before letting himself outside.

Terry was striding down the path, hands in pockets, head down, shoulders slumped. She glanced sideways, but not up as Casino caught up to her at a run.

"Hey, Lady, slow it down. This ain't the Boston Marathon, yuh know."

Terry slowed down, but did not stop. Casino kept pace beside her.

"Babe, you want to know something about prison, just ask."

"I can't," she replied, distressed. "I can't ask something like that."

Casino stopped and grasped her arm, pulling her to a stop. "Terry, what did the Warden tell you that got you so spooked?"

Terry was frowning and still could not look him in the eyes. "Uh, hierarchy. And certain practices . . ."

Casino sucked on a cheek. "You mean like sex?"

Terry nodded. "I asked something and opened up a can of worms. I just did not have any concept . . ."

"Babe, you're not expected to know anything about that. It ain't like you sit at home wondering what goes on behind prison walls. What exactly did you want to know?"

"It wasn't anything specific," Terry hedged. "I'm just trying to understand you guys better."

"You want to understand us?" asked Casino skeptically.

"Why not? I live with you. I don't know why you do some of the things you do. I know my life has been pretty cushy compared to all of yours. You've had bad things happen in your lives or you wouldn't have been doing the things you were sent to prison for doing and prison is obviously no cakewalk."

Casino gave a laugh. "Got that right."

Terry looked at him now. "But you all know what goes on there?"

Casino nodded.

"And you don't stop it?"

"Honey," said Casino patiently, "you got to pick your battles."

"What about the guards? Don't they try to stop it?"

"You heard us talk," said Casino. "What do we call the guards?"

"Screws." The implication sunk in. "Them too?"

"Them too." Terry turned away and started walking again, only much slower. Casino kept in step beside her. She reached her hand out and slipped it inside his elbow to rest on his forearm. Casino continued. "It ain't everybody. There's always gonna be some jerk or bully who has to lord it over all the rest."

"Kind of like a Wheeler?"

Casino bobbed his head. "Yeah. I wouldn't be going and asking Actor that question about Alcatraz. But I bet his answer would be that Wheeler was one of them."

"I can't see something like that happening to you or Actor for that matter."

"It's tried on all of us, every time we get sent to a new prison. Mainly it's that hierarchy thing the Warden was tellin' you about. Me, I didn't put up with that crap. I usually spent the first two weeks in solitary and the other guy spent it in the hospital." Casino took his hand out of his pocket and laced his fingers with Terry's. She didn't pull away. "Now Actor, he just plain intimidates 'em. Besides, you ever seen him fight?"

"Actor?" questioned Terry in disbelief. "I didn't think he'd dirty his hands?"

Casino laughed. "You back Beautiful into a corner or make him real mad and he can fight as down and dirty as Garrison. You know your brother fights dirty, don't yuh?"

"Of course I know Craig fights dirty," shot back Terry indignantly. "Who do you think taught me?"

Casino chuckled, "Babe, you don't know how to fight."

"Wanna make a bet?" retorted Terry. She sobered. "What about the other two?"

Casino quit laughing. "Chief was awful young when he got sent up. I don't know. And that ain't somethin' you ask," he added sternly. "But if he was to go back to prison now, nobody would touch that Injun."

"What about Goniff?" asked Terry. "He can't fight his way out of a paper bag."

"Goniff is a survivor. He hooks himself up with some bigger, tougher guy and stays out of trouble."

"That how you two paired up?" asked Terry curiously.

"Started out that way," admitted Casino. "Goniff got behind me for protection against Wheeler. Then we just got to be friends." They continued to stroll down the dirt path. "Hey, Babe, are we gonna have to walk the whole mile?"

Terry stopped and grinned. "No, we can go back."

Casino wasn't sure why, but he held an arm out in offering. Terry looked at him. She wasn't sure why, but she slipped her arms around him and they hugged. "You know something, Lady? You're okay. Anybody else would have gone runnin' and screamin' by now. You just stay with us."

"Glutton for punishment," she tried to tease.

Casino took a step back and cupped her chin in his hand to look at her. In a serious tone, he said, "You know, you don't ever have to be afraid of us. We ain't gonna hurt yuh."

"I know that," said Terry. "At some time or another, every one of you has told me that. I believe you."

She reached for his hand again and they started back the way they had come. When they got close to the drive, Casino pulled his hand back.

"Don't go ruinin' my reputation now," he warned not for the first time.

"I know. We wouldn't want anybody to think you can actually be nice." Terry grinned impishly.

Back inside, Goniff and Actor had picked up their dirty dishes and put them in the kitchen sink before going into the common room. Terry went to the kitchen with the intent of going out the back to inspect Casino's handiwork. The safecracker stopped in front of Garrison's office and waited. Craig looked up and watched him as did the two other men.

At the sound of the back door shutting, Craig asked, "Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah," nodded Casino.

"Is she all right?" asked Actor.

"I dunno," replied the safecracker. "I don't know what you said to her," he spoke to Garrison. Then he turned to Actor. "An' I don't know how you woulda handled it, but I just told her the facts of life."

"And?" Actor prompted.

Casino shrugged. "I think she's still chewin' on it."

Craig shook his head, frustrated at not knowing how to help in the situation.

"Hey," said Goniff brightly. "At least she didn't run."

"There is that to be thankful for," said the Italian.

Terry didn't run, but she continued to 'chew on it.' By the time she returned to the house, she had her unconcerned countenance firmly in place. It did not fool any of the men downstairs, but none of them knew how to make it any easier for the girl. By the time the evening was over and she had climbed the stairs to her room for the night, Terry thought she had things carefully compartmentalized.

The nightmare started in the dead of night. It was a mix this time of Jaeger assaulting her and Chief standing by watching and unable to do anything. Terry woke up, not with a scream, but with a whimper. Sitting up in bed cloaked in darkness, arms wrapped around her legs, she tried to shake off the residual tremors of the nightmare. Finally she got up and put a robe on, slipping her feet into slippers.

Terry made her way quietly down the stairs and went into the kitchen, welcoming the overhead light. She added wood to the stove and automatically checked on the chicks. Going to the sink to wash her hands, she left the water running and stared at it, hands gripping the edge of the sink.

Jaeger, hands touching her, abusing her flesh and her mind. The sense of powerlessness washed over her again. She was in her twenties. Chief had been in his teens, if it indeed had happened to him also. How that young boy must have felt to be degraded and abused like that . . . Terry had never been told outright, but she had heard enough to understand that Jaeger's body had been disposed of with some of his parts not in their proper anatomical locations. Was that Chief reacting to what had been done to her, or seeking vengeance for what had been done to both of them?

A hairy arm reached in front of her to shut the tap off. Terry jumped, startled because she had not heard his approach. A hand clamped over her mouth to stifle a scream. She looked up into the warm brown eyes of Casino. With recognition came the slump of her body in relief and the removal of his hand.

"Sorry," apologized Terry. "I didn't hear you. My mind was somewhere else."

"Yeah, I know," acknowledged the safecracker. "I didn't figure you'd get much sleep. I was kinda listening out for you." His first instinct was to hug the woman tightly too him, but he restrained himself to just lightly touching her elbow. "Grab a seat. I'll make us some hot chocolate. Ma used to do that whenever us kids had nightmares and couldn't sleep."

Grateful for the company, Terry took a seat in the chair Casino held out for her. "So you figured I wasn't going to handle this well?" she said ruefully.

"Terry," replied the man, getting milk out of the refrigerator, "somebody who ain't never been in our shoes ain't gonna know how to handle it."

Terry nodded in agreement. She had to talk and Casino seemed to be there to listen. "It wasn't what that man was doing to me so much as the feeling of being totally helpless. It turns into a kind of blinding fear. I can't begin to imagine what it was like for Chief if that happened to him."

Casino set a pan of milk on the hob to heat up and dug through the cupboards for the cocoa and a bit of sugar. "Even if he managed not to let it happen, it's a safe bet he had the crap beat outta him . . . a lot."

Terry pulled a face of frustration. "Okay, Casino, let's not stretch this out over the next couple years. I already have nightmares, so let's go for the whole thing. Tell me about life in stir."

The safecracker turned to look at her over his shoulder. "You really wanna hear this?" he tried to give her an out.

"I really want to hear this."

Casino sighed. It was going to be another long night. "Okay, in a minute." He left the stove and disappeared toward the common room. A minute later he was back with a bottle. Mixing up the cocoa and pouring it into mugs, he took the top off the liquor bottle and poured a healthy measure of rum into each mug. He watched Terry's eyebrow go up as he pushed a mug in front of her. Casino set the rum bottle between them on the table and sat down facing her.

"So what's it like living in a cell?" Terry asked without preamble.

"Cramped, uncomfortable, and no privacy," Casino listed off the worst of it. "You got a tiny area with block walls on three sides and bars across the fourth. Your beds are a couple metal racks hangin' off one wall. You got a skinny mattress and a blanket and if you're lucky a postage stamp for a pillow. There's a sink on the end wall and a toilet, no lid or seat, all out in the open. There's two to a cell and if you don't get along with your cellmate, it makes life real tough. You get taken to a shower once a week. Big open area, ten guys at a time. That's where a lot of the rapes take place."

"Don't the guards do anything?" questioned Terry.

"Naw. They don't wanna get wet or hit, so they just stay outside and watch."

Terry sipped her cocoa with a frown. She reached for the rum bottle and poured an extra splash in her mug before doing the same to Casino's.

"Okay," she continued. "Actor said he was always in a cell by himself. That a con?"

"Probably not," replied Casino. "Actor had money. He knew how to bribe and con the guards and the wardens. 'Course I don't think he had it that easy on the Rock. Rock's a hard place."

"Why would he be put on the Rock?" asked Terry curiously. She had been hesitant to ask that of the con man. "I thought Alcatraz was for the really bad ones like axe murderers and such."

Casino chuckled at that assessment. "It was the only place they figured they could keep him. He escaped more times than I did. A lot more."

"Escaped?" That caught Terry's attention. "He broke out of prison?"

"Yeah," grinned Casino. "Like I said, he had the dough. There's always somebody inside on the take. He just kept bribin' his way out. They put him on the Rock figurin' if he did bribe his way outta the cell, he'd never get off the island. It's a long swim to Frisco and the water's cold and full of sharks. It musta worked. He was there the longest."

"And you escaped too?" asked Terry in interest.

"Twice," boasted the safecracker. "Bribed a guard the second time."

"And the first time?"

Casino laughed, shaking his head. "That was a little place outside a Chicago. My kid brother, Gino, showed up with a chocolate cake believe it or not. For some reason those stupid screws never checked it. There was a hacksaw blade in it."

"You're joking," chortled Terry.

Casino shook his head. "Took me a coupla days to cut through the bars on the window in the back o' the cell."

"So the handiwork in the window of the upstairs common room is yours?" asked Terry.

"Yeah," replied Casino proudly. The cocoa was gone from their mugs, so he poured a goodly amount of rum into both.

"What's the worst part of being in prison?" asked Terry taking a good drink of straight rum.

"Bein' confined," said Casino with certainty. He took a drink from his mug. "I can take it, but I don't like it. You never been in a cell with all of us."

"No," said Terry. "Tell me."

"Goniff, he goes quiet and then chatters. Chief paces. You just stay outta his way. Now Actor hides it, but he just sits down and acts like everything's okay. You gotta watch him. He gets real tense."

"What about Craig?" asked Terry, taking another drink.

Casino shook his head. "Warden's too busy trying to figure a way out."

Terry went back to weightier issues. "So I figure prison isn't a real safe place. . ."

"No," replied Casino. "There are gangs there too. So there's gang fights and knifings."

"Knives in prison?" asked Terry with a frown.

"Lady, you can make a knife outta anything. Toilet paper even, if yuh got any."

Now he was pulling her leg. "Toilet paper huh? Sure, Casino."

"It can be done," he assured her. "If the other cons ain't getting' you, the screws are."

Terry shook her head. "No wonder you guys took Craig up on his offer of this group instead of staying in there."

"Yeah, well, I figured if I done something good it would make my folks proud."

Terry looked up sharply at that admission and the faint hint of emotion behind the words. She laid her hand atop his on the table. "I think your parents would be very proud of you."

Figuring he had said too much, the safecracker shrugged. "Yeah, well, you better get back to bed before somebody catches us. School's out for tonight," he said with his usual gruffness.

Terry smiled at his reversion to character. "Thanks for talking to me," she said, getting up to put the mugs and pan in the sink.

Casino capped the bottle and took it back to liquor cabinet in the common room. They went up the stairs together, being careful not to touch each other, Casino thinking he had been too open with her about his family and Terry realizing just that.

A couple hours later, Garrison was tapping at Terry's bedroom door. It was 6 am by her clock and she felt like she had not gotten any sleep, but then again, she hadn't. Terry opened the door and Craig leaned in to speak quietly. "I'm going into the meeting with Schaeffer and Hammond. I would guess I won't be back before ten."

Terry nodded. "I'm going back to bed. They won't be up for awhile yet." She smiled at her brother. "I hope it's an easy one this time."

Craig chuckled sourly. "Are they ever?"

It was actually closer to eleven by the time Craig returned, with the briefcase firmly cuffed to his wrist. Terry met him at the door with a cup of coffee. He took it gratefully, ignored the men, and motioned for her to follow him into his office. Terry looked at the guys behind Craig's back and shrugged, following him in and shutting the door. Craig set the coffee and the briefcase on his desk, getting the key from the drawer. As he unlocked the handcuff, he said, "We've got a mission . . . and we've got a problem."

"We've got a problem? Don't we always?"