The safe house in a quiet neighborhood of Brussels was one they'd used before. Its owner had fled to Switzerland, and the Belgian resistance put it to good use. It was cramped and cluttered with dusty furniture, but it still had running water and electricity. They'd stayed in a lot worse places. Goniff had found a jigsaw puzzle in the bottom of a cabinet, and had spread it out on the front room's only table. It had kept him and Casino mostly out of trouble, if not quiet. Chief preferred to sit by the window, keeping an eye on the street traffic.

The Nazis had promised Renzo that after he delivered the plans he claimed to have, they would release him to return to his home in Milan. Once free, Actor was to leave a message for them at a prearranged drop point, then they'd rendezvous and head back to Bruges and their escape. It had been three days, with still no message from Actor.

Chief saw Garrison crossing the street at the far end of the block. He dropped the curtain back over the window and opened the front door just as Garrison was reaching for the knob.

Casino was immediately on his feet. "Anything?"

"No, nothing yet." Garrison stripped out of his suit jacket and dropped it on the chair by the door. "I've left a message for Victor, to see if he knows anything."

Chief went back to his seat at the window. "He the Nazi mole?"

"Yeah. He's in the typing pool, so he doesn't have direct access to intelligence, but he knows how to listen."

"It's been too long, Warden," Goniff whined. "They should be outta there by now."

"Damn straight they should. Somethin's gone wrong."

"Take it easy, Casino." Garrison lit a cigarette and took a drag. "Actor knows what he's doing."

"It ain't Actor I'm worried about."

Garrison pinned the safe cracker with a hard glare. "Remember what I said. I can still leave you on the sidelines if I have to."

Casino gave a frustrated huff. "Yeah, yeah. But I still think we need to be doin' somethin' besides sitting around here twiddlin' our thumbs."

The sound of someone running pulled Chief's attention back to the street, and his blade snapped into his hand. "We got company."

At the loud knock, everyone's guns flashed out, trained on the door. Garrison joined Chief at the window, pushing the curtain back a crack. Then he holstered his gun and reached for the door. "It's alright. It's Victor."

A short, stocky German in a Wehrmacht uniform slipped in before Garrison could get the door completely open. He was breathing like he'd run for blocks.

"You shouldn't be here," Garrison warned him.

"I know." Victor gulped for air. "But there was no time for leaving notes. They are driving your people to Berlin in the morning."

"Berlin?" Casino exclaimed. "That's just great."

Garrison ignored him. "What time?"

"They will leave at 6 a.m. The guards I overheard were not happy about having to be up so early."

"Damn." Garrison slammed his hand against the door jam.

"So what now, Warden?" Casino challenged. "If they get to Berlin, we'll never see them again."

Garrison got that familiar far away look in his eyes, as he chewed on his lower lip. Chief thought he could almost see the wheels click into place as a plan came together.

Pulling a map from his hip pocket, Garrison strode to the table and spread it out on top of the puzzle. "The Domianos are Facists and traitors. The Italian Resistenza really wants to get their hands on them."

Casino looked confused. "Yeah? So?"

Garrison smiled. "So now's their chance. Chief, we need a car suitable for four vengeful Italian kidnappers."

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At this time of the morning, there wasn't much traffic on the road heading east out of Brussels. They'd easily overpowered the two sleepy guards manning the checkpoint, and after the Warden made the tallest one strip out of his uniform, Casino and Chief had bound and gagged both, and Goniff had marched them back into the cover of the underbrush.

"Not that I really like killin' Gerries, but I don't get it. Why did we have to take these two alive?" Goniff asked.

"We need witnesses." Garrison buttoned the top button of the Wehrmacht sergeant's uniform and strapped on the belt. "We need the Germans to still have faith in the fake plans Actor gave them, so we have to maintain their cover. Someone has to be around to tell the brass that the Domianos were taken by partisans. These guys were probably easier to take alive than the detail that will be with Actor and Sofia."

Garrison picked up the Schmeisser and loaded it with a fresh cartridge. "You three stay hidden. And remember, you're Italian partisans. No English."

Casino followed Chief and Goniff back into the underbrush where their two prisoners were hidden. When Goniff started to open his mouth, Casino punched him on the shoulder and shushed him. Sometimes the limey was just a little too dense.

Through the leaf cover of the bushes, Casino watched as Garrison waved a car, then a delivery truck, through the gate. It was another 15 minutes before the next car approached - a German staff car. Casino nudged his companions, but they'd both seen it, too.

Speaking in German, Garrison ordered everyone out of the car. The Colonel who climbed from the passenger side was not at all happy, and vented his indignation loudly. The Major who'd been driving obeyed quietly. Then Actor climbed from the back seat and held out his hand to assist Sofia.

In her role as Marcella Domiano, she was in a frumpy dress that was one size too large, her black hair was pulled back into a severe bun, and she wore wire-rimmed glasses. But none of that diminished her natural radiance, or the determination in those dark eyes.

When the Warden ordered the officers to step away from the car and get on the ground, Casino left their hiding place, followed by Chief and Goniff. While the other two set to work tying and gagging the two officers, Casino ran to Sofia's side. Somehow he had the presence of mind to remember his Italian. "Stai bene?"

Sofia nodded and gave him a small smile, but Garrison gave him a warning glare, leveling his rifle at Actor. "Togliere questi traditori. Ci occuperemo di loro in seguito."

Trying to maintain the con for the benefit of the Germans, Casino took Sofia by the arm and dragged her up the road, toward their hidden car.

"Prendere le mani di dosso, bastardo," she spit, struggling to get out of his grip.

He just grinned at her. "Sei un po 'cagna grintoso, non è vero?"

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Casino was finding it difficult to ignore her warm thigh pressed against his in the back seat of the car. What was worse was that she was pressed up against Actor the same way on her other side.

Squeezed between Chief and the Warden in the front seat, Goniff couldn't keep from squirming. "Hey, Chiefy, maybe if you tried a little harder, you could hit every bloody hole in the road."

"You wanna walk?" Chief drawled.

"Just let him drive," Garrison admonished.

"They often interrogated us separately," Actor continued. "Sofia did a beautiful job convincing them that she was not involved in the espionage. Still, I don't believe they ever intended to let us go to Milan."

"Those filthy liars."

"We're talking about the Nazis here, Goniff," Garrison reminded him.

"How did you find us?" It was the first thing Sofia had said since they'd been in the car.

"A mole in the typing pool," Garrison told her. "He caught a lucky break."

"Too lucky, if you ask me." Chief's gaze flicked from the road to the rear view mirror and then back.

Garrison's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"How much do you trust that typist?"

"You think he set us up?"

"Only way I can explain the car that's followin' us."

Garrison turned in his seat to look out the rear window. "Why didn't you say something?"

"He just showed hisself. He's dropped back now."

"Take the next turn. Let's see what happens." Garrison drew his side arm, and the others followed his lead.

Where a path intersected on the right, Chief turned and pulled the car around a bend, far enough that it couldn't be seen from the road. They scrambled out and took cover among the trees. Casino grabbed Sofia's hand and pulled her with him behind a large oak. "Get down and stay down."

"I can handle a gun."

"Don't argue with me."

Casino heard the car approaching, and Goniff shifted nervously. But then the engine receded, the car continuing past the intersection, on down the road. It was only a matter of seconds before he heard the car returning, and this time it made the turn. As the large black sedan pulled into view, Garrison took aim and blew out a front tire.

Return machine gun fire erupted immediately, and they fired back in a deafening barrage that echoed through the woods. Garrison tugged a grenade from his jacket pocket and pulled the pin. His overhand toss was deadly accurate. The black staff car lifted off the ground in a blinding explosion, and landed with a crash. Then the only sounds were the flames of the burning wreckage.

Slowly at first, Garrison stood and headed for the blazing rubble, and they all followed. Casino heard Sofia come up behind him. There wasn't much to see. Four dead Germans were scattered around the wreck. Two were in civilian clothes.

"That's Dieter Hoffman." Actor identified the one in the black business suit. "Gestapo. I had a feeling he was not buying our story."

Sofia was staring wide-eyed at the death and mayhem around them on the ground.

"C'mon, babe. You don't need to see this." Casino turned and headed back toward their car, but Sofia stood frozen, as if mesmerized by the awful destruction. If she needed to come to terms with the horror in her own way, he'd leave her be. War was hell, and he couldn't protect her from that.

"Casino!" Her scream made him turn. She lunged toward him, and the shot hit her in the side. As she fell into him, he caught her, the sudden weight pulling him to his knees. A second shot followed almost immediately, and he looked up to see Chief, still holding his gun at arm's length, and the soldier now laying dead at the edge of the road.

Then all he saw was Sofia, crumpled in his lap, her dark eyes startled and confused as she stared up at him. Of all the stupid stunts...he wanted to scream, but it caught in his throat, and her name came out a whisper. He hugged her tightly against him, feeling the warmth of her blood soak into his shirt.

"Casino." He almost didn't hear Actor, now kneeling in front of him, or the others, in a protective circle around them. "Casino, let me take a look..."

Speaking to her softly in Italian, Actor pulled Sofia gently from his arms, and turned her so he could inspect the bullet wound just beneath her ribs. Goniff appeared from nowhere and handed Actor their medical kit. In silence Casino watched, unable to breathe, as Actor cleaned away the blood, applied sulfa powder and pressure, then bandages.

Sofia moaned weakly.

"Sofia, look at me," Actor whispered. Her eyes fluttered open. "You are going to be alright." Then he looked up at Casino, the smile of reassurance gone, his face now unreadable. "Let's get her to the car."

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They'd all visited Sofia in the hospital, where she had spent several days recovering from the vicious gash in her right side. The doctors had said that Actor's quick attention to the bleeding had probably saved her life. Since then, two different missions to the continent had kept them busy. Today's lesson would be their first since she'd recovered, and Casino felt like a kid at Christmas, waiting for her to arrive.

When she finally joined him in the library, his first reaction was concern. She was thinner and paler, and there was something vital missing from her eyes. He drew her into his arms for a hug and kissed the top of her head. She acknowledged him with a brief squeeze, then moved to the table and laid out her books.

He couldn't hide his uneasiness. "How're you feelin'? You okay?"

"In italiano, per favore."

"Ti senti bene?" he repeated.

"Sì, sto bene. Possiamo iniziare?" She took her usual seat at the table, and he joined her, trying to study her face, trying to figure out what was wrong.

She handed him one of the books, and out of habit, he opened it at the bookmark and began reading the Italian printed there. But he couldn't concentrate. There seemed to be a bubble around her, keeping her natural radiance dimmed. It was a shell he couldn't touch, nor could he break through it. When he screwed up a pronunciation, she just shook her head and corrected it for him. It was an excruciating hour.

When the mantle clock struck noon, he gently closed the book. If he'd slammed it shut, he felt he might have shattered her. "Lunch by the lake?" he offered.

"Casino..." She stared at the floor, and her tone sent a chill through him.

He tried again. "Pranzo in riva al lago?"

That got a smile from her, but it didn't last long. "Casino, this is our last lesson."

"Whaddaya mean 'last lesson'? I ain't that good yet."

"I have accepted another job. Actor will tutor you from now on."

"C'mon. He ain't nearly as gorgeous as you. Although he thinks he is." That elicited another smile, so he continued. "So we'll just have to plan our little meetings better..."

"No. Tomorrow I go to Camp 60 in Lamb Holm, to translate for the prisoners there."

"Lamb Holm? Ain't that way up north, like practically the arctic?"

"The Orkney Islands. Not quite the arctic."

"Why? It can't be any safer there than here."

"It's more money. And they need translators."

She took his hand in both of hers. Her fingers were ice cold. So instead, he wrapped her hands in his, and at the gesture, she finally looked up at him. "I have been doing a lot of thinking. Our times together were...straordinaria. But I have to move on."

"Look, babe, I know you've been through a lot. But you gotta give yourself time. I promise I won't let the Warden send you on anymore missions."

"It's not that. It's...I need to...Maybe when the war is over."

There it was. That sobering detail. When the war's over. He'd pretty much decided he'd never see that day.

She pulled her hands from his, stood and gathered up her books. "I need to finish packing. I have an early train in the morning."

He stood, too. "Are ya really sure this is what you want?"

"I am. I hope you can forgive me." She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, a long, warm, sweet kiss. He was about to pull her into his arms and never let her go, when she backed away, out of his reach. "Dopo la guerra," she whispered, then turned and walked out.

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Chief stood on the landing just inside The Doves' front door and looked around the smokey room below. This late on a week night, it wasn't busy. Hannah was working the bar, and she caught his eye with a wan smile, nodding toward the table in the far left corner.

"I dare ya to stand up and say that to my face, buster!" Casino's fists were balled into tight knots, and he was venting his anger at a British corporal who was just rising from his chair, murder in his eyes.

Chief would just as soon leave Casino to his fight, but that only meant Hannah would have to clean up the mess. He took the steps two at a time and headed for the argument that was about to turn into a brawl.

"C'mon, you coward. I'll show you what kinda damage a real wop can do." Grabbing a mug from the table, Casino slung its contents at the soldier, splattering ale across the front of his uniform.

When Casino pulled back, ready to hurl the mug, Chief caught his arm on the back-swing, then grabbed him around the waist and dragged him backward. He fought to hold onto the struggling, cursing Casino, while he dug into his pocket, pulled out some coins, and tossed them into the puddle of ale on the table. "Here ya go, friend. Buy yourself another beer."

The corporal muttered something obscene under his breath, but Casino probably didn't hear it. Chief maneuvered him back to their usual table on the other side of the room, where a half-full shot glass sat among several empties. He shoved Casino into a chair.

"I had that jerk cold," Casino slurred. "He'll think twice before he insults Italians again."

Chief eased into his own chair. "Yeah, you were gonna teach him a real lesson."

When Hannah approached the table with a mug of ale, Chief shook his head. She nodded, collected the empty glasses, and went back to her work.

Casino reached for the remaining glass, but Chief pulled it out of his reach and took a swallow from it himself.

"Hey, that's mine."

"You owe me." Chief cocked his head in the direction of the corporal.

But Casino's gaze had shifted to Hannah's nice, rounded little ass as she moved around the room, straightening up before closing. "Man, I could get close to that," he mumbled. "She's a sweet one."

Chief took a long breath. "You're just itchin' to get beat to a pulp, ain't ya?"

"I'm just sayin'...you're a lucky guy."

As Hannah walked past, she ran a finger across the back of Chief's neck, and he admired the view as she went back to the bar. Definitely sweet. But not tonight.

"Don't tell me. We have another mission."

"Not that I know of."

"So the Warden sent you to drag me back."

Chief propped his legs onto the table and took another sip of the cheap whiskey. After dinner, Garrison had simply pulled him aside and said, "Make sure he gets home okay." He wasn't sure why the Warden had singled him out for the job, but he figured Casino would do the same for him.

"Man, I'll never understand dames." Casino's words were becoming more slurred every time he opened his mouth. "Ya give 'em everything, and then one day they just up and walk away, like nothin' ever happened. Thinks I'm not good enough for her. Her with her book learnin' and a million different languages..."

The corporal and his buddies got up to leave, and Chief tensed, ready to snap out his blade, but all he got was a threatening glare as the group headed for the door. The older couple who'd been at a table near the stairs had eased their way out a while ago, and now, except for them, the place was empty. Casino reached for the whiskey again. Chief pulled it even farther out of his reach. This time Casino didn't protest, but continued to gripe. "Ya know what? She's got it all backwards. I'm too good for her. She don't know what she's missin'."

As Hannah passed again, balancing a tray of glasses, Casino reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into his lap. She managed to set the tray on the table before she dropped it.

"Ain't that right, my sweet l'il Irish lass? That bitch left behind the best lay she ever had."

"Scottish."

"Huh?"

"I'm Scottish, Casino." She gave him a swift peck on the cheek, and tried to pull from his embrace.

"Hey, I still got #3 upstairs reserved for tonight. Why don't you and me head up there and have us some fun."

"Maybe some other time..." This time she was able to pull free and get away, but Casino got up too, caught her hand, and pulled her roughly against him.

Drunk was one thing, but this was getting out of hand. Chief leapt up and grabbed Casino's shoulder, yanking him backward. Casino spun, fists knotted, and swung hard. Chief easily dodged and swung back, making contact with solid bone. Casino fell against the table and crashed to the floor among the clatter of breaking glass.

Hannah straightened her apron. "You didn't have to do that. It's just the liquor talking."

"I know. But it felt good." Chief flexed out his fingers. His knuckles would be bruised, but that was all. "C'mon. I'll help you clean this up."

"I can do it. You just take him home."

"Can I give you a lift?"

"No, thanks. Gerald will be down to close up in a few minutes. He'll walk me home."

"You just don't wanna be there when he pukes all over the car."

She gave him a knowing little smirk and a pat on the cheek.

As Casino groaned and tried to get up, Chief reached down and looped one arm over his shoulder, pulling him upright. He wasn't about to carry him. He was conscious enough to walk. With one last look back at Hannah as she began to sweep up the broken glass, he dragged Casino up the stairs and out the door.

Chief propped him against the car and reached for the door handle just as Casino came back to what senses he had left. He tried another swing. Chief easily stepped out of the way, then slammed him back against the car, maybe a little harder than necessary.

"C'mon, babe, ya gotta fight for her."

"When you're sober."

"They're all alike." The words ran together almost unintelligibly now. "She'll leave you in the dust the minute her limey boyfriend gets back."

Chief knew that. He'd never believed anything different.

Once again Casino made an effort to hit him, but this time only managed to punch him in the chest and grab a fistful of shirt. "Hey, do you think Sofia and Actor...?" Casino paused, then a grin split his face. "Nah, he'd be crowin' like a rooster in a hen house. And he'd never let me forget it."

Chief shoved Casino into the front seat and slammed the door. "You just keep tellin' yourself that, dad."