"Yes, sir," Stan answered. He did not intend to argue, not at that moment.
"Take this report." A smile formed at the corners of the colonel's mouth. "The Navy gives us the numbers from three planes that saved a warship from being sunk off Sicily. In checking the numbers we discover the planes are ferry planes bound for Malta." He picked up another report. "Here is a memorandum from General Eisenhower citing Lieutenant Wilson for the delivery of vital documents from inside Italy." The smile faded. "And there is a line mentioning Lieutenant's O'Malley and Allison for covering your escape." The colonel dropped the paper and leaned back.
"Yes, sir," was all Stan could say, but a warm glow was beginning to stir inside him.
"And that last line is the reason for my calling for your services, Lieutenant. I have received a message brought in by an Italian pilot who managed to fly his plane over here." He shoved a piece of soiled paper across to Stan. "It is addressed to you."
Stan caught the paper eagerly and read the scrawled lines upon it.
"Shot down. Prisoners. Held in shed back of Bolero barns. Tony with us. One of the Bolero servants will try to smuggle this out." The note was signed by Allison.
"They're alive!" Stan almost shouted.
"They are," the colonel said dryly.
"They'll be treated like spies and not prisoners of war. The Germans pulled that on us before," Stan said anxiously.
"You three seem marked down as irregulars," the colonel said. "I now find myself in the position of becoming a party to your wild schemes." He laughed outright. "I have not reported this to headquarters. I am afraid O'Malley and Allison should and would be marked down as expendables and left to be shot by the Germans." He straightened and shoved the papers aside. "With a fast, light bomber, would you have a chance to land over there?"