The teletypewriter began to clatter. When it fell silent, Cronley tore off the message, read it, and handed it to Mitch.e.l.l.
"After you"ve read that, go get your pistol," he ordered.
"Yes, sir."
PRIORITY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN.
FROM VINT HILL TANGO NET.
1103 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
TO BEERMUG ATTENTION ALTARBOY.
REF YOUR MSG NO 00001 1100 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
1-WELCOME TO TANGO NET.
2-ACKNOWLEDGE ENCRYPTED TEXT FOLLOWING BY DECRYPTION.
FDHSG ASDPW QLPDH GSHII PXCBD GOPWN ABDKD HHSDF.
END.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
- "We will now see if the decrypt function works," Cronley said.
He took the tape, found the encrypted message, tore it off, pushed a key that caused another green light-this one indicating EN/DECRYPTION FUNCTION ACTIVATED-to come on, and then fed the tape into the machine.
The teletypewriter began to clatter: MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB ITS FLEECE WAS WHITE AS SNOW.
- "Now let"s see if it works the other way," Cronley said, and began typing again.
The newly appointed Cla.s.sified Doc.u.ments NCO came back into the room-now armed with a Model 1911A1 .45 ACP in a leather holster dangling from a web belt-in time to see the end of the tape swallowed by the machine.
He leaned over and watched the teletypewriter chatter out a copy of Cronley"s reply: PRIORITY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN.
FROM BEERMUG.
TO VINT HILL TANGO NET.
REF YOUR REPLY TO MY NO 00001 1100 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
1-MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB ITS FLEECE WAS WHITE AS SNOW.
2-ACKNOWLEDGE ENCRYPTED TEST FOLLOWING BY DECRIPTION.
SLEST YEWHA DEKLS WKLDK ZSHGF HSGSG.
END.
ALTARBOY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
- Vint Hill"s reply came almost immediately: PRIORITY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN.
FROM VINT HILL TANGO NET.
1103 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
TO BEERMUG ATTENTION ALTARBOY.
REF YOUR MSG NO 00001 1100 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
1-ROSES ARE RED VIOLETS ARE BLUE AND I THINK I LOVE YOU.
2-ANYTHING ELSE?.
END.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
- "Oh, yes, there is," Cronley said out loud. "The important part."
He began to type again: PRIORITY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN.
FROM BEERMUG.
TO VINT HILL TANGO NET.
REF YOUR REPLIES TO MY NO 00001 1100 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
REQUEST TANGO NET BACKUP IF NECESSARY FOR MY DIRECT CONNECT WITH.
1-VATICAN.
2-TEX.
3-POLO.
4-SAILOR.
5-RANGER.
END.
ALTARBOY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
- "Who the h.e.l.l are they?" the staff sergeant blurted, and then added: "Sorry, sir."
"I"ll tell you in a minute," Cronley said.
And again there was an almost immediate response: PRIORITY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN.
FROM VINT HILL TANGO NET.
1103 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
TO BEERMUG ATTENTION ALTARBOY.
REF YOUR MSG NO 00001 1100 GREENWICH 4 NOVEMBER 1945.
1-TANGO NET WILL BACK UP AS NECESSARY YOUR DIRECT CONNECTION TO.
1-VATICAN.
2-TEX.
3-POLO.
4-SAILOR.
5-RANGER.
2-ANYTHING ELSE?.
END.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
- "Okay. Done. That"s what we needed," Cronley said, and then began to type: PRIORITY.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN.
FROM BEERMUG.
TO VINT HILL TANGO NET.
THAT"S IT MANY THANKS BEERMUG OFF.
TOP SECRET LINDBERGH.
- Everybody in the room was looking at him, wondering what was to come next.
If you don"t know what you"re doing, plunge ahead.
He looked at his watch.
It"s quarter to twelve.
Oh, s.h.i.t!
"Okay. This will be quick, as I have a social engagement-taking a lady to lunch-that I can"t get out of.
"First things first. From this moment, whenever I"m not here, there will be somebody in this room. Somebody with a pistol. No one is to get into this closet except you three, Special Agent Hessinger, First Sergeant Dunwiddie, Lieutenant Stratford, and me. Plus whoever Dunwiddie or the lieutenant thinks should be allowed in here. Understood?"
There was another chorus of "Yes, sir."
"Captain," Sergeant Mitch.e.l.l asked, "you going to tell us who those other people on the net are?"
"Absolutely," Cronley said. "Vatican is the monastery. Tex is Colonel Cletus Frade, USMC, our commanding officer and the officer in charge of Operation Ost, and that station is in Buenos Aires. Polo is Major Maxwell Ashton the Third, Frade"s deputy, and that station is in Mendoza, which is in the foothills of the Andes Mountains on the border between Argentina and Chile, where we operate the relocation program. Major Ashton will shortly-I hope within a matter of days-be coming here to take over command of the compound. Sailor is in Berlin, in what used to be Admiral Canaris"s home until the n.a.z.is found out we had turned him. You should know-everyone should, for that matter-that the n.a.z.is sent Canaris to a concentration camp, tortured him, hung him dead, leaving his naked corpse to rot. They confiscated all his property. When Second Armored went into Berlin, the OSS took over his house. And, finally, Ranger is Frade when he has this system mounted in whatever airplane he"s flying."
He looked around. "Any questions?"
"Sir, this Marine colonel has got a Collins/SIGABA on his airplane?" Staff Sergeant Kramer asked dubiously. "It"s not an aircraft system."
If I answer that question, there will be more, and I will be late for my lunch with Rachel and the bloom will really be off our rose.
On the other hand, if I don"t answer it, or answer it less than fully, these guys-and they"re all smart, they wouldn"t be in ASA unless they were-will decide I"m handing them a line of bulls.h.i.t. And I can"t afford that.
So f.u.c.k Rachel. Figuratively speaking, of course.
"At Polo is a guy, Master Sergeant Siggie Stein, who is not only Major Ashton"s deputy but our commo chief. He figured out a way to install the Collins/SIGABA system on aircraft."