"I'll be damned," he said.
"May I see that?" Ellen Feller asked, rising to her feet and walking to Banning. Banning handed her the Operational Immediate message radioed from the USS Gregory to CINC-PAC after the Emily attack.
"Well, we knew that Mr. Knox told CINCPAC to take him off Guadalcanal," Ellen Feller said. "He was apparently on this ship, and I suppose that as the senior officer aboard, he would naturally take command if the captain was killed."
Banning ignored her.
"I don't suppose you know off-hand what Baker XRay Mike is. Or where?"
"Espiritu Santo," Hon said. "With great reluctance, the Navy Liaison Officer told me."
"Well, thank God, Captain Pickering is all right," Ellen said.
Banning looked at her but said nothing.
"Lieutenant Hon," Ellen said. "As I was saying, Major Banning and I have been discussing Sergeant Moore."
"What do you mean by that?" Hon asked.
"We can't let it get out that Moore knew... more than a sergeant should have been permitted to know... can we? I mean, the greater priority is to protect Captain Pickering, isn't it?"
He looked at her for a moment before replying. Then he asked, "Are you suggesting that we should not do whatever the hell has to be done to get Moore the hell off Guadalcanal?"
He looked at Banning, who met his eyes, but said nothing. Hon looked back at Ellen Feller.
"The only way," she said, "we can, as you put it, get Moore the hell off Guadalcanal is to make it known that he has had access to MAGIC. That will get Captain Pickering-for that matter, all of us-in a great deal of trouble."
"Your discussion, I'm afraid, Mrs. Feller," Pluto Hon said, coldly, "is academic."
"What does that mean?" Banning asked.
Hon handed him a sheet of paper.
URGENT
TOP SECRET
SERVICE MESSAGE
FROM: OFFICER IN CHARGE SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY JKS-3 SHSWPA BRISBANE
TO: OFFICER IN CHARGE SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY JKS-1 CINCPAC PEARL HARBOR
1. FOLLOWING TOP SECRET EYES ONLY TO BE RELAYED URGENT TO CAPTAIN FLEMING PICKERING USNR
SOMEWHERE ENROUTE VIA BAKER XRAY MIKE TO OFFICE SECNAV WASHINGTON: BEGIN MSG ONLY ENLISTED MEMBER JKS-3 ENROUTE VIA AIR GUADALCANAL ON ORDERS ACOFS G2 HQ USMC SIGNATURE PLUTO END MSG.
2. IMPORTANCE OF DELIVERY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED. HON lSTLT SIGC USA
Ellen Feller stepped behind Banning and read the message over his shoulder.
"You had no authority to do that!" she flared.
"This has gone out, Pluto?" Banning asked.
"Yes, Sir."
"If you did so in the presumption that I would agree with it, you were absolutely right, Lieutenant," Banning said.
"It's insane," Ellen said. "The people in Hawaii aren't stupid. They are going to know exactly what this means."
"I hope so," Pluto said. "MAGIC is too important to risk being compromised."
"I can't imagine what Captain Pickering is going to think when he gets that," she said.
"He's probably going to wonder why we let it happen," Banning said.
"What could we do? How could we stop it?" she snapped.
"Since Pluto and I were gone, obviously, we couldn't."
"You're not suggesting that I could have stopped him from going?"
Banning didn't answer.
"You tell me, Banning," she flared, "how I could have stopped him from going."
"You could have hid him under your bed, if nothing else, until Colonel Dailey was gone."
She snorted contemptuously.
"Or in it," Banning added, nastily.
"How dare you talk to me like that?"
"For your general information, Mrs. Feller," Banning said evenly, turning to meet her eyes, "at my request, the Army Counterintelligence Corps has been providing security for this house since Captain Pickering rented it. He's a splendid fellow, but he's a little lax about classified document security. They kept it up after Captain Pickering left and turned the house over to you and Sergeant Moore. The CIC people go through the house every time it's left empty, to make sure there's nothing classified lying about. They're very thorough in their surveillance. They even write down which bedrooms are used by whom, and they've been furnishing me a daily report."
(Four)
HENDERSON FIELD GUADALCANAL,
SOLOMON ISLANDS
1045 HOURS 19 AUGUST 1942
A bag of official mail and six insulated metal boxes marked with red crosses and the legend, HUMAN BLOOD RUSH, were aboard the PBY-S Catalina from Espiritu Santo. There were also three passengers.
One of the passengers was wearing a steel helmet and a Red Cross brassard on the sleeve of his obviously brand-new USMC utilities.
The Navy Medical Corps, Lieutenant Colonel George F. Dailey thought approvingly, was just about as efficient in sending replacements for lost-in-action physicians as Marine Corps intelligence had been in getting him and Sergeant Moore to the scene of battle.
Sergeant Moore did not favorably impress Lieutenant Colonel Dailey. When he was told that he was going to be given the opportunity to serve the Corps and the nation doing something far more important than shuffling classified documents, Moore's behavior in Brisbane was really distressing, not at all that expected of a Marine sergeant. He didn't want to go. And while Dailey was not prepared to go so far as to suggest cowardice, he was convinced that if he hadn't sent the Army Military Policemen to "help him collect his gear" there was more than a slight chance that Moore would not have shown up at the airport. At least until after the plane to Espiritu Santo had left.
As the Catalina landed, Dailey saw that there were no other airplanes on the field, and wondered why. If the Catalina could land, why not fighters?
The pilot taxied up to the control tower and shut down the engines. A crewman opened the door and made a gesture for the passengers to get out.
"Welcome to Guadalcanal," he said. "Cactus Airlines hopes you have enjoyed your flight."
There were two Jeeps sitting by the control tower. A medical officer wearing a Red Cross brassard sat on the hood of one of them. Surprising Dailey, he had a.30 caliber carbine slung over his shoulder. A major leaned against the other Jeep. A 35-mm camera was hanging around his neck, and a Thompson.45 caliber submachine gun was cradled in his arm.
The major smiled and pushed himself erect.
"Well, I'll be damned, look who's here! I warned you not to screw up, Sergeant."
Moore saluted.
"Hello, Major Dillon," he said.
"Major," Dailey said. "My name is Dailey."
Dillon did not salute. He offered his hand, and announced, "Jake Dillon, Colonel."
The medical officer, and a Corpsman who appeared from inside the control tower building, went to the Catalina. The refrigerated blood containers were handed out and put into the medical Jeep. The doctor who had been on the plane from Espiritu Santo climbed out.
He shook hands with the doctor who had been waiting with the Jeep, then he stepped up to the front seat. The corps-man climbed over the rear and sat down precariously on one of the blood containers. The Jeep drove off. The pilot came out the door.