"You did what?"
"I got a girl in trouble."
You certainly didn't waste any time, did you?
And you're really upset about it.
For the girl. This is not Oh, shit, I knocked up a girl and her father wants me to marry her.
"Do you mean what I think you mean, Tony?"
Tony looked confused for a moment, then his expression changed to outraged innocence.
"It's nothing like that. Jesus, Clete, she's not that kind of a girl! Christ, I've never even tried to cop a feel."
"Then how is she in trouble?"
"Her boyfriend saw us in El Tigre. Or, really, some sonofabitch saw us in El Tigre, took our picture, and showed it to her boyfriend, and he's a real prick."
"Tony, I don't understand what the hell the problem is. Is the boyfriend coming after you?"
"He's not exactly her boyfriend," Tony said uncomfortably.
What the hell is he talking about?
"What exactly is he?"
"I mean, I don't think she even really likes him. He's sort of, like, supporting her."
Oh, Tony. You poor bastard. You've got yourself hooked by a clever whore who saw what a wholly decent and damned naive kid you are!
"This man is supporting her? Then she's not your girlfriend? You're not in love with her?"
"Of course not. I mean, no, I'm not in love with her..."
Like hell, you aren't. You just don't want to admit it to me. Or maybe even to yourself.
"... and yeah, her boyfriend is, was, supporting her."
"I don't understand, Tony."
"I talked her into going to El Tigre. It's my fault."
"And somebody took a picture of you and showed it to her boyfriend," Clete said. "And he got sore. And dumped this girl, the one you're not in love with, and now she's telling you you're going to have to support her?"
"No," Tony said firmly. "She didn't say anything like that at all. I know what you're thinking, Clete. But she's not playing me for a sucker, Clete! Absolutely not!"
Sorry, but that's exactly what it looks like to me.
"Then what's the problem, Tony?"
"This guy guaranteed a loan for her fatherher father owns a restaurantand now he's going to the bank and telling them to cancel the guarantee. And her father'll have to pay off the loan, and he doesn't have the dough, so they'll take the restaurant. And the house upstairs."
He probably still believes in the tooth fairy!
"How much, Tony?"
"Thirteen grand. Maybe a little more."
Does he really expect me to come up with thirteen thousand dollars?
Yes, he does. He believes in both the tooth fairy and in the universal goodness of man.
"Tony," Clete said, as gently as he could. "Have you thought how this looks to me? I know, you say she's not that kind of a girl, and that you're not in love with her, but it looks to me like she's playing you like a violin."
"Forget I asked," Tony replied, with both anger and hurt in his eyes.
"Tony, have you considered that it's at least a possibilityI mean, this isn't some girl you've known for years. You just met herthat as soon as you give her the money, she says 'Muchas gracias' and goes back to her boyfriend?"
"I told you it's not like that. And she didn't ask me for a dime. I had to pull the story out of her."
Yeah, sure you did. While she looked at you with big, tearful eyes and a few well-timed sobs.
"And anyway, I wasn't going to ask you to give me the fucking money, just help me get it in a hurry down here from my bank in Chicago. I got fifty-three grand in the bank."
"Where'd you get fifty-three thousand dollars?" Clete asked in surprise.
And is the girl you don't love and is absolutely not playing you for a sucker aware you're got fifty-odd thousand dollars?
Three of it was my college money, and my grandfather left me fifty grand when he died. I figured, since you know people here, you could help me get thirteen grand down here, maybe fifteen, just to be sure."
As sure as Christ made little apples, he's being played for a sucker; but I can't convince him of that.
So what do I tell him?
He stuck with you. Loyalty is loyalty, and it works down as well as up. This guy is on your team. So what you do is try to help him. If you can minimize the damage, fine, but you help him.
"Tony, I'll tell you what I will do. You come up with the facts.
Your girlfriend's name, her father's name, the name of the bank ... all the information you can get out of her. I'll check it out. If it checks out..."
And I'll be goddamned surprised if it does!
"I got it right here," Tony said. He dug into his white hospital uniform trousers and came out with a thick wad of paper.
"You can't keep those ..." Tony said.
Why am I not surprised?
"... because her father needs them back. He's running around trying to get the money from other people, family mostly. I got two grand from Ettinger, it was all he had, and he's come up with about four. So we still need seven."
Ettinger can't afford to lose two thousand dollars. But he couldn't turn Tony down. And you almost did.
Clete quickly went through the documents, more than a little surprised to see that the mortgage, made by the Anglo-Argentine Bank, looked legitimate. He wrote down the pertinent facts, remembering as he did so that Uncle Humberto was a banker and that he could ask the appropriate questions.
"Mi Teniente," Enrico said, frowned, and tapped his wrist-watch.
"Yeah, OK. He's going." He handed the documents back to Pelosi. "No promises, Tony. I'll check it out."
"Thank you," Tony said. "I... Thanks, Clete. I really hated to bother you with this, you being in the deep shit and all."
"It's OK, Tony. If I can help, I'll be glad to."
"Now I feel like a shit," Tony said.
"Why?"
"I lied to you. And Dave."
"About what?"
"I knew what you'd think," Tony said.
"If what, Tony?"
Jesus!
"If I told you I'm in love with her. I am, Clete."
Either it's pure love at first sight, or you're thinking with your dick, one or the other.
Who the hell are you to ridicule him for falling in love at first sight?
"Tony, just make sure that what you feel for this girl is the real thing," Clete said. "We're down here alone ..."
"Yeah. I knew that's what you'd think. But I'm glad I told you anyway."
"You have to get out of here," Clete said.
"Yeah."
"I'll be in touch, through Enrico or one of his friends," Clete said, and put out his hand.
"Thanks, Clete."
"You and Ettinger watch your ass, Tony. These bastards are liable to come after you. They probably will."
"We'll be all right, Lieutenant."
I wonder.
[TWO]
The Office of the Military Attach?
The Embassy of the German Reich
Avenue Cordoba
Buenos Aires, Argentina
0925 21 December 1942
"You wished to see me, Herr Oberst?" Major Freiherr Hans-Peter von Wachtstein asked as he entered Oberst Karl-Heinz Gr?ners office.
"The Ambassador wants to see you, Peter," Gr?ner said. "His secretary called here at nine oh two." Gr?ner waited until the young Luftwaffe officer had squirmed uncomfortably for a while, then went on. "I told her you were in the rest room."