«Yes, sir.»
«Addressed to whom?»
«The Director, sir.»
«I want to see that. I was about to say tonight, but I wouldn't know what I was reading tonight. First thing in the morning.»
«Yes, sir.»
«You can give it to Colonel Banning tonight,» Pickering said. «I'll want his opinion. Which brings us to Colonel Banning. Colonel Banning, and the people he brought with him, work for me. They are not part of the Chungking OSS station. Having said that, I want them housed here.»
«Yes, sir. May I ask why, sir?»
«Because they are engaged in work that can't help but attract the curiosity of their fellow cryptographers. Banning knows how to say none of your goddamn business, but it's a little harder for two junior officers and a warrant officer to say that to senior officers. If they're not in the BOQ, no one can ask them questions.»
«I understand, sir.»
«Going off at a tangent. Ed. Did John Moore arrive?»
«Yes, sir. Two days after I did. It took him a long time to get here from Brisbane.»
«That's probably my fault, General,» Colonel Waterson said. «I got him a triple A air priority. I didn't think there was a rush, and I didn't want to call attention to him.»
«He's here, that's all that matters,» Pickering said, and then asked, «Where's he billeted, Ed?»
«In the company-grade BOQ, sir.»
«Among other things Moore does, Colonel Platt,» Pickering said, «he's a special kind of intelligence analyst. I can't go further into that. And I want him to do that, rather than what a headquarters company commander—who can't be toldwhat moore really does—thinks are appropriate duties for a second lieutenant. I want him moved in here right away.»
«Yes, sir.»
«The next priority is to find McCoy,» Pickering said.
There was a knock at the door.
«With a little bit of luck;' Banning said. «That will be the Killer.»
Hart went to the door and opened it. It was Second Lieutenant Robert F. Easterbrook, USMCR.
«We just got a Special Channel for you, General Pickering,» he said. «I thought I'd better get it right to you, sir.»
«How are you, Easterbrook?» Pickering said, rising from his chair and walking over to him. «I was just talking to your cousin Slats.»
«Sir?»
«Colonel Easterbrook. General Stillwell's son-in-law. Isn't he kin?»
«Not so far as I know, sir,» Easterbrook said seriously.
«What have you got for me, Bobby?» Pickering asked.
Damn, I did it again. He's a Marine officer, and you shouldn't call a Marine officer Bobby. Unless he's six feet three, weighs two hundred twenty pounds, and comes from Alabama.
I must be tired. Of course I'm tired.
Easterbrook opened his buttoned-to-the-collar overcoat, reached inside, and produced a manila envelope. He handed it to General Pickering, who tore the envelope open and read it.
T O P S E C R E T
FROM ACTING STACHIEF OSS HAWAII
1210 GREENWICH 7 APRIL 1943
VIA SPECIAL CHANNEL
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN
TO BRIGGEN FLEMING PICKERING USMCR
OSS DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PACIFIC OPERATIONS
THRU: US MILITARY MISSION TO CHINA CHUNGKING
SUBJECT: PROGRESS REPORT
1. SIMULATED RENDEZVOUS REFUELING OPERATION USING PT BOAT AND ONE AIRCRAFT SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED 6 APR 43.
2. PROBLEMS REVEALED BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN RESOLVED. A SECOND SIMULATION USING PT BOAT AND BOTH AIRCRAFT WILL TAKE PLACE 10 APR. THE VOLUNTEER PILOTS ARE NOT REPEAT NOT YET AVAILABLE, BUT IT IS BELIEVED THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE IN TIME FOR THE DRY RUN WHICH WILL INVOLVE THE SUN-FISH.
3. POTENTIAL PROBLEMS BEYOND OUR CONTROL FOLLOW:
(A) THE POSSIBILITY OF INABILITY OF AIRCRAFT TO EFFECT RENDEZVOUS WITH SUNFISH BECAUSE OF RADIO NAVIGATION AND OR WEATHER PROBLEMS.
(B) POSSIBLE ROUGH SEAS AT RENDEZVOUS POINT WHICH MAY MAKE LANDING AND ESPECIALLY TAKE OFF OF HEAVY LADEN AIRCRAFT IMPOSSIBLE.
(C) ADMIRAL WAGAM POINTS OUT THAT IF CONDITION OF SEAS PROHIBITS LANDING, AIRCRAFT WILL NOT REPEAT NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT FUEL REMAINING TO DIVERT. THE NECESSARY ABANDONMENT OF AIRCRAFT AT RENDEZVOUS SITE WILL POSE GREAT HAZARDS TO AIRCREWS, AS WATER TEMPERATURE WILL LIKELY CAUSE DEATH BY HYPOTHERMIA WITHIN MINUTES OF PERSONNEL ENTERING WATER.
(D) AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM OF FORTY FIVE (45) MINUTES WILL BE REQUIRED TO TRANSFER FUEL, PERSONNEL AND CARGO. THIS PRESUMES SMOOTH SEAS. CONDITION OF SEAS MAY DOUBLE THE TIME REQUIRED. THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF DETECTION BY ENEMY VESSELS OR AIRCRAFT. ADMIRAL WAGAM HAS DIRECTED THE CAPTAIN OF THE SUNFISH, IN SUCH AN EVENT, TO DESTROY THE AIRCRAFT, MAKE EVERY REASONABLE EFFORT TO TAKE THE AIRCREWS ABOARD BEFORE SUBMERGING, THEN RETURN TO PEARL HARBOR.
(E) A SECOND RENDEZVOUS ATTEMPT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE UNTIL TWO REPLACEMENT CATALINAS CAN BE MODIFIED (MINIMUM ESTIMATED WORK TIME SIX DAYS), REPLACEMENT METEOROLOGICAL EQUIPMENT CAN BE OBTAINED AND TRANSPORTED FROM MAINLAND US TO PEARL HARBOR, AND SUNFISH CAN RETURN TO PEARL HARBOR TO TAKE METEOROLOGICAL EQUIPMENT ABOARD AND RETURN TO RENDEZVOUS SITE.
HOMER C. DILLON
MAJOR, USMCR
T O P S E C R E T
Pickering handed it to Colonel Waterson.
«Pass it around, please, Jack,» he said, «when you've finished.»
«To Colonel Platt, too, sir?»
«Uh-huh,» Pickering said. «Platt, that message deals with refueling a Catalina at sea, from a submarine. Did Washington get into that with you?»
«Only in a general sense, sir.»
«Well, until we come up with a better idea, that's how we're going to go. This was good news. The first dry run they had, with a submarine, was a disaster. They've apparently got it working now. Jake Dillon recruited a Seabee chief petty officer he knew in the movie business to help, and he's apparently fixed the problems.»
Colonel Richard C. Platt looked mystified at the reference to a Seabee and the movie business.
Banning chuckled.
«I don't believe. General,» he said, «that Colonel Platt knows Major Dillon.»
«Of course, he doesn't,» Pickering said. «How could he? Well, I'll leave that to you, Ed. I'm too bushed to tell Jake Dillon stories tonight, much less to get into the implications of that Special Channel, or listening to Platt's ideas on Operation Gobi. We can have all of it first thing in the morning. What I need now is some sleep.»
He got up and walked to the door. Everyone stood up.
Pickering turned.
«Make sure Colonel Platt has a good idea of everything, Ed.»
«Aye, aye, sir.»
Colonel Platt looked pleased.
As if
Pickering thought,
he was just told he can play with the big boys after all
.
«Good evening, gentlemen,» Pickering said and, with Hart trailing him, left the bar.
note 76
OSS Station
Chungking, China
0715 8 April 1943
Brigadier General Fleming Pickering, USMCR, lay in his bed and wondered if he was about to become sick. He would not be at all surprised. He was wide awake— had been for fifteen minutes—but did not seem able to muster enough energy to sit up and drag himself out of the bed. Simply being awake was itself surprising. He'd barely been able to keep his eyes open before he went to bed, and would have bet he'd sleep for at least twelve hours.