«Why not?»
«McCoy and Gunnery Sergeant Zimmerman both speak fluent Wu, Cantonese, and Mandarin and are wearing the uniforms of Nationalist Chinese officers, sir, and carry very credible-looking identification documents. They're both old China hands, sir. Fourth Marines.»
«Passing themselves off as White Russians?» Easterbrook asked.
«They have Nansen stateless person passports,» Pickering said.
General Stillwell looked at Colonel Easterbrook for a long moment, but Pickering could detect no reaction on Easterbrook's face. «Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Ernie?» Stillwell asked.
«I hope so, sir,» Easterbrook said.
Stillwell turned to Pickering. «Whether you like it or not, General, I am going to augment your force with a couple of Chinese,» Stillwell said.
Easterbrook chuckled.
«There is on my staff an interesting Nationalist officer. Educated at the University of Chicago and Yale Law School. Brigadier General Sun Chi Lon. He's connected with Chiang Kai-shek's family—I think they're second cousins, something like that. I'm going to put him and his aide—an enormous Mongolian major—on a plane to Yümen. I think the two of them can make things considerably easier for this Captain McCoy of yours.»
«That's very good of you, sir.»
«No, Pickering, actually it's selfish,» Stillwell said. «I'm chief of staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. No one would question my authority to order two companies of Nationalist infantry—and the necessary logistical tail—into the Gobi. But I would have to pay for it—with interest—sooner or later, by having to replace the troops and their supplies. And I have better things to do with my available troops and supplies than taking them from what they're doing and sending them to Yümen to replace troops and supplies which have disappeared in the Gobi.»
«Nevertheless, thank you, General,» Pickering said. «Sir. would it be possible for me to accompany General… ?»
«Sun Chi Lon,» Stillwell furnished. «He lets his friends call him 'Sunny.' Sure, if you want to go.»
«Thank you, sir.»
«Ernie, will you see if you can find the General? Ask him to come in here for a minute.»
«Yes, sir,» Colonel Easterbrook said, and left the room.
Pickering realized that Stillwell was smiling at him. «It just occurred to me, Pickering,» Stillwell said, «and I have been around the Army a long time, that you are the first person I ever met who is cheerfully ignoring a 'suggestion' from the chief of staff of the U.S. Army.»
«With respect, sir, 'cheerfully' is not the appropriate word.»
«Well, since you're obviously not a fool, 'cheerfully' may
not
be the appropriate word. You have decided it's the right thing to do. The word for that is 'courageous.' «
«How about 'with great trepidation'?» Pickering said.
«Stop fishing for compliments, General, it's unbecoming,» Stillwell said. «Can I offer you a cup of coffee?»
«Thank you, sir.»
Two minutes later, a very small and slight Chinese officer entered Stillwell's office, trailed by a heavily built, flat-featured man who Pickering guessed had 250 pounds on his six-foot-four-inch frame.
«Sunny,» General Stillwell said, «this is General Pickering. He's a friend of mine, and he needs your good offices.»
«Anything I can do, of course,» Brigadier General Sun Chi Lon said in accent-less English, offering Pickering his hand. «It's a pleasure, General.»
note 81
Kiangpeh, Chungking, China
1700 11 April 1943
From the moment Stillwell summoned General Sun to his office, it was obvious to Pickering that the small and natty Chinese officer would have to be brought in on all the details of Operation Gobi. Otherwise, he could not bring to bear his good offices on the Chinese authorities in Yümen to solicit their support.
That was almost a classic definition of Need To Know. But for reasonspickering did not really understand, he was reluctant—unable—to bring himself to discuss Operation Gobi with Sun. either in Sun's office, where they went after leaving Stillwell, or at lunch in a private room in the General Officers' Mess.
i
want to think about this
—
maybe talk it over with Banning
—
before I start telling Sun anything
.
During their luncheon, Sun almost conspicuously avoided discussing their forthcoming —just-as-soon-as-an-aircraft-could-be-found-and-the-weather-per-mitted—trip to Yümen. Pickering suspected that the Chinese general did not want to embarrass him by asking questions Pickering would not want to answer. Sun made it subtly clear, however, that since the request for his good offices had come from General Stillwell, that was all he needed to know. He would do whatever he could for Pickering.
Later Pickering had the feeling that by not telling him what was going on, he had, if not insulted General Sun, then at least hurt his feelings.
If I
had come recommended by General Stillwell, prepared to help in any way I could, and the guy I'd been sent to help avoided telling me what he wanted and why, I'd be hurt. Insulted. Pissed
.
It was five o'clock before Banning came through the door of the house in Kiangpeh. Pickering immediately told him about General Sun, and the funny feeling he'd had that he should not divulge to him anything about Operation Gobi.
«Permission to speak freely, sir?»
«Oh, for Christ's sake, Ed!»
«That was a mistake, sir. Probably no lasting harm was done, but it was a mistake. He came recommended by Stillwell. If you didn't want this guy's help, you should have told Stillwell.»
«How do I fix the mistake?» Pickering asked once Banning had confirmed what he had already concluded.
«Have George Hart call him and ask him to dinner,» Banning began. «No, better you call him yourself, and tell him that you've gathered together all the details of what you were reluctant to discuss earlier, and would he be available to go over them with you at dinner?»
«Where do I take him to dinner?»
«Here. The cook McCoy hired is really first class. I'll make sure you're left alone.»
«If he doesn't tell me to go fuck myself,» Pickering said. «Which I would do under the circumstances. I'll want you at dinner.»
«I've got an even better idea,» Banning said. «You remember the name of his aide? The Mongolian?»
«Major Kee Lew See,» Pickering furnished.
«I'll call Major Kee, identify myself as your deputy, and ask him to ask his boss to dinner, so that the two of you can discuss what obviously you couldn't discuss in the headquarters building earlier. And I'll tell him that you would be honored if he, too, were free.»
«You think that'll do it, Ed?»
«I really hope so. We really need to stay on the right side of this guy. The last thing we want to do is piss off the Chinese.»
«I have no intention of doing that.» Pickering said, adding a little ruefully, «more than I have already.»
«I'm talking about McCoy,» Banning said.
«I don't think I follow you,» Pickering confessed.