or
a Catalina.»
«What kind of unpleasant images?»
«First of all, the Navy is not going to be thrilled about putting several thousand gallons of avgas in one of their boats,» Mclnerney said. «Avgas tends to explode. And then how would you get it into the tanks of the Catalina? I have visions of white hats trying—and failing—to get drums of gas over the side of a sub into a rubber boat. And then how would you get it from the rubber boat into the Catalina? The fuel receptacles are on the upper surface of a Catalina's wings. You plan to stand up in a rubber boat on the high seas and manhandle a fifty-five-gallon drum of avgas up onto the wing of a Catalina?»
«There has to be a way to do it,» Stecker said.
«Jesus, Jack!»
«We got avgas onto Guadalcanal by tossing fifty-five-gallon drums of avgas over the side of those old four-stacker War One destroyers and letting the tide float it ashore.»
«So?»
«Barrels of avgas float,» Pickering said. «That might be useful.»
«Flem, I can think of a hundred reasons this won't work!»
«That's why Jack and I came to see you, Mac,» Pickering said. «We figured you could come up with everything that could go wrong. And then the solutions to fix the problems.»
«You're presuming the Navy is going to give you a submarine, and Catalinas.»
«Or, if we decided we need it, an old four-stacker destroyer or two. And, for that matter, one or more of the Marine Corps' precious C-46s. Whatever we need, Mac.»
«What makes you believe that?»
«Because Admiral Leahy has ordered Admiral Nimitz to give us whatever we think we need, and Admiral Nimitz really wants this weather station.»
«You know, I was really happy when you two walked in here,» Mclnerney said. «I should have known better.»
«Can we buy you lunch, General?» Pickering asked.
«You have ruined my appetite for at least the next three days,» Mclnerney said. «I'm going to have to think long and hard about this, Flem.»
«Does that mean you don't want to have lunch with us?» Pickering asked.
»
Eat
with you? I would be happier if I never saw either of you again,» Mclnerney said. «How much time do I have?»
«Would yesterday morning be too soon?»
«Get the hell out of here,» Mclnerney said. «Call me tomorrow afternoon.»
«No, we'll come see you,» Pickering said. «I don't want to talk about this on the telephone.»
Mclnerney nodded, then thought of something else: «Who's going to fly this airplane?»
«Jack and I were really thinking we need two Catalinas.»
«Who's going to fly the
two
Catalinas?»
«We thought you might be helpful there too, General,» Pickering said, and then turned serious. «I want Marine Corps pilots. I want to keep it in the family, so to speak.»
«But you're not in the family anymore, are you?» Mclnerney said, and immediately added, «Sorry, that slipped out. I shouldn't have said that.»
«What about 'once a Marine, always a Marine'?» Pickering said. «You ever hear that?»
«I said I was sorry. I am.»
«Both of you, knock it off,» Stecker said.
They looked at Stecker, and then at each other.
«Okay,» Mclnerney said. «I'll even have lunch with you and your ugly jarhead friend. If he buys.»
«That's better,» Stecker said.
«Give me a minute to lay some errands on Tony,» Mclnerney said. «And then I'll be with you. You've got a car?»
«We have Senator Fowler's car,» Stecker said.
«Bring it around. This won't take me a minute.»
He walked with them into his outer office, then waited for them to leave before speaking with his aide.
«I'm going to lunch with them,» he said. «By the time I get back, whenever that is, I want the three most experienced Catalina pilots on the base sitting here waiting for me. And I also want, waiting for me on my desk, the draft of a teletype to be sent to every stateside air station soliciting twin-engine—preferably Catalina—qualified volunteers for a mission outside the United States involving great personal risk.»
«Aye, aye, sir.»
Mclnerney saw the look in his eyes.
«Yeah, Tony, I am going to explain this to you. After lunch.»
«Yes, sir.»
Chapter Twelve
note 44
Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne, Advertising
698 Madison Avenue
New York City, New York
1145 9 March 1943
«There's a
Colonel
Banning on the line for you, Miss Sage,» Darlene, the secretary, announced. Ernie shared Darlene with H. Oswald Tinner, the account executive for the American Personal Pharmaceuticals account. Then curiosity got the better of her: «Was he promoted?»
«Yes, Darlene, he was,» Ernie Sage replied, forcing herself to smile, as she punched the button for the internal line on her telephone.
When Ed Banning called, she always answered the telephone expecting the worst. Even when it was good news, it generally took her several minutes to calm down.
«Hello, Ed,» she said.
«Ernie, as a favor to me, when you see Ken will you do something about his clothing?»
«Excuse me?»
«You'll know what I mean when you see him,» Banning said.
«Til see him late this afternoon,» she said. «I'm going to try to catch the 2:40 Congressional Limited. What about his clothes?»
«He's on his way to New York,» Banning said. «
We're
on our way to New York. I'm calling from the station. And I have to go, or I'll miss the train. Maybe we'll see you tonight. Do something, please, about his clothes. He'll pay attention to you.»
The line went dead, as the red light indicating a call on her private line lit up, and the bell began to ring. She pushed the red light.
«Hello?»
«Baby, I'm on my way to New York,» Captain Kenneth R. McCoy announced. «I'm at Union Station.»
Well, thank God. That means I won't have to catch the Congressional Limited again.
«Can you spend the night?»
«Yeah. Where should I meet you?»
She thought that over quickly.
If he's catching the train now, that's three hours and something. Call it three and a half. That means he would get into Pennsylvania Station at 3:15. Twenty minutes to catch a cab and come here. Say quarter to four
.
«Come to the office, baby,» she said.
«To the office?»
From the tone of his voice, he didn't like that.
«I can't get out of here any earlier,» she said. «Come here.»
«Jesus, Ernie!» he started to protest. «Christ, I have to go.»
«Six ninety-eight Madison, twenty-second floor,» she said.
There was no reply.
And then she saw the green light flashing, indicating an incoming call on the interior line. She punched the button.