"It doesn't say that," General Fertig said.
"What else could it mean, Sir?" Everly asked, and then excitedly added, "Quentin Alexander McPherson. Fucking Quentin fucking Alexander fucking McPherson!"
"What?" General Fertig asked.
"I believe Lieutenant Everly's memory has returned, Sir," Captain Weston said.
[THREE]
Office of the Kempeitai Commander for Mindanao
Cagayan de Oro, Misamis-Oriental Province
Mindanao, Commonwealth of the Philippines
1050 Hours 28 November 1942
"Sir, these messages between Fertig and Australia were intercepted within the past hour," Lieutenant Hideyori Niigata said, and laid a manila folder on Cap-tain Matsuo Saikaku's desk.
When Saikaku finished examining them and looked up at Hideyori, Hide-yori added, "They have been forwarded to Signals Intelligence in Manila, Sir."
"And how soon may we expect to have a decryption from them?"
"Sir, there is no way of telling."
"You have advised them, of course, of Kempeitai's interest in this? That this matter is to have a high priority?"
"Yes, Sir, of course. Sir, may I ask how familiar the Captain is with simple substitution encryption?"
"I am always willing, Hideyori, to add to my knowledge."
"The difficulty in decoding simple substitution encryption, Sir, arises be-cause the sender and the receiver have access to information the interceptor does not."
"Explain that, please."
"The Captain will notice that the sender is telling the receiver to use the first and second names of Banning's wife and the hometown of Percy. The receiver will write that information in a line, and then write numbers, from zero one through how many letters there are in the names..."
Hideyori saw the confusion on Saikaku's face.
"Sir, perhaps it might be a good idea if I demonstrated?"
"Please do," Saikaku said.
The demonstration took about five minutes. When it was finished, Captain Saikaku was aware of the difficulty the Signals Intelligence people would have decoding the message.
"What this means is that we stand virtually no chance of decoding this message?"
"Oh, no, Sir. The Signals Intelligence people are quite clever, and have developed several techniques that will permit them eventually to decode these messages. But, unfortunately, that's likely going to take some time."
"How much time?" Saikaku asked coldly. "Two days? A week? A month?"
"If I had to guess, Sir, I would say five days to a week."
"Splendid!" Saikaku said sarcastically.
"Sir, I had some thoughts...."
"What kind of thoughts?"
"Sir, I am sure that someone like yourself, an officer of the Kempeitai, almost certainly has already-"
"The one thing you learn in the Kempeitai, Hideyori, is never to give in to the temptation not to turn over the last rock. For it is often under that last rock that you find what you're looking for. Please go on."
"Sir, I have noticed that there seems to be a question of the legitimacy of this General Fertig, and of his U.S. Forces in the Philippines."
"He's a bandit, Hideyori. By definition, bandits are illegitimate."
"Sir, I was speaking of his legitimacy in the eyes of the Americans in Australia."
"Go on."
"I am sure the Captain noticed the next-to-last message."
"What about it?"
"It says, Sir-GYB, the Australian station says-'ACK YR NO 1.' That means 'We acknowledge receipt of your message Number 1.' And then it or-ders them 'SB'-Stand By. That never happened before. It seems to me, Sir, that it could mean acceptance in Australia that Fertig is who he says he is. In other words, it could be official recognition."
"And, of course, it could mean nothing at all," Saikaku said. "But that was very clever of you, Hideyori. In the future, please give me all of your thoughts."
"It will be my pleasure, Sir."
[FOUR]
T O P S E C R E T
FROM: CINCPAC HAWAII
1615 28N0V42
EYES ONLY-BRIG GEN FLEMING PICKERING USMC
DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN
ORIGINAL TO BE DESTROYED AFTER ENCRYPTION AND TRANSMITTAL
FOLLOWING PERSONAL FROM CINCPAC TO BRIG GEN PICKERING USMC
DEAR FLEMING:
(1) DEEPLY REGRET TO INFORM YOU INFORMATION FROM COMMANDING GENERAL HAWAII DEPARTMENT USARMY AIRCORPS INDICATES MAJOR JAMES C. BROWNLEE III USMC DEPARTED HICKAM FIELD AS SUPERCARGO ABOARD USARMY AIRCORPS Bl7 TAIL NUMBER 48-455502 DESTINATION MIDWAY. AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED MECHANICAL DIFFICULTIES APPARENTLY RESULT OF SEVERE WEATHER APPROXIMATELY 250 NAUTICAL MILES NORTHEAST OF MIDWAY. PERSONNEL ABOARD OTHER B17 AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT OF SEVEN REPORT 42-455502 CRASHED AND BROKE UP ATTEMPTING DITCHING OPERATION IN HEAVY SEAS APPROXIMATELY 0725 HOURS LOCAL TIME 22 NOVEMBER 1942.
NO SURVIVORS WERE SEEN AT TIME OF DITCHING, AND NAVY AND USARMY AIRCORPS AIRCRAFT WHICH FLEW TO CRASH SITE WHEN WEATHER CLEARED 23 NOVEMBER FOUND NEITHER SURVIVORS NOR CRASH DEBRIS.
(2) COMMANDING GENERAL HAWAII DEPARTMENT USARMY AIRCORPS HAS DETERMINED B-17 AIRCRAFT 42-455502 ITS CREW AND PASSENGER PERISHED IN THE LINE OF DUTY 0730 HOURS MIDWAY TIME 22 NOVEMBER 1942. INASMUCH AS AIRCORPS DOES NOT HAVE INFORMATION REGARDING MAJOR BROWNLEE'S UNIT, ROUTINE NOTIFICATION OF NEXT OF KIN, ET CETERA HAS NOT REPEAT NOT BEEN MADE. PLEASE ADVISE SOONEST HOW YOU WISH THIS TO BE HANDLED.
(3) REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL J.WAGAM OF MY STAFF DEPARTED PEARL HARBOR 1625 THIS DATE TO CONFER WITH SUPREME COMMANDER SWPOA. WHILE IN BRISBANE, HE WILL DISCUSS WITH YOU PROBLEMS CONNECTED WITH SUBMARINE AVAILABILITY. COMPLIANCE WITH 17 NOVEMBER DIRECTIVE FROM ADMIRAL LEAHY IN THIS REGARD WHICH I PRESUME YOU HAVE SEEN WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR REASONS WAGAM WILL MAKE KNOWN TO YOU.
BEST PERSONAL REGARDS CHESTER
END PERSONAL FROM ADM NIMITZ BRIG TO GEN PICKERING
BY DIRECTION:
MCNISH, CAPTAIN USN
T O P S E C R E T
[FIVE]
Water Lily Cottage
Brisbane, Australia
0610 Hours 29 November 1942
Brigadier General Fleming Pickering found First Lieutenant Kenneth R. McCoy in the library, sitting before a typewriter at one of the desks, obviously deep in thought. Or frustration. The long, thin, black cigar in his mouth seemed cocked at an angry angle.
"Am I interrupting, Ken?" Pickering asked.
In one smooth continuous movement, McCoy rose to his feet, snatched the cigar from his mouth, and came to something like the prescribed position of attention.
"Good morning, Sir," he said. He was, Pickering noticed, clean-shaven, his haircut was perfect, and he was wearing a fresh uniform. "No, Sir."
"Typewriter giving you trouble?"
Pickering had sent Pluto out to buy typewriters for Water Lily Cottage on the open market, after getting them from the officer in charge of office equipment at SWPOA seemed more trouble than it was worth. The battered Under-woods Pluto found had cost approximately three times what they had cost new ten years before. Australia had been at war since 1940. Despite official price controls, shortages of practically everything but food had driven prices up.