The Honor of Spies

V

[ONE]

Fuhrerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze

Near Rastenburg, Ostpreussen, Germany

0655 19 August 1943

Generalleutnant Graf Karl-Friedrich von Wachtstein--a short, slight, nearly bald, fifty-four-year-old--walked briskly down a cinder path from the Fuhrerhauptquartier bunker to the bunker in which Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, Germany's senior military officer--he was chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht--had his quarters.

Wolfsschanze held fifty bunkers--ugly buildings with eight- and ten-foot-thick concrete walls and roofs. Wehrmacht engineers had begun--in great secrecy and on a cost-be-damned basis--the construction of "Wolf 's Lair" in 1940. A 3.5-square-kilometer area in the forest east of Rastenburg in East Prussia had been encircled with an electrified barbed-wire fence and minefields.

Next came the erection of another barbed-wire enclosure inside the outer barrier. Only then, within this interior barrier, had construction begun of the artillery-proof and aerial-bomb-proof bunkers. The compound had its own power-generating system, a railway station with a bomb-proof siding for the Fuhrer's private train, an airstrip (between the inner and outer fences), several mess halls, a movie theater, and a teahouse.

An SS-hauptsturmfuhrer and two enlisted men, all armed with Schmeisser machine pistols, stood outside the heavy steel door to Keitel's bunker.

"Generalleutnant von Wachtstein to see the generalfeldmarschall. I am ex pected."

The hauptsturmfuhrer clicked his heels and nodded to one of the enlisted men, who walked quickly to the steel door and pulled it open, standing to attention as von Wachtstein walked into the bunker.

Von Wachtstein found himself in a small room. An oberstleutnant, a stabsfeldwebel, and a feldwebel, who had been sitting behind a simple wooden table, jumped to their feet.

The oberstleutnant gave the straight-armed Nazi salute.

"Good morning, Herr General," he said. "You are expected. If you would be so good as to accompany the stabsfeldwebel?"

Von Wachtstein followed the warrant officer farther into the bunker to another steel door, which he pulled open just enough to admit his head. He announced, "Generalleutnant von Wachtstein, Herr Generalfeldmarschall."

"Admit him."

The door was opened wider. Von Wachtstein marched in, came to attention, and gave the Nazi salute.

Keitel, a tall erect man who was not wearing his tunic, had obviously just finished shaving; there was a blob of shaving cream next to his ear and another under his nose.

"Well?" he demanded.

"Reichsmarschall Goring, Herr Generalfeldmarschall, reports there is some mechanical difficulty with his aircraft, and there is no way he can get from Budapest here before three this afternoon, or later."

Keitel considered that a moment.

"In this regrettable circumstance, von Wachtstein, I see no alternative to you informing the Fuhrer. He will, of course, want to know of this incident as soon as possible."

"Jawohl, Herr Generalfeldmarschall."

The "incident" was the suicide of Generaloberst Hans Jeschonnek, chief of the general staff of the Luftwaffe, who had shot himself just after midnight.

Among his other duties, Jeschonnek, Goring's deputy, had been charged--personally, by the Fuhrer--with the protection of the rocket establishment at Peenemunde. Hitler believed that once rocket scientist Wernher von Braun "worked the bugs out" of the V2 missile, it would cow the English into suing for peace.

The V2, which had a speed of about a mile a second, carried 1,620 pounds of high explosive in its warhead. It had a range of two hundred miles, enough to reach large parts of England. The bugs that Hitler expected von Braun to soon work out concerned navigation. The best accuracy obtained so far was that half of all missiles launched could be reasonably expected to land within an eleven-mile circle.

The rockets considerably annoyed the British, but they didn't by any means cow them. Their solution to the problem was to ask the Americans to destroy Peenemunde with B-17 bombers, as Peenemunde was too small a target to be seen by their Lancaster bombers at night.

Jeschonnek was not only unable to stop the Americans, whose bombs just about destroyed the Peenemunde installation, but made things far worse for himself by deciding that a large formation of fighter aircraft near Berlin were American and ordering the Berlin antiaircraft to shoot them down. The attack had knocked nearly one hundred of them from the sky.

Unfortunately for the Reich, they turned out to be German fighter planes. When Jeschonnek learned of this, he put his pistol in his mouth and blew his brains all over the concrete walls of his bunker quarters.

The only question in von Wachtstein's mind about Jeschonnek's sui - cide was whether he had killed himself out of shame for failing to protect Peenemunde, or because nearly one hundred of his fighter pilots were dead because of his orders, or whether he did so rather than face Adolf Hitler's legendary wrath.

On his way back to the Fuhrerhauptquartier bunker, von Wachtstein wondered if Keitel had any inkling at all of the contempt von Wachtstein felt for him. And he felt that not only because the man--referred to by his colleagues as Lakaitel ("Little Lackey") and as the "Nodding Donkey"--was sending him to face Hitler's wrath.

Von Wachtstein considered Keitel a disgrace to the German officer corps. While Hitler had appointed himself Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht--Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces--it was still clearly the duty of his officers to advise him when they thought his judgment was wrong. Keitel never disagreed with anything Hitler decided.

Stalingrad was an example. Keitel never said a word when von Paulus, nearly out of ammunition and reduced to eating his horses, had requested permission to fight his way out of his encirclement, but Hitler instead ordered him to fight to the last man. Hitler had then promoted von Paulus to field marshal and pointedly told him that no German field marshal had ever surrendered, a clear suggestion that von Paulus was honor bound to commit suicide.

The result of that had been 150,000 German soldiers dead and 91,000 captured--von Paulus among them--when the Red Army ultimately and inevitably triumphed.

Von Wachtstein knew that not only had Keitel tacitly approved the horrors that Himmler's death squads had visited on Russian soldiers and civilians, but that he had personally ordered that French pilots flying in the Normandie-Niemen fighter regiment of the Soviet air force not be treated as prisoners of war when captured. He ordered them summarily executed.

Von Wachtstein thought again that Keitel--not Adolf Hitler himself--was the real reason he had joined Operation Valkyrie. Hitler was in power solely because Keitel and the clique that surrounded him kept him in power. If Keitel survived the attempt on Hitler's life, von Wachtstein would happily shoot him himself, or preside over the court of honor to strip him of his field marshal's baton before standing him against a wall. Or, better yet, hanging him.

SS-Obersturmfuhrer Otto Gunsche, a very handsome blond man in his early twenties, who was Hitler's personal adjutant, was sitting on a Louis XIV chair outside Hitler's living quarters, obviously waiting for the Fuhrer to appear.

"Gunsche, would you please ask the Fuhrer to receive me? It's quite important."

"Jeschonnek?"

"Has he heard?"

Gunsche shook his head.

"One moment, Herr General, I will ask."

A moment later, Gunsche waved von Wachtstein through the door to Hitler's living quarters.

Hitler was sitting on a Louis XIV couch, holding a Meissen teacup in his hands.

Von Wachtstein gave the Nazi salute as SS-Obersturmfuhrer Otto Gunsche stepped to a corner.

"Good morning, my Fuhrer," von Wachtstein said.

Hitler returned the salute with a casual wave of the hand.

"Gunsche said it was important."

"My Fuhrer, I regret to inform you that Peenemunde suffered severe damage yesterday afternoon."

"So I have heard."

"And a great many of our fighters were shot down yesterday near Berlin."

"How many is 'a great many,' von Wachtstein?"

"Approximately one hundred, my Fuhrer."

"How did that happen?"

"They were mistaken for American fighters, my Fuhrer."

"Who made that mistake?"

"General Jeschonnek ordered the attack, my Fuhrer."

"Gunsche, get General Jeschonnek in here."

"My Fuhrer, General Jeschonnek took his own life just after midnight," von Wachtstein said. "By pistol shot."

Hitler looked at him.

"I presume Reichsmarschall Goring has been informed?"

"Yes, my Fuhrer," von Wachtstein said.

"And where is the reichsmarschall?"

"In Budapest, my Fuhrer," von Wachtstein said. "He is experiencing some technical difficulty with his aircraft. He expects to be able to get here sometime after three this afternoon."

"How is it that the reichsmarschall learned of this before I have?"

"My Fuhrer, Generalfeldmarschall Keitel has directed me to contact the reichsmarschall, inform him of General Jeschonnek's death, and to relay the generalfeldmarschall's suggestion that Reichsmarschall Goring come here as soon as possible."

"I see," Hitler said. "Oh, how well I see."

And here is where I get to feel the wrath.

"Is there anything else you have to tell me, General von Wachtstein?"

"No, my Fuhrer."

"Then that will be all, von Wachtstein."

"Yes, my Fuhrer."

Am I somehow going to escape the wrath?

Von Wachtstein saluted and walked toward the door.

"Gunsche, find Parteileiter Bormann and ask him to come see me im mediately."

"Jawohl, my Fuhrer."

"Von Wachtstein!" Hitler barked.

Von Wachtstein, who was almost at the door, stopped and turned.

"Yes, my Fuhrer?"

Now I get the wrath.

"It is not true, General von Wachtstein, that I always lose my temper with the bearer of bad news. Sometimes I understand why the bearer is the bearer."

He made an impatient gesture of dismissal.

Von Wachtstein did an about-face and left.

[TWO]

Aboard Fuhrerhauptquartier Flug Staffel No. 12

Near Rastenburg, Germany

0655 19 August 1943

Although there was room for ten in the passenger compartment of the twin-engine aircraft, there were only three men in it.

One of them, Rear Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, a short fifty-five-year-old whose face was just starting to jowl, and who was chief of the Abwehr--Intelligence Division--of the German Armed Forces High Command, was privately--very privately--amused at the situation.

Among the most senior officers of the Nazi hierarchy, the competition was fierce for any seat on a "Hitler Squadron" Heinkel 111 flying from Berlin to "Wolf 's Lair."

Almost as intense, Canaris thought, as the competition to get a seat beside--or even near--Der Fuhrer in his car or at dinner.

And since the last thing I want is to go to Wolfsschanze or have dinner with the Bavarian Corporal, here I am on my way to Wolfsschanze almost certainly to have to eat at least lunch with him, and leaving behind me at Tempelhof Field ten furious very senior officers who thought they had successfully competed in the race for a seat on the eight o'clock flight.

And they can't be angry with me, either. For when they make inquiries, they will be told that SS-Obersturmfuhrer Otto Gunsche had called, announcing that I was on my way to Tempelhof, and the moment I got there, I was to be put aboard the Heinkel, which would then immediately depart for Wolfsschanze.

When the young and junior officer spoke, as a number of senior officers had learned to their pain, he spoke with the authority of the Fuhrer.

Gunsche had called Canaris earlier:

"Heil Hitler! Obersturmfuhrer Gunsche, Herr Admiral. The Fuhrer requests your presence at your earliest convenience, Herr Admiral. An aircraft will be waiting for you at Tempelhof. May I tell the Fuhrer that you are hastening to comply with his request, Herr Admiral?"

With Canaris in the plane--a converted bomber, or more accurately one of Germany's first (1934) commercial transport aircraft, which had been converted into a bomber and then, to move senior officials around, converted back to an airliner--were two officers. One was Canaris's deputy, Fregattenkapitan Otto von und zu Waching, a small, trim, intense Swabian. The other was Oberst - leutnant Reinhard Gehlen, also trim and intense, but larger in stature than von und zu Waching. Gehlen, the senior intelligence officer of the German General Staff on the Russian front, had been in Canaris's office when Gunsche had called.

There were several reasons Canaris had brought Gehlen along on the trip to Wolfsschanze. It was entirely likely Hitler would like to talk to him, for one. For another, he hadn't had enough time to talk to him before Gunsche had called; Gehlen had returned to Berlin only late the night before. But the most important reason was that the opportunity to show Gehlen the inside of Wolfsschanze seemed to have been dumped in his lap.

Gehlen was an Operation Valkyrie conspirator. More than that, he had volunteered to give his own life if that was what it would take to remove Hitler. The only way Canaris could see to kill Der Fuhrer was to do so at Wolfsschanze, and obviously, having access to the Fuhrerhauptquartier would be necessary to accomplish that.

The compound was protected by the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Regiment of the SS. They made sure that no one who could possibly put Hitler, or any of the other members at the top of the Nazi power structure, in any danger could get near any of them.

Canaris motioned for Gehlen to come to his seat.

When Gehlen was squatting in the aisle beside him, Canaris said, "I didn't have time to ask, Gehlen, but are you acquainted with Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Frogger, late of the Afrikakorps?"

"I know who he is, Herr Admiral."

"There was an interesting message from Mexico City overnight," Canaris said. "The guards at border crossings from the United States have been alerted to look for him. He has apparently escaped from the prisoner-of-war camp in Mississippi and may be trying to get into Mexico."

It is equally possible, Canaris thought, since there have been virtually no other escapes from POW camps in the United States, that Frogger said something he should not have--or approached, tried to recruit--the wrong person in the POW camp, and, following an ad hoc, secret, middle-of-the-night court-martial, was convicted of being a traitor, executed, and buried.

Gehlen did not reply.

"I didn't know him well," Canaris went on, "but he never struck me as the sort of chap who would succeed in something like escaping from a POW cage."

"I don't know what to think, or say, Herr Admiral," Gehlen said.

"It has been my experience, Gehlen, that if you don't know what to think, it is best to think some more, and if you don't know what to say, it is best to say nothing."

Canaris turned his attention to his briefcase, and Gehlen knew he had been dismissed.

Among senior intelligence officers, there was a saying: "One should not listen to what Canaris says; one should pay attention to what he does not say."

There were four Heinkel 111s parked at the airfield. One was always kept there against the unlikely possibility that the Fuhrer might suddenly decide to go to Berlin or Berchtesgaden or Vienna. The other three aircraft suggested to Canaris that the three most powerful men in the Nazi hierarchy--Hermann Goring, Heinrich Himmler, and Martin Bormann--also had been summoned to Wolfsschanze. They were the only officers important enough to have their own aircraft kept waiting for them.

Goring had the grandest title. He was Reichsmarschall des Grossdeutschen Reiches. He was the most popular--after Hitler, of course--with the people. But he had failed to bomb England into submission, and later to protect Germany from American and British bombers. Moreover, he had become the next thing to a drug addict, and tales circulated of homosexual orgies at Carinhall, his hunting estate in the Schorfheide Forest north of Berlin, and his influence had suffered.

Canaris knew that many of the rumors about Goring's sexual proclivities and drug addiction had been, if not invented, then circulated by the man everyone agreed was the most dangerous senior Nazi, Heinrich Himmler. He had two titles: He was Reichsprotektor Himmler and Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler. And, playing on Hitler's distrust of his generals, Himmler had managed to create his own army--thirty divisions strong--called the Waffen-SS.

The third man likely to have traveled to Wolfsschanze in his own Heinkel, Martin Bormann, also had two titles. Originally, he had been the Parteileiter of the Nazi party, running it as Hitler's deputy, and answering only to him. Recently, without objection from the Fuhrer, he had started referring to himself as Reichsleiter Bormann, suggesting he was leading the Reich, not only the political party, and again subordinate only to Hitler.

And if those three--or only two of them--were there, Canaris reasoned, then chances were good that so was the clubfooted minister of public enlightenment and propaganda, Paul Joseph Goebbels, Ph.D.

He probably caught a ride with Bormann. Or Gunsche commandeered a Heinkel for him as he did for me.

Four vehicles--a large Mercedes open sedan and three Kubelwagens, militarized, canvas-topped versions of the Volkswagen--came to meet the Heinkel as ground handlers showed the pilot where to park. An SS-hauptsturmfuhrer was standing in the front seat of the Mercedes. Nine storm troopers under an SS-oberscharfuhrer, all armed with Schmeisser machine pistols, got quickly out of the Kubelwagens and surrounded the airplane.

When the hauptsturmfuhrer saw that his men were in place, he gestured rather imperiously to the sergeant to go to the airplane. He then got out of the Mercedes and walked to the Heinkel.

The door in the fuselage opened and Canaris came out.

The hauptsturmfuhrer and the oberscharfuhrer gave the Nazi salute. Canaris returned it with an almost casual wave of his arm and walked to the Mercedes, followed by von und zu Waching and Gehlen. They all got in.

The oberscharfuhrer went into the Heinkel as the hauptsturmfuhrer walked quickly to the Mercedes, which started off as soon as he got in.

They drove off the airfield to the collection of buildings and yellow-and-black-striped barrier pole guarding access to the inner compound.

A half-dozen SS officers and enlisted men gave the Nazi salute, and one of the latter trotted to the Mercedes and opened the car's passenger doors. Canaris and the others got out. The barrier pole was raised, and they walked past it and got into another open Mercedes.

Changing cars saved the time it would take to thoroughly search a car entering the interior compound.

The car, a Mercedes reserved for senior officers, carried them a kilometer and a half past stark concrete bunkers and finally stopped before one of them, where another half-dozen SS officers and enlisted men, all armed with Schmeisser machine pistols, gave the Nazi salute.

They had reached the Fuhrerbunker itself.

Canaris, von und zu Waching, and Gehlen got out of the Mercedes and walked to a sturdy steel door, which an enlisted man pulled open just as they reached it and closed after they had passed through.

They were now in a barren room, presided over by an SS-obersturmbannfuhrer. There was a table, and a row of steel cabinets each large enough for a suitcase. A double shelf above a coatrack held perhaps twenty uniform caps.

The obersturmbannfuhrer gave a crisp Nazi salute and barked, "Heil Hitler!"

Canaris again made a causal wave of his arm.

"These officers are, Herr Admiral?"

"They are with me," Canaris replied.

"Regulations require I have their names and organizations, Herr Admiral, and see their identity documents."

"Fregattenkapitan Otto von und zu Waching, my deputy," Canaris replied, "and Oberstleutnant Reinhard Gehlen, of Abwehr Ost."

As the two handed over their identity documents, which the obersturmbannfuhrer scrutinized carefully before handing them to a clerk, who wrote the names and the date and time on a form, Canaris took his pistol, a 9mm Luger Parabellum, from its holster and laid it on the table.

"The Fuhrer's security, Herr Oberstleutnant," Canaris said evenly, "requires that you surrender your sidearm, and any knives you might have, to these officers."

"Jawohl, Herr Admiral," Gehlen said, and laid his pistol on the table. "No knives, Herr Admiral."

Canaris gave his uniform cap to one of the enlisted men, who put it on the rack. Canaris then raised his arms to the sides at shoulder height.

"With your permission, Herr Admiral," the obersturmbannfuhrer said, and patted him down.

Gehlen and von und zu Waching went through the same routine.

The obersturmbannfuhrer nodded at a hauptsturmfuhrer, who clicked his heels and said, "If you will be good enough to come with me, gentlemen?"

He led them through a steel door, down concrete corridors and stairwells, and finally stopped before another steel door.

Canaris had been here often enough to know this was not the door to where Hitler could usually be found poring over a stack of maps.

"What's this, Herr Hauptsturmfuhrer?"

"Reichsleiter Bormann wished to have a word with you, Herr Admiral, before you are received by the Fuhrer."

"Very well."

"A word alone with you, Herr Admiral," the hauptsturmfuhrer said.

Canaris nodded and went through the door. Bormann was not there; the room was empty and unfurnished.

Is this a trick to get me in here?

What happens next?

The Bavarian corporal and half a dozen of Himmler's thugs rush in to knock me to the floor?

Then Hitler looks down at me and says, "We know all about Valkyrie. I wanted to spit in your traitorous eyes before I turn you over to the SS"?

The door opened and Martin Bormann entered and closed the door.

"I'll have to make this quick, Canaris. He knows you're here."

"What's this all about, Bormann?"

"Early this morning, he sent for me. I found out later that he'd just heard Jeschonnek blew his brains out."

"What did he want?"

"He said he was worried about Operation Phoenix."

"Himmler told him how they blundered again over there?"

"No. He doesn't know about that, and I'm not going to tell him. What he said--he was quite emotional--was that 'if things go badly' he and his senior officers will of course fight to the death in Berlin. But that it was important that National Socialism survive, and that meant some of its 'relatively senior officers'--he mentioned von Wachtstein, which surprised me, until I learned that Keitel had sent von Wachtstein to tell him about yesterday's disaster.

"Anyway, he said that we have to make sure relatively senior officers, military and especially in the party, find refuge in South America, and that they have the funds to keep National Socialism alive and bring it back. That I should consider it a high priority."

"My God!"

"I told him things were going along according to plan, and he gave me a look that made me think he knew about the Froggers, et cetera. But then he said, 'I'm going to send for Canaris. He's reliable, he knows Argentina, and I don't think he's playing an active enough role in Operation Phoenix.'"

Canaris did not respond.

"And then he left. I thought I should tell you before you go in there. We're going to have to be very careful, Canaris."

"I understand. Thank you."

"You better get in there. I know he's waiting for you."

Canaris nodded, then walked to the door and pulled it open.

"Shall I announce you, Herr Admiral?" the hauptsturmfuhrer at the door of what Canaris thought of as "the map room" asked.

"That won't be necessary. The Fuhrer sent for me."

The hauptsturmfuhrer pulled open the door. Canaris, with von und zu Waching and Gehlen on his heels, walked in.

Adolf Hitler--surprising Canaris not at all--was bent over a large, map-covered table. He was wearing rather ugly eyeglasses. His military staff, headed by Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, plus all the people Canaris expected to be there, including Himmler and Goebbels, were standing in a rough half-circle at the table. Behind them, against the wall, were lesser lights, among them Generalleutnant von Wachtstein and Luftwaffe General Kurt Student.

Canaris had expected to see von Wachtstein, but he wondered what Student was doing here; an advocate of "vertical envelopment," Student had lost favor with Hitler after his Fallschirmjager troops not only hadn't easily captured Crete when they had parachuted onto it, but had suffered severe casualties.

The only ones who acknowledged Canaris, and that with a just-perceptible nod, were Keitel and Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, the commander in chief of the navy. The others looked at him as if they had never seen him before.

After perhaps thirty seconds, Hitler looked up at Canaris, who rendered another sloppy salute and said, "My Fuhrer."

Von und zu Waching and Gehlen stood to attention.

Hitler pointed at Gehlen.

"Who is this officer?"

"Oberstleutnant Gehlen, Reinhard, my Fuhrer," Canaris said. "The senior intelligence officer of the OKH."

"And the oberstleutnant is here why?"

"I thought you might wish to receive him, my Fuhrer. He returned from Russia only last night."

Hitler started to walk around the table.

"Very thoughtful of you, Admiral," he said. "But unnecessary. Bad news travels very fast. I have already learned of the daily disaster there. And the daily disaster here in Germany."

He was now standing in front of Gehlen.

"Colonel, how good of you to come," he said, putting out his hand and oozing charm. "I am always delighted to meet a fighting soldier; one doesn't see many of them around here."

He patted Gehlen's arm, then turned to Canaris.

"What I hoped the admiral could tell me is the present location of Benito Mussolini. But before we get into that, I want to hear the admiral's sage evaluation of the death of General Jeschonnek."

"My Fuhrer, I was very saddened to hear of General Jeschonnek's death."

"I asked, Admiral, for your evaluation of the effect of his death on Germany, not its effect on you."

Canaris suddenly realized that Hermann Goring, head of the Luftwaffe, was not in the room.

I should have seen that sooner.

"My Fuhrer, as I understand the situation--and I don't know much; it only happened last midnight--General Jeschonnek took his life because he was in a state of depression and temporarily bereft of his senses. Apparently he felt that he had failed--the Luftwaffe had failed--to adequately protect Germany from Allied air raids."

"As it has," Hitler said. "But this 'failure,' as you so delicately put it, has not caused Reichsmarschall Goring to become depressed--to blow his brains out--and I would say, Admiral, wouldn't you, that the reichsmarschall is at least as responsible for the Luftwaffe's failure as was General Jeschonnek?"

"My Fuhrer, I don't pretend to understand suicide. My feeling is that men have different breaking points. I can suggest only that General Jeschonnek reached his when he realized what had happened."

"Germany cannot afford to have its generals blowing their brains out every time they suffer a temporary setback," Hitler said bitterly.

Hitler glared at him for a long moment, during which Canaris had decided it was his time to be on the receiving end of one of Hitler's tyrannical rages.

"Dr. Goebbels suggests that we report that General Jeschonnek met his end, quote, test-flying a new fighter plane, end quote," Hitler said, "and that he be buried, with all the attendant publicity, with full military honors. I have mixed feelings. I wonder if Jeschonnek didn't take the coward's way out."

He looked at Canaris, waiting for him to reply.

"My Fuhrer, I am wholly unqualified to offer an opinion about anything Dr. Goebbels says vis-a-vis a delicate situation like this one."

Hitler stared at him with icy eyes.

Here it comes. I am about to be dressed down by the Austrian corporal in front of the leadership--less Goring, of course--of the Thousand-Year Reich.

It didn't.

"Where, in your opinion, Admiral, is Benito Mussolini?" Hitler asked.

My God, where did that question come from?

On 25 July, Italian king Victor Emmanuel had stripped Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini of his power and arrested him. Nine days later, a representative of Marshal Badoglio, who had replaced Mussolini, secretly surrendered Italy unconditionally to a representative of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander. The surrender would not be made public for weeks, on 8 September 1943.

"On the island of Ponza, my Fuhrer."

"Where?"

"On the island of Ponza, my Fuhrer," Canaris repeated. He pointed at the map-strewn table. "May I?"

"Please do," Hitler said.

Canaris went to the table, found the map he needed, and pointed his index finger at a cluster of islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy.

"On Ponza, the larger island, my Fuhrer," Canaris said.

"Himmler, would you take a look at this, please?" Hitler asked.

Heinrich Himmler walked quickly to the table.

"That is where Admiral Canaris tells me Mussolini is," Hitler said. "It is not where you told me he is. I wonder which of you is right."

Himmler said firmly: "Captain Skorzeny reported within the last forty-eight hours, my Fuhrer, that Il Duce is being held in the Campo Imperatore Hotel in Abruzzi, in the Apennine Mountains."

"Admiral?" Hitler asked very softly.

"I have a man in the Italian marines who are guarding Il Duce, my Fuhrer," Canaris said. "In his daily report--as of four this morning, Mussolini is on Ponza."

"Your man sends you a daily report on Il Duce's whereabouts?" Hitler asked.

"Yes, my Fuhrer. He has previously reported that Mussolini will be taken--as soon as safe travel can be arranged--to the Campo Imperatore Hotel."

"Tell the admiral, Himmler, who Hauptmann Skorzeny is," Hitler said softly.

"SS-Hauptmann Otto Skorzeny is something of a legend within the Waffen-SS, Canaris. I assigned him--as the best man for the job available to me--to track Il Duce when the Italians betrayed us and Mussolini was arrested. I can't believe he made a mistake like this."

"I can," Hitler said. "Which leaves us with something of an administrative problem." He fixed his eyes on Canaris. "You will learn, Admiral, if you already haven't, that the reward for someone who doesn't make mistakes is that other onerous chores are soon added to what chores he is already bearing by those who do make mistakes."

Canaris thought: Someone like yourself, you mean? Who is incapable of making a mistake, and is thus doomed to correct the errors of others?

Hitler looked around at the other senior officers who were still standing in a rough semicircle behind him. He didn't see what he was looking for, and he turned his attention to the officers lined up against the wall.

"General von Wachtstein, would you be good enough to join us?"

Von Wachtstein walked over to Hitler, who went on:

"General, Reichsprotektor Himmler and Admiral Canaris are about to return to Berlin, where, together with General Student, they will replan and execute the liberation of Il Duce from his captors. Replanning is necessary because if the original plan--General Student's Fallschirmjagers taking the Campo Imperatore Hotel in Abruzzi with irresistible force--had been executed, Il Duce would not have been there.

"A little mistake on the part of one of the Reichsprotektor's men. Or perhaps on the part of the Reichsprotektor himself; he didn't consider it necessary to consult with the chief of Abwehr intelligence vis-a-vis the actual location of Il Duce. Why should he? The SS is perfect and knows everything.

"Your role in this, General von Wachtstein, is to witness the discussions between these gentlemen and, when they have made any decision at all, to relay that decision to me so that I will have the chance to stop any blunders before they occur. Telephone each decision these gentlemen reach to Obersturmfuhrer Gunsche, who will pass it to me. Any questions?"

"No, my Fuhrer," von Wachtstein said.

"That will be all, gentlemen," Hitler said.

And then he walked to Gehlen.

"I very much appreciate the good work Abwehr Ost has been doing, Herr Oberstleutnant. Please convey my compliments to your associates when you return to the east."

"Jawohl, my Fuhrer. Thank you, my Fuhrer."

Hitler walked back to the map-covered table and leaned over it.

One by one, Himmler, von Wachtstein, Student, Canaris, von und zu Waching, and Gehlen walked to the door, gave the Nazi salute, and left. Nobody seemed to notice.

[THREE]

Tempelhof Airfield

Berlin, Germany

1605 19 August 1943

Himmler said virtually nothing to anyone on the flight to Berlin.

Canaris wondered if Himmler really was fascinated with the contents of his briefcase, or whether he was angry with him for making him look like a fool with Hitler.

Canaris went over what had happened at Wolfsschanze several times in his mind. With the exception of that very long three or four seconds during which he felt sure he was about to feel Hitler's often irrational rage, everything had gone well.

And Hitler hadn't mentioned Operation Phoenix at all. Canaris wondered if Bormann had told Himmler about that encounter with the Bavarian corporal.

On reflection, Canaris didn't think he was going to get into any difficulty about the operation to rescue Mussolini; his only contribution to that was going to be providing the intelligence regarding the deposed Italian dictator's location. And he was sure he knew. His man with Il Duce was solid as a rock.

As the Heinkel taxied up to the curved Tempelhof terminal building, Canaris saw that a small convoy of cars was waiting for them.

Himmler's first deputy adjutant--SS-Brigadefuhrer Ritter Manfred von Deitzberg, a tall, slim, blond, forty-two-year-old Westphalian--was standing beside the lead car, an enormous Mercedes-Benz convertible sedan that carried on its right front fender the metal flag of the Reichsfuhrer-SS.

Canaris's own car, a much smaller Mercedes that carried no indication of whom it would carry, was immediately behind that, and then came slightly larger cars for Generals Student and von Wachtstein, each equipped with the metal flag appropriate to their rank.

Himmler exercised his right to be the first off the airplane. A moment later, Canaris followed him. He was surprised to see that Himmler was waiting for him.

"I have been thinking, Canaris," he said. "Not only do I have a full plate, as I'm sure you understand, but I'm a policeman, not a military man."

He waited for Canaris to respond. He didn't.

After a moment, Himmler went on: "Von Deitzberg, on the other hand, was a soldier. What I'm thinking is that I will take von Deitzberg with me now, tell him what happened at Wolfsschanze, then send him to you and Student and von Wachtstein so that you can work out what has to be done between you. Where will you be, at your office?"

The Reichsfuhrer-SS has apparently decided that if something else goes wrong with this absurd mission to rescue Il Duce, it won't be his fault. If he can blame whatever goes wrong on me, fine.

That will teach me it is not wise to have more accurate intelligence than he does. And if he can't blame me, he'll blame von Deitzberg.

"I thought I would take General Student and General von Wachtstein to my house for an early dinner with Gehlen. We missed lunch at Wolfsschanze."

"Well, there is a silver lining in every black cloud, isn't there?" Himmler said, smiling as he made a little joke. The meals served at Wolfsschanze were standard army field rations, invariably bland and unappetizing. It was the Fuhrer's idea, intended to remind all the senior officers of the troops in the field.

Himmler rarely made little jokes, and when he smiled he reminded Canaris of a funeral director who had just sold an impoverished widow the most expensive coffin he had for sale.

"I think I should take Student with me," Himmler went on. "He can tell von Deitzberg what he has planned. And then all of you can get together first thing in the morning?"

That wasn't a question. That's what he wants done.

"Would half past seven at my office be too early for General Student, do you think, Herr Reichsfuhrer? I like to get to the office early."

"I'll have him there," Himmler said. "And if von Deitzberg can find him for me, I'll have Hauptsturmfuhrer Skorzeny there, too."

"Fine," Canaris said.

Skorzeny, you are about to find out that Himmler's rages, while not quite as loud and long-lasting as those of the Fuhrer, are nearly as devastating.

Himmler did not like being humiliated before the Fuhrer because you provided him with inaccurate intelligence.

Himmler gave a Nazi salute about as sloppy as Canaris usually gave. It was returned as sloppily by Canaris, and very crisply by everyone else.

Then Himmler got into the enormous Mercedes. Von Deitzberg got in beside him. General Student walked to the Luftwaffe Mercedes sedan, got in, and it pulled out of line and followed Himmler's car.

"General von Wachtstein," Canaris said, "I was just thinking, since we will have to be at my office early in the morning, that what we should do is let your car go, and you can come spend the night at my house."

"I would hate to be an imposition, Herr Admiral."

"Not at all. My wife is visiting her family in Bremen."

Actually, she's in Westertede, which I devoutly hope is far enough from Bremen so that it won't be bombed even by mistake by the B-17s of the Eighth Air Force.

"In that case, Herr Admiral, I think accepting your kind invitation would be a good idea."

[FOUR]

357 Roonstrasse, Zehlendorf

Berlin, Germany

1605 19 August 1943

En route from the airfield, there was a good deal of evidence of the efficacy of the daily--by the U.S. Eighth Air Force--and nightly--by the Royal Air Force--bombing of Berlin. But once the suburb of Zehlendorf was reached there was virtually no sign of the war except the absence of streetlights and lights in windows.

There were two civilian policemen on the street in front of Canaris's house, and Canaris knew there was another patrolling the alley and gardens behind it.

One of the policemen checked the identity cards of everyone in Canaris's Mercedes, then signaled to the other policeman to open the gate.

The driver stopped the car under a portico on the left side of the house, then hurried to open the rear passenger door on the other side before Canaris could do so himself. He failed.

Admiral Canaris walked to a door, which opened just before he got there. General von Wachtstein, Oberstleutnant Gehlen, and Fregattenkapitan von und zu Waching followed him into the house.

The door was closed, and the lights in the foyer came on.

They now saw who had opened and closed the door: a burly man in his sixties. He had closely cropped gray hair and wore a white cotton jacket--and he suddenly said, "Shit! I forgot Max."

The lights went off. The door was opened, and the driver of the car came into the room. The door was closed, and the lights went on again.

"Gentlemen, this is Egon, who was chief of the boat when I commanded U-201 in the first war," Canaris said, motioning toward the burly one. "And this is Max, who was my chief bosun when I commanded the Schlesien. They take care of me."

He pointed at the officers with him and identified them.

"Egon, see that no one can hear what's said in the living room," Canaris said.

"I did that when they called and said send the car," Egon said.

"And then, since we have all earned it, bring us something--something hard--to drink in there. And when you've done that, get us something to eat. We missed lunch at Wolfsschanze."

"I can have sauerbraten, potatoes, and carrots in thirty minutes."

"That sounds fine," Canaris said, then waved the men with him ahead of him into the living room.

Everybody took seats in an assortment of armchairs. Max, now wearing a white cotton steward's jacket, came in carrying a large tray heavy with glasses, an ice bucket, a siphon bottle, and two bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label scotch whisky. He set it on a table.

"I regret I am out of schnapps," Canaris said. "This decadent English swill will have to do."

A faint smile flickered across von Wachtstein's lips.

"We can make our own drinks, Max," Canaris said. "Go help Egon burn the sauerbraten."

Max nodded his acceptance of the order.

Canaris waited until he had left the living room and had closed the door behind him, then said: "So far as Max and Egon are concerned: They hear more than they should about things that should be of no concern to them. That's not a problem, as I trust them with my life. But I generally make an effort to ensure they don't hear anything more than they have to.

"The scenario now is that tomorrow, while General von Wachtstein watches us, General Student will tell us what he has planned for the rescue of Mussolini when we learn Il Duce has been moved from Ponza to Abruzzi, if indeed that's where they take him.

"I will agree with whatever plan Student has, as I suspect whatever that is will have the approval of the Reichsfuhrer. And I will agree to the participation in the rescue by Hauptmann Skorzeny, as I suspect the Reichsfuhrer, for reasons he has not seen fit to share with me, wants him to participate.

"Von Wachtstein will relay our agreement to the Fuhrer via Obersturmfuhrer Gunsche. We will then wait until there is word from Ponza--I get a daily report, usually first thing in the morning--that Il Duce has been moved.

"Von Wachtstein will report that Il Duce is being moved, that it has been confirmed that he has safely arrived wherever that is, and then I will ask the Reichsfuhrer's permission to ask the Fuhrer for permission to proceed with the operation. The Reichsfuhrer may, of course, elect to ask the Fuhrer himself."

He looked around the table to see that everyone had understood the nuances of what he had said.

"I was pleased when the Fuhrer was so gracious to Oberstleutnant Gehlen. I thought it was important that Gehlen see where it is that the Fuhrer and his staff conduct the war."

He checked to see that they had all understood the nuances of that, too.

"I have had a communication from Kapitan zur See Boltitz in Buenos Aires. Lamentably, he reports that he has as yet been unable to detect the traitor many feel we have in our embassy there. In this endeavor, he has enlisted the aid of Major von Wachtstein.

"He did report that an attempt to rescue the Froggers from where they were being held not only failed but resulted in the deaths of half a dozen SS men.

"He further reported that another attempt by unknown persons on the life of Cletus Frade, who many believe is the OSS man in Argentina, failed, resulting in the death of three Argentines.

"And finally, I learned from my man in Mexico City that U.S. Border Patrol posts have been alerted to look for Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Frogger, who has apparently escaped from his POW enclosure and may be trying to get into Mexico."

He paused and looked around the table again.

"Otto, it has just occurred to me that, inexcusably--the fact that I was summoned to Wolfsschanze is not a valid excuse--I failed to notify either Parteileiter Bormann or the Reichsfuhrer of what I learned from Argentina. Will you please remember to remind me to do so first thing in the morning?"

"Jawohl, Herr Admiral," von und zu Waching said.

"A toast, gentlemen," Canaris said as he rose from the table.

"Our Fuhrer and the Final Victory," Canaris said.

The others raised their glasses and there was a chorus repeating the toast.

And if you have been listening to this, Herr Reichsfuhrer, despite Egon's skilled sweep of the place for listening devices--never underestimate one's enemy--then I hope you are satisfied that I am not only one of the faithful, but always willing to defer to your superior judgment.

And after we have our supper and von und zu Waching goes home and the rest of us "go to bed," we'll have another chat in my bomb shelter.

Getting a listening device through the eight-inch concrete walls of that is simply impossible.

That was not to happen.

They had just sat down to their sauerbraten and carrots when Egon came into the dining room. He took a telephone from a sideboard, set it on the table in front of Canaris, and announced, "Von Deitzberg."

Canaris nodded and picked up the telephone.

"What can I do for you, Herr Brigadefuhrer?"

"Won't it wait until the morning?"

"In fifteen minutes, we'll be having dinner. Can you give us thirty minutes for that?"

"I understand."

He put the handset in its cradle and stood up.

"Von Deitzberg wants to see me before the morning meeting," he said. "He will be here in thirty minutes, probably less than that."

He pointed at the floor, then turned to Egon.

"In twenty minutes, Egon, I want this table to look as if you've just served."

Egon nodded.

The bomb shelter was illuminated with American Coleman gas lanterns hanging from the low ceiling. It was furnished with three steel cots, a desk with a typewriter, four small armchairs, and a portable toilet.

"It is always best for people involved in something like we are to know nothing they don't absolutely have to know," Canaris began. He was sitting far back in one of the armchairs, tapping the balls of his spread fingers together. "In this case, however, I think we have to ignore that wisdom."

Admiral Canaris glanced at General von Wachtstein, Oberstleutnant Gehlen, and Fregattenkapitan von und zu Waching. Gehlen and von und zu Waching nodded. Von Wachtstein grunted.

Carnaris went on: "In light of the recent events in Argentina, both the Fuhrer's sudden interest in Operation Phoenix and because what I think von Deitzberg wants is my assistance, or at least my acquiescence, in his going to Argentina.

"He will most likely tell me that he is concerned with dangers posed to Operation Phoenix by the defection of the Froggers. What he is really concerned about is the possibility that the Americans, now that they have learned about it from Herr Frogger, will make the ransoming operation public.

"If they should do so, von Deitzberg reasons, it would come to the attention of Himmler. So far as I have been able to determine, Himmler is unaware of the ransoming operation. If it came out, the best scenario vis-a-vis von Deitzberg would be Himmler's displeasure with him for failing to discover the operation; the worst scenario for him, of course, being that Himmler would learn that von Deitzberg was the brains behind it.

"These factors apply. The Americans knew all about the ransoming operation long before the Froggers deserted. President Roosevelt has decided that exposing the operation would serve only to ensure that no other Jews escaped the ovens. Aside from collecting data--evidence--to be introduced at the trials of these scum after the war, the Americans will do nothing to interfere with the ransoming operation.

"Insofar as Operation Phoenix is concerned, the Americans know all about that, too, and did before the Froggers deserted. The decision there has been to interfere if possible--in other words, if they could learn of other shipments, where they would be landed, they would inform the Argentines, so that Germany would be embarrassed and the funds lost--but not to take action themselves.

"Again, their intention is to collect evidence not only that the Phoenix funds were sent to Argentina, but about how they were expended. When the war is lost, they can then claim both any unexpended funds and what property, et cetera was acquired with the funds, as enemy property.

"I have decided it would be counterproductive to inform the Americans-- if indeed I could find out, and I am not going to ask any questions, and no one else should--of the dispatch of special funds by submarine, and their arrival sites and dates.

"Von Deitzberg knows nothing of all this, and I am reasonably sure he thinks I don't know about the ransoming operation. But he will proceed on the assumption that I do--in his shoes, so would I.

"What von Deitzberg wants to do is make sure there is absolutely nothing in Argentina--or Uruguay, which is usually the destination of the Jews extracted from the concentration camps--that could possibly tie him to the ransoming operation.

"So let us consider what we have in Buenos Aires: The man Bormann sent there over my objections, Kapitan zur See Boltitz, has proven to be a better counterintelligence officer than I thought he would be--"

"Over your objections, Admiral?" Gehlen interrupted. "I thought--"

"That he was one of us? The sure way to get him there was to convince Bormann I didn't want him to go. May I go on?"

"I beg your pardon, Herr Admiral," Gehlen said.

"As I said, Boltitz proved to be a far better counterintelligence officer than I thought he would be. And since his orders from me were to find the traitor, or traitors, in the embassy, he did just that: It didn't take him long at all to find out that Major von Wachtstein had passed--to Major Frade of the OSS--the details of when and where the Oceano Pacifico was going to attempt to land the special cargo.

"That resulted--I think everybody but you knows this, Gehlen--in the Oceano Pacifico being met by either Argentine army snipers--or representatives of the OSS--who shot Oberst Gruner, the military attache, and his assistant, Standartenfuhrer Josef Goltz, to death and forced the landing of the special cargo to be aborted.

"Boltitz confronted Major von Wachtstein and they reached a between-honorable-officers agreement: Major von Wachtstein would have a fatal accident in his Storch and Kapitan zur See Boltitz would not only not reveal his treason, but destroy what evidence he had collected.

"While Major von Wachtstein was perfectly willing to carry out his end of the agreement--doing so would keep General von Wachtstein from being hung from one of Himmler's butcher's hooks--he saw it as his duty to tell Ambassador von Lutzenberger, whom he knew to be a Valkyrie conspirator, what had happened.

"That forced the ambassador to make Boltitz privy to what was going on long before I wanted that to happen.

"While I was delighted, of course, that Major von Wachtstein did not have a fatal accident, I confess that I had--that I have--certain concerns vis-a-vis the ability of either of these young officers, neither of whom has any experience to speak of in matters of this sort, to handle their new situation.

"The SS man in Buenos Aires, Obersturmbannfuhrer Karl Cranz, and his deputy, Sturmbannfuhrer Erich Raschner, are both very good at what they do. For reasons he did not choose to share with me, Bormann arranged for Cranz to be sent there, replacing von Deitzberg, while leaving Raschner, who has been von Deitzberg's deputy there.

"Having said that, I am at a loss to understand why Cranz sent Obersturmfuhrer Heitz and his men--whose mission in Argentina was to guard the special shipment until it could be used for Operation Phoenix--to try to rescue--more likely eliminate--the Froggers at Frade's farm.

"Nor do I understand why that mission was a complete failure. One possible scenario is that the chief of Argentina's BIS, a Colonel Martin, who is very competent, could have learned about the plan and warned Frade--that is, warned Frade's men, as Frade was in the U.S. at the time of the attack.

"This is not to suggest that Frade has turned Colonel Martin, or even that Martin is more sympathetic to the Allied cause than previously suspected. It is more likely that he is acting solely in what he perceives to be Argentina's best interests.

"Supporting this scenario, but not confirming it, are these facts: Nothing appeared in the Argentine press, nor was anything mentioned discreetly by Argentine authorities to the ambassador about either the attack on Frade's farm or the attempted assassination of Frade shortly after he returned to Argentina from the United States.

"It could be--purely conjecture--that whether or not Martin was actively involved in seeing that both attacks failed, his failure to take official notice of either gave the German Embassy--not only Cranz, but the ambassador as well--the message that any future efforts along these lines would not only similarly fail but would also greatly annoy the Argentine officer corps, which is to say the government.

"Much of the Argentine officer corps was greatly annoyed when Oberst Frade was assassinated. The assassination was arranged for--over the objections of Oberst Gruner, who knew how popular Frade was within the officer corps--by Standartenfuhrer Goltz acting at the orders of Himmler or, more likely, von Deitzberg.

"The idea, apparently, was to strike terror into the hearts of the Argentine officer corps: Anyone who posed a threat to the ambitions of the German Reich, even someone about to become president of Argentina, as Frade was, could be eliminated.

"To their surprise, the reaction of the officer corps to Oberst Frade's murder was not fear but outrage. The coup d'etat, which followed shortly, put into power a man who is anything but convinced of our Final Victory. Moreover, Frade's son participated, apparently showing great personal courage, in the coup d'etat, which made him, in the eyes of many officers, a son of Argentina come home, rather than the OSS man in Argentina.

"After the disaster at Samborombon Bay, von Deitzberg put on a major general's uniform and went to Argentina, where he assured Oberst Juan Domingo Peron that the German officer corps was as outraged over Frade's assassination as he was. He told Peron the assassination had been the late Oberst Gruner's idea.

"Von Deitzberg also carried with him a map of how South America will look after our Final Victory. Uruguay, Paraguay, and parts of Brazil will become part of Argentina. He also made it clear that Germany would help in any way it could to see that Peron became president. And showed him how profitable it would be for him to assist in the investment of Operation Phoenix funds.

"How much of this Oberst Peron swallowed whole is unknown.

"Another unknown here is what role the first secretary of our embassy, Anton Gradny-Sawz, has played, if any, in any or all of this. The ambassador feels he has played no role at all. On the other hand, Gradny-Sawz has demonstrated his willingness to change sides whenever he feels his side is going to lose. He's a Viennese, one who was very helpful to the Third Reich before the Anschluss returned Austria to the Grossdeutsches Reich.

"It is possible, I suggest, that Gradny-Sawz, who is privy to Operation Phoenix, has decided to ingratiate himself with the Argentines in case the Final Victory doesn't take place. That, in other words, he approached the Argentines or, more likely, Martin approached him and found him receptive. I just don't know.

"I think we are all agreed that our priority must be the removal of the Austrian corporal before he destroys what's left of Germany.

"So what I must decide, with your counsel but right now, as we don't have the time to gather further intelligence, or to consider the matter at leisure, is how to deal with SS-Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg when he comes here in twenty minutes to discuss Operation Phoenix with me. I really think he's going to solicit my assistance in having him returned to Argentina.

"Another factor that has to be considered is the quote unquote escape of Oberstleutnant Frogger from his POW camp. There are, I suggest, two possibilities. One is that somehow his connection with Valkyrie came to light, and that after interrogation--during which he revealed we have no idea what--he was, at General von Arnim's orders, ordered before a secret pro forma court-martial, convicted of treason, executed, and buried in a Mississippi cotton field.

"The second possibility is that Frogger was taken from the camp by the OSS, who made the connection between him and his parents. The questions here are whether he went willingly or unwillingly, and what he decided to tell the Americans, if anything, about Valkyrie.

"If they have turned Frogger--unlikely, but one dares hope; they are not nearly as inept in matters like this as they would have us believe--that would be of enormous value to Valkyrie. He and von Stauffenberg were close; he knows as much as--possibly more than--I do about whom we can trust in not only carrying out Hitler's removal, but immediately afterward, when senior people are still making up their minds which way to jump.

"I feel confident that I will have an explanation of his escape--an honest one--from my American contact. But when I will have the opportunity to communicate with him is an unknown, except certainly not before Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg comes here tonight.

"Inasmuch, again, as our priority is Valkyrie, the question then becomes: Is von Deitzberg more dangerous to Valkyrie here--or running around Argentina desperately trying to cover his connection with the ransoming operation?"

He paused, let that be considered a moment, then went on:

"Now, these factors enter into that question. If von Deitzberg is returned to Argentina, he will have been charged by Himmler and Bormann with discovering the traitor. Two scenarios occur: One--and bear in mind that von Deitzberg is far more experienced than Boltitz--that he uncovers Major von Wachtstein. Or, two, that he doesn't. But von Deitzberg is going to find the traitor, even if he has to invent one. Two candidates for that role: Von Wachtstein and Gradny-Sawz. I tend to think he will choose Gradny-Sawz, but that, of course, isn't at all certain."

Canaris looked at each man for a moment.

"Gehlen? You look as if you want to say something."

"What would happen to the ransoming operation if von Deitzberg were eliminated?"

"It would continue under Cranz."

"And if Cranz were eliminated?"

"Then I suspect the underlings would just stop, praying that they wouldn't be exposed to Himmler."

"You don't know who these underlings are?" Gehlen asked.

Canaris shook his head, then said, "I've made a point of not looking into that. If it blows up in their faces, I want to be as surprised as Himmler; I don't want the Fuhrer wondering why, if I even suspected something, I didn't say anything to Himmler or Bormann. And if I did look into it, that would come out."

"Herr Admiral," Gehlen said carefully, "I suspect if something happened to von Deitzberg and Cranz, the others involved in the ransoming operation would do more than pray. They would be frantically trying to cover their tracks. And if they were doing that . . ."

"They would have less time to look into things like Valkyrie?" Canaris finished the sentence, making it a question.

"Yes, sir," Gehlen said.

"That's an interesting thought, but I don't think either Boltitz or von Wachtstein would be very effective assassins."

"For moral or practical reasons?"

"Both."

"What about the Americans? You said they killed Gruner and Goltz at Samborombon Bay."

"I said either the Argentines or the Americans," Canaris said.

There was a tone in Canaris's voice that Otto von und zu Waching knew said: Pay me the courtesy of listening carefully to what I say.

"Are you suggesting that I try to have him sent to Argentina?" Canaris then asked.

"Admiral, if von Deitzberg is busy in Argentina, he can't be looking for Valkyrie here," Gehlen said.

"General von Wachtstein?" Canaris asked, looking toward him.

"Better that von Deitzberg is there than here, Herr Admiral, would be my judgment."

"Otto?"

"And better still, Herr Admiral, if he could be--if Cranz and he--could be eliminated over there," von und zu Waching said.

Canaris looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "By the Americans, you mean?"

"Yes, sir."

"That would presume the Americans would be amenable to such a suggestion. Even relaying the suggestion to them would be difficult. And once that had been done, they might decline, for a number of reasons. For one, it might interfere with the status quo agreement they seem to have with the Argentines. And, for another, they would have to somehow get close enough to him to do it."

He let that sink in a moment, then went on.

"I suggest we go upstairs and have as much of our supper as possible before von Deitzberg shows up and ruins our appetites."

Von und zu Waching, who had long ago learned to listen to what Canaris was not saying, rather than what he was saying, realized that Canaris had accepted Gehlen's suggestion that the best way to deal with the problems von Deitzberg and Cranz were posing was to have the Americans eliminate them in Argentina.

And I don't think either General von Wachtstein or Oberstleutnant Gehlen understands that.

Gehlen possibly--he's bright and an intelligence officer--but von Wachtstein has no idea what Canaris has just decided.

[FIVE]

Ten minutes later, as they were sitting over their supper listening to the news from the BBC in London over an ornate Siemens radio on a sideboard, Egon appeared at the door. This time he was far more formal than he had previously been. Standing at rigid attention, he barked:

"Heil Hitler! Herr Admiral, I regret the intrusion. SS-Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg's compliments, Herr Admiral. The brigadefuhrer asks that you receive him."

"Show him in," Canaris said.

"Jawohl, Herr Admiral!"

A moment later, Egon returned and again popped to attention and barked, "Herr Admiral, SS-Brigadefuhrer Ritter von Deitzberg!"

Von Deitzberg marched in, gave a straight-armed Nazi salute, and barked, "Heil Hitler!"

Von Wachtstein, Gehlen, and von und zu Waching returned it snappily. Canaris made a sloppy wave of his arm.

"I didn't expect to see you, von Deitzberg, until tomorrow morning," Canaris said, not too pleasantly. "I hope it's important. As soon as I finish my supper, I want to go to bed."

"I thought it would be best to have a word with you, Herr Admiral, before tomorrow morning."

"You want something to eat?"

The invitation was not warm.

"Very kind of you, Herr Admiral. But no, thank you."

"Well, then fix yourself a drink, have a seat, and as soon as I'm finished and the news is over, we can talk."

About ten minutes later, torn between listening to cricket scores of teams he had never heard of, which he had no interest in whatever, and watching von Deitzberg squirm impatiently in his chair, which he did find amusing, Canaris opted for seeing what the squirmer wanted.

"Well, that's another onerous chore done," he announced. "If we are to believe the BBC, the war is lost. What's on your mind, von Deitzberg?"

"No offense to these gentlemen, of course, but I would like to speak with you in private, if that would be possible, Herr Admiral."

"Of course. We can go into the living room."

Canaris stood up.

"Excuse us, gentlemen," he said. "Feel free to retire, which is what I'm going to do as soon as the brigadefuhrer is through with the fregattenkapitan and me."

He led von Deitzberg into the living room, with von und zu Waching following, waved them into chairs, and sat down.

"I had hoped to see you earlier today, Admiral, and I really think it might be best if we were alone."

"Earlier today, the Fuhrer sent for me," Canaris replied. "As so far as the fregattenkapitan is concerned, I like him to be present at meetings where no one is making written notes. What's on your mind, von Deitzberg?"

Canaris's curtness with von Deitzberg was intentional on several levels, starting with the psychological. He knew von Deitzberg would interpret ordinary courtesy, and certainly amiability, as recognition on Canaris's part that he was dealing with an equally powerful man. The pecking order had to be maintained.

The curtness came easily; Canaris despised the handsome SS officer. He knew more about him than von Deitzberg suspected, and the more he learned, the more he despised him.

The SS was--and always had been, from the beginning--laced with common criminals and social misfits. Not only in the ranks--the SS had been formed to provide bodyguards for Hitler, and thugs were naturally going to be part of something like that--but also at the very top of the SS hierarchy.

SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich was a case in point. Until he had been assassinated by Czech agents in Prague the year before, he had been the number-two man under Himmler, the Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia. Before Heydrich had joined the SS he had been cashiered from the navy for moral turpitude.

SS-Brigadefuhrer Ritter von Deitzberg, who was working hard to be named Heydrich's replacement, had been forced to resign from the army for "the good of the service," which Canaris had taken the trouble to find out meant that he had been caught with his hand in the regimental officers' mess cash box and having an affair with a sergeant's wife.

And now he was getting rich ransoming Jews from the concentration camps.

Heinrich Himmler was something of a prude, and among other things that made him dangerous was that he really believed in the honor of the SS. Learning of the ransoming operation would really enrage him.

But as much as it would have pleased Canaris to see von Deitzberg and his cronies exposed to Himmler's wrath, he knew it was a card he had to keep hidden until it could be played for something more important--probably something to do with Operation Valkyrie--than the satisfaction of having von Deitzberg and his slimy cronies hung from a butcher's hook by Himmler himself.

"I'm very concerned about Operation Phoenix, Herr Admiral," von Deitzberg said.

"Why?"

"Well, you know what's happened over there."

"Why don't you say what you mean?"

"It doesn't look as if Cranz is up to handling his responsibilities, does it?"

"What specifically are you talking about?"

"Not only has he not been able to neutralize the traitorous Froggers, but he has been incredibly inept in his efforts to do so. I presume you've heard that Obersturmfuhrer Heitz and his men have been killed."

Canaris nodded.

"I personally selected Heitz to guard the special shipment funds. He was no Skorzeny, but he was a fine SS officer," von Deitzberg went on. "And considering his mission, guarding the special shipment funds, I would have thought twice before sending him to attempt to get the Froggers back from Frade."

"Where are you going with this?" Canaris asked.

"I think I should go to Argentina and straighten things out."

"What's that got to do with me? Shouldn't you make that recommendation to Reichsleiter Himmler?"

"I have. The Reichsleiter sent me here to discuss this with you; to ask for your cooperation."

That's interesting. Himmler can just order him onto the Condor.

Does this mean Bormann did tell Himmler of Hitler's sudden interest in Operation Phoenix?

Why do I think he didn't?

"I don't think I understand."

"I think the Reichsleiter would prefer that the idea of my going to Argentina come from someone other than himself."

What in the world is that all about?

Okay. Himmler is covering his backside again. He's very good at that.

"What I could do, I suppose, to assist the Reichsleiter is have a word with Bormann."

Which I will do tomorrow, when he returns to Berlin.

I will broach the subject of sending someone to Argentina to, as von Deitzberg puts it, "straighten things out." If he mentions von Deitzberg, I will oppose the idea. That will guarantee his being sent there.

If he doesn't mention this slime, I will, saying that I wish he could be spared, but Himmler certainly wouldn't agree.

Same result. Von Deitzberg will go to Argentina.

Where he and Cranz and possibly even Raschner will be eliminated by the Americans, ridding the world of three scum it can well do without.

And very possibly do something to keep Operation Valkyrie from being uncovered.

And, as the icing on the cake, humiliate Himmler. Three of his best men eliminated by those incompetent Americans.

"I think that might well deal with the situation, Herr Admiral," von Deitzberg said.