Griffin W.E.B. - The Corps 08 - In Dangers Path

Sessions didn't reply. He led McCoy three quarters of the way down a narrow corridor, then knocked at a door before opening it.

«Captain McCoy to see you, General,» he said, and motioned McCoy through.

«Christ,» Brigadier General F. L. Rickabee greeted him, «what did you do, fall asleep on Palm Beach?»

«Yes, sir,» McCoy said. «Good morning, sir. Good morning,

General

.»

«Ah, you noticed! I was hoping you might.»

«Congratulations, Sir. Well deserved.»

«I'm not sure about that. There has been a promotion frenzy around here. I got caught up in it.»

«Sir?»

«A silver leaf now adorns Ed Banning's collar points, and sometime this week even Sessions is going to have go buy major's leaves.»

«That's about time, too,» McCoy said to Sessions, then turned to General Rickabee. «Sergeant Rutterman said Major—Lieutenant Colonel—Banning doesn't work here anymore?»

«I would say Rutterman talks too much,» Rickabee said coldly.

«Sir, he wasn't running off at the mouth. I told him I wanted to see Major Banning, and he said, 'Sorry, he doesn't work here anymore.' «

Rickabee seemed only partially satisfied.

«Sir,» Captain Sessions said, «not only is he a good Marine, but Rutterman knows McCoy.»

«I like that,» Rickabee said. «Loyalty down is a desirable characteristic of a Marine officer. But—correct me if I'm wrong—what Rutterman was

supposed

to say was, 'Sorry, sir. I don't know the name.' «

«Yes, sir,» Sessions said.

«Let it pass, Ed,» Rickabee said. «Rutterman

is

a good man.»

«Aye, aye, sir.»

«Well, now that security has been breached, and the cat, so to speak, is out of the bag, I might as well confirm that Lieutenant Colonel Banning is now assigned to the OSS. And so, Captain McCoy, are you.»

«Yes, sir. General Pickering told me that was going to happen.»

«Your records have already been sent over there. You know where it is, the National Institutes of Health Building?»

«Yes, sir.»

«Maybe when this goddamn war is over I can get you back, McCoy. This is where you belong, and you've always done a good job for me.»

«Thank you, sir.»

«Send him over there in a car, Ed,» Rickabee ordered. «Don't let the doorknob hit you in the ass on your way out, McCoy.»

«Sir, I've got the ONI credentials,» McCoy said. It was a question.

Rickabee thought that over a moment.

«Banning sold me on the idea of letting him keep his. Said we'll be working together, and they might come in handy. Same logic applies to you. Keep them. I'll deal with ONI if necessary.»

«Aye, aye, sir.»

Rickabee came from behind his desk and gave McCoy his hand.

«Good luck, McCoy,» he said. «Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.»

note 35

The Office of the Deputy Director (Administration)

The Office of Strategic Services

The National Institutes of Health Building

Washington, D.C.

0955 3 March 1943

«The Deputy Director will see you now, Captain,» the DDA's secretary said, and motioned him toward a closed door.

McCoy, who had been cooling his heels for the better part of an hour, rose up from the couch and walked to the door. He hesitated, then knocked. There was no answer. McCoy looked over his shoulder at the secretary, who gestured for him to go in. He opened the door and stepped inside.

The well-dressed man behind the desk did not look up from his papers on his desk. After a moment, McCoy closed the door behind him and then stood near it in a position very close to Parade Rest.

Finally the man looked up at him, and after a moment McCoy understood he was expected to speak first. «Good morning, my name is McCoy,» he said.

«Good morning. Captain Kenneth R. McCoy, is that right?»

«Yes, sir.»

«I'm the OSS Deputy Director for Administration,» the man said. «I've just been going over your records, Captain.»

«Yes, sir.»

«They're a… bit unusual,» the DDA said. «If I'm reading them correctly, your formal education ended with high school, is that correct?»

«Yes, sir.»

«And after service as an enlisted man—in China?»

«Yes, sir.»

«You went through the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico, and were commissioned second lieutenant?»

«Yes, sir.»

«I had been under the impression that a college degree was a prerequisite for going to Officer Candidate School.»

«I wouldn't know about that, sir.»

«You have to understand, Captain, that you don't quite measure up to what we expect—in terms of education—of applicants for the OSS.»

McCoy did not reply.

«On the other hand, your records indicate that you speak Chinese. Does that mean you can only speak—carry on a conversation? Or does that mean you can read and write Chinese?»

«I read and write Wu, Mandarin, and Cantonese,» McCoy said.

«And Japanese?» the DDA asked dubiously after having another look at McCoy's service record.

«Not as well as I read and write the Chinese languages,» McCoy said.

«And German and French?»

«And a little Italian and Spanish,» McCoy said.

«Well, I'm sure you do,» the DDA said, «but we'll run you through our Languages Division to see just how well you speak so many languages. Perhaps what the Marine Corps considers fluency… You understand?»

McCoy nodded.

«Let me be very frank,» the DDA said. «We're going to send you through our training program. It's conducted at a base we operate in Virginia. And I'm frankly wondering if you might have some difficulty with the academic aspects of the course.»

McCoy said nothing.

«Well, I suppose the way to handle this is, as I said, to run you through our Languages Division, have you tested, and then send you to the base.»

The door to the DDA's office opened and the secretary walked in. «Sorry to interrupt, sir,» she said, «but I thought you should know Colonel Banning is outside.»

«Tell the Colonel I'm tied up,» the DDA said, somewhat impatiently, «and that I will see him as soon as I can.»

«Sir, I couldn't help but overhear. Colonel Banning is telephoning a General Rickabee.»

«And?» the DDA interrupted impatiently.

«He's trying to locate Captain McCoy.»

The DDA thought that over a moment. «Ask Colonel Banning to step in, will you, please?»

Banning came through the door a moment later. «What a pleasant surprise, Captain McCoy,» he said. «I was just asking General Rickabee when we might expect to see your smiling face. Also, if I may say so,

really

sunburned?»

«Good morning, sir.»

«I'll take the Captain off your hands, sir,» Banning said to the DDA.

«I beg your pardon, Colonel?»

«I said I'll take Captain McCoy off your hands, sir.»

«Colonel, Captain McCoy is about to go to the Languages Division to determine the exact level of his languages proficiency. That will probably take up most of the morning. After that, he will be transported to the training base.»

«Sir, I don't think that's what General Pickering has in mind for Captain McCoy.»

«Colonel, why don't you ask General Pickering to discuss that with me?»

«Yes, sir, I'll do that,» Banning said, and walked out of the office.

«I gather you and Colonel Banning are acquainted?» the DDA asked.

«Yes, sir.»

«Unfortunately, he hasn't been here long enough to understand our system of operation.»

McCoy didn't reply.

«Now, where were we?» the DDA said. «Oh, yes. I'll telephone the Languages Division.» He reached for one of the telephones on his desk.

His office door opened again.