Griffin W.E.B. - Honor Bound 01 - Honor Bound

"If you would permit me to express my thoughts—not conclusions—about that, and then tell me where I may have gone wrong?"

"Please do."

"Possibility One is that their replenishment vessel is in fact so important that they would be willing to pay any price to ensure that it remains operational—even if that means earning el Coronel Frade's hatred by killing his son ... and/or the embarrassment of being caught by us."

El Almirante de Montoya grunted, accepting that theory.

"Possibility Two," Martin went on, "is that they wished to demonstrate both to the Americans, and in particular to el Coronel Frade—and the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos—that they are so powerful that they can do whatever they wish with impunity. They caused the disappearance of the first OSS team that was sent here to deal with the replenishment vessel. By eliminating the head of the second OSS team—"

"Let me interrupt for a moment," de Montoya said. "What about young Frade? Is he a professional intelligence officer, or was he sent down here because he is his father's son?"

"I at first thought the latter," Martin replied. "Now I am having second thoughts. It seems certain that the OSS sent him here to deal with the Reine de la Mer."

"You think they can sink her?"

"No, Sir. I don't think that will happen. The man I had on the pilot's boat when the Reine de la Mer entered our waters reported—I sent you his report, mi Almirante—that she is heavily armed for a merchant vessel, with what we believe are two dual forty-millimeter Bofors cannon, plus heavy machine guns, and what is very likely a radar antenna."

"A what?"

"A device that uses radio waves to detect other vessels, or boats, within a ten-to-twenty-mile range."

"I've heard that both the Germans and the English have such devices, but I was not aware they were commonly available."

"The replenishment vessel is tremendously important to the Germans. It would follow she would have the best available equipment."

"So young Frade's mission is doomed to failure?"

"That is my belief, mi Almirante. If we are to believe everything Delgano said about the current activities at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo, Frade intends to bomb the Reine de la Mer with incendiary devices, apparently designed to explode her fuel tanks, or at least set them on fire. And all he has to do this with is his father's airplane, which is, as you know ..."

"I know," de Montoya said impatiently. "I've flown in it. It is not a warplane."

"As I was saying a moment ago, mi Almirante, my second theory vis-a-vis the motives of the Germans is that killing young Frade would send the message that they have the better intelligence operation; that they are so powerful that they don't care if they enrage a possible President of Argentina; and, as a secondary benefit, they protect the Reine de la Mer.''

"In either case, young Frade dies?"

"I'm afraid so, mi Almirante."

"Pity. It will be difficult for his father personally, and difficult for us, my friend, if we have a President who hates the Germans."

"I don't see how it can be avoided. The Americans are apparently determined to make the attempt against the odds."

"And what, in your opinion, should our course of action be?"

“What I have been thinking—what I would like to present for your concurrence, mi Almirante— is that we do nothing, simply let happen what happens."

"Based on what reasoning?"

"We are a neutral power. We don't know that the Reine de la Mer is in fact a replenishment vessel in our waters, thus violating our neutrality; and we don't know that young Frade is in fact an OSS agent sent here to sink her, thus violating our neutrality. Consequently, however the attempt to sink the Reine de la Mer turns out, we can express surprise, regret, anger, whatever would be appropriate. But to repeat, I think young Frade will fail."

"And die in the attempt?"

"Regrettably, mi Almirante."

"If your suspicions that that fool Habanzo has been dealing with the Germans are justified, they will know within a half hour of his leaving this building—if they don't already know—everything that's going on at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo."

"Delgano came directly here to report to Habanzo," Martin said. "And I haven't let either of them out of my sight since Habanzo brought Delgano to me. I don't think Delgano knows Habanzo has a German connection. And in any event, I don't think that even Habanzo would be fool enough to try to telephone the Germans from this building. So I am assuming that the Germans know nothing about the activities at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo."

El Almirante de Montoya grunted again, accepting that. "How will you deal with those two?" he asked after a moment. "With your concurrence, mi Almirante, I'll have Habanzo send Delgano back to Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo, with orders to keep his mouth shut and his eyes open until he hears from Habanzo. And then I'll send Habanzo to Uruguay with several men—including a young Capitan, Oswaldo Storrer, in whom I have complete confidence. His orders will be to detect and interrupt the American supply line from Brazil through Uruguay to Argentina. Storrer's orders will be to not let Habanzo out of his sight or near a telephone." "And then?"

"When this whole business is over, mi Almirante, I suggest that you approach el Coronel Frade and tell him that you have just learned from me that an officer in the BIS—whom you have transferred from BIS to an obscure post—had the effrontery to recruit el Capitan Delgano."

De Montoya thought about that for a long moment. "He knows, of course, that you cleaned up the mess at his Guest House, so he will trust you. But of course, Martin, that means that you have chosen sides—and he will know it."

"I see no alternative, mi Almirante. El Coronel Frade has reached the stage where anyone who does not support him is against him."

El Almirante de Montoya grunted again, turned to his window, and assumed his Deep-In-Thought position, and remained in it for over a minute. Finally he turned.

"When the opportunity presents itself, I will have a word with el Coronel Frade. And, in the meantime, you will keep me informed?"

"Of course, mi Almirante."

"For the present, do what you think should be done about those two," el Almirante said, gesturing toward the closed door.

“S?, mi Almirante," Martin replied. "Con permiso, mi Almirante?"

With an impatient gesture of his hand, el Almirante de Montoya dismissed him.

[TWO]

1728 Avenida Coronel Diaz

Buenos Aires

1925 29 December 1942

Like Tony Pelosi, Clete Frade also decided to write farewell letters—to his grandfather and his aunt Martha, and to Se?orita Dorotea Mallin.

He spent the better part of an hour at the desk in Granduncle Guillermo's playroom working on them, with absolutely no success. With regard to his grandfather and aunt Martha, he finally concluded that letters would be counterproductive. They would arrive several weeks after the notification of his death, and would only tear away the scab from that emotional wound.

He was glad that he told Martha at Uncle Jim's grave that he loved her. And he was sorry he had not put the same thought in words to the Old Man.

Who probably would have responded by announcing something like "people who can't handle alcohol should leave it alone," or “only fools and drunks wear their emotions on their sleeve.”

So far as the No-Longer-Virgin Princess was concerned, perhaps there would be time tonight at the enfamille dinner to have a private word with her— a private one-way word; I certainly can't let her know that I think I'm about to get my ass blown away—during which he could try again to point out that she was much too young to know what love was all about, and that she had an exciting period of her life before her, during which she would meet a number of young men.