Griffin W.E.B. - Honor Bound 03 - Secret Honor

"May I get the Herr Oberfuhrer a coffee?" a Leibstandarte

Hauptsturmfuhrer politely inquired of von Deitzberg.

I wonder, Himmler thought as a Leibstandarte Obersturm fiihrer opened the door to the waiting room for him, if that bastard Bormann will have the effrontery to keep me waiting in here.

There was no one in the long, narrow waiting room but another Leibstandarte Hauptsturmfiihrer, who gave Himmler the Nazi salute.

'This way, if you please, Herr Reichsfuhrer-SS," he said, and led him through a cloakroom lined with metal wall lockers into Martin Bormann's office. It was furnished simply with a metal desk and chair, a low filing cabinet, and a small table.

The two admirals and the Foreign Minister were seated at the table.

Bormann, leaning against his desk, wore the brown uni form of the National Socialist Workers party. He was forty three, a stocky man of a little less than medium height, and wore his hair close-cropped.

"Ah, there you are, Heinrich!" Bormann greeted Himmler with a smile, and offered his hand. "We've been waiting for you."

Himmler consulted his wristwatch. He forced himself to smile.

"You said half past seven," he said. "It is seven twenty nine.

"No one comes in here," Bormann announced to the Leib standarte Hauptsturmftihrer. "And no calls, except from the

Fiihrer. Or someone calling for the Fiihrer."

"Jawohl, Herr Reichsleiter," the Hauptsturmfuhrer said, and closed the door.

Himmler nodded in turn to Donitz, von Ribbentrop, and

Canaris. Each returned the nod.

"The Reichsmarschall, Generalfeldmarschall Keitel, and

Dr. Goebbels are with the Fiihrer at Wolfsschanze," Bor mann announced. "Keitel is aware of the cable from Buenos

Aires. I thought I would wait until we see what this meeting decides before seeking instructions from the Fiihrer."

Himmler thought: There is an implication in that which I don't like, that he alone decides what the Fiihrer will or will not be told.

In this case, since the Fiihrer is likely to be furious when he hears about the mess in Argentina, I will allow him to indulge his vanity.

"Has there been anything more than the first cable?"

Himmler asked.

Von Ribbentrop shook his head. He was wearing a busi ness suit, the only one there not in uniform. He was fifty, a small, once-handsome man whose blond hair was turning gray.

"The cable said very little," Bormann said, addressing von

Ribbentrop and making the observation an accusation.

Ambassador von Lutzenberger was a diplomat, and diplo mats were the responsibility of the Foreign Minister.

"It gave us the facts, Martin," Himmler argued reason ably. "And I rather admire von Lutzenberger's concern that our cables might not be as secure as we would like to believe."

"What did it tell you?" Bormann snapped.

"That we were lucky we didn't lose the Oceano Pacifico's special cargo-the Operation Phoenix special cargo-as well as Goltz and Griiner."

"It didn't say what happened, or who is responsible," Bor mann said.

"I would hazard the guess that either the papal nuncio or the American OSS is responsible," Himmler said sarcasti cally.

"There has to be someone in the embassy," Admiral

Canaris said.

The others looked at him. Canaris, too, was a short fifty five-year-old whose face was just starting to jowl. He had been a U-boat commander in World War I.

"I didn't know Goltz well, but Griiner was a good man,"

Canaris went on. "And from what little we know, I agree with Himmler that it was almost certainly the OSS-meaning that someone had to tell them not only what was going on but where and when."

"I will of course defer to the both of you in this area," von

Ribbentrop said, nodding at Himmler and Canaris. "But I did have the thought that the Argentines themselves might be responsible. They are, after all, Latin. Latins practice revenge. The two killings might be in retribution for the unfortunate death of Oberst Frade."

"They're capable of it," Canaris said thoughtfully. "That's worth thinking about."

Canaris was the acknowledged expert in this group about things Argentine. Not only had he been interned by the

Argentines during the First World War, but he had escaped from them.

"It was the OSS," Bormann pronounced.

"Von Lutzenberger's cable said other details were avail able," Himmler said. "Details he obviously did not wish to transmit in a radio message. And he provided us with the names of those people privy to those details."

"What do we know about those people?" Bormann asked.

"I took the trouble to review their dossiers," Himmler said, "this afternoon."

"And?" Canaris asked.

"Gradny-Sawz's family," Himmler began, "has served the

Austro-Hungarian diplomatic service for generations, and

Gradny-Sawz has followed in that tradition. Sometime before the Anschluss," he went on, referring to the 1938 incorporation of Austria into the German Reich, which men became the German state of Ostmark, "he was approached by one of my men, who solicited his cooperation. Gradny Sawz not only readily offered it, but was of no small value to us during the Anschluss."

"From one perspective-the Austrian perspective-that could have been viewed as treason," Admiral Donitz said.

Donitz, the tallest of the group, was fifty-two, slim, and intelligent looking.

"Or enlightened self-interest," Bormann said, chuckling.

"The man who recruited Gradny-Sawz was Standarten fuhrer Goltz, who himself was recruited by Oberfubrer von

Deitzberg," Himmler said. "Goltz had been close friends with Gradny-Sawz for years."

"And the others?" Bormann asked.

"Sturmbannfuhrer Werner von Tresmarck," Himmler said,

"was recruited for this assignment by Goltz. He worked for

Goltz here. Goltz had absolute confidence in him."

"That leaves the aviator," Bormann said.

"Major Freiherr Hans-Peter von Wachtstein," Himmler said, "the son of Generalleutnant Graf Karl-Friedrich von

Wachtstein…"

"Who is on the staff of the Oberkommando der Wehrma cht," Donitz added. "The family has served Germany for hundreds of years." The Oberkommando was the High

Command of the armed forces.

"The boy-I suppose I shouldn't call him 'the boy'- received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross from the

Fiihrer himself," Canaris chimed in.

"And whose two brothers have laid down their lives for the Fatherland in this war," Donitz added.

"So these three are above suspicion, is that what you're saying?" Bormann challenged. "Somebody has talked to the

Americans."

"Or to the Argentines," Canaris said. "Von Ribbentrop may well be onto something. The Argentines are quite capable of taking revenge. I was a little uncomfortable with the decision to remove Oberst Frade."

"You think that's possible, do you?" Himmler asked.

"Anything in Argentina is possible," Canaris replied. "We haven't mentioned von Lutzenberger himself. I have nothing to suggest that he is anything but wholly reliable. Do you?"

"No," Himmler said simply.

"So where are we?" Bormann asked. "Two very good men are dead. What we sent to Argentina is now somewhere in the South Atlantic Ocean en route to Cadiz…"

"Everything we sent over there," Donitz said. "We should not forget that in addition to the special shipment, the

Oceano Pacifico was carrying supplies for twenty-seven submarines operating in the South Atlantic."

"What about a rendezvous at sea?" Himmler asked.

"I began to work on that the moment I saw von Lutzen berger's cable," Donitz said. "Possibly something can be worked out. But it is not easy. And so far as the Oceano

Pacifico is concerned, it's out of the question. She is being followed by an American destroyer. And, unless I am being unduly pessimistic, I don't think the new Argentine govern ment will allow us to anchor a ship in their protected waters again."