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

WHO IS BELIEVED TO BE AN AGENT OF

THE AMERICAN OFFICE OF STRATEGIC

SERVICES, PERON FEELS THE ENTIRE

FAMILY IS VERY SYMPATHETIC TO THE

GERMAN CAUSE, OR AT THE WORST

NEUTRAL. IN PERON'S OPINION, ALTHOUGH

HE ASSURED US HE WILL DO HIS BEST TO

CONTROL YOUNGFRADE, YOUNGFRADE, WHO

FEELS AN ANIMOSITY TOWARD HANS, IS

CAPABLE OF TURNING PUBLIC OPINION,

AND MORE IMPORTANT, THAT OF THE

ARGENTINA OFFICER CORPS, AGAINST

HANS, AND THUS THE GERMAN OFFICER

CORPS AND THE GERMAN CAUSE ONCE HE

LEARNS OF ALICIA'S CONDITION, AND THE

IDENTITY OF THE FATHER.

IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, LUTZEN AND

DIETZ ARE FORCED TO AGREE WITH PERON

THAT THE MATTER IS MORE THAN THE

PRIVATE BUSINESS OF HANS AND ALICIA.

THAT IN FACT IT AFFECTS THE GOOD

RELATIONS PRESENTLY EXTANT BETWEEN

THE GERMAN REICH AND THE REPUBLIC'OF

ARGENTINA.

PERON IS AWARE THAT HANS IS IN GER MANY, AND BELIEVES HANS IS ASSISTING

IN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE DEATHS

OF OBERST GRUNER AND STANDARTEN FUHRER GOLTZ. IN THIS CONNECTION,

PERON TOLD US IN CONFIDENCE THAT HE

BELIEVES THE MURDERS WERE PERPETRATED

BY FORMER SUBORDINATES OF OLDFRADE,

ALTHOUGH HE HAS NO PROOF.

PERON REQUESTS THAT IF HANS CAN BE

SPARED FROM HIS DUTIES IN CONNECTION

WITH THE GRUNER/GOLTZ INVESTIGATION

THAT HE IMMEDIATELY BE RETURNED TO

HIS DUTIES IN ARGENTINA, HIS OBLIGA TIONS AS AN HONORABLE GERMAN OFFICER

BE MADE CLEAR TO HIM, POSSIBLY BY

OLDWACH, AND THAT HE ENTER INTO A

MARRIAGE WITH ALICIA.

ALTERNATIVELY, PERON SUGGESTS THE

POSSIBILITY OF ALICIA GOING TO GER MANY, THERE TO ENTER INTO MARRIAGE

WITH HANS.

DEITZ FEELS THAT INASMUCH AS HIS

INVESTIGATION OF HANS HERE HAS SHOWN

NO CONNECTION BETWEEN HANS AND THE

GRUNER/GOLTZ MURDERS, THE FIRST

REQUEST OF PERON SHOULD BE SERIOUSLY

CONSIDERED, FOR THE FOLLOWING REA SONS:

(1) PERON ALMOST CERTAINLY WILL BE

THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA.

GRANTING HIS REQUEST WOULD BE PROOF

THAT THE GERMAN OFFICER CORPS DEEPLY

REGRETS THE UNFORTUNATE DEATH OF

OLDFRADE, AND IS WILLING TO MAKE

AMENDS IN ANY WAY IT CAN.

(2) THE MARRIAGE OF HANS TO ALICIA

WOULD BE A MAJOR SOCIAL EVENT IN

ARGENTINA AND REFLECT WELL ON GERMAN

INTERESTS.

(3) THE MARRIAGE OF HANS WOULD VERY

LIKELY BE USEFUL IN CONNECTION WITH

A CERTAIN PROJECT THAT HAS RECENTLY

UNDERGONE CERTAIN REVERSALS. BANKER

MIGHT VERY WELL BE USEFUL IN THIS

CONNECTION AS BANKER AND BANKER'S

WIFE HAVE BECOME INTIMATE FRIENDS OF

HANS.

(4) WHATEVER INFLUENCE YOUNGFRADE HAS

WITH ALL OTHERS WOULD BE GREATLY

DIMINISHED BY A MARRIAGE BETWEEN HANS

AND ALICIA.

(5) JESUIT HAS EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT

TRAVELING TO GERMANY WOULD SUBJECT

ALICIA TO SOME RISK TO HER PERSON AND

THE UNBORN CHILD.

LUTZEN CONSIDERS THAT EITHER OF

PERON'S REQUESTS BE GIVEN CONSIDERA TION AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS, AND FUR THER SUGGESTS THAT WHICHEVER SOLU TION IS DECIDED UPON BE ACTED UPON

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

THE UNDERSIGNED PARTCIPATED IN THE

PREPARATION OF THE FOREGOING MESSAGE

AND CONCUR IN EVERY DETAIL.

MANFRED RITTER VON DEITZBERG

GENERALMAJOR, GENERAL STAFF, OKW

MANFRED ALOIS GRAF VON LUTZENBERGER

AMBASSADOR OF THE GERMAN REICH TO

THE REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA

END MESSAGE

When Bormann raised his eyes from the message, he saw that Fregattenkapitan von und zu Waching and Korvet tenkapitan Boltitz had come into the office. He sighed, shrugged, and handed the cable to von und zu Waching.

Von und zu Waching had just finished reading the first page when Reichsprotektor Heinrich Himmler and SS Obersturmbannfiihrer Karl Cranz marched into the room.

"Heil Hitler!" Himmler barked, and he and Cranz gave a stiff-armed Nazi salute. The others returned it. The look on

Himmler's face suggested that he didn't think the salutes of von und zu Waching and Boltitz were up to standard.

"Well, Joachim, what's so important?" Himmler asked.

"There has been a cable from Buenos Aires," von Ribben trop said. "Von und zu Waching's reading it now."

Himmler looked at von und zu Waching, who handed him the page he had read. The look on Himmler's face suggested he thought he should have been handed the entire message, whether or not von und zu Waching was finished. Von und zu Waching passed the second two pages to Himmler one at a time. Himmler read them all before passing them to Cranz.

"You considered this important enough to have me come all the way over here, Joachim?"

"I based its importance, Joachim, on the importance your man von Deitzberg apparently places on it," von Ribbentrop replied.

Cranz finished reading the cable, started to hand it back to von Ribbentrop, then looked at Boltitz. "Have you read this,

Karl?"

Boltitz shook his head.

"Give it to him," Himmler ordered.

"The question seems to be simple," Bormann said.

"Would sending the fertile Major von Wachtstein back to

South America be a major contribution to Germany's good relations with Argentina, or would we be sending the fox back into the chicken coop?"

"I would substitute the phrase 'major contribution to the success of Operation Phoenix' for 'good relations,' " Von

Ribbentrop said.

"The question as I see it is whether we can trust young von Wachtstein," Himmler said. "Cranz?"

"Where is he now?" Bormann asked.

"In Augsburg," von und zu Waching said. "And in that connection, I think I should mention that General Galland telephoned to the Fiihrer asking that he be assigned to the

ME-262 project. And the Fuhrer approved."