W. IV: Honor Bound 05 - The Honor of Spies

My ears are ringing from the noise of that gun firing in there. My hearing has been impaired.

I will have to remember to speak softly. Deaf people speak loudly.

He walked to the table and sat down.

"I heard what sounded like a shot," Alvarez said.

"Father," Kortig said softly, "if it looks as if I am about to be arrested, I will have to take my own life; otherwise many good men and their families will die."

[TWELVE]

Casa Montagna

Estancia Don Guillermo

Km 40.4, Provincial Route 60

Mendoza Province, Argentina

1705 16 October 1943

Clete set the Cub down with landing roll to spare on the first try. The pilot of the Cub following him decided to go around twice before finally coming in for a landing.

"He's not as skilled as you are," President Rawson said.

"What he is is smarter than I am," Clete replied. "He didn't bring it in until he was sure he could."

Captain Madison R. Sawyer III walked up to them. He was wearing an olive-drab shirt with the silver railroad tracks of his rank and the crossed sabers of cavalry pinned to the collar points. He had a Thompson slung from his shoulder.

"Well, look what you brought home," he said, and only then recognized the president of the Argentine Republic. He saluted.

"General Rawson, this is Captain Sawyer," Clete said.

"How do you do, Capitan?"

"Sir," Sawyer said, then: "Major, may I have a word in private?"

"Anything you have to say to me, Captain, you may say in the presence of the president."

"Yes, sir. Sir, maybe you better come with me."

The body had been laid on and under a blanket outside one of the small outbuildings.

"Please tell me this is not one of ours," Clete said.

"There is one of ours, sir, but he's inside on the bed."

Sawyer pulled off the blanket.

The eyes of the corpse were open. His face showed what could have been surprise. His coveralls had been unbuttoned, exposing the blood-soaked black SS uniform underneath. On his chest were his identity tags and his identity card.

"Close his eyes, for Christ's sake," Clete snapped.

Sawyer looked at him in horror.

Clete leaned and closed the corpse's eyelids, then pulled the blanket over the body.

"Okay, what happened?" Frade asked.

"There were about six of them running around the vineyard. One of them shot one of our guys. Stein and Enrico were running around down there, heard the shot, and went looking.

"Before Stein could stop him, Rodriguez blew this one away with his Thompson. We have the rest of them, including a hauptsturmfuhrer who says he's under the protection of Colonel Schmidt."

"Now, that's interesting," Rawson said. "Where is he? Are they?"

"Over there, sir. In the woodshed," Sawyer said, and pointed.

General Nervo came walking quickly to them.

"What's this?"

Clete said, "It's a dead SS trooper, who killed one of my men. There're six more--"

"Including an officer, General Nervo," Rawson interrupted, "who says he is under the protection of el Coronel Schmidt."

"--over there in the woodshed," Clete finished.

"Who killed this one?"

"Rodriguez," Clete said.

Nervo leaned over the body and pulled down the blanket.

"Why is the ID on his chest?" he asked.

"That was Rodriguez's idea. He said that when they killed the ones at Tandil, they took their pictures with their IDs before they buried them."

"Would you mind going over that again for me, please, Capitan?" the president asked courteously.

"Yes, sir. Well, when Peron and Schmidt and the SS guys tried to kill the Froggers at Don Cletus's house in Tandil--"

"You knew of this, General Nervo?" Rawson interrupted.

"Yes, sir."

"Odd, don't you think, that no one thought I would be interested?" the president asked. "Please continue, Capitan."

"Yes, sir. Well, when Rodriguez and the guys from Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo killed the SS guys in Tandil, Stein took their pictures so we could prove they were there. So we did the same thing with this guy."

"Cletus, I think it would be a very good idea if we had those pictures when we go talk to el Coronel Schmidt. Or el Coronel Peron."

"There's a set in the safe in the house, sir," Clete said.

"And the Froggers are where?"

"They're also in the house, sir. Frau Frogger is out of her mind."

"And you have what? Chained her to a wall?"

"No, sir. She is under the care of the Little Sisters of Pilar, or whatever the hell they're called."

"You'd better get the name of the order straight in your mind before Father Welner gets here. And when will that be?"

"I would estimate twenty minutes to half an hour, sir."

"Before he gets here, I want to hear what this SS officer has to say," the president said.

"From behind a sheet, and Colonel Frogger asks the questions. Right, Don Cletus? I don't think we want to let this SS officer know the president is here."

[THIRTEEN]

1725 16 October 1943

"I wondered," Dona Dorotea said to her husband, "if you were going to be able to find time in your busy schedule one of these days to drop in and say a few words to your wife and son."

He walked to the bed and looked down at his son, who was being nursed.

"A lot has happened, and is going on," Clete said.

"Who was in the airplanes? That was you, right? Who else would be crazy enough to fly in here?"

"How about the president of the Argentine Republic?" Clete asked, then: "Doesn't he hurt you doing that?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he does. Mother Superior says it will hurt less over time. What about the president of the Argentine Republic? You're not telling me Arturo Rawson's here? That you flew him in here? Up here?"

"Yeah, I am. And just as soon as he finishes talking to some people, he's going to come in the house and watch Father Welner baptize the baby."

"He's here, too?"

"And General Nervo."

"I don't want our son to be a Roman Catholic. Do you?"

"No, but between Father Kurt and Mother Superior, I don't think we have a choice."

"Tell me the truth about you and Arturo Rawson and the airplanes," she said. "And look me in the eye when you tell me."

"Okay. First thing tomorrow morning, we're going to go looking for Colonel Schmidt, who is somewhere around General Alvear and out of contact. . . ."

"I should have known that wouldn't work," Dorotea said ninety seconds later. "But it's useful to know."

"What are you talking about?"

"That you can look right into my eyes and lie through your teeth," she said. "That man Schmidt--who thinks God is on his side, which makes it worse--is not going to tuck his tail between his legs and go back to San Martin, even if Arturo Rawson personally tells him to. And you know it. So then what happens?"

"I just don't know, sweetheart."

"Who's the 'some people' Rawson is talking to?"

"Enrico and Stein caught some SS people in the vineyard. They're being interrogated. Colonel Frogger is telling Stein what questions to ask and when he thinks the lieutenant we caught is lying. They're doing it behind a sheet so the SS guy won't know Rawson is here."

"How many SS people did Enrico and Stein catch in the vineyards?"

"Five."

"That means there were seven, all told, including the two they killed?"

He didn't reply.

"There's a window in here, Cletus. I saw them bring the bodies in on horses."

"They killed one of ours and we killed one of theirs."

"And how many more are still out there?"

"I don't think there are any still out there," he said.

"And when do you think Schmidt and his men are going to get here?"