The Honor of Spies

by W. E. B. Griffin; William E. Butterworth; IV

  "The scenario now is that tomorrow, while General von Wachtstein watches us, General Student will tell us what he has planned for the rescue of Mussolini when we learn Il Duce has been moved from Ponza to Abruzzi, if indeed that's where they take him.

  "I will agree with whatever plan Student has, as I suspect whatever that is will have the approval of the Reichsfuhrer. And I will agree to the participation in the rescue by Hauptmann Skorzeny, as I suspect the Reichsfuhrer, for reasons he has not seen fit to share with me, wants him to participate.

  "Von Wachtstein will relay our agreement to the Fuhrer via Obersturmfuhrer Gunsche. We will then wait until there is word from Ponza--I get a daily report, usually first thing in the morning--that Il Duce has been moved.

  "Von Wachtstein will report that Il Duce is being moved, that it has been confirmed that he has safely arrived wherever that is, and then I will ask the Reichsfuhrer's permission to ask the Fuhrer for permission to proceed with the operation. The Reichsfuhrer may, of course, elect to ask the Fuhrer himself."

  He looked around the table to see that everyone had understood the nuances of what he had said.

  "I was pleased when the Fuhrer was so gracious to Oberstleutnant Gehlen. I thought it was important that Gehlen see where it is that the Fuhrer and his staff conduct the war."

  He checked to see that they had all understood the nuances of that, too.

  "I have had a communication from Kapitan zur See Boltitz in Buenos Aires. Lamentably, he reports that he has as yet been unable to detect the traitor many feel we have in our embassy there. In this endeavor, he has enlisted the aid of Major von Wachtstein.

  "He did report that an attempt to rescue the Froggers from where they were being held not only failed but resulted in the deaths of half a dozen SS men.

  "He further reported that another attempt by unknown persons on the life of Cletus Frade, who many believe is the OSS man in Argentina, failed, resulting in the death of three Argentines.

  "And finally, I learned from my man in Mexico City that U.S. Border Patrol posts have been alerted to look for Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Frogger, who has apparently escaped from his POW enclosure and may be trying to get into Mexico."

  He paused and looked around the table again.

  "Otto, it has just occurred to me that, inexcusably--the fact that I was summoned to Wolfsschanze is not a valid excuse--I failed to notify either Parteileiter Bormann or the Reichsfuhrer of what I learned from Argentina. Will you please remember to remind me to do so first thing in the morning?"

  "Jawohl, Herr Admiral," von und zu Waching said.

  "A toast, gentlemen," Canaris said as he rose from the table.

  "Our Fuhrer and the Final Victory," Canaris said.

  The others raised their glasses and there was a chorus repeating the toast.

  And if you have been listening to this, Herr Reichsfuhrer, despite Egon's skilled sweep of the place for listening devices--never underestimate one's enemy--then I hope you are satisfied that I am not only one of the faithful, but always willing to defer to your superior judgment.

  And after we have our supper and von und zu Waching goes home and the rest of us "go to bed," we'll have another chat in my bomb shelter.

  Getting a listening device through the eight-inch concrete walls of that is simply impossible.

  That was not to happen.

  They had just sat down to their sauerbraten and carrots when Egon came into the dining room. He took a telephone from a sideboard, set it on the table in front of Canaris, and announced, "Von Deitzberg."

  Canaris nodded and picked up the telephone.

  "What can I do for you, Herr Brigadefuhrer?"

  "Won't it wait until the morning?"

  "In fifteen minutes, we'll be having dinner. Can you give us thirty minutes for that?"

  "I understand."

  He put the handset in its cradle and stood up.

  "Von Deitzberg wants to see me before the morning meeting," he said. "He will be here in thirty minutes, probably less than that."

  He pointed at the floor, then turned to Egon.

  "In twenty minutes, Egon, I want this table to look as if you've just served."

  Egon nodded.

  The bomb shelter was illuminated with American Coleman gas lanterns hanging from the low ceiling. It was furnished with three steel cots, a desk with a typewriter, four small armchairs, and a portable toilet.

  "It is always best for people involved in something like we are to know nothing they don't absolutely have to know," Canaris began. He was sitting far back in one of the armchairs, tapping the balls of his spread fingers together. "In this case, however, I think we have to ignore that wisdom."

  Admiral Canaris glanced at General von Wachtstein, Oberstleutnant Gehlen, and Fregattenkapitan von und zu Waching. Gehlen and von und zu Waching nodded. Von Wachtstein grunted.

  Carnaris went on: "In light of the recent events in Argentina, both the Fuhrer's sudden interest in Operation Phoenix and because what I think von Deitzberg wants is my assistance, or at least my acquiescence, in his going to Argentina.

  "He will most likely tell me that he is concerned with dangers posed to Operation Phoenix by the defection of the Froggers. What he is really concerned about is the possibility that the Americans, now that they have learned about it from Herr Frogger, will make the ransoming operation public.

  "If they should do so, von Deitzberg reasons, it would come to the attention of Himmler. So far as I have been able to determine, Himmler is unaware of the ransoming operation. If it came out, the best scenario vis-a-vis von Deitzberg would be Himmler's displeasure with him for failing to discover the operation; the worst scenario for him, of course, being that Himmler would learn that von Deitzberg was the brains behind it.

  "These factors apply. The Americans knew all about the ransoming operation long before the Froggers deserted. President Roosevelt has decided that exposing the operation would serve only to ensure that no other Jews escaped the ovens. Aside from collecting data--evidence--to be introduced at the trials of these scum after the war, the Americans will do nothing to interfere with the ransoming operation.

  "Insofar as Operation Phoenix is concerned, the Americans know all about that, too, and did before the Froggers deserted. The decision there has been to interfere if possible--in other words, if they could learn of other shipments, where they would be landed, they would inform the Argentines, so that Germany would be embarrassed and the funds lost--but not to take action themselves.

  "Again, their intention is to collect evidence not only that the Phoenix funds were sent to Argentina, but about how they were expended. When the war is lost, they can then claim both any unexpended funds and what property, et cetera was acquired with the funds, as enemy property.

  "I have decided it would be counterproductive to inform the Americans-- if indeed I could find out, and I am not going to ask any questions, and no one else should--of the dispatch of special funds by submarine, and their arrival sites and dates.

  "Von Deitzberg knows nothing of all this, and I am reasonably sure he thinks I don't know about the ransoming operation. But he will proceed on the assumption that I do--in his shoes, so would I.

  "What von Deitzberg wants to do is make sure there is absolutely nothing in Argentina--or Uruguay, which is usually the destination of the Jews extracted from the concentration camps--that could possibly tie him to the ransoming operation.

  "So let us consider what we have in Buenos Aires: The man Bormann sent there over my objections, Kapitan zur See Boltitz, has proven to be a better counterintelligence officer than I thought he would be--"

  "Over your objections, Admiral?" Gehlen interrupted. "I thought--"

  "That he was one of us? The sure way to get him there was to convince Bormann I didn't want him to go. May I go on?"

  "I beg your pardon, Herr Admiral," Gehlen said.

  "As I said, Boltitz proved to be a far better counterintelligence officer than I thought he would be. And
since his orders from me were to find the traitor, or traitors, in the embassy, he did just that: It didn't take him long at all to find out that Major von Wachtstein had passed--to Major Frade of the OSS--the details of when and where the Oceano Pacifico was going to attempt to land the special cargo.

  "That resulted--I think everybody but you knows this, Gehlen--in the Oceano Pacifico being met by either Argentine army snipers--or representatives of the OSS--who shot Oberst Gruner, the military attache, and his assistant, Standartenfuhrer Josef Goltz, to death and forced the landing of the special cargo to be aborted.

  "Boltitz confronted Major von Wachtstein and they reached a between-honorable-officers agreement: Major von Wachtstein would have a fatal accident in his Storch and Kapitan zur See Boltitz would not only not reveal his treason, but destroy what evidence he had collected.

  "While Major von Wachtstein was perfectly willing to carry out his end of the agreement--doing so would keep General von Wachtstein from being hung from one of Himmler's butcher's hooks--he saw it as his duty to tell Ambassador von Lutzenberger, whom he knew to be a Valkyrie conspirator, what had happened.

  "That forced the ambassador to make Boltitz privy to what was going on long before I wanted that to happen.

  "While I was delighted, of course, that Major von Wachtstein did not have a fatal accident, I confess that I had--that I have--certain concerns vis-a-vis the ability of either of these young officers, neither of whom has any experience to speak of in matters of this sort, to handle their new situation.

  "The SS man in Buenos Aires, Obersturmbannfuhrer Karl Cranz, and his deputy, Sturmbannfuhrer Erich Raschner, are both very good at what they do. For reasons he did not choose to share with me, Bormann arranged for Cranz to be sent there, replacing von Deitzberg, while leaving Raschner, who has been von Deitzberg's deputy there.

  "Having said that, I am at a loss to understand why Cranz sent Obersturmfuhrer Heitz and his men--whose mission in Argentina was to guard the special shipment until it could be used for Operation Phoenix--to try to rescue--more likely eliminate--the Froggers at Frade's farm.

  "Nor do I understand why that mission was a complete failure. One possible scenario is that the chief of Argentina's BIS, a Colonel Martin, who is very competent, could have learned about the plan and warned Frade--that is, warned Frade's men, as Frade was in the U.S. at the time of the attack.

  "This is not to suggest that Frade has turned Colonel Martin, or even that Martin is more sympathetic to the Allied cause than previously suspected. It is more likely that he is acting solely in what he perceives to be Argentina's best interests.

  "Supporting this scenario, but not confirming it, are these facts: Nothing appeared in the Argentine press, nor was anything mentioned discreetly by Argentine authorities to the ambassador about either the attack on Frade's farm or the attempted assassination of Frade shortly after he returned to Argentina from the United States.

  "It could be--purely conjecture--that whether or not Martin was actively involved in seeing that both attacks failed, his failure to take official notice of either gave the German Embassy--not only Cranz, but the ambassador as well--the message that any future efforts along these lines would not only similarly fail but would also greatly annoy the Argentine officer corps, which is to say the government.

  "Much of the Argentine officer corps was greatly annoyed when Oberst Frade was assassinated. The assassination was arranged for--over the objections of Oberst Gruner, who knew how popular Frade was within the officer corps--by Standartenfuhrer Goltz acting at the orders of Himmler or, more likely, von Deitzberg.

  "The idea, apparently, was to strike terror into the hearts of the Argentine officer corps: Anyone who posed a threat to the ambitions of the German Reich, even someone about to become president of Argentina, as Frade was, could be eliminated.

  "To their surprise, the reaction of the officer corps to Oberst Frade's murder was not fear but outrage. The coup d'etat, which followed shortly, put into power a man who is anything but convinced of our Final Victory. Moreover, Frade's son participated, apparently showing great personal courage, in the coup d'etat, which made him, in the eyes of many officers, a son of Argentina come home, rather than the OSS man in Argentina.

  "After the disaster at Samborombon Bay, von Deitzberg put on a major general's uniform and went to Argentina, where he assured Oberst Juan Domingo Peron that the German officer corps was as outraged over Frade's assassination as he was. He told Peron the assassination had been the late Oberst Gruner's idea.

  "Von Deitzberg also carried with him a map of how South America will look after our Final Victory. Uruguay, Paraguay, and parts of Brazil will become part of Argentina. He also made it clear that Germany would help in any way it could to see that Peron became president. And showed him how profitable it would be for him to assist in the investment of Operation Phoenix funds.

  "How much of this Oberst Peron swallowed whole is unknown.

  "Another unknown here is what role the first secretary of our embassy, Anton Gradny-Sawz, has played, if any, in any or all of this. The ambassador feels he has played no role at all. On the other hand, Gradny-Sawz has demonstrated his willingness to change sides whenever he feels his side is going to lose. He's a Viennese, one who was very helpful to the Third Reich before the Anschluss returned Austria to the Grossdeutsches Reich.

  "It is possible, I suggest, that Gradny-Sawz, who is privy to Operation Phoenix, has decided to ingratiate himself with the Argentines in case the Final Victory doesn't take place. That, in other words, he approached the Argentines or, more likely, Martin approached him and found him receptive. I just don't know.

  "I think we are all agreed that our priority must be the removal of the Austrian corporal before he destroys what's left of Germany.

  "So what I must decide, with your counsel but right now, as we don't have the time to gather further intelligence, or to consider the matter at leisure, is how to deal with SS-Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg when he comes here in twenty minutes to discuss Operation Phoenix with me. I really think he's going to solicit my assistance in having him returned to Argentina.

  "Another factor that has to be considered is the quote unquote escape of Oberstleutnant Frogger from his POW camp. There are, I suggest, two possibilities. One is that somehow his connection with Valkyrie came to light, and that after interrogation--during which he revealed we have no idea what--he was, at General von Arnim's orders, ordered before a secret pro forma court-martial, convicted of treason, executed, and buried in a Mississippi cotton field.

  "The second possibility is that Frogger was taken from the camp by the OSS, who made the connection between him and his parents. The questions here are whether he went willingly or unwillingly, and what he decided to tell the Americans, if anything, about Valkyrie.

  "If they have turned Frogger--unlikely, but one dares hope; they are not nearly as inept in matters like this as they would have us believe--that would be of enormous value to Valkyrie. He and von Stauffenberg were close; he knows as much as--possibly more than--I do about whom we can trust in not only carrying out Hitler's removal, but immediately afterward, when senior people are still making up their minds which way to jump.

  "I feel confident that I will have an explanation of his escape--an honest one--from my American contact. But when I will have the opportunity to communicate with him is an unknown, except certainly not before Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg comes here tonight.

  "Inasmuch, again, as our priority is Valkyrie, the question then becomes: Is von Deitzberg more dangerous to Valkyrie here--or running around Argentina desperately trying to cover his connection with the ransoming operation?"

  He paused, let that be considered a moment, then went on:

  "Now, these factors enter into that question. If von Deitzberg is returned to Argentina, he will have been charged by Himmler and Bormann with discovering the traitor. Two scenarios occur: One--and bear in mind that von Deitzberg is far more experienced than Boltitz--that he
uncovers Major von Wachtstein. Or, two, that he doesn't. But von Deitzberg is going to find the traitor, even if he has to invent one. Two candidates for that role: Von Wachtstein and Gradny-Sawz. I tend to think he will choose Gradny-Sawz, but that, of course, isn't at all certain."

  Canaris looked at each man for a moment.

  "Gehlen? You look as if you want to say something."

  "What would happen to the ransoming operation if von Deitzberg were eliminated?"

  "It would continue under Cranz."

  "And if Cranz were eliminated?"

  "Then I suspect the underlings would just stop, praying that they wouldn't be exposed to Himmler."

  "You don't know who these underlings are?" Gehlen asked.

  Canaris shook his head, then said, "I've made a point of not looking into that. If it blows up in their faces, I want to be as surprised as Himmler; I don't want the Fuhrer wondering why, if I even suspected something, I didn't say anything to Himmler or Bormann. And if I did look into it, that would come out."

  "Herr Admiral," Gehlen said carefully, "I suspect if something happened to von Deitzberg and Cranz, the others involved in the ransoming operation would do more than pray. They would be frantically trying to cover their tracks. And if they were doing that . . ."

  "They would have less time to look into things like Valkyrie?" Canaris finished the sentence, making it a question.

  "Yes, sir," Gehlen said.

  "That's an interesting thought, but I don't think either Boltitz or von Wachtstein would be very effective assassins."

  "For moral or practical reasons?"

  "Both."

  "What about the Americans? You said they killed Gruner and Goltz at Samborombon Bay."

  "I said either the Argentines or the Americans," Canaris said.