Honor Bound (Honor Bound 1)

Office of the Director

Office of Strategic Services

National Institutes of Health Building

Washington, D.C.

15 October 1942

“You wanted to see me, Colonel?” Colonel A. F. Graham asked as he stood in the door. He was in civilian clothing.

“Come on in, Alex,” Colonel William J. Donovan, a stocky, well-tailored man in his fifties, replied. As Graham walked into the office, Donovan added, “Actually, I wanted to see you three days ago, and then the day before yesterday, and yest—”

“I was on the West Coast,” Graham said. “I sent you a memo.”

“Carefully timed to arrive after you left,” Donovan said. He was smiling, but there was a tone of rebuke in his voice.

“Amazing town, this Washington,” Graham said. “It only takes a couple of months for an honest man to become as devious as any lifelong bureaucrat.”

“Tell me something, Alex,” Donovan asked; he was clearly enjoying the exchange. “How did you manage to run the country’s second-largest railroad without knowing how to delegate responsibility?”

“The third or fourth largest, actually. Depending on how you count—by trackage or by income. The Pennsylvania and the New York Central make more money; and the Union Pacific, the Sante Fe, and the Chicago and Northwestern all have more trackage.”

Donovan smiled tolerantly at him. Unlike most of the upper echelon of the OSS, Colonel A. (for Alejandro) F. (for Fredrico) Graham was not awed by Colonel William R. Donovan, Director of the Office of Strategic Services—and World I Hero, spectacularly successful Wall Street lawyer, and intimate, longtime friend of his Harvard classmate, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States.

Probably because Graham was himself a World War I hero, Donovan often reflected. And had an even greater income from running his railroad than he himself had. And had a loathing for politicians, even those who made it to the White House.

Donovan was pleased when he was able to recruit Graham for the OSS and to steal him from the President (Roosevelt was talking about making Graham “Transportation Czar”; the theft annoyed the President, but he got over it). There were a number of reasons why he was truly valuable; high among these was his reputation for not backing down from a position he believed to be the right one.

“But to answer your question, Colonel,” Graham went on. “By knowing what things should be delegated, and what things the boss should do himself.”

“We even have an Assistant Director for Recruitment around here. Did you know that?”

“Actually, he’s a Deputy Assistant Director,” Graham said. “He works for me. Did you ever really read the manning table?”

“No,” Donovan said, and laughed. “I have an Assistant Director named Graham who does that sort of thing for me. Whenever he comes to work.”

“I thought it was important, Bill,” Graham said. “That’s why I went myself.”

“Your memo said your trip was in connection with the Argentina problem,” Donovan said, his tone making it a question.

Graham nodded.

“Then let me clear the air. There will be no violation of Argentine neutrality by United States Naval or Army Air Corps forces. I took that all the way to the top. The State Department won.”

“The top” meant the President of the United States.

“I thought that’s what would happen,” Graham said. “That’s why I went recruiting in California. We need more assets down there.”

Donovan nodded his agreement and then asked, “Any luck?”

“A very interesting young Marine. Young fellow named Frade.”

“The Marine Corps…no, Holcomb himself…has been complaining that we’re taking too many of his officers.” Thomas Holcomb was then Major General Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

“You’ll have to deal with Holcomb. This one we need.”

“Why?”