Empire and Honor (Honor Bound 7)

“I think two Ejército Argentino staff cars would be better,” Perón went on. “Martín, President Farrell, and—presuming the sonofabitch is at the hospital—Fernando Lopez in the first, and you, Father Welner, and me in the second.”

“Why do you want me to go to the Casa Rosada?”

Perón’s face showed that he was surprised at what he considered a stupid question. But he answered it nevertheless.

“Because the people—especially Evita’s descamisados—will see that the president is taking me to the Casa Rosada. The army will see that Lopez is not in a cell somewhere making his peace with God before getting shot. When they see Father Welner and you riding with me through the descamisados, the army and the people will all see that the Church is behind me and that the son of Argentina hero el Coronel Jorge G. Frade and I have made our peace. That there is unity, not the threat of civil war.”

Goddamn it, he’s got this all figured out.

“We should be going, Juan Domingo,” Nulder said.

“You and Evita go in two cars,” Perón ordered. “I don’t want you to be seen with her. I don’t want you to be seen at all.”

“I understand, Juan Domingo,” Nulder said.

[SEVEN]

Apartment 4-C

1044 Calle Talcahuano

Buenos Aires, Argentina

1835 18 October 1945

Señor Erich Richter—formerly SS-Sturmführer Erich Raschner—watched as Señor Ludwig Mannhoffer—formerly SS-Brigadeführer Ludwig Hoffmann—hung up the telelphone. Richter then waited patiently for Mannhoffer to collect his thoughts, then repeat what had just been discussed on the call.

Finally, he did.

“That was of course Schwartz reporting from the military hospital,” Mannhoffer began. “From which two staff cars have just departed, suitably escorted by the police, for the Casa Rosada. Accompanying President Farrell are Colonel Perón . . .”

He stopped and corrected himself.

“Actually, what I should have said was ‘Accompanying Oberst Perón’—as he is obviously in charge—are President Farrell, General Martín, that priest, the Jesuit, what’s his name?”

“Father Welner?” Richter suggested.

“And Father Welner and Oberst Lopez of the Horse Rifles Regiment. And Señor Cletus Frade. The latter two surprise me. I would have thought that Perón would have had Lopez shot out of hand, or at the very least have him locked up at Campo Mayo awaiting court-martial. And what is Frade doing there?”

“I have no idea, sir.”

“I didn’t think you would. That was a rhetorical question.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“Apparently, they are going to put a face of ‘we’re all friends, we all support Perón’ in his little coup. We already know there are a quarter of a million people waiting at the Casa Rosada to hear Perón speak.

“What we don’t know is where the colonel’s paramour, Señorita Duarte, is. We do know that she and that deviate Nulder are responsible for the quarter-million shirtless ones, whi

ch is why Farrell is going along with Perón. So she may be expected to play an important role in this. There is even talk that Perón is so confident that he will have her at his side when he speaks.

“We don’t know what role Frade will play in this. But he has just moved to the top of the list of candidates to be eliminated in order to make the point to Perón, the Argentine people, and of course our own that National Socialism—and its enforcement mechanism, the SS—is alive and functioning in Argentina.

“We could eliminate Nulder. That has a certain personal appeal, as I find him offensive. But who would care? Perón might be glad to be rid of him. After tonight, he doesn’t need him as much as he did, if at all.

“We could eliminate Señorita Duarte. Perón might be glad to be rid of her, too. But he might be thinking with his crotch.

“That leaves Frade. Eliminating him would not only make our point, but also would remove an American with the ear of Perón from the scene.”