“You even know the number?”
“And the name of her skipper,” Graham said. “Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm von Dattenberg.”
“Yes, on the U-405. For three reasons. The Bavarian corporal inquired of Himmler if the ‘mechanism for the transport of senior officers’ to South America was in place. The admiral told me Hitler had a half-formed idea that Il Duce, once he’s freed, might be the first senior officer to seek asylum under Operation Phoenix.”
“My God! Really?” Dulles asked incredulously.
“According to the admiral, Himmler said he had disabused the Führer of that notion. But Hitler wanted to know, as I said, if the mechanism is in place.”
“I want to hear about freeing Mussolini,” Graham said. “But first, let’s get to the other two reasons von Deitzberg is being sent to Argentina.”
Von und zu Waching looked at him, nodded, and went on: “Himmler told Hitler that he had turned over control of U-405 to Admiral Canaris—this was not true—and that Canaris was in the process of seeing if ‘the mechanism was in place’; that von Deitzberg was en route to Argentina is the test of the mechanism.”
“So von Deitzberg had to go,” Graham said. “Reason Two?”
“Himmler wants your man there, Frade, eliminated. Apparently, Cranz has been unable to accomplish this. Von Deitzberg is very good at that sort of thing. And he’s close to Colonel Perón.”
“And Three?”
“That—his connection with Perón—may be Three. But it could be something else. I just know, and the admiral agrees, that there’s more to Himmler’s sending von Deitzberg to Argentina than checking to see if the ‘transport mechanism’ works and eliminating Frade.”
“You said when Il Duce has been freed?” Dulles asked.
“By now the Carabinieri, in whose hands the king placed him, should have moved him to a ski resort—the Campo Imperatore Hotel on the Gran Sasso—” He paused and looked between Dulles and Graham to make sure they understood him, and after they nodded he went on: “From which, in the next few days, a task force of paratroops augmented by some special SS troops will try to rescue him.”
“You’re suggesting that you’re not sure the operation will work?” Graham asked.
“The admiral isn’t sure, either. On one hand, the paratroops are very good, and the SS are special troops. On the other, there’s a battalion of Carabinieri who are also very good.”
“Why is rescuing Mussolini so important?” Dulles wondered aloud. “There is no way he could resume power.”
“Because the Bavarian corporal thinks it is,” von und zu Waching said. “Case closed.”
Dulles nodded a sad agreement.
“Okay,” Graham said. “What is it you want from me in Argentina? And what do you offer in return?”
“Money is the primary thing I want from you,” von und zu Waching said.
“Money is usually the last thing mentioned,” Graham said. “After you convince the other fellow that he really wants what you’re selling, then you tell him how much it costs. What are you going to give me for my money?”
“Abwehr Ost,” von und zu Waching said. “Files, dossiers, analyses, even agents in place. How much would you like to have that?”
“We have a saying, Captain, that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” Graham said. “The first thing that comes to mind is: ‘How could he possibly deliver on that?’ And the second is: ‘Why would he want to?’ ”
“Oberstleutnant Gehlen . . . you know of whom I speak?”
Graham nodded. “He runs Abwehr Ost for Admiral Canaris. I’ve always wondered why he’s only a lieutenant colonel.”
“To keep him from Hitler’s attention,” von und zu Waching said. “He met the Führer for the first time a week or so ago.”
“Okay,” Graham said. “I can
understand that.”
“Oberstleutnant Gehlen wants three things,” von und zu Waching went on carefully. “In the following order: To protect the families of his officers and men. To protect, insofar as this may be possible, the lives of his officers and men and agents and assets in place in the Soviet Union.”
Graham nodded, grunted, and said, “That’s two things.”