No, Stupid here didn’t even think about that.
“Mr. Dulles, I have to tell you that that never entered my mind.”
Dulles looked at him a moment and smiled.
“As you said, your head’s been spinning. I’m sure that the potentially vast importance to us of this man Frogger would have occurred to you sooner or later.”
Frade shook his head.
“And if he is?” Dulles went on. “Lying to you, I mean. Then what?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to kil
l them, but they know too much—about Leibermann, Stein, me, et cetera—to turn them loose.”
“Don’t kill them just yet, please, Clete. Let me give this some thought.”
Frade looked at Dulles and saw that he was smiling.
“Did I say something that amused you, Mr. Dulles?”
“A minute ago you said something that amuses me now.”
“What was that?”
“Something to the effect that you’re in over your head and why don’t they send someone to Argentina who knows what he’s doing.”
“That’s funny?”
“Alex Graham said, vis-à-vis you, something to the effect that the first impression you give is of a dangerously irresponsible individual who should not be trusted out of your sight. And then, depending on how much experience one has with really good covert intelligence officers, quickly or slowly comes the realization that one’s in the company of a rare person who seems to be born for this sort of thing.”
My face feels flushed.
Am I blushing?
Jesus H. Christ!
“That sounds almost like a compliment,” Frade said after a moment.
“I’m sure it was intended as one,” Dulles said.
“Does that mean you’re going to tell me what this airline business is all about?”
“Alex and I talked about that, and Colonel Donovan told me he’d asked the President. No one knows anything except that Franklin Delano Roosevelt thinks it’s a good idea, and that he was pleased to learn of your remarkable progress in getting one going.”
“Jesus!”
“Your glass is nearly empty, Cletus.”
“I don’t know if another’s a good idea.”
“We’re through for today. We’ll talk again in the morning. You can get a really nice American breakfast at the officers’ club here. Half past eight, shall we say?”
“I’ve got Delgano with me.”
“Oh, bring him. Tell him I’m an assistant consular officer trying to straighten out your problems with Brazilian immigration.”
He saw that Frade was looking at him curiously, as if trying to guess if he was kidding or not.