“ ‘Tourists’ I think I understand. But ‘Good Kraut’ and ‘Old Bitch’?”
“I think he means Frogger is cooperating and Frau Frogger is not.”
“That’s the first time I have even seen ‘old bitch’ in an official communication, ” Donovan said, and dropped his eyes to the sheet of paper again. “ ‘Brigadier Chicken’? ”
“As in ‘chickenshit.’ Implying the general was reluctant to understand that our operations don’t always follow established protocol or regulations.”
“And I see that I was right when I told you take those badges down there.”
Graham shook his head in mock disgust.
“That’s the lawyer coming out in you again, Bill. Twisting the facts to support your position. You wanted to impress on Frade that he was in the OSS with a badge saying so. That’s all. You didn’t any more think that he would wag them in some Air Forces general’s face than I did.”
Donovan smiled, then went on, “ ‘Give the SOB both ears and the tail’? ”
“I think that Frade is suggesting that the SOB who got him the credentials—which would be you, of course—be given, as is a very good matador in a bullfight, both ears and the tail.”
Donovan shook his head.
“What about this Lieutenant Flags? Can we recruit him?”
“Only, Bill, at the risk of greatly annoying the Army Security Agency. Let me think about that.”
“Well, obviously we can’t give him a medal.”
“You could write him—or I will write and you can sign—a very nice letter to the ASA extolling his many virtues.”
“And the badge Frade says we should give him?”
“That makes sense. I want to talk to Fischer just as soon as I can.”
“When will that be?”
“There’s a B-26 waiting for him to get off the Clipper in Miami. Six, seven hours after that.”
“The film?”
“I don’t know which will get here first, the one Fischer has with him, or the one the pilot-courier is bringing.”
“And we won’t know, will we, until we get the film developed, if there’s anything useful on either roll?”
“There you go again, Counselor, looking for the black cloud. Look on the bright side.”
“Which is?”
“The next-to-last paragraph,” Graham said. “Your friend Franklin’s got the competition to Juan Trippe’s Pan American that he wanted.”
“You think that’s it, Alejandro? That Roosevelt wants to stick it to Trippe with that Argentine airline?”
“That’s all I can think of.”
“I want to see that film the moment it’s developed,” Donovan said. “You think we should send Allen Dulles a message telling him it’s on the way? He’s really—”
“It may be all blank. Why don’t we wait and see?”
Donovan considered that a moment, then said, “You’re right. That makes— what?—twice this year, doesn’t it?”
“Three times. My secretary said you really are a bastard, and I agreed with her.”