Frade didn’t immediately reply because he couldn’t think of anything to say.
And again Duarte drove home his point: “And there is no other way but Trippe’s Pan American Airways to travel by air to the U.S., which means we’re talking of at least three weeks’ travel time by ship, and that’s presuming you could get the necessary visas . . .”
“Is that all that the devil’s advocate can think of?” Frade said.
“Isn’t that enough? I don’t like it, Cletus, but I’m following Juan Domingo’s idea that we should see things the way they are, rather than as we wish they were.”
Frade nodded. “True, but”—Where did this come from?—“there are two flaws in the devil’s argument.”
“Never underestimate the devil, Cletus,” Father Welner said.
Jesus, is he serious?
“Are there really?” Duarte said.
“First of all,” Frade went on, “Pan American is not the only way to fly to the States. The Lodestars were all flown down here; there’s no reason one couldn’t be flown back.”
“Could you do that?” Perón asked.
“It is possible, mi coronel,” Delgano said.
Frade added, “And it would also solve the visa problem. Aircrews don’t need visas.”
“They don’t?” Perón asked dubiously.
Delgano shrugged. “We don’t need them to fly to Chile, Brazil . . . anywhere. I can only presume the same is true of the United States.”
“It is,” Frade said with certainty.
I have no idea if that’s true or not.
The first question that comes to mind is whether I can call twelve guys sitting in the back “aircrew” just because they’re pilots.
But I have to run with this until I can get a message to Graham.
“When can you leave, Cletus?” Perón asked.
“At first light the day after tomorrow. It will take us that long to prepare. Right, Gonzo?”
Delgano nodded.
“Well, there you have it, Humberto,” Perón said.
“Excuse me, Juan Domingo?”
“An hour ago, I saw no solution to this problem,” Perón said. “And now, thanks to Cletus, we have one.”
Frade studied Perón.
Does he believe that?
Then Frade announced: “There being no other new business, is there a motion to adjourn?”
“So moved,” Claudia Carzino-Cormano said.
“Second?”
“Second,” Duarte said.