“Let’s go hypothetical again, Bernardo. If there were such a person, and Cletus Frade were the intelligence officer you mistakenly believe him to be, why wouldn’t his name already be known to Almond?”
“Because Frade doesn’t entirely trust the OSS?”
“The what? What’s the OSS?”
Martín chuckled and shook his head.
“It could be, if all these hypotheticals were true, that Don Cletus doesn’t trust Almond, or the people he works for, to keep a secret. And that divulgence of that secret to the wrong people—intentionally or inadvertently—would probably see not only Galahad, but many other people, innocent people, killed.”
Martín looked at Leibermann for a long moment. “Have you heard anything else of interest lately?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Not a thing, I’m afraid. And you?”
Martín shook his head. Then he stood up.
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Milton,” he said.
“Likewise, Bernardo. Tell me, have you been to the zoo lately?”
“No, but one of these days I’m going to have to go.”
He put his hand out to Leibermann, shook it, and walked back through the Café Tortoni to Avenida de Mayo.
[FIVE]
The Office of the Foreign Minister
Berlin
1410 25 May 1943
Parteileiter Martin Bormann was the first to arrive, in reply to a telephone call from Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop. “What’s this all about?” he demanded brusquely.
“Something has come up in connection with Operation Phoenix that requires an immediate decision. From everyone,” von Ribbentrop said, and then, just a shade sarcastically, “Good afternoon, Martin. You’re looking well.”
“I left an important meeting to come here,” Bormann said. “If I was rude, I apologize. Others are coming?”
“The Reichsprotektor and Admiral Canaris,” von Ribbentrop said. “Keitel and Dönitz are at Wolfsshanze.”
“What has come up? Or would you rather wait until the others get here?”
Von Ribbentrop handed him several sheets of paper. “Would you like a coffee, Martin, while we’re waiting for the others?”
“Coffee? No,” Bormann replied, then, “This came in two days ago?”
“It came in ten minutes before I called you. There was some bomb damage to communications, the cryptographic facility. Everything was delayed. You don’t want coffee?”
“No, thank you,” Bormann said, and resumed reading the message.
Von Ribbentrop summoned his secretary and asked her to bring him a coffee and to make sure there would be coffee for the others when they arrived.
“Jawohl, Excellency,” his secretary said, and added: “Excellency, Admiral Canaris called, and said that he cannot make this meeting; he is sending Fregattenkapitän von und zu Waching and Korvettenkapitän Boltitz to represent him.”
Bormann looked up from the message. “Canaris is obviously smarter than I am. What is this thing, anyway?
“Once you finish it, Martin, I believe it will all be clear,” von Ribbentrop said.
Bormann snorted and resumed reading.