“Yes, sir.”
“Son of a bitch! Do we have people there?”
“On our way here, sir, it looked like every MP in Berlin was headed for Beerenstrasse,” Cronley said.
Clay looked around the room, then at his men.
“Okay, so this is what we’re going to do. Sergeant Major, call the ops room and tell the SIGABA operator I want Mr. Justice Jackson and Admiral Souers on the line by the time we get there. When you’ve done that, call the hospital and tell them I want a pediatric nurse and a pediatric physician and whatever it takes to sustain an infant for forty-eight hours sent here by ambulance. Likewise, I want a second ambulance with a trauma physician and a trauma nurse.”
“Sir,” Cronley said, “I’m not wounded—”
“Button your lip, Cronley! In your frame of mind, you wouldn’t notice if you were missing an arm.”
He pointed toward one of his aides.
“Find General Makamson and ask him to join me in the ops room. General Makamson only.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And then call Mrs. Clay and tell her I need her right now. When she and the medics get here, send them to the ops room. Same with General Greene, when and if he shows up here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And when you’ve done that, go by the officers’ sales store and get Captain Cronley a pair of trousers. Size, Cronley?”
“Thirty-four/thirty-eight, sir.”
[TWO]
Operations Room
Office of the Commander in Chief
United States Forces European Theater
Berlin, American Zone of Occupation, Germany
1305 21 April 1946
“What’s going on, General?” Lieutenant General Makamson asked as he came into the ops room.
Clay responded by putting his index finger to his lips and then using it as a pointer, indicating where he wanted Makamson to sit.
The voice of Justice Jackson came loudly over the SIGABA speakers. “I got to the SIGABA as soon as I could, Lucius. What’s the urgency?”
Clay said, “General Serov, this is General Makamson, my G-2.”
“Did I hear that correctly, Lucius? General Serov?”
“Yes, Mr. Justice Jackson,” Serov called out.
Cronley then announced, “Odessa hit the safe house, sir—”
“Odessa did what, Jimmy?” Cletus Frade’s voice came over the speaker.
“—Nine KIA,” Cronley went on, his voice breaking. “Including Father McGrath and Ginger.”
“Jesus H. Christ,” Frade said.