The Last Heroes (Men at War 1)

‘‘I asked you a question, Bill,’’ Chesty said.

‘‘A question you should know I couldn’t answer,’’ Donovan said. It was a rebuke.

‘‘I don’t know what good I would be,’’ Whittaker said. ‘‘I don’t know anything about this sort of thing.’’

‘‘You have been traveling all over the world since you were a boy,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘You know a wide assortment of people, including a number of our enemies. Let me be the judge of the rest.’’

‘‘Obviously,’’ Chesty said, ‘‘the war will require a mind-boggling amount of heavy construction. That’s really my field, Bill. I build railroads and bridges. Wouldn’t I be more valuable doing that?’’

‘‘No,’’ Donovan said simply. ‘‘You will be of greater value working for me. There are a lot of people who can put up a bridge. What I need from you is your brains and your fund of knowledge.’’

Chesley Haywood Whittaker was both flattered and excited. He was going to have an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the war they had just entered. He looked at Donovan.

‘‘What kind of knowledge?’’ he asked.

‘‘Just off the top of your head, Chesty, if I came to you and said it was necessary for the government to build an enormous plant, and do so rather secretly—’’

‘‘What kind of a plant? Making what?’’

‘‘I can’t tell you that,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Say a complicated chemical process.’’

‘‘Poison gas?’’

‘‘Something like that,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Something that should not be built, say, any closer than a hundred miles to a population center.’’

‘‘Chemical processing takes enormous amounts of power,’’ Whittaker said. ‘‘So it would be best to put it near a source of hydroelectric power. That means, I would say, off the top of my head, either Alabama or Tennessee, because of the TVA’s electric-generating capability—or maybe Washington State.’’

‘‘That kind of knowledge, Chesty,’’ Donovan said, smiling.

‘‘Will I have to call you sir?’’

‘‘And stand to attention.’’ Donovan put out his hand.

‘‘Are you serious about this plant, or plants?’’ Whittaker asked.

‘‘Just as soon as you can, do me up a one- or two-page briefing paper,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘This is a very high priority, Chesty.’’

‘‘That much poison gas? Are we in that much trouble?’’

‘‘Yes, we’re in that much trouble. Maybe it isn’t poison gas. Think of complicated chemical processes. Don’t limit your thoughts to poison gas.’’

‘‘All right,’’ Whittaker said. ‘‘I’ll have it for you tomorrow. ’’

‘‘The less help you have, the better,’’ Donovan said.

‘‘Meaning the less people who know?’’

‘‘Yes,’’ Donovan said.

Whittaker nodded his understanding.

‘‘Bill,’’ he asked, ‘‘what’s going to happen to Jimmy? He’s in the Philippines.’’

Donovan’s face grew serious. He thought about his reply before he offered it.

‘‘There are two schools of thought,’’ he said. ‘‘One believes it is in the best interests of the United States to try to defend our territory and our interests in the Far East. The other believes that we should deal with the Germans before we knock out the Japanese. I think we are going to follow the second choice.’’

‘‘At the expense of the first, you mean?’’