Curtain of Death (Clandestine Operations 3)

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“Vatican, Altarboy for Top Kick. The line is secure,” the ASA operator said.

“Put him through,” First Sergeant Tedworth said.

“Honest Abe?” Cronley asked.

“Sir, it went off so smoothly I didn’t believe it.”

“Praise the Lord! Both of them?”

“Both of them.”

“Where are they now?”

“In separate cells under the chapel. And . . . you may not like this, Captain. Wearing GI blankets.”

“What’s that all about?”

“Major Bischoff was here when we flew in. Said General Gehlen had sent him to find out how things had gone. He wanted them naked in the cells. I didn’t think that was what you wanted. So we compromised on taking their clothes and giving them blankets. It’s cold as a witch’s teat in those cells, and I didn’t think you wanted them catching pneumonia.”

“Good call, Abe,” Cronley said. “But keep Bischoff away from them until we get there.”

“Yes, sir. And when will you get here?”

“As soon as we can get on the Air Force courier flight to Rhine-Main. Have Winters and Schröder waiting for us at Rhine-Main. Tell them to leave now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is Sergeant . . . Miss Miller there?”

“Yes, sir. You want to talk to her?”

“Ask her if she takes shorthand.”

Cronley could hear Tedworth posing the question.

“Yes, sir,” Tedworth reported,

“Tell her to get out her notebooks and sharpen her pencils. First order of business is to get Heimstadter and Müller talking. Are the photographers there?”

“Yes, sir. I haven’t told them what for.”

“Tell them. Get them all set up.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Unless you have something else, I think that’s it.”

“I don’t have anything else, sir.”

“Break it down, Fulda,” Cronley said, and then turned to Frade and asked, “You heard?”

“I heard. The Good Lord, thanks to Ludwig, seems to be on our side.”

“Now all we have to do is get seats on the courier flight,” Cronley said. “Start praying, Ludwig.”

“For the moment, until el Coronel Perón finally gathers the courage to face my wrath by seizing it, SAA is still a DCI asset,” Frade said. “If the chief, DCI-Europe, wants to commandeer the SAA Constellation aircraft sitting at Tempelhof, I would have no choice but to comply. And everybody could go.”