The mission, ordered by Roosevelt himself, had been to bring ten tons of bagged ore from Kolwezi in the Katanga Province of the Belgian Congo. Only four people--the President; Donovan; Capt. Peter Douglass, Donovan's deputy;
and Brig. General Leslie R. Groves, director of something called "The Manhattan Project"--knew that the ore was uraninite. The Manhattan Project was intended, in the great secret of the Second World War, to refine the uraninite into uranium 235, and from the uranium 235 to construct a bomb, an "atomic bomb" that would have the explosive equivalent of twenty thousand tons of Roosevelt's, and Donovan's, great fear was that the Germans, among whose scientists were some of the greatest physicists in the world, and who were known to be conducting their own nuclear research, would learn of the American effort and increase their own research effort. Whoever could produce the first nuclear weapons would win the war.
"Canidy," Donovan said very quickly, to shut off any possibility that Whittaker--now that he'd made his little joke--might ask why it was of great importance and that the President just might tell him, "shot down two German fighters, Messerschmitts, near Dortmund three days ago."
"Good for him!" the President said, pleased to change the subject.
"Bad for him," Donovan said.
"He's not supposed to be flying missions as a fighter pilot."
"He must have had his reasons," Whittaker said loyally.
"You and Dick always have your reasons," Donovan said dryly.
"Come on, Bill," the President said.
"You're just jealous. I'm sure that you would rather be in the field with a regiment than doing what you're doing."
"I do what I'm told," Donovan said.
"And I naively expect people who work for me to do what they're told."
"Did I hear a subtle reprimand?" Whittaker asked.
"Or is that just my guilty conscience?"
"Well, Jimmy, what have you been doing that you shouldn't?" Roosevelt asked.
Donovan walked to Roosevelt and topped off the President's martini from a heavy crystal mixer.
"Not doing what he should have been doing, Franklin," Donovan said.
"What was that?" Whittaker asked.
"Learning how to get into a rubber boat from a submarine," Donovan said.
"Why would I want to do that?" Whittaker asked.
"Scheduled Pan American service to the Philippines has been temporarily suspended," Donovan said.
"A submarine's the only way we know to get you into the Philippines."
"Is that where I'm going?" Whittaker asked.
"That hasn't been decided yet," the President said coldly.
"Whether you or anybody else is going into the Philippines."
"Now that you mention it, Uncle Frank..." Whittaker said.
"I don't think I'm going to like it, Jim," Roosevelt said.
"But finish that."
"Why have we abandoned the people in the Philippines?" Whittaker asked.
"What makes you think we have?" Roosevelt replied, just a little indignantly He was not used to having his decisions questioned by anyone.