In front of the third suitcase there was another towel, a raincoat, and a sleeping bag. Next to this was a second .45 with two extra magazines and two boxes of ammo, a first-aid kit, a canteen, a compass, a flashlight, a gas mask, a dozen K rations, and finally a pack of playing cards and a box of Hershey chocolate bars.
“What?” Canidy said. “No marshmallows and graham crackers?”
John Craig’s eyes brightened.
“To make s’mores! We have any?”
Canidy grunted.
“That was a fucking joke,” he said, then swept his hand in the direction of all that was on the floor. “Much like all this.”
Canidy walked over to the suitcases and glanced at each of them.
“The radios are in which ones?”
Van der Ploeg pointed to the first and third suitcases.
Canidy went to the first one, reached in, and after a moment found the false bottom. He then carefully removed it, revealing three black boxes. The transmitter and receiver of the SSTR-1 wireless telegraphy set were nearly identical black boxes, each about ten inches long and four inches wide and tall. They had black Bakelite faceplates with an assortment of knobs, dials, and toggle switches. Each weighed five pounds; the similar-sized box that was the power supply weighed ten.
He pointed at the third suitcase and said, “Same in there?”
“Exactly.”
“You tested them?”
John Craig nodded. “Touch them.”
Canidy did.
“They’re still warm,” he said.
“They just came down from the commo room.”
Canidy made a satisfied face, then put the false bottom back in place.
He turned his attention to what was in front of the suitcase.
“Everything we take is going to fit in two suitcases. Got it?”
John Craig didn’t look convinced.
Canidy reached down and grabbed four pairs of pants and four shirts, then tossed them in the nearby corner.
“What?” John Craig said.
Canidy looked over his shoulder and said, “Were you planning on visiting—or moving to Sicily?”
Then Canidy did the same with the four T-shirts, four pairs of socks, the handkerchiefs, and one of the towels. Finally, he threw out
the sleeping bag and gas mask and mess kit.
Canidy then walked over and scanned the items on the shelving. He took a quick inventory and then pulled four cartons of Camel unfiltered cigarettes from one section. He tossed two cartons in each of the suitcases that had a W/T.
“I didn’t think you smoked cigarettes,” John Craig said, visibly surprised.
“I don’t. Those are for what’s known as bribery. They’re worth their weight in gold in most places.”
Canidy looked back to the shelving and pulled more packages off and tossed them in the suitcase.