Death and Honor (Honor Bound 4)

Donovan looked up from the papers and said, “Well, just to be sure we know what and whom we’re talking about, who’s Popeye?”

“Oh, no, Bill,” Graham said while wagging his right index finger for effect. “Allen Dulles and I know who he is. But so that you can look FDR straight in the eye and truthfully say you don’t know who he is, we’re not going to tell you.”

Donovan exhaled audibly, but didn’t respond directly.

"And Big-Z is von Deitzberg, right?”

“Himmler’s adjutant,” Graham confirmed. “SS, but he was sent to Argentina in a major general’s uniform.”

Donovan nodded.

“Presumably to run the smuggling operation,” Graham added, “in addition to Phoenix.”

“And now he’s been recalled to Berlin? Any idea why?”

Graham shook his head.

“And his replacement, Limburger?” Donovan asked.

“Another member of the SS inner circle.”

“Who kept both Popeye and Galahad

in the dark about when and where, et cetera?”

“That’s what it says.”

“And the Argentine army was involved?”

“Same answer.”

"How come Galahad gave Frade his friend the U-boat skipper’s name?”

“Why not? What could Frade do with it?”

“And there’s a new replenishment ship?”

“So it would appear.”

“Can we do anything about it, now that we know the name?”

Graham shrugged, then said, “I haven’t made up my mind yet whether we should. And I don’t know if we can. We can’t board her on the high seas. I don’t understand that decision, but the President made that very clear.”

Donovan looked at Graham for a long moment.

“Okay, Alex, what do you want to do?”

“Let me throw something else into the equation. Lieutenant Colonel Frogger, who’s now in that VIP POW camp—Camp Clinton, in Mississippi—has been classified as a Class Three.”

“Am I supposed to know what that means?”

“I had to ask. Class One is a professional officer and dedicated National Socialist. Class Two is a Nazi who holds commission; it includes all members of SS and most other officers. Class Three is a professional officer not known to be a Nazi, or to be sympathetic to the idea. Apolitical.”

“And is there a Class Four?”

“An officer who professes to see the errors of his ways and is ready to do what he can to help us rid the world of those terrible Nazis.”

“You don’t seem to approve of the Class Fours.”