The Honor of Spies

Frade was surprised to find the both of them. He wondered idly how Graham had traveled to Portugal.

"Handsome doesn't have any money to tip the bellboys," Frade said in Spanish, then walked to the table.

Dulles took a wad of currency from behind the handkerchief in the breast pocket of his somewhat baggy gray suit, peeled off several bills, and handed them to one of the bellboys. Then he extended about half of the money he had left to Frade.

"That should hold you for a little while," Dulles said.

"Thank you," Frade said, and picked up one of the wine bottles.

"That's Monte do Maio," Dulles offered. "Something like a Merlot. Very nice. Baron de Rothschild owns the vineyard."

Frade poured wine into a glass, took a healthy sip, and then another.

Dulles asked, "How was the flight?"

"We made it," Frade said.

Graham stood up and began to unwind the wire-bound cork of the champagne bottle.

"Did you actually, just before you took off, tell your passengers to put their heads between their knees and kiss their asses good-bye?" Graham asked.

"Who told you about that?"

"A Jesuit priest," Dulles said. "And, as you should know, Cletus, while they have mastered the art of obfuscation, Jesuit priests never lie."

"How the hell do you know Welner?" Clete blurted.

"That's one of the things we need to talk about," Dulles said. "But let's wait until the colonel opens the champagne."

"We have a lot to talk about," Frade said.

At that moment, the cork came loudly out of the bottle and sailed across the room. Graham filled three glasses and passed two of them around.

"What are we celebrating?" Clete asked as they clinked glasses.

"You've been selected for the Naval Command and General Staff College," Graham said. "How about that?"

"With respect, Colonel, I'm not in the mood."

"To Cletus," Dulles said.

"Cletus," Graham said, and raised his glass.

"And to us," Dulles said, looking at Graham.

Graham touched Dulles's glass with his.

"Oh, how sweet it is to be proven right," he said.

"Amen," Dulles said.

They took a sip of the champagne.

"Do you think he'll apologize?" Graham asked.

"I am not going to hold my breath," Dulles replied.

Clete thought: What the hell?

Who's not going to apologize?

And for what?

Dulles turned to Frade and said, "For your general fund of knowledge, Major Frade, in the opinion of our beloved chief, Wild Bill Donovan, the chances of your being able to pull off this trip ranged from negligible to zero."

"Don't let this go to your head, Major Frade," Graham added, "but Allen and I are ever so grateful to you for proving Donovan wrong. That rarely happens."

Graham and Dulles took another sip of the champagne.

"Semper Fidelis, Major," Graham said. "Which reminds me: I have something from our beloved Corps for you."

He handed Frade an envelope. Frade opened it and found a U.S. government check and a complicated form.

"Your back pay, Major. If you'll endorse it, I'll take it back to Washington and deposit it for you. It is suggested that you purchase War Bonds with twenty percent of the total as your personal contribution to the war effort."

Clete shook his head and took a closer look at the form.

"Surprising me not at all, this is fucked up," he said.

"How so?"

"No flight pay."

"But you weren't flying, were you? Not Marine aircraft . . ."

"Jesus! You're kidding!"

"Not at all. But I checked that form. You did receive that munificent two-dollars-a-month payment that comes with your Distinguished Service Cross. Don't be greedy, Major."

Frade shook his head.

"And you are being paid six dollars per diem in lieu of rations and quarters from the day you volunteered for the OSS. That's a nice chunk of change."

"From which the sonsofbitches deducted the price of my watch," Frade said, holding up his wrist, to which was strapped what the U.S. Navy described as Watch, Hamilton, Chronometer, Naval Aviators, w/strap, leather.

"The Corps didn't give you that watch, Major," Graham said. "They issued it to you for use while flying their airplanes. When you stopped doing that, the Corps naturally wanted it back, and when that didn't happen, they presumed you had 'lost' it and deducted the price from your pay."

Frade tossed the check and the accompanying forms on the table and then picked up one of the wine bottles. He grunted derisively as he expertly pulled the cork.

"And as I mentioned, Major Frade," Graham said, "just as soon as you can be spared from your present duties, you have been selected to attend the Naval Command and General Staff College."

Frade looked at him warily. "What is this? 'Remind Frade he's a serving officer'?"

"That's part of it. It started out when the Marine Corps liaison officer--from Eighth and Eye; he keeps track of Marines in the OSS--came to me and asked when you could be expected to return from Brisbane."

"From where?"