The Honor of Spies

"Most of these people are dedicated Nazis. I know for sure that Moller is. They are going to keep on fighting godless Communism and keeping their oath of personal loyalty to the Fuhrer until the Russians are in Berlin."

"Gehlen, too?" Martin asked.

"No. Not Gehlen. But please don't ask me any more about that, Alejandro."

"If I did, would you tell me?" Martin asked.

Nervo said: "Apropos of nothing whatever, Cletus, what comes to your mind when you hear the term 'Valkyrie'?"

Jesus Christ, they know about that?

Well, Martin did tell me he had a BIS guy in the Argentine Embassy in Berlin he really wanted to keep there.

Sure they know.

"Blond, large-breasted Aryan women who fool around with the braver soldiers? Carry them off for carnal adventures on their horses?"

"Yeah, right," Nervo said, chuckling. "The SS guy at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo doesn't like Valkyries?"

"I know he thinks that anyone who is not going to keep his vow of personal loyalty to Hitler is a traitor."

"Like Galahad, for example?" Martin said.

"Like who?" Frade said.

"You did hear that he flew his little airplane to Montevideo this morning, and came back about an hour ago?"

"Who did what?"

"He brought back with him a package for Senor Gradny-Sawz," Martin said.

He demonstrated with his hands the size of the package; about that of a shoe box.

"Cletus," Nervo said. "Would you be shocked to hear that I don't think fighting godless Communism is such a bad idea?"

"I'd say you sound like my boss and my grandfather," Clete said.

Nervo chuckled. He patted Clete on the arm and then turned to Martin.

"Alejandro, decision time. You have thirty seconds to decide what we're going to do about all these people violating the sacred neutrality of Argentina."

Martin shook his head.

"Twenty-five seconds," Nervo said, looking at his wristwatch. "Do you want to report to General Obregon that we have reason to believe that the American OSS with the connivance of the Papal Nuncio has just smuggled into Argentina two SS people and their wives and children? And plans to smuggle in more?"

Martin stared icily at him.

"Or that you watched, but did not arrest, an SS general as he was smuggled into Argentina from a German submarine?"

"Christ, Santiago!" Martin protested.

"Or that we have reason to believe that Don Cletus Frade has been concealing two Germans who either ran from their embassy--or who he might have kidnapped--at his Estancia Don Guillermo in Mendoza?"

"I didn't kidnap the Froggers," Clete said.

"Does Father Kurt know about you and the Froggers?" Nervo asked.

Clete nodded.

"Or, Alejandro, do you wish to join with Don Cletus and me in this noble--and I might add, endorsed by Holy Mother Church--battle against godless Communism?"

Nervo glanced at his wristwatch. "Fifteen seconds."

"Goddamn you, Santiago!"

"I would ask if you want to join with Don Cletus and me in the equally--as far as I am concerned--noble battle against more-or-less godless Nazism, but I'm not sure how you and Holy Mother Church really feel about the Nazis."

"You sonofabitch!" Martin said, but he could not restrain a chuckle.

"May I interpret that to mean you're with us?"

"What other choice do I have?"

"Suicide would be an option, but I seem to recall that's a mortal sin."

"What are we going to do?" Martin asked.

"What I'm going to do is get in Don Cletus's airplane . . . the little one . . . and fly to Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo with him to have a word with el Senor . . . what's his name, Cletus?"

"Moller. Alois Moller. We kept their real Christian names."

". . . with Senor Alois Moller

."

"About what?"

"I'll decide that after I talk with him," Nervo said. "But right now I'm thinking along the lines of suggesting to him that his only option--presuming he wants to stay alive--is to do nothing that might in any way annoy Don Cletus or myself."

"What about Edmundo Wattersly?" Martin asked.

"Tell him we need a daily report on el Coronel Schmidt's activities. We can't have that Nazi sonofabitch going to Casa Montagna looking for the weapons cache. . . . Or, now that I think of it, for the Froggers."

"Okay. But what I meant is: Do we tell him about this?"

Nervo didn't reply for a long moment, before finally asking, "We don't have to make that decision right now, do we?"

"No," Martin said. "But sooner or later. Him and Lauffer."

"Not now," Nervo said.

Martin nodded.

Nervo asked: "Do you want me to send Pedro out to the estancia with your car?"

"How about this?" Clete interrupted. "Father Silva is going to bring the National Identity booklets out here at nine tomorrow morning. I'm going to make a fuel stop at the same time on my way to Mendoza. Santiago, if you want to spend the night at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo . . ."