«Sir,» Colonel Stecker replied, «Captain Weston refused to surrender when the Philippines fell. He was serving as General Fertig's intelligence officer on Mindanao until he was ordered out.»
«And the minute he was back here he volunteered for this 'shit detail'?» the President asked incredulously.
«That's about it, Mr. President,» Colonel Stecker replied. «He's an experienced Catalina pilot, and felt it was his duty to volunteer.»
«Is he married?»
«No, sir.»
«Where was he stationed?»
«Pensacola, sir.»
«Colonel Donovan,» the President said, «immediately Special Channel General Pickering that as soon as a replacement for Captain Weston can be sent in, he is to be brought out of the Gobi Desert and returned to Pensacola.»
«Yes, Mr. President.»
The President put his cigarette holder in his mouth at a rakish angle and smiled mischievously.
«As I recall, the beaches of Pensacola abound with healthy young women clad in bathing costumes Eleanor finds scandalous. Perhaps Captain Weston can, so to speak, cast a line into the water and reel one—or more—of them in.»
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Table of Contents
Prologue
At the start of the war in Europe, the Italians, the Germans, and the Japanese had become allies, called the ‘Axis Powers’ soon afterward, the Italians and Germans left Shanghai; yet even before that, it was clear they were not going to challenge Japanese authority in the city in any way. Meanwhile, following their defeat in Europe, the French had withdrawn their troops from China and had signed a «Treaty of Friendship» with the Japanese that permitted the Japanese to use military air bases and naval facilities in French Indochina. Finally, in August 1940, the British had announced their withdrawal from Shanghai and northern China.
note 1
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note 6
«Good morning, sir,» he said.
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Chapter Two
Chapter Three
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Chapter Four
note 21