“Sir, I take your point.”
Souers let the exchange sink in for a very long twenty seconds, and then ordered, “Ford, answer the colonel’s question.”
“When Cronley seized the cargo, sir,” Ford said, “he did not have a Geiger counter device.”
“May I ask who Cronley is? And why he didn’t have a radiation detection device?”
Admiral Souers turned to Cronley. “Son, I’m going to give Colonel Broadhead the benefit of the doubt, meaning I am presuming that he has a reason beyond idle curiosity in asking it. Therefore, you may answer those questions.”
“Yes, sir,” Cronley said, then looked at Broadhead. “Sir, I’m Second Lieutenant James D. Cronley Junior. The first Geiger counter I ever saw was the one Commander Ford used on the… packages that I took off… wherever they were and gave to him.”
“I predict a great military career for this fine young officer,” Admiral Souers said. “I’m sure everyone noticed that he didn’t say ‘submarine’ or ‘U-boat’ or ‘uranium oxide’ even once.”
Souers let that sink in for another ten seconds, and then went on: “Now my curiosity is aroused. Why did you want to know, Broadhead, if the Geiger counter had been used on… wherever these packages were when Cronley seized them?”
“Sir, I was hoping that someone looked for radiation that might have leaked from the packages while they were on the sub—” He stopped.
“Now that the cat’s out of the bag, Colonel,” Souers said, “you can say ‘submarine.’ You can even say ‘U-boat’ and ‘uranium oxide.’”
“Yes, sir.”
Souers looked at Cletus Marcus Howell, who was grinning widely.
“Please don’t think this is funny, Mr. Howell,” he said.
“That was a smile of approval, Admiral. From one mean sonofabitch to another.”
“Dad, for God’s sake!” Martha Howell said.
“I will take that as a compliment, Mr. Howell,” Souers said.
“It was intended as one,” the old man said.
Souers turned to Broadhead.
“You think the submarine may be hot, Broadhead?”
“I think it’s possible, sir. The uranium oxide was on the submarine for a couple of months, maybe even longer.”
“Mattingly, get that word to Frade just as soon as we’re finished here,” Souers ordered. “We don’t want to sterilize half the brighter officers of the Armada Argentina, do we?”
“Yes, sir,” Colonel Mattingly said, smiling. “And no, sir, we certainly wouldn’t want to do that.”
Second Lieutenant Cronley chuckled.
“I don’t understand that,” Cletus Marcus Howell said.
“Possibly, Dad,” his daughter-in-law said, “because you’re not supposed to. It’s none of your business.”
“Actually, with apologies to the ladies, I was being crude in order not to have to say ‘suffer radiation poisoning,’” Souers said. “And, ma’am, the President ordered me to answer any questions Mr. Howell might have.”
“I thought I told you, Martha,” the old man said, “that ole Harry and I have the honor to be Thirty-third Degree Masons. We can trust one another.”
“May I ask who ‘Frade’ is?” Broadhead said. “And if he’s qualified to conduct an examination of this kind?”
“No, Colonel, you may not. You don’t have the Need to Know,” Souers said. “Are you and General Tomlinson about ready to get the cargo moving?”
“At your orders, Admiral,” Tomlinson said.
“Then may I suggest you get going?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Show them how to get into the cargo bay, Ford.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
Cronley made a move suggesting he was going with them.
Souers held up his hand. “Unless the commander can’t find the cargo without your help, son, you stay here.”
“Yes, sir,” Cronley said.
Souers waited until enough time had passed for Tomlinson, Broadhead, and Ford to have gone down the stairway, then walked to the door to make sure they had.
He turned to Cronley.
“The next problem we have, son, is what to do with you. My first thought, when we first heard of what you had done, was regret that you were coming with the uranium oxide.”
“For Christ’s sake, Admiral,” Cletus Marcus Howell exploded. “You wouldn’t have that goddamned radioactive dirt if it wasn’t for Jimmy! It seems to me a little gratitude is in order. Starting with a leave so that he can go to Texas and see his father and mother.”
Souers ignored him.
“In the best of all possible worlds,” Souers went on, “you would already be back in Germany. But the worst-case scenario has happened. Hoover now knows your name and that you have had something to do with the uranium ore. He will now be determined to learn that precise relationship.”
“And Truman can’t tell him to mind his own business?” the old man asked. “I think he will if I ask him. And I goddamned sure will. I figure ole Harry owes me a little favor — hell, a large favor. You know what it costs by the hour to fly this airplane? And I don’t mind at all calling it in.”
“I hope I can talk you out of doing that, Mr. Howell. The problem there is that if the President tells Hoover to mind his own business, all that will do is whet Hoover’s curiosity. And we have to keep in mind that the ore isn’t the only thing Cronley knows about.”
“You mean the Germans we sneaked into Argentina?”
Souers nodded. “That whole operation.”
“And you don’t trust Jimmy to keep his mouth shut, is that it? That’s insulting!”
“The less he tells the FBI agents that Hoover certainly is going to send to ‘interview’ him, the greater their — Hoover’s — curiosity is going to be. I don’t want — can’t permit — the ax of Hoover learning about the Gehlen operation to be hanging over the President.”
“I understand this, Mr. Howell,” Cronley said, then met Souers’s eyes. “Sir, I’m perfectly willing to go back to Germany right away.”
“And then where do we get married?” Marjorie Howell demanded. “In the ruins of Berlin? Maybe we could get married in that bunker where Hitler married his mistress the day before he shot her. That would be romantic as hell, wouldn’t it?”
“Chip off the old block, isn’t she, Admiral?” the old man said, smiling with obvious pride. “She’s got my genes. I advise you not to cross her.”
“Squirt,” Cronley said. “This is important stuff.”
“So far as I’m concerned, getting married is pretty important stuff,” she said.
“Not that I think the admiral is at all interested,” Martha Howell said, “but I thought you and Beth wanted a double wedding. And I can’t set up something like that in less than three months.”
“You wanted the double wedding, Mother,” Marjorie said. “Let’s get that straight. Beth would like to get married today. And so, goddamn it, would I, now that I think about it.”
“I’m afraid your marriage plans are going to have to be put on hold until we get this straightened out, Miss Howell,” Souers said.
“On hold for how long?” Marjorie demanded. “Or is that another classified secret?”
“Yes, it is classified,” Souers said. “Highly classified. Lieutenant Cronley is right, Miss Howell. This is very important stuff.”
“So you’re going to send him right back to Germany?” Marjorie said. “‘Thank you for all you’ve done, Lieutenant. Don’t let the knob on the airplane door hit you in the ass as you get on board.’”