“When are you going to see C
hief Daniels?”
“At the Chief’s Reception.”
“You have my authority, Chief, to inform Chief Daniels of the nature of this mission, and then to ask him if that changes his mind, under the circumstances, about the risk of Lieutenant Pelosi working on the five-inch rounds. If he still thinks Mr. Pelosi can’t handle it, approach him about missing the ship. Tell him not to worry about any real charges being placed against him.”
“You have that kind of authority, Mr. Frade?”
Do I?
“Tell the Captain that we will require as many five-inch illuminating rounds as Mr. Pelosi thinks we’ll need, plus some spares for testing,” Clete said, hoping his voice reflected more confidence than he felt. “When Enrico comes back, we’ll decide how to get them, and you, and maybe Chief Daniels from here to Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo.”
“Aye, aye, Sir,” Chief Schultz said.
[TWO]
Bureau of Internal Security
Ministry of Defense
Edificio Libertador
Avenida Paseo Colón
Buenos Aires
0905 28 December 1942
“The American battleship Thomas sailed at three-thirty P.M. yesterday, mi Coronel,” el Comandante Carlos Habanzo reported, reading from a manila folder. “It dropped the Armada Argentine pilot—”
“A question of precise terminology, Habanzo,” el Teniente Coronel Bernardo Martín interrupted.
“¿Sí, mi Coronel?”
“While the Thomas is in fact a battleship, a warship, it is not a battleship, but a destroyer. A battleship is much larger. You remember the Graf Spee?”
“Of course, mi Coronel.”
“The Graf Spee was much larger than the American destroyer Thomas, no?”
“It was enormous, mi Coronel.”
“The Graf Spee, Habanzo, was a battleship. It was a warship and a battleship.”
“I understand, mi Coronel.”
“Actually, it was a ‘pocket battleship,’” Martín said, “implying that it was not quite as large or as powerful as other warships called battleships.”
“I see, mi Coronel.”
“For your general fund of naval information, Habanzo, there are ‘battleships’; then, somewhat smaller, ‘cruisers’; then, smaller still, ‘destroyers’; and finally, generally speaking, ‘corvettes,’ which are even smaller than destroyers. The vessel you are talking about, Habanzo, is a United States warship, the destroyer Thomas.”
“I understand the distinction now, mi Coronel,” Habanzo said. “Thank you.”
“Proceed.”
“The American destroyer, the Thomas, sailed at three-thirty P.M. yesterday, dropped the Armada Argentina pilot immediately outside the port, then proceeded down the Río de la Plata accompanied by the Armada Argentina battleship—” He stopped and quickly corrected himself: “Warship, the corvette San Martín. Upon entering the upper limits of Samborombón Bay, the destroyer engaged in a series of slow-speed maneuvers; the purpose of which is not clear…”