“Secondly, equally important, we have to teach the Argentines a lesson.”
They just taught us one, didn’t they? Don’t mess with our neutrality.
“Yes, Sir?”
“I really wish you would call me ‘Jasper,’” Nestor said. “I understand, force of habit, but someone hearing you might ask…”
“Sorry, Jasper. I’ll work on it.”
“The Argentines have to be taught that they can’t stop us from making sure they stay neutral; that they can’t close their eyes to the fact that the Germans are reprovisioning their submarines and surface raiders in the River Plate. More important, that even if they have eliminated one of our teams, we are capable of, and will in fact, send in another team. And another. And another. As many as it takes.”
“I understand. Will there be another team sent down here now?”
“I’m sure there will be. No telling, of course, how long it will take to find the men, and then run them through the training school, et cetera, et cetera. For the time being, Clete, you’re the varsity team.”
“Varsity team”? Jesus Christ! We’re here to blow up a ship, not play football!
“It will be important for you to keep in mind that we don’t want to anger the Argentineans. Ideally, you would render the replenishment ship inoperable, rather than sink it, and do so without its coming out publicly that it was done by Americans.”
“Who else would do it?”
“The British, for one. The Brazilians, for another. The point is that if it became public—as opposed to private—knowledge that the vessel was rendered inoperable by Americans, there would be an inevitable public outcry—fueled by the Germans—against American violation of Argentine neutrality.”
“OK. I get the picture.”
“Blowing the ship up would attract attention—especially if the ship was flying the flag of a neutral country.”
“Is that what happened to the team that was eliminated?” Clete’s mouth ran away with him. “They ‘attracted attention’?”
If Nestor was offended by his sarcasm, or even noticed it, there was no sign.
“I don’t actually know. Scenario One is that they were detected and eliminated while actually conducting the operation. Scenario Two is that they came to the attention of members of the Argentinean Navy who, with permission from the highest quarters, removed the perceived threat to Argentinean neutrality in such a manner that no questions could be asked. Scenario Three is that the threat to the Motor Vessel Sundsvall came to the attention of the Germans. They have a very good Sicherheitsdienst operation…”
“A what?”
“Sicherheitsdienst—Secret Service, literally. Actually a sort of a combination of our FBI and OSS.”
“The Sicher…What is it?”
“Sicherheitsdienst. Yes. They’re quite good. Scenario Three is that the team’s intentions came to the attention of the Sicherheitsdienst, and the Sicherheitsdienst, regarding them as a simple military threat, eliminated them themselves. Or arranged for their elimination by Argentinean friends. As I am sure you know, there are many Argentineans, not only those of German extraction, who feel that God and reason are on the side of the Germans.”
“And if the Sicherheydinn…”
“Sicher-heits-dienst,” Nestor corrected his pronunciation.
“…finds out about us, are they going to try to eliminate us?”
“Possibly. The threat increases as the threat you pose to the replenishment operation increases. I’m leaving you at the Plaza after we have our lunch. When I do, I will leave my briefcase with you. In it you will find two Argentinean-manufactured copies of the Colt Model 1911A1 .45 automatic. Presumably they were stolen from the Argentinean Army. They were acquired illegally. It is against Argentinean law for any foreigner to own a pistol. A foreigner may obtain a permit to purchase a smooth-bore sporting firearm…a shotgun. Mallín, or your father, if you can strike up an acquaintance with him, can probably arrange a permit for you and Pelosi, without difficulty.”
If there wasn’t a bona fide threat from the Germans, he would not have come with the pistols.
“Turning to your father,” Nestor went on. “I suggest you leave the initiative to him, for the next couple of weeks anyway. I don’t think it will take long for him to find out that you’re here. If he does not contact you during that time, you will have to take the initiative. Anyway, acquire permits and buy shotguns. The bird shooting here is magnificent, by the way. As soon as you have the shotguns, return the pistols to me.”
“In other words, there is an immediate threat from the Sicherheitsdienst?”
“You pronounced it right that time,” Nestor said. “I don’t know. But it seems prudent to act on the presumption there might be. It took a good deal of effort and money to bring you down here. It would be a shame if the Sicherheitsdienst eliminated you before you accomplished your mission. Or if you eliminated yourselves by being found in possession of illegal firearms. Make sure Pelosi understands that.”
“Does Ettinger have a pistol?”