“But not with the money we hope the German embassy doesn’t know about?”
Frade shook his head.
“Not with that money, no,” he said. “I don’t care who the investors will be so long as I hold sixty percent. I need fifty-one percent for control, and the other nine because I don’t want something unexpected to happen that will cut my piece below fifty-one percent.”
Duarte looked at him for a long moment.
“Cletus, you are very much like your father,” he said. “Remembering your father showing up in the Third Floor Lounge drunk as an owl and in full gaucho regalia—which happened more than once—I was not surprised to see you there, in cowboy boots and tie-less. But I confess I am surprised a little to see that you also have his business acumen. You’ve given this airline idea a good deal of thought, haven’t you?”
Frade nodded, then said, “Does that mean you’re not dismissing the idea out of hand as lunatic?”
“Actually, it seems like a pretty good idea. I’ll have to ask some questions, and give it some thought, of course.”
“Of course. Thank you, Humberto.”
[FOUR]
The Office of the Reichsführer-SS Berlin, Germany 2255 7 July 1943
“You wished to see me, Herr Reichsprotektor?” Obersturmbannführer Karl Cranz asked as he entered the office of Heinrich Himmler.
Cranz was a good-looking, blond, fair-skinned man in his early thirties.
“I wished to see you an hour and a half ago,” Himmler said.
“I regret that Sturmscharführer Neidler had trouble finding me in the air raid shelter, Herr Reichsprotektor.”
Sturmscharführer (Sergeant Major) Neidler was Himmler’s de facto private secretary. He rarely left Himmler’s side. That he had been sent to find Cranz had told Cranz there was absolutely no question that Himmler wanted to see him.
“You were not at home?”
“I took my wife to the opera, Herr Reichsprotektor. Neidler knew where I was.”
Himmler waved him into a chair.
“While you were at the opera, Cranz, Admiral Canaris came to see me. He would have liked to have had a word with you, but as you said, Sturmscharführer Neidler apparently had difficulty locating you, and the admiral could not wait.”
“Whenever you are through with me, Herr Reichsprotektor, I will go to see the admiral and offer my most sincere apologies.”
Himmler did not respond to that.
“Canaris had two things on his mind, Cranz. First was that there had been a radio message from the Ciudad de Cádiz. Two words: ‘Smooth seas.’ ”
“Well, that’s good news, Herr Reichsprotektor.”
“Meaning the special cargo is already aboard U-405.”
“Yes, sir.”
“The second thing Canaris wanted to tell me was that he had a talk a few days ago with Parteileiter Bormann. Bormann told him that a couple of things had been decided. First, that Gradny-Sawz would be the man charged with enlisting Oberst Perón in the plans we have for him, and second, on the recommendation of Brigadeführer von Deitzberg, that Korvettenkapitän Boltitz will become the naval attaché of our embassy in Buenos Aires, whose additional duties will be threefold: supervising the execution of Operation Phoenix, keeping an eye on Gradny-Sawz, and finding the traitor—or possibly the spy—in the embassy.”
Himmler looked at Cranz as if expecting a reply, and when none was forthcoming, said, “Comments, Cranz?”
“Sir, the Herr Reichsprotektor did not tell me he had made those decisions. ”
“I didn’t tell you that I had because I hadn’t. Parteileiter Bormann apparently has taken it upon himself to make them for me and Admiral Canaris. And in the case of Boltitz, acting on the recommendation of Brigadeführer von Deitzberg, who was presumably speaking for me.”
Himmler stared at Cranz for a full thirty seconds to give him time to consider what he had just said.