W E B Griffin - Men at War 2 - Secret Warriors

by Secret Warriors(Lit)

  "Well, this colonel knew about it, Sir," Canidy said.

  "And he told Whittaker he had come for him and the letter. I then showed him my marshal's badge, and said that I had been sent for him," "Any trouble?"

  "The colonel was pretty upset, Sir, but that marshal's badge worked. I told him if he had any questions, he should direct them to the Attorney General. Anyway, Jimmy came with us because he knew me. In the car, we told him-1 thought we should, and I think Captain Doug lass reluctantly agreed-about Miss Chenowith and his uncle."

  "I thought he knew about that,' Donovan said. "I mean the business about where Mr. Whittaker died," Canidy said. "Oh," Donovan said.

  "Was Cynthia at the house when you arrived?"

  "She got there shortly after we did," Canidy said.

  "So Whittaker took a bath and went to bed. In the master bedroom, which annoyed Miss Chenowith somewhat-" "Canidy, please keep your differences with her out of this," Donovan said, more reasonably than sharply. J "Yes, Sir," Canidy said. "What shape was he in?" Donovan asked. "Sick and exhausted, Canidy said.

  "I'm sure he has malaria, and Christ knows what else is wrong with him.

  "Vermin," Doug lass said.

  "He's vermin-infested." Donovan shook his head.

  "MacArthur must have had him on the first plane out of Australia."

  "Yes, Sir," Canidy said.

  "He told me he left Brisbane two hours after he got there," "At eight the next morning Colonel," Doug lass said, "I went to the house on Q Street and checked on him. Then I called Steve Early. I thought as the President's press secretary Steve would be able to reach the President immediately. I told him that Whittaker had just flown in from Australia with a letter from General MacArthur, and that he was under orders to deliver it personally to the President. I had the feeling, Sir, that Steve was surprised to hear about it."

  "And he carried the word to the President?"

  "Thirty minutes later, the White House switchboard called, The President wished to speak with Whittaker. The Roosevelt and the Whittaker families have been friendly for decades, you'll recall. if Whittaker was asleep, the White House said, we need not wake him, but he was to call as soon as he woke up."

  "Was he awake?"

  "No, Sir," Doug lass said.

  "And I decided to let him sleep." Donovan nodded approval.

  "At half past two," Doug lass said, "I called you, and you told me you thought he had to return the President's call. Canidy and I woke him up.

  He was sick. Shivering and nauseous. He insisted we give him something to drink. We did. That might have been the wrong thing to do."

  "Much?"

  "A good stiff pull at the neck of a Scotch bottle," Canidy said.

  "He said it would 'keep the worms happy."

  "And then I placed the call to the White House," Doug lass said.

  "The President came on the line in a minute, "Do We know what was said?"

  Donovan asked. "I had a stenographer on the line," Doug lass said.

  "I have the transcript. But there wasn't much. The President welcomed him home, expressed his condolences about Mr. Whittaker, and said that he wanted him to come for supper. Whittaker told him that he had MacArthur's letter, and the President said he knew he did, and he could bring it with him.

  "You told Early, and Early must have told him," Donovan said. "Yes, Sir," Doug lass said.

  "And then Whittaker said, if it would be all right, he wanted to bring a friend with him."

  "Canidy," Donovan said.

  "Yes," Doug lass said.

  "And the President said fine, and that he and Mrs. Roosevelt both looked forward to seeing him."

  "Whittaker then said he wanted to catch up on his sleep," Canidy said.

  "And asked us to wake him when it was time."

  56 0 W.K.S. URIFFIN "And you did?"

  "We sent up a tray, in case he woke and was hungry. And we did what we could to make him look presentable," Canidy said.

  "A rush dry-cleaning job on his uniform. At five-thirty, I went up and woke him again, and shaved him."

  "You shaved him?"

  "He wanted more to drink," Canidy said, "and I didn't think he should have it. When I told him so, he held up his hands, which were shaking, and asked me how the hell he was supposed to shave, so I told him I'd shave him, and I did."

  "At six-fifteen I sent them to the White House, in the Buick," Doug lass said. "Had he been given anything else to drink?"

  "I gave him a drink in the car," Canidy said. "I told you not to," Doug lass said. "I thought it was necessary," Canidy said, unrepentant.

  "He was shaking, and he said he hurt. I think he had cramps. The drink seemed to help. In view of what was waiting for him at the White House, I think it was the right thing to do."

  "The press, you mean?"

  "Yes, Sir," Canidy said.

  "There was a Marine officer waiting for us. He took us into the Oval Office. The press was already there. Whittaker didn't know they would be, of course, and he didn't like it. I was glad he'd had something to drink."

  "Where was the letter all this time?"

  "He had it."

  "There was no chance for you to see it?" Donovan asked. "It was sealed, Sir," Canidy said. "We didn't have time to risk opening and resealing it, Colonel," Doug lass said.

  "I made that decision."

  "I'd love to know what the hell it says," Donovan said. "Whatever it says, General Marshall didn't like it," Canidy said.

  "As soon as Whittaker gave it to the President, he gave it to General Marshall, and Marshall didn't like what it said."

  "We're getting ahead of what happened," Donovan said.

  "Take it in sequence."

  "There were half a dozen photographers, and eight, ten reporters, THE SECRET WARRIORS 8 ST nd crews from Fox Movie tone newsreel and the March of Time," Canidy a said.

  "The President was already propped up. Standing, I mean, leaning against a back support. It was very carefully rehearsed, apparently.

  Early got Jimmy in position, and then they turned on the floodlights, or whatever they're -called, and started to operate the cameras. The President started out and -said he wanted them to meet an authentic hero who had just escaped from the Philippines with MacArthur and flown to Washington with a message from the general. He said-with his grin-that it was normal for an officer to salute the Commander in Chief, but in this case he was going to give him a hug, because he was the son of one of his best friends, and he had known him since he was in diapers. "Then Early pushed Jimmy into camera range, and the President hugged him and introduced him by name. Then he gave him the Silver Star for his heroic escape and told the press that Jimmy had already won medals for valor in the air and on the ground."

  "Very touching," Donovan said. There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  "Roosevelt is marvelous at that sort of thing."

  "The press wanted to ask Whittaker all kinds of questions," Canidy went on, "but the President wouldn't let them on the grounds that Whittaker was exhausted, and that after he and Mrs. Roosevelt had a family supper with him, he was going to let him go to bed. Somebody turned off the bright lights, and the press was ushered out."

  "You weren't involved at all in the press conference?"

  "I almost had to fight my way into the room," Canidy said. "But none of the press made any connection between you and Whittaker?"

  "If anything, they thought I was Secret Service," Canidy said." Good," Donovan said." Then what? " "The orderly put the President in his wheelchair," Canidy said, "and we went upstairs."

  "General Marshall was in the living quarters?" Donovan asked. "Not in the Oval Office?"

  "He was waiting for us in the living quarters," Canidy said. "He and Mrs. Rooseveh."

  "And there was liquor?"

  "Yes, Sir. But I don't think-I don't know how to say this-Whittaker was weak, and the alcohol got to him more than it normally would. So he was probably drunk, but I don't think that's the r
eason he did what he did.

  11 "Get into that," Donovan said. "Mrs. Roosevelt kissed him, then asked him if he'd been in touch with his mother and Mrs. Whittaker.

  He told her he'd talked with them, and one of the stewards passed hors d'oeuvres-" "You were introduced how?"

  IINIM "As an old friend, who worked for you, Sir," Canidy said.

  "Okay," Donovan said.

  "Go on."

  "Then we went in to dinner," Canidy said. "The only other guest was General Marshall?" Donovan asked. "Yes, Sir," Canidy said.

  "He introduced himself and welcomed Jimmy home. He sat on one side of the table. Jimmy and I were on the other, and the Roosevelts at the ends. A steward poured wine, and the President said he had a toast to make, but he thought it should wait until after grace."

  "He said grace?" Donovan asked. "A brief grace," Canidy said.

  "Standard Episcopal, with a couple of added lines, one about Jimmy making it home, and another asking for a speedy victory. When he was finished, he toasted Jimmy's return, and then Jimmy gave him Mac Arthur's letter. He read it, and then gave it to General Marshall, who, as I said before, didn't like what it had to say."

  "Did Mrs. Roosevelt read it?"

  "No, Sir," Canidy said.

  "When the President got it back from General Marshall, he put it in his pocket."

  "What next?"

  "We made small talk-prep school, Harvard, that sort of thing-and the food was served. That's when Jimmy went off."

  "What, exactly, did he do?"

  "Jimmy asked the steward for an extra glass and an extra plate," Canidy said.

  "I thought it was a little odd, but nothing to worry about. It was also odd that he hadn't eaten any of his soup. And then, when the steward tried to take the bowl away, he wouldn't let him remove it. I thought that was odd, too, but I didn't think it was alarming. I was more worried that he was going to get sloppy drunk, and that didn't seem to be happening. "Then the meal, roast beef, was served. That's when I realized he was up to something. He sliced a small piece off his baked potato, and put that on the plate he'd asked for. Then he did the same thing with the slice of beef. And a piece of butter, and a roll. Then he carefully spooned a small portion of the clam chowder into the glass he had asked for. "I asked him what the hell he was doing, and he smiled at me and winked. Then he stood up and walked around the table to George Marshall. He leaned over and pushed Marshall's plate to the center of the table. Then he laid the plate he'd made up in front of Marshall and poured the clam chowder over everything. "And then he made his speech: "That, General, is a three-eighths share of our ration. The troops in the Philippines have been on a three eighths ration for months. Except the men on Bataan and Corregidor have no beef. What they're eating, if they have meat at all, is caribou and what's left of the mules and horses of the Twenty-sixth Cavalry. And there is no butter, no bread, and no clam chowder."

  "Jesus Christ!" Donovan said. "I told him to sit down," Canidy said.

  "He looked at me. He was excited, flushed in the face. He just grinned at me. And then he looked at the President, came to attention, and saluted. Very crisply."

  "You couldn't have stopped him?" Donovan asked." This all happened very quickly," Canidy said.

  "I didn't know what he was up to."

  "Did he say anything to the President?" Donovan asked. "He said he was sure the Commander in Chief and the Chief of Staff would like to know what a three-eighths ration was, and that he hoped they would enjoy it, but that he begged to be excused, because he seemed to have lost his appetite."

  "What did Marshall do?"

  "Nothing," Canidy said.

  "Mrs. Roosevelt looked like she was about to cry. The President looked at me and said that he thought it would be a good idea if I took Captain Whittaker home, he was obviously exhausted."

  "By the time they got back," Captain Doug lass said, "General Marshall had called. He told me that Whittaker was on the way back to the house, and that since he obviously required medical attention, an ambulance had been dispatched. Marshall went on to say he had been ordered by the President to make sure that Whittaker was given this attention as soon as possible. It wasn't until I saw Canidy that I learned what Whittaker had done."

  "The ambulance was there no more than two minutes after we got to the house," Canidy said.

  "An Army ambulance, from Fort Myer."

  "There was a Medical Corps colonel with it," Doug lass said.

  "I didn't know what to do but turn him over to them."

  "I tried to go along with them," Canidy said.

  "But they wouldn't let me, and Whittaker said there was no reason to go.

  So he got in the ambulance, and they took him away."

  "And then, Sir, I called here," Doug lass said. "Well," Donovan said, after a moment's thought, "first things first. You certainly can't be blamed for his behavior, Canidy. And we accomplished what we set out to do. The President has MacArthur's letter. If he chose to share it with General Marshall, that's his business. And, from what you've told me, Jim Whittaker does need medical help. I'll see if I can find out what they've done with him. If I can, Canidy, I'll let you know."

  "I don't think he's crazy, Colonel," Canidy said.

  "I don't think he deserves to be locked up in St. Elizabeth's. "' "I said I'll try to find out what they've done with him. If I find out he's in St. Elizabeth's, I'll do what I can about that then."

  "Yes, Sir," Canidy said. "Would you mind waiting outside for a few minutes, Canidy?" Donovan said.

  "I've got a few things for Captain Doug lass."

  "I'd hoped to have a minute of your time, Colonel," Canidy said.

  "About this?"

  "About me, Sir."

  "What about you?"

  "I'd like to know what you have in mind for me," Canidy asked.

  "Captain Doug lass has been unable or unwilling to talk about that."

  "I was told," Donovan said, "that you were no longer so determined to leave the comforts of Washington for the glory of aerial combat in the wild blue yonder."

  "Captain Doug lass has managed to make it perfectly clear that my enlistment in your Navy was for the duration. I think I understand why I can't go back to the other Navy, but I would like to know what I'm going to be doing in yours."

  "The federal government's psychiatric hospital in the Mstrict of Columbia.

  "For the time being, Canidy, you're going to baby-sit Admiral de Ver bey," Donovan said.

  "He's at Summer Place."

  "Cynthia said something about trouble with him," Canidy said, making it a question. "We have to keep the admiral at Summer Place and away from the press" Donovan said.

  "Preferably amicably, but by force if necessary. Captain Doug lass is arranging to have some Free French officers assigned to him as a staff, and there will be consultations between the admiral and various staff officers from the Navy. So far as the admiral is concerned, you will be his liaison officer. He knows you, of course, and we hope he will swallow that line. You'll wear the uniform of an Air Corps major. The Navy is providing a security force, and they will be told they will take their orders from you."

  "How long will that go on?" Canidy asked. "Until it has been decided by me that it is no longer necessary," Donovan said. Canidy shrugged but said nothing. He takes orders, Donovan thought. That's good.

  "For the long term, Canidy," Donovan went on, "I'm sure we'll find things for you to do, taking into consideration both your flying background and your demonstrated ability to do other things. just what, and when, hasn't been decided. The ever-resourceful Chief Ellis has scrounged an airplane for us, and we want you to pick that up and take it with you to New jersey."

  "What kind of an airplane?"

  "A Beech D18," Donovan said.

  "Is that right, Peter?"

  "Yes, Sir."

  "I'm a fighter pilot," Canidy asked, more of a question than a challenge.

  "And an aeronautical engineer," Doug lass said, "who knows
how to fly a D18S. Isn't that correct?"

  "I got a few hours in the one the AVG had," Canidy said. "Well, you'll have plenty of time in New jersey to become proficient," Doug lass said.

  "And we'll try to arrange it so that you can get checked out in other aircraft as well. When you can spare the time from takin care of the admiral, of course." Canidy nodded his acceptance of this. "Any other questions, Canidy?" Donovan asked.