The Honor of Spies

"By the time we got there, the Schencks had already been entertained at dinner in el Coronel Schmidt's quarters and, the morning following, had departed for San Carlos de Bariloche--"

"That's where Kortig is," Frade interrupted. "Or at least where he's headed."

"Tell me about that," Martin said.

"Welner 'just happened to hear' . . ."

"Father Kurt Welner, S.J.? That Welner?" Nervo asked.

"That Welner."

"And you can't bring yourself to call him 'Father'? Out of simple respect for the cloth?"

"I don't call you 'General' all the time, either, mi general."

"Perhaps you should. A little proper respect goes a long way with me. So tell me, Senor Heathen, what did the Reverend Father Kurt Welner of the Society of Jesus 'just happen to hear'?"

"The other Jesuit, the one who gets National Identity documents . . ."

"The Reverend Father Francisco Silva, S.J.? That Jesuit?"

"That's the one. He showed up here and said that Welner had 'just happened to hear' that a small country hotel in Bariloche was up for sale, and he thought it just might be what we were looking for to put up the Gehlen people."

"Beware of Jesuits bearing gifts," Nervo said.

"And that, since he just happened to be driving that way anyway, he thought I might want to take a look at it."

"Could be one of two things," Nervo said. "Holy Mother Church might want to dump a hotel they own that's not making them enough money--or is termite-infested--on a gringo with money, or our wily Jesuit is being accommodating to this Gehlen fellow, for good reasons of his own that I can't even guess at."

"Well, since real-estate appraisal is not among my many other skills, I gave Kortig a pistol and sent Pablo Alvarez . . ."

"The estancia manager?" Martin asked. "Apparently, he knows what's going on and can be trusted?"

Frade nodded, and picked up the rest: ". . . with him to have a look at the hotel in Bariloche, and at other properties on the way. Pablo has friends all over this part of Argentina."

"Who wouldn't be surprised if he was quietly buying property for a friend of yours?" Martin asked.

"Yeah," Clete said.

"You gave Kortig a pistol?" Nervo asked.

"He asked for one, and I gave him one," Frade replied. "There are people who don't like people who like Valkyries. He wanted to be able to defend himself. That sounded reasonable to me."

"He gave me one, too, General," Fischer said. "For the same reason."

Nervo's eyebrow rose, but he didn't say anything.

"Where's the other German?" Martin asked.

"Well, I didn't give that Nazi sonofabitch a pistol," Frade replied. "If I did, once he finds out--if he doesn't already know--how my grape expert rides around with the Valkyries, he would be duty bound to use it on him. I've got him under sort of house arrest; I don't know what the hell else to do with him."

"Just don't let him get loose," Nervo said.

"I hope he doesn't try to get away. I told him if he or his wife tried, I'd shoot both of them. I don't want him calling my bluff."

Nervo looked as if he was about to reply, then stopped and said: "I was telling you about the dinner party Schmidt gave for some of his officers and the Schencks. According to Martin's guy, they toasted El Presidente, and then the Fuhrer, as Schmidt stood before the Argentine flag and a swastika. . . ."

"What did you say about von Deitzberg accusing me of ordering my father's murder?"

"Senor Schenck gave a little speech, winding it up with saying what great pleasure it was going to give him to do his duty executing not only the Froggers and Sturmbannfuhrer von Tresmarck for treason, but also the even more despicable Milton Leibermann for encouraging the Froggers to desert, and the most despicable of all, the evil Don Cletus Frade, who, when he failed to turn his father into a traitor, ordered his murder and promptly placed all Frade assets in the hands of international Jewry."

"That's absolutely disgusting!" Dona Dorotea exclaimed. "They believed that?"

"Everybody but Martin's guy," Nervo said.

"Are you going to warn Leibermann?" Clete asked.

"For the foreseeable future, Milton is going to be under close BIS surveillance to make sure he does nothing against the interests of the Argentine Republic," Martin said, and chuckled, and added, "And just as soon as I get back to Buenos Aires, I'll explain to him what it's all about."

"Tell him what you told me," Nervo said, and then went on without giving Martin a chance to reply: "He said it would be good training for his agents; that Senor Milton is better at escaping from surveillance than anyone he's ever known."

"You think von Deitzberg will try to assassinate Leibermann?" Clete asked.

"Actually, no. He'd have to do it in Buenos Aires, either himself or using some German from the embassy. I really don't think our assassination professionals would be available. Both Martin and I have gotten the word to them that the season on Americans is closed. And you and Enrico removed three of the best of them from their rolls.