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“I don’t know what that will entail, sir.”
McClung said, “A building . . .”
“That should be no problem.”
“. . . and an antenna farm near the building.”
“I’m back, Major, to I don’t know what that will entail.”
“Why don’t you come back and show him in the morning, McClung?” General Greene ordered. “My stomach is growling and I’ve already seen what I came to see.”
[ SEVEN ]
The Main Dining Room
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten
Maximilianstrasse 178
Munich, American Zone of Occupation, Germany
2215 2 November 1945
Rachel had teased him to erection on the drive back to Munich, but had then withdrawn her hand.
When they reached the hotel, Cronley decided that was the last he would see of her tonight—and for a while. It already was late and after dinner everyone would retire, the Schumanns together. And after he flew Clete to Frankfurt first thing in the morning, he would fly back to Kloster Grünau, not to Munich.
She was now sitting across from him in the alcove off the main dining room, but her foot was out of range of his ankle.
She’s lucky her husband doesn’t show any signs of even suspecting what she was doing to me in the front seat. Correction. I’m lucky . . . we’re both damned lucky.
—
“I want to say this while everyone’s here,” Frade announced as they were having their dessert. “I’ve decided to send my deputy, Major Max Ashton, over here to assume command of this end of Operation Ost . . .”
Shit, Cronley thought. So I am being relieved.
And I had just about decided my half turning of Orlovsky had kept me my job.
“. . . Not only is the Pullach compound too much for one man to handle, but those Pentagon types—Lieutenant Colonel Parsons and Major Ashley—who are going to be at Pullach for General Magruder worry me.
“As most of us saw, they are very much aware they outrank Captain Cronley. What I’m going to do as we’re flying back to Washington is try to convince General Magruder that Colonel Parsons would be much more valuable sitting at his Pentagon desk than he would be here. If he doesn’t agree—and I don’t think he will, as it’s pretty clear to me that they are very much interested in having Army G-2 take over Operation Ost—then I’m going to go to Admiral Souers and tell him what I’m thinking. I’ll probably lose that battle as the admiral doesn’t need one more fight with the Pentagon. In other words, over my objections, Parsons will probably show up at Pullach.
“If that happens, Colonel Mattingly, I would appreciate it if you would whisper in Parson’s ear that while he might outrank Major Ashton, he doesn’t outrank you.”
“Consider it done,” Mattingly said, smiling.
“Now, as far as who runs Pullach: Cronley dealt with a serious problem out there in the last few days to the complete satisfaction of Colonel Mattingly, General Gehlen, and me.”
To Mattingly’s complete satisfaction? That’s hard to believe.
“What sort of a problem? May I ask?” Colonel Schumann asked.
“You may ask, Colonel, but Colonel Mattingly and I have decided the fewer people who know about it, the better. I’m sure you’ll understand. The point is Cronley has established a close rapport with General Gehlen that I found at first hard to believe. But it’s real, and I am not going to endanger it by telling Gehlen that Major Ashton will now be running things.
“So Cronley will run General Gehlen, so to speak, answering only to me. And Major Ashton will run everything else, answering to both Colonel Mattingly and me.
“I’m well aware this command structure would look very odd on a Table of Organization, but that’s the way it’s going to be.” He paused and smiled. “As they told me on my very first day in the Marine Corps, ‘If you don’t like the way things are run around here, learn to.’”
