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He and Jim “Tubes” Fuller were backtracking, following in reverse the path through Palermo that they had taken with Frank Nola to reach the apartment home of Nola’s cousin.
They were headed for an area near the warehouses on the northern end of the port.
This isn’t the time to think about Ann.
But I just can’t help it.
After Fuller had come into the kitchen and damn near drooled all over Andrea Buda, Canidy had said that it was time to go see the Buda brothers. He decided that it was better that Nola should go first, separately, and that Canidy and Fuller would follow.
After some discussion between Andrea and Nola in Sicilian, it was agreed that she would lay low there in the apartment. Then Nola left.
Canidy and Fuller went back upstairs to stash the long guns and secure the W/T radio station.
Nola had shown them the makeshift door that had been cut in the floor of the upstairs bedroom. It was under the thick, woven-hemp mat that lay between the beds. When the mat was pulled away and the door removed, there was access to the dead space between the joists. These long joists supported both the floor of the second level and the ceiling of the first floor. They found that with a light forcing, the suitcase would fit snugly between them.
There had been room in the dead space also for the Johnny gun and the Sten, but when Nola suggested putting them in there Canidy had said no. He wanted to get to them more readily and planned to simply camouflage them by wrapping each in clothing, then putting the Sten in the closet upstairs and the Johnny in a corner of the downstairs hall closet that was under the foot of the stairway.
Tubes was sitting on the floor at the table holding the W/T set.
He put one of the headphone ear cups to his left ear and quickly tapped out code to Algiers Station that Mercury Station was going off the air in five minutes. He then threw the toggle switch on the Bakelite faceplate to RECEIVE. With the one can still held to his ear, he awaited confirmation while watching Canidy pull a sweater and an overcoat from the closet.
Suddenly, Fuller said, “What in the world?”
He sat erect and quickly pulled the cups over both of his ears.
Canidy turned to see what was going on.
Fuller was quickly handwriting the incoming message.
After a moment, he turned away from the radio and held up the paper.
“This was sent out in the open,” Fuller said, pulling off the cans.
“What the hell is it, Tubes?” Canidy said.
“For you. No encryption, but it’s in some code.”
Canidy walked over and took the sheet of paper.
* * *
URGENT
UNRESTRICTED
05APR43
FOR JUPITER
BEGIN QUOTE
EXCELLENT NEWS, EXCELLENCY.
YOUR GODDESS HAS RETURNED TO YOUR CASTLE.
END QUOTE
CAESAR
