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Canidy nodded.
“Do you know the name you were given at birth?” he said.
John Craig van der Ploeg shook his head.
“Well,” Canidy said, “we’ll have to come up with one that’s more appropriate to the mission. Even if it’s only a code name.”
John Craig van der Ploeg nodded.
“You were told that this mission is one of extreme danger, one you may not survive, and one you cannot discuss with anyone?”
“It’s why I volunteered,” John Craig van der Ploeg said.
Canidy glanced at the Casabianca, then looked at van der Ploeg.
“Okay, then,” Canidy said. “Go grab your gear from the jeep and let’s get aboard.”
John Craig van der Ploeg looked past Canidy at the boat, then back at Canidy.
“Sir, we’re not going by submarine, right?”
Canidy stared at him, not sure that he’d heard right.
“Say that again?”
“I asked if we were going by sub…because I can’t.”
What the hell?
“Do you want to tell me why?” Canidy said, trying to control his voice. “Or do I have to guess that, too?”
“I am claustrophobic, sir,” John Craig van der Ploeg said. “Claustrophobia means—”
“I know what the hell it means!” Canidy flared. He stood there for a moment, staring at the kid, then said, “How did you expect to go behind the lines? The goddamn Germans would send a fucking Mercedes-Benz for you?” He shook his head. “Claustrophobic!”
“Surface ships I can do, sir,” John Craig van der Ploeg said carefully. “Or drop me in by parachute. I don’t really like airplanes, but if I’m near a window or an open door I can make do.” He paused. “The last thing I’m trying to do is shirk my responsibilities, sir.”
Canidy saw Darmstadter nod.
“Coming here,” Darmstadter said, “he was more than a bit squeamish in the bird. At one point, I thought he was going to go out the jump door without a parachute. But I just wrote it off to nerves.”
Canidy looked from Darmstadter to the kid.
“They didn’t tell you about the sub at the Sandbox?” he asked.
John Craig van der Ploeg shook his head.
He said, “And I didn’t ask. They teach us not to ask questions. Vincent Scamporino told me there was an important mission that needed a W/T operator and would I be interested in volunteering? I told him that as I’d already volunteered to be at the Sandbox, it followed—”
“Okay, okay,” Canidy said impatiently. “I get it.” He thought for a moment, and added, “What if I ordered you to go?”
“I could get aboard, sir, but when I lost it inside, well, it probably would not be pleasant for anyone.”
Canidy looked furious.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Stop calling me sir!”
