The Lost Catacomb (26 page)
“
You
needn
’
t fear,
Elena.
She will take you in and
protect you, for as long as necessary.
”
Elena looked up at him uncertainly, as the tears spilled,
once more, from her eyes.
“
Grazie
,
Father.
Grazie
,
”
she said brokenly,
rising from her chair.
“
I am ready.
”
Captain Tom Keating picked up and opened the first of two
folders he
’
d been
given by General Armstrong
’
s
aide-de-camp, Lt. Gerald Montgomery.
Inside were the usual photographs, surveillance information, and
maps.
This time the detailed street
maps were of Berlin, with accompanying pictures of key locations, including the
military airport, the
Wehrmacht
, the
Abwehr
, and SS headquarters,
as well as apartments, villas, and private residences of the top German
commanding officers, whose photos were also included.
In a separate set of papers, there was similar information
about Rome and the surrounding countryside, particularly the Castelli Romana,
the rugged, heavily wooded hills that stretched out for miles around Italy
’
s capital, where the
partisans and
Resistenza
members hid in small, but effective bands,
aided by the local populace.
Especially detailed were the maps of Frascati and the area surrounding
Castel Gandolfo, the picturesque town housing the summer residence of the
Pope.
These were areas Tom would
need to know intimately, in the event that his cover was exposed.
With the fall of Marshal Pietro Badoglio
’
s regime, which had
governed Italy for a mere forty-five days following the ouster of Mussolini in
July of 1943, German forces had entered Rome.
It was now mid-September, several
days after the occupation had begun, and the Allied forces desperately needed
concrete information about German plans, including the possible extent of
Vatican involvement or cooperation with the enemy.
The timing of this assignment was
critical and had been scrupulously prepared for by London headquarters in the
shadow of General Eisenhower
’
s
anticipated announcement of an armistice, which had taken place only a few days
before Badoglio had fled Rome.
This was not going to be Tom
’
s easiest mission, and in fact would probably prove
to be his most challenging assignment yet.
It would demand several intense weeks of masquerading that would tax all
of his acting and language skills, and draw upon every last reserve of courage
and inner strength.
Tom had been
recruited to pose as
Hauptsturmf
ü
hrer
Jurgen Kessler, a young German officer who
was being transferred from Berlin to Gestapo headquarters in Rome to assist in
the implementation of its racial policies.
Tom had been picked for the operation, in part, on the basis of his
close physical resemblance to Kessler, as well as his exceptional facility in
both German and Italian.
Tom
’
s
maternal grandparents had emigrated from Dresden as newlyweds, just before the
turn of the century, like others who had reached America
’
s shores at that time, seeking a better life and
fewer economic hardships.
Because
the Keatings had always felt it important to learn as many languages as
possible, they had encouraged Tom to speak German with his grandparents, the
Hopfstadters, who had taken special care to teach him how to read and
write.
In fact, until the outbreak
of this new World War, the Hopfstadters had subscribed to German magazines that
arrived on a monthly basis and had shared them with Tom.
Thus, his vocabulary was not the
schoolboy lexicon of those who studied German at the high school or college
level, but was idiomatic and sophisticated.
Despite his German descent, however, Tom was not considered
to be tainted by dual loyalties.
On
his paternal side, he was fourth generation American, and his father, Henry
Keating, was a Democratic congressional representative from Connecticut, active
on several House committees and believed to be a likely candidate for the
Senate in the next election.
As for his skills in Italian, he had studied several Romance
languages as an undergraduate at Yale, in addition to his major in European
history, prior to starting law school.
This had enhanced what he had picked up as a child from his mother
’
s Italian cleaning
woman, from whom he had learned the fundaments simply by process of
osmosis.
Two summers as an exchange
student living with a family in Rome and a recent tour of duty in southern
Italy with the U.S. army, prior to his assignment to military intelligence, had
added the desired polish.
Tom now shifted his attention to the photos of the man he had
been asked to impersonate.
He and
Hauptsturmf
ü
hrer
Kessler, in
fact, bore quite a striking resemblance to each other, Tom realized with some
degree of shock.
Despite his
earlier briefings, nothing had quite prepared him for the ocular proof, so to
speak, that he had a German look-alike.
Kessler, Tom knew, was being transferred from Berlin to Rome
to work in the Department for Jewish Affairs at SS headquarters at the Villa
Wolkonsky.
Allied
intelligence had recently intercepted several coded transmissions detailing the
German intention to eradicate the ghetto in Rome and deport the Jewish
population.
There had also been an
ambiguously worded letter pilfered from the nunciature in Berlin, indicating
that the Vatican might have been fully apprised of these plans.
It was hoped that Tom would find some
documentation of this, perhaps some correspondence, in classified files at the
Villa Wolkonsky.
It was not that
the Allies were especially eager to assist the Jews of Rome, Tom understood,
though he could not condone this position.
But the extent of Vatican neutrality
—
or overt compliance with German plans
—
might influence
the balance of power and have an effect, as yet unknown, upon the outcome of
the Allied campaign.
The snapshots Tom was now examining appeared to cover a
period of several months, given the changing weather conditions in the
background.
Some were close-ups of
Kessler
’
s face,
from different angles, and some had been taken from a distance, so that
posture, stance, and body language were apparent.
In several of the photos, the subject
was in full military dress, and in others, he was at play
—
horseback riding,
at a cocktail lounge, and, in one instance, in close proximity to an amply
endowed blonde.
“
The
maps look fine,
”
Tom
commented.
“
I see that you
’
ve circled one or two target points between SS
headquarters and the safe house.
What about the agents I
’
m
supposed to liaise with?
”
“
Don
’
t worry.
You
’
ll be meeting with two British operatives who
’
ll be positioned in the
apartment
—
here
are their photos
—
and
another who is the bait.
She
’
s already begun her
stakeout at the nightclub circled there,
The Blue Angel
, on
Algemeinerstrasse.
She
’
s a real looker,
”
Montgomery
chuckled.
“
He won
’
t
be able to resist.
”
“
By
the way, we
’
ve
also gathered some intelligence about Kessler
’
s sexual preferences.
You do know about the Nazi
’
s
Lebensborn
project don
’
t you?
”
Without waiting for a reply, he continued
enthusiastically.
“
They
’
ve actually got three
locations for their orgies in Berlin alone, and two just outside the city.
You should see these places!
Not that I have myself, but I hear that
wine and beer flow there like the Rhine in a year of heavy rainfall.
And almost every room in each of these
mansions has been turned into a bedroom.
“
We
’
ve managed to place
some moles there
—
a
butler and two housemaids
—
at
the house that Kessler has been assigned to.
What a joke!
These guys get to fuck in the name of
patriotism and produce all those illegitimate kids who are supposed to be the
ultimate Aryan offspring that will preserve the Reich!
We
’
ve been told that Kessler favors buxom blondes, the
dumber the better.
And he
’
s not too particular
about whether they
’
ve
been helped along by a healthy dose of peroxide.
“
By
the way,
”
Montgomery
went on,
“
we even
have some information on his preferred positions, if you take my meaning.
Our agents have managed to install some
peepholes in a few of the bedrooms at the
Lebensborn
house.
And since the butler is the one who
conducts the officers to their little love nests, he was able to ensure that we
received enough concrete information about Kessler
’
s likes and dislikes.
”
Montgomery grinned and added,
“
One of the more interesting perks of his job, you
might say.
”
Tom smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in
amusement.
“
I guess so.
At least our agent will know what to
expect. What about transportation to the military airport after the subject is
removed?
”
“
Also
taken care of.
The Gestapo provides
for its own.
You
’
ll use the target
’
s uniform, and we
’
ve had some jackboots
custom-made for you, in your own size, which probably differs from his.
We
’
ve scuffed them up a bit to make them look gently
worn.
Don
’
t want you to stick out like a sore thumb or
anything.
“
Our
reconnaissance team has indicated that your height and build are quite similar
to his, so his clothing should fit you perfectly.
All you need to do is change your
haircut and straighten out your posture a bit.
Those Nazi bastards are rather
stiff.
You
’
ll need to study the photos, but you
’
ll have to work
quickly.
Our barber will take care
of your hair. The rest, as you Americans say, is a piece of cake.
“
One
other thing, though.
We
’
ll have to give you one
of those SS tattoos with your, or rather
his
, blood type.
Sorry about that. But this is a deep
cover operation, and we can deal with removal of the tattoo after we win this
bloody war.
“
I
cannot emphasize this enough
—
look
over those photos carefully. You must be able to duplicate the posture and
arrogance precisely.
We certainly
have enough examples of it in the file."
“
I
understand,
”
Tom
replied.
“
We
’
ll have a Lysander
ready to transport you tomorrow night, at 23 hours.
The usual place.
Wear your civvies.
That is, the ones we
’
re providing for you
—
German tailored
down to the last detail.
Even the
underwear and socks will be of German manufacture.
We can
’
t afford to take any chances.
“
The
drop-off will be along the French border, near Strasbourg, and Armand
’
s Resistance group will
see to it that you reach Berlin all in good time.
From there you
’
ll be taken to one of our safe houses.
We think Kessler will be moved to Rome
in about five days
’
time.
The information is there, inside the
packet. I
’
ve no
doubt you
’
ll read
it thoroughly.
”
