“I hope it wasn’t awkward for you, Sir.”
“Not for me. For him. He didn’t know who I was. Just some Marine. When he was finished complaining about some Washington paper-pusher Marine running roughshod over CINCPAC procedures, Nimitz introduced him to me. ‘Admiral,’ Nimitz said, ‘I don’t believe you know General Pickering, do you?’ ”
Banning chuckled. “I didn’t expect to see you here, either, General.”
“I didn’t expect to be here,” Pickering said. “Dillon and company must be on the plane I’m waiting for.”
“It’s going on to Washington, Sir?”
“No. As soon as they service it, it’s going to Australia.”
“You’re going to Australia, Sir?” Banning asked, surprised.
“Yes, I am,” Pickering said, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t happy about it.
“Then who’s going to brief Secretary Knox?”
“You are,” Pickering said. “You’ve got a seat on a Pan American clipper leaving here at 4:45. Which means we have to get you to the terminal by 3:45.”
Banning looked uncomfortable.
“Ed, just give a repeat performance of what you did just now for me,” Pickering went on. “Frank Knox puts on his pants like everybody does. Actually, I’ve grown to rather like him.”
“Sir, my going to Washington is going to pose problems in Brisbane.”
“About MAGIC, you mean? Pluto and Moore and Mrs. Feller should be able to handle it; they’ve been holding down the fort pretty well as it is, with all the time you’ve been spending in Townesville with the Coastwatchers.”
Banning looked even more uncomfortable.
“All right, Ed, what is it?”
“Sir, between the three of us, we have been pretty much keeping Mrs. Feller out of things.”
“You have? Obviously, you have a reason?”
“I am reluctant to get into this, Sir.”
“That’s pretty damned obvious. Out with it, Ed.”
“General, I don’t want to sound like a prude, but when we’re dealing with intelligence at this level-at this level of sensitivity-people’s personal lives are a factor. They have to be.”
“What are you suggesting, Ed, that Ellen Feller is a secret drinker? For God’s sake, she was a missionary!”
“She sleeps around, Sir.”
“You know that for a fact? You have names?”
“General,” Banning said, hesitated, and then plunged ahead. “I considered it my responsibility to make sure that you didn’t leave any classified material in your quarters.”
“I never did that!”
“Yes, Sir. You did.”
“Jesus! You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Sir. Sir, I arranged with the Army to keep Water Lily Cottage under security surveillance. They assigned agents of their Counterintelligence Corps to do so. They reported daily to me.”
“What’s that got to do with Mrs. Feller?”
“They were very thorough, Sir. They reported all activity within the Cottage. On a twenty-four-hour basis.”
Now Pickering looked uncomfortable.
“Jesus,” he said softly, and then he met Banning’s eyes. “Ed, just because, in a moment of weakness, I got a little drunk and did something I’m certainly not proud of, that does not mean that Ellen Feller can’t be trusted with classified information. Christ, it only happened once. Those things happen.”
“It wasn’t only you, General,” Banning said.
“Who else?” Pickering asked.
“Moore, Sir. Before he went to Guadalcanal.”
“Moore?” Pickering asked incredulously.
John Marston Moore, who was twenty-two, was raised in Japan, where his parents were missionaries. With that background, he was assigned to Pickering as a linguist, which led to his becoming a MAGIC analyst. Later, he was seriously wounded on Guadalcanal, after which Pickering arranged to have him commissioned.
“And, Sir, Mrs. Feller could have prevented Moore from going to Guadalcanal. As she should have.”
“That’s a pretty goddamn serious charge. Why the hell didn’t you report this to me?” Pickering flared.
“And she’s slept with several officers of SWPOA, Sir,” Banning continued, calmly but firmly. “Two of General Willoughby’s intelligence staff, and a Military Police officer.”
“The answer to my question, obviously, is that you never reported this to me because it would be embarrassing.”
“I didn’t know what your reaction would be, Sir. And we’ve had the situation under control.”
“Now for that, goddamn it, you owe me an apology. I may be an old fool, but not that much of a fool. You should have come to me, Ed, and you know it!”