“What kind of a plant? Making what?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Donovan said. “Say a complicated chemical process.”
“Poison gas?”
“Something like that,” Donovan said. “Something that should not be built, say, any closer than a hundred miles to a population center.”
“Chemical processing takes enormous amounts of power,” Whittaker said. “So it would be best to put it near a source of hydroelectric power. That means, I would say, off the top of my head, either Alabama or Tennessee, because of the TVA’s electricgenerating capability-or maybe Washington State.”
“That kind of knowledge, Chesty,” Donovan said, smiling.
“Will I have to call you sir?”
“And stand to attention.” Donovan put out his hand.
“Are you serious about this plant, or plants?” Whittaker asked.
“Just as soon as you can, do me up a one- or two-page briefing paper,” Donovan said. “This is a very high priority, Chesty.”
“That much poison gas? Are we in that much trouble?”
“Yes, we’re in that much trouble. Maybe it isn’t poison gas. complicated chemical processes. Don’t limit Your Think of ison gas.” thoughts to PO Whittaker said. “I’ll have it for you tomorrow. light -The less help you have, the better” Donovan said. eaning the less people who know?” 66yesi @@ Donovan said.(
Whittaker nodded his understanding.
“Bill ” he asked 9 ,what’s going to happen to Jimmy? He’s in the Philippines.” ous. He thought about his reply before Donovan’s face grew seri he offered it. f thought he said. “One believes it is “There are two schools o in the best interests of the United States to try to defend our territory and our interests in the Far East. The other believes that we should deal with the Germans before we knock out the Japanese. I think we are going to follow the second choice.”
“At the expense of the first, you mean.
“There’s neither the men nor the materiel for both at once,” Donovan said.
“We’re going to lose the Philippines?”
“What’s Jimmy flying?” Donovan replied, ignoring the question. “Pursuit planes,” Chesty said. “P40s. What else, considering Jimmy?”
“Then he’ll be in the thick of it,” Donovan said. “The basic defense strategy for the Philippines is to destroy the Japanese invasion fleet from the air. They just sent a flock of Flying Fortresses over there… you know, those four-engine Boeings?”
“Jimmy’s flying a pursuit plane.”
“The Japanese will try to destroy our bombers on the ground. Defending them will be the job of the pursuit pilots.”
“And will they be able to2”
“If they try hard enough, and if they don’t run out of planesi” Donovan said. : “There’s a convoy, accompanied by the cruiser Pensacola, en route to Manila now. There’s several shiploads of fighter planes in it.”
“What are you telling me, Bill?” Chesty asked.
“That Jimmy will be in the thick of it,” Donovan repeated. “You wanted the truth.”
The conversation ended there, because there was simply nothing else to say.
The C-47 made a wide descending sweep over the District itself. The Capitol Building was on the left, and the White House on the right. They were so low he could see the flags flying. It was a peaceful scene, and he wondered for a moment if Washington, like London, would be bombed. Was he perhaps having a last look at a Washington that had not been bombed since the English themselves did it in 1814?
They descended over the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial and the bridges over the Potomac. And then approach lights to the runways of the Gravelly Point airport appeared, and a moment later the wheels chirped as the plane touched down.
They taxied off the runway and stopped. A black Cadillac limousine drove up beside them, and the young pilot who had given them the coffee came out of the cockpit.
“Your ground transportation is here, gentlemen,” he said. “Thank you for flying Eastern Air Corps Airlines.”
“I prefer the coffee passers in skirts,” Donovan said.
The young pilot chuckled and went to open the door.
Whittaker noticed that the pilot had shut down only the right engine. And as soon as they were inside the limousine, he restarted the other one.