North Reich (21 page)

      
"Are you buying?" came from several voices.

      
What the hell, Tony thought, "Yeah."

Grant read the latest report sent over from the OSS and compared it with data gotten by other sources.
 
They corroborated, which was not a surprise.
 
According to the sources, the Germans were quietly disbursing their forces in the only two directions an American counter-attack could come.
 
These were the area around Niagara Falls, Ontario, and the stretch between Sarnia and Windsor, Ontario.
 
A few officers with scant knowledge of the area along the St. Lawrence River had suggested that either army could cross into Quebec along the border with Maine.
 
When they were reminded that the land was thickly forested and had few roads, they were silenced.
 
It was admitted, however, that small German units could and probably were crossing the border.
 

In one meeting, Ike had grumbled that the roads to the Buffalo-Niagara area were totally inadequate for the movement of large units, especially armor.
 
"Someday," he'd said, "America will have real highways like the German Autobahn to move troops and supplies.
 
The country roads we have now are ridiculously inadequate."

      
He gave the info to Downing who read it and left the room.
 
He returned in a few minutes and signaled Tom to follow.
 
They went down the hallway to General Truscott's office and entered.
 
To Tom's surprise, Eisenhower was seated alongside Truscott's desk.
 
The two generals told him to take a seat.

      
"Once again, good thinking," said Truscott, "even though this tells us nothing we didn't already know, it does confirm things."

      
Unsaid was the fact that the OSS had risen in everyone's estimation.
 
Not only was the information they were providing proving correct, but the agency had lost a number of agents to the Germans.
 
At least a dozen men and a couple of women had either been killed or captured.
 
Tom shuddered at the thought of what would happen to them in the clutches of either the Gestapo or their local first cousins, the Black Shirts.
 
Both groups had well-deserved reputations for sadism.
 
All one had to do was think of what happened to young Mary Bradford and she had been an innocent Canadian, not an American spy.

      
"The Canadians are getting very antsy," Ike said with a smile.
 
"It's finally occurring to their government in Ottawa that they could have a war right on their doorstep.
 
Hell, it would be inside their doorstep.
 
They're afraid that what happened to Poland could happen to them, and I don't blame them. If shooting starts on April 2, then we are going to have to go in and root out the Germans.
 
It might just be as bad as it is happening against the Japanese."

      
Word was coming from the Philippines that the defeated Japanese would not surrender and had begun fighting to the last man; thus inflicting serious casualties on MacArthur's army.
 
Even worse was the fact that Japanese planes had begun making suicide attacks on American warships and had even sunk a couple of small carriers and damaged a number of others.
 
Tom wondered just how the hell do you stop a man in a plane who's hell bent on killing himself?
 
And what would happen when the American fleet got within range of Japanese planes currently based on their home islands?

      
"I genuinely feel sorry for the Canadians," Truscott said, "but it's going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better."

      
Truscott signaled that the discussion was over.
 
As he and Downing walked back to their office, Tom wondered what Toronto would look like after heavy fighting.
 
Probably like the ruins of Stalingrad?
 
Everyone had seen pictures of that place after the Germans had finally taken it.
 
It was a wasteland.

Leighton Goldie McCarthy had once been a handsome man.
 
When younger, he'd had a firm jaw and a steel gaze that intimidated his subordinates and competitors in the insurance field.
 
Now, as Canada's first ambassador to the United States, he appeared to FDR to be a tired old man who felt more than his seventy-four years.
 
That he was the first ambassador from Canada was due to a technicality involving the minutiae of international protocol.
 
He and others had previously been called Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
 
Roosevelt thought the title issue was a bunch of bullshit.

      
McCarthy had been to the White House on a number of occasions and was greeted warmly by FDR in the Oval Office.
 
It had been scheduled as a social visit although no one believed that fable.
 
However, it did enable the two men to meet with a degree of privacy.

      
FDR made drinks.
 
As always, he forced his guest to drink the president's own version of a dry martini.
 
The Canadian, as always, was polite.
 
He couldn't stand martinis, especially Roosevelt's concoctions.
 
There was far too much vermouth and the inclusion of olive brine made him shudder.

      
The president smiled warmly.
 
"So, to what do I owe this singular honor?"

      
McCarthy tried to smile but it didn't work.
 
"Sir, let me cut to the chase.
 
My country is terrified.
 
Not only have the Germans begun rounding up certain of our citizens, Jews of course, but we hear rumors that the provinces in the west are going to secede and form their own country.
 
And worse, we hear that the Germans are going to attack the United States which would put us in the middle of a war.
 
Any or all possibilities would be disastrous to Canada.
 
May we discuss them?"

      
The president no longer smiled.
 
His eyes became cold, "Of course, but there might not be much to discuss.
 
Yes, we have heard rumors of secession by your western provinces and, should it occur, it is very likely that we will look favorably on it.
 
We would be especially pleased to have a nation to our north that was not occupied by Nazi Germany.
 
Should such a new country be created, and let's pretend that it will be called the Republic of West Canada, we would be more than eager to sign mutual defense and trade agreements with it.
 
Who knows, this hypothetical West Canada might even allow us to station troops at strategic points to ensure the integrity of the new republic as well as protect the western United States from fascist aggressors.

      
McCarthy sagged.
 
The president had all but told him that the western provinces were indeed going to secede and that he approved.
 
Worse, there was absolutely nothing that could be done about it.

      
Roosevelt continued.
 
"As long as you continue to tolerate the existence of the Nazi swine in your country, you will pay for your actions."

      
"But we fear for our soldiers."

      
FDR laughed harshly.
 
"And well you should, but you will continue to fear for all eternity.
 
What on earth behooves you to believe that the Nazis will even think of releasing your boys from hostage while there is any further advantage to Hitler?
 
They will squeeze everything out of you.
 
I don't believe you will see your boys again in this century."

      
"We are also horrified at the thought of civilian casualties.
 
What can you do to minimize them?"

      
Roosevelt sighed.
 
This was the ugly part of reality.
 
"The only thing I can suggest is that you evacuate your cities.
 
A simple look at a map will show that Toronto, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Windsor, Sarnia, and others in southern Ontario will likely bear the brunt of the fighting.
 
Once the Germans are pushed out of those places, they will likely starve unless they are reinforced and re-supplied from Germany.
 
It is also possible that they will not let your people evacuate, thus making hostages of millions of Canadians."

      
McCarthy wiped his brow with a handkerchief.
 
He was sweating profusely.
 
"Sir, I can only hope that you will talk to your generals and ask them to do what they can."

      
An easy and empty promise, Roosevelt thought.
 
"I will."

      
The Canadian ambassador pulled a sheet of note paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to the president.
 
"Perhaps you can do something with this information."

      
"What is it?"

      
"It’s a shipping schedule."

      
Roosevelt looked at it and paled, quickly realizing its significance.
 
If he acted on the information, it could mean a premature war with Germany and with the United States as the aggressor.
 
If ignored, a large number of people would be condemned to a horrible captivity resulting in agonizing death.
 
Ignoring the information would ultimately condemn him as being complicit in murder.
 
He and the men around him no longer had any doubts as to what was going on in Auschwitz, Sobibor, and other so-called death camps.

      
He took the paper and put it in his jacket pocket.
 
“Thank you, Mr. Ambassador,” he said with a forced smile.

      
McCarthy rose.
 
“I know you will do what you can.”

Missy Downing finished her second glass of wine at almost the same time that Alicia did hers.
 
It was the middle of the afternoon and both were beginning to feel the effects of the below-average but well chilled white table wine from the Finger Lakes region of New York.
 
Use enough ice cubes, Missy said, and any bad wine tastes okay.
 
There was a war on so French wines were rare and too pricey.
 
They weren’t concerned about shocking anyone since they were in Missy’s house and Alicia planned to stay the night.
 
The colonel was in Baltimore meeting with someone about something, and so was Tom.
 
It was girl’s night out, or in, as Missy said laughing.
 

      
“So you think all men are pricks,” Missy asked with a smile.

      
“It’s been my experience, yes.
 
Ever since I reached puberty and young boys discovered that I was a little bit attractive, I’ve had them all over me, sometimes literally.
 
I’ve been pawed by classmates and chased by instructors.
 
Someone told me that guys liked to take out girls who weren’t too pretty.
 
They hoped the plain little girl would be so grateful for a date that she’d go to bed with them to thank them.”

      
“I hope your realize it’s a fate many women would relish.”

      
“Really?
 
In high school swimming class I was cornered in the pool by a bunch of kids who stuffed me under water until my lungs ached and I thought I would drown.
 
Then, when they let me up, I found that they’d pulled my swimsuit down to my knees and then they grabbed and pawed me all over, both the boys and the girls.
 
Later, when I went to tell the dean of students, she pretty much said it was my fault and that I should let her console me.
 
I let her take me to lunch and I was shocked when she put her hand on my leg and started moving up.
 
Later, I found out she was a lesbian.
 
Back then, I didn’t even know what a lesbian was.
 
I’m still not totally certain how they have sex, although I suppose it’s orally and I didn’t know what that meant at the time.”

      
“I’m not totally certain either,” Missy laughed and poured them each another glass.
 
“But you didn’t come here to tell me about that, did you?
 
You already knew that men had two brains, one in their skulls and a larger and dominant one in their cocks.”
 

      
Alicia giggled and got serious.
 
“Oh, yes.
 
I wanted to talk to you about one of my girls who has a problem.
 
You knew that I had administrative control over about twenty WACs and I recently found that one of them is pregnant.”