Rising Sun (37 page)

“Well, I am smarter than most people think, and better looking, too. But what do you think will happen?”

Toki took a deep breath. “I believe Yamamoto is looking for the slightest excuse to attack her while she is in Mexican waters.”

Dane came up with the basic phraseology for the second message and Krause modified it only slightly. The message said that not only was the client recovering in Mexico, but that the client would shortly be visited by his twin brother and suitable gifts should be provided for the siblings.

Krause was happy. He could see himself one step closer to being free to disappear in the vastness of the United States. He was more and more convinced that Germany would lose the war. He felt that the offensive against the Soviet city of Stalingrad which had begun in June would prove to be a catastrophe.

“According to your newspapers and radio,” Krause said, “Hitler will lose in Russia and he will lose in North Africa, even though your advances have been slow and poorly managed at best. The German Army in North Africa cannot be reinforced or kept well supplied. You will simply overwhelm Rommel or whoever is in command. In a way, it is like your situation in Alaska, although that seems to have taken a turn for the better.”

“I’ll relay your thoughts to Roosevelt and Marshall,” Dane said drily. “I’m sure they’ll be gratified to know of your approval.”

Krause ignored the gibe. “When will you arrest the men I’ve been communicating with in Mexico?”

“Not my call. I suppose, though, that it will happen when they and you are of no further use. Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll all be killed resisting arrest. Why, are some of them your friends?”

Krause paused for a moment. He was visualizing their faces and remembering the times they’d had together.

“Friends? No. I will concede that they are, or were, comrades in arms. But after all is said and done, if they must become casualties, then so be it.” He laughed. “It’s not as if I have a choice in the matter. If anybody has to be a casualty, I would much prefer it be them and not me.”

* * *

Farris sat in an uncomfortable chair in the darkened hospital room and looked at the doctor shining a light into his bad eye. He put a hand over his right eye and used only his left. What he saw was blurry and bright, but at least it was sight. He reached over with his left hand and picked up a pencil on the third try.

“Damn it.”

“Keep working at it,” the doctor said and left. Farris thought the doctor had been useless, telling him nothing he didn’t already know. He could see out of his left eye, just not very well. Sometimes he thought he would be better off wearing a patch but the doctors said he should try to strengthen his eye and his vision by using it. Sometimes he got headaches, but they would be a small price to pay if he could regain much of his vision. An eye doctor suggested that he might wind up wearing glasses when his vision stabilized. Damn, that meant he would look like Clark Kent, without the ability to turn into Superman. Would Lois Lane, Sandy, want such a creature? Did he want Lois Lane? The doctors informed him that there would also be scarring and that half of his left eyebrow no longer existed. This was hardly a big deal when he considered some of the others recovering in this and other hospitals. At least he was alive. Stecher wasn’t.

Use of his left arm had returned somewhat. He would perform tasks that didn’t require skill, like picking up something large, but other tasks, like picking up a pencil or turning the pages of a book or newspaper were still difficult at best.

His trip to San Diego had been interrupted by more vital traffic, and he found himself convalescing in San Francisco. He’d been told that he would be treated for a while, maybe a few weeks, and then likely discharged if he wanted it. He’d served his country well, an overweight major had told him, and he’d gotten his wounds and medals. The major said that Farris was a hero. Steve almost told the major to go screw himself. He knew he wasn’t a hero. He also wasn’t certain he wanted to be discharged. He’d been scared to death during the final Japanese attack. Stecher had been the real hero and Steve was glad that Gavin had put the sergeant in for a medal. The poor bastard had wanted so much to kill Japanese in revenge for their killing his brother, it was a shame that he’d gotten himself killed just when it seemed like he was coming to grips with his personal tragedy.

A PFC with a clipboard came in. “You Lieutenant Farris?”

“I am.”

“Well, sir, I got orders from some Canadian doctor in Vancouver to put you on a bus to Kansas City.”

“Are you kidding?”

The PFC grinned. “Yes, sir. One of the docs who was looking you over put me up to it. His cousin is the guy in Vancouver who treated you. Actually, you’re scheduled to go by train to San Diego and it leaves in two hours. Can you be ready?”

Farris laughed and almost jumped out of his chair. “Damn right I can.”

* * *

Even the normally dour Admiral Nagumo was stunned by their good fortune. Not one, but two American carriers would soon be in the Gulf of California.

“I cannot believe that fortune is finally on our side,” Nagumo said.

Even Yamamoto grinned. “What happened to your normal state of pessimism?”

“Perhaps it is overwhelmed by the possibility that we may actually be able to bring this war to a conclusion favorable to Japan before the full might of the United States is brought to bear against us. That possibility would make even a corpse giddy. But tell me, what convinces you that this is not a trick designed to draw us into an ambush?”

Yamamoto stood and looked out at the large map of the Pacific that dominated his conference room on the battleship
Yamato
. He too had been wondering the same thing. Was it too good to be true? There was a saying he’d heard in America—if it seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.

After a long moment, Yamamoto answered. “For one thing, the source is Germany, our ally. For another, I believe we can verify the existence of the carriers.”

Nagumo nodded sagely. “But what if our attempts at verification are discovered? That will induce the Americans to depart the area, won’t it?”

“Indeed, and that is why we must be extremely circumspect. Germany has volunteered to provide the eyes that will confirm the existence of the two carriers and I have accepted their offer.”

Nagumo was clearly unhappy. “I would prefer that Japanese eyes do the confirming. I do not trust our Nazi allies. They detest us almost as much as they hate Jews.”

“Agreed, but we might not have a choice. If we use a floatplane from a sub, we run the risk of it being discovered and the Americans will know we are on to them and will flee. Nor can we get any surface ships close to the Gulf of California without being discovered by American planes and radar.”

Nagumo nodded. “You are right. We do not have a choice. But I do not like the idea of putting our destiny in the hands of the Germans.”

“Nor do I,” Yamamoto said, “but we are not in a position to choose our friends.”

Yamamoto walked over to the map of California that was taped to the wall. It amused him that it clearly said it came from a
National Geographic
. Still, it was an excellent map. He fervently hoped that the Americans had trouble getting decent maps of Japan.

“Once the presence of the carriers is verified, we will attack them with overwhelming force and sink both them. We will lose planes and possibly even ships, but it will be more than worth it. We will distract them from protecting the carriers by using our battleships and heavy cruisers to bombard Los Angeles and San Diego. The bombardment will come first, which will cause the Americans to divert planes to protect their cities and the civilian population.”

“Will you notify Tokyo of your intentions?” Nagumo asked.

Yamamoto bristled. “No. I command the fleet and I do not need permission from anyone to do battle with the Americans.”

Nagumo nodded solemnly. “Keeping the attack a secret with only the fleet aware of what we hope to achieve will keep our plans even more secure. While the Americans cannot read our codes, there might be a blabbing mouth in Tokyo and news might somehow reach our enemies. As much as I would prefer that we receive blessings from Tokyo, I agree that this is something that we alone must do.”

Yamamoto smiled. He didn’t need anyone’s permission or blessing, but it still would have been good to receive. Now if only the existence of the American carriers could be verified. Their destruction would result in Japanese control of the Pacific for at least several more years. The longer the growing might of the United States Navy was kept at bay, the more likely the Japanese Empire would emerge from this war with an honorable peace that would provide Japan with both economic and military security.

There was another problem that could arise should they be victorious. There would inevitably be calls from the hierarchy in Tokyo to make additional punishing attacks on the United States. Perhaps there would be pressure on him to invade Australia and Oahu, stretching his slender resources. These would have to be dampened and tempered with reality. What some called “victory disease” could prove fatal.

Still, Yamamoto thought, he would use the fleet to make selective attacks on the United States after the victory in the Gulf of California.

* * *

Juan Escobar was a proud man who was both mystified and angry at what had happened to his once proud and orderly world. An aristocrat who considered himself more Spanish then Mexican, he deplored the fact that crude, illiterate peasants of Indian descent had done so much to change his world. Not only did he no longer receive the respect that was his due as a descendant of the conquistadores, but he saw thinly veiled contempt in the eyes of many from the lower classes. Even worse, these communist-inspired cretins had almost destroyed his beloved Holy Mother Church’s influence in Mexico with their liberal and egalitarian ideas.

Yes, there currently was a shaky accord in place between the Mexican government and the Church that promised to end the fighting, but his beloved Church remained in a seriously reduced role, and Escobar did not like that. The Church represented God and, therefore, should be in charge. His late uncle had been a bishop and had been adamant about the Church’s proper role in the world. He believed that all governments should be subordinate to the Papacy. He knew that some laughed at him and called his beliefs archaic, but he knew that his way was the truth.

It had come as no surprise to the fifty-year-old Mexican Army colonel that he found himself drawn to the ideas of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Hitler knew what to do with the communists. Mexico needed its own Hitler. He held onto the now fading hope that it would someday be a man named Juan Escobar. Even though Hitler did little to support Catholicism, Escobar was confident that the Nazis would change when victory over utterly godless communism was theirs.

Escobar had even rejoiced when Germany declared war on the United States. Perhaps Mexico would join with Hitler and attempt to get back the lands stolen by the U.S. a century before.

Thus, he had been aghast when Mexico had declared war on Germany instead of on the United States. Still, he could do his part to ensure that Germany won. Too bad it meant having to help those repulsive little yellow men from Japan. Whenever he had doubts about what he was doing, he reminded himself that the friend of my friend is my friend as well.