17

Julian began Spangler’s tour at Communications, a vast complex of recently completed camouflaged Quonset huts and wooden structures at the base of the hills to the rear of the Great North Hall.

C-1, Monitoring, was the largest of the eight self-contained divisions comprising Communications. Bilingual radio operators were already tuned in on every conceivable area of Europe and North Africa from which reception was possible. The general monitoring of German domestic broadcasts took five buildings by itself. Wehrmacht communications required an additional six Quonset huts. Three wooden structures covered the French radio. Belgium and the Netherlands were assigned a building each, as were Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Eighteen buildings were devoted to British radio communications, and three more for this purpose were under construction. Switzerland and Italy had two Quonset huts each. Every monitored broadcast was wire-recorded. The personnel which manned the three daily eight-hour shifts were billeted in twenty-one barracks. A massive Quonset hut served as both mess hall and recreation area. C-1 was completely enclosed in barbed wire. No one could leave or enter without undergoing an arduous credentials inspection.

Internal Security was known as C-4. The compound contained seven buildings and was linked to the primary alarm systems at Westerly. Any penetration of the area would be recorded on its machines. C-4A was the nerve center that kept in constant contact with guard teams patrolling the one hundred and twenty miles of perimeter fencing enclosing the estate.

C-4 and C-4A, Julian pointed out, for some reason had no contact with the six-building complex known as I. P. D., Independent Penetration Detection. I. P. D. was an elaborate secondary alarm system Colonel Kittermaster had ordered installed in the three main buildings on his arrival ten days before. No one really knew its purpose.

C-5 was still under construction. This was the complex which would be fed the propaganda broadcasts emanating from the studios now nearing completion in the main house.

“What propaganda broadcasts?” Spangler asked.

Julian replied offhandedly, “Oh, didn’t I mention it before? ‘General Projects Group’ is just a cover title. G. P. G. is actually German Propaganda Group. This is all a propaganda operation. Our two main fronts are the German Popular Gazette and the German Popular Gazette of the Air.”

“All this just for propaganda?”

“Colonel Kittermaster is very well connected in Washington.”

“What’s that over there?” Spangler asked, pointing to the most heavily guarded building he had yet seen.

“A new innovation they just sent in from the States—something called the Monster Machine. I don’t know much about it myself, but we’ll find out soon. They should have it working any time now.”

They finally arrived at C-8, “Dark Channels,” located on the third floor of the South Hall. The twenty-by-twenty-five-foot table-top terrain map of Germany was divided into sixteen different-colored sectors. Sixteen headphoned DC-radio operators were seated in a horseshoe around the north, west and south perimeters, listening for signals from clandestine short-wave transmitters from their assigned zones.

“Those sixteen white flags stuck in the map,” Julian explained, “are agents who have been heard from in the last twelve hours. Those nine blue flags designate where contact was made twenty-four hours ago.”

“What are those?” Spangler asked, pointing to the five red and six black flags arching from Hamburg toward the east.

“The black, Erik, are radio operators out of action—and the red are missing agents.” Julian reached out and pulled a red flag from a spot slightly west of Hamburg. “This was the last contact with Jean-Claude.”

“What are you doing to find him?”

“This room represents only agents and radios watching for the German prisoner transfer. We are calling agents in from other operations to investigate. Those are the green flags you see moving up from the southwest.”

An officer leaned over the table and placed a black flag on Frankfurt.

“Who’s that?” Julian demanded.

“Pedro, sir.”

“What about Pedro?”

“He stopped transmission in the middle of Harmon’s message. The stoppage coincides with a British air strike on Frankfurt. It looks as if he’s been tagged, sir.”

“Why wasn’t I given an Early Report?”

“But you were, sir. I made it out myself when Pedro went off the air forty minutes ago.”

“I never received it.”

“But Colonel Kittermaster said he would give it to you, sir.”

“What are you doing sending our material to Colonel Kittermaster?”

“I didn’t send anything, sir. Colonel Kittermaster was here and took it himself.”

“He was here—in this room?”

“Yes, sir. He was conducting an inspection.”

“He has no authority to be in this room.”

“But, sir, he is the commanding officer.”

“Did he take anything else?”

“Yes, sir. He took a copy of every report we filed today.”

“What reports? Be specific! I want a complete list, do you understand? A complete list of—”

“Major Julian,” an aide called, rushing into the room, “they need you upstairs. They’ve finally got the Monster Machine working.”