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file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20The%20Proteus%20Ope
ration.txt mixed up with American gangsters somehow and ends up at this house
outside New York. But these mysterious men in masks, who walk up walls and put
hoodlums in the hospital with their bare hands, appear from nowhere, seize the
whole place, and hand it over to a rival gang."
"What appears to be a rival gang, anyway."
"Whatever. And Fritsch sends you a report of this affair, including an account
from the
New York newspapers."
"At the time, it seemed to have nothing to do with anything except American
criminals,"
Boeckel said. "But we kept the matter under review, nevertheless."
Piekenbrock held up a hand. "You did the right thing. Anyway, it now turns out
that these men are not criminals, but American soldiers. Also, they belong to
a hitherto unknown unit, which might conceivably just have been formed. They
appear to have undergone some extraordinary training. And now they show up at
the White House...to meet whom? Could it be the President himself, perhaps? If
so, why? Who are they?"
"I have been giving the matter some thought," Boeckel said.
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'And have you come up with any ideas?"
"Well, it's merely a speculation, you understand, sir, but it seems to me that
the U.S.
military has been developing a secret unit to specialize in undercover urban
activities-sabotage, assassination, or other such missons. The raid on the
gangster's house could have been a practice exercise with the added benefit of
having some redeeming social value-perhaps by eliminating some criminal
elements that the authorities couldn't touch legally."
Piekenbrock raised his eyebrows. "You mean the police didn't know? Wouldn't
that be a bit risky?"
"Not as risky as the real thing and someone else's police," Boeckel pointed
out. "It would be the ultimate in training real isin." I
"Hm, yes-ingenious, I'll grant you that. Go on."
Boeckel tapped the file lying on the desk. "The warehouse that Fritsch
identified in
Brooklyn could be their camouflaged I operations base. What I suspect is that
they've been running an I elaborate exercise to see if they can remain
invisible for a protracted period in a major city while merging with the
criminal fraternity and carrying out active operations, all without any
cooperation from the authorities, or even any official knowledge that they
exist. Having tested their methods, a visit to Wash-f ington could represent
their 'graduation,' as it were, before becoming operational elsewhere"
"Such as?"
Boeckel shrugged. "Well, we all know that Roosevelt would like to get into the
war, but
Congress and the people won't let I him, openly. A good guess might be that
they're being sent over here-maybe even to Berlin."
'And assassination, you said, might be among their spe- ~ cialties?"
Boeckel drew a long breath. "With some obvious names as I targets."
Piekenbrock nodded. Clearly, his own thinking had already I led him to the
same conclusion. "That could also explain why I Roosevelt should be involved
personally," he mused.
"Exactly, sir."
"Hmm...I think we should find out more about this ware- I house if we can,"
Piekenbrock said. "Not Fritsch-he's just an amateur. Reads too many boys'
books and takes risks. Get one of the professionals onto it-someone like
Musketeer. But I don't I want anyone breaking in or doing anything reckless if
they're likely to bump into the kind of people that Fritsch described. That
will be all."
"Yes, sir." Boeckel stood up and gathered the file and papers I. together.
"I just want to know a bit more about the place, some idea of what goes in and
out,"
Piekenbrock said. "Low-key-know what 'I I mean?"
"I'll start on it right away."
"Very good. Oh, and Boeckel-about that secretary of yours. She's an attractive
woman. It's not a good idea to flaunt it so I much when Lady Luck smiles your
way, you know. I'm hearing jealous noises from several directions. I know the
Fuhrer wants us to make more Germans, but he never said anything about I
making a public spectacle of doing so. I trust I make myself clear?"
"Oh, yes, sir I'm sorry. I'll be more discreet."
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