Chapter Five Hundred Fifty-Seven
9th August 1946
Washington DC
After today Schultz had absolutely no doubts about who the next President of the United States was going to be as he made his way back to the German Embassy. The Senator from Missouri had the intelligence to root out Schultz and the ruthlessness to carry out what needed to be done once he had him. The worst part was that Truman himself wasn’t the sort who was easily blackmailed, as near as Schultz could tell he lived that straight talk mantra of his. What Schultz needed was to get out of this damned country already. He’d been here for far too long, that much was reflected by how Truman had talked to him. The Senator seemed to have known exactly who he was and had allowed no bullshit or evasion. Schultz had it made clear to him that as far as Truman was concerned talking to him was a direct avenue back to the Government of Berlin.
What the Senator had to say was simple enough. Dewey wasn’t going to be around forever, and the changing of the Administrations was not necessarily going to change the policies. If the Germans made themselves an international nuisance the Americans were not afraid to lead the inevitable response against them. That their existing alliances had been based on convenience. For the British and French, a German dominated Europe was extremely inconvenient before they needed the Germans to fight the Japanese. Now the German Empire was extremely Goddamned inconvenient again. Atomic bombs might mean that Germany was an 800-pound gorilla, but military might was worthless when there was no market for German products and no resources to build them. So, underestimate the United States at your peril.
The message was heard loud and clear by Schultz and he was going to report exactly what happened to his superiors. Besides that, Helga was hoping that with his latest posting was winding down and he’d come home for real. For the various individuals in the US Government that Schultz had compromised it would seem like a dream come true, until they learned who his replacement was. That was going to be a particularly dark day for Hoover in particular. Schultz saw then that this situation could have a bright side after all. Running the operations from the back room of the Model V8 Jazz Club in Berlin with John Elis and Juan Pujol-Garcia was a whole lot more fun anyway.
12th August 1946
Berlin
“I don’t know what to do about Gia” Kat said, “Everything she’s doing seems to be calculated to anger me, get her exposed or both.”
“My only surprise is that this didn’t happen sooner” Peter replied, “The fear that kept her hidden went away to an extent with the end of the Soviet Union and the executions of the men who had ordered her death.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You spent years teaching Gia to be strong and independent” Peter said, “Now she’s trying to figure out her own identity while being pulled in several directions and no longer has the specter of the NKVD to maintain her focus.”
“Do you have any idea of the sort of thing she said to me on Friday night?” Kat said.
“Judging by your tone I’d say it pushed the absolute limits of what someone could say to you without actual blood being spilled.”
That gave Kat pause, that had hit the nail right on the head. “What am I going to do about this?” She asked.
“I’d suggest that you not do any more than you are already doing” Peter replied, “You once asked about having Gianna see someone about her issues when she first came here, nothing ever came of that.”
“Things got better” Kat said, “She adjusted, started school and made friends. Life Happened”
“You mean to say that things got papered over and everyone got on with their lives” Peter said, “How well has that worked out in your own personal experience?”
Kat sat there, her jaw clinched. She knew about her own problems and who they had manifested themselves. She knew that Peter was probably correct here and it meant that she might have made a huge mistake when it came to Gia.
“If you want I’ll find time to talk to her” Peter said, “Get an impression regarding what’s going on.”
“Don’t you already have a large number of responsibilities?” Kat asked, “Considering how high up you are.”
“I’m only responsible for the mental health of the entire OKW” Peter said, and was a bit amused at watching the Kat’s astonished look. It took a lot to surprise her these days. “But mostly that involves telling a rather large staff how to direct people who deal with people who have weapons and the training to use them who don’t need or want direction. I prefer to deal with actual patients a few hours each day, so I have some idea about what’s really going on.”
“I’m glad I am worthy of your attention” Kat said.
“You’re a special case” Peter said, “You were sort of grandfathered in and there are very few others in my profession who have the clearance to talk to you.”
“That also applies to Gia?”
“Not really” Peter replied, “Her personal relationships mean that anyone who sees her would need to be cleared and documents assuring confidentiality under Penalty of Law would need to be signed. It would be far easier to just use the fact that she’s still your dependent to have me see her.”
“You’d do that?”
“It would be no problem” Peter said. He probably owed it to Kat considering that she was the subject of several published papers and a couple of ongoing studies. He would need her good will if she ever figured that out.
“How do you convince Gia to come in?” Kat asked, “She’s an adult now.”
“How do I convince you to come in?” Peter replied, “Let me deal with that.”
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