So far it is good, I guess.
He checked to make sure that the newspaper was still properly folded—that the manila envelope it concealed was not visible.
He had placed the envelope inside the paper in what he hoped would appear to be a casual fashion, so that were he stopped and the envelope found it would not look suspect. While the envelope contained details on the Secret Program, it wasn’t as if he was not supposed to have it.
Still, he knew that being caught with it and having to answer questions was something that needed to be avoided at all costs.
Kappler then walked past the State Opera building and headed directly for the far end of the square. He reached Saint Hedwig’s Cathedral, and after he entered the copper-domed neoclassical structure that was modeled after Rome’s Pantheon, he came to the holy water, dipped a finger, crossed himself, and silently said a prayer for his family’s safety.
He skirted the sanctuary, glancing in and seeing a dozen or more parishioners dotting the pews, on their knees praying. He finally came to the door that was the first confessional booth, and entered. He pulled the door closed and turned to the wall partition. There was a wooden railing midway up the partition and a pillow on the floor, both for praying. Above the railing was a gap—just large enough to pass a prayer book and perhaps some rosary beads—and above that a small door.
As Kappler knelt on the pillow, the small door slid open.
In a Pavlovian reflex, as Kappler had done all his Roman Catholic life, he automatically said, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. . . .”
Then he heard a deep chuckle on the opposite side of the partition.
Wolfgang Kappler angrily shook his head.
How dare he mock me!
And in the House of the Lord!
A small envelope then appeared in the gap above the railing. As he took it, he then heard a familiar voice.
“And what would you have for me, my sinful son?” Hans Bernd Gisevius said in a sonorous tone.
[FOUR]
OSS London Station
Berkeley Square
London, England
1110 1 June 1943
Not bothering to knock, Deputy Station Chief Ed Stevens walked quickly into Station Chief David Bruce’s office and said, “I was just given this Eyes Only in the commo room. It’s from Allen Dulles to us and Donovan. This is not going to be good.”
David Bruce looked up from h
is writing and took the document.
“Another fait accompli, I gather?” Bruce said idly.
“Well, let’s just say we’re about to get busier.”
Bruce flipped past the TOP SECRET cover sheet, and his eyes fell to the message:
* * *
TOP SECRET
OPERATIONAL IMMEDIATE
1JUNE43 0835
FOR