Chapter 35
ITALY, AUGUST 1944
PAUL SHIFTED BOOT TO BOOT in the olive grove three-hundred yards from the bivouac. Shadows cast by a half-moon didn’t help his anxiety. There was movement to his left. Slinking behind one of the three-hundred year old trees, Paul eased the safety off on his .45 automatic. The night before, a pack of wild dogs mauled one of the enlisted men lubricated on the abundant local wine. The scuttlebutt carried the word of the kid being turned into a eunuch. One burst of a flashlight signaled the arrival of Vinnie Sapienza. Paul returned two flashes, moved the safety to the on position, and tucked the pistol into the waistband of his pants.
“Sorry, Paulie,” Vinnie said. A wad of bills stuck out of his shirt pocket. “The schnooks woulda shit bricks if I left. I was on fire.” A night didn’t pass without the roll of the dice. “I made the rounds. Unfortunately, you’re right.”
“I knew Swedge’s appearance wasn’t by chance.”
Vinnie cupped a match and lit a half-smoked cigar. “My man inside Wullien’s office says Swedge showed up without warning.”
Paul took Vinnie’s cigar and took a pull. “Hornish stopped by my tent on his way from the club to tell me that Swedge has struck up a friendship with Chuck Graham.”
“Like my mother used to say, assholes flock together,” Vinnie said, taking the cigar back.
“I think she meant birds of a feather,” Paul laughed.
“You didn’t know my mother,” Vinnie said, choking on the cigar’s smoke. He pulled a new cigar from his pocket, throwing the old stub into the weeds.
“Do you have another?” Paul asked.
“Does your mother know you smoke?” Vinnie cracked as he split the Italian stogie in half, giving Paul the rolled end. “You nervous or something?”
“Like a cat on a hot stove.” Paul struck a match against a tree and puffed the DeNobli Toscani to life.
They sat on a rotting tree stump, the cigar smoke keeping the bugs at bay. “What did Buckley tell you?” Paul asked. Staff Sergeant Barney Buckley doubled as the town crier and Wullien’s aide. “Give it to me straight.”
Vinnie leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Swedge strolls into group headquarters, flashes a letter from the assistant secretary of war and Wullien wets himself. Swedge asked for the personal files of everyone in the group. Our colonel complied without as much as a why.”
“What in hell is he looking for?”
“I think it’s a smokescreen,” Vinnie said as he spit out a piece of frayed tobacco. “He asked if the records for the crew of the Brooklyn Avenger were complete and then quizzes him about each of us. For Buckley, every officer is an enemy. He gave Swedge a pile of shrugs and I don’t knows.”
“Swedge is onto us, isn’t he?” Paul asked, looking at his glowing cigar.
“Swedge’s boss made a name for himself battling German spies and is responsible for locking up the Japs in California. The government has known about you and Jake’s amateur friends since day one.”
“Jake knew this all along.” Paul said dejectedly. “He was acting funny when he saw me off when I left for bomber training.”
“Why do you think I was at Ephrata to welcome you?” Vinnie pushed himself off the stump.
“My brother always treats me like a kid. He should have told me.”
Vinnie shrugged his shoulders. “It wouldn’t have changed a thing except you would’ve been watching over your shoulder instead of concentrating on learning how to fly.”
“And I was convinced that one of the crew wagged his tongue,” Paul said.
“I would have smelled something rotten with a nose like mine.” Vinnie touched his thrice broken centerpiece. “Swedge came to this garden of Eden already knowing that Jake got you placed. For all I know, he’s got me pegged too.”
Paul threw his cigar into the mud. “How come I haven’t been dragged off to the brig? He could have me busted in a minute.”
“Wullien wouldn’t let some asshole roll in here and take one of his pilots. Me, he couldn’t give a shit about, but one of his officers would be another story,” Vinnie said with a chuckle. “No, Swedge has to stop the plan by himself.”
“I can’t even come up with even a wacky idea how he could manage that,” Paul said.
Vinnie inhaled the cigar. “That my friend you leave to me. Remember, I was raised to think like a criminal. It’s the only reason I’m still alive.”