1942

CHAPTER 26

Jake Novacek sat in the high-back chair in the sparsely furnished anteroom and waited his turn to speak to the great man. Other colonels and even generals looked in at him and wondered just who Jake was and what he was doing in the partially completed Pentagon.

It had been more than four months since the battle on the hill and the liberation of Hilo, and so many things had happened.

The agony of Hawaii had been far from over. Even though abandoned, Admiral Iwabachi had gathered several thousand Imperial marines and other naval personnel and then unleashed a reign of terror over Oahu and Honolulu. In a spasm of fury, he’d slaughtered thousands of civilians, even continuing when the American 24th Infantry Division landed under the command of Major General Joe Collins. Iwabachi had retreated to Honolulu and forced the 24th to take the city street by street and house by house. The admiral and the remnants of his army had finally taken refuge in the brick building and dock where the Lurline liner had once brought smiling tourists from California to the islands.

It had been a mistake. Naval guns had flattened the dock at point-blank range. No survivors had been pulled from the rubble. However, Honolulu was virtually destroyed.

While the fighting had raged, Toyoza Kaga had been executed by Iwabachi for what the Japanese said was treason. Akira Kaga had survived and begun to pick up the pieces of his father’s commercial empire.

No trace had been found of Melissa Wilson, but her son had been located in the care of a Japanese family who were very glad to give him back to the Americans.

Will Hawkins was in a hospital in San Francisco, while Ernie Magruder and Karl Gustafson had returned to other duties.

Jake and Alexa had been reunited quickly and flown to San Diego as soon as conditions permitted. While they waited, they found a place to stay, made love, and tried not to think about the future.

In San Diego, Jake had been greeted warmly by Admiral Nimitz, and both he and Alexa had been pleasantly surprised to see Jamie Priest. Their presence solved a small problem for Jamie; both Jake and Alexa stood up for him and Suzy Dunnigan at their wedding. Suzy was pregnant as a house and had been discharged from the WAVES, who, according to her, didn’t have a sense of humor about pregnant sailors. She said that, while she had wanted to honor her dead father by serving in the navy, perhaps it was a greater honor to give him a grandchild.

Since Jake was privy to the existence of Magic, Jamie got Nimitz’s permission to give him an update. Admiral Yamamoto had made it by sub to Japan, where he was calling for a negotiated end to a war that Japan could not win. This call had split Japan’s government down the middle, with hawks and doves fighting for supremacy. In short, there was chaos in Tokyo.

Colonel Omori’s whereabouts were unknown. Feeding the fishes was Jake’s thought. At least Lieutenant Goto was dead. The Hawaiians who’d captured him had finally put him out of his misery a week after taking him.

But then Jamie had dropped the bombshell. “The Japs have been screaming on their radio about the whereabouts of a ship called the Wichita Maru. Jackass name for a ship, but it is or was a freighter that left Honolulu at night just before the Japanese attempted their breakout and hasn’t been heard from.

“We all wondered just what the hell was so important about the Wichita Maru, and then we found out what her cargo was. She was carrying all the remaining Japanese pilots from the sunken carriers. We’ve checked submarine reports, and we’re reasonably certain she was sunk with all hands by one of our boats. Jake, the Jap pilots are even more important to them than the carriers. Ships you can replace, but the Japs do not have a system for replacing their pilots. Jake, they’re fucked.”

Jamie also told him that the late Toyoza Kaga was being hailed as the man who had headed up a spy ring in Honolulu and provided the United States with all the information regarding Japanese plans. Included in his ring were the colored staff at the various officers’ clubs, who, it was said, had overheard many Japanese talking about those plans, and could not imagine a Negro understanding Japanese. According to Magic intercepts, the Japanese had accepted the story as gospel; thus, the existence of Magic was still a secret.

Jake and Alexa left San Diego by rail and arrived in Washington, D.C., a week and a half later. The trip gave them a chance to find out more about themselves and the world about them. The invasion of North Africa under Eisenhower had occurred, and both England and Russia appeared to be holding out. Jamie had told them this meant the fleet would be returning to the Pacific, where Admiral Spruance and a rejuvenated Bull Halsey would lead attacks against a pair of lightly defended islands off the coast of Japan-Okinawa and Iwo Jima. With little in the way of a Japanese navy left, the Americans could roam the Pacific at will, and the two islands would be set up as bombing stations for attacks against Japan. General MacArthur was steamed because he wanted the Philippines liberated first, but the navy’s star was ascendant, and the Philippines would wait for a little while.

In Washington, Jake met Alexa’s uncle and thought that, under different circumstances, the short, stubby congressman could have been a ridiculous little man. However, he exuded a genuine fondness for Alexa that was reciprocated and that meant he was Jake’s friend.

Jake’s thoughts were interrupted by a very sharply dressed captain who told him he could go into the inner sanctum. Jake still wore the eagles of a full colonel, although he wondered what his real rank might be. The next few minutes would tell as he stepped into the office.

Jake started to come to attention, but General George C. Marshall stopped him, rose from behind his desk, and shook his hand. “You did a great job in Hawaii, Colonel, a great job.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Marshall gestured for him to be seated. “How did your meeting with Roosevelt go?”

“Very good, sir. He seemed almost exuberantly happy.” Jake smiled at the recent memory. “He even made me a martini.”

Marshall smiled inwardly. The overwhelming victory in the Pacific had purged Roosevelt of the demons that had been plaguing him. There was no longer any serious worry about the president’s health. Henry Wallace would not be the next President of the United States.

“Good. Now let me get to the point of this meeting, which is, of course, your future. By the way, Admiral Nimitz wrote me and said you could transfer to the navy anytime. King endorsed it.”

“Uh, I’ll pass, sir.” Jake hoped it was a joke.

“Wise decision,” Marshall said with the barest flicker of a smile. “Colonel, it is rumored that I keep a list of officers who I think can accomplish things. That rumor is true, and it is also true that your name was not on it. It is now. You have conclusively proven that you are a wartime officer, and we are in a war that will last for some time. Sadly, the beginning of any war requires the weeding out of men who appeared qualified in peacetime but who fail to live up to expectations when the shooting starts.”

Jake understood that Marshall was talking about people like Admiral Kimmel and General Short. Both had been honest, decent men who’d failed the test of battle. There had been many others; even division and corps commanders were sacked for being unable to function in the face of a real enemy.

“First of all, Colonel, you will keep your rank. It’s now permanent, and you deserve it.”

“Thank you, sir.” A year ago Jake had been an overage captain. Now he was a full colonel, with prospects for additional advancement.

“I wish you to work here in the Pentagon for about six months, providing us with as much insight as you can regarding the Japanese way of war. After that, you will be sent to England to serve with those who are planning future actions against the Nazis. It is most likely that you will be serving in an intelligence and security capacity. Because of your knowledge of Magic, you will not be given a combat command.”

Jake was slightly surprised, but not disappointed, at not getting a combat command. He’d had his fill of fighting. “Then I will not be returning to the Pacific?”

“No. The land war portion of the Pacific campaign will belong to the marines and General MacArthur, with the marines probably bearing the brunt of it. Your penchant for honest evaluations and assessments would not serve you well there. MacArthur’s staff includes officers who tell him what he wishes to hear. They would destroy you. Eisenhower is probably going to command in England. He is an honest man who can handle bad tidings. He doesn’t like them any more than the next man, but he can deal with them.”

“Yes, sir.”

Marshall stood. The interview was over. “Take a couple of weeks’ leave time, Colonel. You deserve it, and that’s an order.”

Jake grinned. “Thank you, sir.”

“Oh, and you’re going to get a medal. No one’s decided which one yet, but a Silver Star is very likely.”

Jake found it difficult to speak. “Thank you, sir,” he finally managed.

In the hallway, Alexa took his arm. She was wearing a blue dress that must have been several years old since it covered much of her magnificent legs.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“I have two weeks off, six months here, and a future. Oh yeah, I’m getting a medal.”

She squeezed his arm. “Excellent summary. I can see why the military likes you. Take me to dinner and fill me in on the details.”

“All right.”

“Here’s a summary of my own. You have two weeks. Marry me.”

Jake took a deep breath. He loved her, and they’d discussed marriage a number of times, although without coming to any conclusions. “Are you sure?”

“You’re a colonel with medals, and that’ll dazzle my relatives. Soon you’ll be a general, and that will knock them on their elegant cans. Besides, my dearest Jake, I love you very much, and, after all we’ve been through, do you think I give a shit? I want to be called Mrs. Novacek, and I want to have a little Jake on the way before you go to England.”

Jake laughed. How the hell had she known he was going to England? Magic?