Chapter Sixty-Eight: Donovan Is His Own Family
"I'm sorry, Adele has been emotionally sensitive lately. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info" After Adele left, John said apologetically to William.
"Women, it's all the same. During the last war, I was going to France, and Jennifer (William's wife) was not crying a lot. ”
Compared with John, a rookie, William is a veteran who has really been on the battlefield. During World War I, he served as an artillery commander in the U.S. Expeditionary Force at the Battle of Saint-Miel.
"Who are the people in the delegation?" John didn't even think about the question of not going to go in the past. His name can't have been on the White House list "by accident", at least Stimson and Marshall must have overnodded it.
As an active-duty soldier, he has no room for excuse when the Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff have unanimously decided. Instead of worrying about whether to go or not, it is better to care about the specific details of this expedition.
"People from the White House and the State Department, members of the Senate and House of Representatives, representatives of the Military Production Committee and the Materials Committee, Army and Navy officers like you, and some media reporters. By the way, Donovan will also go over as the president's personal representative. ”
Recently, John has been more sensitive to the name Donovan, "Donovan? Did he propose to put me on the list? ”
"That's not it, as far as I know, you were already on the invitation list of the British." William dismissed his speculation: "Didn't you send an expedition to England before?" I heard that it was the Secretary of State for Labour and National Affairs who suggested it, and Prime Minister Churchill nodded. He seems to have a good impression of you. ”
John understood that it was the team of experts led by Leith and the container terminal proposal he had handed over through Somerville that had attracted the attention of the British. The British invited themselves over, presumably to inspect the transportation of supplies.
"By the way, how did you come up with Donovan?" William was a little curious.
"Recently, Reilly has been involved in a matter between him and Hoover, and Hoover specifically talked to me about this yesterday. That's why I wonder if Donovan is trying to pull me in line. John hesitated to put Hoover's deal with Hoover at first. Anyway, there's no rush on this matter, why don't you wait until you come back from Great Britain safely?
"Hoover? This kid isn't done yet. William doesn't seem to have much of an opinion on Reilly's "self-assertion", but is quite dissatisfied with Hoover, the FBI director. Could it be that there is anything else in this that he doesn't know?
"You were too young to know a lot about it...... William explained Donovan's family relationship to John in detail.
It turned out that the Vanderbilt family had been investing in Donovan for a long time. Whether he was elected mayor of Rochester (New York's third-largest city) or later ran for governor of New York, the Vanderbilt family was behind him.
It was only because Donovan went into business and opened a law firm many years ago that John didn't know that he still had this relationship with his family.
It's no wonder that when Donovan formed the Strategic Intelligence Agency, so many young members of the Vanderbilt family joined the OSS. In William's eyes, Donovan is his own person to the letter. As for Hoover, he was nothing more than the head of a department under the Department of Justice that investigates cases of crimes across state lines.
Back then, when Donovan was undersecretary of the Justice Department, Hoover was still a minor player in the Bureau of Investigation (an intelligence agency under the Department of Justice, which later became the FBI), and the two men were not at the same level at all.
"Bill (Donovan's nickname is Savage Bill) is an old friend of us, and it won't be bad for you." William advised: "If you don't want to meddle in the matter between him and Hoover, forget it, he will solve it himself." It's Hoover, this kid, so many years have passed since the Teapot Hill scandal (Donovan and Hoover fell out because of the 1924 Teapot Hill scandal), and he still can't forget it, and his strength is also small. ”
John had always thought that Donovan and William were just political allies, but he didn't expect that the other party was actually the political spokesperson he had supported. No wonder Reilly didn't say hello to him and sided with Donovan. Feeling that you don't help each other is a special case in the family.
But in that case, then leave the matter of helping Donovan deal with Hoover to the family, and John himself does not plan to get involved.
"I have something to tell you." John made up a lie: "I've heard that Hoover's agents were secretly spying on and eavesdropping on Donovan. ”
William suddenly became alert, "Is the news reliable?" ”
"My administrator was the same Melvin who was kicked out by Hoover, and he heard from some old friends in the FBI. I don't know if it's accurate. John continued: "I think nine times out of ten it's true. Moreover, since he dared to spy on Donovan, he did not dare to spy on others. ”
"Play some tricks." William said disdainfully, "I really thought that if the Lord trusted him, he could do whatever he wanted." ”
John was in deep agreement with William's comments to Hoover. Historically, Donovan lost to Hoover because he was too "above board".
Donovan, who was born as a combat hero, likes to fight hard with real knives and guns, and is a good hand at subversive and sabotage to the outside world. When it comes to intrigue and meticulous work such as stabbing in the back, he is far from Hoover, who deals with criminals all day long.
"He asked me to meet yesterday at a place called the Crane Club. I don't think it's very clean in there. John vaguely pointed out a direction for William's investigation, and said nothing more, believing that William knew what to do.
Sure enough, William stared at him for a few seconds before nodding, "You don't care about this, I'll tell Cornelius." Think about how to appease Adele. With that, William got up and took his leave.
Truth be told, John would rather deal with Hoover than face Adele's tears now. After hesitating for a long time, he went upstairs to the bedroom.
In the bedroom, Adele stopped crying. "I'm sorry, dear. I shouldn't be talkative. ”
Before John could speak, Adele apologized first. In this era, abiding by the family is the only thing a married woman should do, and it is very unethical to interfere with her husband's work outside the home. Adele's performance today has completely violated the code of conduct she has adhered to for many years.
"It's okay, dear." John took his wife in his arms, "I know you're worried about me. Don't worry, I'll try to get back before the baby is born. ”
"Can't you really go without it?" Adele pleaded quietly.
"Adele, I'm a soldier. Kids don't want a deserter dad, right? John gently stroked Adele's belly with his hand, feeling the fetal movement: "You can rest assured, I promise to come back safely." ”
"But I'm still a little scared...... "Adele was about to cry again.
"What are you afraid of, I'll be back in a little more than a month at most. Isn't there still Grandma Susan at home? William has been in Washington for a while, and I'll ask him to take care of you. John knew that Adele wouldn't stop him at all, she just needed to comfort and coax herself now.
"You see, I'm going to London this time, and I'll be able to meet General Charles de Gaulle, who needs our help, right?"
Ever since Charles de Gaulle gave that speech at the BBC, French Americans in the United States have regarded him as the de facto spiritual leader. Most of them did not know the tall brigadier general, nor did they know whether to see him as the new commander of France. But as long as he continues to fight, they will support him and see him as a national hero.
John's words touched Adele, who believed that John was taking a risk to save her homeland. "Thank you, dear." She kissed her husband with emotion, "You must pay attention to safety, I and the children are waiting for you to come back." ”