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.He privately wondered if Roosevelt had been briefed in on this bythe Brits.They d had an SAS guy called Hamilton in-country with Ivanov.ARussian specialist, detached by the then Major Windsor to help in the searchfor any Multinational Force assets that might have gone astray.He d know nothing of the Quiet Room s domestic operations in the UnitedStates. Ivanov and Zamyatin regarded the Communist government as a hostile,occupying power, he continued. And they consider it their duty to protectthe Russian people from all enemies, foreign and domestic.So they stayed. Good Lord, Roosevelt muttered. It never ends with you people, does it? Kolhammer took that as a rhetorical question best not answered.He remainedat attention while Roosevelt seemed to turn inward for a minute, examining theproblem like a puzzle with a piece that just didn t fit. And your missing ship? That would be the British vessel, theVanguard ? Yes, sir, and possibly the two nuclear subs from our group.TheVanguard wasour primary concern, though, since she was located within the area of theTransition s effect back in twenty-one, as best we could tell.The nukes werea hundred miles away. And you didn t find her? Or any trace of her? Kolhammer shook his head, but all the old worries he had learned to suppresscame bobbing back up to the surface. We got nothing during the six months theteam was in-country.A few wild rumors, but those are like Elvis sightingsback in my day, if you ll excuse the uptime reference, sir.People are foreverreporting new ships, or planes from the future, winking through anotherwormhole.TheDessaix turning up like she did really bent everyone out ofshape.Page 62 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Then again, the Soviet Union is a very big country, and they haveanexcellent security apparatus.They could be hiding any number of secrets inthere, and Beria and Stalin would think nothing of killing ten million peopleto protect them. I d be a lot happier if we had some U-Two coverage over them, he continued. And I Roosevelt held up his hand to cut Kolhammer off. No! I go through this everyfew days with the Joint Chiefs, Admiral.We have only a handful of thoseplanes, and every last one of them is needed for hunting down the GermanA-bomb assets even the two aircraft we assigned to monitoring the Nazisextermination camps.After your repeated demands, I might add both here and inthe press.Or have you forgotten that? No, sir, Kolhammer said, keeping his voice neutral, though only with thegreatest effort.The temps, he had found, were more than happy to play on the Holocaust forpropaganda purposes, but getting them to commit assets to disrupt the programwas another matter entirely.The whole thing was a waking nightmare, and hisown intervention which he considered a matter of unavoidable moral duty hadoccasioned a personal tragedy.His uncle Hans, who would have survived this war had it not been for theTransition, had been removed from the death camp at Treblinka and publiclyexecuted as an American spy, some six months earlier.The German propagandaminister, Josef Göbbels, had personally seen to the release of the filmfootage into the free world, via Spain.Even now Phillip Kolhammer could feelan ungovernable rage gathering inside him as he remembered the first time he dheard the news.He doubted that fate would play him an even break, but if itdid, and he ended up in a room withHerr Doktor Göbbels at the end of thisconflict, there was a very good chance he would beat the little rodent todeath with his bare hands.When he regained control over the poisoned wellspring of his feelings, hefound that Roosevelt was looking mildly abashed. I forget myself, Admiral, the president muttered. I apologize. Not knowing what to say, Kolhammer merely nodded, but he remained stiffly atattention.After another few seconds of uncomfortable stillness, Roosevelt eventuallybroke. Can you at least assure me that the Russians don t have your ship? No, sir.I cannot.As you know, we re still doing all we can to find outwhether it came through and fell into the wrong hands.If it did, it might notnecessarily be in the USSR, of course.It could be in Colombia, or China, orburied under a mile of ice at the South Pole.I suppose it s possible it couldturn up tomorrow or a hundred years from now, given the temporal anomalies oftheDessaix s arrival.We just don t know. Roosevelt shook his head and held up his hand again. Please, spare me.Ijust need to know that you re not still running some undercover operation inJoe Stalin s backyard. I am not. And what aboutmy backyard? the president asked, his voice suddenly coldPage 63 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlagain. Am I going to wake up tomorrow and find that your Ms.O Brien has doneaway with yet another inconvenient foe, like Mr.Hoover or Congressman Dies? Kolhammer could sense a trapdoor creaking beneath his feet.He carefullyavoided answering the first question by concentrating on the second. Ms.O Brien is her own woman, sir.She s a private citizen now.Not mine tocommand. Really? FDR tilted his head.A reflection of the fire burning in the OvalOffice hearth filled one lens.Kolhammer resisted the urge to shrug.He knewRoosevelt was using the expanding silence as a weapon, hoping to make himblurt something out as the discomfort grew more intense.Did the old man knowabout the Room, or was he just fishing?He chose his next words carefully. I m sure Director Foxworth could tell youall about Ms.O Brien, he said in a monotone. I understand he has aconsiderable number of the bureau s agents assigned to watching herfull-time. Roosevelt didn t bite. And how would you know that, Admiral? he countered. Surely Ms.O Brien s affairs aren t a matter of concern to your Zone securityofficers. No, sir.They are not.But Ms.O Brien is no wallflower.I doubt a week goesby that she doesn t complain in the press about harassment by the FBI or theIRS. Roosevelt didn t so much smile as stretch his lips back to bare his teeth. You seem to sympathize with her, Admiral Kolhammer.You don t think InternalRevenue should have investigated her companies. Still standing rigidly, Kolhammer had little trouble avoidingthat trap.In away, being forced to remain at attention focused his mind. I don t see thatit would be appropriate for me to comment, Mr.President, for any number ofreasons. Oh, come now, Admiral.Youmust have an opinion.I know you think very highlyof Ms.O Brien.You were quoted at length in thatNew Yorker profile of her, asI recall.You can t be happy to see her name dragged through the mud. If I had a personal opinion, it would be just that, sir.Personal& andprivate. I see, Roosevelt said, fitting a new cigarette into his holder. That sodd, because you were quite free with your opinions when Director Hooverresigned. Kolhammer ground out his reply like an ogre chewing rocks. Director Hoovermisapplied public resources in the surveillance and harassment of Zonepersonnel.He compromised the security of a significant number of researchprograms.And he did untold damage to the operations of other intelligenceagencies through his incompetence, malfeasance, and utterly inappropriate useof bureau resources.You are correct, Mr.President.I expressed theseopinions publicly, under oath, during hearings in both the Senate and theHouse.It was my duty to do so. Was it your duty to repeat them and expand on them for Miss Duffy inThe NewYork Times ? Roosevelt demanded.Page 64 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html I believe so, sir
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