A Gathering of Spies Read Online Free PDF Page B

Musicians. Crossword puzzle enthusiasts. Illusionists—magicians. Once we used mirrors to make one tank look like thirty. And they believed it.”
    Winterbotham whistled.
    Taylor nodded, finally satisfied with the effect he had created.
    â€œBut you must appreciate the fragility of our situation,” he went on. “We have all sorts of fictions, mixed in with the truth, going out over these little suitcase radios. All it would take to raise suspicion is one Abwehr agent that we missed—just one—sending a report that goes against everything else. If one single agent slips through our trap, Harry, the whole operation could be compromised.”
    â€œIt sounds dicey.”
    â€œIt is. So you can see why I needed a total commitment from you. As I said, this is the best-kept secret of the war, and, if I may allow myself the conceit, the most important.”
    â€œYes, I can see.”
    â€œSo, you’ll forgive me my theatrics?”
    Winterbotham made a loose gesture.
    Taylor frowned. He took a long drag from his cigarette. The paper crackled. He exhaled a rafter of smoke toward the ceiling, then said, “Those are only the basics of Operation Double Cross. There’s more to it, of course. In fact, it’s phenomenally complicated. We need our intelligence to seem real , Harry, and we go to great lengths to create that impression. We try to keep our pet agents here at Latchmere for as little time as possible. Once we’re convinced they can be trusted, we put them back out into England, doing whatever it is Canaris thinks they’re doing. They live with their case officer, who conducts the surveillance that they are supposed to be conducting. Then, together, they go over what intelligence will be sent, what will be held back, what will be spun.”
    â€œWhat if they don’t prove as trustworthy as you think?”
    â€œThen they hang,” Taylor said.
    He looked at Winterbotham levelly.
    â€œHm,” Winterbotham said.
    â€œI won’t keep anything from you, Harry. It’s a bloody business. Sometimes they go bad, and sometimes they need some extra convincing to turn in the first place. We try to keep everything friendly, for obvious reasons. We want them to be satisfied in their work for us. In fact, we damn near pamper them, trying to keep them happy. But it doesn’t always work out.”
    Winterbotham said nothing.
    â€œOur hands are far from clean,” Taylor said. “In our effort to keep Canaris in the dark about Double Cross, we’ve had to make sacrifices. We’ve had to pretend not to know about enemy operations that we did know about. There have been difficult decisions, and there have been casualties. Civilian casualties. Casualties that could have been avoided … but at the cost of the entire operation.”
    Winterbotham nodded shortly.
    â€œIt’s not pleasant,” Taylor said.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œBut it must be done.”
    â€œI suppose.”
    â€œDon’t suppose. It’s a fact.”
    â€œMm.”
    Taylor looked at him for a moment. He bit his lower lip. Then he nodded in agreement with some secret thought. “Somebody has to take the responsibility,” he said softly. “It’s not easy, Harry. But it must be done.”
    Winterbotham set his pipe down on the table. “What do you want from me?” he asked.
    â€œThree weeks ago—when I first got in touch with you—we received a new crop. Four agents, straight from Hamburg. Two of them parachuted in. One came on a U-boat and then paddled ashore in a dinghy. One came in under a false passport—Swiss. We got all of them, of course. As soon as they arrived, they got in touch with their contacts here. And their contacts work for us.”
    â€œThey’re here now, at Latchmere?”
    â€œThree of them are, yes.”
    â€œWhere’s the fourth?”
    â€œShe chose not to cooperate,” Taylor said, and left