Eisenhower was standing outside on the terrace as they went in, smoking a cigarette, wearing boots and riding breeches for he rode most afternoons. He turned and walked in briskly, his face illuminated by that famous and inimitable smile.
‘Coffee, George,’ he said to Cusak. ‘Or maybe Major Carter would prefer tea?’
‘No, coffee would be fine, sir.’
Cusak went out and Eisenhower indicated a chair and opened a file on his desk.
‘And just how does a man with your background get by as a Sicilian peasant?’
‘Oh, you can thank the University Dramatic Society for that, General. There was a wild moment there when I was tempted to turn professional.’
‘You were that good.’
‘I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t, sir,’ Carter said calmly.
‘When SOE sent you out to Cairo to take charge of the Italian section I don’t think they envisaged your personal invasion of Sicily on…’ here he glanced again at the file, ‘…three separate occasions?’
‘I know, sir,’ Carter said. ‘But we didn’t really have any choice. When it came to Sicily, there wasn’t anyone else who knew the language or the people as well. I did a lot of work on archaeological digs there during the thirties.’
‘And now you’re going in again. Don’t you think you’re getting a little old for this sort of thing?’
Eisenhower pushed a document across the desk and Carter picked it up. It was a typical SOE operation order in sparse, no-nonsense Civil Service English.
OPERATION INSTRUCTION NO. 592
For Major Harry Carter
Operation: Swordarm
Field Name: FORTUNATO
Name on Papers: Giovanni Ciccio
1 INFORMATION
We have discussed with you the possibility of your returning to Sicily to finalize the mission you were originally given when you left for that island in February of this year; namely, to co-ordinate the organization of resistance groups in the general area of the Cammarata so that the maximum co-operation is available to Allied troops in the event of invasion. You have made it quite clear that in your view, nothing prevents you from returning to the same area to carry out this task.
2 METHOD
From Maison Blanche you will proceed to Sicily in a Halifax of 138 (Special Duties) Squadron and will land by parachute at a point 10 kilometres west of Bellona where you will be received by elements of the local resistance movement. You have been given a cover story and papers in the name of Giovanni Ciccio which will enable you to live a normal life in the field.
INTERCOMMUNICATIONS
Your channel of communication with the resistance movement in the Palermo area will be through the Contessa di Bellona who is at the present time in residence at her villa outside that town.
Your channel of communication with HQ will be by W/T radio transmission handled by Vito Barbera, coordinator, Bellona area.
WEAPONS
At your discretion, but only those you consider essential for hand-to-hand combat.
CONCLUSION
You are aware of the importance of this mission and nothing must take precedence over it. We anticipate completion in two weeks. Your return will be by submarine pick-up and details of this will be transmitted by radio in field-code at the appropriate time.
NOW DESTROY . . . NOW DESTROY . . . NOW DESTROY . . .
Carter took a cigarette lighter from his pocket, flicked it with his thumb and touched the flame to the corner of the document. When it was well alight, he crossed to the empty fireplace and dropped it into the grate.
‘Even you shouldn’t have that, General.’
The door opened and Cusak returned with coffee on a brass Arabic tray. ‘Thanks, George, I’ll take care of it,’ Eisenhower said.
He poured the coffee himself and lit another cigarette. ‘I’d say it’s a reasonable assumption that you know more about what’s happening over there at the moment than anyone else in North Africa. So let’s talk.’
What would you like to know, General?’
‘I’d like you to explain the Mafia to me.’
‘You have a file on the Mafia connection, presumably?’
‘Yes.’
Carter lit a cigarette himself without thinking. ‘Mafia began as a kind of secret society during a period of real oppression. In those days it was the only weapon the peasant had, his only means of justice.’
‘Go on.’
‘You have to understand the landscape, sir. It’s another world. Sterile, barren, where the struggle is not so much for a living as for survival. A world where the key word is omerta which means manliness, honour, and never, never seek official help. If you have a problem, you go to the capo.’
‘The capo?’ Eisenhower frowned.
‘Capo means boss, chief, put it how you like. Wherever you go in Sicily there will be a capo mafia who rules the roost.’
‘And still does?’
‘Mussolini tried to crush the movement but it simply went under the surface. You can talk of Separatists, Communists and other political factions as much as you like, but in Sicily, it’s still the Mafia which has the real influence.’
Eisenhower sat staring into space, brooding.
Finally, as if coming to a decision, he tapped the brown manila folder in front of him.
‘This is the file you referred to as the Mafia connection. Are you familiar with an individual mentioned in it known as Lucky Luciano?’
Carter nodded. ‘A New York Sicilian gangster and probably the most important capo in American Mafia. He’s serving a thirty-to-fifty year sentence in Dannemora Penitentiary at the moment. I believe the charge was organized prostitution.’
‘Not now, he isn’t,’ Eisenhower said. ‘According to the file, he’s been moved to Great Meadow at Comstock. It seems that after the liner Normandie was burned out on the Hudson last year, Naval Intelligence became worried about increasing sabotage on the New York waterfront.’
‘I know, General, and when they approached the dockers’ unions, they discovered that the man to see was Luciano, inside prison or out.’
Eisenhower said, ‘Quite incredible. In the middle of the greatest war in history they have to go to a crook for help. As if that wasn’t enough, I now find that our people have been putting agents into Sicily for some time now, usually Americans with an ethnic Sicilian background. Were you aware of this?’
‘It’s a specifically American project, General, but yes, I did know about it. The aim is, I believe, to ensure Mafia cooperation in the event of an invasion.’
Eisenhower exploded angrily. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be fighting the same war, for God’s sake?’ He took another cigarette and struck the match so forcibly that it snapped. ‘They approached Luciano in the penitentiary again about giving his assistance. They seem to think he has some influence in Sicily also.’
‘Considerable, General. If he appeared in some of those mountain villages it would be like the second coming.’
‘Our