Opening Moves

“It will be ready for immediate dispatch after the GKO meeting Comrade.”

The order was already prepared and in his briefcase.

“Good. Now tell me more of this plan for the slant-eyes.”

1542 hrs, Tuesday, 12th June 1945, The Kremlin, Moscow, USSR.

At 1542 hrs precisely, the members of the GKO departed from the committee room where they had met. If anyone had been watching their arrival and subsequent departure they would have noticed a defined variation in mood.

The men leaving wore gaunt and set expressions, appearing burdened, almost as if the weight of the world had been placed upon their shoulders.

At the same time as they left the Kremlin, a small message was starting its journey down the line to a number of Soviet agents throughout the whole project. The message was simple.

‘Priority 7. Prepare to damage/destroy Manhattan within 72 hours of receipt of codeword “Napoleon”. Codeword ‘Wellington’ when ready to proceed. Imperative be ready to expedite by 6th July latest.’

Chapter 2 – THE SPY

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do

Epictetus

2241 hrs Saturday, 16th June 1945, Scientist’s Residential Block, Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Mathematician Perlo opened the letter, ostensibly from a cousin in Washington with whom, the FBI had noted, there was regular correspondence. Waiting until privacy was assured, a small geometry reference book was taken from a bedside drawer, and an exercise in decoding commenced.

The message was as clear as it was surprising, if not terrifying. A slightly trembling hand sought and found a bottle of bourbon and a large measure was consumed to steady the nerves.

Quickly reverting to proper field craft, the textbook disappeared back into the drawer and the decoded message was burned, a chesterfield being lit from the burning embers to cover the fumes. The pad was checked for impressions from the soft pencil used but none was apparent. None the less, the top two sheets followed the message into the ashtray. Lastly, a brief note was penned to the cousin, using a simple phrase that would acknowledge receipt and understanding to the recipient, actually an undercover communist agent working for the Turkish Embassy in Washington.

Another chesterfield was lit, this time for pleasure, and Perlo lay back on the bed and prepared to spend a restless night wrestling with the technical issues of effectively destroying years of scientific work.

The mathematician’s security access did not cover the physics labs, engineering and assembly areas, so how could successful sabotage be undertaken?

When morning came, Perlo was no closer to knowing how to damage the important work.

About the only decision reached in the restless slumber Perlo had experienced was that to damage the project irreparably was virtually impossible. The project had assembled the world’s finest minds and any damage that was inflicted would be purely temporary.

Sitting on the side of the bed, naked and red-eyed, Perlo reached across for a pack of cigarettes, lit up and drew the heavy smoke into expectant lungs. The dawn sun suddenly broke through the window, bringing light, and also bringing with it the germ of an idea.

Perlo’s face started to come alive as the suggestion grew further. Bringing the lighter up parallel to narrowed eyes, a simple flick of a finger brought it to life, its yellow flame steady in the breezeless air, suggesting the resolution of the problem.

‘The world’s finest minds,’ words that echoed in the mathematician’s own mind as it devised the way to damage the important people.

Chapter 3 – THE FRENZY

Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history.

George Bernard Shaw

1100 hrs, Monday, 18th June 1945, The Kremlin, Moscow, USSR.

The simple message to return for briefing and consultations had gone out all over Europe two days before, arriving on a Saturday lunchtime and spoiling the plans of a number of very senior military men; Marshalls of the Soviet Union mostly. The same message had gone eastwards a day earlier. When such a summons was received, it normally spelt either death or promotion. Marshall was virtually the pinnacle of Military advancement in the USSR so some in that rank feared the worst. But still they came, flying into Vnukovo Air Force base and making the short journey to the seat of power in staff cars sent specifically for the purpose.