"Captain Vogel," Hitler said, without preamble, "I understand your agent in London has scored another coup."
"We believe so, my Fuhrer."
"Please, let's not keep it a secret any longer."
Vogel, under the watchful gaze of an SS man, opened his briefcase. "Our agent has stolen another remarkable document. This document provides us further clues about the nature of Operation Mulberry." Vogel hesitated. "We can now predict with much greater certainty just what role Mulberry will play in the invasion."
Hitler nodded. "Please continue, Captain Vogel."
"Based on the new documents, we believe Operation Mulberry is an antiaircraft complex. It will be deployed along the French coastline in an effort to provide protection from the Luftwaffe during the critical first hours of the enemy invasion." Vogel reached into his briefcase again. "Our analysts have used the designs in the enemy document to render a sketch of the complex." Vogel laid it on the table. Schellenberg and Himmler both looked at it with interest.
Hitler had walked away and stared out the windows toward his mountains. He believed he did his best thinking at the Berghof, where he was above it all. "And in your opinion, where will the enemy place this antiaircraft complex, Captain Vogel?"
"The plans stolen by our agent do not specify where Mulberry will be deployed," Vogel said. "But based on the rest of the intelligence collected by the Abwehr, it would be logical to conclude that Mulberry is destined for Calais."
"And your old theory about an artificial harbor at Normandy?"
"It was"--Vogel hesitated, searching for the right word--"premature, my Fuhrer. I made a rush to judgment. I reached a verdict before all the evidence was in. I am a lawyer by training, my Fuhrer--so you will forgive the metaphor."
"No, Captain Vogel, I believe you were right the first time. I believe Mulberry is an artificial harbor. And I believe it is destined for Normandy." Hitler turned and faced his audience. "This is just like Churchill, that madman! A grandiose, foolish contraption that betrays his intentions because it tells us where he and his American friends will strike! The man thinks of himself as a great thinker, a great strategist! But he is a fool when it comes to military matters! Just ask the ghosts of the boys he led to the slaughterhouse in the Dardanelles. No, Captain Vogel, you had it right the first time. It is an artificial harbor, and it is bound for Normandy. I know this"--Hitler thumped his chest--"here."
Walter Schellenberg cleared his throat. "My Fuhrer, we do have other evidence to support Captain Vogel's intelligence."
"Let's hear it, Herr Brigadefuhrer."
"Two days ago in Lisbon, I debriefed one of our agents in England."
Vogel thought, Oh, Christ, here we go again.
Schellenberg dug a document out of his briefcase.
"This is a memorandum written by an MI-Five case officer named Alfred Vicary. It was approved by someone with the initials BB and forwarded to Churchill and Eisenhower. In it, Vicary warns that there is a new threat to security and that extra precautions should be taken until further notice. Vicary also warns that all Allied officers should be especially careful of approaches by women. Your agent in London--it's a woman, is it not, Captain Vogel?"
Vogel said, "May I see that?"
Schellenberg handed it to him.
Hitler said, "Alfred Vicary. Why does that name sound familiar to me?"
Canaris said, "Vicary is a personal friend of Churchill's. He was part of the group that had Churchill's ear during the 1930s. Churchill brought him to MI-Five when he became prime minister in May 1940."
"Yes, I remember now. Didn't he write a bunch of vile articles about National Socialism throughout the thirties?"
Canaris thought, All of which turned out to be true. He said, "Yes, he's the one."
"And who's BB?"
"Basil Boothby. He heads a division within MI-Five."
Hitler was pacing again, but slowly. The tranquillity of the silent Alps always had a soothing effect on him. "Vogel, Schellenberg, and Canaris all are convinced. Well, I'm not."
"An interesting turn of events, wouldn't you say, Herr Reichsfuhrer?" The storm had moved off. Hitler was watching the sun vanishing in the west, the mountain peaks purple and pink with the high Alpine dusk. Everyone had gone except Himmler. "First, Captain Vogel tells me Operation Mulberry is an artificial harbor; then it is an antiaircraft complex."
"Quite interesting, my Fuhrer. I have my theories."
Hitler turned away from the window. "Tell me."
"Number one, he is telling the truth. He has received new information that he trusts, and he truly believes what he has told you."
"Possible. Go on."
"Number two, the intelligence he has just presented to you is totally fabricated and Kurt Vogel, like his superior Wilhelm Canaris, is a traitor bent on the destruction of the Fuhrer and of Germany."