"And a professional relationship with the mysterious Mr. Felter, as well?”
“Professional and personal, General. He is my closest friend.”
“To a simple soldier, this suggests that you are an intelligence officer, probably attached to the Central Intelligence Agency.”
“No, sir. I have no connection of any sort with the Central Intelligence Agency.”
“But you realize, of course, that I would expect you to deny such a relationship?”
“Would the general accept my word of honor as an officer about that?”
Pistarini leaned forward in his chair and looked into Lowell’s eyes. Then he slumped back in his chair.
“Yes, I will,” he said. “You come here bringing with you an officer, a Special Forces officer, who you tell me has been in the Congo, despite the flat statement by your government that the U.S. Army was not involved in the Congo.”
“Yes, sir.”
“In your judgment, Colonel, was the situation in the Congo Communist-inspired?”
“My best information, sir, is that the Simba movement was spontaneous. As soon as Moscow heard of it, they attempted to get arms and ammunition, and other support, to the Simbas. The parachute envelopment of Stanleyville by the Belgians—”
“Dropped from U.S. Air Force aircraft,” Pistarini interrupted.
“—came just in time to make that impossible for them,” Lowell concluded.
“And now this simple soldier wants to know what, if anything, this has to do with Argentina?”
“We believe—and I have been authorized by General von Greiffenberg to tell you he shares this belief—that the Communists have by no means abandoned their intentions for Africa.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but what is it you want from Argentina?”
“We also believe that an Argentine national will shortly become very actively involved in fresh efforts to have the Congo fall under communist control.”
“That’s difficult for me to accept,” Pistarini said. “What Argentine national? You’re not talking about Che Guevara?”
“The most recent information I have on Dr. Guevara is that he spent New Year’s Eve in the Cuban Embassy in Bamako, Mali,” Lowell said. “Prior to that, he was in Algiers. We have reason to believe that he will next go to Brazzaville, in the former French Congo.”
“You’re sure of this information?” He was visibly surprised.
“We believe it to be absolutely reliable, General.”
Pistarini slumped back in his chair and sat there for a full ninety seconds.
“Even if it comes slowly to a simple soldier, there is usually a reason for everything,” he said finally. “Colonel, you may tell both the mysterious Mister Felter and General von Greiffenberg that should Dr. Guevara suffer an unfortunate accident, it would of course be fully investigated by our SIDE—the assistant director of which met you at the airport—who would conclude they found nothing, absolutely nothing, suspicious in the events surrounding his death.”
He looked at Lowell and smiled.
“And between you and me, between Pascual and Craig, the sooner that despicable anti-Christ communist sonofabitch met a painful death, the better I would like it.”
“General,” Lowell said. “Believe me, I understand your feelings. But the fact is I was sent here to solicit your cooperation in keeping the despicable anti-Christ communist sonofabitch alive.”
Pistarini looked at him intently. He shrugged, then picked up the champagne bottle and refilled their glasses.
“You are a man of many surprises, Colonel,” he said. “When you say you were sent here, you mean by Mr. Felter?”
“Yes, sir. But General von Greiffenberg is aware of my mission, and has authorized me to tell you that he and Mr. Felter are in complete agreement about this.”
“Did they share their reasoning with you? And if so, are you able to share it with me?”
“They believe, sir—and I have come to believe they’re right— that Guevara alive will pose fewer problems than Guevara dead, especially if the Communists can allege—not necessarily prove, simply credibly allege—that he was murdered by fascist forces who wanted to keep him from liberating the poor and oppressed.”
“I’m going to have a hard time selling that argument to Rangio, ” Pistarini said.
“Sir?”
“I was thinking out loud,” Pistarini said. “Coronel Francisco Bolla is the Chief of SIDE, which is directly under President Illia. Bolla works for Illia, in other words. Teniente Coronel Guillermo Rangio, who met you at the airfield, is the deputy director. He works for me. My orders to him are that Dr. Guevara is not to return to Argentina alive, despite what orders he may have from anyone else to the contrary.”
Lowell said nothing.
Pistarini drained his champagne glass.
“What I really would like to have right now is a large scotch,” he said. “But as you know, I have another problem