“Maybe a variation of the Wadizam technique would work,” the general said. “Let’s go over the possibilities.”
For hours the men planned, checked, threw out one plan and devised another. Three days later they called Major Marker to them and went over the plan with him.
“Just about six men, that’s all,” the general said. “It sounds like a tiny force to send on this job, but a larger one would be spotted and rounded up. They’d trip over their own feet. But six men—yes, they might be able to do it if they were really good men. After your other successes, Major, we concluded you might have the men under your command.”
“Yes, I’ve got the men,” the Major said with a smile. “I’d like to go along myself.”
“Can’t spare you for this job,” the general said. “We need you too much elsewhere.”
“What do you need especially?” the Major asked. “What special qualifications must the men have?”
“Well, most of them should speak Italian—and well, too,” the general said. “You might have someone who speaks German along, too, because it’s Germans we’re fighting. The Italians will work with the underground, of course, and they’ve got to be able to make the underground accept and trust them. Then, among them, you must choose a really good radio man and a demolition expert.”
“I’ll do it, sir,” the Major replied. “I can pick my men without any trouble. And they’re men who’ll do the job if it can conceivably be done—and maybe they can do it even if it’s impossible!”
