"On October 18, 1950 a member of the British Parliament addressed a question to the Foreign Secretary." "This book purports to be a true account of espionage written by a former German military attaché it reveals the most astonishing details of a case occurred within His Majesty's Embassy in Turkey in 1944 and in which hundreds of top secrets including plans for the invasion of Normandy were stolen and transmitted to the Germans." "Has an inquiry into these fantastic charges taken place?" "Measures have been taken to prevent any future lapse in security." "However, it must be regretfully admitted that, in substance the story to which the Honourable Member refers, is a true one." "To be exact, our story began on March 4, 1944." "It was a day of gruelling fighting in the Second World War; but the sun was shining serenely on neutral Turkey." "The very same evening, on March 4, 1944 a Turkish minister held a reception for the diplomatic corps." "The place, Ankara, the capital of neutral Turkey." "If Excellency will excuse me, I have suddenly acquired a headache." "I've had mine for some time." "Perhaps from standing too much?" "From listening too much." "Wagner makes me ill." "Herr von Papen, I hope your country appreciates you." "You are the only unpredictable German I have ever met." "I cannot remember when I've seen a lady as beautiful as you eat as heartily as you." "Just a little more of the salad, please." "No one admires Turkish food more than I." "Still, the prospect of dining from a buffet at a diplomatic reception..." "The number of actual dinners I eat these days is equal to the number of receptions to which I am invited." "Champagne?" " I have beer, thank you." "I have often wondered, Countess." "Why did you leave Warsaw?" "Bombs were falling." "I felt I was in the way." "Then why did you come here?" "You and your late husband had lived so long in England, you had friends there." "Being bombed in London is not more attractive than being bombed in Warsaw." "But you could have returned to your own country, France." "As the impoverished widow of a pro-German Polish count?" "It would have required courage." "I have none." "You could have counted upon our protection." "I understand you are now protecting my estates and all of my possessions in Poland." "Who has them?" "Field Marshal Goering." "I believe." "At last." "Many of our German friends before the war" "Would come as our guests to hunt wild pig." "I refused to invite Goering," "I couldn't tolerate his killing a wild pig." "Seemed too much like brother against brother." "Bon appetite, madame." "As always, I have enjoyed it." "Herr von Papen." " Yes?" "Herr von Papen, I need money." "These must be difficult times for you, I know." "Please don't be diplomatic for just a moment." "You can help me." "Nothing would please me more, if I can." "I want back what belongs to me." "Unfortunately, there is a war." " After the war." "I can give you every assurance." "But in the meantime, I can be of service to you, to Germany if I can prove my worth." "Afterwards it would be easier." "How would you go proving it?" "Loan me the means to live again here in Ankara." "Advance it to me." "I can more than make it worth your while." "You, of all men, must know what a fund of knowledge a clever hostess can became." " Countess Staviska are you suggesting that the German Government set you up as a spy?" "I am suggesting that I can earn my keep." "It's a sordid, unrewarding business." "Sordid but not unrewarding." "In terms of money, perhaps." "What other terms are there?" "I'm sorry." "I'm afraid it's quite impossible." "What am I going to do, then?" "Call upon your friends." "I have none that I want." "And those who want to be quite frankly cannot afford it." "I beg you pardon." " Yes?" "Excellence, the British Ambassador had just driven up." "So soon?" "Perhaps we can talk longer at the next reception, madam and it's my turn to arrive for the last half of the evening." "One thing about being a neutral." "I can come early and stay late." "And perhaps continue our talk with the British Ambassador?" "Herr Moyzisch, do not look at me as if you had a source of income other than your salary." "Excellence." " Yes?" "The Countess Staviska." " What about her?" "I based upon something she said to me I have reason to believe she needs money." "You, too, Moyzisch?" "I assure you that it wasn't I, Excellence, who approached her." "However, it occurred to me..." " No." "She has many friends, access to many sources." "Definitely not." "Goodnight, Moyzisch." " Goodnight, Excellence." "Don't shout." "Take me to your office." " What do you want?" "Let's get out of this light." "Don't be a fool, Moyzisch." "This is the opportunity of your lifetime." "Choose right now you can be the envy of the German Foreign Service or you can go through life as a diplomatic valet." "After all, what if I were a thief?" "What could I steal from you?" "First, let me warn you not to breathe a word of it to anyone but your chief." "My life will depend upon your discretion." "A responsibility I do not choose to accept." "You have no choice." "Your life will depend upon it, too." "State your proposition." " Very well." "Certain British documents classified as Most Secret have come into my possession." "Military and political documents of utmost value to your government." "I am prepared to sell them." "The price is 20,000 pounds." "English pounds sterling." "20,000 pounds." "Who are you?" "I am a spy, obviously." "And your life work is espionage?" "Not exactly." "But I have spent a lot of my life preparing for this day." "No spy in history has ever been paid 20,000 pound for any information." "No spy in history has had to sell what I have to sell." "Besides, spies are notoriously poor businessmen." "They are patriots, frustrated liberals or victims of blackmail whose emotional involvement weakens their bargaining position and destroys sound business judgements." "Would you consider it sound business for the German Government to pay 20,000 pounds to an unidentified amateur for a set of so-called 'secret' documents?" "Not so-called." "Not secret." "Most secret." "Top secret." "I am sure they are." "And now I have more serious matters to attend to." "I'll have an attendant show you out." "Moyzisch." "It appears I must think for both of us." "Inform von Papen of my offer." "Naturally, he'll check with Berlin." "I'll give you 3 days to consider my proposition." "On March, 7, at three in the afternoon I'll telephone you and ask if you've received a letter for me." "I'll call myself Pierre." "If you say no, you'll never see me again." "If you say yes, it'll mean you have accepted my offer." "But I must have more information." " Lf you accept I'll return at ten o'clock that evening." "You'll then receive two rolls of film, with photographs of the documents." "I will receive from you the sum of 20,000 pounds in English bank notes of small denominations." "Should you approve of my first delivery you can have more." "For each subsequent film the price will be 15,000 pounds." "Is this all clear?" " It is not at all clear." "What are the documents?" "What do they contain?" "I hadn't thought to bring samples with me." "But, for one thing the Turks are considering entering the war." " A matter of pure supposition." "I have the minutes of their talks." "Von Papen would be enlightened and frightened." " What else?" "The latest Allied time-table of the shuttle-bombing of Balkan targets." "Where, when, by whom and by how many." "The minutes of the Teheran Conference." " What else?" "Don't be greedy." "What do you expect for 20,000 pounds?" "How did you obtain such information?" "That is not concern of yours." "Nor is my identity." "And please do not have me followed." "You have no talent for it you keep getting ahead of those you follow." "Destiny has held out its hand to you tonight." "Take it and hold on." "Goodnight, Moyzisch." "Good evening, Diello." " A pleasant reception, sir?" "Diplomatic receptions are never pleasant." "Necessary or not necessary successful and unsuccessful or non-committal." "The faces may be pleasant, but never the motives." " Let me help you, sir." "Speaking of pleasant faces weren't you in the service of the Countess Staviska?" "I was valet to her late husband when he was attached to the Polish Embassy." "She was at the reception this evening." "I hadn't seen her for years." "Is she well, sir?" " As charming as ever but not well off." "It seems that the Nazis have confiscated all of her possessions." "I'm sorry to hear it." "She was a lady of great wealth." "It was becoming to her, she used it well." "A generous and brilliant hostess, the Countess Staviska." "Yes, sir." " More than anyone I've ever known." "She symbolized the world in which she lived, and which she loved." "A world of infinite beauty, luxury and indulgence." "Those were pleasant days, sir." "Gone forever, I'm afraid." "Let us hope not, sir." "I put the Turkish survey and your journal, beside your bed." "Yes, thank you." " One moment, sir, your capsule." "Have you considered the possibility that you might, just once forget something?" " Often, sir." "I don't think you'd ever get over it." "Nor do I, sir." "Goodnight, Diello." " Goodnight, your Excellency." "The dispatch from Berlin has just arrived." "'Transaction approved." "Take every precaution." "Essential you determine identity of agent." "Expect immediate report after delivery of documents.'" "Signed Kaltenbrunner." "What does he mean, sir, by take every precaution?" "You're not to hand over the money until you have developed the films, examined them and decided whether they are genuine and worth it." "That's quite a responsibility." " Yes, it is." "The money arrived by courier from Berlin this morning." "20,000 pounds." "I have not taken any of it, Moyzisch." "You can count it in your office." "Yes, sir." "I had no intention, believe me, it..." "Can you handle this alone?" " Yes, sir." "What about developing the films?" "Photography's a hobby of mine." "I have used the dark room often." "Good." "The fewer people who know about this the better." "Particularly if he makes fools of us." "Personally I sense something bogus about the whole affair." "The man may be a clever swindler perhaps even a British agent trying to plant false information on us." "What was your impression of him?" "Well, sir, I'd pick him to be a highly trained special agent a foreign office career man." "British, of course." "An Oxford-bred aristocrat if ever I saw one." "You know the type, sir arrogant, spoiled, cynical and completely decadent." "Fantastic." "By the way, a code name has been assigned to him 'Cicero'." "He is to be referred to as Cicero." " Cicero?" "The name is the personal choice of Herr Ribbentrop." "Has it any significance, sir?" " None that I know of." "Except the surprising fact that Herr Ribbentrop has ever heard of Cicero." "Yes, sir." " That's all, Moyzisch." "Good luck." "And keep your wits sharp." "A great deal depends on you." "Yes, sir." "I forgot the money." "You have the money, I see." " You have the film?" "Fetch me a drink while I count it, will you?" "Scotch whiskey." "I'm sure that you must have some." "Thank you." "One of the pleasures of duty in neutral country you Germans can drink fine Scotch whiskey and your enemies can fill up on fine German beer." "20,000." "Well done, Moyzisch." " The film." "Not yet." "You must wait until I have developed the film." "It will take only a few minutes." "Those are my orders." "If you insist, just this once." "Will you develop the film yourself?" " Yes." "Then you'd better drink this." "You're trembling like a butterfly." "It'll help steady your wings." "The door will be locked." "I won't open it to anyone but you." "'Turkish government ready to offer full support short of entering war as open co-belligerent.'" "Open up." "Moyzisch." "Interesting snapshots, aren't they?" "The documents seems to be genuine." "Don't be pompous, Moyzisch." "My government has authorized me to make further arrangements with you." "Have you informed them of the price?" "15,000 pounds for each additional roll of film." "How did..." " I said to myself if I were an attaché in a German Embassy what combination would I use?" " How dare you?" "1-30-33, the day Hitler came to power." "I imagine that would open half the safes in Germany and Hitler's birthday the other half." "What an unimaginative lot you are." "Don't be upset." "There wasn't anything else worth taking." "My government is prepared to pay 10,000 pounds per roll, no more." "We won't haggle, Moyzisch." "I risk my life to get these documents." "15 of them at 1,000 pounds each is quite reasonable." "You'll pay it." "But under one condition." "My superiors insist on knowing who you are and how you obtain your information." "Why?" " Because it's irregular having an agent in our employ about whom we know nothing." "I am not an agent in your employ." "Understand that clearly." "All the same." "It's essential that we know..." "It's unessential that you know anything about me." "I will tell you this much." "I work at the British Embassy." "Sooner or later you'll find that out, anyway." "As to my name..." "You have been assigned a code name, Cicero." "Cicero." "A man of nobility, eloquence and dissatisfaction." "I like that name." " When will you bring more film?" "A week from tonight, at the same hour." "And have the money ready." "Moyzisch, change the combination for the safe." "May I suggest one?" "Try 6-18-15." "That's the date of the Battle of Waterloo." "Goodnight." "It's you, Diello." " Do I disturb you, madam?" "Not at all." "It's always a pleasure to see you." "Come in." "Take your coat off, sit down and gossip with me." "I have a dinner engagement but he's an undersecretary and used to waiting." "Any particular undersecretary, madam?" "Undersecretaries are never particular, Diello." "Perhaps that's why they take me to dinner." "It is far more likely that, in madam's presence they feel like ambassadors." "Of all the diplomats I've known, you're still the best." "It is my fortune that you've known so few valets." "Diello, please." "I've spoken to you about this before." "You're the valet to the British Ambassador, not to me." "Now, sit down and tell me the gossip." "Well, to begin with, the noses of the wives of the Diplomatic Corps Axis, Allied and Neutral have been badly out of joint this past week." "Due to?" " Due to the ease with which the Countess Staviska once more proved herself the most radiant beautiful, and sought after lady in Ankara at last week's reception." " Another of your unverified rumours." "I was afraid madam would accuse me unjustly." "I'm prepared to name my authority." " Who?" "The British Ambassador, no less." "He spoke of your beauty and brilliance and hospitality, of how, in the old days you were a symbol of everything worth having." "A symbol of the good all days." "That's me." "The last of the lot." "If I'm lucky I'll get a thousand lira." "Diello, will you take it to the pawn shop for me tomorrow?" "I couldn't face the haggling and whining." "Perhaps it would be pleasant for you to go tomorrow and bring back the jewels you redeem." "I don't understand, redeem?" "It's yours. 5,000 pounds." "It's from me." "From you?" "Is it a joke?" "It can't be real." "There is nothing as real as money." "But Diello, I don't know when I could pay this back to you." "I don't want it back." "But I can't permit you to, why it must be the savings of a lifetime." "They're not my savings." "I'm not a saving man." "You must know a business venture of mine has paid off handsomely." "And gives promise of far greater profits to come." "And what has it to do with me?" "I propose to advance you these 5,000 pounds in return for certain favours." "This particular enterprise must remain highly confidential." "Anyone knows nothing about it except my business associates and you." "Profits will be exceedingly large." "I couldn't keep such sums at the Embassy nor do I want to draw attention to myself by depositing in a bank." "But you could keep it for me." "Well?" "Go on." "You could leave this grubby room rent an attractive house, live as you please, entertain as you please." "And how would all that be a favour to you?" "From time to time I shall want to transact my business in privacy." "Naturally, I shall continue to live at the Embassy but you would set aside quarters for me." "I see." "If all goes well, I shall have some 200,000 pounds within 12 weeks." "I have set that as my goal." " And then?" "Then South America." "To a new life." "A new name." "That will require certain papers of identity; a passport, visas, letters of credit." "You could be of great help in obtain such documents." "How?" " I'll explain that later." "Is there anything else?" " Nothing." "It seems little enough to ask for 5,000 pounds." "Are you going to tell me what your business is?" "Sometime, perhaps." "Not now." "This is quite a trust you put in me." "If I were to be indiscreet I could ruin everything for you." " And for you, too." "You seem very sure of yourself." " I'm sure of you." "For three years I was a valet to the late Count Staviska." "It is said that no man is a hero to his valet." "It is also true that no woman is a mystery to her husband's valet." "You know me that well?" " Well enough." "The source of your money concerns you as the source of the electricity they became worrisome only when they were shut off." "Quite true." "But there's pride." "I have pride." "A great deal." "I depend upon your pride." "You'd find it intolerable to have it known that your wealth was the gift of a servant." "Madam, you'll keep your mouth shut tight." "Get me a brandy." "I shall drink only out of one glass, thank you." "Diello do you know why I discharged you after my husband died?" "You said you'd be travelling and wouldn't need a servant." "That was a lie." "Yes, it was." "I let you go because you made me uneasy." "Your were much too clever for a servant too suave, too wise, too self-contained." "I was almost afraid of you." "I felt you had an evil genius for something." "Little did I know it was a genius for making money." "That is a lie too." "That wasn't why I made you uneasy." "No?" " No." "You were attracted to me and upset to feel that way about a valet and to feel that the valet knew it." "Anna, have I offended you?" " You'll soon be very rich." "'Everything worth having.' He didn't say that about you." "I did." "That's how I've always thought about you." "And now you want me to go with you to South America." "Yes." " To a new life." "Yes." " Away from the wars, the intrigues the fears." " The poverty." "And it would be right for us, now because now, now at last we are equals." " Yes." "Where are you going?" "Madam has a dinner engagement." "We have run out of gossip." "I shall cancel the dinner." "And we can talk business." "You made me a business proposition, I agree to that part of it." "As for the rest of the proposition is not an impossibility." "It's merely an improbability and, above all, an impertinence." "Because I addressed you as an equal?" "No, because you addressed me as a servant." "Because in the manner of an inferior you tried to buy something you didn't think you merited on your own." "Now let's get down to the details of business." "As madam wishes." " My name is Anna." "Yes, Anna." "24 hour after the Cicero documents reached Gestapo headquarters Moyzisch was summoned to Berlin to report to General Kaltenbrunner." "Incredible!" "You have the negatives?" "Yes, sir." " Give them to Colonel von Richter." "Too good to be true. 25 Top secret documents from an unknown agent." "This has all the earmarks of a British trap." "Sir." " Yes?" "Ambassador von Papen thinks that in his opinion the documents are genuine." "I'm not interested in his opinion." "I want facts, proof, conclusive proof." "What's the real identity of Cicero?" "What are his motives besides money?" "Does he have a partner?" "You haven't answered any of these questions." "Cicero is most uncooperative." "Teach him to cooperate." "That's your job." "What do you think of the information on the Teheran Conference?" "It looks authentic." "But it's such high-level material that we have no means of verifying it." " Exactly." "And we can't act on what we can't confirm." "But there's one document here that can be confirmed." "This." "The operational plan of the shuttle-bombing of Balkan targets." "British heavies are going to bomb the Ploesti oil fields on April, 5." "If the raid takes place on schedule that would confirm the authenticity of the other documents." "Good point." "Is it your intention, sir, to warn the Rumanians?" "Of course, not, what purpose would that serve?" "When will you see Cicero?" "Next Thursday evening." " Very well." "Fly back to Ankara and keep the appointment." "Try to get some facts on him." "Tell him we can't pay out such sums unless we know how he gets his information." "I'll do my best, sir." "Try to do better than that." " Yes, sir." "This is your responsibility, Moyzisch." "I warn you." "Yes, sir." "Half-witted paranoid gangsters!" "Refusing to warn the Rumanians thousands of dead millions of gallons of precious oil and gasoline gone because they will not admit that anything in the world is genuine!" "The air raid will convince them." "Even if it does, now they can't admit it." "But if Ribbentrop found out Kaltenbrunner made a mistake and Goebbels found out about Ribbentrop and Himmler found out about Goebbels..." "It's time you understood we represent a government of juvenile delinquents!" "Yes, sir." " Well if Berlin doesn't know how to utilize Cicero, I most certainly do." "What about the Turkish Premier?" "His Excellency will be unable to see you this evening." "He's attending a reception." " What reception?" "At the Countess Staviska, I believe." "At the Countess Staviska?" " I shall be there myself." "What's all this about?" "You were invited, but you declined." " So I did." "I didn't realize." "The Countess has found a benefactor after all." "I wonder who." " No, sir." "Not on my income." "This could only happen in Ankara." "And only to the Countess Staviska." "Last month penniless this month the Turkish Foreign Office supplies her guest of honour." "Call the Countess." "Say I find myself free this evening after all and would be delighted to attend." "Yes?" " You'll have to wake Morrison." "Ask him to come at once." " Yes, sir." "Will you change, sir?" "What?" "Thank you, Diello." "Morrison will be there directly." " Thank you." "Turn on that lamp, will you, Diello?" " Yes, sir." "This bulb must be burned out, sir." "I'll have it replaced." "Yes, sir." " Morrison, sorry to waken you." "Get this dispatch off to Whitehall at once." "Have this coded and classified as most secret:" "...'Upon representation from Turkish Foreign Office there is strong reason to believe..." "Diello, will you shut the door, please?" "...there is strong reason to believe that von Papen is in possession of top secret information which would indicate a leak in security here... '" "Upon receipt of this highly classified message the Foreign Office in London took immediate action." "Let me read you what we received from Ankara early this morning." "'Upon representation from Turkish Foreign Office there is reason to believe von Papen is in possession of top secret information, which would indicate a leak in security or Nazi access to secret documents or possibility have broken British cipher... '" "Colin Travers, a special agent of British Counter Intelligence left London by plane next morning, bound for Istanbul." "Colonel von Richter of the Gestapo Counter Espionage Service left Berlin by plane the same day." "Travers and Colonel von Richter arrived Istanbul the same evening and boarded the Anatolian Express." "They reached Ankara next morning." "Von Richter carried a Swiss passport identifying him as Herr Rudolph Hodler a tobacco buyer from Berne, Switzerland." "He was met at station by a Gestapo agent named Siebert and escorted to the German Embassy to confer with von Papen." "Travers was greeted outside the station by Keith McFadden a British agent attached to the Embassy in Ankara." "McFadden?" " Glad to see you, Captain." "They left without delay to meet with the British Ambassador." "To begin with, sir, I think we must assume that the source of information to the Nazis is someone here at the Embassy." "It's been ruled out..." " Our personnel and permanent employees have had previous security clearance from London." "I've never known a self-respecting spy without a security clearance." "Where is classified information kept?" "Here in my safe." "And in the first secretary's." "And the code room?" " Under guard, day and night." "Don't you think it most likely that this lapse in security was due to a slip of the lip at some party or reception?" "My lips are not in the habit of slipping, Mr. Travers." "Nor do I imply that they are." "But our material passes trough other hands and might pass through other lips." "Now McFadden was telling me about an unattached lady a certain Countess Staviska." "Thank you, Diello." "You were saying?" "A certain Countess Staviska." "It seems she has quite recently and suddenly begun to entertain." "Informal, gay little gatherings." "I assume some of our Embassy personnel have attended." "The Countess has a wide circle of friends which includes me." "That circle would also include Herr von Papen and his associates." "Mr. Travers, the Countess is doing her very best to live neutrally in a neutral country." "The circumstances..." " Mac says her circumstances have taken a startling change for the better." "Does anyone know the source of her fortune?" "It concerns anyone but the Countess Staviska." "I cannot see what the source of her income has to do with our problem." "Now I'm probably just a gossip at heart." "Maybe that's why I like my work." "Counter-espionage is the highest form of gossip." "Obviously Cicero is paying the bills for the Countess." "Why would he choose her villa for his next rendezvous with Moyzisch?" "What a strange, and sudden, and perfect relationship." "Too strange, too sudden and too perfect." "The unknown Cicero and the well known Countess well known for her anti-German sentiments." "Yet only recently she pleaded with me personally for an opportunity to work in our interest." "At the suggestion of British Intelligence, no doubt." "Colonel von Richter, just what will convince you that Cicero is what he says he is, a spy selling us genuine documents of great value for a great sum of money?" "I have come here to convince myself one way or the other." "A talk with Cicero might help." "Moyzisch, when do you meet him next?" "In the villa, next Thursday evening." "Then you will arrange for Mr. Hodler, a Swiss business man to be present." "My incognito." "I think it's preferable that Moyzisch remain our only contact with Cicero." "I'm afraid you do not understand why I am here, Excellence." "I've come to Ankara to relieve you of all the responsibility in our relations with Cicero." "I cannot be relieved of that responsibility except by the order of Herr Ribbentrop." "Kaltenbrunner hopes he won't be forced to by-pass Ribbentrop and bring the matter to the Fuhrer." "What further instruction has the Gestapo for me?" "All documents from Cicero will be sent directly to Berlin." "Those which are pertinent to your diplomatic mission will be then transmitted to you." "Moyzisch, do what you can to make the Colonel's stay in Ankara a comfortable one." "Thank you." "Yes, I call him out." "Yes, of course." "Monsieur Hodler there's a gentleman who wishes to see you privately." "You had a business appointment, I believe?" "I believe so." " I'll take you to him." "I am indebted to Herr Moyzisch for suggesting that I ask you to our musical evening." " The honour is mine, Madame." "I hope you haven't found it too subdued." "On the contrary, it's been exactly as I would have wished it." "Had you known Herr Moyzisch long?" "We have been business associates for some time." "Are you, too, a diplomat, Monsieur Hodler?" "I suppose you could call me a middle man." "There are so many Swiss middle men." "It must be a national occupation." "It is natural." "After all, we Swiss have been in the middle for hundreds of years." "Come in." "I'll see that you're not disturbed." "Colonel von Richter?" "Sit down, please." "Moyzisch tells me you'll be the new intermediary." "That's correct." "Sent by Kaltenbrunner, I should imagine to it that von Papen keeps his hands off the information I supply." "Havana's, the finest money can buy." "I approve of the change." "Moyzisch is conscientious but not very bright and to well known here." "It will be safer for me to deal with you." "Your security is a matter of grave concern to us." "I'm happy to hear it." "I share your concern." "For this reason I must ask about the Countess." "Have you tell her who I am?" " Of course not." "Or the nature of your business?" " No." "Then just what is her relation?" " My dear Colonel I did not invite you to discuss my private affairs." "We've some business to transact." "Did you bring the money?" "As always, you will be paid after we have developed the film." "During the past six weeks I have sold Moyzisch fifty photographs all of genuine secret documents." "That's proof enough of my good faith." "Henceforth, you will pay on delivery." "The money?" "Possibly you are no longer interested in the plans of the Allies for the entire Mediterranean area." "You mean a second front?" "I do not know the number of the front." "I do know that in these document Mr. Churchill keeps referring to the 'soft underbelly of Europe.'" "I could take the films to von Papen and ask that he query the German High Command as to their interest." "Very well." "Why, you had it with you all the time." "Who are you, anyway?" "Would you believe me if I told you I was valet to the British Ambassador?" "Certainly not." " You see?" "Then at least satisfy my personal curiosity on one point." "Why are you selling us information?" " That was self-evident, for money." "You must have some other motive." "Perhaps you share our disgust with British decadence or our faith in the future of Germany." "Colonel von Richter, if I have a disgust for anything it is poverty." "And if I've faith in the future of anything it is in the future of money." "I cannot understand why you sell us information which will help us to win the war, and you insist upon being paid in money with a very dubious future, British pounds." "What makes you think I think Germany will win the war?" "Apart from other considerations apparently you attach little importance to these documents." "Firstly, I cannot sell you the ability to make proper use of the information I got for you." "Secondly, by informing a man about to be hanged of the exact size, location and strength of the rope you do not remove the hangman or the certainty of his being hanged." "And now I am sure you'll want to rejoin your friends." "One week from tonight at the same hour I shall have more film for you." "Goodnight." " Goodnight." "I trust your meeting was a satisfactory one, Monsieur Hodler?" "Quite satisfactory, thank you, Madame." "And that you will honour us again soon?" "The honour will be mine." " Goodnight." "How charmingly you Swiss click your heels." "And old Swiss custom?" "Goodnight." "You may retire." "Turn out the lights." " Thank you, Madame." "A profitable evening?" "Profitable enough to bring the total of 75.000 pounds." "Another six or seven weeks should do it." "Diello, why don't you stop now?" "Why go on playing with fire?" " What makes you think I am?" "Don't treat me like an idiot child." "Your friend Hodler, he isn't Swiss." "I know a Prussian when I see one." " Does it matter to you?" "Your safety matters to me." "So many people are concerned about my safety." "I never felt more secure." "Well, I don't." "And my security depends upon yours." "Forgive me." "I keep thinking of myself as a man." "I keep forgetting I'm a valet who pays dividends." "Must you live so soon?" "I mustn't stay away from the Embassy for long." "I can't see why a man as rich as you should go on pressing the trousers of the British Ambassador." "That's were I get my money." "I steal the change from his pockets." "Before you go, Diello, get me a drink, will you?" "Tell me where do you plan to settle when you leave for South America?" "Rio." " I've never been there." "There's nothing like it in the world." "When did you decide to go there?" " To go back." "I decided that the moment I first saw it, many years ago." "I was a cabin boy on a dirty tramp steamer." "I can remember standing at the rail looking up at a villa high on the mountainside above the harbour." "I could see a man on a balcony looking down at my ship." "He was wearing a white dinner jacket." "He seemed close enough to touch and yet he was beyond the reach of anyone." "I swore then that some day I'd be that man." "You might find Rio de Janeiro not to your liking." "Do you have a nationality, Diello?" " Most people are born somewhere." "You're not a native Englishman." "What are you?" "Albanian." "English by adoption." "You're the only Albanian I've ever known." "If you know one, you know them all." "I ran away to sea when I was a boy." " And then?" "Once in England, it seemed profitable to become a gentleman." "So I went into service." "As you have pointed out, I am not yet a gentleman." "I am the best of the gentlemen's gentlemen, which reminds me the Ambassador will be waiting." "What will you tell him?" " That I was detained by a Turkish chamber-maid." " He might not approve." "Why shouldn't he?" "Only a woman of my own class would detain me and only a man of my class would permit her to." "Diello." " Yes, Anna?" "On the contrary," "I think I'll find Rio de Janeiro very much to my liking" " Anna" " Yes, dear" "Get me a drink." "During the next five weeks Cicero sold the Germans 35 top secret documents which brought his growing fortune to 155,000 pounds sterling." "The Germans knew every secret word the British Ambassador set to paper every secret conference, every secret pact." "And yet despite the unerring accuracy of the information gathered from the documents German Intelligence refused to act upon it out of fear that Cicero might be a British plant." "As for the British they had failed to uncover any breach in their security." "Travers grew more sure that his first assumption was correct that there was no spy to lay hands on." "And so in your three years as her husband's valet you learned more about them that we could in a life-time of investigation." " Infinitely more, sir." "I respect your reluctance to discuss their private affairs." "It's also reassuring to me, personally." "But, Diello, we are at war." " I understand sir." "Did you ever have occasion to hear the Countess express sympathy for the Nazis, privately or openly?" "The Countess never spoke of countries, political parties or groups." "The world, to her, was made up of individuals she liked or disliked." "Would you consider her to have been pro-German?" "She was capable of being pro-anything if it made for a congenial dinner party." "Would you consider it possible, under certain circumstances for her to have become a German agent?" "Only for money, sir." "Of which she has suddenly acquired a plentiful supply." "I know nothing about spies and the way they function but I can remember that the Countess had a remarkable talent for receiving confidences from important people." "The Count relied upon her for a great deal of information that was otherwise unavailable to him." "Thank you, Diello." "That's all." " Thank you, sir." "I'll be at the American Embassy." "You may take the evening off." "Thank you, sir." "Clever chap." "Because he supports your theory?" "That the breach in our security was no more than a few irresponsible remarks at one of Anna Staviska's dinner parties?" "Frankly, that is a fairly accurate summary of the report I will send to London." "I hope you're right." "The fact remains, however that von Papen still anticipates every move I make." "You may soon be doing some anticipating, sir about von Papen and his moves." "How do you mean that?" "Now, this is extremely confidential, but our cryptographers have succeeded in breaking a German diplomatic code." "The code use by their Embassy here?" "That's welcome news, I must say." "They'll discard the code just as we change ours periodically." "We'll be eaves-dropping on the German Ambassador." "To eavesdrop on von Papen a pleasure I have long hoped for." "Nervous, Colonel?" "This house is too dangerous meeting place." "The British may be watching it." "They haven't yet, but they will soon." "They suspect the Countess is a German agent." "Are you serious?" "And all the while you suspected she was a British agent." "Amusing, isn't it?" " Not at all." "We shouldn't have met here." "From now on, we won't." "Do you know the Aslan Hane Mosque in the Old Quarter?" "Moyzisch will find it." "We'll meet in the entrance a week from tonight at the same hour." "Be sure to take your shoes off." "The Moslems will resent if you don't." "Childish." " No more childish than your resenting someone's hat being on in church." "What am I buying this week?" "An exchange of notes between the Turks and the British." "The Turks have decided to remain neutral for the time being." "But such information is hardly worth 20,000 pounds." "Is good news of no value to you Germans?" "Or are you willing to pay only for storm warnings of disasters you can do nothing about?" "There's a disaster we can do something about and which it is most important for us to have information as quickly as possible." " Sounds exciting." "A certain code word has appeared to several documents you've sold us." "The word is Overlord." "Do you know what it means?" "Not the foggiest notion." " We're convinced that overlord is the code name for their second front the invasion of Western Europe." "We must know the place and the date, the where and the when." "The where and when of the Allies' invasion of Europe." "It'd be nice to know." "I can understand your curiosity." "I'll pay you double for it." "Generous." "But is information of that nature likely to turn up at the British Embassy?" "Don't you read the documents you sell?" "Not all of them, and never thoroughly." "I'm not interested in what they say." "I just photograph everything that's stamped secret most secret and top secret." "Last week you photographed a dispatch from London to the Ambassador." "It stated that he would receive a copy of the revised strategic plan for Overlord within ten days." "Did you say, 40,000 pounds?" "For the where and the when." "We'll met at the Aslan Hane Mosque one week from tonight." "Do you mind going out through the garden?" "Not at all." "You and the Countess must be running out of small talk, anyway." "Goodnight." "This was deciphered from the German code?" "Yes, sir." " Who's seen it?" "You and I, sir." "But McFadden should hear it." "I'll need his help." "'From German Embassy, Ankara." "To Reich Foreign Minister, Berlin." "In replay your query concerning authenticity documents obtain from Cicero, am firmly convinced material genuine." "Cicero lives within British Embassy obviously has access to top secret information." "Kaltenbrunner's failure evaluate documents make them available to me tragic blunder." "Strongly urge you bring this matter to personal attention of the Fuhrer." "Signed, von Papen.'" "Cicero?" "Cicero?" "It's a code name for their informer." "Where do we start?" "With your permission, I'll order a house search at once." "Cicero probably left anything incriminating lying about." "Something might turn up." " One thing's sure." "An open search'll put him on his guard." "That can't be helped." "If we can't catch him, we've got to frighten him." "Frighten him enough to make him stop for a while." "At any rate, we'll gain time." "Gentlemen, I'm forced to leave this matter in your hands." "I am expected in Cairo tomorrow evening." "You may take all the security measures you consider necessary." "I suggest the combination of safes be changed and safety devices installed." " Of course." "Do you have enough men?" "We have four agents in Ankara." "I can reassign them to this." " Whatever you think." "Tell me, Travers, do you have any idea who it might be?" "A dozen members of the staff have access to classified material." "Clerks, attachés, undersecretaries, the first counsellor and so on." "McFadden, you and I." "In short Cicero could be any one of us." "Yes." "Any one of us." "It'll be a few days before I get the combination changed but the alarm's on and ready." "Just so that I don't set it off, you'd better explain how it work." "There's nothing to work." "If you turn that dial a sixteenth of an inch in either direction the alarm would go off." "You cut off the alarm." "I'm sorry to disturb you, sir." "Shall I pack your uniforms?" "I won't need them." " Well, sir." "I'll close your bags." "Don't be upset if Mr. McFadden should ransack my quarters while I'm gone." "There'll no need for that, I'm sure, sir." "The stone is wet." "Cold and wet." "Acceptable to Mohammedans feet, perhaps, but not to mine." "It's 22 minutes late." "It's the first time." "He's never been late before." "You say he hasn't been to the villa all this week?" "Siebert has kept a day and night watch." "Cicero has not appeared once." "And the Countess?" " She has not entertained." "She has gone out a few evenings, alone." "Cigarette." "Can it be possible, sir, that the British have found him out?" "It can also be possible that they have known about him all the time." "Curious." "How easily Cicero acquired the documents he wanted to sell." "When only once we named the documents we wanted to buy how mysteriously he has failed to deliver it." "Light." "What does the Colonel propose to do now?" "Precisely nothing." "All spies in time, outlive their usefulness." "And I'm afraid, Moyzisch, that your friend Cicero has just about outlive his if any." "Voila." "Well done, Señora Antonini." "It was nothing, Señor." "One of my many pleasant wifely duties." "How much they cost?" " 5,000 pounds." "Another 1,000 for the papers to go with them birth and marriage certificates and another 1,000 to help him forget all about us." "Money well spent." "What about the tickets?" "Two first-class compartments, separate cars, on the Istanbul Express." "Leaving tomorrow evening." " And the ship?" "An Argentina passenger-freighter, sailing from Istanbul direct to Rio." "When?" " Day after tomorrow, at sundown." "Now, remember, you're to take no notice of me on the train." "At Istanbul, we'll go board the ship at once." "How did it go at the bank?" "The size of the deposit created quite a stir." "The manager of the bank seemed extremely curious but I managed to satisfy his curiosity on all points when he took me to lunch." " And?" "He will personally expedite the transfer of funds." "The papers will be ready tomorrow morning." "How much did that cost?" " Another 1,000." "And all of my powers of persuasion this side of respectability." "A little over generous, perhaps." "Now, let see. 9,000 for expenses." "That leaves roughly 130,000 pounds." "In dollars, about 600,000." "In Brazilian cruzeiros," "Plus the 40,000 you're getting tomorrow." "I've pulled out of that transaction." "The market's getting shaky." "I've decided to retire." "Your have here an Argentine gentleman of leisure about to take up residence in Brazil." "I'm glad." "We have more than enough, anyway." "We?" "We have more than enough?" "My dear señora Antonini where I come from a man's money is his own." "And if his wife is a good wife, he gives her some from time to time." "Or course, Roberto." "Whatever you say." "Will you miss being a Countess?" "Not for a moment." "Not for one moment." "Diello!" "Here's the official correspondence." "And the Ambassador's mail." "Will you keep it for him?" "I'm leaving." "Will his Excellency return tomorrow as planned?" "Not till Sunday." "There's a list of his calls." "What a pity that so few ladies use perfumed letter paper these days." "A great pity." "Perhaps you'd better look up that mail too, Diello." "As you wish, sir." "Diello." "Weren't you away from the Embassy between 9 and 10 last night?" "Yes, sir." " Would you mind telling me where?" "Not at all, sir." "I walked for a while on the boulevard stopped for a drink at the Yuskel then back to the Embassy." "One other question about the Countess again." "Do you remember any close friends she may have in Switzerland?" "Did she go there often?" " Very often." "The Countess was fond of Switzerland." "She went every spring." "Then that explains it." "The Countess left by plane for Switzerland this morning." "I hope she can enjoy it in the style she is accustomed." "That shouldn't be a problem." "She took 130,000 pounds with her." "You ready, Mac?" "I'm calling for His Excellency, the British Ambassador." "I have a message for the Countess Staviska." "Madame, left for Switzerland this morning, sir." "I don't know, sir." "Madame said it was for an indefinite stay." "Yes, sir." "Thank you, sir." "Yes." "Yes." "No." "I can give you no information, Your Excellency beyond the Countess Staviska has withdrawn all of her funds." "Yes." "You are very welcome." "Yes." "Yes." "I can reach Colonel von Richter immediately." "Tell him I can get the merchandise he wanted." "I cannot deliver it here in Ankara." "No, it's impossible." "I'm being watched too closely." "I shall have to ring off now." "Tell him I'll arrange a meeting place in Istanbul." "I'm leaving this evening." "I'll call you at the Consulate in Istanbul tomorrow." "He didn't speak to anyone." "He made some phone calls and came back here." "You're on the wrong track, sniffing after Diello." "He didn't bat an eye when you told him about the Countess." "Well, there's something about him, there's something about him." "Why, for one thing, should he go to a cafe to make a few phone calls?" "What do you want?" " Is all right if I clean office now?" "No." "His Excellency won't be back until tomorrow." "I've to wash windows while it is still daylight." "Not now, I said." "Come back later." "Did you see him?" " Who?" "Turn off the alarm." "Open it up." "Diello!" "Where's Diello?" "He ran out, he was chasing someone." "Follow him, Johnson." "Find him." " Shall I try to hold him?" "Just find him and report back." "Send a cable to London." "I want all available information on Diello here at once." "Give me that dispatch case." "Nothing seems to be missing here." "How many letters have you there?" "Four." "We locked up five." "That letter." "The perfumed letter gone, but nothing out of the dispatch case." "It's odd." "McFadden." "Photographs." "Have Barrows watch the approaches to German Embassy." "We must get that film." "It'll be sticky, grabbing him to public." "The Turkish might not like it." "We can't kidnap him, we'll have to kill him." "We've got to consider Operation Overlord." "Send a man out to the airport." "We'll get out to the railroad station." "Siebert, you and Steuben take the train to Istanbul this evening." "We will take the plane." "He's bound to be aboard one or the other." "Shall we go armed, Colonel?" " Naturally." "You are to protect Cicero from the British at all costs until we get that film." "And after that?" "After that, Moyzisch, it will be up to Cicero to protect himself from the British and from us." "That's all." "This is the car." "I couldn't see which compartment exactly." "We'll try them all." "This compartment is occupied." " Excuse me." "C'est occupe." " Pardon me." "I will not fail you, sir." "This compartment is occupied, gentleman." "May I see your reservation?" " We didn't have time to get one." "We'd like to purchase a compartment in this car." "I am sorry." "There are none available." "We'd be happy to make it worth your while." "There are none available, gentleman." "I shall have to ask you to move to the next car." "You might as well put that away and fill your pipe instead." "There's nothing to do but see to it that none of them get off." "Do you suppose the Nazis have get the film?" "No." "They wouldn't be playing watch-dog for him." "They're going to take care of him until they get it and that'll be in Istanbul." "And so by the time your receive this, my dear Ambassador I shall be away from Ankara far away from intrigue and uncertainty and humiliation." "I shall be settled, I hope, in a new life of peace and security and self-respect." "You have spoken so often to me, my dear friend, of Diello the perfect valet who served my late husband and who serves you now." "Surely I can offer no greater proof of my affection for you and my devotion to the Allied cause than to inform you now that your trusted Diello is a German spy." "I know that both you and your government..." "Just a few minutes, sir." "Good morning, gentlemen." "Did you sleep well?" "I slept extremely well guards to the left of me, guards to the right of me." "Are you my bodyguards?" "Or are you my assassins?" "We are to protect you from the British." "Honoured." "It puts me in right in a class with Norway, Denmark and Holland, and other things you protect from the British." "If anyone were to lay a hand of me I could expose and ruin this film in few seconds." "You are in no danger." "We will go with you to the German Consulate." "Don't be whimsical." "I have come to give a message for Moyzisch." "Tell him he's to meet me at Hakim's Restaurant at six o'clock, this evening." "We prefer you go to the Consulate at the same hour, if you like." " No, although, I am tempted." "So many more people go into German Consulate than come out." "I've wondered what attraction could keep them there so long." "We must have some guarantee that you have the film." "I thought you were the silent partner." "Here is all the guarantee you'll need." "Don't unwrap it." "It's a strip of film." "It shows a piece of the document that von Richter wants to buy." "I'll deliver the rest when Moyzisch pays me 100,000 pounds." " 100,000!" "I forgot to tell you." "I raised the price." "Ready, Moyzisch?" " Yes." "Remember to be extremely friendly." "Give him the money first." "When you get the film..." "You know what to do after that." "There's the problem of the Turkish police." "It isn't likely you will choose to kill Cicero on a crowded street or in front of a policeman." "It's hardly likely he will go to the police himself." "Not with 100,000 British pounds in his pocket." "Yes, sir." " And good luck." "No luck?" "This city was created by Allah, for the convenience of spies." "Nobody ever found anybody in Istanbul." "Anything going here?" " Von Richter and Moyzisch went in." "Likewise our two playmates." "Nobody's come out." "Yet." "Moyzisch, my dear colleague, I'm delighted to see you." "It's far too early for civilized dining but I have a busy evening." "Will you have something to eat?" " I'm not hungry." "Do you feel faint, perhaps?" "Then sit down and have some Turkish Banana brandy." "It stimulates the blood and makes heroes of all who drink it." "I must accustom myself to pouring drinks from a sitting position." "It isn't easy to break the habits of a lifetime." "Let's get on with the business." "Did you bring all of it?" "If I were gentlemen, I would assume that the money is all here." "I shall not be a gentleman until I have finished counting it." "Do you speak English?" " A little." "I'm looking for a friend." "He may be in a private room." "Do you have private rooms?" "Is occupied." "He must be in there." "I'll just..." "I'm sorry." "He not wish to be disturb." " But he is expecting me." "I'm sorry." "You will sit here, please." "There is a time for using your wits, and a time for blasting away." "We have no monopoly on blasting away." "Those two would drop us before we got clear of this table." "He may be handing over the films." "We don't want the films, they're worthless." "Plans can be changed, you know." "We want Cicero, and we want him alive so he can tell us just how much the Nazis have found out." "Come to think of it for exactly the same reasons the Nazis must want him very much dead." "You're balmy." "You're completely balmy." "He'll jump at it." "My friend may not know we're waiting." "Would you give this to him, please?" "Yes, sir." "Abdi Bey, how can I ever thank you enough for your hospitality courtesy and kitchen." "It is always a joy to see you, Diello." "It takes me back to old times." "Thank you." "No answer required." "Who was that note from?" "What was in it?" "Would you like to purchase a photograph of it?" "Why so nervous?" "This is the greatest day of your life." "When you die, Hitler will dip you in bronze and name streets after you." "Can't you count a little faster?" " Haste makes waste." "You've grown fond of me, is that it?" "You're upset because you know I haven't much longer to live." "Those two men are here to protect you." "I didn't say anything about two men." "Really, Moyzisch." "You and your guilty conscience, and big mouth." "There's the film." "Has it occurred to you that our roles are now reversed?" "That the British may try to kill you?" "How does it feel being me?" "Keep a stiff upper lip." "That's one thing I've learned from the British, the outward composure." "Mr. Travers, I am touched by your solicitude." "I'm happy to accept your protection." "Imagine me, of all men, with a British sword and a British shield." "I'd rather slit your throat." "Impractical." "Then, I'd be unable to tell you the things you want to know." "Imagine how confused the Nazis will be to see you protecting me." "They half-suspect I've been a British plant all along." "We'll see you safely to a taxi, then to the British Consulate." "That would be back where I started from." "No, thank you." "We'll walk a way together, then say goodbye." "Listen Diello." "We'll protect you from the Gestapo, but we intend to take you alive." "I've no intention of being taken alive." "We'll get the Turkish police to arrest you." "It's against the law, here, to carry a weapon." "Did you know that?" "However, first things first." "Shall we startle the Nazis with your concern for my safety?" "You seem to disapprove me." "You're the most cold-blooded thief, traitor and criminal I've seen in a lifetime of looking at human trash." "What a pity." "I rather hoped I'd look like a gentlemen." "Cicero and the British?" "Put that away." "Too many people." "They're saying something about our shoes." "What's the matter with them?" " I don't know." "Go on." "You must believe me, Colonel, the British held us off." "They were protecting him." " Nonsense." "But they let him away." "In the restaurant, they passed Cicero a note." "It has no logic, it does not make sense." "An urgent dispatch for you, sir, from his Excellency the Ambassador." "Moyzisch!" "What's the delay?" "I spoiled the first print." " What?" "I was so nervous, but the second one is almost ready." "Hurry up." "Here it is, sir." "They fit together perfectly." "'D-Day for Operation Overlord is tentatively set for early June along the coast of Normandy and Cherbourg Peninsula.'" "Colonel, did you hear it?" " Yes, I heard." "Now you hear this." "An urgent dispatch from von Papen." "'Have just received personal letter from Countess Anna Staviska naming Cicero as British agent." "Am unable to corroborate accusation because Countess has left country." "In view of her efforts to ingratiate herself with us I'm compelled to believe her charge is true.'" "I don't believe it." " I've always do it." "From the first!" "I told you so I know the British and their childish tricks!" "I don't believe it!" "The earlier documents, they were genuine." "Events proved them genuine." " Of course." "They had to be so that we would swallow that big lie." "That one!" "I nearly paid with my life for this!" "I knew it." "I knew it all along." "Dinner is served, Senhor." "Two gentlemen have come to see you, Senhor." "Your banker and another gentleman." "Senhor da Costa, at this hour?" "Very well, have them come out." "Senhor da Costa, an unexpected pleasure." "Senhor Antonini, please forgive this intrusion." "May I present my friend, Senhor Santos." "I'm honoured." " I've looked forward to meeting you." "Please sit down." "Will you join me for dinner?" "Thank you, Senhor, we have dined." " Some wine, perhaps." "Senhor Antonini is already known in Rio for his taste in wine." "Are you associate with the bank too, Senhor Santos?" "No, Senhor." "With the Brazilian Department of Investigation." "Then I assume you investigate Argentine citizens who settle in your beautiful city?" " Among other things, yes." "And have you discovered some irregularity in my papers?" "No, Senhor." "Your papers are all perfectly in order." "There is an irregularity however, Senhor." "It is a matter of your account at the bank." "Am I overdrawn?" "As of yesterday I had about 7 million cruzeiros." "I was referring to the bank draft with which you purchased this villa." "As I recall that transaction, I paid the full sum in cash 25,000 pounds sterling." " That is correct." "What seems to be difficulty?" " The money has been returned." "What on earth for?" " It is counterfeit." "You have a distorted sense of humour, Senhor." "The money is counterfeit." "As the money which you exchange for Brazilian currency." "It is all counterfeit." "Believe me, Senhor, I do not wish to leap to conclusions." "A gentleman of your obvious refinement perhaps you are an unfortunate dupe." "This money has been in circulation for months and the British authorities have only recently detected the forgery." "I have samples here of every series in your possession." "They are the most skilful facsimiles I have ever seen." "Senhor Antonini, I implore you to cooperate." "We know that these counterfeit notes were printed in Germany." "The British have established that." "And so far, they have turned up in three places here in Brazil, in Turkey and in Switzerland." "Switzerland?" " Over 100,000 counterfeit British pounds were confiscated there recently." "In the possession of a political refugee, a lady." "It will be in your interest to tell us where and how you got this money." "Switzerland." "Believe me, Senhor, this is no laughing matter." "It is my unhappy duty to inform you that you are under arrest." "Anna." " I beg you pardon?" "Anna." "Poor Anna."