Luciano’s Luck

Your channel of communication with HQ will be by W/T radio transmission handled by Vito Barbera, coordinator, Bellona area.

WEAPONS

At your discretion, but only those you consider essential for hand-to-hand combat.

CONCLUSION

You are aware of the importance of this mission and nothing must take precedence over it. We anticipate completion in two weeks. Your return will be by submarine pick-up and details of this will be transmitted by radio in field-code at the appropriate time.

NOW DESTROY . . . NOW DESTROY . . . NOW DESTROY . . .

Carter took a cigarette lighter from his pocket, flicked it with his thumb and touched the flame to the corner of the document. When it was well alight, he crossed to the empty fireplace and dropped it into the grate.

‘Even you shouldn’t have that, General.’

The door opened and Cusak returned with coffee on a brass Arabic tray. ‘Thanks, George, I’ll take care of it,’ Eisenhower said.

He poured the coffee himself and lit another cigarette. ‘I’d say it’s a reasonable assumption that you know more about what’s happening over there at the moment than anyone else in North Africa. So let’s talk.’

What would you like to know, General?’

‘I’d like you to explain the Mafia to me.’

‘You have a file on the Mafia connection, presumably?’

‘Yes.’

Carter lit a cigarette himself without thinking. ‘Mafia began as a kind of secret society during a period of real oppression. In those days it was the only weapon the peasant had, his only means of justice.’

‘Go on.’

‘You have to understand the landscape, sir. It’s another world. Sterile, barren, where the struggle is not so much for a living as for survival. A world where the key word is omerta which means manliness, honour, and never, never seek official help. If you have a problem, you go to the capo.’

‘The capo?’ Eisenhower frowned.

‘Capo means boss, chief, put it how you like. Wherever you go in Sicily there will be a capo mafia who rules the roost.’

‘And still does?’

‘Mussolini tried to crush the movement but it simply went under the surface. You can talk of Separatists, Communists and other political factions as much as you like, but in Sicily, it’s still the Mafia which has the real influence.’

Eisenhower sat staring into space, brooding.

Finally, as if coming to a decision, he tapped the brown manila folder in front of him.

‘This is the file you referred to as the Mafia connection. Are you familiar with an individual mentioned in it known as Lucky Luciano?’

Carter nodded. ‘A New York Sicilian gangster and probably the most important capo in American Mafia. He’s serving a thirty-to-fifty year sentence in Dannemora Penitentiary at the moment. I believe the charge was organized prostitution.’

‘Not now, he isn’t,’ Eisenhower said. ‘According to the file, he’s been moved to Great Meadow at Comstock. It seems that after the liner Normandie was burned out on the Hudson last year, Naval Intelligence became worried about increasing sabotage on the New York waterfront.’

‘I know, General, and when they approached the dockers’ unions, they discovered that the man to see was Luciano, inside prison or out.’

Eisenhower said, ‘Quite incredible. In the middle of the greatest war in history they have to go to a crook for help. As if that wasn’t enough, I now find that our people have been putting agents into Sicily for some time now, usually Americans with an ethnic Sicilian background. Were you aware of this?’

‘It’s a specifically American project, General, but yes, I did know about it. The aim is, I believe, to ensure Mafia cooperation in the event of an invasion.’

Eisenhower exploded angrily. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be fighting the same war, for God’s sake?’ He took another cigarette and struck the match so forcibly that it snapped. ‘They approached Luciano in the penitentiary again about giving his assistance. They seem to think he has some influence in Sicily also.’

‘Considerable, General. If he appeared in some of those mountain villages it would be like the second coming.’

‘Our Intelligence people certainly seem to think so. Apparently a yellow scarf with the initial L in black, which is Luciano’s calling card, will be dropped extensively in apropriate areas at the right time.’

‘And they think this will help?’ Carter asked.

Eisenhower turned back to the map. ‘The theory is sound enough. The terrain Patton and his army have to pass through to reach Palermo is a soldier’s nightmare. The area around the Cammarata particularly is a warren of ravines and mountains. It could take months to hack a way through it. On the other hand, if the Mafia used its power to promote an uprising of the people and to persuade Italian units to surrender, the Germans would have no other recourse but to get the hell out of it.’

‘Yes, General,’ Carter said.

‘You don’t sound too certain. Don’t you think the Mafia can deliver?’

‘Frankly, sir, not as the people in Washington who dreamed this thing up seem to expect. One major weakness. If you take the Mafia boss, the capo, in one particular district, you may find he doesn’t have much influence elsewhere. Another thing, your Intelligence people have been recruiting American service personnel with Sicilian or Italian ethnic backgrounds.’

‘And what’s wrong with that?’ Eisenhower demanded.

‘It’s better than nothing, of course, but being Italian doesn’t cut much ice in Sicily and as regards the language, there are at least five Sicilian dialects in Palermo alone.’

‘But surely the idea of using Luciano was to get over such difficulties by having someone whose name meant something to everyone.’

‘I don’t happen to think it’s enough.’

‘But Washington does?’

‘So it would appear.’

There was a brief silence, Eisenhower frowning down thoughtfully at the file, and then he looked up.

‘All right, Major, you’ve had one briefing. Now I’m going to give you another. I want the facts on this Mafia thing and straight from the horse’s mouth. When you return in two weeks or whatever, I want you back here Priority One with a first hand assessment of the situation in the field. You understand me?’

‘Perfectly, General.’

‘Good. You’d better get moving, then.’

Carter saluted. Eisenhower nodded and picked up his pen. As Carter reached the door and opened it, the General called softly, ‘One thing more, Major.’

Carter turned to face him. ‘Yes, sir?’

‘Leave the rough stuff to other people. I’d be considerably inconvenienced if you failed to keep our next appointment.’