A/N: Admiral Inglis is not really on the side of the angels, and acts and speaks accordingly. My apologies if this is a slander to the real man.
Lieutenant Commander John Avery Whittaker sat nervously outside Admiral Inglis' office and wondered why he'd been summoned there. Rear admirals did not usually directly call midlevel officers into their offices to discuss their next assignments. But, then again, that Inglis had any interest in him at all was unusual, because he'd never been part of the Office of Naval Intelligence, or ONI. That his next assignment was with them was…concerning.
He was also concerned about the fact that he had a next assignment. He'd signed up for the navy right after Pearl Harbor, and hadn't mentioned anything to anyone about pursuing a career in the military. In fact, after some of what he'd seen in the Philippines and Manchuria, staying in the military was the last thing he wanted to do. Like almost everyone else who'd joined for the war, he just wanted to go home.
But instead, he was here.
He was also early, which was why he'd been sitting here for twenty minutes, slowly working himself into a nervous breakdown, which was why he was actually thankful when the door to the Admiral's office opened and he heard the occupant bark, "Come in, Commander Whittaker."
As he walked in, came to attention, and saluted, he noticed that there was somebody else in there besides Admiral Inglis, and that he didn't recognize him.
"Commander Whittaker," Inglis said. "Meet your partner on this assignment. This is Commander Shelton."
"Pleased to meet you," the latter said, and stuck out his hand.
Whit took it to shake it, but as he did he looked into the Commander's eyes and saw no life in them. This did not bode well.
The admiral spoke. "Your assignment is simple. You're going to Europe to find this man." He handed Whittaker a photograph of a man with close-cropped dark hair, round glasses, and a lean face. "His name is Nils Horner, and you need to retrieve him."
"Retrieve him, sir?"
"He was in ONI before the war. Commander Shelton worked with him."
Shelton spoke flatly. "Officially, he left the Navy and moved to Yugoslavia in 1939. In reality, he was still working for us. We needed intelligence on the state of naval affairs in the area, and he put himself in a position to get us that information. He kept sending us intelligence through the whole war, until last month. We don't know what happened to him. He has information that could compromise multiple assets in the area, and we need to know what's happened to him."
So why am I being assigned to this? Whittaker thought, but he didn't say it. Lieutenant commanders didn't question admirals about their assignments. Instead, he asked another question.
"Sir, will we be receiving any help from the OSS?"
"Those cowboys?" Inglis snorted. "This requires subtlety, and Donovan's pets don't know anything about that."
In other words, he's too proud to admit to them that he needs help. That's not good.
"Now, Commander Shelton. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. I imagine that Commander Whittaker may need some time, though. Are you in the Transient Officers' Quarters?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Go back there, and give them this," Inglis said as he passed over an envelope. "This says you're on temporary duty, and will be back within a week. Give it to them, and they'll hold your bags. Meet Commander Shelton at the motor pool at," he looked at his watch, "1530."
"Yes sir."
"Commander Shelton, you're dismissed. Commander Whittaker, stay a moment."
"Yes sir," the other commander replied, came to attention, saluted, and left the room.
"Commander," Inglis said to Whittaker. "There's something we need to discuss." His voice went flat. "What happened in Shanghai."
"What are you referring to, sir?"
"Don't play dumb, Commander," Inglis replied frostily. "We both know that Jap your ship was supposed to pick up died while he was in your custody. Curious, isn't it, that you were ambushed by Chinks and he was the only one who didn't make it out?"
"I had my orders, sir. And I followed them."
"Yes, I'm sure." Inglis gave him a cold stare, and Whittaker felt a little chill run through him. "The only reason you're being used for this assignment is that Commander Shelton needs backup, I've been told that you can keep your mouth shut, and I'm shorthanded right now. Dirty hands are part of this business, Commander. Everyone thinks we're safe, now that the war's over. We're not. Hard choices still have to be made, do you understand me?"
"Yes sir."
"I hope you do. Dismissed, Commander."
"Yes sir."
As Whittaker and Shelton stepped off the plane in Athens, the former couldn't help but feel a distinct sense of relief at no longer being in a small, confined space with the latter. He'd attempted to make conversation while traveling from ONI headquarters to the Naval Air Station on the Patuxent River, and the attempt not been quite rebuffed so much as absorbed, with Shelton managing never to give a straight answer to questions that Whittaker would have thought even a normal spy would have been comfortable with answering truthfully. It was somewhat unnerving, honestly, though he wasn't quite sure why, and he'd given up after a few tries.
The flight from Maryland to Bermuda hadn't been particularly long, thankfully, and the one from Bermuda to the Azores had been mostly taken up by sleeping. But the flight from the Azores to Gibraltar had been extremely uncomfortable, the one from Gibraltar to Rome more so, and the flight from there to Athens had been nearly excruciating.
As they stepped onto the tarmac of Hassani Airfield and their fellow passengers, mostly British officers, dispersed, Shelton initiated a conversation with him for the first time since they'd met.
"There's a hotel run by someone I know. It's two blocks down from the Church of St. Dionysius the Areopagite. Meet me there in two hours. It's best if we're not seen together. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Good. I'll see you there," Shelton said neutrally, then walked off.
John Avery Whittaker stood alone in the middle of the tarmac, knowing neither the local language nor customs, and wondered what on earth he was going to do for three hours.
He looked over at the terminal. Maybe he could find someone who knew where that church was.
As he walked over, he pulled a little at his collar. It wasn't particularly hot here, especially not compared to Manila, but after that plane ride it felt warm.
He took a moment to admire the view, although there wouldn't have been too much to see if it wasn't sunset. It was much like any other airbase—lots of planes, lots of people in uniforms, and few amenities. The mountains to the east were somewhat pleasant, at any rate. Then he noticed that there was still some bombing damage left, which surprised him. He knew it had been more than a year since the Germans had left Greece, but he knew precious little else about what had been going on here since.
However, the view of the setting sun to the west was gorgeous, as it slowly dropped towards the Mediterranean, and Whittaker took a moment to shade his eyes with his hands and admire the view before continuing on.
He walked into the terminal and got into the line for the information desk, which was being run by a somewhat harassed-looking British lieutenant with a crisp mustache that reminded Whittaker that he hadn't shaved in two days.
When he reached the desk, he asked politely, "How do I arrange transportation to the city, and would you happen to know where the Church of St. Dionysus the Areopagite is located?"
The lieutenant looked up sharply. "Wot?" He looked more closely at Whittaker. "Sorry, Commander. Don't see a lot of American naval officers out here. As to transport, just go to the motor pool and show them your orders, and they'll assign you a jeep. As to that church," he paused and rubbed his moustache, then looked at the time. "I don't know where it is, but Theo's shift is ending soon, he's a local, and speaks excellent English."
"Theo?"
"He's one of our local liaisons. Translator and what I believe you Americans call a fixer. In fact, you won't need to sign out a jeep at all. Theo!" he called out as he leaned back in his chair.
"Yes, Leftenant?" Whittaker heard a slightly accented voice say from behind the partition.
"There's an American here who wants to find some sort of church for some reason. Could you take him by there when you go home?"
"Certainly, Leftenant," the voice said as the man who owned it stepped around the partition. He was swarthy and curly-haired—almost straight out of central casting, Whittaker thought, although the cheerful smile on his face wasn't entirely standard.
He stuck out his hand. "Theodosius Andronopolous, but please, call me Theo."
Whittaker took it and shook it. "Lieutenant Commander John Whittaker. Please, call me Whit."
Theo looked at the lieutenant. "Do you need me for anything else, Lieutenant Beresford?"
"Nothing, Theo," the lieutenant replied. "Have a good night."
"Do you have a vehicle, Theo?" Whittaker asked they walked out of the terminal.
"Yes, I do. Right this way, Whit," he replied, pointing to a repainted Kubelwagen.
Some of Whittaker's surprise must have shown, because Theo chuckled and explained, "The Germans left much of their equipment behind when they evacuated. So we use it while we recover from the occupation. How long are you staying here?" he continued as they climbed into the car.
"I'm not sure," Whittaker admitted. "A week or two, possibly. Maybe longer."
"Ah," Theo replied as he started the engine. "How much do you know about the situation here in Greece, Whit?"
"Very little," Whit replied as they drove towards the main gate. "All I know is that the Germans left here about a year ago and the British moved in to oversee the transition back to your own government, but the way you said that makes it sound like it's more complicated than that."
"Oh, what you said is completely true, but it's a bit incomplete. The resistance here was split into three main groups, the EAM, the EDES, and the EKKA. The EAM was Communist, and the EDES and EKKA were both republican."
"Wait, I thought the Greek government was a monarchy."
"It was," Theo said grimly. "But a few years after the Great War, royalists attempted a coup against the government. It failed, we proclaimed a republic, and we exiled the king. He returned a few years before this last war, after the royalists gained a majority in Parliament. Then, after much unrest, General Ioannis Metaxas took over the country from the elected government, and did so with the king's blessing. That was how it was when the Italians attacked, and with German help occupied our country."
"I…see."
"The truth is that the government-in-exile was largely irrelevant here in Greece," Theo continued as they drove out the main gate. "But the British backed them, and when they arrived here in October 1944 and ran the last of the Germans out of Athens things settled down for a little while. The British were rather popular here."
"So what happened?"
"The provisional government was formed out of representatives from the government-in-exile and the resistance movements. It was decided that all forces needed to be disarmed except for the regulars commanded by the government-in-exile. The EAM didn't like that, they demonstrated, someone opened fire, and the resultant fighting—we call it the Dekemvriana—went on for over a month here in Athens, although it never spread to the rest of the country. As you saw by the fact that the British are still here," Theo said as he pointed a thumb back at the airport, "The EAM lost."
"I take it that there are still problems, though."
"Plenty," Theo replied, pausing to dodge around a sputtering car and a bus, then continuing on. "A lot of people don't want the monarchy back, but the Communists angered a lot of people with some of their actions during and after the Dekemvriana. There's nothing happening right now, but this place is a tinderbox."
"Thanks for the heads-up," Whittaker replied, "but why are you telling me all this?"
"Because," Theo said flatly as they drove into the city, "I don't know why you're here, but I learned a few things during the occupation, and I know a secret rendezvous when I see one. You may have to get involved in the politics here to get your mission done, but try not to, for everyone's sake. Please."
"I'll keep that in mind and I thank you for the warning," Whittaker replied, "but I don't think I'll need to get involved in that to do my job."
"Good."
They drove on in silence after that as Whittaker wondered what he'd gotten into this time. This looked like it had the potential to be more of a mess than Shanghai had been. On the other hand, maybe it wouldn't be. He really did think they could get this Horner fellow out of the country without stumbling into a conflict that he really didn't know anything about other than one side were Communists, and surely he couldn't be as bad as that scientist.
Surely.
The rest of the journey passed in a blur as he wrestled with his thoughts, only coming back to the world when the car suddenly stopped.
"Welcome to the Church of St. Dionysius the Areopagite," Theo said cheerfully. "The largest Catholic church in Athens, and probably Greece."
Whittaker looked out the passenger window. It wasn't an especially large building, that was for sure—it looked sort of like St. Peter's Basilica in extreme miniature, with a portico in front and a fence surrounding it. At least one of the three gates in the fence was open.
"You said this place was Catholic?"
"Yes," Theo said softly. "Built by the first King of Greece in centuries, Otto of Bavaria. We got out from under the Ottomans after a century of oppression, and what happened? The man put on the throne couldn't even speak Greek!" he finished, then almost visibly bit off a longer statement. "I'm sorry. Ancient history."
"No, no. It's alright. Thank you for the ride, Theo," Whittaker replied as he opened the door and stepped out.
"Wait, Whit," he heard Theo exclaim behind him, and turned to see him holding out a small card. "This is my address. If you need help, come here, and ask for me. Understand?"
"I do," Whittaker said as he took the card and placed it in his breast pocket. "Thank you."
"Safe travels, Whit," Theo replied, leaned over, pulled the door shut, and drove away with a little wave.
Whittaker waved back, and then looked around to take in the street.
There was something that looked like a bank right across the way, and various other businesses as well. There were a lot of people out and about, mostly locals, but there were a few khaki uniforms here and there. It didn't look like there was a lot to do, and when he looked at his watch he didn't have a lot of time to just wander around.
So he turned around, looked at the church, and decided that he didn't want to stand outside for an hour.
So he went in.