The FBI Story Page #11

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They were being imprisoned

without trial.

So the director ordered me

to South America.

My instructions were simple:

There were three agents operating

in danger areas.

We had reason to believe

their real identifies had been discovered.

I was to contact them,

relieve them of duty...

...send them home immediately.

I found my first man

at the International Club.

The second agent I contacted...

...was driving a cab

near the German embassy.

- Take me to the airport, will you?

- Any luggage, seor?

I'm not going anywhere, you are.

Yes, Mr. Hardesty.

Our third agent wasn't so easy to get to.

He was operating a secret transmitter...

...up on the western slope

a few miles from the Brazilian border.

Mario, a native contact, was guiding me.

- You wish to rest, seor?

- No, let's keep going.

I have been in these hills for all my life,

and always I walk up.

Never down.

I think God, he forgot to make

the other side of the hill, sir.

The water, she leads into the big river.

And the river,

she leads into the ocean.

- You have seen the ocean, seor?

- A few times.

You are very lucky.

I have seen it only in pictures.

But someday in my life,

I will visit the ocean.

I will do it by hooks or crook.

How much further, Mario?

One more hill, seor.

It is up.

Naturally.

Naturally.

I have brought him, Seor George.

Hi, George.

Mr. Hardesty.

- Well, it's wonderful to see you.

- All right.

- You're looking pretty good.

- Thanks.

Hey, I just happened to be passing by,

I thought I'd drop in.

Say, do you have a drink of water?

I'm out.

Yes, sir. Come on in out of the sun.

- Oh, boy, that's quite a climb.

- I know it.

Why, thank you.

Well, this is our...

...combination radio room,

kitchen and bedroom.

I see.

And over there is a stable,

sunroom and veranda.

Well, that's...

Well, I hate to break up

this cozy little home away from home...

...but you're ordered

to leave immediately.

- But there's still a lot to be done.

- There's a lot to be done everywhere.

But we can operate in other countries.

You're too hot here, so you're

to pull the plug and report to Washington.

Now, come on,

I'll help you pack your gear.

Mario...

...come on, we're moving out.

Down the hill, seor?

Downhill.

Besides, George...

...as I recall, you've got

a pretty good reason for going back.

Yes, sir. How is she?

She's a bore.

All she does is talk about you.

I'll be glad when you get back there.

She can bore you.

- It's Gerschner.

- Gerschner?

When was the last intercept?

Not since July. Big contraband shipment.

Radio silence ever since.

The birds, they do not fly for nothing.

Something's coming in.

All right.

"Cargo of smuggled platinum...

...on its way...

...to Buenos Aires."

"Gerschner...

...will rendezvous...

...near Porto Coimbra."

All right, try and reach

our So Paulo contact.

Where's your codebook?

I'll code, you send.

I've got them.

Seor, the federales,

they are coming up the hill.

What?

Well, I'm afraid you're right.

But we can't leave now, Mario.

You better just pray.

I will say to God that he should

tilt the hill a little bit more.

- "Message received and acknowledged."

- Sign off.

Let's destroy this equipment

and get out of here.

Burn that codebook.

- Where are your detonators?

- Mario, detonators.

I just need one.

That's all right. Come on.

Come on, Mario, hurry up.

Come on, come on, get down here.

Come on. Come on.

All right, let's go.

Brazil, after the bridge.

It is two kilometers to there.

Come on, let's go.

- Mario!

- Mario!

Mario!

Mario!

Is that the river

that runs down to the sea?

I guess so. Why?

Poor Mario.

George Crandall came home

to what he called "easier duty."

In February of 1945, he and Anne

celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

- Hey, this calls for some music.

- Right.

Hey, this is very good.

Only, if you're married to her,

it really should be devil's food.

- Let's go read some of the telegrams.

- Good idea.

Come on, honey.

Serve the cake, Jennie.

Just a minute.

From my Aunt Edith.

- She says I'm lucky.

- Well, you are.

You can read all those wires later.

Come on, let's do some singing here.

Once again, once again.

Another one, ma'am,

for Mr. And Mrs. Hardesty.

Oh, well, I guess

somebody's congratulating us.

- There you are. Thank you.

- You're welcome.

Oh, my God.

He died at 5:
25 a.m.

He didn't even make it through sunrise.

Why?

Why?

Why does it always

have to be this way?

All my life in the bureau, Lucy,

I've been dealing with punks.

They rob banks and they hold up

filling stations...

...and they shoot down

innocent people.

A bunch of cheap punks.

Why is it nothing ever happens to them?

Where were they at Iwo Jima?

How dare you say that?

I don't know anything about Iwo Jima...

...except the papers

say a lot of boys died there.

But I think it'd be awful, just awful,

if they were punks.

I hope they were like Mike.

I hope every last one of them

was like Mike.

And I don't care if all the punks

in the world go right on living.

Mike was too good for that.

You know, you're right.

You're right.

But it's just that when I think of him...

...and when I think of how I used to

accuse him of stealing things from me...

...you remember?

Shaving lotion and socks, and...

And I...

I just never thought he'd take anything

this big away from me.

The only thing that I worry about...

...is he might have suffered.

Do you think he did, Chip?

I don't know.

I don't know.

But somehow, I doubt it.

Most soldiers

just seem to die in a hurry.

And maybe it's supposed

to be like that.

You mean there isn't time

for a prayer?

There's time to start one.

And that's really all that counts, isn't it?

I suppose so.

No, but it's true. It's true.

My daddy always used to say

if you start a prayer and die...

...well, that just means that you get

a chance to finish it in person.

See?

We'd better go in

and talk to the others.

My goodness, he was handsome

in his uniform, wasn't he?

He looks proud.

He looks as if he intended to win.

And I'll bet that's the way it was, too.

When he started up that beach,

he meant to win.

And that's why I wish

I had one more moment to talk to him.

Not to hug him and tell him I love him,

but just to say:

"You won.

That's the God's honest truth, Mike.

You won."

The war was over, but not for the FBI.

Now the enemy

was international Communism.

It threatened education...

...labor and management...

...Church and the home.

And yet communists could be found

in all of these places.

They gave speeches,

wrote pamphlets, stirred up trouble.

Some of them weren't that polite.

They betrayed their country.

Active espionage

came into sharp focus...

...at a small cleaning

and pressing shop in the Bronx.

An unexpected thing happened.

A tiny mistake was made.

Nobody ever learns.

Fifty-cent piece in the watch pocket.

Sandy, where did you get this suit?

Sandy, where did you get this suit?

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