"OK," Jed concluded after they had run out of questions for each other, "from what we have found out, let me try to put a scenario together. Big Daddy Franklin Delano Roosevelt, perhaps through the help of Uncle Winston, had cracked the Japanese military code. Being as both wanted America to enter the war, and this wasn't politically possible for FDR without an "incident," it was decided to lead the Japanese into thinking they could get away with a surprise attack on the U.S. To protect the vital carriers and fuel dumps at Pearl Harbor, and the absolutely necessary Panama Canal, military intelligence -what an oxymoron- felt they needed some sort of control. They wanted the Japanese to follow our game plan. What better way than a double crossing spy operation, based upon Code Chrysanthemum? To make that seem valid, it was set up so that the Japanese paid, in gold, for the false information it received via the encoder and radio over there. Lieutenant Rosenbaum was assigned to feed pre-planned transmissions. Apparently the Japanese paymaster discovered the secret. They struggled, and both died."

"Plausible," Jenny concurred, "but how does that explain today? Why did Sayer try and kill my father?"

"Hmm. To keep us quiet? Can you imagine the lawsuits that would be filed against the government? The outcry of world opinion?"

"Perhaps. I can see that. But why kill all those other people —Lieutenant Butler, the officer in Washington, Black Jack- us?

"Gold!"

That was the answer, and yet neither Jed nor Jenny had voiced this opinion. It came from a voice at out of the black darkness of the mine.

"Don't move," Kearns commanded as he approached, covering both with a small but deadly looking machine pistol. "I want the gold. Thanks for leading me to it. Put it down and stand over there. Good. Don't move!"

Jed complied. Jenny was brazen enough to try and have some of her questions answered. "You were listening. Were we right in assuming that...?"

"Shut up."

"You were part of it. We did lead Japan into the war. Right?"

"This is only one bar. Where is the rest?"

"I want to know. Is it true?"

"I want the gold, cunt!"

"America did allow, or even helped the Japanese into believing that..."