"Gentlemen, before we go any further, I must conduct one final experiment
in order to justify Operation Mapcase. I will not explain it just yet." He
looked at Lenny Poe, a small, dark-haired man with a largish nose. "Mr.
Poe, can you contact your brother at this moment?"
Lenny Poe was a man who was not overawed by anyone, and had no inclination
to be formal, not even toward the President. "Yeah, sure," he said
matter-of-factly.
[Illustration]
The President glanced at his watch. "It is now five minutes of ten. That
makes it five minutes of six in the evening in Moscow. Is your brother
free to move around? That is, can he go to a certain place in the city?"
Lenny closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Rafe says he can go
any place that the average citizen would be allowed to go."
"Excellent," said the President. He gave Lenny an address--an intersection
of two streets not far from Red Square. "Can he get there within fifteen
minutes?"
"Make it twenty," said Lenny.
"Very well. Twenty minutes. When he gets there, I'll ask you to relay
further instructions."
Lenny Poe closed his eyes, folded his arms, and relaxed in his chair. The
other three men waited silently.
Nineteen minutes later, Lenny opened his eyes and said: "O.K. He's there.
Now what?"
"There is a lamppost on that corner, I believe," said the President. "Can
your brother see it?"
Lenny closed his eyes again. "Sure. There's a guy leaning against it."
The President's eyes brightened. "Describe him!"
Lenny, eyes still closed, said: "Five feet ten, heavy set, gray hair,
dark-rimmed glasses, brown suit, flashy necktie. By the cut of his
clothes, I'd say he was either British or American, probably American.
Fifty-five or fifty-six years old."
It was obvious to the Secretary of Defense and to Colonel Spaulding that
the President was suppressing some inward excitement.
"Very good, Mr. Poe!" he said. "Now, you will find a box of colored
pencils and a sketch pad in that desk over there. Can you draw me a fairly
accurate sketch of that man?"
"Yeah, sure." Lenny opened his eyes, moved over to the desk, took out the
pencils and sketch pad, and went to work. He had to close his eyes
occasionally, but his work was incredibly rapid and, at the same time,
almost photographically accurate.
As the picture took form, the President's inward excitement increased
perceptibly. When it was finally finished, Lenny handed the sketch to the
President without a word.
The President took it eagerly and his face broke out in his famous grin.
"Excellent! Perfect!" He looked at Lenny. "Your brother hasn't attracted
the man's attention in any way, has he?"
"Nope," said Lenny.
"Fine. The experiment is over. Relay my thanks to your brother. He can go
ahead with whatever he was doing now."
"I don't quite understand," said the Secretary of State.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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