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Capt. Helene Dancy told him that David Bruce had moments before left the building. He was to have lunch with Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith, General Dwight D. Eisenhower's deputy at SHAEE "Beetle" Smith and David Bruce were friends as well as professional associates. Knowing this, in dealing with the OSS.

"Where's the Colonel?" the cryptographic officer asked.

"Whithey House," Helene Dancy replied.

"What have you got?"

"An Eyes Only Operational Immediate.. two of them ,.. for Bruce and the Colonel. From Canidy and Dolan."

The SOP was very clear on the handling of Operational Immediate messages:

16. [b]. Operational immediate messages will be immediately delivered to the addressee, or in his absence," to the senior officer present possessing the appropriate security clearance. In no circumstances will a delay of more than ten [101 minutes between decryption and delivery"," be tolerated.

"Can I see it?" Helene Dancy asked.

"You're not next on the list," Captain Harrison said reluctantly, obviously uncomfortable.

"That's right," she said, just a little tartly. She picked up her telephone.

"Sergeant, do you know where Captain Fine is?" she asked a moment later, and then, when there had been a reply: "Send someone for him, please. Get him back here as soon as you can."

"Well, who's next on the list after Fine?" Harrison asked.

"Oddly enough, I am," Capt. Dancy said, a little ice in her voice. She put out her hand for the documents.

"Hey, Dancy," Capt. Harrison said as he handed them to her.

"I don't make the rules. I just try to obey them."

"I know," Helene Dancy said.

"Damn, why does everybody have to be gone at once?" And then she quickly glanced at the first message: Canidy's.

"Oh, Christ! "she said.

"My thought exactly," Capt. Harrison said.

She nipped back the cover sheet on the second Eyes Only: Dolan's.

"I think you'd better get both of these off, Operational Immediate, to Washington, Eyes Only, Donovan and Douglass," Capt. Dancy said.

She saw the look on his face.

"Okay, I'll make it official. As the senior officer present, I order you to transmit these messages to Washington, Eyes Only, Donovan and Douglass."

iruce eat my ass out the last time I 'acted without thought and authority... '" "Well, I just took you off the hook for this time," she said.

"Yeah," Harrison said.

"Helene, I'm not asking you to make it official, but should I try to run down Bruce at SHAEF?"

"That would make a second copy necessary," she said.

"The sergeant major will get Fine in here in a couple of minutes."

The SOP was specific about that, too:

16. [ 1. In no case, except with the specific permission of the chief of station, or the deputy chief of station, will more than one [11 copy of an eyes only document be prepared. It is emphasized that addressees of eyes only documents, with the exception of the chief of station and deputy chief of station, are specifically forbidden to make copies of eyes only documents for their own files, or for any other purpose.