"The Turks couldn't stop the British at Gallipoli, either, but Mustafa Kemal did. And he couldn't drive the Greek Army into the sea." Pershing's anger flared at the politician. "Look across the Bosporus to Anatolia. You'll see Mustafa Kemal's army, not King Constantine's."

"The British destroyed themselves at Gallipoli, and the Greeks are little but wogs living in ruins their fathers left them. American civilians will evacuate on thePrincess Matoika, along with your wounded. After they steam, you shall defeat the Turks," Fall said. "We will not surrender our concessions."

Pershing coughed heavily, waiting for his breath to return before talking. "That liner will carry five thousand men, women, and children. She can not leave the Golden Horn if the Turks have a submarine waiting."

"The Matoika will do as I order, and so shall you, General," Fall said. He turned his back on both generals, dismissing them.

Butler and Pershing stalked down the hall in the Palazzo Corpi, their footsteps echoing in unison through the old American Embassy building. "I'd like to know how much that bastard skimmed from the oil concessions," Butler snapped.

"At least as much as Gulbenkian, according to a cable from Washington," Pershing said.

"Mister Five Percent and his American twin."

"Except that Fall took the money under the table," Pershing said, thinking, Charlie Dawes is a wonder at finance, and that's what it took to get that information. Always good to have the right man in the right place.

Marine guards snapped salutes as the two generals walked quickly down the wide steps set in the building's classical facade. Pershing led the way back toward the Pera Palas. He stood a moment listening to the clear notes of a Dixieland pianist.

"Find that submarine and destroy it, General."

Late morning, and the summer's heat was already building. A pack of wild, raw-boned dogs lazed in the narrow street. Some snapped over scraps of food tossed by passing Turks. Butler and Cooper, both dressed as merchant seamen, instinctively avoided the pack's spoor.