the edge of the packet on the desk until they were lined up and placed them on top of another
neat stack of reports。 He pushed back from the desk slowly and stretched； feeling anxiety and
sleepless nights like sand in his muscles。
The corporal who sat on a straight chair at the far end of the office came to attention。 “Sir？ Do
you want Captain Finn now？”
“No。 I’ll get him myself；” said Groves； walking heavily across the room。 “Out of the way；
Corporal。”
The corporal stood； picked up his 12…gauge shotgun and pulled his chair away from the front of
the safe he guarded。 Groves spun the combination lock several times and then bent over the
lock； shielding its movements with his body。 He was a big； balding man with a military mustache
and a fleshy face。 He wore dress khakis that were devoid of insignia save for his single star and
the battlement pins of the Army Corps of Engineers。
With precise motions； Groves stacked the papers on a tray in the safe next to other reports；
removed a box of chocolate candy； and closed the safe’s heavy door。 It shut with oiled finality。
Automatically； Groves snapped home the bolts and spun the dial several times。 He straightened
slowly； walked to his desk and dropped the box of candy on the polished surface。
Behind him； the corporal resumed his position in front of the safe that held secrets men would
kill to steal or protect。
Groves left the door ajar as he stepped into the hallway。
The light was harsh； as barren of warmth as the gray walls。 All that he could see of the Manhattan
Project’s top counterespionage agent was a man dozing in a chair； a western hat pulled low over
his eyes。 Groves was not deceived by Finn’s relaxed appearance – he was as dangerous a man as
the country had to offer。
“Good evening； Captain；” said the General。
Finn pushed back his hat and stood in a single motion。 He did not salute； but Groves no longer
expected him to。 The military niceties that Groves used to good effect around conference tables
were not appreciated or used by fighters like Finn。 It was a measure of Groves’ administrative
acumen that he had won Finn’s wary respect。
“Good morning； General。”
“Is it morning already？” Groves checked his watch。 His eyebrows lifted。 “By God； it is。” His
thick fingers probed his eyelids。 The pressure of the Project’s deadline tightened around him like
a steel noose。 “Not enough time；” he muttered。 “Never enough goddamned time！ Who the hell
do they think I am – Christ？ They give orders and expect me to pass miracles and save the
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fucking world！” His anger was generalized； inchoate。
Groves dropped his hands and stared at Finn； daring him to comment。 The sight of Finn； young
and lean and tough； angered Groves。 The response was irrational。 He knew it； but did not
particularly care。 He did not have energy or time to care about anything beyond the Manhattan
Project。 It consumed his thoughts and his health； driving him beyond the point where men
break。 He had become an abrupt； tyrannical son of a bitch； but he had not broken。 He had
driven others over the edge of sanity； technicians and scientists； yet he always stopped himself
from following。 He prided himself on fighting the kind of cruel mental war no gun soldier could。
And winning。 He would win no matter what the cost； because the alternative was failure on a
world…wide scale。 That was something no gun soldier had to face。
“Gun soldiers；” muttered Groves； staring at Finn without really seeing him。 “God in heaven I’m
sick of gun soldiers！” Then he realized that he was thinking aloud。 “Follow me；” he said； turning
his back on Finn。
The guard watched Finn as he entered the room。
“That’s all； Corporal。 Out；” said Groves as he went to his desk。
The guard said； “Excuse me； General； but this man is not wearing a security badge。”
“Corporal； get your ass out of this office now！” Groves’ voice was sharp and thin； full of sudden
rage。
The guard straightened his shoulders； saluted stiffly； and left。
“Damn puppies are as lethal as hell in this office；” said Groves as the door closed。 “Too bad
they can’t do shit about leaks in the lab。” As he sat down； he waved to the corporal’s vacant
chair。 “Sit down； Captain。 Chocolate？”
Finn shook his head。
Groves pulled the box toward himself； selected a piece of candy and put it into his mouth。 He
knew that sweets were softening his body as surely as lack of exercise； but he ate the chocolate
anyway。 It was one of the few pleasures Manhattan Project had left him。 Other men escaped the
Project’s pressures by drinking or whoring obsessively； but Groves ate chocolate。 He
considered it safer than the other outlets。
“The President read your Okinawa summary；” Groves began。 “That part about the women and
children was just what I needed to make my point about the cost of invading Japanese islands。”
“I’m glad somebody benefited。”
Groves looked up sharply； but Finn’s face was expressionless； as always。 It irritated Groves not
to be able to read a man’s reaction on his face。 “There’s going to be a lot more women and
children dead before this is over；” snapped Groves。 “I thought a gun soldier like you would
realize that。”
Finn crossed his arms over his chest and waited。
“The President’s gun generals sure as hell know；” Groves continued。 “I just read a scenario for
the invasion of Japan。 Operation Downfall。” Groves laughed shortly。 “Whose downfall； theirs or
ours？ Men； munitions； battleships； destroyers and airplanes and every other damn thing we can
get over there before the Russians jump in and steal us blind；” said Groves； reaching for another
chocolate。 “Operation Downfall will be in two stages called ‘Olympic’ and^Coronet。’ We’ll start
with the island of Kyushu。 Don’t look so uneasy； Captain。 I’m not telling you anything the Japs
don’t already know。 Our intelligence tells us that the Japs already have a copy of the invasion
plans。 They’ve set up headquarters in Hiroshima to reinforce the island defenses。 As we’ve all
heard； the Japs are rather good at defending islands。” Groves shook his head。 “A forewarned；
entrenched enemy； fighting on his own ground。 Christ！ Well； Captain； would you care to guess
what the casualty estimates are？”
Finn shook his head。 His face was closed； angular； unreadable。
“Still don’t talk much； do you？” said Groves。
“I don’t learn anything when I’m talking。”
“They say one million casualties。 I say that’s so damned conservative as to be a lie。 The
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goddamned gun generals will suck us into an invasion and then once we’ve started we have no
choice but to slug it out one Jap at a time。 Two million is more like it。 Two million dead and
wounded。”
The figure seemed to freeze Finn。 “Okinawa。 The children…”
“It’s nice to know you’re human after all；” Grove said； studying Finn’s face。 “I was beginning to
wonder what it would take to get inside your guard。”
Finn’s pale eyes never left Groves as the General reached for another piece of chocolate。
“When you started reporting to me； I didn’t tell you what you were supposed to protect。 All I
gave you was a few Top Secret code names to listen for in Mexico。” Groves squinted at Finn
through bloodshot eyes。 “But you never gave up trying to find out； did you？ Well； that was part
of what I wanted。 You couldn’t know any more than we leaked out of here。 So tell me； Captain；
what have you learned？”
“The Russians have spies inside Los Alamos；” said Finn。
“I know that！ You harp on it often enough！ Isn’t there anything else？ Have you found out what
the Manhattan Project ？f？”
“No。 Unlike the Russians； I don’t have any informants inside the Project。 I only know what I can
steal from the spies who steal from you。”
“What； precisely； is that？” demanded Groves。
“You’re trying to develop a new weapon。 Probably a new kind of bomb。 About six feet worth
of bomb； maybe more。”
“Christ！ That’s too close。 Who the hell told you that？”
Finn shrugged。 “Whores； GIs； drunken technicians； a scientist here and there； plus a few small
spies I shook until information fell out。 Then I put the pieces together。 The spies in Juarez are
suddenly very active。 My guess is that whatever you’re doing here is in the final stages。”
Groves studied Finn narrowly。 “I’m glad you’re on our side。 Do you have any idea what kind of
bomb？”
“There haven’t been any big explosions around Los Alamos； and the Wendover crews haven’t
dropped anything big at the Saltón Sea in California；” said Finn； “so I’d guess that the
Manhattan Project is trying to develop something special in the way of incendiaries rather than
explosives。 Tokyo burned pretty well； last time we tried it。”
Groves smiled narrowly； pleased that the core of secret Project seemed to be intact。 “You look
at past battles； Captain； a common fault of gun soldiers。 What we’re working on here is the
future – a bomb that will end the war in a single stroke。”
“I doubt it；” said Finn。 “The Japanese look at past battles； too。 They’re a tough race； General。
You have to fight them to appreciate just how tough。”
“You sound like God Almighty MacArthur；” snapped Groves。 “There’s more to winning this
war than guts； guns and gore。”
“Then it will be the first time in history that there was；” retorted Finn。
“Exactly！ History has seen nothing like it。 If this bomb works； it will be the equivalent of
dropping forty million pounds of TNT all at once！”
“That’s impossible；” said Finn flady。 “That’s like dropping 20；000 one…ton bombs at once！ Even
if you could get 2；000 planes in the sky at the same time to carry the bombs； you couldn’t drop
them all in the same place at the same time。 I’ve heard some wild things about the Manhattan
Project； but this is outrageous。”
Groves laughed。 “It’s also true。”
Finn leaned forward； studying Groves as though he had never seen the General before。 “You’re
serious；” he said。 Then； “If we have weapons like that； what in Christ’s name are we doing
planning an invasion？ No country could stand against that much firepower； especially a country
made up of densely populated islands！”
“Not bombs； Captain。 Bomb。”
“Just one bomb？ Just one plane？”
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Groves smiled and leaned back。 “You continue to surprise me。 First your tear…jerking report on
Okinawa； and now this。 You’ve grasped in a few seconds what I’ve spent months – years – trying
to get across to other gun soldiers。 There have been times that I believed that only the Russians
understand the importance of what I’m doing here。” Groves laughed too loudly； saw speculation
leap in Finn’s eyes； and stopped laughing abruptly。 “You wonder if I’m crazy； don’t you？ Don’t
you！”
“If what you said is true； the whole world is crazy。”
Groves rubbed his eyes。 They were bloodshot and sore after too many nights with too little
sleep。 Even when he lay down； he saw a clock on the back of his eyelids； and the clock’s hands
would inexorably point toward the moment at the Trinity test site when he would know whether
World War II would end quickly or a new Russian world would begin。
The phone rang； startling in the silence。
Imperial General HQ Tokyo
98 Hours Before Trinity
（R