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monitoring the entire American munitions and explosives industry.
    Yet in the increasingly tense days following the archduke’s assassination, as the high command’s battle plans were taken from safes, as guns were loaded and the order to open fire drew closer, Nicolai reached a terrible conclusion: he had gotten it wrong. As head of the secret service, he was better able than most to evaluate Germany’s chances—and now, with an unnerving jolt, he suddenly understood the folly of his narrow view of the world.
    Although separated from Europe by a wide ocean, a maturing, industrialized America had the power to change the course of the war.
    It was vital that the United States stay out of the fight. With its potentially large army and vast resources, America could lead Germany’s enemies to victory.
    Still, even if the U.S. government remained officially neutral, once war was declared, it was inevitable that Britain would blockade the Atlantic. Its mighty navy would very effectively prevent Germany from trading with the United States. It was crucial that the Allies also be prevented from receiving shipments of American munitions, arms, and food. The enemy armies must not be restocked by American supplies.
    There were only two ways for Germany to cripple Atlantic shipping coming from America—U-boats and sabotage. The German navy, Nicolai knew, didn’t command enough submarines to patrol the shipping lanes effectively. Sabotage was the only alternative.
    There was no time, however, for squads of trained operatives to infiltrate the United States; getting agents in place, constructing believable covers, was a long and delicate process. And when the wartime travel restrictions went into effect, the smuggling of even a single Abteilung IIIB spy into the country would owe as much to luck as to tradecraft.
    Nicolai had survived by not being impulsive. He had built his career on his measured, reflective habits, mulling all the facets of a problem before deciding on a course of action. Yet the proximity of war forced him to act with uncharacteristic swiftness. There were no other realistic options, he soberly concluded; and then he had von Bernstorff summoned. The ambassador to America would have to do.
     
    SITTING NOW IN HIS BASEMENT office across from the count, Nicolai, understandably, didn’t share the mental journey that had led to this meeting. He was not a man to offer confidences. He simply gave von Bernstorff his instructions.
    The count, while pursuing his normal and very public diplomatic duties as ambassador, would in total secrecy also direct and develop a network of intelligence agents in America.
    Their mission was twofold: first, to keep America out of the war; and second, to prevent munitions and other goods from leaving America and reaching the enemy. Von Bernstorff was to return to the United States as soon as possible to begin his assignment.
    There was one further thing, Nicolai added before the meeting ended. He wanted to make sure the count fully understood the importance of his clandestine mission. Von Bernstorff and his agents were to use any means necessary to accomplish their objectives.

Chapter 5
    A s Tom Tunney, meanwhile, struggled to find a way to get his stalled investigation of the Brescia Circle back on track, the bombings continued. A device placed in the aisle of a Queens church exploded in the middle of services. The worshippers fled in panic, but injuries were only minor. The next day a bomb went off at midnight outside a priest’s home in Brooklyn. The blast shattered all the windows in the house, as well as those of the building next door. But once again luck held: no one was hurt.
    Tom, however, knew the odds were piling up against the city. It would be only a matter of time before someone was killed. He decided he’d no choice but to try again. He’d place another man inside the Circle.
    The blame for the failure the first go-around, Tom confessed in a rare display of feelings to