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Loren pulled away from the curb and steered the Ford onto the broad highway leading into the city.
Pitt sat silent and was still lost in thought when the Washington monument came into view, illuminated by the lights at its base. Loren knew him well enough to flow with the current. It was only a question of a few minutes before he came back down to earth.
"What's new in Congress?" he asked finally.
"As if you cared," she replied indifferently.
"Boring as that?"
"Budget debates don't exactly make a girl horny." Then her voice took on a softer tone. "I heard that Rudi Gunn was shot up pretty badly."
"The surgeon in South Africa, who specializes in bone reconstruction, did an excellent job. Rudi will be limping for a few months, but that won't stop him from directing NUMA operations from behind his desk."
"Al said you had a rough time in the Antarctic."
"Not as rough as they had it on a rock that makes Alcatraz Island look like a botanical garden."
He turned to her with a reflective look in his eyes and said, "You're on the International Trade Relations Committee?"
"I am."
"Are you familiar with any large corporations in Argentina?"
"I've traveled there on a few occasions and met with their finance and trade ministers," she answered.
"Why do you ask?"
"Ever hear of an outfit calling itself the New Destiny Company or Fourth Empire Corporation?"
Loren thought a moment. "I once met the CEO of Destiny Enterprises during a trade mission in Buenos Aires. If I remember correctly, his name was Karl Wolf."
"How long ago was that?" Pitt asked.
"About four years."
"You've got a good memory for names."
"Karl Wolf was a handsome and stylish man, a real charmer. Women don't forget men like that."
"If that's the case, why do you still hang around me?"
She glanced over and gave him a provocative smile. "Women are also drawn to earthy, coarse, and carnal men."
"Coarse and carnal, that's me." Pitt put his arm around her and bit her earlobe.
She tilted her head away. "Not when I'm driving."
He gave her right knee an affectionate squeeze and relaxed in the seat, looking up at the stars that twinkled in the brisk spring night through the branches of the trees that flashed overhead, their new leaves just beginning to spread. Karl Wolf. He turned the name over in his head. A good German name, he decided. Destiny Enterprises was worth looking into, even if it might prove to be a dead end.
Loren drove smoothly, deftly passing the few cars that were still on the road that time of morning, and turned into the driveway leading to the NUMA headquarters building's underground parking. A security guard stepped out of the guardhouse, recognized Pitt, and waved him through, lingering to admire the gleaming old Ford. There were only three other cars on the main parking level. She stopped the Ford next to the elevators and turned off the lights and engine.
"Want me to come up with you?" Loren asked.
"I'll only be a few minutes," Pitt said, stepping from the car.
He took the elevator to the main lobby, where it automatically stopped and he had to sign in with the guard at the security desk, surrounded by an array of TV monitors viewing different areas of the building.
"Working late?" the guard asked pleasantly.
