AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was a moment’s silence before Pevsner went on, coolly: “Let me tell you what I’ve done.”
“And why should I believe anything you tell me?”
“Hear what I have to say and then you can decide. I spoke with Sunev and told him that I have deposited with certain people envelopes that will be sent to the CIA in the event I even suspect he has sent anyone near me, my family, or anyone involved in the recent events we have shared.”
“And what’s in the envelopes?”
“Oh, I’m sure you can make a good guess, friend Charley.”
“Goddamn you, Alek!”
“We’ll be in touch,” Pevsner said, and then the change in the background noise told Castillo that Pevsner had broken the connection.
Castillo punched his autodial button for Pevsner but got a recorded message saying that the telephone number called was no longer in service.
He put the phone back in his pocket.
“I hope you appreciate, Mr. Ambassador,” Delchamps said, “that you are in the presence of the only man in the world who can tell Aleksandr Pevsner to fuck himself twice in thirty seconds and probably—operative word ‘probably’—live until the morning.”
Silvio laughed.
“Are we going to see more of you, Mr. Delchamps? If you’re coming back to work with the others, maybe I could be of some assistance. Someplace to live, etcetera?”
“That’s very kind of you, sir. But I’m going to spend the next couple of months trolling through the basement at Langley. Two-Gun here will be coming back, though.”
“I’m going to take these two with me when I go face Ambassador Montvale,” Castillo said. “In numbers, there is strength. But if you want to be useful, see what you can do about keeping Two-Gun here out of trouble upon his return.”
“It will be my pleasure.”
“Now we have to get a cab.”
“Nonsense,” Ambassador Silvio said. “I’ll take you out to your jet.”
[NINE]
Office of the Chief
Office of Organizational Analysis
Department of Homeland Security
Nebraska Avenue Complex
Washington, D.C.
1625 15 August 2005
“Well,” Castillo said, “that went pretty well, I think…”
“Ace, you didn’t say a word that the President was going to come with Montvale. That was just too much to spring on an old man.”
“…Except, of course, that he turned a deaf ear to my suggestion that it was time for me to return to being a simple soldier.”
“You might as well forget that, Ace. He likes things the way they are.”
“Yeah,” Yung agreed. “The part I liked was when he said, ‘It’s a shame to leave all that oil-for-food money in that fellow Kenyon’s account. It’s not right that he be allowed to keep it. Isn’t there some way we could add it to OOA operating funds?’”
Castillo said, “I hope you weren’t just running off at the mouth when you chirped, ‘Not a problem, Mr. President.’”
