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Well, Pevsner probably gets a discount if he buys them by the dozen.
What did he say? "I took five percent of a lot more than a billion dollars' worth of gold, Charley. And about twice that much of platinum."
And finally, Janos got his Rolex, and then began reading from a list of names.
An old man left the group, approached the throne, literally tugged at his hair in front of Pevsner. Pevsner nodded. Father Frost handed the old man a package. He opened it. It contained a small, flat-screen television. The people murmured their approval.
Janos called out another name, and a young woman approached the throne, and tugged at her hair, then took her package from Father Frost.
It was more than an hour before the last of the people filed out of the throne room carrying their New Year's presents.
Tsar Aleksandr rose from his throne.
"This will displease Anna," he said. "But despite the hour, I am going to have a drink. That always wears me out. But the people expect it of me. You'll join me, of course?"
This is where I am supposed to say, "Alek, neither Lester nor I can accept a gift like those Rolexes."
Castillo saw that Lester was examining the new watch on his wrist.
What the hell. He saved Pevsner's life.
"Just one," Castillo said. "And then I'm going to take a nap. I have to fly in the morning."
"Happy New Year, Charley!" Pevsner said, touching his glass of vodka from an ice-encrusted bottle to Castillo's glass.
"Happy New Year," Castillo said. "Alek, those people. They were Russian, right? Or at least most of them?"
Pevsner nodded.
"Where did they come from?"
"Russia," Pevsner said, obviously delighted with himself. When he saw the look on Castillo's face, he said, "I learned that from you. If I do that to Anna, she usually throws something at me."
"How'd they get here?"
"They're Jews, most of them. They have worked for people in the Oprichina for many years. When the Communists decided to let some of the Jews leave to go to Israel, we first warned them they probably wouldn't like it, and then we arranged for them to go first.
"They didn't like it. The culture shock, the climate--what is it you Americans say? 'One more goddamned sunny day in L.A.'?; Tel Aviv is worse--what they saw of the future, the suicide bombers. They wanted to leave, but they didn't want to go back to Russia. So I arranged for them to come here. One day the children will join all the Russian Jews in Argentina. There are forty thousand Jewish gauchos here, originally from Eastern Europe. Did you know that?"
Castillo nodded. "I'd heard that."
"For now the parents work for me."
"Alek, I don't know what to say about that Rolex."
"How about 'thank you'?"
"You have learned, haven't you?"
"The people, the Jews, would say, 'Wear it in good health.'"
"Thank you."
[SIX]
Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Newbery
Buenos Aires, Argentina
