Black Ops by Griffin W E B - Presidential Agent 05

Author:Griffin, W E B - Presidential Agent 05 [05, Griffin, W E B - Presidential Agent]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePub Bud (www.epubbud.com)
Published: 2011-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

XII

[ONE]

Pilar Golf & Polo Country Club

Pilar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

1910 2 January 2006

“Then it is agreed, is it not,” Tom Barlow said, “that tonight what we have is friends having dinner together, and we do not talk—or even think about—the business we will deal with tomorrow?”

I didn‟t hear any proposal to agree to, Castillo thought, but what the hell, why not?

“Fine with me,” he said.

“You know a little about our family, Charley, but Susanna tells me she knows nothing of yours,” Barlow said.

“There are nine of us,” Castillo said. “There were ten, but my brother Fritz was hung a couple of years ago for cattle rustling in the Texas Panhandle.”

Barlow shook his head.

“Aleksandr told me you have an . . . interesting sense of humor,” Barlow said.

“If it‟s all right with you, Charley,” Alfredo Munz said, “I‟ll pass on dinner. My wife has the odd notion that I should have dinner with her and the girls once in a while.”

The translation of that is: Will I feel safe to be left here alone?

“Go ahead, Alfredo. The Marine is here and the situation is well in hand.”

Davidson and Lester understood and both smiled. Lester looked pleased at what he took as at least some small recognition of his self-appointed role as Castillo‟s bodyguard.

Davidson also saw the look on Svetlana/Susanna‟s face.

“Susie . . .” he said.

“Susanna,” she corrected him.

“We already have a Susanna. How about simply Susan?”

She looked at Castillo.

“Hello, there, Simply Susan,” Castillo said, smiling.

“I was about to say there‟s something you don‟t know about Charley,”

Davidson said.

“Is there?”

“You know the Bible verse „Whither thou goest . . .‟ ?”

“Yes, of course.” She looked at Charley again. “It‟s in Ruth. „For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people . . .‟ ”

“That‟s it,” Davidson said.

Castillo, who knew what was coming next, looked uncomfortable.

“Well, Simply Susan, so far as Charley goes, our version says, „For whither Charley goest, Lester and I goest, and where Charley lodgest, Lester and I lodge, etcetera.‟”

“You are mocking Holy Scripture!” she snapped, and looked to Castillo for help.

Castillo held up his hands in a gesture of helplessness.

“What is this all about?” Susan demanded angrily.

“Simply Susan, you‟re a formidable female,” Davidson said. “Maybe the most formidable female I‟ve ever met. But you‟re not in the same league as General Scotty McNab. And my orders from him are not to let Charley out of my sight. Amen.”

“There‟s an exception in there for closed bedroom doors,” Castillo said.

“Right,” Davidson agreed. “I guess McNab would go along with that.”

“And how long is that going to last?” Susan asked.

“Until, Simply Susan,” Castillo began, then looked at Barlow—“Forgive me, Tom, I know I promised not to talk business”—he turned back to Susan—“until we come back from Africa. Then Jack can go back to his usual duties of pulling the wings off flies and teasing beautiful women.”

“Susan,” she said. “Not Simply Susan.”

“Whatever you prefer,” Castillo said magnanimously.

Susan mentally gathered her arguments, then earnestly began: “There is absolutely no reason for them to be here.

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