Sadness at Leaving by Erje Ayden

Author:Erje Ayden [Ayden, Erje]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

Harvey lay back in the dentist chair. Joe, his companion, who hadn't spoken a single word during the visit to Talese, took off Harvey's hair piece and washed his real and rather lengthy hair. He did this using a dry shampoo and did it in a hurry.

"The damn glue. It's strong stuff. What do you think of the Italian, Carl?"

Carl pulled the towel from Colonel Bechstien's hands; wiping his head, he inspected the dentist's office. There were all sizes of jaw bones, naked, spread over a working table. He winked at one clownishly.

"Hah haaaaa. Nor the gates of steel so strong, but time decays? Shakespeare!"

"Carl, what did you think of the Italian? Do you think he's doing it all for the dough?"

"I know what you mean. He sounds too good to be true. Yet I believe him. All the evidence we have points to that direction. Unless of course he's the greatest character actor on earth. But I doubt it. Italians are very natural people. You can't tell if they are lying or not but you can always tell if they're good or bad. This guy seems to be an awfully nice guy. Again, of course, it's queer that he's so wonderful yet he has no moral scruples about betraying his country. Nor does he have any interest in spying. I'm not saying he should be a nasty Communist, but if at least he appreciated a cloak and dagger environment … You know, some people spy just for the sake of spying. Money. Money! It's unpredictable.

"What is he up to… what will happen to him under pressure… I don't know. Anyway, that's Juliet's problem."

"She'll figure him out alright."

"Sure she will. But I disagree with Moscow. They shouldn't have transferred her father to Washington. They were too valuable where they were."

"Carl, it'll be a formidable group if…"

"Obviously. Now when Talese goes after her to pump information from her father, Juliet will be in a terrific position to score if this Talese is putting us on. In that event, you'd better brief Moscow that I'll get him knocked off. Diplomat or no diplomat. I'm too old and rich to bother with amateurs.

"But if he's on the level we'll have ourselves a prize catch. He's no dummy, that Talese. He can have a big future. He's considered one of the brightest Italian economists. Italians love using economists in their intelligence apparatus. Again, if he isn't already there.

"You know what I was thinking?"

"What Carl?"

"If they could only discover a gadget to tape-record the bloody brains of foreign ministers … You and I would be unemployed."

"Bullshit," Bechstien giggled, "you're becoming too American. Here you natives don't even turn on the TV anymore. You have remote control. Do you remember the time when we were staking out that Englishman in Warsaw?"

"Yeah, I remember. We cut the biggest hole in his ceiling so we could watch him. The sonofabitch. He just sat there for an entire week, doing nothing except drinking vodka and reading Poland on $5 a Day.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.