"Why?" Silvio asked.
"The CIA used him to move things around, bought weapons from him. They'd like that buried. No, Alek Pevsner didn't set us up. It would not be in his best interests and he never puts anything above his best interests."
Castillo started to say something, then stopped and took out his cigar case. He offered it to Silvio, who nodded his thanks, and they both carefully lit up. It was obvious that both were thinking.
"We took the contents of Lorimer's safe with us," Castillo said, finally. "Among them were sort of cashier's checks for nearly sixteen million dollars that he had in three Uruguayan banks."
"Can I say something?" Silvio asked.
"Please."
"Ambassador McGrory knows about that money. It's the basis of his theory that Lorimer was a drug dealer. You're saying you have it?"
Castillo nodded.
He puffed his cigar, exhaled, then said, "I will deny telling you this: Ambassador Montvale suggested, and the President went along with him, that we should take the money and use it to fund the Office of Organizational Analysis. Most of it is in a bank in the Cayman Islands. I call it the 'Lorimer Charitable and Benevolent Fund.'"
Silvio smiled and shook his head.
"That's why I sent Yung back down here, to cover our tracks," Castillo said.
"You've heard he's been shot?"
Castillo nodded.
"First, I flew to Paris, for a look at Lorimer's apartment," Castillo said. "It had been previously searched by the Deuxieme Bureau, the UN, and our CIA guy. Nothing there. Then I went to Fulda, and cleared things up with Otto Gorner. I told him what I was doing-and on whose authority-and that I wanted to be released from my promise not to share his files with the FBI and the CIA. He agreed and gave me all his files. Then I went to Budapest to get Eric Kocian to release me from my promise.
"He was perfectly willing to do so, primarily because parties unknown had tried to stick a needle in him on the Franz Josef Bridge and, when that failed, shot him twice…"
"My God!"
"…at one o'clock the next morning…" Castillo's voice trailed off, then he exclaimed, "My God, that was yesterday morning!"
"You were in Budapest yesterday morning?" Silvio asked in surprise, if not disbelief.
Castillo nodded.
"And at one o'clock yesterday morning, these people-this time, two bad guys-made another attempt to murder Kocian and to burn his apartment and whatever files he might have there."
"You said 'attempt'?" Silvio questioned.
"Eric was still in the hospital," Castillo explained. "I was sleeping in the guest bedroom in his apartment. Eric's dog woke me up. Instead of Kocian, they got me and a suppressed.22 that I had the foresight to get from the CIA armory at our embassy. Neither body had any identification on it, but the garrote they used on one of Kocian's security men was a twin of the garrote used on Sergeant Kranz at the estancia. So it seems pretty evident we're dealing with the same people."
"Who are?"
"I'm beginning to think they're either ex-East German Stasi or ex-Hungarian Allamvedelmi Hatosag-AVH-but I'm not sure of that and have no idea who they're working for."
"So Mr. Kocian and his files are all right? In your possession?"
"One copy of the files, sent in the diplomatic pouch from Budapest, should be in Washington by now. I've got another copy here. Eric Kocian is in the apartment on Avenida Arribenos."
"You brought him with you? How did you get here so quickly?"
"Him and his dog and his bodyguard, an ex-Hungarian cop who did a tour in the French Foreign Legion." Castillo chuckled. "I guess I didn't get around to telling you that the Lorimer Trust was burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought a Gulfstream III with seven and a half million of it. Colonel Torine and my cousin Fernando flew it from Washington, spent about six hours in Budapest and then we flew here. Which may explain why I do feel a tinge of fatigue."
"I'm surprised you're able to walk around," Silvio said.
"But not surprised I'm not making much sense?"
"You're doing fine, Charley. So what are your plans here?"
"Alex Darby is right now renting a house for us at Mayerling in Pilar. The Lorimer Trust will reimburse him. Kocian thinks there's a connection with Mayerling and German-or, more likely, Austrian and Hungarian-oil-for-food money. I don't know, but Eric is right more often than he's wrong.
"The idea was that I would put Kocian in the house and have Yung and him compare notes. They sent me a replacement for Sergeant Kranz-a friend of mine, Sergeant Major Jack Davidson-who has a lot of experience protecting people. We served in Afghanistan together.
"He brought with him Corporal Lester Bradley and I don't know what the hell to do with him. Just put him out there with Davidson, I suppose. Darby will move Sergeant Kensington and his radio out to Mayerling as soon as he can. Somebody will have to sit on that around the clock. Lester can help with that."
"And Colonel Munz?" Silvio said. "He'll work with Yung and Mr. Kocian?"
"Now that he's been shot, I don't think Yung will want to be out there. And that brings up Colonel Munz." He paused. "You beginning to understand why this inept juggler is worried about all the balls he has in the air?"
"So far, so good, Charley. You haven't dropped any yet."
"Stick around. It won't be long," Castillo said. "They call that the 'Law of Inevitability.'"
"Tell me about Colonel Munz," Silvio said, smiling.
"Well, he thinks people are following him around. He doesn't know who they are, but he's worried about his family-a wife and two daughters-and I don't think he's paranoid.
"He suspects-but doesn't know-that the people following him, or at least some of them, may work for Pevsner. And he knows enough about Pevsner to know that Pevsner's policy for people who know too much about him is to give them a beauty mark in the forehead."
It took a moment for Silvio to understand. Then he grimaced.
"Since Munz took a bullet for us," Castillo said, "I told him I would take him and his family to the States until we find out who these people are and stop them. They'll need visas."
"Not a problem," Silvio said. "The bureaucrats in Foggy Bottom keep whittling away at an ambassador's authority, but I'm still the man with the last word on who gets a visa."
"That'll have to be done today and I haven't quite figured out how to do it."
"It can be done."
"Munz doesn't want to go. He wants to stay here and help find out who these bastards are."
"How badly is he hurt?"
"His shoulder. I don't know if he can use a weapon or not."
"Why does it have to be today?" Silvio asked.
"Because (a) I have still more balls to juggle in the States and (b) I need to talk to Ambassador Montvale as soon as I can."
"He said the same about you. There's a secure line here, if you want to use it."
"Thank you. A little later," Castillo said, and then asked: "Do you think Santini's out there by now?"
"I'd be surprised if he's not."
"Thank you very much, sir."
"For what?"
"This is probably one more manifestation of exhaustion, but I really feel a hell of a lot better than when we walked in here. Almost euphoric."
"I'm glad," Silvio said. "But I strongly recommend that, as soon as we're finished with Lowery and Santini, you get some rest. A lot of rest."
"I just don't have the time right now. Maybe I can get some sleep in the Gulfstream on the way to the States."
Silvio looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "You said you wanted my advice. Still want it?"
"Yes, sir."
"You've been talking about juggling balls and being an inept juggler."
Castillo nodded.
"I think you're a very good juggler, Charley. If you start dropping balls, it will be because you're exhausted, not because you're inept. Stop pushing yourself. You have limits, even if you don't like to admit it."
"I readily admit it. Physical limits, mental limits, and half a dozen other kinds."
"Once everyone is set up in the safe house in Mayerling and you get Colonel Munz's family to the States, I can see no reason why you can't take forty-eight hours off. Can you?"
"I have to go see Ambassador Montvale as soon as I get to the States and I don't think I can put that off for forty-eight hours."
"There's my proof that you're exhausted and need rest. Even I can think of a way to get around that."
"How?"
"Don't let him know you're going to the States tomorrow. Tell him you're going the day after tomorrow. Better yet, the day after that."
"You mean stay here another forty-eight hours? I can't do that. I want to get Munz's family out of here as quickly as possible."
"I didn't suggest that you stay here for another forty-eight hours," Silvio said.
Castillo met his eyes.
"You are a friend, aren't you?" Castillo said after a moment.
"My advice is to go to Philadelphia and see Special Agent Schneider. From what I've seen of you two, she's the only person in the world who can get your mind off this and that's what you really have to do. Get your mind off everything about this for forty-eight hours so that when you go back to work you'll be running on all eight cylinders."
"It would be very nice to be running on all eight cylinders when I go to see Montvale. And almost suicidal not to be." He paused, then met Silvio's eyes again. "Thank you very much."
Silvio nodded and waved at the swinging door leading to his living room. [TWO] Tony Santini was standing by the large picture window of the simply but richly appointed living room of the ambassador's residence when Castillo and Silvio entered.
"Before we get into this, Charley," Santini said, evenly, "where do you want Solez to sit on Yung? You were a little vague about that."
"Where are they now?"
"He called two minutes ago. They're riding around in the park near the waterworks," Santini said, gesturing toward the river Plate.
The Buenos Aires potable-water plant was near the river not far from the Jorge Newbery airfield, five minutes or so from the ambassador's residence.
When Castillo didn't immediately reply, Santini added, "Yung's anxious to see you. And he's got another FBI agent with him."
"What's that about?" Castillo wondered aloud, then went on immediately, "Is he in a black car?"
Santini shook his head. "An embassy BMW. We don't have much of a fleet of black cars, Charley."
"Mr. Ambassador, can I bring them here?" Castillo asked.
Silvio nodded and picked up a telephone from a side table and punched a button.
"This is Ambassador Silvio," he said into the handset. "Mr. Solez and two others will be at the gate in a few minutes. Please see they are sent to my apartment."
Castillo wondered aloud: "I hope his having somebody with him doesn't mean that he's hurt worse than we've heard."
No one replied.
Santini was already on his cellular.
"Ricardo, come to the residence. You're expected," he said without any preliminaries, then broke the connection. Yung, Solez, and "Legal Attache" Julio Artigas came into Silvio's living room ten minutes later.
They made their manners to Ambassador Silvio, Santini, and Lowery, then Yung walked to Castillo.
Artigas was surprised at seeing Castillo: Jesus Christ, he's not any older than I am. And he's calling all the shots?
"You all right, Dave?" Castillo asked.
"I'm in much better shape than my Blazer, Major," Yung said. "It has at least a half dozen double-aught buckshot holes in it."
Castillo picked up on Yung's attitude.
He's not sullen.
I was afraid he would be. He didn't want to come down here and, when he did, he got shot.
I thought I would really be on his shit list.
But he's almost cheerful. Is he a little high on painkillers?
"And this is?" Castillo asked, indicating Artigas.
"Julio Artigas, Major," Artigas answered. "I'm a legal attache in Montevideo."
Castillo took the offered hand.
"And what brings you to Buenos Aires, Mr. Artigas?"
Their eyes met, causing Artigas to conclude, This is one tough, intelligent character.
"I asked him to come, Major," Yung said.
Castillo looked questioningly at him.
"Artigas has pretty well figured out what's going on, Major," Yung said.
"Figured out what that's going on?" Castillo asked.
"Colonel…" Ambassador Silvio began.
Castillo saw that Yung had picked up on the rank.
"…Mr. Artigas was taken to the estancia by the Uruguayan National Police," Silvio continued. "He's…been around…this situation practically from the beginning."
"And he was with Chief Inspector Ordonez when Ordonez took Lowery and me to the estancia," Yung said.
"And how much did you-and/or Lowery-tell him?"
"Nothing he hadn't already pretty well figured out for himself, Maj…did the ambassador call you 'Colonel'?"
"Yes, I did," Silvio said.
"Well, congratulations," Yung said. "Well deserved."
He is high, Castillo thought. There's no other explanation for that. He seems genuinely pleased.
"Thank you," Castillo said as Yung enthusiastically pumped his hand.
"What did they give you for the pain, Dave?" Castillo asked.
"Nothing. I took a couple of aspirin."
I'll be damned!
"Artigas, you're a problem I didn't expect," Castillo said. "Mr. Ambassador, may I use your secure line?"
"Of course," Silvio said. "It's in a small closet euphemistically referred to as my office." [THREE] "Sir," Castillo told Silvio, "if you'll get a secure line to the White House switchboard no one in the embassy will know I'm here."
"I'll have to go through the State Department switchboard."
"They'll switch you over."
Silvio picked up the heavily corded handset.
"This is Silvio. Would you get me a secure line to the department switchboard, please?" That took about twenty seconds and then the ambassador said, "This is Ambassador Silvio. Please get me a secure connection to the White House switchboard."
He handed off the handset to Castillo and said, "I'll leave you alone."
"Please stay," Castillo said.
Silvio nodded. "White House."
"Colonel Castillo. I need Ambassador Montvale on a secure line." "Ambassador Montvale's secure line," a familiar voice said.
"This is Colonel Castillo, Mr. Ellsworth. Put the ambassador on, please."
Ten seconds passed before Montvale came on the telephone.
"Hello, Charley," he said, cordially. "I've been hoping to hear from you. How's things going?"
"A lot has happened, Mr. Ambassador. Can I give you a quick rundown, then fill you in completely when I'm in Washington?"
"When do you think that will be, Charley?"
Castillo met Silvio's eyes.
"I hope to get out of here late in the afternoon the day after tomorrow. It may be twenty-four hours after that."
"You must be very busy."
"I've been pretty busy," Castillo said. "An attempt to kidnap my source in Budapest was made. When the kidnapping didn't go off, they tried to kill him. They wounded him twice. The next morning, they tried again, this time to assassinate him in his apartment, then burn the apartment and whatever information he might have had in it. That attempt also failed."
"He's all right, I hope?"
"He's all right. And his files are either en route to Washington or already there."
"And when am I going to get to see them?"
"As soon as they get there, if you like. But I'm afraid in the form they're in that I'm going to have to translate them. And I can't do that, obviously, until I'm in Washington."
"And that will not be for several days, right?"
"Just as soon as I c
an get there, Mr. Ambassador."
"Is your source safe in Budapest?"
"I brought him to Argentina with me."
"Personal jets are really nice things to have, aren't they?"
"Oh, you heard about that, did you?"
"I hear things, Charley, as you know. That one I heard from Major Miller. I had to remind him you had given me your word that I would be in the loop. He did not, however, tell me where you had gone from Budapest. I had to learn that myself."
"Learn it? Or make a guess?"
"I made a guess and then sought confirmation. Have you by any chance been in touch with Ambassador Silvio? Or Mr. Darby?"
"I'm calling from the residence, sir. Ambassador Silvio is with me. Mr. Darby is just outside."
"And how is Mr. Yung? Was he able to accomplish what you sent him down there to do before that horrifying carjacking incident?"
"You heard about that, did you?"
"Secretary Cohen was good enough to call and tell me what Ambassador McGrory had called to tell her. Crime seems almost out of control down there, doesn't it?"
"Yung's here with me, too. He wasn't badly hurt. I presume he did what I sent him to do or otherwise he would have said something. I'm probably going to bring him to the States with me."
"To do what?"
"To see what sense he can make of all the files we now have to work with."
"Are you also going to bring your source?"
"What I'm going to do is put my source in a safe house here that the Lorimer Charitable Fund has rented and he will work with his files, Yung's files, and whatever else I can get him."
"The Lorimer Charitable Fund? I rather like that," Montvale said. "I don't want to appear to be looking for praise, Charley, but you do remember my contribution to setting up the fund, don't you?"
"And I shall be forever grateful to you, sir."
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Charley?"
"Now that you mention it, there's an FBI agent, a 'legal attache,' in the Montevideo embassy, one Julio Artigas, who I think would be of far more use to Ambassador Silvio than he is to Ambassador McGrory. Could you arrange his transfer?"
"What's that all about?"
"He's come up-on his own-with answers to questions Ambassador McGrory may ask him."
"Is anyone else liable to do that?"
"I hope not. I don't think so."
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