The Hostage Part 45

"On mine," Castillo said softly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Major. My orders were to fly the FBI team down here, and then to return them to Washington."

"Listen to me very carefully, Colonel Newley," Colonel Torine said, icily. "I am telling you that Major Castillo has all the authority he needs to tell you to do anything. Now you can accept that, and cheerfully and willingly comply with any orders he may give you, or I will get on the horn to General McFadden at CentCom and inform him that after relieving you for obstructing a presidential mission, I am placing your copilot in command of the Gulfstream, a.s.signing one of my backup crew as copilot, and returning you to Andrews by commercial air."

General Albert McFadden, U.S. Air Force, was the CentCom deputy commander.

Lieutenant Colonel Walter Newley's face paled. He swallowed, then said, "Yes, sir," very softly.

"Does that mean you understand you're under Major Castillo's orders?"

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Colonel Newley said softly.

"What? I didn't hear that. You're supposed to sound like an Air Force officer, not some f.a.ggot wearing the wings of an Air Chad cabin attendant."

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Colonel Newley said, much louder.

"Wait in the corridor for me, please, Colonel," Torine said, in a normal voice.

"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Colonel Newley said, somewhat loudly.

Torine waited until the door closed, then turned to Castillo.

"Charley," he began, and then saw that Corporal Lester Bradley, USMC, had heard the exchange.

"Son," Torine asked, "I don't think you heard much of that little conversation, did you?"

"What conversation is that, sir?" Corporal Bradley asked.

"The only thing I like better than a Marine is a selectively deaf Marine," Torine said.

"Permission to speak, sir?"

"Granted."

"During our training at Quantico, sir, we are told we will hear things we will immediately forget we heard."

"Thank you," Torine said. "Now, son, please go into the corridor for a moment so that it won't be necessary for you to forget what Major Castillo and I are going to discuss."

"Yes, sir," Corporal Bradley said, and went into the corridor.

When the door had closed, Torine said, "I have no idea what that nonsense with Newley was all about, but I have the feeling there's something more to it than him being a by-the-book a.s.shole."

"He knew I'm a major. I never said I was. So somebody told him. I think I know who."

Torine made a give-it-to-me gesture with his hands. "There's an FBI agent, a.s.signed to the emba.s.sy in Montevideo. Name of Yung. I think he's made me."

"I don't think I understand."

"Howard Kennedy told me he's one of their hotshots-"

"Kennedy is here?" Torine asked, visibly surprised.

"He was. Kennedy said he used to work with this guy, and that whatever he's doing in Montevideo-he's supposed to be working on money laundering-isn't what he's really doing."

"I'll try to figure this out as you continue, Charley."

"I suspect there's still an FBI interest in Charley Castillo. What the cops would call a 'locate but do not detain.' Kennedy is still very worried about what he calls his 'former a.s.sociates,' and he's not a fool. The FBI thinks I can lead them to Pevsner and/or Kennedy."

"Charley, I was there, with you, when the President told the DCI and director of the FBI to lay off Pevsner. I interpreted that to mean lay off Pevsner and the people who work for him."

"That's the primary reason I'm telling you this now, Jake. Somebody told the New York Times New York Times guy here-and some others-that the President's agent is down here, and somebody told Colonel Newley that I'm a major. And probably a troublemaker. 'Watch out for that sonofab.i.t.c.h, he can get you in trouble.' Am I being paranoid, or is it possible the FBI is ignoring what you and I would call a direct order from the President?" guy here-and some others-that the President's agent is down here, and somebody told Colonel Newley that I'm a major. And probably a troublemaker. 'Watch out for that sonofab.i.t.c.h, he can get you in trouble.' Am I being paranoid, or is it possible the FBI is ignoring what you and I would call a direct order from the President?"

Colonel Torine considered that for a moment, then said, "Well, you know what they say, Charley."

"No, what do they say?"

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that little green men aren't trying to castrate you with machetes."

"s.h.i.t," Castillo chuckled.

"What are you going to do about it?" Torine asked.

"I have a gut feeling I should do nothing about it now. Maybe because I'm a little afraid of the clout they've given me, and I don't want to burn the b.a.s.t.a.r.d until I'm sure he is a b.a.s.t.a.r.d. And I also want to find out what Howard Kennedy meant when he said whatever Yung is doing in Montevideo, it's not reading bank statements."

"What else could he be doing?"

"I have no idea, but I do know that the minute the FBI finds out I've fingered him, he'll stop doing it, and then I'll never know."

Torine shrugged. "It's your call, Charley. I can't fault it. What do you want me to do with Newley?"

"See that he gets the airplane ready. Have him hang around here until we can get this doctor to look at the airplane and see what else he will need."

"Done," Torine said. "Charley, I've got a guy at Ezeiza who can fly that Gulfstream. Redundancy was one of the reasons I brought him along. Say the word and I'll have him fly it."

"No, I don't want to do that. If you relieve Newley, there goes his career. He was doing what he thought was the right thing to do, and I think you made a Christian out of him."

"Your call. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going back to the hospital and wait for Betty to come out of the operating room."

"Want some company? After I make sure I've made a true Christian out of Newley? One who won't go back to his wicked ways the minute we get off the ground?"

"Thanks but no thanks, Jake."

X.

[ONE].

The German Hospital Avenida Pueyrredon Buenos Aires, Argentina 2135 24 July 2005

There were two men Castillo suspected were SIDE agents in the lobby of the hospital when he and Corporal Bradley walked in. Confirmation came when one of them walked up to them and told Castillo "your agent" was in room 677.

It was the room where Mrs. Masterson had been placed. Castillo wondered whether it was coincidence or whether the ever-resourceful Colonel Munz had an arrangement with the hospital for really secure rooms for patients in whom SIDE had an interest.

When he got to the sixth floor, Castillo found Jack Britton sitting in a folding metal chair outside the room, holding a Madsen on his lap.

"Betty's still in the operating room, Charley," Britton said. "Solez talked somebody into letting him wait outside the operating room. Apparently, they're going to bring her here instead of to a recovery room. They've been taking all sorts of equipment in there. And there's a couple of guys with Uzis down the hall."

Castillo looked, and then said, "I just made arrangements for Betty to be flown-on the Gulfstream that brought you down here-to Philadelphia when she's up to traveling. I want you to go with her."

Britton nodded.

"I had d.i.c.k Miller call Chief Inspector Kramer to give him a heads-up. When we know something, I'll call him and bring him up to speed. Unless I'm gone before that happens, then you'll have to do it."

Britton nodded again.

Castillo looked into the room and saw that it was prepared to treat someone just out of an operating room.

"I hope there's a john in there," Castillo said. "I really need to take a leak."

He saw on Corporal Lester Bradley's face that a visit to a toilet was high on his agenda, as well. Clearly uncomfortably, perhaps even painfully high.

"Corporal, there are two things that a warrior must always remember," Castillo said sternly. "The first is to void one's bladder at every opportunity, because one never knows when there will be another opportunity to do so."

"Yes, sir."

"The second is RHIP."

"Rank Has Its Privileges, yes, sir."

"Which in this case means I get to go in there before you do."

"Yes, sir."

"Just kidding. Go on, Bradley," Castillo said. "I can wait."

"You go ahead, sir."

"You have your orders, Corporal! This is your opportunity,maybe your only opportunity. Take it!"

"Yes, sir."

Britton chuckled. "Nice kid," he said, when Bradley had gone into the room.

"Yeah. And so was Sergeant Roger Markham," Castillo said, and then went on, bitterly, " 'The secretary of the Navy regrets to inform you that your son, Staff Sergeant Roger Markham, was killed in the line of duty. What he was doing was chauffeuring a Secret Service agent to a bar, where she was to meet her boyfriend.' "

"First I'll tell you about Markham," Britton said.

"Tell me about Markham?"

"The gunnery sergeant came looking for you-the guy in charge of the Marine guards?"

"I know who he is."

"He brought a casket for Markham's body, and a flag. They've got him in a cooler in the morgue here in the hospital, and they're going to take him out to Ezeiza first thing in the morning. He said that if he didn't get a chance to see you, to tell you thanks for making sure Markham had a Marine escort-there's two Marines in the morgue with the body-and for sending him home in a military aircraft, instead of like one more piece of luggage on Delta or American."

"Well, you know me, Jack. 'Charley Castillo, always looking out for his men. He's not very good at it, and some of them get blown away, but what the h.e.l.l, Castillo means well.' "

"Oh, bulls.h.i.t, Charley. That's the second thing I'm going to tell you: What happened to Markham and Betty is not your fault."

"I should have been in that car, Jack, and you know it."

"No. That's bulls.h.i.t. If you had been in that car, one of two things would have happened. You'd either be in the cooler with Markham, or you'd be in a hospital bed like Betty."

"Maybe I could have gotten one of the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds."

"More bulls.h.i.t and you should know it. Face the facts, Charley."

"What are the facts?"

"I don't know know how it is with the Secret Service, but I suspect it's just like on the cops." how it is with the Secret Service, but I suspect it's just like on the cops."

"I don't follow you, Jack."

"On the cops, when something like this happens- your partner gets shot, or whacked-they won't let you near the investigation. You're too emotionally involved. I'm afraid if you keep up this 'it's all my fault' bulls.h.i.t somebody important's going to hear you and they'll keep you off the investigation. And I wouldn't like that."

"Why not?"

"Because the only way a brand-new Secret Service agent like me is going to be allowed to try to find the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who whacked Masterson, Markham, and almost whacked Betty is if you can fix it. And I really want those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, Charley."

For a moment, Castillo couldn't find his voice. Then he said, "For however long I'm on this, Jack, if I have anything to say about it, you will be, too."

"You'll be on it a lot longer if you get your act together. Starting with n.o.body has to know about you and Betty. Can you get that Air Force colonel to keep his mouth shut?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. It was just the four of us in the hotel room, and Markham's dead, you say the Air Force guy will keep his mouth shut, and if you and I play it cool, no one has to know about you and Betty."

"That'll be tough for me to fake, Jack."