the Gulfstream.
“Sit,” he ordered sternly in Hungarian. “Stay!”
Max complied.
“Okay, Billy!” Castillo called, motioning with a wave of his arm.
Eric Kocian got out of Don Juan Three Four. He removed Madchen—on a leash—and walked her to the rear of the Yukon. Edgar Delchamps and Sandor Tor next got out somewhat awkwardly, because they each held two of Madchen’s pups, and also walked to the rear of the truck. By then the Secret Service driver had gotten out from behind the wheel, gone to the rear, and opened the door.
He took out a folded travel kennel. He expanded it, but not without some difficulty that bordered on being comical to those who tried not to watch. The pups were placed in the travel kennel, and then, as Billy Kocian and Madchen watched warily, Sandor Tor and the Secret Service agent picked up the kennel and followed Delchamps to the stair door of the Gulfstream.
Delchamps went up the stairs and into the plane, then turned so he could pull the kennel through the door.
He swore in German.
“I could have told you it wasn’t going to fit through the door, sweetie,” Jack Davidson called in a somewhat effeminate voice from near Don Juan One Four. “If you’d only
Delchamps made an obscene gesture to Davidson, which Dona Alicia and Agnes Forbison, who by then had walked over to Castillo, pretended not to see.
“What this reminds me of is sending Carlos and Fernando off to Boy Scout camp,” Dona Alicia said.
“Yeah,” Agnes agreed.
“You didn’t have to come out here, Agnes,” Castillo said.
“No, I didn’t,” she said. “But I thought you might need a little walking-around money.”
She handed him a zippered cloth envelope marked RIGGS NATIONAL BANK. It appeared to be full.
“Thank you,” Castillo said.
When he had put it in his briefcase, she handed him a receipt to sign. He used the briefcase as a desk to sign it, and gave it back.
“How long are you going to be?” Agnes asked.
“I don’t know,” Castillo said. He paused. “Abuela, don’t let him know I told you, but Billy’s friend didn’t die of natural causes.”
“I’m not surprised. It was in his eyes.”
“What I’m saying is that Billy is now pretty angry, and that may help us with Otto.”
“I don’t think I understand,” Dona Alicia said.
“He doesn’t like us using the
“But you’re the boss,” Agnes said.
“I don’t want to have to confront him more than I already have,” Castillo said. “I don’t want him to quit.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Dona Alicia said. “Not only is the
“He also has the journalistic ethical standards he got from my grandfather, and he doesn’t think my grandfather would give the CIA the time of day.”
“But you’re not CIA,” Agnes said.
“I don’t think Otto believes that,” Castillo said. “Anyway, Billy was closer to my grandfather than Otto was— closer than anyone else ever was—and what I’m hoping is that he will go through the
The rear door of the hangar rose with a metallic screech.
“For what we’re paying for this place, you’d think they could afford a little grease,” Castillo said.
Three cars drove into the hangar. A total of five uniformed officers got out.
“Here comes the bureaucracy,” Castillo said. “I guess we can leave now.”
“Not until you arrange the dogs,” Agnes said. “How long is that going to go on?”
“Otto’s kids get one of the puppies, whether or not Otto likes it—”
“Carlos!”
“One pup I’m keeping for a friend of mine in Argentina,” Castillo went on. “That leaves two. One of which Delchamps says he wants.”
“Of course he does! Didn’t you see him on his knees with the puppies yesterday?”
“And Billy says he wants one to keep Madchen company. So that’s it. Once we get Billy back to Budapest, no more airborne Noah’s ark.”
“And you keep Max?” Dona Alicia asked.
“It will be Max and me alone against the cold cruel world.”
“Billy doesn’t want him? Or he’s just saying that to be nice to you?”
“I don’t know, Abuela,” Castillo said. “I asked him. He said he doesn’t think Madchen will betray him the way Max has.”
“He doesn’t mean that,” Dona Alicia said.
“Yeah, I know. But he’s already named the pup Max, making that his Max the Tenth or Twelfth.” Castillo looked at Agnes and changed the subject. “Are you going to put my grandma on her plane?”
“After we have a nice lunch in the Old Ebbitt Grill, I will,” Agnes said. “What do I do about the apartment in the Mayflower?”
“When does the lease run out?”
“The end of next month; you have to give them ten days’ notice.”
“Well, let’s see what happens toward the end of next month,” Castillo said. Then he saw Jake Torine and Dick Sparkman walking across the hangar floor toward them. “Well, here come the airplane drivers. I guess it’s time to go.”
[THREE]
Above Antwerp, Belgium
2045 26 December 2005
Jake Torine said, “You’ve got it, Dick,” then removed his headset, unstrapped himself, and went into the passenger compartment.
It was crowded. The travel kennel was in the aisle at the rear. Madchen was lying in the aisle in front of it, keeping an eye on Max, who was lying in the aisle just inside the passenger compartment—and attached to Jack Davidson by a strong leash. Max was having trouble understanding not only that the honeymoon was over, but that the mother of their offspring had decided that he was a bad influence on their progeny and didn’t want him anywhere near them.
There were two couches, one on each side of the aisle. Billy Kocian—in a red silk dressing gown—was sprawled regally on one of them, reading, and Jack Doherty was on the other, snoring softly with his mouth open. David W. Yung was in the right forward-facing seat and typing on the computer in his lap. Edgar Delchamps was sitting, asleep, in the forward-facing seat nearest the stair door. Sandor Tor, also asleep, sat in the rear-facing chair across from Delchamps.
Across the aisle, Davidson, with Max attached to him, was sitting in the rear-facing seat across from Castillo, who was on the telephone. When Castillo saw Torine, he held up a finger to signal Jake to wait.
“I don’t think there’ll be a problem with our ambassador,” Castillo said. “But this will make sure there’s no problem with the other one.” He paused to listen, then said, “Thank you very much, ma’am.”
This strongly suggested to Torine that Castillo was talking to Secretary of State Natalie Cohen.
“Yes, ma’am, I will,” Castillo said. “Thank you again, Madam Secretary.” And then he said: “Break it down, please, White House,” and put the handset in its cradle on the bulkhead.
“What was that all about?”
“The secretary of State is about to telephone our evil leprechaun in Montevideo—”
