“I guess… also, I thought we’d have an apartment, then I’d spend some time in my office…”
I reminded her, “You’re not really the legal attache.”
She nodded and said, “I was surprised to see Buck here and surprised to discover that we were bait for The Panther.”
“Were you?”
“Maybe not.” She asked me, “How did you know about that?”
I was almost certain the room wasn’t bugged, but I didn’t want to say “Al Rasul,” so I said, “I figured it out,” which was partly true. I told her, “So did you.”
She nodded again, then asked me, “What do you think of Paul?”
“I feel the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
She said, “I like him and I trust him.”
“Let’s see how he and Buck handle the CIA guy. That could be the game changer.”
She advised me, “Don’t let your past experiences with the Agency prejudice you.”
“Of course not. My mind is open to a miracle.”
I took both Colt.45s out of the bag and asked Kate, “Which one would you like?”
“They’re the same, John.”
“The serial numbers are different.”
She didn’t reply so I threw both guns on the bed.
Kate looked around the room, then out the window. The sky was getting light, and she said, “I can see the city from here. We’re on a hill.”
“Right.” And in the surrounding hills were guys with mortars and rocket launchers who could target this big compound with their eyes closed.
As though reading my mind, Kate asked me, “If I hear the siren, would you like me to wake you, or let you sleep?”
Do we need a third wiseass? I said, “The explosions will wake me.”
I went to the phone on the nightstand and picked up the receiver.
Kate asked, “Who are you calling?”
“Tom.”
“It’s”-she looked at her watch-“past eleven P.M. there.”
“The FBI never sleeps.” I dialed zero and got the embassy operator. I gave him Walsh’s cell phone number and he said to me, “This is not a secure-”
“Right.”
He put the call through, and I got Tom Walsh’s voice mail. I said, “Tom, John here. I thought you’d be waiting up for my call. Well, as you may have already heard, we’re here. And guess what we just found out? I can’t say because it’s not a secure phone, but you know what I’m talking about. Cat food, Tom. This is exciting and I wanted to thank you for this opportunity.” To mess with his head, I added, “We may take the next flight out and thank you in person. Don’t give away our desks.” I hung up.
Kate asked rhetorically, “Was that necessary?”
“Tom wanted to hear from us.”
She reminded me, “We have no business with Tom anymore and vice versa.”
“That was a personal call.”
She had no further thoughts on that subject, and she began to undress, so I did, too. There didn’t seem to be a closet in the room, so we threw our clothes on a chair, and I put a gun on each nightstand.
Kate collapsed on the bed, naked, and said, “We need to burn those clothes. And I need a shower.”
“Down the hall.” I reminded her, “If we hear the siren, it’s come as you are to the safe room.”
She smiled and said, “That could be fun.”
I asked, “Is the bed hard?”
“No.”
“Well, I am.”
“Oh… my goodness. How can you think about sex now?”
“That’s a silly question from a naked lady.”
She smiled again, then motioned me to hop aboard.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kate and I came down to the atrium lobby with our luggage, dressed in our Sunday best-Kate in a tan pantsuit, and me in fresh khaki trousers, black blazer, and another Dior shirt. Onward Christian Dior.
For footwear, we both had black running shoes; the mark of the urban guerrilla. To accessorize, we carried our Colt.45s-Kate’s under her loose top, and mine discreetly strapped to my pants belt. Kate was also wearing her new scarf draped over her shoulders, and my outfit would be complete when I bought a jambiyah.
Paul Brenner, wearing his blue windbreaker, black pants, and a sports shirt, was waiting for us in the lobby, and he had another man with him-a guy in his early forties, sporting a mustache and wearing a dark suit, who I thought might be our CIA guy. But Brenner said, “This is Howard Fensterman, the new legal attache.”
Kate and I shook hands with Mr. Fensterman, who said to Kate, “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Kate replied, “I’m excited about opening the new office.”
So maybe Kate really was the assistant legat, and I was going down to Aden to join the
But Mr. Fensterman cleared that up by saying, “I’ll be providing any legal assistance you might need for your mission in Yemen. Feel free to call me when you leave Sana’a if you have any questions or need any clarifications regarding procedures.”
“Thank you,” said Kate.
I mean, did George Patton have a lawyer on his staff? Hey, Counselor, can the Third Army cross the Rhine yet? Are we still waiting for a legal opinion?
Mr. Fensterman asked us to call him Howard and continued, “I’m working closely with State and Justice regarding extradition procedures, and I’m being kept up-to-date by Justice regarding the Federal lawsuit brought by the suspect’s parents.”
I said, “I hope you’re also working on covering our asses if by chance the suspect should meet an untimely end during his apprehension.”
Howard replied, “I’ll address that if and when it occurs.” He added, “It’s all a little complicated because, as you know, the suspect is an American citizen.” He reminded us, “He has Constitutional rights.”
“Of course.” And I had the answer to all those pesky rights on my hip.
Howard informed us, “I’m about to attend the church service in the parlor. Would you like to join me?”
“No,” I replied. “We’re carrying guns, and we’re pagans.”
“That’s all right,” Howard assured us. “I’m Jewish.”
Huh?
Howard told us, “Friday night I went to one of the mosques that allows non-believers to enter. Saturday, I went to services in the home of a Yemeni Jew. So today I’m going to the Christian service here in the embassy.”
I asked him, “Are you very spiritual?” Or confused? Or maybe covering all your bases?
He replied, “The three religions have much in common.” He also said, “I’m bored.”
Try khat.
Howard really wanted company, and he also wanted to show Kate her office after the service. Kate didn’t want to disappoint her new boss, and Brenner was in no hurry to get to the hotel, so Kate, I, and Brenner accompanied Howard to the parlor.
The big, sunlit room was filled with about fifty people-embassy staffers and spouses and about ten uniformed Marines. Everyone was sitting on the upholstered furniture or in folding chairs, and they were all dressed nicely. The
