"Do you think you could find a briefcase, or a small suitcase, to carry Out-line Blue in?"
"Enrico?"
"S¡, mi Coronel," Enrico said. "There are several briefcases here. There's probably one in the sitting closet here."
"See if you can find one, would you, please?" Clete asked.
Enrico nodded and left the bedroom.
"Do you want the money, too?" Clete asked.
"I've been thinking about that," Mart¡n said. "If you don't mind, I'll leave it where it is for the time being. Money by itself is not incriminating."
"Whatever you say," Clete said. "What if General Rawson asks for it?"
"I'd give it to him, or if he should send his aide for it, Capitan Lauffer- you've met him-I'd give it to him. No one else, I would think."
Clete nodded. Enrico came back into the room carrying a somewhat worn-looking briefcase.
"Perfect," Mart¡n said, taking it from him. "I'll return it, of course."
"Enrico tells me that money is to 'ensure the success' of Outline Blue."
Mart¡n looked at him coldly.
"If you're asking, politely, if it's bribe money, yes, I'm afraid it is," he said. "That offends you?"
" 'We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor,'" Clete quoted. "That's from our Declaration of Independence...."
"I know," Mart¡n said. "I'm familiar with it."
"In our revolution, our guys took a chance. I saw where my father signe
d Outline Blue. He took a chance. But I didn't see anybody else's signature on Outline Blue. And everybody seems perfectly comfortable with the idea of bribing people."
"I wouldn't say anyone involved in this is comfortable with it. It's neces-sary."
"Why?"
"There are two kinds of officers in the Argentine Army and Navy," Mart¡n said. "Those like your father, perhaps ten, fifteen percent, who have no need to concern themselves with a salary or pension. For the others, losing their com-missions and their pensions, as they would if Outline Blue fails, would mean the end of their livelihoods. Understandably, they want to protect their families -"
"As a practical matter, has anybody considered what these 'patriots' you're buying are going to do if somebody comes along with more money?"
"For what this is worth, Se¤or Frade, your father had similar moral objec-tions. The issue was debated at some length. It was decided that at whatever cost, the revolution should be bloodless. Having said that, I do not wish to dis-cuss it further. Forgive me, but it's really none of your business, is it?"
"'I don't know if it is or not," Clete said. "If they can't carry off Outline Bile, I might be in a little trouble myself."
"I wouldn't worry about that," Mart¡n said. "You're a norteamericano."
"Oh, but I'm not. I'm an Argentine."
"That's right, isn't it?" Mart¡n said. "I keep forgetting that. I try, but I guess it's hard for me to think of you as an Argentine."
"Maybe you should try harder, mi Coronel. I'm going to be around awhile."
"I promise you I will," Mart¡n said. He closed the briefcase, then offered his hand to Clete. "Thank you for all your courtesies."
"My pleasure, mi Coronel," Clete said. "Any time."