The Hostage (Presidential Agent 2)

"Well, hell. That makes this a little difficult, Mark. Obviously I can't talk about it if you haven't seen it. So forget I mentioned it. Just take this as a routine request for information. If you don't mind a suggestion, you might ask the attorney general what's new."

"What sort of information do you need, Matt?" Schmidt said, his voice betraying his annoyance.

"Would it be easier for you if I called the attorney general? I don't want to put you on a spot."

"What information do you need, Matt?"

"You have an agent in the embassy in Montevideo. David William Yung, Junior. He's supposed to be working on money laundering. What I need to know is what he's really doing down there."

"What makes you so sure he's not doing what he says he's doing?"

"We're back to that area I can't talk about," Hall said. "Are you sure you don't want me to go to the attorney general with this? I know he's in the loop, and I'm surprised that you're not."

"I'll look into it, Matt," Schmidt said, "and get back to you."

"I need this information yesterday, Mark," Hall said. "So I have to ask, how long do you think it will take for you to get back to me?"

"I'll get back to you just as soon as I can. Probably this morning."

"I appreciate that, Mark. Thank you."

"Anytime, Matt."

Hall pushed the button, breaking the connection.

"See how it's done?" he asked. "I'll bet you two dollars to a doughnut that Schmidt is already trying to get the attorney general on the horn. The attorney general will tell him about the finding, and that he has to go along with it. Which will also make the point that I knew about it before he did, suggesting he's not as important as he likes to think he is."

"It's childish, isn't it?"

"Absolutely, but that's the way things work," Hall said. "Now that I've annoyed him, is there anybody else you'd like me to annoy?"

"Sir, when he calls back, could you ask him to contact the FBI people in Paris-and in Vienna, come to think of it-and ask them to give me whatever I need?"

"I will tell him that the chief of the Office of Organizational Analysis wants to make sure they know that when they are contacted, they will make any information they have on any subject available to him, and that they will probably be contacted by a man named Castillo." He paused, and then went on. "And I will contact Ambassador Montvale and tell him to do essentially the same thing vis-a-vis his CIA station chiefs in Paris and Vienna. And Montevideo, too, if you'd like."

"Thank you. It would probably be a good idea when you speak with Director Schmidt to ask him to tell the FBI in Montevideo to give me what I ask for."

Hall nodded his agreement.

"Anything else, Charley?"

"I can't think of anything else, sir."

"Let me run this past you," Hall said. "You're going to need someone to handle your paperwork, someone who knows her way around Washington. What would you think about me asking Agnes Forbison if she'd like to work with you?"

"I could really use her."

"I'll have a word with her as soon as I can," Hall said. [THREE] Over Wilmington, Delaware 1225 26 July 2005 They had been in the air only a few minutes when Castillo sensed the Lear had changed altitude from climbing-to-cruise-altitude to descent. There was only one reason he could think of for that; they were about to land.

Oh, sh

it, that's all I need! Red lights blinking on the panel! The goddamn bird is broke!

He got out of his seat, walked to the cockpit, and dropped to his knees between the pilot's and copilot's seats.

"What's going on?"

Fernando, who was in the left seat, looked over his shoulder.