The Hunters (Presidential Agent 3)

Delchamps looked at her, looked as if he was going to respond, then changed his mind and looked back at Castillo.

“Ace, what made you decide yesterday in Argentina that you needed me so badly that you were going to get me whether or not I liked it?”

Agnes answered for him. “It probably started in Budapest where these people—I like your term ‘oil-for-food maggots’—tried to assassinate him.”

Castillo looked at her.

How the hell did she hear about that?

I know. There’s a list here and she’s on it.

“They tried to whack you?” Delchamps said.

“They were trying to kidnap and/or whack my Budapest source. When their first attempt failed, they tried again. But I was in his apartment.”

“And had to put down two of them,” Miller added.

Delchamps looked at Castillo for confirmation.

Castillo nodded slowly.

“You’re a regular James Bond, aren’t you, Ace?” Delchamps said.

“Indeed he is,” Miller said. “Ace even had the foresight to get a suppressed .22 from the agency guy in Budapest.”

Castillo flashed Miller a dirty look.

“I’m surprised he gave you any kind of a weapon,” Delchamps said. “He’s a real agency asshole.”

“I noticed,” Castillo said. “It took Montvale personally to get him to open his weapons locker.”

“How much does the asshole in Budapest know about this? Does he know about the two you took down?”

Castillo shook his head. “I didn’t tell him anything.”

“That was also smart of you, Ace,” Delchamps said. He paused in thought, then added, “You must be getting close.”

“And they tried to whack an FBI agent who was with me at Lorimer’s estancia

—that was in Uruguay—and they were following around, threateningly, the former head of SIDE in Argentina, who was also at the estancia. And his family.”

“What happened to your Budapest source?” Delchamps asked.

“I moved him to Argentina, where two old pals of yours are sitting on him.”

“What two old pals?”

“Make that three,” Castillo said, and raised his eyebrows as he added: “Alex Darby and Mr. and Mr. Sieno.”

Delchamps considered that a moment, then nodded and asked, “You’re sitting on the SIDE guy?”

“I moved his family here. He’s still in Argentina, at a safe house with everybody else, trying to put all the pieces together. That’s what I need you here for, to help with that.”

“How could I help with that?”

“What if I told you Montvale told the President he was personally going to call DCI Powell to tell him you were coming over there and were to be given everything you asked for?”

Delchamps considered that a moment, then said, “When I asked for the retirement forms yesterday, they seemed pretty happy about that. I guess the word is out.”