The Shooters (Presidential Agent 4)

"Jamie," General McNab said. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that you will be judged by the company you keep?"

"Good afternoon, sir," Neidermeyer said. "Good to see you, sir."

"It won't be afternoon for another twenty-four minutes," McNab said. "But I'm glad to see you, too. Gentlemen, this is Sergeant Neidermeyer, one of the better communicators from the stockade. The splendidly attired officer is Lieutenant Colonel Castillo, and all the terrible things you have heard about him are true."

The colonel walked around McNab and offered Castillo his hand.

"Tom Kingston, Castillo," he said. "And I have to tell you that on the way here, the general told Inman"-he nodded toward the young officer-"that he hopes whatever you have that made you the best aide he ever had is contagious, because maybe he'll get lucky and catch it."

"Colonel Kingston," General McNab said, "who betrays my confidential remarks at the drop of a hat, was wondering what you're doing here, Charley. I couldn't tell him. Are you going to tell him? Or are you going to let him stumble around in the dark?"

"This might not be the best place to get into that, sir."

"Okay. Inman, take Sergeant Neidermeyer-and the airplane crew and that animal-somewhere nice for lunch. Eat slowly. When you're finished, bring them by my quarters. By then, Colonel Kingston, Lieutenant Colonel Castillo, and I will probably be through saying unkind things about enlisted men and junior officers."

"Yes, sir," the aide said.

McNab made a Follow me gesture and started marching across the tarmac.

Mrs. Donna McNab kissed Castillo on the cheek before he was completely through the front door.

"Oh, it's good to see you, Charley!"

"For God's sake, don't encourage him," General McNab said. "I'm trying to get rid of him before he gets me in trouble again."

"How long can you stay?" she asked, ignoring her husband.

"Maybe an hour and a half," Castillo said.

"The Naylors will be really disappointed. They won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

"Me, too. It would have been great to see them."

She looked at McNab and said, "Everything's set up on the patio, darling. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that this is important and will leave you alone."

"Thank you. It is," McNab said, made another Follow me gesture, and led Colonel Kingston and Castillo through the house and out back to a walled patio.

There was a gas grill, a side table on which sat a plate of T-bone steaks and another of tomatoes, and a small patio table that seated four and had place settings for three.

"I will now be able to state that my former aide landed here for fuel, and I entertained him at lunch at my quarters," McNab said. "Purely a social occasion."

Castillo nodded his understanding.

"We are having steak and tomatoes," McNab went on, "because I am on a diet that allows me all the meat I want to eat and small portions of fresh vegetables. While I am cooking the steaks, you can bring Kingston up to speed. Or as much speed as you feel appropriate."

"Yes, sir," Castillo said. "Colonel, I have to begin this with the statement that everything I tell you, or you intuit, is classified Top Secret Presidential."

"Understood," Kingston said. "Maybe it would clear the air a little, Colonel, if I told you that the secretary of Defense has called General McNab and instructed him to give you whatever you ask for, and that you would tell us only what you felt was appropriate."

Castillo nodded.

He began, "A DEA agent named Timmons has been kidnapped in Paraguay. The President has promised the mayor of Chicago that he will get this guy back, and tasked me to do so…"

"…and there is one more problem," Castillo said when he had finished explaining what he had planned and the problems he saw in doing it.

General McNab, his mouth full of steak, gestured for him to go on.

"The agency is apparently running an operation down there to catch these people in the act of bringing drugs into the States aboard cruise ships. They intend to seize the ship-ships, plural-under maritime law. A guy named Milton Weiss"-he paused to see if either McNab or Kingston knew of Weiss, and when both shook their heads, went on-"came to see me last night and as much as told me to butt out."