The Shooters (Presidential Agent 4)

Delchamps raised an eyebrow and offered: "And I had one with the DCI, who didn't buy me a drink, but about which we have to talk."

"Ellsworth called you, Jake?" Castillo said.

"I called him."

"Why?"

"What did you think of the crew on Montvale's Gulfstream?"

"'He asked, going off at a tangent,'" Castillo said.

Torine said reasonably: "I'd really like you to answer the question, Charley."

Castillo grinned. "Well, they were Air Force, so I was pleasantly surprised when they got it up and down three times in a row without bending it."

Delchamps chuckled.

"Screw you, Colonel," Torine said. "What about the copilot?"

"Nice young man. Academy type. I had the feeling he'd rather be flying a fighter."

"Cutting to the chase, that nice young man was naturally curious what a doggie light bird was doing running around in Montvale's personal Gulfstream V. Diligent snooping around revealed that the doggie light bird was doing something clandestine for that Air Force Legend in His Own Time, Colonel Jacob Torine. He found that interesting, because said Colonel Torine was the ring knocker who talked him out of turning in his suit and going to fly airliners. So he called OOA at the Nebraska Complex, finally got Miller on the horn, and Miller transferred the call here."

"What did he want?" Castillo said.

"A transfer to do anything at all for his mentor," Torine said, "so long as it gets him out of flying the right seat in Montvale's Gulfstream."

"What did you tell him?"

"That I'd get back to him. That's when I called Ellsworth to ask him how the ambassador would feel about letting us have him."

"Jesus, Jake, we could really use-we really need-another Gulfstream pilot," Castillo said.

"Especially since one of three we have has gone home to wife and kiddies, and the second can count his Gulfstream landings on his fingers."

"Really? I thought you had more landings than that," Castillo said, as if genuinely surprised.

Leverette smiled and shook his head.

Torine gave Castillo the finger.

"So what did Ellsworth say?" Castillo asked.

"He was charm personified. He said he really couldn't talk to me then because he had to meet someone at the Willard, that that would take about an hour, and would I be free to meet him in the Round Robin after his meeting, as he would really like to buy me a drink?"

The Round Robin is the ground-floor bar of the Willard InterContinental Hotel. It usually has two or more lobbyists in it feeding expensive intoxicants to members of Congress as an expression of their admiration.

"And you went?" Castillo asked.

"I even put on a clean shirt and tie. I was prepared to make any sacrifice for the OOA. In the end, I was glad I went. Mr. Ellsworth said all kinds of nice things to me."

"Such as?"

"He told me-in confidence, of course-how happy Ambassador Montvale and he are that I'm in OOA, where I can serve as a wise and calming influence on the brilliant but somewhat impetuous C. Castillo. After all, he said, we all have the same responsibility to make sure the President is never embarrassed."

"That sonofabitch!" Castillo grunted, but there was more admiration in his voice than anger.

"I did admit to having concerns about your impetuousness," Torine said. "And then he told me-as if the thought had just come to him-that 'if something like that came up,' perhaps if he and the ambassador knew about it…"