The Shooters (Presidential Agent 4)

"Why would you say that?"

"My information is that Major Vincenzo-who was in charge of dealing with the drug people for Colonel Primakov-has already been replaced by another officer from the Cuban Direccion General de Inteligencia, as have the ex-Stasi people who you also eliminated in Uruguay."

"I'm not surprised."

"You can't be seriously considering dealing with people like that with a handful of men, no more than you can load on my helicopter."

"Weren't you listening when I said your helicopter is not in my contingency plans?"

"Then what?"

"Can you keep a secret, friend Alek?"

"You dare ask me that?"

"Yes or no?"

"My God, Charley!"

"If you'll give me Boy Scout's Honor"-he demonstrated what that was by holding up his right hand with the center three fingers extended; Pevsner looked at him in confusion-"that's Boy Scout's Honor, Alek. Very sacred. Meaning that you really swear what I'm about to tell you will not leave this room."

Castillo waved his right hand with the fingers extended and gestured with his left for Pevsner to make the same gesture. Pevsner looked at him in disbelief, then offered a somewhat petulant philosophic observation.

"Maybe you behave in this idiotic and childish manner to confuse people," he said, "to appear to be a fool so that no one will believe you're as competent as you are."

"Yes or no, Alek?"

Pevsner raised his right hand, extended three fingers, and waved it angrily in Castillo's face.

"Thank you," Castillo said, solemnly. "Alek, you're a betting man. Tell me, who do you think would come out on top between Senor Whateverhisname is-Vincenzo's replacement-and his stalwart men and two Delta Force A-Teams dropping in on them with four helicopters armed with 4,000-round-per-minute machine guns?"

Pevsner looked at him for a long moment.

"You're serious," Pevsner said. It was a statement, not a question.

"And other interesting lethal devices," Castillo continued. "Said force backed up by a hundred or so gendarmes argentinos who want not only to get back two of their number also kidnapped by these people, but also to seek righteous vengeance for two of their number who were murdered."

Pevsner looked at him intently.

Castillo nodded knowingly and went on: "And their orders will be-I know, because their commanding officer told me, and I believe him-to leave as many bodies scattered over the terrain as possible and then to blow everything up."

Pevsner looked at him curiously but didn't say anything.

Castillo answered the unspoken question.

"He wants to send the message that kidnapping or murdering members of the gendarmeria is unacceptable behavior and is punished accordingly."

"Your president is going to do all this over one drug enforcement agent?"

"A lot of people, Alek, and I unequivocally count myself among them," Castillo said evenly, "believe in the work of these drug enforcement agents and do not consider them expendable."

"You're a soldier, friend Charley. You know men die in wars."

"We don't shoot our own men in the back. Or write them off when they're captured."

"My God, there's no way something like this could happen without it getting out."

"And that is why I was hoping you would pass the message through your mutual acquaintances to these bastards that I would much prefer that Timmons miraculously reappear unharmed instead of me having to come after him."