Covert Warriors (Presidential Agent 7)

“So far, I think he’s picking up the tab himself. Or Aleksandr Pevsner is. But that Las Vegas money is going to be available if he asks for it.”

“If Castillo kidnaps this Venezuelan diplomat, President Martinez—”

“What? Won’t like it? Won’t let him get away with it?”

“Both, and you know it.”

“So what if he doesn’t like it?” Lammelle said. “He’s done nothing, and you know it, to get Colonel Ferris back, or get the people who murdered Salazar and the DEA agents. And as far as not letting Castillo get away with what he’s doing, how is he going to do that? With the Policía Federal? Come on, Natalie.”

“Frank, you don’t really expect me to look the other way at any of this?”

“I expect you to do what you can to prevent a coup d’état. We don’t know who’s behind that. The only ones I’m sure are not are Generals Naylor and McNab. And we can count on their help once we find out who’s behind it. But we have to find out who’s behind it, whether the Russians, or Montvale, or Truman Ellsworth . . .”

“You think that Ellsworth might be involved?”

“I think it’s possible. The only thing I know for sure is that the only one who can find out is Castillo, and if he breaks a few laws finding out, I have no problem with that.”

She considered that a moment, and then said, “Don’t interpret this as a sign that I’m considering going along with any of this, but as a practical matter, how is he going to . . . I guess ‘kidnap’ is the word . . . Ferris and/or Abrego from the Mexican authorities, or the kidnappers, or for that matter, the U.S. Marshal Service?”

“I told you, he has the ex-Spetsnaz he got from Pevsner and the people from China Post—plus, of course, the Merry Outlaws.”

“And how, as a practical matter, Frank, is he going to move them around Mexico with the entire Policía Federal—plus the kidnappers, the drug cartels, and possibly even the SVR—looking for them?”

“Well, he has the helicopter. That’ll help.”

“You’re not talking about that Black Hawk?”

He nodded.

“You actually turned that helicopter over to him?”

“Persons representing themselves as officers of the CIA went to Fort Sam and flew it away,” Lammelle said. “They told Fort Sam officials they were returning it to Mexico.”

“You actually sent your people to Fort Sam to steal that helicopter for Castillo?”

“What I said was ‘people representing themselves as officers of the CIA.’ And it was never stolen. Though there wasn’t exactly a bill of sale, Charley did buy it for a million plus, so it could be argued it’s actually his chopper.”

“My God! You’re insane!”

“Natalie, you’re the one who told me that the Mexicans reported that Black Hawk was destroyed in President Martinez’s war on the drug cartels. How can you steal something that doesn’t exist?”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“Anyway, apparently these persons have gotten away with their deception. There have been no reports to anyone about anything unusual happening at Fort Sam.”

“And how does he plan to get the Black Hawk into Mexico?”

“It’s already there. As we speak, he’s showing it to a man he describes as one of the four honest cops in Mexico. I was just talking to him. I hung up”—he pointed to the Brick on his desk—“as you were coming through the door.”

“Does this honest cop have a name?” she asked.

“I’m sure he does.”

“But you’re not going to tell me?”

“Castillo’s going to do what he’s going to do, Natalie. What you have to decide is whether you’re going to help him or not. Whether, in other words—this is the choice Naylor had to make when he knew there was nothing he could do to stop Charley from going to La Orchila Island—Charley’s failure would do more harm to the country than his success.”

“Get him back on the Brick,” she said.