Hazardous Duty (Presidential Agent 8)

“Sweaty said the smart way to do this is to go to Mexico, get organized there, see my cop friend Juan Carlos Pena, then go to Budapest, and then sneak you tourists into Mogadishu on Air Bulgaria. So that’s what we’re going to do.”

“I’m going to have to come up with some story to tell the ambassador. I can’t just disappear, Charley.”

“When you get back to Montevideo,” Uncle Remus said, “the ambassador will tell you he’s just had a call from the secretary of State ordering you to Washington immediately for an indefinite period to assist her in some unspecified task.”

“You can do that?”

“It’s already done.”

VI

[ONE]

The Oval Office

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C.

0905 10 June 2007

Supervisory Secret Service Agent Robert J. Mulligan held open the door to the Oval Office and Truman C. Ellsworth, the director of National Intelligence, and CIA Director A. Franklin Lammelle came through it.

“Good morning, Mr. President,” Ellsworth said. He took from his briefcase a brown manila envelope and handed it to him.

“We have heard from Colonel Castillo, Mr. President,” Ellsworth said.

President Joshua Ezekiel Clendennen quickly glanced at what it contained:

TOP SECRET

URGENT

DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN

TO: POTUS

SUBJECT: REPORT

VIA SECRETARY OF STATE

MAKE AVAILABLE (EYES ONLY) TO:

DIRECTOR, CIA

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

C IN C CENTRAL COMMAND

>

OOR SITREP #1

US EMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 2020 ZULU 9 JUNE 2007