"Why do you say that?"
"Well, if I have heard that the Vienna station chief has a big mouth--I understand she's been telling wild stories to her old pal, Mrs. Patricia Davies Wilson, who in turn has been running her mouth to C. Harry Whelan, Jr."--Castillo glanced at Montvale to gauge his reaction to the mention of the journalist who'd tried to crucify Castillo but was outsmarted by Montvale--"I think we have to presume these people have heard it, too. Under those circumstances, I don't think if I were them I would place a hell of a lot of faith in the agency to protect them. Would you?"
There was a long silence, then Powell asked, "Did you ever hear of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, Colonel Castillo?"
"Isn't he one of those talking heads we see on Fox News?"
"Before that, he was a serving Marine officer who was given more authority than he could handle."
"The story I get, Mr. Powell, is that Colonel North saw what he was doing as his duty as an officer sworn to protect the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to do what he was doing despite a lot of opposition from what he called the 'LAs.' "
"The what?"
"I think it stands for 'Langley Assholes,' but I'm not sure."
Silvio suddenly had the urge to clear his throat. Castillo looked at him, but the ambassador apparently was finding the tips of his shoes fascinating.
Powell shot back: "Can I infer from that that you share North's opinion of the agency?"
"I don't know what Ollie thinks of the CIA. But if you're asking for my opinion?"
"Yes, I am."
"Some really wonderful people struggling to stay afloat in a sea of p
olitically correct left-wing bureaucrats."
"Interesting," Powell said icily.
"This is getting us nowhere," Montvale said. "How long is it going to take to get the information on the alleged chemical factory in the Congo?"
"I think Mr. Montvale means the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Castillo offered.
"It was just handed to me," Powell said. "The latest analysis is dated five days ago. It states that there is no discernible activity there of interest to the United States. They are apparently experimenting with fish farms."
" 'Fish farms'?" Castillo parroted.
"Yes, Colonel. I spell: Foxtrot-India-Sierra-Hotel farms."
Castillo shook his head. "Are you open to a suggestion, Mr. Powell?"
"I'll listen to one, Colonel Castillo."
"You might consider the possibility that whoever filed that, and whoever analyzed and approved the raw data, are cut from the same cloth as Mrs. Davies."
"Thank you for sharing that with me, Colonel," Powell replied again with more than a hint of sarcasm. "I will indeed take it under consideration."
"Nice to talk to you, Mr. Powell," Castillo said.
"Did you ever hear the old Russian proverb, Colonel, that people who dig their own graves usually are buried in them?"
"I think you just made that up," Castillo said.
"I'll get back to you later, Jack," Montvale said.
"I think that would be a good idea, Mr. Ambassador."
Montvale's face showed he didn't know what to do with the telephone. Ambassador Silvio took it from him and said into the handset, "Break it down, please."