Black Ops (Presidential Agent 5)

Torine stopped and tapped his fingertips together for a good thirty seconds.

Then he raised his eyes to Castillo's. "So, you see, Colonel, the dilemma into which you have thrust me?"

"Jake, you say the word and I'll get on Montvale's airplane. If you tell me you think I can't . . ."

He stopped when Torine held up his hand.

"--said dilemma makes me seriously consider that you may have in fact lost your fucking mind."

Jack Davidson chuckled.

"So you think I should get on Montvale's airplane?"

"No, that's not what I said. Or mean. I just think you should keep in mind that you're not acting rationally."

"That's . . ." Susanna Sieno started and then stopped.

"Go on, Susanna," Castil

lo said, gesturing. "Let's hear it."

She met his eyes for a moment, shrugged, then went on: "What I was about to say, Charley, was that that's something of an understatement."

"Guilty," Castillo said. "That thought has occurred to me."

"And you still think you're in love?"

He nodded.

"In that case, maybe I should just shut up."

"I wish you wouldn't," Castillo said. "Let's get it all out."

She considered that a moment, shrugged again, then said: "Here're a couple of things to consider. Charley. . . . Oh, hell, I was about to say that Svetlana is at least as good a spook as I am, maybe even as good as you are. But you've considered that, I'm sure. Anyway, given that, if I were in her shoes, snaring somebody like you by whatever means--certainly including spreading my legs--would be a no-brainer."

"Jesus Christ, honey!" Paul Sieno exclaimed.

"Stop thinking like a husband, Paul," Susanna said.

"And," Jack Britton said, "since we're all running at the mouth, Charley, you were on the rebound after Betty Schneider dumped you, ripe to get plucked by any female, and certainly by a really good-looking, smart one with every reason to have a 'protect my ass' agenda."

"Betty dumped him?" Sandra Britton asked, surprised. "You never told me about that!"

"I didn't think it was any of our business," Britton said.

"How'd you hear about that?" Castillo asked.

"I heard Agnes and Joel Isaacson talking," Britton said.

Castillo shrugged. "She did dump me. What she said was that she didn't want to be married to a guy who instead of coming home for supper would leave a voice mail that he was off to Timbuktu. But what I really think it was is that being with me would interfere with her new Secret Service career; that what she really wanted to do was be more of a hotshot cop than her brother. And I really don't think I was on the rebound."

Britton's face showed he didn't believe that at all.

"The flaw in your argument, Susie," Alex Darby said, "is that none of the Russians need Charley now. If she had, to use your apt if indelicate phraseology, spread her legs before he brought them here . . ."

"We don't know when or where that happened," Susanna said, and looked at Castillo.

He was on the verge of telling her that it was none of her goddamn business when he had first been intimate with Svetlana, but then realized that, in fact, it was.