Black Ops (Presidential Agent 5)

Duffy sounds like he smells a rat.

"On the long flight here, I decided that what I was going to do was tell Carlos what I knew of the chemical factory. That would be payment enough for getting us safely out of Vienna. Then I would simply disappear to begin a new life with my family. But then, and I see the Lord's hand in this, too--"

Now what has the Lord been up to?

"--I didn't have to look for our cousin Aleksandr. Carlos took Svetlana to him. And Aleksandr told her that he owed Carlos his life. Like you, Comandante, I am a man of both strength and experience. I would not have believed a word Carlos told me had not Aleksandr told Svetlana he thought of him as family, as a brother."

Oh, shit! I think our little morality play is over.

Duffy's not going to swallow that whole. Not even a little piece of it.

"As it says in Scripture," Duffy said, and interrupted himself. "I don't want to call you 'Colonel.' May I call you by your Christian name?"

"Of course. Dmitri."

"I know," Duffy said.

Of course you know, Liam.

It's on the fucking Interpol warrant--probably next to a picture of a cow having left a barn.

"But for your safety," Duffy said, and glanced at Svetlana, "and for your family's, I will honor you as 'Thomas.'"

Out of the barn and the door locked tight.

Duffy is no fool. . . .

"So, Thomas, in Scripture it says, 'Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for another,' " Duffy said.

Berezovsky nodded.

"My friend, my brother, Carlos," Duffy went on, his voice quivering with emotion, "has already shown that he is willing to do that for me. I could not deny him anything he asked of me."

I'll be damned!

"His name is Lavrenti Tarasov," Svetlana said matter-of-factly, if not coldly.

"What?" Duffy said.

"Lavrenti Tarasov," Svetlana repeated, then looked at her brother. "I trust this man. I can see in his eyes that he is a good, Christian man."

"Thank you," Duffy said.

"Tarasov is a lieutenant colonel of the SVR," Berezovsky furnished, "and rezident for Paraguay and Argentina. His cover is commercial attache in the Russian embassy in Asuncion."

"For Paraguay and Argentina?" Munz asked.

"Alfredo," Berezovsky said, smiling, "as I understand it, your SIDE spends a good deal of time and effort keeping an eye on the man you have been allowed to think is the rezident in Buenos Aires."

"Who never does anything out of line?" Munz said.

Berezovsky nodded.

Munz shook his head.

"Liam," Castillo said, "just so that we're still clear on this: I don't want a damn thing to happen to this Lavrenti Tarasov until I get back from Africa."

Duffy met his eyes.