Black Ops (Presidential Agent 5)

"Yes, sir."

"Is there anything else I can do for you before you start vanishing from the face of the earth?"

Castillo had seen this question coming, too, and was prepared for it.

"Yes, sir. Three things."

The President made a Let's have it gesture with both hands.

"First, sir, I would like to see Corporal Bradley here promoted to gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps. He loves the Corps, but obviously, tainted with this, and knowing what he knows, he could never go back. He'll have to take a discharge."

The President pointed to the secretary of Defense.

"Do it," he ordered, then turned back to Castillo. "And?"

"I'd like to see Berezovsky and Alekseeva taken off the Interpol warrants.

They didn't embezzle any money. And three, I would like myself, and anybody else connected to me, to be taken off the FBI's 'locate but do not detain' list--and any other list we may be on."

The President pointed at the DCI. "You can take care of that. And since the Russians have not defected to the CIA, I want the CIA to take no action to encourage them to do so. Understood?"

The DCI did not appear the epitome of happy. "Yes. Mr. President."

The President looked at Castillo.

"I'm sorry it turned out like this, Charley. But bad things happen to good people."

He put out his hand.

Castillo shook it, then he and Bradley walked out of the room.

[THIRTEEN]

McCarran International Airport

Las Vegas, Nevada

1530 14 January 2006

Castillo had made two calls on the AFC from Jack and Sandra Britton's suite in the Four Seasons.

The first was to Dr. Aloysius Francis Casey. Casey told Castillo that while he'd said no problem to Charley's request to get Dmitri and Svetlana to Cozumel, he admitted now that he'd instead brought them to Vegas, and what he suggested was that Castillo come, too, until he could straighten things out.

The second call was to Major Dick Miller in the Office of Organizational Analysis. He lied to Miller. He said he would explain the whole thing when he had the chance, but right now the President wanted them both out of sight, and he was going to go out of sight in Vegas, and the way they were going to do that was that Miller was going to meet him at BWI, where they would turn in the Lear, pick up the Gulfstream, and fly out to Nevada.

That had a secondary reaction. Castillo decided that there was no reason Jack and Sandra Britton should not enjoy the cultural advantages of Las Vegas. For that matter, Two-Gun Yung either.

The G-III went wheels-up out of Baltimore and four hours and forty minutes later touched down at McCarran. Somewhere over Pennsylvania, Castillo had called Aloysius again, told him who was now aboard the Gulfstream, and asked that rooms for one and all be arranged.

"Our last excursion, so to speak, on the tab of the Lorimer Charitable and Benevolent Fund."

"I'll send somebody to meet you," Casey said.

What met them at the AFC hangar was a gleaming black Lincoln stretch limousine with THE VENETIAN lettered in gold on the doors.

Sandra was thrilled.

"I've always wanted to be mistaken for a rock star with five lovers," she said.