"Or what? That wasn't some sort of a threat, was it?"
"Colonel," Clete said, "give me ten minutes to gather my gear."
>
"Where do you think you're going?" the Old Man asked nastily.
"Out of here," Clete said.
"You're going to apologize, Marcus Howell," Martha said firmly. "And not utter one more word about Clete's father. Or I'm leaving with him. And it will be a cold day in Hell before you see me or the girls again. And that's not a threat, that's a statement of fact! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
For a moment, it looked as if the Old Man was going to hold his ground. Then he cleared his throat.
"Cletus, you know that I would never say anything..." he said.
"That's not an apology!" Martha said, coldly angry.
"If you believe an apology is called for, consider that one has been offered," the Old Man said. Then he saw the look in Clete's eyes. "Cletus, please. Don't let us part like this. Please stay."
Clete didn't reply.
"It's up to you, honey," Martha said. "We both know that's about as far as that nasty old man is capable of going."
Clete looked at the Old Man.
"Not one more goddamned word!" he said. "Not tonight. Not ever!"
The Old Man held up both hands at shoulder height, palms outward, in a gesture of surrender. Then he looked at Colonel Graham.
"You will please pardon this unseemly display of intimate family linen." he said.
Graham did not reply directly.
"We need a few minutes alone with Major Frade," he said. "And then we'll be on our way."
The Old Man thought that over a moment.
"I think;" he said finally, "that you would probably be more comfortable in here. Martha, would you like to come to the sitting room with me?"
Martha walked to the door, waited for the Old Man to pass through it, turned and smiled at Clete, and then went through the door. She closed it after her.
"Sorry about that," Clete said, looking somewhat sheepishly between Gra-ham, Quinn. and Delojo.
"Commander Delojo and Mr. Quinn have read your dossier," Graham said. "I think they understand the situation."
Clete nodded.
"Mr. Quinn has an Argentine passport for you," Graham said, getting down to business. "The idea is that you will try to enter Argentina with it. If there is difficulty with that, then you will produce your diplomatic passport. They'll have to accept that, and that will give you at least a day or two in the country. We'll play it by ear from there. There will be somebody from the embassy meeting the plane. They may hold you in Immigration...."
"I have an Argentine passport," Clete said, as if he had just begun to pay at-tention.
"I didn't know that," Graham said, and added, disapproval in his voice, "You never mentioned that in your debriefings."
"My father got it for me," Clete said.
"Well, that's one problem out of the way," Quinn said. It was the first time he had spoken.
"How does this change of plan affect my team?" Clete asked.