By Order of the President (Presidential Agent 1)

"But they were antsy enough about you to worry you?”

"Yes, sir.”

"Which means O’Brien can’t use you again for a while there,” Kramer said. “Right, Frank?”

O’Brien nodded. “Which makes her available to Mr. Castillo ..."

“He said his name was Castle,” she blurted.

“That okay with you, Frank?” Kramer asked.

“Done. Schneider, until further orders you will sit on these two gentlemen.”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“There’s supposed to be an unmarked car here. If it’s not here already, it will be soon. Take Mr. Castillo and Special Agent Miller out to Lease-Aire at the airport and wherever else they think, or you think, they should go. Do whatever they want you to do. And don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. ”

“Can I ask what this is all about?”

“Mr. Castillo will tell you what you have to know, Sergeant,” Kramer said, then asked, “This okay with you, Charley?”

“It’s fine, Dutch. Thank you very much.”

“And while you’re out at the airport, I’ll put the arm out for those other people we were talking about.”

“The sooner, the better,” Castillo said.

“I know,” Kramer said.

“Anytime, gentlemen,” Sergeant Schneider said.

Castillo and Miller followed her out of the office.

“Let me see about the car,” she said and walked across the room.

When she was out of earshot, Miller said, “Put a fing padlock on your dick, Charley, please.”

Captain O’Brien looked at Castillo intently but did not comment directly.

“If you can think of anything I could be doing?”

"All scraps of information gratefully received,” Miller said.

XI

[ONE]

On Interstate 95 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 0915 9 June 2005

The unmarked car Commissioner Kellogg had ordered delivered to the Counterterrorism Bureau—so far as Castillo could tell, it was identical to the commissioner’s car—was moving at ten miles per hour over the speed limit as they drove I-95 along the Delaware River.

Castillo was in the backseat. Miller had elbowed him out of the way to claim the front seat.

“I really hope you can keep your mouth shut, Sergeant Schneider,” Castillo said.

“You can call me Betty, if you like,” she said. “And, yes, I know how to keep my mouth shut.”

“I’d like that,” Castillo said. “How about the boyfriend last night?”