The Hostage (Presidential Agent 2)

More important-he's the officer in charge of a guard detail-why the hell didn't he ask me who I am? Or, if he knows who I am, why didn't he say, "Good morning, sir"?

Castillo walked over to him.

"Good morning, Lieutenant."

"Good morning, sir."

"I was wondering how much ammunition your men have."

The question surprised the lieutenant.

"Actually, none, sir."

"Why is that?"

"Sir, we're a ceremonial unit."

"You are aware, aren't you, that the man in the casket was murdered?"

"Yes, sir."

"And that last night, the bad guys-presumably the same ones-murdered a Marine sergeant and seriously wounded a Secret Service agent?"

"Yes, sir."

"Under those circumstances, Lieutenant, don't you think it behooved you to acquire enough ammunition for your men so that they could at least defend themselves?"

The lieutenant didn't reply.

"And possibly even be in a position to contribute to the defense of Mrs. Masterson and her children should that situation arise?"

The lieutenant colored but did not reply.

"To answer the unspoken question in your eyes, Lieutenant-to wit, 'Who the fuck is this civilian questioning the behavior of a professional officer such as myself?'-I'm Major C. G. Castillo, U.S. Army, charged with the security of this operation."

"Permission to speak, sir?"

"Granted."

"Sir, I have been taking my direction from the defense attache."

"And?"

"Sir, I can only presume that if he wanted my men to have live ammunition, he would have issued live ammunition."

"Lieutenant, I was a Boy Scout. Therefore, even before I was told by my tactical officer at that school on the Hudson River of which we are both graduates that the second great commandment for any officer-right after Take Care of Your Men-is that he be prepared for the unexpected, I knew that Be Prepared is a commendable philosophy to follow. Since you were apparently asleep when your tac officer tried to impart that philosophy to you, I suggest you write it down so you won't forget it."

"Yes, sir."

Castillo heard the door to the alcove open, and turned.

Ambassador Silvio and Alex Darby came through the door.

Jesus! Castillo suddenly thought. What was that all about?

Why did I jump all over that guy?

Not that he didn't deserve it.