The Hunters (Presidential Agent 3)

“Good to hear from you, Charley.”

“Always a pleasure to talk to you, sir,” Castillo said and clicked the phone. When the operator came on, he told her, “Break it down,” then hung up.

He looked at Ambassador Silvio.

“Ambassador Montvale gave me everything I asked for,” Castillo said. “And no static. Why does that make me very nervous?”

Ambassador Silvio smiled but didn’t reply directly.

“They’re waiting for us in

the living room,” he said.

[FOUR]

Artigas, Solez, Munz, Santini, and Yung, talking quietly among themselves while cooling their heels on two of the couches, got to their feet as Castillo and Ambassador Silva came into the room. The look on Artigas’s face reminded Castillo of what he’d said about him being “an unexpected problem” just before getting on the secure line to Montvale.

He knows I was talking to someone about him. But the look on his face is concern, not fear. He is concerned about what the great and all-powerful Colonel Castillo has had to say about him—but not afraid.

He knows he’s done nothing wrong, so why should he be afraid?

I think I like this guy. Let’s see how smart he is.

“Okay, Artigas,” Castillo said, “why don’t you tell me what you think you have figured out about what may have happened down here?”

Artigas was visibly unhappy about being ordered to do that.

“It’s all right, Mr. Artigas,” Ambassador Silvio said. “What you say will get no further than this room, and it’s important to Colonel Castillo and myself to know how much highly classified information may have been deduced or intuited by you.”

“Yes, sir,” Artigas said and proceeded to clearly outline his suspicions and the conclusions he had drawn from them and why.

Castillo was very impressed with how much Artigas had “deduced or intuited.”

This guy is very smart. He’s figured out just about everything that went down—except, of course, who the Ninjas were or where they came from. And nobody knows that.

The downside of that, of course, is that if he’s figured this out, some of the other FBI agents have probably done the same thing.

“How much of this have you discussed with anyone else?” Castillo asked. “With other FBI agents? Or anyone else?”

“No one, sir.”

“You’re sure?” Castillo pursued.

“Yes, sir.”

“Artigas, you’re being transferred from the Montevideo embassy to the embassy here,” Castillo said.

What? Jesus Christ! Artigas thought, then asked: “When’s that going to happen?”

Castillo thought: Not “I am?” Or “Why?” Or “Don’t I have anything to say about that?” Or even “Says who?”

Just “When?”

“It’s happening now,” Castillo said. “Ambassador McGrory will be told only that you’re being transferred. If anyone asks you, you will say you have no idea why that’s happening.”

“That’s easy,” Artigas said, “because I don’t have any idea why that’s happening.”

“Did Yung or Howell mention anything about a Presidential Finding?” Castillo asked.