Black Ops (Presidential Agent 5)

"And this Ambassador Montvale, who you do work for, believed this woman?" Svetlana asked.

"I don't work for Montvale. But yeah, sure, he believed her. Right now his priority, which is one I agree with, is to protect the man I work for."

"Who is? And this man you work for will believe this bitch in Vienna?"

"Two profound thoughts, Ace," Delchamps said. " 'Hell hath no fury like a woman protecting her man.' "

Davidson and Castillo chuckled.

"You said two," Castillo said.

" 'The cow is already out of the barn,' " Delchamps said. "If you won't tell her, Ace, I will. Svetlana, Charley works for the President."

If she was surprised by this announcement, it didn't show on her face.

"And your President will take the word of the bitch in Vienna over yours?"

"That's not the point," Castillo explained. "But no, I think he'd accept whatever I told him as the truth. The point is that he'd be deeply hurt politically if it came out that--"

"That he has been running his own private CIA-FBI-American Spetsnaz rolled into one," Delchamps interrupted, "in contravention of American law and--maybe even worse--without taking the Congress into his confidence. He would be crucified, unless they could think of something more painful."

Svetlana looked at Castillo, who nodded to confirm what Delchamps had said.

Castillo said: "So far, the President doesn't know anything about this?"

"Wrong, I think," Delchamps interrupted again. "I think the DCI probably got carried away and told the President that--to use Svetlana's delightful terminology--the bitch in Vienna was about to put--after long, brilliant, and expensive CIA labor--Svetlana and her brother into the bag. He probably thinks they're in a safe house in Maryland right now."

Castillo didn't reply.

"He came down here to get them, Ace. I rest my case."

"Could very well be," Castillo admitted.

"This man, the ambassador, came down here to get us and take us to the United States?" Svetlana asked.

Castillo nodded. "That was one of the things on his agenda. Understandable."

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him that two hundred dollars, a bottle of scotch, and a mule wasn't even in the ballpark pricewise, but if he wanted to reconsider and up his offer, I'd listen."

It was obvious on Svetlana's face that Castillo's remark made no sense to her.

Davidson took pity on her.

"Svet," he said in Russian, "I don't know how to translate this into Russian, but the essence of Charley's reply to Montvale's suggestion that he turn you over to the agency was that the ambassador"--he switched to English--"should try a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut."

After a long moment, Svetlana said seriously: "I think I understand. But what is a 'doughnut'?"

"Think of a Berliner," Delchamps said, "but round. And with a thumb-sized hole in the middle." He held up his thumb, then mimed rolling the pastry across the floor.

She smiled as the mental picture formed.

"My Charley, you are very naughty. But I love you anyway!"

She demonstrated this by leaning over and kissing him.

"Edgar," Davidson asked, "do you think there's any chance that when Romeo and Juliet are finished we can get that drink we were promised when we got here?"