Black Ops (Presidential Agent 5)

"Yes, sir," they said in unison as they headed for one of the Yukons. Bradley went to the nearest and opened the rear door.

"Where'd you get the cowboy suit?" Castillo asked.

"Weren't you paying attention in the Q course when they said you should always try to blend into the native population? And this is Texas, right? At least Dallas, if one were to believe the Boy Marine."

Castillo chuckled.

"Well, hello," Casey said, having spotted Svetlana.

"I like your cowboy suit," Svetlana said. "Carlos, I want one just like that."

"Aloysius, this is Susan Barlow," Castillo said. "And her brother, Tom."

"You don't sound like a Texan," Casey said. "But as pretty as you are, you can sound like anything you want."

"My grandmother's in the house, setting up lunch," Castillo said.

"Your grandmother?"

"We need all the help we can get," Castillo said.

"And here I am," Casey said. "Let's get this crap off the airplane."

The "crap off the airplane" nearly filled both Yukons.

Less than an hour after it touched down, Casey's Gulfstream went wheels-up.

"What we're going to need before too long are a couple of large, very large, monitors," Casey announced. "Better, three. Better yet, four. That's presuming the Marine Corps doesn't smash everything taking it out of the boxes."

He nodded toward Bradley, who was half inside one of Casey's large cardboard boxes that crowded the library.

"Not to worry, sir. I know how delicate vacuum tubes are."

"Vacuum tubes?" Casey asked incredulously, then said, "The Boy Marine got me again!"

"So it would appear," Berezovsky said.

"I may decide not to like you, Tom. And I don't even know who you are."

"You tell me what kind of monitors you want, and I'll go into town and get them," Castillo said. "And while I'm doing that, Davidson can tell you who Tom is and otherwise bring you up to speed."

Casey said, "Go to Radio Shack and get a bunch of precision soldering irons and hand tools, that kind of thing. Mine are in my kitchen. As far as the monitors go, get the best they have. I don't want to have to fix monitors in addition to everything else I have to do around here."

He reached for his wallet. "Let me give you a credit card."

"I have a credit card, thank you. The Lorimer Charitable and Benevolent Fund will pick up the tab."

Castillo was almost out the front door when he remembered that if he used the Lorimer AmEx, or anything with his name on it, the FBI would quickly learn his whereabouts.

Abuela, Estella, and Svetlana were cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast when he walked in.

"Abuela, I need you to go into town with me to buy some things. And bring your credit card, please. I'll pay you back later."

"Carlos, you don't have a credit card?" she said incredulously, if disapprovingly.

"I do. But if I use it, the FBI will know I'm in Midland, and I don't want them to know that."

That announcement didn't faze her.