W. Griffin - The shooters

He instead was thinking, Now what the hell do I do?

Pevsner took a moment to drain his glass and think.

"You couldn't possibly get four helicopters and all the men you say you have into Argentina without at least the tacit approval of the Argentine government," Pevsner went on.

"The Argentine government knows nothing about this," Castillo said, "and if I can work it, never will. And, yes, I can. I already have most of the shooters in country; the rest will be here in a day or two; and so will the helicopters. I'm going to get Agent Timmons back. I hope I can do it without the Evil Leprechaun carrying out the bloodbath he wants, but if that happens…"

"'The Evil Leprechaun'?"

"Reminding you that you're still bound by the Boy Scout's oath of secrecy, his name is Liam Duffy. He's a comandante in the Gendarmeria Nacional. You know him?"

Pevsner shook his head.

"I think I'll have another drink, friend Charley. You?"

Castillo emptied his glass and held it out. "Please."

As Pevsner made the drinks, Castillo heard him say, as if he was thinking aloud, "I almost wish I had given you a beauty mark in Vienna."

"Oh, Alek, you don't mean that! You love me!"

A moment later, Pevsner turned and handed Castillo the drink.

"Unfortunately, I do," he said, sincerely. "But I never dreamed how expensive that would be."

"There's no reason you have to be involved in this," Castillo said, seriously.

Pevsner snorted.

"You had better pray your Evil Leprechaun does what he says he wants to do," he said.

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that's the only way your noble rescue mission can succeed without bringing yourself down-and me down with you."

"You're going to explain that, right?"

Pevsner raised his glass toward Castillo's and touched rims.

"Oh, God, friend Charley. You do cause me problems."

"That's what friends are for, right?"

Pevsner shook his head and exhaled audibly.

"You're sure that the Argentine government is not involved? Either with you? Or that they're not winking at this man Duffy?"

"The Argentine government has no idea what I plan. And I don't think they know what Duffy plans," Castillo said.

"Why do you say that?"

"When I got here, he had men waiting for me. He knew I was coming, which means he has someone in the U.S. embassy in Asuncion."

"Someone in your embassy knew you were coming?"

"That's another whole story."

"I should know it, if I'm to help," Pevsner said.

That's really none of his business.

But why not tell him?

Maybe he can fill in the blanks.

"As I understand it, Alek, the drugs are moved to the United States with fresh meat shipped from Ezeiza by air to Jamaica-maybe on your airplanes, although I don't expect you to fess up about that."

"My airplanes make a number of such flights, sometimes every other day," Pevsner said, somewhat indignantly. "But the pilots will not take off until they have in their hand documents from Argentine customs stating that the sealed and locked containers they are carrying have passed customs inspection. There may well be drugs in those containers, but I don't know about it, and neither does anyone who works for me. And my people know what happens to people who do what I have told them not to do."

"Okay. I believe you"-Strangely enough, I do, especially the part about what happens to people who do what you've told them not to-"but in Jamaica, they are loaded aboard cruise ships and smuggled into the United States from the cruise ships. The CIA station chief in the Asuncion embassy, and maybe the head man from the DEA, has been setting up an operation to seize the cruise ships under international law, which permits the seizure of ships whose owners collude in the shipment of drugs-"

"You believe this story?" Pevsner interrupted.

"What I know is that a CIA guy heard I was being sent down here to grab Timmons and looked me up to tell me-Timmons be damned-that he would be unhappy if my operation interfered with his."

"And you were sent down here anyway? One drug agent is worth more than seizing a cruise ship?"

"To answer the second question first, yeah, Alek, in my book one drug agent is worth more than a cruise ship. And, what's really interesting here, the director of the CIA and his deputy don't know anything about the ship-seizing operation."

"I find that hard to believe."

"I believe that. But that operation smells somehow."

"You don't have any idea what's going on?"

"No. But to get back to the Evil Leprechaun: I told you the only way that he could have known I was coming down here was that he has somebody in the Asuncion embassy close to either the CIA station chief or the head of the DEA there. There's no question in my mind that the CIA guy who came to me in Washington-after I told him I didn't care about his operation; I was going to get Timmons back-warned the CIA guy in Asuncion that I was coming."

"With the Delta Force people and the helicopters?"

Castillo shook his head. "He didn't know that. And I don't think he's found out. But the Evil Leprechaun told me he had word that there were people intent on whacking me and the people with me. I believe him."

"You don't mean your own CIA people?"

Castillo shrugged, meaning he didn't know.

"Duffy tried to bluff me," Castillo went on, "to get back to your original, original question. He threatened to have me kicked out of the country within twenty-four hours unless I put myself and my assets under his command."

"He knew about the helicopters and-what did you call them?-'the shooters'?"

Castillo nodded as he sipped his single-malt.

"He didn't then," he explained. "I told him this morning, after I called his bluff. He backed down. I don't think he would have backed down from his threat if the government-hell, even his boss in the gendarmeria-knew about the massacre he's planning."

"Why did you tell him anything?"

"Because I need his help in getting the helicopters up there around Asuncion where I can stage them, and to find out where these people have Timmons."

"You trust him?"

"Not very much. But as long as he thinks I'm on board to get his men back and I'm willing to go along with his plan to shoot everybody in sight and let the Lord sort them out, I don't think he's going to cause me any problems. I left him with one of the A-Team commanders, who'll warn me if he's about to go out of control."

"What have you got against letting him do what he wants to do?"

"I'm an Army officer, Alek, for one thing, not the avenging hand of God. For another, if I let him do that, and this operation blows up in my face, they call that murder."

"Letting him do what he wants is the only chance you have to get away with this, friend Charley."

"Unless you can get these people to let Timmons go."

"I've told you that that is not going to happen. These people are making a point. They can kidnap people. They're not going to turn this fellow loose because you threaten them. And if you just drop in and get him, leaving their men alive-and their refining facility and warehouse full of drugs intact-they would have to send another message. On the other hand, if you-or this fellow Duffy-leave bodies all over the terrain, to use your phrase, and blow up their warehouse and refinery, what do you think will happen?"

"I think you're about to tell me."

"There's no way that could be kept a secret. The word will get out-Duffy's gendarmes will talk. More important, Duffy will want it to get out, to take credit; he got the people who killed and kidnapped his gendarmes. And that will leave the Argentine government with the choice of trying Duffy for murder or saying, 'Congratulations, Comandante, for dealing so effectively with these criminals. It is to be regretted, of course, that so many of them died, but those who live by the sword, etcetera, etcetera…"