"Joel told me the Secret Service did. Or I got that impression. I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been. I'll take the heat, sir. I thought the taps-as soon as they can be installed-were important."
"We have a ten-day authority, starting when we tell a federal judge. But we're required to tell a federal judge first. If we can justify the tap-reasonable cause to believe-to the judge within the ten days, we can keep the tap. Otherwise, we can't use anything we intercept. You might want to write that down, Charley."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
"Joel's on his way over here now. I'll have him call a judge."
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
"What the hell were you thinking, Charley?"
"That we're running out of time, sir."
"Well, I can't argue with that. Call me as soon as you've talked with General McNab."
"Yes, sir."
As Betty drove the unmarked Crown Victoria up to the Lear, Castillo said, "You guys get on the plane." He looked at Miller. "And you take a walk, Dick. I need a private word with Sergeant Schneider."
When Charley and Betty were alone in the car, she looked at him and then away.
"You wanted to know about Karl Gossinger," he said.
"It's not important," she said.
"I was born in Germany. My mother's name was Gossinger. My father was an American officer who was killed in Vietnam. They weren't married, he never knew about me, and I never knew about him until my mother was about to die. When they heard about me, my father's family brought me to this country and I took his name. Not even Dick knows that story. Fernando does, but hardly anybody else. But I'm considered a German by the Germans and got a passport, etcetera. It's useful in my line of work."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I don't want to go back to Sergeant Schneider and Major Castillo."
"Charley, I don't even remember the last time I had any sleep. I can't deal with this now. And I probably won't be able to-won't want to-deal with it when all this is over. You're just too much for me. You don't know who you are, how am I supposed to? Get on the airplane."
"Do I get kissed again?"
"No, you don't!"
"Okay. I had to give it a shot," Charley said. "I won't bother you again."
He got out of the Crown Victoria and was halfway to the Lear when she called, "Charley!"
He turned.
"You forgot your phone."
"Shit," he said and trotted toward the car.
I must have missed my goddamned pocket when I put it away.
He patted his shirt pocket. The phone was in it.
Betty hadn't gotten out of the Crown Victoria but she had pushed the passenger door open.
He slid onto the seat.
She touched his face with her hand and then kissed him as she had the first time. Not passionately, not coldly: tenderly.
Then she put her hand on his chest and pushed.
"Now get on the goddamned airplane," she said, "and, for Christ's sake, be careful!"
Miller was standing by the door of the Lear.
"Can I go back to the car now? Your private tete-a-tete with the lady over?"
"Not one more fucking word, Dick!" Castillo said and then went up the steps of the Lear.
Chapter XVI
[ONE]
Aboard Lear 4SX NS075L
Over Cambridge, Maryland
0420 10 June 2005
"Richmond area control," Castillo said into his microphone, the glow from the instrument panel gently lighting him in the early morning light, "Lear Five-Zero-Seven-Five at flight level twenty-nine, on a heading of two-zero-niner true, airspeed five hundred."
"Roger, Lear Seven-Five."
"Request permission to change destination from Fayetteville to Pope Air Force Base. We have approach and landing clearance."
"Richmond area approves change of destination for Lear Seven-Five. Maintain present heading and flight level. Richmond turns Lear Seven-Five over to Pope area control at this time."
"Roger, Richmond. Thank you. "Pope area control. Lear Five-Zero-Seven-Five at flight level twenty-nine, on a heading of two-zero-niner true, airspeed five hundred. Estimate Pope in three-zero minutes. Pope special approach and landing permission, USAF six, this date. Request approach and landing."
"Lear Seven-Five, Pope. I don't have you on radar. Is your transponder operating?"
"Oh, fuck!" Castillo said and turned to Fernando. "Where do they hide the transponder indicator in this thing?"
Fernando pointed to the lower right of Castillo's control panel as he pressed his microphone button.
"Pope, Lear Seven-Five, our transponder is operating."
"Oh, there you are. Okay. Pope clears Lear Seven-Five to approach. Begin descent to flight level ten at this time. Report over Goldsboro."
"Lear Seven-Five understands begin descent to ten thousand at this time, commencing descent, will report over Goldsboro."
"That is correct, Seven-Five."
"Pope, please contact Captain Brewster at Eighteenth Airborne Corps, advise him of our ETA, and inform him we will require ground transportation."
"Sure thing, Seven-Five."
"Thank you, Pope."
"So tell me about you and the lady cop, Gringo," Fernando said. "Very nice!"
There was no response.
"Hey, Gringo, I thought you were going to tell me everything."
He looked over at Castillo. In the glow of the panel lights, he could see Castillo's head was slumped forward. Charley was sound asleep.
Fernando reached toward him to shake his shoulder, but changed his mind.
[TWO]
Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina
June 2005
Fernando Lopez reached over in the cockpit and pushed Charley's shoulder.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty! Wake up!"
Castillo almost snapped his head back, then looked out the windshield. They were moving down a taxiway, past a long line of Air Force C-130s.
"We're down," Castillo said, sounding surprised.
"With no help from you."
"Sorry, Fernando."
"Come on, Gringo, when was the last time you had any sleep?"
"I dunno," Castillo said after a moment. Then, "Where we going?"
"Ground control said take this until a follow me meets us," Fernando said.
Castillo looked out the window again.
There was no follow me vehicle in sight, but there was a ground handler waving his wands in the "keep coming" signal. As Castillo watched, the ground handler-now walking backward toward the opening doors of a hangar-made a "turn right" signal with his wands. When Fernando turned the Lear toward the hangar, he immediately got the "stop" and "shut down" signals.
"This is probably where Delta keeps its 727," Castillo said.
Confirmation of that came almost immediately. A tug backed out of the hangar. Two soldiers, wearing green berets and slinging their sidearms in shoulder holsters, hooked up the Lear to the tug, which then pulled it into the hangar. The doors immediately began to close.
Castillo saw Captain Harry Brewster and Vic D'Alessandro standing by the door of an interior office in the hangar.
"I'm impressed with your airplane, Charley," D'Alessandro said, greeting him with a handshake and a pat on the shoulder. "Where the hell did you get it?"
"Alamo Rent-A-Plane," Castillo responded. "Why are we in the hangar?"
"We got an en route call from General McNab, Charley-he's somewhere over the Atlantic, about three hours out-saying he wants to see you ASAP when he gets here. I figured it would be quicker here than to go to the stockade. The Globemaster will come here as soon as it lands to off-load the backup guys."
"He say why?"
D'Alessandro shook his head.
Fernando and Sergeant Sherman got out of the Lear and walked up to them.
"This is my cousin, Fernando Lopez," Castillo said.
"He's driving the airplane?" D'Alessandro asked.
"It's his airplane."
"How much did you have to tell him?"
"Just about everything."
"Pity," D'Alessandro said, straight-faced. "Now I'll have to kill him."