"I'm taking Max with me," Castillo said.
The man's face registered both surprise and relief.
"I think that would be best, sir." Sandor Tor was waiting with the silver Mercedes-Benz S500 when Gorner and Castillo walked out of the hospital door. Max lunged toward it, towing Castillo after him.
"I called the office and had them send other security people over," Gorner said.
"I saw them," Tor said. "He ran off the people I had placed in the corridor." He paused, then asked, "How is he?"
"He's all right," Gorner said. "The hospital will never be the same, but Ur Kocian is fine."
"He also ran me off," Tor said. "He said I made him nervous."
"Having you around would be like admitting he needed your protection," Castillo said.
"After you drop us at the Gellert, you can come back here and go see him. Your excuse will be that Ur Gossinger"-he nodded at Castillo-"suggested you drive the van in the morning."
"The van in the morning?"
"We're going to move him, very quietly, to the Gellert in the morning," Castillo said. "Tell him I just put you in charge of the movement."
"Thank you very much, Ur Gossinger."
Tor opened a rear door of the Mercedes.
Max, nearly knocking Castillo off his feet, jumped in and sat up on the seat.
"Jesus," Castillo said, letting go of the leash and tossing it into the car. "Go ahead, Otto. I'll get in front."
Gorner started to get in the back. Max announced he didn't think that was the way things should be by showing a thin row of teeth and growling.
"Damn that dog!" Gorner said and got in the front passenger's seat.
Castillo got in the back. Max showed he thought that was a very good idea by leaning over and lapping Castillo's face.
"The Gellert, right, Ur Gorner?" Tor asked when he was behind the wheel.
"No," Castillo said. "Take us to the American embassy, please."
Gorner looked at him in surprise but didn't say anything. [FOUR] The Embassy of the United States of America Szabadsag ter 12 Budapest, Hungary 1825 6 August 2005 There was a Marine sergeant on guard behind a bulletproof-glass window in the lobby of the seven-story century-old mansion housing the United States embassy.
"Sir, you can't bring a dog in here," the sergeant said.
"Think of him as a friend of man, like a Seeing Eye dog," Castillo replied.
The sergeant smiled, but said, "Sir, that's the rules."
Otto Gorner watched as C. G. Castillo slid his Secret Service credentials through the slot under the glass. The sergeant examined them carefully, then returned them.
"Why don't we get the ambassador on the horn and see if he won't make an exception for my puppy?" Castillo asked.
"Sir, the ambassador's not in the embassy."
"Well, then get the duty officer down here," Castillo said. "And I'm going to have to speak to the ambassador, so why don't you, one, call the duty officer and, two, get the ambassador on that phone for me?"
He pointed to a telephone on the counter.
The Marine guard picked up the change of tenor in Castillo's voice-from We're joking with each other to That's a command.
"One moment, sir," he said and picked up his telephone. The ambassador came on the line very quickly.
"And how are you, Mr. Castillo?" he asked. "Actually, I've been expecting you."
"A little bird named Montvale told you I was coming?"
"And that he wants to speak to you."
"I need a secure line, sir, to do just that," Castillo said.
"Not a problem. Tell the Marine guard to pick up."
"And I need a waiver, sir, of your no-canines-on-the-property rule."
"You've got a dog with you?"
"Yes, sir. A sweet puppy who whines piteously when I tie him to a fence or something and leave him."
The ambassador laughed. "Okay. The Marine can handle that, too."
"And I need to see the man who gets his pay from Langley."
"That's not a problem at all. He's probably with my duty officer, waiting for you to show up so he can tell you personally that Ambassador Montvale wishes to speak with you."
Two men came into the lobby through the metal-detector arch. They were both in their forties and both were wearing dark gray summer-weight suits that Castillo suspected had come from Brooks Brothers.
"I think they have both just walked into the lobby, Mr. Ambassador."
"Hand the phone to one of them," the ambassador said.
"Thank you very much, sir."
"Happy to be of service," the ambassador said.
Castillo handed the phone to the nearest of the two Americans.
"The ambassador," he said.
The second man said, "Sir, the embassy has a rule about dogs."
Max growled. The second man looked very uncomfortable.
"I have just been granted a waiver," Castillo said.
The man holding the telephone said "Yes, sir" into it a half dozen or so times, then handed the phone to Castillo. "The ambassador wishes to speak with you, Mr. Castillo."
"Yes, sir?" Castillo said into the handset.
"If there's anything else you need, Mr. Castillo, just call me."
"Thank you very much, sir."
"Get the Marine guard on the line, please. If I tell him you're to have the keys to the kingdom, it'll be easier."
"Thanks again, sir," Castillo said and motioned for the guard to pick up his telephone.
"Why don't we go inside?" the man who had been talking to the ambassador asked, gesturing to the metal-detector arch.
Otto Gorner asked with his eyes what he was supposed to do. Castillo, making no effort to hide the gesture, motioned for him to go through the metal detector.
"And this gentleman is, Mr. Castillo?" the man who had talked with the ambassador asked, looking at Gorner.
"This is Mr. Smith. He's with me."
"I really have to have a name, Mr. Castillo."
"You'd really like to have a name, so that you can tell Ambassador Montvale who I had with me. That's not quite the same thing."
"And this gentleman is, Mr. Castillo?" the man repeated.
Okay, so you're the resident spook. I sort of thought you might be.
"Sergeant, will you get the ambassador on the horn again?" Castillo said, raising his voice.
The two locked eyes for a moment. Then the man said, "That won't be necessary, Sergeant. If you'll follow me, gentlemen, please?"
They passed through the metal-detector arch. As the man Castillo had decided was the CIA station chief went through it, the device buzzed and a red light began to flash.
Why does that make me think you're carrying a gun?
So thank you, metal detector, for bringing that to mind.
An elevator took them all to the basement, where the second man walked ahead of them to a heavy steel door and opened it with a key.
Inside was a bare room, with four unmarked doors leading off it.
"Mr. Castillo," the CIA man announced, "I have been instructed to tell you that Ambassador Montvale wants to talk with you as soon as possible."
"And behind one of these doors is a secure phone?" Castillo asked.
The CIA man nodded.
"Okay," Castillo said. "And while I'm talking to Montvale, please get me a weapon. Black. Preferably an Uzi, with a spare magazine."
Gorner's eyes widened for an instant.
"I'm not sure that I can do that, Mr. Castillo," the CIA man said.
"You don't have a Uzi?"
"Provide you with a weapon."
"You can either check that out with the ambassador or wait until I have Ambassador Montvale on the line and he will tell you that you can."
"May I ask why you need a weapon?"
"No," Castillo said, simply.
The two locked eyes again for a moment, then the CIA man took a ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked one of the steel doors. It opened on a small room furnished with a table and a secretary's chair. On the table were two telephones-one of them with a very heavy cord-a legal tablet, a water glass holding half a dozen pencils, and an ashtray. Hanging from a nail driven into a leg of the table were a dozen or more plastic bags of the sort used by grocery stores. BURN was printed all over them in large red letters.