"Great!" Castillo said.
"There's a Jumbo supermarket in Pilar that would have everything we need," Susanna Sieno said.
"If you were to go out there and shop, who would watch the Cuban embassy?"
"Most of that's automated," she said. "And Paul will be here. Won't he?"
"He will. Can I ask you to do that?"
"Certainly."
"Lester will go with you," Castillo said. "Go to Pilar, please, and buy what you need in the Jumbo, but don't go to Mayerling until we hear from Darby that it's a done deal and the owner and the others have left."
"You want me to use our car?" she asked.
"There's CD plates on it?"
"We have one of each," she said.
"Take the one with regular plates," Castillo said.
She nodded.
"Can we get Lester a weapon?" Castillo asked.
The faces of both Sieno and his wife showed their surprise at the request.
Davidson chuckled.
"There are those who refer to Corporal Bradley as Deadeye Dick," he said. "He's one hell of a shot."
Corporal Bradley, who had stood up and was standing almost at attention, blushed.
"Mr. Darby," Sieno began, pointing to the large duffel bag that Castillo had seen him take out of the Cherokee when he'd first come to the apartment, "he didn't know what you would want, so I brought two M-16s, a riot gun, a couple of Glocks, and a couple of 1911A1.45s."
"Your call, Corporal Bradley," Castillo said.
"Considering the circumstances as I understand them, sir," Bradley said, "and the superior ballistics of the.45 ACP round over the 9mm, if I may I'd like one of the M-16s and a 1911A1."
"So ordered," Castillo said.
Sieno smiled. "You're one of those, are you, Corporal, who doesn't think much of the 9mm?"
"Yes, sir. Actually, it's been proven conclusively that it's inferior to the.45 ACP," Bradley proclaimed, professionally. "And as a result of that determination, the formerly obsolescent Model 1911A1 has been declared optional standard by the Marine Corps and, if I'm not mistaken, by Special Operations."
"So it has, Deadeye," Davidson said, smiling at Sieno. "Any other weapons questions for the corporal, Paul?"
"I think I'd better wrap the M-16 in a blanket or something," Susanna said, not completely able to restrain a smile, and walked out of the living room.
There was a clatter of metal.
Castillo saw that Bradley was now sitting on the floor by the duffel bag that held the weapons. He had already begun fieldstripping one of the 1911A1 pistols, had dropped a part-and was already snatching it from the floor.
Christ, that was fast!
"I have twenty bucks that says Deadeye can fieldstrip that weapon faster than anyone in this room," Jack Davidson said, admiringly. "Including, with all respect, Colonel, sir, the senior special operator among us."
"No bet," Castillo said.
Corporal Lester Bradley made no move or sound to show that he had heard any of that exchange, but the usually pink skin of his neck and cheeks, now a dark rose color, suggested that he had.
Davidson pointed at him and shook his head admiringly. Ninety seconds after Mr. Susanna Sieno and Corporal Lester Bradley had left the apartment, Castillo's cellular vibrated.
And I still haven't charged this thing!
"?Hola?"
"Carlos?"
"Si."
"Our friends Ricardo and Antonio have just left here for the bus terminal with those papers Alfredo was interested in."
Castillo recognized the voice of Ambassador Silvio. It took him a moment to understand Antonio was Tony Santini.
"If they miss the bus, Antonio said he'd call both of us."
"Well, let's hope they don't miss it. Thanks for the call."
"We'll be in touch."
Castillo broke the connection and looked at Munz.
"That was Ambassador Silvio. The passports, with visas, are now on their way from the residence to the Buquebus terminal. Charge the cellular."
Munz nodded but said nothing.
"'The passports, with visas, are now on their way from the residence to the Buquebus terminal. Charge the cellular,'" Jake Torine parroted. "Am I cleared for an explanation of that?"
"Absolutely. The battery in this is almost dead," Castillo said. "I didn't want to forget to charge it before I delivered the briefing, so I said it out loud."
Torine smiled and shook his head.
"There's a charger in the bathroom," Sieno said. "That's one of Mr. Darby's phones, right?"
Castillo nodded and said, "Thanks."
"I was wondering, Gringo, when you were going to get around to telling us what's going on," Fernando said. "But I was too polite to ask."
"Good," Castillo said.
Fernando gave him the finger.
Sieno returned with a cellular charger and, after some shifting of chairs, managed to get it plugged in and the cellular plugged into it.
"Okay," Castillo said. "What's going on now is that Colonel Munz's family-his wife and two teenage daughters-are going to the States. He is concerned, with good cause, for their safety. Ambassador Silvio has given them the necessary visas. He called to tell me that Solez has just picked up their passports at the embassy and is taking them to Artigas, who is waiting for them at the terminal. They are now at Unicenter, where Yung is sitting on them. They will go to the terminal just before the ferry sails for Montevideo. Artigas will have their tickets, and they will leave the country using their National Identity Cards, not their passports. Yung and Artigas will sit on them during the boat ride, get them into the Belmont House Hotel, in Carrasco, not far from the airport, and sit on them there.
"As soon as we're set up in the safe house in Mayerling tomorrow, we'll take the Gulfstream to Montevideo. While Colonel Torine is getting the weather and filing the flight plan, Yung and Artigas will bring them to the airport, give them their passports, they'll pass through Uruguayan customs, and we'll head for the States."
"Where in the States?" Torine asked.
"First, San Antonio," Castillo said. "To drop off Fernando."
"We can't make that nonstop," Torine said. "It's forty-five, forty-six hundred miles from here or Montevideo. Where do you want to refuel?"
"How about Quito, Ecuador?" Castillo replied.
"That'll work. It's about twenty-five hundred miles from here to Quito, and another twenty-one hundred from Quito to San Antone."
"Once we're gone, Artigas will come here and go out to the safe house. Yung will accompany Lorimer's body on an American Airlines flight to Miami-nine-something tomorrow night-and then on to New Orleans."
"Where are you headed, finally, in the States?" Fernando asked. "Washington? I mean, you could drop me in Miami. You don't have to make a special stop at San Antonio for me."
Castillo looked at his cousin. Well, I knew this was coming.
"San Antonio's on our way," Castillo explained. "Colonel Munz's family will be staying at the ranch in Midland."
Castillo saw the look of surprise on Fernando's face was quickly replaced with one of anger.
Or maybe contempt.
"I presume, Carlos, that you factored Abuela into your reasoning?"
Contempt. No question about it. He only calls me "Carlos" when he's really angry, or disgusted, with me.
"I spoke with her an hour or so ago. I told her I had to hold a meeting there and asked her to stay away."
Fernando didn't reply.
"You can't see the runway from the highway," Castillo said. "No one will know anyone unusual's there. And there will be Secret Service agents waiting for us."
Fernando glowered at him but said nothing.
"And one of the things you're going to do in San Antonio is make sure no one goes to the ranch."
"For how long?" Fernando asked, icily.
"For as long as it takes," Castillo said. "Fernando, we don't know who these people are, but we have to presume they have access to credit card databases, hotel registries, all of that sort of thing. Christ, Howard Kennedy even knew where I was when I used my cell phone! The minute Munz's family used a credit card, checked into a hotel, these bastards would know it. At the ranch, they won't use credit cards. And when they talk to Colonel Munz, they'll do it over the Secret Service communications system or a Delta Force radio. No one's going to locate them because they'll be invisible. If you can think of a better place I can put them, tell me."