Davy looked at him for a moment. “You could put it that way if you want to. It’s a little idea that I had and some of my friends liked it.”
“I see.” He didn’t exactly, but a few things were beginning to take shape for him. “Are there going to be any other guests here tonight?” *
Davy nodded. “He’s upstairs — just got here a few minutes ago. He’s a busy fellow. And some others are coming to the party too.” Hewlitt raised his right hand behind his ear and looked the question at his host. The tall Negro shook his head. “Checked it a few minutes ago; everything’s O.K. Long-range microphones can’t penetrate into here, and nobody’s tried yet to install any equipment. They probably will now, for a time, although there’s been a lot less of that going on lately — I don’t know why.”
Barbara came into the room wearing a green cocktail-length dress that set off her figure to striking advantage. “Hello, Hew,” she said. “How do I look — suitable for a high-class brothel?”
“Based on hearsay evidence only,” Hewlitt answered her, “I’d say you’re perfect. I’m ready to become the first customer.”
“When the time comes we’ll see. Right now, believe it or not, officially I’m a virgin — and it’s all your fault. Davy, fix me a drink, will you?”
In response, Davy went behind the bar and from there surveyed
Barbara with careful appraisal. “Damn it all,” he said, “why did you have to get yourself born white?”
“We all have our problems,” she answered him.
The doorbell rang; Davy went and ushered in Cedric Culp, the White House press secretary. Despite the nature of his job he was inclined to be somewhat quiet and seldom had a great deal to say that was not of an official nature. He was a short, stocky man, but he had played football in college and had a reputation as an athlete. During the winter months he was gone many weekends up to the ski slopes.
“Evening, Hew,” he said. He shook hands with Davy Jones and greeted Barbara with a frank admiration of her appearance. “The best in the house,” he said.
“Mary is supposed to be your girl friend — remember.”
Culp turned serious. “I will. Only it’s hard sometimes; Marion may hear some gossip.”
The doorbell rang once more. Davy answered it and admitted two of the secret service men normally assigned to the White House detail. Barbara motioned them to sit down. “This is all that are coming,” she told Davy. “I thought it best not to have us all here together the first time.”
“Good idea,” Culp agreed.
When the newcomers had settled down Barbara informally took the floor. “Tonight we’re due for a briefing from one of the higher placed people in our organization. His code name is Percival; that’s all I can tell you, except that I’ll know how to recognize him. Hew, you’ve met him, haven’t you?”
Hewlitt nodded. “Yes, the man I’ve been working for introduced me.” He stopped when he heard a sound behind him, turned, and saw Percival coming into the room.
There was no need for introductions. Percival took one of the bar stools and swung around to face the group. He looked at Barbara for a moment and then asked, “Are you satisfied as to my identity?”
“Yes,” Barbara answered. “And now that I’ve seen you, I know who you are.”
“Do I have your confidence?”
“Absolutely.” She spoke the word without emphasis, but with full meaning.
Percival looked around. “The rest of you, except for Hew and Davy, will have to take me on faith.” He surveyed the group once more. “I know each of you well by reputation, so from my standpoint, at least, we aren’t meeting for the first time. I know what you have been doing over the past several weeks and I know too that each of you has been implicitly following the instructions that were passed on to you.”
“That wasn’t much,” one of the secret service men said.
“It was a great deal,” Percival corrected him. “You’ve collectively provided us with more valuable information than you may realize. It’s helped us. So much so that we’re moving this unit closer to the center of our operation. I’ll be working with you directly as well as through Barbara’s contact and Davy here.”
“Something’s moving, then,” Culp said.
“Something is. You may not know this, but we have a large and highly competent organization. And we’re not powerless. This is all totally secret information; don’t discuss it, even here. Now, because of the importance of your location, and the level of talent that you represent, I’ve been instructed to tell you that there is a central nucleus that’s running this outfit. We call it the First Team, and you’d better believ^ that they are. They’re all men of extraordinary capacity and they aren’t working in the dark. They’re on the job continuously and they have resources — more than you might imagine. You can thank God for that.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” the other secret service man said.
Percival stopped while Davy put a drink in his hand; he sampled it and then spoke his thanks. “Now about this house,” he went on. “It’s protected in a good many ways. It has certain features which make it all but impossible to bug without our knowing it immediately. Some useful equipment is stored here. And if it becomes necessary, we have a way of getting you out; not a sure one, but it’s a good bet and a lot better than nothing.”
He tried his drink once more and then set the glass down carefully. “Now for the cover for this place. Insofar as the enemy is concerned, and probably the neighbors as well, it’s going to be a private brothel, of which there are a considerable number in this city. We arranged to have both of these young ladies evicted from their quarters. They did a suitable amount of apartment hunting before they came here on Hew’s suggestion — that is if anybody ever asks. We’re moving two more of our girls in here; both of them are totally reliable. Hew, you spoke to one of them on the phone, if you remember. So you see the setup.”
“We come here to see our girls,” Culp said.
“Right, and sometimes spend the night, as anyone would expect. All four of the girls have agreed to this, so their reputations go out the window.”
“That’s not a consideration,” Barbara said.
“Will we be told when to come?” Hewlitt asked.
“Yes, and also you can come on your own for purely social reasons if you’d like. Davy will front as the owner and very tolerant landlord.”
“There really are places like this,” Mary said.
“Lots,” Percival answered her, “so feel easy in your mind. It’s a very good cover for the men coming here. One or two more points that are important: first, if anything happens to me, my replacement, man or woman, will be Rodney. Secondly, when you come in, never say a compromising word until you have looked at the bar first. If there is a bottle standing on it, any kind of a bottle, that will be the danger signal — even if someone is sitting there with it. Pay no attention to what he or she might say about it being all right. If you use the bar, never set the bottle on the top unless you mean it as a definite warning.”
He lowered his head for a moment or two; when he looked up his face was possibly a shade more serious than it had been before. “I’ll tell you this,” he said. “The work you’re doing, the risks you’re taking, aren’t for nothing. You’ll know soon enough. When it breaks, some of you may have a lot more to do — you’ll be informed. Stay with it.”
Hewlitt looked at Barbara wondering how all of this sat with her. She looked back at him evenly — clear-eyed and unafraid. At that moment he had a vague stirring, a first realization that perhaps he was falling in love with her. As a woman she was totally desirable, but much more even than that she had an inner strength, an intelligence, that set her way apart from the rest. She could pull her own share and more. She was a helluva girl.