Hunters pa-3

by W. E. B Griffin

  "I never know when to believe him," the doctor confessed, putting out his hand to first Gorner and then Castillo. "I'm Dr. Czerny. I'm the chief of staff."

  "If you're treating him, Doctor, you have my sympathy," Castillo said, in Hungarian.

  "You're Hungarian?" Dr. Czerny asked, surprised.

  "I had a Hungarian aunt."

  "He's mostly German and Hungarian, with a little Mexican thrown in," Kocian said. "Tell us about…what was the name of that drug in Argentina, Karlchen?"

  "Bupivacaine," Castillo furnished.

  "Tell us about bupivacaine, please, Doctor," Kocian said.

  The doctor shook his head.

  "What do you want to know about bupivacaine? And why?"

  "I'm an old man. Indulge me. What would have happened if the housepainter's hypodermic had been loaded with bupivacaine and he had succeeded in sticking it into my rump?"

  Dr. Czerny smiled.

  "You're amused?" Kocian demanded, indignantly.

  Dr. Czerny nodded, then explained: "Your rump would have gone numb for, oh, two hours or so. Bupivacaine is a drug commonly used by dentists to numb the gums."

  "You're sure, Doctor?" Castillo asked.

  Czerny nodded.

  "If you're ever going to be a decent journalist, Karlchen, you're going to have to start checking your facts," Kocian said, triumphantly. "And, of course, stop plagiarizing."

  "The doctor in the German hospital in Buenos Aires," Castillo said as much to himself as to them, "told me it was bupivacaine."

  "That's something else you should keep in mind, Karlchen. Never trust what a doctor tells you. They only tell you what they think you should know. Isn't that right, Czerny?"

  "My father used to say you were the most difficult person he had ever known," Dr. Czerny said, smiling.

  "How long are you going to have to put up with him, Doctor?" Castillo asked.

  "Well, once he regains his sanity, there's no reason he couldn't leave here in a day or two."

  "His general sanity? Or is there something specific?" Gorner asked.

  "When I walked in here this morning, I thought he was having a heart attack," the doctor said. "But what it was, he was on the telephone and Air France had just told him they would not carry that animal to Buenos Aires."

  "Aerolineas Argentina will be happy to accommodate Max," Kocian said. "But I'll have to take the damned train to Madrid. They don't fly into Budapest. And Max doesn't like trains."

  "I have no idea why he wants to go to Argentina," Dr. Czerny said. The implication was that it was one of the reasons he doubted Kocian's sanity. "And he won't tell me."

  "That's because it's none of your damned business," Kocian explained.

  "What is my business, Eric, personal and professional, is that you're getting pretty long in the tooth and you have just been shot-twice-and I'm not going to stand idly by while you go halfway around the world, alone and in bandages. And with that damned dog."

  "Your father, may his soul rest in peace, Fredric, could call me by my Christian name. I don't recall giving you that privilege," Kocian said. "And don't call Max 'that damned dog.'"

  "I beg your pardon," Dr. Czerny said.

  "Doctor, for the sake of argument, supposing he could get someone to go with him to Argentina," Castillo asked, carefully, "and stay with him while he's there, would that be all right? I mean, could he stand the strain?"

  "In a couple of days, why not?" Dr. Czerny said.

  It was clear that Dr. Czerny had concluded that Castillo had come up with a way to calm Kocian down and that Otto Gorner had concluded that Castillo had lost his mind.

  "Well, let's have a look at you, Ur Kocian," Dr. Czerny said. "Will you excuse us a moment, please?"

  He started to draw a curtain around the bed. Max stood up, showed his teeth, and growled softly but deeply.

  "Come on, Max," Castillo said. "Let's go terrorize people in the corridor."

  Max looked doubtful for a moment, then followed Castillo out of the room.

  As soon as he had closed the door to room 24, Otto Gorner grabbed Castillo's arm.

  "You're not actually thinking about taking him to Argentina, are you, Karl?"

  "For one thing, do you think we'd be able to stop him from going to Argentina?" Castillo replied, and then went on without giving Gorner a chance to reply: "The people who tried to kill him-the needle full of phenothiazine makes me think they were going to question him, which means torture him, to see what he knew before killing him-are almost certainly going to have another try at him. I can protect him a lot better in Argentina than I can here. And if I take him on the Gulfstream, there will be no record of him having bought a ticket to go anywhere. That'll take them off his trail for at least a few days."

  Gorner considered that for thirty seconds, then asked: "When will your airplane be here?"

  Castillo thought out loud: "It was probably ten, Washington time, by the time Dick had the cashier's check from the Riggs Bank. Torine said twelve hours from then. That would make it ten tonight, and how far ahead of Washington is Budapest? Five hours this time of year?"

  "Six," Gorner furnished.

  "That'll put them into Ferihegy at four tomorrow morning. Figure an hour-maybe a little more-to clear customs and get to the Gellert. Five o'clock. I think we'd better spend a day here, both to give Billy a chance to get his stuff together and for Torine and Fernando to get some rest."

  Gorner nodded.

  "You can protect him in Argentina?" he asked.

  Castillo nodded. "But I'm a little worried about here. That one cop doesn't look like much protection. Can you do something about that?"

  Gorner took his cellular telephone from his pocket and punched an autodial button.

  Thirty seconds later, he said, "As soon as someone wakes up long enough to answer the goddamned telephone at the Budapester Tages Zeitung, there will be people from the security service here within fifteen minutes."

  "Can they be trusted?"

  "Eric trusts them," Gorner said and then turned his attention to his cellular telephone: "Hier ist Generaldirektor Gorner…" [THREE] Room 24 Telki Private Hospital 2089 Telki Korhaz Fasor 1 Budapest, Hungary 1750 6 August 2005 Doctor Fredric Czerny put his head into the corridor and, shaking his head in what was obviously resignation, signaled for Castillo and Gorner to come into Eric Kocian's room.

  "Ur Kocian and I are negotiating his release from the hospital," he said. "He wishes you to participate."

  Max trotted after them, sat on his haunches by the bed, and offered Kocian his paw.

  "Traitor!" Kocian said but took the paw and then caressed Max's massive head.

  "What are the points in dispute?" Castillo asked.

  "I told him I would release him probably tomorrow afternoon, as I think he needs another day of bed rest," Czerny explained.

  "And I said if I have to spend another day in bed, I would prefer to do so in my own bed instead of on this Indian bed of nails," Kocian said. "Starting right now."

  "My counteroffer was to release him after breakfast tomorrow, with the caveat he will actually go to his bed and stay there for twenty-four hours. he said that whether he stays in bed depends on when you plan to leave for Argentina."

  "Very early in the morning, the day after tomorrow," Castillo said.

  "Why then?" Kocian asked.

  "Because that's when the plane leaves," Castillo said.

  "You understand Max is going?"

  "I understand Max is going," Castillo said. "I couldn't leave him; we're pals."

  Kocian snorted, then said: "You see, Fredric? We have reached agreement. I will leave your charnel house in the morning. Before breakfast, as the food you serve in here would poison an oxen."

  "You will leave after breakfast and after I have another look at you in the morning, and then only if Ur Gossinger will guarantee that you will go directly from here to your apartment and get in bed and stay there."

  "Will I be paroled, Karlchen, to have a bat
h and attend to necessary bodily functions?"

  "As long as you're quick about it and the bath is in your bathroom," Castillo said. "Doctor, I'll see that he stays in bed if I have to chain him to it."

  "You may well find yourself doing just that," Dr. Czerny said, quickly shook Castillo's and Gorner's hands, and walked out of the room.

  "There will be security people from the Tages Zeitung here in a couple of minutes," Otto Gorner announced. "And I will arrange with them to take you from here to your apartment in the morning."

  "Do you ever think before you act, Otto?" Kocian asked.

  "Something's wrong?" Gorner said.

  "Max dislikes security people," Kocian explained. "They apparently have a special smell. Max tends to bite people he dislikes and the security people know it. They may go on strike."

  Castillo said, "I want you alive, so you can talk to me. These people will keep you alive until I can get you on the airplane." He paused. "What about the cop at the door? Max has no problem with him."

  "There is an exception to every rule," Kocian said. "And I suspect the cop-his name is Kadar-has been feeding Max leberwurst. Max likes leberwurst."

  "So we will get the security people a supply of leberwurst," Castillo said.

  Kocian considered this a moment.

  "No. Hanging around my bed of pain is no fun for Max," he said, finally. "And the cop at the door has already been there too long. So when my security people arrive, I will send him away. And you will take Max to my apartment. You may stay with him, providing you take him for a late-night walk."

  "Two questions," Castillo said. "Where is your apartment? And will they let me into it?"

  "On the top floor of the Hotel Gellert," Kocian replied, the expression on his face making it obvious he thought Castillo should have known where he lived. "And if you're with Max, of course they will. You will find dog food in the kitchen, and there will be some beef bones in the refrigerator. He gets one large, or two small, only after he eats his dog food."

  "Yes, sir. And what does he like for dessert?"

  "There is a dish of chocolates beside my chair. He gets two only."

  "Okay."

  "For reasons I can't imagine, chocolate is supposed to be bad for dogs. In Max's case, too much chocolate causes flatulence-and he can clear a room with it-so be wise and strong when he begs for more. He's a very appealing beggar."

  "I'll remember."

  "There's a leash hanging from the door handle," Kocian said. "You'd better put him on it. Unless I am there, Max tends to go pretty much where he wants to." Two minutes later, there was a knock at the door and two burly men-obviously armed under their suits-came into the room, saw Max, and stayed close to the door. Max growled softly but deeply and showed a thin but impressive row of teeth.

  "What did I tell you?" Kocian asked.

  "How many of you are there?" Castillo asked.

  They looked at him but didn't answer, looking instead at Gorner.

  "You can tell him," Kocian said. "That's Herr Karl von und zu Gossinger."

  "There are three of us, Herr Gossinger," one of the men said, in German.

  "You heard what happened to Mr. Kocian?" Castillo asked, in Hungarian.

  Both nodded. The same man said, "Mr. Kocian was assaulted on the Szabadsag hid."

  "It was not a robbery. It was far more serious and it may well happen again," Castillo said.

  They both nodded again.

  "I want two men outside this door at all times," Castillo ordered. "And I want at least two more close by."

  "I can have another man-as many men as you would like, sir-here in fifteen minutes."

  "Get two," Castillo ordered. "Do you know how to use your pistols?"

  "They're all retired policemen, Ur Gossinger," Kocian answered for them.

  "Everyone has cellular telephones?" Castillo asked.

  They nodded.

  "If anything at all suspicious happens, you notify first the police and then me. That means you will have to give me one of your telephones. I will be in Ur Kocian's apartment."

  The man who had spoken gestured for the other to give Castillo his cellular telephone.

  "Thank you," Castillo said, examining it. "And how do I call you with this?"

  The man showed him.

  "In the morning, we are going to move Ur Kocian from here to his apartment. We don't want anyone to know we're doing that, which means we don't want anyone to see him leaving the hospital or entering the hotel. He will be in a wheelchair. Suggestions, please?"

  "I will not be in a wheelchair," Kocian announced.

  "Ur Kocian will be in a wheelchair," Castillo repeated.

  "We could get a van from the Tages Zeitung, sir. Back it up to the loading dock in the basement of the hospital and then do the same thing at the Gellert."

  "I want one of you to drive the van," Castillo ordered. "And when you are prepared to leave, I want you to call me. You will say, 'Ur Kocian is having his breakfast and waiting for the doctor.'"

  The man nodded and smiled.

  "Did I say something amusing?" Castillo asked. "You're smiling."

  "Excuse me, sir. I was just thinking you sound more like a policeman than a newspaper publisher."

  "Think what you like about me, but don't repeat what you're thinking."

  "No offense intended, sir."

  "None taken," Castillo said.

  "Sir," the man said. "We will take good care of Ur Kocian and get him safely and discreetly to the Gellert in the morning."

  "Good," Castillo said.

  He meant that. Obviously, he really likes Eric. Why should that surprise me?

  "There is one thing, sir…"

  "Which is?"

  "The dog, sir. Sometimes he can be difficult…"

  "What it is," Kocian said, "is that you smell like leberwurst."

  "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."