Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 14

thought so.”
    They were quiet for a while.
    â€œDid you think she was attractive?”
    â€œYou got a look at her; what do you think?”
    â€œI think she’s attractive.”
    â€œWell, I won’t be seeing her again; we’ll talk only on the satphone.”
    â€œSatphone sex!”
    â€œScrambled satphone sex!”
    They both laughed. They arrived home and got undressed for bed.
    â€œI’ve got to call in,” he said to his wife. “Anything you want to pass on?” She was Agency, too.
    â€œNot to Lance Cabot,” she said.
    â€œYou’d better start being nice to him.”
    â€œYou think he’s going to get the job?”
    â€œI think he will if this Holly Barker’s assignment pans out.”
    â€œWhat’s her assignment?”
    â€œThis is between you and me, okay? Nobody else ever hears about it.”
    She fluffed her pillow and got into bed. “Okay.”
    â€œLance sent her down here to find Teddy Fay.”
    â€œYou gotta be kidding.”
    â€œI kid you not.”
    â€œLance thinks he’s still alive?”
    â€œThe Director thinks he might be still alive, and that’s enough.”
    She shook her head. “Hang on a minute while I connect the dots.” She was quiet for a moment. “Okay, I can’t connect the dots.”
    â€œThe dots run all the way to the president; does that help?”
    Her eyebrows went up. “Ooooh; reelection!”
    â€œYou’ve just connected the dots.”
    â€œWhy don’t they just leave well enough alone? Nobody else is looking for him.”
    â€œI’ll bet you a blow job the FBI still is.”
    â€œI won’t take that bet,” she said. “Teddy got away from them twice; Director Bob must be pissed off.”
    â€œYeah, and he’s the kind of guy who, once he’s pissed off, stays pissed off, until somebody makes him happy.”
    â€œYou think they’d arrest Teddy if they found him?”
    â€œMy guess is, not until after the election. After all, it was Will Lee who pulled Director Bob out of the ranks and gave him the big job. The guy must have some sense of gratitude.”
    â€œYou’d think.”
    â€œMs. Barker thinks this guy, Robertson, might be Teddy Fay.”
    â€œThe one you think is the escaped airport bandit?”
    â€œI’m right; I know I am.”
    â€œExcuse me, but aren’t you the guy who thought that coffee merchant in Cairo was Osama bin Laden?”
    â€œThat has nothing to do with this. Besides, the guy was very tall. And he had a beard.”
    â€œRight. So tell me why you think Robertson isn’t Teddy Fay.”
    â€œInstinct.”
    â€œUh-oh, instinct. You should never follow your instincts, darling. Let me guess, Robertson looks like Teddy.”
    â€œHe looks like the description of Teddy that Lance gave Holly Barker.”
    â€œIsn’t that the same thing?”
    â€œMaybe, maybe not.”
    â€œCome on, Billy, use your noodle a little; just consider it. What about Robertson conflicts with what’s known about Teddy Fay?”
    Pepper was silent. “Teddy wouldn’t be stupid enough to use an identity that couldn’t be confirmed.”
    â€œNothing else, huh?”
    â€œNot much.”
    â€œName some little thing about Robertson that conflicts with his being Teddy.”
    â€œHis identity doesn’t check out, okay? All right, nothing else, but nothing conflicts with his being Barney Cox, either.”
    â€œTell me, in your wildest dreams, who would you rather be responsible for bringing in: Barney Cox or Teddy Fay?”
    â€œWell, Barney Cox, of course. If I brought in Teddy Fay, nobody would ever know; Langley would sit on it.”
    â€œLance would know, and if he gets the DDO job, that would be nice.”
    â€œYeah, but only Lance would know, and suppose he doesn’t get the job?”
    â€œThe director would know, and that means the president would know.”
    â€œWhy do you think that? You think Lance would tell her if I busted Teddy? He’d see that he and his acolyte, Barker, got the credit; then he’d get credit for sending her down here. And the director wouldn’t tell the president until he’s out of office. He wouldn’t want to know a thing like that.”
    â€œYou have a point.” She thought for a moment. “Maybe we’d get a nice transfer out of