Jack Ryan 12 - The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy Read Free Book Online Page B

Hendley thought aloud.
    “True. But we need more.” That was not earthshaking. They always needed more.
    “Who do we have down there right now?” He ought to have known, but Hendley suffered from the usual bureaucratic disease: he had trouble keeping all the information current in his head.
    “Right now? Ed Castilanno is in Bogotá, looking into the Cartel, but he's in deep cover. Real deep,”
    
    
     Davis
    
    
     reminded his boss.
    “You know, Tom, this intelligence business sometimes sucks the big one.”
    “Cheer up, Gerry. The pay's a hell of a lot better—at least for us underlings,” he added with a tiny grin. His bronze skin contrasted starkly with the ivory teeth.
    “Yeah, must be terrible to be a peasant.”
    “At least da
    
    
    
    
     massa
    
    
    
     let me get educated, learn my letters and such. Could have been worse, don' have to chop cotton no more, Mas Gerry.” Hendley rolled his eyes.
    
    
     Davis
    
    
     had, in fact, gotten his degree from
    
    
     Dartmouth
    
    
    , where he took a lot less grief for his dark skin than for his home state. His father grew corn in
    
    
     Nebraska
    
    
    , and voted Republican.
    “What's one of those harvesters cost now?” the boss asked.
    “You kidding? Far side of two hundred thousand. Dad got a new one last year and he's still bitching about it. 'Course, this one'll last until his grandchildren die rich. Cuts through an acre of corn like a battalion of Rangers going through some bad guys.”
    
    
     Davis
    
    
     had made a good career in CIA as a field spook, becoming a specialist in tracking money across international borders. At Hendley Associates he'd discovered that his talents were also quite useful in a business sense, but, of course, he'd never lost his nose for the real action. “You know, this FBI guy, Dominic, he did some interesting work in financial crimes in his first field assignment in
    
    
     Newark
    
    
    . One of his cases is developing into a major investigation into an international banking house. He knows how to sniff things out pretty well for a rookie.”
    “All that, and he can kill people on his own hook,” Hendley agreed.
    “That's why I like his looks, Gerry. He can make decisions in the saddle, like a guy ten years older.”
    “Brother act. Interesting,” Hendley observed, eyes on the folders again.
    “Maybe breeding tells. Grandfather was a homicide cop, after all.”
    “And before that in the 101st Airborne. I see your point, Tom. Okay. Sound them both out soon. We're going to be busy soon.”
    “Think so?”
    “It's not getting any better out there.” Hendley waved at the window.
     
     
    THEY WERE
    
    
    
    at a sidewalk café in
    
    
     Vienna
    
    
    . The nights were turning less cold, and the patrons of the establishment were enduring the chill to enjoy a meal on the wide sidewalk.
    “So, what is your interest with us?” Pablo asked.
    “There is a confluence of interests between us,” Mohammed answered, then clarified: “We share enemies.”
    He gazed off. The women passing by were dressed in the formal, almost severe local fashion, and the traffic noise, especially the electric trams, made it impossible for anyone to listen in on their conversation. To the casual, or even the professional, observer, these were simply two men from other countries—and there were a lot of them in this imperial city talking business in a quiet and amiable fashion. They were speaking in English, which was also not unusual.
    “Yes, that is the truth,” Pablo had to agree. “The enemies part, that is. What of the interests?”
    “You have assets for which we have use. We have assets for which you have use,” the Muslim explained patiently.
    “I see.” Pablo added cream to his coffee and stirred. To his surprise, the coffee here was as good as in his own country.
    He'd be slow to reach an agreement, Mohammed expected. His guest was not as senior as he would have preferred. But the enemy they shared had enjoyed greater success