Iron Orchid

TWENTY-NINE

WILL LEE WAS WORKING in his private study off the Oval Office when his secretary buzzed him.

“The director of Central Intelligence for you, Mr. President.”

Will picked up the phone. “Good morning, Madame Director.”

“Mr. President. You asked for any news on the Teddy Fay hunt.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Fay apparently went to the Metropolitan Opera last Friday night and picked up a lady. Unbeknownst to him, she was a CIA officer.”

“Did they take him? Why wasn’t I told sooner?”

“They did not take him, because she didn’t realize who he was, even though she was looking for him. He’s that good at disguise.

The good news is, he told her he has the same seats for every Friday night performance, so they’re planning an operation for that night.“ ”I have to wait until Friday?“

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be patient, as will we, Mr. President.”

“I’m getting worse at being patient as I get older,” Will said.

“I’ve noticed.”

“How did Fay get the tickets? Were they mailed to him, maybe?”

“An excellent question, Mr. President. He went to the box office and bought season tickets with cash, then he hung around until somebody showed up to collect tickets for better seats than his, and negotiated a swap. The ticket seller remembers him, but, of course, his description was different from last Friday’s.”

“A slippery fellow,” Will said.

“We trained him well,” Kate replied. “Unfortunately, we’re sometimes not as good at catching our own people when they go bad as we are at finding outsiders.”

“Is this the only lead you have?”

“There’s a record shop specializing in opera that we think he might go to now and then, so we’re keeping that under surveillance, but we have no hard evidence of that.”

“Did you question the staff?”

“An FBI agent blundered in there and alienated the only person who seems to work there. We’re trying to tread more lightly now.”

“Good idea. How is it working out, your people and the FBI?”

“The team has made a good start,” she said. “They’re trying very hard to work together, and it’s my hope that gradually, their institutional attachments will be superseded by their loyalty to the team. It’s not an easy transition for any of them.”

“Bob Kinney starts his confirmation hearings this week, and I expect he’ll be asked for his views on that subject.”

“I’ll be watching, Mr. President. I’ll be interested in hearing his views.”

“Is Bob being helpful?”

“Yes, when he’s not finding things to complain about in the way the Agency works.”

Will laughed. “You left yourself wide open on the question of FBI I.D. cards,” he said.

“Don’t rub it in. Please.”

“I’ll do my rubbing when you get home.”

“I’m shocked, Mr. President, that you would indulge in sexual harassment. On a White House telephone line, anyway.”

“See you later.”

“You betcha, Mr. President.”

TEDDY CONTINUED to pore over the CIA’s file on Omar Said. The most interesting item he found was that, while Said had a wife ensconced in an apartment in the U.N. Towers, he also had two girlfriends kept in apartments located on the East Side. He spent his weekdays with the wife, and the weekends with the girlfriends.

One of the girls, in particular, interested him. She was a belly dancer in a Middle Eastern restaurant a few blocks south of the U.N., and Said frequently began his weekends with her, dining at the restaurant and watching her performance, then taking her to her apartment later to express his appreciation for her work. The transcripts of their recorded conversations were disgustingly vivid, involving imagery that included references to various desert animals. Said was usually with her until the wee hours. Then, the following night, he would be with the other girlfriend. A busy man, Omar.

Teddy began to formulate a plan.