Chapter 6: The Ambassador’s Girl – Charles Fornau

The morning the knock came on the door, you know, the official one, three solid raps and no more, we both thought the worst.

I looked out the front window to see two black Chevy SUVs, usual government issue looking vehicles, and I guess, when I turned to look at the cute girl I loved so much, she saw the forlorn look on my face. Her face drooped into a frown.

“Buck up, lady. You heard Bill. We’re not in any legal danger, and I don’t think they’ll do anything stupid. We’ll see, though.” I kissed her and opened the door.

“Mister Cochran? Charles Cochran?”

“Yes. To whom do I have the honor?”

“Bradley Simmons. State Department. May I have a word with you?”

“May I ask what about?”

“Yes, I can explain that. May my partner and I at least speak to you inside?” I looked at him and the ID he was holding. He offered me his card, which I accepted.

“Sure, come on in. Alina, take them to the kitchen table while I put on a shirt. I’ll be right back, gentlemen.” I went into the bedroom, slipped a little holstered nine-millimeter pistol onto my belt and waistband, pulled a dark patterned button up shirt on, insuring it was covering the weapon, and went back out to the kitchen.

“Okay, gentlemen, what might be the subject of a conversation happening between the State Department and little old me on a beautiful August Saturday morning?”

“Mostly your travels to Spain, Mister Cochran. You see, there is a man we have been looking for. Several months ago, we lost track of him in a little town known as Zaragoza.”

“Brad, that’s not a little town.”

“Understood, Mister Cochran. I was merely making conversation.”

“OK, I’ve never been there. May I ask what this has to do with me?”

“Well, since we lost him, you have been to Valencia, Barcelona, and Alicante. All three within an afternoon’s drive of there. We were wondering if you might know about the man we are looking for.”

“Can I have a name, or are we going to ask about all the people I meet on vacation or work?”

“His name is Thomas Birdweiler.”

“Is that the guy on the news? The ambassador guy? He worked for you over there somewhere, right?”

“Yes. That would be him. Do you have any knowledge of him or his whereabouts?”

“I don’t even see how that would be possible.”

“Can you explain your activities, then?”

“Brad, old man, I don’t have to. Not to you or anyone else in the world, but I’m going to.

“I have a multi-million-dollar corporate thing going on in Barcelona, and I like the area. I took Alina on vacation to Valencia a bit back, and I met this guy and his wife. She was hot.” Alina giggled. “I mean ... Sorry. In any case, that led to the Barcelona thing, and I we hit Alicante up just a while ago. Cordova mentioned a resort there, and we decided to hit that, and I ran up to see him about the merger. She loves the Mediterranean food, and I love the beaches and...”

“Tell him, Mr. Charlie. It is funny. You can say. I no mind.” Amanda was using her best Ukrainian accent.

“People watching. I like to watch all the people at the beaches on the Med. It’s fun, and my girlfriend doesn’t seem to mind.” Alina cleared her throat. “My fiancée doesn’t mind. Sorry, doll.”

“Better.” She grinned at me and came to stand behind me with her hands on my shoulders.

“So, do you have any knowledge of Birdweiler or his whereabouts?”

“Mostly just what I’ve read in the papers and heard on the news.”

“Is your fiancée travelling with you, Mister Cochran?”

“Yes, Brad.” He cringed every time I called him by his first name. I did it on purpose to keep him agitated and off the mark a bit. “She is also my PA and keeps me from missing appointments and such. She’s a God send. Just ask my office manager.”

Simmons’ partner picked up on the accent and, I think, tried to trip us up a bit. He asked Alina a question in what I think was Russian.

“Da,” she answered, then spoke a few more words in a similar language.

The man spoke again, this time with a question in his voice that even I could pick up.

“Nyet.” Alina broke back into English, certainly for my benefit so that I would know what was happening between the two of them. “I am not Russian. I am Ukraine. I can keep up with you, but Ukraine is my language. She ripped off a sentence then had him on the ropes.

“Nyet, Miss Alina. I apologize for the intrusion. Simmons, let’s let these people get back to their weekend. We have what we needed.”

“Yes, sir,” Brad said. He wasn’t in charge after all. The other guy was. How interesting. They left, both a little more than a little upset, Brad because I called him by his first name, and the other guy because they struck out. At least I hope they did.

“Amanda, did you see either of them touch anything or take anything with them?”

“Oh, my God, I wasn’t even thinking about that.”

“I was. Now, they came straight from the door and sat here, right? The table was bare, wasn’t it?” She nodded. “We’re probably OK. I can’t think of anything they might have gotten any DNA off. Hey, what did he ask you?”

“He wanted to know if I was from a town up north near St. Petersburg. I told him no, I wasn’t. He heard a hesitation in my voice, placed there on purpose, I might add, and said he didn’t think my Russian was very good. You heard the rest. He tried to play me, but the player got played, I hope. Neither of them used their phones, either, and I wasn’t by the door, so I don’t think any pictures of me got taken. They can do that anywhere, at any time, though. Pooh. I hope they bought it. The PA thing.”

I looked under the table for anything that wasn’t there before they showed up, but there was nothing. “I think they did, honey. I really do. I’m really proud of you. Quick thinking.” I hugged her, got one back as she relaxed, then we grabbed a couple bottles of water and went out back to the pool. When I saw the unmarked Blackhawk helicopter fly over, I knew they were serious, but it didn’t even slow down, almost like it was being called back to wherever they staged the operation to confront us. I really felt we might be safe for a while.

We decided no more phone calls would be made, and we’d tell her father and his girlfriends more about the meeting next time we were over there. I sent Cordova’s secretary a letter inside another letter and asked her to drop it in the mail for me. She did. It basically just told Tom we’d had a close call and to keep the phones and mail silent for a while. I also mentioned that R. Park was being shut down and that we’d come up with something similar soon.

I called Roger and asked him if he could take a couple of days off to help us with a little project in DC. He jumped at the chance since he had a girlfriend that lived in Crystal City and hadn’t seen her in quite a while. We flew to Washington a few days later, me for a meeting with a client, and him for a meeting with one of his chippies, and ‘since we were there anyway’, closed down the post office box in Riverdale Park. It had served its purpose and would no longer be needed.

Roger thanked me for the trip. He needed a break from the office and the rekindling seemed to help both him and his lady friend. Alina said she was the smartest one she’d met so far. I would hope so, as she was an aide to one of our congressmen.

Winter was setting in upon us. Alina was taking her college courses, a few at a time, over the internet. The workload was easy for her, allowing her to spend quite a bit of time at the office. The pool had the cover on it now, so we’d have to find other types of outdoor exercise. The hot tub just didn’t cut it for what Amanda needed.

“Babe, have you ever been to a place called Ibiza?”

“No, hon, I haven’t. I’ve heard a lot about it, though. Supposed to be a lot of fun there. The best weather, the prettiest bodies walking around on the prettiest beaches, mostly naked. The bodies, anyway. What about it?”

“You’re a pervert. My fiancée is a freaking pervert. Charlie, the people watching pervert! Would you take me people watching there?”

“When?”

“As soon as you have a week you can get away. No hurry. I just want to go somewhere fun, get some sun and warm weather, and of course, touch base with Celeste and Carlotta. And Daddy.”

“I’d actually like that. I know they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving there, but let’s give it a shot.”

“We have a plan,” she said, then climbed in my lap, kissed me, and relaxed in my arms. “Thank you, again, Charlie. For everything. Oh, babe, by the way, I like to look, too. I don’t really think you’re a pervert. I think you’re mine.”

All I could think was, ‘I’m in love’.

Ibiza is not a place for the young’uns. The young at heart, most definitely so, but I wouldn’t take my kids there, unless ... Well, if we raise them as nudists, maybe, but we’ll see. It’s definitely not a place with a lot of clothing on the beaches.

Tom met us there with the yacht, and we stayed with him during the visit, for the most part. We all got a bit tipsy in a hotel lounge on one of our evenings dancing and decided to spend the night there. That was, in itself, a very strange experience.