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obvious weapon was always a good thing it sometimes ended a search quickly
enough that a hidden weapon, like the knife on her thigh, would not be found.
Now she moved uncomfortably in the chair, straightening her skirt, moving her
eyes from her hand to her shoes, then up her ankle to the hem of her dress.
Santiago was talking to Miklov and she was trying to appear disinterested.
"I think, Colonel Miklov, that there is no cause for alarm for your
superiors. It is only natural to assume that two dynamic nations such as ours
operating in such close proximity as we do should, from time to time, become
abrasive with one another. Yet it is this very dynamism and this very strength
which makes us allies. How is the expression in English the fortunes of war,
no?"
Natalia looked up from the hem of her dress, seeing Diego Santiago's eyes
watching her. "But, Comrade General Diego," she asked, her voice low, soft
and she intended it to sound that way. "If we are both such worthy allies,
then why cannot we learn to function like well-oiled cogs in the Communist
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machine together?" She looked into the Cuban's eyes, smiling.
"My dear young woman you are exquisitely beautiful and you are also very
intelligent. You have brought us exactly back to square one, have you not.
Senorita, I am overwhelmed," and Santiago bowed toward her.
The skin on her shoulders, her throat all the parts of her that were naked
to Santiago's eyes crawled under his gaze, but she leaned forward, knowing he
could look down her dress more easily. "Comrade General," she almost
whispered. "I do not understand. This beautiful house, this dinner I was very
fatigued when we arrived."
"Perhaps then a swim, as I suggested." Then Santiago, as if he had forgotten
Miklov existed, suddenly remembered he did. "You are welcome to join us,
Colonel."
Miklov, gray, with tight jowls and dark eyes, smiled. "The young lady is
correct. I too am tired, and I'm afraid age precludes a midnight swim. I
should be in bed. It has been a long day and I eagerly anticipate our renewed
discussions tomorrow."
"Comrade Colonel," Santiago said, "tomorrow, I shall show you both the cream
of the armed forces of the People's Democratic Republic of Cuba." Then,
turning to Natalia, Santiago said, "But tonight, Senorita, I will show you the
ocean. In my humble role as leader of the People's Army, as I have indicated
to you, the water is my one form of solace, of rest, of renewal. Perhaps,
since these waters touch my homeland of Cuba perhaps I feel from them the
renewal to go on, despite all obstacles. They touch my home, my heart. You can
understand this, Senorita?"
"Yes," Natalia answered, watching his eyes.
"You will join me then for a swim?"
"Si," she answered, smiling, watching his eyes smiling. "That is the right
word, yes?"
"Very right, Senorita," Santiago answered.
"Gentlemen," she began, standing. Both Miklov and Santiago stood then as
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well. "Comrade General, I shall meet you "
"On the beach in fifteen minutes just beyond the veranda. That gives you
sufficient time?"
"Yes," she smiled. Miklov moved her chair back as she walked past the table,
saying to her, "Good night, Comrade Major."
She turned, her eyes focused on his. "Yes, Comrade Colonel." And then, as she
passed Santiago, his hand was out, as if to help her. She touched her left
hand to it and dipped her eyes slightly. He was shorter than she was, and she
didn't wish him to become too aware of it.
"I shall be with you, then," she said, softly, noncommittally. It was a game
she had played before, and sincerely wished she would not have to play to the
ending.
She walked away from the table, through the dining room and to the double oak
doors. She stopped, turning around, noticing Santiago's eyes on her and
Miklov's as well. She did nothing, standing there a moment, as if hesitant,
then turned and walked through the open door and toward the circular
staircase. Santiago could perhaps still see her, she thought. She stopped at
the base of the stairs, her left hand catching up the ankle-length skirt of
her black dress just above the knee, raising it to help her walk the stairs,
her right hand touching lightly at the railing of the banister. She ascended
the stairs, hoping Santiago were watching; she wanted him to have a good show.
She looked down behind her a moment, then continued her ascent to the upper
landing, dropping her skirt as she walked toward her room.
There was no need for a key, and none had been provided for her. She turned
the knob on the door and entered the room. She had determined earlier it was
not video-monitored and assumed nothing had been added to it since her
absence. She closed the door behind her and leaned hard against it, staring
down at the blue carpet beneath her black shoes, sighing, breathing hard.
"Pig," she muttered, but so that only she could hear it, in case there were
indeed microphones hidden in the room which she had not detected.
Natalia closed the deadbolt from the inside and walked across the room,
tossing her black purse with the COP derringer on the bed.
She stopped in front of the full length mirror. "A midnight swim," she
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