Reflex Read Free Page B

looked down at the tabletop. "You have kids, right?"
    Cox nodded. "Two boys. And yes, I was thinking of them when you told me about those two little girls."
    Davy shook his head. "No. That's not the connection I'd made." He sighed heavily. "I had an argument with Millie tonight. She's ready to have kids."
    Cox raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And the argument is what? That you aren't?"
    "Not yet."
    "I see."
    Davy winced. "What do you see?"
    Cox blinked, his face mild. "That she's ready and you're not."
    A different waitress, a heavily made-up brunette in a tightly knotted tie, snow-white shirt, and black slacks, brought out the tea and Cox's pie. Her hair was tightly pulled back to a severe bun. Davy shook his head, bemused at the contrast.
    Cox looked annoyed. "Could I get that refill on the coffee?"
    "Coming right up, sir."
    Davy played with the tea bag, dipping it in and out of the water. He'd had coffee in New York only a half-hour before and hoped he wasn't in for another sleepless night. He inhaled the odor of the lemongrass and it cascaded a memory of spicy Thai soups eaten on high stools under a thatched roof in ChaAm on the coast road to Malaysia. With Millie. He took a gulp. It felt good on his throat, a surprise, since he hadn't realized his throat hurt. "She's restless, I think. She has friends but it's hard for her to get really close when she can't be truly open with them."
    Cox sighed. "I know that one—at least you guys are open with each other, right? There are things I can never tell my wife."
    The brunette waitress returned with the coffeepot and refilled Cox's cup. "How's the tea, sir?"
    "Good. Really good." He drank some more.
    Cox stared at him then at the waitress's retreating back. "She dresses a lot better than the other servers here."
    Davy said, "Probably a law student at George Washington. They need money, too, considering tuition and all."
    Cox shrugged. "Seemed a bit old for that, but you never know."
    "What's the job, Brian?"
    Cox glanced around and lowered his voice. "You've never gone into Pyongyang, right?"
    Davy shook his head. "No. South Korea, yes. I've got jump sites in Seoul and Pusan but I've never been in the Democratic Peoples Republic." He drank more of his tea.
    "We have something coming up in two weeks. We'd like you to acquire a site near the Hotel Pothonggang in Pyongyang. We can put you on an Air Koryo flight from Tokyo. You can go in as a Canadian."
    Davy shook his head. "If you've got something coming up, why not just insert your man? I mean, with two weeks you could probably put Madonna in place without detection."
    Brian rolled his eyes. "It's not an insertion. It's an extraction. The subject is on the critical mass geometry team for their tactical nuke and is under constant watch by the Civil Security Forces."
    "I thought they'd stopped development. Wasn't that part of the deal?"
    Brian shook his head. "Ostensibly, yes. They shut down the factory. Research? That's unclear."
    "Is he defecting?"
    "His only daughter went south fifteen years ago. He has grandchildren now that he's never seen."
    Davy gulped the rest of his cup. "Spell it out, Brian. Is. He. Defecting. Did he come to you guys?"
    "His daughter did. Subsequent contacts were made directly with him and he was eager and willing."
    "Okay. Just so it's not a snatch."
    "It's not." Brian snorted. "Too bad you're so particular. You're awfully good at it."
    Davy shook his head. "I may have been good at it. Didn't keep people from dying."
    Cox didn't push it, shrugging instead.
    "How soon does it have to be?" Davy asked.
    "He's scheduled to talk at a conference in the capital on the eighteenth. We thought we'd do it from a hotel room."
    Davy rolled his neck and felt muscles relaxing. His shoulders dropped as tension drained from his back. "Okay. Let's do the flight from Tokyo sometime next week. Tell me when to pick up the ticket and the passsssssporrrt." Davy blinked. The word had stretched oddly in his mouth. He felt himself