Page 9 of Freedom Fighters
“I guess I’m deputy chief of staff,” Minnie said.
Nick looked at Olivia. “You have certain diplomatic skills that by way of Daniel you have put at the disposal of Vistaria, correct?”
Olivia nodded. “I was a junior diplomat, although I have ten years’ experience.”
Nick nodded. “Then I’m appointing you Ambassador of Vistaria to the United States. Minnie will draw up diplomatic credentialsyou can present to the President when you get there and you might help her with those—”
“Yes, please,” Minnie said.
“For now, though, do you accept the role and responsibilities that come with it?”
“I do,” Olivia said.
“You will endeavor to representVistaria de Escobedoin a manner that encapsulates the qualities and strengths of this country?”
“Yes.”
“Very well.” He looked at Duardo. “We’reall under the rose now.”
Olivia recognized the term with a little jolt.Sub Rosameant secret. She was in the middle of a secret war council. Just like that. She was a sworn-in diplomatic official and part of whatever secrets act Vistaria recognized.
“There’s something I want you to do for me, on Vistaria,” Duardo told Daniel.
Daniel straightened. He didn’t snap off a salute, although he wasat attention, nevertheless. “Name it.”
Duardo told him.
* * * * *
Daniel pulled Olivia to one side when Duardo left and kissed her. “A honeymoon will have to wait,” he said apologetically.
“That’s reasonable,” she told him, brushing her hand along the lapel of his borrowed uniform. “Nick has momentum now. He’d be a fool to squander it.” She bit her lip. “Do you think he realizes that sendingme to the White House will put me in front of my father?”
Daniel grinned. “Nick doesn’t miss anything. I think he’s sending you to the White Housebecauseyou’ll end up in front of your father. That’s a powerful message.”
“And you’re going back to Vistaria.” She gripped his lapels. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”
“Of course, I’ll be careful,” he told her. “I have every reason to come back,now.”
“And there’s me, too,” she added.
Daniel brushed his fingers through her hair. “There will always be you.” He picked up her injured hand and kissed the back of it, beyond the edges of the bandage.
* * * * *
Olivia spent the remainder of her wedding day packing newly acquired belongings, signing official documents Minnie thrust in front of her, then racing to the airport with Nick intime for the eight o’clock flight to Washington. She already missed Daniel, yet she was deliriously happy, all the same. It took her until the plane was at cruising height to realize why.
Freedom was a heady brew.
* * * * *
Early the next morning, after ten hours of solid sleep and a breakfast of fajitas of spiced goat meat, Carmen straightened up her sleeping bag and folded it double, thensat cross-legged on it, with the laptop on her knees.
She hooked the laptop to the cellphone, using the phone as a modem to get access to the Internet. She logged in with Hernandez’ accounts. It was possible the Insurrectos might be routinely tracking the IP address, although it didn’t matter for what she wanted to do.
With a few clicks, she logged into Facebook. The search bar brought up theFans of International Wrestling United as the top result. She joined the group and scrolled through the posts, taking her time. It was all free code. She knew the IWU was code for the Insurrectos. From there, she could pick out patterns and associate the wrestlers they were gossiping about with known Insurrectos.
After twenty minutes, she scrolled back up to the top and started a new discussion.She tagged the group’s moderator, a man called Mr. Intensity, who had graying hair and a beard. In his profile picture he was growling with his hands up in the air. Carmen didn’t know Cristián Peña at all, though she sensed from the fake profile and the comments he had scattered across the group that he was a lot looser around the collar than gossip said his upright brother Duardo had been.
