Interlude: First Noel (The Executive Office #1.5)

by Tal Bauer

“Do you have any family, Mr. President?” Jack tried to change the direction of their repartee. He kicked himself a moment later. Of course Puchkov had family. He hadn’t popped out of the Siberian wilderness, harvested from the permafrost and raised by wolves. “I have a Russian pair. Two ex-wives.” Puchkov smiled. One hand moved while he talked, big gestures in the air. “That was long ago. Now, I am devoted civil servant. I serve my people.” He took another sip, his eyes pinching at the corners. “And you, Mr. President? Mr. Reichenbach is not here with you tonight?” Jack shook his head. He didn’t trust himself to speak. He drank instead, sipping the vodka tonic and squinting over the East River. Snow huddled on both banks and clung to New York’s skeleton trees. “He is working in your state of Iowa, yes?” Puchkov peered at Jack, practically staring. So the Russian intelligence system was keeping tabs on them. Jack smiled, big and bold, and turned back to Puchkov. “That’s right. In Iowa. Catching bad guys in the Midwest.” Puchkov laughed. “Like a cowboy. Chasing down the bad guys on a horse, yes? Does he have a hat? One of those big ones?” Was Puchkov making fun of them? Sometimes he couldn’t tell. Jack tried to picture it, though. Ethan as a cowboy in the Old West. He chuckled. “No hat. No horse.” Silence fell over the pair as they both drank again. Jack’s thumb stroked down the edge of his class, tapping where Puchkov couldn’t see. “It… must be difficult,” Puchkov finally s...