Agent Counter-Agent Read Online Free PDF Page B

Nunez, was one of the men watching. He was the first
torero
on the bill.
    The English lady beside me seemed to be all right through the initial
veronicas
and
rodillazos
with the big red cape, because it was all so colorful and pretty. And she actually seemed to enjoy the graceful
banderilleros.
But she started to get pale when the bull knocked the
picador's
horse down and almost gored the
picador.
Nunez fought the bull, and his capework was good, if a little flashy. Finally he went in for the kill, and the blood flowed. On the first try the sword hit bone, and he had to pull it out. But the second attempt was more successful — the blade went in clean. Nunez'
cuadrilla
chased the bull in circles till it fell to its knees, and the
matador
finished it off with a dagger at the base of the skull. Then a team of mules came out and dragged the crimson-splattered carcass past us on the way out of the ring. By then the English lady had had enough. She was really green as her husband led her away.
    Núnez was taking his bows around the ring. He had been awarded an ear more out of respect for his reputation than for his performance. He hadn't deserved it for that fight. His capework had been pretty good, but he hadn't killed the bull well. Instead of going in over the horns, which is necessary for a good kill but requires a certain amount of courage on the part of the bullfighter, Nunez had stabbed at the animal like an apprentice butcher.
    After the shouting died down a little, I called to Ilse. She turned at the sound of my voice, and I waved to her.
    "There are empty seats here if you'd like to join me," I yelled.
    She didn't wait for a second invitation but immediately started to make her way over to me. Ilse was wearing a short suede skirt and matching vest over a sheer white blouse. As she moved, the skirt revealed her long, tanned thighs.
    "I am afraid my favorite
torero
had a bad day," she said as she sat down beside me. I gave her my cushion.
    "Doesn't everybody occasionally?" I smiled wryly.
    She returned the smile and dazzled me. Maybe he will do better on his second bull."
    "I'm sure of it," I said. "I'm sorry to have left so fast last night. But I saw a man I knew, and he was leaving."
    I watched her face for a reaction, but there was none. I was sure she had seen the man, too, and I wondered if she knew him. But if she did, she wasn't showing it.
    "I know that business comes before socializing," she said. "Unless the socializing is business."
    I smiled. "Well said."
    You can tell when a woman wants to go to bed with you, even if she's trying to hide it from you. Mostly it's the way she looks at you and the gestures she makes with her hands and body. Sometimes she comes on strongest when her conversation is anything but seductive. She can be telling you to get lost or explaining the latest theory in thermodynamics. But her body, her chemistry, always gives her away. Ilse kept talking about the fine points of bullfighting, but I could tell that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. Even if she had ulterior motives for wanting to see me, I found myself looking forward to the evening.
    The second bullfighter was just coming out to work his bull, a big, fine bull from one of the best ranches. The
torero
was an unknown, but he was taking chances to please the crowd.
    "Olé! Olé!" they yelled.
    "He's good," Ilse said.
    "Yes." I watched him execute a
mariposa,
making the cape flutter like a butterfly. "Do you know any of the
toreros?"
    "Not personally," she said. "Even though I like to watch them perform, they are not my kind of men, you know. Anyway, Latin men usually do not appeal to me."
    "How long have you been at the embassy," I asked, changing the subject.
    "Since my arrival in Caracas, almost a year ago. I thought I wanted to see the world."
    "And now you don't?"
    She turned those blue eyes on me and then looked back to the ring. "It can be… lonely for a girl in a strange city this size."
    If that wasn't a green light,