Florence of Arabia Read Online Free PDF Page B

at a deliciously breakneck speed.
    At the end of River Road, she turned left and roared deeper into country. She glanced down at the speedometer and saw that she was going almost ninety miles per hour, too fast, but what bliss! The fall leaves went by in a lush slipstream blur of gold and red and orange.
    Another color suddenly appeared in her rearview mirror, not found in nature, electric blue and flashing. For a moment she considered trying to outrun it, but then she let up on the throttle and rumbled over to the shoulder to await the inevitable Do you have any idea how fast you were going, ma'am?
    The man who got out of the unmarked car was not in uniform. The first discordant note that struck her was his age. He was i n his mid-sixties, at least. H e was trim, with the body of someone who had once been an athlete or in the military, gray about the temples, with wire-rimmed glasses perched on a sharp nose. The eyes, now close enough for her to see, were bright blue and twinkled. His lips were pursed, but pleasantly, in something like a smile. It didn't compute. Florence looked at the flashing blue light mounted on his dashboard. Some county supervisor or sheriff?
    "Goodne ss gracious, young lady. Ninety miles an hour—on a road teeming with deer? You could have been killed."
    It was said in an avuncular way.
    "And what a waste that would be." H e was grinning at her. "Excuse me," she said, "who are you?"
    "That's the question, isn't it?" He chuckled. "That's quite a machine you have there. Used to do a bit of motorcycling myself . Oh, yes, yes."
    Still astride the bike, Florence moved her thumb over the starter button.
    "O h now, don't be in such a big ru sh. I should think you'd be very interested to hear what I have to say. Very interested."
    Something kept her from pressing the button. "Could I see some identification?" she said gently.
    The man seemed to find this amusin g. "Oh, certainly, certainly. What sort did you have in mind?"
    "Look, sir—"
    "We read your proposal, Florence." Florence stared.
    "On achieving stability in the Middle Fast? Ver y interesting, original. And, by gosh, out of the box. Not at all your usual State Department pap. No wonder they wanted to transfer you to Cape Verde! I had to look it up on a map. My goodness, it's a long way from now here. May I buy you a cup of coffee ? This must seem very forward, I know."
    "Are y ou with the State Department?" Florence asked.
    "H ardly. Come on. I'll buy. There has to be a Starbucks around here."
    "I don't—"
    "Do you remember the Starbucks in Kaffa?" "What?"
    "The one at the corne r of Alkakazir and Ben Qatif? H ow the mukfelleen made them cover the mermaid's boobs on the logo? Now, whenever I go to a Starbucks. I check for her boobs. Silly, I know. Do you want to follow me, or shall 1 follow you?"
    "I..."
    "I know. You came out here to feel the wind in your hair, the road rise up to greet vou. But all I'm asking for is ten minutes of your time at a neu tral, well-lit public place. If, after that, you want to walk away, no one's going to stop you . and I'll still pay for the lat te. You like tall non - fat double-shot, yes? And sugar substitute, preferably not in lieu of birth-control pills?"
    The only human being to whom she had confided that detail was the State Department polygraph operator during her background check. She didn't know what to say, so she followed him on her motorcycle to a suburban Starbucks.
    They sat outside, by a parking lot full of expensive cars drive n by people who looked like they had something to do with horses.
    "Look, before we go any further, who are you?" she asked.
    The man appeared to consider the question. He said thoughtfully, "Why don't you just call me Uncle Sam?"
    "I take it you're with the government. What is it you want?"
    "Quite possibly, the same thing you do. Long-term political stability in the Middle Hast. Now. there's a goal. Oh. yes."
    "You agree with my proposal?"
    "We've tr ied pretty much everything