Evensong by John Love Page B

Maybe he hasn’t got his head as far up his ass as I’d feared.
    Five, the arrangements for each day: seating plans, meals, coffee breaks, break-out sessions, evening social events.
    Six, the disposition of security people, translators, support staff, catering staff.
    Seven, provisions for attack from sea and air.
    “… And that’s what I’ll take you through this morning.”
    “Do I need to know it in such detail?” Anwar asked. “I’m >here for her security only.”
    “She’s the host. As well as speaking at the opening and closing ceremonies, she’s expected to make appearances from time to time at the summit sessions. And when she does, you should know what’s all around her.”
    “Yes, that’s reasonable.” But you still haven’t mentioned the important part.
    “And,” Gaetano added, “you need to know it in detail because—this is the important part—she wants you to review all the arrangements and make any recommendations you see fit.”
    “And what do you think of that?”
    “Not much, initially. But if it protects her better...”
    “Good. Then let’s not talk in code. If I see something wrong with any of your arrangements, I’ll say so. If I think they’re good, or very good, or mediocre, or sloppy, I’ll say so. And can you put it all on an implant bead?”
    “I already have. You can download it and study it over-night. And tomorrow, I’ll take you through the Archbishop’s engagements from now to the end of the summit.”
    “She has one this afternoon which she may not have mentioned.”
    “Going into town with you to collect a book?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’ll have some people follow you, but only at a discreet distance. You understand that you’ll be her primary protection?”
    “Yes.”
    “And please, get her back here before four. She has several meetings.”
    “OK. And the briefing tomorrow?”
    “We’ll cover the detailed security arrangements for the Archbishop—how they operate now and how they’ll be ramped up for the summit. I’ll give you backgrounds and credentials for all my people. And I’ll put it all on an implant bead, so you can…”
    “Study it overnight. Thank you.”
    A short silence grew between them. Anwar noticed—for the first time, despite his enhancements and training—the signs of strain on Gaetano’s face: sleeplessness around the eyes, tenseness in the jaw. Signs of the inevitable and mounting pressure of the approaching summit and the threats to Olivia.
    Gaetano, as if he sensed what Anwar was thinking, said, “You know, this is only about a tenth of what the summit involves. She has departments dealing with the PR and political aspects. And the legal. And the financial. Especially the financial. There are daily accounts for every item of expenditure connected to the summit. This meeting will be costed down to the last minute, and she’ll see the costing tonight. She doesn’t give any obvious appearance of micromanagement, in facts he professes a huge dislike of it. But she misses nothing.”
    Like Rafiq, Anwar thought. When Arden and I deal with him, it’s like we’re the only thing he has in front of him. But there’s legal, and financial, and political, and PR, and intelligence, and the conventional military, and the Agencies Rafiq and Olivia del Sarto. Different characters, but similar styles of working .
    Anwar said none of this out loud, so Gaetano continued. “And what about you? I thought you people didn’t like body-guard work, because...”
    “That’s how I felt at first.” He remembered what he’d thought, back at his home in northern Malaysia, after watching her Room For God lecture. Frozen hope. My life has been arid, hers is real. “But I feel differently now.”

4
    For two hours Gaetano took him through the security arrangements for the summit. The initial wary courtesy between them had developed into something slightly less guarded. Gaetano went through the briefing in the order he’d outlined and, as