Page 93 of Tom Clancy Line of Sight

“As many as possible.”

“Me, too. Or four, whichever is less.”

She laughed. “You have brothers and sisters?”

“Two sisters and a brother. The older sister is a neurosurgeon and a brainiac like my mom.”

“And your father works for the government. A high-level bureaucrat, you said.”

“That’s what he’d call it, for sure. It’s kind of an executive position.”

“And your parents are still married?”

“A long time. They’re even in love.”

“How romantic. And rare, I think.”

“It’s a miracle.”

“And you admire them.”

“More than you know.”

“That’s nice.”

And just like that, Jack felt the door shut. They were definitely connecting, but something happened. Did he say something wrong? No, he hadn’t. But for whatever reason, she wasn’t going to let this thing go any further. Jack couldn’t blame her. He was just another American tourist who’d be moving on in another day or two.

And what was he thinking? There wasn’t any way this thing was going to work between the two of them. He was grateful she’d shut this conversation down.

They rode along in a sad, comfortable silence for a while, Jack’s mind turning to the world outside the windshield.

—

At around noon, Aida finally asked, “Getting hungry?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jack was staring out of his window. Down below, the Neretva River rolled wide and slow between sloping, tree-covered hills.

“I know a place.”

“You’re the tour guide.”

A few minutes later, Aida pulled off the two-lane asphalt and onto a dirt road threading down through the pines and toward the river. A hundred feet later, a chain barrier blocked the way down farther. She put the van in park, hopped out and unlocked the chain, then crawled back into the driver’s seat and continued on.

A few moments later they entered a secluded clearing on the banks of the river, sparkling in the warm sunshine. Aida killed the engine.

“This place you know must deliver,” Jack said, as he opened his door.

“I brought a little picnic for us. Hope you don’t mind.”

She opened the back hatch and pulled a blanket off a small ice chest hidden beneath it.

An ice chest.

Great.

She opened the ice chest. Bottles of frosty cold beer jutted out of the ice.

“It’s Sarajevska brand. Hope you like it.”