Five years, three months, and twenty-one days, to be exact, Paul thought. Carmen’s funeral. Rhodes came that day, unannounced. He was an important man back then, too. It was an unexpectedly thoughtful gesture that Paul never forgot. He didn’t blame the senator for not keeping in touch with an unimportant guy like him over the years. “Sounds about right.”

“Please, let’s sit down, shall we?” Hendley said, maneuvering Paul toward an empty chair. Rhodes resumed his seat on the couch.

“Something to drink, gentlemen? Coffee? Tea?” Hendley asked. “Orange juice?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” Rhodes said.

Paul remembered his tepid tea and his mouth watered. A cup of fresh hot tea would really hit the spot. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask for it in front of two former U.S. senators—one of whom was his boss. “No, thanks.”

“Paul, I appreciate you taking the time to come up here,” Hendley said, taking his seat behind his expansive desk. “Senator Rhodes has an urgent matter he’d like to discuss with you.”

Paul shrugged. “Of course.” But his mind was already back at that Excel spreadsheet on his desktop, running through the numbers.

Rhodes leaned forward, clasping his hands. It looked like a prayer, Paul thought.

“First of all, what I’m about to tell you is strictly confidential.”

Paul nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. Well, as you probably know, I’m now on the board of directors of Marin Aerospace Systems, one of the country’s largest defense contractors, and we’ve set our sights on a really remarkable firm that we think would make an excellent acquisition target. Well, not a ‘target,’ of course, because it’s all very friendly, very aboveboard. We’re going to tender a formal offer to their corporate officers in the next ten days, and they’ve given us every indication they intend to accept.”

“Is it a defense company, too?”

“It’s a technology firm. Civilian applications, mostly, but very advanced, very innovative. We think they will add tremendous synergies to our side of the equation.”

“How can I help?”

Rhodes smiled broadly. “To be perfectly frank, our company has dropped the ball. We signed a letter of intent along with a contract to begin this process—you know how these lawyers are, and their lawyers over there—”

“Over where?” Paul asked.

“Singapore. Didn’t I mention that?” Rhodes brightened. “Have you ever been there?”

Paul shrugged. “No, I’m afraid not.”

“Oh, you’re in for a real treat. It’s a marvelous place. A truly world-class city. You have no idea. It’s the Paris of Asia, except it isn’t filthy and there aren’t any French people.” Rhodes laughed at his own joke.

Paul shifted uncomfortably. The sturdy club chair groaned. “I’m traveling?”