“I know,” Billie whispers tightly. “And it’s my ass on the line if I fail again, so back off.”
Natalie would have flopped back into her seat, but two weeks of intensive training in the ways of the Pemberton nannies have ensured that her back is straight, knees pressing gently together and angled slightly. She, like Billie, has been carefully made up to look as if she were wearing no makeup at all. Her skin has a healthy glow and her eyes are bright. She presents a picture of calm competence, but she is fizzing with anticipation of the kill to come.
Outwardly, Billie looks much the same. She is wearing an identical uniform—navy twill dress with a navy cape piped in forget-me-not blue. Her white gloves are pristine, her blackshoes highly polished. But Nat sees the twitch of the tiny muscle at the corner of her mouth and she reaches over to offer consolation.
“Anybody could have made that mistake,” she murmurs. “How were you supposed to know he had a cousin who looked like him?”
Billie doesn’t bother to answer. Anything she says now will come out as a snap or a snarl and Natalie is only trying to help. The most important weapon for an assassin is confidence, and Billie has lost hers. In the months since Chicago, she has undergone a formal review and been put on probation. Another infraction, no matter how small, will result in her dismissal from the Museum, an end to her career. The possible future stretches out before her like a blank map, and the very emptiness of it is terrifying.
Constance may sense Billie’s nerves, but she does not turn around again. Instead, she folds her gloved hands neatly in her lap and poses a question.
“Miss Webster, kindly relate what you know about the mark.”
Billie hesitates and Constance guesses the source of her concern. She nods towards the driver. “Theodore is a fully briefed member of Museum staff with the highest security clearance. Furthermore, he was trained at Benscombe by me. Personally. You need have no concerns about discussing the mission in front of him.”
Billie clears her throat. “The target is Isabel Tizón de Rivas, the wife of a South American politician. Her father is the former president, Eduardo Tizón, a strongman with a militarybackground and policies modeled on those of Perón in Argentina. He moved his country from a flawed but functioning democracy to a dictatorship, becoming increasingly intolerant of opposition during his time in office. Those viewed as enemies of his administration were frequently targeted with harassment, and many fled. His term ended with his assassination in 1953.”
“And how, precisely, was he assassinated?” Constance asks.
“He was gunned down outside the presidential palace as he walked his daughter back from school.Lifemagazine ran a picture of her with her father’s blood soaking her uniform, and the photograph became a rallying point for his followers. The country has experienced seven military coups since his death, swinging between reactionary violence and experiments with liberal democracies.”
“Correct and succinct, Miss Webster. And our mark?”
“Rather than pursuing influence for herself, she has taken a more circuitous route to power. She married Major Luis de Hoyos, one of her father’s most devoted followers. De Hoyos became an advisor and ultimately a cabinet member in the administration of Aurelio Resendez, the president elected in 1971.” She makes air quotes around the word “elected.”
“Luis de Hoyos served in the position of Minister of Information and was responsible for disseminating news and propaganda. He controlled television, newspaper, and radio. During his tenure, journalists, academics, students—essentially everyone with liberal leanings—were rounded up along with anyone who had been a vocal opponent of his wife’s father. They were never heard from again and are presumed dead. The country isstrongly patriarchal, so a female appointee to a cabinet position would not be acceptable, but persistent rumors have indicated Isabel Tizón had considerable influence over her husband, directing much of the effort to suppress dissent from the shadows.”
Billie pauses for breath, considering the legacy of blood and ruin their target has left behind.
“And?” Constance prompts.
“In 1975, a coup of liberal young officers swept Resendez out of power and he was shot by a firing squad. Luis de Hoyos left for exile with Isabel and was convicted in absentia for treason and sentenced to death. He never returned to his home country and the sentence was never carried out. He died a year later of stomach cancer. Isabel has since remarried, a man named Julián Domingo Rosas. He is considerably younger and resembles her father, both physically and politically.”
“Gross,” Natalie murmurs.
“What?” Billie asks her. “The emotional necrophilia or the emotional incest?”
“Both,” Nat replies with a shudder.
Constance cuts in. “What is the country’s current political situation?”
“It has recently elected Gabriela Treviso, a young judge with progressive politics who ran on a platform of anti-corruption and accountability and who is wildly popular with the younger demographic. As a result, Julián Domingo Rosas is planning a coup against this president with an aim to installing himself as a dictator with Isabel’s backing.”
“What are his prospects?”
“Slim,” Billie says. “But with Isabel’s money and the nostalgia among the older people for her father, there is a chance he could succeed. Either way, his attempt to bring down a legitimately elected head of state will cost many more lives and destroy the fragile stability they’ve managed to build.”
“And the wider implications?”
“Geopolitical instability for the entire region.” Billie edges a discreet finger under her hat to scratch at the dark red wig pinned beneath.
“And what do we know about the target herself?”
“Godchildren,” Natalie pipes up. “She has dozens of godchildren.”
Constance holds up a finger. “Miss Webster, please.”
Billie takes a breath and carries on. “Unlike her idol, Eva Perón, Isabel has preferred to work covertly, presenting a public face of service and dignity, of devotion to her charitable causes and her godchildren. She has dozens of them, largely due to the understanding that asking her to stand as godmother will secure favors from her. At the very least, it ensures she does not become an enemy. On a more practical level, the custom has allowed her to build a substantial collection of jewels. She sends sterling silver spoons engraved with her monogram to each godchild for their christening. In return, the parents are expected to give her a piece of jewelry, preferably classic Van Cleef & Arpels or Cartier.”