"Clancy, Tom - Net Force 02 - Hidden Agendas" - читать интересную книгу автора (Clancy Tom)

Hughes, on the other hand, knew he looked every
day of his fifty-two years. He was twenty pounds
too heavy, wore a decent, but not expensive,
Harris Tweed sport coat and gray wool
slacks from Nordstrom, both off the rack, and his
shoes were Nike dress casuals. Total cost of
his outfit was maybe a twentieth that of White's.
be White leaned back in his chair and waggled his
left hand in backslash a so-so gesture.
"Well, Tom, you know Hicks. He never
gives " a nickel but what he wants a dime.
If we want to get his support, the honorable
senator from Florida wants to see the be Naval
Air Station remain a fixture in Pensacola from
now until the end of time."
Hughes nodded. He had expected no
less.
"Fine. Give him be what he wants. What do
we care? He's a critical vote. We get
him, we'll get Boudreaux and Mullins. We
get them, we're out of committee and it's a lock
on the floor."
White smiled at his chief of staff.
"Probably won't hurt us bar with Admiral
Pierce either."
"Exactly." Hughes glanced at his watch, a
gold Rolex that White had given him on the eve
of their election to the Senate.
Hughes had been the campaign manager, and such
a watch was way beyond anything he'd ever been able
to afford. For White, whose family owned half of
Ohio and part of Indiana, a Rolex was a
trinket, a drop from a bucket brimming with money.
It was the most expensive piece of jewelry that
Hughes ever wore, and though he could afford better
now, he couldn't afford it legally.
"Aren't you supposed to be on the links with
Raleigh at two-fifteen?" he reminded White.
"The old man canceled. Too cold for him.
Personally, I think he just doesn't want me
to kick his ass again. Last time out, I beat
him by nine strokes. We're doing drinks at the
Benson instead, two-thirty."
"Good. Remember, let him bring up the Stoddard
thing. Play it cool, let him court you. He
doesn't need to know you want it more than he does."
"I will be an iceberg," White said. He waved
at the computer projection frozen over his workstation.
"You ever play DinoWarz?"
"I can't say as I have, no."