April 15
Washington, D.C., and Vienna
“Hey,” Ebert said into the phone pressed to his left ear. “You need to check into something for me.”
At the other end of the Majority Leader’s call was Simone Frontiere, the recently appointed American Ambassador to Austria.
“What is it?” she responded.
“I picked up some scuttlebutt about a guy named Darren Priest. He’s in Vienna right now,” then Ebert paused. “Are you there? I mean, you’re in Vienna right now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Willy. I’m in Vienna. Who’s Darren Priest?”
“Don’t know, actually. And I don’t know what he’s up to. But I heard someone from Bordrick’s office say that Mike, I mean Pendleton, sent Priest to poke around in your backyard. Have you heard anything about that?”
“No. Is this Priest guy a spook? An insider? What’s his conne
