one thing more. Agent Barns will be your contact with the F.B.I., however I have directed them that you are in charge. The only one you will report to, will be me. You will be given a code word to use that will enable you contact me directly. The operator will be instructed to forward your calls to me. If it is important you can talk to me directly any time. Are there any questions?"

"Yes, how come I'm in charge? Why not Bill? He is the trained agent."

The president laughed and said, "I talked with Agent Barns and it was him that recommended this. And I agreed with him. If you feel you need him, you are free to contact him. He is the one that said it was best to let you run your own operation. With all the 'trained agents' we have in the world not one of them have done anything near as good as you have. I don't argue with success, I only like to foster it."

"There is one other thing I want to tell you before I give you my answer."

"What is that?"

"I was planning to fire an employee, Fazzi's chauffeur." Joseph said. "However I would like to keep the housekeeper, if that is OK with you."

The president thought for a while and then asked him, "I agree on the chauffeur, but I'm interested in knowing why would you want to keep the housekeeper on?"

"She happens to be a good cook and she is a wonderful housekeeper. But aside from that-there is just something I like about her. However if you don't think it would be a good idea..."

"I didn't say it was not a good idea, I was just curious as to your reasoning. Do you remember my saying that some 'Friends' would like you to continue to control the 'Fund'?"

"Yes."

"What I am going to tell you now is for your ears only. For reasons, which I do not want to go into now, the United States owes Israel a big favor. They allowed Fazzi to live as long as he did. There were literally hundreds of times they could have killed the both of you, but at our request they held off. This last time we had to inform them about you. They realized that with you as his 'son', he was worth more to us alive then dead. His housekeeper was and is one of their top agents. They have been tracking him for over fifteen years. You better keep her, but be careful. She has her thing to do and you have yours. The two may not always be the same thing, but if push comes to shove she may be a friend in need. I leave it to you. I have learned to trust your instincts. Anything else?"

"No Sir." Joseph said. "I think I will accept the job but, I will let you know for sure as soon as I speak with the Worthingtons."

To be continued...