Washington is Leaking [antikvár]

Forei^osrdA tall, thin, handsome man with hom-rimmed glasses and a cigar in his mouth handed his vicuna coat to the hat-check girl at the Sans Souci restaurant in Washington. He gave her a wink. Paul, the maître d'hotel, rushed up the steps and said, "Monsieur Buchwald, Henry Kissinger just called and said he has to speak to you.""Not before lunch, Paul," the man said. "Not before lunch."A hush went over the room as the man was escorted to his regular table, No. 12, along the banquette. The man always insisted on the same table so his back would be against the wall.Gilbert, the waiter, brought a glass of iced tea. Everyone in the room pretended not to stare, but you could feel the electricity in the room.The man then ordered his usual lunchchampignons a la grecque, a luncheon steak and petits pois, followed by a demitasse of Sanka coffee.As the man cut into his steak, the secretary of agriculture came over to the table."The Soviets want a hundred million tons of wheat. What is your answer?""Not while I'm eating," the man said, and the secretary shrank away.The secretary of the treasury started to walk over, but Paul stopped him. "Wait until he has had his coffee."The secretary sat down.Forty minutes later the man took out a fresh cigar and11