Chapter 14
351 Words
Chapter 14
“Anacostia?” Daniel had waited until the Marine cleared them through the gate. Obviously they’d been expected. “What the hell are we doing at Anacostia? The only thing here are Marine helicopters used to transport the President.”
“Not the only thing.” Alice was clearly enjoying whatever little secret she had. What else could possibly be here?
“Hey, who are these guys who keep following us?” Alice was checking the rearview mirror.
Daniel didn’t even bother to glance back. “Secret Service. They’re my protection detail.”
“Since when?”
“Since the day Katherine Matthews’ helicopter was shot down and I became Chief of Staff.”
“No, I mean when tonight? It was shot down?”
“Yes.” Daniel had heard enough to know gunfire had been involved in the final, fatal crash. He still wondered what had truly happened on that final flight. No one was telling him and he’d decided that discretion was the better part of curiosity and never tried to pull the file for study. If there even was a file. It had been a very strange three weeks while Emily Beale was working undercover in the White House.
“Emily Beale,” he finally connected the pieces. “She’s here at Anacostia. With her helicopter.” He groaned. “Please tell me we’re not going flying.”
“Absolutely! She called to invite me this morning and I can’t wait. It’s gonna be great!” Her excitement was contagious, or would be under other circumstances. He’d seen Emily fly only five or six times in those three weeks and she’d crashed during two of them. Not odds that he liked even if he knew the reasons for the first one. He’d been there and survived only because of her amazing skills. But still, they’d crashed.
“So how long have they been following us tonight?”
Funny, Alice might start in the middle of conversations, but she never lost their thread once begun.
“Since the White House gates.”
She went silent at that as she pulled up into the parking spot by a hangar door.
“You live like that?”
“Part of the job.”
She went quiet again.
Daniel had to acknowledge, it could be a shocking price to pay. The loss of personal privacy in trade for a measure of security against being murdered by some nutcase.
If this attraction between them built into something more, would it be a price Alice could stand to pay?
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