“I’ll see what I can do,” Allie replied softly. “Bye sweetie.”
Jeri sat the phone down and stared out the window as the first golden rays of sunlight slipped over the hillside. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, a single word floating through her mind.
Fearless.
∞
HSI Director Richard Connolly took his seat beneath the high vaulted ceiling of hearing room 311 and quietly busied himself with organizing his notes. Around him, the level of noise and activity within the historic Cannon House hearing room seemed to be rising in anticipation of the next proceeding. A young, pimple-blemished page walked over and placed a fresh bottle of water on the table next to him as another young man adjusted his microphone. Connolly checked his watch.
The hearing would begin in three minutes.
The hearing on Homeland Intelligence Spending and Risk Assessment wasn’t an official budgetary hearing, but Connolly knew it might as well be. It would be in this hearing that he would once again have the stage to outline the critical work his Intelligence team was conducting against the ever-growing threats of foreign and domestic terror. Within minutes he’d have the committee’s Chairman and eighteen congressional members riveted. First, he’d lead off with a brief summation of the complex operational and tactical intelligence-gathering procedures being used. He’d then conclude with a list of fear-inducing threats that had been detected and catastrophic disasters averted thanks to the HSI’s diligent efforts. After that, the questions that followed would be where the Department’s true budgetary needs would be defined and, under Connolly’s masterful guidance, quickly sold. For Connolly, the only discomfort he’d have to endure for the next ninety minutes would be the absence of a cigarette.
The noise level in the room suddenly dropped as the chairman and members of the committee slowly shuffled into the room. The congressman from Connolly’s home state of Georgia gave him a friendly nod as he took his seat behind the rostrum. The room slowly grew quiet. Connolly adjusted his tie and took a quick sip of his water in preparation for the Chairman’s opening remarks.
“Excuse me, Director Connolly?”
Connolly looked up to see a broad-shouldered man in a suit standing next to him.
“Yes.”
The man opened his jacket and quickly flashed Connolly his CIA credentials. “Would you please come with me, sir?”
“What’s this about?” Connolly asked quietly, feeling the eyes in the room now on him.
The agent nodded towards the front of the room. “That gentleman there will be able to answer your questions, sir.”
Connolly turned and saw a tall, muscular man in a dark suit standing before the Chairman. As he watched, the man looked up and gestured towards him.
“I’ll need you to follow me, sir,” the agent standing next to him said firmly as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Connolly forced a casual smile and stood up from his chair. He nodded briefly to the members of the committee before turning and allowing the agent to escort him down the aisle of the hearing room towards the exit. As they walked, Connolly could hear the second agent, who was apparently in charge, following directly behind. The instant they exited the room he turned and confronted both men.
“What in the hell is the meaning of this?” Connolly demanded angrily.
Alex smiled as he pulled out his CIA identification and flashed it at the Director.
“I apologize for interrupting the hearing, Director Connolly, but there’s an urgent matter that requires your attention.”
A fleeting look of concern crossed Connolly’s face before his scowl returned. “What could possibly require my time more than this Congressional hearing, Agent Murstead?”
Alex studied the weathered face of the HSI Director, his smile suddenly evaporating. “Two dead men in China, Director. Ordered through a directive that came from the National Security Agency. Am I correct in understanding that you used to work for the NSA, Director?”
Connolly to a step back from the two agents, his face suddenly pale.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Alex replied softly. He tucked his ID back into his jacket pocket and gently took hold of Connolly’s arm. “Please come with us, Director.”
∞
“He’s not going to be in today, Agent Coleman,” Jack Preston’s assistant said to Tom as he stood in front of the Director’s office. “The Director had an urgent matter to attend to.”
“What was the urgent matter?” Tom asked.
Preston’s assistant gave him a surprised look. “I’m afraid I don’t have that information.”
“Is he in Phoenix?” Tom pressed.