At the Enlightened Bean, where Danny had left his Sheriff’s vehicle, it was even more chaotic. A crowd of several hundred fought to reach the Sheriff and slap him on his back, shake his hand, hug him, and kiss him, with all of them as excited and giddy as teens around their favorite movie star. He put up with all of it, occasionally wiping the chlorine’s lingering burning sensation from his eyes.
He stayed until every single person who wanted to, had a chance to thank him. When the last ones left and he was alone, Danny got in his vehicle and sat there, silently shaking as the day’s events swept over him. He regained control after a few minutes, and started the vehicle, driving out of Presidio towards his office in Marfa.
People who saw the Sheriff’s vehicle honked and waved and cheered as he passed. The hour-long trip to Marfa was the greatest drive he had ever experienced in his life.
***
Hunter took the back way to her home in Marfa, because she felt so exhausted she didn’t want to lift her hand to wave at anyone. She pulled into the garage and closed the door, went in the house, climbed the stairs to the master bedroom, took off the sweats and crawled into bed.
She pulled the laptop from the nightstand and settled it on her lap. It would be a good idea to do a report on the day’s events while they were fresh in her head. Thirteen single-spaced pages later, she forwarded the report to Sector Intel. Checking her personal email account was next, and there were over seventy new messages.
The first one was from Raymond, still in the hospital but obviously doing better. He sent: Get out and do some work. He filled another two lines with cheering emoticons of various colors and shapes. She smiled as she looked at each one.
The others were from friends and other Agents and law enforcement people she knew, with a special one from her brother in El Paso. They made her feel warm inside, and she went on Facebook for a while after that. Nothing was new, so she turned off the laptop and turned on the television, where she watched reruns of NCIS until she fell asleep.
When she woke at six the next morning, NCIS was still showing. “They must have a million episodes,” she muttered as she turned off the flat screen. After a shower and coffee, Hunter dressed in her uniform and drove to the station.
Roy Dell was inside, and told her, “The Chief’s waiting for you at Sector.”
“Do you know what he wants?”
“Oh sure, Hunter. Me and the Chief, we tell each other everything.” He winked.
At the Sector Headquarters building, Hunter parked in front, next to two unmarked, black Lincoln Navigators. She looked them over as she went inside and turned down the long hall to the Chief’s office.
Sylvia, the Chief Patrol Agent’s Executive Administrator, said, “Go on in, he’s got company waiting for you.”
“FBI?”
“Uh-huh.”
Hunter knocked, heard a faint, “Come in,” then opened the door and stepped into the large office.
The Chief sat behind his large oak desk, and two men in dark blue suits sat along the wall by the windows. The Chief said, “Hunter, these men are from the FBI in El Paso, and they’d like to ask you some questions.”
Hunter introduced herself to them and they did the same: Bob Sanchez and Barry Langford. Hunter took a seat near the Chief’s desk. “Ask away,” she said.
Bob said, “Where did you obtain information about the chlorine tanker?”
“From a man named Floyd Riffey.”
Barry took out an iPad and typed as she talked. He said, “Is Mr. Riffey an informant of yours?”
“No. We, the Sheriff and I, encountered him yesterday at the Sheriff’s campaign stop.”
Barry typed some more. Bob asked her, “And what did he tell you?”
Hunter said, “I sent a report on all this to our Intel people last night.” She looked at the Chief and he nodded that he’s seen it. She said, “I can get you a copy.”
Bob said, “We have it. We want to hear it in your own words.”
“Sure,” Hunter said, “I’ll be right back.” She left the office, walked down the hallway to Intel and had them print out a copy of her last night’s report.
Returning to her chair, Hunter sat down, held up the paper and began reading the report. Two sentences in, Bob raised his hand for her to stop. “Okay.” He said, and gave her a tight smile. “We apologize. Now, may we continue?”
“Sure.”
Barry said, “Other than what’s in your report, what else do you know of the terrorists you mentioned?”