“They’re going to do a hostage exchange in the middle of a peace rally,” said Bunting grimly.
CHAPTER
81
IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING, and Michelle had driven most of the night to get them to D.C. Sean was asleep in the seat next to her. Roy had nodded off in the backseat. The sky was overcast and promised more rain from a storm system that had been pounding the East Coast.
“Cold, wet, and dark. Sort of matches my mood.”
Michelle glanced over to see that Sean was awake and staring out the window.
He looked at her and smiled resignedly. “Tomorrow will be a busy day.”
They crossed over a bridge and hung a right, following the directions Paul had given them when she’d called about the latest development involving Megan Riley.
Michelle glanced over at a street corner. “I held a post on that street corner for twelve hours. It was the day after 9/11. Nobody knew what the hell was going on. I wasn’t even working protection back then. I was assigned to a forgery case in Maryland. They pulled a bunch of us in to supplement the protection detail for the president and the VP. By the time I was relieved every muscle I had was in a knot. But you know what?”
“You didn’t want to leave your post.”
She nodded. “How’d you know?”
“When 9/11 happened I was practicing law, been out of the Service for a while. I watched it on TV along with every other American. I wanted to suit back up, come to D.C., and help out. That could never happen, of course.” He grew silent and then added in a low voice, “But I really wanted to come back and help.”
“Things have really gotten screwed up, haven’t they?”
“Actually, they’ve been screwed up for a long time. Which means we all have to work a little harder to fix them.”
“That’s a good attitude to have.” Roy sat up and swept a hand through his hair. He looked at them. “The world is complicated, so people seek complicated solutions. And there’s nothing wrong with that because simple answers don’t usually work. But sometimes the answers are simple and people still refuse to see them.”
“Meaning?” asked Sean.
“Meaning the simpler approach in certain circumstances is better, if only because there’re fewer things that can go wrong.”
“You know what they want,” said Michelle.
“Me and Peter Bunting, yes. For Megan Riley. And of course their threat to kill many other innocent people.”
“So what’s the simple answer to that?” asked Sean.
“To give them what they want.”
“Turn you and Bunting over to them? They’ll kill you both.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“They will kill you,” said Sean. “They have no other possible reason to do the exchange.”
“One would think,” said Roy somewhat vaguely.
“We’re meeting your sister and Bunting. Be there in about ten minutes,” said Michelle. “Do you think she’ll have a simple answer?”
“I think she’ll have an answer. Kel usually does. To everything.”
“Her options may be limited.”
“She knows that, I’m sure.”
“She’s not going to give you up, Edgar,” said Michelle. “You’re her brother. She’s not going to do that.”