Phillips was speechless for the first time in a long time, and watched as Ruby stood and moved over to the door with Jonas behind her.
“Thank you, Madam Secretary,” she said. “Please do what you can.”
They left the office, striding with urgency side by side toward the elevator. They rode it to the first floor in silence and left without incident, pausing only to hand back the lanyards they had been given on the way in.
Neither of them spoke until they got back in the car. Ruby had relinquished the driver’s seat.
“Did he really kill all those G-men?” asked Jonas.
Ruby nodded. “Yeah. I even helped him with a few of the CIA spooks.”
“Shit… ”
“Come on, let’s head over to the rendezvous point. They should be on their way by now.”
He started the engine and pulled away, quickly dissolving into the sea of traffic, moving slowly along the street.
Ruby turned on the radio, which was in the middle of a news report, and buzzed her window down to feel the cool, crisp air blow through.
They stopped at a red light.
“Can we not put some music on?” asked Jonas, as he leaned forward to change the station.
Ruby put her hand on his arm, stopping him. “Wait, turn it up.”
He adjusted the volume.
“… ninth report in the last hour. The military presence in major cities across the country has been hailed as a bold and intelligent move on the part of President Cunningham, yet smaller towns and communities have been actively rejecting the support, with some standing in protest, while other, more extreme, cases have seen outbreaks of violence in the streets. The latest incident was in Annapolis, Maryland, where not fifteen minutes ago eight US soldiers were executed by a group of fourteen armed locals. Yet in a bizarre twist, all fourteen men were killed just moments afterward. Reports from eyewitnesses who fled the scene said one man fought back, killing every single member of the group before disappearing with an accomplice in a gray van. More on this situation as it develops. Meanwhile, North Korean forces continue to attack GlobaTech peacekeeping operatives in parts of Eastern Europe and Asia, with many refugees from the 4/17 attacks being caught in the crossfire. The death toll is estimated to be in the millions. A spokesperson for the White House said that…”
Ruby turned it off and looked at Jonas, who was staring straight ahead, wide-eyed.
“Well,” she said. “At least we know they got the van…”
29
Realizing I’ve not slept much in the last — oh, I don’t know—month, I figure it’s worthwhile to try to get some sleep on the ride out of Annapolis. Traffic is heavy, and we’re doing our best to stay off the main streets where we can. Consequently, what should take less than an hour is ending up taking closer to two.
Oscar hasn’t said much since we left. I’ve occasionally glanced over at him throughout the journey, and he was always staring straight ahead, barely blinking, functioning on autopilot, and chewing his gums. I think he’s trying to wrap his head around everything.
He knows what I do and what I’m capable of. He’s even seen the aftermath of it, in Pittsburgh a couple years back. But he’s never actually seen it happen for himself. I imagine it could be a little unsettling.
I have a lot of time for Oscar. He’s a good man — at least he is to me. I guess I could even go so far as to call him a friend. So I say this with all the respect in the world, but at the end of the day, Oscar is an arms dealer. And, much like a paid assassin, it’s not the kind of job you can easily justify doing. If I were to guess, I would say he deals with it by detaching himself from it, kind of like I do. He sells weapons to people. He probably tries not to consider what those people actually do with the weapons they buy from him.
Well, he just witnessed firsthand what people do with the weapons he sells, and it’s never pleasant being reminded that you’re not as nice a person as you think you are.
“Look alive,” he says, distracting me.
I refocus on the real world and look around. The sun is all but gone, and the low clouds are making dusk a less attractive event than it usually would be. People crowd the streets of our nation’s capital in groups of varying sizes. A mixture of military and law enforcement patrol every corner. The whole place bears no resemblance to the country I’ve lived in and served for most of my life.
We hang a right off Madison Drive and pull into the near-deserted parking lot of the Smithsonian. Oscar guides the van slowly into a spot and kills the engine. I jump out and see Ruby and Jonas climbing out of Veronica’s city car next to us.
We stand in a close circle, huddled together and partially lit by a nearby streetlight, tense in the evening chill.
Ruby playfully punches me in my arm. “You made it…”
I smile, somewhat forced. “Piece of cake.”
Jonas scoffs. “Yeah, we heard about your cake on the fucking radio.”
“Ah…”
“What the fuck, man?”
“What was I supposed to do, Jonas? Ask them real nice to stop and let me pass? Pretty please with a cherry on top? They were killing soldiers… They were firing at civilians… And, most importantly, they were standing between me and this van.” I gesture to it behind me with my thumb. “I did what I had to, alright?”
He holds his hands up in reluctant defeat and falls silent.
I look at Ruby. “How you holding up? Did you manage to speak to Secretary Phillips?”
She nods. “We did. And we walked out of there without handcuffs, so I think it went okay. She advised us to get away from you. She said even though you’re not a terrorist, you’re still a murderer.”
I shrug. “Yeah, well, she does have a point. I figured out a while back I’m probably not walking away from this one.”
“Hey, you can stall that shit, okay? We’re all walking away from this one. And we’ll walk away legends.”
“And rich,” Jonas adds.
I smile, more genuine this time, and pat her right shoulder. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Thanks.”
She winces and tries to hide it with a smile. I notice and frown for a second, wondering what’s wrong, but I quickly remember she was shot about thirty-six hours ago.
“Shit, sorry! How’re you doing?”
She waves me away. “I’m fine. It’s nothing a couple of painkillers won’t fix. So, are we doing this, or what?”
For a moment, I can’t help but think how much Josh would like her. Aside from the fact she has no shame whatsoever — which is one of the first things he tends to look for in women — her attitude and abilities are exemplary in our particular field. I might introduce them when this is over. He could do with some company.
I move over to the van, open the rear doors, and step to the side so everyone can see. Running along one side is a rail attached to the roof with four sets of dark gray coveralls hanging from it. Each one has an personalized security badge sticking out of the breast pocket.
In the middle, on the plywood-lined floor, is a large square box. Jonas moves toward it and looks inside.
“Sweet Jesus… it’s beautiful!” he says.