“Yes, ma’am,” Harper said from the backseat. “There are parts of the FISA warrant sealed for national security.”
“National security?” Mitchell gasped. “What the hell is going on? I thought this was about Ethan secretly dating some guy in Houston.”
Murphy made a quick mental note to follow up on that last tidbit of information once they had Mitchell safe and secure. Murphy reached into the middle console separating the driver and passenger seats and pulled out a small bag.
“This is a Faraday cage. The bag will block signals to and from your cell until we can have someone see what’s going on,” Murphy said, opening the bag. “Please retrieve your phone and place it inside.”
“I can’t,” Mitchell said. “My cell’s in my house still. The blasted thing didn’t charge fully last night, so it died earlier today. I plugged it into the charger beside my bed when I got home.”
“Not a problem,” Murphy said. “We can either go with you back to your house or have Agent Harper go get it for you. I’ll let you make a choice.”
Murphy watched Mitchell’s face as she decided and started rummaging through her purse. She pulled out a set of keys and handed them to Harper. “The key with the purple band around the top is the one to the front door. You’ll see the staircase off to the left when you get inside. Go up the stairs and find it right at the top.”
Harper nodded in understanding and exited the car. Murphy watched as Harper made his way down the street.
“Do you think I’m in danger?” Mitchell asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to think. The evidence that something strange is going on here is pretty convincing,” Murphy said as she turned her head to look at Mitchell while keeping one eye on Harper as he made his way down the sidewalk. “If I hadn’t seen the look of concern this morning when I talked to the cybercrime people in DC, I wouldn’t believe any of this, either.”
The vehicle rocked violently as a shockwave hit them, followed by the whumping sound of an explosion. Harper was thrown off his feet as a raging fire wall rose skyward from where Mitchell’s house used to be. Car alarms along the street immediately started whining.
With her ears still ringing, Murphy looked at Mitchell and yelled, “Don’t leave!” Murphy threw open the car door and ran toward her partner.
When Murphy got to Harper, he was already pushing himself into a sitting position. “You okay?” she yelled.
“What happened?”
She pulled out her phone and dialed nine-one-one as she helped Harper to his feet. She glanced across the street and noticed the old man still sitting on his stoop, smoking his weed as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
Chapter Seventeen
Ethan
Ethan was bored out of his mind. He’d lounged on the couch for most of the afternoon. He’d even busted out Blayne’sI Love Lucycollection and watched a few famous episodes after googling a list of ones he should see. He didn’t want to tell Blayne, but his knowledge ofI Love Lucy was limited. He remembered watching a few episodes with his great-grandmother when he was a kid, but it was so long ago he probably didn’t even know which ones he’d seen.
When he wasn’t watching TV, he was plowing through his novel or taking a nap. Thankfully, they had plenty of leftover pizza, so he would not starve anytime soon.What army did Blayne think he was feeding?He’d gotten up, gone to the bathroom and come back into the living room when he heard Blayne’s iPhone buzz on the table.He’s got a text.He plopped back down on the couch and picked up the phone.
E it’s B.Lovethe cloak and dagger. I just had a text from someone named Zach. It looks like it’s important. All it said was ‘nine-one-one! Zach – call now.’
Ethan shot back a quick thanks before asking,This is horrible, but can you send me his number? I know nothing by memory anymore.
There was a momentary pause as Ethan waited for the next text. He imagined Blayne trying to figure out where the Galaxy address book was located, then trying to find Zach’s contact information. The phone buzzed, so he picked it up and got the info from Blayne.
Thanks for the fast response. Hope all is well in paparazzi-confusion land.
All is good. Having coffee with Kira and Dr. Reich. Should be home in an hour.
I’ll be here. Not going anywhere.
He then hit the phone number Blayne had texted him and waited as the call went through.Come on, Zach. Pick up!He figured Zach wouldn’t because he didn’t recognize the number. When the call went to voice mail, Ethan texted Zach.
Dude, pick up the phone. I’m borrowing someone else’s cell. Long story.
He hit send. Almost immediately, the iPhone vibrated in his hand. He looked down at the screen to make sure it wasn’t someone else before hitting the answer button.
“What’s the emergency?” Ethan asked.
“It’s Stephanie,” Zach said. “Something’s happened.”
