Georgia touched his arm fondly before stepping aside to let Samuel greet them. The break in protocol might have been considered a faux pas, except Samuel had been letting his wife take the lead with greeting people for decades.
Jamie turned his attention to Liam’s father and squared his shoulders, dipping his head down in a sharp, respectful nod. “Sir.”
“Very good to see you, Jamie,” Samuel said. “Gabriel, it’s a pleasure.”
“Thank you, sir,” Gabriel replied in a respectful tone.
“Allow me to introduce our son, Prince Liam.”
Liam stepped forward, offering his hand to Gabriel for a firm handshake. Unlike Jamie, he was in an elegant black tuxedo with morning tails, the jacket cut a little high in order to show off the blue sash he wore underneath but over his white dress shirt and vest. A line of stiff miniature medals and orders adorned the left side of his tuxedo jacket, with a larger order pinned over the tie of the sash near his hip.
“Nice to meet you,” Gabriel said, his eyes flicking from Liam to Jamie. “May I ask how you two know each other?”
“We’re old friends,” Liam said with an easy smile. “We’ve known each other since we were children.”
“Shall we take them up for drinks, darling?” Ashley said, touching her husband’s arm.
“Yes, of course. If you would follow us?” Michael said.
Moving everyone who’d earned a seat at the head tables up to the Yellow Oval Room took a bit of doing. But the Chief Usher, the White House Social Secretary, and the Chief of Protocol of the United States all had a white-knuckled grip on the festivities for tonight, and the transition to the second floor went smoothly.
The reception in the Yellow Oval Room was more intimate than what they’d encounter throughout the rest of the evening. Those dignitaries and officials granted the spots enjoyed wine and champagne served by White House staff. Jamie didn’t invite conversation through the hour it took for Michael to introduce Samuel, Georgia, and Liam to those gathered for the reception. Gabriel carried most of the conversation, easily taking the verbal lead.
Jamie spent most of that time preoccupied with his own thoughts, mentally running through the security plans in place for the umpteenth time, wishing he could receive updates from his team and the base on what was happening outside the White House. Silence might mean no news was good news, but Jamie would rather have his finger on the pulse of the MDF’s war room. It wouldn’t be enough to loosen the tension in his shoulders, but it might quiet the unease he felt.
Then again, maybe not.
When it was time to descend back to the state floor, the transition was accompanied by a ceremonial color guard, “Hail to the Chief” played by the Marine band, and the slow walk down the Grand Staircase. Jamie, Gabriel, and Liam entered after the heads of state. Jamie and Liam flanked Gabriel on their way to the Blue Room, the cameras never missing a single step of their journey.
Once inside the grandly decorated Blue Room for a second reception where every guest was welcome, Jamie made sure to stay by Gabriel’s side, despite his preference for standing with Liam. Gabriel was his date tonight, and he could already see the reaction from guests as Gabriel greeted people along with his parents through the receiving line. Everyone’s attention shifted from the First Family to Jamie’s presence, and he didn’t doubt they knewwhyhe was there.
Politics were as much about words as they were about the people you knew and the people you associated with. Jamie, and by extension his father, having the unspoken support of the president and the First Family would be the top news story before the hour was up.
This is not how I wanted to spend the evening,Jamie thought to himself.
Gabriel excused himself after the receiving line finished and some of the guests mingled while others slowly filtered out to be escorted to the South Lawn. Jamie slipped through the crowd, intent on getting another drink. He spotted a server with two wine glasses still on her tray and went to grab one. As he reached for one of the glasses, the other was taken by a man Jamieknewwasn’t on the guest list, because he’d reviewed the final names with the director just that morning.
“Good evening, Captain Callahan,” CIA Deputy Director Carter Bennett said in a mild voice.
For one split second, Jamie thought about breaking the man’s neck.
Then reality overtook his daydream, and Jamie readied himself for a war of words.
“Deputy Director Bennett,” Jamie said as the server walked away. “Were you invited?”
“In a matter of speaking.”
Bennett took a sip of his wine, his brown eyes never leaving Jamie’s face. The older man was shorter than Jamie, his salt-and-pepper hair neatly trimmed on the sides and just a little longer up top. At fifty-four, Bennett still cut a trim figure in his black suit, the style less formal than everyone else’s tuxedos. A quick scan of his person told Jamie he wasn’t obviously armed, but in a situation like this, that didn’t mean anything.
Bennett was married, the father of two children, and had dedicated his life to the CIA. Jamie wondered, idly, at what point in the other man’s years of service he was turned by the enemy, what his price was to betray his country.
Because everyone had a price, whether they knew it or not.
Jamie wished he could record their conversation, but the electronic jammers embedded in the White House walls made that impossible. He’d remember the conversation though, and memories were valid evidence in the courts now if entered through a Telepathy Affidavit.
Viper,Jamie called out at the edge of his mind.
I’m here,Katie immediately answered.I have Echo on standby if we need to evacuate the president. I’m relaying everything to the director as well.
