All four said a soft “amen” and walked out to face whatever the day held.
Zane drove to their office while Tessa made and received phone calls. Luke was behind them. Faith was on her way to the FBI office. Every law enforcement agency in Raleigh—local, state, and federal—had responsibilities today. Some as mundane as crowd control along the motorcade. Some as up close and personal as wanding every person who stepped onto the Carmichael estate. All with one focus—to make sure the president came and went with no complications.
And no one felt the pressure more intensely than the RaleighSecret Service agents. Despite having an impressive case-closure record, excellent interagency cooperation with their counterparts, and a reputation for professionalism whether they were giving a presentation at a school or filling a position on a counterterrorism task force, their office had become the butt of many dark jokes within the service.
This was their opportunity for a bit of redemption. And Craig Brown’s crew was not going to mess that up.
Tessa’s phone rang again. She answered it with the speaker on. “Reed.”
“Tessa, Anissa.” Anissa Bell-Chavez, another Carrington County investigator, spoke with an urgency that set Zane’s nerves tingling. “We didn’t have enough manpower to follow every vehicle, but we have four of them. Two are on the grounds of a warehouse three miles from the airport. We don’t have a location on the other two yet, but we’re keeping a close eye on them. Sabrina has all the license plates, and she’s doing the best she can to track everyone. But we suspect they made their move in the middle of the night not only to make it harder for us to follow them, but also because it would be more difficult to track them using traffic cameras.”
“Thanks for the heads-up—and for following them. What were y’all doing out there tonight?”
Anissa chuckled. “Gabe and I haven’t been on a stakeout in a while. We figured we’d take two cars and stay close enough to keep an eye on things. When we got hints of activity, we called in a few patrol officers in unmarked vehicles. That’s how we managed to keep up with four of them.”
“We’re going to owe you for this.” Tessa’s gratitude poured through every word.
“Nah. You’d do the same for us. But we need to plan a Saturday where we can all hang out. We’ll even let Zane join in on the fun.”
“I’m right here, Bell.”
“I know.” Anissa’s laughter was filled with teasing. “Gabe told me the two of you were together. Stay sharp. I’ll be in touch.”
Tessa dropped her phone into her lap. “Three miles from the airport. It’s doable with some of the drones they have on hand.”
“Yeah, but attacking the motorcade? That only works in the movies.”
When the president came to town, nothing was left to chance. Roads would be closed. Snipers positioned on rooftops and in buildings. Counterintelligence agents would be in the crowds watching for any hint of a threat. Even if they flew in drones carrying explosive payloads, the risk to the president was minimal. No drone could carry enough explosive material to destroy the Beast. But the risk to the men, women, and children who lined the motorcade route? That was a different story altogether.
“Is it possible these people are crazy enough to want to harm innocent bystanders just to make a point?” Zane asked.
“I’ve spent hours studying this group, and I’m not sure they’re entirely rational.” Weariness filled Tessa’s voice. “I’m not opposed to nonviolent protests, but when your actions harm innocents, you’ve lost my respect and any protection under free speech or right of assembly or any other freedom we hold dear.” She rolled her head in a slow circle. “Part of what makes these people so frustrating is their lack of logic. It’s difficult to predict what an irrational person will do next.”
“And even harder to predict what a group that is feeding off each other will do.”
It took a little over an hour to get all the parties in place to discuss the next steps. The Carrington investigators had followed the remaining two vehicles to a private home located five miles by road but only two miles as the crow flies from the Carmichaelestate. Given that Gabe and Anissa had no jurisdiction in Raleigh, they’d returned to Carrington after the Wake County Sheriff’s Office took over surveillance.
Tessa stood beside the conference room table, the phone in the middle, as the Raleigh agents and advance agents gathered around to speak to agents still in DC, the sheriff’s office, the FBI office, and at least five other local and state law enforcement agencies. “Can we get a warrant?” Zane had no idea who had asked the question. “Do we have a judge who would be willing?”
“We have no hard evidence. None.”
“Can we get hard evidence?”
The conversation continued in circles for another thirty minutes, with the final decision coming from the protective detail lead agent, Supervisory Special Agent Duane Ledbetter. “We work on getting that hard evidence, but until then, we keep people close and make sure the snipers know to be on the lookout for UAVs. And we double the foot patrols along the river, both sides.”
Unmanned aerial vehicles had progressed so much in the last decade that it made it possible for them to carry anything from an incendiary device to a biological weapon. Which made shooting them down potentially problematic.
“Special Agent Reed?” Ledbetter’s voice was calm and crisp.
Tessa didn’t flinch. “Yes, sir?”
“I want to commend you on your prior preparation and incredible response time tonight. Or I guess it’s this morning. It’s obvious you have a handle on this threat and have prepared for any eventuality. Good work.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Zane had never been so happy to not be on a video call. He gave Tess a discreet thumbs-up, and she responded with a smallshrug and a smile that he knew wanted to go full voltage but she kept to barely there levels.
“The rest of the advance team will be wheels up in two hours. We’ll see you soon. Good work, Raleigh.”
