She crawled in, snuggled close. When he held her, she took a deep breath, releasing some of the tension she’d been holding.
“Sydney, we’ve been brought in to do our jobs, along with dozens of others. Some will be selling burgers and fries, some will be guarding the President and his guests. Everyone in that crowd will be focused on the Army-Navy football game being played out on the field.”
“This is life or death,” she whispered. “It’s so final. It’s not like a job where there’s a do-over.”
“The President and his guests know their careers put them in the public arena. It’s a risk of the position they’re willing to take.”
“Check the private chat groups for another message,” she said.
He retrieved his laptop, sat propped against pillows in bed.Leaning against his shoulder, she peered over. There were a lot more chat rooms than she’d realized and, as Tank gained access to each of them, he showed her that nothing new from the terror cell had been posted.
“Wait,” she said pointing to a sidebar conversation. “What are those?”
“That’s where others can comment on something, like the GIF they posted.”
“Scroll back.”
As he did, she skimmed the comments. The ones from people who hated democracy alarmed her, their rhetoric filled with evil, wishing horrific things on innocent souls.
She paused to read an especially long entry. “What do you make of that one?”
It was a poem.
A longstanding game where rivals run with a ball.
They tumble and fumble and cheer with them all.
The stands will be filled with thousands of fans,
Who witness the fall of a so-called great land.
When the heart of the lion beats no more,
America will whimper, not growl and roar.
The world will stand by as the superpower falls,
And the might of a few grow stronger than all.
Be prepared to witness a shocking tale,
As a nation of terror takes claim over all.
“Ohmygod,” she rasped. “They’re coming for us.”
“And they’re comingtoday,” he ground out.
As he jumped on the portal, she flew out of bed to get ready. She needed to get to the stadium and prepare for the fight of her life.
As muscle memory kicked in, her heart rate slowed. Her blood pressure started dropping, and her breathing leveled out.She’d been anxious because shehadn’tknown. Now that she had her answer, she could move forward. Confident in the people hired to protect, confident in the team she’d been assigned to work with, but more than either of those, she was confident in herself.
I can do this. I know I can.
