I was about to ask him if he needed anything when a nurse walked into the room.
“Good morning, Mr. Donnelley. My name is Angie, and I’ll be your nurse today.” Her tone was entirely too cheery for the early hour.
While Angie began her assessment, I received a text from Tanner:
Change of plans. Monroe is on his way to St. Thomas and will meet with you at the hospital
“Everything okay?” Fallon asked.
“Uh ... I’m not sure. I didn’t want to worry you, but I have a meeting with my superior later this morning. It was supposed to be at the field office, but I just received a message saying he’s coming here instead.”
Angie typed a few notes into his chart and then headed out.
“Do you think they’ll reinstate you?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
A few minutes later, Fallon’s eyes grew heavy and he fell back asleep.
While waiting for Monroe, I quickly showered in Fallon’s room and brushed my teeth with a toothbrush the hospital had placed in the room. I supposed things like that were expected on the VIP floor. Since I didn’t have a change of clothes, I put the same ones on that I had been wearing for a few days and then checked my emails while sitting in the chair next to Fallon’s bed. He was still sleeping when Tanner walked into his room.
“Davis, Monroe is ready for your meeting.”
I stood to follow him, and he led me to the same room where I’d had my chat with the president the day before.
“Agent Davis, have a seat,” Monroe greeted me from behind the desk.
I pulled out one of the chairs and sat.
“As you’re aware, our investigation is ongoing regarding not only the shooting of Fallon Donnelley, but also your behavior and attack on Finnegan Donnelley.”
“Yes, sir.” My hands began to sweat. My future with the Secret Service possibly hinged on that one moment.
“I spoke with Agent Tanner, and he told me what happened two nights ago, but I would like to hear your side of the story.”
For the next few minutes, I went over every detail with him, from rushing out of the command post, to confronting Finnegan, and finally confessing that Fallon and I had started a secret affair while I’d been assigned to his detail.
After a moment of silence from Monroe, he sighed. “The agency has decided you’ll spend the next two weeks on leave without pay for your actions against Finnegan Donnelley.”
That wasn’t much of a surprise because I knew I’d face disciplinary action for my behavior. “And after two weeks?”
“A decision hasn’t been made about your placement yet. President Donnelley has asked us to consider keeping you with Fallon, but we are still determining whether or not that’s the best course of action.”
I drew in a quick breath. Knowing the president had gone to the agency in support of me and his son gave me reason to believe everything would be fine despite what happened with my job.
Monroe continued. “If we do keep you on your current detail, you will need to understand that when you’re off duty, you will have no say over the team’s operations. You’ll be a guest of Mr. Donnelley’s during that time and nothing more.”
“Of course, sir.” That was something I could handle.
“Having said that, there is still a possibility we will assign you to another team.”
“Understood.”
Monroe explained I would receive the final decision regarding my employment before my administrative leave was over, and then I was dismissed.
When I returned to Fallon’s room, he appeared to be asleep, and his mother, who had stayed at a hotel the night before, sat in a chair near the window.
She gave me a bright smile. “Good morning, Agent Davis.”
