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As Rielly walked toward the northwest gate, she made the decision that she would stay at her apartment tonight. She had imposed enough on the O’Rourkes. They didn’t need this kind of stress in their lives, especially with the baby on the way. Mitch had called and said everything was fine. If he wasn’t worried, then she could relax a little.
As she approached the first gate, Rielly stuck her access badge under a sensor, and the lock on the gate released. She pushed the gate open and waved good night to the uniformed Secret Service officers as she walked past the guardhouse. At the next gate, she repeated the process and then stepped out onto the sidewalk bordering Pennsylvania Avenue. As she turned west, her thoughts settled on taking a nice, long, hot bath when she got home. Then maybe she would put a call in to her parents in Chicago and see how things were going.
There were always plenty of good stories about her nieces and nephews. The count was even right now. Three boys and three girls with two unknowns on the way. Rielly and her mother were hoping for girls. Anna had grown up with four very protective older brothers. Three of the four were married, and one was currently unmarried and lookin
g for number two. Rielly needed to get home and see them. It had been almost three months. That was too long. Maybe when Mitch came out of his debriefing or whatever it was that he was doing, they could book a trip. The family had met Mitch the previous summer, and they had all gotten along wonderfully.
Rielly didn’t even notice the two men at first. She was a thousand miles away, skinny-dipping in the water of Lake Poygan with her future husband, reliving the pleasant memories of last summer’s trip. She stopped abruptly and looked up at the two serious-looking individuals.
“Ms. Rielly, I’m Special Agent Pelachuk with the FBI.” The man gestured to his right. “And this is Special Agent Salem. We need to ask you a few questions.”
Rielly took half a step back and glanced over her shoulder. The White House was only a block away. She was not nervous; rather, she was checking to make sure none of her fellow reporters was witnessing the exchange. “May I see your badges, please?”
Without hesitation, both men produced their identification. Rielly studied them, not really knowing what an FBI badge looked like, other than what she’d seen on TV. The pictures matched, and they looked fancy enough. Rielly handed them back and asked, “What is it that you would like to talk to me about?”
“I’d rather not say, right here.” The man looked uncomfortable as he glanced over his shoulder and then across the street at the Old Executive Office Building.
“I’d rather you did.” Rielly folded her arms across her chest as if to say she wasn’t moving until she got some answers.
The man slowly leaned forward and whispered, “This has something to do with your boyfriend.”
Rielly took half a step back. “Excuse me?”
The man waved his hands back and forth in an attempt to rid Rielly of her fears. “It’s not what you think. It’s a good thing.” He smiled.
“What?”
“I can’t really talk about it out here on the street.” Rielly still looked concerned, so the man again leaned in and whispered, “He wants to see you.”
“Where is he?”
“I can’t say. All I can tell you is that he is safe, and he would like to see you.”
“And if I say no?”
“If you say no, we will walk away and report back that we tried and you rejected us. It’s not a big deal. He should be done in about two weeks, and you can see him then.”
Two weeks was out of the question. Rielly didn’t know if she could wait two days. “All right. I’ll come with you, but I need to make a phone call. Someone is expecting me.”
“That’s fine, but we’d ask that you not mention his name on a nonsecure line.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Good. Our car is right here.”
Rielly walked with them to a sedan that was parked only a few feet away. Always the reporter, Rielly checked the plates and was relieved to see they were government issue. She got into the back seat and pulled out her cell phone. After a few rings, Liz O’Rourke answered.
“Hello.”
“Liz, it’s me. I think everything is back to normal.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry.”
“So you talked to him again.”
Rielly watched through the front window as the car pulled out into traffic. “No…not really.” She wasn’t sure how much she could say. “I’m on my way to meet him right now.”
