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A Capitol Police cruiser and a tow truck headed toward him and he tucked his hands into his pockets and waited. When the cruiser pulled up alongside him, he nodded. “The Senator wants a receipt.”
The police officer, looking as tired as Gavin felt, pulled himself from the car and leaned in to grab a clipboard. “He’ll get one in the mail, along with a notice of the incident.”
"He's noticing the incident right now, has been for the last several hours," Gavin gestured up toward the office window that silhouetted two figures. The police officer glanced up then did a slight double-take. "That Senator Mitchell?"
“Yep.” Gavin inched over to the driver’s side door and clicked it open while the officer was staring at the window. He pulled the phone from his pocket and slid it in the narrow gap he’d made then pushed the door shut again, talking over the snick of the latch catching. “He’s tired and upset and the old General is emerging. Wants a paper trail for everything.”
The police officer nodded knowingly and smiled. “I read he’s having a fling with that girl in the window with him.” He pulled out a pad and started scribbling on it.
“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” Gavin could have used the rumor for more distraction, as he’d laughingly suggested earlier that night, but the idea left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Here you go.” The cop tore off the piece of paper from his pad and thrust it at Gavin. He took it and folded it neatly before putting it in his pocket. “You need us anymore tonight, or this morning, I should say?”
“Nah. Someone will probably be in touch before the morning shift’s over though, so warn the Senator. I know how prickly they get when they don’t know what’s going on.”
Gavin snorted a laugh, “Yeah. Okay, see you later.”
He replaced his hands in his pockets and walked back to the entrance, keying in a security code before entering. All the while the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. Someone was watching, but who? The police officer or someone else?
Rachel heardher alarm and swiped her hand out to shut it off and managed to fling her cell phone across the room in the process. She sat up in bed and stared at the vibrating, trilling spawn of Satan for a second then stood and walked to pick it up. Turning the alarm off, she gathered her things and headed to the shower. Fifteen minutes later she was drying her hair and dressing in the bodyguard uniform of black pants, white shirt, and jacket. As she eased a t-shirt over her newly braided hair, she noticed her pale face in the mirror and sighed. No sleep and dark shadows under the eyes didn't go well with brown hair, she thought then quickly pulled out the concealer. She normally wore minimal makeup, mascara and foundation, but today, she needed an extra boost to look as least human.
Her breakfast for the morning, a smoothie, was packaged in a to-go cup and Mrs. Finch looked unhappy. "It's not healthy, eating on the run."
Rachel looked at the Senator’s back as he left the kitchen on the way to the garage. “It’s the new normal, didn’t you know that?” She waved at the housekeeper and took a sip of the chocolate mocha flavored health shake as she hurried after her charge. She might not approve, but Mrs. Finch made a mean shake.
When they reached the garage Rachel came to a sudden stop. Gavin stood beside an SUV identical to the one they’d seen towed early in the morning hours. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her shake forgotten.
“I’m going to fill in for a couple of days, til Hank’s guys get here. One of them will take over this position?” He waited for the Senator to nod then continued. “Til then, I figure we don’t need any new faces around.”
She shrugged and followed the Senator into the car. As she fastened her seat belt she felt Gavin’s eyes on her from his position behind the steering wheel.
“What?”
“Nothing, just wondered if you slept, either of you.”
“Sure,” She and the Senator answered in unison, their tones neutral. Gavin chuckled dryly, “Me neither, but I did get some work done.”
“What?” Mitchell asked, looking up from his phone.
“Let’s see the phones first,” Gavin said and Rachel and the Senator handed them over. A few minutes later, he started the car and put it in gear. “I checked out the owner of the phone, Ms. Morelli. She died six months ago. I found a notice of an estate sale and figure that’s how the phone ended up in Rankin’s possession.”
“No connection to Rankin?”
“Not that I found, but I’ll keep looking to make sure.”
Rachel glanced out of the window without taking in her surroundings. “That’s as good as a burn phone, isn’t it?” She didn’t wait for an answer but continued in her stream of thought. “If he had a burn, he could have been anyone on a mission, from undercover police to part of the drug ring. To have a phone registered to someone he didn’t know pushes it more toward the drug connection, don’t you think?”
Gavin nodded. The Senator rubbed the back of his neck. “This thing runs so deep I’m not sure we’ll ever find the root.”
Rachel silently agreed. The investigation had been going on for years, from what she'd learned. The DEA, with all of its bureaucratic hurdles, had made little progress. When the Brotherhood Protectors and later Shadow Ops joined the investigation, they'd made some headway, finding several lower-level and one mid-level actor in the drug distribution ring. A ring that managed to get drugs of all sorts into the hands of suppliers on military bases all over the world. With it being joined by Senator Mitchell and his connections, Rachel hoped against hope they'd find the upper-level actors in the ring. And without anyone else being killed.
The car was silent for the rest of the ride, except for the Senator, taking calls from other staff members confirming appointments and generally doing their best to fill his life with the mundane of a politician. His demeanor changed with each call, becoming the ex-officer he was, taking charge of the situation, and pushing his fatigue to the background.
Rachel tried to do the same and sipped on her shake as she stared at the passing scenery, doing her job of being alert, yet wondering how in the world they’d get the man seated beside her through this assignment alive and well.
During the day, she stayed one step behind the Senator, even during his interviews with the Capitol Police. They weren’t too happy with it, but she could also see the speculation in the officers’ eyes as they asked their questions. That darned gossip column would follow them around for months. At least until someone else made a hot mic comment or was seen someplace they shouldn’t be. She stared neutrally at the officers and ignored their smirks.
A business lunch filled a couple of hours and she allowed her brain to go numb during the keynote address, that of a pundit who enjoyed the sound of his own voice more than the reality of the world situation. At the end of the session, she hustled the Senator out of the room, intent on making his next appointment, that with the senior senator of the Armed Services Committee. This meeting, Mitchell had told her, had to be the top priority of the day.
