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“He’s not in charge in a situation like this, Brant. You are. You make the call about what he’s allowed to do and what he isn’t.”
“Yes, sir. I’m aware of that. The plan was for them to give a quick wave on their way to the car, which was exactly what happened until the objects were thrown from the back of the gathering.”
“I’ll need a written report on this incident.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll have it to you right away.”
“I’ve already received a call from the director. He’s not pleased.”
“Nor are we, sir. We have several officers working to determine who threw the objects, and they’ll be charged accordingly.”
“Keep me posted.”
Before Brant could reply, the call ended. This was just great. The first time the president and first lady had gone out in public in months had turned into a fiasco, and it was all his fault. He should’ve insisted on using the back door. His boss was right about that. He couldn’t defer to the president at the cost of his safety or that of the first lady.
“Wasn’t your fault, Brant,” Eric, one of the other agents on the president’s detail, said. “No one saw that coming from what seemed like a friendly crowd.”
“If it’s not my fault, whose fault is it? No crowd is entirely friendly. That shouldn’t have happened.”
“I understand, and I’d feel the same way. I just want you to know I think you do a brilliant job. We all do.”
“Well, thanks, but I don’t feel too brilliant tonight.”
“We’ll do better next time.”
“Yes, we will.”
Angst churned in his gut at the thought of something happening to POTUS or FLOTUS on his watch. They had been so very good to him from the first minute he’d started on the VPOTUS detail, and the president had gone to bat to keep Brant as his lead agent after he’d become president.
Brant would willingly give his own life to keep them safe if it came to that.
He prayed every day that it never came to that.
Next door,Nick held a cold compress to the area of Sam’s face where the tomato had struck her.
“I really don’t need that,” she said.
“I need it, so please let me.”
She was reclined against his chest on the sofa.
Their happy buzz had worn off quickly.
“When I think about what could’ve happened…”
“Don’t go there,” she said. “Everything is fine. It was just a tomato.”
“When I looked back and saw something red on your face, I thought you’d been shot. I almost fainted.”
“Oh God, Nick. I’m sorry.”
He kissed the top of her head and continued to hold the compress against her cheek. “Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I don’t want this to discourage you from other outings. We were having such a good time until one stupid person ruined it.”
“That’s what terrifies me,” he said. “That one stupid, deranged person could ruin everything—and not just a night out.”
“As you like to tell me, we’re surrounded by the best security in the world. They did everything right by having the crowd held back from us and getting us quickly to safety.”
