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“What do you think his thoughts are?” Leilah shot back.
Everyone spoke at once, muttering some variation of an answer that included “nondescript, late-model sedans” and “government-issued.”
“So we’re all on the same page,” Omar said.
“Right. The only question is which government agency?” Ryan added.
“Nope, that’s not the question.”
Ryan and Leilah exchanged confused looks.
“It is for us,” Leilah told her brother.
“Oh, well that’s only because you didn’t see the DEA roll up on me this morning.”
“DEA, as in the Drug Enforcement Agency?” Ryan clarified.
“The one and only.”
“Your old unit?”
“Nope. They sent some suits down from D.C.”
“Why?”
“The cover story was someone I’d worked with was being considered for an assistant directorship, and they just wanted to vet him.”
“I hear a but.”
“But they don’t send four armed agents to get a reference.”
“No, they generally don’t,” Ryan agreed. “What did they really want?”
“They wanted to know the last time I saw you.”
“Why?”
“They said they have reason to believe you’re in danger.”
“Well, they’re not wrong,” Leilah interjected.
“No, they’re not. But I don’t know these guys, and I don’t trust them. It could be that they know you’re in danger and they want to protect you. Or you could be in danger from them.”
“It’s worth considering,” Jake said gravely. “Were you working on anything with the DEA right before you left the Department of Justice?”
Ryan thought back. “The DEA was involved in a lot of our cases. I mean, drug trafficking was a sizeable part of the workload. But it was all run-of-the-mill stuff. Off the top of my head, nothing particularly juicy stands out. At least nothing worth killing me over.”
“Tell him,” Trent urged in an undertone.
“Someone you worked with at the Justice Department died last month,” Omar said in a grave voice.
Ryan shook his head. “If an AUSA had been murdered, I would have heard.”
“Not murdered, an accidental death. At least that’s how it was reported. He allegedly fell down a flight of stairs in some Foggy Bottom bar. Although the DEA guys intimated it wasn’t really an accident.”
Olivia spoke up, “You know how it is with unofficial government actions. The whole point of plausible deniability is that you never admit it.”
“So reading between the lines, it sounds like they were telling Omar there was a hit out on this prosecutor,” Jake continued.
