by Lisa Grace
“It’s the adrenaline. You should be coming down to earth soon.”
“We’ll see,” he said as he backed the car up and drove out of the lot.
Keiko sat back and held the star. “Should we go to the news outlets now, or wait until morning?”
“I think Dad’s already made those arrangements.”
“He’s got news connections too? He really gets around doesn’t he?”
“You said it.”
Julian drove into the heart of D.C. and Keiko wondered where on earth they were going.
“Where exactly are we going? This is the city. I thought we were leaving. There isn’t anything in the city resembling a shack,” Keiko said, confused.
“If you want to be safe, and you want the star and the letter safe, trust me, this is the place to be,” Julian said.
“Is it a hideout for one of Ray's cloak and dagger friends?” Keiko joked.
“I guess you could look at it that way.”
They drove down the street, past the buildings of the Smithsonian. Keiko instinctively slid down in her seat.
“I really don’t feel safe being this close to Benton’s stomping grounds,” Keiko said as they continued driving toward the governmental center of town.
“Sometimes the best action you can take is to hide in plain view.” He whipped his head around as they heard a car peal out, “And sometimes not, hold on.”
“Oh great.” Keiko looked over her shoulder. A dark car was speeding closer catching up quickly. The back window blew out and Keiko ducked down.
“This is only supposed to happen in the movies!” She screamed at Julian.
“Well, tell that to them! Stay down!”
Keiko kept her head down afraid to look. A tire blew out and Julian fought to keep the car on the road. He made a fast turn and the car went up on the two good wheels left on that side. When the car came down, Keiko was jolted and landed hard. She could hear the metal rim of the tire screeching against the pavement, knowing it was cutting a grove into the roadway she would be able to see the next day, if she lived to see the next day.
“We’re almost there, they should drop off our tail any minute,” Julian called out sounding calm.
“Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine,” Julian said reaching out quickly and squeezing her hand. “See? They’re dropping back already.”
They sped down the mall. Keiko dared to look out the window. The other car had indeed dropped back and was turning to speed away in the opposite direction.
Keiko looked out the window and realized where they were.
Julian turned onto the main road running alongside the White House. He drove to the back entry security gate, the car wobbling lopsided, sending up a stream of sparks from the ruined rim. The guard looked at what was left of the car and their license plate, “Rough night, Sir?”
“First date,” Julian said.
“I’m sure she’s impressed, Sir,” The guard said with a straight face.
The guard just nodded and waved them in. “This is the White House,” Keiko said shocked.
“Yep, ‘the shack’,” Julian said.
“Let’s go make history,” Julian smiled at Keiko. He got out as security guards opened his and Keiko’s doors to escort them into the tunnel leading into the service entrance for the White House.
The security detail escorted them to a small room and asked for their weapons. “Miss?” the security guard asked as he gestured for the package.
“No. It’s an historical artifact. It should be handled as little as possible. It’s the reason we’re here.”
The other guard said, “It’s okay, just walk through the scanner with it.”
Keiko and Julian walked through the scanner.
The guard gestured for them to sit at a table, “Someone will be with you in a moment.”
Looking at the security guard reminded Keiko of something. There was something important she’d forgotten. Security guard…
“Oh no! Julian, what about Jacks? Can we have someone here put out a—what do they call it? An APB—Julian help me out here. I can’t think!”
“Jackman Sanders.” Julian said to the guard, “We need to have someone looking for Jackman Sanders, he could be in danger. His last known location would be at the Palace of Wonders on Northeast over in the Atlas District or his apartment. Can we get security looking for him?”
“Yes sir, we’ll get that request out right away.”
Once through security, an aide came to escort them down the hall through some winding passages, up an elevator and into an office like room.
“Please, make yourself comfortable. Someone will be with you shortly.”
As they were sitting down Keiko asked, “Who does your Dad know here at ‘the shack’?”
“Who else? The President. Best friends since high school. Went to college together. Dad went into the Secret Service and Matt went into politics. The rest is history,” Julian said with a smile. Keiko punched him for the bad joke.
“Well this was a stroke of luck,” Keiko said.
“Or divine intervention,” Julian answered.
The door opened, “Hello, I’m Agent Sumner with FIA, Federal Internal Affairs.
Why don’t you tell me your story, from the beginning. Agent Raymond Macintyre reported it as a matter of national security and a breach of federal ethics by a member of Congress.” Agent Sumner pulled out a notebook and pen, “You are being recorded and filmed in the interest of national security. Please state your name and then start when you are ready.” Julian recapped the past twenty-four hours starting with Keiko finding the letters, and why they believed the Congressman had murdered the docent at the Flag House and tried to have them run over. When he got to the shoot-out at Claggett’s Brewery, and the chase from the Smithsonian to the White House. Agent Sumner asked, “Wait a second, you are aware that Congressman Benton Rivers owns Claggett’s and so technically you just admitted to breaking and entering, if the Congressman decides to press charges.”
“Do we need a lawyer?” Keiko asked Julian.
Agent Sumner interjected, “Not yet, we are classifying the ‘incidents’ as a matter of national security so we aren’t filing any charges or even working with local law enforcement. Everything said in this room is confidential. Let’s go over the alleged kidnapping and shooting in detail.”
Julian continued his narrative. Agent Sumner asked them to clarify a couple of points and then got up to leave.
“We will be comparing your version of events with those of Agent Macintyre. We have a trace out for Jackman Sanders and we will be talking to Congressman Rivers. After that, we will see what appropriate measures need to be taken.”
After he left the room, Julian and Keiko sat back.
“What happens now?” Keiko asked Julian.
“I’m sure they’ll be rounding up Jacks and Benton Rivers. Then they’ll work on verifying Ray’s, and our story. Just relax. We’re safe now.”
***
Congressman Rivers answered his phone. “We lost them at Claggett’s but our tail picked them up in front of the Smith. We have a problem. They’re in the White House.”
“You lost them? They’re in the White House?” Benton could not believe what he was hearing. Damage control. He had to get into the White House and convince them to include him in the finding of the star. Why not? He owned Claggetts. He could say he let them in. It was plausible. The shootings could be ascribed to panicked guards when the alarms went off. A misunderstanding.
It wasn’t too late. He could pull this off. He had to work fast. The simplest way would be to sneak in as a Secret Service Agent through the tunnel running from under the Capitol building to the White House. He could do it. His face was familiar enough, they would know they’d seen him around. If he dressed like an agent, wore his hair slightly different...
He called in one of his men, “run off a Secret Service I.D. for me, pronto.”
Keiko and Julian would be in th
e guest wing. He could dress the part of Secret Service, use a badge, an earpiece, and then all he had to do was ask someone on the housekeeping staff where Keiko and Julian were. They would know which room. The people working late night might recognize his face, but that could work in his favor. They would just chalk it up to seeing him around the White House. One of the many familiar faces they saw on a nightly basis.
One last thing to do, that was all. One last step to take. He would pull this off and then it would be his turn for greatness.
***
When Agent Sumner came back, he opened the door and motioned for them to get up. He said, “Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m showing you to your rooms while we decide how to handle the events of the evening. We should have all the answers we need soon. It’s almost five-thirty a.m. Try and rest.” Agent Sumner took them up a staircase made a quick left turn, led them down a short hallway where there were what appeared to be guest rooms.
“Here we are,” he said. Agent Sumner reached and opened the first door on the right, “Ma’am.”
He walked down and opened the next door, “Sir.”
“We will have a meeting with the President and his advisors within the next hour or two,” he looked at his watch, “The President will have room in his schedule to meet with you between seven-thirty and eight a.m., followed by the press conference. You have about an hour and half to nap. Sleep fast. Breakfast will be served shortly before the start of the press briefing. If you need any assistance dial zero to reach the White House operator. Good night,” he said as he nodded and went down the hall.
“Goodnight,” Keiko and Julian said.
After Agent Sumner turned the corner, “I forgot to ask if they’ve found Jacks!” Keiko said to Julian, “At least we can call and see if he’s checked in at the bar yet,” Keiko went in her room and Julian followed. They called the Wonder Palace. No answer. It was after five thirty a. m. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until later this morning. Do you think he’s safe?”
“I’m sure he’s safe. He knows what he is doing. Spy-ware’s his thing. And the two muscle men who were guarding us are dead. Benton’s going to be more careful. He has to realize the game is over. I’m sure he’s covering his tracks and coming up with a solid alibi. Get some sleep if you can,” Julian came up and rubbed Keiko’s shoulders. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. “Try and get some sleep, we have a big day ahead of us.”
Keiko shook her head, “Sleeping is going to be impossible.”
Julian got up and let himself out.
Keiko looked at the package as she went to lie back on the bed, imagining how Grace would feel knowing the truth would finally be out. Would she be happy? Would she rather it stayed a secret? Tough to know. She wondered how Benton was going to try to cover up the truth now. Not the truth of history, that was the least of his problems. His bid for being the next President would be over. If he hadn’t tried to cover up the truth, getting at least three people killed in the process, if he had just been there to help and promote the discovery of the flag, Congressman Rivers would have been a hero. Benton could have ridden the wave of national pride all the way to the White House. But pride over his manufactured past was more important than a human life. Keiko couldn’t understand the fidelity to a lie. Now it was all he would have. Keiko closed her eyes and fell asleep.
***
Julian fell on his bed thinking entirely different thoughts. Just the thought of Keiko, the way she moved and smiled, drove him crazy. He’d never been this attracted to a woman before. In college, as he filled out his six-foot-two frame, the girls had chased him. Some still did. Julian always had a girl. Pretty ones, beautiful ones, exotic women. His brother razzed him, calling him, “Pack Wolf.”
“You sure were misnamed, you can’t beat ‘em off with a stick,” Jesse teased him.
Jesse looked like Julian’s brother, but was missing the natural athletic ease his younger brother inherited. Jesse was more bookish, up for all the rough and tumble, just not quite as strong, fast, or coordinated as Julian. For awhile in high school when Julian was a sophomore and his brother a senior, they were on the same level playing field and competed at everything.
However, the next year, Julian passed Jesse.
In college, Jesse’s ability with language, codes, and linguistics began to shine.
He headed off to the Naval Academy with a full-ride, while Julian became more fascinated by his early American history. When Ray, Jesse, and him were out hunting, camping, or trail blazing, he imagined what it had been like for his ancestors. Hunting and farming for survival. Adapting to the intrusion of the white man. The interactions, social mores, and norms, the warring between the tribes over resources.
As Julian drifted off to sleep, it was with thoughts of Keiko ripping his shirt off.
The next morning came too soon. Still groggy, Keiko picked up the phone, called room service, and ordered a coffee and a Coke. She went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. As she was coming out wrapped in one of the fluffy White House embroidered robes, she heard a knock at the door. It was room service.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, anything else, Ma’am?” the maid said.
“No thank you.”
Keiko closed the door and went back to the bathroom to towel dry her hair and get dressed. There was another knock at the door.
It was Julian dressed and looking as handsome as usual. Even his clothes looked fresh. He held out a cup of coffee for her and his Coke was in his other hand. She nodded toward the room service tray where he saw the Coke she had ordered for him.
“How do you do that?” Keiko said.
“What?”
“Look so good. You don’t even look like you slept in your clothes.”
“I didn’t.”
“Well that explains it.”
He put his Coke and her coffee down and came over to give her a kiss.
“Good morning,” He said when he pulled away.
“Good morning,”
“It’s a big day today.”
“Yes it is.”
“Have you thought about what you’re going to say?”
“Nice to meet you Mr. President?”
“Well, that’s a start.”
“Okay, how’s this, Congressman Rivers held us against our will, tried to kill us, and ordered a hit on the poor lady at the Flag House, can you please do something about it?”
“Don’t think that’s part of his job description, try again.”
“Okay, how about, Mr. President here is the fifteenth star that’s been missing from the Star Spangled Banner for over two hundred years. Can you put in a good word for me at work?”
“Better. Now you are on the right track.”
There was a knock on Keiko’s door.
She broke away laughing, “I better get that.”
As she opened the door Congressman Rivers grabbed her and pulled her close. He kicked the door closed with his foot.
He had a knife. “Look, let’s be reasonable,” he said. “I need the letter. Give me the letter and I’ll go away. My whole career and life is on the line. You can keep the star, be heroes, and I let her live. You win—I win.”
He forced Keiko to take a step closer to Julian who was perched on the side of her bed.
Julian could not believe he had let this happen. He should have realized how unbalanced Benton was. He should have known. And now Keiko was in real danger. Julian for the first time understood fear. He was afraid of what Benton would do to Keiko.
“I have it all worked out,” Benton continued, “I can explain the alarm went off at Claggett’s, my security guys didn’t realize you had permission to be there to look for the star. It’s unfortunate they died, but it was an accident based on a misunderstanding,” he nodded waiting on Julian’s agreement.
Julian played along, “That could work, it sounds reasonable.”
“But what about th
e chase and shooting the car up? How do we explain that?” Keiko asked.
Julian willed Keiko to shut up. It wasn’t working.
“Another misunderstanding. Two security guys are dead at Claggetts so the rest of the team followed what they thought were the bad guys. Look, we can spin this so it’s good for you and for me. If you don’t, I have nothing to lose at this point, so she dies. You know what happens when you’re stabbed in the gut? You’re intestines fall out on the floor in ribbons. You get ten minutes to live in agony, knowing no one can put you together again. Me? I get sent to a federal prison that has eighteen holes of golf, a gourmet chef, and meetings with a psychiatrist who treats me for my temporary insanity. Then I get out in five years and write a book about it. Everybody loses, but I get some of my life back in five years, while she’s gone forever. Is it worth it?”
He looked at Julian waiting for his answer.
“You’re right Benton, option one is a winner for everybody. Let’s go for that.” Security had to be listening in. Julian just wanted Keiko safe. Nothing else mattered. He had to get Benton to put the knife down. Julian picked up the package and went on talking, “Hold on! Let me get the letter. It’s tied inside the star. You would need both hands so I’ll do it. I guess they frisk Congressman when they come to the White House. How’d you get that knife in here?”
“Not so hard. Half the idiots here know they’ve seen my face, but they can’t place it. You dress and act like secret service, flip your creds and you’re in. They have knives in the kitchen and on every room service tray. Nice sharp ones.”
“Very clever I have to admit. Your plan worked out. Honestly, you got balls coming into the White House.” Julian laid the package on the bed and started to unwrap it. He kept working at the knots, slowly. “Is it possible you can point it somewhere else?” Julian tried to joke.
“Just hurry and give me the letter and you won’t have to worry about the knife,” Benton said as he jammed it closer into Keiko’s side.
Keiko tried not to move. She could feel the point and it had already pierced her skin. Benton’s description of being stabbed was enough to take away any bravado she might have felt.
Julian continued talking, “Good plan Benton. Good plan. We could say Keiko called you here today. That you gave us the clue to look at Claggett’s from an old childhood letter you found. That would give you a reason for being here now.”
