Executive orders - Tom Clancy [438]
Thanks, Norm. O'Day wiped his eyes, blew his nose, and stood. Sorry about that, guys.
It's okay, Pat, you did-
Better if I'd've taken the last one alive, but couldn't couldn't take the chance. He was able to stand now, as he held Megan by the hand. Oh, damn, he added.
I think we should get you out of here, Andrea observed. We can do the interviews in a better place than this.
Thirsty, O'Day said next. He shook his head again. Never expected this, Andrea. Kids around. Not supposed to be this way, is it? Why was he babbling? the inspector asked himself.
Come on, Pat. You did just fine.
Wait a minute. The FBI inspector rubbed his face with two large hands, took a deep breath, and looked around the crime scene. Christ, what a mess. Three dead just this side of the playground. That would be Jeffers, he thought, with his M-16. Not bad. But there was one other thing he had to do. By each of the rented cars was a body, each a head shot. Another one, one round in the chest, and one in the head, it looked like. The fourth, he wasn't sure who'd gotten him. Probably one of the girls. Ballistics tests would determine which one, he knew. O'Day walked back toward the front door, to the body of Special Agent Donald Russell. There he turned, looking back at the parking lot. He'd seen his share of crime scenes. He knew the signs, knew how to figure things out. No warning, not a damned bit, maybe a second, no more than that, and he'd stood his ground against six armed subjects and gotten three of them. Inspector Patrick O'Day knelt beside the body. He removed the Sig pistol from Russell's hand, gave it to Price, then took the hand in his own for what seemed a long time.
See y'around, champ, O'Day whispered, letting go after a few seconds. It was time to leave.
* * *
43 - RETREAT
THE NEAREST CONVENIENT place to land a Marine helicopter was the Naval Academy, and the hard part was finding available Secret Service personnel to ride with SANDBOX. Andrea Price, senior agent on the crime scene as well as Detail chief, had to stay at Giant Steps, so USSS personnel racing to Annapolis were diverted, met the state troopers at the Academy, and took custody of Katie. And so it happened that the first team of federal officers to arrive at the scene were FBI agents from the small Annapolis office, a satellite of the Baltimore Field Division. What orders they needed they took from Price, but for the moment their duties were straightforward, and quite a few more were on the way.
O'Day walked across the street to the house which had been Norm Jeffers' local command post, whose owner, a grandmother, overcame her shock to make coffee. A tape recorder was set up, and the FBI inspector ran through an uninterrupted narrative, really just a long ramble which was actually the best way to get fresh information. Later, they would walk him back through it, probing for additional facts. From where he was sitting, O'Day could see out the window. Ambulance crews were standing by to remove the bodies, but first, photographers had to record the event for posterity.
They couldn't know that Movie Star was still looking down, along with what was now a crowd of several hundred, students and teachers from the community college plus others who'd guessed the nature of the event and wanted to watch. Movie Star had already seen enough, however, and he made his way to his car, picking his way across the parking lot, and then drove north on Ritchie Highway.
Hey, I gave him a chance. I told him to drop his weapon, O'Day said. I yelled so loud I'm surprised you didn't hear it outside, Price. But the gun started moving, and I wasn't in a mood to take chances, you know? His hands were steady now. The immediate shock period was over. Others would come later.
Any idea who they were? Price asked, after he'd gone through it the first time.
They were talking in some language, but I don't know what one. Wasn't German or Russian-aside from that, I don't