Connor offered Alicia an awkward smile, hoping she wouldn’t press the matter any further. He’d worked hard not to expose his role as her personal buddyguard. But he needn’t have worried; Alicia was too upset to read anything more into the situation. Her eyes began to glaze over with tears and Kalila put a comforting arm round her friend.
‘You think that’s bad, then you clearly haven’t met my brothers,’ she said, her voice gently soothing. ‘They’re as overly protective as your Secret Service – and I have to put up with them for life!’
Alicia attempted a smile. ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled. ‘I didn’t mean to get angry with you.’
‘I know,’ said Kalila, finding her a tissue from the seat’s side pocket.
‘It’s just … so unbearable. Last month I wasn’t allowed to leave the White House for a whole week due to some threat or other that came to nothing. And I missed out on Grace’s sleepover.’
‘She understood. We all did.’
Alicia took a deep breath. ‘But I feel I’m always missing out.’
‘Then try not to let it ruin the rest of this weekend,’ said Kalila. ‘You’ve been given permission to be Connor’s tour guide and there’s still loads more of Washington to explore – the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the Air and Space Museum.’
Alicia nodded and dried up her tears. ‘Sorry, Connor. You must think I’m a spoilt princess.’
‘Of course not,’ he replied genuinely, having witnessed firsthand her claustrophobic life. ‘It must be tough having no privacy. But, at the same time, I can understand why you need Secret Service protection.’
‘But that doesn’t make their presence any easier,’ she said, glancing bitterly towards Kyle, then gazing out of the window at the pedestrians wandering freely about their business. ‘Sometimes I wish I could be someone else for a day – just disappear.’
Connor stopped browsing the National Air and Space Museum’s gift shop, suddenly aware Alicia was no longer with him. ‘Where’s Alicia gone?’ he asked Kalila.
‘She said she’ll be back in a minute,’ replied Kalila, inspecting a soft toy monkey in a blue astronaut suit from the souvenir rack. ‘I can’t believe NASA used monkeys to test the biological effects of space travel! That’s so cruel.’
Connor’s eyes swept the gift shop as he absently picked up a cuddly bear in a white satin space suit and helmet. ‘Looks like they sent bears up too!’ he joked, finally locating Alicia in the checkout queue. He also spotted Kyle near the exit of the gift shop, pretending to be a father simply waiting for his family. Agent Brooke was posted at the entrance, another agent at a door marked PRIVATE, while a fourth browsed the vast array of souvenirs like a typical tourist. With all exits covered, there was no way Alicia could just ‘disappear’.
‘Found anything else for your family?’ asked Alicia, returning with a small foil bag in her hand.
Connor shook his head. He’d already bought a silk scarf for his gran and a Navajo feather bracelet for his mum from the American Indian museum. But with his assignment open-ended he had no idea when he’d be able to give them the gifts personally.
Alicia handed him the bag. ‘I thought you might like to try this.’
‘Thanks,’ said Connor, examining the packaging. There was a picture of NASA’s space shuttle taking off, with the words Mission Pack: Freeze-dried Ice Cream. He looked at Alicia. ‘Are you serious?’
Alicia offered a wry smile. ‘Supposedly, the early Apollo astronauts ate it for a snack.’
Ripping open the foil, he pulled out a multicoloured block of Neapolitan ‘ice cream’ that was bone dry and as light as Styrofoam. With trepidation, he bit off a chunk.
‘Not bad. Tastes like … solid candyfloss,’ he said through a mouthful of the crumbling dehydrated dessert.
Since the incident at the Lincoln Memorial, Alicia and Kalila had taken him on a whistle-stop tour of the best sights along the National Mall. At the Museum of American History, he’d been shown the tattered red, white and blue flag that had inspired the US national anthem, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. In the Museum of Natural History, he’d stood at the foot of a sixty-five-million-year-old Triceratops nicknamed ‘Hatcher’ and gazed upon the 45-carat Hope Diamond once owned by Marie Antoinette – the jewel having even more security than Alicia. Then, passing via the Museum of the American Indian, the three of them had finally ended up at the Air and Space Museum with its displays of spy planes, sound-barrier-breaking fighters and historic spaceships. To top it off, he’d had his photo taken in front of all the key landmarks, including the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building and even, for a joke, the White House.
Connor had been the ultimate tourist, while Alicia had tried her best to be his enthusiastic host. But the shadow cast by her ever-present Secret Service had dampened her spirits. Although she willingly joined him in the photos, her smile no longer quite reached her eyes.
‘How about we go shopping?’ suggested Kalila.
Although shopping wasn’t high on Connor’s list of favourite activities, the suggestion seemed to perk Alicia up.
‘I suppose that’s one benefit of the Secret Service,’ she said, managing a smile. ‘We’ve always a taxi to hand.’
Leaving the Air and Space Museum, they jumped into the limo.
‘Take us to Dupont Circle,’ said Alicia.
The driver nodded and headed northwest up Pennsylvania Avenue.
‘But I thought you preferred the fashion stores in Georgetown?’ said Kalila.
‘I do, but I’ve heard there’s a fantastic new boutique opened up just off Connecticut Avenue,’ Alicia explained, and both girls began to get quite excited at the prospect.
Connor noticed Kyle talking rapidly into his wrist mic, no doubt instructing his advance team to scope out the intended clothes store before their arrival.
The SAP team didn’t get long to do their sweep. The car journey only took ten minutes.
As the three of them entered the boutique, Connor recognized the watchful face of a Secret Service agent loitering near the entrance. As soon as Kyle’s team had deployed themselves, he made a subtle exit with the rest of the SAP agents.
The store itself was a top-end boutique with wall-to-wall fashion from Europe, as well as unique garments from New York, LA and San Francisco. Alicia seemed to be in her element as she browsed the racks of designer clothes.
‘What do you think of this?’ asked Alicia, pulling out a sheer gold dress.
‘It’s gorgeous,’ gasped Kalila. ‘Are you thinking for the prom?’
Alicia nodded. ‘For you.’
‘No,’ she protested. ‘I couldn’t get away with wearing that. Besides, I wouldn’t be allowed to. It’s far too short. But you could –’ Kalila’s phone beeped. She looked at the message and sighed. Texting a reply, she explained, ‘Sorry, I have to go home.’
Alicia tried to hide her disappointment. ‘Do you want us to drop you off?’
‘Thanks, but my brother’s picking me up.’ Her phone beeped again. ‘Wow, he’s parked just round the corner. I told you they’re my own Secret Service!’
Alicia laughed and the two girls hugged each other goodbye.
‘See you on Monday, Connor,’ said Kalila.
Connor waved farewell as she hurried out of the store.
‘Well, it looks like you’ll have to be my clothes judge,’ declared Alicia, selecting a couple more glamorous dresses from the rail. ‘I’ll just try these on, then we’ll grab a bite to eat.’
Connor watched Alicia make her way to the changing rooms and smiled to himself in bemused amazement. Never would he have imagined that one day he’d be shopping with the President’s daughter, let alone giving advice on what she should wear.
‘How’s it going?’ asked Kyle, appearing at Connor’s shoulder.
‘Fine,’ replied Connor. ‘But I think you’re doing all the work.’
Kyle shook his head. ‘There hasn’t been one moment when you weren’t aware of your surroundings. Seems to me, you’re a natural at this game.’
Connor smiled at the compliment – the first he’d received from Secret Service. ‘What happened back at the Lincoln Memorial?’
‘One of the team pinged a man on our threat list. Rather than cause a scene or alarm Alicia, I decided to simply avoid contact.’