“Among other things. He’s had a hard time adjusting to life here. Very hard. The place where we came from is as different from here as it’s possible to be.”
“A truly unique city,” commented Robie. “And not an easy one.”
“You’re absolutely right about that,” said Eleanor emphatically.
“But what do you want from us?” said Reel.
“Well, let me just come out and say it. I would like you both to accompany us to Nantucket. The president can’t make it and I just thought…well, I just thought that having the two of you there might…help things.” She hurried on. “I know you must think this is crazy. I mean, we don’t really know each other, but Tommy hasn’t stopped talking about you two. I don’t know what it was exactly. Well, I think I do know. You’re heroes and Tommy’s father obviously respects you greatly. And Tommy dearly wants his father’s…well…” Her voice trailed off and she looked like someone who regretted saying too much.
“I’ve only met Tommy once,” said Robie. “But I can tell he’s a good kid. And the fight was because he was standing up for his dad.”
“I know. I both admired what he did and was horrified by it. It hasn’t been an easy time for either of us. I wasn’t sure whether to ground him or give him a medal. The back-and-forth made my head hurt.”
“I can see that,” said Reel. “Not easy being a mom.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask before. Are you a mother, Agent Reel?”
Reel said unhesitatingly, “No, I’m not.”
Eleanor sat back. “So will you do it?”
Reel looked at Robie. She said, “Are the president and the Secret Service okay with this?”
“Yes. My husband is fine with it. He thinks the added security you two will bring is a good thing, in fact. And my protection detail voiced no concerns. They obviously have researched you.”
“And the kids?” said Reel.
“Tommy is over the moon about the possibility.”
“And your daughter?”
“She was put out about going to Nantucket, especially at this time of year, I have to admit. She wanted to stay home and be with her friends. But now she’s looking forward to going.”
“What changed?” asked Robie.
Here, Eleanor blushed a bit. “Um, well, she saw a picture of you, Agent Robie.”
Reel gave him a sideways glance, her eyes twinkling. “Not that that should go to your head,” she said.
“Teenage girls can be quite impressionable,” added Eleanor.
Robie said, “But this is really about Tommy, isn’t it?”
“It really is, yes. But spending some time with my kids, away from this place, maybe it’s about all three of us, Agent Robie.”
“You can make it Will, ma’am.”
“And I’m Jessica,” said Reel.
“So you’ll do it?”
Reel said, “Well, we’re between deployments. I would imagine your request will take priority.”
“So the short answer is, yes, we will. Just tell us where and when,” added Robie.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am about this. I really am hoping for a good outcome from this trip. I think it could make a real difference, especially for Tommy.”
“I’m sure it will,” said Robie. “Anything in particular you want us to do while we’re up there with you?”
“Since the president won’t be joining us, I would hope that you could just spend time with Tommy. I could tell from your initial meeting that he looks up to you. Any words of wisdom you might have? Just being there? And a man for Tommy to…?”
“I think I understand,” said Robie.
Eleanor said, “Don’t get me wrong. He loves his father. They had, I mean have, a great relationship. It’s just that…”
“Not even Superman could do the job of a president,” said Robie. “It doesn’t leave time for a lot else. Even family.”
“Something like that,” said Eleanor. “The president tries, but everyone in the world, it seems, wants a piece of him.”
“I’m sure.”
As they rose to leave, Reel said, “Oh, one more thing.”
“Yes?” said Eleanor expectantly.
“Remind your daughter that my partner here is old enough to be her father.”
Chapter
66
THIS IS REALLY NOT HELPFUL,” said Evan Tucker.
He was sitting across from Robie and Reel in a conference room at Langley. To his left was Amanda Marks. To his right was Blue Man.
“We didn’t have much choice,” replied Robie.
“You always have a choice,” snapped Tucker. “Going off vacationing in Nantucket when you’re needed here?”
“Well, I think we need some downtime from when we were vacationing with the neo-Nazis and then the whole North Korea thing,” said Reel sharply. “And they all begin with the letter N. Nazis, North Korea. And Nantucket. For what it’s worth, I’ll go with the last one as my preference.”
“You know what I mean,” said Tucker. “We still don’t know what the Koreans are going to do. Between us, I tried to talk the president out of breaking Pak’s family out of the camp, but he was dead set on it. Now I’m afraid we’re going to pay the price for his inability to corral his guilt over what happened to Pak.”
Reel looked at Marks. “Do we have any notion of where they might strike?”
Marks nodded. “We’ve gotten chatter that the North Koreans are positioning missiles to be fired at American bases in South Korea.”
“Well, that would certainly start a war,” said Blue Man.
“All indications are that they are pissed off beyond belief,” said Marks. “First the planned coup against Un and now breaking Pak’s family out. It was to be expected.”
“Of course it was,” interjected Tucker. “Just as I said. Was it worth two lives? We’re going to pay the piper.” He looked around, seemingly daring anyone to disagree with him.
“Any other potential target?” asked Robie.
“Too many, I’m afraid,” said Blue Man.
“And you two will be whiling away your time in beautiful Nantucket, where all the jet-setters zip in during the summer,” said Tucker.
“Really? I understand you have a place there,” said Reel. “I checked.”
“It’s just a summer rental,” groused Tucker.
Marks added, “It’s actually a good thing that the First Lady and her kids will be out of town. And this trip is not on the official schedule, which is even better.” She eyed Robie and Reel. “Are you part of the official protection detail?”
“Secret Service protocols won’t allow for that,” replied Reel. “But I don’t think they’re unhappy we’re going. I think the First Lady wants us to spend some time with her son, who’s going through a rocky time right now.”
Marks nodded while Tucker just shook his head in exasperation. He said, “Well, while you’re on your little holiday I want to hear from you every day. You don’t work for the Secret Service or the First Lady. You work for me. Is that understood?”
“Never doubted it for a moment, sir,” said Reel, with a slight edge to her voice. “So long as you’re the DCI,” she added.