Page 62 of State of Alert

“You’re pissed. Everyone is pissed.”

“I think we’re more shocked than pissed.”

“How do you think I felt when I walked into that room and saw Juan alive and well right after swearing to keep anything I learned there a secret for national security purposes?”

“I don’t know. The whole thing is bonkers.”

“Yes, it is, and I handled it the best way I could under the circumstances.”

“By giving Lindsey a false ID?”

“Yes! That had to happen to make the rest of it work.”

“The rest of what?”

“The details behind the plot to overthrow Nick’s administration and get rid of the guy who blew the whistle on them.”

“It’s weird that they revealed Juan to you right after the body was found.”

“I agree, but they had to get me onboard quickly before I got a good look at the body and realized it wasn’t him. The chief thinks they wanted me to tell Nick.”

“Tell me the truth. Did you tell him?”

“I can’t tell you that. It would expose you if this comes out later.”

“Ifit comes out? It’ll come out like a scandal the likes of which you’ve never seen before.”

“The scandal should be focused on the high-ranking military officials who tried to overthrow the president. Neither of us has done anything other than the jobs we were asked to do on behalf of the country—and the District of Columbia. That’s a hill I’ll die on.”

Her phone rang with a call from Darren Tabor, a reporter at theWashington Star. Normally, she dodged his calls. Right now, she was thankful for something to take her attention off the disapproval she felt coming from her partner and best friend.

“Hey, Darren.”

“Sam… People are saying that Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez isn’t dead. What do you know about that?”

“We’re referring all inquiries in that investigation to NCIS.”

“Why? Don’t you have jurisdiction? The body was found in DC.”

“I’m following orders, Darren, and this situation is way above my pay grade.”

“Do you know whether Juan Rodriguez is alive?”

“No comment.”

“Come on, Sam. Give me something, will ya?”

“Gotta run.” She closed the phone as a new level of apprehension overcame her after hearing that Darren had caught wind that Juan was alive and what Freddie said about the potential for a massive scandal. From her pocket, she withdrew the BlackBerry and texted Nick.Call me when you can.

When he called ten minutes later, she said, “I just got the oddest call from Darren Tabor from theStar. He said he heard Juan might be alive.” It was the best way she could think of to tell him that Darren was sniffing around without disclosing to Freddie or anyone who might gain access to their phone records that he already knew. God, what a messed-up situation this was.

“What? Did he say anything else?”

“No, only that he’d caught wind of something being off about his murder.”

“Wow, if it’s true, that’d be the best news I ever got. I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Let me know.”

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