Page 143 of State of Retribution

Ramsey and Offenbach wore tactical gear.Night-vision goggles were propped on their heads, and their faces were painted in camo colors.

Ramsey spoke for them while Offenbach looked on gleefully.“On behalf of the thousands of men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department who don’t want the fucking first lady working with us, we’re here to put you on notice that she needs to go.She’s only serving herself by surrounding us all with Secret Service and chaos that hampers our ability to do our jobs.”

The video cut to footage of the street outside HQ, lined with satellite trucks and reporters screaming questions about the president.

“We’re not sure who she thinks she is to bring this madness to our department, but we’ve had enough of her.We don’t care what it takes or who else has to die to rid us of this menace, but we won’t stop until she’s gone.”

Footage of Sam on the job flashed on the screen, of her leaving the homes of their murder victims and on city sidewalks, including the one in Adams Morgan where Agent McFarland was shot, played at a dizzying speed, indicating they’d been following her as she went through the motions in the cases they’d created for her to investigate.Why hadn’t the Secret Service noticed they were being followed?Probably because as a cop, Offenbach knew how to evade detection.

“In addition to causing chaos in our workplace, she’s gone out of her way to ruin the careers of her colleagues.She’s taken the people we love from us.So we’re coming after her and the people she loves.”

A shot of the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn was shown that zeroed in on Nick, placing red crosshairs on his forehead.

Holy fuck.They were threatening the president’s life.

“Ending her reign as first lady would’ve been child’s play for us.It would’ve been so easy, it’s laughable.Next time the opportunity presents itself, we’ll be ready, but we hope she makes it a little more challenging for us.”The camera zoomed in on Ramsey’s and Offenbach’s faces.“You fucked with the wrong people, Holland.How does it feel to have someone fucking with you, you fucking arrogant bitch?An eye for an eye, princess.We’re coming for you.”

“Oh my God,” the chief said.“Make sure Agent Hill and the Secret Service are aware of this.”

“We’ve notified them, sir,” Gonzales said.

“And Holland?”

“She saw it, went into her office and closed the door.”

“Let’s go talk to her,” the chief said.

Sam couldn’t getthe sight of those red crosshairs on her husband’s forehead out of her mind.That he could’ve beenmurderedbecause of two madmen she’d tangled with in the past was almost too big for her to process.Her hands refused to stop shaking, so she had them tucked under her legs as she stared blankly at the stupid filing cabinet.

Gonzo and Vernon had taken care of notifying the people who needed to know about the threat, and appropriate action would be taken to shore up security for their entire family until Ramsey and Offenbach were caught.

In the meantime, she was filled with dread and sick to her soul to know that people had been murdered and another viciously assaulted because she and Archie had done their jobs.It was almost more than she could bear to consider.

A knock on the door preceded Farnsworth and Malone walking into her office.

Malone shut the door behind them.

“Sam,” the chief said, his every emotion contained in that one word.

She continued to look straight ahead at the filing cabinet, fearing that if she did anything else, she might come undone.

“You should go home,” Malone said.“Be with Nick and your kids.”

“No.That’s what they want.”

Another knock on the door.

Malone got up to admit Captain Norris from Public Affairs.

“The media is going mad over the video from Ramsey and Offenbach.They’re asking for a statement from Holland.”

“They want a statement?”Sam finally looked at them.“I’ll give them a fucking statement.”She got up and walked past her stunned superiors as she headed out of her office and toward the lobby with purpose as they—and Vernon—ran to keep up with her.

At the main door to HQ, she stopped and turned to them.“I want to do this myself.”

“We need a minute to prepare coverage,” Vernon said.“We’re on the highest alert after the release of that video.”

“You have two minutes.Use them well.”

---