Page 93 of State of Retribution

“Is my presence putting people in danger?That shot Jimmy took was meant for me.It could’ve killed him or Freddie, who was standing right next to us.”

“You were shot at before you were the first lady, and you’ll be shot at again due to the nature of your job.It goes with the territory.”

“Are we attempting to defend the indefensible here, Cap?”

“I’m not.Are you?”

“Sometimes I feel like I am.Jimmy getting shot on a sidewalk in Adams Morgan has me rattled.I’m not going to lie.”

“This could have nothing at all to do with you or Nick or your official roles and everything to do with someone trying to get attention for God knows what.It could be someone wanting to shoot at cops for the sport of it and could have nothing do with the incident on Monday.”

“It’s weird that the federal government’s top law enforcement officials are no closer to knowing who sent those drones than they were on Monday, isn’t it?”

“Someone went to a great deal of trouble to make them untraceable.”

“Don’t people usually want credit for something like this?They want everyone to know they’re the ones who did it.”

“Not when the full weight of the federal government is poised to rain hell down upon them.”

“Still… The scumbags who’d pull off something like this—or nearly pull it off—always want credit for it.Why isn’t anyone saying anything?Could it be because they don’t intend to stop with that?I heard the Secret Service thinks yesterday’s shot came from another drone.How can it not be related to the drones that were targeting the White House?”

“Anything is possible, and I can tell your brain is exploding with all these theories.Now you have to prove them.Let’s see what the dump of Ramsey’s phone shows and go from there.”

“Thanks for the support, Cap.”

“You got it.Stay calm.We’ll figure this out the way we always do—one step at a time.I’ll reach out when I get the warrant.”

“Sounds good.”

She ended that call feeling moderately better than she had when she first woke up.Of course he was right.A theory was only that until it could be proven.

Her phone rang with a call from Avery.“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself, and what the actual fuck?”Imagine those words said in the sweetest of Southern accents.

“I know.I need you, Agent Hill.”

“I’m here.”

“You’re feeling okay?Back to full speed?”

“Not quite, but I’ve got you covered on this.The full resources of the FBI are engaged in the investigation into the drones as well as yesterday’s shooting, which we suspect may have also come from a drone.”

“I heard that.”

“We need to keep that info close to the vest until we know more.”

“What do you think of my theory?”

“Normally, I’d think it was too crazy to be considered, but I’ll add it to the briefing I’m due to make in an hour.Everything is on the table in a case like this, even the crazy stuff.”

“Thank you and the rest of your team for what you’re doing.We appreciate it.”

“I’ll keep you in the loop as much as I can.”

“I appreciate that.”

After they ended the call, she texted Gonzo to ask if they could do a phone meeting when everyone was ready.

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