he could barely transmit it.
“What? What is it?”
He took a deep breath. “I know the press is talking as if there must have been a fleet of assassins. Dozens of them. But the sad fact is—both the FBI and Homeland Security agree it’s entirely possible there was only one.”
“What?”
“Granted, there must have been more people involved in the operation. They obviously employed sophisticated military reconnaissance of the staging area, not to mention advanced planning and intelligence gathering. Capturing Director Marshall just in time to extract the information they needed—but not so early we would become suspicious and alter our plans. Simultaneously killing Senator Hammond to delay the recognition that Marshall was MIA. But as far as actual assassins—there’s just no evidence of more than one shooter. And given the totally clean getaway, one seems more likely than twenty.”
“How is that possible?”
Jimmy’s eyes lowered. “What I’m about to say next…is not for public consumption. It’s only speculation. Homeland Security doesn’t want to hear it on
Meet the Press.
”
“Get to the point. How could one person find, much less take out, the sniper nest?”
“You might as well ask how he got a bomb under Cadillac One. How could he have so much information about the president’s plans? How was he able to so brilliantly penetrate the Secret Service defense formation?” Jimmy sighed again. “Even assuming they were able to extract information from Director Marshall, there’s only one possible answer to all those questions.”
Christina looked at him levelly. “They had someone on the inside.”
“You said it, not me. But…”
“But it’s the only possible explanation.”
Jimmy drew himself up. “Christina, you know how many cases of Secret Service traitors there have been in the history of the Service? None. You know how many FBI agents have gone rogue? Exactly the same number. It just doesn’t happen.”
“Until it does,” Christina said quietly. “Until someone gets so fed up with our foreign policy, they can’t stand it anymore. Or someone gets to them, or gets to their family. Forces them to do something they would normally never do.”
Jimmy looked back at her solemnly. “Our intelligence forces are investigating all those possibilities. And there’s one other you haven’t considered yet.”
That caught Christina’s attention. She was relatively sure she had considered every possibility, even some that a conspiracy buff like their investigator Loving would find preposterous. “What would that be?”
“Remember, the ricin that poisoned Senator Hammond was delivered via a letter he received here in the Senate. In this very office building. We’re recommending that no one touch any mail without wearing gloves. Perhaps even a face mask.”
“I assume the Capitol Police have instituted some increased security measures in the mailroom.”
“That’s just the thing, Chris. They’ve been doing that for years.”
“How did that tainted letter get into Senator Hammond’s inbox if it didn’t go through the mailroom?” Her eyes widened suddenly as the answer came to her, as she realized where Jimmy had been steering her. “Someone hand-delivered it.”
Jimmy nodded solemnly. “Exactly. Not an outsider. Not a Middle Eastern demagogue. One of us.”
Christina escorted Jimmy to the door.
“Chris, much as I enjoy talking to you…I think my bosses would be happier if I could tell them I was giving my reports personally to Senator Kincaid. No offense, but—”
“None taken.” She thought for a moment. “When will you be around next?”
“Tomorrow morning, I assume.”
She nodded. “I’ll have him here.”
“That would be good. No one has seen him since the attack. But I kept telling them—she’s married to him, for Pete’s sake. She must know where he is. He probably checks in with her constantly.”
Christina chose not to
“What? What is it?”
He took a deep breath. “I know the press is talking as if there must have been a fleet of assassins. Dozens of them. But the sad fact is—both the FBI and Homeland Security agree it’s entirely possible there was only one.”
“What?”
“Granted, there must have been more people involved in the operation. They obviously employed sophisticated military reconnaissance of the staging area, not to mention advanced planning and intelligence gathering. Capturing Director Marshall just in time to extract the information they needed—but not so early we would become suspicious and alter our plans. Simultaneously killing Senator Hammond to delay the recognition that Marshall was MIA. But as far as actual assassins—there’s just no evidence of more than one shooter. And given the totally clean getaway, one seems more likely than twenty.”
“How is that possible?”
Jimmy’s eyes lowered. “What I’m about to say next…is not for public consumption. It’s only speculation. Homeland Security doesn’t want to hear it on
Meet the Press.
”
“Get to the point. How could one person find, much less take out, the sniper nest?”
“You might as well ask how he got a bomb under Cadillac One. How could he have so much information about the president’s plans? How was he able to so brilliantly penetrate the Secret Service defense formation?” Jimmy sighed again. “Even assuming they were able to extract information from Director Marshall, there’s only one possible answer to all those questions.”
Christina looked at him levelly. “They had someone on the inside.”
“You said it, not me. But…”
“But it’s the only possible explanation.”
Jimmy drew himself up. “Christina, you know how many cases of Secret Service traitors there have been in the history of the Service? None. You know how many FBI agents have gone rogue? Exactly the same number. It just doesn’t happen.”
“Until it does,” Christina said quietly. “Until someone gets so fed up with our foreign policy, they can’t stand it anymore. Or someone gets to them, or gets to their family. Forces them to do something they would normally never do.”
Jimmy looked back at her solemnly. “Our intelligence forces are investigating all those possibilities. And there’s one other you haven’t considered yet.”
That caught Christina’s attention. She was relatively sure she had considered every possibility, even some that a conspiracy buff like their investigator Loving would find preposterous. “What would that be?”
“Remember, the ricin that poisoned Senator Hammond was delivered via a letter he received here in the Senate. In this very office building. We’re recommending that no one touch any mail without wearing gloves. Perhaps even a face mask.”
“I assume the Capitol Police have instituted some increased security measures in the mailroom.”
“That’s just the thing, Chris. They’ve been doing that for years.”
“How did that tainted letter get into Senator Hammond’s inbox if it didn’t go through the mailroom?” Her eyes widened suddenly as the answer came to her, as she realized where Jimmy had been steering her. “Someone hand-delivered it.”
Jimmy nodded solemnly. “Exactly. Not an outsider. Not a Middle Eastern demagogue. One of us.”
Christina escorted Jimmy to the door.
“Chris, much as I enjoy talking to you…I think my bosses would be happier if I could tell them I was giving my reports personally to Senator Kincaid. No offense, but—”
“None taken.” She thought for a moment. “When will you be around next?”
“Tomorrow morning, I assume.”
She nodded. “I’ll have him here.”
“That would be good. No one has seen him since the attack. But I kept telling them—she’s married to him, for Pete’s sake. She must know where he is. He probably checks in with her constantly.”
Christina chose not to
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