collapsing on the couch. But he didn’t turn on the TV. In fact, he didn’t even switch on any lights. Instead, Isaac Rose simply sat in the darkness of his living room, contemplating the situation.
Emma Soto would not be the first corrupt government official; nor would she be the first person to betray her country. Her reasons for doing so remained murky, though. And Rose was curious as to whether she ’d planned to insert herself in the position of secretary or if she’d been approached by the would-be hackers after being appointed to the position. If it had all been preplanned, she was an extremely clever woman, because there had been no suggestion she would be given the job; it was a surprise to almost everybody and Rose guessed that included Soto herself. She may have felt more confident in her abilities than most, but she cannot have expected the President suddenly to place her in the defense department.
The more Rose thought, the more muddle-headed he became. So far, he had a million questions and almost no answers. It was not a situation he was comfortable with. He was the kind of person who liked order, logic and sense. His black and white thinking wouldn ’t allow for mysteries. And if Emma Soto was guilty of leaking information to the Kremlin, she must have a reason – and it was this, the elusive motive, that was driving Rose the most insane. As the minutes ticked past and turned into hours, exhaustion began to take hold and, eventually, Isaac ’s eyes started to close.
The next thing he was aware of is the sharp ring of his cell phone and early morning sunlight creeping through his patio doors and hitting him in the face. With a muffled groan, he instantly covered his eyes with the back of his hand while using the other to push himself from the couch. This action prompted another moan caused by the crick in his neck and back. “ Damn it, ” he whispered, both hands searching the pockets of his pants and jacket, before finally finding his phone.
With a sigh of relief when he finally silenced the piercing ring, he held the cell to his ear. “ Hello? ” he said, his voice thick with sleep.
“ Chaos? ” It was the unmistakable sound of Foxhound’ s voice.
Clearing his throat, Rose mumbled , “ Yes. ”
“Where are you?”
“ Home, ” Isaac replied, rubbing his eyes with the back of his free hand. “What is it, what’s the problem?”
“I need you to get down to 20th Street Northwest,” he stated, his tone giving nothing away.
“What? Why?”
“ Emma Soto ’s apartment,” Foxhound replies. “She was found by her maid an hour ago.”
“Found?” Isaac muttered, still not able to put two and two together in his semi-conscious state.
“ She ’s dead.”
***
Rose didn ’t bother to shower or change his clothes before sprinting out of the house and diving into his car. Therefore, when he arrived at the Dupont Apartments building, he was still dressed in the suit he wore the day before. Except now it is tieless and wrinkled from having slept in an awkward position on his couch. The apartment block was an Edwardian-style conversion, with massive, seven foot high windows on each floor. Parked outside is a CSI van and one police patrol car. As Isaac’s car pulled to a stop, he leaped out of the vehicle, and was approached by Foxhound.
“Took your time,” he grumbled, heading toward the heavy double doors of the building, walking ahead of Isaac.
Rose slammed his car door and glanced at his watch, noting it had taken him less than fifteen minutes to get across town. However, he ignored the comment and focused on the matter at hand. “ You ’ve already been up there?”
“ Yep, ” he stated, taking the three steps of the stoop at a jog and nodding at the police officer who was guarding the door.
Rose followed behind, leaping up two of the steps in one bound. He entered the lobby, which had a wall lined with mailboxes and a desk that presumably belonged to a doorman or
Emma Soto would not be the first corrupt government official; nor would she be the first person to betray her country. Her reasons for doing so remained murky, though. And Rose was curious as to whether she ’d planned to insert herself in the position of secretary or if she’d been approached by the would-be hackers after being appointed to the position. If it had all been preplanned, she was an extremely clever woman, because there had been no suggestion she would be given the job; it was a surprise to almost everybody and Rose guessed that included Soto herself. She may have felt more confident in her abilities than most, but she cannot have expected the President suddenly to place her in the defense department.
The more Rose thought, the more muddle-headed he became. So far, he had a million questions and almost no answers. It was not a situation he was comfortable with. He was the kind of person who liked order, logic and sense. His black and white thinking wouldn ’t allow for mysteries. And if Emma Soto was guilty of leaking information to the Kremlin, she must have a reason – and it was this, the elusive motive, that was driving Rose the most insane. As the minutes ticked past and turned into hours, exhaustion began to take hold and, eventually, Isaac ’s eyes started to close.
The next thing he was aware of is the sharp ring of his cell phone and early morning sunlight creeping through his patio doors and hitting him in the face. With a muffled groan, he instantly covered his eyes with the back of his hand while using the other to push himself from the couch. This action prompted another moan caused by the crick in his neck and back. “ Damn it, ” he whispered, both hands searching the pockets of his pants and jacket, before finally finding his phone.
With a sigh of relief when he finally silenced the piercing ring, he held the cell to his ear. “ Hello? ” he said, his voice thick with sleep.
“ Chaos? ” It was the unmistakable sound of Foxhound’ s voice.
Clearing his throat, Rose mumbled , “ Yes. ”
“Where are you?”
“ Home, ” Isaac replied, rubbing his eyes with the back of his free hand. “What is it, what’s the problem?”
“I need you to get down to 20th Street Northwest,” he stated, his tone giving nothing away.
“What? Why?”
“ Emma Soto ’s apartment,” Foxhound replies. “She was found by her maid an hour ago.”
“Found?” Isaac muttered, still not able to put two and two together in his semi-conscious state.
“ She ’s dead.”
***
Rose didn ’t bother to shower or change his clothes before sprinting out of the house and diving into his car. Therefore, when he arrived at the Dupont Apartments building, he was still dressed in the suit he wore the day before. Except now it is tieless and wrinkled from having slept in an awkward position on his couch. The apartment block was an Edwardian-style conversion, with massive, seven foot high windows on each floor. Parked outside is a CSI van and one police patrol car. As Isaac’s car pulled to a stop, he leaped out of the vehicle, and was approached by Foxhound.
“Took your time,” he grumbled, heading toward the heavy double doors of the building, walking ahead of Isaac.
Rose slammed his car door and glanced at his watch, noting it had taken him less than fifteen minutes to get across town. However, he ignored the comment and focused on the matter at hand. “ You ’ve already been up there?”
“ Yep, ” he stated, taking the three steps of the stoop at a jog and nodding at the police officer who was guarding the door.
Rose followed behind, leaping up two of the steps in one bound. He entered the lobby, which had a wall lined with mailboxes and a desk that presumably belonged to a doorman or
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