“There have been some new developments in the case that I don’t want to talk about over the phone.”
“New developments? What kind?”
“Look, I’m going to send over agents Hawk and Duncan to brief you on everything.”
“Excellent,” Thurman said. “They can find me at my office at the Capitol. I’ll be here for the next three hours.”
“In that case, they’re heading over right now and should be there within the hour.”
Blunt hung up and turned to Alex.
“Fill in Hawk about these developments after you find him and then tell him to deliver the news with you. It’s show time.”
CHAPTER 16
HAWK AND ALEX ARRIVED at the Capitol Building and headed straight for Senator Thurman’s office. The activity was rather sparse since there were no debates scheduled and neither house nor midterm elections were looming. Many congressional members returned to their home districts to get a jump on campaigning.
Pausing briefly only to say hello to a few familiar aides, Hawk and Alex reached Thurman’s office in less than a half hour after Blunt’s call. When Hawk attempted to open the door to Thurman’s suite, it was locked.
“What’s this?” Hawk asked. “Blunt just told him we were on our way.”
“Maybe something came up,” Alex said.
“Yeah. I’m sure it did.”
A man wearing a suit who appeared to be in his early twenties exited from the office suite directly across the hall from them. Hawk flagged him down.
“Excuse me, but would you happen to know where everyone in Senator Thurman’s office went?” Hawk asked.
The man stopped and rolled his eyes.
“That staff never works—and when they do, they aren’t really working,” he said. “If you want to start eliminating wasteful government spending, just start with Thurman’s staff. Those people never do—”
“I’m sorry,” Hawk said. “I guess I didn’t frame my question properly. I was wondering if you’ve seen anyone in the office today. And if you saw them leave, where did they go and why?”
The man sighed. “I’m good friends with one of Thurman’s aides, and she told me about twenty minutes ago that he was giving them the rest of the day off.”
“Is that unusual?”
“Thurman regularly releases the staff but never before lunch. I think there were a few aides who were still stuck in traffic on their commute along the beltway.”
“Thanks for your time,” Hawk said.
The man spun and walked down the hall.
“This just got really interesting,” Alex said. “Why would he leave so abruptly after telling us that he would meet us here?”
“See if you can look up his public schedule today,” Hawk said. “A lot of senators will post it on their website so constituents can visit if they’re visiting Washington.”
“Give me a sec.” Alex unlocked her phone and started a series of tapping and swiping. Once she found it, she handed her cell to Hawk. “Is this what you were looking for?”
He took the phone and nodded. “He had a full day scheduled after lunch,” Hawk said. “Why the hell would he tell his staff to take the day off?”
“Maybe he didn’t want to be bothered.”
“What do you mean?”
“Politicians work harder than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest,” Alex explained. “And if you want to take some time off, you need to give time off to the people who work for you as well. Otherwise, they will send you a barrage of texts and phone calls. Everything that needs your approval or input won’t move forward without you. In that case, you might as well not even take any time off.”
“That makes sense, but it still doesn’t explain his rationale for leaving right now.”
“Unless he doesn’t want to hear what we have to say,” Alex said.
“The only reason he wouldn’t want to hear it is if he knew in advance what we were going to tell him.”
“Well, we’ve got to track him down. And fortunately, I happen to work with—and am now married to—one of the best online hounds in the business.”
Alex smiled. “You’re so sweet, honey, comparing me to a dog.”
“Is online sleuth better than online hound?”
She winked. “That’s a far better metaphor.”
“So, will I be sleeping on the couch tonight?”
Alex laughed and patted Hawk on the back. “Of course you won’t. But you will be giving me a foot massage while I take a bubble bath. A small price to pay, but I’m sure you won’t mind.”
Hawk shrugged. “Definitely beats sleeping on the couch.”
When he looked at Alex, she wasn’t paying attention, peering down the hallway as if in a trance.
“What are you looking at?” he asked.
“Isn’t that Thomas Colton?”
Hawk turned and gazed in the same direction Alex was looking.
“What’s he doing here?” Hawk asked.
“He’s got weapons to sell, senators to schmooze,” she said. “Want to go say hello?”
“No,” Hawk said, “but I have to. It’s always good to know what he’s up to. And I know he’ll shoot me straight.”
Alex chuckled. “You’ve known him long enough to learn that he thought he was your father but kept it a secret from his family only before learning that he wasn’t actually your father. Yet you think he’s going to tell you the truth about what he’s doing here?”
“I—we saved his life. He might be a sleazy legal arms dealer, but he does have some modicum of decency. He’s not going to soon forget what we did for him.”
“Perhaps you’re right, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to spill the beans.”
“He knows better than to keep anything from us,” Hawk said. “If he senses that we suspect he’s up to anything, he knows we can find out for ourselves what’s really going on. The man can keep a secret, but he’s a terrible liar when confronted.”
“So, you still want to talk to him?” she asked.
“It’s always good to keep a pulse on what he’s doing, for better or worse.”
Hawk and Alex strode toward Colton, who was wrapping up his conversation with a senator and some of his aides by shaking hands. As soon as Colton finished, he turned toward the pair of agents.
