'Capitol Hill,' Jenna explained. 'The administrative liaison people were up there helping out the congressional liaison people. They wanted a maximum lobbying e ffort.'
'So you were lobbying congress for a 'yes' vote?' 'That's my job.'
'You must have been pleased with the vote in the House.'
'Not really,' Jenna said. 'Not personally… not after I started thinking about what you said the other night. Not after I started listening to a lot of what was coming in from the constituents.'
'What do you mean?'
'Around Washington, it seems like everybody is ready to run Fachearon out of town… all the talking heads anyway. When I was in those congressional offices, the staffers were showing the e-mails that their bosses were getting from back home. You're on the side of the majority, Loensch.'
'That's good to know,' Troy said, feeling vindicated. 'What do you think of the way it turned out today up there?'
'Relieved. Glad it's over.'
'Thought you said it's your job to not be glad of how it turned out?'
'My job isn't hurt.' Jenna shrugged. 'The government still needs to spend money on PMCs. It really doesn't have an army of its own anymore.'
'What's wrong?' Troy asked, noticing that Jenna suddenly had a concerned expression and was looking at something out of the corner of her eye.
'Nothing….. Listen, not to change the subject, but I think it might be a good idea for us to go inside.' 'Thanks for the invite.' Troy smiled.
'We shouldn't be standing out here… shouldn't be seen together.'
Inside, Jenna kicked off her halls-of-congress three-inch heels and went straight for the Wild Turkey, pouring one for Troy without asking.
'You're worried about Harris catching you with the late Troy Loensch,' he said, touching her glass with his.
'That would put a little hurt in my job situation,' she said. 'You've got me paranoid now.'
'Put a little hurt in my life situation,' Troy said. 'He put his cards on the table that day when he left me at eighty thousand feet in an uncontrollable airplane. I'm sure he could come up with some ideas for Jenna Munrough's accidental demise.'
'Y'all still want to confront him?' Jenna asked.
'Yeah. I want to see him explain what happened up there that day. I want to see him explain what happened in front of some television cameras.'
'You'll probably have your chance next week. Now that this thing has failed, he and Kynelty will be back on the Hill lobbying for a resubmission of the bill.'
'How likely is it that Congress will do that?'
'My opinion? Not very. I saw what people were saying in those e-mails. Even if they were going to take it up again, it wouldn't be any time soon. Matter of months. Maybe not even in this session.'
'But you think Harris is gonna be up there again next week?'
'You know him. He doesn't like to take no for an answer.'
'Will you be going up with him?'
'Probably not,' Jenna said. 'He'll just be trying to meet with the House leadership. The congressional liaison people will set it up….. Will you be there?' 'Probably. I gotta do this thing.'
'Be careful,' Jenna cautioned.
'Thank you for your concern.'
'I care about you,' Jenna admitted.
'That's sweet of you.' Troy smiled.
'I'm serious,' Jenna insisted. 'I really do care about you.'
'I thought that after… y'know… after that… after Hal got killed…'
'You thought I blamed you for killing Hal?'
'I did kill Hal,' Troy admitted. 'I didn't know it was Hal… but that doesn't mean that I didn't do it.'
'I understand that… intellectually,' Jenna said.
'But it was hard to look at y'all… knowing.'
'I understand,' Troy said, casting his gaze downward.
'Mainly, I was pissed off at me,' Jenna said.
'At yourself?'
'I slept with you while I was engaged to Hal. I hid his ring in my damned purse and made hot, sweaty lust with you all night. And that was after trying to seduce you one time before that.'
'That you did.' Troy nodded.
'I'm pissed at myself because Hal loved me and he was basically the sweetest, most caring man I ever met… 'Why are you pissed at you for that?'
'Because ever since that night in Eritrea, I've wanted your body, Loensch. I loved Hal and he loved me, but I wanted you. He was sweet and thoughtful… you're an arrogant asshole… but you are just so good in bed.'
'Well…' Troy started to say as Jenna took his glass from his hand, set it on an end table, and pushed him down on the sofa.
Having unbuttoned her blouse, she pounced on him, kissing him madly and pressing her body against his.
Chapter 48
'What time is it?' Troy asked, as he awoke to the slippery, pleasant sensation of the naked body of Jenna Munrough being pressed against his.
'I don't care. It's Saturday,' Jenna said, lifting her head slightly. Her tone underscored the fact that she was annoyed at the interruption to her ongoing search for physical gratification.
Outside the window, the blackness of the night had been superseded by the faint, cold, metallic gray light of dawn.
Troy could still detect traces of Jenna's perfume amid the smell of sweat and the savory aromas of their bodily fluids. It had been a wild and passionate night, and Jenna craved that it continue.
It continued. Rather, it resumed after a halfdozen hours of deep and invigorating sleep. It resumed, and it continued as the first rays of daylight pushed the night aside.
'I don't want it to end.' Jenna gasped, out of breath, as she rolled off Troy and flopped onto the bed.
But at last, it ended. The desire was willing, but the bodies were exhausted.
For a time, they just lay there, Jenna squeezing Trov's hand.
Finally, she staggered to her feet, visited the bathroom, slipped on her robe, and went into the kitchen.
Troy rolled off the bed as he heard the rattling sounds of Jenna beginning to fuss with the coffeemaker.
'That was good.' He smiled as he came into the kitchen.
'That was very good,' she said, looking longingly at his tired, naked body. 'It was everything that I've been yearning for all these months. Y'all may not always be a nice man, Loensch, but you're good.'
Troy thought of saying, 'Nice guys finish last,' but he didn't want to bring up the finish of Hal Coughlin's life and career. Hal had been a nice guy.
As they sipped their coffee, Jenna idly reached for the television remote and clicked it on.
Neither of them was prepared for what they saw.
A line of armored personnel carriers bearing the logo of Layton Kynelty's Cernavoda Partners were lined up along Constitution Avenue adjacent to the Capitol building. The text at the bottom of the screen read Breaking News.
Jenna looked at Troy. They were both speechless.
