“Good night, Mr. President.”
“Good night, Mr. Prime Minister.”
Fisk saw Merrick put his phone down and walked over with a sly grin. “I just got off the phone with Nick Bracco.”
“And?”
“Apparently, while tracking Barzani, an assassin intervened and killed the terrorist for him.”
Merrick squinted. “An assassin?”
Fisk nodded. “A Russian assassin.”
“What?”
Fisk held up his hand. “Nick said he poses no threat to anyone.”
Merrick cocked his head. “How can he be so sure?”
“He said he’d put it all in his report.”
“And the bomb?”
“They have the detonator. Bomb squad is on their way. They’ll be no explosions tonight.”
“So who hired the assassin?”
Fisk looked down at the phone sitting on Merrick’s desk. Merrick followed his gaze.
“You scared the crap out of him,” Fisk said. “He went and did something rash. He was afraid you would use your speech to announce a troop withdrawal.”
Merrick slumped back on his desk. Fisk reached into a nearby cooler and came up with two bottles of beer. He handed one to his longtime friend.
They clinked bottles and both took long swallows. When Merrick came down with the beer he held out his fist and received a fist-bump from Fisk.
“Thanks,” Merrick said.
“Hey, of course.”
Merrick put his beer down on the desk and slapped Fisk on the side of his shoulder. “I’m going upstairs to hug my kid.”
Fisk smiled. “That’s exactly what I thought you’d do.”
Epilogue
10 months later
St. Thomas Church was a converted warehouse and one of the more popular churches in Payson, Arizona. While the outside lacked any real warmth with a corrugated steel roof, the inside had been renovated with thirty rows of brand new pews and padded kneelers.
Although the room was filled with flowers, the altar had a massive floral arrangement which had to be delivered in sections because of its girth. The card simply read, “Happy Baptism,” to a special boy, President Merrick.”
The fifty guests and family members crowded around Julie as she cradled little Thomas Bracco in her arms with a wide smile. He was wrapped in a soft white cloth and kicked his tiny legs in the air. Nick had his surgically repaired arm around Julie’s shoulder and beamed down at his son.
Father Al Greco stood next to a ceramic stand holding a bowl filled with Holy water and addressed the guests with his left hand held high. “We are here to proclaim this child into the church of our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Holy Spirit and will bring this child into the Kingdom of God.”
Father Al looked at Julie. “Who shall be the child’s sponsor?”
Tommy squeezed between Matt and Jennifer Steele and stood beside Julie with a look of great satisfaction. “That would be me, Father.”
The priest nodded. “Please take the child.”
Julie handed her boy to Tommy.
Father Al said, “As the Godparent of this child, do you accept responsibility for raising him and helping him through his travels on this earth?”
“I do,” Tommy said, smiling down at his Godson.
The priest guided Tommy to hold the child’s head over the basin. Father Al dipped the metal bowl in the basin and gently poured Holy water over the baby’s forehead.
“I baptize thee, Thomas Luke Bracco, in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
A flurry of cameras and phones clicked as pictures recorded the ceremony.
Nick felt tears threaten to trickle out. He clutched Julie tighter than he’d ever held her before. She whirled around to face him. For a brief moment there was pure ecstasy on her face. He wanted desperately to keep it there for as long as possible. But the report he had folded in his pocket screamed for his attention. He kissed her forehead.
Tommy turned and showed off his new Godson as the guests surrounded the two of them, gawking and smiling and taking pictures from every angle.
Nick made eye contact with Matt and saw him sit down in a nearby pew. He let Julie loose to mingle and slid into the pew next to his partner.
“Are you going to tell her?” Matt asked, staring at Julie, who was glowing.
“Eventually,” Nick said, leaning over with his elbows on his knees.
As Tommy walked down the aisle, Jennifer Steele put her arm around him and smacked his cheek with a kiss. In a mischievous tone she said, “Godfather.”
Tommy grinned. “How about that.”