He ignored her comment, focused on the task at hand. "You'll need to lock up the building."
"The kids and I will be fine," she said with a warm smile. "You boys run along and figure out this mystery."
Chapter 10
Adriana waited patiently inside the Oval Office. She stared through the window, beyond the shrubs and out onto the White House Rose Garden. Not everyone could get into the fabled office of the president of the United States. One either had to be a part of his operation or be highly trusted.
Fortunately for Adriana, she was the latter.
The side door opened, and John Dawkins walked in, taking the usual long stride that had become as much a part of the man as the navy suit and red tie he often wore in public.
She stood up as he entered, but he held out a dismissive hand. "You don't have to do that. Please. You're a friend, not some ambassador from insert random country's name here."
Adriana's lips creased at the comment. Dawkins had a good sense of humor. It was an endearing quality she'd come to appreciate over the years.
"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, sir."
He shook his head. "Enough with the formalities, Adriana. You don't have to call me sir. Now, what's going on? From what I heard, you have something urgent you needed to tell me." He paused for a second, cocked his head to the side, and then spoke again. "You look tired. Can I get you a coffee or something?"
"Actually, coffee would be great, sir… I mean… yes, please. I've been up a long time."
"Yes, I know. You were in Madrid yesterday, and now you're here, in my office." He leaned back in the big chair and put his hands in his lap. "Must be pretty important for you to fly halfway across the world just to meet with me."
She looked around, uncertain if anyone was listening. The Secret Service man at the door stared straight ahead like he was studying the wallpaper on the other side of the room.
"Is… is this room secure?" she asked.
The president raised his eyebrows, curious about her line of questioning. "Of course. It's one of the most secure rooms in the world."
Her head twisted back and forth rapidly. "That's not what I meant. I mean, is someone recording what we say?"
Dawkins swallowed, still displaying a puzzled expression on his face. "No, Adriana. Nothing like that. Why?"
She drew in a deep breath and exhaled. "Sean is in trouble. Someone abducted him outside of Auburn, New York. He said he was working on a project for you. Whoever took him tried to kill him, but he managed to escape. Now he's on the run."
The president's head drooped. He put his right hand over his eye, massaging his forehead as he listened.
"That's not all," she went on. "Whoever is behind this completely wiped out his bank accounts, credit cards, savings, everything. His phone was taken, so he got a burner phone. That's how he called me."
The concerned look on the president's face deepened. "Sean was burned?" he asked.
"That's what it sounds like. Whoever he ticked off must have some pretty strong connections." She waited to steel her nerves for a second before continuing. "There's something else. The men who tried to kill Sean are coming after you. That's why I'm here, Mr. President. Sean asked me to warn you. Someone is going to try to kill you, and it's probably going to happen soon."
The president's expression couldn't have been graver. He blinked rapidly for a couple of seconds before he leaned back and crossed his arms.
"I'm sorry. I got here as soon as I could to tell you. Sean would have done it himself, but he's on more watch lists than most known terrorists right now."
Always unselfish and perpetually caring about those close to him, Dawkins addressed the matter with Sean first. "Is Sean okay?"
"He's fine, lying low for the time being. He went to Atlanta to warn Tommy. I think his plan is to figure out what these people are hiding. He said that's the only way to make sure you and everyone else are safe."
"Well, that's Sean, isn't it? Always taking care of his friends."
Adriana agreed with a slight nod.
"I'll be sure to alert my security detail to the threat. They'll take care of the rest. The Secret Service is the best in the world when it comes to things like this. I'll be fine."
"I heard you're giving a speech today," she said.
"Yes, that's true. And in light of the information you just gave me, I'll have to pass that along to my guys."
"Will they have enough time to recheck everything?"
"They should be able to handle it," he said with a wink. "They are extremely thorough when it comes to that sort of thing. No building within a mile will go unchecked." An idea struck him as he was talking. "Adriana, would you like to come along? The speech will be boring. Please don't tell my writer, Gerald, I said that. It's not his fault. The topic just isn't exciting."
"Who's it for?"
He sighed. "It's a big luncheon for an environmentalist group."
"You've done a lot of good things for the environment during your presidency. I thought it was something you cared about."
"Oh, it is. I will always be a proponent of taking care of the planet. It's not that. This event, though, is just a bunch of patting people on the back. There's no real point to it. I guess it will raise awareness. At any rate, I have to be there in an hour, so if you want to tag along we'll need to get ready to leave soon."
Adriana considered the offer for all of three seconds before she agreed. "Sure," she said. "I'd love to."
She didn't tell the president the real reason for agreeing to go with him. Sean had told her the guys behind his abduction were CIA. That meant they would have connections in the government, potentially to security details surrounding presidential appearances.
The president probably didn't realize it at the time, but he'd just picked up a little added security.
"Shall we?" he said, standing up and motioning to the door.
"Absolutely." She stood as well and made her way across the room. "By the way. I was wondering if you could put me in touch with Emily."
He stopped and turned to face her. "My goodness. They blocked him from Axis, didn't they?"
Adriana wasn't sure how he knew. She attributed it to the president's ability to sense things better than most people. Perhaps it was his gift.
"Yes. He said when he called they claimed to have no knowledge of a Sean Wyatt and that the security clearance he gave them was invalid."
Dawkins scratched his chin. "He's been disavowed."
Her eyes widened. "You mean… they erased him from their systems?"
"Sort of. With elite groups — like Axis — the agents operate under a very strict policy that if they are ever captured or killed in the line of duty, the agency will disavow any knowledge of their existence. It's like they never walked the earth."
Adriana had heard of that kind of thing, but she didn't think too much of it. She figured it was only in movies. Still, it was hard to fathom Emily would do such a thing to a longtime friend.
"But Emily—"
"She will do whatever is necessary to protect the agency. And she will do whatever she must to keep Sean safe as well. If what you say is true, I doubt Emily would turn her back on him. At the same time, she has a duty to keep the rest of the agency safe and running smoothly. Once we are done with this speech, I'll set my dogs on the case and see what's going on. Maybe they can find something."
He reached out and opened the door leading into the next room full of desks, computers, phones, and several dozen people busily doing whatever office tasks the White House required.
Two more Secret Service men were waiting outside on either side of the door.
Adriana noticed the guards as they passed through the doorway. The men immediately fell in line behind her and the president.