Intersection by Nancy Ann Healy Page B

living room where she had the perfect vantage point to keep an eye on Cassidy.
    “Tate wants you here tonight…all of you.” Alex now completely understood the conversation that was transpiring outside. “Toles?!” Fallon called over the phone loudly causing the agent to wince.
    “I heard you,” the agent answered taking a deep breath. “So, what then? Why D.C.?”
    “It isn’t him, Toles. It’s the congressman. You know…he has the president’s ear…and when the president calls… well…”
    “She’s not going to agree to that,” Alex said with a slight chuckle.
    “It’s only for a couple of days, Toles. Tate says they want to…”
    “Yeah… listen, Fallon…I gotta’ make a call….”
    “Toles….” Brian Fallon took a long time to say his partner’s name, cautioning her interference.
    “Fallon, it’s a bad idea and we both know it.” Alex looked out to the deck where Cassidy was still in the midst of an argument.
    “Doesn’t matter what we think…if the pres…”
    “Yeah… look…I’ll call you back.” Alex hung up the phone and rubbed her forehead. She knew exactly what was happening. The congressman wanted his family nearby and the excuse to make that happen would come in the form of a need to fit the house with some type of surveillance. The cover would be a simple maintenance issue, perhaps a burst pipe, and the family needed to vacate. A team would come in and fit the outside with hidden cameras. The problem was there was no reason for Cassidy to leave New York. For the sake of the case, and even of her safety, this was a mistake and Alex knew it. She had never called in her relationship with John Merrow, but now it was time. The agent dialed the number and waited, exhaling slowly. “Mr. President…”
    “Alex…How are you?”
    “I’m fine….I need to talk to you.”
    President John Merrow smiled at the sound of the agent’s voice. He had always loved Alex. He was engaged by her strength and intelligence, and of course her beauty. Over the years the two had remained friends, quietly. He admired her and she respected him. “I assume this is about Mrs. O’Brien then?”
    “Listen, Mr. …”
    “Alex,” he said softly, “drop the formality, will you?”
    The agent pinched the bridge of her nose. She hated doing this. “John…moving the family to D.C. right now…it doesn’t make sense….and it isn’t best for the case….at all.”
    John Merrow sat down on the love seat in the corner of his private office. “Alex… the congressman is worried about his family….you can understand….”
    “Of course I do but there is no reason why Cass…Mrs. O’Brien would leave her job, pull Dylan out of school so abruptly….We are already exposed to some degree…”
    “I heard,” he interrupted.
    “You know this makes no tactical sense. If the house needs to be addressed, let’s move them to a hotel or a rental of some kind for a few days.”
    The president was silent for a long moment. “I know…. look….I’ll tell you what…the congressman and I have a joint appearance with my family Wednesday…. How about we agree that he flies home tomorrow and takes Dylan for the week?”
    Alex shook her head. This wasn’t even about worry; it was about politics. “She’s not going to like that.”
    “I suspect not, knowing Cassidy,” the president chuckled with a hint of affection for the woman. “Listen, Alex… I promised him. You’re really worried about this guy, aren’t you?”
    The agent licked her lips, “I am.”
    “All right…look …. I will talk to the congressman.” Alex remained silent. “I will talk to Tate… but Dylan needs to comehere…and maybe that’s best, Alex…just for the week. It’s less distraction for you.” Alex laughed inside at the president’s assertion. Dylan was a distraction, but he certainly wasn’t the source of any interference with her
job
. “But, Alex,” he continued, “she needs to stay safe…if that means