A Brewing Storm

Chapter Ten

Storm and Toppers went directly from Union Station to Senator Windslow’s SOB. Agent April Showers was already there. So were Senator Windslow and his distraught wife, Gloria, who was crying in her husband’s arms.

“We found Matthew Dull,” Showers said quietly.

“Is he okay? Where is he?” Toppers asked.

Then she realized why his mother was in tears. Toppers gasped and whispered, “Oh my God!” She collapsed on the floor. Storm helped her to the couch, and Gloria hurried over to hug her. The two women held each other and sobbed.

“His body was found floating in the Anacostia River,” Showers said.

“Executed?” Storm asked.

Before Showers could reply, Gloria turned on them.

“You two were supposed to keep my son alive! I trusted you!” she shrieked.

Senator Windslow stepped between his angry wife and the targets of her fury. “It would be better if you two left us alone for right now,” he said.

Both started to leave, but the senator asked Storm to stay behind for a moment. When he did, Windslow leaned in close to his ear so that neither his wife nor Toppers could hear what he was whispering.

“What the hell happened?” he asked. “I saw the news flash. Why did you let those bastards blow up my money?”

“Later, Senator,” Storm replied.

“Easy for you to say. You just didn’t have six million bucks blown to pieces.”

Agent Showers was waiting to ambush Storm in the hallway outside Windslow’s office.

“You went behind my back,” she said, her eyes ablaze. “We might have been able to save that kid if we’d worked together. The shit is going to hit the fan when the media finds out that Matthew Dull is dead.”

Continuing her tirade, she said, “You need to tell me what the hell happened after you ditched my men in that parking garage on K Street this afternoon.”

“Are you arresting me?”

He already knew the answer. Jedidiah Jones would not allow Storm to be arrested. Or interrogated. Survival of the fittest. Jones would not permit it because it would tie him and the Agency to this mess.

“Not yet,” she snapped. “But if you don’t come with me right now to headquarters and tell me what happened-I am going to recommend to my superiors that you be arrested.”

She was bluffing. He knew it.

“I’m not going with you,” Storm said quietly. “I have more important things to do.”

He wanted to tell her, but he was not yet ready. There were still a few pieces that he needed to gather.

“I hope you have a damn good lawyer,” Showers said, “because I’m going to nail your ass to the wall.”

Now she was beginning to irritate him.

“Since you mentioned it, what do you think of my ass, Agent Showers?” he asked. “Most women like it.”

For a moment, he thought she might actually slap him. Instead, she walked away enraged, her three-inch heels smacking the marble floor like a stick beating a snare drum.

Showers finally got it. She understood that he was right. She knew that she was on the bottom of the totem pole. She was in line to become the scapegoat, the fall guy, the weakest link. It wasn’t fair, but it was what would happen. What she still didn’t seem to realize was that Storm was the only person who could save her.