Black Friday

CHAPTER 38

Maggie shouldn't have been surprised that A.D. Kunze didn't share Deputy Director Wurth's excitement for the way she had handled the parking lot suspect. Turned out the kid was a sixteen-year-old Sudanese refugee, separated from his newly adoptive mother during the bombing. He spoke pretty good English except the panic had dismantled the pretty good. Raw fear and instinct had brought back too many fresh memories of government police in his country. He did the only thing he knew—he ran. Fortunately he hadn't been hurt.

Maggie, on the other hand, knew she might have a bruised rib or two. Not a good idea to go flinging yourself over car hoods or getting shoved into chrome grills of SUVs.

She was still holding her aching side, allowing Wurth and a paramedic to help her take off her vest. Wurth insisted she get checked out and had taken her to the hotel across the street where a triage area had been set up in one of the ballrooms. To avoid the media, he convinced a paramedic to use a small room off the ballroom. They were able to keep the media out. No such luck in keeping Kunze out. He came marching in and immediately began lecturing her.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing out there, O'Dell? You were just supposed to let them know whether or not the kid was one of the bombers." He stood over her, hands on his hips, veins bulging in his thick neck. "We didn't need you running off and playing hero. You could have gotten a bunch of bystanders killed. Not to mention law enforcement officers. We have enough trigger-happy assholes out there without you giving them a good excuse to let loose."

"That's enough." Wurth surprised Maggie as much as he did Kunze.

"What'd you just say to me?"

"Shut the fuck up." Wurth was about five inches shorter and fifty pounds lighter than Kunze but he didn't back down. He stared up at the FBI director and didn't flinch. "Your agent did a courageous thing out there."

"Courageous? You think that little game of catch-me-if-you-can was courageous?"

"She prevented an innocent kid from getting killed. And yeah, on a day when we're all looking to shoot up somebody for what happened here, I'd say what she did was pretty courageous."

"Well, it's too bad you're not her supervisor. Maybe she wouldn't get reprimanded."

"Reprimanded?" That stopped Wurth.

As for Maggie, again, she shouldn't have been surprised. She said nothing. Just closed her eyes briefly from the sharp pain in her side and finished pulling off the protective gear. Kunze had managed to scare off the paramedic, too.

"Forty-five minutes," Kunze said. "That's how much time you two get to clean up before you go live in front of the media and explain what just happened. I'll see you then."

They watched him leave. He disappeared out the door.

Wurth turned to look at her. "What the hell did you ever do to that guy?"