The Hunted

30

Melissa Knox shut her spiral notebook, gathered her papers together, and chatted for a moment with her friend Holly, who was inviting her to a party this weekend.

“I’ll see if I can make it, I have to check with my father,” she said as they walked into the hallway at The George Washington University’s Media and Public Affairs Building. She turned and looked back at the area outside the lecture hall, where Agent Stanfield was supposed to be waiting for her. He had been her personal bodyguard the last few days, a security measure her father had insisted on. As annoying as it had been, she suddenly felt naked in his absence.

“Missy, you okay?” Holly asked.

“Yeah, I just — that agent who was assigned to me isn’t here.”

“The good-looking guy with the tight ass?”

Melissa laughed. “That’s the one. But don’t get your hopes up. He’s married.”

“Too old for me anyway. Besides, he’s too stiff. He hardly smiles.”

“He’s all right. Just doing his job. I talked to him a little bit on the way to school.” They entered the stairwell and began descending the steps.

“So where is he? I thought he’s supposed to be your shadow,” Holly said, enunciating the word shadow with a spooky intonation.

Melissa shook her head. “I don’t know. Probably out front, waiting for me to come out of class. He knows I’ve got econ next, so it’s not like a secret where I’m headed.”

“I’ll see you after class at J Street,” Holly said, pushing through the doors leading to the second floor.

Melissa was descending the steps of the building when she noticed a middle-aged man dressed in a sweater and jeans approaching her.

“Miss Knox!” he called out with an arm raised, as if he were waving to her.

She stopped walking and clutched her schoolbooks in front of her chest. “Yes…”

“I’m Special Agent Luger,” the man said as he displayed his credentials. “I need you to come with me, please.”

Melissa hesitated. “Where’s Agent Stanfield?”

“He was just called away to the Washington Field Office, a problem with one of his cases. Our special agent-in-charge sent me to relieve him. But on the way here I was informed that a security issue has arisen and he wants me to take you to a secure location immediately.”

“What kind of security issue?”

“It has to do with the letter Director Knox — your father — received. He did tell you about the letter, didn’t he?”

Melissa’s eyes darted around the campus in front of her. “Yeah, he told me about the letter. But that’s why Agent Stanfield—”

“Miss Knox, I don’t mean to argue with you, but it’s extremely important we get off this campus immediately. I’ll explain in more detail once we get in the car, where it’s safer.” Luger rubbernecked his head around H Street, then took her by an arm and led her off toward 21st Street. “Car’s this way.”