"Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Dean Wesley Smith - Xmen and Xmen 2" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

Service. When the decision was made to continue public tours, in spite of the ever-present threat of
global terrorism, the Secret Service had insisted that its people take over the job of guides. They
understood the political and public relations realities of the office, but their job was to protect the man
who held that office, and from that perspective, they argued, you could never be too careful.

Offering up another smile, Alicia indicated the portrait that hung behind her, the sixteenth in the line of
chief executives that began with George Washington and culminated today in George McKenna.

тАЬPresident Lincoln said that in his first inaugural address. ItтАЩs one of my favorites. I like to think,
especially with all thatтАЩs happening in the world, that those words are more important than ever.тАЭ

With an apologetic gesture, intended to put the tourists at ease, she led them toward the security desk.

тАЬI just want to repeat what you were told at the Main Gate. Obviously, with the President in residence
today, we want to be especially careful. One at a time, please approach the desk, present a photoID ,
place your bags and purses on the conveyor belt, and pass through the metal detector. Your possessions
and all cameras will be returned to you when you leave. I know that sounds harsh, but I hope you
understand.тАЭ

One man in the back caught her eye. He was wearing a Red Sox baseball hat, pulled low. He wasnтАЩt
doing anything wrong; far from it. His body language was totally relaxed and easy. Maybe that was it.
Most people visiting the White House came through the door excited, upbeat, impatient, and impressed.
Then, seeing the airport-style X-ray console and the metal detector, even the best of them got nervous,
wondering if theyтАЩd inadvertently brought something that would sound an alarm and get them into trouble.

Red Sox didnтАЩt seem to have a care in the world.

Quickly, as she ushered the first woman in line through the cage, Alicia recalled the scene at the
Pennsylvania Avenue gate, where the tour had been admitted to the grounds. SheтАЩd watched them come
through on the surveillance screens and now that she replayed the scene in her mindтАЩs eye, there had
been no Red Sox hat in the group.

Turning back to look for him, she registered a faint sound, thebamf of imploding air, like when a balloon
pops.

Red Sox was gone.


From the East Wing entrance, a broad hallwayтАФcalled the Cross HallтАФruns lengthwise through the
heart of the building. Originally, this had been the area where the everyday work of the household was
doneтАФthe rooms housed butlerтАЩs pantries, closets, and the likeтАФbut successive renovations and the
growing need for space had transformed them into formal receiving rooms: the Roosevelt Room, the
Vermeil Room, the China Room. At the moment, none of them was in use, which is what caught Special
Agent Donald KarpтАЩs attention when his peripheral vision registered some kind of movement in one of
the doorways.
 When he turned to peer down the corridor, all he saw was shadow inside the deep alcoveтАФthat was
one of the problems caused by the comparatively low, vaulted ceiling, it made the hallway hell to light
properly. He knew it was probably nothing, but he was bored and in the mood for even a minor break in
routine. Once before heтАЩd opened an office door and found a couple of midlevel staffers behaving far too
friskily for their own good. TheyтАЩd been lucky they werenтАЩt fired on the spot, but they really should have