Her Secret Service (Jane Roe 1) by Jason Letts (top novels to read txt) 📕

should do and if he should start running now. He thought he’d been home free after a nightmarish day when the bomb went off early and they were all interrogated in isolation before being released. Half the plane’s press contingent had their luggage ruined, and he had given an Oscar-worthy performance of obliviousness, but even though he’d gone back to his apartment and resumed his life as normal there was always a sinking feeling that they’d figure it out.

Were they calling Heath to get some additional information about him? For all he knew, the FBI would try to have Heath detain him at their workplace now that they had enough evidence. With a good fifty pounds on Oliver, Heath wouldn’t be that easy to fight through. No matter what the odds were, Oliver Ip wasn’t the type to give up and hand himself over.

The closest thing to a weapon in the room was a corded microphone he took in his hand. With enough surprise, he could slip it around Heath’s neck to silently take him out before exiting the building and starting his life on the run.

When Heath came in sight of the doorway, Oliver could see a dramatic change in Heath’s disposition. He comported himself differently, walking in a daze with his phone held so limply in his hand it was a wonder it didn’t slip out and fall to the floor. Oliver watched him approach, wondering how to get him close enough for the cord to reach and turn him around to be able to get him from behind.

“It was Agent Tanner,” Heath said in a spacey sort of way.

“Why don’t you come over here and tell me about it? And I think I saw a string or something stuck to your back. I’ll get it for you,” Oliver said, but Heath didn’t budge.

“He told me not to go anywhere and that a van was coming for me in five minutes. They have to be thinking I did it. Can you believe it?”

Oliver’s jaw dropped open as the world suddenly felt like a different place. He could see it all. Heath had carried the bomb straight through the terminal every step of the way himself. The boom mic was a piece of equipment that the Post usually only gave technicians access to. They probably figured Heath had intended to be a suicide bomber taking out the president and himself in the process. A gasping breath coincided with Oliver’s sense that a door was opening up before him with precious time to get through it.

But so much of it depended on continuing to cover his tracks and how deeply in trouble Heath got. Oliver furrowed his brow in astonishment.

“Oh, Heath, how could you? Are you insane?”

Heath’s eyes widened and his expression slackened at what he heard.

“Are you kidding me? I didn’t do this. How long have you known me? I would never, never, ever…I wouldn’t even know the first thing…”

Oliver shook his head and sighed.

“Look, this is going to be hard. They wouldn’t be calling you if they didn’t already have you. The best thing to do is just admit it and take whatever plea bargain they’ll give you,” Oliver said.

Heath looked around anxiously, the unmistakable signs of fear manifesting in his every movement and facial contortion.

“This is just unbelievable. You have to help me. You know I didn’t do it. What is my wife going to think when I don’t come home tonight?” he said with his hand on his head in agony.

“She’s going to think you tried to blow up Air Force One. Everyone will. You’re going to have to accept it too. Lying and saying you’re innocent will only make them angry,” Oliver said, breathing deeply.

“But I am!” Heath shouted. They were the only ones in the room, but some people at their cubicles out on the floor turned their heads at the eruption.

“Heath, I’m so disappointed in you,” he said, but Heath was so distracted that he hardly appeared to be listening anymore.

“I…I need to call a lawyer or something. I don’t even know who.” It looked like Heath was about to stumble out of the doorway when he suddenly glanced back at Oliver, who suddenly worried that the technician had figured it out. “What are you doing with that microphone?”

“Oh, this? I was just checking it out while you were gone,” Oliver said, dropping it back onto the desk.

Heath shuffled out of the room, and Oliver slipped out of the doorway behind to watch from beside the wall as he went to his desk and began haphazardly clicking on his computer and making calls.

Barely two minutes later the doors to the floor opened and a trio of FBI agents with dark blue jackets and gold lettering entered, heading directly for Heath. He made a few awkward protestations but didn’t put up any kind of meaningful resistance. As soon as it became clear that Heath would be taken away right then and there, Oliver began creeping closer.

As two of the agents escorted Heath out, Oliver’s technical assistant glanced back at him with a final plea for help. Oliver turned away to the remaining agent who was preparing to take Heath’s computer. Putting his hand this close to the fire was risky, but he needed to take advantage of this mistake for as long as he could.

“I have some information about him you might be interested in hearing,” Oliver said, and the man straightened up to face him incredibly fast.

“Mr. Ip, I’m Agent Tanner. My apologies about the disruption here and if this causes any difficulties for your work, but we need to take all of this into evidence,” said the burly man with a small nose and some veins visible through his pale cheeks.

“Oh, that’s no problem at all,” Oliver said. “I never would’ve guessed Heath was the one to do it. Frankly I’m disturbed that I might have been close to such a terrible thing going on, but now that we know it was