Chapter Fifty Seven

 

Dr. Barbara Lande cleared her desk and locked up a little after twelve-forty five a.m. The rain heavy, lightning and thunder intense, she drove her red BMW coupe past the security gate of the White House. Feeling like she needed to unwind, she headed out Pennsylvania Avenue to her favorite bar at the Georgetown Four Seasons. She needed to get home, get a little sleep, get ready for tomorrow’s excitement; but a nightcap to settle down the many things on her mind seemed logical.

At the bar, thinking how smooth this morning’s Meet The Press had gone, the ease of implementing the entire plan, she sat alone and savored a vodka martini. In just a few hours, she would be at Armstrong’s side as he entered the White House Press Room to deliver his message to the world. From there she had visions of a glorious and unprecedented future. She had a second martini, smoked a cigar and planned the international expansion of her department.

Buoyed as she drove home in a steady rain along Potomac Parkway, she noticed a black Humvee approach from the rear. She thought it too close, tapped her brakes; the Humvee swerved, began to pass then slowed.

The movement was swift. In a moment, Lande was upside down in Rock Creek, her BMW filling with water. She pounded on the windshield; she saw the stopped Humvee’s headlights shining on the roadside. Two people, in silhouette, watching as she sucked a last small air bubble.