DHS–Domestic Terrorism
Annex
Washington, DC
April 27, 2018
Sandy returned to the office in a limited capacity. He'd been medevac'd from Tirana to Frankfurt a few days after the shooting when his condition stabilized enough for air travel. He'd taken two bullets in the abdomen and one in his upper left arm and had lost a large amount of blood. After two operations to reconnect arteries and clean the wounds of metal fragments, he showed no signs of infection and was flown back to Washington. He faced a long road ahead with physical therapy three times a week. As he explained it, the one positive result of the shooting was the loss of nearly fifteen pounds which he tried to shed for years without success.
With Sandy's help, Dan and Cass completed a formal threat assessment of the unknown terrorist group they were still trying to identify and prepared to courier it over to the White House national security team. Dan briefed the Admiral on the contents and explained that the facts as presented would not change or modify any plans or behavior.
"There's no spin in this assessment at all. We present the facts and anything speculative is identified as such. There's just nothing else we can do. Based on what we know now, there is no greater threat in Boston than there is here in DC. Sandy fully agrees with the findings."
"To present the facts is our obligation. The reality? The President's schedule is driven more by politics and perception than by threats. You've done your job, so shoot the report over there and then get back to finding out who’s behind this group or groups. By the way, we still haven't gotten anything new on Double Eagle to satisfy the judge have we?"
"No, the surveillance continues. We fended off a query by Justice which would have shut it down but haven't gotten any breakthroughs. CBP did intercept Spence's jet returning from Albania, and we got some good photos of him and his deputy as well as voice prints. Here's what they look like." Dan slid the photos across the desk, and the Admiral studied them intently.
"As you might expect, the aircraft was squeaky clean. Progress is slow."
"Are the audit teams turning anything up?"
"No sir, and they've gone through the books in great detail. The company Headquarters is in Berlin, but I sense that all the strings are pulled from right here in DC."
The Admiral removed his glasses and looked up at his thinner old friend still in obvious pain, "Sandy, it's great to have you back. How do you feel?"
"I've learned I don't heal as quickly as I used to. I'm getting too old to be flying to distant places and being welcomed with a few bullets. This time I need to pace myself and follow the doctor's orders."