Page 14 of Hidden

“Bye Tom.”

Carrie grinned. He still thought she was his best. And she was. That wasn’t up for debate. But sometimes she went a little off the rails when she got sleep deprived and out of her mind about a story.

Being detained and possibly arrested by the Secret Service certainly topped the list of stupid things she had done, though.

Just then, the door opened and Agent Savko walked in.

“Miss Davenport, you’ll be happy to know we’ve determined that you’re not a threat and you’re free to go.”

Carrie leaned back in her chair and observed the agent contemplating her next move.

“I’d like to know who authorized my arrest.”

“That would be the agent in charge of this protection detail, ma’am.”

Carrie stood now and leaned on the table. “And why did he make that call?”

“Because he had reason to suspect you might be a threat to Director Upwood. We caught you snooping on his private floor after all.” Savko spoke with little emotion, and it irritated Carrie. She wanted to get under his skin.

“I wasn’t snooping,” she lied. “And I want to see this agent in charge.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Carrie sat and folded her arms.

“I’m not leaving until I see him. Or at least not until I get his name.”

For just a brief moment, Carrie saw a hint of frustration flash in Savko’s eyes.

“Ma’am, it’s in your best interest to get up and walk out of this room right now while you still can.”

“Are you serious right now? I was just arrested for no real reason and you’re threatening me? I want to know who authorized my arrest.”

“Special Agent Peter Mercer, ma’am. And you weren’t arrested, you were detained.”

Carrie pulled a pen and pad from her purse and made a big show of writing his name. After crossing her t’s with a little too much flourish, she tossed the pen on the table.

“Now, where is this Peter Mercer?”

“He’s not here right now.”

Carrie waved her hand toward the door. “Well, go get him. Right now. I want to see him and ask some questions about how he thinks journalists should be treated in this country.”

Savko adjusted his tie and looked up at the ceiling. “Ma’am, please leave.”

His exasperation with her was going to benefit her or land her in a dark hole somewhere. Since she was willing to bet they wouldn’t actually lock up a journalist, she kept pushing.

“Fine. But don’t get mad when I show up on UNN tonight with a three minute segment about the way the Secret Service handles journalists’ questions. How do spell Savko? I’ll make sure to call you out by name.” He didn’t need to know that the rundown for tonight’s show was probably already close to finalized and there was no way she was getting three minutes for anything.

He rolled his eyes as he turned and stalked out of the room.

Five minutes later, Agent Savko returned alone. Carrie prayed he wasn’t about to dump her in that dark hole.

“If you’ll come with me, Miss Davenport, Agent Mercer has agreed to see you.”

Carrie didn’t bother keeping the smug look off of her face. Savko led her to another conference room and told her to wait there. Why Peter Mercer couldn’t have just come to the room she was in, she didn’t know. Moving her might have been just to annoy her or draw out the process.

Plush office chairs surrounded the table, so she sat in one and pulled out her phone. There was a missed call.Shit, it’s Friday.She hit the phone icon to return the call.

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