Page 32 of Caught
She shrugged.
15
Fortunately, Leilah was not serious about anchovies and eggplant. She favored the perfectly acceptable toppings of black olives and jalapeños. Somewhat unfortunately, they ate their pizza not in bed or even in their pajamas, but in the Potomac Private Services canteen.
Ryan understood that the team needed to debrief, decompress, and celebrate as a unit. But he wanted nothing more than to be alone with Leilah.
This thought was interrupted by Omar dropping into the seat next to his and sliding another slice of pizza and a cold beer in his direction. “You did good tonight, Hayes. Hell, you did good all week.”
Ryan tried to brush off the gruff compliment. “You sound like my old man.”
Omar laughed. “No, I don’t. Stan Hayes never used improper grammar in his life. He’d have told you that you did well.” He turned serious. “And that’s exactly what he’d say if he were alive to see what you did.”
Ryan cleared his throat. “Come on, bro. Don’t get sentimental on me.”
“This is how you treat a guy who goes to the pokey for you?”
“The pokey? How old are you?”
Omar nudged him. “Come on, ask about it.”
He rolled his eyes but indulged his best friend. “What happened when the OIG special agents realized they’d apprehended you and Marielle and not me and Leilah?”
“They were flipping out. So mad. Big mad. And then Marielle started laughing at them, and that really pissed them off, so they threw us in the back of one of their cars and hauled us into the Shenandoah Falls Police Department.” Omar folded his arms over his chest and rocked back. “Bruce Halloran was on duty, so he listened to their whole spiel, took notes and everything. Then he said with this exaggerated drawl that I know was fake, ‘Let me get this straight. You have a warrant for the arrest of Ryan Hayes and Leilah Khan, and you arrested these two individuals because they are not Hayes and Khan?’ And they said, yeah, that’s right. So Halloran ordered them to get the hell out of his station before he arrested them for false imprisonment.”
Ryan studied him for a moment. “So, you didn’t actually go to the pokey?”
“What?”
“Did Halloran process you and Marielle? Take your prints and lock you in a cell?”
“Pfft.” Omar waved his hand in disgust. “Some people lack gratitude.”
Ryan laughed. “I’m kidding. Thank you.”
Omar shook his head and then nodded toward Leilah and Marielle, who had their heads together, giggling. “What do you think those two are talking about?”
“Probably Marielle’s harrowing ordeal in the pokey,” he deadpanned.
Jake and Trent made their way to the table. Trent raised his beer. “To a job well done.”
They clinked cans.
Then Ryan said, “What’s the latest?”
“According to DCIS, the Attorney General has asked Genia Strong to consider resigning as Solicitor General so she can be appointed Special Counsel to investigate the Alice Broderick.” Trent said with a laugh.
“Can she do that?” Omar asked.
Ryan scratched his chin. “I don’t know. It presents a novel legal question. The Code of Federal Regulations provides for the appointment of a special counsel in this circumstance, and the special counsel must be a lawyer from outside the government. So the question is whether resigning her post is sufficient to—”
He stopped talking when the fake snores from the other three reached a crescendo.
Jake guffawed. “We’re kidding. It sounds like an issue that’ll merit watching.”
“Yeah, by C-SPAN addicts,” Omar added.
“Tell us about the pokey,” Ryan shot back.
