CHAPTER 116

FLOYD KENAGAN WAITED impatiently near the Library door. Kenan remained seated at the reception desk, no less anxious, guarded by the two agents, who were still watching each other, afraid of giving in to the delayed effects of the attack they had received earlier.

Kenan felt the passage of time as a form of torture. The sliding of the hands on his gold Rolex was like needles that pricked his skin every few seconds. In an attempt to abstain from his worries, he dared to strike up a conversation with the young Katherine, who had sat next to him, diligently containing her nervousness about her husband's departure.

— Young lady, I couldn't help but notice your concern. Is the young man your husband?

Katherine was startled when she heard the President inviting her to talk. Inevitably, she answered:

— Yes, sir, he is my husband. — He seems to be a very shrewd, expressive young man... I had a very similar temperament to his when I was young. People don't realize how politics changes us profoundly... I was very intrigued by his resourcefulness in these, let's say... tense moments, that we witnessed just now.

Still apprehensive about the measure of her own words to the President, she answered:

— Tommy is a unique person, a book of many interpretations, I could say. Every day I live with a different page of him.

As he listened to her, Kenan noticed her slightly passionate air in her speech:

— I found him extremely skilled with weapons, but my observation was not enough to define what he does for a living... What would his profession be?

Kenan's question came like an arrow to Katherine's chest. She couldn't hide the nervousness that came over her upon hearing it, she quickly tried to think of what she would say to her President. This was an answer she hadn't even given herself.

— Maybe Gregory Evans will answer that, Mr. President.

The President smiled and said:

— That would be a great coincidence, wouldn't it, Greg?

— In the greatest city in the world, there are many coincidences, Mr. President.

Noticing the situation in which the young woman found herself, so clearly confused, he changed the focus of the conversation:

— And you? I remember hearing you say that you worked here. What is your specialty?

Sighing with relief at the escape she had received, but still embarrassed by the difficulty with the subject, she replied:

— Well, my work here, most of the time, is limited to cataloging and ordering new volumes, but I am passionate about restoration. You know, it may just be something in my head, but it sounds so intimately romantic...

— Don't worry about sounding that way, it's that kind of feeling that makes the best professionals emerge. — Kenan said.

Katherine couldn't help but see a certain political tone in the President's words. She wondered to herself if it was because she knew him as such, or if there really was that tone in what he said.

— It's true...

WHILE THE CONVERSATION CONTINUED, Tommy appeared at the edge of the stairs. Upon seeing the van, Floyd exclaimed in disappointment:

— Where's the armored limousine? How does this incompetent come back with this?

With no time to hesitate, the agents escorted Kenan to the vehicle and everyone got in.

— A van? — Floyd Kenagan complained as he got into the car.

— It was the best I could do, my friend. — Leone replied.

— And the limousine? It was close to the stage!

— It's not there anymore...

— The important thing is to get out of here quickly. — Kenan said. — We'll discuss this later. Besides, the limousine would leave us too exposed, a car like this would be better to camouflage us. Although the destroyed windshield and numerous bullet marks on its bodywork don't help much...

— We'd better get out before the army arrives. — Floyd Kenagan added. — We don't know what could happen! Until we know for sure what is safe for the President, we will have to hide, and we will certainly have military personnel searching every corner of this perimeter soon.

We do not know who is or is not the enemy...

THE VAN LEFT. IT WAS DIFFICULT to avoid so many obstacles in the way, even worse to pass through so many people displaced from the real world who were scattered throughout the streets.

Tommy drove towards Madison, where he would find a road clearer of obstacles, and then reached 34th and followed a route that would quickly distance them from the surroundings. The focus was to distance themselves from that dangerous territory.

— Hey, look at this — Greg said to everyone, who soon turned their attention to him. "Do you notice anything strange here?"

Everyone looked at Madison Avenue, an important thoroughfare in the city. It was almost empty, few vehicles were passing by and the people who were still there were looking for a way to leave, except for those who were still suffering the effects of the attack and wandering around lost.

— People are fleeing... — Floyd Kenagan said intrigued. — I think the scale of our problem is greater than we thought.

— It seems that there is a large exodus from the city. — Kenan added.

— This is getting worse and worse! — Floyd said, already nervous. —

You two, are you familiar with this type of equipment? — he was referring to the van's equipment, used for transmission. — Is there any possibility of using this to achieve communication?

— I know a little, sir — one of the agents replied, observing the equipment.

Both agents searched for ways to operate the complex transmission machinery in vain, nothing worked. Kenan watched them with a disappointed look.

— So much technology for increasingly useless people… — he said in a low voice.

— We have to go to the airport — Floyd observed. — The President will be safer in D.C.

Tommy glanced quickly to answer him, but before he could speak, something hit the side of the car, hard, making it lose its direction. Startled, while he struggled to maintain control of the steering wheel, he looked in the rearview mirror and saw a passenger car traveling next to the van.

Benedetti was driving.

Before Tommy could think of anything, his former mentor launched another attack on him, almost causing him to lose control of the car completely. The situation was complicated. As they got further away from the attack site, the roads became more crowded, although the general evasion was noticeable. The increasing presence of people along the way made driving more difficult and full of obstacles.

The old man has really lost his mind...! — Tommy thought.

— What is this? — everyone in the car asked.

— Personal problems, I guess... — Tommy said. — Please hold on! I'm going to solve this shit!