Hello hello,

Figured I might as well publish this week’s excerpt before going to bed! It IS Wednesday here after all…

Hope you enjoy!

Sigrid

PS: See, Kayjay, not evil! (Not all the time.)

“I need you to handle something for me, Rick,” El said.

Woodward closed the door behind him, then glanced in Louise’s direction. His neck was bulging out of his shirt, his eyes were filled with suspicion.

“Of course,” he said.

Louise was still standing behind El’s desk. She realized it had to look odd to him. She hurried away, towards the bookcases, and avoided further eye contact.

El walked across the room, her fists clenched. Her face was pale, the dark circles under her eyes suddenly much more pronounced. Louise had no idea what she was about to do. El sat down on her chair and blew out a breath.

Louise reached for the terminal under her shirt. If Woodward was about to escort her out of here, he might find it on her, she realized. Her heart started pounding in her chest.

She took another step back and leaned against the bookcase. Being caught with the terminal under her shirt would make things even worse. Woodward would think she had brought it in here to spy on El, she feared.

“This stays between us. Top secret,” El sighed, interrupting Louise’s frantic thoughts.

Louise moved her arm very slowly and reached further behind her back. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

“Understood,” Woodward replied, shifting position so his feet were wide apart.

El cleared her throat and glanced over. Louise froze, stuck in an awkward position with the terminal already in her hand. El narrowed her eyes at her, then looked back at Woodward. Louise had to force herself to breathe slowly.

“Are there any indications we need to raise the threat level this morning?” El asked.

Woodward seemed surprised by the question and scratched the back of his head. He nodded in Louise’s direction. “I can’t…”

“Just answer the question. It’s fine,” El said.

He stepped closer to the desk. “We’re still at level 4,” he said quietly. “Because of our visitors.”

Louise used the moment to slide the terminal onto the bookshelf and out of sight. She then quickly folded her arms in front of her and focused back on the conversation. A drop of sweat slowly rolled down her back.

“So, no new threats to me personally?” El asked.

Louise blinked. Was El trying to find a reason for a lockdown after all?

“What? No,” Woodward replied.

“Are you sure?” El insisted.

He leaned over the desk a bit. “El, what is this?”

El placed both of her hands on the wooden top. “We need to go into lockdown,” she stated.

Louise closed her eyes in relief.

“What? Why?!” Woodward asked.

Louise arched an eyebrow. She would never address a superior like that. But she knew Woodward and El were good friends.

El still seemed a bit annoyed by him at the moment, though. She sighed impatiently. “Can we say we’re in lockdown because there has been a credible threat towards me?”

Woodward raised his shoulders. “There is no threat!”

El pushed herself up, hands still on the desk. “Doesn’t matter right now. Can we do it?”

He shook his head in frustration. “We can come up with something but it would cause a panic!”

“Not if we say we’re going into lockdown as a precaution.”

He threw his hands in the air. “That doesn’t make any sense at all! You’re the president. You can’t look scared!”

“Rick,” El said sharply, “I need this to happen. We’ll manage whatever backlash there is.”

“But why?!” His voice was really loud now. Too loud.

Louise saw the muscles in El’s neck tense up while she barked back. “I don’t need to explain myself to you, Rick. Just make it happen.”

A long silence fell. Louise’s hands were shaking. Woodward huffed. He lifted a hand and pointed at Louise.

Before he could say anything, El added, “No. Don’t even start.”

He bristled, his chest going up and down rapidly.

“I need you to come up with a credible threat. Domestic. Now.”

Woodward pointed at Louise again. “She’s the only threat here,” he stated, his tone ice cold.

Okay, enough for now! Gotta have something left for Saturday. See you then 😉