Page 49 of The Fourth Option
“Think of it as a favor, then.”
“To you? I’m really racking them up.”
“Not to me. To Naji.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
New Orleans
Present Day
WALKER PULLED INTOthe hospital parking lot and was directed to a spot by a uniformed police officer. There was something happening in front of the facility that had caused an increase in security and a crowd of press to gather.
Leaving Paladin in the van with the window cracked and the K9 cooling kit turned on, Walker approached the police officer on parking lot duty and asked him what was happening.
“DA’s making an appearance,” he said.
“That would do it. Thank you.”
Walker approached the front of the hospital just in time to see Irene Isaacson duck into a black Suburban as press snapped photos and shouted questions. He couldn’t help but think that she looked like a movie star surrounded by paparazzi.
Walker weaved his way through the throng of reporters and entered the emergency room.
The smell of blood caught him off guard. He felt the familiar yet faint surge of dizziness that had plagued him since Afghanistan. The odors, the atmosphere, the noise of the ER reminded him of a combat hospital. For a moment it felt like his brain hit a pothole.
I’m worse than Paladin in a thunderstorm.
He stood to the side and took in the scene; reporters were interviewing some of the hospital staff while a few police officers remained behind in the DA’s wake.
He spotted Leigh Ann down a corridor. She was talking to a man in a suit and seemed to be on the receiving end of the conversation.
He waited until they parted and caught her eye.
She smiled and walked to him in the lobby.
“What happened here?” Chris asked.
“The DA stopped by for a photo op.”
“Because of the gang shooting?”
“What better way to make a point?”
“I guess that’s what they do.”
“Where are you parked?”
“Far end of the lot.”
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll meet you there.”
“So, this is home?” Leigh Ann asked, looking around the confines of the van.
The AC along with Paladin’s fan maintained the interior at a comfortable temperature compared to the heat beyond the doors.
“I guess so.”
“That’s what you have been doing the past few years? Traveling?”
