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There’s no doubt—
Kendricks opens the door. “I’m sorry, sir, there’s a roadblock up ahead.”
“A roadblock? From the Metro Police? This isn’t one of their roadblock positions. There has to be a mistake.”
Kendricks says, “Sir, it’s not a Metro Police unit.”
“Then who the hell is up there?”
“Two men. One says he’s an FBI agent and the other says he’s a police detective. They’re blocking the road with an Impala and a vendor’s truck. And they’re…adamant that we can’t proceed.”
“Well, just drive past them.”
“They’re armed,” she says.
Grissom puts his papers down. “Then I’ll handle it myself, damn it. We don’t have time for this shit.”
Chapter
156
I breathe easiernow that the two police cars from the Pentagon’s police force have come to a halt.
That means the shooting is delayed, at least for now.
The doors to the two cruisers swing open, and four Pentagon Police officers scramble out. One of them, a heavyset man, steps so close that I can see the color of his eyes—blue—and says, “I’m Captain Roy Jemison, Pentagon Police.”
“Nice to meet you, even under these circumstances,” I say. “I’m John Sampson, Metro Police detective, and my companion here is Ned Mahoney, FBI.”
He looks at us both. “You’ve got to move your vehicle and let us through.”
I say, “Why?”
That seems to startle him. “Because we’re escorting General Wayne Grissom to the White House and it’s vital that he gets there in the next few minutes. Step back, move the vehicle.”
“Or?” Ned asks from the other side of the Impala.
“We’ll be forced to take action.”
I smile wide even though I’m not in a humorous mood. “Captain Jemison? You and your fellow officers, you need to return to your vehicles and get out of here. You’re Pentagon Police. You have no jurisdiction here. Go back across the Potomac where you belong.”
The captain steps forward. “This is a national emergency! General Grissom needs to be at the White House now!” His hand moves to his holster.
I raise my voice and say, “What national emergency? Do you know why he’s going to the White House? He’s declaring martial law and seizing control of the government. Captain, you’ve sworn an oath to the Constitution. The general you’re escorting is about to shove the Constitution into a shredder. You okay with that?”
Jemison says, “That all sounds like conspiracy bullshit. I don’t care what you say. Move your vehicle. Now.”
I say, “Captain, again, you and your officers have no jurisdiction here. I’m a member of the District police and Mr. Mahoney is with the FBI, which has complete jurisdiction throughout this location. In other words, everything you see—streets, sidewalks, parks—belongs to us. Not you.”
I’m looking at the captain’s face, then at the confused and concerned faces of his fellow officers, and I say, “Get the hell out while you can.”
“I have my orders.”
“Yeah, we do too. You’re not passing through.”
Jemison says, “You don’t move, it’s going to be escalated.”
“Escalated by you,” I say. “Anyone in front of us reaches for a weapon, shooting is going to start. You’ve got us, four versus two, but you’re out in the open and we’re behind a barrier, the finest steel from Chevrolet. We’ve got a shotgun and an M4. It won’t end pretty.”
