Hit List (Stone Barrington #53)(77)
As they sat down, the phone rang. Holly set down her glass and picked up the receiver. “Yes?” She listened for a moment, and the expression on her face changed from neutral to pained. “Thank you,” she said, and set down the phone. She convulsed once, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” Stone said.
She gasped, drawing in a deep breath, and made a visible effort to calm herself. “The polls were wrong. I won forty-one states, an estimated sixty-seven percent of the vote.”
Stone smiled and raised his glass. “Madam President,” he said.
They watched the pandemonium on television until nearly midnight, then she changed into something more presidential-elect and went down to the ballroom for Kate to speak to her country and the world.
END
November 5, 2019
Key West, Florida
Keep reading for an exciting excerpt from BOMBSHELL, the next Teddy Fay novel by Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall.
1
Teddy Fay woke up to the sound of breaking glass. He grabbed the remote control from the nightstand and clicked on the monitor of the high-tech security system Mike Freeman had installed in his house. A dozen views appeared showing the exterior, a red dot pinpointing the source of the breakin. Another click of a button and the image moved to fill the screen; Teddy could see a burly man attempting to get through the living room window. He was being thwarted by a second pane of glass that was far sturdier than the one he’d just broken.
Teddy grabbed a gun, slipped down the stairs, out a side door, crept up on the man, and jabbed the gun in his back.
The man whirled around and lunged for the gun.
Teddy groaned. Really? If Teddy had wanted to shoot him, the man would be dead. A mere burglar wouldn’t take that chance. Was he a hired assassin, or just dumb?
Teddy spun around and chopped down on the man’s arm. The intruder howled in pain, but he wasn’t done. He shoved his wounded hand into his pocket and came out with a snub-nosed revolver.
Teddy almost felt sorry for him. The man’s hand was numb, and he could hardly hold the gun. Teddy batted it away.
Three armored security vans roared up the driveway. A squad of Strategic Services agents poured out, guns drawn.
“Relax, gentlemen,” Teddy said. “The situation seems to be in hand.”
A young agent who appeared to be in charge said, “You’re Billy Barnett?”
“At your service.”
“Your system registered a security breach. Is this the intruder?”
“That he is.”
“We’ll be happy to take him off your hands.”
“I doubt if you’ll have him long. The system is also linked to the police. I believe that’s them now.”
A police car came up the drive with its red-and-blue lights flashing. A uniformed officer climbed out of the driver’s seat, surveilled the scene, and said laconically, “What’s all this?”
“Attempted B and E,” Teddy said. “I’m the homeowner. That’s the intruder. These gentlemen are private security guards who responded to my alarm.”
The officer turned to the agent. “You apprehended the intruder in the attempt to break and enter?”
The agent shook his head. “The homeowner apprehended the intruder.”
“Before you got here?”
“That’s right.”
The cop turned back to Teddy. “So you’re the only witness to the attempted breakin?”
“Aside from the alarm system he activated.”
“There’s no evidence he activated the alarm system.”
“Actually, there is. This is a Strategic Services system, with all the bells and whistles, including cameras. Here, take a look.” Teddy led the officer over to the front door. “The main control is in the master bedroom, but this is the downstairs terminal.” He pointed to a screen on the wall, and activated the control panel beneath it. An image immediately appeared on the screen, along with a graphic that read: FRONT LEFT WINDOW. The intruder had just smashed the outer window and was going to work on the inner. As the cop watched, he could see Teddy creeping up on the intruder and handily disarming him.
“There you are, Officer,” Teddy said. “As you can see, it was an armed B and E. I’ll give you a thumb drive of the video for evidence.”
“You have a gun?”
“I have a permit for it.”
“Good. Bring it down to the station with you, and you can swear out a complaint.”
Teddy glanced at his watch. “I’ll drop by later. Right now I’ve got a party to go to.”
“A party? It’s four in the morning.”
“Yeah, the party’s at five.” Teddy smiled. “Good thing the guy woke me up. I might have been late.”
2
It was still dark when Teddy pulled his 1958 D Model Porsche Speedster to a stop in front of Peter and Hattie Barrington’s house. He skipped up the front steps and rang the bell.
Peter Barrington opened the door. “Come in, the gang’s all here. The TV’s on and they’re about to start.”
“Relax. It’s the technical awards first. They don’t get to the real thing until five-thirty.”