April 25
Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C.
I lifted my backpack and slung it over my left shoulder. It’s a career-long habit, hoisting the weight to my left side and leaving my right hand free for combat, if necessary. With one more look around the hotel room, I walked out, down the hallway, and into the elevator lobby.
President Pendleton had set up this room in the Willard Hotel, just a block from the White House. I lived just outside the city, but he wanted me in the gallery the night of his announcement and wanted to make sure I had a hotel room to retire to – a present, of sorts – instead of having to drive home.
The elevator doors opened onto the lobby with its high faux marble columns and vaulted ceiling. As I checked out, I was informed that the bill had already been paid by an u
