39
With traffic as heavy as it was, the forty-five-minute drive from Annapolis to NSA Headquarters at Ft. Meade turned into an hour and twenty-minute slog. Stone glanced at Talia. Her face looked as white as the sheets on his bed.
“Hey,” he said, “you still with us over there?”
“What?” she replied. “Oh, sure. Yes, I’m here.”
“You haven’t said a word in over an hour.” He pulled the truck into a parking space in the visitor section in front of the NSA main entrance. “And not that it’s any consolation, but I’m sorry about all this.”
As he shut off the engine, Talia stared out the windshield. “I know I don’t show it, but I am grateful for your help.” A flicker of a smile appeared. “I’m usually not such a bitch.”
“You’re not a—”
“No, I haven’t been myself lately. So much has happened, an
