Choice

By Hal Williams

Accepting the Deputy Director’s job will take Pam Robinson back to Washington, but it will also bring her field work to an end. Investigation of explosive events is Pam’s lifeblood. Dealing expertly with incidents for which she has the training and years of experience is her forte. And yet, her career may stagnate if she remains in Texas. She likes her home in Dallas and the people she knows there. She likes the less hectic pace of life. Returning to Washington also means a return to its culture. The new job would present an immense challenge to go with immense prestige. All her co-workers urge her to go, but she hesitates repeatedly. Decision time is only a couple of weeks away.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hal Williams
• Release date: May 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463119778

Hal Williams

Native Texan and Vietnam veteran Hal Williams is the author of twenty four novels including foureen books of the "Persephone of the ATF" series. His writing style reflects his wealth of experiences ranging from rock-n-roll musician and racecar driver to working journalist and book manuscript editor. In addition to writing and still working around racecars, Hal enjoys playing bridge, target shooting, and collecting vintage revolvers. He lives in the Dallas area.

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CHOICE

A novel

By Hal Williams

All rights reserved under International and Pan American copyright conventions. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This is a work of fiction. The characters and situations—other than public figures identified by their real names and documented historical events—are products of the author's imagination and are not intended to portray actual persons or events. All references to actual locations and establishments are intended only to give the novel a framework of reality and are used fictitiously.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © 2019 by Hal Williams

Cover image by Matt Pasant via VisitDallas.com

ISBN 9780463119778

Smashwords Edition

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CHAPTER ONE

DEATH IMAGES invaded Pam Robinson’s dreams and jolted her awake repeatedly. Her own tears created damp spots on her pillowcase. She finally threw one pillow aside and pulled another across to her.

Her restlessness had nothing to do with being in a hotel rather than at home. A quiet room and a comfortable king bed could not alleviate the anguish within. She got up and paced the room from end to end, door to window and back again.

For the past ten of her fourteen years serving as a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Jim Simpson had coached her, counseled her, cajoled her, praised her, and protected her. He became a father figure. As Deputy Director, Simpson had been forced to run ATF following the departure of the previous occupant of the Director’s office. Former Attorney General John Sherman had refused to submit his name for advancement consideration. Simpson became the de facto Director but without benefit of the title while the top position technically remained vacant. As far as Pam knew, he had never complained about the slight. With Gerald Fielding now acting AG pending Senate confirmation, things might have changed.

But not now, Pam thought bitterly as she struggled to hold back more tears. News of Simpson’s sudden death the previous evening left her depressed and frightened. She felt alone on a suddenly unfamiliar, unmarked, unlit road, destination unknown.

It took all Pam’s courage and composure to face reporters in El Paso that gloomy Friday morning. Wednesday’s deadly bomb and weapons assault on the Border Patrol compound temporarily took second place on her agenda.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement that I desperately wish I did not have to make. She took a deep breath and gripped the edges of the lectern to keep her hands from shaking. ATF Deputy Director James Simpson passed away unexpectedly last night. Quiet murmurs of shock and concern lasted for several seconds. She waited for them to subside.

What happened? a newsman asked, ending the hush that had settled over the hall. Was he in an accident?

No. It was a cerebral hemorrhage. A massive stroke.

How old a man was he?

Fifty-five.

Will you be taking his place? a television news reporter asked.

No. Assistant Director Richard Conroe will assume those duties until a successor is selected.

Will Conroe move into the position permanently?

Pam shook her head. That’s unknown right now.

Where are we on the bombing investigation?

I can confirm that the truck carrying the bomb was operated by remote control the same way as model cars and model airplanes.

You have proof of that?

Yes, Pam said. We recovered components of the control system.

Is that common? Has it been done before?

Not that I’m aware of although I’m told it’s done in the movies for car crashes.

Another journalist asked, Do you think this is now open warfare against the Border Patrol?

It certainly appears that way.

Is there any more you can do to help identify the attackers?

ATF’s investigation has been concluded, Pam said. It is my understanding that the FBI is to be the lead agency starting today. She introduced FBI Special Agent in Charge Vance Hamilton.

Let me address your last question, Hamilton said, looking directly at the newsman who had posed it. Our forensics investigators obtained blood samples and fingerprints from the pickup trucks used in the attack and then abandoned by the attackers. Whether or not those fingerprints were left by the perpetrators has not yet been determined, but we do have leads to work with.

Are you receiving cooperation from the Mexican government?

At this point we see no reason to involve the Mexican government. If any of the evidence we have suggests criminal activity by Mexican citizens on U.S. soil, we will certainly share that information with the Mexican authorities and seek their assistance for apprehension and prosecution.

Pam left the hall to call Kent Mertens, the new man in her life. As she started to tell him about Simpson, her tears began flowing again.

I know about it, he said. Justice Department issued a memo this morning. As a senior FBI agent based in Washington, Mertens received all such communiqués. I’m very, very sorry, Pam, he said, his voice soft. He was special to you, wasn’t he?

Oh, God, yes, she blubbered. He’d been my anchor for ten years.

Do you have any idea what this will mean for you?

Pam realized that she probably should have anticipated that question. She and Kent seemed to have a budding romance going, although she had begun thinking that her commitment to it did not entirely match his. For it to succeed, she would need to feel more strongly about it. She weighed her response in that light.

No, Kent, I really don’t. I guess it might mean I stay in Washington, but everything is just all up in the air. It’s too soon for me to know anything.

When are you coming back?

Today, I suppose. I’ll call you when I get there.

You and Dave Glades will have to return by commercial air, Conroe told Pam. I don’t have the kind of pull Jim had, so I can’t get you a dedicated business jet.

We’ll manage, Pam said.

The best arrangement seemed to be a one-stop American Airlines flight departing El Paso a little before three in the afternoon. It would reach Reagan at midnight. The one stop was at DFW, and Pam would have to force herself not to disembark and stay there.

CHAPTER TWO

PAM HAD NOT slept until noon since a teenager, but the immense stresses of the past seventy-two hours and her late arrival at the Marriott left her drained. It was not a restful slumber, however. Memories and uncertainties interrupted frequently. When she did get out of bed, she had to concentrate to recall that it