Read Under Suspicion - The Legend of D.B. Cooper Page 19

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for coming,” Mayor Demsey said with a smile. “Tonight we’re here to recognize one of Seattle’s finest. A bright young agent of the Drug Enforcement Agency who epitomizes everything I stand for in law enforcement. Special Agent Alan Bradley is a tough, aggressive, no non-sense cop who wants to make a difference. With the help of people like Agent Bradley, the steps this Administration has taken to reduce crime and drugs are working. We are cleaning up this city, and making it a better place to live.”

  “Oh, brother,” O’Leary rolled his eyes, whispering to Anderson. “I’m going out to have a smoke.” O’Leary walked out the door, and then lit up a cigarette. He stood outside and looked through the window as he watched the Mayor give his speech. He couldn’t listen to that garbage without getting mad, and that wouldn’t be productive for tonight’s venture.

  He couldn’t help but worry. Have I prepared for everything? he wondered. Could anything go wrong? No, he had done this too many times before. If everything goes as planned, he would have the suspects cuffed and stuffed before they know what hit them. All this without firing a shot.

  That’s more than that little jerk knows, he thought as he watched Bradley, in his well-tailored Italian suit, step to the podium and shake the Mayor’s hand. The Mayor and Bradley held the pose so that the reporters could get pictures from all angles. Bradley has probably practiced that pose for hours in front of the mirror, O’Leary thought, as the camera’s lights reflected off Bradley’s slicked back hair and sparkling teeth.