The morning meeting was out of the ordinary for both President Stoddard and Director Abramson. Neither man was used to having orders barked at them, particularly from one lower down in the pecking order. But there was something about the tone in Monk's voice that told both men that they had better be there.

After dropping the children off in the White House nursery, Adrian and Natalie walked directly to John Stoddard's office. They had been there so many times by now that they needed no staff to lead the way. They did talk with his executive assistant before entering the room, and she announced their presence.

"Adrian! Natalie! How are you? On the phone you sounded as if things were urgent." Stoddard said as Natalie held on to the still limping Adrian's arm.

"John. Not here." Said Adrian. "Secure room."

"Well, we're still waiting for Abramson…" John replied.

"Abramson's here!" said David, entering the Presidential office. "What's this about Monk? And why can't Kennedy be here?"

"Not here." Said Adrian.

"Secure room." Natalie said.

"Allllright." Said Abramson, looking at John.

"Secure room it is." Said Stoddard.


Inside the secure conference room, they all sat at a round table as the Monks told them, with painstaking detail, about the theft of Natalie's purse and then the events the following evening. Natalie's face was still pale when she spoke of her experience, and seeing her upset made Adrian's face turn a dark crimson.

"Alright, Monk. What do you need?" said Stoddard.

"John, I need 24/7 security for my entire family, that includes Natalie's parent's in California and Ambrose and Heather. Miller made an implicit threat. We're not backing away but we're not going to be stupid." Adrian said.

"Fine. Anything else?" he asked.

"We don't know how they are getting the information that they have. We checked Preacher's house for listening devices, but there were none that we could see. So, we may need one of your folks to do a more thorough evaluation. They knew detail they shouldn't have. We're not going to progress as long as they have that access." Monk continued.

"I know just the guy." Stoddard said. "I'll call him later this morning."

"Director Abramson, I need to discretely get ahold of any and all records related to Miller. I'm sure the FBI has a file compiled on him somewhere. By the way he talked, this organization has been around for a while, and he has been in it for a while. I want to know who he is, where he has been and who he has known in his life. Same for Grier. There is a connection, I want to know what it is. "

"I can do that. But, I do have one question." He said.

"What's that?" Adrian asked.

"I know you like to work alone – but, why is Kennedy not in this meeting?" Abramson said.

Adrian looked at Stoddard and then Natalie, who spoke up. "It's not that Adrian doesn't trust him – but…he doesn't trust him." She said.

"I don't trust him." He echoed.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Said Abramson.

"He may not be bad, but he is compromised and therefore, he isn't trustworthy." Monk explained.

"Adrian thinks they had something on him that got him to do their bidding." Natalie said.

"If I'm right... and you know I am…" Monk continued. "they still have whatever it is on him and he's still beholden to them. Plus, now he knows that they will kill if he disappoints them. They did it to Grier who was a higher-level source. They would do it to him in a heartbeat. For certain, he's dangerous. Proceed with caution."

"David, I have learned to listen to Monk's perspective when it comes to things like this, so take heed." Said Stoddard.

"Indeed. So…this American Liberty Front…" Abramson said.

"New America People's Liberation Front." Natalie corrected.

"Yeah…that…." Said Abramson. "They say they aren't trying to kill people, just destroy things? Why?"

"I have a theory about that too, but I don't have all the pieces yet. There is something specific I'm looking for." Said Adrian. "When I find it, I will let you know."

"I hope the pieces show up soon, Monk. Have you seen the newspapers? And the market? People are getting spooked." Said Stoddard.

"Yeah. Well, when you blow up Wall Street, it might have a tendency to spook a few investors." Said Adrian.

"Where are they going next?" asked Abramson.

"West. They're going West. L.A., San Francisco, Vegas…take your pick." Adrian replied.

"Abramson, beef up the number of agents in those areas. Evaluate which targets might be of national significance. If the goal is to destabilize, those areas will be our prime focus." Said Stoddard.

"Will do." Abramson replied.


Stoddard temporarily assigned two agents from the Secret Service to protect the Monks until they could vet other security agencies to take over the role for as long as needed. They wouldn't actually follow them into the office, lest they arouse suspicion; but, they would be at the ready for when they left the building. It was an added level of oversight that was needed, but it certainly wasn't something that either Adrian or Natalie wanted to get used to.

Abramson went through a back channel and managed to order up data on Sammy Miller and Grier without attracting any attention. Monk would find it in the Director's office upon arrival at the agency later that morning.

The team was small and sworn to secrecy. It would not be easy, but they believed they would be able to pull off the investigation without tipping their hands too much.


After picking up the packet from the director's office, Adrian and Natalie made their way to Monk's office. Sitting around his desk, he took the Miller folder and she took the Grier folder, both of which were quite thick, and they began charting out a timeline of facts for both individuals.

Miller's rap sheet was a mile long. He started as a teenager in Brooklyn being involved in petty theft and fights. Next, he graduated up to grand theft before disappearing underground with what appeared to be mob related activities. It was soon discovered that he had a real talent with guns, and so he became the mob's favorite hitman by the time he was 22. However, when mob boss Carlo Rosetti was arrested, he again went underground, resurfacing in Los Angeles in 1979. He stayed there for a while, was arrested several more times, was suspected of several serious crimes but wasn't convicted of them. He had at least eight aliases from the time he was a teen until now – Sammy Miller, Sam Milano, Saul Milano, Paul Mueller, Samuel Smith, Paul Fredericks, Sammy Johnson, and Sammy Jones.

In 1996 it seems he moved back to DC where the FBI again suspected that he was involved in organized criminal activity. Adrian poured through the records. Page after page, 1996, 1997, 1998. Clearly he was on the FBI's radar, but by that point he was clever and seasoned enough to not get caught. In late 1998, they suspected he was part of a corrupt senator's criminal organization. They had him tailed and put in detail everyone he met or talked to during that time. The senator eventually went down, but Sammy escaped prosecution. However, due to not wanting to disturb the bigger case, it appeared the FBI held back on some smaller cases, at least smaller on the surface.

Adrian turned the page in the folder at this point in the chronology and there was a newspaper clipping from 1999. The headline read Anacostia Minister's Wife and Son Killed in House Fire: Foul Play Suspected. Adrian's mouth dropped open.

"Oh no." he said.

Natalie looked up from her reading. "What is it?"

After quickly reading the small snippet in the paper, he handed it to her. It read:

Emergency personnel were called to the home of a Christian minister from Anacostia Tuesday Afternoon when the home became engulfed in flames. 32-year-old Selina Armstrong, wife of Baptist Minister Jedediah Armstrong and their 8-year-old son were killed in the blaze. The blaze is still under investigation, and police suspect foul play.

After reading the article, Natalie looked up at Adrian. "Preacher? The FBI suspected Miller was a part of Preacher's wife's death?"

"Apparently so. But why? Preacher wasn't a cop back then. Why would they go after a Minister's family?" Adrian asked.

"Oh, Adrian. He's been looking all of these years. I wonder how he'll react?" Natalie said.

"We can't tell him." Said Adrian.

"What do you mean?" asked Natalie.

"Folder is classified. We need to get permission to release that information, and just like back then, I don't think anyone is going to be willing to divulge anything while there is an ongoing investigation. We have to solve this case. He deserves to know." Said Adrian.

"Or get him accessed." Said Natalie.

Adrian shook his head yes. "Great idea, Mrs. Monk. I'll call John in a few minutes and get things started."

"I have a few." She said, with a wink.