Secret Service in My 'Hood!

I was biking home around 7:00 tonight, and as I passed the intersection of Lanier and Ontario, I noticed a large van parked illegally.  And then I noticed the writing and logo along the side that read "United States Secret Service: Uniform Unit."  There was no pomp and circumstance -- no blocked off street corners, flashing lights, or sirens.  Just the van.  

I got nervous because the last time I experienced such eerie quiet with law enforcement present was about 4 years ago when I saw several cop cars drive down my street rather erratically.  I was getting into my car when I saw them, and in that moment I realized I had forgotten the bottle of wine I was supposed to bring to a dinner party.  So, I ran back inside quickly to grab it, and when I got back outside an entire swat team was busting into the house across the street and managed to swarm the place without making a peep!  I panicked and hot tailed it out of there as fast I could.

Just like tonight...I started peddling quite a bit faster instead of sticking around to get a sense of the situation.  I'll be honest, I had no idea that there was such a unit in the Secret Service that would come into the community.  They are in fact the White House Police Force, but in addition to serving the "White House Complex" their mission is apparently "to safeguard the nation's financial infrastructure and payment systems to preserve the integrity of the economy, and to protect national leaders, visiting heads of state and government, designated sites and National Special Security Events."

It's an interesting time to be responsible for preserving the integrity of the economy.  Doesn't that mean they should be hustling the Republicans down on the hill to raise the debt ceiling?  

Mystery NOT solved.