AT THE PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT
Secretary Vinick stepped into the attaché’s room, and Josh saw that he was the bearer of bad news. Great, more bad news, he thought.
“The President pro tempore of the Senate was found dead in his home and they can’t locate Lee,” Arnold Vinick told Josh, looking a bit frazzled. Josh didn’t remember he had ever seen the Secretary of State like that.
“Well, I was able to contact the President so you shouldn’t be afraid of stepping up to the plate,” Josh remarked with a coldness in his tone he didn’t know where it came from. He had no reason not to trust the Secretary except that the Vice President was with almost hundred per cent certainty dead, and the person who would be usually next in the presidential line of succession was not a natural born citizen of the United States. The third person on that list was dead too so if something happened to the President or he had to invoke the 25th it would be Secretary of State Arnold Vinick who would take the oath. But then again, he really had no reason not to trust the Secretary. After all, he could have fought the results of the election but he didn’t. He faithfully served at the pleasure of the president, just as he himself. No, Josh mused, he must trust the Secretary. Arnold Vinick was a good man, an honest man. Josh shook his head and decided to put his doubts aside.
“Josh?” Secretary Vinick asked back hesitantly.
“Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to snark you,” Josh apologized.
“I don’t know what ‘snark’ means although I have an inkling that nothing positive. Apology accepted. Now, tell me why you just snarked me.”
“The Vice President is in the Situation Room. I’m almost certain that he is dead, sir,” Josh told him.
“Good Gracious!” the Secretary exclaimed. “And the puzzle comes together,” he added then in a low voice. “What made you apologize?”
“You are an honest man, sir. I trust you, it was just a momentarily lapse of whatever,” Josh explained.
“Thank you for your trust,” the Secretary said. “Did you reach the Bunker?”
“Yeah, they are okay. Donna was assembling the videophone, the President was worried about his kids, and Ainsley is drafting a letter in which he can invoke the 25th,” Josh reported.
“The President is down there with Donna and Ainsley Hayes?” Secretary Vinick asked.
“Yeah, and no one else. Sam is in the Situation Room, too.”
“I’m sorry, Josh,” the Secretary said and Josh saw how genuinely sorry he was.
“Thank you, sir. I talked to him, so there is hope. But I fear we don’t have much time.”
“What are our options?”
“Well, the doors will only open for a person who is authorized to step into the Situation Room, with us here that leaves the President,” Josh said. “The ante-room has cameras so they would notice if a heavy armored team would gather outside to take back the Room. They would shoot everyone down there, and that’s a possibility I’m not willing to entertain in my mind for a long-long time,” Josh said. “Any other ideas?”
“I don’t think we can negotiate, we have nothing to offer,” Vinick shook his head. “We could always leave them there, they don’t have any food.”
“Yeah, but I doubt the Secret Service will let the President leave the Bunker and resume his daily business unless the Mansion is safe. And it’s not safe until the culprits are down there,” Josh said.
“A circulus viciousus,” Secretary Vinick remarked.
“Indeed, sir. Okay, I have to call Annabeth and the parents of Mrs. Santos,” Josh said. “Then I have to get back to the President.”
“Okay, leave Ms. Schott to me. What should I tell her?” Vinick asked.
“They shouldn’t do anything for the time being, they can’t cancel, I don’t want to alert anyone unless absolutely necessary,” Josh said.
“I wonder when it will be picked up,” the Secretary said referring to the media.
Josh sighed and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. He was tired and anxious and he felt powerless. He was the man you go to when you want to fix something, but this time he was merely a puppet in the hands of those holding the Situation Room, and in a sense of meaning the President, hostage. He hated this feeling, he was never good to admit that he didn’t have the power to make things okay again. And Donna being caught in the middle of all of this didn’t help. He was worried about her. Not just about her physical safety but about her state of mind. She held a responsibility which left more experienced people feeling being a failure. He didn’t want that for her. She lived through enough. Fate was a cruel companion to her life, she had to witness more than some soldiers did and she came out victorious. But Josh knew that her soul was forever scared because of those things. Because of Rosslyn and Gaza. They both had their fair share but, Donna being the more sensitive one of them felt the pressure twice or maybe tenfold than Josh. His heart was breaking for her when he imagined what she must be going through right now. He could imagine the things she was thinking and he knew that once it was over her nightmares will return. Maybe his too. He made a mental note to call Stanley when this was all over; they will both need a session with him.
“Sorry, I spaced out for a moment there. The White House is in a lockdown, the reporters are over at the OEOB. We still have a couple of hours before all hell breaks loose,” Josh said and then picked up the phone.
He talked to Helen’s dad and then to the head of Peter’s detail. He learned that Donna’s order to up the detail was followed through, and fortunately the kids were spending time with their grandparents at Camp David, the second safest places in the United States, and perhaps right now THE safest place in the US. While he talked to Agent Turner, he involuntarily listened to the Secretary’s end of his conversation with Annabeth. Apparently Annabeth was okay with Josh’s idea but had her own input. After he hung up the Secretary handed him his phone without a word.
“And how should I tell the First Lady that her husband is in danger? How should I tell her that she can’t phone him or she can’t contact him at all?” Josh heard Annabeth’s tirade and let out a grin. The Secretary theatrically let out a tired sigh and then grinned back at Josh.
“Annabeth,” Josh tried to interrupt the First Lady’s Press Secretary.
“Josh?” Annabeth asked back hesitantly. “I was talking to Arnie,” she said, making Josh smirk again.
“Well, now you are talking to me. Go and wake up the First Lady. I’ll talk to her once she is up.”
“Okay, we’ll call you back,” Annabeth said and then hung up.
“She is calling you Arnie?” Josh asked the Secretary with a wink.
“Well, I called her Annabeth once and ever since she calls me Arnie,” the Secretary explained.
“I see,” Josh said with another grin.
“There is nothing to see,” Vinick told him in a warning undertone.
“Well, we’ll see,” Josh said and then his face sobered. “Okay, I’ll try the videophone, I hope Donna was successful.”
Josh dialed again and a few seconds later he was greeted with the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Donna was smiling at him from her seat at the table.
“Hey,” he greeted her.
“Hello, Josh,” Donna greeted him with another radiant smile. “Ainsley is gone to wake up the President.”
“The President was sleeping?” Josh asked back incredulously.
“Josh,” Donna started, her tone admonishing. “This is the second all-nighter for him in a row. I sent him to rest. I very much doubt he was sleeping but he needs his wits about him if there are decisions to make.”
“Okay, okay,” Josh said, holding his hands up, signaling that he was sorry. “I see your point. We called Annabeth; I’ll talk to the First Lady in a few minutes.”
“Josh?” he heard then the familiar booming voice.
“Mr. President,” Josh greeted the leader of the free world.
“My kids?”
“They are okay, I’ve talked to Agent Turner. There was not much to do since Donna already upped their security. They are aware of the situation, they didn’t experience anything out of order as of now” Josh reported.
“Yeah, that was one of the first things she did,” President Santos told him. “Let me tell you this, Josh, Donna is a great asset.”
“You don’t have to tell me, sir,” Josh answered with a grin. “And now, the bad news,” he said, taking a deep breath. “The President pro tempore was found dead in his home.”
“WHAT?” Santos shouted, clearly taken aback by the news.
“Sir, I think it’s safe to say that there is a coup de etat taking place in the White House,” Josh said.
“Hold on, there is an incoming call on the other phone,” President Santos interrupted him, and Josh saw when Donna picked up the phone.
“I’ll put you on speakerphone, okay?” he heard Donna saying and then saw that she pushed a button on the phone. “Okay, you can talk now, we hear you.”
“I want the President here in the Situation Room, otherwise his advisors are dead,” Josh heard Nancy’s deputy and then saw Donna to bring up her hand to silence the President.
“What makes you think that the President would assist your little coup de etat?” Donna asked.
“Well, if he doesn’t his wife and his kids will have to suffer the consequences of his mistake,” Tom Roberts said.
“How do we know that once he is there you’ll let the others go? They are witnesses, you have nothing to lose,” Donna said.
“Just get him over here, and we’ll talk about that later,” Tom said.
“You don’t really think that he is going there, do you?” Donna asked boldly.
“Want proof of how serious I am?” Tom asked her. “Who is it, Ms. Moss?”
“What do you mean?” Josh heard Donna asking.
“I mean who should be next?”
“Next?” Donna asked back.
“Of course, I had to eliminate the Vice President,” Tom said. “So, who is next, Ms. Moss?”
“I thought you already killed your next victim, Tom,” Donna retorted.
“Oh, your boyfriend is working fast, isn’t he, Ms. Moss?” Tom asked.
“Well, he is a genius, you have no chance against him,” Donna said proudly, making Josh’s chest swell.
“Well, we’ll see. So, who is next, Ms. Moss? The Chairman? Or Mr. Slatterley? Maybe Mr. Seaborn?” Tom asked.
“You don’t have to kill anybody else. The President could invoke the 25th.”
“Ah, but you see, that’s not permanent enough for me,” Tom said.
“Well, I’m certainly not letting him go, get used to the idea,” Donna said, and Josh cringed. He knew that Donna was right, he knew about the policy of not giving into threats but he feared for Sam’s life. He didn’t want anything to happen to his deputy, to his best friend.
“Okay then! Say goodbye to the good Chairman, Ms. Moss,” Tom said and a shot rang through the room. It was followed by an eerie silence and the dial tone as Tom Roberts hung up on them.
GO TO PART SEVEN