“I’m scared too.”
“You are?”
“Of course, only a fool embarks on something dangerous without some reservations.”
“Do you think we’ll see any of these bad guys?”
“Yes.”
“You do?”
“That’s why we’re here, Julieta.”
“What do we do if we run into any of them?”
“We kill them.”
“I have a cutting torch,” one of Kulagin’s men said as he went to the door and began trying to cut through the thick steel while Kulagin paced.
“Comrade, they’re here with the communications equipment,” A man said and Kulagin met them at the door.
“There’s a room in the back, set it up then call me when it’s ready,” Kulagin said.
“Is the back way any better?” Victor Manatov asked another man.
“The same,” the man said.
“Comrade, we’re ready,” a man said and Andrei moved quickly to the room and grabbed a phone.
“Radinksy are you there” Andrei asked. Radinsky sat up and answered the phone. He had a special cell that was a direct line to Kulagin and impossible to detect or stop
“Yes, Comrade.”
“Are you in charge?”
“I am. All missiles are armed and ready. I have the room locked down and if they break in the missiles will launch automatically.”
“Do they know that?”
“Yes, and they’ve backed off.”
“That’s good. We are in a building and we have the two Presidents trapped on the upper floors. They’ve barricaded us out but it’s only a matter of time before we get to them. We have to be careful not to kill either President.”
“I’ll be ready, Comrade, just give me my orders.”
“Well done, Comrade, stay sharp.”
“Yes, Comrade,” Radinsky said and Andrei hung up the phone.
“How long?” Kulagin asked as he got back to the front.
“About an hour,” the man said holding the blowtorch.” Andrei nodded
“How many men do we have?”
“Twenty counting you, Comrade.”
“Good, that should be enough to kill them all.”
“We made it,” Henry York said as they landed at Reagan National Airport in Washington.
“Now, let’s get to the White House. I hope they know more than we do,” Valerie said. They took a cab like anyone else would. Valerie was well known but she was sufficiently disguised to go unnoticed and there was no reaction as she walked through the airport. With traffic it took twenty minutes to get to the White House. They went in the back way. Valerie and Henry had credentials that let them in the White House any time they wanted. Secret Service personnel recognized both and led them to the situation room. The team was still at the table and had broken into small side conversations.
“I have no credible information,” Rita Fitzgerald said. I have one operative in Volgograd and she has nothing for me. No one knows exactly where they are or what agencies will be pursuing them.”
“I guess they’re not as diligent as we are,” FBI Director Marcus Washington said.
“What about Kapustin Yar?” Perry asked Defense Secretary Susan Rojas.
“All we know is that it’s compromised. We’re getting some scuttlebutt on the radio and emails that the missiles are armed and ready.”
“I take it General Zumwalt knows this,” Perry said.
“Yes, and he’s raised the DEFCON to four.”
“And their subs are active,” Perry said.
“Yes, and so are ours, Rita added. “We also have our surface fleet in the Mediterranean. I ordered the navy to send in the Reagan and the Lincoln and position them to have a straight shot at Sevastopol. Both Carriers are on maneuvers in the Aegean Sea around Greece. Our B2’s are ready and waiting and of course, Alaskan Air Command has planes scrambled and all military personnel on alert.”
“Good, I don’t think there’s anything else we can do at this point,” Perry said.
“Should you address the nation?” Secretary of State Marty Ingersoll asked.
“No, I should do that,” A voice said from the doorway and they all turned to see Valerie and Henry.
“My prayers are answered,” Perry said and let out a huge sigh.
“How did you get out, Madam Speaker?” Attorney General Meisner asked.
“Subterfuge.”
“I guess we’ll leave it at that,” Perry said.
“It’s complicated,” Henry added, “but Andrew stayed behind and I’m worried.”
“Why did he stay?” Homeland Secretary Sanghvi asked.
“He thought he could help the President,” Henry replied.
“That sounds like Andrew,” Marty said.
“Are there any agents with him?” Louise Chen asked.
“Yes, four,” Henry said.
“Madam Speaker, please take your seat,” Perry said as he stood up.
“None of that, Perry. Neither one of us are the president or even the acting president. The President is away on a trip like she’s done many times.”
“But not like this one,” Marty said and Valerie reluctantly nodded.
“Okay, let’s sit down and go over what we know,” Valerie said.
“We don’t know where she is or who has her for certain,” Rita Fitzgerald said.
“I know a carload of my agents were gunned down,” Louise added.
“A fanatic may have them all and he has a reputation for violence,” Marty said.
“They’ve lost control of one of their missile sites and General Zumwalt has moved to DEFCON Four,” Susan Rojas summed up.
“I think you should consider taking over,” Haakon Meisner posed.
“Whoa, let’s slow down and not get ahead of ourselves,” Valerie said. “The 25th Amendment calls for the President to put the vice-President in charge temporarily and then take back the reins when he or she is ready.”
“But it also covers incapacity by the President,” Haakon added.
“Yes, but she isn’t incapacitated. She’s just held under duress.”
“But she can’t govern and we don’t know how long she’ll be held,” Marcus Washington said.
“The amendment is a suicide pact for anyone who uses it. If I take over no matter the reason or circumstances, I’ll be viewed as a usurper by the American people and they’d be right. No, I’m not going to steal the Presidency while Ellen Lexington is being held at gunpoint in some God forsaken part of the world.”
“But, Madam Speaker…” Haakon started.
“No, we’ll meet continually and take whatever action we feel is necessary but Ellen is still the President.” Valerie said it with finality and there was no more discussion about her taking over.”
“Valerie, you need to speak to the country,” Marty said.
“Tentatively we set up a nine o’clock slot for Perry. The networks are ready and it might look best if it comes from the Oval Office,” Marty suggested.
“No, I’ll do it from the press room.” People looked at one another but nothing was said. “Good, I’m glad you agree.”
“We had the president’s speech writer jot down a few ideas,” Marty said.
“No, I’ll do it myself. Now, ladies and gentlemen I’m going to try and make myself presentable for the briefing.” They all stood as Valerie got up and left the room.
“Good evening, my fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the terrible events of today. Rumors are running wild, largely due to the fact that we don’t have much concrete evidence as to what happened. I can tell you what I know from being there. This afternoon after the meeting between President Lexington and President Deniken there was a bus tour of the Crimean Bridge that links The Crimea to Russia. After crossing the bridge into Russia, the bus was attacked. Heavily armed men boarded the bus and shots were fired. Then apparently, and our information is sketchy and anecdotal at best, there was a struggle on the bus. It is possible that Russian and American security agents took back control of the bus then drove away rapidly knocking two cars off the road that had held some of the men who stopped the bus. Later, these men commandeered other cars and chased after the bus. The two vehicles disappeared and we don’t know where they went. Henry York and I made it out of Kerch and got back to Washington. We are putting every law enforcement agency that we have and the armed forces of the United States in action to get the President back safely. That’s all I know and now I’ll take questions.