Her first glimpse of the protectee made Frankie realize that the worst day of her life had just gotten worse. The Speaker of the House drew to a stop by her side. The Chief Justice, Frankie could see, was still pushing his way through the entourage, a bible held high above the crowd, as he maneuvered his way towards the Speaker.
“Aisha Franks?” asked the Speaker, looking at Frankie.
Frankie winced at the Arab name her Muslim mother had insisted on giving her. A name that very few knew existed.
Chapter 3
Brigadier General Harold F. McLennan watched the horror at the White House unfold on the 24/7 news channels. With each passing minute, another of his senior staff joined him as the news of the attack on their President and the world’s most prestigious address filtered through. They were all desperate to know how their Commander and Chief was doing and whether any of their departments could assist in any way.
Between them, they controlled and developed the most advanced medical research and procedures in the world for battlefield injuries, diseases and biological weapons. If there were any people in the world who could help in that situation, the professionals crowding General McLennan’s office were amongst the very few who could. The General had made a call to Walter Reed Hospital the moment he had heard the President had been shot. His people were ready to help in any way they could. The offer was noted and much to McLennan’s concern and frustration, they did not update or offer any details of the President’s condition.
His answer, therefore, remained the same to each of his concerned subordinates. Walter Reed would call if they needed them. In the meantime, all they could do was hope and pray for the President and all the other casualties.
An audible gasp silenced his office when the first aerial shots of the White House were broadcast across the world. The West Wing, the executive branch of the federal government, lay in ruins. The main body of the house remained undamaged but it was a very different silhouette that would be adorning the Washington skyline for some time to come.
The new skyline faded out, replaced by a somber-faced White House spokesman in front of a hastily prepared podium on the East side of the White House, out of view of the rubble and debris that littered the previously pristine White House lawns.
General McLennan hit the volume button on his remote and bathed the office in the background sounds of emergency sirens a few hundred miles away.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” began the spokesman, “I will be brief. At approximately 9:55 this morning, a gunman shot and injured the President. The President is responding well to treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.” The spokesman paused as the relief was absorbed by reporters and audiences at home. “To aid his escape, the gunman triggered an explosive device that has damaged the West Wing of—”
The office door burst open and grabbed everyone’s attention away from the TV screen. A breathless and panting Colonel Valerie Barnes, a sight that, without the dramatic entrance, would have got their attention anyway, stood almost unable to speak.
“General,” she gasped, between attempts to re-oxygenate her lungs.
General McLennan was already up and helping her into a seat before she collapsed.
“Val?” he asked, concern deep in voice.
“W-we’ve got a Level 4 b-breach!” she stammered.
Level 4 was the highest biosafety hazard category involving highly infectious diseases with high fatality rates and no known cures; it was not an area in which you ever wanted to suffer a breach. A number of her colleagues in the room openly moved away from her.
“Not a leak, a theft!” she said, making it clear she thought this situation far worse. She could control a leak.
“Impossible,” replied the General, calmly. “This facility is as secure as Fort Knox and anyway, security would have alerted me by now.”
“I’ve only just discovered it!” she said, tears welling in her eyes. The implications of her failure were catastrophic.
“I’m sorry to say that so far we have been unable to locate the Vice President.” The voice of the spokesperson cut through the chaos in the room, as the enormity of the announcement caught their ears.
“What did he just say?” asked the General, turning back to the TV.
“It looks as though the Vice President was in the West Wing when the explosion was triggered,” explained one of his subordinates.
“Sorry, what explosion?” asked Val.
“The President has been shot and the gunman blew up the West Wing as part of his getaway,” replied the General succinctly.
“Oh my God! Is he okay?’
“It appears so. Now, what is it you think is missing?”
“I don’t think anything is missing,” she replied angrily. “I know that fifty doses of Zaire Ebolavirus have been stolen!”
“You must be mistaken,” argued the General, shaking his head. However, his demeanor changed.
“What’s the big deal?” asked one of the few non-medical members of the team.
“You know the movie Outbreak?” replied Val. On receiving an affirmative nod, she continued, “Zaire Elboavrius is like the disease they faced but much worse and with no magic serum to cure it!”
“Oh shit!”
The TV was issuing an alert in the background and caught Val’s attention: “We ask all citizens across the city and beyond to look out for this man. Please do not approach him. He is armed and extremely dangerous. If you do see him, call 911, lock all doors and windows and wait for the emergency services to attend. His name is Nick Geller…”
Nick Geller’s photo appeared on the screen.
“Holy fuck!” said Val. Her heart almost stopped as the image burned into her retinas.
“What?” asked the General, turning to the screen and seeing Geller’s face.
“He was here yesterday!” Val managed to say. “Oh fuck! What has he done?!”
The General ran to his desk and picked up the phone. “Get me the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs now!!” he commanded. “Whatever he’s doing, get him on the phone now!!”
While he waited to be put through, he turned to Val. “Get to DC immediately. I want the White House and Walter Reed Hospital quarantined. Nobody gets out of either building until we have an all-clear and I mean nobody!”
Chapter 4
“Yes, Madam Speaker,” replied Frankie.
“The President wants you in on the investigation,” she said gruffly before barging into the Operations Center. “The President is alive and will recover,” she announced loudly, walking to the seat at the top of the table. The Speaker was on the opposite side of the political divide from President Mitchell and she made sure he knew it.
A cheer echoed throughout the room but was quickly stifled as the Speaker continued. “I’m afraid that’s the only good news. The Vice President is believed to have been in the West Wing. From the initial reports of the damage, it is unlikely that he has survived. The President is currently incapacitated and as such I will take office while he recovers.”
A more somber audience watched the Chief Justice step forward and swear in the Speaker of the House as the Commander and Chief of the United States for the first time in its history. Maria Lopez became the first Speaker, female and Hispanic, to ascend to the highest office in the land.
“Madame President,” concluded the Chief Justice before leaving the Operations Center.