Stephanie instead, turned her weapon on Madeline, and stated triumphantly, ‘Drop the gun. Resistance is futile!’ While she had every intention of killing the older woman, Stephanie apologised for her feeble attempt at humour, when she noticed the look Madeline directed at her. Stephanie motioned for Madeline to hand over her gun. Madeline let the weapon roll across her fingers, as she turned to butt to Stephanie.
‘Very good, Stephanie. I was beginning to wonder about you, you know. I didn’t think that any one could be as stupid as you have pretended to be.’
‘Shut up!’ Stephanie screeched as she cocked the weapon and pushed it against the side of Madeline’s head. Madeline just kept talking.
‘And framing Agent Stolts was just pure genius.’
‘Shut up!’
‘Now, I just have to ask you. What did Mr. Randal promise you, when you finished this job?’
Ted Randal stood and stared directly at her. ‘She’s out of her mind, Mr. President. I mean look at her. Waltzes in here, in her underwear. All that’s missing is the ‘mission impossible’ theme.’
‘I’ve been on to you for quite a while, Sir. What gave it a way was the fact the Kellerin walked in through the front door. You knew we were investigating a terrorist threat, which under normal circumstances would have resulted in the tightening of security. But when the National Security adviser is one of the bad guys…’ Madeline turned her attention back to Stephanie, who still stood with the gun held against her temple.
‘You do realise that he is not going to give you what he promised. Money? Asylum? It’s all lies. You were just his informant in the CIA. He doesn’t care what happens to you after this, and neither does Mr Kellerin’
Stephanie moved to stand directly in front of Madeline. ‘You have never shown me any respect. At least I’ll get the satisfaction of knowing I killed the ice-maiden. I killed Madeline.’ Stephanie taunted. She looked directly into her eyes, pushing the gun harder into her temple.
Madeline returned the gaze, smiling. Stephanie’s gun slackened slightly at Madeline’s fearless expression. ‘You know, Stephanie, you should never look into the eyes of the person you are going to kill.’ Madeline stated. ‘They will haunt you always.’ Stephanie slapped Madeline across the face, trying to wipe the calm, amused expression off her face. She stiffened her stance, aiming the gun at Madeline’s head, determined to end her life, here and now.
At that moment Rick and his team ran through the door. The two younger agents stopped in their tracks at the sight of Madeline and Stephanie, but quickly regained their professionalism when they noticed the gun trained on Madeline’s temple. Thinking of nothing other than rescuing Madeline, Rick shot Stephanie in the shoulder. Her weapon fell to the ground and Madeline kicked it across the floor. Madeline, then continued her attack on the terrorist, as if nothing had happened.
‘Now, Mr. Kellerin. It appears that you are out numbered. Please surrender. You are achieving nothing by standing there. As you can see, Mr. Randal has turned his back on the whole thing. His toy is being arrested by the CIA.’ She stated, gesturing to where one of the younger agents struggled to get Stephanie to her feet. Kellerin, sensing the mission was over, lowered his weapon.
‘I guess we have what some would call, check mate.’ Kellerin approached Madeline, and handed her his weapon. ‘And I’m very glad that it was you who finally caught me. I would have been insulted if it had of been one of the lesser agents.’ Madeline nodded slightly, acknowledging his compliment. ‘And I vouch for Mr. Randal…’
Ted Randal moved frantically around the room. ‘Shut up. Mr. President. The man is delusional. He thought he could take the White House, for Christ sake.’
‘Mr. Randal hired my self and the other men. He had Stephanie inform us of the CIA’s progress.’ Kellerin continued. ‘He gave no reason, for our employment. But I like a challenge. I took the job, I must admit, because I had an ulterior motive. Once I had the President I could discuss Russia and the US/Russia work treaty his government has signed with her. However it was with Mr. Randal’s assistance that my men and I walked in through the front door.’ He turned to face Ted Randal. ‘I thank you for that. If only everything could go so smoothly.’
At that moment the second of Rick’s men re-entered the office, dragging with him Samuel Timmons.
‘I found this one in the hall. He was planning an ambush.’ The young man said, handing Madeline her discarded suit. ‘Here, Madeline, I also found these.’
Madeline began to dress, keeping her back to Rick and the other agents. She didn't want them to know she was shot. The Presidential party watched in utter disbelief. Only yesterday I was planning a weekend at camp David, and deciding on which part of the gun bill I should re-assess. Now, I'm being saved by a woman in her underwear. God I love this country! William Watson thought.
Rick, grabbed Kellerin, from beside Madeline, and stated triumphantly, ‘Mission complete!’
As she pulled her skirt on, Madeline questioned evenly, ‘All hostages accounted for?’
‘Not one casualty!’ Rick answered her. Then he addressed Kellerin. ‘All terrorists are in custody, and on their way to our holding facility. Which is where, I might add, that you'll be in one hour. Along with your friends Teslovich, Ted Randal, and Samuel Timmons.
‘You mustn’t forget Angela.’ Kellerin stated.
‘What do you mean?’ Both Rick and William questioned at once.
‘I see by your recognition you got the photo, Mr President. Well, she’s been on Mr. Randal’s payroll for a while. The two of them they have been trying to destroy the world’s most famous marriage, for quite some time. I utilised her skills in an attempt to destroy an excellent partnership. I see that both attempts were futile. She is returning to Washington in two days. If you ask Mr Randal, he’ll tell you exactly where she lives.’
‘That’s enough Kellerin’ snapped Ted Randal. ‘Enough.’ glaring at him.
Rick returned his attention to Madeline, who was yet to face him. ‘See you in the van.’ She nodded. The two younger agents left, pushing Stephanie and Samuel before them. As they passed Madeline, she removed the com. unit from Stephanie’s ear. Rick followed, beside him walked a handcuffed Kellerin and a reluctant Ted Randal. As they reached the door, William Watson called to them.
‘Ted, why did you do this? Money? Power? You were my best friend. Why?’
‘It’s melodramatic, I’m afraid. I did it for love.’ Randal answered somberly.
‘What?’ William gasped.
‘My motive was plain and simple. If you were ‘accidentally’ killed in a terrorist situation, Gillian, the grieving widow, would turn to her husband’s best friend and Security Adviser, for comfort. By being a shoulder to cry on, I could claim what was once mine. Selfish, I know…’
William interrupted him. ‘ Surely were others. Angela? Stephanie? Someone?’ he stated.
‘Yes, but they weren’t the same. You have no idea how hard it is always being second to you. From College you were the one everybody noticed. You were the one everyone wanted to be near. Gillian included, even when she was with me. I was the third wheel. A tag along. For what it’s worth. I’m sorry.’ Randal lowered his head. It was the first sincere thought, and action he’d had in a long time. He also knew deep down, that a man in his position would only get five years in Minimum Security. Another facet of the nation, he relied on.
‘I’m sorry too, Ted. Sorry I didn’t realise this sooner. I could have saved these people a hell of a lot of time, if I had.’ William turned his back on Ted, and Rick, using it as his cue, removed Kellerin and Randal from the room.
Madeline finished buttoning her jacket in silence, and then raised Stephanie’s confiscated com. unit to her ear. She sent a message to the van. ‘Lychart, teams A and B returning to van. Inform Director Shaw, everything went as planned. Have a med. unit standing by, Please.’ Madeline, fully dressed now, turned to exit in pursuit of Rick.
William grabbed her arm, and stopped her.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked, glancing at the jacket now soaked with blood, on the left side, concern tinting his voice. ‘That's not important, Sir.’ Madeline stated, breaking from his grip. ‘What is, is the fact that the situation has been resolved. I’m sorry we did not get here sooner. All your staff are free. Paramedics have verified Kellerin’s statement that no-one was harmed during this take over. Enjoy the rest of the evening Mr. President.’ Madeline smiled, and then spun on her heels. Striding confidently from the room, she left a group of dazed onlookers staring after her. Only when she was in the lift, alone, did she acknowledge that she was shot, and that it did indeed hurt. She leant back against the wall, closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Well, one good thing came from all this, she thought, now I have an excuse to get some rest. She tried to smile, but the pain was too much.
* * * * * * *
Once Rick had escorted the prisoners to the waiting van he turned to see if Madeline had followed. Not seeing her he spoke to Lychart, who was in the middle of assembling a medical team. Rick noticed this and panic filled him.
‘None of the hostages were injured, neither was anyone in my team, what’s the med. unit for?’
‘Madeline requested it. I didn’t ask for a reason.’ Lychart replied turning back to his infrared sensor.
‘Where is Madeline?’ Rick’s voice betrayed him as his concern echoed through the van.
‘She said she was coming. I have her moving towards the lift, on the second floor….’
Rick cut him off. ‘She’s taking too long. I’m going back for her.’ He jumped out of the van and ran back across the lawn, and into the building. He came across the lift, but it was stationary, still two floors above. She should be in there by now, he thought. He pressed the buttons roughly, and then waited for what seemed like an eternity, for the lift to begin its descent. He was about to run for the fire stairs, when it began to move once more. It slowly travelled to the ground floor, and the doors opened. Rick caught his breath as he came face to face with Madeline’s unconscious form lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood.
‘Lychart, I have her. I’ll be back shortly. Have some O negative on standby. She’s lost a lot of blood.’ Rick stated into his com. unit as he entered the elevator. Rick bent down next to her, and placed his fingers against her throat. As he felt her pulse he released the breath he had been unconsciously holding since the doors of the elevator had opened moments before. ‘Madeline’ he whispered to her, ‘can you hear me?’
Madeline’s only response was the small action of drawing her tongue slightly across her lips, leaving a smudge of red.
Rick inhaled sharply as he saw the blood on her lips, fearing her wound was very serious, fatal in fact.
‘Madeline,’ he tried again to rouse her consciousness. ‘Don’t leave me, Madeline. I need you. Come on.’ Applying pressure to the gunshot wound on her chest with one hand, Rick tapped gently on her face with the other, hoping the contact would wake her.
Madeline’s eyes fluttered open slowly and focused on Rick. ‘I think he shot me’ she stated, smiling slightly.
‘I don’t see anything thing funny about this.’ Rick commented, somewhat confused by her attitude. ‘It’s certainly not a laughing matter.’
‘I’m not laughing. It hurts too much too.’ Madeline inhaled sharply and lapsed out of consciousness once more.
Gently Rick scooped Madeline up off the elevator floor. He swallowed hard as her face contorted with pain. He began to walk back to the van, slowly, being careful not to jar her.
CHAPTER 29
Marcus Shaw stood looking down at Madeline, sympathy and compassion filling his eyes. He had been standing at her bedside for nearly six hours now, waiting, watching for some sign that she was recovering. He had stood, next to Rick during the operation, while the surgeons removed the bullet. He had even considered threatening them with a gun, to ensure her survival. It had been Rick who talked him out of that action, reminding him that Madeline was strong, and her will to live, even stronger. After all she had been shot prior to his arrival, he had been in the office for at least ten minutes, and that she had not collapsed until after she was alone in the elevator. Only someone with courage and will –power could have pulled that off. ‘Only Madeline,’ Marcus had stated. Only Madeline, Rick agreed on that point, anyone else would have dropped at the moment the bullet impacted, I probably would have cursed a lot too he thought. But not Madeline.
Until a few minutes ago, Rick had been waiting and watching with him, but he had taken his turn to use the bathroom, and grab a coffee. They had been on shifts for the last six hours, neither wanting to leave Madeline’s bedside for longer than a few moments. Rick wanted to see to the wellbeing of his partner, as she had been injured on a mission, under his command, and the ramifications were great, should she die. Or, at least that was the story he had given Marcus. Marcus wanted to see Madeline alive and well again for purely personal reasons. If she wasn’t at work, near him every day, then he didn’t want to come to work either. Unless he saw Madeline, or talked to Madeline his life became meaningless. Marcus shuddered off pessimistic thoughts as Madeline moved slightly.
He watched in silence as Madeline swallowed slowly and raised her hand to her brow. She stretched, ever so slightly, the action causing the white sheets to pull tight across her body. Marcus’s attention fell to her restricted chest, wishing it wasn’t so restricted. She opened her eyes slowly to find herself looking up at Marcus. His heavy five-o’clock shadow confirmed her suspicions that he had not left her bedside, during her whole ordeal.
‘Hello?’ she stated evenly, as if she had just entered his office for the morning meeting.
‘Hi, how are you feeling?’ Marcus leant towards her, fumbling to hold her hand, to comfort her.
‘Fine, just a little tired.’
‘I told you I didn't want you to go on the mission, Madeline’ Marcus said, ‘You could have been killed. I could have lost you.’
Madeline shook her head, and glanced around the white tiled, med. bay. ‘Don’t get sentimental on me, Marcus. I wasn’t yours to loose in the first place. Besides, he didn't want to kill me. Look where he shot me. Kellerin's an expert gunman. You read the file, you should know that. At a distance of less than five metres, if he wanted me dead, I would be dead! I mean, on a woman, he even had a target.’ As Marcus's eyes trained on her breast Madeline coughed, regaining his attention to her face. She continued, ‘The doctors told me I've got two broken ribs. No organs were damaged, and I only had minimal blood loss, considering exactly where he shot me. He didn't want me dead. He was testing my pain endurance. It was anticipated. I compensated.’
Marcus moved closer to her bed, gripping her hand tighter as she tried to emancipate it from him. ‘Anyway, I'd just like to say, despite getting shot and all, good job, Madeline. Kellerin and his men are in prison, impending trial, and we have a team on stand-by to apprehend Angela Rowlands the moment she enters the country. Turns out she met Ted Randal when she accompanied Rick to a senate dinner some twenty years ago. Shortly after, she left Assistant Director Glazer and has pursued a secret romance with Randal ever since. Looks like another case is solved. Oh and President Watson wants to give you a medal.’ Marcus beamed proudly at her, forgetting once more that she wasn't one of his possessions.
At that moment Sebastian Lychart chose to walk into the med. Bay, carrying one of the largest bunches of pink and white, oriental lilies Madeline had ever seen. Dressed in his customary jeans and black t- shirt, a bandana wrapped around his head. His hair was tied back in a low pony-tail, and the heels of his leather boots clicked on the floor, punctuating his every step. He approached her bedside and upon handing Marcus the flowers he bent down and placed a light kiss on her cheek. ‘Hey Sassy, how ya feeling? You gave us quite a scare, ya know. I brought ya some flowers.’
‘I can see that. Thank you. They’re beautiful.’ Madeline smiled warmly at him.
He pulled a bloom from the
bunch. ‘You should smell it,’ he stated, offering it to her. Marcus buried his face into the rest of the bunch he held. ‘Just be careful.’ Lychart continued. ‘They smell nice, but the pollen stains.’ As if to illustrate this, Marcus pulled his head quickly from the flowers, to find his face covered in tiny patches of yellow pollen. He brushed at them, but only succeeded in spreading the powder. He gave Lychart a filthy look and thrust the bunch back into his arms. Lychart winked at Madeline as he placed the flowers on the table near her bed. ‘I’d better get back. Places to be. Bad guys to catch, Messages to read. You know.’
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