by JC Ryan
“That’s an excellent idea, Ms. President! Give me a couple of days to work out a strategy and get back to you?”
“That would be good. Thank you, Carrie, you’re doing a great job.” The President smiled.
As she and Carrie left the conference room, Laurie saw Cliff Willis and excused herself from Carrie’s side saying, “I look forward to seeing your strategy, Carrie!”
Laurie made small talk with Cliff until she saw Carrie board the elevator to return to the main floor of the East Wing. When the door opened again and Carrie didn’t reappear, she asked Cliff to accompany her back to the conference room.
“Cliff,” she said, “Hayden’s forces will attack the correctional facility at Chesapeake tonight. Were all the inmates relocated successfully?”
“Yes, ma’am. The regular inmates are being held temporarily at the local jail.”
“Good; let’s start moving the staff out of there—I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Have them put on their civilian clothes as instructed and slip out unnoticed - alone or in small groups. I want the building empty when Hayden’s forces get there.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll start moving them out now.”
Chapter 22- Give the order
General Hayden was waiting in the hotel room for his mistress. He was excited, Carrie Trent was an energetic woman, but that was not the only reason for his excitement, it was also D-day. He had decided to attack the Chesapeake prison facility at 11:30 pm, get the prisoners out and execute them. While everyone was concentrating on the executions, he was going to launch the attack on the White House.
By one o’clock tomorrow morning, I’ll be President Hayden.
When Carrie walked into the room, Hayden put his whiskey down and started to unbutton his shirt. “You might want to hold onto that thought for a moment. Campbell knows you are planning an attack on the White House, Tom.”
“What! How did she find out about that; or is she just guessing?”
“I just left a meeting where she told us that they had received information that you are planning an attack. I assume that means someone told her.”
“Aw shit! I’ve got a damn traitor in my group,” he said with exasperation. “That’s all I need. I’ll have to hunt him down and get rid of him.”
She moved closer to him, drawing her fingers gently across his chest. “She’s made escape plans,” Carrie pouted.
He looked at her inquisitorially, “And you know what those plans are?”
“Of course, I do! She and Rossler are going to use decoys! And I know exactly how.”
“Oh, you clever and devious woman!” he rejoiced. “You are one sly little fox; you know that, don’t you?”
“I’d do anything for you, Tom. You know that.”
“If I didn’t before, I do now! So, tell me, what is her plan?”
“There are designated escape routes on all sides of the White House. People will be able to escape in one of four directions, and each group will have decoys pretending to be her and Rossler.”
“Ha!” Hayden smirked. “Fat chance of that!”
“She, Rossler, and six agents are going to slip through the old Reagan tunnel through to the Oval Office and access the tunnels to the Blair building, exit from the back and be picked up near the alley on 17th street. From there they will go to Andrews and board Air Force One.”
“Andrews! With my troops there? Is she crazy?”
“She thinks that you will have removed most of your troops by that time because the prisoners aren’t there anymore.”
“She’s going to be in for a big surprise, isn’t she?” he laughed, “And all because of you!” he added, kissing her on the nose.
“But I think she’s really going to go to Anacostia, everything she told us at the meeting about her escape was just smoke and mirrors.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I overheard her tell Rossler to be sure their plane at Anacostia was ready to go; Rossler confirmed it was and added that the back-gate entrance had been arranged.”
Hayden looked at her with admiration. “She thinks she’s so smart. We’ll just have to see about her little scheme. I’ll have that back gate under such heavy guard she’ll never get away. She won’t be going anywhere near Air Force One or any other plane for that matter!”
“I guess we won’t be having any of the usual fun tonight then?” Carrie smiled.
“Unfortunately, not my dear. I’ll have to make a few adjustments to my plans. But tomorrow night you can have as much fun as you want with the new President of the United States of America.” He grinned with a faraway look in his eyes.
“I’m holding you to that, Tom.”
***
Outside NAVCONBRIG Chesapeake, otherwise known as the Navy’s Joint Regional Correctional Facility Mid-Atlantic, a crowd of close to three thousand civilians, Hayden’s troops, and news media alike listened eagerly for General Hayden to give the order to retrieve the prisoners. They were going to show the world what true American justice was like.
Hayden looked around him at the mass of people gathered and filled with pride. True Americans, everyone – they know a leader when they see one! Together we’ll set the whole world straight.
He’d prepared a lengthy speech for this moment but was anxious to get to the executions. I think I’ll just keep it short and simple.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to thank those of you who are here to show your support as well as all the volunteers who have joined my forces! I prepared a speech for tonight, but I’m going to keep it short instead so that we can get on with administering justice.
“And that’s exactly what we are going to do! We’re going to show the world what true Americans are like! We are willing and able to do our part and more to set the whole world right—starting with the execution of that mass murderer John Brideaux and his despicable Council.”
He had to pause several times during his short speech due to all the cheering. At the end, he had to wait nearly two minutes for the shouting and stirring fever that moved through the crowd to subside enough for them to hear his order.
“Move out!”
With screams and shouts, waving their fists and weapons in the air, the crowd rushed the entrance of the facility and paused momentarily while a few of the front runners broke through the doors. Then they poured into the building and spread out to find the prisoners.
Within ten minutes his Captain reported in.
“Sir, they aren’t here; there’s no one here.”
“What do you mean there’s no one here. This is a staffed prison facility.”
“Yes, sir, but it isn’t now.”
Hayden shoved the Captain aside and stormed through the doors bellowing like an angry bull. “They’re here somewhere! You incompetent idiots just have to find them!”
Thirty minutes later, exhausted from rage, Hayden sat alone on a couch in the lobby of the facility muttering to himself and looking slightly deranged.
“She did this. She hid them from me—again. Somehow that bitch hid them from me. She won’t get away with this. I’ll hunt her down; her and the prisoners. I’ll hunt them all down and kill them.”
By the end of what started as muttering, he was on his feet, pacing the room, screaming. He kicked waste cans, picked up chairs and threw them, overturned a table, scattering magazines across the room, and put his foot through a wall. “I’ll kill them all!” he raged.
Storming out of the building into a circle of reporters, he pulled himself up abruptly to give the appearance of authority and control. He stopped and thought for a moment before addressing the crowd.
“Our President has seen fit to deceive the American people! Again!” he shouted. “She lied to us all about the prisoners! She lied to her own people to protect murderers.”
The crowd yelled angrily in response, punching their fists in the air and waving their protest signs.
“Our President has chosen to protect men and women who have commit
ted heinous crimes against humanity rather than listen to the voice of the people of America and the world. She has put herself above all of us! By doing so, she has joined the ranks of those who have committed these atrocities.”
The yelling of the crowd drowned him out for several minutes. He reveled in the feeling of power he had over the crowd.
“She must be stopped! We must show her how we feel—we will not be led around by the nose! This ends now! Tonight!”
With that Hayden was nearly knocked over and trampled as the crowd swarmed the building, breaking windows, tearing out doors, smashing furniture, uprooting plants, and destroying anything and everything they could get their hands on.
Fights broke out in the streets between the enraged and the curious. News crews were knocked about as they filmed the carnage, broadcasting it around the world.
And the nation responded. Supporters of Hayden took to the streets attacking government buildings and those who supported President Campbell. Self-defense became violent of necessity and streets all across the nation became battlefields in a civil war.
Hayden grinned as he took in the scene around him. “It’s time to take the White House,” he said to his second in command. “Give the order.”
Chapter 23- Now what?
Hayden picked the perfect time to move on the White House. When he and his second in command arrived, protesters were trying to break down or climb the fence, and many were shot. As the bodies began to pile up along the fence, others stepped on the bodies and jumped over the fence, many of them were shot before their feet hit the ground. The bodies of those who made it a little further soon dotted the lawn.
Many inside the White House had gathered in the Situation Room, watching the news on TV in horror as the crowds swept in like a tidal wave. Those in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center watched as well. Cars were overturned, smoke from burning buildings filled the air, brutal fighting was everywhere, and bodies lying dead or injured in the streets and yards.
“They’ve broken through! They’ve broken through!” Rick and another Marine guard ran through the White House toward the East Wing shouting the warning to all present.
Household staff scattered and Secret Service agents took up their assigned defensive positions, calling a warning over the radio to those agents assigned to the President.
Daniel felt someone grabbing his left his arm, propelling his body forward even before he could make his feet work properly. He stumbled and found himself held by his arms and moving at a dead run.
“We’ve got you sir, just keep moving!” the Secret Service Agent said.
Despite the confusion of the flight from the Presidential Emergency Operations Center from six levels below ground, Daniel saw that Laurie was ahead of him amongst a group of Agents accompanied by two Marine guards and an Air Force officer.
As soon as they stepped out onto level five, they encountered gunfire and heard shouting. “Down! Get down! Hit the deck!”
Chips of plaster rained down as bullets struck the walls, the twang and crack of bullets hitting metal and wooden doors rang out, and the air smelled of gunpowder and blood. Several agents lay dead on the floor, and others were firing back at the intruders from their fallback positions.
Hayden must have gathered more troops to have gotten far enough into the White House to push the agents to fallback positions already. Daniel thought.
The group divided. Daniel watched the decoys slip away and open the secret panel that accessed the old Reagan tunnel leading to the Oval Office. Hunkering down even further as a bullet struck the wall inches above his head. He sent up a silent prayer for the brave souls that were putting their lives on the line so he and Laurie could escape. Even as he prayed, he saw one of the agents fall.
He started to move toward the man but felt himself restrained. “We have to help him,” he said.
“That’s not our job sir. We are to protect you. Others will help him.”
Daniel was propelled forward again. “Who?” He shouted looking back toward the fallen man.
“Others sir, keep moving.”
A door opened in the wall further down the hall, and the President and her agents disappeared through it. The Air Force officer was close on their heels but suddenly fell to the floor, blood and brain tissue pouring from what was left of his head.
Daniel saw a young girl with a serving tray at her feet cowering in a corner nearby. “Come on!” he yelled.
She rose to join them; her face streaked with tears. Daniel tried to halt to reach out to her, but the agent beside him jerked and fell to the floor as a bullet hit him and he went down. As the remaining agents forced Daniel through the door—he saw one of them grab the girl by the hand and haul her with them.
“Secure the door!” One of the agents yelled. “The rest of you keep moving. Go, go, go!”
They were in the tunnel to the US Treasury building, running as fast as they could, Daniel and Laurie still in the center of their protective circle of agents.
***
When Jack saw the people breaking the fence and streaming onto the premises, he pulled out his mirror phone and called Sam.
“This is it! The perimeters have been breached; the evacuation is in progress.”
“Understood,” Sam said. “Get them out and good luck.”
“We will Sam,” Jack replied.
He and Peter waited in the car on the East side of the US Treasury building. They could see the car sent for the decoys just ahead of them and expected to see them emerge any moment, followed shortly by the President and Daniel.
Instead, the street began to fill with vehicles and people – Hayden’s troops – swarming the area carrying baseball bats, pitchforks, chains, swords, whips, ropes, and anything else they could find to use as a weapon.
“Uh oh – this isn’t good,” Peter said. “They’ll never get out that way.
Jack watched in dismay as Hayden’s troops swarmed up the stairs to the entrance doors of the five-story building. It was only moments before the four doors gave way and Hayden’s troops rushed into the building. “Call them, warn them!”
Peter already had his phone out calling Daniel.
Jack was on his phone to Sam.
“I can’t reach Daniel! He’s not answering!” Peter shouted.
***
Hayden and his troops were waiting in the Oval Office when the decoys emerged from the tunnel. His men shot and killed the first two agents that came through the door and captured the rest. They were unable to turn back as Hayden’s troops had followed them into the Reagan passageway.
Looking at the decoys for Laurie and Daniel, Hayden exploded “She tricked me! She tricked me again! The lying bitch! I’ll kill her!”
“Where are they General?” One of the men asked.
“Where do you think they are, moron! They lied to us! They’ve taken another way out of the White House. Some of you follow me to the East Wing; we’ll check the tunnel leading to the Treasury building. The rest of you spread out and check the other exits. Find them!”
The decoys were completely forgotten as the General and his troops ran out of the Oval Office and down the hall toward the East Wing.
Several members of the staff had been herded into the room adjoining the Oval Office when the alarm was given. They and the two agents who were guiding them were headed for the parking lot of the West Wing when they had to hide quickly because they heard Hayden’s men approaching.
Fortunately, the door between the room and the Oval Office was closed, or they would have been discovered if Hayden’s men had taken the time to check the area. Instead, they overheard the scene in the Oval Office.
As soon as they heard Hayden and his men leave, one of the staff members said, “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
“Come on!” one of the agents said and he left the Oval Office running toward the West Wing exit.
“Is it safe outside?” someone questioned as they ran.
“We won�
��t know until we try,” someone else answered.
When they reached the exit to the parking lot, they stopped short. It was full of Hayden’s troops. Their flashlights and burning torches gave off an eerie light in the darkness that sent chills along several spins as the group looked out on the site in dismay.
“Now what?” someone asked.
“This way,” one of the Secret Service agents spoke up. “Follow me; hurry!” And he headed back the way they came.
Chapter 24- They’re going to need some help
“I’m telling you, right now no one knows where they are, Luke; it’s like they just disappeared into thin air!”
“They have to be somewhere, Jack, find them!” Luke was trying hard not to lose his temper, but things were finally starting to get to him, the disappearance of both the President and the Vice President had put him over the top.
Sam stepped over and put his hand on Luke’s shoulder to calm him. “Let me talk to him for a moment, Luke.”
Jack was on speaker phone—the polite gesture helped to distract and ease Luke slightly.
“Sorry Sam,” he said stepping away, “go ahead.”
“Jack, give me a run-down of the situation.”
“Peter and I were on site as planned, but I guess the ruse with the decoys didn’t work—Hayden’s people arrived shortly after I talked to you and broke through the doors of the Treasury.
“We stayed on site just in case they were able to find a way out, but no one came out. We’ve been trying to reach Daniel, but he isn’t answering his phone. The Tectus members on the other side …”
But that was as far as he got before Sam interrupted.
“Wait, wait a minute, Jack. What do you mean no one came out? The decoy team should have come out at least.”
“I’m telling you, Sam; something went wrong. Absolutely no one came out of that building, not even Hayden’s people.”
“What?”
“The Tectus surveillance team is telling me that no one has exited the White House—or any other building in the area, Hayden is barging around like an enraged bull—it seems he can’t find them either, and he’s mad as hell.”
