All the King's Henchmen

by Morgan Kelley

  He figured out what Gabe was saying.

  And he wasn’t happy.

  “Are you suggesting…?”

  Ethan smiled.

  “Well, you abducted Elizabeth, and you dragged her into this. The person who is behind this would know that her name would start a firestorm. The media loves her life. They are fascinated with our marriage, and what happens in our bedroom.”

  The new first lady looked disgusted.

  “Yeah, we’re kinky as fuck. Get over it,” he stated. “I have sex with two people at once.”

  She gasped.

  “Hey, now…”

  Ethan stopped him.

  “Whoever leaked this knew that she’d stir the pot, and that would give them a chance to hide in plain sight. Right now, she’s working on finding out what is going on. Like Gabe, I’ll put my money on that pony too. Not only is she pretty to look at, but she’s smarter than most people I know. She’s going to bring this one home, and when she does…after you just threatened our jobs, we are NOT going to keep it quiet. The FBI does NOT have to work in conjunction with the president and White House. That is a courtesy from us to you. Well, you, Mr. President part two, you can kiss my ass like your predecessor!”

  Gabe smiled and wiped a fake tear.

  “I trained him to be mean like that. It does me proud,” he said, patting Ethan on the back. If this man thought they’d quake in fear, he had another thing coming.

  This was far from over.

  “You, Mr. President, had the chance to give us the benefit of the doubt. NOW, when the truth comes out, and it always does, you’re going to have to own it. You’re the president. This…this is your mess. Congrats.”

  Ethan stood.

  “This smear campaign will NOT touch my wife. If this is my final year in this position, I will make sure I run interference for her. I will protect the office that I’ve been sworn to uphold. I may not be president, but I am second in charge of the FBI. You will not tarnish us.”

  Gabe joined him.

  “I hope you’re not behind this. I hope this wasn’t an elaborate plan to get into that seat,” he stated, pointing at the president’s desk. “If it was, we will find out, and we will bury you, Mr. President. Respectfully, of course.”

  “I don’t like…”

  “Let’s go, Ethan. From here on out, Gordon, any friendly compromise between the White House and the FBI is officially called off. We are going to do this the hard way, and that was your choice. See you in the media. Bring the lube. You’re going to need it!”

  And with that, they both buttoned their suit jackets and headed out. Raphael and Wilcox led and followed, clearing the way for them and protecting their backs.

  Outside, in the limo, Ethan laughed.

  “We just fucked ourselves royally. Funny, I don’t have any of the good afterglow after this one.”

  Gabe laughed.

  “Well, buckle up.”

  He poured them both whiskey.

  “What are you thinking?” Ethan asked.

  “Elizabeth isn’t going to wear the bull’s-eye on this one. She’s going to play nice.”

  He didn’t like where this was heading.

  “Uh, with who?”

  “The media. I smell a press conference, for which I think the president is going to really hate us.”

  He shook his head.

  Yeah, and so was Elizabeth. She may be getting a reporter to chew up and spit out, but then they’d return the favor right back at her.

  And she was going to hate that.

  BIG TIME.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Senator Hilda Forbes’s

  Office

  She had no choice but to wait for the Senator to arrive at work. At first, Elizabeth didn’t think she was going to show. Only, the woman’s assistant reassured her that she’d be there.

  Well, they were burning time.

  That made Elizabeth edgy and cranky, but then she remembered that the senator had been sexually assaulted less than a week ago.

  It was time to slow her roll and be kind. Taking a deep breath, she was ready for her.

  Before long, as they’d been reassured, the woman came in, and she looked like…hell.

  Jesus!

  Yeah, someone was barely holding it together.

  “Senator Forbes, Elizabeth Blackhawk is here to see you,” her assistant stated, warning her that she was there.

  The woman glanced over. The look in her eyes said it all. If she could bolt, she would—and Elizabeth didn’t blame her one-freaking bit.

  “I won’t take up much of your time, Senator,” she promised.

  She made up her mind.

  “Okay, give me a minute, and then you can come on in.”

  Elizabeth watched her staff scramble to get her some coffee, a box of tissues, and aspirin. Yeah, that said it all.

  The woman was a mess, and this would be tricky. This was going to be an interesting conversation, and Elizabeth had to tread lightly.

  She was a victim.

  When she and Callen were called back to the woman’s office, she was sitting behind her desk, and she looked shaky.

  “Senator,” she began but was cut off.

  “I know why you’re here.”

  Elizabeth took a seat and said nothing. If this woman wanted to do this her way, she’d cut her a break.

  It was the least she could do.

  “I saw the news today, and I know you’re investigating the president’s death. They might not have proof that he’s living or dead, but you being here says it all. He’s dead.”

  She wasn’t going to mince any words.

  “Yes, and I also know that he raped you.”

  She sat there, and tears filled her eyes. She didn’t even wipe them. She was in shock. Elizabeth had dealt with so many victims in her career. This was just one more in a long line of pain she only wished didn’t exist.

  “Yes, he did.”

  “Why didn’t you call the police?”

  She accepted a tissue from Callen as he held the box for her.

  “Thank you, Director. I know you too. I read your books. Is this going to be a plot?” she asked.

  “No, it’s not. While I may use some cases to inspire my books, I will never use rape to make money. Ever.”

  She wiped her eyes.

  “I appreciate that, Mr. Whitefox,” she stated. “Now, to answer your question, I was scared. I went there because he called me. I’ll start there. He called, and I’m new to the Senate. I was the dark horse in the election. I was this woman with very little political knowhow, but I somehow managed to get my state behind me.”

  They listened.

  “So, when he called me to say we’d be discussing the new law I was backing, I was happy. I thought that I’d be taken seriously. I’m not on big committees. I’m a freshman senator and a woman. I was naïve. Now, I wish I never came to this town.”

  Oh, they bet. They understood why she didn’t call the police.

  “Tell me about that day.”

  “I arrived, and I was escorted into the Oval Office. He was in there, and there was a chair waiting beside him. I figured we were working at his desk.”

  “Go on,” she said.

  It must have occurred to her that she was the only one having coffee, and she struggled to figure out what to do next. Her hands shook, and she was off balance.

  “I’m sorry. Would you like some coffee? I don’t know where my manners are.”

  “No, we’re good, Senator. Please continue.”

  She did.

  “I was wearing a raincoat. It was a shit day. I dropped my things on the couch and went around to shake his hand.”

  Elizabeth listened.

  She watched her mannerisms. Elizabeth studied her body language for anything off.

  It was all spot on.

  The senator was reliving that day and not lying.

  “We had some idle chitchat, and I should have known
something was wrong.”

  “Why?”

  “The place was empty. The whole office was empty. No Marines, no Secret Service, and no secretary. In fact, she wasn’t even at her desk outside the Oval Office. Just Secret Service people on the way there.”

  They listened.

  “So, he offered to help me with my raincoat. He was being a gentleman. I figured he was the president. Why not?”

  Callen was making notes.

  She hesitated.

  “He can’t hurt you,” Elizabeth stated. “He’s dead.”

  She was aware but telling her story could hurt her. She knew well enough that when a woman was raped, she became the vilified one.

  “He moved behind me to help me out of my raincoat, and I got tangled up with the belt or that’s what I thought. I thought I was caught on something. Until…”

  She waited.

  They waited.

  “Until I realized he’d wrapped the belt around my hands. He had my hands caught, and I couldn’t get free. Then he shoved up my skirt.”

  Tears continued to fall as she relived the entire thing there in her office.

  Elizabeth didn’t move. She knew enough to let the woman purge it.

  “He kicked my legs apart, and I was shocked. I didn’t know what was happening. I mean, I knew. All women know when someone, who is bigger than them, is going to hurt them, but I didn’t understand. Why was he…?”

  She sipped more coffee and wiped her eyes.

  “He forced himself into me. He raped me. I screamed for help. I begged for help. No one came. No one came to help me,” she whispered.

  Elizabeth hurt for her.

  “It took forever. I swear. The time didn’t move. It was the longest five minutes of my life. He had my hands between us, and he leaned over me, covering my mouth. Then he was whispering in my ear.”

  She knew she was going to have to ask her.

  “What did he say, Senator?” she asked, giving the woman her power back by using her title.

  “That he owned me now. That if I told anyone…if I said anything, he’d say it was consensual. It would be his word against mine. He’d make sure my career was ruined, and that I was labeled a slut. He told me he’d have the people I worked with, the senators he owned, make my life hell. He also said I’d disappear. He could end me. I would go there weekly, and I’d let him rape me because I should be home making babies instead of pretending to make this my world.”

  She sobbed.

  “I should have stayed home. I shouldn’t have tried to make a difference. As I was leaving, his wife saw me.”

  That hung there, but made sense. They’d argued.

  Elizabeth knew it was time. She stood and moved around the woman’s desk to crouch in front of her. Gently, she took her free hand in hers and held it.

  “Then he’s won. If you leave, he’s beaten you. As a woman, who gets the shit end of the deal because I have ovaries and breasts, I get it. What he did was disgusting, vile, and he deserved what happened to him. On that, we can agree. Only, now he’s gone, and you have to carry on. Help me find who killed him, so I can give him the legacy he deserves. This will all come out. I promise.”

  She wiped her eyes.

  “I didn’t hurt him. He raped me Friday morning, and I went right home. I couldn’t function. I couldn’t even work yesterday. I wasn’t going to come in today, but we have a vote later. I had to do this for my constituents.”

  She stared her in the eyes.

  “Who did you tell?”

  She sniffled but didn’t answer.

  “Are you seeing anyone?” Elizabeth asked, trying to put herself in this woman’s shoes. Who would she tell?

  Ethan.

  Callen.

  Chris.

  She nodded.

  “Who?”

  “I’m dating Rutherford Carter.”

  She didn’t have to say more. She knew the man. He was an attorney for the Justice Department. She’d worked with him before, and he was a decent man, fighting the good fight.

  Since she didn’t answer her question, regarding her telling Rutherford, she had to assume she did.

  “Was he with you all weekend?” she asked.

  She nodded.

  “We didn’t go to the function on Sunday. He only left me once,” she stated.

  “When?” Callen asked.

  “Saturday. He had to go to a niece’s birthday party. I didn’t attend. He was back after two hours, and we stayed in.”

  Elizabeth knew she was going to have to talk to him.

  There was no choice.

  “Can I go home?” she whispered. “I just want to go home and forget about this.”

  Elizabeth pulled out her card.

  “Absolutely. A missed vote won’t be the end-all. If you need me, or you think of something, call me. This is my personal number,” she stated, scribbling it on the back.

  Senator Hilda Forbes took it.

  “Thank you for not making this worse,” she stated. “Everyone says you’re tough, and you take no prisoners.”

  “I don’t beat the victims. I go after the bad guys. You didn’t lie to me. I have no reason to browbeat you.”

  She stood.

  “Can you walk me out?” she asked, looking at Callen. “I’m afraid to be alone. Can you make sure I get to my car? Please?” she asked.

  Elizabeth jerked her head to signal that he should do it for her. They both knew Ivan was outside of the office.

  She’d be safe.

  “Go ahead, Callen. I’ll be right here. I want to make a call,” she stated.

  When they were gone, she pulled out her phone. She needed another favor. A huge one.

  “Blackhawk.”

  “Hey, sexy man of mine, I need your help.”

  “Yes?” he asked.

  “I’m heading back in to pick up my gift of a reporter, and I know what would make that even better.”

  “What?”

  “I need to question an attorney. Specifically, a DOJ attorney.”

  He laughed.

  Then he realized she was dead serious and not yanking his chain.

  “Oh. Well…”

  “Only, I want to catch him off guard. I need to verify a senator’s story.”

  She told him what she’d learned.

  “And you want to make sure he wasn’t pissed and killed him?”

  “Yeah, can you work your magic for me?”

  He could, and he would.

  “I can get him here, Elizabeth. I’ll tell him that it’s related to some other case.”

  “Thank you.”

  “When you’re done, we have to talk.”

  “Bad talk, or good talk?” she asked.

  He laughed.

  And then hung up.

  Yeah, that meant only one thing.

  A bad one.

  Well, hell.

  That was the story of her life—unfortunately.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Morgue

  Wednesday Mid-Morning

  Mid-Autopsy

  Wilma Morton, also known as Sugar Baby, or Ginger Snap, had died a horrible death. There was no denying it. While her wounds were not as vicious as the president’s, they still told the tale.

  Someone had their hate on.

  That was clear and evident with the horrible way she had left this world.

  Wilma hadn’t died fast. Unfortunately, there was blood in her lungs, and that meant she’d actually suffered as she drowned.

  That was a truly shitty way to go.

  As a follow-up to that, being beaten with a baton wasn’t exactly fun either.

  “Christina, how’s the trace going?” Chris asked, making sure his team was doing the job.

  “I’m processing it. The boss will be both happy and pissed,” she offered.

  “Why?” he asked. “No one likes her when you make her angry with forensics. It ties her knickers, as she calls them, in a vicious twist.”
<
br />   Oh, she knew.

  “A baton was definitely the weapon used on the dead hooker.”

  “And?”

  “Since that’s not a common thing, it makes it more valid that whoever leaked that fact is actually the killer. They did the deed.”

  “Well, she’ll appreciate that you tied up any possible loose ends. You know how she doesn’t like to guess at these things.”

  Yeah, she was aware.

  The lab became silent again.

  Everyone was focused.

  As the two doctors worked on the body, getting samples for testing, and filling out the paper charts, they were moving along at a good pace.

  It was surprising that Elizabeth hadn’t been back to ride their asses. She must have been incredibly busy. Chris kept expecting her to pop in to torment him. That was totally her thing, and honestly, he really didn’t mind. He never did. Having her around was cathartic.

  Only, now, her absence gave them a window to get things done—meaning if they weren’t finished by the time she arrived, there would be hell to pay.

  As they were doing the normal protocols, out of the blue, Dalia began some light banter. Chris was barely cognizant of it. He was thinking about Elizabeth and the case.

  “So, what do people do for fun in DC?” she asked, getting his attention.

  Chris laughed.

  “Clearly, they go out and buy hookers,” he said, pointing at the victim.

  She laughed.

  “You’re pretty funny. When you interviewed me, I thought you were going to be stuffy and straight-laced.”

  “I am stuffy and straight-laced. Today is the aberration, not the rule,” he said, making slices of the woman’s liver to send out. “Normally, I’m all kinds of stuffy, right, Chrissy?”

  “You are the king of stuffy,” she teased. “His crown is out getting buffed.”

  “Yes, yes, it is,” he admitted as he worked.

  They went back to work, but it wasn’t long before Dalia was talking again.

  “Want to get a drink sometime?” she asked.

  Chris glanced up.

  That had caught him way off guard.

  He’d never seen that one coming.