Hour 1
The crystal tumbler smashed to the floor and its shards drowned in the amber liquid that it had once contained.
Jed looked directly toward his wife of nearly forty years and his electric-blue eyes darkened, as did hers in reaction. Any words of reassurance whispered into his ear from either Leo or Ron were of little consequence to him, at that moment. He needed to tell her. She had to hear it from him.
"Jed?" By now, he had inadvertently demanded a captive audience and all eyes in the room focused on him. But it was hers, that he tended to first. Glass crunched beneath his feet, as he ambled toward his wife and stretched out both hands for her to hold. Lines of worry became etched upon her forehead, the possibilities were endless but whatever bad news Leo had delivered was most certainly not a matter of national security, or Jed would have flown from the room quicker than she could say 'terrorist threat'.
"Zoey's been taken." The three words any mother prayed she would never hear escaped Jed's lips before he had the opportunity to soften the blow they dealt.
"Mr. President, we need you in the Sit. Room." Barely five seconds passed, in order for Abbey to process the information, before Leo made his respectful but insistent request. Beside him, Ron Butterfield looked stoic as ever while he listened in to the intel delivered via his earpiece.
In spite of his reluctance to leave her alone, Jed forcefully pressed his lips to Abbey's forehead and dashed from the room, with Leo and Ron in his wake. His sudden exit caused her knees to buckle and Abbey almost let them collapse beneath her but she steadied herself with an arm that reached forward. The shadows that surrounded her had become mere blurred outlines of a human-form, no depth to their appearance and their words of concern resembled that of a dull buzz in her ear. "I need to call Liz." Her hand clutched onto whoever's arm had aided her balance like that of a vice and she inched forward in baby-steps, with no particular destination in mind.