Wilson's death came as a shock to everyone and it hit the president particularly hard. And whatever afflicted him, afflicted Angel. There was no question that she and Asher shared a special relationship, one more unique than that which existed with her previous owners. Perhaps it had to due partly with the fact that they saw each other as equals. Angel was the GOAF and rightfully so while he was the CiC. He could order her to do something and she would follow it without question. But if she told him something relevant, he would listen. Except for this time.
"Sir, I don't like this one bit." Angel growled. "There are 40 world leaders attending this funeral and to have all of you there in one place..." "This is a state funeral for our closest ally plus Wilson was a friend of mine. He deserves my presence at the very least." Asher replied. They stood just outside Angel's hanger at Andrews Air Force Base as the 747 took on the fuel she needed for the journey. "If he was such a close friend, I'm sure he'd understand if you chose not to go." She said. Asher sighed, rubbing his forehead before turning to his plane. "Angel, can you find me one good reason why I should not attend?" He asked. Oh Angel could think of hundreds but not of which were relevant. They were all conjecture, for now at least. Her silence was his answer. "Thought not. Look, while I'm in the air I have you. When I'm on the ground I have these guys." He gestured to the secret service agents that surrounded them both and the unseen snipers adorning the rooftops. "I couldn't be safer." Sighing, she nodded. "I know that sir it's just, I've got a bad feeling about this." "You always have a bad feeling about foreign trips Angel." He chuckled, patting her nose gear. She huffed. "I'm serious!" "And so am I. It'll be fine Angel. Trust me." He assured. "Of course I trust you. It's the others I'm worried about. A last minute trip like this without the proper time to plan... at least let me move our schedule up a bit without announcing. Surprise is always the best defense element." She begged. Asher didn't feel that his time of arrival was all that important but when Angel got worried like this, flying always made her ill and he doubted people would appreciate bile tainted jet fuel landing on their rooftops. So, if it made his plane feel a bit better... "Alright, fine. Plan however you want. Just get me to Stansted, Angel." He asked. She nodded. "Can do sir." She replied, her worry subsiding for the time being. Her instincts however, were still telling her to be afraid and she knew better than to ignore them.
Asher's decision to give his plane her head a bit worked for just as long as the flight lasted. As soon as they were on the ground, she was right back to her old pestering self again. "At the very least double your security. Pull some of my detail away, I don't care. You're more of a target than I am and I'm not as defenseless as you are." "I'll ignore the underhanded jab at my innate human frailness if you just shut up!" Asher groaned as he stepped down the stairs. She huffed and he could see that he'd offended her but he had more pressing issues to deal with. Asher headed towards his car but Angel wasn't quite done yet. "Sir, if you would please just..." He rounded on her. "GOAF, attention!" He roared and Angel instantly snapped to. He walked up to her nose. She wasn't looking at him, her gaze was fixed on something far out in the distance in the standard "thousand yard stare" that was mandatory in the military. "I've read and reread over every report my security detail has provided me with. There is nothing, nothing! They haven't accounted for." "They can't possibly have..." She tried. She'd never interrupted the president before which showed just how seriously she felt about this situation. Unfortunately, Asher was too angry to notice. "Quiet!" He roared. "Now I've heard enough from you. We'll continue this discussion about your insubordination later." And with that he angrily left in his vehicle. Angel sighed, kicking the tarmac beneath her in frustration. "You okay Angel?" Mike asked her. He, like everyone else in earshot, was stunned at what he'd just witnessed. "It's not like you to question the commander in chief." "Commander Ingalls," She sighed, addressing him by rank and she gave him a glare that told him he should do the same. "In my years of service there is one thing I've learned and that is to trust my instincts." "You think this might be a trap?" He asked. "I know it's a trap! It smells like a trap. It feels like a trap! And I've just let our commander in chief walk right into it." She growled. "You tried to warn him. At this point it's his own fault if he gets killed." Mike said, trying to keep her from berating herself too much. It worked, just a little bit too well. She rounded on him, teeth bared. "Our job is to protect the president." She growled. "Now you get your planes fueled up and ready to leave. And contact the Marine flight and have them keep constant areal surveillance over the Cathadral. I'm going to deal with security."