Fitz was sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. He signed one of the documents that was pending his approval, put it back in the file and turned his chair to look outside. The sun was setting. It had been a beautiful May day but he had not seen much of it. He had been cooped up in his office all day aside from a quick lunch in the residence with Olivia. Things with Olivia were on the mends and she had finally agreed to move back into the residence and be by his side but on her own terms. There was no talk of marriage, at least not until he was president, she remained independent and working. Even though she was considered as "The First Lady" by being in a steady relationship with him, he was in no way to expect her to be anything like Mellie. She wasn't Mellie and if that was what he wanted then he should take Mellie back. Fitz didn't care, all he wanted was to have Olivia by his side!
There was a knock on the door and he pivoted his chair back as his assistant opened it.
"Excuse me Mr. President, I have General Sherwood asking to see you. He says it's urgent".
Fitz stood from his chair. "Show him in, please".
The assistant nodded as she left the door opened and told General Sherwood he could go in.
Fitz walked around his desk and met the General as he entered the Oval Office.
The men shook hands.
"Mr. President".
"General Sherwood. It's been awhile, how are you"?
"I'm fine Mr. President, thank you".
Fitz motioned to the sofas and both men sat across from each other.
"So, what can I do for you Michael"?
The General leaned across the table and placed a file on it. "It's more what I can do for you Mr. President".
He paused a moment before continuing. "It's about Operation Phoenix, Sir".
Fitz's heart started to beat faster as he leaned in to take the file the General had placed on the table. "What about Operation Phoenix"?
"The Phoenix has been located, Sir"!
Fitz's heart beat even faster.
He stood with the file in hand and walked over to the window. He didn't know whether or not he wanted to open it, he was afraid of what the outcome was.
"How sure are we that it is the Phoenix"?
"90% sure, Mr. President".
Fitz swallowed. "D or A"?
"A, is all we know for the moment Sir. We have no further details".
"Where"?
"In Zurbatiyah, a city in Iraq not far from the Iranian border".
Fitz nodded as he finally decided to open the file. He flipped through the different documents carefully as the General said nothing. He finally closed the file and turned to General Sherwood.
"I want an extraction of the Phoenix ASAP"!
Michael was not surprised by the President's request. Ever since the Phoenix had been located, he knew that this would be the next step. He already had men in the area waiting for his instructions.
"Naturally, Mr. President".
Fitz walked behind his office and place the file on his desk keeping on hand on it.
"How soon can we go into action"?
Michael stood and placed himself on the other side of Fitz's desk.
"Mr. President, I have a Navy Seals team in the area waiting for our instructions. The best would be to do it at night. So we are looking at between 20 to 22 hours from now".
Fitz felt like that would be forever but he knew that going in to early and unprepared was not the right solution either.
"Ok then, get your team ready. I want to be in the Situation Room and follow the whole operation as it unfolds. Now Michael, this is a highly confidential Operation. I only want the highest Military Officials in on this, no one from my staff, not even my Chief of Staff, is that understood"?
Michael nodded. "Of course Mr. President. As far as I'm concerned our meeting here is about allocating budget to the different US Military bases overseas".
General Sherwood headed for the door. "I'll let you know when we are ready, Mr. President".
Once Michael had left the office, Fitz walked over to the side table, grabbed a glass and served himself a scotch. He headed back to his desk and sat down. He looked again at the file on his desk and opened it. He once again flipped through the pages in the file. He took a big gulp of scotch as he felt his eyes were about to tear up.
The door opened and Olivia walked in. Fitz instantly closed the file and placed another one on it before she could see what was written on it.
She walked over to him, kissed him and leaned up against the desk by his side.
"You look like you've had a rough day. Are you Ok"?
He took her hand in his. "I'm fine, all I need is a quiet dinner with you, a long hot sexy shower with you and then a decent night's sleep"!
Olivia smiled at him. "Oh, a long hot sexy shower with me huh? Didn't we have one of those this morning"?
Fitz's serious face changed into a smile. "Who's counting"?
Olivia shrugged. "Not me, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't because you didn't remember how great it was this morning, that you wanted to have a long hot shower with me again".
He slid her alongside the desk and placed her right in front of him. "I do remember how amazing it was this morning, that's why you've got me asking for more"!
She leaned in closer to him. Almost pressing herself into him. "Tell you what, let's skip dinner and go right to mind-blowing sex! Are you finished for the day"?
His eyes grew bigger with excitement upon hearing her proposal. "You know I'm never finished working but if we don't go in that shower very fast, I'm going to take you on this desk and that could lead to a lot of problems"!
Olivia turned her head and looked at the position where the hidden cameras were. "Ok then, I'm giving you ten minutes to meet me in the residence and in the shower"! She kissed him passionately, just enough to make the heat rise and then she left the Office.
Fitz took another sip of Scotch, took the file on Operation Phoenix and placed it safely in one of his office drawers, before leaving the Oval Office and heading for the residence.
The next day he paced back and worth as he waited to hear from General Sherwood. Even if Olivia had given him an amazing work out and he had been tired from their passionately lovemaking he had not been able to sleep much. Olivia had been called in the office for an important new client and it was better that way. He skipped breakfast and lunch. He was so tense there would have been no way he could have kept something down. He pretended to work all day when people entered his office but his mind was elsewhere.
At 5PM his phone rang.
"Yes"?
"Mr. President, General Sherwood. We are ready and waiting for you in the Situation Room".
Fitz's hand shook as he held the receiver. "Thank you General, I'm on my way"!
He left his office and walked to the Situation Room followed by his detail of Secret Service agents.
As he entered the room he turned to them as well as the MPs. "No one is to come into this room".
Fitz closed the door behind him. He shook hands with General Sherwood and the remaining members of his team and sat down. The screen was on and they could see thanks to the infrared camera that the Navy Seals team was on standby waiting for the green light.
Michael looked at Fitz. "Sir, all they need is your go ahead and they are good to go".
Fitz joined hands and placed them to his mouth. Was it a prayer? Was it a last minute thought and making sure he was doing the right thing? No one knew but when he separated his hands and placed them flat down on the table, there was no doubt as to what they were to do.
"General please advise your men to retrieve the Phoenix and they have the authorization to fire back if fired upon".
Michael nodded and pushed on the intercom button. "Silver-Knights, you are a go for the mission. You have full authorization to fire back if fired upon. Do you copy"?
"Roger that General. Silver-knights are on the move".
Fitz watched the action unfold on the screen, barely able to breathe. He was literally sitting on the edge of his seat. He could hear his heart beating throughout his entire body as the Navy Seals did their job. Shots were fired, they fired back. They were calm and organized but you could feel the tension and the chaos of the moment. Doors opened, shots were fired, stairs were climbed, corridors were taken, at times they paused waiting for the opportune moment to proceed, then resumed.
Then the words he thought he would never hear took over the Situation Room.
"Phoenix is in custody; Silver-Knights proceed to the designated extraction point"!
The Navy Seals retreated and exited the building and met the choppers at the extraction point.
"General, this is Major Thompson. Mission complete, headed back to base. Over and out"!
The men in the room clapped and cheered at this more than exemplary mission.
Every inch of Fitz's body was shaking. What he had dreamed of for the past 10 years of his life had finally come true. The nightmare was over. It was time to bring the Phoenix home!