Mellie fixed her deep red dress as the presidential car slowed to a stop in front of the building. A big white banner hung in the entrance to the gala. She fiddles with her pearl necklace, not ready to put on her first lady mask just yet. She and Fitz yet again had a heated argument before they left; words were exchanged, hearts were stung. She wasn't sure which words hurt her the most, but those words blanketed around her chest in a fashion that she almost couldn't breathe. She didn't know what was wrong with her, she could usually shake them off a while before she had to speak in an important dinner or appear at a national convention. But today, the blanket held firmly in place and she was nervous. She took a deep breath as cameras began flashing through the closed windows and hesitantly put on her mask. Fitz, who looked at her for the first time since the entire trip, nodded and opened the door. Lights flooded through the door as he stepped out. Mellie waited a moment longer, blinking back glazed eyes, put on her First Lady smile and firmly turned the door handle and stepped out.
They fell to their familiar pattern and waved to the public. She walked towards Fitz, who was next to the entrance. She took his hand and smiled as bright as she could while they waved to the public, an array of camera flashes blinking back at them. After a moment, they walked to the building and after a final wave, entered the warmly lit building. A long strip of red carpet in the lobby led to the main function room where the gala was held.
When they entered the room, Mellie's eyes widened at the beautiful, elegant décor. The windows were draped with white curtains, the round tables flirting with splashes of gold and white. Almost no one was sitting, although the room was nearly filled as government officials stood and chatted away in expensive dresses and suits, standing next to them were their wives and husbands. Mellie and Fitz shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with a few government officials. They were in the middle of talking with the governor of New York and his wife when Mellie excused herself. God, she needed to breathe. After flashing a charming smile, she left and headed for the bathroom.
A secret service agent silently guarded the door as she went in. To her relief, no one else was in the bathroom. She took off her high heels and lightly massaged her already aching feet. Assured her shoes wouldn't get stolen in the bathroom, she neatly placed them under the sink and went to a stall. After she washed her hands, she looked in the mirror. Her glossy curly brown hair caressed her shoulder, her red dress further proving her excellent taste in clothing – Mellie's name being mentioned in the same breath with Jacqueline Kennedy in newspaper articles amongst other well-dressed First Ladies. Her vivid, red lips a striking match to her dress. Alone in the bathroom however, her mask disappeared. In one blink, her eyes were yet again glazed with tears. Come on, just keep it together, Mellie, she said quietly. She looked down at her hands and fiddled with her rings, which were slightly shaking. Fitz' words wrapped ever so slightly against her chest and soon, it was hard to breathe again. Her other hand curled into a fist in frustration as a tear rushed down her cheeks. Another came rushing down, and another. She stomped her foot in frustration, her chest physically hurting. She put her hand through her hair and looked in the mirror. God, she thought. She was a mess. Her hair was no longer polished and proper and her face looked red and pale. God, what the hell am I doing? She thought. She shook her head, feeling pathetic and so tired.
"Madame First Lady, is everything all right in there?" the agent said, his silhouette visible from the door.
"Yes, Colin. Just give me a minute and I'll be finished." Mellie said. She took a deep, ragged breath. She flashed her smile in the mirror and opened her clutch, reaching for her make up. She reapplied her makeup, fixed flyaways, tucking them inside her glossy curls and applied her lipstick. Slowly, her breathing evened. Feeling almost herself, she put on her heels as the mask was carefully sealed. Taking one more look in the mirror, she evened out her dress one more time and flashed a smile as she opened the door.
"Ready, ma'am?" Colin asked, his eyes scanning the floor.
"Ready."
Unable to find Fitz, she walked around the room alone, the agent disappearing by the door. A few officials exchanged pleasantries with her but she pushed forward through the swirling dresses and firm suits. The gala stretched from two enormous rooms, all the way to the second floor. Each room displayed a large, intricate chandelier, as well as soft classical music gently setting the atmosphere. A few more government officials said their polite hellos until she reached the stairs to the second floor. The sweeping, white marble staircase was a view itself. Polished black handles with sophisticated patterns on the side framed the staircase and she walked gracefully up to the second floor. Another enormous and busy ballroom welcomed her. Her eyes panned across the crowd, looking for someone she knew. A flash of red hair caught her eye. She walked up to Abby, who was wearing a beautiful, close-fitted emerald green dress. Her curled hair laid smoothly down her shoulders. She looked incredible.
"Abby!" Mellie said, flashing a charming smile in her first lady façade. "Oh, thank goodness you're here. I was just looking for Fitz. Have you seen him around?"
Abby, slighty surprised said, "Madame First Lady. I'm sorry, I haven't seen the president. Would you like me to call someone for you to find out where he is?"
"Oh no, that's alright. I think I have a pretty good guess who's he's w-" Mellie saw a flash of something on Abby's left. It was a sparkle of a clutch. Her eyes followed the woman's clutch, to her flowing white dress and she knew who it was. Olivia.
After a moment, Mellie said as brightly as she could, "Olivia! I didn't know you were going to be here."
Olivia smiled politely and said,"Mellie." The two looked at each other in a piercing gaze, mouths still smiling at each other. Abby felt uncomfortable.
"Well… I best be going. At least I can tick off one person in my list who isn't with Fitz." Mellie chuckled. "For a change." She added, under her breath. As she started moving past through the crowd once more, several things happened once.
A loud crash echoed from the top of the staircase. Someone screamed. Half a dozen black-clothed men broke through the window. They shot several guards who were standing by the door and rushed downstairs in one swift motion in one file, a gun accompanying each hand, each person unidentifiable with their black mask. Half a dozen more rushed into the second floor ballroom and shot several more people; guards or secret service agents, Mellie wasn't sure. Everything happened in blurs and flashes, accompanied by screams and shots through the air. The scene was a complete chaos as more windows in the ballroom smashed, bullets flying through the air from outside and shooting unsuspecting secret service agents and guards in the room. The two mahogany doors into the ballroom was slammed shut and locked by one of the black clothed men. Mellie could hear a similar commotion in the floor below. There were muffled screams and shots flying through the air. Fitz, she thought.
"If you don't follow our orders, you will be shot." The man said in a loud, demanding voice. The remaining men gathered around the man, their guns pointed straight at the crowd. People gasped, some screamed. The crowd quickly dispersed, backing away as quickly as they could. Some who were shocked by the sudden change of events, tripped and were crawling back quickly – wearing a terrified face.
"Relax, everyone. I have to admit, when we planned to come here, the theatrics of a dramatic entrance appealed to me. I wanted to see your usually pompous and important-looking faces looking goddamn terrified." He said. His eyes scanned the room. "And boy, did we fucking do it right."
Fortunately, Mellie was far from the masked men. She was in a corner near the back, a safe distance from the masked men. Her hand which was trembling slightly, covered her mouth. Unfortunately, she wasn't far enough to not see the sprays of blood covering some of the men's clothes. She backed away slowly. She wanted to scream. Or cry. Or both. Where was Fitz?
The masked men made their way towards the podium, and the leader of the group stood behind the microphone.
"Call me John." He said. He scanned the room yet again. He stopped and looked at a man who was hovering in front of the Governor of New York and his wife only ten metres away from her. He raised his gun. One shot to the head. Mellie gasped, eyes wide with horror. She was shaking. She felt someone tug at her arm from behind.
"Another agent down." He said. "Find more. Kill them all, you know the drill." He pointed at two masked men who nodded and started walking around the room. Mellie felt someone tug at her harder, although she was too terrified to turn around and see who it was.
"We don't intend on killing civilians, unless you're stupid enough to go against us. Although, if you're agents bleeding out on the floor right now who are trained to kill people like us, well, that's a different story." the man chuckled. "We came here to find two people. Now, if you tell us where they are, we won't kill you. Simple as that. If we find out that any of you try to hide either one of them, trust me. You will die before you take another breath. If you withhold any information about their whereabouts, you will die. I could go on, but my patience is running thin. Now where is the President of our great nation and his darling First Lady?"
"HERE!" yelled one of the men to his partner patrolling the room. The man pulled someone from the back of the room. The masked man held the person by the arm and shot him. Several people cried out.
"Just another agent." The man exclaimed, wiping the blood off his face. He ignored the whimpering lady next to him, whose body was turned away and continued walking.
Mellie was crouching, shielding her face from the view. She could barely control her trembling hands as she covered her face. She whimpered quietly. The rest of someone else's blood had sprayed all over the back of her dress, some landing on her face. An agent was killed right behind her and she was too slow to cover her eyes. She had seen it all. She was still shaking as she wiped some of the blood from her face, her eyes shining with tears. She glanced at the dead man. It knocked the wind out of her as she recognised – barely – the bloody face of Colin, her personal secret service body guard. She tried desperately to cover the sound as she cried out in horror, eyes wide and her bloody hand never leaving her trembling mouth.
In one swift motion, someone tugged at her arms, hid her in one corner away from the men in masks and told her to keep very quiet.
Thanks for reading! Thoughts?