Déjà vu
Author's Note: I bring you my newest story! I must admit I was super excited about this idea because it could turn out absolutely amazing if I got it right. I'm not totally sure I did, and I'm not 100% satisfied with the later stuff, but hopefully it still hits the mark well enough.
Chapter One
"Mr. President, the Secretary of State's plane just went down over the Atlantic."
Conrad stood frozen in shock and completely dumbfounded. It had to be some sick, twisted version of déjà vu. He couldn't be hearing those words again. Hearing them but certainly not processing them. They were too similar, and it just wasn't possible. He had to be reliving another conversation. One that had started almost identically.
"What did you just say, Russell?"
"The Secretary of State's plane just went down over the Alps, Mr. President."
Not identical, no, but almost sickeningly so.
"Elizabeth's plane?" he asked.
He knew the answer to that. He knew. It couldn't be anything else. Yet he had to be sure.
"Yes, Mr. President," Russell returned in resignation.
Conrad didn't need to hear or see anymore. There was no joking in Russell's eyes. Just a deep pain. He buried his head in his hands.
"Dear God, this can't be happening."
"Can't be, but it is."
Russell didn't like it any more than Conrad did, but they both had to face the fact that they could have lost a second Secretary of State. When Conrad finally looked up he was grey faced but clearly prepared to face the situation.
"Tell me Bess is alive."
"We don't know if anyone survived. Not yet. They're working on satellite images now."
"Have they determined a cause?"
"No, sir."
"Then we have a lot of work to do," Conrad began. "Pass the information along to those who need to know. Then get everyone in the situation room and meet me there."
"Yes, sir, Mr. President."
As Russell left the room Conrad closed his eyes for a brief moment. If there was any chance at all that Bess – or any of the others that had been on the plane – was alive then they needed to act fast. Any survivor could easily die from the elements or their injuries if they weren't rescued quickly. He had to think that there were survivors. It was the only way to keep hope. Otherwise all he could think about was whether the crash was another attack. As if that thought wasn't bad enough, there was something worse to consider. Who could possibly replace Elizabeth?
O . o . O . o . O
Blake never ran through the office, but he was running that day. It was drawing attention from all over, though he didn't notice. His mind was buzzing. Nothing else mattered except what he'd just been told. He burst into Matt and Daisy's office with enough of a clamor to startle them both.
"Blake, what…?" Daisy began.
"Dude, who died?" Matt added.
It was about the only reason he could think of that Blake would look like the world was ending. The look on his face was even worse than it had been when he'd read the report about ways the world actually could end. Unfortunately Matt's joke was too spot on, and Blake went even paler.
"The… the plane went down," he stammered.
"What plane?" Daisy demanded.
"Madam Secretary's."
Daisy's mind went blank and she simply stared at Blake. While she couldn't put her feelings into words, Matt did a good job of expressing what she couldn't.
"No. No, that's not possible. You got it all wrong. That was Marsh's plane."
Blake swallowed hard. He was finding the news hard enough to believe and he hadn't been around when the former Secretary's plane had crashed. It had to be so much worse for Matt and Daisy. They'd already experienced this conversation once.
"Yes, it was Marsh's plane, but now it's Secretary McCord's plane."
"Oh my God," Daisy gasped and held her hands over her mouth.
Matt immediately started pacing. He had to do something to get rid of this tension.
"Is the Secretary alive? Are Jay or Nadine alive? What the hell happened?"
"She better be. I sure hope so. And I don't know."
"Then what the hell do you know?"
"That Russell Jackson wants us to start working with the Deputy Secretary to get him up to speed."
"Get him up to speed just in case, right?" Daisy asked.
Blake wrung his hands and struggled to get the words out.
"He didn't… specify."
Which was not in any way reassuring. It was like they were already expecting everyone on board that plane to be dead. Blake wasn't sure any other outcome was possible, but he wanted to hope. He couldn't handle the thought that Elizabeth McCord might be dead.
O . o . O . o . O
The situation room was crowded, and every face was tense. Russell had done a good job getting everyone together so quickly, which was good. The second Secretary of State in the same number of years could be dead. There was a lot they needed to do.
"What do we know?" Conrad asked.
"Not much, sir. The last ping we got puts the plane here," Ephraim replied as he pointed to the terrain map displayed on screen. "Right on the border of France and Switzerland. We're looking at high elevation and rocky terrain. The problem is, we still can't get anything on satellite. The weather there is too bad. The cameras have no visibility."
"The military is having the same problem," General Reeves added. "Rescue choppers can't get anywhere near the crash site. They're reporting a really bad ice storm. It's making conditions hazardous."
"Is there anything we can do to get a view of that crash site?"
Much of the gathered group glanced at each other nervously and either shrugged or shook their heads. Nobody had any ideas that could beat bad weather.
"We could try to send up some military jets. They might be able to get closer, but the visibility wouldn't be much better than what the satellites got."
Conrad sighed and rubbed his temples. If they sent the jets it would risk the pilots' lives for what would likely amount to nothing. They really needed to find out how bad the crash was and if anyone was alive though. It might be worth the risk.
"If the pilots are willing, send them. But make sure they know the risks," he finally said.
General Reeves nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Now that one thing was done they needed to move on to the next.
"Do we have any idea what the cause was? Weather? Mechanical malfunction? Foul play?"
"There weren't any missiles in the air, but that doesn't mean we can rule out foul play," Ephraim told the President. "Still, I would place my bed on weather. We already know it's bad based on our own failed attempts to fly in the area."
"Do we have any recorded data from the plane?"
"Not yet, sir," Ellen replied. "Hopefully we will soon."
Conrad nodded. They needed that information quickly. If it revealed the crash hadn't been a terrible accident it would make a bad situation even worse.
"As soon as we get anything, bring it to me. Ephraim, I want someone sent to talk to Juliet just in case. She was involved in a plot to murder one Secretary of State by plane. I want to make absolutely sure she wasn't involved in another."
"Yes, sir," Ellen and Ephraim replied together.
"Get on it then, everyone."
Conrad stood up, drawing everyone to their feet as well. As he left the situation room he turned to Russell.
"I have a job for you."
"Of course, Mr. President."
"I want you to contact the leaders of all the countries near that crash site that are our allies. The French, the Swiss, the Italians. Everyone. Get someone from Elizabeth's staff to help you if you think one of them can handle it. We need as much aid in this rescue mission as possible, even if it turns into a recovery mission."
They both knew that normally that task would have fallen on Elizabeth. The fact that the President was asking that of Russell only highlighted the fact that she wasn't there.
"Let's hope it doesn't turn into a recovery," Russell responded darkly.
"Agreed."
Elizabeth's death could derail the rest of Conrad's presidency. They were good friends, and her death would be very painful for the President. It would leave far more of a mark on him than Marsh's death had. Her death would leave far more of a mark on their foreign relations than Marsh's had too. That would have serious consequences.
On a much smaller scale, Elizabeth's death would impact Russell too. He'd come to respect her, and maybe even become somewhat fond of working with her. She would be a huge loss, and he did not want to break in another Secretary.