Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV

Chapter One: First Family Crisis

ASHLEY GRAHAM KIDNAPPED: RUMORS CONFIRMED

The New York Times Evening Edition, October 1st, 2004

Early this morning during a press conference on Capitol Hill, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan finally made an official comment addressing the rumored disappearance of Ashley Graham, the twenty year old daughter of President Andrew Graham, who was first speculated as missing over a week ago from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is an Undergraduate Student.

Beginning with a report to Campus Security from Ms. Graham's roommate when her car was discovered abandoned with doors open, rumors of a potential kidnapping have been circulating through the media like wildfire, but without an official explanation from the White House until the surprise press conference this morning. According to Mr. McClellan, it has been confirmed that Ashley Graham has indeed been kidnapped, however there has been no clues given as to the identity of her abductor, nor have any ransom demands been received.

More on this story as it develops.

"I still say it was a mistake to say anything to the press." President Graham said with an aggravated tone as he dropped the newspaper on his desk. "Look at this, the God damn… vultures slap the story on the front page, as if my daughter were some kind of… some kind of spring fad to be gossiped about at the water cooler."

"I know that this is a sensitive matter for you, Mr. President." CIA Director Porter Goss replied, sitting down across from him. "But rumor control in these situations is necessary for two reasons; first, to show the American people that you are being transparent with them, which is far better than some jerk-off reporter finding out on their own... and to show the kidnappers that you are taking them seriously… we don't want them deciding that your daughter isn't worth the trouble, now do we?"

Graham knew damn well why they had to make an open statement, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Nor did he like the fact that instead of going out and finding his only daughter, the President was forced to sit on his rear inside the oval office jaw-jacking with the new CIA Director. Any number of things could have been happening to her while at the hands of whoever it was that took her, and the more Graham thought about his only daughter being scared and alone at the mercy of some scumbag, the angrier he became, to the point of slamming his fist down on the hardwood desk.

"To that end, I have some good news for you, Mr. President." Goss continued, opening his briefcase, and taking out a file folder. "As soon as it was verified by my agency that your daughter was, in fact, kidnapped, I took the liberty of dispatching my finest investigator to the scene. Unfortunately, his identity must remain classified, but I believe that you will be pleased with the report of his current findings."

"Don't worry, I know all about your predecessor's pet freak." The President replied, scoffing angrily. "And I'll ignore my personal objections toward allowing a reformed terrorist out unsupervised, as long as he helps find my Ashley… so what do you have?"

Opening the folder and turning it so that the contents were oriented to Graham's view, the first thing the Director took out was a series of pictures that were taken of Ashley's abandoned car, along with a typed report of the findings. There was no evidence of anyone else sitting in the passenger seat, but the young woman's purse was found dropped on the floor beneath it, with the contents spilled out as if having been knocked over, and the keys were still in the ignition in the AUX position while the car's battery was dead, meaning that it sat there for a long time before being discovered again… as if she had been attacked while in the middle of starting it.

Small black burn marks were discovered randomly on the padded white upholstery of the driver's seat, and even more so on the metal seatbelt buckle as if a strong electrical current had passed through the material. This suggested that the kidnapper reached in through the open driver side window with a high-voltage Taser of some sort, and used this to render Ashley unable to fight back while she was roughly pulled from the car, shown by the strands of long blonde hair that had become caught on the doorframe.

Finally, a set of tire tracks was left burned into the road nearby, with the pressure, width, and position suggesting a larger vehicle such as a truck or more likely a full size van. Traffic cameras throughout the city spotted such a vehicle leaving the vicinity around the time of her disappearance, and these cameras allowed it to be tracked all the way to the Port of Boston, once the vehicle triggered traffic cameras once again. The vehicle in question, a large white cargo van, was found parked in the port's long-term section, with a deep rectangular impression left in the carpeted interior, like a box or a trunk.

"What are you saying to me, Goss?" Graham asked, balling up his fists as he was feeling enraged and terrified at the same time. "That some scumbag electrocuted my daughter, and then took her to a shipping port in a steam trunk?!"

"There's more, Sir." The Director continued, next taking out a shipping manifest. "My investigator found that there were only two ships scheduled to depart that day, and that both of them were heading for the Port of Barcelona in Spain. He got aboard one of them and did a search, but discovered upon arrival in Spain that she had been transported onboard the other one."

This was unbelievable, the President thought while putting his hand on his forehead, especially after seeing a Polaroid photograph of a beautiful young woman with shoulder length blonde hair… who was clearly Ashley… looking nervous while being ushered forward by a couple of middle aged men. The quality of the picture was cheap, and the words chica caliente were written on the back, with a note in the report saying that the investigator retrieved it from a member of the autoridad portuaria, who often took snapshots of pretty girls for later use.

"At last report, my investigator is tracking them into a rural province of Spain." Goss added, pointing to a highlighted location on a map of the country. "As soon as the pretty old truck they took reaches its final destination, he is confident that he can infiltrate the area and successfully retrieve your…

"No!" The President interrupted, slightly louder than he meant to. "I'm glad your… asset was able to track her halfway around the world, but his file was among the documents I had to look over when I took this office, and I read the entire thing, Goss. Tell him to narrow down my daughter's location, and then back off, because… because I want to send one of my own men to retrieve her."

With everything his daughter had been through, based on the report, Ashley was going to be frightened and vulnerable, especially after being rescued, so what he needed was someone who was both tough enough to conduct the rescue operation, and who he could also trust to not take advantage of his daughter. The only name that came to mind was Secret Service Agent Leon Kennedy, and… yeah, he was the perfect choice. Loyal, tough, smart, plenty of field experience with Raccoon City and that whole Starlight disaster… but most importantly honorable.

"I'm turning over the rescue operation to Agent Kennedy." The President said in a tone that meant the decision was final. "I want your investigator's whole report compiled and scanned into the digital network by the time he's briefed and ready to go. I also want you to contact Madrid, and inform the Spanish Government of the situation… if we're going to conduct an international operation like this, I want all the help we can muster."

Yeah, that was a good plan, Graham thought to himself as he began to relax a little now that things were actually starting to get done. The CIA Director looked a bit like someone kicked his dog when he found out that his investigator wasn't going to be allowed to carry out the rescue operation, but they both knew that it was for the best, and that Kennedy was just the better choice all around… although the President was impressed that he had been able to track her halfway around the world… damn fine detective work… for someone who ought to be shot.

"I'll have one of my analysts scan in the data for you, Sir." Goss said with a resigned tone. "But you should let my people at least lend support to your agent… after all, satellites and communication will let you stay updated on the status of the operation, and we'll be able to stay in contact in case anything goes wrong."

"Excellent, I like it." Graham replied, actually starting to smile after thinking about it for a minute. "Having both agencies working together will be good for morale, you know, not making Kennedy feel like he's all alone out there… and better still, after my daughter is safe at home, this will show the whole world how bad of an idea it is to try and screw with the United States of America."

This plan was so great that the President almost felt sorry for whoever the poor bastards were that kidnapped Ashley. No matter who they were; terrorists, common criminals, pirates, it didn't matter… after all, his agent had put down William Birkin during the Raccoon City Outbreak, and Gillette Liquid onboard the Starlight back in '01. After dealing with all that, who else could possibly stand a chance?

"The rescue of my daughter is going to be his primary objective." Graham continued, looking at the pictures in the file once again. "But if possible, I want him to identify the people who took her… or their leaders if it's a group. I promise you, Goss, and I promise all the people of this great country that these criminals will be brought to justice… one way or another."

"I agree completely, Mr. President." The Director answered, packing up the documents and putting them back into his briefcase. "If the people who took her are brave enough to mess with America, then they're brave enough to mess with anyone, so we need to make an example of them to discourage any other terrorist groups out there from trying something similar. But let's focus on the rescue first… I'll make all the calls, and put everything together, I just… I just hope Agent Kennedy is as good as you say."