A/N: Thanks to all my readers and reviewers
The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me
"As of now, we are in a state of emergency…."
The words echoed around the silent security hub for a moment or two as the men tried to take in the news that a bomb had been detonated in Pyrus and that their lives were in danger….and more importantly, they had to protect the Queen…..
"Right, so this is what we are going to do," Joseph said briskly, taking control of the room again. "First of all, we are not to panic- I know you boys don't panic at the worst of times but it is imperative this time that no one is to panic, this situation is too dangerous to make mistakes. Secondly, we are going to follow the procedure to the letter- to the letter, do you all understand me? We have all trained for this situation and now it's time for us to do everything we can to ensure the safety of the Queen and the country.
"What about Prince Pierre and Princess Mia?"
"They are also part of the plan, but we need to do things step by step…. Firstly, Shades- we are going to lock down the palace, no one comes in and no one goes out. The only exceptions may be decided a little later… and I want all the men who were on leave or on their breaks back here within the next 12 hours."
"Yes sir. What about the guys out on the grounds?"
"Once we have everything sorted, I will be talking to them via their earpieces, but I want Patrick…." He nodded to one of the men standing near the television. "To contact them and let them know that they have to keep a much closer eye on the perimeter- I will be sending more men out to assist them; I also want all the cameras on- including the ones we usually don't have on, on the other side of the grounds."
Joseph was brisk, sharp and to the point- qualities that the other men had appreciated in their boss and were willing to follow his instructions to the letter, which was what made him so successful and well liked as the Head of Security- and Scott marvelled that he didn't seem at all panicked- in fact, he was almost cold in his decisions and words.
"Then what?"
"The palace staff should be informed- but not until much later, when everything is organized and underway. Shades, you are going to contact the bodyguards of the Prince and Princess and inform them of the situation. Hopefully the Princess is too far away for anyone to cause any trouble for her, but security is definitely going to have to be beefed up around her, as well as her mother and her friends.
As for Prince Pierre, he usually doesn't have security around him- considering that he has abdicated- but if whoever is doing this is focused on the royal family, he will have to accept additional security and be limited in where he goes until things have settled down."
"What is going to happen to Her Majesty?" was the next innocent question and for a moment, Joseph was speechless- he was running on pure adrenalin and he knew that there was protocol in place for Her Majesty, but the personal side of their relationship had compromised that in this instant and all he knew was that she was not going to be out of his sight for even one second…. Which meant that he would have to go and find and her and inform her of the situation immediately, or…did he?.
"Is she going to be confined to her suite… or will she be evacuated like the Prime Minister and the parliament?"
Definitely not either of those options, Joseph thought to himself, although the HOS side of him was telling him that he wasn't actually thinking professionally and strategically- those two options were the ones that had been provided for in the emergency plan.
However, being evacuated and confined in the same space as the Prime Minister and parliament will make her a sitting duck, as well as the rest of them, the man who was in love with the woman, not the Queen, argued to himself. There HAS to be another option.
"Boss?" Joseph suddenly gave a start, realising that he had been too involved in his internal argument to realise that his men were staring at him, waiting for his answer.
"I'm not sure yet, it depends how serious the situation is," was all he said.
"I would say that it's a pretty serious situation," Scott argued- he sensed the quandary Joseph was in, but he had to think professionally rather than personally. "We still need to decide what will happen to Her Majesty."
"I will decide what will happen to Her Majesty," Joseph suddenly growled, scowling at the younger man who stepped away almost unconsciously- Joseph was incredibly protective of the Queen, they all knew that (and understood that there was a personal relationship there that they knew about but couldn't say anything about openly) but there were times when he was absolutely ferocious. "Could you call Charlotte and get her in here now, please? We're going to have to start planning….you will start, I have to check on Her Majesty."
"Will you tell her about the situation?"
"I may have to, but I want to leave it until we know more."
0
It was cosy in the Queen's suite when he stepped into the room, having passed Charlotte on the way down the hallway and Clarisse looked up with a smile.
"Joseph! I haven't seen you all day- is our security meeting today?"
"No, Your Majesty….We've both been busy and I just wanted to check in with you," he said quietly as he stood in front of her desk and she relaxed back in her chair.
"I'm fine- I've actually appreciated having a day off from meetings and I am thoroughly prepared for the sitting of parliament this afternoon…."
The sitting of parliament, he had forgotten! Of course, there was no way that she would be able to go- not that there would be a session, considering what had just happened, but not it was going to be so much harder to keep it from her.
"Joseph?" she looked at him in concern. "Is something wrong?"
"No, ma'am, there's nothing wrong…."
"You look very serious…."
"Just been trying to get reports done before tonight."
"I can understand that, I'm trying to do the same with my paperwork," she chuckled, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully when he failed to chuckle back with her.
What was wrong with Joseph, she wondered to herself. He was usually less serious, more flirtatious with her…and he was definitely not as taciturn as he was at the moment….as she watched him, she realised that something was bothering him.
"Joseph," she said gently and he looked her in the eyes.
"Yes, ma'am?" That was another thing- he was using her title rather than her name, something that indicated something was wrong, he was trying to keep his distance and keep professional.
"Please tell me what's wrong? Are you feeling ill?"
"Of course not, ma'am."
"Is there trouble with your men?"
"No ma'am," he repeated, beginning to squirm- she knew that something was wrong and it was only a matter of time before she would demand to know….Well, not demand, request- but she would say it in voice that was gentle yet firm and commanding, like the Queen she was.
"Joseph…" she said again, and he could hear that her tone was changing, she was concerned but didn't appreciate being stone walled. "Tell me."
He hadn't intended on telling her until there were firm plans in place and he had made his decision in regards to her, but she had always been such a sharp, intelligent woman, he should have known that, knowing him as well as she did, he wouldn't have been able to pull the wool over her eyes for long. It was a quality about her that he appreciated, although he also wanted to protect her from the cruelty of the world, not that she hadn't seen a lot of that during her years as Queen.
"Alright," he said with a sigh. "We are going to have to initiate Operation Leaf…."
For a moment, Clarisse looked at him blankly, not understanding his words before they sunk in and she suddenly stood up out of her chair, her pen dropping to the desk, her face a mask of horror.
"Is it Pierre? Or Mia?"
"No, they are both fine- we're initiating contact with their security details to ensure that they are safe and well protected…."
"What happened?"
"I'm not quite sure yet but there was an explosion in the middle of Pyrus- they aren't quite sure..."
"Who are they?" her voice was sharper than normal, not that he blamed her- her subjects were being attacked.
"The police…. perhaps….the Prime Minister has been evacuated, they are working on moving members of parliament to safer areas… but we have no more details than that."
"So… will I be evacuated with them or will be confined here?" she asked calmly as she walked around her desk, still straight backed- she had been living with the threat of bombs, gun shots and assassination threats but there had been nothing like this in all her years….she was shocked but she had to remain calm and in control, the country depended on her not to 'lose it'.
"We're still working out the details, but I can assure you," he stepped closer to her, his eyes intense and fiery. "That you WILL be protected to the best of our ability."
"As if I ever doubted that… I trust you with my life," she said simply, reaching out and touching his face for a moment, and he grabbed her hand and squeezed it firmly.
"Good."
"So, what now?"
"There are decisions to be made, plans to be made…but I CAN assure you that you will be protected… and that I won't leave you out of the loop, no matter what."
"Will you stay at my side?" she whispered, revealing a tiny part of the vulnerability she was feeling. "You won't leave me?"
"I will NEVER leave you….Clarisse….I will be at your side until the bitter end," he vowed solemnly, meaning every word- he couldn't imagine leaving her side even if he was forced to….she was his Queen, his boss, his best friend and the woman he loved more than anything. He would NEVER abandon her!
"Then you had better return to your loyal staff and make some decisions… I can hardly expect to wait and see what will happen," she said with a sardonic smile and he knew that he had to do his job as well as protect her.
0
The conference with Charlotte had obviously concluded by the time Joseph had returned to the security hub, but while the other men had turned back to the tasks that had been assigned according to the emergency plan (or had dispersed to do other chores), Charlotte and Scott were waiting for Joseph and he nodded towards his own office, closing the door behind him- he could only seriously really trust these two people to keep the secret…it wasn't that he didn't trust the other men, but his plan included the involvement of only two or three people. He had already received his approval from Sebastian, from his secret location, but he also needed the approval from his second in charge and Clarisse's private assistant.
"So, does she know?" were the first words out of Charlotte's mouth when Joseph stepped into the room, and he nodded.
"Of course… I couldn't lie to her, much as I tried….but she will need your support until I make a decision about what will happen in regards to her."
"You're not keeping her here, or with the rest of the parliament?" Shades looked horrified but Charlotte's expression lightened somewhat.
"I haven't decided yet… but you have to admit, it would be pretty foolish to isolate her with the rest of the ruling government…. They, whoever they are, could kill all of them and there would be nothing that we could do… they could take over the country."
"So… what are you saying?"
"I'm saying… I'm recommending that the PM and half the parliament are to stay in one location, and his deputy remains with the rest of parliament in a separate location…."
"What about Her Majesty?" Charlotte finally spoke up- she was just as worried about Clarisse as Joseph was, a fact that he appreciated although he knew that he had to consider the safety of the palace staff as well, including Charlotte.
He paused for a moment after her question- he knew that it was going to be a controversial decision but it was something that he felt strongly about and he knew that he was making the right choice.
"I'm thinking about taking her away to my retreat near the Winter Palace…with just me as her protection."
As expected, there were the usual amount of gasps and 'are you kidding, boss?' from both of them after his announcement, but Joseph had been expecting it and he knew that his decision was the best one.
"Are you crazy, Joe?" Shades finally spoke up, encouraged by a nudge from Charlotte, who was obviously too nervous to say a word. "That's a ridiculous idea and I don't support you in any way, shape or form."
"I'm not asking for your support, I'm just informing you of what I have decided," Joseph retorted, irritated at Shade's protest but also understanding his concern and why. "I just feel that it would better for her and the rest of the team if she was separated from the rest of them….so if they don't find her with the rest of parliament, they wouldn't be able to kill her."
"But seriously, Joe- you alone as her only form of protection? Are you really crazy?"
"I am not crazy, I'm serious about this, very, very serious about this…. Yes, they will know that we are together, if they look for her and find the both of us missing, but where will they look for us? The Winter Palace? The Beach House? They have no idea that I have a retreat nearby…they will be looking for her in the most common of places, I'm sure of it."
"Why do you think it's all about her?" Charlotte asked curiously and Joseph suddenly felt dreadful- aside from his team, no one knew that there had been, only months earlier, a threat on Clarisse's life, and it had been a situation that they had been monitoring carefully since then.
"I wish I could tell you, Charlotte, but it's classified information…."
"Do YOU know?" she turned to Shades who cleared his throat and looked sheepish.
"As Joe said, it's classified information…."
"But I would like to know anyway!" she persisted stubbornly and while Joseph and Shades appreciated her dedication and her obvious concern for the Queen, they knew that they couldn't reveal anything, not even to her.
"Charlotte," Joseph began, standing in front of her and resting a hand on her shoulder. "I appreciate that you care about Her Majesty and want to know if anything is going on, but I have to consider your safety as well as hers…if you were to know something and if, heaven forbid, the palace is taken, you could suffer in some way and I won't let you know anything that will compromise your safety," he finished firmly and Charlotte finally subsided, understanding (but not liking) his reasoning and looking back towards Shades, who asked the next question.
"Who will run the country in her absence?"
"You know the emergency protocol, that's why the parliament and the Prime Minister have been separated… we still need to have a working government even if the Queen is out of the picture temporarily."
"Won't people question why she is not here?"
"I think they will be more worried about their own safety… although I think they will appreciate the seriousness of the situation and will accept having their Queen in hiding for her own safety."
"What about Her Majesty?" Charlotte snapped. "Does she know what you're planning?"
"Not at the moment… and I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything to her," he gave her a pointed look. "We all know she is dedicated to her job and will want to stay for the sake of her people but I feel…for the sake of her own safety and the safety of her people, she is taken away for a while, just until things are settled."
"Why do you think you're the man for the job?" Charlotte challenged, shocking Shades- he had never seen Charlotte so passionate, so angry about anything in her life- but Joseph understood her reaction- she cared about the Queen just as much as he did and he didn't react angrily, as he would have done if someone else had questioned his decisions.
"Because I am her personal bodyguard, her Head of Security and I know more about security and the royal family than anyone else in this room… I know that you're protective of her- and she is very fortunate to have some dear friends who will support her- but you also need to understand that I want to look after her as best as I can and I feel that this is the best way to do it…. And I have also received the Prime Minister's approval for this," he added. "He feels that he and the half of parliament will be able to govern, Her Majesty will be contactable via me- but he feels that she should be protected…."
He almost revealed the information that he shouldn't tell anyone, but he stopped suddenly as Charlotte smiled weakly at him.
"Okay, I understand what you are saying…. Just as long as you look after her."
"I will," he vowed before turning to Shades. "I will be leaving you and the others in charge of the palace…. You have to protect the palace staff and Charlotte…" he finished gently, looking at Charlotte and she smiled again.
"Believe me, I know that they will do their best."
"We will!" Shades intercepted indignantly and the other two exchanged a smiling look. "We will."
"I know you will," Joseph reassured him. "But now, we need to make some plans- plans that I would prefer remain between the three of us as well as a few of our well trusted men….But I just wanted the two of you to understand my reasoning, I'm sure the other men won't but you will be able to explain it to them."
000
As per his instructions, Her Majesty had been moved from her study to her suite upstairs, and Joseph could tell, by the way she was pacing the room when he arrived, that she wasn't pleased with the situation, although he had to wonder whether it was displeasure about the situation or her worry about her son, granddaughter and her people.
"What's going on now?" she almost threw at him when she spotted him and he sighed.
"We've made plans…. I can formally assure you that the Prime Minister and the parliament are safe."
"Good, good- they need to be safe, considering the situation out there… do we know any more?" She stopped pacing and stood in front of the fireplace, looking regal but he could sense her worry behind the façade.
"Not at the moment, ma'am… Clarisse," he amended, seeing her eyebrow raise slightly- at a time like this, he couldn't afford to be formal (although he knew that he should be), not when the love of his life was in possible danger. "I have my sources but they have no additional information at the moment."
"I see," she looked away for a moment before she sank into a chair near the fireplace and looked back at him. "Have you made a decision about what happens to me?"
She wasn't quite sure what decision she wanted him to make- she half wanted to be with the rest of the government (more a duty than a need) but she also wanted to be whisked away, hidden from the rest of the world and she hoped that Joseph would be the primary person to protect her. It was silly, she knew, but she truly trusted Joseph more than anyone else on her security team… not that they weren't doing their job, and doing it well, but…. Joseph was simply someone who was wonderful and protective and fierce as well as gentle… and she loved him with all of her heart.
"I have decided that you need to kept separate from the rest of the parliament and the Prime Minister…they have been split up into two separate locations."
"So I will be staying here, in my suite?" she asked- it would make sense if she stayed here but, then again, staying here would turn her into a sitting duck.
"No, I will be taking you to my retreat just south of the Winter Palace… we should be safe there."
There was a long silence as she digested his words before she finally spoke:
"I see."
"The Prime Minister and the parliamentary members who are with him have approved of my decision, and I have already sent your maids up to pack for you."
"So everyone else knew before you told me?" she arched an eyebrow and Joseph knew she was displeased.
"I had to make plans and they had involve the staff, particularly the ones in my security team and Charlotte…."
"Charlotte didn't say anything to me when she accompanied me upstairs," Clarisse said coolly, feeling slightly betrayed by all those around her.
"I asked her not to."
"You had no right to ask her to do that- she is my private assistant, remember?"
"I do have the right to ask her in order to ensure that confidential security matters are not discussed with people not involved."
"I AM the Queen, remember, and you are discussing MY life without consulting me!" she snapped and Joseph realised that she was not only angry that her life was suddenly out of control but that she was also more than a little frightened, not only for her son and granddaughter as well as her people but herself as well. She still had no idea that there had been an assassination attempt (or rather, the threat of an attempt) on her life only months earlier (and he still didn't know how he was going to tell her, or if he was going to tell her at all) and that this explosion may be connected to the threat, but he knew that she had to be away, even if only for a few days.
"I am making plans for YOUR safety and I was going to tell you when they were ready- which they are," he said evenly, not wanting to lose his temper.
"I CAN'T leave the palace- I have to run a country, remember?"
"You can't stay here, it's far too dangerous for the moment."
"What about the rest of the staff, then? Are you leaving them to face the danger alone?"
"The palace is locked down, no one will be able to leave or come in… and they can take care of themselves."
"Are you saying I can't?" Clarisse looked outraged- she appreciated his protective attitude towards her and knew that he cared enough to be that protective, but he was insinuating that she couldn't take care of herself, that she was a helpless old lady that couldn't take of herself in times of trouble….
At the thought, her eyes filled with tears but not of sadness but of hurt and frustration- she WASN'T useless and she refused to be considered as such as Joseph saw the tears and felt awful.
"Clarisse…." He stepped towards her, wanting to pull her into his arms and reassure her- she wasn't as useless, she wasn't viewed as useless- but she HAD to be protected and he felt certain that he was the one to do it, not only from his position as her personal bodyguard but also as a man who wanted to look after his girl.
"No, don't," Clarisse stood back, hands up in the air and refusing to look at him- the passive aggressive stance she had almost always used with Rupert. "Just let Charlotte or my maids know when you want me to be ready and I will be."
"Clarisse…" he tried again but she turned her back to him, a clear signal that she was through talking to him and Joseph quietly walked out of the room, wondering if his plan truly was the best plan….