Chapter Four
By the time they were back in the SUV Alison was in tears and shaking harder than ever. Jason slid an arm around her to try and offer some form of comfort. The best thing he could do though was to get them to their dad as soon as he could.
"Take us to the White House."
Alison looked at him in surprise, her red-rimmed eyes going wide.
"Why are we going to the White House? Dad doesn't work there."
"Because if Mom's plane really went down then Dad's going to be wherever he can get the most information," Jason explained. "And who can he get the most information from?"
Instead of answering Alison simply stared at him with glassy eyes. Her brain was just not functioning enough to make sense of Jason's thought process. When that became clear to Jason he answered the question himself.
"The President, obviously. So Dad will be where the President is. Trust me."
Alison nodded weakly. She was going to have to trust him on this because she had no idea what to do. He was taking full charge, and she was grateful for that. The car still hadn't moved so Jason turned back to their driver. They needed to get going.
"The White House," he said again as authoritatively as possible.
"I can't do that, son. Access to the White House is strictly regulated."
Fury built up in Jason. With everything his family was currently going through, he wasn't going to let anybody make it harder. Nobody was going to say no to him today.
"Our mom could be dead, so you're damn well going to bring us to our dad. I don't care where he is or who isn't allowed in there. Dad's at the White House, so that's where we're going."
He met the driver's eyes firmly, and the fire burning there got him what he wanted. The driver nodded and headed off. Jason almost breathed a sigh of relief as he settled back into his seat. When he heard Alison sniffle he wrapped an arm around her again. He had to be strong for his sister even if he couldn't be strong for himself.
"Mom's going to be alive. She has to be. Okay?"
Alison took a strangled breath and nodded. Jason couldn't offer her a smile in response, but he did manage a firm nod. They had to stay hopeful. Somehow.
Now that he knew Alison wasn't going to completely fall apart, Jason turned his mind to Stevie. He had no idea how to get to his older sister. While he'd left a message for her, she must not have gotten it because she hadn't called him back. Stevie was just going to have to figure this all out on her own and find a way to meet up with them. They needed to be together as a family.
O . o . O . o . O
It turned out that getting to the White House was the easy part. Actually getting inside was much harder. Security wouldn't let them through and his dad still wasn't answering his phone. That forced Jason to make his second phone call to Blake. Thankfully his mother's assistant solved the problem almost immediately. Some message must have been passed along because they were inside within moments and being led through the halls.
They were ushered into a room and immediately saw their father. Henry was sitting slumped in a chair with his head in his hands. Jason had been right. This was where his father had come, and now that they'd found him Jason didn't need to be strong anymore. He could let his dad take the lead. The fact that Henry didn't look particularly capable of doing that didn't matter. Jason knew his dad was just as human as everyone else in terms of experiencing heavy emotion, but he'd also never seen Henry give in to defeat.
"Dad!" Jason and Alison chorused.
Henry started and looked up. For a moment he stared at them like he didn't even know them, but eventually his brain caught up to what he was seeing.
"Jason. Alison," he began as he stood and gathered them both into his arms. "What are you doing here? You should be at school."
"There was no way we were going to stay at school. Is Mom okay?"
Henry pulled away and stared at his son. Jason was acting like he knew what was going on, but that wasn't possible. Henry certainly hadn't told him, and nobody else would have either. His blank expression gave him away.
"It's all over the news, Dad," Jason explained.
"Please tell me Mom's okay," Alison pleaded.
Henry closed his eyes for a moment and forced himself to be calm and in control for his children. Both of those emotions felt so far away. His wife could be dead or dying at that very moment and there was nothing he could do. Somehow, even living in that reality, he had to try and be strong.
"We don't… know anything yet," he reluctantly admitted in the steadiest voice he could muster.
The reaction was almost immediate, and the tidal wave of his children's emotions nearly took him under. His own emotions were nearly sinking him, yet he somehow had to keep his kids afloat too. Alison burst into tears, and Jason's face twisted with a hard mix of anger and panic that Henry didn't even want to look at.
"So ask the President! He's a friend of yours, right? He has to have answers. Make him tell you."
"The President doesn't know anything either, Jason. He's trying, but nobody can get a good picture."
"Then send someone out there!" Jason roared.
"We're doing that, son," Conrad replied calmly.
It surprised the entire family. None of them had even seen him enter the room.
Henry could barely even look at Conrad. A part of him still irrationally blamed the President for what had happened to Elizabeth and the inability to get to her now. He wanted to turn that anger on the other man, but he held back, knowing as much as he wanted to he couldn't attack the President. In the end it didn't matter. Jason did it for him.
He rushed at the President and nearly managed to grab the lapels of his suit before anyone could react.
"My mom could be dead because of you! Why did you have to pick her?!"
Jason was still screaming when his father caught up to him. Henry managed to wrap his arms around Jason's chest and haul him backward as Russell stepped between them and the President. Personally Henry felt like reacting exactly like Jason had, but he knew he couldn't. Neither could Jason.
"Jason enough!" Henry insisted as he continued fighting against his son.
"I could throw you in jail for that!" Russell growled, fury blazing in his eyes. "Attacking the President! My God, have you lost your mind?"
Jason's persistence was starting to scare Henry. There were certain people in the world that you couldn't mess with no matter how emotional you were. The President of the United States was one of them. This needed to stop now before it got worse. Henry hauled Jason around and almost threw his son against the wall, pinning him there with his forearm.
"Jason!"
There was such a sharp snap in the word that Jason's attention turned fully toward Henry. The anger faded from Jason's eyes and they turned glassy instead. When he started trembling Henry released him.
"Dad…"
The whimper in Jason's voice pierced Henry, and he drew his son close. Jason immediately wrapped his arms around his dad and hid his face against Henry's shoulder.
"It's alright, son. It's going to be alright."
"Dad," Alison whispered.
Henry held one arm out, and Alison joined in the hug. She might not have gone completely off the deep end and attacked the President, but her mother's status was scaring her too. Being close to her dad made it easier; plus she could see that he needed the comfort just as much as they did.
Conrad watched the three McCords hug each other, almost at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say to any of them? The fact that he was trying didn't feel good enough. For everything he was doing Elizabeth's status was still unknown, and they were no closer to bringing her home. He had to come up with some kind of reassurance.
It took a while, but eventually Henry managed to calm his children down. Neither of them were doing very well, but Henry couldn't blame them. He wasn't doing very well himself. Without Elizabeth with him he was off balance, and it was so hard to keep himself from tipping over completely. He squeezed Jason and Alison's shoulders and offered them a vague semblance of a smile. Neither of them were reassured, but their red-rimmed eyes remained dry.
"Alison. Jason," Conrad stated, drawing their attention to him.
Both kids remained silent, though Henry could tell that Jason didn't really want to listen. He rubbed Jason's shoulders and focused his attention on the President as well.
"Your mother is a strong and resourceful woman. Better than anyone I have ever met. We have to trust that if she survived the first impact she'll find a way to hold on until we can get to her, and I promise you that we will get to her."
"And what if Mom's already dead?" Jason demanded.
"Then the world will have lost an amazing woman, and we will all be worse off for it. If Elizabeth really is gone, we will make sure she is never forgotten."
Jason's jaw tightened. That was not a good enough answer for him, but he didn't get the chance to press further because the President redirected the conversation.
"Henry, you should get Stevie here. Your family should be as together as it can be right now. This room is yours. If there's anything you need, just ask."
There was only one thing Henry needed, and he made it know right away.
"I need my wife back, Conrad."
"I know, and we are working as hard as we can to make that happen. You'll get word as soon as we learn something new."
Henry nodded and pulled his kids closer. He needed news soon. The longer he went without it the more he thought Elizabeth was dead, and it was a terrible, terrible feeling.