Friend on the Inside.
Apologies for taking so long to update. I hope this will be worth the wait!
Thank you so much to 'Sardixiis' for being a fantastic beta and helping me with the story line.
Reviews are welcome and loved! I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer – I own nothing.
Bess had never been happier to see Ellen as she stood outside the State Department the next morning. Her smile got even wider when she saw the other woman holding two cups of coffee.
"Ellen, I really don't want to be selfish, but I am hoping one of those is for me."
Ellen chuckled slightly and nodded.
Handing one of the cups over to Elizabeth, Ellen took in how the Secretary looked. Admittedly, Bess didn't look too well rested, but hopefully she would have gotten a few hours.
"Did you manage to get any sleep last night, ma'am?" Ellen asked, hoping it wasn't over stepping the mark.
"A few hours. Hopefully some coffee will wake me up a little," Bess replied as they headed towards the elevators.
"You can call me Elizabeth, by the way," Bess added with a smile.
Ellen only nodded in response. She remembered Bess telling her to call her Elizabeth yesterday, but she knew that it would never happen. Addressing the Secretary of State as just Elizabeth seemed wrong somehow.
Last night Ellen had laid awake thinking of every possible outcome. It wasn't the wisest thing to do, but she did think she'd come up with a plan. All she could do now was explain it to Bess and hope that she agreed. Or had a different, but better, plan altogether.
As the two women moved through the State Department Ellen watched as Bess greeted her staff, listening to them all reel off a load of information she needed to know.
"Okay," Bess said coming to a stop just next to Blake's desk.
"In five minutes I need everyone in the conference room," she said simply, waiting a moment for everyone to nod and move out of her way before she carried on walking.
Ellen walked a few steps behind, taking everything in. She wasn't that well acquainted with the department, but it seemed simple enough to grasp. Much like the Pentagon everyone kept to themselves.
Once safely in the Secretary's office, Ellen wondered if now was the right time to give Bess a step by step guide to her plan. She assumed Bess wanted to tell her staff about what was going on, and maybe they would prove helpful in finding information.
"Elizabeth, I think I may have a plan."
Ellen knew she didn't sound at all confident. This was new for her too.
Bess looked up from where she was sitting at her desk. She had been moving various files about after she'd walked in and sat down. Elizabeth gave Ellen her full attention, motioning to the seat in front of her desk.
"Let's hear it. I was hoping you would have something," Bess said with a smile.
It wasn't really a 'smile' sort of conversation they were about to have, but Bess was still pleased that Ellen had come up with a plan. Even if it didn't work, or if they had to change certain aspects, it was a start.
Ellen took a seat, putting her briefcase on the empty chair next to her.
"Okay, so the first thing to do would be to find out where those kids are. If they are still able to move around the city freely and with the other members of staff, that might help us," Ellen began, looking to Elizabeth to see if she followed.
Taking in her expression of confusion, Ellen reached into her bag, pulling out a brown folder that she then placed on the desk.
"Right. So, we assume Nadeem wants to take these children to Disah. If we're right, then those kids are as good as gone, but there is a chance that these children are still following some form of school itinerary."
Elizabeth nodded at what Ellen was trying to say. She was trying hard to focus with such little sleep.
"That plane was hijacked. It was a small commuter plane. Meaning the other members of staff were probably not aware of Nadeem's plan until they touched down. Even in Pakistan, it would look odd for a group of American kids to land at an International Airport and then just disappear."
Bess nodded. She was now beginning to understand where Ellen was going with this.
"Maybe we could get in touch with one of the kids? If they're moving around the city freely or in small groups Nadeem can't keep an eye on all of them," Elizabeth mused.
"We could contact the embassy, get some people on the streets looking for these kids. I would suggest we do that first. If we get in touch with a child whom Nadeem is watching, we could risk them getting hurt," Ellen put in. It was close enough to her plan.
"Moving forward, I think we should get my staff on getting information on those kids and all that they can find on Nadeem. Starting with his interview with the FBI. Then I think it's time for me and you to have a chat with our embassy in Pakistan."
Ellen nodded in agreement.
Elizabeth moved towards the door. She couldn't keep her staff waiting any longer. Once in the conference room, she took her seat whilst Ellen stood near the door.
"Right, yesterday I got a phone call from the Head Master of the Saint Anne's school. Thirty students who were scheduled to take a trip to Greece ended up in Pakistan," Elizabeth explained looking at her staff to see their reactions before continuing.
"The Head Master is coming in this morning. Nadine, I want you to speak to him. We believe that a man by the name of Amir Nadeem, who is an assistant with the school, hijacked the commuter plane they were travelling on. For those who haven't put two and two together, Amir Nadeem and Jibral Disah were once childhood friends."
Elizabeth looked to Ellen wondering if there was anything she wanted to say. When the other woman didn't speak Elizabeth addressed each member of her staff.
"Blake, I need you to set up a video link with our embassy in Pakistan. Daisy, the press doesn't know about this yet and as far as we know the parents still believe they're in Greece, so let's keep it that way. Everyone else, I need to know all I can about Amir Nadeem and I also need up-to-date pictures of these kids. Nadine is going to give you all their names and information. Finally, if you didn't notice already, Ellen Hill is going to be assisting us with this. The White House hasn't been informed, but I assume Russell Jackson will find out at some point today and make an impromptu visit, so Blake, keep an eye out."
Elizabeth took a deep breath, once again looking to Ellen to see if there was anything she wanted to add.
Ellen nodded slightly, taking a small step forward before she spoke.
"I am aware you all know protocol, but this information cannot leave this room. Ms. Tolliver, when you speak to the Head Master he needs to know that he cannot talk to the press or the parents. If Nadeem gets wind that we know what he's doing, then we assume the worst. The worst being we lose those children to terrorists." Ellen tried to be as nice about it as possible.
Both women knew everything else would be pushed to the side today because their sole focus would be those children and bringing them home safely.
"Ma'am, I can have the Embassy in Pakistan online in five minutes," Blake said, breaking the short silence that had settled. Clearly, everyone was still taking in the news.
"Ma'am, if I can ask, what happens if the media does get hold of this?" Daisy asked.
"Then we need to come up with an appropriate response. We are doing all we can to make sure we bring those children home safely."
"Would it be wise to release a statement without the parent's knowledge, Ma'am?" Ellen asked.
"With all due respect, ma'am, the media can easily make this worse than it is. I don't think staying quiet whilst we inform families will do us any favours," Daisy explained, more to Ellen than to Elizabeth.
"With all due respect, Miss Grant, these parents trusted the teachers and assistants at that school to look after their children on a trip outside of the United States. It will be bad enough if we tell them. But for them to find out their children could be prisoners of a terrorist through the news, could be worse. That is when parents take things into their own hands, trying to make deals and pay ransom demands."
Elizabeth was slightly shocked at the small outburst but took it into account.
"Ellen is right. We can't risk those parents trying to get in touch and make deals with either of these men. When we have established a plan with the embassy in Pakistan we should tell the parents. Hopefully the media will still be none the wiser. It's not so much about how this will look to the press, this is about getting those kids home, no matter what."
Everyone nodded.
Back in the office Ellen was sitting in one of the chairs by Elizabeth's desk, whilst Blake was on her computer setting up the video call.
"The connection is a little slow, Ma'am, but we should have video in a few minutes."
Elizabeth nodded, taking a few steps forward.
"Ma'am, I would like to apologise for how I spoke to your staff. I was out of line. I will apologise to Miss Grant the next time I see her," Ellen explained turning slightly to see Elizabeth.
Bess smiled, but shook her head.
"You were right. I can't even imagine how guilty these parents are going to feel once they learn where their kids really are. If I am being totally honest, I am surprised one of the children haven't told them…" Bess went to carry on, but Blake interrupted.
"We're online with Jeremey Cole, Head of Operations with our embassy in Pakistan."
Blake quickly moved out of the way to let Elizabeth sit down.
"Mr. Cole, thank you for speaking with me. I'm here with Ellen Hill, National Security Advisor."
"Morning, Madam Secretary. Yes, I know Ms. Hill. How can I help?"
Bess looked over at Ellen. This had seemed so easy to explain until they actually had to explain it.
"A few days ago, thirty children from the Saint Anne's school in D.C touched down in Pakistan after their plane was hijacked. We learnt a few hours ago that the man who hijacked this plane has connections to Jibral Disah," Elizabeth told him, trying to gauge his reaction.
"You want the embassy's help to get them home?"
It was more of a statement than a question, but Bess answered it regardless.
"Yes. We are going to send you the information on both Amir Nadeem, our hijacker, and these children. We are hoping that some of them our still moving around the city freely. If they are, with your help we can get them to safety."
Elizabeth didn't want to mention the 'if not' right then. She was hoping that Nadeem had let these kids out of his sight just long enough for someone to rescue them.
"I will review all of the information you send, as well as try and locate the children's cell phones. If their cell phones are switched off then we will have to go through CCTV, which as you know, might take a little longer," Mr. Cole explained, much to the dismay of both women.
"I understand, Mr. Cole. But as I am sure you're aware, we don't know how long these kids have."
"I'm aware, Ma'am. I will get a team on it right away. Once we have located some of the children, or Nadeem himself, I will let you know," Mr. Cole said.
"We want hourly updates," Bess put in before he could say anything else.
"Yes, ma'am. If that's all?"
"That's all. We'll speak again in an hour," Elizabeth told him, a little cooler than normal.
She was still hoping that one of those kids had left their phone on. CCTV could take hours, possibly days. Islamabad was a big city, not to mention how over-populated and crowded it was.
Bess ended the call, leaning back in her chair. She wished that'd gone differently. She was hoping that when this all started two days ago that she could simply get them to an airport or Afghanistan and bring them home. To her, getting the embassy involved was a last resort.
"It's a start, Ma'am. We should remain positive. I don't know any teenager who can live without a phone, so there is always hope that one of those thirty have their phones on."
Bess smiled. Ellen was right, no teenager could really go days without a phone.
"I'll let Blake know to have all the information sent to Mr. Cole."
Elizabeth got up from her chair, moving around her desk. She was about to reach the door when Ellen stopped her.
"Ma'am…"
"You're never going to call me Elizabeth, are you?" Bess interrupted with a smile.
"No, Ma'am. I was going to suggest informing the President. Now that we have the embassy involved there is more chance of him hearing about it," Ellen suggested.
"I would like to wait. Wait until the Embassy has a lead either on Nadeem's whereabouts or the kids. Once we have a solid lead we can go on, then we inform the President. Until then, we just hope Russell Jackson is preoccupied."
Bess smiled, hoping that her decision would pay off in the end.
It wasn't even 9:00 am and already she could tell this would be a long day. But it would be worth it if she could get those kids home safely. Those kids getting back to the US would be the goal that would keep her going, and she assumed it would be the same for Ellen and her staff.
Let me know what you thought, like I say reviews are welcome and loved!
Thank you for reading! Until next time,
Bethany-Louise.