Author's Note: The exchange between Hillary and the Secret Service agent at the beginning of this scene is based on real life accounts. It may not have taken place the day after Benghazi but it happened at some point during her tenure. Just like an earlier chapter's depiction of her and Planned Parenthood is meant to represent what I believe their inner workings to be.
It is said that being assigned to Hillary's security detail is seen as "punishment" in the Secret Service. She is known to be very rude and nasty, and to not respect their suggestions in managing situations. Other White House staff also describe her as very condescending and disrespectful overall. Hillary is also known for her dislike of the military and law enforcement which is consistent with her actions in Benghazi and her statements about Black Lives Matter.
SCENE 7: HILLARY PLOTS THE COVER-UP AS SHE PONDERS HER POLITICAL FUTURE
"Maybe Mr. Stevens should have contacted me if he wanted to live, if he wanted security. He should have thought about that." – Hillary Clinton, Benghazi hearings, October 2015
"The Benghazi thing will fade, the public isn't interested." – Hillary Clinton in Time magazine July 2014
"Ain't nobody got time for that." – Hillary Clinton when asked if she will watch the "13 Hours" film
"I have to admit that a great deal of what my husband and I have learned about Islam has come from my daughter. As some of you who are our friends know, she took a course last year in Islamic history." – Hillary Clinton
STATE DEPARTMENT, THE FOLLOWING MORNING
"Good morning, ma'am," the Secret Service agent said as he opened the main door leading into the State Department building as Hillary Clinton strode through with an entourage of several advisors.
"Fuck off," Hillary said, brushing past him, leading the rest of her security detail trying to catch up.
When she arrived in her spacious office, she noticed that Obama was already waiting for her in the large anteroom in front of it. Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg was there as well. Hillary had ordered Steinberg to keep abreast of developments in Benghazi as she slept soundly in her bed all night. Retiring to her comfortable residence, and the bed she did not share with her husband, was a much needed escape.
"Madame Secretary, the President was here early," the intern at the desk stammered.
"Oh aren't you great at stating the obvious," Hillary said in a nasty tone. Your job is to work for me and not be an idiot. And don't try to fuck me, I'm not my fucking husband, Hillary thought to herself. Hillary was already in an extremely aggravated mood due to the unexpected mess in Benghazi, and her husband's infidelity was the last thing she needed to also be on her mind.
"We need to discuss this in private," Obama said to the intern in that suave voice he had used to sway so many voters on the campaign trail.
Hillary closed her office door behind her and walked around the room, too emotionally excited to sit down.
"This is a total fuckup! 13 fucking hours? They survived that?" Hillary said. "Jim, you're sure about what you e-mailed me this morning about there being survivors, and about the ambassador?"
"Unfortunately I am, Madame Secretary," Steinberg told her. "All the survivors have arrived in Tripoli and are safely in our embassy. Members of a local pro-Western militia was able to relieve the CIA operators at the consulate and rescue our staff. Their show of force and numbers were sufficient to deter a further attack from Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Islam. Ambassador Stevens's body was found in an alleyway by the old bazaar. Somebody eventually took him to the hospital, but they weren't able to revive him. The state he was in, even the best American doctors couldn't have done anything for him."
"And they're sure he was dead before he reached the hospital? How bad was his condition? Was it the fire? Was he burned? Did the militants simply desecrate his body or was he tortured?"
"He was tortured very brutally," Steinberg said grimly, "Reports indicate he was alive and the wounds on his body are consistent with this assessment. They electrocuted him many times, they attacked his genitals with a cattle prod. Witnesses claim the jihadis did everything they could to keep him awake and alert so he could feel all of it. "
Steinberg, as one of Hillary's subordinates, had been personally ordered by her to participate in the cover up and tell whatever lies and cover stories she deemed necessary to protect the Obama administration and by extension her own chances of winning the presidency in 2016. Yet even he winced as he thought about what Ambassador Stevens had been through because of the State Department's refusal to approve any kind of military action to protect their Libyan outposts.
Hillary paused for a moment as her mind searched desperately for a way out. "But your report says he was forced out of his safe room after the militants set fire to the building?"
"That's correct," Steinberg replied.
Defense Secretary Panetta also spoke up. "There's video evidence showing that from some of the camera footage we were able to recover."
"Show it to me."
They spent the next few minutes going over through the tapes. Despite the chaos and destruction and the heat of battle shown on the footage, what Hillary felt was partial relief. Maybe there was a way out for her, at least for this part.
"With the amount of smoke we have here, and if it was in the room, it's possible he suffered significant lung damage?"
Despite being a lifelong Democrat, Panetta hated where this was going, but he knew above all that Hillary Clinton wasn't to be crossed, and neither was Barack Obama. It was already clear that the administration tolerated no dissent from anyone, and made sure anyone who challenged them was punished.
Panetta had been in the Cabinet meetings where Obama, partly at Hillary's behest, had personally ordered Lois Lerner from the IRS to especially target conservative and Christian organizations seeking tax-exempt status for scrutiny, even as the IRS was ordered to fast track approval for pro-abortion, Muslim, and illegal alien advocacy groups. Obama had also personally spoken about how there had to be some way to silence documentary filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza and retaliate against him for his series of anti-Obama books and movies. Because of the fear set by these precedents, Panetta joined in on Obama's plan.
"Mr. President, Madame Secretary, the autopsies won't be performed until the ambassador's body arrives back at Dover Air Force Base. I'll instruct the medical team to specifically look for lung damage and signs of possible asphyxiation."
"No, Leon," Hillary said authoritatively, "The autopsy will determine that to be the cause of death. You will personally make sure of it. Are your instructions clear on this?"
"Yes, Madame Secretary."
"Good, and I'll cover it on my end. As soon as I leave here, I will get in touch with my staff. The Benghazi hospital records will be changed to John Doe."
Obama nodded his approval throughout the entire conversation. Hillary's husband had been embarrassed by the video footage of dead Americans being dragged naked through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 following a failed peacekeeping mission there, a mission where no American national interests were at stake but which Bill Clinton felt was important to assist a Third World nation. Something like that couldn't be allowed to happen in Libya.
Hillary was proud of herself. She knew that the best lies were often half truths. There was also the issue of the survivors and their accounts, but if they played this right, she might have a way out of this mess after all.
