Chapter 9
AN: So here is the next chapter, thanks for all the support for this story, I really enjoy hearing from other fans of the show. So on we go with this tale, the threats just keep coming.
"Threats can be against nations and need to be dealt with"
President Conrad Dalton had faced many crises in his career, both in the CIA and as President, but this had to top them all. Coordinated attacks in five capital cities in the one day. However, the biggest problem seemed to be the unusual lack of information.
Having received no warning, the CIA had been caught out and, no matter how good they were, they were now playing catch up. They'd been in touch with the security services of the various other countries involved and all their investigations were still in their early stages. Scotland Yard and MI5 in the UK were the furthest ahead, having already discovered the identity of the suicide bomber - worryingly a vetted guard at the Houses of Parliament - and were now attempting to follow his trail to the other attackers. There had been no further message in the hour since the clips had been sent but Dalton could see an escalating threat when it was in front of him. It was as if they were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The phone rang again in the corner and Dalton watched as his aide answered it. Then he realised that something had happened simply by the look on his aide's face.
"Uh… Sir… that was Mr Moran from the Secretary of State's office. He said to inform you that Stephanie McCord is in the medical centre. She... uh… she's had a miscarriage. Apparently Harrison has taken the news badly."
"Oh, God. Is she okay?"
"She's coming out of surgery now, Sir, but Mr Moran said that the Secretary was concerned about your son. He left when he heard the news and she feels you should be made aware of it."
"Fine. Contact his detail, check they have him. If he isn't with them then we need to find him."
"Sir!" Russell Jackson made his way into the President's screened-off area.
"What is it, Russell?" Conrad hoped he'd come with some news of the attacks and not with yet another problem.
"The terrorists just sent a warning by email. No clips this time, just the names of three cities."
"Where?"
"D.C. again, Tokyo and Moscow."
"Okay. Warn the embassies in case it's the same M.O. and let the FBI know."
"Already done. The embassies were already under increased security. The FBI have several teams of agents working on the threat but unfortunately, without more intel, at the moment there's not much we can do except wait."
"Wait! I hate waiting."
They didn't have to wait long until the phones started ringing. But what was more shocking was that they could hear an explosion in the distance but clearly somewhere close to the base.
"Damn it!" Dalton shouted. Before either had a chance to move their attention was drawn to the TV as the news broadcast that had been continuously showing news of the terrorist attacks around the world shot to a live view of a report from the centre of D.C., where the Lincoln Memorial was no more.
"We need to get ahead of this." Conrad turned from Russell to an aide who was standing close by. "Get me the heads of the FBI and CIA on the phone now!"
"Yes, Sir," the aide responded before turning and quickly leaving.
Dalton turned to another staff member who'd just hung up the phone. "What happened in the other cities?"
"Same as before, Sir. They targeted the embassies. But neither has any real damage as the terrorists were stopped before they could get inside. Only the gate area has been damaged in both embassies."
"Any casualties?"
"No figures as yet, Sir."
"Get the National Security Advisor. I need to see him immediately."
"Yes, Sir."
Just then Admiral Hill, Chairwoman of the Joint Chiefs, walked into the hangar with her staff. "Mr President, we have some information you should see. They've just uploaded three more clips." She set down a laptop, opened it, and started playing the clips that had been uploaded. They were similar to the previous ones. Again there were three men, the one in the first clip was the same man they'd seen in the first D.C. clip. He wasn't in the same place but you could still see the Lincoln Memorial in the background, now lit in the early dawn. They all watched as the terrorist began speaking.
"Mr President, it is time to say goodbye to a National treasure." As the terrorist spoke he pressed a hand-held trigger and the Memorial could be seen exploding before the screen went black.
The second clip began before anyone had the chance to say anything. This second man wasn't dressed as a tourist but could be clearly seen to be wearing an explosive-filled vest with a trigger in his hand. He wasn't either of the men that had been in Spain or Australia. He wasted no time and immediately began speaking.
"Your ability to police the world is coming to an end," he stated and then blew himself up. Although most people in the room were hardened military or professional operatives, there was still a gasp at what they were seeing. Everyone had been so focussed on the terrorist and it had all happened so quickly that they hadn't had the chance to work out where it had taken place.
Dalton cleared his throat. "Where?" he asked Admiral Hill.
"That one was in Moscow, Sir," she answered quietly.
The third clip sprang to life, this one beginning with a close up of the name of a building. Everyone could clearly see "United States Embassy - Tokyo". The view then panned out until they could see a close up of the third terrorist, who immediately began speaking.
"You'll never catch us. We are everywhere," the man stated before a bomb exploded behind him at the gate to the Tokyo embassy.
The screen went black and Dalton stared at it. "Enough of this. They're clearly toying with us. The first man was in central D.C. He filmed this only five minutes ago. Get the FBI to get onto this straight way. He should be traceable. He can't have gotten that far. Send the clips to the authorities in Tokyo and Moscow. They need to get onto this, too. There's a chance they could catch the attacker in Tokyo given the central location of the embassy, although it'd be difficult with the crowds and the mass panic after that explosion."
It was another hour before Hill was able to update the President. However, much to Conrad's delight, this time she actually had some information that could break the case.
Ellen Hill quickly summarised the situation. "Sir, we've detained the first terrorist, the one who's based in D.C. We checked street cameras and other security tapes from the area, and we got a break. The FBI used their facial recognition software and the man was traced from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. We were lucky to get to him in time and he was arrested at the foot of the Monument. He was in the middle of making another clip."
"Good. I assume the head of the FBI is dealing with him?"
"Yes, Sir, although it's early days and he isn't talking yet. However, we had confirmation from the UK that this man is the ringleader. They accessed emails at the suicide bomber's house in Streatham in London."
They were joined around the table by Russell Jackson, Darren, the National Security Advisor, and the Secretary of Defence.
"So, do you think the group will collapse without their leader to guide them, or are plans in motion that will be continued even without him?" Dalton asked the group collectively.
There was a pause as they all looked at each other, before Russell spoke up. "That, Mr President, is the million dollar question."
"Sir," the National Security Advisor began, "There's really only one question. Have we had contact with all the terrorists? If so, then we've caught the leader and know of four others who've killed themselves in London, here at the White House, in Madrid, and now in Moscow. Assuming the one who sent the message from Spain is the one who died in Madrid, that leaves the one in Tokyo and the one in Australia. However, without confirmation that there are no more attackers, we don't know what is to come but I would speculate that if the leader was making another clip, then there are likely to be more attacks."
"Very well, coordinate with the authorities in both Japan and Australia. Tell them that we've caught the leader. If the two terrorists in those two countries set up another attack and film it happening, we may be able to catch them in the act, before they can cause any more damage or casualties. Right now we need to break their leader. Tell the head of the FBI that he's to use all legal means. And make sure State are in contact with all embassies and that they're being extra vigilant. If the new plan is to film attacks as they occur then they need to keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviour. Fill them in about these attacks and remind the embassies that we don't know how many more terrorists there are or if there are any more planned attacks."
"Yes, Sir. However, we really need the expertise of the Secretary of State."
"I'll contact her straight away..." Russell began, before he was overruled by the President.
"No, contact her Chief of Staff. Elizabeth's with her daughter at the hospital. Nadine will know what to do."
-MSEC-
Nadine put down the phone. Talking to Russell Jackson was never her favourite thing to do but she'd been given her instructions - contact their allies and advise their embassies about the latest attacks, advising them about what they now knew about the terrorist group. Well, they'd all wanted something to do, to make themselves feel useful, so she might as well start there.
"Matt, Jay, we have some calls to make."
The two men turned from the table where they'd been working and walked over to join her.
"Who are we calling?" Jay asked.
"All the embassies, all our allies, anyone we can, in particular Tokyo and Australia. They've apprehended the leader of the cell responsible so now we need to make sure we catch all the others."
"Okay, but we could do with more hands," Matt stated.
"Mr Jackson has made some White House staffers available to us. You're to bring them up to speed and then coordinate the calls. We've caught the main attacker by tracking him through surveillance video. We're to ensure that all our embassies and allies, whether they've been attacked or not, are checking similar footage."
"Seems a bit of a long shot," Matt commented.
"Perhaps, but since this comes straight from the President, we should probably follow orders, don't you think?" There were times when Nadine really got sick of some of her younger colleagues and, having not slept, been nearly blown up, and having seen her boss go through a horrific night, she felt this could be one of these times.
Nadine watched as the two men looked at each other and then back at her. She pointed to the staffers across the hangar and watched as the men walked over to them. She sighed. It had been a long night. Now she had to deal with Daisy and ensure that she ran interference for the Secretary. The news about Stephanie McCord wasn't good and they both needed to ensure that it wasn't made public. She picked up her phone. It would be easier to call Daisy as she could be anywhere with the White House press secretary.
"Daisy, I need you back here ASAP." Nadine listened carefully before adding curtly, "Well, of course it's important! If you aren't speaking to the press then I need you here." She simply ended the call and assumed that the press secretary would come. There would, of course, be hell to pay if she didn't.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, next chapter is back to Stevie in hospital. Not sure when I will get that up as my computer has died this weekend. To those in America I hope you enjoy the next episode if it is on tonight, me I am loving season 2. Just watched 3 episodes here and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for Wednesday night. Thanks for reading.