Chapter 11
In the Shadow of the gunmen: Part 1
Previously on "28 Seconds: Walk in Hell"-
Tali once again scanned the crowd and this time stopped. There was a man missing. She turned around, trying to find him, when something caught her peripheral vision. She turned to the building across the street, and saw a window slide open on an upper floor. From it, 2 gun barrels emerged. "GUNNNNNN!" she yelled as she drew her P99. A split second later, automatic fire erupted and rained down on the motorcade.
And now the continuation of "28 Seconds: Walk in Hell"-
2105 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, The "Newseum", Rosslyn, Virginia.
As the bullets rained down on them, Tony, Agent Pierce, Rex and Chester moved quickly. Chester quickly got Meg, his wife, to the ground and covered her body with his own. Rex quickly pushed Zoey McCain, the President's youngest daughter into the 2nd of the 2 limousines, slamming the door shut behind her, before something knocked him to the ground. Agent Pierce and Tony quickly knocked The President and Liz, his eldest daughter, to the ground, pushing them into the lead limo. The quickly got in after them. "Move, move, move!" Tony yelled to the driver.
Meanwhile, outside, Tali and Zander were quick to react. Along with other Secret Service Agents, Zander drew his M9 Beretta as Tali drew her P99. The whole group opened fire on what they believed to be 2 shooters. From the roof, the Secret Service sniper teams opened fire as well. A counter-hail of bullets slammed into the open window, and after a few more seconds, the shooting fell silent. "Razor, I got the ID, you get those sons-a-bitches!" Tali yelled.
"On it" Zander yelled as he took off running across the street. As he ran he ejected the spend clip from his Beretta and inserted a new one. He quickly pushed in the door and rushed inside. "2nd floor, 2nd floor" he whispered to himself as he found the 1st stairwell. He grabbed the handle and slowly pulled it open, before snapping across, his gun aimed at the stairs. When he found no one was there, he slowly made his way to the 2nd floor. When he reached it, he heard voices coming from down the hall. Beretta out, Zander slowly approached the room. He jumped back when the door opened, and a bald man who was clutching his stomach emerged. "Freeze!" Zander ordered. The man turned and Zander saw that he had Glock in his hand. Zander fired 2 rounds, both striking the man in the chest, killing him. Zander rushed over, kicking away the Glock as he did. It was then that he realized the man wasn't bald, he was a skinhead, as evident from the man's swastika tattoo on the web of his hand.
Zander then checked the room, where there was a 2nd body, another skinhead, riddled with bullets. "Freedom this is Razor, 2 shooters down" he said into his radio.
2117 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, Presidential Motorcade, Arlington Memorial Bridge, Washington D.C.
The sirens of the police escort wailed as the Presidential motorcade crossed the bridge over the Potomac River back into the District of Columbia. "Is Zoey secure, get her again" the President yelled at Tony in the back of the 1st limo.
"She wasn't hit, Mr. President" Tony replied.
"Get her on the radio!" the President yelled.
"Dad, she can't talk right now" Liz spoke up.
"Why can't she talk?"
"Dad, she's vomiting in the back on the car. It happens" Liz assured him.
"Why is she vomiting?" the President asked.
"It happens, it could be shock, she might have gotten an elbow in the stomach…"
"Tony!" the President yelled. "Is Rex with her?"
"Rex put her in the car" Tony replied.
"But he's not with her?"
"She's got 2 other Agents in the car with her. She's got Mike and Frank with her. They're gonna have her back in the White House" Tony assured them.
"Why isn't Rex in the car?"
"Rex did his job, he got Zoey in the car. Mr. President, please" Tony cautioned. The President took a few deep breaths before continuing.
"Is anybody dead back there?" The President asked.
"We don't know, we don't think so" Tony said as he pulled off his tie and wrapped it around his hand.
"What happened to your hand?" the President asked.
"I got hit, spat bullet, nothing serious" Tony said as the blood began to seep through the tie.
"Oh God. Coop, turn around" the President yelled to the driver. "We gotta go to the hospital"
"Mr. President, we gotta get you to the White…"
"We're going to the hospital!" the President yelled. "Let's go"
"Mr. President, I have to put you inside the White House. This isn't something we discuss" Tony yelled back.
"This is… my daughter is throwing up on the floor in the car behind us. You're losing blood by the liter, not to mention god knows how many broken bones in your hand, but let's make sure that I'm tucked in bed before we…" the President said as blood began to show in his teeth.
"Mr. President" Tony yelled as he quickly checked the President over.
"Dad?" Liz said nervously. Tony quickly checked over the President's head and torso. When he moved his hand over the President's abdomen, it came up red.
"GSW, Washington General! Blue! Blue! Blue!" Tony screamed. The limo's driver, Agent Alex Cooper, quickly slammed on the breaks and sped off towards Washington General Hospital.
2125 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, The "Newseum", Rosslyn, Virginia.
With the scene now secured, First responders methodically went about checking on the survivors. One of them was Taylor Warren, the White House Press Secretary. "I'm fine, really, I'm fine" she told the EMT that was looking her over.
"You have a laceration to the cranial ridge, and a possible concussion. Ms. Warren, you are not fine" the EMT treating her replied.
"I just hit my head on the ground, I'll be fine" she said.
"Ms. Warren, you need medical attention. I'm putting you in an ambulance. Ok?" the EMT said.
"Just do what he says Tay, you'll be ok" yelled Jared Franklin, the Deputy Chief of Staff, who was unharmed.
"Is the President dead?" Taylor yelled as they strapped her to a stretcher.
"We don't know, we don't know" Jared yelled frantically. Jared ran over to Gabby, who was covered in blood, but it evidently wasn't her own. "Where's the President?" Jared yelled over the wailing sirens.
"On his way back to the White House. So are Liz and Zoey. They just put Meg in a car too" Gabby said. Then Gabby saw Tali running over. "Tali!" she yelled.
"Can't talk" Tali yelled as she rushed past. "Tali Colleton, Special Forces" Tali said to a Secret Service Agent.
"Tommy Cho" he replied.
"Are you the ID Agent?" she asked.
"Yes"
"2 Shooters, from that window" she pointed. "We got one from the roof, and another was killed by one of my men" Tali informed him. "But there was a signal"
"There was somebody on the ground?"
"White Male. 20-25, maybe 5'10''"
"What else?"
"Blue baseball cap"
"What kind of cap?"
"No insignia. Just a generic blue baseball cap"
"Facial features?"
"I don't know, I didn't get that close" Tali yelled. "I'm sorry"
"Fix a perimeter. Close the airport, shut em down" the ID Agent ordered to his men. "I want the Harbor Patrol and the Coast Guard too" he added.
"Damn it" Tali said to herself. She then ran back over to Gabby and Jared, who had now been joined by Will McAvoy. "Hey, you guys ok?" she yelled.
"We're fine, but you're bleeding" Gabby pointed out. Tali rubbed over her right eyebrow his her hand. When she pulled it away, it was blood red.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it" she replied. "Where's Rex?" she yelled.
"He got in the car with Zoey" Will said.
"No he didn't" Tali replied. "He pushed her inside and never got in"
"Spread out and find him" Will said. "Jared with me" Will said as they rushed along the rope line. At the same time, Gabby and Tali moved back up the steps to the museum.
"Rex, hey Rex!" Gabby called out. "There he is" she pointed. Rex was sitting with his back to them, up against a wrought iron fence. "Hey Rex, didn't you hear us calling you" Gabby yelled as she and Tali walked over. "Oh God" Gabby said when they got to him. Rex was clutching his stomach, he hands covered in blood.
"Medic!" Tali yelled frantically as Rex toppled over to his side, blood dripping from a bullet hole in his middle torso.
2145 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, Emergency Room, Washington General Hospital, Washington D.C.
Dr. Robin Scorpio was signing some papers at the Nurse's Station when one of the phones rang. She paid it no mind, until it kept ringing. "Aren't one of you going to answer that?" Robin said, not looking up from her clipboard.
"Dr. Scorpio" one of the nurses said nervously.
"What?" Robin said as she looked up. What was ringing wasn't the nurse's station phone, it was a red line. Robin dropped her clipboard and scooped up the phone. "Redline" she answered.
"Robin, it's Tony" said her brother' voice over the phone. "Blue" he said.
"I copy, can you please confirm" Robin replied.
"Blue is confirmed" Tony repeated. "We're 2 minutes out" Tony finished.
"Understood" she said before hanging up. Once she did, she broke the glass on the alarm, which was next to the redline phone. She pulled the lever, setting off the alarm. "Code Blue, I repeat, Code Blue. Clear it out!" she yelled as the alarm went off.
2148 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, East Room, White House, Washington D.C.
Meanwhile, the Vice President was meeting with the Maryland University Men's Basketball Team. The Terrapins were the 2002 NCAA Men's Champions, and as such, had earned the right to visit the White House. The Team had presented the Vice President with a Maryland Jersey that had "Obama" and "44" stitched on the back. "Ya know, I played Basketball at West Point" the Vice President recalled. "Although, like most years, we weren't very good" he smiled. "Anyway, Coach, gentlemen, I want to congratulate both you and the NCAA on a fantastic season, and best of luck this year. I know that you have 4 starters returning, so…" was all he got out before the Secret Service rushed into the room.
"Excuse us, everyone stay where you are!" the lead Agent yelled. "Mr. Vice President, please come with us" the said as they rushed him out of the room, camera's capturing every step.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the White House, the 1st Lady, Dr. Cindy McCain, was being placed in a car herself. "Is he conscious?" she asked.
"He's conscious and they're moving him to pre-op now. He was hit in the side, entry and exit" said one of her Secret Service Agents.
"What about Zoey and Liz?" she asked.
"Both are unharmed. Mrs. Quartermaine is with the President and Ms. McCain is in a car, on her way there now" the Agent said as Dr. McCain got in the car.
2150 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, Emergency Room, Washington General Hospital, Washington D.C.
When they got to the hospital, Tony still had his hand pressed on the President's wound. He remained there as the President was moved to a gurney. "He's been shot in the lower abdomen. Visible entry and exit wound" Tony yelled, his suit now covered in a mixture of both his own, as well as the President's blood.
"I got it, I got" Robin yelled as she hopped up on the gurney herself. "Give me vitals" she yelled to one of the nurses"
"Pressure: 134/78, pulse: 108" the nurse yelled.
"What's the pulse ox?" she asked.
"98"
"Mr. President, I'm Dr. Scorpio, I'm the trauma surgeon on duty. You can trust me, I'm Tony's sister" she said. "The Exit wound is a good indication and we like your vital signs" Robin said as the gurney was pushed into Pre-Op"
"You have me until you said you were his sister" the President joked.
"Oh for Christ's sake Dad, shut up!" Liz yelled as she herself, covered in her father's blood, followed them in.
"This guy has about a half dozen broken bones in his hand by the way, if someone wants to give an aspirin or something" the President said.
"Mr. President, just shut up, please" Tony said, still pressing his hand on the President's wound.
"Ok Tony, we got it" Robin said. Tony finally released his hand as Robin got a clamp on the bleeder.
"Ok, Mr. President, we're just gonna get you stabilized, ok" Robin said.
"Robin, wait as long as possible before you put him under" Tony whispered.
"I know, but we don't have long" she whispered back.
"Agent Pierce, what's the ETA on Dr. McCain?" Tony yelled.
"5 Minutes" he replied.
"Mr. President, do you have any medical conditions?" one of the Nurses asked.
"Well, I've been shot" the President joked.
"Liz!" Tony yelled.
"I'll handle it" she yelled back.
"Daddy!" Zoey yelled as she rushed in.
"Tony, get her outta her" Robin yelled as she continued to prep the President for surgery.
"Come on" Tony yelled as he wrapped his arms around her and dragged her out of the room, kicking and screaming all the way. "Come on Zoey" Tony said as he dragged her out.
"Let me go" she said as Tony finally placed her down. "Why can't I be in there?" she asked.
"You've already puked in the back on the car, for which your father will be billed for a massive cleaning bill. We don't need a second clean up in Pre-Op" Tony joked. "Come on, let's go for a walk" Tony said.
Meanwhile, Liz was busy looking for the anesthesiologist, Dr. Kevin Lee. "Dr. Lee" Liz said as she stepped into the room. It was only the 2 of them.
"Mrs. Quartermaine" the doctor replied.
"What I'm about to tell you, only 16 people in the world know; including the Vice President, the White House Chief of Staff, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. You're going to be the 17th" Liz said. "In 1989, my father was diagnosed with a relapsing/remitting course of MS (Multiple Sclerosis). When all this is over, tell the press, don't tell the press, I really don't give a damn" Liz said before walking out. When she did, she met up with Tony, who was standing outside the emergency exit, having yet another smoke.
"Did you tell them?" Tony asked as he blew smoke through his nose.
"Yeah, just Dr. Lee" she said as she grabbed the cigarette from Tony and took a puff herself.
"No choice, had to be done" Tony said as the alarm went off again. "Now what?" he asked as Liz dropped the cigarette under her heel.
"Gunshot wound, no exit" one of the nurses yelled as she rushed past.
"Decreased breath sounds on the left. Pulse ox, 92 on 15 liters O2" one of the EMT yelled as they pulled the stretcher from the ambulance. Then Tony and Liz saw who it was.
"Rex!" Tony yelled as they rushed him past. "That's my son" he yelled as he followed. "What happened?"
"He was behind fence, we don't know" said Tali, who along with Gabby had ridden in the ambulance with Rex.
"A bullet collapsed his lung, we're gonna put in a tube" one of the doctors said as they rushed Rex into Pre-Op.
"Jesus" Tony said as he backed against the wall.
"You ok?" Tali asked, the wound above her eyebrow getting progressively worse.
"I'll be ok, but you need to see a doctor" Tony said. "Gabby, find her a doctor please" he asked.
"Of course" Gabby said as she led Tali away.
"Ok, how are you really doing?" Liz asked once they were alone.
"Both my sons have been shot within 6 months of each other. Not so good" he answered honestly.
"Come here" Liz said as she wrapped him up in a warm hug. "Tell you what, you need to call Bridget. Rex is gonna need his Mom and Dad when he wakes up. While you do that, I'll call Allen and have him drive her up here" Liz said. "After that, we're gonna have a doc take a look at your hand" she said.
"What about the kids?" Tony asked. "Wait, don't worry about it, I have the Colonel take care of it" Tony said. "Thanks Liz" Tony said as he gave her another hug. Tony broke off the hug and pulled his cell from his pocket. "This should be fun" Tony said solemnly as he dialed.
2215 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, Sullivan Residence, Base Housing, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Bridget had just gotten home when her home phone rang. "Hello" she answered.
"Bridget, it's Tony" Tony said on the other end.
"Tony, what's wrong?" Bridget asked, hearing the distress in his voice.
"You're gonna be hearing it soon enough, but there was a shooting at Rosslyn" Tony said.
"Is the President ok?" Bridget asked.
"He took 1 round in the lower abdomen, Robin has him in surgery now" Tony said.
"What about you? Are you ok?" she asked.
"I took one in the hand, spat bullet"
"Spat bullet my ass, you need to be more careful" Bridget said.
"Bridget, look, that's not why I called" Tony paused. "Rex got hit. A bullet collapsed his lung and they have him in surgery now" Tony said.
"Oh God" Bridget said as she collapsed into a chair. "How is he?"
"He's in surgery now, we'll know more in a few hours" Tony said. "Look, Liz is on the phone with her husband now. AJ is gonna come over and drive you up here. Colonel Colleton is gonna look after their kids" Tony said.
"Ok, I'll grab my bag" she said as she stood up.
"Bridget" Tony said.
"We'll discuss it when I get there" Bridget said forcefully before hanging up.
2218 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, Emergency Room, Washington General Hospital, Washington D.C.
"Damn it" Tony said as he hung up too.
2220 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, White House Situation Room, West Wing, White House, Washington D.C.
"All the cabinet secretaries are en-route, or their already here" Meg informed Vice-President Obama as they walked into the Sit room. Waiting for them were the Joint-Chiefs, The SecDef, SecNav, NSA, and Secretary of State.
"Ok, have Master Sergeant Martin joint us" the VP ordered.
"Yes Sir" said Chester, who had been following them.
"Ten-Hut!" Wes Clark yelled when the VP entered.
"No, as you were, it's ok" The Vice President said as he took the seat at the end of the table. "Stephan, do we have any domestic activity" he said to the National Security advisor.
"Yes Sir, there isn't much. ATC was down for 22 minutes at Logan, Citi Bank's computers were off-line for about an hour, and the lights went out at the Delta Center for 7 minutes" Dr. Ramsay replied.
"Ok, now somebody tell me, these 2 shooters; they didn't have a wallet, a driver's license, nothing?" the Vice-President asked.
"Nothing we can use, Mr. Vice-President" the NSA replied.
"Now that just ain't true" said Chester, who was leaning up against the wall. "Permission to speak Sir" Chester said.
"Speak up, Master Sergeant" Vice President Obama ordered.
"Sir one of my men took down the 2nd shooter with 2 to chest. Both shooters were skinheads with swastikas tattooed on the webs of their hands. That is very distinctive. And if Dr. Ramsay is telling you otherwise then he is lying" said Chester.
"It's also worth mentioning that at this point we don't know the whereabouts of over a dozen of Al Qaeda's top leadership, including Bin Laden" said Dr. Ramsay.
"So?" Chester continued. "We've been hunting Bin Laden since the Embassy Bombings in 98'. The shooters were domestic, we should start there" he said.
"It's also possible that they were funded from overseas" said General Clark. "As the intel suggested"
"Yes, but we also have a 3rd man in the wind; one that could provide all the answers we need" Chester argued.
"Right now, I think we have a bigger concern" said the SecDef.
"What is it?" the Vice President asked.
"Bring up the KH-10s" he said to one of the technicians.
"I've seen them, and I'm not worried" Meg said to the VP.
"Meg, these images show a buildup of frontline Republican Guard Units along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers" said Secretary King.
"The buildup isn't sudden, they do it every few months"
"They're moving south, towards Kuwait"
"Not 13 hours ago, the Iraqis shot down an F-117 over the no fly. Our rescue op, led by some of the Master Sergeant colleges, invaded their airspace. My recommendation is that the Vice President put the 32nd Tactical on alert and move us to DEFCON 4" he said.
"If we need to, we can deploy the Unit and the 75th to Kuwait in 36 hours" Chester spoke up.
"We may not have 36 hours"
"The Republican Guard couldn't find their car keys in 36 hours" Chester replied.
"Look at the photos, I'd say they found em"
"Enough!" the Vice President finally spoke up. "I'm gonna go with Meg on this one" the VP said. "David, what's the best way to get a message to Saddam?" he asked.
"The King of Jordan" the Secretary of State replied. "What do you want the message to say?"
"Don't fuck with us tonight" Chester spoke up, to which General Clark, Meg and the Vice President all nodded.
"Keep me updated" the VP said as he stood and exited the room, Meg and Chester right behind him.
"I'm going to meet with leadership in a few minutes, after that, have Taylor brief the press" the VP said as they exited the outer sit room.
"Taylor has a concussion and will be out for a few weeks" Meg said.
"Where's Gabby?"
"At the hospital with Rex" Chester said.
"Fine, get either Will or Jared, and put them in front of a camera. The longer we remain quiet, the longer stupid rumors and conspiracy theories have to flourish" the Vice President ordered.
"Yes Sir" Meg replied as the Vice President headed toward the Oval Office.
"Where do you want me?" Chester asked.
"Stay close to the VP, just I case he's targeted too" Meg said.
"I watch him" Chester said, about to leave.
"Chester" Meg said.
"Yeah" he stopped and turned around. Meg stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and passionately kissed him.
"Once again you prove to be my knight in shining armor" she smiled before kissing him again.
"Just doing my job mam" he said before walking away.
2300 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, White House Press Briefing Room, West Wing, White House, Washington D.C.
"Will, when will the medical team be available?"
"Dr. Scorpio, the WGH Surgeon, as well as Captain Wolek, the President's Personal Physician, will be made available in the next few hours" Will replied. With Taylor out, Will was the next qualified person available to brief the press.
"Has there been any discussion of the 25th Amendment?"
"No"
"Why not"
"The President's wound was a through and through. He'll be out of surgery before morning, and he's expected to make a full recovery"
"Anything on the shooters identity?"
"Not yet" Will said
"We have reports that 2 bodies were taken out of the building across the street from the Newseum, and that right now there is a massive manhunt underway for a possible 3rd accomplice on the ground"
"We have no comment at this time" Will said.
2305 hours, Tuesday, 11 November 2002, White House Chief of Staff Megan Martin's Office, West Wing, White House, Washington D.C.
"Will, under past administrations, the President entered and exited public buildings under an awning or canopy. Can you tell us why this protection was not taken for President McCain, or at least why it wasn't tonight?"
"No Comment, and we have nothing more at this time"
"Damn it" Meg watched the briefing on the TV in her office. The White House mole had done it again, caught the staff with their pants down. She continued her brooding when someone knocked on the door. "What is it?" she yelled. Flora Blackford, the SecNav, and Will both walked in.
"How did I do?" Will asked.
"Not bad under the circumstances. What's up Flo?" Meg asked.
"Pretty soon, the Press is gonna figure out that no one is in command" she said. "It'll only be a matter of time before Danny Concannon or Greg Brock digs something up" she said.
"So what's on your mind?"
"We need to make our moves before someone figures out we can't"
"Flo, General Clark agrees with me. Any upgrade in our DEFCON posture and the whole world's gonna wake up in the middle of the night" Meg said.
"The world is awake Meg. Look at the TV, look out the window" Flora begged. "There was more than 1 shooter. We think they had a guy on the ground. If we think they had 1, we have no reason not to believe they may have had more than 1. Somebody had to get them into that building, into that specific office. This wasn't a lonely guy who lived with his cats. There was a plan in place" Flora continued to rant in a very calm manor. "And one of the things we have to assume is that we are under attack right now"
"Which is why the Vice President should place the 32nd Tactical on a ready-alert and take us to DEFCON 4" said Mike Chrysler, the Deputy NSA, as he and Jared Franklin walked into the room.
"Council's Office isn't sure he can" Meg said.
"Why not?" Will asked.
"He never signed the letter" Meg spat out.
"What letter?"
"Customarily, if the President is gonna be under a general anesthetic…" Flora began to explain.
"He's gotta sign a letter giving the Vice President power?" Will asked.
"Absent the 25th Amendment, the Constitution doesn't give it to him unless the President is dead" Flora said.
"He's hemorrhaging, and he's supposed to draft a memo?"
"Yeah" Flora nodded.
"Wonderful" Jared spoke up.
"It gets even more complicated if you'd read Section 202 of the National Security Act of 1947" Flora said.
"Let's assume that I haven't" Will said.
"It says that the Secretary of Defense will be the principal assistant to the President on all matters relating to the national security" Flora explained.
"What does "principal assistant" mean?" Jared asked.
"It doesn't specify" Meg spoke up.
"No it wouldn't; because this is an area of federal law where you'd want as much ambiguity as possible" Will said sarcastically.
"Will, get a copy of Section 202, and see if you can figure out, what the hell "principal assistant" means" Meg ordered. "Jared, give him a hand. Mike, get out of my office, and Flora, thank you, but the 32nd Tactical will remain as is, until The Vice President orders otherwise" she finished.
"It is unclear at this time, if before going under anesthesia, if President McCain signed a letter granting temporary authority to Vice President Obama. Meanwhile, thousands of people have begun gathering outside the police barricade outside Washington General Hospital, beginning an impromptu vigil with prayers being offered"
"A massive manhunt is underway at this hour, searching for a possible 3rd suspect in the shooting that took place only hours ago. Airports up and down the Atlantic Coast are closed. The National Guard has been called in in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Also at this hour, the US Navy's Carrier Groups in the Mediterranean, in the Persian Gulf, as well as off the coast of West Africa, have been placed on alert"
0145 hours, Wednesday, 12 November 2002, Intensive Care Unit, Washington General Hospital, Washington D.C.
The President was now out of surgery, and his wife, Cindy, as well as Liz and Zoey, were sitting with him. When Meg walked into the room, Liz had just finished telling her husband about Rex. "I wanna see him" the President said weakly.
"Mr. President, you need to stay in bed" Meg said as she took the President's hand. "You gave us all quite the scare"
"I'm sorry Megan" the President said.
"Sonny called me" Meg said. "He's gonna fly down in the morning" Meg said.
Meanwhile, Tony was sitting patiently outside the Operating room when Tali found him. "Hey" Tony said numbly.
"Hey" Tali said. The cut above her eye was now stitched up and was covered with a white bandage. "I've got Zander posted up outside. I'm gonna meet up with Chester and we're gonna find the sons-a-bitches that did this" she said. "I'll keep you informed" she said as she slipped her P99 into her shoulder holster under her jacket.
"Thanks" Tony said as Tali walked off. Tony leaned back against the wall, and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, someone else walked through the door. "What'd ya forget?" Tony asked, not opening his eyes. When no one answered, Tony opened one of his eyes. What he saw was Bridget standing there, dressed in tight jeans and a gray blouse, with a brown leather jacket over it. "Bridget" Tony said as he practically jumped to his feet. "How…"
"AJ had us choppered in" Bridget said. "Oh God Tony" Bridget said as she lunged forward into Tony's arms. Tony clasped his arms, including his bandaged hand around Bridget, hugging her tightly.
"It's gonna be ok" Tony whispered in her ear.
At the same time, AJ, dressed in a dark blue long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, knocked on the door to the President's room. "Enter" the President beckoned loudly. AJ pushed open the door and stepped inside. Liz smiled as she got up and crossed the room, giving AJ a kiss.
"I'm glad you're ok" AJ said as he kissed her again. "Looks like I owe Tony once again" he said.
"You guys are even now" Liz smiled.
"How's Rex?" he asked.
"Still in surgery" Meg said.
"So you must be Major Quartermaine" the President said from his bed.
"Yes Sir, Mr. President" AJ said, slipping his arm around Liz's waist. "Major Allen James Quartermaine Jr. AJ for short" he said.
"It's very nice to meet you Major" said Cindy.
"Thank You, Mrs. McCain, though I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances" he conceded.
"As do I" she smiled back. "John" she said as she nudged her husband's arm.
"Major, I have 3 grandchildren, whom I've never met. You are the father of all 3 of them. You also are married to my daughter, at a wedding to which I did not attend because I was no invited"
"That was my decision, not AJ's" Liz said. "And gee I wonder why?"
"Ok, so maybe I wasn't the best father, and meddled where I didn't belong. And for that I am sorry"
"We accept your apology" AJ said, before Liz got the chance.
"It's good to finally meet you Major" The President said as he extended his hand.
"You too Sir" AJ replied as they shook.
"Now help me out of bed" the President said. "That is a direct order from your Commander-in-Chief" he ordered.
"Yes Sir" AJ replied. With the help of Liz and Meg, AJ got the President to his feet and dressed in a dark blue robe over his hospital gown.
"Now, where is Rexton?" the President asked.
With AJ's strong arms to guide him, the President made his way over to the ICU, where Tony and Bridget were waiting outside the Operating room. "Mr. President" Tony said as both he and Bridge got to their feet.
"Anthony, Bridget" the President said as he nodded to both of them. "How is Rexton?" he asked.
"He's in there" Tony nodded towards the door. The President looked over at the window, and saw Rex on the operating table.
"We who have seen war, will never stop seeing it. In the silence of the night, we will always hear the screams"
TO BE CONTINUED…
PLEASE REVIEW!
(Liat's Voice)- Next time on "28 Seconds: Walk in Hell"-
The Hunt for the 3rd man is one, as Chester and Tali begin risk life and limb to bring the man to justice. When Cat arrives at Washington GH, Zander finds himself comforting her. Meanwhile, Tony and Bridget wait out their son's surgery, while Liz receives some distressing news.
A/N- As we are fast approaching the 2nd Anniversary of the "28 Seconds Series", I hope to create a Top 10 list for 28 Seconds, of the top 10 moments of the series thus far. So please submit your favorite moment either via PM or review. Or, if you're really ambitious, submit your own top 10 list.
And in case I can't update before the holiday, a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.
