The President's Men
December 23
5.35 am
Park Place Condominiums, Georgia Avenue, Washington D.C.
"Lieutenant Thompson, Special Agent Rosskovich is here," Officer O'Malley informed the detective at the scene.
"Thanks," said Lt. Thompson, still taking in his surroundings.
"Tommy," Bob Rosskovich called out.
"Bob," Lt. Tommy Thompson shook the agent's hand. "How are you?"
"Fine. Given the circumstances, of course," Bob Rosskovich joked.
"Well, I guess they found a way to bring more grey hairs to the ones you're already sporting," Lt. Thompson said.
"Well, I guess I have to live with that," Bob responded.
"Okay, let's get down to work," the detective's face sobered. "Your agent and the porter said they didn't see any strangers entering the building. That means it must have been someone who was living here which means that he or she might have already left the building since neither your agents nor the porter was looking out for residents," Lt. Thompson informed Bob Rosskovich.
"Thanks. They did it with a telephone wire?" Bob asked for confirmation, looking down at the body.
"Yeap," Lt. Thompson said with a nod.
"I'm lucky that I'm not Mike Casper," Bob said with a sigh and was rewarded with a questioning glare from Lt. Thompson. "He is the one who briefs the President on this case," Bob explained.
"But I guess you are in the office when he does that," Lt. Thompson remarked.
"Well, you know what they say: you can't have everything," Bob quipped. "Thanks for updating me, Tommy."
"Look at the bright side, Bob. We can search her apartment without a warrant, maybe we will have us a lead by the end of the day," Lt. Thompson tried to lighten his friend's mood.
"That might be even true," Bob said. "How is it that she was able to afford this condo? I thought she was working as an assistant in a gallery."
"For modern Russian art, yes," Lt. Thompson told him and then both men stared as the body of the late Anoush Bedrosian was wheeled out of the room.
"We should start then with the condo. Who bought it and who paid the rent? Who is the owner?" Bob listed a couple of questions.
"They are already on it," his friend reassured him.
"Okay, gotta go," Bob said. "He has an early wake up call today," he imparted.
"The funeral is today," Lt. Thompson remarked.
"Yeah, the nightmare of every bodyguard. A public event in the open with as many celebrities as you can get," Bob said with sarcasm in his tone. "I'm just gonna go nuts by the end of the day. But if you find anything, let me know. This Anoush Bedrosian is really starting to intrigue me."
"Well, it's her death that should intrigue you, my friend. She herself won't be able to answer any questions anymore," Lt. Thompson pointed out.
"Not that she was that cooperative in the first place," Bob inserted and then left the crime scene. There were FBI agents, uniformed police officers and several detectives on the site. He figured that having one more wouldn't make any difference; besides, he had a President to take care of. He climbed into his car and drove back to the White House.
December 23
7.32 am
Senior Staff Meeting, Oval Office
"I'm meeting with the Leadership this afternoon, we will discuss vice presidential nominees," Will informed Sam.
"Before or after?" Sam asked.
"After the funeral, sir. Some of them will only arrive back in time," Will told him.
"Okay. What about Andy?" Sam asked Donna.
"She will be ready any time you say, Mr. President," Donna informed him.
"Okay, let's talk about the funeral!" Sam said with a sigh.
"We have everything under control," Donna reassured him.
"I'll escort the First Lady?" Sam asked her.
"Yes, sir. Tallulah will brief you later this day," Donna informed him.
"Right," Sam said with a nod.
"Lou's funeral is today too," Donna informed them.
"Really?" Sam asked. "Why?"
"Her parents chose the time when the press has other things to do," Press Secretary Jessie Parish told them.
"Okay. We'll send a wreath and someone from the staff. I assume you'd want be there, Jessie, but I'm sorry to say that you can't," Sam said, looking Jessie in the eye.
"I know, sir," Jessie said with a nod.
"I could do this," Deputy Chief of Staff Steve Sanchez told them.
"Thank you, Steve. You'll fly in Marine One. I guess, I can ask my fiancée to accompany you," Sam told him and then turned to Donna. "Josh maybe too?" he asked and after Donna's nod he turned to Will. "Anything else?"
"Deputy Director Casper is waiting for you in my office, sir," Will said.
"How did he look like?" Sam asked, after dismissing the others.
"He looked like hell, sir," Will decided for the truth.
"Did something happen?" Sam asked, already dreading the answer.
"Why would he be here so early otherwise?" Will asked back. "Sir," he added then hastily.
"You are tired too, Will. I've already asked Margaret to assign an assistant," Sam informed his Chief of Staff.
"I'm fine," Will protested. "Sir," he then added again.
"No, we both know that you are not. Besides, you are just too lazy to look for the right assistant," Sam mocked him.
"That's right, sir, I'm lazy," Will said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "But I understand you've been busy."
"I'm always busy, Will," Sam retorted. "What do you refer to?"
"Well, sir, I couldn't believe my ears yesterday when you asked Josh on the phone if he had any acquaintances in Ghana," Will told him.
"Well," Sam said, trying to suppress a sigh of relief. He thought Will was referring to his plans to bring Kate back. "Well, I need Holly Morris in Washington D.C. Preferably by tomorrow morning," Sam admitted.
"And you couldn't have asked me to take care of this because…?" Will asked, sounding only a bit offended.
"You are offended that I didn't ask you?" Sam asked perplexed.
"Yes, sir. I'm your Chief of Staff, it's my privilege to help you," Will told him.
"Will, while I consider you as my friend, this is something that has to be done through the backchannels. I think you will agree that bringing Holly Morris back from Africa is not a national priority. It is, however, a priority to me. Ainsley said she would marry me tomorrow if I would be able to bring here her sister, her brother and her maid of honor in time for the ceremony," Sam informed Will. "Her brother and sister are on their way; but neither can I go into the Situation Room nor can I tell you to ask General Robertson to track her down, put her on a plane and bring her back to the USA."
"I see your dilemma, sir," Will said, sounding reassured. "Was Josh able to help you?"
"No, unfortunately not. So I have to give up on my plan," Sam said, disappointment shining through his voice.
"Well, sir, it would be really a waste of resources that went into the planning, don't you think? Especially, if we consider the fact that Ms. Morris will arrive in Washington tomorrow morning around 7 a.m.," Will imparted and watched with an indulgent smile when Sam's face lit up.
"Really?" Sam asked back.
"Yes, sir. She is on her way," Will said with a nod.
"Really?" Sam asked back, sounding incredulous.
"Yes, sir," Will answered again.
"How did you do it?" Sam inquired.
"I asked Josh if he was able to pull the strings, and after he said no I asked General Robertson to my office," Will told Sam.
"You did not!" Sam exclaimed.
Will didn't answer but allowed himself a mysterious smile.
"You did not, you did not, you just did not do that!" Sam shouted.
"Of course not, sir," Will admitted with a huge smile. "I asked my father if he could pull the strings."
"Your father?" Sam asked.
"Yes, sir. And he was more than happy to help you out," Will said with a nod.
"And I wanted to make him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs," Sam whispered. "But I guess that's out of question now."
"I would think so, sir, yes" Will agreed. "But you didn't really lose anything, sir. My father really enjoys his retirement; he likes trout fishing and sailing along the coast of America."
"Thank you, Will," Sam then thanked his Chief of Staff. "I don't say it often enough but I think I wouldn't be able to face this all without you."
"Well, that's something you and I both have to live with, sir," Will quipped and then left the Oval Office to bring Mike Casper back.
TBC
A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews so far!!! And yeah, sorry for not updating for a while, there was a national holiday and I had no access to the Internet. Hope you still like the story. If so, please leave a review.
