News cycle
Chap 12
"So, I see you haven't brought your resignation back." Conrad acknowledged as he and his Secretary of State both took a seat in the chairs in The Oval Office. Elizabeth slightly chuckled, thinking back on how she nearly made that huge mistake. "No sir." She replied.
"Good. That was the right decision." He said matter of factly. She simply rubbed her lips together and nodded her head, as she glared through the windows, staring at the blooming flowers. "Bess." Conrad called, pulling her attention back towards him. Their eyes connected, and she knew whatever he was about to say would be something serious.
"How's the situation with the tape?" The President asked. "It's been dealt with." She answered rather vaguely. "Do I need to know anything concerning the matter?" He pushed. Elizabeth shook her head. "No sir. It's been handled." She said honestly.
~yesterday~
She wasn't nervous. Furious, yes. All the pent up anger she'd been shoving deep down was making itself known. She sat at the large table, unmoving, watching the clock. Her anger seemed to increase as each second ticked by. Elizabeth took a deep breath, reminding herself she needed to stay calm.
Another few minutes slowly went by before the man she'd been expecting busted through the conference room doors. "Russel what…" Craig trailed off once realizing it was only him and The Secretary in the room. "Where's Russel?" He asked, confused why the person who had summoned him to The White House wasn't present.
"He won't be joining us." She told him, before sipping from her coffee cup. "May I ask why?" The man said, already annoyed with the woman. Craig walked further into the room.
"He didn't call you here." She stated. "I did." She added, looking up at his face, wanting to gauge his reaction. "And that reason would be…" Craig mused, crossing his arms over his chest. Elizabeth stood, coming face to face with The National Security Advisor. "You see… I want to know what the hell you're trying to do here." She said calmly.
"I don't follow." He shared. Elizabeth laughed. "I know you were the one who placed the cameras in my home." She declared, staring directly into his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about." He argued, shaking his head.
"You can drop the act. My DS agent, Scott, is giving his statement, implementing you, right now. We know you paid him." She explained, leaning against the edge of the table. "What I want to know is why?... Were you jealous of my relationship with Henry?" She provoked him, knowing that wasn't the reason why he did all this.
He scoffed at her statement. "God no. I pity any man who marries you." Craig snipped. "Come on Elizabeth, you're smarter than that." He added. She took her weight off of the table, and stood straight once again.
"So this is about Conrad then… The teacher liked me better, so you decide to screw with my career." Elizabeth mocked.
"You're screwing with mine." He countered. She rose her eyebrow, urging him to elaborate. "I should have been Secretary of State!" Craig screamed, pointing at himself. "You're not even a politician! You didn't know the ways of Washington. It should have been me!" He criticized.
Bess crossed her arms over her body. "You didn't get what you wanted." She stated. "I didn't get what I deserved." The man corrected. She laughed and shook her head at his statement. "Well I hate to break it to you Craig, but your career in this administration is officially over." Elizabeth announced.
"You can't prove anything." He fought. "I can prove plenty." She reassured. "Please, you have no concrete evidence." He declared. "No, but I know you did this." She remarked. "Yeah, so what I did it; it's Scott's word against mine. No one will believe him." Craig replied. There was a moment of silence.
"Here's what you're gonna do. What you did is punishable by law… you can leave out the back door with your dignity intact, or you can go out the front in handcuffs… It's really up to you." She told him.
"Did you not just hear me? You can't prove anything." He pointed out. That's when Elizabeth smirked, and eyed him. Slowly she pulled back her blazer, revealing a recording device. She was wired. "Doesn't feel good does it?" She quipped. Craig's face paled, and his smile fell. "Son of a bitch." He muttered.
"Not bad, as far as resignations go." Elizabeth announced upon entering The President's chief of staff's office. "He always was a plain-spoken man… Never should have trusted him." He admitted as he poured three glasses of scotch.
"I would say 'I told you so', but you know I'm above that." Elizabeth teased. Russel laughed. "I'm not… I told you so." Mike spoke up, just as Russel handed off the tumblers to the other two occupants of the room.
"Well thank god Vanessa owed you a favor, Russel." Elizabeth commented. The man nodded. "Craig called her last night. Gave her a story about The Secretary of State filing for divorce." Russel explained again. "Nice acting by the way." The man added.
"I think this calls for a toast." Mike declared, standing from his seat. "To career assassination." Russel said. Elizabeth laughed, before they all clinked their glasses together.
~present~
"So concerning Craig's replacement…" The President trailed off. "I have a few people in mind." Elizabeth admitted. "I look forward to hearing them." He replied. There was a pause before Conrad spoke again.
"By the way… Craig's resignation. That was… sudden." He commented. "Yes, Mr. President." She said simply.
"So through this whole mess…" Elizabeth began, referring to the tape leak. "Daisy's been pushing to release a statement. I didn't want to approach the subject until it had been taken care of. Now that it has… I'm holding a press conference this afternoon." She informed her friend. He nodded.
"And CIA has given you permission to declassify?" Conrad questioned. "Yes sir." She answered. "Well Bess, I'd like to be there with you." The President told her, wanting to show his support. "I would greatly appreciate that sir."
Elizabeth looked at herself, eyes roaming up and down, checking her appearance in the mirror. She turned to face her girls. Stevie was sitting on the bench at the end of her and Henry's bed while Ally stood a mere few feet from her. "Noodle?" Bess questioned, holding her arms out, awaiting a critique of her outfit from her daughter. She was skeptical of her own choice. Allison stepped up to her mom, fixing the top of her white blouse. "Exactly what I would have picked." Ally said.
"Shoes?" Elizabeth asked. Before her younger daughter could answer, her oldest had already fished out a classic pair of black stiletto heels from her closet. "Perfect." Allison commented on her sister's decision.
"You look great mom." Stevie declared. Elizabeth smoothed the non-existent wrinkles in her grey pencil skirt. "Are you nervous?" Ally probed, sensing her mother's mood. Bess sighed. "A bit." She answered honestly.
"You know we support you in everything you do… and I wanted to apologize again for my behavior the other day… I can't even imagine how hard this all is for you." Stevie told her. Her daughter's words nearly brought tears to her eyes. "Come here baby." She demanded softly, wrapping her arms around her daughter.
"I love you so much." Elizabeth whispered. She opened her other arm, and motioned to Ally. She joined the pair in the embrace. "I know this hasn't been easy… and I appreciate all the sacrifices you've both made since I've taken this job." She told her girls.
"We love you mom." Allison responded. A moment later, Henry and Jason appeared in the doorway. "You guys ready?" Her husband questioned. "Lipstick." Stevie reminded. "Noodle could you…" She trailed off. Ally disappeared into the bathroom, while Elizabeth moved to place a kiss on her husband's lips.
"You okay?" Henry wondered. She nodded, before moving to her son, ruffling a hand through his hair before pecking kisses on the top of his head. "Mom." He drew out, complaining.
Allison reappeared from their en-suite, handing her mom a tube of lipstick. Elizabeth stepped in front of the mirror, applying the pale pink color to her lips. "It brings out your eyes." Ally muttered from behind her shoulder. Elizabeth merely smiled. "She's right." Henry admitted, appearing at her side. He wrapped an arm around her middle, before gently kissing her temple.
Elizabeth and Henry walked hand in hand from the car. They stared straight ahead, paying no attention to the camera flashes on either of their sides. "Mike?" Elizabeth called, surprised to see the man at this very second. "Hey." He greeted, stepping in front of her, blocking her from some of the cameras. "You're supposed to go straight back to see your staff." Mike told her, repeating what they had told him. She nodded. "Any last minute advice?" Elizabeth asked. He sighed. "As your lawyer… The damage is already done… Be yourself."
She was told to head straight to the area behind the small stage, away from the press. And she was doing just that until a familiar face caught her eye. Her mouth fell agape, shocked by the older woman's presence. Bess turned to her husband. "I'll be back there in a few minutes." She whispered before letting go of his hand. She took the few steps to the woman. "Mrs. Miller." She greeted sadly.
~June 2005~
"How are you holding up?" Conrad asked, as the woman took a seat in the chair across from the sofa occupied by Bess and her boss.
It had been a week since they had returned from Baghdad. Conrad had invited Erica's mother to Langley, wanting to personally talk with the woman. He had suggested that Bess be present, being as she had met Mrs. Miller a handful of times.
"Just how you would expect." She answered. "I wanted to convey my deepest apology for your loss. Erica was a friend and a great analyst." The CIA Director voiced. "Thank you." The grieving mother replied.
Elizabeth couldn't meet the woman's eyes. The guilt of Erica's death weighed down on her chest. "Were you there?" Elizabeth looked up realizing she had been talking to her. "Excuse me?" She muttered. "I asked if you were there." She repeated. Bess glanced down at the sling on her left shoulder. "Yes." She answered.
"Can you tell me… did… did she suffer?" The mother asked, tears streaming down her face. Elizabeth was aware Mrs. Miller was being kept out of the loop of what happened in Iraq, being as the information was classified. She knew she would have questions; Conrad had already told her they couldn't tell her much.
"No. She didn't." Elizabeth confirmed. She had no clue if her answer was the truth, but she was trying to give Erica's mom the closure she needed. "She… she talked of you quite a bit… both of you actually. But Elizabeth, she thought you were an excellent analyst… told me you'd go on to something bigger… do great things." The woman claimed.
Elizabeth trembled, nearly letting her façade fall. "I admired your daughter. She always did what was right." Bess spoke. Mrs. Miller nodded, unable to respond. She looked off to the side as she cried.
~present~
"Madam Secretary." The woman said formally. "Please… It's Elizabeth." She corrected. She didn't know what to say. She knew her friend's mom had to have seen the tape. Her presence here, at the press conference, supported that fact. God, she probably holds her accountable for her daughter's death after watching the video. Elizabeth wouldn't blame her if she did.
"Well give me a hug. I haven't seen you in years." She demanded. Elizabeth embraced the woman, although she was surprised by her reaction. "I'm so sorry." Bess began, but Mrs. Miller held up a hand stopping her.
"This wasn't your fault. Erica was the one who decided to join the CIA. She knew the risks. And she was willing to give up her life to help protect others. No matter what happened over there… I don't blame you, and neither does she." Elizabeth sucked in a breath. Mrs. Miller sheepishly smiled. "She always knew you'd do great things."
After exchanging a few words with her staff, Elizabeth, followed by Conrad, walked onto the stage towards the podium.
"First and for most I would like to thank everyone for being here…" Elizabeth trailed off. She looked down at her index cards that were full of notes, and then back up at the audience. She caught Henry's eyes. He nodded at her. 'Be yourself.' Mike's words repeated in her mind. She set her notecards off to the side, deciding against them. She took a deep breath and then went on.
"About two weeks ago I was woken at three thirty in the morning to a screaming Russel Jackson. Not even a phone call. I was graced with his presence. He informed me of a story in the news revolving around me. Pictures of my husband and I were and still are splashed across every news outlet across the country. You can't miss them. Maybe you've even seen the full video… You could say I'm angry. Furious, embarrassed, and confused even… I still can't wrap my head around the audacity of the person who decided to infringe on my right and my husband's right to privacy. What you saw or what you heard was in our own home, between the walls of my own bedroom… The conversation between my husband and I, almost four weeks ago, was a very private one." Elizabeth took a break to straighten her glasses.
"Now most of you know I prefer to stay out of the press. Most of the time I don't feel as if I need to comment. But right now I feel I owe you all an explanation… The CIA has given me permission to declassify operation Yellow Sun, but I won't go into major details…" Elizabeth paused and looked out into the group of people, instantly catching Mrs. Miller's gaze. "Ten years ago my friend Erica Miller, along with six other CIA operatives were killed in the line of duty."
~June 2005~
Henry woke in the middle of the night, unsure of the reason. He reached for his wife, but found the other side of their bed empty. A moment later his tired mind became aware of the sound filtering in from their bathroom. He quickly pulled back the covers.
He found Elizabeth on the ground sobbing while dry heaving into the toilet. "Babe?" He asked concerned, kneeling down next to her form. She looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her breathing was shallow and erratic. She was in a panic. "I can't do it, Henry." She cried. "What are you talking about baby?" He comforted, rubbing a soothing hand along her back. "I… I can't talk at the funeral… How am I supposed to look into all those people's eyes and not tell them what actually happened?" She spit out. "It wasn't your fault." He replied, but she started to cry harder.
Elizabeth sat nervously in the church. The only reason she was able to be here was due to the presence of her husband. He kept her grounded, focused on the present. When it was her turn to speak, he nudged her up, kissing the side of her head before she made her way to the front. She spoke about her friend, but she couldn't help but feel like she was lying to the small group of people.
~present~
'She could finally tell the truth.' She thought. "We were in Baghdad. I had been manning the station chief position for the past month when President Dalton stopped by. We received new intel on a terrorist group in a city a few hours from Baghdad. While The President and another agent followed up there, Erica transferred to Baghdad temporarily… That same day there was enemy gunfire on the base, resulting in a fatality, and a handful of injuries, including myself… Two of our men were taken hostage by a group of Iraqi soldiers. The group wanted to swap our guys for a man, whose name I will not share, who we apprehended the previous week." She paused, taking a second to collect her thoughts.
"We had the location where the hostages were being held. I was left with a decision to make. Send a team in, or leave the two men there to die." She chuckled sadly.
"I actually wanted to go in, but Erica wouldn't let me… I ordered a team of six, including Agent Miller, to the location… Ultimately it was the decision that costed them their lives…"
That's when Elizabeth felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned slightly seeing Conrad. "But the best decision. At the time I was angry, but I was merely upset, grieving from the loss of a friend and a fellow agent. In reality I would have made the same call." Conrad announced, showing his support for Bess, before stepping back to his previous place on the stage. Elizabeth mouthed a 'thank you', and then continued.
"There was gunfire followed by an explosion once they were on site… We were ambushed. We lost seven lives that day, along with a piece of me." She stared out at Henry, letting a single tear escape down her cheek.
"I've never taken my work at The CIA lightly. It's a demanding job, fulfilling at times. I would like to believe the good I did while working there outweighed the bad… And of course I don't agree with all of The Company's actions. Everyone has their own opinions and beliefs… But I stand by their goal of working to make the world a better place completely." Elizabeth stated firmly, eyes roaming over the crowd. She nodded, and then said, "Thank you", concluding her statement.
Reporters began throwing questions at her left and right, but she merely turned and began walking off the stage. Conrad followed. Once she reached the small staircase, Henry was there waiting for her. He instantly connected their lips in a passionate yet gentle kiss.
"I'm so proud of you." He told his wife once pulling away. "It's just another news cycle, right?" She asked needing his reassurance. Her husband nodded. "I'll be with you through each and every one babe." He told her. Elizabeth smiled as she grabbed his hand, ready to venture their way through the array of reporters.
AN: Well there we have it. My first completed multi chapter story. I apologize for the delay, but I just didn't want to end it, so I pushed back writing the final chapter. I read through the whole thing last night, and wow I can say my writing (in my opinion) has come a long way. I am very proud of this story, and very sad to say goodbye to the storyline and especially the character of Erica Miller. This was very fun to write and I can't wait to move on to what's next. I wanted to thank all of you who kept with this story, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. PLEASE let me know what you think. Did you like the ending? How about the relationship/bond between Russel, Mike, and Elizabeth in this…. haha because I loved their little trio especially when they went running together in the previous chapter! Oh my gosh I have to go now because I could go on and on forever. Happy Reading and REVIEW! :)
