Chapter 36 – Resignation
'Have we found anything?' She asked annoyed already, she knew she wouldn't like the answer
'Nothing' Russell signed
'it's not good enough' She blurted out and Conrad snapped
'Can I have the room please, Elizabeth stay'
She stood rooted to the spot, and knew she was out of line and being a little disrespectful but her emotions were all over the place, she wasn't sure she cared a great deal at the moment, the light inside of her had gone out.
'Elizabeth as the Secretary of state you need to remember your lane, stay in it' He ordered before continuing
'I know this is distressing for you, but if you cannot handle it then I need you to go home and let us deal with this'
'Sir with all due respect nobody is dealing with this, Nobody seems to be helping, Everyone is focusing on me and my emotions and expecting me to be ok, but if this happened to any one of you then none of you would be ok' she argued back
'Elizabeth' he warned her
'No Sir, the compound where they were based in Iraq had their plans, their research, has anyone found that or even looked? Maybe they made a stop, something happened for them to split, they were obviously aware that people knew they were coming, Sir think like the CIA agent you are underneath and stop being so diplomatic for once' She ranted and stood face to face with Conrad
'Sir when we were training together you told me 'if you challenge someone they will grow, if you believe in them, they will win, so this is me challenging you and asking you to believe me in as I do you' she almost pleaded as she began to back down and so did he
'Alright, I hear you, let's get this done, I've had enough of these games now' He sighed and called everyone back in the room
'Elizabeth, lead the way' he smiled, showing he trusted her plan. She began to explain her plan or action, everyone making notes and allocating jobs, everyone set to work and left Elizabeth, Russell and Conrad in the room
'And now we wait' Russell stated pouring them all a whiskey...
Day 10
10 days since the bombing. It had been 10 days since Elizabeth had heard the news Henry was likely dead. She struggled every day, each day that passed a part of her died even more. She was becoming a shell of herself. She was stood in the bathroom at her office, still haven't gone home yet. She splashed her face with cold water, it was only 6am. Her eyes burned, her body ached for Henry. She was weak, she had lost around 7kgs over the last month. She had never felt so broken, not even when her parents died, she had felt every second of the last month intensely. She was numb. She couldn't cry anymore, she was burnt-out.
She walked to her desk and run her fingers over the envelope. She felt the crisp Brown paper in her hands; it was addressed to 'The President of the United States of America'. It was her resignation. She sighed deeply; confused and alone. What am I going to do?
She came out of her thoughts when her office door was knocked;
'Morning Madam Secretary' the team chimed as they walked through the door
'Morning everyone, so office ambush has taken over lift ambush I see' she smiled as she teased her team
'We just love ambushing you' Matt laughed as a stole a doughnut from Blake's hands
'Matt that better have not been the last one!'She warned him playfully. She was thankful for moments like this, they distracted her from her life for a few moments.
'So were still working on bombing in Syria case, so another day where all my plans are cancelled' she looked sympathetic towards her team, they worked tirelessly for her
'Madam Secretary the gaggle are really after a statement, this is a story to them, especially with Henry being involved' Daisy spoke to her boss with caution
'Not a story Daisy, a reality, and no statement' she brushed her comment away.
'Urm Madam Secretary, one thing cannot be cancelled, It's Mr Stanley Miller's leaving party, you're expected to give a speech, he's worked in state for 40 years' Nadine highlighted
'Wow, Of course what time?' She asked
'11am, so first thing then the rest can be cancelled' Nadine replied as her boss nodded
'Thank you everyone for your courage and patience the last few days' Elizabeth acknowledged her staffs efforts recently, she really was proud of her team.
'Mam, we just want to say that we're all proud to serve you and that we think you have handled the situation remarkably well' Jay expressed affection on behalf of the team.
The day was passing with no news about Henry or the remainder of the team, with every second that passed her fears of him never returning home sunk a little deeper. She was walking towards Stanley, she had just given a speech about his work and service in the state department and thanked him for his continued service for 40 years.
'Mr Miller Hi' She greeted him and took a seat next to him
'Madam Secretary, a pleasure, we've not actually met before' she smiled shaking her hand
Stanley spent some time talking to her about his life within the department and the things he has seen throughout his time, patterns of behaviour and methods used to bridge gaps or create wars.
'I wish we spent more time together, I could have used some of that knowledge' She complimented him
'You know, if I was you Id be asking the Head of State of the Syrian Arab Republic over hear, show case him and present Dolton joining forces, that will bring your missing team home' He offered
'How did you know some of the team were missing?' she quizzed
'Please, they announced all were presumed dead but you continue to cancel plans, except for ones like this where your absence would be noted' she winked at her
'Ok, you still work for me right?' She asked him and he glanced to his watch
'You can have me for another 5 hours' he laughed and she gestured for them to go somewhere private with her and her staff.
'So Stanley, why would you invite the head of Syrian state over?' Jay questioned
'It's simple isn't it?... god do they teach you young ones nothing these days?' Stanley huffed causing the secretary to stifle a laugh at Jay's hurt face
'It shows a united front, for your team to split they must have known there was a potential their cover was blown, the fact they haven't surfaced means one of two things; They are either dead, or they are not sure who to trust, so have remained hidden' He explained.
Elizabeth inhaled sharply ay the word death.
'But surely they have seen the news that Syria and the USA are working together?' Daisy asked confused
'Yes but how do they know they can trust it? It's just words, now if you got the two presidents together a public photo of them working together, then that would reinforce that it's a true sentiment' He continued
'You really think that will work?' Elizabeth asked folding her arms and leaning onto her desk
'Wouldn't you come out of the woodwork if you saw that?' He asked her.
'Ok, Blake get the car ready were going to the white house, Stanley please stick around' she smiled and left the office with Blake.
Several more hours had passed and Elizabeth was drained, she had managed to follow through on Stanley's plan and the photo of both presidents was circulating the internet, now they had to wait and hope he was right.
Elizabeth was walking back into her office, she was shocked to see all her staff still there and Stanley
'What are you all doing here? It's gone midnight' she was shocked
'Well I did go home, but these lovely people call me back when the president of Syria landed and the photo went viral' He smiled
'Thank you for trusting my plan' he shook the secretaries hand
'No Thank you, I am pleased we got to work together today' She smiled and walked around to her desk, the conversations continued between her staff and she stood staring at the same brown envelope. All her confusion came flooding back.
'We're just heading off, goodnight Mam' Her staff called
'Goodnight all' She looked up and smiled, she noticed Stanley wasn't leaving
'Everything ok?' She asked him softly
'What's in that letter?' He was direct
'Well that was forthcoming' she laughed nervously
'Arhh I don't work for you anymore' he teased causing her to giggle at his humour.
'It's my resignation' she sighed sitting down in her seat
'Can I ask why?'
She thought about replying for a minute but felt he had nothing to lose
'Taking this job has had a great impact on my personal life, it's... well quite frankly it's ruined it'
'But has it? Was it really down to you being Secretary of state?' he questioned her
'I feel like I am on Face the nation again' she laughed nervously
'Madam Secretary may I offer some advice from an old man?' he stood up walking towards her desk before taking the seat in front of it.
'You have my attention' she nodded slowly
'I don't think you being the secretary of state 'ruined' your personal life, I've worked with Henry a few times prior to this and heard him talk about how he was bored at UVA and missed the marines and more exciting job roles like DIA, my guess is he would have took a role similar to this anyway, and at some point been in harm's way regardless' he paused
'And as for the other aspect of your personal life concerning Henry, well Madam Secretary; people can cheat any time, any place, any job. It had nothing to do with you being the secretary of state. If Henry walks away from this attack, you know he isn't going to leave DIA, he is going to want to work with them even more, he will want to fight to protect you and the world more than ever, and you know that. So why would you quit your job? Why not use this to fuel the fire inside you and fight for change, the good kind.'
Elizabeth was listening intently
'Madam Secretary don't hand your resignation in, not just yet. Keep it, find out the truth about Henry and when he returns home, because I know he will, talk it through together. We have nothing in this world if we do not have one another. The only time you should hand that resignation in is when you're about to announce your candidacy for President of the United States' He finished, he stood up and gave her a firm nod before leaving her alone in her office to think about what he just said.
She took her envelope, teased the edges in her fingers, she breathed in deeply closing her eyes. She pressed her fingers on the letter a little harder before exhaling and placing the letter in between her hands and ripping it down the middle. She threw the remains in the bin, picked up her jacket and headed for her office door.
She stepped outside the state department and was greeting by her security agents
'Take me home please' she requested and stepped into the car.
'Of course Madam Secretary'. Were the words ringing in her ears as the door closed behind her.