C.J took a deep breath as she readied herself to enter the Press Room. There were plenty of days when she had felt unease before entering this room. At the start of her career here just approaching the door had caused her to fill with dread especially when she then had to watch herself on replays on television getting torn apart as 'inexperienced' and 'unqualified' by ruthless journalists judging the new leadership and its employees. Today she was almost sick with worry for people she actually knew- for Zoey and her parents and for Cadence and Leo. She didn't know Cadence well but given how the year had gone for her, C.J was deeply concerned that Leo really couldn't take anymore stress over his youngest. She knew Margaret already had him on watch, anxious that he might go for the bottle or the pills to try and escape the surreal horror if even for a moment.
Two fathers caught up in grief and fear, that in itself was bad enough but these were two of the most powerful men in the country. C.J was terrified to consider what might happen if they lost their stability to do their jobs in all this. She knew John Hoynes was standing by except she hadn't seen him. He was in the West Wing instead of the Eisenhower and there were rumours slipping out that he wasn't demonstrating the calm and inappropriate smug hope for power that had been expected from him but instead was barking orders at exhausted F.B.I agents to do more and showing a streak of ill-controlled rage that was a little unexpected.
C.J didn't know what they were going to do if the Vice President didn't get it together. She knew his people had been summoned, Cal and Gavin were in the West Wing too, an image she didn't want publicised. It would look like the Vice President's party was already taking over and before the morning was done it would be round that the President wasn't fit to lead in his current state of mind and then the story of Zoey and Cadence's predicament would be out there for the world to devour. The White House Press Secretary couldn't begin to imagine the chaos that would follow if people though the V.P wasn't fit to lead either.
She braced herself and reached for the door.
"C.J stop!"
She turned at the cry and looked with wide eyes to the running Toby who had one hand raised as if to wave. She attempted to read his expression as he rushed towards her, worried that worse news might be upon them.
With a pant, Toby halted, doubling over with his palms on his thighs as he tried to catch a breath.
"Did you do you a marathon here? What's happened?" C.J snapped at him impatiently with wide eyes.
Toby heaved out another pant. "She's been found, Zoey's been found," he explained breathlessly.
C.J's mouth parted a fraction as she waited for more but Toby seemed focused on catching his breath. "Alive?!" she demanded. "Is she okay? What about Cady?"
Toby raised his hand again to halt her questions before he finally stood upright. "She's alive, they found her in the hotel. The F.B.I were investigating the area, they went into a room they thought might have been part of the scene and found Zoey in a wardrobe."
"What?" C.J was baffled. Sure the news was good but it only raised more questions. "So she never left? But aren't two agents dead? I don't understand, surely they weren't so incompetent not to look in a wardrobe? And where is Cady?"
Toby gestured his palm forward. "Give me a minute!" he snapped angrily.
Angry at the best of times, Toby was now feeling the effects of little sleep, stress from uncertainty and an odd but unpleasant adrenaline rush that came from this sudden, good yet curious news. There was a slight relief in his dark blue eyes but the burden was not gone for him only lightened.
"I don't know much," he grumbled. "The President and the First Lady are away to meet Zoey, I think she's unharmed. No one mentioned Cadence."
C.J frowned at this and her blue gaze filled with dismay. "Did no one ask? Leo must be worried sick."
"Josh is with him," Toby muttered. "Look, when I know more I'll tell you but for now, you just tell the press there was a serious incident involving some F.B.I agents at the Ralley Hotel."
C.J's shock returned at Toby's vague statement. "Toby come on, they'll want more than that."
"Well we can't give it to them," he retorted crossly. "It's a security risk."
"Because Cady isn't secure," C.J murmured, "and whoever caused this wanted Zoey."
Toby nodded.
"And they're going to be pissed Zoey is safe," C.J realised as she looked to Toby fearfully.
Toby nodded again but this time he managed a more sombre stare. "Just tell the press what I told you," he insisted, "and if they ask for more, it's no comment. Ron will give a statement later."
"Can I tell them that?" C.J quipped. "That Ron will give a statement later?"
"Yeah," Toby retorted. "Now, I'm going to speak with Hoynes and update him."
C.J raised her hands to her hips slightly and glanced down at Toby curiously. "Is it true what they're saying about him?" she queried quietly. "Is he snapping at everyone and demanding the F.B.I do more about this?"
Toby frowned at the accusation. "He's in a temper, that's it. He always complains about being left out of the loop, don't make a thing out of it." He jerked his hands down suddenly. "We don't need a thing out of it!"
C.J shrank back slightly as a nervous smile slipped out. "Alright Toby, I wasn't making a thing, calm down. I'll give the press our delightfully vague statement and hope for mercy." Her expression turned serious again as she reached out and gripped his left arm lightly. "Let me know more as soon as you do."
Toby nodded again. "I will."
Toby pulled away leaving C.J to enter the pit of ravenous journalists who knew enough to know that a huge story was on the horizon. She felt only a slight spark of happiness with Toby's news, there was still too much uncertainty for true joy.
C.J missed Danny's serious, probing stare amongst the crowd. Despite the early hour of the day and the fact that it was Boxing Day, word had spread of the trouble in D.C, every journalist that was allowed here was present. Either no one had gone too far for the holidays or they'd put in the effort to rush back.
C.J determined that as soon as she escaped the press room she was heading straight for Leo. He would be happy to hear about Zoey but surely all the more worried for his daughter too. Had Cadence been grabbed by mistake? What price would she pay for such a colossal mistake? C.J pushed her worried wondering to one side as she entered the press room and was almost deafened by the sound of her own name being shouted excitedly over and over again.
Jed's first emotion as he looked to his daughter was a joy like no other. It was so strong and so powerful it could, oddly, almost be equated with sorrow. The fear of her loss was still there for him, unrealised mercifully but it had been such a strong, dominating fear that he was almost in disbelief and doubt that his terror could now be abandoned as unfulfilled.
Abbey headed straight over to Zoey, freely crying as she rushed to embrace her scared and slightly shell-shocked daughter.
"Mom," Zoey choked out the simple word as her mother hugged her close.
They were outside at the back of the hotel, Zoey was seated on the edge of an ambulance, a bottle of water resting to her right and a F.B.I agent's coat bundled over her.
Jed barely felt the chill of the winter's morning even as the icy air sapped his warmth from him. It was still dark, the morning had not begun proper and the sky was heavy with the blackness that only winter brought. The grounds of the hotel were full of life and lights as the red and blue of ambulances and police cars clashed with the twinkling lights of Christmas decorations in the garden. Police, F.B.I and Secret Service fought quietly for dominance as they continued to survey the scene, make notes and take photographs. There was a sense of calm to it though, as urgency slipped away and routine crept in, the worst fear had been unrealised and whilst two agents were deceased there was an unspoken acknowledgement that a rush wouldn't bring them back and it was no longer a case of every minute mattering.
Jed felt the shift in the atmosphere as a medic assured Abbey that Zoey was fine and calmly answered her prying questions, the kind of which were far more technical than most worried mothers would ask. Seeing Zoey alive and in one piece had Abbey changing from mother to doctor mode. Jed was relieved but he didn't like the calm creeping in, his daughter might be safe and well and for that he thanked God deeply but his friend's daughter was still unseen and her fate uncertain.
"Zoey what happened?" Abbey queried as she pushed back some of Zoey's dark hair and gazed down to her tenderly.
"It was Raquel," Zoey choked out as tears ran down her face, "she took us to the third floor and there were these people waiting. We ran and there was shooting." She sucked in a breath and gripped the metal edge of the ambulance tightly with both hands.
Jed stared at her quietly, desperate to hug and console her but afraid to interrupt her story. He lingered back in the dark feeling guilt begin to climb in him replacing the fading fear. If not for his career this would have never happened.
"We ended up downstairs in a room, a door was open I think." Zoey shook her head with uncertainty. "I don't know mom, Cady was pulling me. She pushed me into a wardrobe, said I had to be quiet no matter what, even if she called me. It didn't make sense. Then I heard her yelling my name and...and..." Zoey shuddered and the tears fell faster. "I heard someone yelling at her and I heard them hitting her, I know they did! I should've done something, I should've went out and helped ! I didn't though, I couldn't move, I just froze!"
Zoey bowed her head and shook her rapidly as she attempted to swallow down the sobs.
"I waited and waited and I was so scared, I heard different voices but I didn't know who was there and then I heard someone say agent and mention my name."
Zoey shook again before dissolving into sobs.
Abbey embraced her daughter, wrapping a hand about her head to draw into her chest as she made soothing noises. She glanced Jed's way, wondering if he was going to approach.
The medic murmured to Abbey, offering some soothing shot of something that would provide a calm for the girl.
Abbey mulled it over before shaking her head, knowing she could get and administer something when they were back at the White House.
Jed was confused by Zoey's story and looked back at Abbey stoically as he tried to take it in and make sense of it. He had been dominated so strongly by his panic and terror for his daughter that he just wanted to let it all go now, relax and be happy that she was safe but the guilt was gnawing at him and he knew it wasn't fair, not when Leo still had that same panic and terror in him. Yet Jed had a country to run and if he wanted to do that then he had to let it go but it was selfish to say he was okay to rule the country now that his daughter was safe even if his friend's daughter was still out there in danger somewhere.
Jed glanced about the agents and saw Ron close by, engaged with talking to an agent and yet somehow still keeping a watchful eye on Jed. He saw the agent Ron was talking to, Mike Casper, and headed towards them.
"Did Zoey speak with anyone?" Jed queried quietly as he gestured loosely to his daughter with one hand. Realising the vagueness of his question he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I mean has she told anyone what happened."
Mike nodded. He still had a pluckiness about him despite the grave situation, finding Zoey alive and unharmed had bolstered his optimism and he operated with a sense of confidence that Cadence would be found too although he was wary as to where and in what state.
"She tried to explain but I believe she's still in shock and probably doesn't know what happened herself," Mike answered calmly. "There's an APB out for Raquel McCandless, she's had some history of money problems, drug connected. We are working with the theory that she was approached as a classmate of Zoey's and offered money in exchange for getting Zoey here. Zoey said she's known Raquel for a while but it's only since November they've been hanging out."
Mike offered a sympathetic smile as he saw the ire building up in Jed's eyes. "Zoey is your daughter sir," he said softly, "it's likely Zoey assumed Raquel was just wary to approach her. They were ambushed on the third floor, Raquel got Zoey and Cadence into an elevator and away from Zoey's protection. Cadence must have sensed something was off because she had Zoey run out of the elevator immediately, which must have surprised their attackers. The floor was quiet, Raquel had told them there was a light show up there but there wasn't."
Mike grimaced as he prepared to deliver the next news. "The girls headed for the stairs and their assailants panicked and shot, they struck Agent Myers in the head as she was coming up to rescue them. Zoey says they made it to the first floor, which was busy, there were a couple of parties going on in the rooms. Cadence got them through crowds and hid Zoey in a wardrobe in an empty room. We found the window wide open and we think, based on what Zoey told us, that Cadence probably led their attackers to believe that Zoey had in fact escaped out the window, which is why they didn't bother to check the wardrobe. It was a gamble but it worked, maybe because they panicked and were pushed for time as well.
Agent Jacobs was shot three times and killed on the first floor, there were witnesses. We have camera footage of Cadence being dragged out through a fire exit by two masked men. We have our best experts analysing the footage now. We've got them heading off in an unmarked, black Jeep and we have the police on high alert for it."
"You keep saying attackers, who were they Agent Casper?" Jed demanded numbly.
Mike grimaced slightly. "I don't know sir," he admitted calmly. "We're trying to find out."
"Opportunists, local, foreign, terrorists," Jed murmured the possibilities darkly.
He glanced over his shoulder to Zoey. He thought of Cadence's bravado and how she must be paying for it now. Would they know she was the daughter of the Chief of Staff, would they even care or would they be making her suffer because she had stopped them from getting what they had really wanted?
Jed turned a serious stare back on Agent Casper. "Finding Cadence is your top priority now," he said solemnly.
Mike nodded back. "We will find her sir," he reassured.
Jed turned away from the agents and headed back to his wife and still crying daughter.
"We need to get you home Zoey," Jed addressed his daughter gently, "it's cold out here and you need rest."
Zoey pulled back slightly from her mother to give her father a teary, terrified stare. "What about Cadence?" she demanded.
"They're looking for her," Jed retorted.
He felt another measure of guilt as he took in Zoey and the relief flooded through him. There was a minor prickle of self-hatred as he realised how devastated he would have been had Cadence shown up alone instead. He wondered if Leo would permit him the selfish thought, if he would feel the same selfish relief if it had been Cadence to turn up instead or would Leo be ever gracious and continue to worry hysterically, not even pausing for a sliver of joy because one child was still in danger? Jed knew he had to deal with matters of the State in a couple of hours, his world had stopped for Zoey but no one else's had and now, even though Leo's world remained suspended in cruel uncertainty, Jed had to resume his duties because his daughter was safe and the rest of the country deserved his attention. Poor Cadence couldn't dominate his thoughts, to wonder at her savage fate would only impede his judgement on other matters.
"Do they know?" Zoey asked quietly. "Leo and Jenny and Mallory?"
"Yes sweetheart," Abbey retorted as she hugged her daughter close with one hand.
"And Tom?" Zoey asked woefully.
Tom. The name was almost foreign to Jed, he had already started distancing himself from the matter and it took him a few tired seconds to remember who Tom was.
"I don't know, someone will," Jed said. "Zoey, we need to worry about you first, it's freezing out here."
"Dad, if something's happened to her it's my fault," Zoey choked out.
Abbey leaned back as Jed reached down to Zoey with both hands. He gripped her shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze.
"No Zoey," he insisted, "it's not and Cadence wouldn't think that."
"They need to find her," Zoey sobbed out as the tears began to pour once more.
Jed nodded. "They will honey, they will." He looked to Abbey for help.
"Come on Zoey," Abbey said gently as she patted her daughter's back lightly and urged her to stand, "we need to get you to bed. Your father's right, you need warmed up and rest and then we'll talk."
Abbey's glanced to Jed again, her gaze cool and her mouth in a line of disapproval.
Jed knew his wife blamed him, at least partially, for what had happened and he knew she didn't like his vagueness over the matter of Cadence but what could he do?
Zoey looked ready to protest again but she hadn't the energy. She stood glumly, causing the F.B.I jacket to slip down almost to her knees. She looked small in it and Jed was put in mind of a helpless child. His helpless child spared an atrocity only because her friend had been daringly reckless.
Jed didn't know how he was going to tell Leo what had happened.
It was six in the evening and whilst the press buzzed energetically with news of terrorist plots and murders, the chaos in the West Wing had settled to an only slightly panicked lull. Zoey was safe and well and suddenly people felt a little more secure because there was no doubt about the President's leadership now and Zoey and Ellie were both secure in the White House so there were no worries about future kidnapping attempts for the moment. By all accounts the eldest daughter Liz had enough agents surrounding her home to make a small army so there was no fear of another daughter being targeted either.
Leo McGarry was the only one still on a form of high alert. He jumped every time a phone rang and when someone else answered it he hovered near them like an impatient mosquito, frantic for an update. He had slipped through the cracks when other business had taken over the day- an explosion in Iraq thought to actually be deliberate and related to an oil supply, some border bickering between China and India, and strikes in three states at home over hiked taxes on fossil fuels. Well the latter had always been coming but there was a hope they'd save the strikes for the New Year at least.
Josh and Toby had taken over with Sam and C.J supporting how they could but once the last briefing for the day was given, C.J had surrendered her duties to sit with Leo instead.
Mallory was already with him, seated beside him in his office when C.J arrived to check on them. Worried as she was, the eldest McGarry daughter was still a vision of loveliness in a cream sweater and skinny jeans. Only her eyes betrayed her woes as they were bloodshot with fatigue and bore wrinkles of worry at the corners.
Mallory glanced up when the door opened and C.J arrived with a cardboard tray offering of carry out coffee. She set the cups down on the desk and occupied the single leather seat.
"Any news?" Mallory pried with a hopeful look.
C.J gazed back at her sympathetically and shook her head. She wondered how Mallory kept it so together, she seemed calm, rigidly so and perhaps she was close enough to the edge that one more thing might shatter her but for now she was still keeping it together.
Leo on the other hand was fidgety, his wispy white hair was a mess of lopsided waves shifted numerous times by his sweaty palms. His clothes were as wrinkled as his brow and he kept squeezing his knees before folding and unfolding his arms with a frown.
"I was trying to reach Tom," Mallory confessed. "I didn't have a number, Sam got his house one but there was no answer. He should know."
Leo gave a grunt of displeasure. "What's he going to do?" he grumbled.
Mallory sighed as she glanced to her father with only a mild disapproval. The argument had been had a couple of times between them now and Mallory was thinking Leo just simply chose to bicker as a distraction.
"He's her boyfriend dad, for all we know he's been trying to reach her without a clue what's happened."
C.J gave Mallory a small smile. "We'll try to reach him," she offered. "He's a congressman, could he have gone back home to his district for the holidays?" she ventured.
Mallory shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "Cady never said."
Mallory reached for one of the cups of coffee. She cradled it in both her hands, hugging it slightly as she tried to draw its warmth into her. "How many hours has it been now?" she wondered aloud. "Are there scenarios? If it's been so many hours what do they think might have happened?"
"Mallory don't," Leo snapped as he pushed his hands through his hair. "We can't think like that, we can't!"
Mallory gave her father a cross look. "Like what dad?" she demanded. "We have to be realistic and logical about this! They wanted Zoey and they didn't get her, is Cadence their consolation prize or their mistake? Are they hurting her? Is it good we haven't heard anything yet or bad? Is there going to be a ransom? You're the Chief of Staff but you haven't said anything! Maybe if you did a speech, told them who you were and who she is to you then they might accept something for her! They might not hurt her!"
Leo turned to his daughter with a look of outrage. "Mallory we don't negotiate with terrorists!" he snapped. "Not ever!" he roared it out with a firm wave of his right hand.
C.J was surprised by the outburst and unsure what to say.
Mallory opted for rage over grief as she bit her lower lip slightly to restrain the tears and glared back at her father.
Leo paled as he fell silent and immediately turned away from Mallory.
"You'll get her killed with your silence!" Mallory snapped viciously as she stood up. "And you wonder why we call ourselves O'Briens!" She slammed the coffee cup down on the desk and stormed off to the door.
C.J watched her go silently, contemplating an intervention before she thought better of it. Mallory probably needed time to cool off and Sam was nearby, she could seek him out for comfort. C.J was here to console Leo and seeing him so quick to anger had her fearful that he might be quick to go to vices for an escape or relief.
As the Press Secretary looked to the man she didn't know what she could or should say to stop him. If he announced he was going to raid a drinks cabinet what could she really do about it? Tell on him like a child, go running to Mallory or Jed in the hopes that they would stop him? Tell him the cliché of 'it's not the answer' or something else sickening, sweet and meaningless like 'it won't help' or 'it's a temporary fix'. He wouldn't care.
"Leo, talk to me," C.J said gently. "Yell at me, get it out there, all your frustration and fear, just let it go. I can handle it, vent to me."
Leo gazed over at C.J and gave her a fleeting ghost of a smile before he pressed a hand to his brow and shook his head. "She's always in trouble," he murmured, "even when she doesn't want to be, even when she's trying to do something right it's trouble. Why does it keep happening? I don't know. I just...I want my baby girl safe."
C.J nodded sympathetically.
The door knocked and C.J glanced to it instinctively. Leo didn't bother, he was used to intrusions now, everyone coming to see how he was, just a quick thirty second glance to assure themselves that he was still sober before they hurried on to keep the world spinning for another day.
The door opened and John Hoynes' wary and unusually pale face peered in. His blue gaze became purposely tranquil as it fell on C.J and he summoned up a poker face of calm before his eyes darted over to Leo.
"Leo," he said quietly as he stepped into the room, "I came to talk."
There was something about the way he said it that made C.J slightly suspicious as if there was something else he wanted to say but couldn't in front of her.
"Talk," Leo grumbled to the floor, "talking is all people keep doing right now but that doesn't get my baby safe. Imagine, I sit here, worried but comfortable and she could be getting beaten, raped, tortured." Leo closed his eyes and shuddered slightly.
John flinched at the words before he glanced for a seat and occupied the one beside Leo that Mallory had abandoned.
"Leo, let's not think the worst," he urged. "I know it's easy to but it's better not to, it won't do her or you any good."
Leo opened his eyes but his gaze had gone vacant. "She's right you know. She said every time she tries to do good it goes wrong and she's punished for it and she's right about that. She was protecting Zoey and now she's paying for it."
C.J watched the Vice President quietly, wondering why he was still lingering in the West Wing. Had he stayed just to talk to Leo? She wondered if there might be an agenda but she didn't think John would be so callous. She supposed Cadence was in his team after all and imagined he had some very real fears for the young woman too but still, he'd be better back in the Eisenhower, his lengthy presence here would create questions from the press.
Feeling the weight of John's azure gaze upon her again C.J picked up quickly that the Vice President wanted her to leave.
"I should go," C.J said awkwardly with a weak smile.
She stood and smoothed down her beige skirt as her blue eyes darted from John to Leo.
"Please Leo, if you need anything let me know," she insisted.
Leo ignored her whilst John gave a small smile and a nod.
C.J headed for the door, giving another uncomfortable smile as John's agents momentarily blocked her exit.
"John you should go to," Leo said once C.J had closed the door. "I don't want to talk."
"I know Leo and I know maybe there are other things we both want to do and could be doing," John remarked warily as he leaned back in the seat. "So let's just sit, in silence if you wish. You shouldn't be alone Leo."
John glanced over at the older man. He knew the distraction of Leo, if he kept Leo from the drink then he kept himself from it too and while he was with him he had to keep his feelings subdued too. He couldn't risk Leo's rage at finding out his real relationship with Cadence so he had to work hard to hide his real feelings for the woman. He'd almost slipped up a few times with the F.B.I, letting his frustrations be known when he had heard Zoey had been found but not Cadence. A couple of warning glances from Gavin had let John just how close he had come to making his feelings for Cadence obvious. In here with Leo he was forced to practice restraint.
"Does Jenny know?" John pried.
Leo nodded sombrely. He had his hands on his knees now and was staring numbly at the floor. "She knows, she blamed her, quick to suggest Cady was stupid going out with Zoey, old enough to know better. It wasn't a fair thing to say. They had agents, they should have been safe."
John nodded agreeably at this. "You don't blame her, do you?" he pried.
"Of course not," Leo snapped. "We knew they were going out and we let them go, if we didn't know better why should they have?"
John nodded again. "It's not your fault Leo, you couldn't have known this would happen, no one could have."
"No? Ah maybe not," Leo murmured grudgingly. "Yet we should have done more anyway because if we had done enough this wouldn't have happened. Something vital was missed and now Cady is paying for it."
Leo raised his head slightly to give John a serious, almost venomous stare. "If I go for the bottle are you really going to stop me?" he demanded. "Do you think you can?"
John nodded. "I think so Leo because I don't think Cady would forgive me if I didn't at least try. It's the easy option Leo that's all, we both know that."
Leo frowned. "It does help though, we know that too. It might only be temporary but it still delivers what you want, that moment of oblivion, it takes the edge off for a while and I need that John, right now I do."
John's stare turned sympathetic. He needed it too, when he had gotten the news after much cursing and many phone calls he opted to down one quick glass of vodka. No mixer or ice, just straight down the throat to try and blind the rage roaring up inside him. It was the only way he could think to numb himself before he made a critical mistake that would result in everyone knowing that he had feelings for Cadence McGarry. Even in this chaos John still thought like an ambitious politician and whilst normally he would've admired his ability to focus on the bigger picture, right now he was disgusted at himself for thinking of his career even as he worried for her.
"Leo, when you get her back how do you think she'd feel knowing she was the one who pushed you over the edge and back into drink? You can't do it, neither of us can."
John gestured to the abandoned styrofoam cups on the table. "Go for the caffeine fix, it's a drug but it's an easier one to handle."
Leo cracked an ugly smile to match the small one John offered up. "One vice for another," Leo grumbled.
Leo pushed both his hands through his hair suddenly. "God I cannot take this waiting! I'm sitting here stagnant, caught in suspension until someone finds something when I should be doing something only I do not know what. What do I do to get her back?"
"Be patient," John murmured even as he wondered the same thing. "It is all we can do at the moment Leo."
