Within thirty minutes of approval, the drone was launched from Cape Cod. It flew twenty minutes over Nantucket Sound and approached the island at an altitude of five thousand feet. Back in the control center, the coast guard operator carefully put in the GPS coordinates of the target and waited until the drone was close before lowering the drone to several hundred feet and switched on the thermal cameras. He then connected his screen back to the Situation Room at the White House where a room full of very interested individuals were awaiting visualization of the target.
Everyone watched with interest as the drone approached the house and then flew, in a grid pattern, over the house to get good images. It was noted with interest that there were three moving figures on the second floor of the house surrounding a motionless image. The drone imaging then picked up three more figures, who were assumed to be on the first floor gathered in a central location, with a second motionless figure away from them in another room. One figure was picked up moving between the main house and another structure outside. The drone silently took images as that figure moved into the second structure and came upon a third motionless figure in that second structure. After multiple sweeps, no other thermal images were detected and the drone was given digital orders to return to Cape Cod, its mission complete.
Nancy was the first to speak. "I assume the people moving are the kidnappers, or terrorists or whatever the hell we are calling these people. I read it as seven. And the motionless people in the house would be the President and First Lady. Who is on the first floor or second floor I have no idea. And the image in the second structure might be the only real agent who had to be neutralized for this whole thing to be initiated. And we cannot determine if these motionless images are still living. Based on the one document we have, we have to believe that at least two of them are."
"Okay, if I am to believe your interpretation…"
"Fitz, are you doubting me?"
"Nancy, just wait a minute will you? I am just saying, for the sake of argument that if I am to believe you, then the rescue just got harder because they are all being kept separately. That means any rescue attempt has to have several different fronts which have to go off at the same time."
"Okay, I see what you mean."
"Now, how do we plan for that? The two Seals teams won't be at the Cape for a couple of hours. Do we have them train for a couple more hours when they get to the Cape? Do we have them just go in cold? What if these three are moved in the meantime? We really need to think this thing out and the potential consequences of any mission."
"Yeah. And we don't have a whole lot of time to complete the mission."
Upstairs, CJ was beginning to hear some rumbling from the Press Corps. Someone from the New York Times had received a leak from the Vice President's Office that he was at the White House dealing with an emergency that had to do with the President.
"CJ, I need to confirm a rumor."
She looked up from her desk and saw her least favorite reporter. Greg Brock from the Times standing in her doorway.
"What is it?"
"That the President and Mrs. Bartlet went to Nantucket on their vacation and are being held hostage by Arab terrorists."
CJ's heart rose into her throat. She didn't need this right now. "Greg, I don't comment on the personal lives of the First Family. You know that."
"Oh come on, CJ. This isn't personal. This affects the whole damn country. This deals with national security as well as two lives. Will you confirm it or not? My source is a-rated."
CJ stood up and went to look Greg directly in the face. She mustered all her strength not to break down. She had to deny it. "Greg, tell your source he or she doesn't have a fucking clue what they are talking about. And I urge you and your editors not to publish such a ridiculous statement. It will only harm innocent people and send the whole country into an unwarranted panic. Now, if you please, I have work to do."
The staring match went on for about thirty seconds before Greg finally backed off and left. But after Greg had cleared the communication bullpen, CJ almost ran to Leo's office.
"Leo! The press has the story."
"Damnit!"