Monday, March 4th, 1861
Washington, D.C.
Mid-morning
Margaret strolled through the streets of the capital city of the United States.
The place was in complete celebration mode, showing that despite the threat of war, no one wanted the sense of celebration following any election to be changed.
Though, unfortunately, Margaret herself wasn't there for the party atmosphere. She was there to help protect the President-Elect, Abraham Lincoln, in case of assassination. She had a meeting with the head of the soon-to-be-inaugurated President's security, Marcus Nelson. He was an Assassin informant, the Brotherhood's only connection into the secrets and inner workings of the White House. Margaret found the connection within the White House, and subsequently the political heart of the United States, a little suspicious but was now thankful for that connection.
Margaret's eyes caught sight of a newspaper boy.
"EXTRA! EXTRA! SEVEN SOUTHERN STATES SECCEEDED FROM THE UNION!" He shouted. Margaret approached him, flipping him a quarter in exchange for a paper. She smiled to him as she examined the paper. There wasn't too much information that she already knew. Mentor Kellan had sent several soldiers to places like Fort Sumter in the (hopefully) unlikely event that there was an attack or uprising initiated by the Templars.
Margaret thought that Mentor Kellan should've abandoned the old Assassin base at Fort Sumter. There wasn't anything there that would require any one from the Brotherhood to be there, seeing how it had been cleaned out of anything suggesting that there had been something there before along with the few Pieces of Eden that were in the Assassin's possession years ago.
Margaret felt a storm on the horizon. The air crackled with an unseen energy, one that threatened the peace that was still so delicate.
She found herself at the back entrance of the White House, at the servant's door. No one had followed her, that she made sure of. As Margaret raised her hand to knock on the door, it swung open and a clean-shaven man popped his head out. The sandy-blond haired man smiled as he took in the slightly startled form of Margaret.
"Ah, Mrs. Lealan, I presume?" he asked.
The woman relaxed, sighing in relief that she didn't have to knock out an innocent servant. "Yes. And you're Mr. Nelson?"
"That I am." The man stepped out of the doorway, taking her hand and placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "It is an honor to meet your acquaintance."
"And yours as well." Margaret said pleasantly before immediately diving into business. "What measures are you putting into place to protect the President-Elect?"
The two started to walk as Mr. Nelson started to explain. "We have several soldiers assigned to him, though I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to attack a President-Elect in the middle of the capital during his inauguration in front of hundreds of people."
"I would be careful when you say that." Margaret chided him. "The South is nothing but a broiling stew that is ready to explode. If they are brash enough to formally secede from the Union and create their own little country, then they will do anything. And, we can't disregard the ever-growing number of radicals."
Formally chided, the man nodded solemnly. "What are the Assassin's views?"
Margaret shrugged. "It varies depending on who you ask. Many of the members who lives in the South have left the Brotherhood in order to protect their family though they are keeping in touch. Mentor Kellan has made it clear that, unless there is a full out war, then we won't get involved."
"I hope to meet the good Mentor one day."
Margaret nodded. "Where is the inauguration taken place?"
"The Capitol building."
"Isn't it still under construction?"
"It is." He confirmed as they strolled down the sidewalk. A lot of people moved out the way for the two, spotting the markings on Mr. Nelson's jacket. "But it's the only place that we felt would be the best place, seeing how there have already been a couple of threats on his life."
With that logic, Margaret had to agree. They turned into the courtyard that was already beginning to be filled with people. The woman noticed that some had brought picnic baskets and blankets. Margaret gave the people who were setting up their cameras with unease. The biggest tenant of the Creed, the one that kept the Brotherhood safe for all the years, was to Hide in Plain Sight.
Mentor Kellan would string her up if Margaret appeared in the next day's paper.
"I need a place where the photographers won't be able to catch me."
"As you wish." Mr. Nelson led her towards the balcony, where senators and delegates that hadn't fled to the South sat. Margaret craned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the man that was about to be the next President, but since she didn't have a clue to what he looked like the woman couldn't guess where he was. "Come, Mrs. Lealan."
Margaret allowed herself to be led to a couple of seats. She declined, stating that it would be better for her to stand where she could intervene should the situation require it of her. Margaret moved so that she was out of the direct line of the photographers and hid in the shadows of the overhang. At around eleven, a speaker got up. He moved stiffly to where he could speak as a hush fell over the massive crowd that gathered, about half waving small flags.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the sixteenth President of the United States, Mr. Abraham Lincoln."
A round of applause and cheers rose up from the crowd as a man, taller than Margaret had ever seen stood, shaking hands with the man who introduced him. The woman spied what she deduced was his speech. She tensed in anticipation, hoping that this man would address the problems that were cresting over the horizon like a tidal wave on a peaceful sunny day.
Mr. Lincoln took a moment to clear his throat before he started to speak, "Fellow-citizens of the United States, in compliance with a custom as old as the government itself, I appear before you briefly and to take in your presence the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by the President before I enter on the execution of this office. I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement. Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republic Administration their property and their peace and personal security are endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the amplest evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you.
"I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe that I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."
Margaret felt surprise ripple through the crowd. She added her own surprise and anger to the wave. But she forced herself to continue to listen to the speech.
"Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar declarations and had never recanted them; and more than this, they placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read. Resolved, that the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgement exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter what pretext as among the gravest of crimes."
Margaret couldn't listen anymore.
Discreetly, she moved away from her position and started to leave the half-finished capital building. She noticed that Mr. Nelson was watching her movements but she nodded, moving out of the way of the several federal soldiers that marched themselves protectively behind the new President. While the speech would help placate the Southern States, she knew that the abolitionists wouldn't be too happy.
They helped him gain power so that he would put an end to the horrible institution of slavery. Margaret had hoped he would, but with all the secessions and Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives currently out of session until this conflict ended there would be nothing he could do. Only the Legislative Branch had the power to make and pass laws, and with the President a part of the Executive Branch, there would be nothing he could do without overstepping his boundaries. And unless he activated his Emergency Powers to end slavery, which would cause even more trouble with the South, then his hands were tied.
But why build his campaign on the promise of ending slavery and then in his inauguration address state that he couldn't?
Margaret shook her head, knowing that this wouldn't be the last time she had to think about things twice.
With the city mostly deserted, as most of the inhabitants were at the half-finished capital building, Margaret made her way back to the hotel that she was staying at. There wasn't much she could do except write the Mentor and send a pigeon to Maryland. Rubbing her eyes, the woman sat at the desk and scribbled out a note detailing what she heard at the speech. Margaret eyed the bed, wondering if it would be worth it to just lay down and take a nap. She had been going hard for too long without too much sleep.
Hopefully, a time would come soon when she could take some time off to rest and to spend time with her children.
Margaret finished the letter and left the hotel, leaving for the Assassin's Bureau in the capital, disguised as an empty building across the street from the Washington Monument. Only those with Eagle Vision could see the entrance to the Bureau and the marker that designated the building as such. Margaret dropped her eyesight, the world around her changing within an instant. The wood darkened as the insignia of the Brotherhood appeared in glowing white. She smirked as she touched the other glowing symbol, one that meant 'Open'. The woman pushed and the wood gave way to reveal a door.
The Capital Bureau was a hive of activity. Everywhere she looked, Margaret saw members move about, preparing for a conflict like every other Bureau and hideout in the country was. She asked one of the hurried members where she could find the leader. The member directed her to a smallish room, which was occupied by a man of about forty years of age. He glanced up when she entered.
"May I help you, Miss?"
"You may." Margaret snipped back. She placed her note on his desk. "I wish to send this to Mentor Kellan of the Maryland Assassins. I need to share this information with you as well."
"Very well." The man said with finality. He reached into his desk, sliding the form over to her. "Fill this out and then you can tell me what your supposed to report to me."
Margaret filled out the form quickly, reporting to the leader of what was said before she left the inauguration and sending the report off tied to the pigeon. She returned back to the hotel by late afternoon, exhausted to the bone. Collapsing on the bed with a groan, Margaret stared up at the ceiling with a hard frown on her face.
Unless something massive happened in the next few months, Mentor Kellan had allowed her some time off. All of her targets had been suspiciously quiet since the election and there wasn't anything that her eyes on the street were reporting.
Margaret was looking forward to some rest and relaxation with her family.
She curled on top of the covers, her eyes fluttering close as she couldn't wait to get home.