Thank you so much for the reviews! I am so glad you are hanging on reading this. It's a two-fer tonight with Chapter 11 & 12. Elizabeth's sickness was getting a little boring.
However, this means I need a couple more days to write the next few chapters before posting. So enjoy these!
Chapter 11
Daisy walked into Henry's office wearing a cream blouse with thin black stripes and a black pencil skirt.
She eyed the coffee cup on his desk. "Hey Henry, how'd you score a coffee from Otis Beanery?"
"Blake brought them in…" he began to reply.
"I'm gonna have to talk with him. Not sure how I was left out," she laughed
Henry laughed, "Well it came with the front page of the New York Post…"
She laughed and said, "Of course it did. Anyway that he can couch it, he will."
Henry laughed.
"How's Elizabeth feeling?" she asked.
"Better, her voice is raspy and horrible if she tries to raise it. But, the fever and the lethargy are gone so look out," he laughed. But continued, "You know that you both have the same shirt. You might want to make sure you coordinate with her when you wear it," he said.
"Fashion advice from the First Gentleman? That's a first. I will make sure I do that," she laughed.
"I try. At least you listen," he joked.
"Elizabeth isn't interested in your style advice?" she asked.
"It's not that. It's those damn tie shirts. I've tried to tell her a bunch of times. What is she trying to prove? She needs to let the whole 'nod to previous presidents' go. She is the first female President and re-elected with ease. She needs to embrace the feminity in that. Remember when Roxanne was first brought in? She wore the dresses and the skirts that all of you wear. She needs more of that thrown in her closet," he was ranting a bit.
Daisy's eyes were wide. But, she answered, "That can be arranged. Roxanne tries to re-do her wardrobe every four to six months. Winter is coming so she is probably going to meet with her and do it in the days after Thanksgiving. Want me to talk to her?"
"You would do that?" Henry asked.
"Of course. Her image is my number one priority. As long as it stays between us, I agree with you," Daisy smiled.
"Maybe talk to both of them. You know, soften the blow for Roxanne a bit," he suggested.
"The ties were her idea. I think Elizabeth just goes along with it because she doesn't have the time to worry about that stuff anymore," Daisy was reasoning with him.
"The last thing Elizabeth is worried about is how she looks. However, she is always worried about the optics, this morning not withstanding. How did we not get a heads up on that?" he asked.
"I just spoke to their reporter here. She had no idea that was even coming," she said.
"C'mon Daisy. You and I know better than that." Henry said. He was always harder on her than Elizabeth was. "They don't run a full front-page story on the President without informing their White House correspondent. I just spoke with Alison again. She was in a quiet bar with four of her closest girlfriends that she knows she can trust. We know three of them personally and are friends with their parents. None of them talked. So, either the Post had someone in the bar that overheard her complain and came up with their own story or they were tipped off by someone. We want to know which one it is by the end of the morning."
"Got it and for what it is worth, I agree," she said.
"In the meantime, this is what you can tell their reporter on background and anyone else who asks, it's a security issue. It is not something we are discussing. Just so you are aware, one of Michael's cousins didn't pass muster with Secret Service. Alison has chosen to not attend Thanksgiving with the McCarthy family and she will be coming with us to the farmhouse. I don't expect her to have warm and fuzzy feelings towards any of us. But, it is what it is."
Daisy looked at her watch and said, "I will have my staff reach out to the talk shows and make sure this story dies today."
"Thanks, Daisy."
Blake Moran was in the Oval spraying down everything with disinfectant when Daisy popped her head in.
"Seriously? She's not going to get you sick," she said.
"Have you seen or more like heard her today? It's disgusting," he bit back at her.
Daisy laughed stepping into the office. "I know she is taking the afternoon off. I need some time with Roxanne and then some time with both of them together upstairs. Maybe later afternoon?" She squatted a bit with her hands up in a praying position.
"Why?" he eyed her with one eyebrow up.
"Because Roxanne is going to be doing her winter wardrobe next week and quite frankly, she needs a makeover," she stated adamantly.
Blake raised both eyebrows, "Really? Have you been talking to Mike B.?"
"Well, Mike B. and some others," she whispered.
"Who?" he asked.
"Not disclosing," she said, giving him a look.
"Not scheduling," he laughed.
"Blake seriously? Don't play this game. I got about a half hour to squelch this Alison story," she put her foot down.
He walked by her, "Well, I want names and you better give them to me fast." He took a sip of his coffee.
"Okay, it was Henry," she whispered. "But, I swear if you tell, you are a dead man. You will owe me Otis Beanery every day for a month."
He smiled that wicked grin at her and said, 'Well, it's about time. Roxanne at 2. Upstairs at 4pm. Henry will be out at the hospital visiting Sarah."
"Thank you," Daisy marched out of the office.
Seconds later, Elizabeth marched in turned to Blake and quietly said, "Please ask Henry to come in. Also, I am going to need Jane Fellows and José Compos in my office in a half hour."
Minutes later, Henry was in her office, "Everything okay, babe?"
"Did we ever have any intel that Jibral Disah had a twin brother?" she asked.
"What?! No!" he answered her matter-of-factly.
She held up her hand to him, "Well, that makes me feel slightly better. I am bringing Murphy Station back in. They should be here shortly along with Isabelle and Ellen."
"Do they know?" he asked.
"No, Akar just called me and told me. You and Jay are the only ones that know. Isabelle will run the group," she said looking at him over her desk. Her decision was already made before she even told Isabelle.
"Elizabeth, I can't serve in that capacity anymore," Henry suggested not knowing where she was going with this.
"I know. That's why I am using Isabelle," she said.
"She's your CIA Director!" he argued.
"And my closest friend besides you. I trust her more than anyone. She can handle it," she moved passed Henry to the door. "Blake, please set up a SVTC call with Avdonin and Susan for 10am."
She turned back into the office, Henry sat down on the couch. He was wearing the navy suit she loved with a light blue tie. He had one arm stretched over the top of the couch as he read a file that she handed to him. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him. Even in these difficult times, she could look at him and fall in love all over again.
He looked up from the file and caught the look on her face. He smiled at her and said, "You're still sick."
She swayed her hips a bit, "Not true, the fever is gone." Her voice was getting raspier by the minute he thought as he watched her swing her arms trying to prove her point.
"There's no way we can steal away together this afternoon," he laughed.
"Who said anything about this afternoon? I am talking about tonight!" she smiled at him.
A knock at the door and within minutes they were fully engulfed in a national security meeting. Having them all sitting in front of her, she began raspily, "So, here's the deal. I used an old source with very good connections. One that I can't tell you about. Jibral Disah has a twin Muhammed. Muhammed is seeking revenge against the United States. More specifically, not on civilians but revenge to those who hurt him with his brother's death. More specifically, Henry and I, which is why Sarah was kidnapped. He was able to connect the dots to others who might have been hurt by the actions of the United States and started putting together his own terror group."
She stepped away from the front of her desk and moved closer to the couches. "The goal here will be to find Disah and the others. We need to be able to put the connections together and fast. Like a puzzle where the pieces may not fit exactly right," she said. "That's why I am relaunching Murphy Station."
"Wait, Ma'am, Dr. McCord can't be doing that type of work," Ellen immediately argued.
"He's not. Jane and José are on their way here. José has someone he is bringing with him. Decorated Marine, recently returned from the Middle East and well versed in all the players. Henry and Isabelle will consult when necessary. Understood?" she asked.
"Yes, Ma'am," the group answered. They left the room. Leaving Susan, Jay and Elizabeth alone for their call with Avdonin.
"There's no way they just snuck into Russia and set up this operation," Susan said.
Jay agreed with her, "It's weird. And obviously the ringleader fled before we got there."
"Or the ringleader was never there," Elizabeth looked at them with one eyebrow up. "My theory is Oksana used her connections and smuggled them in. Disah never would have made it through."
"Here comes the tradecraft," Jay grinned at her.
She pulled photos out of a folder and handed each of them one, "He's in a wheelchair. Acute flaccid myelitis from when he was a child. He's operating out of Pakistan. But, much like the cave they built he has multiple tentacles of those who hate us out there."
She put her hands in her pockets waiting for their responses. It took a minute.
"So, speak to Avdonin and ask them to work with us running intel on who smuggled them in. But, bring them in alive or at least capture whatever intel they have which will allow us to connect the people," Susan stated.
Jay finished, "Meet with the Pakistani Foreign Minister this afternoon. Have the staff pull any incentives for them and let's make them an offer for us to get in and get Disah."
"Boy, I have trained both of you well," Elizabeth smiled at them.
Susan spoke up, "Elizabeth, I can handle both meetings myself. You really should rest your voice."
"Fine, do it," she responded to Susan. She needed to give her the independence in her position anyways. Something she had failed to do in her first term.
Susan left and Jay turned to her, "You feeling okay?"
She gave him a quizzical look.
"That's the first time you agreed when somebody told you to stop talking," he laughed at her.
She glared back, "Technically, she didn't use those words."