Desolation, Part VIII

Author: Sirius

Disclaimer: See Part I

Chapter Summary: Enter Zoey.

Author's note:  When I tried to upload to fanfiction.net, the italics quit halfway through.  Thoughts after the halfway point are denoted by ** until I can figure out how to fix the problem.  Emphasis when speaking is denoted by bold typeface (presuming that shows up.  If not, I'll fix it).

As soon as Toby reappeared, Bartlet informed the staff of Charlie's words as he had headed into the House, noting the varied reactions – Ainsley, Sam, Margaret and Debbie looked like they were about to be physically ill.  Josh, having already heard what happened to Deena, showed no additional reaction, but anyone with sense would want to stay out of his way for a while.  Toby quite obviously wanted to punch someone, and CJ and Donna shared a glance that spoke volumes.  They wanted to track down the murderers and do serious – and permanent – physical damage.  Leo… Leo looked like he'd just been put down in the middle of ground combat in Vietnam and no one bothered to tell him.  He knew there was trouble coming.

Even with the emotions and tension in the air, most of the staff were lost for words.  "Grab a seat, children, and let me know how we're going to get these bastards.  Ron, who has jurisdiction?"

"Technically, sir, jurisdiction belongs to the DCPD."

"But…"

"But we could make a case for Service involvement as this is now a danger to the First Daughter, as well.  Charlie was convinced of the threat to her, and given the content of the letters, there's no way that it could be passed off as coincidental."

"And this means…?"

"If the DC police mess up or something isn't quite… above-board… with their investigative procedures, we are well-within our rights to take control of the case, given the threat that is being presented."

"Good.  Keep an eye on it.  I want them caught, Ron.  I'd prefer to have them taken out and shot, but that would be illegal.  CJ, keep the details under wraps tomorrow, and just give them the basics.  If anyone knows more than he or she should, pass that reporter's name to Ron.  And that goes for all of you."  He saw nods, and "Yes, sir" echoed through the room.  Ron paused for a moment, apparently listening to something coming over his earpiece.  There was a soft knock at the door, and an agent entered, file in hand – Peter.  He handed the file to the President, who placed it on the table beside him.  He would grant Charlie some measure of privacy in this mess by reading it when there were fewer people around.  Then, as well, there wouldn't be quite so many witnesses to his reaction – whatever it may be.

Abbey slipped into the room and took a seat next to her husband.  "Charlie?" he asked.

"He forgot to grab the bag that he keeps here for short-notice trips, so no one needs to get anything from his apartment right away.  I had him sedated; he wasn't going to sleep, otherwise.  I want them found, Jed.  He's been through enough.  No one deserves this."  Charlie held as large a place in Abbey's heart as in her husband's, and she wasn't going to just sit back and take this any more than her husband had.

"No, no one does.  Ron, are there…?"

"Two agents stationed themselves outside the room as soon as Mrs. Bartlet left, sir.  On the off-chance that someone can get into the Residence, they wouldn't be able to get to him any easier than they could get to any other member of the First Family."

CJ's gaze examined the agent, and a small smile came unseen to her lips.  Any other member of the First Family.  Charlie's determined to keep Zoey away from him, but they still treat him as if he's… what?  First Son, First Son-in-Law?  Is that Ron's idea of a hint, or is he saying something else entirely?  He already mentioned that he was a brother to the agents here, but they wouldn't go to these lengths to protect another agent – not obviously so, anyway.  I'll keep an eye on this.

"Good.  That's enough for now, people.  It's been a long day.  Go home, go to bed, and sleep in tomorrow.  If you come in, I don't want to see any of you until noon.  Leo, you stay so you can meet Zoey at the airport.  Everybody else… get out of here."

"Yes, sir."

"Good night, Mr. President."

"Thank you, sir."

And the staff headed out, none of them with any intention of sleeping in.

As the room emptied of all save Jed, Abbey, Leo and Ron, Bartlet picked up the thick folder and opened it.  He immediately noticed that these letters were all accompanied by photographs, and he flipped through those first, taking care to keep them in order.  Setting those aside, he scanned through the first few letters – face paling more with each one.  Then, he moved to the more recent pieces – and froze.  He removed a single letter from the file and read it a second time… then a third.

"Ron, this is what they did to Deena.  Word for word – keeping in mind that we still don't know all the details – this is almost exactly what happened to her.  There's a difference, though… this plan lays out a solution to the "problem" of a Service detail.  They weren't originally planning this for Deena… were they, Ron?"

"No, sir.  By the time Charlie received that letter, the third agent had already been added to Zoey's detail.  She announced her plans for the visit to France less than a week after it arrived.  Current theory is that they only decided to go after Deanna when they realized that Zoey was out of reach."

While Jed listened to Ron, Abbey took the letter from her husband's hand, reading it quickly.  Paling, she placed the letter back in the folder, unable to comprehend how someone could have planned to do this to Zoey, or how anyone could have had such hatred as to actually commit these acts on another human being.  Deena's laughing, joyful face danced in her head, and she spoke with a voice that was harder than anyone in the room had ever heard.

"Find them, Ron.  You know what they did to Deena.  They can't be allowed to do the same to anyone else.  Give the DCPD whatever they ask for in terms of this…" she waved her hand at the folder.  "But keep the originals.  They get copies only, just in case someone in the Good Old Boys club decides to misplace a few things, though one can hope enough people remember Marissa Young that it won't be an issue."

Ron nodded, the look on his face the same as the one he'd worn a few years before, when he'd caught a bullet in the hand at Rosslyn, and insisted on seeing to the President's safety before having his injuries looked at.  Bartlet recognized the look, and Leo had seen it a few times since that point.  Leo was the one who spoke next.

"Ron," he said.  "I don't see you guys going to quite this level of trouble when another agent is in danger, though anyone who works in the field can be in the line of fire.  Not that I'm objecting but… why Charlie?"

"Mr. McGarry, there aren't many like Charlie, anymore.  Anyone else his age would quit if they had his hours, but he goes above and beyond.  He's finishing his college degree at the same time… and I have a hunch."

"What kind of hunch, Ron?" This was from the President.

"Sir, if I were a betting man, I would say that Charlie's not done here.  This house is where he found his second family, and when your administration is over, he will leave here with the rest of you.  Something tells me that he'll be back, and when he is… he'll be sitting in your chair, sir, and he'll have earned it every bit as much as you have.  I'd just like to keep him alive until then.  After that, it'll be someone else's job.  If you'll excuse me, sir… I have to get back to work."  At Bartlet's shocked nod, Ron moved toward the door, a determined grin on his face.  He stopped just before he reached the entrance, and turned to face the President again.  "Just so you know, sir," he said, "as soon as I step out of this room, I'm changing Charlie's code name.  He's Phoenix now; he'll rise above this."

Leo said nothing until the door had shut behind Ron.  "Well, I'll be…"

"Yeah," Bartlet answered.  "Yeah.  I can't say I've ever seen that side of Ron."  He paused.  "He's right, you know.  Charlie could do it, and I think that he would want to, but I'm not going to push him – certainly not now, maybe not ever.  There are other things he needs to deal with long before he'll have a chance to sit in that chair.  Grab a cup of coffee, Leo; we're probably gonna be here a while."  He took off his glasses and rubbed tired eyes for a second, then put the glasses back on.  It was time to get back to work.

2:30am Sunday – Day 2

The minute Zoey stepped off the plane, the two members of her detail took up their standard formation, the third having been withdrawn from the detail when the First Daughter had gone overseas.  Gina stood  to one side, Xander to the other, both on full alert.  Expecting to be met only by senior Service members (or possibly Josh or Sam), alarms went off in her head when she saw Leo, himself flanked by two agents.  She didn't miss the suddenly heightened level of tension in her own detail, and she knew from the look on Leo's face that whatever news he had wasn't good.  She ran through a list of possible problems.

**Dad said Mom and my sisters were fine, that he was fine.  He sounded like he believed it, so that probably isn't the issue.  If there were some kind of emergency that meant I had to get to the House ASAP, there'd be a lot more agents than this.  All of the staff were still in the West Wing when I called I think… except Charlie.** 

Leo watched silently as Zoey's eyes raked his form and the two agents standing with him, watched as her face went pale, but he wasn't prepared for what came out of her mouth – and apparently, neither was her detail.  "Leo," she said.  "What's happened to Charlie?"

**How the hell…?**

"Zoey, let's grab your luggage and get back to the Residence, ok?  Your dad wants to talk to you."

"Leo, what's wrong with Charlie?"  Leo did a double-take, thinking for a moment that Abigail Bartlet had been speaking to him instead of Zoey.  The Chief of Staff took a deep breath.

"We can't talk about this here, Zoey.  Please, at least wait until we get into the car.  Then, I'll tell you what I can get away with."  The young woman glared at him and stalked off to the baggage claim carousel.

Several moments later, safely seated next to Leo in the backseat of a bulletproof Service SUV, Zoey Bartlet turned the full force of her mother's glare on her father's oldest friend.  "I'd like some answers now, Leo, if you don't mind.  What… Happened… To… Charlie?"

TBC…