Chapter 16

Leo was exhausted. He was resting for a few minutes on his office sofa while the two Secretaries were contacting their contemporaries in Australia to request their assistance in locating the First Lady's aircraft. He couldn't imagine a scenario where they would deny the US request, but they still had to go through channels. General Barker had returned to Joint Base Andrews to be with his staff in the hope that at some point they would hear from the disabled aircraft. But Leo doubted that would happen. The Senior Staff were in their offices, trying their best to be patient while the cogs of bureaucracy turned slowly. Waiting for any news that would indicate a successful conclusion to this terrible evening.

Just as he was falling asleep, Leo thought he was dreaming as he heard a familiar voice. "Have you heard anything else?" He shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the dream. But the voice repeated itself. "Have you heard anything?"

His heart sunk. It could only be one person. He opened his eyes to see Jed sticking his head around the corner of the door from the Oval Office. Quickly rising to his feet, he said, "No, Mr. President. Nothing yet." He saw the disappointment in his friend's face as it retreated into the darkened office behind it.

Leo followed Jed and turned on a lamp near the desk, even as the President slowly melted onto the sofa. The dim light barely lit the room, only emphasizing the shadows already visible on Jed's face.

"You're supposed to be upstairs."

"I know. But I woke up, and I told Charlie I couldn't go back to sleep. He knew that I was too upset to sleep, so I got dressed and came down here. Don't blame him. He did try to get me to stay upstairs, but I had to know what was going on. So, give me an update. Tell me everything. And please Leo, don't gloss over things. Give me the facts. It'll hurt worse if I find out later you didn't tell me the truth."

Leo sighed as he sat down. "OK. Here are the facts as we know them now. We think the plane is still flying. No signs have been spotted of any crash. No communication has been reestablished with it since we lost it initially, so our information is very sketchy. We have asked the Australian Government for assistance, and we are waiting for a response."

"What kind of assistance?"

"Toby suggested we ask for planes to fly along their projected flight path and see if her plane can be picked up on their radar. At least, then we will have confirmation it is still flying and it can be escorted back to Perth. Berryhill and the Defense Secretary are working on that now."

"Do we have any idea how long they can fly? How much fuel they have?

"No, Sir. Without communication, all that is unknown."

"How many people are aboard?"

"According to the manifest filed at Andrews, there's thirty. That includes Abbey, some East Wing Staff, some State Department Staff, crew and Secret Service. She has two very experienced pilots. Both have years of experience with Air Force Two."

"That's some comfort. But when it's mechanical, sometime a human can't prevent…"

"Jed," Leo interrupted him. "Don't think that way. Everybody is working to get Abbey home safely. And the rest of the people on that plane. Let's think positive."

They both sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I need the call the girls."

"Do you think you should?"

"Yes, I need to hear their voices. They also deserve to know what's going on with their mother. If the story leaks, then they would be very upset with me for not telling them."

Jed got up and went to his desk. He picked up his phone and dialed each of his children. It was a tough conversation with each, but he felt better afterwards. He walked back to the sofa and sat down.

"It's done. As you heard, I told them everything that could be done is being done and I would call them with any updates. Zoey wanted to come over, but I told her to stay put in her dorm. There was nothing she could do here. I hated to wake them up, but I had to be the one to tell them. I just hope to have some good news soon to give to them."

"You did the right thing. We can somewhat control the news here, but there is no way we can control the global news."

"Yeah."

Both men fell silent as each thought about what might be occurring on the other side of the world.

"Leo, I've been looking for you." Josh ran into the Oval Office, not realizing who Leo was speaking to. "Oh, excuse me Mr. President. I didn't see you there."

"That's okay, Josh. Do you have news?"

"Yes, Sir. I just got word that the Australians will be thrilled to help us. They're not only scrambling a couple of planes, but, as a coincidence, there is also a naval exercise being conducted about a thousand miles off the western Australian coast near the flight path of the plane. They are being moved into position in case…" Josh stopped as he realized what he was about to say.

"That's okay, Josh. In case the plane has to ditch. Thanks, Josh. That's at least some good news, isn't it, Leo?"

"Yes it is, Mr. President."

Just then an excited Sam ran into the Oval Office. "Leo, Mr. President, Andrews has regained radar and communication contact with Mrs. Bartlet's plane. It's on speaker phone in Leo's office."

Both Leo and Jed stood, and ran into the Leo's office, anxious to hear the status of that plane, now halfway around the world.