Fitz walked down the hall of James Madison hospital. Abby had arrived a half hour earlier and he made his way there as soon as he found out. The secret service went ahead of him to give her floor a security sweep and then lined the hallway as he walked behind Tom into Abby's room. She was hadn't regained consciousness since they found her.
As Fitz walked in the room, he saw Dr. Finch, the British doctor who he remembered worked with Olivia when he had first met her after waking up from his coma.
"Mr. President," Stephen said a little shocked.
"Dr. Finch, I'd like to speak to Ms. Whelan when she wakes up."
"Yes sir."
"Do you have any idea when that will be?"
"I can't be sure, she resting right now so she can wake in 5 minutes or 5 hours, she's not in a coma but she really needs rest."
"Can you tell me the extent of her injuries?"
"Yes, she suffered from extreme dehydration and exhaustion. She had a severe concussion and a gunshot wound to her right arm,"
Fitz nodded.
"Thank you Dr. Finch."
Stephen was about to head out but then he stopped and turned to ask Fitz a question.
"I'm sorry, Mr. President but I just needed to know if you knew anything about Olivia Pope, she was the doctor that worked on you when you were shot, I don't know if you remember but she was my best friend and she went missing along with Abby and I have been trying to get information on her and I can't, I just wanted to know if you knew anything."
"I'm sorry, Dr. Finch I don't,"
"Please, if you know anything, please tell me, they were both missing Abby came back and she didn't that can't be good."
"I don't," Fitz said again.
Stephen stared at him for a moment, annoyed that he was being so dismissive and then left.
Fitz sat by Abby's bed, his anxiety was at an all time high and he couldn't just sit and wait for her to wake up so he decided to wake her. He nudged her gently on the leg and called her name.
"Abby?"
He could see her twitch.
"Abby?" he called a little louder.
She shuffled and he tapped her leg again.
'Abby please wake up."
She shifted and then opened her eyes wide.
"Where am I? Where's Olivia?" she said in a panic.
"You're safe Abby, you're in America, at the James Madison hospital."
Abby took a few deep breaths.
"Abby, I need you to tell me what happened to you in Ethiopia?"
"She told me you would want to talk to me."
"Who Olivia? So she's alive?" Fitz said a little too quickly.
Abby shook her head and started crying.
Fitz stepped back and looked at her in horror.
"She's not dead."
Abby sobbed.
"No, she's not but they have her. She's in Ethiopia when I managed to get away but I don't know exactly where, I was walking for days before I reached the road, maybe they moved her, I don't know."
"Abby, I need you to tell me everything that happened please start at the beginning and don't leave anything out, it's imperative that you tell me all the details."
Fitz sat back in the chair beside her bed and waited for Abby to begin, Tom stood by the door recording the conversation to make sure they had all the details to find Olivia.
"I'm sorry, can I have some water?" Asked Abby.
"Sure,"
Fitz quickly walked to the trolley and poured her some water and then handed it to her. She took a sip and then began.
"I was walking with Siobhan, we had just finished eating dinner and we were heading back to our tent when we saw three armed men running. They had huge machine guns and masks on and they fired on the villagers first. Siobhan and I ran but they grabbed us and brought us over by the campfire and made us kneel on the ground. They shot all the men and left all the women, Olivia was the last one that they brought to the campfire. They grabbed her from her tent, the guys she hired tried to help her they really did but they killed them. When they shoved her on the ground one of the guys, the leader, pulled a picture out of his pocket and then pointed to Olivia and said she was the one."
Fitz cut her off.
"So they came for her specifically?"
"Yes. He ordered the other men to kill everyone except Olivia. They were going to kill me but she begged them not and -"
She hesitated.
"Abby, I need to know."
"They made her choose?"
"Choose what?"
"Choose between killing me or the other doctors."
"What do you mean?"
"She begged them not to kill me and the leader said he'll spare me or the 5 other doctors. She said she wouldn't choose but he said if she didn't choose then he'd kill all of us."
"And she picked you over the 5 doctors?" Fitz asked.
Abby nodded slowly.
"What else?"
"They took us to their car and I don't remember anything until I woke up in a hallway. They hit me in the head and knocked me out, Olivia too, she had blood all over her face. Once we woke up the leader of the group came to us and-"
Abby paused and started sobbing again.
"Abby I need you to tell me what happened?"
Abby took a deep breath and began again.
"He said that he was going to kill me or have his men do whatever they wanted to do to me. He said that the only reason they took Olivia was because someone wanted him to kidnap her but then they called it off and didn't pay him. He said he was going to starve her to death if he didn't get him money then he left. Olivia made me promise to run if I could, she said that if I didn't run they were going to kill me. She came up with a plan to help us get away but then she said it would have to be me, that we wouldn't both be able to escape. She screamed and all the guards came running to her and then I ran through the door, one of the guard tried to run after me but she tripped him and then he kicked her. I tried to turn back but she kept telling me to run so I did. The guard shot me as I was running into the woods. I ran until I couldn't hear them following me anymore, Olivia gave me her bottle of water that's the only reason I survived in the woods. Olivia taught me how to say take me to the american embassy in arabic but by the time I hit the road I had been travelling through the woods for 3 or 4 days. I kept repeating what she told me to say anyone I saw until a man and his family helped me.
"So these men were mercenaries who specifically came to find Olivia because someone hired them to kidnap her but backed out and didn't pay them?"
Abby nodded unable to stop crying.
"Abby is there anything else your forgetting, anything that could help me to find her?"
Abby tried to think.
"I ran south into the woods and I keep going south by foot until I hit the road, Olivia told me to remember what direction I walked, she said that might help you."
"If anyone asks you what happened, tell them you don't remember."
"Please you have to find her, those guys, they're horrible-"
"I know but I need you not to tell anyone else what you just told me."
Abby nodded and with that Fitz headed straight through the door, Tom followed.
"Tom, where is my father?" he asked as he walked down the hallway.
"In the residence sir."
"Take me to him."
Fitz was quiet on the drive back to the whitehouse. His blood was boiling. He couldn't believe he was stupid enough to not know that Gerry was behind the whole thing all along. It had Gerry's name written all over it, the mercenaries, the pulling out of the deal and not paying, everything.
The minute the car pulled up behind the white house, he sprinted up to the residence to find Gerry, Tom sprinted behind him, along with a couple of other agents.
"Where is he? Where is my father?" Fitz screamed.
"The sit room sir," one of the agents guarding the residence answered.
Fitz ran down the hallway and flung open the sit room door to find Gerry. He sprinted over to him and grabbed him by the throat and squeezed with every ounce of strength he had in him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" he screamed.
Gerry tried to pry Fitz's hands of his neck but they were fixed. He couldn't breath but Fitz continued squeezing. Tom had to pull Fitz off out of fear that if he didn't Fitz would've killed him. Tom and two other agents restrained Fitz.
Gerry fell over on the chair and heaved.
"What did you do?" Fitz asked again.
"I'm going to get her back, I swear."
"You're going to get her back? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Fitz saw a chair in front of him and managed to rassle himself out of Tom and Josh's grip and threw it in Gerry's direction; as soon as he threw it he felt Tom and Josh restraining him again, tighter than before.
"I told you that if you had anything to do with this, anything at all that it would be your head on a pike."
"Fitz, I promise-"
"Your promises mean nothing to me."
Fitz took a deep breath and tried to compose himself.
"Tom, take him to the situation room, kick out the state department guys and my advisers, I only want Cyrus in there."
Tom walked over to Gerry and escorted him to the situation room and ordered the other guard to collect Cyrus.
Fitz loosened his tie and took a deep breath and walked slowly to the situation room in an attempt to calm his nerves before he heard what Gerry had to say.
"What's going on?" Cyrus said as he walked into the situation room.
Fitz entered seconds after Cyrus.
"Fitz why do you look like that?" Cyrus asked.
Cyrus couldn't ignore the look of absolute indignation on Fitz face. Fitz ignored Cyrus and stood silently against the wall, purposely across the room from Gerry, he didn't trust what he would do if he was too close to him.
"I tried to have Olivia Pope kidnapped,"
"What?" Cyrus half screamed.
"What do you mean tried, they took her, I think that means it's successful," Cyrus said again.
"I was going to but when Fitz told me he filed the divorce papers, I called it off."
"You don't think that maybe 6 days ago when she was taken would've been a good time to tell us."
"I've been trying to reach out to them, to try to make a deal with them to get her back but they aren't responding."
Cyrus sat down and took a deep breath.
"Okay, who did you hire? Let's start there," Cyrus asked.
"A bunch of guys, I just know the leader, his name is Rex. He's the one I made the deal with, he's from a group of mercenaries, that's all I know about them, I've never met them before. I hired them to take her. They've been following her since she was in Tehran, they were suppose to have taken her earlier but they were waiting to do it quietly but when I called it off, they still wanted to get paid but- didn't think they'd go after her because I didn't pay them. I'm sorry Fitz-"
Cyrus cut him off.
"Is there anything that you have on them except one guys alias?"
"The phone number and the routing number for their bank account."
Cyrus nodded.
"Okay, Give it to me, I'll see if the CIA or NSA has anything on these guys."
Gerry looked through his phone and wrote the information down and handed it to Cyrus.
"Call them," Fitz said from across the room.
Gerry looked up at him.
"Fitz, I've been calling them, they aren't responding."
"Call them," he said again.
"Fitz-"
He walked over and took Gerry's phone and dialed the number and waited. The number was incorrect and went to an automated machine telling him to try a different number,
"You've been trying them huh?"
Gerry didn't reply.
"You know what I think. I think you called it off on purpose, I think you knew they would've taken her in retaliation which would work out for you because you'd still get them to take her and you wouldn't have to transfer them any money so there wouldn't be anything linking you to them. What is the number Gerry? The correct one?"
Fitz handed him the phone and waited for Gerry to pull up the number. He wrote it down and Fitz took the note.
"Cyrus get the state department guys to set up tracking on this number before I call it. Quickly."
Cyrus ran out to gather the state department analyst and investigators.
Fitz turned and faced Tom who stood by the door.
"Tom, call the FBI, hold him in the security bay until they come to arrest him."
"Arrest me, Fitz you're not serious?" Gerry asked in disbelief.
"Tell them to take him to the pentagon, tell them to be quiet about it. I don't want anyone knowing anything until I say so,"
"Fitz, I'm your father."
Fitz turned and faced him.
"I warned you, you better pray that she comes back in one piece or jail will be the least of your problems."
Fitz turned back to Tom.
"Take him, Tom."
Tom walked over to Gerry and pulled him up. Gerry wasn't going to cause a scene because that wasn't going to help and would only serve to raise questions from White House staff.
"Fitz, come on be reasonable, I promise I'll help you get her back, you've only known her three months, you've known me your entire life, you can't be serious," he said as Tom walked him to the door.
Fitz turned his back, completely ignoring his pleas.
Cyrus walked in shortly after with a group of workers from the state department after having brief them all of them on the 'need to knows' of what was going on.
He gave them the routing number and phone number and they began working on their computers.
"Okay sir, since the call is international in order for us to track it, it would have to last longer than 90 seconds."
"Okay," Fitz replied.
Cyrus walked over to him and spoke lowly so only Fitz could hear.
"Fitz, I don't think you should talk to them, have Henry do it, if you call, she'll only become for valuable to them."
"I know that Cyrus, I'm not stupid,"
Cyrus nodded.
"Henry, we need you to talk to these guys," Cyrus called across the room.
Henry nodded.
"Let me know when to initiate the call,"
"Now," Fitz responded.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, it's showtime,"
Henry dialed the number and listened as the phone rang over the speaker it was hooked up to. They heard when the line picked up and a man began speaking.
"After ignoring is for almost a week you finally decided to call."
"Let's make a deal," Henry said coolly.
Fitz stood beside Henry listening intently, ready to interject if he needed to. The man on the phone didn't seem to realize that it wasn't big Gerry.
"The time for deals between us passed. You had your chance. It turns out she's much more valuable to someone else."
Henry looked to Fitz and Fitz motioned for him to keep talking.
"I'll double what they are paying you."
"He isn't paying me, he's my boss and what he says goes ."
"Rex, I'm sure you could use a few million in your account right now, just help her accidentally escape and it's yours."
"There is no deal I would make with you that I would trust you to keep your end off."
He hung up abruptly before Henry could say another word.
"We lost it," one of the tech guys said.
"Call back!" Fitz ordered.
Henry tried calling back but it rang out then he tried again and there was no answer.
Fitz slammed his hands in the table in frustration.
"Try again!"
Olivia was sleeping when she felt someone hovering over her and opened her eyes slowly. The room was dark and she couldn't see who it was then a light flashed in her eyes but after being in the dark for so long, it was too bright so she closed her eyes.
"Hey doctor, it's been a while," Rex teased.
She heard snickering and realized that he wasn't alone. She opened her eyes again and squinted. She saw Rex and his men standing over her.
She closed her eyes again. Rex stooped down beside her.
"Hello Olivia, our boss would like to see you."
He pulled her up by her arm to help her stand up but she kept falling. Another guard grabbed her other arm and hoisted her up and they both walked her out of her black hole of a room into another room. As she walked into the room, she realized that it wasn't the same house from Ethiopia and that they did in fact move her after Abby escaped. She walked into the clean furnished room, she was still squinting from the brightness of the daylight. There was a tv and she could see clothing laid out on the bed. They laid her on the floor by the bed.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"Heaven," Rex answered teasingly.
"Can I have some water? I ran out yesterday or at least I think it was yesterday? What day is it?"
Rex's phone rang and he picked up and spoke briefly then hung up.
"He's here," Rex announced.
She watched them all stand a little straighter and scowl a little more dramatically as they waited for their boss to arrive. They seemed afraid and it was unnerving for her because the last thing she needed was someone worse than them. She heard footsteps walking down the hallway and braced herself. When the footstep came to a halt and a figure appeared in the door frame she couldn't help but chuckle softly out of sheer irony.
"Dad?"
"That's your father?" Rex asked shocked.
The other guards were all equally shocked.
"What happened to her?" Rowan asked.
"Sir I didn't know she was your daughter, you didn't tell us."
Rowan walked closer to Olivia and stooped beside her.
"Sit up," he commanded.
"I can't, three of my ribs are broken," her tone was barely above a whisper, she simply didn't have the energy to speak any louder.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked.
"Are you going to tell me why the president's father wanted you dead?"
He waited for her to answer but she didn't, she was still processing.
"Regardless, Gerry Grant hired my men to take you out and then stiffed them,"
"So let me guess, you want your money? I'll pay you whatever he owes you and then you can let me go."
"No sweetheart, I was always going to take you but in the midst of planning a rare opportunity presented itself when Gerry Grant called my men, seeking their services to kidnap you. I allowed it because I figured why not get paid to do something I planned on doing anyways."
"So you were behind all of this? What do you want from me?"
"15 years ago we had a deal and because of you, I wasn't able to keep my end. You were suppose to build me a weapon but you didn't and I've had 7 countries out for my head, most notably Iran and that has made life very difficult for me over the past decade, it took some time but I was able to broker a new deal, one that would make me very rich; they are planning something big, something that would make 9/11 look like child's play but they need a big bomb, the bomb you made."
"Wait, what?" Olivia asked confused.
"It's been fascinating watching you on your travels, I'll admit that I got a little nervous when that drone strike hit the village your were lodged in, it was a little too close for comfort because you are really of no use to me or the Iranians dead."
"You are pathetic," Olivia said softly.
"Excuse me?"
"You are pathetic and sad and I feel sorry for you because you will never know love or friendship or even loyalty."
Rowan stood up.
"I am you father and you will not speak to me that way."
Olivia decided to sit up even though she knew it would be painful.
"You are not my father, not anymore so I will speak to you however I want because you don't deserve my respect. I wasn't going to build that bomb 15 years ago and I'm not going to build it now so you have massively wasted your time."
"That remains to be seen, the Iranians are ruthless and I'm sure they have more than a few techniques that will make you more than agreeable,"
"They can try."
"Don't be stupid Olivia."
"I'm not nor have I ever been stupid. When they realize that I'm not going to give them what they want, they will be angry and understandably so because that will be the second time you fell short and I'm sure they will want answers as well as their money back as guess who will be right there to tell them everything: me. I will tell them everything from your social security number to your blood type. They will kill me but that's okay because they will kill you too."
Rowan chuckled.
"They'd have to find me to do that."
"They will, you said it yourself, the Iranians are ruthless."
He checked his watch.
"You have an hour so I suggest you shower and make yourself presentable for when they come to get you. Rex will bring you some food, I want you to have your wits about you when they get here."
Rowan headed for the door, followed by his men.
"I don't matter to you at all, do I?"
She knew it was a silly question to ask but she wanted affirmation, she needed it.
He stopped in his track and turned around and faced her.
"No, not anymore - it didn't have to be like this. We could have worked together, we could have been great together but 15 years ago you turned your back on me, you wanted to be good, well, this is what being good feels like. Good people lose Olivia and you lost, I regret that I have to do this to you, I may not regard you as my daughter but you are my blood and whatever pain and suffering that you have to face at their hands, know that it is in aid of greatness. Goodbye Olivia."