Chapter Three – Problems Arise

Quiet days at the officer were meant to be enjoyed, and Elizabeth McCord was taking full advantage of a mundane morning. There was nothing pressing on her schedule except for a meeting at the White House that afternoon. Maybe she would call Henry and try to set up lunch. She rarely had the opportunity, and it would be a great addition to the day. Just as she was about to pick up the phone to call him Nadine walked in. With one look at her chief of staff's face Elizabeth knew she wasn't going to like whatever Nadine had to say.

"Ma'am, we have a problem."

Elizabeth sighed and set the phone back down in the cradle.

"Of course we do. When does a day go by when we don't have a problem?" she asked before leaning back in her chair and waving Nadine forward.

"You're going to want to come with me."

"Why do I not like the sound of that?"

Probably because whenever those words were involved a mere problem tended to be upgraded to a much bigger problem. Fantastic.

She followed Nadine out of her office and into the conference room. The rest of her staff was already there. When she walked in their eyes all flicked toward her, clearly worried. The video screen at the front of the room was set up, and Jay stood nervously next to the laptop connected to it. This was not some minor emergency. She could tell that just from looking at her staff.

"You have something for me, Jay?"

"Yes, Ma'am, and you're not going to like it."

"Of course I'm not." She took a seat and slid her glasses on. "Okay. Show me."

"The US embassy in Nigeria received this video this morning. Apparently it was sent by an African rebel group. They've taken hostages and are demanding payment from the United States for their release," Jay explained.

"Of course they are, because the United States government has a long history of paying ransoms," Elizabeth grumbled sarcastically.

She understood why everyone looked so concerned now. Hostage situations didn't usually bode well for the hostages. Rescue missions were difficult and casualties tended to be high. If the situation and environment were bad enough a military operation may not even be possible no matter how many lives were in the balance. After taking a deep breath to prepare herself Elizabeth nodded to Jay.

"Okay, show me."

Jay nodded and started the video. Everyone's eyes were immediately glued to the screen as the rebel leader began speaking. It was the usual demand. If three million dollars wasn't wired to them in the next three days they would start killing hostages. Three days didn't give her a lot of time to work, if there was even something she could do. The image on screen changed slightly, revealing a group of armed men. Heavily armed men. The numbers alone didn't bode well, and the high level weaponry would cause just as many challenges. Elizabeth ran her fingers along her jaw as she took in the details. Eight visible men plus the leader. Automatic weapons. An enclosed location in Nigeria. And the hostages… Her eyes swept the background where a group of people were huddled. They were dirty, bruised, and completely terrified. That was to be expect-

Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock and she jumped to her feet, slamming her palm down on the table.

"Rewind it!" she demanded.

"I'm sorry?" Jay asked as he paused the video.

"Rewind it to when they panned over the rebels and hostages."

"Ma'am?" Blake asked, confused about why she sounded so frantic.

The rest of the staff didn't understand either. Apparently she'd seen something that they hadn't. What it could be that could make her this worked up none of them had any idea.

Elizabeth simply ignored Blake and focused all of her attention on the screen. It wasn't possible. She had to have been seeing things.

"Play it again," she demanded.

"O-of course, Ma'am," Jay replied before backing up the video and doing what she'd asked.

Elizabeth kept her eyes glued to the right hand edge of the screen. Nothing else mattered. Any minute the hostage that had been visible there for only a moment before the image had returned to the rebel leader would come into view. She only had to see the hostage again for a second before she knew. Her heart stopped and ice filled her. Even as the image passed off screen Elizabeth could still see the terrified young face. It was about all she could see. That image… That image would be burned into her mind forever.

"Oh my god."

She didn't even hear herself speak. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. Yet she had to be sure. Four long strides got her to the phone and she dialed with shaking hands.

"What's going on? What did I miss?" Daisy asked as she watched her boss' face go white.

"I have no idea," Matt answered.

Both of them turned to Blake and Nadine but only received shrugs and a shake of the head in response. Something had triggered the Secretary's response, but none of them knew what. There hadn't been anything unusual that they had seen.

"The Bureau of Consular Affairs please."

Everyone started at Elizabeth's words. The video had been passed along to them from the Office of Consular Affairs. There wasn't anything else she was going to get from them.

"Ma'am," Jay started but immediately shut his mouth when she held her hand up to silence him.

Elizabeth turned her full attention back to the phone call. Finding out the truth was all she cared about right then and nothing was going to distract her. If she had to throw her staff out of the room she would. This was that important.

"I need all records of recent international travel and passport usage for Stephanie McCord."

"Stephanie?" Matt whispered. "Her mystery daughter?"

"She's not a mystery daughter," Blake corrected. "I thought we covered that already."

"Why is she asking about Stevie?" Daisy asked before Matt and Blake could get into a ridiculous and pointless debate.

She simply couldn't see the connection between Stevie and their current hostage situation. Why would Elizabeth be spending time checking up on her daughter right now? They had more important things to worry about. Like the lives of a large number of hostages.

"Not a clue," Matt grumbled.

"Will you all just stop?" Nadine shot at everyone.

The group fell silent, and their eyes shifted to their boss. She had just set the phone back down and looked even paler than she had before – if that were even possible. Elizabeth rested her hands on the table and bowed her head. She simply couldn't believe what she'd just heard. It was nearly impossible for her to process and worse yet, she didn't know if she wanted to process it.

Two weeks ago Stevie had been on a flight to Africa and her passport had later been registered in Nigeria.

Her heart had recognized Stevie in the video instantly, but her head had insisted that she was being ridiculous. There was no reason her daughter would be in Nigeria. They may not have heard from her in two weeks, but Nigeria? It was too far-fetched to really consider. Now Elizabeth had to do more than consider it.

"This can't be happening."

Elizabeth hadn't even realized she'd spoken aloud. She was so engulfed in horror that she'd basically forgotten where she was. When Blake's hand landed on her shoulder she nearly jumped. Her entire staff knew something wasn't quite right with the Secretary of State, but up close like this Blake could see how lost she truly was. It almost looked like it took her a moment to recognize him.

"Madam Secretary."

"Please tell me this is some horrible, horrible nightmare and I'm going to wake up soon."

Blake was nearly taken aback by her words. This wasn't the Elizabeth McCord that he knew. She didn't simply ignore bad situations; she dealt with them. Hopefully once he reminded her that this – whatever this actually was – was real she would pull herself back together.

"I wish I could do that, Ma'am, but you're already awake."

Elizabeth moved her gaze from Blake to the rest of her staff. They were all watching her with varying levels of concern. She took a deep breath and prepared to say the words she had never expected to say in her life. Once she spoke them out loud the situation would be even more real. It took every ounce of courage to spit them out and face the living hell that was in front of her.

"My daughter is one of the hostages."