Chapter Twelve – The Hardest Part
Elizabeth had thought that the day she'd found out Stevie was a hostage in Africa was the longest day of her life, but today was giving that one a run for its money. That was the price of being able to do nothing but wait. Soon after two PM Blake had sent through a call from the marines in France. It had lifted her spirits somewhat, despite the brevity of the call. They had already been in their disguises, which Elizabeth had found somewhat amusing. She'd openly said it was really weird to see them in French uniforms. They had responded that it was even weirder to be wearing them. After that they had taken the time to tell her they were boarding the chopper and would be arriving in Nigeria in a little over five hours before continuing on their way. The call had eased some of the monotony of the day, but all too soon she had been back to near endless waiting.
Around six she'd forced herself to eat dinner, but she hadn't managed to get much down. All she could think about was whether they would be in time. With the time difference it had already been evening when the chopper had landed, and the soldiers had still needed to make their way to the compound. Elizabeth didn't expect them to make contact until early morning. The question was, at what point were the rebels counting three days? She didn't truly know. It was possible that they were considering midnight tonight as the deadline. No new videos had come in that day, which Elizabeth had to view as a good thing. If their time was already up they would have definitely received a video with deaths. Nothing had come though, so they still had time. Or so she was trying to tell herself.
O . o . O . o . O
When Ellen Hill stepped into the Secretary of State's office that night she hadn't been expecting to find Elizabeth McCord asleep on the couch. Based on the upside down binder on the ground nearby Ellen suspected she'd fallen asleep while trying to work. She moved to Elizabeth's side and gently shook her shoulder.
"Madam Secretary."
Elizabeth jerked awake, initially startled and frantic. It didn't take long for her to calm and rub a hand across her face, nearly dislodging her glasses in the process.
"Ellen? What time is it?"
"Late, Ma'am. Or early depending on how you want to look at it. Did you stay here all night?"
"Yes," she replied around a yawn. "I figured there was no point in going home since we have to meet in the situation room eventually."
"We have to meet now, Ma'am. I figured you might like the company on the way over."
Elizabeth got to her feet and ran a hand through her hair in hopes of straightening it. She had no idea how long she'd been asleep or how bad she might look because of her little nap.
"I appreciate that, Ellen." She ran a hand down her shirt and the sides of her pants, trying to smooth everything out. "I don't look like I actually slept in my clothes, do I?"
"You look fine, Ma'am."
"Good. Let's go."
She grabbed her coat and followed Ellen out of the office. Restraining herself to a walk on the way to the situation room was going to be a challenge, but she had to remind herself that getting there faster wouldn't really do any good. She was on the sidelines now. Clearly she was still coming across as rushed and terrified because Ellen was keeping a very close eye on her. She didn't comment on Elizabeth's behavior though. Elizabeth was thankful for that. At least she knew Ellen understood how difficult this was for her.
When they were only a short way from their destination Ellen finally spoke.
"Does the president know?"
She didn't need to be any more specific. Elizabeth fully understood what she was asking: Did he know about Stevie. She doubted Ellen was going to like the answer.
"No, and while he obviously can't take me off this situation anymore, I'm still not going to come right out and tell him."
If he asked she would, but that wasn't likely to happen. Once Conrad did find out he would not be pleased with her. Elizabeth was fully expecting to get her ass handed to her when he realized what she'd done. That needed to wait until after Stevie was safe though. Until then she wouldn't be in the right frame of mind to deal with a lecture. When her fears for Stevie were put to rest she would mentally be ready to handle whatever the president wanted to throw at her.
"He isn't going to be happy when he finds out," Ellen warned.
"Nope, but I don't really care. If it gets those hostages home safely, my daughter included, it will be worth it."
Neither of them said another word, but right before they stepped into the situation room Ellen gave Elizabeth's arm a squeeze for reassurance. It was the best she could offer, and Elizabeth appreciated the gesture.
After a deep, settling breath Elizabeth took her seat. This was it. Within the next few hours she would find out whether her daughter's life would continue or end at twenty. They would be receiving audio updates from the troops on the ground, but she wasn't sure how often they would be coming. The best they would be able to see was satellite surveillance images, which basically showed nothing. At least if Stevie was killed she wouldn't have to see it first-hand. The thought squeezed her heart, but Elizabeth was thankful for the fact anyway. She didn't think she would be able to handle seeing her baby shot.
The crackling of a transmission coming through dragged her out of her thoughts, and she looked toward the front of the room along with everyone else. Conversations would be broadcast to the room via speaker while one of the upper level officers in the room was connected with the troops by headset. He would be able to ask questions and pass along top level decisions if they were necessary.
"Troops are currently in place. We have one group hidden near what we hope will be the ambush site, another group waiting out of sight behind the rebel compound, and a few soldiers out front. Scouts are positioned and we're ready to go. Nobody here suspects us. Our allies have been speaking almost non-stop in French since we got here, so our identities seem pretty safe."
"Any movement from the rebels yet?"
"No, sir, but even we've heard the rumors of nearby African Union troops. They're credible enough that we would have gone to look into them if we didn't already know they were false and part of our plan."
Elizabeth could feel multiple pairs of eyes turn in her direction. Everyone knew she was the one responsible for getting the ball rolling on the rumors. She would have to thank Isabelle for her good work later.
"Let's give it a little while and see if we get anything," Conrad stated.
His command was relayed to the soldiers. While they all waited for some sign that the rebels were going to fall for their trap, discussion began on a plan B. If the ambush didn't work, what were they going to do? It was looking like the only option was a surprise double sided assault. Groups would attack the compound from the front and the back while a smaller contingent got the hostages out during the fighting. It would reduce the numbers in each group dramatically and result in far more casualties than anyone wanted, but they may not have any other choice. With rumors of Union troops floating around the rebels would be more on guard, so any kind of truly surprise assault was not likely to be possible. They would be noticed too quickly. Elizabeth mostly ignored the discussion. She didn't want to think about what would end up happening if they couldn't draw off some of the rebels. For now she simply had to hope her original plan would work. It was her daughter's best chance.
"We have movement."
Elizabeth released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in a single whoosh and couldn't help grinning.
"Ten men leaving the compound armed to fight. It looks like they're falling for it."
"Good. So now the question is whether to send the other unit in while they're gone," Conrad said.
"That's what they plan on doing once they're sure the rebels are heading for the ambush," the officer communicating with the troops confirmed.
O . o . O . o . O
Waiting for any news on how the mission as going was almost worse than waiting for the mission to begin. Elizabeth had a really hard time remaining seated and staying still. She wanted to be doing something, but her only option was to stare at the screen showing the compound and a few small moving dots. It was incredibly frustrating. She was just about at her limit when news started coming in again.
"The rebels in the ambush have all been eliminated. Hostages are being moved now and we're sweeping the building for any remaining rebels."
A cheer went up in the room. Elizabeth was too relieved to join in, but a brilliant smile graced her face. The words had eased some of the weight that had been pressing down on her for days. They weren't done yet, but the light at the end of this tunnel was visible.
"Building is clear. Nigerian hostages have been released, and all American hostages are accounted for."
Excited chatter began in response to that news. It was the absolute best case scenario. All of the hostages were alive and free. Tears of relief filled Elizabeth's eyes, and she had to struggle not to let them fall. Ellen glanced down the table, met Elizabeth's eyes, and nodded her head very slightly. Elizabeth grinned in reply. Their plan had worked wonderfully.
"I also have a special message from my captain. He would like it passed along to Secretary of State McCord."
"Go ahead. She's here."
"Captain Ames would like her to know that he kept his word."
There was no holding back her tears after that. Elizabeth could feel a few slide down her cheeks, but she simply covered her face with her hands. Instead of trying to stop the tears, she laughed. Stevie was safe now. Captain Ames had her and was going to bring her home.
"Tell him thank you, please," she managed to get out.
"Bess," Conrad asked as her message was passed along. "What was that about?"
She'd known this would happen, but she really didn't care at the moment. Her daughter was coming home. Conrad could yell as much as he wanted.
"Stevie. It was about Stevie."
"Stevie. As in your daughter, Stevie?" Russell asked in disbelief.
Elizabeth understood his reaction. She hadn't believed it at first either. Conrad and Russell had even more reason to be thrown by the news too since they technically should have known about this long before now. Surprise details at the end of a mission were not welcome. That was why the president was supposed to be apprised of a situation early.
"Yes. She was one of the hostages."
"She…" The president's face darkened and then he purposefully looked away from Elizabeth. "Are the hostages on the way home?"
"Yes, sir. They'll be flown back to France for medical attention before continuing on to DC," the communicating officer confirmed.
"Good. Have them contact us when they know their return time to the States. I think that we're done here," Conrad said as he swept his eyes over everyone gathered and then kept them on Elizabeth. "Bess, my office."
His request came as no surprise, and she followed him out of the room without a word. Just based off his body language Elizabeth could tell he was furious. The second they got behind closed doors the storm would begin.
He allowed her to step into his office first. When she was only a few feet inside he closed the door and moved to face her. This was not going to be a discussion with a desk between them. Elizabeth was getting no protection on this one. She deserved to have him in her face.
"What the hell were you thinking?! If your daughter was involved you shouldn't have been a part of any of this, and definitely not in charge of it! You should have passed the situation off to someone else the second you found out Stevie was there!"
Elizabeth met his fury as coolly as she could. She wasn't going to let him shake her. He could rage. His anger would break over her like water on rock.
"I understand that, Conrad, but I couldn't do it. This was my daughter, and I was the best person to come up with a way to save her. My plan worked, sir. Flawlessly. You can't complain about that."
"And if it hadn't you would be in far more trouble than you currently are."
"If I had to, I would do it again."
He sighed and shook his head at her. After how long they had known each other he honestly didn't expect anything different from her. This was who Elizabeth was. He simply couldn't be that upset with her over it.
"I know, Bess," he said gently, though with slight exasperation. "Go home and be with your family. Tell Henry the good news."
"Thank you, Mr. President," she replied.
Elizabeth managed to restrain her smile until she had stepped out of Conrad's office. All of the chaos and turmoil of the past few days had been worth it. Now she got to go home and start Henry's day with the best news he could ever hear. Their daughter was safe and on her way out of Africa. Stevie was coming home.