AN: Thanks to everyone for their kind words, follows and reviews! Hope you all enjoy this chapter :)
Chapter 22
Tris sat next to Lauren on their flight, in the small, private aeroplane.
"How many private planes does Dauntless have access to?" Tris asked.
"Our base has three, but we can call more in from other bases should the need arise," Lauren answered. "We'll be landing at Andrew's in a few minutes, so you had better buckle up."
"So, I understand that we have permission to land at Andrews," Tris said, putting her seat belt on, "But what do the people at the air base think? What do they know? They're military, but only the most senior generals would know where we're really from."
"In Washington, they're use to seeing people come and go, who have high code word clearance. They don't ask questions, it's their job not to. We deal with the most senior officials, who know who we are and what we do, and they make the arrangements for our secrecy on their end," Lauren explained. "All we give are our names, and that will be enough, we'll be on a list, and that's that. So, at The White House, we'll go to the West Wing, be let in, and given be a visitor's pass. Someone will also meet us – probably the personal assistant of the Deputy National Security Advisor, who we're meeting with. You'd know of her, Jeanine Matthews."
Tris nodded, choosing not to mention their encounter in the lobby the evening before.
"Yes, I remember from our briefing, she had a meeting with Max, Harrison, Four and Eric last night, and as a result, you and I need to attend a meeting with her today," Tris replied. "What do we call her? What should she call us?"
"We call her Ms Matthews, unless directed otherwise. She will call us Agent Watson and Agent Prior, until we direct her otherwise," Lauren supplied. "Anyone we meet with has high enough clearance to call us 'Agent'. If anyone should happen to ask you your name, and what you're in DC or the West Wing for, you just say that it's classified. Or that you'd have to kill them if you'd told them. That sometimes goes over well."
Tris chuckled and nodded.
It had been a whirlwind of a morning. She had received orders on Monday night to meet with Lauren, Max and Harrison up on one of the top most levels, in Max's office, right after breakfast on Tuesday morning.
Accordingly, she had obeyed, pressing a fleeting kiss to Four's lips on her way out of the dining hall after breakfast.
Max and Harrison had met with Lauren and Tris, explaining that for the next two months, Lauren would be Tris's partner and mentor, and that their first mission would be to fly out to Washington DC, that day, with their flight leaving at ten. They took a car to the nearest airport, and boarded their assigned plane.
They were both dressed in black suits, as was required of agents who visited anyone on official business. They both were carrying their cells, which were fully updated with any app that might be need, and they were both armed with a couple of concealed weapons.
As they got off the plane Tris said, "So, do people ever think we're federal agents?"
"All the time," Lauren answered with a chuckle. "And we let them, because for their knowledge, we might as well be."
They got into a black sedan that was waiting for them at Andrews, and headed straight for The White House.
Half an hour later they were out of Maryland and in Virginia, pulling up in front of The White House.
Lauren led the way inside, pointing out various things to Tris as they went.
They approached security at the entrance and Lauren said, "Lauren Watson and Tris Prior to see Jeanine Matthews."
"ID?" the agent asked.
Tris and Lauren produced standard ID, stating proof of identity. It was not their Dauntless ID, but just standard ID that they used in situations such as this.
The agent let them through, issuing them with visitor passes.
"Ms Watson?" a female voice said.
"Yes?" Lauren answered, turning.
"I'm Melanie Jackson, from Jeanine Matthew's office," Melanie said. "I'm here to take you up for your 11.15 with Jeanine."
"Great, nice to meet you," Lauren said, extending a hand. "Please call me Lauren. And this is Tris Prior."
Melanie shook hands with them both and they exchanged pleasantries as Melanie led them to Jeanine's office.
"So, what happened to Julie?" Lauren asked, as they walked.
"She's on maternity leave," Melanie answered. "I've moved from the Communications Office to fill in for the time being."
They reached Jeanine's rooms, and Melanie had them take a seat.
"I'll just check that she's ready for you," she said.
A couple of minutes later Jeanine walked out of her office to greet them.
"Lauren Watson, isn't it? Max said he'd be sending you today," Jeanine said.
Tris was completely and utterly stunned, or she would've noticed Lauren reply and shake Jeanine's hand. All Tris could think about was the fact that Jeanine's voice was the same one she had heard talking to Eric that afternoon. She was the one Eric was plotting with. She was the Deputy NSA, a position of great power, and it appeared she wanted to use it for evil, and not good. Or at least something evil. Tris wasn't sure if it was linked to National Security, or more probably, just to something within Dauntless.
"Tris?" Lauren said in a commanding tone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Tris said quickly. "I was completely consumed by how inspiring this place is. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms Matthews."
"Congratulations on your, recent appointment," Jeanine said pointedly, indicating she recognised Tris from the evening before in the lobby. "And please, call me Jeanine. We're all on first name basis around here, until of course you're speaking to The President, or Vice President, which you won't be."
They followed Jeanine back into her office, and were soon sitting on chairs at her desk.
"So, yesterday evening I met with Max and Harrison, at the request of the National Security Council, regarding an issue we would like your assistance with. We have some concerns regarding Senator Eaton that we would like the use of your organisation's expertise investigating."
First I find out Jeanine Matthews is Eric's partner in crime, and now I found out The White House has a mission for us about Tobias's father. Next thing I know I'm going to bump into my brother, just to make things even more peachy, Tris thought dryly.
"We are familiar with Senator Eaton, he's a rather public profile, especially due to the negative press he's been receiving," Lauren replied. "He has, of course, been on our radar long before that."
"I would have assumed so," Jeanine said. "We're aware that he's a rather slippery character, but we've had nothing to pin on him. Additionally, he hasn't done anything, until now, that has been serious enough to bring to our attention."
"What is the concern this now?" Lauren asked.
"We'll be discussing that presently, in the Situation Room, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the President's Chief of Staff and The Vice President, among other members of the National Security Council," Jeanine said seriously. "We will present the case in full."
After her initial shock, Tris had sat silently by, attempting to absorb all the information, and letting Lauren do the talking, as she had been instructed earlier that morning. She was having trouble focusing on all of the details, when all she could hear was the voice she had been waiting to put a face to for so long.
She noticed Jeanine and Lauren had both just risen, so she stood too, giving herself a mental slap to help her get it together. She needed to gather as much information as possible, about Jeanine, and about the Marcus Eaton case, so she could return to Four that evening and she could give him as much detail as possible about what she had learned.
Lauren and Tris followed Jeanine through the halls of The White House and down to the practically impenetrable Situation Room, or Sit Room, for short.
"I think you've been here once before, Lauren," Jeanine said. "So I'm sure you're aware you need your ID to swipe here, to as proof of identity and appropriate code word clearance level."
"You use your Dauntless ID," Lauren said in a quiet voice to Tris. "Not your plain ID, but your Dauntless one."
"Yeah, I remember from a lecture Harrison gave," Tris said with a nod, as one after the other they swiped their ID cards, and were green lighted into the Sit Room behind Jeanine.
The walked into the imposingly dark room, filled with impressive looking people.
"We're just waiting on the Vice President, Jeanine," said a tall, dark haired man in full dress uniform, who Tris recognised as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs – General Aaron Williams.
"You've done a preliminary briefing with the agents Dauntless sent, as the President requested?" another man asked.
"Yes, Richard," Jeanine replied. "They're aware we have some concerns regarding Senator Eaton, and Agent Watson has advised me that he's already on their radar."
"And which one is Agent Watson?" Richard asked.
"I'm Agent Lauren Watson, Mr McKenzie, but you can just call me Laure," Lauren said, stepping forward. "This is my partner, Agent Tris Prior."
Tris then was able to pin down his identity as the President's Chief of Staff - Richard McKenzie.
"Why don't you take a seat, the VP should be here any moment," Richard directed.
Lauren and Tris had just taken the seats offered to them, when the Vice President entered, causing everyone to rise from their seats as a respectful formality.
"Everyone, please sit," Vice President Powell said easily. "So, I'm guessing these two ladies I don't recognise are the Dauntless agents?"
"Lauren and Tris, they prefer first names, over Agent Watson or Prior, Mr Vice President," Jeanine said, by way of an introduction.
"Thanks for taking the time, agents," the Vice President said.
"Of course," Lauren said formally. "We're eager to do what we can. As you know, stopping corruption on a large scale is high up on our priority list, Mr Vice President."
"That's good, because if the intelligence we're receiving is at all accurate, we have a sizable issue on our hands, that we will need irrefutable evidence before any arrests are made," Richard McKenzie added. "General, would you like to brief the agents in full?"
"As your organisation is probably aware, Senator Eaton has quite a reputation, one of corruption and dishonesty, and I'm sure if we had looked into it, we would have found a long list of indiscretions on the Senator's part, no matter how well he and his staff have hidden them," General Williams began. "Of course, this doesn't fall anywhere near our jurisdiction, so the Senator has gone along, just managing to keep on the right side of whatever law it is he lives by."
Tris opened her mouth to ask, 'Why now?', but was elbowed by Lauren just in time.
"I'm sure you're both eager to know what has put the Senator firmly on our radar," the general said dryly. "Senator Eaton has not in the past, to our knowledge, at least, endangered the life of masses of our citizens, however, our intelligence reports are indicating that one of our politicians, from one of the East Coast states, is in collusion with a terrorist group."
"I can see the reason for the raise in the level of your concern," Lauren said seriously. "Do you have any idea on who he is involved with?"
"We're not even sure if it is actually Eaton, for starters," Jeanine answered. "That's where you come in. We need someone with the skills Dauntless's agents possess, but with no traceable links to the government or military. We want you, and whoever your superiors deem best, to discreetly, and undeniably prove his involvement, and preferably find us detailed intelligence as to who he is working with. Once you have this, we'd like you to turn in your evidence, and we'll take it from there. As per normal, you won't receive any of the glory, it's the Dauntless way."
"We understand that," Lauren said firmly. "It's what makes us able to function as an organisation. Do you have a comprehensive file of all your findings that we can take back to our headquarters?"
"Of course," General Williams said evenly. "Peterson, the file please?"
An officer in dress uniform passed the desired file to General Williams, who slid them across the table to Lauren, who slipped it straight into the large purse she was carrying as a briefcase, locking it securely inside.
"We're not sure if Eaton realises the extent of what he is getting himself into," Jeanine added. "We are hoping that his intent was as serious as to be involved with terrorists, but only time will tell. Still, please keep that in mind. If there's anyway he unknowingly got into this too far, and only meant to extort, or make a dishonest profit, that would be preferable. We'd like to avoid having to tell the nation that one of its senators was involved with bringing terror upon our great nation."
Tris and Lauren both nodded in understanding.
"Is there anything further, General, Mr Vice President, or should my partner and I head back to our headquarters to get started on this case?" Lauren asked formally.
"Nothing else, except it would be good if this could be solved as quickly as possible, but I can see you're already eager to get started," The Vice President said. "We're hoping to have something conclusive from you in a few weeks, and certainly no more than a month."
"Should you have any questions, queries, or information to pass on, you should use Jeanine as your point of contact. You can meet here, if you give us notice to make the appropriate security arrangements, or Jeanine can arrange to meet you at your headquarters," General Williams said in closing. "Thank you for coming in at such short notice, agents. We look forward to speaking with you soon."
With that the room stood, and the Vice President left, followed by the Chief of Staff and General Williams.
"We'll return to my office, and I'll have Melanie see you both out," Jeanine said.
Lauren and Tris both walked silently in her wake, deep in thought over the briefing they had both just been a part of.
Lauren was already beginning to mentally prepare a report for Max and Harrison, and was starting to make plans for investigating Senator Eaton.
Tris's mind was reeling over everything, from discovering that Jeanine was the mystery woman, that Marcus Eaton was her first mission, and she was somehow going to have to explain her day to Four that evening. And her day wasn't even half over. She still had to return and brief her superiors with Lauren. What a way to start her new role. Talk about a baptism of fire.
AN: So, thoughts? Did anyone see any of that coming? :) How do you think Four will react?
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