A/N: As always, thank you for all the reviews, they are so nice to read. I hope you liked my surprise at the end of last chapter and enjoy this one as well.
Chapter Thirteen.
"Bye Daddy, I'll see you later," Hannah tells her father at the threshold of the door. Frank waves goodbye and heads upstairs to check on Claire. The teenager walks to the car, replaying the morning she just had with her parents. Her mother insisted her throwing up had to with food poisoning, but Hannah doubts that. Claire wasn't sick last night; the teenager would've remembered if that was the case.
When Hannah gets to the car, two men she is unfamiliar with are waiting for her. One is a taller man with sandy blonde hair and evergreen eyes. The other, a shorter brunette with charcoal eyes.
"Who are you guys? What happened to my usual detail? Where's Kevin and Robin?" Hannah asks one of the men. She is debating running back inside to ask her parents, but decides against it.
"They've been reassigned to another person for the time being," the blonde man lies. Hannah furrows her eyebrows, she has had the same people take her to school every day since she was six. For them to all of the sudden be reassigned is odd.
"Okay…do my parents know about this?" The teenager asks. She isn't getting in the car unless she is sure these men are where they are supposed to be.
"Yes. You are going to be late for school if you don't hurry up," The brunette man says with a snarl.
"I'm not going anywhere until you call my Dad so he can tell me my detail has been reassigned," Hannah insists. "Start dialing."
"We don't have time for this." Hannah protests as the brunette man yanks on her arm and shoves her into the front seat of the car.
"Easy Kinsey, easy. We don't need to scare her," the blonde says and climbs into the back seat.
"Shut up, Pierce. We have a job to do and I intend on doing it so we can get paid," Kinsey snaps and roughly pulls away from the curb.
"D-D-Da…dy," Hannah whispers, the lump in her throat constricting her voice. The cool metal of the gun against her skin is causing her to tremble even more.
"It's okay, Hannah, just try to relax," Frank tells his daughter. He wonders how he and Claire could've been so wrong about this. It wasn't Tusk, it was just set up to look like it was him. Still, Frank is clueless as to why a high-ranking Secret Service Agent is trying to kill him and his family. "This isn't going to work out well for you. Someone is going to find us and realize what is happening. You aren't going to make it out of here alive."
Frank is confident whenever Claire comes she is going to discover something is wrong and alert the Secret Service. Within a matter of minutes, hundreds of agents are going to be swarming Frank's office.
"I don't plan on living through this," Pierce pushes Hannah towards the couch and moves to lock the door. "I plan on killing you, your daughter, your wife and then myself."
Frank swallows deeply and uses Pierce's back being turned to his advantage. He quietly reaches in his desk and pulls out a letter opener, shoving it deep into his pockets. If it comes down to it, Frank will have to kill Pierce in front of Hannah to save them.
Hannah watches her father silently and wipes a cascading tear from her eye. She shouldn't have said anything about recognizing Pierce, then none of this would be happening.
"Why are you doing this to us?" Hannah asks, her voice thick with tears. Pierce whips around and moves towards the teenager. Frank moves to step in front of Hannah, using his body as a shield.
"Ask your father, Hannah. And your mother. Speaking of her, where is that bitch?" Pierce asks Frank, just to antagonize him. Hannah watches his father's fingers curl into a fist. She knows her father won't tolerate anyone talking about her or Claire that way. Please don't hit him, Daddy, Hannah thinks to herself.
"That's none of your concern," Frank tells Pierce. He won't let his wife become entangled in this, she has already been through enough. Pierce steps away from Frank and approaches his desk, grabbing the framed photo of him and Claire at a campaign rally several years ago. He slams it on the desk so hard the glass shatters.
"Actually, your wife is one of the main reasons I am here. If my man did his job right, she would already be dead. My condolences on the loss of your baby by the way, that really wasn't part of the plan. But, if you want a job correctly, you got to do it yourself, right?" Pierce asks Frank and Hannah.
"She hasn't done anything to you, asshole," Hannah snaps at him. Pierce pushes past Frank, pushing his gun into her jawline.
"You should really watch your language, little girl. Frank, why don't you tell your daughter who Steve is?"
"Steve? What does my former head of security have to do with this?" Frank asks Pierce.
"My brother was in love with your wife. I told him he was wasting his time with such a whore, but he couldn't help himself." Frank's eyes widen and then darken at Pierce's comment. He will kill Pierce when this is all over for his comments about Claire. "Anyway, when she came to visit my brother in the hospital, he told her how much he hated you and how he was in love with her. You know what your wife did to him, Frank. Don't you?"
Frank nods, Claire told him about visiting Steve. They paid for his funeral and severed all ties with his family, or so he thought. Pierce tugs on Hannah's hair and shoves the gun deeper into her neck, making her cough.
"Your wife humiliated my brother on his deathbed." Hannah glances at her father, confused as to what Pierce is talking about. Pierce catches the teenager's expression and kneels down in order to be eye-level with Hannah, gliding the gun across her throat. "Do you want to hear what your disgusting mother did, Hannah?"
Hannah shakes her head and flinches when Pierce clicks the safety off of the gun.
"My daughter didn't do anything to you or your brother, let her go. You can still have me." Frank interrupts Pierce before he can tell Hannah about what Claire did to Steve before he died. Hannah shakes her head, tears clouding her vision.
"No. If I can't have your wife, I will keep your daughter instead. I want Claire Underwood to see her family dead before I kill her."
Claire wraps up her phone call and shuts down her laptop. She gathers her coat and purse before leaving her office, making the short journey to Frank's.
"Edward, are Francis and Hannah in there?" Claire asks.
"Yes. Hannah went in to bother your husband about twenty minutes ago," Meechum tells Claire. She tugs on the door handle, surprised to find it locked. Her husband's office door is never locked unless they are in there together or he is at home. Even when he is in a meeting, he leaves his office door unlocked for her in case she wants to work in there instead. As she does for him.
"Why is this door locked?" Claire asks and yanks on the handle again.
Inside, Hannah, Frank and Pierce can hear Claire talking to Meechum. Frank is silently praying Pierce doesn't try to grab Claire from the outside.
"Ma'am, back away from the door," Meechum tells her. Both Claire and Meechum are starting to get the feeling something is wrong. Claire does as she is told and whips out her cellphone, frantically dialing her husband. Frank can hear his phone vibrating on his desk, next to Hannah's. Pierce collected them pretty quickly after he took them hostage.
You have reached Frank Underwood. At the tone, please leave your message.
Claire hangs up and dials Hannah, hanging up when she gets her daughter's voicemail. She shakes her head at Meechum, prompting him to raise an alert.
"We have a situation. I need all available agents to the vice president's office as soon as possible," Meechum says into his headset.
Claire allows Meechum to step in front of her, guiding her away from Frank's office door.
"Who is in there with them?" Claire asks Meechum. Frank has so many meetings during the day, it's hard to pinpoint who is in his office from one moment to the next.
"I don't know, but we have to find out."
Pierce orders Frank and Hannah to sit on the couch next to each other while he goes to the other side of the door.
"Claire Underwood!" Pierce yells.
Claire freezes when she hears her name. Meechum nods and she advances towards the door, hugging the wall instead of standing directly in front of it.
"Yes, who is this?" Claire asks back.
"It doesn't matter who I am. All you need to know is that I have your husband and daughter in here at gunpoint. If you or any of your agents try to come in here, I will shoot them right in front of you so you can watch them die."
Claire takes a deep breath and forces herself to stay calm. She can't allow her emotions to cloud her judgment. Frank and Hannah are going to need her to coordinate from the outside.
"What is it that you want?" Claire asks. More agents are starting to arrive, forming a soft perimeter around Frank's office. No matter how many agents gather outside, the threat is inside his office. If the person holding Hannah and Frank decide to kill them, there isn't much the agents can do.
"I want ten million dollars, a plane and safe passage to a country of my choosing. That is, after I decide what to do with Frank and Hannah."
"If you can't guarantee Hannah and Vice President Underwood's safety, your demands won't be met. You know that," Meechum says.
"I will only speak to Claire, Meechum. Are you still there, Mrs. Underwood?" Pierce asks.
"Yes, I'm here."
"Good. You have two hours to gather everything I requested. If, at the end of those two hours I don't have what I want, I will kill your daughter."
While Pierce is conversing with Claire, Frank nudges Hannah, pressing his finger to his lips to prevent her from saying anything. Hannah glances up at him and watches her father take the letter opener out of his pocket.
"Listen to me Hannah, he isn't going to let us walk out of here alive. I need you to take this and use it when I tell you to, okay?" Frank whispers to Hannah. Hannah swallows a sob and quickly hides the letter opener in the skirt of her school uniform.
"What are you saying, Daddy?" Hannah whispers back.
"Hannah, we are going to have to kill him."
The chilling nature of her father's declaration is enough to make Hannah sick to her stomach. He promised her if they ever found out the people behind these attacks, he would handle them. Now, he is delivering on his promise and he's asking for her help to do so.
The teenager doesn't know much about politics, only what her parents have told her and what she has learned from school. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Pierce isn't going to get what he asked for. Even though her father is the Vice President, the United States government doesn't negotiate with terrorists. As far as Hannah is concerned, unless her mother can figure out something, they are on their own.
Claire calls Trisha Walker and tells her about the current situation. Having a direct line to the president has its advantages sometimes.
"That's awful, Claire. I'm so sorry. Garrett is in his office if you would like to speak to him," Trisha tells Claire.
"Thank you, Trisha," Claire hangs up before the First Lady can offer an empty reassurance. "Edward, come with me. We need to see the president."
Meechum follows Claire into the Oval Office. Claire doesn't even bother to knock or wait for permission to enter the office. Walker is going to hear her out one way or another.
"Claire, I just heard about Frank and Hannah. The Secret Service is doing everything they can to make sure your family makes it out safely," Walker tells her. She stomps the urge to roll her eyes, it's exactly what she expected him to say, but it isn't why she came.
"Thank you, Garrett. This man is asking for ten million dollars and safe passage out of the country. He gave us two hours to do as he asked." Claire isn't going to voice what happens if they don't comply. She won't allow herself to think of the alternative.
"Yes, I have been briefed on the latest. I don't have to tell you our policy on terrorism, Claire. We can't give into his demands. It would set a dangerous precedent, I'm sorry." Walker sets his hand on Claire's good shoulder. She immediately shrugs it off, not accepting any of Walker's pity.
"None of this would've happened if you didn't have a better control of your administration, Garrett. Francis has been going out of his way to save your pathetic presidency from crumbling since you stepped foot into the Oval. I am asking for your help, but I will do what's necessary to save my family without you." Claire's voice gets dangerously low by the end of her speech. Walker is taken aback by the coldness of Claire's demeanor. He has never seen this side of her before.
"You knew before you even came in here what my response would be, Claire. Why bother asking?"
Claire spins around a few steps away from the door.
"I wanted to give you the chance to show your strength and save your Vice President. You owe Francis that much." She shows herself out, not caring that she just burned a bridge with a powerful ally. She's not going to sit by and let Hannah and Frank be killed. Claire is making sure she does everything she can, or she won't be able to forgive herself.
Pierce sits down on the couch across from Frank and Hannah, clutching his gun.
"This was never part of your plan, was it?" Frank asks. Pierce was forced to expedite his plans after Hannah recognized him.
"No. I was going to wait until you got to St. Louis and kill you there. Then, I would come back to Washington and kill your wife and daughter." Pierce says it so matter-of-factly, it causes Hannah to have goosebumps.
"Was I supposed to die in the accident?" Hannah asks out of curiosity. Pierce's eyes slide over to the teenager.
"No. At that point, we just wanted to send a message to your parents. And then you saw Kinsey in the Oval Office."
"So, naturally, he had to die," Frank picks up for Pierce. He's been in politics long enough to spot a liability. If Kinsey started talking before Pierce had the chance to execute his plans, everything would unravel.
"Of course. And the man who couldn't kill your wife at the rally and later in the hospital had to go too." Hannah shakes her head. "Oh, don't look so offended, Hannah. I'm sure your parents have done far worse things to get where they are today. Isn't that right, Frank? Why don't you tell your daughter all of the things you and your wife have done?"
Frank and Claire do whatever they can to shield their daughter from the harsh realities of politics. They have done unspeakable things to ensure their ascent to the Oval their daughter can and will never be aware of.
Hannah doesn't want to know her father's answer to Pierce's question. Maybe it's naïve of her, but the teenager would rather think of her parents doing whatever is necessary to secure her future and leave it at that. The details don't matter to her.
"No. I don't care about diplomatic protocol…put me in touch with Cathy Durant, please," Claire snaps into the phone. She's been getting the runaround from the State Department since she left the Oval Office an hour ago. If Pierce believes they are doing everything they can to get the items he requested, it will hopefully prevent from killing Frank and Hannah. "Cathy, hi, it's Claire."
"Claire, I just got off the phone with the president. How can I help you?" Claire lets out a sigh, she figured Walker would contact Cathy, a close confidant of the Underwoods'. He wants to make sure Claire isn't circumventing his authority. Claire has to admire him for that, it's exactly what her husband would do.
"I'm wondering if it was possible to ensure safe passage out of the country for someone."
"I'm sorry, Claire. The president instructed me not to assist you in any way. My hands are tied. I hope for the best for Frank and your daughter, but the State Department can't be involved officially or unofficially."
"Of course, I understand," Claire hangs up the phone. There is only an hour left for her to figure out a plan. The White House has turned its back on them, whatever Claire does, it will be without its support. She heads back to the staging area outside of Frank's office, so she can be there in case something goes wrong.
Inside, Hannah and Frank are getting antsy. Neither one wants to sit around and wait to be killed by Pierce. Pierce is busy combing through Frank's desk, sneering when he finds a picture of Frank and Claire at a New Year's Eve party to celebrate Walker's upcoming inauguration. Frank and Claire are kissing in the picture, his hand splashed on her cheek.
"You two really are just the perfect pair, aren't you? So happy, so in love." Pierce says in a mocking tone and rips the picture in half before throwing it in the garbage.
Pierce is getting agitated, Frank can tell. It's only a matter of time before he starts shooting. He leans over and squeezes Hannah's hand. The time do to what they planned is now.
"You and your brother are cowards," Hannah says, eliciting looks from her father and Pierce.
"Hannah, I would be careful what you say," Pierce warns, holding up the gun to show her who holds the leverage in this situation.
"If your brother wanted my mom so badly, why didn't he do something about it?" Hannah won't back down. "Instead, he waited until he was dying to tell her that he loved her. He's pathetic. You may hate my father for being a dick and loving my mother, but at least he had the courage to take what he wants. Your brother just watched from afar like a sad, little puppy."
Pierce walks over to Hannah and slaps her across the face with the butt of the gun. Hannah holds a hand to her cheek and glares at Pierce. Frank comprehends what Hannah is trying to do, but she should be cautious. This could easily backfire on them.
"Do not fucking touch my daughter," Frank warns, his Southern drawl coming out as a growl. Pierce takes this as a challenge and picks Hannah up by her hair. His gun presses up against her neck. Hannah reaches for her skirt, easing the letter opener into her hand, being careful not to give herself away by looking down.
"I want you to take one last look at your father, Hannah. Tell him that you love him before I kill you. Do it!" Pierce yells in her ear, his breath hot on her neck.
Frank eases closer to Hannah and nods. Hannah gets a firm grip on the letter opener and drives it into Pierce's lower abdomen with all of her strength. In a state of shock, Pierce drops the gun as Hannah reaches to stab him again. Frank moves to grab the weapon, urging his daughter to move out of the way so he doesn't accidentally hit her. From the floor, Frank shoots Pierce on the side of the stomach, adjacent to the injury Hannah just inflicted.
From outside, Claire's breath catches in her throat when she hears the shot. She isn't sure who just got hit, Frank or Hannah.
"Francis? Hannah? Go in there, now!" Claire demands at the Secret Service. They are wasting precious time by standing around. Hannah or Frank could require immediate medical attention. Meechum nods and gives a signal to his men to start breaking down the door.
Frank stands up and hovers over Pierce's body. Hannah stands next to him, wondering what her father is going to do.
"Look away. I don't want you to see this." Frank whispers to Hannah and shoots Pierce again in the head. Hannah doesn't listen to her father and watches him kill Pierce.
"Stop," Meechum declares when they hear the second shot. He glances over at Claire and shakes his head. He doesn't need to tell her what those shots mean. One for Frank, one for Hannah. They are dead. They failed them.
A/N 2: We are so close to the end, I'm not giving out anymore spoilers. You will just have to come back and read the final chapters. Thank you for stopping by and please leave a review on your way out.