Chapter 3
"Can you tell me your name?" President Dalton asked the person on the other line. Conrad shot a worried glance at Henry.
Henry stepped closer to the phone in the center of the table, straining his ears to listen for Elizabeth. One of the members of Ephraim Ware's team moved over to make room for Henry. The look of pity caught Henry off guard and he knitted his eyebrows.
Don't pity me. Help me bring my wife home.
The voice chuckled. "Now why would I give that away so soon?"
"You are talking to the President of the United States. I demand to know who I am speaking with," Conrad replied. His assertive tone demanded respect.
"I don't bow down to your country or their demands. If you ever want to see your precious Secretary of State alive again, you'll resign. Today."
This man is not any normal foreign national. He's crazy.
President Dalton cleared his throat. "How do I know she's alive right now? Put her on the phone," he ordered.
"She's preoccupied at the moment," the voice replied. "And she doesn't look so good, so you might want to make a decision soon."
Everyone around the table in the Situation Room looked at Henry as if waiting to see his reaction. He closed his eyes to shut them all out. Please let her be okay.
"The United States does not negotiate with terrorists. I'm sure you're aware of that policy," Conrad explained.
"You can make an exception."
Henry locked eyes with President Dalton. Please. He begged.
There was a ping on the screen in the Situation Room directing everyone's attention away from the phone for a moment. Ephraim Ware pointed to a location just outside of Geneva on the screen and then reached over and hit mute on the phone so the voice on the other end couldn't hear. "We found her, Mr. President," Ephraim said.
"Where is she?" Conrad asked.
"The phone is pinging in a city called Champfromier about an hour outside of Geneva," Ephraim responded.
President Dalton looked at his team in the Situation Room. "Can we extract her safely?"
National Security Advisor Ellen Hill and Secretary of Defense Gordon Becker exchanged wary looks.
"It's possible, but it will be tricky," Gordon said.
Hang on, Elizabeth.
President Dalton seemed to consider something for a moment, before motioning to Ephraim Ware to turn the mute button off so he could speak to the caller again.
"I'd like to know what country is forcing my resignation."
"Who says I'm affiliated with a country?" the voice taunted.
"I was told by the Secretary's husband that you said Iran always gets what they want," President Dalton replied.
All eyes in the Situation Room landed on Henry and he avoided looking any of them in the eye. This was in no way his fault. He just relayed information from the caller. He said Iran. Henry was sure of it.
I hope I didn't make things worse for Elizabeth.
"Ahhh. So her husband did give you the message."
What did that mean? Was he testing my loyalty to my country? Did he not think I wanted to save my wife?
"Henry McCord is a good man and a patriot. Cut the crap. Why does Iran want myself and the Vice President of the United States to resign?"
The silence stretched on.
"Sir?" Conrad asked. "Are you still there?"
"You must be punished for the crimes of the United States against Iran!" the voice shouted.
Crimes?
"I'm not sure I understand," said President Dalton.
"You stopped the coup!"
The coup? From two years ago? Is that why he took Elizabeth? Because she was there?
President Dalton took a deep breath and looked at Henry apologetically.
"That coup was never going to be successful. Elizabeth McCord was acting on my orders two years ago and she should not be held responsible for the actions of this administration."
"It's a little late for that," the voice replied.
Quiet moaning filled the Situation Room and Henry's heart stopped. Elizabeth.
"Shut up!" the voiced shouted. There was a loud smack heard on the other end of the phone followed by a whimper.
I'm so sorry, Baby.
Henry turned away from the phone to put some distance between himself and the sound of Elizabeth being hurt. His heart couldn't take listening to her in pain. Not when he couldn't be there to help protect her.
"I can make this worse if you don't shut up!" Another hard smack echoed in the Situation Room through the phone. "You're pathetic!" he yelled at Elizabeth. "I thought you were trained in the CIA? Didn't they teach you how to take a punch?" the voice said mockingly.
Heavy breathing could be heard from the man. The sounds from the other end of the phone sounded more echo-like which led Henry to believe that the man had put the phone on speaker in order to hit Elizabeth better and make her regret ever getting involved with Iran. A series of hard smacks could be heard on the phone.
God, help me save her.
"Henry…" Elizabeth's soft voice cut through the sound of the man's breathing and Henry froze. He sought permission from President Dalton to respond to her plea.
Conrad locked eyes with him and then nodded.
Henry approached the phone and got as close as he could without sitting on the desk in the Situation Room. He hovered over the machine and resisted the urge to cradle it like it was his last link to Elizabeth. Everyone else in the room disappeared from his vision as he focused on comforting her from thousands of miles away. Professionalism be damned. This was his wife and she needed him.
"I'm here, Baby. It's okay."
A cough. "It hurts…" Elizabeth choked out.
Henry closed his eyes and felt his eyes well up with tears. He was going to kill this man. Screw ethics. This trumped everything he ever believed about morals and right from wrong. He couldn't let Elizabeth die.
"I know it does. I love you. Just hang on for me, okay?"
I wish more than anything I was there to hold you and protect you from this deranged man.
There was a shuffling sound followed by a slap and the voice spoke again. "How sweet. I'm almost sad that I had to hit her again."
Henry's heart sank. Did I make it worse for her?
President Dalton spoke again. "Let me call Teresa Hurst and bring her in. We'll call you back in an hour."
"Good choice. Let's hope you do the right thing." Click.
Silence filled the room and Henry's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.
"Mr. President," Ellen Hill said. "We can have troops extracting Elizabeth in ninety minutes." She looked at Gordon Becker and he confirmed.
"The GPS address brought up an empty warehouse. There are two main entrances. We plan to come around the side," Ellen continued.
"Is it safe?" Henry asked her, softly.
"Yes, Dr. McCord. Our troops are trained for this kind of thing. All we need is word from Mr. President and they will gear up and ready themselves to get her out."
"I want a visual on the warehouse and everything inside when the troops pull her out. I need to see who we're dealing with," President Dalton said.
"Of course, Sir. We'll have video and audio communication up and running during the extraction," Gordon Becker replied.
"Russell, call Teresa Hurst and brief her on the situation. She deserves to know what's going on."
"Yes, sir," Russell replied.
A flurry of activity began inside the Situation Room as various members of the CIA and the President's National Security advisors started making phone calls and sending communications to the people that worked under them.
Ephraim Ware walked over to Henry. "She's strong. Elizabeth will be okay. We'll get her out."
Henry nodded and smiled half-heartedly. "Thanks."
"Teresa Hurst is on her way in," Russell said to President Dalton, who nodded in acknowledgement.
Henry ran his hand down his face and attempted to gather his thoughts. The commotion around him was too much. All he wanted to do was see to it that Elizabeth was brought home safely. Nothing else mattered. He shut his eyes and looked towards the door. He wanted a moment alone to breathe and think about anything other than his wife being beaten up and possibly tortured by this man. His mind was spinning. He couldn't get the sound of her voice calling out to him in agony out of his head.
She doesn't deserve this. Even if she was there during the failed coup attempt, it doesn't warrant physical violence years later.
"Henry?" President Dalton asked, breaking Henry from his thoughts.
"Yes, Mr. President?"
"How are you holding up?"
Henry scoffed. "I've been better."
"I know it's hard to hear her like that, but Bess is smart and resilient. She'll be okay." President Dalton placed a comforting hand on Henry's shoulder.
Henry's eyes darkened.
"She better be."