Chapter Four #3
Oh, well, on that, she agreed.
When Tiffany came in, she was carrying new gear for Elizabeth’s men, and a bag for Elizabeth. She had blood on her, and possibly brain from her Marine. They couldn’t bring Jet back, but they could help her regroup.
A little comfort might help.
“Let’s get you changed,” Tiffany said. “We’re the same size.”
She appreciated that.
Elizabeth got up, and took the things, but she went to her Marines first and foremost. Gabe watched as she helped them out of their vests.
A part of him was holding his breath, not only for the breakdown, but for the rage.
Knowing Elizabeth for as long as he did, he knew that it would be coming.
With.
A.
Vengeance.
Oh, someone was going to be in for a world of hurt, and it was only a matter of time. First would come the mourning, and next would come the explosion.
And it was going to be catastrophic for someone.
Of course, he was all for it, considering the game that Devon Slater was playing. His days would be numbered.
“We’re good,” Raphael offered.
Only, she stopped him.
“No, you’re not. I’m not either. Let me help you.”
He gave in because she wasn’t wrong. That had been far too close. When he woke up with a gun in his face, he’d been saying a silent goodbye to his husband.
Saint had been on his mind.
Because of Elizabeth, he’d see him again.
Gabe looked at his watch.
“I’m going to have to call your husbands. We have time before this hits the media, but it went out over the police scanner, so…”
She was aware.
The media would put two and two together at some point. That was always what happened. The second those Secret Service vehicles hit the scene, tongues would wag, and talk would start. There were only so many people who would be picked up by the Secret Service.
Gabe.
Alessandra.
Her.
One of the president’s children.
“Go. I’ll help them. I don’t want to talk to them,” she said. “I can’t. I’ll break. I need to hold up. When I’m changed, I need to get to the hospital,” she said. “I need to see Jet.”
Oh, he didn’t want her to do that.
“Elizabeth.”
She stopped him.
“Gabe, I can’t stop running as fast as I can. If I do, he’s going to keep killing people. This was his way of slowing me down. If he wins, more of my family will die. He could be testing to see who else is in my circle. You saved me. You and your family are now in danger too.”
He knew she was right, but more importantly, he trusted her gut.
“What do you need?” he asked.
“I came here for a meeting. Get that done. Then, I handle the situation at the hospital. Then, I focus on what he left me. There will be bodies somewhere in DC. Once I find them, I move to the next location.”
He stood.
“I don’t like this.”
She was to the point.
“Can I speak in front of your head of the Secret Service?” she asked. “It’s going to be classified.”
He nodded.
“Tiffany is trustworthy.”
She hoped so.
Don’t get her wrong. She liked the woman, a lot. Tiffany was the best employee that Gabe had managed to find since Ian Patterson. Still, what she was about to say was HIGHLY classified.
Tiffany spoke.
“I would NEVER burn the President of the United States, or the Deputy Director. Ever.”
Well, that said it all.
Elizabeth updated the president.
“Major Maura Armstrong is on her way to the UK to handle the Von situation. When they complete it, they have offered to come back and assist. I think I’m going to need help. I don’t think I can handle this on my own.”
Gabe knew how much that cost her to admit that. Elizabeth wasn’t a quitter. Not even close. That she was calling backup meant she saw the writing on the wall.
This was escalating to the point where her hands were tied. The law wasn’t going to be enough.
“I have to clean this up, or it’s going to be problematic in the long run.
I don’t have the capabilities to handle this on my own anymore.
We’re all in lockdown. I’ve had both hands tied, and have already lost one Marine.
If I hesitate, more will die. Devon Slater knows what he’s doing, and he’s going to take them out first to get to us.
He’s going to whittle away at my protection until he gets a high-value casualty. ”
Gabe understood what she was saying.
More importantly, what she was asking from him. Elizabeth was begging for him to make the choice so she wouldn’t have to break the rules.
Well, he could do that.
The higher you moved up the food chain, the quicker you learned rules didn’t always apply. He had to consider the safety of the citizens over moral high ground.
“You have my permission to use your authority to handle it.”
She needed to know.
“Using any means?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“You have authorization to use any means necessary to make sure the people in this country are safe. PERIOD. In fact, I’m ORDERING you to do it,” he said, willing to carry that burden for her.
After all, she’d once carried that burden for him.
She was to the point.
“I need to speak to the Director of the FBI,” she said. “Have you put one into play?” she asked.
He nodded.
“That was what the meeting was for. In the Oval, Kate Natalia is waiting on us. When you’re ready, we’ll talk. She became official today. Tomorrow, there’s going to be an announcement. I asked her to come here after hours so we could keep it on the DL until then.”
Well, someone was about to hit the ground running. Elizabeth was tagging her boss in on this, so it didn’t bite her in the ass later.
Elizabeth didn’t mince words.
“When this is over, if you would like my letter of resignation for this mess getting out of control, and Devon Slater escaping, I’ll give it to you.”
Yeah, Gabe didn’t even tolerate that. He wasn’t letting the best Deputy Director he’d ever had in the FBI quit over one nut who escaped.
She was the most effective person in the whole FBI, and she’d held it together while Axelle bailed on them.
“Your offer to throw yourself on your sword for this situation is declined. Find him, put this to bed, and then regroup. The new Director of the FBI and I are on the same page on this one. You have our full support, Elizabeth. What happened tonight wasn’t your doing.
Devon Slater fooling everyone for twenty years as his father groomed him to be a killer isn’t your fault either. ”
She stared at him.
“At some point, Gabe, it has to be my fault. At some point, the shit hits the fan, and I’m the carrier of the fan.”
He shook his head.
Absolutely not.
“I’m the boss. I will carry the blame. I don’t have many more years in this office, and if one of us has to carry the mark of this mess, it isn’t going to be you, Elizabeth.
I gave you the job, and you’re doing it.
I was in charge of the FBI during the years his father was doing this on the DL, and I never saw it coming.
That’s on me, not you. Shit does NOT roll downhill in my administration. I own it.”
Gabe wouldn’t let her go down because of this.
It wasn’t happening. Elizabeth was too good at what she did, and he’d protect that.
This country needed her.
HE needed her.
She was his sister from another mister.
As Elizabeth continued to help her Marines, and also check out their wounds. Gabe left the room and went out into the hallway.
Alessandra was heading his way with a tray. On it, there were cups of coffee, and a plate of cookies.
On her face was the deep look of concern that he was already feeling in his gut. In all of his years, he’d never seen her this rattled, and that was saying a lot.
Elizabeth was titanium.
“Is she going to be okay?” Lessa asked. “I’m worried about her. This was close.”
He kept his voice down.
“Yes, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried too.
Go make sure she’s okay. I’m calling her men, and they are going to lose their goddamn minds.
Devon Slater is going to hear about this, and know that we’re helping her.
You’re not leaving the White House or my sight until he’s put in a pine box. Am I clear, Lessa?” he asked.
She stared into his eyes.
“Someone’s bossy.”
Oh, he was.
“My child is NOT dying, and my woman is not being murdered. Clear?”
She put his hand over her belly, and their baby was moving around. It made her weepy seeing how protective he was, and how lucky she’d gotten.
“I’ll be all over you like woman on man,” she joked. “Naked.”
It calmed him down.
His daughter was kicking, and he was going to make sure she was safe.
He spoke to his child.
“Little Fiona, I love you,” he admitted. “And mommy. You’re both my girls.”
Yes, yes, they were.
Lessa gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he swiped a cookie as she did. With a wink, she headed inside, and Gabe walked to the Oval Office to kill two birds with one stone.
Inside the room, Kate Natalia stood as soon as he entered.
“Hey. I thought you forgot about me,” she said, smiling, and then saw he wasn’t.
That said it all.
“Uh-oh. What happened?” she asked.
He sat behind the desk.
“Remember when I told you that Elizabeth was dealing with a mess?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Well, it just came for her. One of her Marines was killed, two others were injured, and she was almost assassinated by a Russian spy. We are up to our eyeballs with issues.”
Kate gasped.
“Oh, my God! Is she okay?”
Honestly, he wasn’t sure. She would either pull through and regroup, or she would crash and burn. That’s why he’d authorized The Hunters.
To save her.
“For now, yes. Kate, what I’m going to say is off the record and between us. I have to believe it goes no further than this room because Elizabeth’s clearance level is above yours. Only, she’s a team player, and she wants you to be aware of everything.”
Kate was to the point.
“You know I’m a team player, and I actually admire and like Elizabeth. I modeled my career after hers. She was a mentor, and a damn good agent when I started. This is off the record if you, and she, need it to be.”
Gabe knew they’d picked a good person to fill Axelle’s seat. There was no doubt.