Vengeance

75 WASHINGTON, D.C.

In the Presidential Emergency Operations Center deep beneath the East Wing of the White House, in a bunker built to protect the president from aerial attack, the president and his advisors were gathered around a table in the executive briefing room. The White House above was still being swept for other bombs Mixell might have planted, with the president conducting business inside the PEOC until it was deemed safe for him to return to the surface.

Joining the president at the table were his Chief of Staff Kevin Hardison and National Security Advisor Thom Parham, while on the phone were FBI Director Bill Guisewhite, CIA Deputy Director Monroe Bryant, and NCTC Supervisor Jessica Del Rio. The topic of the conversation was the effort to locate Mixell and Christine.

Bill Guisewhite provided the latest information. “Mixell swapped vehicles inside the 395 tunnel, which we didn’t realize until the van arrived at the house he’d been renting. After the vehicle swap, the van was driven by a body double Mixell had hired in case he was tracked from the White House. The bad news is that we didn’t have aerial surveillance of the tunnel exits at the time Mixell departed in the new car; our assets were following the white van. The good news is that we know the color and model of the car he switched into, and its license plate number. We’ll locate the car shortly after it passes a speed or traffic light camera. We’ve also got law enforcement on the alert. We’re searching for the vehicle with every means possible.”

“Is there any indication of Christine’s condition?” the president asked.

“Our last intel was when Mixell swapped vehicles inside the tunnel. Christine appeared unharmed at that time.”

“What about the explosives Mixell planted?”

“We’re almost done searching the White House for additional bombs. As you know, we were able to move the C-4 eggs from the kitchen onto the South Lawn before they were detonated. We also located the Secret Service Uniformed Division officer who escorted Mixell into the White House, who was locked in the kitchen walk-in freezer with one of your staff. Both are fine. When Mixell was discovered inside the White House, he wasn’t far from the kitchen, but we don’t know where he went or what he did after locking the officer in the freezer. We don’t suspect he planted other bombs, but we’re conducting a thorough search just in case.”

The president nodded his understanding. “Anything else on this topic?”

“Not at this time,” Guisewhite replied.

The teleconference was ended and a new one initiated, this time with acting Secretary of Defense Peter Seuffert, Secretary of the Navy Sheila McNeil, and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Joe Sites, who were prepared to brief the president on the situation in the Persian Gulf.

“The current scenario is perilous,” Sheila McNeil announced. “Theodore Roosevelt is being engaged again by the Russian submarines, with our ability to sink them being thwarted by anti-air missiles launched by the SSGN. We’ve lost several MH-60Rs — they can’t get close enough to drop their torpedoes — and the weapons launched by the P-8As have been shot down before the HAAWC wing kits release the torpedoes.”

“How are we going to protect our aircraft carrier?” the president asked.

“We have six fast attack submarines on the other side of the minefield. The SEAL detachment aboard Michigan has been working the issue, and we hope that a path through the minefield will be cleared soon, which will allow our fast attack submarines to engage. We’re running out of time,” McNeil admitted, “but the mine-clearing task is almost complete.”

“I understand,” the president replied. “Keep me up to date as events unfold.”