chapterEight
wildShot
Later that day, Sept 11………………Washington DC
Mitch searched throughout the Presidential residence for Issachar but to no avail. He was getting very concerned because Leonard was really on his case. Now he needed to go tell the Chief of Staff that the President was missing.
The agent walked slowly down the hall in the direction of Sidney Leonard’s office. As he walked, he was formulating in his mind what he would say to Sid. In his near comma, Mitch almost walked right into Leonard.
“Mitch, where’s the boss?”
“I can’t seem to find him…..Abby said he was….. indisposed…whatever that means.”
With a questioning look on his face Sid replied, “What? Mitch, I’m going back into my office. Can you get Remere Kadafi and Hector and …..Javier…I need all three of those guys, pronto.”
“Yes, sir, right away.” Mitch turned a one eighty and ran down the hallway to the inter-capital phone and dialed the CIA and the FBI.
Later that day………………….…Washington DC
Sidney Leonard knocked softly on the Presidential residence’s door. After a few seconds, Abby slowly opened the door. Sidney asked if he could come and then he spoke, “Abby, the President…Where is he?”
Abby tried to keep her composure then she answered, “He is indisposed…not feeling well….Why doesn’t anyone believe me…Can’t the President have some time to himself?”
“Abby, we are following a lead that was given us…..The FBI and…..the CIA…and the Secret Service. Someone is going to try to assassinate the president….we think.”
Abby couldn’t hold it back any longer and she covered her face and started to cry. Then she turned and ran to her bedroom. Leonard followed her with his eyes. When she disappeared in the room, he let himself out.
An hour later…………………….The Situation room
Javier McDonald, the FBI director spoke, “We have a situation…The President is missing and we assume he is kidnapped. We will not…and I repeat will not let the media know what’s happening. We will take care of this internally and you will only be told on need to know basis.”
Sidney Leonard inserted, “No matter what we find out…the Tea Party is to blame…We may even leak it out early as soon as we find out where he is….Truly we don’t know. When we find him….McDonald, you know what to do.”
Javier nodded affirmatively.
“OK, then let’s go find this President of ours before some ’bad’ guy finds him first.”
The meeting was adjourned and secretly the FBI sent out agents all over DC. The administration, other than the President, feverishly sought to find out the location of Issachar. They had a special mission planned when they found him.
Later that day, Sept 11………………Washington DC
“Jerry, where are you? They are looking for you and I think they want to….you know what and blame in on terrorist or something…..Did you find Juan?........You want me to come and get you?....Yeh, they will probably follow me anyway…Be careful….When you are close let me know…”
Abby hung the phone up and laid her head face down on her pillow and started to cry.
Josh heard his mom crying and pushed the bedroom door open, He asked, “Mommy, it’s Josh…I’m here..”
Through her tears Abby said, “Baby, what are you doing up?”
“I’m going to potty and I heard you. Where’s Daddy?”
“He will be home soon…I’ll tell him to come into your room and give you a hug when he gets home. Does that sound good?”
“I guess so….Mom, is Daddy going to die?”
“Josh!! Why do you ask that?”
“There are lots of mean men on TV…That’s all…Just wondering. I’ll miss him he does…”
“Come here, my son.” Abby hugged her six year old and continued, “Your Daddy will be OK. He will come to see you tonight. I’ll take you back to your room.”
Abby picked Josh up and brought him back to his room. Then she wandered around her home worrying about Jeremiah. Mrs. Issachar finally laid down on the couch in the sitting area and fell asleep.
The first lady was awakened when Mitch did a walk through into the residency. He was started when she called out, “Mitch, any news? Anything from the President?”
Mitch answered, “I thought I saw him in your room just a moment ago. You haven’t talked to him?”
“He’s here?…Are you sure?”
Mitch walked to the back of the residency and called back to Abby, “Abby, I mean Mrs. Issachar. The boss is asleep in bed.”
Abbey ran down the hall to where Mitch stood. She opened the room door slowly and saw a body lying in their king size bed. “Jeremiah, is that you?”
Jeremiah stirred a little and then he opened his eyes, “Abbey, I’m here but I’m hurt, I think. They shot at me…Somebody did.”
Mitch was quickly on the phone and called the staff medical crew. They arrived in minutes and were tending to the President.
Abbey was hysterical when she saw the blood all over her bed and her husband. She quickly went down to Josh’s room to check on him. He was sound asleep. Without hesitation Abbey returned to her wounded husband.
The secret Service agents surrounded the building and locked down the White house complex. The cabinet and the vice president were informed immediately and were in route to the White house.
The medics indicated that the wound was superficial but they immediately transported the President to the hospital with a complete security team for him and Abbey. Another team and a nurse stayed with Josh at the White House.
The doctors patched up the President’s wounds and he was under sedation. Mitch and Abbey waited by his bedside for him to come to.
A large portion of the hospital was sealed off by the Secret Service, and Sidney Leonard and the Vice President waited to hear from the doctors, the prognosis on Issachar. The administration did their best to keep the media out of the picture until Leonard could spin the story.
Shortly after the doctors talked to Isaac Dexter, Omar Monsi prepared to make an official statement to the press. “Good morning, everyone. We had a situated last night or early this morning. The president was kidnapped when he was strolling in the Rose Garden.”
Mitch and Abbey watched the TV in the President’s room as Omar spoke. Abbey’s mouth dropped wide open and she said, “What a liar, Mitch, That’s a lie. You know that.”
Mitch couldn’t believe his ears, either.
Omar continued, “Shortly after his kidnapping he attempted to escape. And he was shot by his kidnappers.”
Jeremiah Issachar woke from his anesthetics and the TV was blaring. He watched as Omar finished his assessment of the President’s shooting. “Of course, this is an ongoing investigation, but we have narrowed down who we think did this horrible act. It was planned and carried out by a group of people with an ideological difference with the President. We will announce the actual perpetrators when we are more certain. No questions, please. Thank you.”
The president spotted Abby through the fog in his eyes and then he asked, “Abby, is that you? Omar is lying…Mitch, that’s not how it happened.”
Omar turned around and the Washington Police chief came up and told the reporters what they were doing to find the person or persons that did this act. He rambled for five minutes more and then answered a few questions.
Mitch stood watching and shook his head. He said, “What is happening here. It’s like a fantasy….Nothing is even true and the Secret service are going to be the fall guys…Probably me. Excuse me, Abbey, can you tell the President it was nice working with him but I’ve got to get out of here…They are going to blame this on me.”
“Why would they do that?” Abby asked.
“It’s a long story, Mrs. The President can tell you if he wants. I probably won’t see you again…Be careful.” He shook Abby’s hand a left the room.
Abbey was so afraid as she moved to be near her husband in his hospital bed. She kissed his hand while he attempted to smile. The President whispered, “That whole thing is a lie…don’t let those guys come in here….Leonard or Omar… none of them. I suppose Jenkins will be here soon,”
Tears were running down Abbey’s face as she listened to Jeremiah. She didn’t know what to say or do accept for what Jeremiah had just told her to do.
A nurse came into the room and whispered in Abby’s ear. Abbey shook her head as to say no and the nurse left the room The female Issachar laid her head next to Jeremiah’s head for hours until one of the doctors told her they need to run some test.
She started to leave the hospital room, and Abbey confronted the Doctors. “Hi, I’m Mrs. Issachar. We…my husband and I, the President are suspicious of….Let’s say we think his own staff is trying to kill him…Can we trust you to take good care of him?”
“Mrs. Issachar, my name is Dr, Shultz, Don Shultz. I know nothing of the circumstances or of what you are talking about…but I assure you that my staff and I will do everything we can to keep the President safe. We answer to you and your husband not anyone else.”
“Then can we ask for no visitors including the Vice President and Chief of Staff? We don’t trust them.”
Shultz answered, “I’ll let the front desk know that the President is not to have any guest until I tell them otherwise.”
“Thank you, sir. Is it OK that I stay here while you do the procedures? I’ll stay out of the way.”
“Yes, you can stay…I’ll let the front desk know that there will be no visitors and that you will be in with the President for a while. I’ll be right back.”
Dr. Shultz immediately left the room and Abby watched as he talked to the nurse manning the front desk. She also noticed that Sidney had walked up to the doctor and the two of them began a conversation. The First Lady could see Dr. Shultz shake his head, to say no to the Chief of Staff. When the conversation was completed, Sidney stared toward the President’s room and saw Abby looking his way. He gave her an evil look; she shuddered and quickly turned back to the President.
Sept 12th……………………Washington DC
Dr. Schulz told Abby that her husband didn’t need to stay in the hospital too much longer. The President had taken a bullet through his shoulder but he would recover nicely.
The Doctor also reported to the first Lady that Sidney Leonard and Omar Morsi were asking him lots of questions concerning the wound and prognosis. He said that he could not tell them anything without Abby’s or the President’s permission. The staff members weren’t too happy.
Abby spoke to her husband. “Jerry, Sid knows I did not give them permission to see you, yet. Do you want me to tell them it’s OK? We need to get some source of normality again; after all, you’re the President of the United Stated”
“I don’t trust them but…Tell them to come in…We need to make a statement….Hocks and Jenkins should be here soon so…Yes, have them come in.”
Within in an hour most of the cabinet had come in to see the President in his hospital bed. Issachar acted like nothing was wrong. He didn’t want to let it out through his action that he knew at least some of them took part in the assassination attempt. Abbey was at his side also putting on a great act.
Because the President was fully capacitated, the chief of staff had to relinquish some of the duties he had given to the vice President who was his best friend.
Jenkins and Hocks finally stopped in to see Issachar at the end of visiting hours. They both gave the impression that they cared about his speedy recovery. When the two millionaires left the room they met secretly with Sidney Leonard and Omar Morsi for a two hour meeting.
Sept 14…………………………Washington DC
Abbey spent most of her day sitting in a chair next to Jeremiah watching all the false stories the Administration was feeding the media. She got so disgusted at one report that she threw the remote control at the TV. It caused so much commotion that an SS agent ran into the room, thinking the president was under attack.
A few hours later Jeremiah and his wife were watching NCIS, when a special report interrupted the program.
“This is a special report from Washington DC. Just minutes ago several thousand protestors stormed the Capital building in Washington. Hundreds were killed and many more injured. They carried signed protesting many of the new legislations passed by congress since Issachar became president. Some of the signed expressed in graphic detail what they thought of Issachar and the whole government. Stay tuned for further developments in this ongoing story.”
Issachar cursed and then yelled out, “Mitch….Why haven’t those idiots called me…I’m still the President.”
An SS agent pushed through the door and asked the President what he was yelling about. Issachar pointed toward the television and the pictures from all over the country. The agent called for reinforcements and they secretly ushered the first family out the back of the hospital and into vehicles. They were transported to a prearranged safe house somewhere in the eastern states.
