The Oval Office ✓ (Book One)

Chapter Six

                                   Kyle's P.O.V.

  "For fucks sake, you are the First Lady's mother, you cannot go off the grid like that without letting somebody know!! At least keep your phone on you."

  "It's not like I signed up to be the First Lady's mom. You signed us both up for that and now my daughter is missing!" She yells.

"We're using every possible resource to find her and you know that!!" I struggle not to yell at her.

"No, I don't! How the hell did y'all manage to lose her in the first place?!"

"Mr. President- Prince Ahmad wants to speak with you." Chief of  Staff  Kylie Rose informs me.

  "Go, Mr.President. " Lauren's Mother storms off.

"Tell him to go fuck himself." If I have to look at his face right now, I might bash it in myself.

"He wants to know why you won't let him leave."

"Fine- two minutes." I say. She open the door to reveal him standing on the other side of it.

"Mr.President this is a hostage situation! Regardless of why you are not allowing your own citizens to leave the country I have diplomatic immunity and I am needed in my country!!"

"A high ranking government official is currently missing-"

"You can't hold a diplomat because of that! I have immunity from-"

"No, prince, you do not!! Until you consent to a full search of your plane and person you will not leave American soil! Now, where the fuck is she?"

"Excuse me sir?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!"

"Sir,you and I both know I'm not above kidnapping." He smirks. "But kidnapping a U.S official? That is suicide. Goodbye, Mr.President."

"Before you leave  I'll repeat myself.  You will fully cooperate with the investigation or you will never see the light of day again. Diplomatic immunity doesn't apply to terrorists."

  "Mr.President these accusations are based solely of off your distrust towards my country-"

  "You and I both know this has nothing to do with your country and everything to do with what a shitty fucking person you are. You better hope to whatever deity you worship that you are telling me the 100% truth because if I find out otherwise there are thirteen dead federal agents's blood on your hands."

  "You're needed in command opps, now." Kylie has the same look on her face as when she informed me on the day of the attack.

  "What the hell happened now?" I ask Ethan.

  "This video was just sent to us through another highly encrypted email with the headline 4:00 PM. Which is-"

  Suddenly, every single screen is overtaken by the same video within the email. Every Cell Phone, tablet, Tv, and computer.

  "Oh fuck." I mumble. Amber Garland Looks like they've been torturing him for years. Princess Ariyah just looks tired and terrified- then there's...Lauren, staring straight ahead, not a single tear. In the months after the shooting, the way she coped with things was by putting on a blank expression and not talking about it- which eventually led to frequent panic attacks and being court ordered to see a therapist. They're going to break her again if she's in there much longer.

  I step closer to the screen, my fingers now resting on it. "Good evening." She starts to speak, and that's when I notice the strain in her voice. "This message may come as a surprise to some of you. I want my husband... President... Kyle Wells to know that I am alive and well. We have an unprecedented matter at hand. The lives of three highly valued individuals are on the line- and all you have to save them is listen.  You will release ten of the terrorists currently in U.S custody back to their countries of origin- the names will be embedded in this email. You will then deliver a presidential address informing the American people of what really happened in your first election. And finally, you will resign . If these demands are not met within fifty days, you know exactly what will happen. You have forty eight days remaining."

"Well that just got a lot more complicated." Ryan sighs. "Maybe start with the easiest one- your press conference is in five minutes."

  "Damnit Ryan- the only thing that hasn't changed since the very beginning is that we do not negotiate with terrorists! I'm not about to start now."

  "Respectfully, Sir, they've got us backed into a corner here. We don't have much of a choice if we want to preserve our national security and whatever mental health your wife has left." Ryan states.

  "Okay- I didn't technically do anything wrong in the school board election." I try to defend myself.

  "Sir, what the hell did you do?" Marisol asks.

  "My grandfather was on the board of elections. I never tried to bribe him and we never discussed the election but... he was always loyal to his family."

  " But the board of elections  can't determine the outcome unless there's a tie and there wasn't." Aileen replies.

"Was he rich, by any chance?" My legal advisor, Joe asks.

"Not even close. He wasn't doing terrible but he had at least five roommates at all times. Aileen, hire somebody to look into him for me. Is the search team done with Prince Ahmad's Plane yet?"

"Yes sir." She replies. "And no sir- they're about a quarter of the way there and haven't found anything yet but he won't consent to a search of his person."

"Son of a bitch."

"Press conference in three minutes." Ryan taps his foot.

  "You're gonna wanna see this Mr.-" Ethan starts.

  "Can it wait ten minutes? Cause It'll have to."

  "Respectfully Sir, This is-"

  "Ethan, Ten minutes. I've got three hundred and forty million Americans wondering why the hell they're not allowed to leave this country right now."

  ——

  "My fellow Americans, with the recent explosion on White House grounds and the ban on travel, You have more questions than I have answers right now. This barbaric act of terrorism took the lives of thirteen Americans who were doing their jobs to protect this country.  The portion of the White House that was obliterated is being rebuilt as we speak. While I would like to answer all of your questions, at this moment in time, to preserve our national security, I cannot do so. We will be speaking to the families as soon as we possibly can, and we want them to know; The individuals accountable will be held responsible.  Because Last time I checked, killing federal agents and attacking the White House both carry the death penalty."