The Oval Office ✓ (Book One)

Chapter Eighteen

Lauren's P.O.V, 14 years ago

There was about a one percent chance of me getting in, and I did it. I haven't been back here in almost a year, and now, I'll have access to classes that I didn't have the security clearance for when I was just a student. Here, at the FBI academy, advanced classes are for those who want higher up positions. Those who want to work on more than the average murder case, or those who want to work on things that'll affect national security.

For these classes, you receive in depth back-round checks, lie detector tests, and are subject to stricter fitness requirements. Those of us who got in will receive information on highly classified cases, torture resistance training, advanced weapons training, a higher ranking, and technology we wouldn't have had access to before. Since most of us are already working on cases, we aren't penalized if we have to leave class early, but are expected to make it up.

9:30 am- Torture resistance

I gulp- that one's not my favorite, no matter how necessary it is. "Ethan!" I see one of my classmates across the exercise field, propped up against a tree, concentrated on his laptop. He immediately looks up when he hears my voice, shutting it quickly.

"What's up?" He smiles.

"You're a cyber security major, right? Been hacking since you were twelve?"

"Ethically, yes. But..why so curious all of a sudden?" He pushes his laptop off to the side, and i plop down in front of him.

"My husband's hacker just quit."

"You're gonna have to give me a bit more of an explanation than that. " He chuckles.

"Mayor Wells? Ring a bell?"

"Oh shi-"

"Point is, his office is hiring and you check off all of the boxes. You should think about it."

"I don't know-" he says. "No offense, but I want to work on something bigger, that's why I'm here."

"You'll need experience first." I reply. "It's not like you'll go straight to the White House no matter how good you are."

"You never know-" he shrugs, but is interrupted by my phone ringing.

"Baby- hey, I know I'm not your boss but can you come to my office? There's a bit of a situation here and your actual boss isn't helping much." Kyle says.

"Is it urgent? I have class in ten minutes." I sigh.

"Very. Can you bring Ethan too?"

"Okay-" I reply. "I'll be there in five minutes, love you."

"Love you too." Well that was odd. Technically, elected officials aren't supposed to work directly with federal investigators unless it's something that affects the people they represent- so this has to be serious.

"Get up-" I nudge Ethan. "We've got a case."

"I didn't apply to start working on any yet-"

"Too bad, the mayor directly requested you." I pull on his hand, guiding him over to my car less than a hundred yards away.

"Lauren- what the hell is going on?"

——————-

"The Secretary of State hasn't left her house in two days. She's not answering calls from anybody and she always calls somebody from her office when she's sick." Kyle gives us a short briefing when we arrive. I sit on the edge of his desk, taking a bite out of one of the donuts as Ethan awkwardly stands there.

"Anybody called the security company?" I cover my mouth with my hand.

"They won't give out customers camera feeds or security measures." My supervisor says. "Even though they're technically obstructing a federal investigation right now."

"And you've got agents outside of her house?" Kyle nods.

I give Ethan the look, and he instantly knows what I'm thinking. "No- absolutely not. I don't have the clearance yet, that is a felony."

"Who here do you think's gonna report you?" Kyle shrugs. "We have no idea if the individual responsible for certifying our elections is alive or not. If she's fine we can quietly back off, if not we'll know exactly what's going on."

"Damnit, Mayor Wells that is an ethical violation on so many levels-"

"Agent Hess will set you up in the old guy's office." Kyle replies.

"Fine- but If this comes out it's on you."  Ethan sighs, giving in.

"Deal." Kyle says.

  I follow Ethan to what will be his new office, watching as he sits down to get started. My supervisor goes to type in the passcode, but of course,  Ethan being Ethan- has a flash drive that does it for him. "This should only take a few minutes." He says. "Security cameras are easy."

  I shake my head as I watch him type a string of code nobody in this room could even begin to understand. Ethan and I first met in introductions to cyber security- as he tutored just about everybody in that classroom. Hell, he might as well have been the teacher.

  "Bingo- oh my god." He brings up a window showing every security camera, and there's an audible gasp in the room. Because there she is, lying at the bottom of her rich-people stairs.

  Her ankles are all twisted in a way that makes me want to vomit, and a bone in her arm is sticking out of the skin. Yet somehow, she's still alive, so I quickly dial Agent Hess's number, careful not to waste any time. "She fell down the fucking stairs- Get in there now!" I hang up as Ethan unlocks the gates and front door. However the fuck she managed to do that, she wouldn't have made it much longer.

  I can't even imagine the pain she's in. Physically, I've never experienced anything worse than a broken toe. Before I met Kyle I thought about jumping off of the roof of my mom's old apartment building almost every day, but those feelings quickly got buried.

  The first time I ever laid eyes on him I just knew. I never believed in love at first sight until I experienced it, and after just a couple of weeks, I'd made up my mind- I would never leave him, no matter what.