Felkel nodded. “Well, in any case, we have an impromptu meeting with some of your advisors at 9:30 to address these issues.”
Young sighed. “Get me someone from communications in the Oval Office in five minutes. I have a special message I want to get out to the American people. And it can’t wait.”
“Before you go, you need to see this,” Felkel said as he handed a folder to Young.
“What’s this?”
“Just open it, sir.”
Young glanced at the first document, a picture of a dead woman. “Who’s this?”
“Your daughter’s friend, sir. It’s Penny.”
“Dammit.”
“You need to tell her,” Felkel said. “She’s been asking about her.”
“Not right now, but I will.”
The president exited the room and hustled downstairs to get Olivia, who had just finished getting dressed for the day.
“You look beautiful, honey,” he said. “Come with me. I’ve got a special mission for you.”
She ignored him, still applying her makeup. “I’m not going anywhere just yet. Now, have any word on Penny? I’m starting to fear the worst.”
“Nothing, but the FBI is working around the clock to find her.”
She sighed. “So, what’s the mission you have for me?”
“I need you to help me address the nation.”
Olivia’s mouth fell agape. “Dad, my hair isn’t done yet. Just look at it. I can’t get in front of any cameras dressed like this. I—”
“You look great, and your outfit’s perfect. We need to hurry.”
She huffed as she followed him upstairs to the Oval Office.
A White House videographer was already waiting for the president when he arrived.
Felkel gestured toward the setup. "Is this what you wanted?"
Young nodded. "That'll do. I just want to give a brief announcement about how we're forging ahead."
After getting both of them situated, Young nodded at the cameraman to begin recording. The president didn’t waste any time launching into a diatribe about what freedom meant to him and how it was more important than ever to celebrate it, especially as terrorists tried to take it away from his daughter.
“Olivia and I want to extend a special invitation to everyone living in the Washington metropolitan area to join us tonight,” Young said as he stared resolutely at the camera lens. “If we don’t stand up to the tyranny of these people, we could become subject to their whims even more so in the future. This is not the time to cower in fear but to act boldly in courage, standing up to these harbingers of terror and show them they will never wield any power over us.”
After closing out his speech with a pitch for Americans to join him in celebrations everywhere, he stood and ordered the communications director to release the video immediately.
“Dad, can I leave now?” Olivia asked.
He studied her for a moment. “Why are you so itching to leave? You’re not going anywhere.”
She drew back, her mouth falling agape. “What’s wrong with me going out? I need to see some of my friends right now.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“So, was everything you just said into that camera a lie?”
Young sighed. “Look, honey, it’s not like that. You’re my daughter and obviously a target. So, you’re not like everybody else. You can’t just go—”
“You have no idea what I’ve been through. You’re just worried about your precious election, as if you’re some white knight this country needs or else the world would fall apart. Well, let me tell you right now that you aren’t. There are some things more important than elections, power, and the office of the president, starting with your only daughter.”
Young’s face fell as he watched Olivia tear up. “Oh, honey, I’m—”
“Save it,” she said before she spun and stormed off.
Young started to go after her but stopped when Felkel put his hand on the president’s chest. “Just let her go. Trust me, she’ll come around. I’ve got teenage daughters, and sometimes they just need space.”
Once everyone else but Felkel left the room, Young marched over to his desk and pulled out a flask.
“Want some?” Young said as he offered it to Felkel.
“Sir, we’ve some pressing issues that aren’t going to vanish just because you put out a video.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t we confiscate all of the weapons from that shipment coming from Bolivia?”
Felkel nodded. “Yes, but Evana Bahar is still out there. And that’s troubling, according to our national security advisors.”
“Everything bothers them. I’m going to declare a victory and get ready for tonight’s festivities. Tell the team we’ll meet in the morning.”
“But, sir—”
“Enough,” Young said. “I’m not changing my mind.”
Young waited until Felkel was gone before pouring a large glass of bourbon. The president strolled around the room and considered his plight.
It’ll all be better tonight.
He tried to convince himself that statement was true, but he didn’t even believe it himself.
CHAPTER 32
8:30 a.m.
MIA ROLLED OFF the couch in the panic room and staggered out into the hallway. She adjusted the baseball cap on her head and bee-lined straight toward the break room. After waiting a couple of minutes, she wrapped her hands around a piping hot cup of coffee.
Blunt lumbered into the room, a cigar already hanging out of his mouth. She tried to stifle a yawn when she noticed him.
“Rough night?” he asked.
“I spent it here,” she said.
“How’d you like the couch? Comfy, isn’t it?”
She nodded. "Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend as much time on it as I wanted to. There's a cryptic message hidden in an email to me. I think I know who sent it, but nothing adds up."
“And it has to do with all this?”
Mia nodded. “At least, I think it does. There was an attachment with a photo. The message just said, ‘Look closely, and you’ll find what you seek.’”
“Sounds like a lame prediction from a fortune cookie.”
“I’ve done everything I could think of to decipher what the sender really intended.”
“And you’re sure it’s someone you know?”
“Hardly anyone has my email address,
