The reality of the moment was that something very, very bad had happened. That is all President Robertson knew. He remembered smoke, fire and the sounds of semi-automatic weapons. President Robertson moved his head to the right and saw a wall of flames, to the left more flames. He couldn’t move any of his limbs. He blinked his eyes once and then twice. When his eyes shut the third time, they did not open again.
******
“President Robertson is dead, all agents report to NCIS headquarters immediately” Those words stirred Special Agent Morziat from his bed. He had tried to ignore his phone; after all, it was his day off. The constant buzzing had agitated him, so he threw his phone out the window and onto the street below it. That was when his house phone rang, and the person on the other line had said those words, than he hung up.
“President Robertson is dead. What. The. Hell.” He muttered under his breath. His agitation was forgotten; he had a job to do. What it was he didn’t know, he just knew he had to do it. Morziat paused, wasn’t the Secret Service supposed to investigate attacks on the President and his family?
******
That same thought occurred to NCIS’s Director as well. “I need to talk to the Secretary of the Treasury, YESTERDAY!” Director Montgomery was known for his short temper, which was rumored to be linked to his height (5’ 6’’ in case you were wondering). The fact that the President was dead was bad enough, but now he is being told to rally his troops and prepare for an investigation. And THAT was the least sensical thing he had heard on this day.
“This doesn’t make any fucking SENSE!” He shouted at the wall. And then his phone buzzed, “Helen?”
“The President is on the line Director.” Helen, Montgomery’s secretary, said.
“President?...... Sweet Jesus.”
“Jack” The former Secretary of the Treasury (and the new President) said.
“How bad is it Monty?”
“The White House is gone Jack. The President and his family, the Vice President, SecNav, SecDef, SecState, The Speaker and the President of the Senate, the joint chiefs and countless staff are dead.”
“Oh my god.”
“We’ll be at your office in five minutes.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’ll explain when I get there. CLICK”
“Helen! Ready my office for some very important guest.”
******
“This is a CNN Breaking News alert. A massive explosion at the White House has led to massive walls of flame escaping the building. The fire department, DC Metro Police, Secret Service and FBI personal are all on the grounds. It is unknown if the President or anyone else in The House escaped. There are unconfirmed reports that there was a meeting of the Military Hierarchy scheduled for noon today. The explosion happened around 1:30 pm.”
*****
“Breaking News, a massive explosion at the White House probably killed the President and the Secretary of Defense. Stay tuned to FOX News for more information.”
*****
AP WIRE: Explosion at White House. It is believed that no one inside the White House Survived.
*****
“Goddamit!” The curse came from a lone house in Virginia Beach.
“What’s the matter Lou?”
“I warned those fuckers! I warned them! And they didn’t believe me!”
“What are you talking about?”
Lou looked at his wife solemnly; “Classified hun”
“You can’t hide behind that! You have already told me a lot!”
“…..I’m sorry I can’t tell you anymore.”
*****
Meanwhile in Berlin, Germany:
“HALT!”
“Was?”
“Was ist deine namen?”
“Bitte?”
“Was ist deine namen?”
“Ich heisse Michael Weber. Warum?” Bang
“Du bist tot, Michael Weber. Du bist tot.”
*****
“You want to tell me what the hell is going on Gibbs?”
“Special Agent Morziat, I wondered how long it was going to take you to get here.”
“Fuck you Gibbs. I need an update.”
“All we know is that the White House went bang and we have a new NCA.”
“I don’t need your smart ass remarks at this point Divante!”
“He’s right. That’s all we know.” Gibbs’s comment draws an icy stare from Morziat. Morziat is so angry that he doesn’t notice the elevator door swing open or the wall of men in black suits walking behind him. What he does notice is the decrease in the ambient noise of the room. He looks around just in time to see the Director disappear into the wall of black suits. He watches as the wall moves into the office of the Director. “What I wouldn’t do to be a fly on the wall in the Director’s office right now.” He mutters. The other agents nod their heads in agreement.
*****
In Director Montgemery’s office the remnants of the Secret Service Presidential Detail fan out. Director Montgemery looks around the room and reaches under the large oak table. He pauses before pressing the button, the Secret Service agents are clearly rattled and his good friend, his new boss, is visibly shaken by this turn of events. The Director grimaces and pushes the red button and waits a few seconds. “The room is secure.” He says.
“How can any room be secure after today Jack? How?”
“It’s safe to talk, I think.” The Director looks at the nervous Secret Service Agents. Somehow, someway someone had managed to destroy the fortress that these men and women had created. They had to be thinking exactly what he was thinking. “If this wasn’t some unfortunate accident Monty, it had to be an inside job.” There I said it. Someone had to.
“We know Director. We know.” One of the Secret Service Agents said. “Special Agent Carthright I am the head of the Presidential detail. We got gutted like a fish sir.” Special Agent Carthright wasn’t kidding. She was only three years out of the academy, and still a little rough around the edges.
“I would appreciate it if you weren’t so crude right now Carthright.” Said the President, “We have multiple issues right now. A government that has been ‘gutted’ as Carthright so elegantly put it, a public that doesn’t have a clue about what is going on, and a President who doesn’t know what the hell just happened.”
“Sir I get that, but why come to NCIS? Why not Beltsville or the FBI?”
“The FBI cannot be trusted Jack.”
“Excuse me?”
The President put his face into his hands. He look tired, worn and beaten; “It’s a long story Jack. It’s a real long story.”
“You came here for a reason sir.”
The President looked up and nodded. “About five months ago some numbers puke in my office noticed irregularities in the FBI’s expenditure reports. He ran the numbers about a half a dozen times, and the same irregularity kept popping up. I contacted the President and notified him of our discovery. He had us meet him in his office ten minutes later. The irregularities were not that much in my opinion but when I walked in there was the President standing next to the head of the IRS, CIA and Ms. Carthright over here.”
“I am, I was, part of the Secret Services Counterfeiting department.” Carthright stated.
“Upon my entry,” The President continued, “the President had me and my numbers nerds sit down. They explained that they had evidence that the FBI was illegally sending shipments of small arms overseas. They FBI wasn’t able to fund this op with the funding they were getting from congress. The money had to be coming from somewhere else.”
“That’s when I was assigned to the case.” Jumped in Carthright, “We began to investigate the all of the FBI’s top officials, the Director, the Assistant Directors and so on. We began to notice that they were withdrawing large amount of cash from their bank accounts. We also noticed random purchases at shops that produced machinery and paper. A combination of the machinery and paper that was purchased can be used to counterfeit money.”
“That is when the Treasury Department’s computers got hacked.” The President looked at The Director.
“I remember that! You guys couldn’t figure out what information was taken. And you couldn’t find the perps.”
“That’s what we stated publicly, and to the rest of the government. The day after the computers got hacked was when the irregularity in the expenditure reports showed up. We figured it was from the FBI. Once I was briefed on the situation I had my computer wizards look at the files pertaining to the ingredients for the paper and ink used to create dollar bills. All of those files showed damage, this damage indicated that they had been copied.” The President sighed, “The FBI was counterfeiting money and was well on its way to becoming the world’s largest arms dealer.”
“Dear God.”
“That is what today’s meeting was about Jack. That is why everybody was at the White House. Carthright and I were in the tunnel connected to the Treasury Department when the explosion occurred. We were late.” The President shut his eyes and dropped his head back into his hands.'
“You don’t think the FBI would?...”
“That is your job to find out. I am handing this investigation off to you and your most trusted team.” The President looked at Carthright, “You, and the Secret Service, are to assist Jack and NCIS in any way possible. Do I make myself clear Carthright?”
“Yes Mr. President.”
“Good. Jack I have a Public to address and you have a team to assemble. Good Luck Director. You’ll need it.”
******
“Please stay tuned for the President of the United States of America.”
President Montgomery “Monty” Jackson looked at the camera, the light was too bright, it was causing him to sweat. The cameraman made the three-two-one motion with is fingers and pointed at the President.
“Good Evening my fellow Americans. Today has been a rough day for your Country and your Government. As you are undoubtedly aware, the White House was rocked by an explosion this afternoon. Everybody who was in the building was killed almost immediately. My condolences to those who lost loved ones in today’s horrific explosion.
The source of the explosion is unknown and is currently under investigation. The brave men and woman of the Washington D.C Fire Department and Police Department have performed admirably in the face of imminent danger. I commend you. The Fire Marshal is currently on the scene investigating the source/cause of the explosion…”
******
“You mean Director that the FBI has decided it wants to enter the illegal arms trade?” Divante’s jaw was on the ground.
“That is what the evidence makes it look like. We have been ordered to complete the investigation into the FBI and we are investigating the White House explosion. We will treat these two events as unconnected, am I clear?” The Director asked, “Gibbs, Morizat you two need to determine who has lead. Here are your Secret Service windbreakers. Remember YOU CAN NOT DISSCUSS THIS INVESTIGATION WITH ANYONE!” The Director glared at the team. They nodded grabbed the hats and wind breakers and left the room. The Director then turned his TV on and turned the volume up.
*****
“….Once the cause has been determined we will let you ladies and Gentlemen know. This has been an unbelievable tragedy, for the country and thousands of individuals who no longer have the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives with them. Again I offer my condolences. As a nation America has not changed. The citizens are still producing, buying and consuming/using products. America is a strong and independent nation. We will persevere. Good night my fellow Americans. And Good Luck.” The lights turned off and another Presidential Administration began.
Go here for part two
Go here for part two
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