Joe thought over the visit, it had gone as well as it possibly could. He was pleased. The team had done an extraordinary job getting him in and out thus far.
It was just four days since the final green light had been given and now they were traveling to Poland. Tomorrow was the summit, as planned, NATO would meet for two days, and the G7 for two more, then the big speech on Friday. He began to doze lightly, the rocking of the train soothing, pulling memories from the deep recesses of his mind. It made him realize now how long it had been since he'd been on a train. A once so familiar experience was now a novelty.
He remembered the evenings when he craved to get home to the boys.
When home was home because they were there but so too it was a place of loss, of pain, and emptiness.
An empty bed for his little girl.
A cold bed for him to climb into alone.
He thought of the love, the unbounded, unfathomable, incalculable love of his amazing Jilly. From those early days before they were even married when he'd stop briefly at the door to listen to the sound of her voice, her laughter as she and the boys ate their dinner. How they had already done their homework, together, the three of them and she'd make dinner, and they'd be mostly finished when he'd arrive. All tiredness gone, he couldn't wait to get inside to the love and warmth that was waiting for him.
He smiled now in his half sleep, an image of the boys running towards him at full speed filling his mind. He'd braced, opened his arms out for them and they'd barreled into his body, trusting that he'd hold them, that he'd catch them. He held their hands in his as he'd walked back into the kitchen, told them to sit and finish their dinner. They were so good they did immediately as he asked them.
His brian was flooded with images of his mini Jill. Little Ashley was so like her mother. Beautiful and independent, stubborn, kind and generous to a fault. He'd loved to take her in his arms and carry her from the hallway to the table, even when she was much too big for carrying but he loved to do it and Jill indulged him, understanding the complicated emotions that having another chance at raising a daughter evoked within him.
He remembered seeing Jill smiling at them from the counter where she'd serve dessert so he could eat that first as they ended their meal together. Thought about how she'd leave it to sit on the counter for a moment and wait, knowing that he'd want to come over and kiss her as soon as possible. She wanted the same.
He fancied he could feel the touch of her fingers on his skin as she laced her hands together at the nape of his neck. She'd reach up to kiss him as he'd settle his hands on her hips, or perhaps lower if the kids were fully engrossed in their own world. They'd whisper I love you's and kiss in the kitchen, smile into each other's eyes and check in on their day.
By now the kids would be calling for dessert, so together they'd place five bowls on the table, sit side by side and chat happily about what they'd each gotten up to. Ashley would climb into his lap and Jill would rest her hand on his leg as their kids babbled on excitedly until it was time for bed.
When he'd come back downstairs, with three kids all sleeping Jill would pack up her school work and they would spend time together on the sofa when they could cuddle and kiss and chat alone.
He wished now with all of his heart that he could kiss her, feel her soft lips against his. He sighed as he remembered the shower they'd taken together before he'd left. In the hazy interim between night and morning they'd recommitted their love by sharing their bodies in an act of beautiful togetherness. He grinned as he dozed. It had been an amazing sendoff.
A sound caught his attention.
He frowned, and listened carefully.
He could hear something. Couldn't quite grasp what ...
The train shuddered.
The whole carriage seemed to shake.
He let out an involuntary gasp.
He tried to stand up but the air felt like it was rushing past him, like everything was pitching backwards. He threw his hand out to brace himself against the floor as he almost tumbled off the sofa. He laid his fist against the carpet and moved into a kneeling position from where he managed to stand.
An ear-splitting noise filled the carriage. He grimaced. It sounded like fingernails being dragged down a chalkboard multiplied by a thousand times the volume. He figured it was steel screeching against steel.
Suddenly he was flung forward, he threw his hands out, they collided with the table. He managed to brace himself but his shin banged off of the rung.
'Fuuccck', he shouted.
The door of the cabin burst open, Tony followed immediately by Dave came bursting through, faces serious, determined. They made directly for him.
'Sir!' they called.
'Sir, are you hurt?' they almost shouted.
He understood they were on edge.
His mind told him the train had thrown the emergency brakes. He'd heard it a few times on his journeys home. He knew too that if the agents thought the President was hurt then they would be a whole other level of fuss so many protocols would fall into place.
'No, I'm fine. I banged my leg against the table. It hurts like fuckin' hell but it's ok', he reassured them while also rubbing his sore leg. He was going to have one hell of a bruise. He wouldn't be surprised if he'd actually bruised the bone. He fought off the ache. The edges of the pain were turning dull, replaced now by an aching throb. He figured if that was all he had to worry about he'd be doing well. Guessed he'd have far bigger issues to deal with in a minute.
'What the hell is going on?' he asked his agents.
In lieu of an answer, Tony reached for the bulletproof vest Joe had ignored earlier. 'Put this on sir', he told him, his tone indicating he was not to be ignored this time. 'And this', he said, indicating the helmet Dave had in his hand.
Joe did so, without fuss, then turned and slipped his arms into his navy puffa jacket Dave held open for him. He zipped the coat up over the vest, and snapped the fastener of the helmet. It seemed like days ago when they'd adjusted the straps in case such a thing happened. In reality it was only about fifteen hours ago.
'What's going on?' Joe asked again, watching as Tony clipped the fastener of his own helmet.
The men glanced at one another. 'We're not really sure, sir. We have activity above, we think it's Russian. Plus our guys have told us that a drone caught an image of an armored vehicle up ahead. It looks like it may have a rocket launcher on the back. Within two seconds of that information coming to us the driver caught sight of a figure running from the railway line up ahead. The guys got exceptional fucking eyesight I'll give him that', Tony said, exhaling noisily.
'We came round a bend into a straight and the setting sun reflected off something. The guy hit the breaks like he was in a frickin' movie', Dave added.
'But we're sitting here now exposed as hell, sir. We need to get you off this train', Tony said.
The tone of his voice betrayed the seriousness of the situation. This is what they had all feared. They were quickly headed to the worst case scenario. Joe felt a stab of ice in his gut. He'd overrode every single piece of advice he'd been given. Turned down every warning and now, here they were. Stopped in a hot war zone, no way forwards, no way backwards and none of their own fire power.
To be continued ...
