Presidents, Spies, and Boys, Oh My!

Chapter 3

 Chapter 3

By the time my anger subsided, I had reached the Oval Office. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down for sure, I knocked on the door. Two Secret Service men stood by the door, nodding at me. I nodded back to them both.

"Come in." President McGallen's voice came from the other side.

I opened the door and stepped into the famous office. Sitting behind his large desk, his hands folded on the polished surface, President McGallen nodded at me. Two leather chairs faced his desk. One was occupied by a man I could recognize in a crowd instantly. Jonathan Wells, head of the CIA and my boss. Nearly reaching his mid-fifties, he had salt and pepper black hair with sunken brown eyes and a goatee. I nodded to my boss as I sat down on the opposite leather chair. He nodded back.

"Hello, Miss Rhinehart. I assume everything has been going smoothly?" Jonathan asked.

I nodded.

"Yes, everything has been until today. Were they able to find who was responsible?"

"Yes, they were. Two of our cooks mentioned seeing two members of the wait staff messing with the muffins earlier. Of course, they thought nothing of it and assumed they were fixing the platter and arrangement."

President McGallen answered my question with a calm tone. He ran his hands through his sandy blonde hair, sighing. His eyes, gray like Skylar's, were red rimmed. He radiated stress. I felt for him. I've had my stressful work moments here and there. Not fun. I leaned back in my chair, my arms resting on the leather arms rests.

"Good. Terrorists?" 

"Of course. Two Radical Islamists under the names of John Murray and Oliver Willblad. Their real names haven't been released to even myself yet."

I nodded, biting my tongue and pushing it into my cheek. Two radicals. Jeez. How did we miss them? The CIA, Secret Service, and FBI are pretty damn good at keeping track of the employees of the White House. Naturally, we don't catch everyone but the majority, yes. Suddenly, President McGallen's desk phone started ringing. He pressed on a button that brought it to speaker.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Sir, there's someone here to see you." a woman's voice answered.

I recognized the voice as belonging to his secretary, Mrs. Meredith White. She didn't sound like her usually cheery self though. She sounds...nervous. Maybe it's just from the lock down. Probably.

"Is it important?" President McGallen asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Who is it? Amanda? Sam? Keith?"

He named off three of his cabinet members, whom visit often to discuss things with President McGallen. I've met Amanda and Keith before but never Sam. But, from what President McGallen tells me, he's not the easiest man to deal with. That and he is very old-school, believing that women can't be spies or political officials. I don't care to meet him. Never have. Never will.

"No, sir. It's a young man who...who...."

She paused for a long while. President McGallen, Mr. Wells, and I stared at the phone in complete silence. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I decided to speak up.

"Meredith? Who is it here to see the president?" I intoned.

"Who claims to be your son, Mr. President. He wishes to see you immediately."

President McGallen immediately went rigid. I shot up at the same time as Mr. Wells, watching President McGallen. Confusion was written all over his face. This is a prank. Some guys sick idea of a joke. I mean, President McGallen's only children are the ones that live here. Skylar (douchebag), Preston (adorable little boy), and Ariana (spoiled bitch). The confusion on the president's face confirms my suspicions.

"I should go down there." I said as President McGallen ended the call.

President McGallen shook his head, standing up and fixing his tie. 

"No, Ember. I'll go."

He started to walk away, but I spoke up.

"Sir, what if this is a prank? A trap? We've already had one close call today. Who says they won't plant another one? At least if I go, I can tackle and restrain the guy until someone comes to help."

President McGallen nodded, seeing my point. But, instead of letting me go, he motioned for me to follow him.

"I see your point, Ember, but what if this isn't a prank? Come with me. Therefore, if anything happens, you can handle the situation in any way you see fitting." he turned to Mr. Wells,"I'm sorry to leave on such short notice, Jonathan. I hope your drive here from Langley wasn't too rough."

Mr. Wells shook his head.

"Not at all, sir. We'll reschedule. Goodbye Ember, Andrew."

Mr. Wells left, President McGallen and I not far behind. When we left his office, me shutting the door, the Secret Service agents stepped away from the wall to follow. 

"At ease, gentlemen. I have Miss Rhinehart coming with me." 

The Secret Service men nodded, standing at attention again. President McGallen and I walked down the hallway, looping through the familiar mansion until we came to the main foyer. President McGallen froze when he saw the guy, standing near the front door, watching us. I stared right back at him. Mrs. White stood next to the young guy, wringing her hands. President McGallen let her leave. She scurried out of the foyer like a mouse. 

"Hello...Dad. My name is Joshua. I'm Rebecca's son."