Mister Nobody

Chapter 25

The entire front of the Lincoln Memorial had been cleared out for the Secretary's press conference. Metal gates had been placed around the small plaza, with a tent set up for the press and camera crews itching to get a shot of the SecDef. The podium itself was set on the second landing of the stairs leading up to the memorial. The large concrete pillars and the statue of Lincoln himself would be perfectly framed in the background for any camera shots. Several microphones had been placed in front of the podium to pick up audio, and stage lights were set up on top of watchtowers around the area so the podium and surrounding area could be well-lit. Secret Service and FBI agents were all over the place, some obvious, some not. Holloway was sitting in with the press in the tent. Checking his watch, the speech would start in about 2 minutes. No sign of DeLancie or Blair since then, and everything had been reasonably quiet around the memorial and the Washington Monument. They had this area locked down, and Holloway was quietly hoping to himself that he was right about being confident. He didn't have much time to think about it otherwise, as many members of the press began to file out of the tent. It was almost time. Following them, he spoke into his earpiece. "All units, check in." One by one, each of the units surrounding the building and providing overwatch radioed in, confirming their position, as well as there being no signs of any disturbances. Holloway spoke once they'd all finished. "Notify immediately if you see anything. We cannot let the targets complete their objective." He heard applause, and looked up to see Secretary Denholm walk out of the limo that had pulled up from the gate, heading towards the podium as multiple camera flashes went off, capturing photos. Getting behind the podium, he began his speech as two agents flanked him.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, the incidents that have been occurring in the Middle East have been escalating, ever since the civil war in Iran began just a few months ago, prompting US intervention. We have been fighting alongside our allies in Tehran as hard as we can, but things only appear to be getting worse. I have spoken with the president, and he wants to reiterate as much as I do: this is not a potentially dangerous situation. What I can tell you is that we will begin moving troops into Iranian territory very soon, to hopefully pacify this upcoming situation. I will now take some questions." Denholm pointed to a woman in the front row. "Yes, you." The woman stood up. "Jamie Henderson, CNN. Does the president's view of Iranian politics have anything to do with interfering in this civil war?" Deholm shook his head. "I can assure you, the main thing the president is concerned about is the safety of the Iranian people as well as our allies that we have gathered in the Middle East. Their camaraderie is something we dearly do not want to lose." He motioned to a man in a blue suit. "Leonard Cannes, NBC. Does the Iranian government protest to the movement of American troops into their territory? To some, this could be considered an act of war." Denholm sighed and placed his hands on the sides of the podium. "The Iranian President has spoken to our president and has stated that he is more than grateful for the intervention by US troops. Anyone else?" Holloway watched as several other people moved forwards to ask questions, then suddenly felt something fly by him, too fast to be a bug or gust of air. Suddenly, a burst of red mist came from Denholm's shoulder, making him fall backwards. People screamed, and Holloway's eyes widened.

Quickly raising his hand to his earpiece, Holloway shouted. "All units, the Secretary is under fire! Code Black, I repeat, Code Black! Get him out of here now!" Holloway could already hear several voices coming over the frequency. "-badly wounded-" "-need security down here now-" "-single shooter, possibly more-" Knowing he wouldn't be able to focus, he took out the earpiece as he made his way towards the podium. "Clear a path!" He shouted as the press scattered. Running and keeping his head down, he made it to the podium, seeing the two Secret Service agents crouched over Denholm, who was lying in a pool of blood. He had been hit in the shoulder. He didn't look like he was dead, but he would bleed out soon if he didn't get medical aid. "We need to get him to an ambulance, now!" Holloway shouted, and one of the agents nodded. "Already radioed for one, on its way!" Grabbing him by the shoulders, the agents started carrying him off the podium while Holloway followed, knowing they had to get him out of range and out of sight from the shooter. Scanning the area, Holloway couldn't see them, but he knew it had to be DeLancie or Blair. Hearing sirens, he turned to see an ambulance with its sirens flashing pull up quickly to one of the exits, opening the door. "Go, get him to a hospital, I'll stay here!" Holloway said as he drew his pistol and went back into the crowd. The agents went inside and placed Denholm on the stretcher. "Get us out of here, now!" They shouted to the driver, and they sped off, sirens wailing. The two EMTs started looking over his body. The agent looked at one of them, a female. "How bad is it?" The female didn't answer. The agent frowned. "Is he stable?" Suddenly, the female reached into her back pocket and drew a pistol, firing twice and killing both the agents. Denholm groaned in pain as he looked up at her. Alison Blair took off the cap she'd been wearing and stared at the driver. "Keep going, take us to where I said, and turn the sirens off." Nodding, the scared driver kept going, and Alison looked at the other EMT. "Stabilize him." Looking down into Denholm's eyes, she could hear him mutter. "Who...are you?" Alison sighed. "Sir...this is going to get really complicated."