Revenge in Advance - The Briefing

"That'll be easy," Judy said. "There's only one or two people who can even get close enough to Pierce to do it. I'll take care of that right away. Don't worry, dear. We're as good as in the White House. And our first order will be to shut down that damn task force and put everyone there behind bars."

Elated, Trisha left the office and ordered the devices on her phone, using her government-issued credit card, unaware that all her online activity was being monitored and recorded.

...

Barbara Pierce put her phone away and walked into the Oval Office where her husband, the current President of the United States, was engrossed in a report. She looked at the man she married so many years ago and for a moment, felt a measure of pity.

George Pierce had worked hard all his life, first on his father's farm in Idaho, then in the state legislature in Boise. He was elected to Congress from the state's First Congressional District and from there to the U.S. Senate. Having a reputation as a church-going no-nonsense man who valued family and country, he was seen as a good balance for Lincoln Skaggs, a proficient legislator who was also known as a serial womanizer.

He loved his wife as much as he loved anything in life, and he loved their two children, now attending college at the University of Idaho. He first learned of her adulterous affair with Ian while serving in the Senate and considered divorcing her over it. Infidelity was a non-starter in his book and she knew it when they first married. But something kept him from filing papers -- something so horrifying to him that he refused to talk about it.

He heard the snickers behind his back, the cruel jokes, the nicknames -- like "first cuck" -- whispered by some staffers. It hurt like hell, but he put his pride aside and continued with his job. He remained loyal to his wife, but avoided her as much as he could and rarely spoke more than a few words to her.

But things changed after Skagg's death. He had been briefed on the mysterious death of Liz Skaggs, but knew that he wasn't told the entire story. And he had read a few reports that made it to his desk, which is why he decided to meet Bill Jackson and Oscar Warren at Fort Apache.

He heard his door open and looked up to see his wife enter the office. She looked good, as always, but he wondered why she was here. He looked at her, his face devoid of emotion.

"George," Barbara said.

"Yes, what do you want?" he asked in response. She sat down in front of his desk.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," she said.

"Okay, you're sorry," he said in a deadpan voice.

"George, please, I'd like to try to fix things between us if it's possible," she said.

"'If' is a mighty big word, Barbara," he said.

"I'm surprised you haven't filed for a divorce yet," she said.

"You know damn good and well the reason I haven't filed," he said, anger in his eyes. She looked down.

"You hardly speak to me anymore," she said. "You never smile at me like you used to. Hell, you're friendlier with the Chinese president than you are with me."

"That's because the Chinese president hasn't fucked me over, or threatened to fuck me in the ass with an electric cattle prod," he said. "At least not yet." He leaned forward.

"Have I ever once put you down in public? No," he said. "Have I ever once chided you or been rude to you in public? No. Have I been anything but courteous and polite to you in public? Again, no. You, on the other hand, have disrespected me, disrespected this office, disrespected our family, disrespected yourself and made a laughing stock of this administration. You think I don't hear the snickers and cruel jokes behind my back or see the sympathetic looks everywhere I go? Do you know what the kids are going through at school because of your actions? Do you even care?"

"Yes, I do. You know, I still love you," she said.

"Yeah, you love me so much you spread your legs for that Ian asshole every chance you get," he said. "I'd hate to see what you'd do if you didn't love me." She looked around the office.

"You don't even have a picture of me in here," she said. He opened a drawer and pulled out a picture of the two of them smiling.

"Not true, Barbara," he said. "I keep this in here just in case we have a camera crew come in." A tear came down her cheek as he tossed the picture back in the drawer.

"George, do you think we could start sleeping in the same quarters again? Maybe in the same bed?" she asked.

"I don't know, Barbara," he said. "I'll have my social secretary contact yours and maybe we can schedule something. You'd better get yourself checked out by the White House doctor first, though. There's no telling what you might've gotten from Ian." She gasped in shock.

"Tell you what," he said. "We're going to the Midwest to visit a government facility for a briefing soon. I'm told we share quarters there. Maybe if you can keep from fucking Ian in front of the CNN cameras and you can show me a clean bill of health we can spend some time together. Your lover's going to be there, you know."

"Okay, George," she said, standing up. "I'll get your clean bill of health. How much longer is this going to go on?"

"That depends," he said. "How much longer are you going to fuck Ian? I may decide to retire back to Idaho after this term is up. Maybe I'll file for divorce then, when it's safe for me to do so. It's all up to you." She nodded her head and turned away, tears running down her cheeks.

Walking to the doors, she turned back and saw her husband engrossed in his report again as though she didn't even exist. She knew it wasn't going to be as easy to get physically close to him as Judy had suggested. Maybe she could manage it when they go to that Fort Apache place, she thought. But she had another concern. How would he react if she did what Judy said? Would he get violent with her? Would his Secret Service detail kill her? She would have to get back to Judy...

...

That evening, Collette and Amanda arrived at Oscar's penthouse apartment. He opened the door, dressed in a polo shirt and khakis, to see the two women standing there in civilian attire. He invited them inside and introduced them to his family.

"This is my oldest son, John," he said, "and my daughter Christine. And this," he added, "is the newest member of the Warren clan, William." The older children shook hands with Collette and Amanda before running back to the table. "And this is my lovely wife, Rita," he said as she came out of the kitchen. "Please come in. I think Rita has everything set for us."

They walked into the dining area where Rita had placed a pot roast on the table along with vegetables and a nice red wine. The children each had a glass of milk.

"This smells so good, Mrs. Warren," Collette said.

"Thank you," Rita said. "And please call me Rita."

They sat at the table and Oscar served up the meat, carving the roast like a pro.

"Rita's pot roast is the stuff of legend," he said. They talked for a while as they ate, avoiding any mention of the current mission. From time to time, John and Christine giggled when Collette or Amanda said something they had never heard before. Oscar looked at them.

"And what's so funny?" he asked. John's face turned red.

"I like the way they talk," he said shyly, causing everyone to laugh.

At one point, Oscar heard his phone ring. He pulled it out and excused himself from the table.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this," he said, getting up from the table.

"Oscar, sorry for interrupting your dinner," Ron said. "As you know, we've been monitoring all online activity from Chastain's office and something strange just showed up."

"What's that?" Oscar asked.

"Well, it looks like Trisha Arnold has purchased some rather interesting sex gear from an online shop," he said.

"Oh? Like what?" Oscar asked.

"A male chastity device, a cock ring and a butt plug. All of them are designed to give electric shocks," he said.

"Ouch," Oscar said. He hadn't seen this type of gear used since the heyday of MMAS' punishments.

"Better yet," Ron said, "Arnold used a government credit card." Stupid, Oscar thought.

"Thanks," Oscar said. "Send the details to my email."

"Will do, boss," Ron said. He ended the call, and saw he had an email from the secure system. Opening it, he noticed that it was a transcript and audio from a call between Chastain's office and Barbara Pierce. He skimmed the transcript before going back to the dining room.

"Everything okay, hon?" Rita asked.

"Yeah," Oscar said. He looked at Amanda and Collette. "We need to meet first thing tomorrow morning. Things are getting interesting."

After dinner, Rita brought out dessert -- homemade pecan pie and ice cream. They each had a slice of pie and a small bowl of ice cream before retiring to the living room.

"I'm absolutely stuffed," Collette said. "That was delicious, Rita, thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Rita said.

After Rita and Oscar cleared the table, they settled down in the front room for an after-dinner drink. John ran up to Oscar, excited.

"Dad, can I show Ms. Collette my new ship?" he asked.

"Well, if she wants to go back and look at it, sure," Oscar said. John ran to Collette, smiling.

"Would you like to see my new ship?" he asked. Collette nodded her head.

"Sure," she said. "What kind of a ship is it? Is it a spaceship?"

"No," he said. "It's the H.M.S. Victory. Dad bought it when he was in England and helped me with some of the rigging. It was really hard."

"H.M.S. Victory, huh?" she asked. "Sure, I'd love to see it." John grabbed her hand and led her to his room where he had the large model on his dresser. Collette looked it over carefully as though conducting an inspection.

"Well, I'm not in the Navy, but if I were, I'd say it looks ship-shape and Bristol-fashion," she said.

"Huh?" John asked.

"That means it looks good and everything is right where it should be," she said. "You did a very good job on this." John beamed with pride. Christine, meanwhile, had cornered Amanda into inspecting her doll collection. Oscar looked at his watch after the kids visited with Collette and Amanda for a while and realized it was their bed time.

"Okay guys, time to get ready for bed," he said. "Say goodnight to our guests." The children hugged Collette and Amanda and got ready for bed. Oscar tucked them in, kissing them goodnight.

"You have a beautiful family," Collette told Oscar and Rita. "Thank you for having us over. It was good to get out of the shop for a while."

"You two are always welcome here," Oscar said. "And thank you for coming by. I'll see you at my office at 6:00 am if that works for you."

"We'll be there," Collette said.

The next morning, Collette and Amanda arrived at Oscar's office right at 6:00 am to find Oscar listening to something on a set of headphones. He stopped what he was doing and motioned them to enter. Bill showed up a few seconds later.

"What's up, Oscar?" Collette asked. Oscar unplugged his headphones from the computer.

"I thought you might find this interesting," Oscar said. "It seems that Speaker Chastain, or rather, one of her trusted staffers, has purchased some rather interesting gear online using a government credit card, and Chastain discussed it with the First Lady last night. Listen to this." He clicked the play button on his computer.

"Judy, hi, what can I do for you," Barbara Pierce asked when she answered the call.

"Hello, Barbara," Judy said. "I just wanted to let you know we have ordered the, um, equipment you and I discussed earlier. It should be here in a day or so."

"Oh good," Barbara said.

"Now, are you sure you're going to be able to do this?" Judy asked.

"Yes," Barbara said. "I've been working on George and I hope that he'll let me at least occupy his bed during the trip out. He kicked me out of the marital bed when he learned of Ian, but I'm sure I can wear him down."

"Let me know if you can't," Judy said. "If he doesn't relent, we'll have to use our fallback, which could get a bit messy."

"You mean," Barbara began. Judy cut her off.

"Your British lover and those two female soldiers will have to do the dirty deed," Judy said. "And you know what could happen if they get caught by the Secret Service."

"Okay," Barbara said, weakly. "I'll manage it somehow."

"Make sure that you do, Barbara," Judy said. "A lot is riding on this."

"What happens to me, you know, afterward?" Barbara asked.

"Well, if everything works out like it should, you and Ian can ride off together in the sunset," Judy said. "Once I'm sworn in, I'll pardon you for your role in all this. Of course, if it doesn't work out, or you have a change of heart, you'll end up in prison, charged with treason. Or worse. So you need to pull up your big-girl panties and do what needs to be done."

"Don't worry," Barbara said, gulping at the idea that she could be charged as a traitor to her country. "I'll do my part."

"Good girl," Judy said. "We'll see you there and Trisha will give you the, uh, devices." The audio of the call ended and Oscar brought up the details of what Trisha had ordered on his computer.

"Bloody 'ell," Collette said.

"That's one way of putting it," Oscar said. "I'm still not sure how Chastain thinks they can get away with this, what with all the Secret Service protection around the president. It's remotely possible they've got a mole or two on his detail, but I've been assured the whole team was thoroughly vetted after the Skaggs incident."

"So they plan to use us to cover for their activities," Collette said. "And that would be their excuse for taking us out." Oscar nodded.

"It seems that way," he said. "At best, Ian would be expelled from the US and probably reassigned. The president would be so disgraced he would have to resign and Judy Chastain would become president. Barbara would be pardoned and run off to the UK to be with Ian. And MMAS would have someone in the White House, just as Mona and Liz had originally planned." Until now, Bill had remained silent.

"I can't begin to emphasize just how important it is that we nip this thing in the bud," Bill said.

"I understand completely," Collette said. "Now, if you gentlemen will excuse us, we've got things to do." Bill remained behind as Collette and Amanda left.

"How much do you trust those two?" Bill asked after the door had closed.

"I trust them as much as I trust you," Oscar said. "Why? Is there a problem?" Bill shook his head.

"No, nothing that I can pin down," he said. "I've just never known you to be so trusting with anyone before."

"I've seen them in action," Oscar said. "Besides, the kids really took to them last night. Which reminds me, Rita said she'd be very upset if you didn't come by to spend some time with the kids. John and Christine said they miss their 'Grandpa Bill,' you know." Bill smiled.

"I've been meaning to, Oscar, sorry," he said. "I just have a lot on my mind. But I promise to come by. So, let's see what Mike and Ron have come up with, shall we?" Oscar nodded his head as he brought up the secure Skype connection and reached out to Mike and Ron.

"Good morning, boss," Mike said. Ron repeated the greeting.

"What have you got for us this morning?" Oscar asked.

"Well, it took a bit of doing, but we think we've found something to tie Chastain to the hit against you," Mike said.

"Turns out that Chastain allocated about $650,000 for something called the 'TransAtlantic Justice Fund,'" Ron said.

"What the hell is that?" Oscar asked.

"It's a cover we believe Chastain set up to funnel taxpayer money to her co-conspirators in the UK," Ron said.

"Guess who the administrator of the so-called 'fund' was, boss?" Mike asked.

"Cecelia Greene," Oscar said.

"Bingo," Mike said. "From what we could find, Chastain gave the money in cash to McWhorter, who carried it by diplomatic pouch back to the UK. Of course, she did it in small enough increments that it wouldn't raise any eyebrows."

"How did she cover the transaction?" Bill asked.

"That part was easy," Ron said. "She simply included it in a foreign aid appropriation bill. Hell, no one really looks very closely at those things, so it went virtually unnoticed."

"And what about this so-called 'Transatlantic Justice Fund?' Does anyone know what the hell that is?" Bill asked.

"That's just it," Mike added. "No one on either side of the pond has ever heard of it. At least no one in official circles. And there's no registration anywhere for anything by that name."

"So, the Speaker of the House funneled taxpayer money to a foreign agent for the purpose of funding an assassination attempt on a federal agent, is that what you're saying?" Oscar asked.

"Sure looks like it to me," Mike said.

"Thanks, guys," Bill said. "Keep up the good work. Send what you have to us by secure email."

"Will do, boss," Ron said. Oscar looked at Bill.

"So, do we take them all into custody as soon as they land?" Oscar asked. Bill shook his head.

"No," Bill said. "Let's give them a little more rope to hang themselves. When the time is right, we'll take them all down at once."

A few days later, a large plane landed at Fort Apache's airport. It was easily recognizable from its blue and white paint and the words, "United States of America," on the side. It taxied to the point where the two delegations would disembark and stopped. A portable set of stairs was wheeled to the plane and the doors were opened.

The Marine honor guard snapped to attention as President George Pierce, the First Lady and the other members of the visiting team came by. Once they passed through the rows of Marines at attention, they approached Bill and Oscar, who stood waiting for them. Bill shook the president's hand and welcomed the team to Fort Apache.

"Thank you," George said. He briefly introduced his wife to them. Oscar noticed that he never looked at her as he did so, nor did he smile or give any other indication that they were married. It was almost as if she was simply another staffer along for the ride. Interesting, Oscar thought to himself.

The president also introduced the Speaker of the House and her staffer, along with Yolanda Carstairs, who represented the Office of Management and Budget. He introduced a few staffers, including the White House Press Secretary and the two cabinet members who came along for the ride.

Two US Senators were also part of the team, and they took turns shaking hands. They all took their positions behind Bill and Oscar as the British delegation, led by Prime Minister Tim Brown, disembarked the plane and walked between the rows of Marines at attention.

The Prime Minister stopped and introduced himself to Bill and Oscar.

"Welcome to the United States of America, Prime Minister," Bill said. "And welcome to Fort Apache."

"Thank you, Mr. Jackson," the prime minister said. "I've heard so much about you and your team here." He shook Oscar's hand. "And I've heard a great deal about you from Maj. FitzDougal."

"All good, I hope," Oscar said. The prime minister smiled, then introduced the rest of his delegation, which included Ian. Oscar noticed the quick glances between Ian and Barbara.

The introductions complete, everyone got into their designated vehicles for the trip to the main administration building.

After both delegations entered the over-sized conference room, two squads of heavily-armed Marines in camouflage combat gear entered and took their places along the back wall. Oscar and Bill stood to the side with John Roberts, watching the interaction between the delegates. Bill motioned to Oscar, who strode to the podium at the front of the room. All eyes were on him as he considered the audience before him -- movers and shakers, all of them, including the most powerful man on Earth, the President of the United States, and representatives of one of America's closest allies.