Aztec Treasure
Situation Room

President Laura Kettering’s POV

White House Situation Room

I couldn’t focus. It was now eight in the morning, and I’d gotten only an hour or two of sleep since yesterday morning. The White House was in crisis mode.

All around me, men and women in suits and uniforms talked on phones, updated screens, and directed tens of thousands of people searching for my husband. We had been at this all night, and we had a big fat nothing to show for it.

I sipped at my coffee as the next meeting began. My Vice President, Robert Cartwright, was sitting to my left. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Chief of Naval Operations were seated to my right. My National Security staff, including Homeland Security, FBI Director, and acting CIA Director, were on the other side. Colletta Nygaard and Frank Grimes were sitting along the wall along with several aides and experts. At the other end of the table sat the Secretary of State and my Chief of Staff, Lynette Johnson. She started the meeting. “The purpose of this meeting is to strategize a response to potential actions Julio Salazar might take tonight if he gets his money, the jet, and the people he wants. My first question is whether it is possible to meet his demands.”

“I’ve already directed my bank to deliver the ten million in cash out of my private account,” I said. “It will arrive in an armored car this morning, well before the time required. I'll show the cash on camera to prove I'm serious about his demands, and it will be at the airport in time.”

“I don’t like the idea of paying off a terrorist,” Homeland Security Chief Alexander Strickland said quietly. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ ꜰindNʘvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“I don’t either, but I have to show the cash to draw him out,” I responded, a little annoyed. “What about the private aircraft?”

General Kirk addressed that. “The Air Force has two volunteer pilots and a Learjet 70 standing by. The plane has already moved to Leesburg Airport, and the crew is on their rest time. We’ve got it parked on a remote taxiway. We’ll be ready.”

“That leaves the most unsettling of the demands,” I said. “Colletta and Frank, thank you for coming. Have you gotten an answer from Alpha Chase?”

“I did, Madam President,” Colletta said. “He is willing to travel here with Maria and Maritza if needed to draw Julio out. He is NOT going to get on a plane with him, and he is not going to sacrifice himself or the two girls to get your husband back. Julio Salazar wants Alpha Chase dead, preferably in a slow and torturous fashion, and Maria said Julio would rape her to get werejaguar sons and daughters.”

“I could never ask that of them,” I said. “I genuinely appreciate their cooperation. Without it, Julio would disappear and strike again later.”

“We will be there as well, along with all the werewolves we’ve gathered. If Julio tries to escape, we’ll take him down,” Frank Grimes replied.

“Valerie, which agency will be lead at the airport? The FBI or Secret Service?”

“The FBI will be the lead agency,” Valerie said.

“The Hostage Rescue Team will be onsite, along with a multi-agency team including the Secret Service, Homeland Security, US Marshal Service, and local law enforcement,” Hugh Patterson added. “We will be ready for anything.”

I looked at my FBI Director. “So what is the plan, Hugh?”

“We have the crew in place, and the plane fueled and idling, by 1945. The money will be in the cargo compartment in five or six heavy-duty duffel bags.”

“Five bags?”

“A million dollars in bundled hundreds is about the size and weight of a box of copier paper. These bags won’t be small or light; I’m surprised Julio didn’t ask for gold or diamonds, something much easier to transport than bags of cash. It helps us because he can’t carry it; he’ll need a vehicle at the other end. He’s also not about to parachute out of a plane with bags of cash because they will break apart.”

“We take him alive?”

“We have to, Madam President. If we kill him, we lose any chance of finding out where your husband is. Our teams will do their best to take him down with non-lethal force. Nothing is a guarantee, of course. A lot can go bad in a situation like this.”

That was an understatement. “And if Julio goes after Chase or Maria?”

“We’ll have to put him down with any necessary force,” Hugh said softly.

“You can’t mix it up with him if he goes jaguar form,” Frank said. “Anyone he bites, he kills. Maybe not then, but within twenty-four hours? They will be getting their last rites.”

“My men will be in body armor,” Hugh objected.

“All it takes is one bite on exposed flesh, and armor doesn’t cover their throats. Julio will be going for their throats, and if they are fighting not to kill, your men will die,” Frank concluded. “I have a better idea. Let us handle Julio.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll have fifty warrior and Beta-level werewolves here by dinnertime. We hide them around the airport, and we move in when Julio approaches the aircraft. Julio will have to shift to meet us. We put a couple more inside the plane, out of sight. They can work with Chase to protect Maria and Meztli when we move in. Unlike you, my wolves aren’t affected by jaguar saliva, and we have been training specifically to take cats down. We can disable him without killing him, even if we tear him to shreds doing it.”

Hugh didn’t like the idea. “What do we do? Stand around and watch?”

“Yes. You set a perimeter at the fence and make damn sure Julio doesn’t get out. And you make damn sure you don’t shoot any of my people while you do it.”

No one said anything for a minute. “Anyone have a better idea? General?”

“Our scenarios were all based on the jet taking off with Julio and the hostages aboard, Madam President.”

“Anything could happen,” Frank replied. “What if Julio overcomes the guards and gets Maria and Maritza in the jet with him? Will you prevent it from taking off?”

Hugh didn’t like this. “We can’t stop the aircraft without risking the hostages,” he said.

“You’re going to have to risk it,” Frank said. “You never let the kidnappers leave with the hostages. A Learjet 70 has a two-thousand-mile range. It could make it to Mexico, Cuba, or Central America! We’d be at a real disadvantage if we don’t know where it is going.”

“Shooting it down is easy,” General Kirk said. “Our contingencies include fighter escorts, pre-positioned Aegis-capable warships, and radar tracking. The problem is stopping him without killing everyone on board.”

“I can warn off Cuba and the others,” my Secretary of State added. “No one will allow him to land without turning him over to us.”

“It’s best if Julio can’t get on the plane. As soon as our wolves start the attack, Chase should get the girls inside and get the door closed.”

I’d heard enough. “Work with Frank to set everything up,” I said. “Defense, Homeland, FBI, Secret Service, and our guests are all excused. I need Marisol, Lynette, and Robert to stay behind.”

Everyone stood, and the group filed out, leaving me with my Attorney General, Chief of Staff, and VP. As soon as the door closed, I looked over at Marisol. “Legally, where do I sit with paying a ransom?”

“It’s not illegal, but it does go against US policy on dealing with terrorists,” she replied. “If it is your own money and it never actually changes hands, I don’t see an issue.”

“I do,” Lynette said. “You’re still the President, and you’re operating from a position of weakness. You’ll embolden bad actors around the world, thinking this is official policy.”

I’d been considering this all night, and it was time. “Lynette, I don’t plan to do this as President.” Her jaw dropped. “I am invoking the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.”

“You’re stepping down?”

“Temporarily, and at my direction. I shouldn’t be making decisions when my head isn’t in the game, and I can’t make decisions that could result in Andrew’s death. Draw up the paperwork and call the Chief Justice. We’ll turn over the Office of the President at eleven in the Rose Garden. Notify the press I will be holding a press conference, but say nothing to anyone about this.”

“Yes, Madam President,” she said.

If everything went to shit, I wasn’t going to drag this office down with me.

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