~*~*~ Good things come to those that wait ~*~*~
"...
to recap what we know so far...at 9pm eastern standard time the President had just taken the stage to give the keynote address when a Secret Service agent ran onto the stage yelling 'Bomb'. He grabbed the President, pushing him away from the podium at the exact moment the bomb went off...the President HAS survived the bomb blast, miraculously with only minor injuries but we understand the Secret Service agent that so valiantly saved his life is in critical condition."
One minute later...
"We have just been told that among the dead from the bomb blast are Prince Abdullah of Egypt, the leader of the Islam movement who had just walked away from the podium after introducing the President and his aide, Fazil Al-Wazi. They were stuck by an overhead light that was displaced as a result of the bomb blast killing them instantly. Two other members of the delegation, whose names have not been released, lost their lives as well. Scores of people in the audience were injured from flying shrapnel and debris. Most were treated at the scene and released with only a handful taken to the hospital.
"We will keep you updated as information comes in but once again, the President has survived the bomb attack with reports of only minor injuries. He is being treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital where we have been told he will remain overnight for observation..."
Winston Jefferson Davis Harper, the most Honorable Senator, retired, from Virginia clicked the TV remote to another channel watching another repeat of the horrific after effects of the bombing that had occurred ten hours earlier. At sixty-seven years old Winston felt old and tired. After trying for so many years to prevent violence like this, it made him suddenly feel his age and that all the years of dedicated work was for naught. Death should come to everyone at an old age after living a full life, not at the hands of an insane, fanatical bastard like Prince Abdullah.
To anyway that googled Winston Harper they would see that he had spent over thirty years acting as the nation's most beloved Senator whom, even though he was retired, everyone still went to for advice. The older statesmen in both the Senate and the House look up to him, the younger ones were in awe of him and men like President Robert Dawson confide in him and called him a friend.
There had been too many years that too many people wanted him to take that next step and
'throw his hat in'
and make the bid for the Oval Office but Winston wanted no part of that. He liked the life he led and even though he was a public figure he still maintained somewhat of a private life. To this day it still amazed him that for almost eighteen years no one knew, other than whoever the current President was sitting in the Oval Office, that Winston ran one of the most covert intelligence agency's that ever existed.
Winston made the decision five years earlier, with the rise of violence in the Middle East, to retire from the Senate to dedicate himself solely to what he considered his real job. He had given thirty two years to the Senate but his heart, soul and energies had always been directed to the agency that bore no name.
The premise had been so simple, recruit the best and the brightest people disperse them all over the world with their only job being to immerse themselves into the cultures of whatever country they were in and gather information that would be vital to both the US and the world.
Security was the key. No one knew more than they had to know. Each operative only knew two people - his handler and the admin they communicated with. The lives they all lived before joining the agency were secreted away with only two people knowing everyone's true identity, Winston and his nephew. No one knew who he was and he had come to like being referred to as
'the old man'
. To him it was a sign of honor.
Now all of that appeared to have come to an end. He had all but shut the agency down sending everyone back to the lives they had prior to coming to work for him. He had lost an operative in the field, a first in the history of the agency, and another was in surgery his life hanging in the balance.
His agency had been infiltrated, something he never thought could have happened. He was always so cautious about keeping security at the maximum but he had come to realize that Abdullah was a brilliant man that had perfected the art of manipulating people to do what he said or give him the information he wanted.
When Winston finally realized there was a mole in their midst he couldn't figure out how that could have happened but as the days droned on and things played out he came to recognize that the only way it could have happened was from the very top - from the one person that had total control over every agency working within the United States governmental system, the President of the United States.
Flipping to another channel he caught the latest update. It was just after seven in the morning, the President was awake and had just stood at the window of his hospital room and waved to the hoards of press that were camped out at the hospital.
"...to repeat our top stories...the Presidential doctor held a press conference about twenty minutes ago letting us know that the President suffered minor cuts and bruises, a dislocated shoulder from the Secret Service agent pulling him out of the line of the blast and a gash in his right leg from flying shrapnel that required stitches. We have now been informed the Secret Service agent, whose name still has not been released, is still in surgery. We have been told he is suffering from severe head trauma, a broken leg, as well as several open wounds that required suturing. There is no update on his condition. It goes without saying that our thoughts and prayers go out to this brave man and his family that put his life on the line to protect the President."
The President! Winston had to swallow the bile he tasted whenever a reporter said his name. In such a short period of time he had come to loath the man that once was his friend.
Standing he walked over to the small sofa along the bank of windows in the room. His nephew had finally drifted off to sleep but he could see the pain and concern etched on his young face. He envied his nephew. He had his whole life ahead of him whereas Winston felt his was turning the corner on the last few chapters.
