The Party Scandal (actual title pending)

[Andy88]

So this will be my humble little spot where I'll be posting my work in full in this thread. Feel free to add comments as I post.

a (very brief) synopsis

When the President of the United States finds a staff member of his closest circle, he knows that a more damaging attack is imminent. Unfortunately, that attack is an attempt on his very life and he is only narrowly saved by FBI agent Laura Mason at the last second. Confiding in her and her team, The President attempts to launch a covert effort to drag the assassin in for interrogation when a member of a mysterious entity known only as 'The Party' confronts him. The President is forced into unwavering submission to the woman, clearly knowing the consequence for disobedience...

That's actually all I have written and I know the plot seems confusing but I promise you once the ending starts coming out everything will come together.

[Andy88]

Chapter 1
The boy shivered as the rain drenched his glistening dark hair and the howling winds barreled their way past his hunched body. Each drop of rain pierced his skin like an ice cold knife, but none of that mattered today, the most glorious moment in his young life. Standing before him stood a small council of men in dark head wraps.

“Stand up child, for today you have been tasked a very important duty, both to your brothers on Earth and to Allah, the central figure and leader uttered in a thick Arabic accent. In spite of the poor visual conditions, he looked very distinctly fit and muscular and his voice boomed with the energy of youth. The boy, in spite of his physical impediments, stood up proudly and beamed.

“I will not fail you,” he replied, bowing his head in respect. The ritual was cut short by a clapping sound from the background as a hooded man with a trench coat emerged with a band of armed soldiers, much to the mild annoyance of the council.

“How touching, though the whole Allah thing gets a little old after the first fifty million times,” he uttered sarcastically.

“Our domestic patron. What brings you here this lovely evening my lord?” the leader inquired.
“You wouldn’t be backing out on our arrangements this close to the date would you?” the man let out a blood curdling cackle in response.

“Oh goodness no,” he replied. “If I really was that concerned about you, your body would probably be floating somewhere in the Potomac as we speak. I’m simply here to enjoy the show.”

“Well there isn’t much to see, in fact you pretty much missed most of it.”

“I am well aware, Mr Assad. I’m only here to inspect our prodigious agent. Tell me, what is your name?” the hooded eyed man inquired as he turned to the boy.

“Saleem, Saleem al Qusaibi,” the boy chanted confidently.

“Well Saleem, I trust that you will be extremely useful to us all. But just to be sure...” the hooded man spoke before giving one of Assad’s bodyguards a wary gaze. The guard fidgeted uncomfortably for a few seconds, clearly intimidated by the hooded man’s gaze. A sudden burst of lead poured into the unfortunate man’s body, killing him instantly. When the body finally stopped convulsing, the hooded man signalled his men to re-holster their suppressed weapons and return to formation. “Check his coat, it’ll be riddled with bugs. This fool is undercover FBI.” Assad’s men leaped onto the body and confirmed the hooded man’s hunch.

“How did you...” Assad wondered aloud in shock.

“Because, I’m a people person. You can’t hide a lie from me, at least not without living to hold it very long,” the man beamed as he turned around to leave. He and his men crawled into a black tinted limo and sped off into the night, leaving only the bewildered terror council to contemplate their narrow survival.
***
It was a peaceful- relatively speaking- morning with the occasional fumble and filing mistake, but other than that, nothing important seemed to be transpiring in the stale white office building. In the cubicle closest to the window, a massive mountain of paper soared to the ceiling. It’s occupant, a bored looking young woman, played solitaire to ease the monotony. Her smooth, blond hair crimped itself in all directions as she reclined against the cubicle wall, desperately fighting her boredom.

“Come on Laura, you can’t goof off all day... one case report, just one...” she whispered to herself. Reluctantly, Laura crawled out of her slothful position and haphazardly jerked a file from paper mountain, nearly collapsing it. She had barely started reading when she caught a hushed conversation being exchanged outside the cubicle walls.

“Hey did you hear from Ted at undercover? Nobody’s heard or seen him in days...”

“Relax, it’s probably just him being a loose cannon again, wouldn’t be the first time he neglected to contact his handlers...”

“What? You think he turned or something?”

“Are you stupid? I think we both know that’s going to happen the day after it snows in hell.”

“Hey, might as well think of some explanation.”

“You two! Back to work. And do you not remember Bureau policy on undercover agents?” a harsh, deep voice interrupted.

“Yyyyes sir...” the two gossipers returned in unison. Laura let out a sigh as she got back to her work.

“Figures the director’s gonna cut something off whenever it gets interesting...” she mumbled.

“Oh is that so?” the same voice boomed directly behind Laura.

“Director! I was just uh," Laura stuttered as she bolted upright, causing a paper avalanche to unleash itself on her lap. "...filing some paperwork from the trafficking case from two days ago."

“I can see that...Anyways, meet me in my office, immediately.”

“Yes... sir,” Laura muttered dejectedly. The director walked away, leaving Laura to her own mess. “Just had to mutter all the stupid crap out loud didn’t you Laura?” She bumped herself on the head.

“I’m not deaf you know,” the director sang back. Laura simply bowed her head and whimpered in shame.
***
There was a soft knock on the door to the FBI Director’s office.

“Come in Agent Mason.” Laura, at 6’3”, stood awkwardly taller than her boss as she approached him.

“You asked to see me sir?” she asked in a flat, professional tone.

“Ah, sit down,” he said, motioning for her to sit. “Well, I hope you’re not too comfortable in your office space,” he began, instantly unraveling her stolid demeanor.

“Wait... sir I know that maybe I don’t exactly make employee of the month but... please let me prove that I can be an asset to this agency...” she stuttered in a panic.

“I’ve seen enough... pack your things and get them into office down the hall, I need to fill that office sooner or later and your stuff isn’t going to move itself,” he said in a flat, seemingly uncaring tone. Laura was flabbergasted. Perhaps the five to ten minutes an hour she spent working had paid off.

“But... isn’t that reserved for the Special Agent in Charge?” Laura asked, perplexed.

“What? Are you not satisfied with that title?”

“Oh no no no no... I am very honored that you would consider me for this...”

“Consider? I need you to get your stuff in there now! You hear me?”

"Yes sir!” she cheered as she jumped out of her seat. She then skipped cheerfully out of the office, leaving even the crusty old director with a slight grin on his face.
***
“We have much to do and far to go, but with your cooperation, I know that we can make it, God bless America!” the speakers in the entire hall boomed as the president finished his script. President Chamberlain gave one movie star wave to the crowd amid thunderous applause. Exhausted from his protracted acting, Chamberlain quickly retreated out of public view.

“That was a mighty fine speech sir,” Agent Daniels praised The President as they were walking back down the hallway. In the President’s waiting room, a lone staffer remained, slumped down over his desk as limp as a leaf.

“Hey! Wake up!” Agent Daniels boomed in a stern voice. The President let out a soft chuckle in response.

“He’s tired, we all are. I’d be sleeping too if I didn’t have such a hectic schedule,” he said as he shook the aide to wake him, only to have his lifeless corpse skid and thud on the floor. Daniels reflexively shoved The President down while he and all the other agents in the room drew their guns and surveyed the room. One of the men put a hand on the staffer’s throat.

“He’s dead,” the man reported.

“What?!” Chamberlain exhaled in an incredulous daze. The President was quickly evacuated from the room to a barricaded safe-room as the scene filled with armed police and Secret Service agents. The President was reluctant to move, true to his stubborn nature.

“Sir, it’s not safe in here, we need to evacuate you,” Daniels warned urgently. After a few repeated warnings, The President eventually relented and left for a safer location.
***
Laura had barely finished carting all of her belongings sans paper mountain into her new office when the phone rang. Picking up the phone, an anxious voice greeted her on the other end. within minutes, Laura’s face changed from glee to concern.

“I really should have been careful in wishing for ‘no dull moments’,” she sighed to herself as she put a hand to her waist and leaped out the door.

“Pack your things, we got business to take care of,” she blared out to the lounging occupants below. The agents had barely had time to register what Laura had said before she was already out the door getting the cars ready, this was her first day as agent in charge and she had the alacrity to show it.

“Hey! Who put you in charge?” one of the agents hollered.

“The director, who else? Now unless you want to take this up with him, I suggest you shut up and listen,” Laura replied as she held out her upgraded badge. The protests quickly silenced and soon the sound of sirens overwhelmed the streets.
***
A scornful young woman leaned back in her satin armchair wearing only a paper thin silk robe, surrounded by a menagerie of handmaidens, and gave out a quiet, hollow sigh. The host of handmaids pored intensely over their mistress’s body, rubbing and treating both her feet and hands while another group washed, stroked, and brushed her silky, jet black hair. A muscular man in a suit and earpiece, most likely a bodyguard, spontaneously burst in the room with a worried expression.

“Well?” the young woman demanded. “Have the assassinations gone ahead as scheduled?”

“Of course Lady Alicia, the FBI is on their way to investigate as we speak,” the man replied.

“And?” she followed with a sigh. Her glare, however, showed anything except apathy.

“The lead agent of the case is one Laura Mason, just as you’ve requested ma’am. We are keeping a close eye on her at all times so there should be absolutely no reason for you to worry.”

“Really? Then I suppose you’ve already found and snuffed out the assassination plot intended for our President correct?”

“Uh...”

“As expected. I should have expected better than for a mere grunt like you to stay on top of things. So tell me, what was it that you told me about my worries?”

“That... you should have had none...” the guard muttered nervously.

“Correct, and in light of my recent questions do you still stand by that statement?”

“No, ma’am...”

“Excuse me captain but, I’m confused. You’ve just given me too completely contradicting facts and I’m having trouble understanding you. Am I senile?”

“No! Of course not milady, it was just that...”

“That what? You’re a liar?”

“Yes... ma’am,” the guard now whimpered with his head bowed low.

“Correct, you’re a liar. And do you remember what I do to liars?” Alicia lifted a hand and motioned her maids away briefly, slithering out of her seat in her thin robes and lifting the shuddering guard by the neck with ease, in spite of her slender figure.

“You... punish them?” he chocked out.

“Yes, I do,” Alicia hissed as she tightened her grip. Her warmth-less green eyes pored straight into the guard’s as she scrutinized her prey. “Oh very well, since I am in a gentle mood I will show mercy.” She threw her victim clean against the nearest wall with great force, sending a jolt of energy piercing through his body and crumpling in substantial pain. “Get my car, any mistakes and I will not hesitate to rescind my mercy.” The man leaped up far quicker than could have been healthy for his bruised body and sprinted out the door.

[Andy88]

Chapter 2
With the initial sweep over and with a relatively healthy load of evidence, Laura now scanned and pored over case reports with more diligence than before. Laura was in charge, and any mistake was her burden. After memorizing the reports to the best of her ability, she consulted her computer analysts, who moved hesitantly through the victim’s files.

“What’s the matter?” Laura asked suddenly leaning in closer.

“It’s locked...” the technician replied. She sounded unready to proceed, clearly knowing more than what she was letting on.

“Well? Hack it. I’m pretty sure dead men don’t give a damn about privacy,” Laura intoned in a semi-impatient voice.

"It’s not that. There might be a virus in here. And this is the president's aide we're talking about, I'm not sure we're..." she started.

"Dammit I told you to hack the damn thing, no more excuses," she blurted out, her patience already on edge. The technician tentatively agreed made a few keystrokes, unlocking the files in seconds. Unfortunately for impatient Laura, the entire screen now consisted of unintelligible symbols and code.

"Think you can translate that for all of us non-computer geeks?" Laura intoned annoyed.

"Actually, I’m not sure even us geeks can read this. It’s definitely not any type of code that I’ve heard of and even if it was, the geometric disparities..."

“Oh for goodness sake I said for non-geeks...”

“Basically, if it is code, it sure as hell ain’t anything your local tech support can figure. My guess would be this is CIA made encryption code, probably tailored specifically for the President.” At this point Laura scowled and walked away. She rushed downstairs to the autopsy room where, hopefully, things actually were spoken in intelligible English.
***
In response to the murder, the President had arranged for a press conference where, yet again, he’d be reciting the literary classics of political jargon.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. The FBI alone is enough of a pain in the neck,” he said to one of his aides. The aide turned around to walk out, only to suddenly trip and fall, prompting President Chamberlain to catch her mid fall. “It’s been a long day, go home and get some rest, I’ll finish the rest myself,” he sympathized to his exhausted aide.

“Oh don’t worry about me sir, I’m not going to be a liabili...” she began as she attempted to get
up, only to suddenly limp unconscious on the Oval Office floor.

“Carrie?! Snap out of it,” he pleaded before putting his hand to her neck and, to his distress, could feel no pulse. It took little time for the room to be flooded in yet more emergency responders and security personnel.

Landing in his own chair with an audible thud, the President let out a frustrated scowl as he slammed his fist on his desk.

“Dammit how the hell does this happen?!” he yelled out, directing it at no one in particular, though it was usually his chief bodyguard Marshal Daniels that took the brunt of the President’s frustrations.

“Sir, I think considering all the security breaches we’ve been having we should raise the security awareness level at the White House immediately...” he began.

“I’m not the one who’s dying! The real item of business we need to get to is find out who the hell is killing my people!” Chamberlain cut him off angrily. “What kind of a leader can’t even keep the ones closest to him safe,” he muttered dejectedly to himself.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this sir, the FBI’s already going through leads as fast as they can,” reassured Marshal in a calm, low voice.
***
Laura drove her car, sirens equipped, down the road at immense speeds when she suddenly felt a strong jolt hit her back. At first, she assumed one of her careless colleagues had rear ended her, it wouldn’t have been the first time. But when another shock wave jolted her and she saw a flaming police car skidding across the road, her pulse spiked. Laura immediately swerved the car to counter the ambush, narrowly missing a third rocket shot that would surely have killed her. She tumbled out of her car as the blast-wave from the explosions slammed her car into a nearby building, and not a moment too soon, her own car also burst into flames moments later. The disoriented agents that managed to survive the inferno rolled towards cover, but fewer still made it to their cover as a hailstorm of bullets tore and shredded through most of them. The source of the bullets soon became apparent as a squad of masked gunmen descended upon the scene. In spite of return fire, the gunmen didn’t even bat an eye and continued to hammer their beleaguered victims. It didn’t take Laura long to realize that her assailants had military grade armor while her colleagues only had Kevlar and pistols. The few agents that weren’t dead or dying reunited with their leader behind a concrete barrier amid a violent bullet storm.

“I count four to five gunmen, two from the North, three from the East,” said a tall, lanky agent directly next to Laura.

"Well tell me something I don't know Nick. I’m not a blind idiot," she hissed in a mix of fear and irritation. The agents returned fire at their assailants, though it did little more than mildly irritate the attackers. Within a few more violent bursts, it was down to just Laura and
Nick.

"Cover me, reinforcements don't seem to be particularly useful at the moment," she yelled to Nick. She pulled out a throwing knife from her waist and impaled it on her closest combatant while sliding under the corpse of an earlier kill, using it as a shield to hit two more enemies on the head while surviving more gun fire. Before the other ambushers could hit her, she salvaged a grenade off of her meat shield’s waist and flung it, killing all but four of them.
Slipping a rifle from its former owner's shoulder, Laura rolled through the smoke and dazed gunmen and released a shower of bullets that sent the remaining 4 gunmen violently crashing to the ground. Nick, in an incredulous daze, emerged from the rubble and holstered his weapon after the streets fell silent.

"Laura you scare me sometimes," he said in a trance. Nick had barely said this when he spontaneously tackled Laura to the ground just as she was trying to stand up, sending her head a lifesaving inch below an incoming sniper bullet. Laura reflexively rolled herself and Nick behind the nearest cover before peering up at her would be assassin, finger on her rifle’s trigger. She could only glimpse a lithe figure with ashen black hair on a nearby rooftop flee from the scene as its shot chance diminished. No sooner had she spotted the fleeing assassin then the sound of sirens and speeding cars, descended upon them: Metro Police. Knowing the drill, both agents tossed aside their weapons and pulled out their badges over their heads, signifying their innocence. The scene was quickly locked down and the agents, after much protest, were placed in ambulances for treatment.
***
“Sir, with all that’s going on, no one would blame you if you took the rest of the day off the trail,” uttered agent Daniels to his boss.

“For the last time, I have more events scheduled for today and by God I won’t let an errant murderer and terrorist get between me and my duties, am I clear?” the President boomed in a quiet yet unquestionably authoritative voice. “If anything this should be a wake up call for us to double our efforts to find and kill the damned killer. FBI said they found some strange files on the first man’s computer and were supposed to be here five minutes ago. Find out what’s taking them so long...” he muttered frantically. Just as the President was about to put the matter aside for the moment to resume business, a frantic knock came upon the door, which Daniels opened after a brief peek.

"Mister President, there's been another attack," he uttered.

"Good God, which office room is it this time?" Chamberlain replied with more exasperation than surprise.

"Uh actually this time it was about 15 blocks Southwest of us...” he interjected.

[Andy88]

Chapter 3
"What do you mean it was empty?! I thought you had just said... ugh never mind I'll call you back," Laura spat rather irritably into her phone before shutting off the call.

"Not so loud, you might hurt yourself," said a concerned looking doctor as he continued prodding his instruments all over her body.

"For the last time, I'm perfectly fine. Now how much longer is this inspection going to take?" Laura muttered irritably. Having already spent the last half an hour in the hospital, her patience with the doctor was waning dangerously thin.

"Car accident victims usually tell me that before I find some massive bruise or misaligned bone somewhere. You just fought a mini-Iraq right there, now hold still," the doctor firmly replied.

"You have no idea..." she muttered to herself. After a few more of what felt like hours, Laura was finally permitted to stand up and leave the hospital, though the doctor 'strongly' advised her to avoid strenuous physical activity for 48 hours just to be safe, not that she cared. Nick was already loitering in the hospital lobby, waiting for his boss to give him an order. Laura let a slight grin come to her face as she saw him, seeing as he saved her life.

“Thanks for the help, I guess I owe you one,” she muttered almost inaudibly to him while leaning back next to him.

“Hey, if you died I probably would have gotten fired for negligence or something. Consider it self preservation,” he replied with a grin. Laura let out a soft sigh as she leaned back, if only for a few minutes, to rest before reporting back to FBI. She had barely relaxed when the doors of the hospital burst open, behind a woman in her mid to late twenties frantically running in to the hospital floor where the two agents were resting, immediately descending upon Nick.

“Oh my God, Nicky are you okay? I saw the news and was worried sick about you,” she blabbered rapidly while hanging onto him like a scared child.

“I’m fine Melissa, don’t worry,” Nick reassured her as he wrapped his own arm around her. Laura, suddenly caught off guard from the outburst, calmly cleared her throat and leaned away to check her phone for any news on her phone.

“I’ll let you two sort things out while I call FBI back, they’re gonna want an explanation,” she muttered as she shyly slid away. A few awkward minutes crept by as Laura scrolled intently through her phone.

"Well I got some good news and bad news. Good news is we're still alive. Bad news is our investigation's headed south, we couldn't find squat from the autopsy on either the first or second..." Laura began before being abruptly cut off

"Wait... did you say second body?" he said.

"Well what did you think we were speeding down the road for, donuts?" she replied. "Well Melissa, good to see you. Hope you haven’t been beating my new busboy here too much, I need him in one piece."

“Who do you think I am? You?” Melissa replied sarcastically. The two women shared a laugh.

“Trust me Laura, compared to you, Melissa’s been very very kind to me,” Nick retorted.

"Well if you’d stop being so anti-social maybe I’d be more amiable," Laura joked. She had just said this when a tall lanky teenage boy with gold blond hair stampeded in through the front door of the hospital with a perturbed expression.

"Laura?! What happened?" he exclaimed as he briskly walked to Laura.

"Nothing Rick, I'm fine. What are you doing here? I thought you were busy at your fight club thing,"she inquired of her brother.

“Well...” Rick began. “...all I got was a phone call telling me my sister was in the hospital after a fire fight and the rest was history. And it’s not just some ‘fight club thing,’ it’s MMA club. If I’m going to be the best of the best, I might as well get started now.”

“Whoa there kiddo, let’s pace ourselves. You’re 17 and barely started senior year of high school, I think you got time,” Laura quipped. The two conversed and laughed and let their troubles melt away when a phone call called Laura back to the grim drudgery's of reality.

“Excuse me, I gotta take this,” she muttered as she shuffled out to take the call.

“So... how have you been?” Nick asked Rick awkwardly.

“Pretty good, think I can make it to the final round this season,” Rick replied.

“Of what?” Nick asked.

“MMA club,” Rick replied nonchalantly. The two exchanged
nods shortly before a prolonged awkward silence. Outside, Laura put the phone to her ear only to be greeted by a barrage of information.

“Laura, I think I got something, that chip I took out of the body just had some sort of magnetizing counter frequency obstructing...”

“Whoa whoa, hold on. English please, I don’t speak nerd,” Laura burst out.

“Okay, so that blank screen you saw before you left, turns out it just had a magnetic encrypting bar that flattens out the data until you pound a counter-charge into it long enough. Point being I got something out of the chip, a date, time, and an address to be exact. Ah screw it, I’m sending all the data scrap to your phone right now,” he continued excitedly.

“Jerry, I like you I really do but could you please not sound so nerdy all the time?” Laura teased.

“Can’t help it, you’re just gonna have to deal with it.
Anyways, good luck,” Jerry jabbed back as he hung up. Laura now looked at her phone, which had received a new file filled with page after page of random pieces of data.

“What the hell?” she whispered under her breath as she walked back into the waiting room where her acquaintances were loitering. On the center of the screen was a date, today’s date, and a clock symbol that indicated a time approximately 10 minutes from that moment. Not sure what to make of the information she scrolled past to see what else the terribly organized file had on it. When she hit the address on the second page, her heart sank ten notches: it was the location of the President’s campaign event, which was set to begin at any minute. “Get your stuff together, we need to go, now!” she exploded at Nick in a frenzy. She barely had enough time to give her brother a brief hug before leaving.

“Whoa, slow down! What’s the big rush?” Nick lisped out in exasperation.

“Take a look at this, what do you see?” Laura responded as she handed Nick her phone.

“A date and time?” Nick asked in confusion. “But what has that got to do with anything?” he added.

“It was found on our first murder victim from the White House staff, and in case you don’t watch the news it’s where The President will be campaigning in about... five minutes,” she blurted out in a volley. “It’s about eight blocks east of here and if we run fast we’ll get there in time... barely.”

The duo’s frantic running eventually landed them at the President’s rally, though they were forced to stand still to catch their breath for a few minutes.

“Just keep an eye out for things, I have a bad feeling about this,” Laura muttered as she and Nick idled.

“Okay I understand that that explosion back there was kinda freaky but don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?” Nick
complained as he scoped the scene.

“Hey, just look around for something. I’m not asking you to run a marathon or do a mountain of paperwork, unless that’s what you’d prefer,” Laura responded.

“Not really,” Nick replied. The two had walked less than ten steps when a familiar sight across the street caught their gaze.
***
The limo hurriedly pulled up to the curb before Alicia slipped out, dressed in a bold, green silk blouse with leather pants and jacket to match her pitch black hair, which was tied into a bun held by a luminescent hairpin made of solid gold. She quickly slipped past the dense crowds of the nearby campaign stop and slipped into the unassuming apartment building in front of her.

Alicia had barely taken two flights of stairs when she noticed a shadow dashing from around the corner. Alicia immediately reached one of her hands onto her waist. The shadow continued to dart back and forth in the corridors. Alicia rounded the corner only to discover a nearby apartment door left ajar. Alicia slipped into the apartment silently. She scanned room after room to find the mysterious figure. As she rounded the corner to the last possible hiding place in the apartment, the boom of a very powerful gunshot reverberated across the entire hallway, prompting the young woman to peer into the room with utmost caution, hand on her gun. An athletically built Arabic boy was holding onto the smoking rifle, though his expression and body language betrayed his high anxiety. Alicia’s advance towards the assassin was quickly met by a blurred whipping motion of a knife frenziedly swiping at her throat, forcing her to arch back with a soft gasp. Saleem quickly used the opportunity to flee the scene while Alicia regained her balance.
***
“Freeze FBI!” Nick yelled as he saw the likely assassin come towards him. Saleem calmly raised his hands and walked towards him slowly and complacently. Nick was literally inches away from handcuffing the assassin when his suspect suddenly lashed out, effortlessly knocking both the handcuffs and Nick’s gun out of reach. Nick attempted to engage Saleem in hand to hand combat, only for the assassin to effortlessly jab and pinch nearly all of Nick’s pressure points in seconds and rendering him temporarily paralyzed. Saleem then leisurely walked straight over Nick’s useless body and slipped out the back door, much to the latter’s audible frustration. Saleem had barely shut the door behind him than did Alicia suddenly appear in the stairways in apparent pursuit.

“Hey! Stop right there!” Nick tried to yell out, only for Alicia to also bound right past him and slip out the same door. Nick let out a sigh of frustration as he waited to regain control of his body.

As Alicia pulled out to see Saleem slip into the chaotic mess of people in the midst of the crime scene. She opted not to pursue, the immediate task at hand complete.
***
As Nick sprinted after the assassin, Laura surveyed the rest of the block. To her shock and dismay, she noticed the President get out of his limo into line of sight of nearly dozens of sniper positions. As if this wasn’t bad enough, she suddenly spotted what looked like a rifle barrel flashing out of one of the apartment building windows. Throwing caution to the wind, Laura ran and pounced on the President, knocking him to the ground and not a second too soon. The loud bang of what could only have been an explosive tipped 50 caliber bullet smashed into the Presidential limo with enough force to leave the window riddled with fractures.

[Andy88]

Chapter 4
Laura and Nick, at the insistence of their new beneficiary, were lead into the Oval Office itself to wait for The President.

“I let him get away... I should have called for backup or something...” brooded Nick even as he was given a hero’s treatment.

“The President, and me, are alive because you were quick on your feet today,” Laura reassured him as she patted him on the shoulder. Nick glowered, not really satisfied with his companion’s reassurances.

“Let’s just not talk about it ok?” he muttered miserably.

“Look, so what if you didn’t catch the assassin? If it wasn’t
for you The President and I both could have been shot to ribbons,” Laura reassured him. Nick simply sighed in resignation, prompting Laura to just roll her eyes and sit straight.

“The President will see you now,” said a receptionist to the duo, prompting both of them to stand up.

“Stay sitting, you two have already strained yourselves enough for a day,” beamed President Chamberlain. It was striking that he managed pull off such a vibrant smile in spite of the countless hazardous obstacles he had to traverse in one day.

“Mr President, it’s an honor,” uttered a suddenly nervous Laura, who awkwardly reached out to shake the President’s hand.

“The honor is all mine Miss Mason,” said Chamberlain as he firmly grasped and shook her hand. “Unfortunately as much as I’d wish to make this all celebrations and awards I’m afraid this day’s far from over,” he continued.

“You don’t have to tell me again,” Laura sighed.

"It’s not just the murders, there’s a lot more to it. In fact, after some briefings and chatter interceptions, I have reason to believe there could be a terror attack against American targets within the week, possibly the day," The President declared.

"Wait what?" Nick interjected.

"Not just any terrorists, my advisers tell me it’s the UILF, and as if that’s not bad enough, we have reason to believe they are already in country and are now roaming around right here in Washington," he said.

"The who?" Nick interjected while stroking his yet sore head.

"The United Islamic Liberation Force. They were formed shortly after the invasion of Iran and if the CIA is right, an attack on American soil is imminent. Unfortunately, it had to start with me, the 'king of the infidels' as they'd say," the President elaborated.

"I'm terribly sorry to be this rude Mr President but, why exactly are you telling us all this now when we were only here for a brief commendation?" Laura interjected.

"Because, Agent Mason I am officially removing you from your current investigation for murder and instead am charging you with hunting down the suspects and stopping them before anymore bloodshed occurs," The President declared. “You too Agent Callahan, I trust that the two of you will remain discreet about this?” he added.

“Wait a minute, what do you mean discreet?” Nick objected.

“It means that for all intents and purposes, your investigation is now smoke and mirrors. However, that smoke and mirrors better last because the last thing we need is for the enemy to catch on. You two will be my invisible hands, eyes, and ears,” the president confided. The two agents simply nodded in agreement when there was a knock on the door.

“What is it?” the president inquired.

“Secretary Hales is on the phone,” a receptionist peaking in announced quietly.

“Put him on line 1, excuse me agents I’ll probably need to take this... in private,” The President said. The two agents were escorted out and sealed out of the room as the President picked up the phone.
***
Failure, that was the only word for Saleem’s status after his utter ineptitude at just one simple assassination, and now he had lost his honor. He quickly made his way into a small store where he was quickly apprehended by men in head wraps.

“No! It’s me Saleem!” he yelled out to his captors. The men, after some inspection, let the boy go before vanishing behind the veiled door to the store’s interior. In the back, a ruggedly built middle aged man with a trench coat and beard turned around to face him. He scornfully yelled something in Arabic to the boy, causing him to bow his head in shame.

“You have shamed not only yourself, but Allah as well. Now we are compromised! Our strikes against the infidel theaters and establishments will be flimsy and unsupported, the American leadership remains unscathed!” the man admonished Saleem.

“Forgive me Sheikh Assad, I... was intercepted by an American agent, a young girl...”

“That was no ordinary girl you fool, that was the Cobra of the Sands, the most feared assassin in all the lands of the old Caliphate”

“I swear I...” Saleem began before one of Assad’s henchmen burst through.

“What is it?!” Assad demanded of him.

“Sheikh of Sheikhs, we have company out front, a group of Americans, they’re being led by a young woman. We think they might be agents,” the man replied. Assad let out a scowl before turning to Saleem.

“You have one last chance boy. Do what you can and come back to me with the Cobra alive or don’t come back at all. You may take as many of my enforcers to accomplish this end within reason,” the Sheikh told the boy gravely before fleeing out the back entrance. Saleem assumed a very determined expression and went out front to face the intruders. As expected it was Alicia and a handful of big men in suits.

“Is there anything we can help you with?” he asked innocently.

“Oh don’t be so coy Saleem, it’s not like I don’t know who you are,” Alicia let out with an impatient growl. She had barely finished her sentence when the door behind her and the rest of her men snapped into a lock position and the room became engulfed in masked terrorists, enforcers.

“Then you leave me no choice,” Saleem growled. With on shake of his hands, the enforcers began their attack. With terrifying grace and accuracy, the terrorists almost instantaneously disabled Alicia’s comparatively inept bodyguards through a series of quick and strategic fist jabs on their pressure points and quickly had her surrounded, alone. “You have one more chance, back away and stay out of our business and no one else needs to get hurt.” Alicia just let out a grin and assumed a defensive position.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said defiantly. The terrorists immediately resumed their attack but met far less success against their new opponent. What 6 bodyguards failed to do, Alicia easily succeeded in and the enforcers began to fall one by one to her far deadlier fists. Saleem himself slipped quickly through the ensuing chaos while Alicia was preoccupied with her opponents. After a short and vicious struggle, Alicia emerged unscathed over a pile of incapacitated combatants and scowled as she realized Saleem had fled.

Alicia saw Saleem attempting to flee out the back door unnoticed. She swiveled her weapon and shot the boy, causing a small green explosion to slam into his shoulder as the explosives of the round did their work. Unfortunately for Alicia, all she heard was a solid metallic clang as the boy flew through and shattered the glass door from the force of the explosion before scurrying away like a frightened mouse. Kicking aside another assailant, Alicia quickly chased the beleaguered boy out the door only to see a car speeding away.

“Let them go,” Alicia ordered.

“Pardon? ” one of her men yelled out.

“True victory over an enemy is not as simple as a purge. If we slay or capture the terror Sheikh here, he becomes a martyr and deranged Islamists from all over the world would rally to his cause. For now, we must bide our time,” she elaborated. Her men continued to look confused. As Alicia finished saying this, several of the incapacitated enforcers began to slowly but steadily groan and slither around in pain as they were revived from their induced slumber.

“What should we do with them ma’am?” her guards asked.

“Leave them, they’re not worth the cost of the bullets,” Alicia ordered with a disgusted look. She motioned for her subordinates to follow her out of the building via back alley.

“Get me a car, I have other business to attend to,” Alicia sighed as she readjusted her hairpin.
***
“Well Sophie? What do you think looks better? Beige or Vanilla?” an eager teenage girl in a bathrobe demanded of her chief maid as the two of them stood by a labyrinthine closet complex. The girl held two almost identical silk dresses, one in each hand.

“Uh... that one,” Sophie replied nervously as she pointed to her mistress’s left hand.

“Oh... but I hate vanilla...” the girl moaned.

“Then of course that one!” Sophie hastily replied.

“Excellent choice!” the girl gleamed in glee. Sophie briefly, and very subtly, let her eyes roll in frustration before giving a cordial grin.

“Oh Kelly, would it really hurt you to just pick something that didn’t look like a bleached can of paint?” a familiar voice burst out from the doorway behind Sophie.

“Alicia!” Kelly exclaimed as she leaped out and hugged her friend tightly.

“It’s good to see you again... but really, about your outfit choices? I mean you’re not exactly in the poor house or something...” Alicia admonished her, though only in jest. Sophie, upon seeing and recognizing Alicia, turned around bowed herself completely before her and saluted her in a nervous monotone voice.

“Your highness. What brings you to our humble residence this fine afternoon?” she said. Alicia let out a soft, satisfied sigh. She relished her worship base and couldn’t help but feel gratified by it.

“Well if you must know. There is some loose ends I needed to tie up. I came here to request Kelly here to join me. It’s nothing really, just one loose, grossly incompetent brother and a companion so that I don’t get driven to insanity,” Alicia replied. “Well?” she suddenly turned on Kelly. “ You know just how thick my patience is.”

“Thinner than one millionth of a baby shrew’s hair I know,” Kelly replied in her usual cheery tone. “And as for your request, of course I’d be happy to go, I’ve been dying of boredom for so long! Just let me change into my running clothes, I can’t leave in this!” she joked as she pointed to herself in her bathrobe. Alicia let out a soft hum of approval as Kelly hurriedly dashed back into her maze of clothing. Within minutes the two were leaving Kelly’s spacious penthouse. Kelly tapped her sleeves a few more times to ensure that her hidden assortment of weaponry were secure before gleefully skipping with Alicia to her limo, much to the latter’s mild annoyance.

[Andy88]

I realized trying to copy and paste everything would have been a monstrous task, so just go straight to the link where I keep my entire script. I'm almost to my 100th page now.

docs.google.com/document/d/1IEhOs0IgXh_smK78WGiMwrixEKuzHlbxZRD6SKLVOmY/edit