Over 50 reviews for the first chapter!? Thank you so much for the wonderful response. I put this disclaimer in my group event, so i wanted to add it to the story itself before we got too far along.
While this is a political thriller, I don't intend to be overly political or preachy. You'll be able to guess which side of the aisle President Swan is on, and we will hear about her policies as president, but I don't want to weigh it down with it. We come to fic to escape, and I'm keeping that in mind. The focus will be more on the threats against her and her romantic life.
Enjoy, and I'll see you in 2 weeks.
Chapter 2
Isabella sat alone on the plane, trying to collect her thoughts. She didn't have a lot of time, and there wasn't a speech writer with her. She was going solo with her first official address as President.
Carlisle was napping, knowing he would need to be awake in a few hours, but that meant she didn't have her friend and one of her closest confidants in Harry's … her cabinet to talk to. When the pressure in the room grew too intense, she stood, intent on heading to the office near the front of the plane. As soon as she was up, Garrett popped out of his seat.
"Garrett, you don't have to follow me, I'm only going to the office."
"With all due respect, Madam President, those are my exact orders."
She sighed and gathered her belongings. When they had reached the hallway that passed the Secret Service control room, she stopped. "Would you ask Edward to stop in to see me? I need to know how much I can say in my speech. He seems to be the point person on all of this."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Bella made it into what was now her office, leaving Garrett outside to radio for Edward to join them. She still couldn't believe it was hers even as she sat at the desk. It was only a moment later that the door opened and both men entered.
"President Swan?" Edward asked.
"Agent Masen, I will need to give an address to the nation to announce the death of President Clearwater. It will be released along with the video of me being sworn in as President of the United States. What I need to know is what exactly I'm allowed to say."
"Right now, I would simply say that President Clearwater died last night. I would leave the cause of death unknown at this time, because in truth it is. We don't want the people who may be responsible to know we're onto them. This is a short address. And I'm sure Secretary Cullen will review it for you, if you're concerned about that."
"He offered as much." Bella looked between the two agents standing in her office. "Can you give me more information on the other news we discussed?"
"I think it is best if we discussed that when there aren't as many people around," Edward said noncommittally.
"But you're still working on it? Would the privacy this room affords make it easier for you to review it?"
"It could."
"And is Garrett cleared to be in the room?"
"He is."
"Wait," Garrett said. "What are you two talking about?"
"The changes that will be coming," Bella hedged. "Please take a seat and get comfortable, this is going to be a long flight."
It took a few hours to feel confident enough in the short message to stop fiddling with it. When she was done, Edward stepped out and returned with Carlisle and Athenodora. While the former sat at her laptop to review her speech, Athenodora led her to her bathroom.
"I packed this suit separately. I thought you might need it before the flight was over. I've also brought your toiletries and set them up inside."
With her aide's help, Bella cleaned up and changed her appearance from a stateswoman being honored at a fancy ball, to the first female president. Isabella opted to put her hair up in a low bun, a few tendrils loose to frame her face, and much simpler makeup than a few hours earlier. Her pantsuit was navy, the darkest color she'd traveled with, and she wore a cream shirt. She left her fancy jewelry in the velvet box, only wearing the bracelet and simple diamond Celtic knot necklace she rarely took off.
Once she was ready, she walked back into the room, which now had several members of the security detail, Carlisle and his aide, and Carmen. She had the camera set and was waiting on Isabella.
"Madam President, this won't be a live broadcast, so if you need to take it from the top, we can start fresh."
"Thank you, Carmen."
Isabella looked at the printed copy of her speech, formatted for easy reading by Carlisle. When she saw no major changes had been necessary, she looked up at the camera and took a steadying breath. With a nod to Carmen, she waited for the red light to appear before she began.
"My fellow Americans, it is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my good friend and colleague, President Harold Clearwater. Little is known at this time about the cause of death, but we hope to learn more in the coming days. As you will see following this broadcast, I was sworn in as the 48th President of the United States as soon as we were alerted at the US Embassy in Rome.
"My first official act as President is to order that all flags on all government buildings, military bases, and naval vessels throughout the country and our various territories be lowered to half-staff for thirty days to honor our former Commander-in-Chief as we enter this period of national mourning.
"I would also like to offer my condolences to former First Lady Susan Clearwater and their children, Leah and Seth. Harold's family was his greatest joy, and I know they will miss him deeply. I promise to continue his legacy and work towards creating my own. God bless us all and God bless the United States of America."
Applause erupted. After a beat, the red light went out on the camera. Carmen folded the viewing screen and nodded to Isabella. "We can review the video and notify the press secretary back in Washington. Once they have the speech and the footage, they can send it out to all the news stations."
"This is really happening," Isabella affirmed.
"It is, Madam President."
Bella took the time to review both the speech and the footage of her being sworn in before it was sent off. Once that was received, she took a few calls from members of her cabinet who were awake and promised to speak with them all in person after she landed.
By the time she was off the phone, the room was empty except for Garrett and Edward. She tried to rest, but her eyes drifted to his fingers as they flew across the keyboard of his laptop. The first thing she'd learned about Edward was how seriously he took his job. He'd been in the military prior to joining the Secret Service. He strove to excel at everything he did.
Isabella removed her suit jacket and draped it over the back of her chair. The large recliner was calling her name and she was desperate for a few hours' rest.
Edward's eyes tracked Isabella as she moved around the office and settled in for what was likely a few hours of restless sleep. He yearned to go to her, pull her into his arms and never let her go. But it was impossible to be with her and protect her. With the things he'd learned about his former team, there was no trusting her safety to lesser men.
The leather squeaked as Garrett sat beside Edward, his head tilted close. "Okay, Sparrow is asleep. What was all the cloak and dagger discussion earlier? What don't I know?"
"We're going to need a new name for her, now she's President," Edward said, trying to stall the conversation.
"Phoenix. It is appropriate considering how she landed at the head of the table and it ties into the Thunderbird name for Harry."
"She'll like that," Edward admitted.
"Great, now we've settled that, tell me what in the blue hell is going on?"
Edward groaned. "I can't go into too much detail, but I'm now heading up the Alpha team and you're in charge of the Bravo detail."
"This came from Fitzwilliam?"
"My authority to choose a team for the former First Family and for her came from him. President Clearwater's team was compromised and it likely led to his death. There are quite a few changes to the teams. It's a fucking mess, Gar."
"And what about you two?"
"Fitzwilliam gave me a choice. I could protect her or be in a relationship with her, but I can't do both."
"So she's not just lost her work partner, but her romantic one as well? And you feel you'll be able to stand behind her and not engage? What if it takes years?"
"If I chose our relationship, I'm not sure we'd have been afforded much time anyway. I'd rather have moments of her time than none at all. But more importantly, if something happened to her and I wasn't there, I would never be able to live with myself."
"And she understands what is happening and why?"
"Yes. I told her once everything is behind us, we can make a decision about where we stand."
"Does she know you're in love with her?" Garrett asked.
"No. Until we find those responsible, I can't tell her that. It would just muddy the waters."
Garrett shook his head. "You're either brilliant, or a moron. Or maybe a bit of both."