Chapter 3

Security was as tight as it could be at the Capitol Building. Everyone was scrutinized like never before. Only those with valid ID’s and bonafide Invitations were allowed to pass through. The Secret Service presence was unmistakable, they were everywhere. The press was not allowed within 1000 ft of the Capitol Building. That meant no pictures of arriving dignitaries. The media would not even be allowed to have cameras inside during the event itself. There was going to be a single camera that would feed the same picture to all the media outlets simultaneously. That was what chaffed the television personalities the most, they would not get to pan the crowd, and zoom in on their favorites and make running commentary about how this proposal or that initiative was being accepted by the members of the congress.

The Presidential motorcade was making its way through the freshly cleared streets of D.C. Its progress was not heralded by flocks of bedazzled citizens lined up on the sides of the streets to catch a glimpse of the man who held the most powerful office in the world. No one even knew which way the president was to arrive at the Capitol because the Secret Service had changed the route twice since 9 am and was not going to let anyone other than the motorcade drivers know the route. The procession moved at a comfortable 35 mph, and Harrison was going over his delivery one final time. He had memorized the speech and never used Tele-prompters, so this was simply to ensure that it was smooth. He had gotten about a third of the way though he stopped and sat back in the seat to relax the rest of the way there.

Joanna Lennon was seated in her chair awaiting the arrival of the president. The fact that she was here was a testament to miracles. She had to get a rental car, which is nearly impossible on short notice in DC. Then she had to pick up her husband and two sons from the airport and get back to the capitol building in time for the speech. She hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. She was tired and worn out.

As she sat there waiting for the president to arrive, she started to feel sick.

She assumed it was the beginning of the flu. After all everybody else in her office was suffering from it why not her, it was the perfect ending to a dreadfully bad day. She would normally ask her aid to go get her some Pepto from her office. But her aid was home sick with the flu herself. So, she had to go get it herself. She left the assembly, and went to her office and got her Pepto out of the desk. However, before she drank it, she visited the restroom, she ended up vomiting, and she started to feel light-headed. She washed up and brushed her teeth. Then she took the medicine, she looked at her watch and it was 2 minutes till 9:00. She had to hurry she was going to miss the introduction. She thought of a shortcut and was making her way toward the Assembly room.

Asad was standing outside in the cold, looking into the trunk of his car. The body was a close match. It wouldn’t fool someone, who had to know him all his life, say his parents for instance, but it would do the trick for what he had planned. He looked at his watch, it read 7:35 PM. He was a little behind schedule, but he was still on target.

He arrived at the gates to Camp David at 8:15 PM and showed his ID and was waved through. He proceeded up to the main complex and was met by another agent from the secret service.

“Please show your ID sir. “the agent asked as he leveled his Uzi at Asad.

“Sure thing,” Asad answered, slowly taking his wallet out of the inside pocket of his jacket and handing it to the agent. The agent lowered the machine gun and shined a flashlight into the face of Asad and then at the ID. He decided that they matched and returned the ID and waved Asad through.

“Are the others here already?” Asad asked

“Yes, sir they arrived just a few minutes ago, with the Secretary of State, and are waiting for you in the main house.”

“Thank-you agent...”

“Roberts, sir. Name is Roberts” The agent finished.

“Roberts, yes, so how many others do we have on the grounds tonight?

“Well not counting the private security team at the front gate, three others are patrolling the grounds, plus me for a total of four”.

“Good that ought to be plenty for tonight.” With that, he drove up to the main house. He was greeted by two secret service agents at the door.

“Good evening, welcome to Camp Over-React,” The larger of the two said, he was black, and about 6’5 255lbs, high and tight, hair cut and solid muscle. He was a perfect choice for guard duty and seemed to be comfortable on his feet. He nearly dwarfed the man next to him. The other gentleman was 5,10 and white, with nearly white hair, youngish, maybe 35-40. He probably weighed in at 185 but was lean. No body fat and probably an 18-inch neck. Asad noticed he had very long and narrow fingers, and his hands looked like that could double as a vice.

“Do you want to be re-assigned.” Asad barked

“No, sir.”

“Good then stop making jokes and start making your rounds. Where is the Secretary of State?”

“Sir he is inside getting ready to watch the speech.”

“Who is in there with him?”

“No one sir, we made a complete check of the area, there are no signs of threat, and since this is just a formality we didn’t see any harm in it.”

“Fine, I’ll go inside, but I am going to make an official report of this in my log.”

“Yes, sir. We understand.”

With that Assad stepped through the door and walked into the television room and walked up behind the Secretary of State. He waited until the secretary noticed him then introduced himself.

“Hello Sir, I am Assad Ahmad Massoud, I am the team leader for the detachment, assigned to you this evening.”

“Well I hope everything goes smoothly, I have to tell you, I am actually happy to be here instead of the Capitol Building tonight. I am not afraid to admit that this morning’s bomb scare really through me into a fit”

“I assure you everything will be done to ensure that all goes well sir. Now if you will excuse me I must complete my rounds and assure myself all is secure.” With that Assad left the secretary and proceeded to the main gate.

The snow, that had been falling earlier, had turned to rain, and the temperature was supposed to dip below the freezing point again this evening.