Another portion of the building blew, filling the night air with ash and acrid fumes and forcing Bill and Dusty to haul Tony backward while he struggled to pull away. Arthur Jefferson, the tall, black agent walked over, dragging an EMT with him. "He needs to calm down," Jefferson told the tech, nodding toward Tony who was back to shouting for Lissa. The med tech nodded and ran to one of the waiting ambulances.
Tony got a sedative, although he fought with all three agents while it was given. The news crews were already on the scene and the police were having difficulty holding them back since the building presented a danger to everything nearby. That didn't prevent the news media from reporting at a location as close as they could get and using the burning building as a backdrop for their newscasts. The entire nation watched in alarm as it was televised, with a live video feed showing the bombed building as the one chosen for the Secretary of State's speech earlier in the evening. As yet, no information had been given regarding the status of the Secretary of State or any other attendees. Rumors abounded at first, many of which listed Madam Secretary as dead or seriously wounded. News crews were dispatched to all nearby hospitals, waiting for casualties to arrive. Everything was in total chaos until the Secretary of State called a press conference from her hotel, assuring the public that she was quite all right and crediting the FBI and other governmental agencies for providing an early warning and getting nearly everyone out intact. Tony had been rushed to the hotel as well; he was still conscious but in a much calmer state. Flanked by Bill, Dusty and Arthur Jefferson (who mostly propped him up during the press conference), Tony listened and didn't speak as cameras flashed and video was recorded all around him.
"Find her body if you can," Tony ordered brusquely as they walked away following the brief news conference. Madam Secretary refused to answer questions but promised additional news conferences once information was brought to her and could be verified. The newscasts returned to making speculations, both wild and otherwise. Franklin watched the entire horrific episode unfold on television, his arms around Greg, who was terrified.
"Surely she wasn't anywhere near that," Greg muttered in disbelief. Franklin wasn't so sure. He intended to call Lissa on her cell as soon as he could get Greg calmed.
London was five hours ahead of New York and near dawn, but Charles watched the reports on his computer, gripped by fear. He'd informed Wlodek and the Head of the Council had subsequently shut himself inside his study. Merrill was at home, watching television in his own study. Wlodek had called first thing, alerting Merrill to the incident. Neither knew if Lissa was involved.
* * *
Midnight, Pacific Daylight Time: Tony had been forced inside his hotel room but was fretting anxiously while his agents returned to the scene, helping crews comb through debris. Six bodies had been found so far. Some were employees of the catering service; other dead were security guards provided by the venue along with one dead agent. Gene Pogue had been crushed by falling debris. Tony was given the information via cell phone. He sent emails and paced. The Vice President called. Tony handed over information and paced again.
Two o'clock in the morning, PDT: Tony was given additional updates. Two more bodies found, one blacken beyond recognition in the fire. Dental records would be required for a positive ID. The bodies were taken to the county Coroner's office for examination and identification. A press release was issued and news crews were hounding all of them for more.
Four o'clock in the morning, PDT: The search for more bodies continued. None had been found in more than two hours, however. The rubble was still being searched, even as parts of it continued to smolder. Tony answered more calls and emails, although his panic was rising as the sedative wore away. The Secretary of State had finally gone to bed, eliminating one of the calls he was getting every half-hour. His terror over Lissa's disappearance was nearly at its peak. So many things ran through his mind, including the fact that he'd kept her in the dark, depending on her abilities to protect the ones he'd been assigned to cover without vital information.
Six o'clock in the morning, PDT: Dawn came just after six-thirty and Tony buried his head in his hands and moaned. Another call came—from the President, this time. Tony was forced to answer.
The knock came after ten that morning. It was Tuesday, April thirteenth, Tony recalled and was supposed to be a day off for him. Madam Secretary should have been on a plane and flying back to Washington by then. Instead, those plans were scrapped and local police were crawling all over the hotel, along with the FBI.
Tony wearily answered the door. Bill, Dusty and Arthur all stood outside it. They looked as if they'd been doing exactly what they'd done, sifting through the rubble of a bombed building. "We found her," Bill said. "The blast knocked her through the wall of a nearby building." Tony had the beginnings of hope on his face. "Sit down, boss," Bill said, pushing Tony inside the room and following him in. "She's dead. They've taken her to the Coroner's."
"Was her body intact?" Tony had to force himself to be as calm as possible. He didn't want more sedatives; he had to act quickly and these three needed to come with him.
"As far as we could tell, but she looked beaten up. Bruised, probably broken bones. She was pronounced at the scene and hauled off in a body bag, boss. I'm sorry." Bill was still trying to get Tony to sit down.
"You three, come with me. Right now. Where's the nearest SUV? They didn't start cutting on her, did they?" Tony was grabbing a suit coat and rushing out the door. Bill stared after Tony for a moment and then ran down the hall to go with him. Tony seemed bent on going down to the Coroner's office for some reason. Bill had no idea what good that would do; perhaps Tony wanted to see Lissa one last time.
"Come on," Dusty grabbed Arthur's arm and hauled him toward the elevator; they didn't need to be left behind. It was their job to make sure the Director was safe.
* * *
"That body is in the cooler," a harried assistant informed the Director of the Joint NSA/Homeland Security Office when he produced official identification.
"Then you need to take us there immediately," Tony growled.
"But I have to—uh," the assistant watched as Bill pulled back the side of his jacket, revealing the shoulder holster hidden there. The assistant gulped. "Right this way," he led them down a hall and inside a huge room with a tiled floor. Metal examination tables stood in the center of the room and off to the side were lockers where bodies could be stored.