State Of The Union

Meanwhile, outside the Oval Office, Rutledge knew that his aides were pulling their hair out, wondering what his next move would be. Most of them, along with Congress, save for the absolute diehards, had either been evacuated to a secure location outside the metropolitan DC area, or had been sent home to be with their families while the tangled web of events played out.

All that anyone knew at this point was that President Rutledge had taped two State of the Union addresses from the Oval Office and no one was certain which one was going to air.

If the truth be told, Rutledge himself didn’t even know. His daughter, Amanda, had already been evacuated to Andrews Air Force Base and was awaiting him aboard Air Force One while he sat within the deceptive calm of what could only be described as the eye of the most deadly hurricane to ever descend upon the Oval Office.

With his personal helicopter, designated asMarine Corps One, sitting hot and ready to move just outside the West Wing, Jack Rutledge tried to put the pleadings of his staff and Secret Service detail out of his mind. Like president George Washington over two hundred years before him, he was bound and determined to deliver his State of the Union address live, not via tape while he and Congress cowered either in a plane 35,000 feet above the United States or deep inside some secret underground complex. What’s more, president Jack Rutledge was going to be damned if his stewardship of the United States of America was going to be undermined by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or whatever name the fucking red horde was calling itself these days.

Rutledge glanced at his watch and though he knew time was very tight, decided he would wait just a little bit longer. After all, the Americans had something going for them that the Russians didn’t.

Chapter 54

A MullandJacket,” repeated Harvath into his microphone, louder this time so Morrell could hear him over the roar of wind pouring through the Little Bird’s open doors. “It’s a very exclusive tweed coat made for hunting by a company called Holland and Holland. The president gave it to Gary a couple of years back as a gift on one of their pheasant trips and Draegar had one on in that surveillance tape.”

“And that’s what makes you think he’s been using Gary’s house as his home base?”

“Why not? It makes perfect sense. The FBI has pulled off their surveillance and it’s safer than checking in to a hotel or motel. Draegar’s not stupid. All we’d need to do is circulate his photo and sooner or later we’d have him.”

“Why not shack up with one of the sleepers?”

“I don’t think he trusts them. Would you? I agree with Sorce that the reason the antiques dealer bought it was because he was probably trying to back out. If you were having second thoughts, the best thing you could do would be to kill Draegar.” Harvath paused a moment before continuing. “No, he couldn’t risk counting on the sleepers to put him up. It could jeopardize the entire mission if they were caught together. He’d want somewhere he knew he could be completely safe. Besides, what better way to rub it in Gary’s face than to use his own place as a safe house?”

“You could burn it,” replied Morrell as an uneasy silence settled over them.

They watched as the winter sun sank below the horizon and the helicopter cut through the cold air, west, towards Fairfax. There were less than three hours to go until the State of the Union.

The Little Bird touched down in a field half a mile from Gary Lawlor’s home and rendezvoused with another helicopter transporting two HRT assault teams. In conjunction with Fairfax law enforcement, Harvath helped sketch a picture of Gary’s neighborhood, his property and then the house itself. He detailed all of the windows and doors and then discussed what he felt were the best entry points for the HRT teams, which had been labeled Red Team and Blue Team. Harvath and Alexandra, along with Morrell and his men, were labeled Gold Team. Though Director Sorce had been dead set against Alexandra carrying a gun, Harvath gave her his Beretta pistol anyway. In his mind, if they were all taking the same risks, they all deserved to be afforded the same protections.

Once the fine points of the takedown had been established and agreed to, the Fairfax officers transported the three assault teams in as far as they could. A perimeter had been established by uniformed officers for four blocks in every direction around Gary Lawlor’s home. Until Harvath said so, no one was getting in or out of that part of the neighborhood.

Both the MH-6 Little Bird and the HRT chopper were equipped with second generation Forward Looking Infrared and having them keep an eye on things from above made Harvath feel a lot better as he and the rest of his Gold Team crept through the woods bordering the rear of Gary’s property.