Cloud Rebel (R-D #3)(45)

I imagine his shield kicked in at an appropriate moment.

"Dearest, wake, there is news," Val whispered against my ear.

I only wanted to sleep longer, or be transported into sunlight and sleep longer.

"Whuh?" I asked.

"The President is dead," he informed me. "I fear it is not from natural causes, as others are currently reporting."

"Fuck." I was awake and standing beside the bed in a blink while Ilya disentangled himself from the sheets.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Madam President is dead. I need sunlight, coffee and a trip to the White House, because I intend to get to the bottom of this."

*

We ended up in Auggie's office with James while we waited for Auggie and Matt to arrive after their meeting at the White House. The Vice President had already been sworn in; I was grateful for that bit of news, at least.

As the former Secretary of State, I knew he was a decent, fair-minded human being—as long as the enemy wasn't planning to pay him a visit. He suffered from an undiagnosed case of PTSD, and wasn't getting treatment for it. I worried that something small could set him off and then we'd all be in trouble.

As for Madam President's death, it smelled of betrayal and assassination to me, and I wanted to see everybody who'd had contact with her in the past two days.

I'd read in their faces what they weren't willing to tell anyone—whether they were involved in this debacle.

"Cabbage, you look as if you're a pressure cooker turned too high," Ilya cautioned as he patted my hand.

"I know," I mumbled. "I can't help it. I'm so mad I could blow something apart."

"Dearest," Val warned.

"Yeah."

"Thank God you're here." Auggie looked gray as he stalked into his office, James and Matt right behind him. "Look, I need your talents, Cori, and I need them fast. I also need to keep you disguised, if possible. We don't want to alert any enemies to your presence, unless I miss my guess."

"I can handle that," I began.

"No, I need you to look like a regular staffer," he said. "James, show her the photograph."

James handed a tablet to me, where a young woman in a photograph smiled at me—it was the picture used for her White House Staff identification.

"Your name will be Laura Quimby, assistant to the current Chief of Staff," Auggie said. "You'll say you were called back from vacation by your boss, who's already been informed and sworn to secrecy," he added.

"But what about," I pointed at Val and Ilya.

"Oh, they'll come too—as bodyguards for Matt and me. James has more photographs for them. You'll have a better excuse for getting in and out of sensitive areas."

"I see. I really want to take a look at anybody who had dealings with Madam President in the past two days," I said.

"We'll do our best to accommodate that request," Matt said. "Most are scheduled for questioning by the Secret Service, at President Granville's request. You'll help herd them to and from their appointments. It's disguised as a debriefing, sort of, to record and compile Madam President's final hours in office."

"Do you know how sad and f*cked up that sounds?" I rounded on Matt.

"Yeah. I do. Not my fault," he held up his hands.

"All right," I offered a curt nod in apology.

"Come on—get your disguises together. Cori, will you help with Rafe's?"

"I will see to it," Val offered.

"Good. Cori, James will drop you off at the employee entrance. Make sure your badge has the proper barcode and chip. The Chief of Staff will be waiting for you in his office. I assume you recall where that is?" Auggie asked.

"I do."

"Perfect. Let's get on this, people. I want to know what happened, who's behind it and what we should be doing about it. Now."

*

"How's Nathan?" James asked as we drove through crowded D.C. streets.

"He's fine. Finch is being an * as usual, but he should be minding his manners unless he wants Val to put him in a corner again."

"What?" James jerked his eyes off the road for half a second before turning back to his driving.

"Just what I said. I'm sure he's still pissed about it, too, but if he knows what's good for him," I shrugged.

"I don't believe this," James muttered before a chuckle escaped. "I hope Nathan got pictures."

"Val can probably pull up an image for you, if he didn't," I said.

"What do you think happened? To the President?" James turned to a more serious topic.

"I don't know, but I doubt poor health played into it. Last time I saw her in the Oval Office, she was in very good health. If I don't find anything at the White House today, I may ask Auggie to let me see her body."

"This whole thing is so frustrating," James said. "I voted for her, you know. Sure, she did some things I disagreed with, but that happens no matter who it is."

"All that time Zoran was trying to kill her and take over, and this happens now," I said.

"At least he's dead," James gripped the steering wheel tighter.