Growing Pains & Missing Planes Prt II

Posted on Sun Nov 28th, 2021 @ 1:43pm by President Gabriel Helman & Vice President Nina Frost (*) & Secretary Kate Harper

Mission: So Help Me, God
Location: Transition Team Offices, Eisenhower Executive Building
Timeline: Friday, January 13, 2017, 9:00am

The doors parted again, but this time it was the third member meant to join their meeting: the President's National Security Advisor. Lately, Santos had decided to have his briefings at 10:00am, meaning that they generally received them before the current sitting President. Kate Harper had served Santos for eight years as his NS Advisor, and before that she worked in the Bartlett White House as the deputy to that position. So, in other words, the woman knew what she was talking about.

"Kate, welcome. We were just discussing the news." Gabe said, stepping forward and shaking the woman's hand.

"I'm not surprised by that, Mr. President-elect." Harper said, offering a tight-lipped smile. "I'm just sorry it got out before the White House could get ahead of it."

"Yes, that was very sloppy. One of the things we plan to fix soon." Nina said, looking very directly at Kate. "The Pentagon shouldn't be leaking to the press."

"We're working to find the leak, Madam Vice President-elect, but you might consider it can't be a public search. President Santos doesn't want us to look like we were trying to hide it." Kate responded professionally, not showing any emotion.

"That's understandable." Gabe said. "Now, let's get to it, shall we? We're all busy people and there's no need to waste time.

The group moved quickly to the sitting area in front of the fireplace. Gabe sat in one of the four red chairs in the square and the ladies sat on opposite brown leather couches. Kate handed both of them folders marked "classified" and then cracked hers open herself.

"The first item on the priority list is, of course, Iran. I'm sure the two of you know the history there between the Santos Administration and the Ayatollah: we got a tip from a friendly source in their nuclear power industry about two years ago that they were trying to enrich uranium to create the bomb. Obviously, President Santos and many other global leaders view this in a negative light and we set about the goal of stopping them. The Santos Administration worked behind the scenes to try and arrange a bilateral summit to discuss the issue, but Iran was publicly opposed." Kate said, looking back and forth between the briefing and the two of them like a well-seasoned professional.

"That was embarrassing." Nina stated, her eyebrows raised. She had stated her disdain of Santos, whom she believed to be weak, many times on the campaign trail. It was a message that was likely true and beside that, popular with middle America and patriots.

"It was, yes." Kate said, nodding. She was a registered Republican and was often seen at party events. No one knew why she served Democratic Presidents for so long. "But Santos wiped the egg off of his face and tried again, this time by gathering a coalition of world leaders and trying to organize a multilateral summit. Unfortunately, you know the result."

"Yes, that was incredibly embarrassing. They laughed in his face again and rejected the authority and integrity of the international coalition." Nina said, this time looking at Gabe for a second before going on. "The President went to Iran with good will and expected good will in return. They knew he wasn't willing to play hard ball, so they made him look silly at home and abroad and kept trying to build the bomb."

Gabe nodded at Nina, showing that he agreed with her assessment. He hated the situation and knew that he needed to be different, but he wasn't a war hawk and things were getting quite heated over there.

"Go on, Kate." he said, looking back at Santos' National Security Advisor.

"The President then had the State department initiate behind-the-screen talks with Iranian leadership and, very soon they worked out a quiet deal that they would meet with American leadership publicly if we lifted a few minor sanctions which made economic activity there more difficult. He thought it was worth the risk to get them to the table, so he agreed to the plan and lifted some minor sanctions."

"Unfortunately, when the State Department tried to organize the summit, the Iranians kept finding ways to leave the US Government standing with our cock in our hands." Nina said again, resituating her body on the couch. She started to tap her foot rather aggressively.

As Gabe closed his eyes for internal reflection, Kate affirmed the assessment.

"A bit crudely put, ma'am, but yes. They were wasting time, trying to run down the clock on this Presidency. I believe, ultimately, they were hoping to embarrass Santos to such a degree that you might consider turning the other cheek and focusing on something more palatable to the American people, Mr. President-elect."

"Not possible now, that's for sure." Gabe said with a sad smile, cradling his cheek in his hands and leaning forward with his elbow on his knee.

"That brings us to this morning." Kate continued. "At 4:14 EST, a Lockheed P-3 Orion attached to Naval Forces Central Command went missing over the mountain-village of Anjirdan in Iran. They were on recon operations, looking for a nuclear enrichment facility."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Nuclear enrichment needs a water source. They're in the desert." Gabe said, his brow furrowed.

"I know, sir. We don't have all the answers to those questions yet. The plane designed to gather information has gone missing." Kate answered, indicating her understanding of the President-elect's confusion. "Right now, our priority is to find them. The transponder in the plane has been deactivated."

"Oh, my God." Nina said, shaking her head in frustration. "Has the President sent aircraft to get a bird's eye view of the area? We'll almost certainly be able to spot it from the skies if it's crashed."

"No, ma'am. The President has ordered that all planes in the area be grounded lest something else happen." Kate answered, sighing deeply.

"Something else happen? It's the fucking United States Military. If something else happens, we must respond with force." Nina said, looking exasperated. "What does the President plan to do in order to find that plane and its crew?"

"The President is working with the Iranian Ambassador to reach out to their government-"

"I can't believe this." Nina said, cutting Kate off. "This is a new level of cowardice for a President who has constantly kowtowed to-"

"Nina, please." Gabe said calmly, interrupting his running mate with a wave of his hand. "Ranting and raving won't change the situation. It's the President's decision and, quite frankly, I'm relieved he's playing it safe for the next week. I don't want to walk into a war scenario unless its absolutely the right thing to do. Thank you, Kate. Let's move on to the next item of business."

The blonde woman nodded and went back to the briefing. They discussed a potential terror threat in downtown LA, China's efforts in the South China Sea, the progression of a pipeline being built from Russia to Europe, and assorted other things. Once she was done, the folders were closed and returned to Kate Harper for their next meeting.

"Thank you, Kate." Gabe said, standing up. "Would you stay back for just a few moments, please. I want to talk to you about something."

"Yes, sir." Kate answered.

"Nina," Gabe said, moving toward his future Vice President and taking her hand in his. "Thanks for coming. We'll see how this thing progresses. For now, we're just going to play nice with the White House and run out the clock, okay?"

Nina gave him a flirtatious expression and held on to his hand gently, making it more than a shake.

"I understand, sir." she said, her eye contact deep. Then she released his hand and walked away, her hips swinging as she went.

Once the door was closed and the two of them were left alone, Kate looked at him with a curious expression.

"She's going to be a very interesting partner for you, sir, if you don't mind me saying." Kate said. "I've been in Washington 10 years at this point and I know a shark when I see one. She's one of those, I think, whose bite is actually worse than their bark."

"A bold statement. Aren't you worried she'll find out you said that?" Gabe asked, turning toward her.

"I'm getting out of here, sir. I think it doesn't matter very much what I say." she responded, speaking plainly still.

"Oh, no you're not." Gabe said with a charming grin. "You're country needs you a bit longer. I can't let all that experience and honesty go to waste, now can I?"

Kate raised an eyebrow, intrigued by what the man was saying.

"What do you have in mind, sir?"

Gabe sat down, leaned back, and steepled his hands in front of him. He looked at the woman with a sense of the dramatic, and gave her a serious expression.

"You've advised the President on defense policy for quite a while, Kate. You've helped two leaders wade through the waters of military command. Now, I think its time for you to take a more direct role."

"Sir?" she asked, slowly lowering herself back onto the couch where she was sitting earlier.

"I want you to be my Secretary of Defense, Kate. And I won't take no for an answer."