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Post by Alisa Stevens on Jun 21, 2009 18:53:47 GMT -5
The Situation Room is a large conference room in the basement of the White House. In this day and age, it's where most of the President's work is done. The walls are full of flat screens showing news channels, satellite images or data, with one end of the room covered in one giant screen. In the middle is the long table, with black leather chairs flanking it in every direction.
At the head of it, with the Seal of the President stamped in its back, is the President's own chair, with a small screen and a keyboard implanted in the table in front. Behind the chair, on standing poles, are two US flags, and between them is the sole access door to the President's private study.
The room is not actually permanently dark, as television would have you believe, unless something important is on the screen.
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Post by Agent Lloyd Wakeman on Jun 21, 2009 19:05:16 GMT -5
Wakeman hiked up the steps to the White House Entrance Hall, head clamped down tightly on his hat and briefcase tucked under his arm as the rain pelted down. He'd been forced to wear something resembling formal wear for this briefing - the Secret Service took a dim view of heavy coats with lots of pockets - but he had been permitted to keep his fedora, and in the pouring rain one could have sworn that he'd taken a wrong turn from 1932.
The Secret Service stopped him at the entrance, naturally. After having his badge and papers verified, plus another five minutes because his impatience at being forced to stop and wait in the rain was irritating the security personnel, he was allowed inside. Wakeman removed his hat and was escorted down to the Situation Room.
"Madam President," he said, "I'm here from the FBI with your briefing on Cordite."
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Post by Alisa Stevens on Jun 21, 2009 19:11:41 GMT -5
"Yes, Agent Wakeman, right?" The President stands up from her seat and shakes his hand. "Have a seat", she says and motions at the chair to her left side at the table. The room is empty save for the President, Wakeman, two men in suits and ties sitting to the President's right at the table, and two Secret Service agents at the door. The two men stand up with the President and nod at Wakeman.
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Post by Agent Lloyd Wakeman on Jun 21, 2009 19:31:12 GMT -5
Wakeman takes a seat, places his briefcase on the table, and removes a laptop computer. He connects it to the main screen and opens it up.
After some quick clicking, a fuzzy black and white image with the telltale date and time mark and low quality of a security camera appears on the screen. The image is of terrible quality, with flaws - and an upwards camera angle not normally associated with such devices that seem to indicate the camera had seen better days at the time of the photograph, but the figure in the image seems clear enough - a man in armor, his face obscured by his helmet. He cuts an imposing figure, seeming to tower over the camera.
"This is the best image of Cordite we have," Wakeman said, "Recovered from a security camera in the Cygnus building this morning. It matches most of the eyewitness reports and visual descriptions we've had of him, as well as his... broadcast this morning."
The image shifts to map of the continental United States, with arrows and statistics mapping, as best they can, the extent and nature of Cordite's dealings.
"He's been engaged in a few active crimes before this, but historically he's primarily an arms dealer. One of SWORD's first objectives was tracking him down and bringing him to justice, but he dropped off the face of the Earth a few years ago. We'd assumed he'd been killed in a deal gone bad. Evidently we were wrong."
The screen switches again, this time to a conjectural schematic of Cordite's armor, with various observed capabilities marked. "Cordite is definitely superhuman. He's demonstrated the ability to... let's say merge with machinery. His armor also provides him with significant personnel protection. Frankly, that's about all we know. He's very good at what he does."
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Post by Alisa Stevens on Jun 21, 2009 19:51:13 GMT -5
Stevens drums her fingers on the table.
"Then we'll just have to be better at what we do. What do you make of Cordite's claim that he's behind the Mercury Bay Massacre? Could that have been his opening act?"
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Post by Agent Lloyd Wakeman on Jun 22, 2009 10:04:51 GMT -5
Wakeman shrugged. "It's certainly possible, considering the sort of things VEIL had their hands in, and the timing sounds about right, but we have no real evidence."
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Post by Alisa Stevens on Jun 22, 2009 14:44:53 GMT -5
The President sighs. "I'm sure the media will draw their own conclusions. The Commission was never able to pinpoint the blame on anything beyond general negligence and mismanagement and that was enough to hound Word out of office. But I digress. This is something I am going to discuss with your superiors properly and you may refuse to respond, but do you personally feel SWORD is adequately equipped to take down Cordite?" One of the two seated men smiles wryly.
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Post by Agent Lloyd Wakeman on Jun 22, 2009 16:39:21 GMT -5
Wakeman closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them again. "Madam president, I do not believe so. Cordite has demonstrated access to a considerable range of technology, mostly obsolete, but in sheer quantities that make him a dangerous threat, not to mention his apparent connections."
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Post by Alisa Stevens on Jun 22, 2009 16:46:09 GMT -5
"I'm glad to hear it from the horse's mouth. I trust the Director, but he might want to overstate your capabilities out of some misguided sense of pride. I will speak with him later but", she glances at the two men to her right, "it looks like we need to escalate this into a multi-agency operation. Since SWORD has the best applicable know-how when it comes to supers", and because the Director won't agree to it without a fight othewise, she thinks, "your unit will be the nucleus of the task force.
One last question before I let you get back to work, Agent Wakeman. Give me your best guess. What's Cordite going to do next?"
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Post by Agent Lloyd Wakeman on Jun 22, 2009 16:50:58 GMT -5
"I'm sorry to say that we really have no idea, Madam President. However, considering that Cordite just kidnapped the CEO and Director of Research of Cygnus Corporation, I think we can narrow it down. Either he intends to ransom them, or he might want information out of them. If we could search Cygnus's records and database we might find out more."
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Post by Alisa Stevens on Jun 22, 2009 16:58:21 GMT -5
"They're refusing access?" She grins. "I was a district attorney in Mercury City before I ran for office, you know. If the courts have been reluctant to open them up for you until now, you'll have a judge bring the warrant to you in person before the end of the day. Thank you for your time, Agent Wakeman." She stands up and shakes his hand again. "I need to meet with your boss. Don't worry, I won't mention you."
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Post by Agent Lloyd Wakeman on Jun 22, 2009 17:05:06 GMT -5
"My thanks, Madam President," Wakeman said, rising to his feet.
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Post by Alisa Stevens on Jun 30, 2009 20:40:56 GMT -5
June 26, 2025, half past noon.
President Stevens is having lunch in the basement canteen with two of her aides when a man in an Army Major's uniform walks up to her.
"Madam President, we have a situation."
"I'm having lunch, Major. Be more specific."
The officer looks at the aides but realizes the urgency of the situation. "We believe a terrorist attack is underway on our soil, ma'am."
She shakes her head slightly and then stands up. "Okay guys, we'll finish this later. I'm sure it's just DHS screwing around with the warning systems."
The officer leads her to the Situation Room, which is empty. "Wait, where is everyone?"
"Secretary Brown should be here soon. The Chairman is driving here from Andrews."
"I guess it's not the DHS screwing around." She sits at her desk and presses a button. The large screen comes to life. She fiddles with the interface a little and manages to put a news channel on.
She stares in disbelief as a view from a helicopter shows a half-ruined smouldering building in what she instantly recognizes as her old home city. FBI MERCURY CITY OFFICE DESTROYED BY MYSTERIOUS EXPLOSIONS. DEATH TOLL UNKNOWN.
"You know how to use this thing, right?" She asks the major. "I need to talk to the Governor of California. Now. And the FBI Director. And... Oh Christ, they're showing bodies now."
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