First Lady's Divorce--The Novel by Nick Nichols

Author:Nick Nichols
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nick Nichols
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

43.

Escalation

The Situation Room felt charged in the aftermath of the near-collision. Brent sat at the head of the table; Vicki was positioned just behind his right shoulder—a placement that made several senior officials shift uncomfortably in their seats.

“Play it again,” Brent demanded. The footage showed the two vessels’ dangerous dance, their port-side maneuvers barely avoiding disaster.

“Sir,” General Matthews began, “both ships followed protocol for—”

“Protocol?” Brent’s laugh was harsh. “They matched our course change deliberately. Show me the positioning again.”

Vicki leaned forward, reaching for the classified brief detailing the incident. Several faces around the table tightened as she began writing in the margins.

“Mr. President,” Secretary of Defense Marshall started, “we need to follow diplomatic channels—”

“While they play chicken with our ships?” Brent’s voice carried a dangerous edge Daniel had come to recognize. “Show me our current destroyer positions.”

As Matthews pulled up the tactical display, Daniel watched Vicki continue annotating the classified document. General Matthews was openly staring at her pen moving across the paper, his jaw clenched.

“We need to split their formations,” Vicki said, pointing to positions on the map. The room fell silent.

“Yes,” Brent said, energized. “They want to test us? Let’s show them what real naval power looks like.”

“Sir,” Marshall’s voice was strained, “changing our deployment pattern now would be seen as an escalation—”

“Write it up,” Brent ordered, standing abruptly. “I want options on my desk within the hour.”

Daniel caught Marshall’s eye as they filed out. The Secretary’s look was clear: This wasn’t just aggressive anymore. This was dangerous.

As Brent shared a whispered exchange with Vicki, Daniel got the record officer’s attention and motioned to the documents that remained at the head of the table, including the annotated one.

Daniel spoke nonchalantly. “Let’s provide the team with a copy for reference to prepare these options.”

Brent was still chatting with Vicki as the documents were retrieved.

Daniel and Marshall exchanged another look; this time the Secretary gave a solid nod of approval.

* * *

The Capital Grille’s private room felt different in daylight. Charles Winston recognized the man across from him—not by name, but by type. That particular Northern Virginia bearing was unmistakable.

No pleasantries were exchanged. The man simply slid a manila envelope across the table.

“Handwritten notes on classified briefings,” he said quietly. “By an uncleared aide.”

Winston’s hand rested on the envelope. “Garcia needs to see this.”

“Directly.” The man stood. “And Charles? Any questions about this would stop with you.”

Winston waited fifteen minutes after the man left before calling Garcia’s private line. Some things needed to be delivered right away.

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