Project Apollo

Chapter 26

The White House

Washington, DC

10AM

Immediately, three armed Secret Service agents burst into the Situation Room and grabbed the President from under each arm. The third agent shoved a gas mask over his head. In a mere moment, they were out of the room with his task force following far behind, shepherded by two other agents. The three armed agents led the way, sweeping the White House halls for any other threat. They jogged the basement corridors toward the East Wing of the White House.

They passed through the basement lobby, through the East Room and out onto the East Colonnade. President Hooper was ushered with such force that he found himself hovering over the ground, pedaling to make contact with the floor. The seam in his suit jacket was torn, as one of his Secret Service agents yanked him around a corridor corner. The Kennedy Garden passed in a green and red blur as they bustled into the lobby of the East Wing. After turning down another hallway, they headed straight for a wall at the end of the hallway.

"Open the elevator!" Agent Callahan instructed up his sleeve – 50 paces from the wall. After a moment, the wall opened to reveal a red door, which as they approached closer opened itself. Hooper tumbled into the red elevator with his agents and the door snapped shut behind them like a clam. The men in the elevator lost their stomach from the pressure shift as they started descending to safety.

"My team is to be let in, Callahan," he demanded of his lead Secret Service agent, shrugging them off and tightening his hands into clenched fists.

"I suggest that we have them checked by medical before they are granted access," Callahan responded.

"No. We are in the middle of a crisis. They are to be let in immediately." He tore the gas mask off his face and beamed at Callahan. The President's pulse could be seen, pounding up and down his jugular. His lead Secret Service agent conceded after seeing that the President was not open to negotiations on the matter.

"The elevator will make one more trip for any necessary personnel you need. Only people in the Situation Room will be allowed down, we cannot risk any infected to come in contact with you. There is no telling what parts of the White House have been exposed."

"Where is Jeanne?!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twenty-three fifth graders dressed in preparatory school uniforms followed their White House tour guide through the halls of the ground floor of the East Wing. The children lined the red walls and peered through the glass at the collection of fine china on display. The plates had a variety of trims and prints, but all glistening as if in mint condition.

"The China Collection was started by Caroline Harrison. By the time President Woodrow Wilson was in office, the collection had grown so large that his First Lady, Edith, thought they needed an entire room to hold the collection and so she designated this room as the China Room. The room was renovated during the Truman Presidency," the tour guide's voice droned.

After recounting the rest of the History, the tour guide along with the teacher led the children out of the room and into the hallway. The field trip began filtering into the adjacent room, the Diplomatic Reception Room. Just as some of the students lagged behind, two Secret Service agents approached abruptly.

"Stay where you are!" A booming voice sounded from down the hall. The children turned in fear as the large man approached.

The tour guide met the agent in the hallway as the kids were directed to all funnel into the Diplomatic Reception Room.