Page 274 of Incisive

Right now I don’t know what assistance we need because we’re still scrambling for answers.

Obviously I’m no stranger to addressing our country. I’ve given countless speeches in person and have made televised statements before, frequently regarding natural disasters or milestones in history, such as a law being passed.

Unfortunately, tonight I find myself in the position of having to address our nation with a lack of information about the topic.

Law enforcement is slowly untangling the chaotic skeins of information and suspects and does not yet have answers for any of us. The only solid lead we have so far is a girlfriend of one of the apprehended suspects told investigators that her boyfriend admitted immediately after the attacks that he thought their particular operation was the only one. He’d had no idea it was part of a larger plan.

He’d also sounded horrified to find out people had died because he’d been led to believe it was an attack on infrastructure only, and there weren’t supposed to be soft-target casualties.

Which sounds difficult to believe.

Fuck me, that soundsimpossibleto believe.

The suspect isn’t talking to investigators. He lawyered up immediately and there is currently a jurisdictional tug-of-war underway between federal prosecutors and local law enforcement complicating things. No one wants to rush to charge him just to have it tossed on a technicality because of jurisdiction. The only thing he did admit was that his girlfriend had no idea what was going on and wasn’t part of the plot.

She’s still in protective custody at this point because she has two small kids—the suspect isn’t the father—and there are legitimate fears regarding her safety if she’s released.

Not to mention investigators want to verify if she was involved or not before cutting her loose.

Jordan and Declan did the best they could crafting the statement under the circumstances. As I settle behind my desk and prepare to read from the teleprompter in front of me, I take a deep breath. I opted to wear my glasses instead of switching to contacts. Jordan concurred that it humanizes me and right now a completely polished look might backfire on me.

The Secret Service is far from happy that I insisted not only on remaining in the White House but filming this at my desk in the Oval. Except they couldn’t point to a single credible piece of intel about attacks here in DC, so I’m doing it here.

In the people’s house.

Atmydesk.

They can and will evac me later out of an abundance of caution but I want the country to see me on the job.

I still haven’t been upstairs, though. Jordan brought me down a fresh suit and everything I needed so I could shower and change down here in my private bathroom.

Leo’s detail is holding him upstairs for now. And yes, his phone was confiscated, but I asked the detail to do it so Jordan didn’t have to take that hit.

I know I’m delaying the inevitable ass-reaming of the not-fun kind I’m going to get from him but I have more important matters to deal with right now than my husband’s rightful anger.

Jordan, Declan, and Casey-Marie are standing behind the camera, off to my right. Jordan stands with his arms crossed and I still see my Sir there, even if I know I have to stand on my own two feet right now.

Metaphorically speaking.

The cameraman begins the countdown and at three seconds switches to finger cues, pointing at me as the light on the camera goes on, indicating we’re live.

“Good evening. My fellow Americans, today’s events here in our country were an unprecedented attack on the very fabric of who we are. Not just as a government but as a people. I wish I could sit here and tell you we have all of the guilty in custody, except that would be a lie. Law enforcement agencies are diligently working to bring the perpetrators to justice but it is a large investigation of a scope never before seen in our history. At least six suspects were killed in confrontations with the Coast Guard or law enforcement officials before they could complete their attacks. At least one Coast Guardsman was killed, two law enforcement officers were killed, and another six total have been injured that we know of.

“While we currently have confirmation of 127 deaths and over 400 injuries as a direct result of the attacks today, most of those occurring during the attack in Tampa Bay, please understand those numbers will fluctuate and likely rise over the next days and weeks as search and recovery efforts continue, the various investigations proceed, and more information comes to light. I wish I was sitting here before you giving you names of the guilty. Rest assured, law enforcement agencies at all levels of government are working quickly to process the crime scenes and gather evidence.

“I have signed emergency declarations for the impacted regions and may be signing more over the coming days as the full scope of this situation highlights additional needs. No, I amnotdeclaring a national state of martial law, despite some conspiracy theories already floating on the Internet. That is not how our government works.

“While FEMA and Homeland Security will work closely with local officials, everything is being done in accordance with applicable laws. You will see a National Guard presence in some regions because local officials have requested their assistance and activation. That being said, local authorities might have instituted curfews for their regions. If they have, that’s a decision they made locally and independently based on their needs, not because of any executive orders I’ve signed.

“Our immediate priority is search and rescue operations, to save as many lives as possible, followed by recovery and rebuilding, all conducted while law enforcement investigates. Please follow your local emergency management officials on social media to find out what, if any, instructions they have for you at this time.

“I am not going detail the individual attacks because law enforcement agencies are still trying to sort out which incidents were directly related to the initial crimes, and it is still a very fluid and rapidly changing situation. At this time we have no credible evidence there will be more attacks by the same perpetrators. What we do know is that the attacks around the country appear to be coordinated. The person or persons who orchestrated the attacks is still unknown. They will not remain unknown for long, and while I understand it is human nature to speculate, please do not do so. I ask the media to please refrain from reporting on any wild speculations without first confirming the facts with local officials so as not to scare the public.

“There are already a wave of false claims being called in to law enforcement, which complicates the investigations. Anyone who knowingly files a false report and ties up law enforcement resources will at some future date be prosecuted for impeding the investigation. That being said, if you truly believe you have helpful information, please call it in to your local law enforcement agencies. There are emergency task forces being set up all over the country at local and state levels, as well as a dedicated federal response team working on this.

“I will also ask for you to stay calm during this obviously trying time. Please have patience with each other. Help each other. Shipping, transport, and even package delivery and mail service has been disrupted. The stock market will stay closed at least another day. If you do not have to travel, please remain close to home. If you are an employer in an impacted region whose employees can work remotely, please allow them to do so to help ease traffic burdens. If you have employees who will miss work because they’re now stuck far from home, please try to offer them paid leave and at the very least be understanding about their absence. Check in on your neighbors and make sure they’re okay.

“And for those of you who live outside the directly impacted regions, please be empathetic and understand that your experiences might only be a mild inconvenience while other people’s lives have been completely uprooted or even ripped apart by today’s events. If you have people close to you who now find themselves stuck out of town due to the airspace shutdown, try to help them out as much as possible. Offer pet sitting or childcare to them. If you’re an employer or landlord, please try to be understanding.