Thank you so much for your patience! As you may have seen on my announcement board, the wifi was out for our neighborhood for four days because of the overloaded system with EVERYONE using it (honestly I'm not surprised it didn't happen sooner!) I also posted a tag I created myself on my other tag story that I think is really interesting and would love to read your responses to it. Make sure to tag me if you do it so I can see it! :)

This chapter is a tad bit shorter than normal, but again it cuts off at a good point and I wanted to crank this one out as soon as possible to make up time!

ALSO I have approached my SIX MONTH mark! I started this story December 31 2019 and it is already July! This story has blown up since then and I can't thank all of you enough for all the support! 2020, however, has been pretty crappy for the most part, but hopefully in the second half things will turn around! I hope all of you are safe and staying healthy! Don't forget to vote and comment! Please enjoy!

"Explain. Now." Erica demanded, already losing patience for Scott.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath, "How much do you know?"

"Assume we know nothing," Erica told him.

"Which we don't," Mike unhelpfully added. Erica shot him a look.

"Joshua called me about two weeks after he won the election. I was still working for you Erica. He told me he had a job for me in the next few weeks, maybe a few months. I told him I obviously wasn't interested, but again, I had no choice. Joshua called me a few days before Ben arrived at Erica's house and told me his evil plan. And it's going down very soon, tomorrow, actually. So you know the big meeting thingy going on in Washington DC right now?"

It was silent for a beat. Scott took that as a no.

"Really?" Scott asked, surprised, "Do you read the news? Ever? Or at least noticed the extra security and traffic in DC? It's only the biggest meeting, the most important meeting, in the nation."

I realized what month it was, January, and as a DC local, knew exactly what was going on, "The state of the union address." I said.

"Exactly," Scott nodded.

State of the Union addresses were always a pain in the ass for any Washington DC local. Each year, in the end of January or beginning of February, the president, along with the vice president, the cabinet, congress and basically everyone important to the US government come together for a GIANT meeting. The president updates the country on what's been going on and what plans they have for the future. It's a headache for Washington DC since everyone from all over the country comes to the meeting. No wonder the traffic was even more horrific than normal.

"Let me guess," Mike said, "He's gonna bomb the meeting."

Scott nodded.

This confused all of us, "Why would he do that?" Zoe asked, "He's done that before! In fact, that was his exact plan with the United Nations meeting. Unoriginal, too predictable."

Scott held up his hands for her to pause, "That was his point. He wanted it to be almost exactly the same."

"Why in the world would he want that?" Mike asked.

"Think about it," Scott started, "That thwarted plan RUINED his evil career. No one in the terrorist and evil communities respected him anymore. How many times would he be bested by that kid Ben Ripley? And at such an important meeting and such an important mission. If that worked out, Joshua would be famous and respected. But it failed, like all of his plans. It was embarrassing. Mr. E completely blamed Joshua and Joshua was the laughing stock of all of the nefarious leaders. Of people he used to call peers. It took the biggest hit on his ego as well. And so-"

"Wait," Zoe interrupted, "The state of the union address is for all of congress. If he bombed the meeting, wouldn't that mean he would blow up too? Joshua would be required to be at the meeting."

Scott waited for one of us to catch on. I realized something.

"Not if he was the designated survivor..." I said slowly.

Like clockwork, the TV was suddenly heard in the silence, "And just a reminder, new congressmen Joshua Duncan from Boulder, Nebraska is set to be this year's designated successor at the upcoming state of the union address." The news anchor validated my point.

"What's a designated successor or survivor?" Mike asked.

"When the United States has such an important meeting, with all of congress and the cabinet present, along with both the president and vice president, there needs to be someone else. Someone far away from the meeting in case something terrible, like the bombing, happens. That way the designated survivor can take over as president and restore order. They would carry on the presidential legacy. If there was no one and something bad did happen, there would be no leader of our country, which leads to chaos. But if someone evil was the survivor, and something did happen to all the important leaders, they would be instantly president. Namely, Joshua." I explained.

Scott nodded, impressed I figured it out, "And that's exactly what Joshua was thinking too. He was assigned and told ahead of time that he was the successor. He planned on it too. Because of the untimely death of Mark Dazy, Joshua was appointed very late in the year. Since he's only been in office for a few weeks, he has nothing new to add to the union meeting. Thus putting him as the perfect candidate for being a designated survivor. And for Joshua, that would be perfect. He is using the exact same plan for a reason. This meeting is arguably more important than the UN meeting because SO many powerful people were here. The entire US government would be there. He could successfully pull off his same plan, proving to the evil community it was a mistake to underestimate him and prove to them he could pull off the plan. It would come full circle for him. What destroyed his career will be used to restore his career in a bigger way. And as an extra cherry on top, he would then be president, slapping it all in their faces. Not only would his reputation be restored but he would then be worshiped. Power and validation. All Joshua wants."

I've gotta hand it to Joshua, that was a well thought out plan. Well, it had to have been. By the looks of it, he's been planning it for years. A decade even. He put the plan in motion almost a year ago by showing up at the Dazy's farm. And Joshua tried to tie up every loose end possible. He hired someone to look out for Erica, knowing I wouldn't do anything without her. But what he probably didn't plan for was us still showing up and Scott turning on him. Once again, we bested him. And we were going to stop him.

My thoughts were distracted by Erica shifting uncomfortably next to me, "You okay?" I whispered to her.

She nodded, although it didn't really look like it, "Yeah I'm fine. Just some tooth pain. It feels like something hard and rough got stuck under my tooth and it won't come off. It's really uncomfortable." I could see her tongue pushing against her cheek, trying to get whatever it was free.

"How was he planning to bomb the meeting?" Mike asked, "This isn't some commercial hotel like the UN meeting was held. This is the United States Capital. It probably has the most security of the entire country, especially now. Sneaking a bomb in would be near impossible."

Scott nodded, "That was supposed to be my job, until he didn't trust me after I messed up that plane crash. He was planning to have a group of small, elementary school kids touring the capital while the meeting was taking place. He set it up and everything. Joshua would have me and someone else leading the group of kids in the building and around the capital. I would be wearing one of those chaperone backpacks. While we were in the building, I would sneak away from the group and into the catacombs under the main level and drop my backpack, which held the bomb, down there. If anyone came to question me about it, I was supposed to tell them that some kid ran off and I was trying to find them. You won't believe what the secret service would believe if it was a group of little kids. Right after that, before the bombs deployed, we would all leave."

"What about security?" I asked, knowing all buildings in DC have airport security, "Surely they would see the bomb."

Scott shrugged, "From past experience, the security is tipped off every time a group of kids go through. The teachers tell them to 'bring nothing metal' and they bring their metal hot wheels car. Because it's a bunch of kids, little kids at that, it's chaotic with chaperones trying to control the crazy kids. Secret service and security hate school trips. It's messy, chaotic and no one listens to them. For the most part, they just wave by the group of kids, thinking no six year old was packing heat. It's a flaw in the system, but a reliable one."

"There's no way a school trip would be allowed on the day of the state of the union address." Erica stated.

"You'd be surprised," Scott said, "The state of the union address happens normally in the house chamber. That is only a wing of the giant capitol building. Lots goes on still in the building while the meeting is happening. All of them are authorized personnel of course. But each secret service member can't always know everything and will probably think school tours are allowed. It's not that hard to get in with kids unfortunately. And even then, who wants to deal with the hassle of turning away a huge group of chaotic six year olds. It's fairly reliable."

"Jackson," Zoe said with a faraway look in her eyes.

We looked at her in confusion.

"Remember what Kurt said? That Joshua paid for Jackson's class to fly to Washington DC for some, as Kurt put it, 'congress meeting or something'. This is what he must have been talking about! Joshua must have paid for Jackson's class to come and tour the state of the union address. It's his class! It's gotta be!" Zoe exclaimed with panic on her face.

"What?" Scott asked, looking confused, "Last I heard it was just some random class from DC."

"How would Joshua even know about Jackson? No one mentioned it and he flew Kurt out without him knowing Joshua. Has he been keeping tabs on ALL of us?" Mike asked, confused.

"He must have figured out about Jackson later, as he only flew Jackson's class out here yesterday. I'm guessing once Joshua realized Zoe and Mike were with us, he researched them extensively. And since your Instagram isn't private, so anyone could know about Jackson and Stella," I told Zoe.

Horror overcame her face, "Oh god. My Instagram. I handed my kids over on a silver platter for Joshua. I post everything on there."

"That's why I don't have Instagram or any social media," Erica supplied unhelpfully.

"But then why would Joshua do that? He probably knows that we know Jackson will be in Washington DC. That just guarantees the fact that we will show up at that meeting. It just guarantees that we will try to thwart his plan. Isn't that the last thing he wants? For us to be in the capital building and potentially thwart his plan? Why in the world would he use Jackson and risk us showing up? If we didn't come to Scott, we wouldn't know about the plan at all. It's like he wants us to show up. To potentially defeat him. It makes no sense." I said, thinking.

Everyone pondered that for a second.

"You're right, that makes no sense," Scott said, looking confused, "From what I heard, he wanted all of you as far away from DC as possible. He threw a fit when he heard you guys were here in DC."

"Whatever the case is, we have to think of a plan and something fast to infiltrate the United States Capitol building. The meeting starts tomorrow. No matter if Joshua wanted us at the meeting or not, we need to save Jackson. That's our top priority. And if we do that, hopefully we can find the bomb before the new chaperones with bombs can place them."

We all nodded in agreement. Wow, that was a lot to take in. Joshua with the bombs, this whole new plan. I trusted what Scott said. He had one of those faces that were easy to tell when he's lying. Plus, it seems like he had nothing to lose at this point. Joshua kicked him off the mission. Why would he still protect him?

We took Scott with us back to the hotel. He was grateful as his apartment was super sketchy and disgusting. Because it was late at night now and we needed to get good rest before the big day tomorrow, we had to quickly put together a plan.

Hailey, Jawa and Chip were shocked to hear the plan, but we could only tell them a brief version with no questions for time's sake.

The general consensus was that Mike, Zoe, Erica and I would go to the capital and try to thwart Joshua's plan. Chip and Jawa were going to man operations in the room while watching the news and local headlines. They were also going to watch Hailey and Scott. Chip and Jawa were going to drill Scott for more information, in case he forgot anything important.

Zoe and Mike were focusing on rescuing Jackson while, like old time, Erica and I were in charge of trying to find and stop the bomb. We didn't really know what to do about the bomb if we found it, but like last time, we were going to figure it out on the fly. Nothing much changes.

To get in, we were going to blend in with the people there. Many supporters were going to be out front of the capital, hoping to catch a glimpse of the president or a congressperson. Using our spy knowledge and using the chaos to our advantage, we were going to slip in undetected. In theory. We had no idea how it was going to play out.

After a brief discussion, we knew our roles for the next day. We had to get good rest, so we went to sleep quickly after.

XXX

The next morning we were up bright and early. The rooms were a bustle of activity while everyone was going over stuff and trying to get ready.

"Make sure you're not wearing anything metal!" Erica yelled over the chaos, "If we have to go through security checkpoints, the last thing we need is for the secret service to stop and frisk us."

But we were finally ready. All I had to do was brush my teeth and comb my hair. I was still wearing the same fancy clothes from Joshua's campaign event.

Just as Erica, Mike, Zoe and I were about to leave, Hailey lightly grabbed my arm.

"Be careful, okay?" she said softly, genuinely looking concerned. I forgot, this was her first look at a spy mission. Less glamorous than it seems in the movies.

"I will," I said with a grateful smile. With all the craziness and risk of blowing up, I didn't have it in me to stay cold at her. I was still upset with her, but I didn't want to show it if this was the last time I was going to see her alive.

"Come back safely," she said with a wave right before I got in the car. I gave her a big smile, and we were off.

Finally, the real stuff is going down! Scott revealed the plan and yes, it's super confusing so please let me know if you have any questions! Hints of this plot have been scattered throughout the entire book, with Hailey even saying "designated successor" in chapter (i think) 19 and 21, foreshadowing Joshua's plan. There are many more hints throughout the entire thing if you can find them! :)

As far as factuality, for a disclaimer, no, security at the US capital is definitely not as bad as that. They're very vigilant in DC. I also am not totally sure everyone who attends the state of the union address. The president, vice president and both senate and house of representatives attend for sure. I'm not 100% about the cabinet and if the interior attends. If someone knows, please let me know! Also, there is such a person called a designated survivor or successor (they made a TV show about that person) but I'm not sure if that person is usually from the interior or the cabinet or congress or wherever. I have no idea how they're picked either. It's probably not whoever joined last. But the role is definitely real. US politics are confusing.

And it saddens me to say so but I suspect there won't be too many chapters left! I'm guessing maybe four more? I don't know! It's coming to a close! I hope you all enjoyed! Please vote and comment! See you all soon!