Domino Effect (2019 Edition)

trying to say or scream something through her gag, but the video ended with her first muffled syllable and her captor grumbling something unintelligible in return.
Frank clicked out of the video and gave the phone back to the president who handled it as if it were a baby bird.
“With this added information, I don’t understand why you called the meeting this morning.”
“I tried to put myself in the kidnapper’s position. If I were them, I would expect Becca’s father, the President of the United States, to at least notify the intelligence agencies in the hopes of strategizing a plan. If I were them, I’d be leerier if I did nothing.”
Frank scratched his head. “So, the meeting this morning was a ruse?”
“Sort of. I still expect a plan from all of you; I just don’t expect to hear anything I can use.” Frank watched the president snarl and clench his fists. “The bastard has me by the balls.” Lancaster said. “I don’t want to do anything that will force him to squeeze any tighter.”
As they rose to leave, Frank stopped and turned toward the president. “Have you told Smitty about this text?”
“I was wondering if you’d ask me that. No, only you.”
“Why?”
“Your first question, Frank; you asked me where Becca’s secret tail was and why they didn’t see anything.” Frank nodded. “Smitty talked to everyone on her detail. No one seems to have any information.”
“You did have Becca tailed, didn’t you?”
“I called off her primary detail, but ordered a smaller, secondary one to follow her.”
“And?”
“And, everyone assigned to that detail swears they never received the order.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I know. Until this matter gets ironed out, I don’t know if I can trust anyone on the ground except, maybe, Smitty. That was one of the reasons I called the meeting. If the kidnappers know about it, I’ll know we have a leak. Until I know, this stays between you and me.”
“But what about their warning?” Frank asked. “Is this ruse worth endangering Becca?”
Lancaster shook his head. “Think like an agent, Frank. If there’s no leak, they won’t know about our meeting. If there is, it’s too early in the game for them to do anything rash. I don’t know why they took my daughter, but they have nothing to gain by hurting Becca. Not before they state their demands.”
Frank nodded, took one last glance at the video screens, and followed his friend out of the Situation Room.
Noon came and went. There had been no communication from the kidnappers and no one had a plan the president liked. Once again, Frank found himself sitting in the Situation Room, except this time Joe McIntyre and Tyler Ruffin were invited to the party.
“The shit you gave me upstairs,” Lancaster said, tossing their prospective ideas back at them, “that’s all you and your agencies came up with?”
Frank kept silent as McIntyre and Ruffin squirmed. They both repeated what their top advisers had recommended and were swiftly guillotined by the president before they completed their thoughts.
“What about you, Frank? Are you going to repeat the garbage you put in your report, or do you have anything useful to say?”
Frank sat back and ran his tongue between his teeth and upper lip. He knew what he was about to suggest would not just cause the room to erupt, but he might just lose his credibility—and his job.
“Well?” Lancaster pushed.
“I have one idea, but no one is going to like it.”
“For Christ-sakes Frank, we’re all big boys, just spill it.”
Frank glanced around the table before staring Lancaster straight in the eye. His response and idea were just one word. “O’Malley.”
McIntyre, the soft-spoken, Christian-conservative, swore like a sailor. “Are you fucking kidding me, an angel has gone missing and you want to send the devil herself to find her? Are you out of your goddamned mind?”
Ruffin, the most liberal one in the room, didn’t speak. The crimson flush of his skin and the beads of sweat pooling on his forehead said it all.
Lancaster said nothing. He just stared back at Frank in a good ol’ Mexican stand-off. From Frank’s point of view, it didn’t seem as if the president was even breathing. When he finally did exhale, the president pointed to the others and dismissed them. “I want any eyes and ears you have in the Florida Keys to report in if they see or hear anything unusual, but they are not to be apprised of the situation.”
McIntyre opened his mouth to speak, but Lancaster cut him off. “You have your orders.”
With the room to themselves, Lancaster took a seat across from Frank. “This is something you’ve been thinking about since this morning, isn’t it?”
Frank gave a quick shake of his head. “To be honest,” he answered, “no. Sinclair O’Malley is never my first thought or answer, but she is my go-to person when there is no answer.”
“I’ve seen her file, Frank. Hell, when Westfall was killed after O’Malley and her bunch of mercs brought down that human trafficking ring, I thought she might have killed him, herself. But then you went and gave O’Malley her shield back, so I dismissed the idea. Her ways are unorthodox and inclined to be a bit brutal, so before I fire you or agree with your insane judgment, you have some serious explaining to do.”
“When I left here this morning, all I could think about was how much you must be hurting. I can’t imagine losing my wife, not to mention having my daughter kidnapped. Whoever took Becca had to have had inside help.” Frank leaned in, his arms resting on the table, hands folded, “If it was my daughter, who would I trust to bring her home safely? I could only think of one person.”
“O’Malley,” Lancaster interjected.
Frank nodded. “She’s everything an FBI agent shouldn’t be, but she is fiercely loyal, and she won’t stop until justice is served and the job is finished, no matter the stakes, and no matter what or who gets in her way.” Finished with his spiel,