The report continued for a minute, Joyce answered some inconsequential questions then she handed copies of the text of her report and the two letters to the reporters and walked away.

Sandra was crying when she finished.  Jaci asked what was wrong.  “That woman showed me how much of a friend she was.  She could have made her life easier by remaining silent.  She chose to help me.”

“Did she really make a pass at you?”

“Yes.”

“What was it like?”

“The same as having a boy make a pass you don’t want.”

“Yecch.”

As they looked back to the TV the scene changed.  The reporter was outside the hospital.  “We are here at Walter Reed where we have been following the attack on the first family.  The information is sparse, we have been told little beyond what we knew early yesterday.  The statement from the White House is that the president’s wife and two daughters were shot in the legs and are recovering.  This is the same information we were given by the doctor in the emergency room in Virginia.  There has been no information on the injuries, their extent or how long they will be in the hospital.” 

The president also saw the report.  He looked across the desk at his chief of staff, “Let’s try to keep the lid on the injuries for now, there will be enough speculation soon.  How are we going to get them out of the hospital without anyone knowing?  I think with the mood of the country it would be bad for this to come out now.”

“We have worked with the doctors down south.  They have told nothing but the wounds were to their legs.  They know nothing of the amputations.  The Walter Reed crew is also tight mouthed.  Everyone who knows has been sworn to secrecy and there are few who have been told.”

The First Family: Chapter 1 – Introduction

The First Family 23: Sandra is Attacked in the Press Again

The First Family 25: Attacks on Citizens Become More Serious