Time to Pay the Piper

The White House - the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) is to the right.
Source

Burleson placed the pen on the table and sat back, massaging his right wrist. It had been a very long time since he'd had to do more than sign a document using a pen, writing things out long hand had made his hand go numb. He looked at the guard standing in the room, who had not taken his eyes off of him the entire time he'd been writing.

"I'm done."

The security man keyed his radio and spoke two words, "He's done."

Nothing happened immediately, which caused Burleson to look questioningly at his guard, who didn't say a word but continued to watch Burleson. Much like a lion watches its prey before springing into action.

Burleson looked down at the legal pad, he'd really spilled his guts, leaving out nothing, even the bits which made him look particularly bad. He wondered if Nakagawa's comment about this not going to trial was real. Would they throw him to the wolves over at Central Detention? Or would he be "disappeared"?

If it were up to him he wouldn't let this go to trial. Too much dirty laundry might be aired, though the media was quiet for the moment, who knows what sort of havoc they could wreak given a story of this magnitude?

There wasn't a clock in the room, he'd glanced at the guard a couple of times, trying to discern if the man was wearing a watch. He wasn't. He knew that depriving a prisoner of a sense of time was fairly effective in getting them disoriented. But hell, why'd they need to do that, he was cooperating, wasn't he?

The door to the room opened, a woman he didn't recognize came in and walked to the table, picking up the legal pad. She looked it over briefly then handed it to him.

"On the last page, I need you to write out your full name, sign beneath that, and put the date on it as well."

He hadn't been locked up long enough to lose track of what day it was, but he did have to think for a minute before putting it on the paper. After writing out his full name, he signed the document with a flourish, no sense going out as a wimp.

The woman examined it, nodded to the guard, then left, taking the legal pad with her.

"What happens now?" Burleson asked the guard.

Who again said nothing.

"Wow. He didn't leave anything out, there's enough in here to convict him of sedition at the very least. It seems that he left 'levying war' to his flunkies, I wonder if Johansen could shed any light on that. Do the Maryland Staties have him in custody at the hospital still?" Aspinall asked the President.

"Good question." Nakagawa buzzed his secretary.

"Hi Grace, get Director Ramirez on the line would you?"

"Certainly, Sir."

Moments later, the President's phone chimed.

"Mr. Director, is Johansen still in the hospital up in Maryland?"

"Yes Sir, he's healing nicely but the docs, being docs, say it's too early to move him. We've got a heavy guard on him. Heh, I should say 'they' have a heavy guard on him, I'm not used to the new job yet."

"Have they cleaned up your building yet?"

"Some of the executive offices are ready, but for now we're operating out of the EEOB. Place was a mess, seems some of the previous occupants didn't like losing their jobs and trashed the place when they left, hastily I might add."

"Bastards."

"Yes, indeed they are Mr. President. I have pulled in a number of agents from outside of headquarters and they're working out, so far. Can't say I trust all of them, but ..."

"I know, Juan, but ya gotta trust somebody right?"

"In this town?"

After a good laugh, Nakagawa recommended that Ephraim Johansen be formally charged with treason and brought to Washington. Ramirez agreed and said he'd get his old organization to make that happen.

Ramirez suggested sending him to the detention facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), to which the President agreed and had Aspinall call JBAB to set that up.

"Alright, Juan, I'll let you get back to work, you need anything, call. You have my personal line, right?"

"Yes Sir, I'll let you know when Johansen is on the move."

After disconnecting, the President looked at his chief aide, "Maybe we should move Burleson over there as well?"

"I'll make that happen, Sir."

"Where are you taking me? I haven't been charged with anything, I want a lawyer, damn it."

The two men escorting Burleson ignored him.

"Seriously, this is still America, right?"

One of the men, the larger of the two, looked at Burleson and said, "You can cooperate or you can be unconscious. Your choice."

Burleson made no further protest, it had been worth a try.

"Now look here, this man is my patient and I say he's not capable of being moved."

Captain Leroy Jackson of the Maryland State Police looked at the doctor, "You can come along, to take care of him. But make no mistake Doctor, this man will be in DC no later than tonight. You can come voluntarily, you can stay here, I don't care. He's traveling."

"I can't be held responsible ..."

Jackson sighed, "Do you have any idea what this man did?"

"Well no, I ..."

"Man was complicit in the death of a Maryland State trooper. He's also a suspect in the deaths of at least twenty Federal agents. Right now Doc, you're on the edge of hindering law enforcement in the investigation of a capital crime, if I were you ..."

The doctor reached for the clipboard hanging at the end of Johansen's hospital bed, scanning it quickly he wrote, "Patient being moved AMA¹, signed out to MSP²" then signed the form. "He's all yours."

Johansen had listened to all that without speaking. Truth be told, he was feeling better, his stump seemed to be healing nicely from what the nurses had told him and he was no longer on IV pain meds. He was also tired of being in the hospital, while he wasn't looking forward to the brig at JBAB, at least it would be different.

He didn't even bat an eye when Jackson began to read him his rights.

¹ Against Medical Advice

² Maryland State Police