Hey guys. Thank you SO much for all the wonderful reviews you’ve left for me, I can’t believe how many people have actually read this gushes. I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me with this chapter - I really appreciate it. Please note that I am not a political expert and I have done as much research as I can, but some things are just way over my head. Enjoy and please don’t forget to review )

Forty-eight hours and counting: part two

“He needs to be taught some good manners,” the original man muttered in broken English, as he walked over and kicked Josh directly in the stomach, watching in delight as Josh struggled to catch his breath before kicking him again.

“Pick him up.” Paul ordered the man with the foreign accent. “Let’s see if he’ll talk.”

The men grabbed Josh roughly by the back of his shirt and pulled him up in to a sitting position.

“Tonight you had a meeting with the President and Afghanistan Foreign Minister? Am I correct?” Paul asked again.

Intense pain shot through Josh's head from being banged around and he failed to focus his eyes on the men standing in front of him.

“Yes.”

Paul grabbed Josh’s chin forcing him to look directly at him. “And what did you decide?”

“Paul…”

“I advise you think carefully before you tell me that you can’t share what was said in that meeting, Mr Lyman ” Paul sneered.

“You know better than anyone, Paul, that what I say to the President is confidential.”

“You really think keeping your mouth shut at a time like this is a wise move?” Paul asked arrogantly.

Josh took a deep breath before he began to speak. “Honestly? I don’t know what to think right now, Paul. One minute I’m on my way home from work, the next minute I wake up and I’m tied up in the back of a car… You really expect me to be co-operative right now?” This was typical of Josh, talking to buy himself some time. He clearly thought that the longer he could keep them talking, the longer it would be before they beat the crap out of him again.

“And I always thought you were the smart one in the administration and your little buddy, Sam Seaborn was the idiot,” Paul said.

“Well, I try not to let anybody know that Sam’s the brains of the operation.” Josh shot back.

“Then I suggest you start telling me about your meeting with the President this afternoon.”

Josh shook his head. “Not until you at least tell me what the hell this is about.”

“You wanna know what this is about?” Paul laughed bitterly. “I’ll tell you what this is about. The sick son of a bitch that you work for killed my little brother -that’s what this is about. “ Paul’s voice got louder and louder. “You guys keep on sending innocent soldiers out there who would do whatever the fuck President Santos tells them to do…”

“Woah, hold on.” Josh interrupted. “You think the United States government are wrong in fighting the war on terrorism? You honestly think it’s okay for women to face public executions for violating the Taliban laws? When all they are trying to do is get a decent education?” That it’s okay for a man to rape another man’s daughter because she refused his hand in marriage? Because if you think that, that is all okay, then you’re the sick son of a bitch, not President Santos.”

Josh was highly aware that someone had hit him square in the face and the back of his head hit the hard stonewall behind him. The room started to spin and everything went hazy, as if he’d had a few too many beers. He could just about make out Paul laughing at him, laughing at how useless he must look sitting there having the shit beaten out of him and not being able to do anything about it.

XxXxX

Donna rolled over in her sleep, waking only when her body came in to contact with the cold, empty side of the bed – Josh’s side. She let out a soft moan; it was a rare occurrence for her to wake up without him in the middle of the night, but it did happen from time to time. She thought she might even beat Josh home, as she didn’t get in until eleven thirty last night. For the last couple of weeks, The First Lady has been freakishly busy working on a project that helps the widow’s and children of fallen soldiers cope with the loss of their loved ones.

She squinted at the obnoxious luminous numbers on her alarm clock – 04.48am – He must be pulling an all nighter. She smiled to herself, grateful that she no longer had to face him in the office first thing in the morning when he’d been working for twenty-four hours straight. As much as she loved him, Josh really wasn’t the nicest person to be around when he was running on so little sleep.

Donna didn’t have to be in the office until seven that morning, so she still had a couple of hours left to sleep. She rolled over and wrapped her arms tightly around his pillow, inhaling his unique smell as she closed her eyes - she never got tired of his smell, the way his shower gel perfectly complimented his cologne.

XxXxX

Josh’s head was throbbing and he had severe shooting pains running through both shoulders. He struggled to open his eyes, but darkness had forced itself upon him. He could hardly breathe, the room was boiling hot, and there were no windows letting in any air or natural light from outside. He tried to move, but discovered that his wrists and ankles were now tightly bound together behind his back, leaving him kneeling on the floor, the ropes slicing in to his skin– he couldn’t scream – he tried, but no sound came out. He wondered what the time was, but with his wrists tied, there was no way of knowing. He wondered if Donna had reported him missing yet. They’d have to be looking for him, right? He fought to stay awake, his eyelids feeling heavy, yet he was too scared to fall asleep. His head felt fuzzy and he was having trouble remembering exactly what had happened to him. Yet it didn’t take long for the reality of what was happening to hit him. Paul and one of his menacing looking accomplices entered the room, slamming the heavy metal door behind them, causing the ground beneath him to shake a little.

“How is he, Mazen?” Paul asked.

“He’s alive.” Mazen sneered in his strong Middle Eastern accent.

Josh attempted to say something. The only sound he could make was a croak, the sound so strangled it took him a second to realise he had made it. He felt as if his throat was on fire. For a brief moment he wondered why his throat was so sore, but his question was silently answered when Paul’s collaborator wrapped his hands around his throat, smashing his head back against the wall.

“Are you having fun?” Mazen asked sadistically.

Josh cleared his throat and attempted to speak again. “What do you want from me?” He finally managed to choke out.

“We want you to command the President remove all U.S troops from Afghanistan immediately.”

“I can’t do that, Paul, and you know that, I might be the man behind the man, but he’s the man,” Josh babbled.

Mazen leaned in. His foul smelling breath caused Josh to involuntary hold his own breath.

“Why not?”

“Because he’s the President of The United States – and no one gives him orders, not me and definitely not you,” Josh replied angrily. This sudden release of adrenaline caught him off guard, filling him with this new burst of energy. - He was just grateful that he no longer felt as though he’d pass out at any given moment.

“Do you think I care that he’s the President of the United States? All I care about is that you remove your people from my country immediately.”

“I could tell the President to remove all troops on duty in the entire Middle East, but I can guarantee you he wouldn’t listen to me,” Josh explained. “He made a promise to your people that he would not leave until the Taliban had been defeated.”Josh thought for a moment, before he continued. “I do agree with you though, but the president wont do what you want him to do while you still have me here. Let me go back to the White House, I’ll talk to him. I can convince him to remove all U.S military from Afghanistan.

Mazen laughed angrily. “Stop talking shit. Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not letting you out of my sight until we get what we want.”

“Just let me talk to him…”

“Let me explain something to you.” Mazen sneered, as he grabbed Josh by the collar of his shirt. “No matter how many people you bring in to our land, you will never destroy us. We want to live like the Prophet lived 1400 years ago, jihad is our right, and it’s the way we want to live. You people need to leave us alone” He paused for a moment before chanting a passage from the Qur’an. “Maal-jihad fi sabil Allah - striving in the way of Allah.”

“Please, listen to me,” Josh almost begged. “The United States does not negotiate with terrorists… Keeping me here will achieve nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say we’re achieving nothing,” Paul interrupted. “I’m actually quite enjoying myself.”

Instinctively Josh tried to lash out, for a brief moment forgetting his hands and ankles were bound tightly together. “That’s because you’re one sick mother fucker.”

“I would seriously watch what you say to me, if you want to make it home to your wife in one piece,” Paul growled.

Donna made her way through the West Wing, delicately balancing two piping hot Starbucks coffees one on top of the other, along with a quick breakfast of bagels and cream cheese.

“Hey, Donna,” Kelly, Josh’s secretary greeted her.

“Hey. Is he in there?” Donna asked, nodding her head towards Josh’s office.

Kelly looked up from what she was doing and smiled. “No, I haven’t seen him yet this morning. Shall I get him to call you when he gets in?”

“No, it’s okay. Did he have an early meeting this morning?”

“No, he’s free until staff at ten,” Kelly informed her.

“Hey. Is Josh in yet?” Ronna asked as she walked in to the Oval’s outer office.

“No, who’s looking for him?” Kelly asked, as she broke a piece off of a blueberry muffin that was sitting on her desk.

“The President wants to go over some things with him before staff.”

“I haven’t seen him at all this morning, and I’ve been here since half past seven,” Kelly explained.

“Well, he spent the night holed up in his office, so he’s probably looking for something decent to eat,” Donna laughed as she waved the Starbucks bag in the air.

Ronna paused before looking at Donna. “Are you sure? When I checked with security over an hour ago, he still hadn’t signed in yet.”

“No, he definitely stayed here last night,” Donna told them confidently.

“According to, Andy at the main desk, he signed out with Paul at two forty-five this morning.”

Donna bit her lip nervously and shook her head. “He absolutely did not come home last night.”

“Hey ladies, what's up?” Sam asked, as he walked over to join them.

“Have you seen Josh?” Donna turned to face him.

“No, I actually wanted a quick word with him myself...” Sam replied, reaching out to try and break off a piece of Kelly's muffin, but she quickly slapped his hand away.

“He didn't come home last night.”

Sam let out a small laugh. “Man, am I glad I wasn't stuck here all night with him.”

“He wasn't here.” Donna whispered, her hands starting to shake a little. “Security said that he signed out at two forty five this morning and he hasn't signed in since.”

Sam turned to look at Donna, giving her his full attention. “And you’re sure he didn't come home?”

“I’m positive,” Donna said.

“There's probably a really good explanation for this, you know what Josh is like. He probably got caught up in something...” Ronna said. Her tone was reassuring but Donna imagined she could see her own mounting anxiety mirrored in Ronna’s eyes.

“I'm going to need to see the President.” Sam cut in.

“Now?” Ronna asked. “He's talking to the British Prime Minster - ”

“Get him off the phone, now!” Sam ordered. “And call Ron Butterfield and tell him we need him over here immediately.”

“Sam?” Donna gripped onto his arm, her eyes wide with fear as Ronna ran off to do as she was told.

He placed his hands over hers. “Don't worry, everything’s going to be okay.”

“But Sam...”

“Donna, it's probably nothing. There’s just procedure with this sort of thing.” Sam tried to reassure her. “Why don't you wait for him in his office.”

“If there's something happening...Then I want to know,” Donna insisted.

“Nothing is happening - and if it does I'll come and find you.” Sam promised, gently pushing her towards Josh's office.

Once Donna had walked through the door, Sam turned to head towards the Oval office, glancing at Kelly as he passed her desk. “Keep trying his cell phone and call security to make sure that this isn't just a huge misunderstanding.”

“Yes, Sir!” Kelly replied as she quickly picked up the phone.

Sam walked past Ronna and Santos' body-man Mike and went straight into the Oval.

President Santos looked up from his paper work when he heard the office door closing.

“Mr President, I think we may have a problem.”

XxXxX

Paul set up the video camera and pointed it towards Josh, who was kneeling on the floor in front of him, his wrists pulled behind his back. “You say exactly what we have told you to say, okay?” Mazen warned as he secured the rope tightly around Josh’s wrists, before nodding to Paul to begin filming.

“My name’s Joshua Lyman…”

“Speak up, we can’t hear you.” Paul instructed quietly from behind the camera.

Josh cleared his throat before continuing. “My name’s Joshua Lyman and I am the Chief of Staff for President Santos of the United States government.” He paused briefly, completely forgetting what he to say next. With the tape still rolling, Mazen walked into shot, and grabbed Josh by the collar of his shirt, whispering something in his ear, before kicking him in the stomach and walking off. It took Josh a couple of minutes to recover, but the look of pain was still evident in his eyes.

“Mr President, you have exactly forty eight hours to withdraw all U.S troops from Afghanistan and to release all Afghani prisoners captured by the coalition forces.” Josh took a breath, coughing a couple of times before continuing. “If these demands are not met… you may never see me alive again.”

XxXxX

Donna sat curled up in Josh’s chair, her legs tucked securely under her. The longer it took for Sam to come back with any information, the more she panicked. She hated not knowing where Josh was. Was he safe? Was he scared? At least with Rosslyn, she had been able to see him, make sure he was being looked after, this she had absolutely no control of, and she hated it. They’d spent so many years fighting their feelings for each other, and now that they were finally together, she couldn’t lose him, not now, just the thought alone made her heart hurt. She picked up the photo from their wedding day that Josh had proudly displayed on his desk. He was standing in the middle with one arm snaked around Donna’s waist and his other arm thrown protectively over his Mom’s shoulder. God, his Mom, she really should call her. The last thing she wants is for Sarah to hear on the news that her son is missing –Josh is all she has left. As she thought this, a lone tear slid down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away. She has to be strong; no one even knows what’s happened to him yet, for all she knows, she could be getting herself worked up over nothing.

XxXxX

“Any news?” Donna asked desperately as Sam walked into Josh’s office later that morning. He crouched down in front of her and took a hold of her hand. “Sam, what’s going on?” she asked, panic evident in her voice.

“I don’t know,” he admitted honestly.

“Donna, Sam, the President would like to see you,” Ronna announced as she popped her head around Josh’s door.

Sam took Donna’s hand and drew her to her feet. He kept hold of her cold fingers as they walked together to the oval office. They both took a seat opposite the President on the couches in the middle of the office.

“Mr President, what have you heard?” Sam asked as he gave Donna’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“The Secret Service have informed me that a video has been sent to NBC,” the President explained as he crouched down on the floor in front of Donna. “Ron is taking a look at it now.”

“Is he on it?” Donna asked timidly.

“Ron hasn’t told me exactly what the video contains...”

“But Josh is on the video, right?” she repeated the question.

President Santos was about to reply, when Ron Butterfield knocked on the door.

“Sir?” he asked, a little unsure of what he should say in front of Sam and Donna. Santos nodded his head for Ron to continue.

“Mr President. We believe that Mr. Lyman has been kidnapped by Afghani extremists,” Ron explained.

“Was he alone?” Santos asked.

“Paul must still be with him,” Donna cut in.

“That is what I wanted to discuss with you next, sir. We haven’t had the video for long, but we quickly ran it through our voice recognition software and we strongly believe that Paul is a part of this conspiracy. “

TBC

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