Synopsis of In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part 2
Written by Rachel
Tuesday 3:28 a.m.
Dixie Pig Barbecue
The scene opens on a remote restaurant. The news is on, reporting about the attempt on the president's life. At the counter is the skinhead who was the signal at the Newseum. He finishes his meal and leaves the restaurant. As he walks to his car, helicopters are overhead and a large number of police cars pull up. There is a great deal of shouting, but the suspect gets down on the ground and is arrested.
Credits
Press Briefing Room
CJ reports that a suspect has been taken into custody and is being questioned by federal law enforcement. At this time they are unable to release any information about the suspect. One of the reporters asks if she can tell them anything, his name, ethnicity, possible motive, etc. CJ says of course she can because when she said they weren't releasing any information she meant anything except his name, address, ethnicity and motive. She is releasing the name of Stephanie Abbott of Silver Spring, Maryland who sustained an injury to the left femur, which is the thigh bone in the leg. The President remains in stable condition in the recovery room and is expected to be released sometime Wednesday. Josh Lyman is now in the 6th hour of surgery to ...
Hospital waiting room
A group is still gathered waiting for Josh, listening as CJ continues to report that Josh is still in surgery to repair the damage to his pulmonary artery and the fact that they probably won't have an update on his condition until the procedure is complete which won't be for another 6 or 8 hours. She'll update them again in an hour.
Sam asks the First Lady if the President knows they've arrested a suspect. She told him. He was pretty groggy after the anesthesia, though.
Someone comes in to say that Sam and Tobey that they have a phone call in the other room.
Abby asks Donna if she would like to go throw some water on her face. Donna asks if there's anything she should be doing right now. No. Anything that Josh's office should be doing? Should she make sure it's farmed out? Abby is sure it's being taken care of.
West Wing
CJ gets on the phone with Sam and Tobey. She needs Sam to come back to the White House to talk to Nancy McNally (the national security advisor) about a letter the President was supposed to sign. She tells Tobey that they are still asking about the tent. She'd be more comfortable about a "no comment" coming from the Secret Service, so can he talk to them? Sam says he'll talk to someone at Treasury. Tobey says he'll take care of it. Sam says he can do it, but Tobey tells him to go back to the office. Sam goes.
Gage Whitney Pace
Midtown Manhattan
Sam is in another meeting discussing the ship deal. His boss thinks everything is settled, but Sam has a comment. When he was a congressional aide they had a thing that no idea was too stupid to say out loud, so if they will just hear him out, he has one. Instead of buying the ships they want to, why not buy other ships, better ships. That's his idea. They all want to know what he's thinking. Sam points out there's a no penalty clause in the deal so they can pull out before the first of December. But they want the ships. It's the least they've ever paid for a fleet. Sam points out that there is a reason they are so cheap. They're old and they have single hull ships. When they hit things, they'll break and they will hit things because they don't have state of the art navigation systems. The client thought that Sam had covered their liability. Sam did, but there's a greater question at hand. People stopped buying gas at Exxon after the Valdez. The client points out that he has a PR firm to deal with those kinds of problems. Sam's boss calls him out of the meeting. He wants to know what Sam is doing. Sam wonders if they might not want to buy safer boats and they haven't given them the option. Sam's boss wonders if he wants to get fired. He tells him to knock it off. He goes back into the meeting.
On the street
Josh is in a downpour. He's on the phone asking the operator for the number for Sam's firm, but he can't quite remember the name of it. He just got back from New Hampshire and he saw this guy... He gives up. As he walks away he remembers the name.
Gage Whitney
Sam is back in the meeting as they finish the last details. Again Sam tries to get them to buy the better boats for eleven million dollars. He details several major oil spills. His boss tells him to stop. As they continue to argue there is a knock at the window. Sam looks up. Josh is standing there. Sam stops responding to the client. Josh nods. Sam gets up and leaves. His boss asks where he's going. New Hampshire.
West Wing
Tuesday, 3:55 a.m.
CJ asks Sam if he talked to Nancy McNally. He asks how her neck is. She answers that it's fine. He did talk to Nancy and she talked to the Counsel's office. They're working something out. CJ asks if Sam noticed who pulled her down to the ground after the shooting started. She lost her necklace. He didn't notice.
Bonnie asks CJ if she's decided about doing the morning talk shows. She doesn't think it's a good show. She's not doing any interviews just yet. She walks away and runs into Danny. He really doesn't want to be this guy... She asks him about doing the morning shows. He still doesn't have an answer about who's in charge. CJ says it's a little complicated. There's something called the National Security Act of 1947, there's the 25th, Nancy McNally, Bill Hutchins, the White House counsel, they're all working on it right now. Danny isn't asking who was supposed to be in charge, he wants to know who was. She replies that they're working on that information. They're working on it. He leaves and CJ sits down, rubbing her neck again. The phone rings...
LA - two years earlier
CJ picks up the phone. She was asleep. It's 6:30 in the morning.
Triton-Day Public Relations
CJ shows up for a meeting with Isabel, her boss and Roger, a client. He asked her to be there 45 minutes ago. CJ points out that she had to get ready. How can she help him?
Was she aware that the Golden Globe nominations were announced that morning? She wasn't. Is she up for something? Isabel tells her that Atlantis only got two nominations for the whole studio. Roger adds that they were for best score and best supporting actor for the kid. That's what 20 thousand a month bought them. CJ thinks they put together a very aggressive campaign. Two nominations is more than a lot of people got. He asks if she's aware that the Premiere magazine list is coming out on Monday. Yes, she knows that they list of the Most Powerful people in Hollywood is coming out and that he is on the list. She's sure he must feel good knowing he's that powerful. He moved from third to ninth. Does she know how bad that looks for him? How many people are ahead of him now? Eight? CJ tells him that the movies he put out the year before were bad, everything was bad, even the little kid, but he had a couple of moments along with the eyeglasses and the little lisp. He's going home with a Golden Globe. Does he know why the New Coke campaign failed...because the Coke was bad. The movies were bad. If they were unknown, she could help him, but instead they were just bad. Isabel asks Roger to excuse them for a moment. She and CJ go out in the hallway.
CJ apologizes for speaking to a client that way, but did Isabel think that he had the "Maltese Falcon" out there? Isabel is sorry, but Roger is big business for her. CJ is sorry. She'll find someone out there to make him Man of the Year. She'll ask around in Vegas. Isabel informs her that Roger wants her fired. CJ can't believe it. This was never what CJ wanted to be doing. She's always felt it was beneath her. CJ informs Isabel that is was beneath her. She should take CJ off of film and television. She doesn't know anything about it anyway. They have plenty of other accounts. Isabel needs to keep his business. She's sorry. CJ can't believe it, that she's doing it out there in the hallway. She needs someone to call her a cab. Isabel doesn't understand. She couldn't get her contacts in that morning and she broke her glasses getting out of the car. She can't drive herself home. She needs someone call her a cab. As Isabel goes back into her office CJ tells her again that it was a bad movie.
CJ's cab pulls up at her house. She gets out with a box of her belongings. She comes into the courtyard and can tell someone is there. She asks who it is. Tobey answers that it's him. She still can't tell who it is. She figures out it's Tobey. As she's about to ask what he's doing there she slips and falls into the pool. She informs him that she can't see. He asks if he can help her to dry land, but she doesn't want any help. She wants him to look away. Her clothes are all wet and clinging to her. Tobey laughs, but turns around as she gets out of the water. She tells him to turn back around. He called her office, but they said she had been fired. He asks if she was stealing things. She tells him about Roger Becker's drop from 3rd most powerful to 9th. Tobey asks if he still makes the play-offs or... CJ informs him that they take that kind of stuff very seriously. Tobey informs her that Jed Bartlet thinks very highly of her. He likes the work she did with that girls' group with the funny name. Emily's List? That girls' group with the funny name? Early money is like yeast...it helps raise the dough. They raise money for women candidates. Tobey does get it. She asks about Bartlet being impressed with her. Very impressed and one of the big keys to his game plan is bringing her on as press secretary. He's never heard of her... No. Tobey is there on instructions from Leo McGarry. Leo wants her? Yes. She asks how much it pays. He asks how much she's making now. $550,000 a year. This pays $600 a week. So, this is less. Yes. Does he know that she's only ever worked state-wide, that she's never worked on a national campaign? Yes, and Leo thinks she can do it. It's graduation day. Tobey also thinks she can do it. She asks if Jed Bartlet is a good man. Tobey says he is. She asks again. He responds again. Okay, so she wants to go into her house and change her clothes so they can talk about it. She turns to leave until Tobey tells her the house is the opposite direction.
Recovery Room
Agent Butterfield is reporting to the President on the shooters. One was using a 9 millimeter Beretta and the other had a .357 Desert Eagle. The First Lady points out that they were totally the wrong kinds of guns to be using for a shooting of that kind. That's why the injuries weren't as bad as they could be, why the injury count was so low. Bartlet points out that they don't know what the injury count is. She knows, but her point is...
Charlie comes in. He was told that the President wanted to see him. He did. The guy that the Secret Service has in custody is named Carl Leroy. He gives a statement that says that he and the two shooters were members of a group called West Virginia White Pride. Charlie asks if they tried to kill the President because he and Zoey were together. No, the President wasn't the target, according to the statement. Charlie is surprised. Zoey looks upset. Charlie thanks them for the information. Zoey goes after him. Butterfield follows them as well.
West Wing
Margaret is in Leo's office. She inquires about the letter the President was supposed to sign. She asks if there will be trouble. Leo says they will see, but he doesn't really care right now. Margaret informs him that in the future, she can sign the President's name. She has his signature down pretty good. Leo can't believe that she would sign the President's name on a document removing him from power. She could...unless he thought the White House Counsel would think that was a bad idea. Leo thinks the White House Counsel would say that was a coup de tat. What the hell was she doing practicing the President's signature anyway? CJ walks in. Margaret says it was just for fun. Leo continues his rant. They have separation of power, checks and balances and Margaret vetoing things and sending them back to the Hill.
CJ wants to know who thought it was a good idea for her to do the morning shows. Leo did. Why? The President isn't ready for the cameras and if they use the Vice President it looks like they don't have a President. He thinks it's time for the White House to climb out from behind the bushes. CJ thinks it's a bad idea. First of all she thinks it's inappropriate before Josh... Leo wants to know what's wrong. She says nothing, she'd just rather not do it. Leo says Sam should do it. CJ agrees.
She asks Leo again about the letter. Right now it's just Danny asking, but by lunchtime it's going to be Danny times 100. He tells her to have Danny come see him.
Tobey comes in. He and Leo walk through the hall. Leo comments that CJ doesn't want to do the morning shows. Tobey tells Leo that she's been getting questions about why the President has been entering and exiting through the open air. Tobey's going to talk to Butterfield. Leo reminds him that Butterfield is going to say the Secret Service doesn't comment on procedure. Tobey knows, but maybe he can...he should try anyway. Leo tells him he doesn't have to. Tobey knows, but he wants to.
Bartlet Headquarters
Manchester, New Hampshire
At a staff meeting, CJ is reviewing a tape of an appearance Bartlet was supposed to make on a Boston news station. She asks what went wrong. Bartlet says he blew it and asks what's next. CJ replies that they didn't have a candidate. Everyone who answered that was right. Bartlet ignores her and asks what's next. Josh says that Tobey wants to say something. Bartlet asks which one is Tobey and when Josh tells him, then he asks which one he is (Josh). Leo asks what Tobey wanted to say. Tobey thinks they should get out of New Hampshire. There's nothing to win there. Bartlet doesn't believe he can't win. That's why he can't win it. He's incredibly popular in the state, he's a Democrat elected with 69% of the vote, respond Tobey, Josh and Sam. It's unheard of. There is no way he can exceed expectations, the only thing he could do is disappoint people. Bartlet says he appreciates it. Hoynes can be in a contest for second place with Wiley in New Hampshire and meanwhile, they'll be in South Carolina. Bartlet says they aren't going to beat Hoynes in South Carolina. They don't have to. They only have to beat Wiley and then he'll drop out. Will they get his endorsement? Leo says they'll get his money and that's all that matters. Bartlet asks if it's for sure. Josh thinks so. Bartlet asks again which one is Josh. They finish second in South Carolina and pick up some endorsements and money going into South Dakota, Vermont and Maine...which Sam says they'll split...now the favorite has lost 4 of the first 7 primaries going into Super Tuesday. Hoynes will win the South and they'll take the North and the Pacific Northwest. The nomination will be wrapped up the following week in Illinois. CJ announces that Illinois will be High Noon. Leo asks Sam if they win in Illinois if they have a shot at California and New York. Sam says if they win Illinois, they'll be able to run the table. Bartlet thinks they've saved people the trouble of voting. What's next? Josh tries to explain, but Bartlet cuts him off. He understands that they are going to South Carolina to get Illinois. When he says "what's next" it means he's ready to move onto something else. What's next? Leo announces that they're done. Bartlet is glad. He gets up and leaves.
Josh comments to Leo that he feels bathed in the warm embrace of the candidate. Leo tells him that Bartlet is very easy to like once you get to know him. Josh asks how many people get to know him. Not very many.
In Josh's office, Donna is answering the phone. She takes a message for him, consulting his appointment book first. When she gets off the phone Josh asks who she is. She's Donna Moss...who is he? He's Josh Lyman. She's his new assistant. Did he have an old assistant? She doesn't think so. He asks again who she is. She's Donna Moss. She came to volunteer and the woman assigned her to Josh. He asks again and she tells him again who she is. He's going to go ask Margaret about it, but she stops him. Actually, when she said she was assigned to him, she may have been over-stating it slightly. Josh asks again who she is. She's Donna Moss. She drove here from Madison. When did her boyfriend break up with her? She wants to know why he thinks she just broke up with her boyfriend. She's too old for her parents to have kicked her out. She's there because she wants to work for Bartlet. She's a college graduate in political science and government. Josh asks where she graduated from. Well, when she said she was a graduate, she may have been over-stating it a little bit. She's a couple credits short of graduation at the University of Wisconsin. And she majored in political science and government? Yes. And sociology and psychology and biology and she was a minor in French and drama. She had 5 majors and two minors in 4 years? Two years. She had to drop out. Her boyfriend was older than her? That question is of a personal nature. Josh points out that she was in his office, answering his phone and looking at his calendar and hoping that he wouldn't notice that he never hired her. Her boyfriend was older? Yes. Law student? Med student. So, she dropped out to pay the bills until he was done with his residency? Why did Dr. Freeride break up? Donna asks what makes Josh think he broke up with her. (She is starting to tear up a bit.) Josh tells her that the campaign for the presidency and there's nothing he takes more seriously than that. This isn't a place where people can be coming to find their confidence again. Donna asks why not. Is it going to interfere with her typing? Josh tells her that they are picking up and moving to South Carolina. She can stay in the Manchester office. She wants to go to Charleston. He can't carry her. She'll pay her own way. She'll sleep on the floor or in her car. Eventually, he'll realize he needs her. She thinks she can be good at this. She thinks he might find her valuable. The phone rings. Josh tells her to go ahead. She picks up the phone. She handles the call as Josh watches. He pulls off his credentials and hands them to her.
Hospital
Josh's surgery continues as Donna watches from the other room.
White House
Tuesday, 8:46 a.m.
CJ comes to find Sam in his office. He asks what he did. She asks him to come take a walk with her. As they are walking down the hall, she tells him that they're taking Josh off bypass. Sam heard that. She congratulates him on the morning shows. He did well. She told Leo the reason she didn't want to do it was because it didn't feel right with Josh still in surgery. Sam knows. Does he know what the real reason was? No. She thinks he does. The real reason she couldn't go on the morning shows and give a first hand account of what happened was she couldn't remember what happened. She remembers walking out of the building and then somebody knocking her down. She remembers her necklace coming off and then a police car window exploding over her head. She's been doing her briefings based on other people's accounts, but after listening to him on the morning shows, she now knows what happened. They stop walking. She thinks Sam has her necklace. He didn't want her to feel beholden to him. He didn't want it to be like an episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" where now she goes and save his life and in the time space continuum she follows him around with a towel and a bottle of coconut oil. She doesn't feel beholden to him. He saved her life. She wants her necklace back. Josh gives it to her. Sam turns to leave. CJ stops him and asks if he was scared. He was. So was she. She thanks him and turns to walk into the briefing room.
Outside George Washington University hospital
Tobey walks outside looking for Secret Service Agent Butterfield. There are tons of news cameras and crowds of people outside the hospital. They talk for a moment about Josh, but Tobey asks if they can talk for a minute. Butterfield asks what's on his mind. Tobey tells him about the questions CJ has been getting about the President's entrances and exits. Butterfield reminds him that the Secret Service doesn't comment on protection procedures. Tobey reminds him about a memo that Butterfield received a couple of weeks after the inauguration about how the President didn't like coming and going in a tent and he didn't want to ride around in a motorcade that felt like an armored truck. Butterfield remembers the memo. Tobey wrote that memo and the President signed it at his urging. Butterfield knows that. Tobey doesn't think it's fair that the Secret Service be blamed for what happened and he wants the Treasury department to release the memo.
Butterfield says they can't do that. There are always a lot of questions. Tobey feels terrible. Butterfield was hurt as well. He asks to go over and talk to the press. Butterfield tells him it wasn't his fault. It wasn't Gina's fault or Charlie's fault or anybody's. It was the act of madmen. Does Tobey really think a tent was going to stop them? They got the President in the car. They got Zoey in the car and from 150 yards the shooters were down in 9.2 seconds. He would never allow Tobey to not allow him to protect the President. This was the act of madmen and anyway, the Secret Service does not comment on procedure. Tobey congratulates him on a job well done.
Briefing Room
CJ comments on the Secret Service's weapon. They carry a .357 Sig Sauer. She continues describing the guns used by the snipers on the roof. CJ's assistant comes in and asks Danny to go with her. He goes back and stands near Leo as CJ finishes the briefing. She wants to mention that this is their fifth briefing since midnight and this is one story that is going to dominate the news for the next few days. It would be easy to think that President Bartlet, Joshua Lyman and Stephanie Abbott were the only victims of gun violence that day, but they weren't. She tells about a number of other people who were shot. There were 36 homicides, 480 sexual assaults, 3411 robberies, 3,865 aggravated assaults...all at gunpoint. And if anyone thinks any of those crimes could have been prevented if the victims had a gun, she would remind them that the President was shot last night while guarded by the best trained armed force in the world. Back to the briefing....
Danny comments to Leo how good she is. Leo agrees. He's headed back to the hospital. He invites Danny to ride along.
Sheraton Centre Hotel
Chicago, Illinois
Results are starting to come in. Sam tells Leo that they're ahead in Rock County. Leo asks Josh who he's talking to. Josh isn't talking to anyone. There's no one answering at his house. Leo asks if everything is okay. Josh's dad had his chemo that day and he wanted to check in on him. Abby comes in and asks there is any food in the room that isn't fried. Leo hopes not. He gives her the results from Rock Island. Bartlet comes in and asks what he is holding. Leo informs him that it's a draft of the speech Sam wrote for him. Bartlet is upset because he wants to congratulate his opponent by name. He can't believe they are back to this crap again. He pulls Leo away and continues to yell. Josh sighs and turns away. Abby says he can say it...it isn't like she hasn't heard it before. Josh tells her that her husband is a real son of a bitch. She reminds him that Bartlet doesn't like to be handled. Josh says that if he would look around he would see that nobody is handling him. Abby doesn't think he's ready yet. He's terrified. Josh asks if he's going to be ready. He will be.
The news calls the primary for Bartlet. The room erupts in cheers. Josh and Sam share a smile. Someone starts playing "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang. As Josh continues to celebrate, Donna comes to find him. She tells him his father died.
O'Hare Airport
With the news of Bartlet's victory still playing on the TV screen, Josh waits for his flight back to Connecticut. Several Secret Service agents wander in. Josh turns to find Bartlet there. Josh tells him he shouldn't be there. Bartlet was shocked to find out Josh's dad died. He wants to know what happened. He sits down. He went in for chemotherapy and unexpectedly developed a pulmonary embolism. It went to his heart and he died. Josh tells the governor to go back to the ballroom so he can get on a plane and get to California. Bartlet asks about Josh's dad. He asks if he liked that Josh was in politics. He liked that Josh was working for Bartlet. He would have liked tonight. At least his friends and neighbors will be spared... Bartlet asks if he would have done some bragging. Yeah, he would have, but Bartlet's name would not have come up. "My son won the Illinois primary, tonight." A few more hours and it would have been a hell of a celebration...he would have been so proud. Bartlet tells him that he already was. Again Josh tries to get Bartlet to go back to the ballroom. Bartlet says they'll wait. Bartlet apologizes for being a jackass to all of them. He doesn't want them to think that he doesn't know what they , he rattles off all of their names, all gave up to work on his campaign. He'll never make them think that again. Josh smiles. Bartlet comments that Josh has to be impressed that he got all of their names right. They call his flight. Bartlet asks if Josh wants him to come with him. Josh tells him to go to California. Bartlet guesses he's right. Josh tells him that if he loses the election, it won't be because he didn't try hard enough. He thanks Bartlet for coming to be with him. He really appreciates it. Josh goes to get on the plane. Leo walks up to Bartlet and asks if Josh will be okay. Bartlet says he will. He tells Leo that he's ready. Leo smiles. As he walks out of the airport we hear his acceptance speech from the convention.
Recovery Room
The doctor is trying to wake Josh up. His eyes open. He says something. The President leans in, he couldn't hear him. Leo asks what he says. He said, "What's next?"
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