"I can't allow that, sir." Ron interrupted the
President's plans.
"You can't allow that?" The President went toe to toe with
Ron. "If that man is responsible for the havoc wreaked around here,
I want his ass in my office."
"That's simply not possible, sir. He is going to be in a
panicked state of mind, particularly if he's called to the Oval
office to discuss these events with the President of the United States.
An individual in that state of mind is not anyone we allow within
several miles of the President. It's NOT going to happen." Ron
argued.
"Fill us in on what else Agent Sinclair learned from Commander
Jacobson." Leo directed hoping to distract the President.
"The Commander was more than a little concerned about who was
pulling the strings in this situation. He went beyond Medalliance;
he's done his homework and was able to provide several links between
Medalliance and the government officials who were receiving funds from
them."
"This Commander, he was just recently assigned to the White
House?" The President clarified.
"Yes, sir. He has an impeccable service record and was recently
promoted to the post here."
"How did someone with an impeccable service record get roped into
this circus?" Leo inquired.
Ron hesitated. "Commander Jacobson was receiving treatment for HIV
using a fake ID at a community clinic. Medalliance was able to procure
that information and use it as leverage to get him to issue appointment
tags for the people they wanted in the building. He was told only that
they were going to engage in political espionage; he had no knowledge of
the attack on Josh Lyman."
Jed sent a scathing look at Leo. "I swear to God, Leo. We are going
to take care of that issue once and for all…"
"I don't know that this is the time to tackle gays in the
military, sir."
"It is exactly the time Leo." Jed erupted, taking his temper
over the whole situation out on his chief of staff. "Why should a
career military man who has served honorably and commendably be forced
to use a fake ID to get medical treatment to keep his job and protect
his life? It's reprehensible!"
"There's a lot about this that's reprehensible, sir.
Let's take this one step at a time."
"I'd love to. Put the Secretary of Health and Human Services in
this office, and I'll take it to the next step." Jed railed.
"I can't allow that, sir." Ron repeated himself.
"He's shifting money to off shore accounts. Agent Sinclair is
certain that as soon as he learns of Commander Jacobson's
cooperation, he'll attempt to flee. Right now, he still believes
he's insulated from this."
"And I intend to be the one to rid him of that particular illusion.
Bring him here." President Bartlet insisted. "He used this
administration and I'm going to personally fire him before you send
him to prison."
"No, sir, you're really not." Leo stepped in. "You can
send him a nice long letter if you like, Ron can personally deliver it,
but he isn't stepping one foot in this office."
"Excuse me, sir." Ron interrupted when his pager went off.
"I need to take this."
"I mean it Leo. I want to talk to this Commander Jacobson, too."
Leo blew out a frustrated sigh. "I'll get right on that,
sir." He rolled his eyes. "Look, I understand your frustration,
sir, but there are just some things you can not do and this is one of
them. If Josh can sit on his hands in a safe house after someone tried
to take his life, surely you can sit on your hands in the oval for a
bit."
"Mr. President, Leo. That was Agent Casper. He's en route to the
White House with Mr. Lyman and Ms. Moss. I need to arrange some
additional security for their arrival." The President nodded his
permission for Ron to leave, then turned another knowing look at Leo.
"Josh Lyman strikes again." Leo muttered.
*************************************
"You want to repeat that Agent Casper?" Adam Sinclair had run
out of patience.
"I'm on my way in with both subjects, sir. It was that, or they
were voluntarily leaving protective custody. I didn't have any other
way to stop them from returning."
"Did you lose your weapon at some point?" Sinclair said
sarcastically. He knew he was taking his mood out on Casper, but
seriously the past few days were just too much.
"I didn't think that was the best alternative, sir."
"You should have checked with me first. Maybe you're too close
to the subjects to effectively work this case."
"I beg to differ, sir. My relationship to the subjects is the one
thing that's helped keep a lid on things over here. And with all due
respect, sir, we're on our way in. It's a little late to shut
the barn door."
The timing wasn't lost on Sinclair, and Casper knew it. Sinclair
could send agents to intercept them. There were more confrontational
methods of keeping someone in protective custody, but Sinclair very much
doubted the President would approve. As soon as this case was wrapped
up, he was going to take a nice long vacation without his phone or his
pager.
"Bring them straight to the ellipse; no stops, no detours. If Lyman
objects; use the weapon, use the handcuffs. I don't give a
damn."
"Yes, sir." Mike replied.
*******************************
"I'm saying we should have heard something by now." Sam
complained to Toby.
"And yet we have not." Toby replied.
"That's true. So I'm thinking we should be more proactive
and go demand some answers."
"Yes, because demanding answers from Federal Agents always works
well."
Toby's response deflated Sam's rush for answers. He sat back
down on Toby's couch. "You really think he'll come back to
work here?"
"Josh?"
"Yes, Josh. Who else would I- Yes, Josh."
"I do." Toby said with complete conviction.
Ginger popped her head in Toby's office. "Leo wants you both in
his office."
Both men instantly responded and met up with C.J. in the Chief of
Staff's office.
"Things are going to be happening a little fast for the next few
hours. I need you all to buckle in, now." Leo began. "Agent
Sinclair is going to be announcing some arrests shortly in conjunction
with Josh's case. It's going to cause some shake ups."
"Has anyone spoken to Josh?" C.J. asked.
"No one except Mike Casper." Leo told her.
"Is anyone going to get a chance to talk to Josh?" she pushed.
"I imagine so. Particularly if you're near the ellipse in the
next 30 minutes or so."
"They're bringing him back here?" Sam asked in concern.
"More like he's bringing them back here." Leo muttered.
"Our Deputy Chief of Staff has apparently lost the last of his
patience."
"He had some of that?" Toby deadpanned. Leo chuckled.
"I think Donna had some of that which she was lending to Josh. Now
that's gone too." Leo explained. "This is what we know at
present."
Leo took a breath and began relaying the facts as they had been told to
him by the Secret Service and the F.B.I.
"Approximately 4 weeks ago. Corporate representatives of Medalliance
began putting together a plan to thwart our attempt to get Senator
Brigham's health care bill passed. They began with members of
Congress that they already had on their payroll and stepped their
efforts up from there."
C.J. was feverishly taking notes. Sam and Toby merely listened with rapt
attention. From the testimony provided by Eggleston, Medalliance had
been providing huge monetary contributions through off shore accounts
and dummy corporations for some time. This was in exchange for vocal
opposition to any Government funded health care alternatives and support
in new drug testing policies and procedures."
"How many members of Congress have been implicated, Leo?" Sam
asked.
"At present, we have documented proof that 7 members of Congress
were directly involved in this." Leo answered and saw the face of
the Deputy Communication Director fall. "3 Senators and 4
Representatives."
"Jesus." Was Toby's only response.
"It gets worse. When they realized how effective Josh was becoming
in spearheading this debate, they decided to bring it to a new level.
His home and his office were invaded. His medication was replaced with
drugs that had side effects that included; aggression, paranoia, and
mood swings."
C.J. stopped taking notes, sick by what she was hearing.
"When that still wasn't enough to stop him and Josh started
digging around the connection between Harmon and Medalliance, they took
it to the ultimate level and faked his suicide attempt."
"How the hell could they accomplish that inside the White
House?" C.J. demanded.
"They had some inside help. That will all be part of the report
Agent Sinclair gives you; but for now, we're not releasing the name
of that individual." Leo took a deep breath before he continued.
"On that particular night however, they didn't need help getting
inside."
*******************************
"Josh!" Sam exclaimed and embraced his friend in a hug as soon
as he stepped into the building. Sam was still shaken from the briefing
Leo had given them and held onto his friend a beat longer than was usual
for them.
"Hey, it's good to see you." Josh admitted and gave Sam a
smile. Donna, who'd been watching from one step behind Josh, found
herself enveloped in a hug from Sam as well.
"Let's keep moving, here, okay?" Mike noted and motioned for
them to follow the two additional agents that had been waiting with Sam.
They walked quickly inside and downstairs to the room that they had used
to plan the M.S. announcement.
"Okay, we're here now. What is it you wouldn't tell me in
the car?" Josh asked Mike who spared a glance at Sam and Donna
before he answered.
"My boss completed his interview with Commander Jacobson, the
officer who assigned appointment tags to the individuals Medalliance
wanted in the White House?" Mike reminded them. "My boss is
convinced Jacobson wasn't the one who was with you that night in
your office."
"Then who was it?" Donna demanded. "I thought everyone
involved was in custody?"
********************************
"Sir, we have a complication. Secretary Phillips is calling
Commander Jacobson's cell phone. This is the second attempt."
"Is this his usual M.O.?" Sinclair asked Jacobson.
"When I'm on duty at the White House he contacts me via my cell,
yes. But I wasn't expecting a call from him."
"Can you call him back?" Sinclair asked, watching Jacobson
carefully. The commander was still close to the edge in his opinion, but
if he could get the Secretary to implicate himself it would speed things
up considerably.
Jacobson nodded and Sinclair held out his hand for the phone which his
subordinate dropped into his hand. "Keep it brief and make him come
to you. That way we can ensure your safety."
Jacobson hit the buttons that would connect him to the Secretary of
Health and Human Services. "Mr. Secretary, I'm sorry I missed
your calls. What can I do for you, sir?" Jacobson was able to keep
his voice level which impressed Sinclair to no end.
Jacobson held the phone between himself and Agent Sinclair so that he
too could hear the conversation.
"How are things going over there, Commander? There seems to be quite
a stir."
"Yes, sir. Apparently several arrests have been made and the F.B.I
is getting ready to issue a statement."
"Have you talked to anyone, Commander?"
"I was interviewed along with everybody else who was in the building
at the time of the attack. I haven't had any further requests for
information, sir, is there some reason to think that might change?"
"No, not that I'm aware of." Secretary Phillips replied.
"Still, I think it might be in our best interest to meet and make
sure everything is taken care of."
"Yes, sir. I'm all in favor of that, but I'm on duty for the
next 6 hours; schedule shift. We'll have to meet here."
"That's not a problem. It wouldn't be unusual for someone in
my position to want an update from the Chief of Staff in person.
I'll arrange an appointment there and then meet with you."
"Yes, sir. I will see you shortly, sir." Jacobson complete the
call.
"Well done, Commander. We're going to get you wired for your
meeting."
"Wouldn't it be easier to wire the office?" Jacobson asked.
"Yes, but we can't be sure he'll stay there with you. You
have the right to refuse this meeting; refuse to wear the wire."
Sinclair informed him. Sinclair thought it would help if Jacobson saw
this as his own choice to try to make restitution.
"No, I'll do it." Jacobson agreed and one of Sinclair's
agents went to get the necessary hardware. "That call you took
earlier; Josh Lyman is in the building?" Jacobson asked.
Sinclair paused before giving his answer. "Yes, he's under
additional protection in the building at present."
"Could you ask him if he'd be willing to speak to me?"
Jacobson requested.
"I can ask, but I'm not sure that would be too high on his
priority list right now." Sinclair admitted.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd try." Jacobson responded.
Sinclair nodded and made the call to Mike Casper.
"Sir, we have confirmation from the agents on site, Secretary
Phillips has left his home and is en route to the White House. Estimated
time of arrival is 25 minutes from now."
"Thanks." Sinclair acknowledged.
*******************************************
"Absolutely not." Donna answered before Josh could say a word.
"I think he was talking to me Donnatella." Josh quipped.
"And what happened to not making decisions without discussing
it?"
"That doesn't apply to situations like this when the answer is
obvious." Donna countered.
"Mike?" Josh turned to his friend for more input.
"Sinclair says he's a decent guy and Sinclair's an excellent
judge of character." Mike offered.
"Decent? He's a decent guy?" Donna protested.
"This is the man responsible for letting dangerous people into the
White House?" Sam confirmed.
"Yes, but according to his statement, he wasn't aware there was
any kind of physical danger involved."
"Well that makes it all better, then." Donna replied.
"I'm not saying it does, Donna." Mike responded evenly.
There was already way too much emotion in the room. "Sinclair said
they barely stopped the guy from shooting himself. He's pretty guilt
ridden about the situation and wanted the chance to apologize and take
responsibility for his actions."
"Then he can write a letter from his prison cell." Sam
suggested.
"Sam…" Josh began, but was at a loss for how to continue. Josh
knew a thing or two about guilt. It was an emotion that frequently
threatened to eat him up.
"You can't be thinking about doing this." Donna said to him.
"He's only got a small window of opportunity before Secretary
Phillips arrives." Mike added.
"I'll see him." Josh decided and had both Sam and Donna
gaping. "I have a few things I'd like to say to him too."
Donna took a seat at the conference table and looked away. Josh hunkered
down in front of her. "This is why we came back here; to get some
answers and some closure."
Donna looked at Josh and saw this was something he needed to do.
"Please be careful."
"Mike will take care of me. I'll be fine." Josh assured her.
Mike called Sinclair back and relayed the message to him. After another
minute he turned back to the trio watching him.
"Here's how it's going to work. I'm going to take Josh
to Jacobson's office. Agent Leong here is going to take Sam and
Donna with her to the Secret Service operations room. Then when Josh and
I are finished with Jacobson, we'll meet you two back there."
Josh gave Donna a quick kiss and followed Mike to the Commander's
office. Josh wasn't sure what he expected, but what he found was a
stereotypical military officer in his 40's who was being fitted with
a wire that would transmit and record his upcoming conversation with
Secretary Phillips. He looked tense, which Josh imagined fit the
circumstances, but Jacobson's face went pale and he stood up when he
spotted Josh.
"Mr. Lyman. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to apologize
to you in person. I can't tell you how sick I've been over what
happened to you."
"I can tell you how sick I was." Josh replied. "The drugs
your friends gave me nearly killed me, and as it is, they're not
sure what long term effects there might be."
"I swear, Mr. Lyman, I had no idea what they were planning to do to
you." Jacobson was visibly shaken now. "They aren't my
friends. They didn't buy my cooperation. I didn't gain anything
personally. They used my medical information-…It doesn't matter.
I picked my security over yours. It didn't seem like a very tough
call at the time. If I'd known just what they were planning, I never
would have helped them. I know you have no reason to believe me or
forgive me, but I hope someday you might do both."
"We need to go, Josh." Mike murmured.
"I'm going to fix what I can here. I can't undo what they
did to you, but I can and will help you get the justice you
deserve." Commander Jacobson promised.
Josh, at a loss for words, merely nodded. "Good luck,
Commander." He managed before Mike escorted him out and over to the
Secret Service offices.
Donna looked relieved to see him but Sam still looked grim.
"We get to stay and listen to this?" Josh queried.
"Only if you want to." Mike replied.
"I certainly do want to." Josh answered and then felt Donna
tense next to him. "Donna, you don't have to stay; neither of us
do I guess. What do you want to do?"
"I'll stay too." She replied.
"Sam?" Josh asked his friend.
"I think I need to hear this too." Sam told him.
"Then take a seat people. The curtain rises in just a few
minutes." Mike announced.
*************************************
"I thought they weren't going to allow him in the building."
President Bartlet mocked Leo.
"They're thinking they can get him to incriminate himself if
they go forward with the meeting between him and Commander
Jacobson." Leo explained. "He's asking for an update on the
investigation from me and then going to meet Jacobson."
The President thought about that for a minute. "Where are Josh and
Donna?"
"With the Secret Service. Ron is recommending Secret Service
protection for both of them until they're satisfied all the
individuals involved have been secured."
"Josh is going to love that." The President noted and Leo
nodded. "He has to agree to it; sign off on it. Do you have any
brilliant ideas about how you'll get him to that?"
"I won't have to. Donna will get him to sign off on it." Leo
said confidently.
The President raised his eyebrows in a silent question, but Leo
didn't elaborate further. "After this is done, I want to see
both of them in here."
"Yes, sir. I need to go now. Agent Sinclair will be sitting in on my
meeting with Secretary Phillips."
President Bartlet nodded and Leo left him alone in the Oval.
*********************************
The Secretary was escorted past security without a pause. When he got to
Leo's office, Margaret ushered him inside where he was introduced to
Agent Sinclair.
"Leo, you wouldn't believe the calls I've been getting. What
the hell is going on?"
"I'm afraid the lack of verifiable information is my fault Mr.
Secretary." Adam stepped in. "We've needed to play things
close to the vest until we were sure all the parties involved were in
custody. Now that we've completed our investigation, we can share
those details with you and the other cabinet members."
"The investigation is completed already?" Secretary Phillips
asked in surprise.
"We've had F.B.I. and Secret Service running around the clock on
this." Leo concurred. "This involved a member of the
President's staff as well as a member of the Senate. The President
has been getting hourly updates."
"I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that's it's all
been resolved." Phillips visibly relaxed.
"I have a copy of my final report for you, Mr. Secretary, and
you'll need to familiarize yourself with it since many of the
parties involved interact with your agency." Adam told him as he
handed him the papers. "In fact, if you could make yourself
available for the press conference, that would be tremendously
reassuring for the people to see the head of the agency taking an active
role in cleaning this all up."
"Well…yes, of course, whatever I can do to help." He
replied.
"Great. We'll do our briefing in an hour." Adam thanked him.
"You should grab some coffee and look over the report."
"Alright, I will." Phillips was about to leave when the door
between the Oval office and Leo's office suddenly burst open with
President Bartlet on the other side. Ron, sporting the most animated
face Leo had ever seen right next to him.
"Hello, Mr. President." Secretary Phillips addressed his boss.
"Bob, can you believe what the hell has been going on around
here?" The President asked him.
"No, sir. That is, Agent Sinclair just gave me a copy of his report
so I'm not up to speed an everything yet, but what I've heard so
far is astonishing."
"Yes, it certainly is." The President agreed. `"Now that
everyone involved is in custody, Agent Butterfield and I are reviewing
the interview transcripts. I swear to you Bob, these people, (Jed
Bartlet shook the papers in his hand) these people are going to feel the
fury of God's own thunder."
"Yes, sir." Secretary Phillips gulped.
"Sir, we REALLY need to get back to this now." Ron Butterfield
said urgently.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," President Bartlet replied and once again
closed the door to the Oval.
****************************
"Sir, I thought we had an understanding about no interaction with
Secretary Phillips." Ron tried to keep his patience reigned in.
"Yes, you said that under no circumstances could he be in the Oval
and that under no circumstances I could go into Leo's office while
he was there. I made sure to keep both feet from crossing the
threshold."
"You're very clever, Mr. President." Ron said sarcastically.
The fact that he'd elicited any kind of reaction from the normally
stoic Secret Service Agent pleased the President no end.
"I like to think so, Ron. What's next?" The President sat at
his desk and continued through the report with Ron.
**************************
"Commander?"
"Mr. Secretary." The Commander stood and it took all his skill
to keep from shaking. "Please come in."
The Secretary looked around for a minute. "Let's take a walk
instead. Stretch our legs."
Blew that one, Jacobson thought to himself. All he was supposed to do
was keep him in the office and 30 seconds in, he'd blown it already.
"Okay…sure. Let me grab my pager." Jacobson pulled the top
drawer of his desk but Secretary Phillips reached over and stopped him.
"You're not going to need it. It will just be a short walk."
Jacobson kept his face neutral.
"Yes, sir." Jacobson followed the Secretary out of his office
and down the hall.
"I have to keep this short. I'm scheduled to be part of the
F.B.I. briefing in less than an hour. I've heard directly from the
Agent in charge that they've concluded their arrests."
"You're kidding." Jacobson responded.
"No. I told you. There are no other links between us and these
cases. They've got it all sewn up with their usual Government
efficiency." Phillips drawled.
"What about Josh Lyman? I heard his memory has returned."
Jacobson inquired.
"If that was true, I wouldn't be standing her talking to you
right now." Secretary Phillips laughed.
Jacobson stopped walking for a moment causing the Secretary to stop as
well. Phillips pulled on his arm. "This way." Phillips directed
him and they began walking further downstairs.
On the other side of the building, the spectators of the show were
watching the proceedings with tension. The tension increased when Sam
saw the direction they were heading in.
"Where the hell are they going?" He asked no one in particular.
"Someplace out of the way and deserted." Mike responded. Sam
stood and grabbed a phone from the off the table.
Mike put his hand over it. `What are you doing?"
"They are heading straight toward Ainsley Hayes's office.
I'm calling to get her out of there."
"You can't. She can't come barreling out of there in the
middle of this." Mike told him.
"She can't get CAUGHT in the middle of this either." Sam
protested.
"The likelihood of them going-"
"Likelihood? You're going to talk to me about likelihood?"
Sam shouted.
"Mike…" Josh pleaded as they all watched the two men get closer
and closer to Ainsleys' office.
Mike took his hand off the phone. "Tell her to lock her door."
Sam hurriedly dialed and heard Ainsley's familiar voice.
"Ainsley! Walk quietly to your door and lock it. Lock it now."
Sam insisted.
"Sam? What are you-"
"Do it now, Hayes. Lock the door." Sam instructed. Ainsley did
as she was told.
She brought her voice down to a whisper. "What's going on? Are
we crashed?"
"Stay away from the door until I tell you it's safe to open it
again." Sam watched in growing horror as Phillips tried one door and
then another before getting to Ainsley's door. All of them blessedly
locked. It took 3 more tries before Phillips found a door that was open
and ushered Jacobson inside.
"We need to sever our relationship, Commander." Phillips wasted
no time. "You are the only thing linking me to this mess and I'm
the only thing left linking you to this mess. We both need to
disappear."
"I'm not interested in disappearing, Mr. Secretary."
Jacobson told him. "My career is my life. That's how I wound up
in this to begin with."
"Your CAREER is going to end one way or another, Commander. Believe
me when I tell you this is the more pleasant alternative."
"Are you threatening me, Mr. Secretary? Because I have to say that
if my career is over, I have very little too lose in marching upstairs
and talking to the Secret Service about what I know." Jacobson's
real anger started to show. Sinclair whispered in his earpiece to take
it down a notch. Jacobson took a breath. "I'm sorry, sir.
It's been a tense few weeks."
Phillips seemed to consider this, then answered more calmly.
"I'm sure it has. But I have the ability to make your retirement
more comfortable. You leave the country immediately. You'll have an
offshore account to access once you're overseas."
"And you? What guarantee do I have that you won't pin the whole
thing on me once I've left?"
"How could I implicate you without implicating myself?" Phillips
reasoned.
"I was the one who got those people in the building, not you."
"But I was the one in Lyman's office that night, not you."
Phillips reminded him.
"I couldn't get an appointment tag set up that quickly that
night." Jacobson replied.
"With the vote going on, things were hectic, and I was expected to
be there working the vote anyway. No one missed me for the half hour I
spent locked in Lyman's office feeding him pills and liquor."
Phillips explained. "It was the easiest million I ever made."
"Over a vote?"
"Over a Government policy that would cost our country millions of
dollars and lose my friends hundreds of millions of dollars. For what?
Health care for illegal immigrant children and children of parents who
can't get a job and provide for their own family? What a joke."
"Aren't you concerned that now that this whole thing has been
revealed it will get more sympathy for the bill you're trying to
oppose?"
"The bill is dead. And even if Lyman isn't, his reputation has
been forever tarnished. Who's going to want a man with a serious
mental disorder running their campaign or their Government? Even more;
who is going to want to spearhead the opposition when they've seen
what happens to the people who do? No one is going to want to pick up
and be the next standard bearer for this issue. That I can promise."
Phillips assured him. He handed Jacobson an envelope.
"Everything you'll need is in there. New ID, off shore accounts;
everything. It would be best if you were gone within the next few hours.
Then next week, disillusioned with the failings of Government work, I
will resign and move my family far, far, away."
Jacobson made a show of thinking things over. Then looked up and met his
eyes. "Yes, sir."
Phillips smiled and shook Jacobson's hand. "Have a good trip,
Commander." Phillips left Jacobson alone in the room and Jacobson
tipped his head back until it hit the wall.
"Well done, Commander." Sinclair's voice came into
Jacobson's earpiece again.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I'd like you to go back to your office until we make the
arrest."
"Yes, sir." Jacobson agreed and walked slowly back to his office
where another agent met him. Jacobson peeled off the mic/camera and
earpiece before laying them on his desk. "Agent Sinclair will be
down to see you shortly, Commander."
************************************************
"Ains? It's safe to leave now." Sam spoke to her on the
phone.
"Are you sure? Cause I could just stay here and get a little more
work done, you know?"
Sam almost laughed at her response. "Tell you what? I'll come
down there and get you."
"That would be better." Ainsley agreed quickly.
"I'll be right there." Sam promised. Mike motioned for an
agent to go with him and Sam made no objection.
Silent tears ran down Donna's face. When Josh noticed them, he took
her arm and pulled her down to sit on his lap; holding her close.
"He sat in your office and gave you pills he believed would kill
you."
"And Mike here is going to make sure he pays for that, right
Mike?"
"Damn straight." Mike replied.
"He can't. There's nothing he can do that will be payment
enough." Donna maintained.
"Maybe that's exactly what you should say during your victim
impact statement." Mike suggested and Donna's head whipped
around.
"I'm not the victim here."
"The hell you're not." Mike replied. "Weren't you
the one who found him barely alive? Wasn't your life impacted with
the fear, the investigation, your job, your home?"
"Mike's right." Josh agreed. "We were all impacted by
this." He turned to Mike. "Am I clear to take a walk?"
"The President wants to see both of you in the Oval." Mike
informed them. "I'll walk you up."
They trio walked somberly up to the Oval; Josh and Donna were
immediately sent in. The President rose from his desk and took Donna
into his arms like she was one of his daughters before embracing Josh in
a similar hug.
"Am I glad to see the two of you." He exclaimed. "Please sit
down."
Josh and Donna took a seat together on the couch opposite the President
"Ron tells me that he and Adam will have this wrapped up by morning.
There's going to be a lot of fall out naturally; not the least of
which means replacing several members of Congress and my Secretary for
Health and Human Services." The President paused. "I also need
to know if I'm going to have to look for a new Deputy Chief of
Staff."
Donna looked over at Josh and saw the turmoil on his face; she took his
hand in hers.
"But that's not an answer that you need at this moment, is it
sir?" Donna asked. "Surely someone who's been through
everything Josh has been through in the last few weeks has earned some
time to think about it, right?"
"She's still taking care of you I see." The President
addressed his remark to Josh before turning to Donna. "Of course he
has. You both have. If it means anything, the White House, through C.J.,
and I personally, will be making statements of support for you. I need
you Joshua. I don't know that I can get through re-election without
you."
"I'm sure you can, sir, but I appreciate the sentiment."
Josh replied. "Is there anything else, sir? We'd both like to go
home."
"There is one last thing." President Bartlet got up from the
couch and crossed over to his desk where he retrieved a piece of paper.
"You're going to have Secret Service protection for awhile, but
in order for me to order it, you need to sign this." He handed the
paper to Josh. He started to protest, but Donna handed him a pen.
"Sign it, Joshua." She insisted. His mouth twitched.
"I was going to, Donnatella. I was simply going to ask the President
about protection for you."
"I don't need my own protection." She stated.
"You'll have protection; and where you go, I go." Josh
smiled and signed the paper. Then he shocked the hell out of her and
kissed her right there in the Oval office in front of the President.
"It looks like we may have a couple more issues to deal with when
you come back." The President quipped just as Leo came in.
"If it's going to be a problem, sir, I'll give you my
resignation right now." Josh stood up and faced his boss.
"That's not going to be a problem for me, Joshua. Is it a
problem for you, Leo?"
"Is what a problem, sir?"
"Josh seems to be concerned that kissing Donna might be a problem
for one of us. Frankly, I think he means you; everybody knows what a
romantic I am."
Leo shook his head. "No, no problem here. I've already
transferred her to my office. She'll direct report to me from now on
and I can loan her out to my senior staff as needed."
"Then she still works with me?" Josh clarified.
"I think it's taken for granted that you're the senior staff
with the most needs." Leo replied and Josh smirked.
"Professional needs you idiot. This arrangement is contingent, of
course, on Donna's agreement. When she gets tired of taking your
grief, she only has to say the word and I move her on to C.J. or
Toby."
Donna walked over and kissed Leo on the cheek. "Thanks Leo."
"When can you be back at work?" Leo asked his Deputy.
"I haven't decided whether or not I'm coming back to work
yet." Josh answered.
"Of course you're coming back to work. Take a day or two; rest
up, then get your ass back at your desk. We have a re-election campaign
to work on." Leo ordered before he crossed back to his office.
"That means he's missed you." The President translated.
"Take as much time as you both need. Get some rest."
"Thank you, Mr. President." Donna replied.
"Thank you, sir." Josh echoed and they walked out hand in hand,
making Jed smile for the first time all day.
"Charlie!" he bellowed for his bodyman.
"Yes, sir."
"Send Sam and Toby in please, will you?"
"Yes, sir."
*********************
By the time Sam got done explaining all that had been happening, Ainsley
was even more freaked out than she had been on the phone.
"Who knew working at the White House could be such a dangerous
prospect?" she asked.
"I don't know that you were in any actual danger, but I
didn't want them anywhere near you."
"Thank you, Sam." Ainsley kissed his cheek just as his pager
went off. Sam spared a glance at it.
"I have to go see the President. Why don't you bring some of
your stuff upstairs and you can work in my office for awhile?"
"Sure." Ainsley agreed, gathered her things, and matched him
step for step until they reached the Oval office. Then Ainsley moved off
to go work in his office.
Charlie waved him in.
Once inside, Sam noted Toby was already there. "The head of my
Secret Service is currently arresting my Secretary of Health and Human
Services. C.J. is going to need a statement to read very shortly and
I'm going to need a speech for tomorrow morning."
"What would you like to say, sir?' Toby asked.
"That this scandal is not a measure of what Government is or what it
stands for."
"Isn't it?" Sam asked.
"Sam…" Toby warned.
"No, Sam it isn't." Bartlet reaffirmed. "It's not
why you're here, or Toby, or C.J., or Josh. Is everyone here pure of
heart and purpose? No. We're human beings. Some of us make mistakes
in who we trust, some of us choose money and power over the people
we're supposed to represent, and some of us…don't trust the
electorate and tell them we have M.S."
"Sir, I didn't mean-" Sam began.
"I know you didn't but you could have. More than a few will draw
parallels between my lack of disclosure and the corruption surrounding
this healthcare bill." The President surmised.
"It's not the same, sir." Toby offered. "It's not
even within driving distance of the same thing."
"I don't think so, Toby, but others might; they will.
They'll look at the newspapers tomorrow, read the headlines and
decide we're all self-serving liars and thieves concerned only with
our own best interests."
"Then we need to say something to counteract that." Toby
replied.
"More importantly, we need to do something to counteract that."
Sam countered.
"Get C.J.'s statement ready first; she'll need it within the
hour. Then we'll worry about my speech." The President said by
way of dismissal. Just as Sam reached the door, President Bartlet called
him back.
"Sam, did you have chance to talk to Josh when he got back
today?"
"Yes, sir, I did."
"I've asked him to take a few days to recuperate from all this
while he considers whether or not he'll come back."
"Do you think he will?"
"I'm not sure. I was hoping you could help me convince him."
"I may not be the right person for that job, sir."
"Why not?"
"I'm having trouble convincing myself to come back tomorrow. I
couldn't possibly convince Josh."
"It's easy to become disillusioned, Sam. There are plenty of
people in the world who'll give us plenty of ammunition for that.
You could go back to practicing law; I'm sure there's lots of
good you could accomplish there."
`Yeah, I can go back to protecting oil companies from liability
claims." Sam huffed.
President Bartlet chuckled. "There's that…or you could help
me get a couple bills passed this session. I was thinking a bill
allowing gay servicemen and women to openly serve. Plus, there's
this universal health care bill that needs another vote."
Sam looked up at him in surprise. "You should have heard Phillips,
Mr. President. He was so sure that the bill would never be resurrected
because of the damage they did to Josh and anyone who aligned themselves
with him. That Josh's career could never be resurrected because
he's been diagnosed with PTSD."
"In my faith, we widely believe in resurrection." Th President noted.
"Phillips isn't alone in his opinion. I don't know who's
going to take Josh's phone calls anymore let alone be persuaded by
him on a Congressional vote issue."
The President merely continued to look at Sam and waited for him to
continue.
"Even if Josh comes back, he's the last person who should touch
a new health care bill."
"Actually, I was thinking he should take the gay rights bill, and
you should take on the health care bill." President Bartlet opined.
"The gays in the military are essentially dealing with the issue of
prejudice. People don't think gays can serve effectively in the
military. It seems to me that Josh is dealing with the same sort of
prejudice. He'd be the natural choice on that issue. Who'd
understand it better?"
"That's one way of looking at it, sir." Sam replied.
"That leaves you and universal health." President Bartlet noted.
"I'm a speech writer, Mr. President. I can't negotiate on
the hill like Josh can."
"Think of it as a series of small speeches then; persuasive speeches
for a very small, targeted audience." President Bartlet suggested
and Sam laughed. "You were right, Sam. It isn't enough to talk
about changing things, we have to actually change them, but I can't
change them by myself. Will you help me do that?"
"Yes, sir." Sam said quietly.
"Let Toby take care of C.J.'s statement. You start on my speech
for tomorrow. Make sure you include language for the two new bills I
want to see on my desk."
"Yes, sir." Sam understood he was being dismissed and got up to
leave. He found Ainsley seated at his desk typing away furiously.
"What are you working on?"
"Polishing up some language on employment law." She replied
without looking up. "I suppose you need your desk back."
"No stay put. I can work here…but I was wondering if you could
help me a bit."
"Sure, with what? You need something translated into
Republican?" she quipped.
"I'm trying to forget you speak Republican." Sam responded.
"The President wants me to work on an address for him to give
tomorrow. He wants to include his desire to see new bills on his desk;
gays in the military and universal health care."
"Nothing like shooting for the stars." Ainsley noted.
"It's a challenge." Sam agreed. "Will you help me?"
Ainsley saw a spark in Sam's eyes that had been missing earlier; a
sense of purpose?
"Sure. Give me another 20 minutes or so to finish this and then you
can show me what you've got."
"Okay." Sam opened his laptop, rolled up his sleeves, and
prepared to get to work.
**************************************
"Hold on a second." Josh requested. "I'd like to stop in
my office a minute."
The agents with them nodded their approval and moved ahead in that
direction.
"Josh, we don't have to do this right now." Donna reminded
him.
"I know, but I want to, okay?"
"Okay."
The first agent opened the closed office door and after a cursory
examination, stepped aside to let Josh and Donna enter, then waited
outside the office to give them some privacy. Things had been cleaned up
since they'd been there last. It was much too clean and neat to have
been inhabited by Josh Lyman.
"Looks like they wrecked my organizational system." Josh
attempted to joke and earned a half smile from Donna. "It will take
me weeks to get things back the way they were."
"You've already decided, then?" Donna asked. "About
coming back?"
"Not for certain; I mean we haven't discussed it yet, for one
thing." Josh sent her a dimpled grin. "But I don't know that
I have much choice. Where else could I work? What else could I do? There
aren't going to be a lot of people clamoring to hire me after the
press I've been getting."
"Josh…"
"It's true Donna. The President may not even be able to keep me
on board for long. I should take it while it's still on the table.
Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah. That's okay with me. But I think we should consider
changing offices." She shuddered as she looked around; remembering
the last time she had been in here with Josh.
"I don't know…maybe we should just work on creating some new
memories in here." Josh suggested and tugged her closer for a kiss.
"There are a lot of unresolved fantasies I have of being in here
with you, like this." He kissed her a little deeper and felt her get
pulled into the kiss.
"I have a couple involving you and that chair." Donna admitted
when his mouth strayed to her ear. Josh was about to comment when a
knock on the door sent them both scurrying apart one second before C.J.
came in.
"God, are you two a sight for sore eyes!" she exclaimed and gave
them both hugs. "Toby's finishing up my statement, so I've
only got a few minutes, but I had to come see you both."
"You've got be experiencing major league migraines these
days." Donna noted.
"Tylenol is my friend." She quipped. "Is there anything
either of you would like me say in there?"
"Thank the F.B.I. agents and Secret Service agents for their
exceptional work." Josh told her then looked at Donna for her input.
"Yes, and the President for his support." Donna added.
"I'll include it at the top." C.J. told them. "Listen,
Josh, you need to think about something; not today, not tomorrow, but
soon."
"I'm not doing a sit down, C.J." Josh stated.
"You should do a sit down, Josh." C.J. continued as if he
hadn't spoken. "Take some time, think about it, then tell me who
you'd be most comfortable sitting down with. Go get some rest."
She quickly left before Josh could respond.
"I'm not doing a sit down." Josh repeated.
"I'm not asking you to."
"SHE'S asking me to."
"No, she asking you to think about it." Donna corrected.
"And you should…think about it. But for now, we should listen to
the several million people who are suggesting we go home and rest."
"Rest? From what? The long drive from the safe house where we were
resting previously?"
"From the tremendous emotional stress of the past few days…the
past few weeks." She corrected herself and put her arm through
Josh's. "Take me home, Joshua."
Of all the things he'd heard in his life, that one phrase was among
the best of them.
"Home it is."
"Hey another great thing about the agents? We don't have to
drive." Donna noted. "No dealing with traffic or parking. That
alone makes it worth it to keep them around, don't you think?"
Josh chuckled. "I really do." He agreed. "Maybe we could go
incite Mary Marsh to do something violent and watch the agents take her
down."
"Now you're talking…" Donna told him.
*********************************************************
"Commander, the President asked me to express his appreciation for
your assistance in this investigation." Sinclair told him as he took
a seat across the desk from Jacobson. Jacobson was staring at the
envelope Phillips had given him. At length, he picked it up and handed
it to Sinclair.
"You'll be needing this for evidence. Your man shouldn't
have left it with me. I could have been out the door 30 seconds behind
him." Jacobson noted.
"I know." Sinclair said, surprising the younger man. "Yet,
here you sit, waiting for me."
"That was some kind of test? You wanted to see if I'd do the
right thing?"
"I wanted you to see that you'd do the right thing."
Sinclair corrected. "I've made arrangements for your parents to
be flown in so you can talk to them in person here at the White
House."
" I…thank you, sir." Jacobson stammered.
"You can wait for them here. Then we'll have to move you."
Sinclair added as he picked up the hardware Jacobson had used to record
evidence on Phillips. "You need anything while you're
waiting?"
"No, sir. I'm fine." Jacobson hesitated. "Sir, can I
ask…I mean…why…?"
Sinclair got the gist of his question despite the lack of a full
sentence. He pulled out his wallet and turned it to the picture of a
grinning young man in his 20's.
"My big brother Andrew." Sinclair told him. "I thought the
sun rose and set on that kid. Our dad wasn't military, but he was a
cop; which in my book is almost as bad. His junior year in college he
wasn't quite as careful as he'd been the first two years and
rumors spread. So one night, when a herd of drunken asses got it in
their head to beat up a resident fag, they searched out Andrew. They
kept him alive in ICU for 11 hours; which was just long enough for us to
get there and say goodbye."
Jacobson, whose eyes had left Sinclair's and moved back to the
picture of Andrew, felt tears filling them. He handed the picture back
to Sinclair.
"I'm sorry." Darrel didn't know what else to say.
"Me too." Sinclair added. "Anyway, that's why. He's
also why I'm in law enforcement."
Sinclair opened the door to leave. "Be sure to catch the
President's speech tomorrow at 8 am. You're going to like
it."
********************************
"Donna, will you please tell my mother that I'm fine?" He
held the phone out to her.
"Ruth, his blood pressure it is a little high, but Dr. Bartlet just
left here and she isn't worried about it. He's not going back to
work for a few days yet, so he'll get plenty of rest." Donna
smiled at whatever Ruth was telling her. "I promise. Here's
Josh." She handed the phone back to Joshua.
"I told you, mom. Why do you believe Donna and not your only
son?"
"Experience." She replied. "If you're really not hurt,
why can't I see your face on TV anywhere?"
"I'm keeping a low profile." Josh answered. "Donna and I
are holed up at my place until this blows over. President Bartlet has
assigned a couple agents to keep an eye on us. We're fine."
"What about your promise, Joshua?"
"What promise?"
"To come to Connecticut once this was taken care of." Ruth
reminded him.
"I don't know that you could say this was `taken care
of' mom. There's still a lot to clear up."
"Don't mince words with me, Joshua."
"I'm not. I just-"
"Bring Donna and come out here."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Well, since I know what you're capable of, I'll expect to
see you both shortly. I love you."
"I love you, too." Josh hung up the phone sighing.
"You two certainly exhaust one another." Donna noted when she
joined him on the bed. The TV was on mute in the background; they were
waiting for the Presidential address.
"How would you feel about a short trip?" Josh broached the
subject cautiously.
"I go where you go." She replied and kissed him without another
question or comment.
"You're not going to even ask where or for how long?"
"Nope." She replied and kissed him again with a little more
voltage. Being that Josh wasn't a morning person, it took him a
couple minutes before he realized what she was doing.
"Donna! That was sneaky!" he accused.
Donna rolled back over and sighed. "You can't blame me for
trying."
"Yes, I can. You know I want to see this live." Josh replied
turning the sound up on the TV.
"But Dr. Bartlet said you should try to keep your blood pressure
down and this is not going to help that cause." She argued as C.J.
prepared the press room for the President's address.
"I just want to see the speech and then I'll turn it off."
He promised.
"Ha! First the speech, then the spin, then the reaction to the
spin…"
"I promise." Josh assured her.
"Like you promised your mom we'd come to Connecticut?"
"Yes, and I'll keep both promises…I …promise." Josh
finished lamely and Donna laughed.
"Fine; you watch the speech while I get online and book us
tickets."
"Deal." Josh agreed and kissed her once more before President
Bartlet took the podium.
"Good morning." He began. "The events of the past few days
have been unsettling to say the least. That members of our Government
would actively engage in illegal and unethical behavior sets a pallor on
everyone who works so diligently here to make a difference in the lives
of all Americans…But it does not define us; not as a Government and
not as a nation…"
****************************
"He sounds good." Ainsley determined. "You did well,
Cyrano."
"We did well, Roxanne." Sam corrected her. "We make a good
team. I do the writing and you do the eating."
"Uh-huh. You ate right along with me, Samuel." She popped a
piece of her donut in his mouth for emphasis.
"I needed the brain fuel." Sam countered.
"Looks like you found your reason to come back into work
tomorrow." Ainsley noted when the President announced Sam would be
taking point on Universal Health Care.
"Looks like I may have found more than one." He replied looking
steadily at his all night writing partner.
*****************************************
"We're officially off duty; have a drink with me Ron." Adam
Sinclair handed Ron a bottled beer. Ron hesitated briefly, then clinked
bottles with Adam.
"It was a pleasure to work with you Adam. You've got a tight
team." Ron declared. "That comes from solid leadership."
"You too." Adam returned the compliment. "We're going to
be doing paperwork on this one until we're grey, you know."
"Yeah, I kind of figured." Ron muttered. "We're
re-evaluating our appointment tag process. Obviously, that's a weak
link for us."
"I'd be happy to look at that with you."
"I'd appreciate it." Ron answered.
"Ron, it was a massive conspiracy, there wasn't a big red flag,
or even a small red flag for that matter. Not until Josh Lyman; and you
were the first one to pick up on that." Adam had a feeling Ron was
taking this as a personal failure.
"It is my job to see that the White House is secure."
"It's your job to see that the President is secure. As far as I
could tell during that stirring speech he gave earlier, he alive and
well."
"Adam-"
"Mistakes were made. We're going to figure them out and correct
them. That analysis and this experience is going to make us all better
at what we do."
"In your humble opinion?" Ron smiled.
"Maybe not so much humble…" Adam returned the smile. "I
need some sleep. I'm going home. You should too. We'll look at
this fresh in the morning." Adam got up and chugged the rest of his
beer.
"Will do. Just do me a favor and take a cab home?" Ron
requested.
"I'll do you one better. My lovely wife is picking me up at the
gate." Adam's eyebrows wiggled. "See you tomorrow."
*********************************
"Hey, you're back!" Sam slapped Josh on the shoulder.
"Leo's been blustering around for days. It's not safe
anywhere in the West Wing. Where's Donna?"
"She's in with C.J." Josh informed him. "Did you get my
message about the speech? It was amazing; lofty and inspiring. You
outdid yourself. Toby must have chewed several fingers off."
"Surprisingly, he remained pretty calm." Sam told him.
"Ainsley and I worked on it together."
"Ainsley Hayes? You worked on a Presidential address with the blond
Republican?"
"She not just- Wait a second!" Sam protested and stopped in his
tracks.
"Yes?" Josh stopped with him, amused.
"You are…(Sam lowered his voice) romantically involved with your
senior assistant and you're giving me grief about Ainsley?"
"Well, yeah…she's a Republican!" Josh continued to yank
his friend's chain.
"She's a smart, funny, dedicated public servant and we are damn
lucky yo have her working here!"
"Yes, we are." Josh agreed and kept walking.
"Yes, we are. And I'll tell you another thing- Did you just say
`yes, we are'?"
"I did and we are."
Sam watched his friend carefully as they walked into Josh's office.
"You're not just saying that to get out of what I said about you
and Donna?"
"Nope. Besides, the thing with me and Donna isn't a problem
anymore."
"Oh really? And why is that?"
"Because while there are several rules about working with someone
you're dating in the White House, there are no rules about working
with someone you're married to." Josh grinned so big his dimples
popped out and Sam's jaw dropped.
"You didn't!" he accused.
"I did. It cost me $30 bucks and 2 round trip plane tickets from
Wisconsin, but I did it."
"It cost who $30 bucks?" Donna asked as she breezed in to his
office with several files on gays in the military.
"Okay, it cost Donna $30 bucks." Josh admitted and Sam smacked
his friend on the head with his notepad.
"You made Donna pay for the marriage license?" Sam asked
indignantly. "Have I taught you nothing?"
"They didn't take credit cards and you know I don't carry
cash." Josh defended himself. "I paid for a very nice honeymoon
suite."
"That was very nice." Donna agreed smiling. Sam looked back and
forth between them.
"Well I guess congratulations are in order; at least for Josh.
Donna, you get my heartfelt sympathy." He gave them both hugs.
"What did C.J. say?" Josh asked his wife.
"She'll set it up with Chris Matthews for tomorrow. She also
wants you to clear 2 hours on your schedule to prep with her."
"I don't need to prep for a sit down with Matthews." Josh
claimed.
"Yes, you do." Sam and Donna answered simultaneously.
"I expect this from him." Josh jerked his thumb at Sam. "But
aren't you supposed to do the supportive wife thing?"
"Not while we're at work. You know the rules." Donna said
primly. "You have staff in 5 minutes and rumor has it Leo is already
pissed, so I'd get moving if I were you."
"Yes, ma'am." Josh smiled but stole a kiss on his way out.
He and Sam did their walk and talk while they traveled to Leo's
office. Sam brought him up to speed on the new health care bill and what
had been happening on the hill in the wake of the resignations in
Congress. They certainly had their work cut out for them.
"How nice of you to join us, Mr. Lyman." Leo said sarcastically
once Josh and Sam got to the meeting.
"Hey, I'm 5 minutes early!" Josh defended himself.
"You're 3 days late." Leo corrected and motioned for the
group to follow him into the Oval.
"Sorry, Leo, I promised Donna we'd at least have a short
Honeymoon." Josh proclaimed while he followed his boss.
"A Honeymoon?" The President picked up on the last word.
"Josh Lyman, did you take advantage of this enforced time off to get
that innocent young woman to marry you?"
"I did, sir."
"Good for you. Congratulations. Have Donna stop by later so I can
tell her how happy I am in person."
"Yes, sir."
Toby and C.J. who had heard the news already just smiled while Leo
squirmed.
"Great. Good. Can we move on to the business of running a country
now?" He groused.
"Have you no romance in your soul, Leo." The President asked.
"None that I've been able to detect, sir."
"Fine. I hear C.J.'s arranging for a sit down with Josh and
Chris Matthews."
"Yes, sir." C.J. responded. "That will give Josh a chance to
tell people about his experience and give a plug for the new bill
he's working on. Public support has been very high. It may take
awhile for Congress to catch up with them, being that they're a
lower form of life, but I'm confident it can be done, over
time."
"I've got 3 sponsors in the Senate and 8 in the House for the
Lyman health initiative." Sam announced and would have sworn his
friend blushed. Sam had argued for the name vigorously. He felt if the
bill and the man, were going to be rehabilitated in public and
Congressional opinion, they couldn't sever the link; they had to
build on it.
"Can I just say what a stupid name that is one more time?" Toby
joked to ease the tension that had dropped into the Oval office.
"Next time you're almost killed writing a speech, we'll name
it after you." C.J. promised.
"Josh?" The President asked him his opinion with one word.
Everyone was making plans for and about him, but no one was asking him
if he was ready for all this.
"What's next?" Josh replied meeting the eyes of the
President.
The End.