“Well somebody better damn well have an explanation!” Agent Sinclair roared. The five agents
on his team that had been entrusted with this high level assignment were experienced enough
not to flinch outwardly, but on the inside…
“Well?!” he demanded of the group at large.
“It seems that someone got wind of the direction of our investigation and decided to remove the
target before he could be taken into custody.” Agent Hayes responded.
Yes, it does seem that way, doesn’t it, Hayes?” Sinclair agreed. “My question is how someone
might have gotten wind of the direction of our investigation.”
“Sir, we’ve all taken the utmost precautions in this case. I’d have a hard time believing anyone
here would have made such a rookie mistake.”
“I don’t have to believe it. I have proof. A US Senator is dead, ladies and gentlemen. Now we
have two crimes to investigate and one less suspect who might have been able to provide some
answers.” Sinclair shouted. “I’m supposed to go brief the President now. How do you suppose I’m
feeling about that briefing right now Agent Peters?”
“Not very good, sir.” She replied without making eye contact.
“That’s a bit of an understatement. Find out where we fucked up, people. I want some answers
before I’m standing in the Oval.” He gave each of them a hard look and they mumbled ‘yes, sir’s’
as they quickly filed out.
“Agent Casper, hold up a minute please.” Sinclair ordered and waited until his office cleared of
the other agents. “You need to move Lyman…now.”
“Yes, sir.” Mike had anticipated that request and had already chosen a safe house. He had told
no one about the location he picked. “He’s not going to go without Donna Moss.”
Sinclair sighed. “How much of a stink will he make if we tell him ‘no’.”
“No stink at all sir; he simply won’t leave if he thinks Ms. Moss might be in danger.” Mike said
honestly.
“Fine. Take them both.” Sinclair instructed while he put on his coat for his ride to the White
House. “Just get them there an hour ago, understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Mike exited right after his boss; stealing himself for the confrontation with Josh.
************************
“Holy hell, Ron…” Adam rubbed his eyes. “What a fucking mess.”
Ron studied Adam Sinclair carefully and saw the residual guilt that one always feels when a life is
lost during an investigation.
“One of our people tripped an alarm or Harmon got nervous and tried to back out. It has to be
one of those two.” Ron offered.
“Either way, we’ve hit a serious road block with Harmon unable to answer questions.”
“We’ll get through it Adam.” Ron assured him. “We’ve got other leads.”
“But they all filtered through Harmon.” Sinclair argued.
“There’s more, it will just take a little more time.”
“How much time do you suppose Lyman’s got?” Sinclair asked.
“Enough.” Ron answered. “I swear, Adam, that man’s got nine lives.”
Sinclair’s pager went off seconds before Ron Butterfield’s. Ron got on the phone and Adam
turned on the television as his page instructed him to do.
“…and in another bizarre turn of events, it’s being reported that the man checked into the
hospital two days ago as Josh Lyman, is NOT , in fact the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.
The hospital, which refuses to comment on any patient receiving treatment, will not confirm or
deny the report, but we have two independent confirmations that Josh Lyman is not currently
receiving treatment there.”
“Son of a bitch!” Sinclair muttered. “We got a leak.” He dialed Mike Casper on his cell. “Get
Lyman out of there now. It’s all over the news that he isn’t in the hospital.” He abruptly hung up.
“I need to go brief the President.” Adam told Ron who nodded as he finished his call.
“I’ll go with you. We have a break at another end. I’ll fill you in on our way upstairs.” Ron
promised.
*********************
Josh was waiting patiently, well somewhat patiently, while Donna packed a bag and Mike paced.
Mike’s nervousness was adding to Josh’s. As predicted, Josh had refused to leave without
Donna. Mike understood better why that was when he watched his friend tell Donna to go pack
some things and then gave her a reassuring, but lingering kiss. Since then, they’d been waiting
for her in the living room.
“Is it within the district?” Josh had decided to spend his waiting time playing 20 questions with
Mike about where he was taking them. He knew Mike wouldn’t tell him where they were going and
the questions would drive Mike nuts; which for Josh, just added more fun to the game.
“Lyman…” Mike said warningly.
“Does it have 2 bedrooms, or will Donna and I have to share?” Josh continued.
“I’ll make sure you’re separated if you don’t shut the hell up.”
“A house would be nice.” Josh went on without paying heed to Mike. “More privacy than an
apartment…maybe a nice yard…”
“Yeah, it will be good to have someplace to bury your body.” Mike muttered. His cell rang and he
picked it up. “Casper.” He listened for a couple seconds before hanging it up and literally running
into the bedroom grabbing Donna by arm and exiting just as quickly.
“We’re going now.” Mike announced, trusting Josh to stick close to Donna and him. Two agents
met them at the back door to the building. After getting some kind of signal, Mike pushed Donna
and Josh out into the alley and into a waiting car.
Once they were safely on the road, Josh looked over at Mike who was driving them.
“You had a sudden urge to get going?” Josh queried.
“A sudden urge spurred on by an announcement on the news that you are not actually in the
hospital as advertised.” Mike admitted. Donna looked alarmed while Josh just looked pissed.
”It’s going to be fine, Donna.” Mike met her gaze in the rear view mirror. “We’re going to move
you two a little farther out of Dodge.”
“Great.” Josh nodded. “Another fool proof plan.”
“Damnit, Josh!” Mike swore but kept his gaze scanning around them. “There’s obviously a leak.”
“You think?!” Josh spouted back.
“Nobody knows where I’m taking you; not the Director, not my boss, not the President. We’ll plug
the leak and finish this thing.” Mike countered.
“Yeah?” Josh asked in a quieter voice.
“Yeah.” Mike quieted down too. “We’re getting an escort to the highway, then they drop off too.”
“Maybe you should pick up a date. We could make it a romantic getaway.” Josh quipped.
“I figure with very little effort I can steal Donna from you, so maybe you should just be quiet.”
Mike shot back.
“Maybe you should let Mike concentrate on driving, and you know, keeping people from killing
us?” Donna suggested.
Josh put his arm around Donna and watched out the windows himself. He wasn’t sure what he
was going to do if he saw something alarming or even what might qualify as alarming, but he kept
watching. The escort cars dropped off as promised and Mike continued another hour before
pulling into the garage of middle class home complete with a white picket fence. He told them not
to open their doors until the automatic garage door closed completely. Then he led them inside
the house.
The blinds were drawn, so it was a little dark inside, but other than that, it resembled any other
house they’d been in.
Mike paused by the pass through door to the garage to set an alarm while Josh and Donna
watched quietly, unsure of what to do next.
“The bedrooms are upstairs, pick whichever one you like.”
“I need to call my mom.” Josh told Mike gesturing for Donna to go ahead upstairs. She reluctantly
took her bag up. “She’s going to be pretty freaked.”
“You can’t.” Josh started to protest, but Mike continued. “I’ll make sure word gets to her, Josh,
but you can’t call her. You can’t call anyone; which works out well since there isn’t a functioning
phone in this house.”
Josh finally nodded his agreement. “Look, I’m sorry about before, with the yelling. This is all a
little too James Bond for me, that’s all. You know I appreciate what you’re doing, what you have
done, for me right?”
“It’s my job.”
“Yeah, but I’ve been giving you a lot of shit for it lately, and I’m sorry about that.”
Mike nodded his acceptance of the apology and Josh left to go find Donna. He found her in the
master bedroom looking out the window into a picturesque backyard.
“We could pretend we’re on a long weekend getaway.” She suggested without turning around to
face him. “No work, no phones, no people…”
“Except for our eccentric butler, Casper.” Josh finished the scenario and moved behind Donna to
put his arms around her and rest his head on her shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay.” He promised and felt her nod.
“It’s a pretty yard.” She noted.
“Maybe we should look for one like this in Connecticut.” He mused and had her turning around in
his arms smiling sardonically.
“You wouldn’t make it a month in a Connecticut. You’d be bored out of your mind.” She
challenged him.
“I could adapt.” He refuted.
“Josh Lyman, I love you, but adaptability isn’t among your attributes. You’re just trying to distract
me right now.”
“How’s that working?” he asked.
“Not very well.” She noted.
“Well I could step it up, but I don’t know how you’d feel about that with Mike downstairs.” He
kissed her to show her his intentions.
“No, that’s not happening.” Donna insisted.
“Mike’s a professional, Donna, I’m sure he’d be discreet.” He played with her a little more, but
she wasn’t buying it.
“I’m sure he is, but he won’t need to be.” Donna responded and pulled away from him. “Let’s go
back downstairs.”
“Then what are we supposed to do all day?” Josh whined but followed her down the stairs.
“I’m not sure.” Donna noted, feeling nervous and restless herself. Mike was waiting at the bottom
of the stairs.
“You get settled okay?” he asked them.
“Yeah, cause there was lots to unpack.” Josh replied.
“We’ve got cable here and a computer with DSL; just don’t log onto any personal accounts; web
pages, email, that kind of thing.” Mike informed them.
“But porn’s okay, right?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, porn’s fine.” Mike answered without missing a beat. “I’ll just keep Donna company while
you surf.”
“Fine; no porn. What are we supposed to do until we can move back home?”
“Movies, board games, cards, eat, and sleep.” Mike responded with a smile.
“Great.” Josh plopped down into a Lazyboy chair while Donna started to rifle through the DVD’s.
***************************
“Ron, I swear to God…”
“Yes, Mr. President, I understand.”
“Where are they now?” President Bartlet asked.
“At an undisclosed location, sir.” Agent Sinclair picked up the ball from Ron.
“Yes, but where?”
“I don’t know, sir. Agent Casper chose the location and he alone is taking them to their
destination. When his escort team dropped off, they were safely on the highway out of town.”
“This is supposed to be reassuring news to me, right?” The President clarified.
“Yes, sir. We want them safely inconspicuous.” Ron confirmed.
“Good, because I had that man’s mother standing right where you are and I gave her my word as
President that I was going to keep her son safe. If I am unable to keep that promise, there aren’t
enough agents in the district to keep me safe from mortal harm.”
“Yes, sir.” Adam Sinclair agreed.
“We do have a new lead, sir. One of my agents spotted a curious pattern regarding White House
visitors that coincides to some suspicious behavior we have logged. We’re going to need a
couple hours to run it down. We can brief you again in 2 hours?” Ron suggested.
The President nodded tersely; unhappy with the present direction of the investigation but
unwilling to slow it down in any way. “2 hours, Ron.”
“Yes, sir.” Ron led Adam out of the Oval and back to the Secret service offices in the basement.
They entered a room filled with commotion.
”Agent Butterfield, There’s someone in the lobby insisting on seeing you immediately.” His
assistant pounced as soon as he walked in.
“Yeah, who is that?” he asked as he flipped through his phone messages.
“Senator Eggleston.” Ron and Adam exchanged an alarmed glance at the presence of one of
their top suspects.
“By all means, get him an appointment pass and an escort down here.”
“He doesn’t want to come down here. He wants an appointment pass with Toby Ziegler and a
meeting with you in the mural room. He was very specific.” She noted as she relayed the
message. “He’s been pacing at the gate for over an hour.”
“Fine; arrange it. Adam, how’d you like to sit on this with me?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Adam agreed.
10**************************************
“I’m sorry you need me to do what?” Toby asked.
“Call the lobby desk with an appointment pass for Senator Eggleston and bring him to the mural
room.” Ron Butterfield repeated. “If you wanted to walk him around the West Wing a little first,
that would be fine, too. Agent Sinclair and I will join you there shortly.”
“And you can’t tell me what this is about?” Toby asked again.
“He says he has concerns about President Bartlet’s upcoming speech to the labor union.” Agent
Sinclair supplied helpfully.
“Uh-huh.” Toby responded looking between Butterfield and Sinclair. Toby considered himself to
be a very good poker player, but with these two guys, Toby was out of his league. He picked up
the phone to call the lobby and follow their instructions.
Toby took two laps around the West Wing with Eggleston before arriving at the mural room.
Eggleston was nervous; he was pale and sweating and Toby was dying to find out why. He
opened the door to the mural room and ushered Eggleston in.
“So…concern’s about the labor speech?” Toby prompted.
“I have many concerns but I could care less about the labor speech.” Eggleston admitted. “I’m
going to need a lawyer.”
“Okay, I should be able to find one of those in the White House, but why?”
“They didn’t tell you what this was about?” Eggleston asked suspiciously.
“They told me you had concerns about the labor speech.”
“Jesus Christ! I need to talk to Ron Butterfield now; after I get my lawyer.” He amended. Toby
was about to delve further into his need for a lawyer when Ron Butterfield and Adam Sinclair
entered the mural room from another door.
“Senator Eggleston, this is Agent Adam Sinclair of the F.B.I.” Ron introduced his associate. “He’s
heading the investigation into Senator Harmon’s murder.”
Eggleston, visibly shaken from that announcement, sat down on the nearest chair.
“The media reported it was an overdose.” He maintained.
“Sure it was. Josh Lyman attempted an overdose as well; fortunately he wasn’t as successful in
his attempt as Senator Harmon was.” Sinclair informed him. “There seems to be a rash of
overdoses going on in the city. Who knows who could be next?”
“I’m sure Senator Eggleston is aware of all that, Agent Sinclair. Otherwise he wouldn’t have
voluntarily come in to tell us what he knows.” Ron placated the Senator. He’d lost at rock, paper,
scissors, so Adam got to play the bad cop.
“This is about Josh?” Toby interjected and turned to Eggleston. “You had something to do with
what happened to Josh?”
“Absolutely not!” Eggleston correctly interpreted the rage on Toby Ziegler’s and immediately
denied it. “That had nothing to do with me. I want that perfectly clear.”
“Then why were you demanding a lawyer?” Toby moved closer to the Senator with Ron stepping
between them.
“Senator Eggleston is just being cautious. He’s been in politics long enough to know how quickly
things can get blown out of proportion or completely misconstrued in this town.” Ron offered and
Eggleston jumped at it.
“Yes, I was just being cautious.”
“He’s here of his own accord to help us with the investigation into the overdose cases.” Ron
continued.
“That’s right. I thought I could help with the overdose investigations.” Eggleston confirmed.
“Murder and attempted murder investigations.” Adam corrected. “And if he were truly being
altruistic he would help us wrap this up before someone else ends up in the morgue instead of
crying for a lawyer.”
“I want to help.” Jack Eggleston refuted. “I do!” he turned to Ron Butterfield who appeared to be
the most sympathetic of the group. “But I have to be careful. I need to protect myself. I need
protection.”
“We can provide that if the information you provide is credible.” Ron assured him.
“Wait a second!” Toby protested. “You’re gonna protect this asshole?”
“I am a US Senator, Ziegler.”
“Not for long I’m guessing.” Adam mused out loud. “If I were you, I’d start warming up the vocal
cords so that when the stenographer gets here you’re prepared to talk long and loud.”
“I want a lawyer and a promise of protection first.” Eggleston insisted.
“We can get you a lawyer and write up an agreement for protection.” Ron allowed before Adam
broke in.
“Unfortunately, those things take time and Mr. Ziegler’s dance card is full for the day so we’ll
have to send you out of the White House until everything can be arranged. Sometimes, when
cases are complicated, like this one, it can take days to arrange those things.” Adam examined
his fingernails. “I just hope that your…associates…don’t think your impromptu trip here was at all
suspicious. They could get the wrong idea.”
“You can’t send me back on the street.” Eggleston stood up and looked Ron in the eyes. “These
people are very dangerous.”
“I appreciate your problem, Senator, but I don’t see a way around this dilemma unless you’re
willing to waive your right to an attorney at this time.” Rona explained. “I am sure that your quick
and willing participation to aid in our investigation will be taken into account down the road.”
Eggleston, knowing on one level that he was being played, was still more afraid of his
‘associates’ than he was of the Fed’s. “Fine. Bring in the stenographer.” He sat back down.
“Thank you, Mr. Ziegler. You can go back to your office now.” Ron told him.
“Like hell.” Toby replied and sat down across from Eggleston.
“Mr. Ziegler, we can’t effectively interview the Senator with you here which could impede our
investigation. Obstruction of justice charges generally run 1-5 years in a Federal penal
system…” Adam let that trail off.
“Okay, okay, but if I was the one to get him in here it seems only fair I should be able to listen.”
Toby groused but he got up and giving Eggleston one last glare, left the mural room as the
stenographer came in.
***************************
“When are we going to hear something?” Josh asked Mike for the umpteenth time in the last
hour.
“In one hour and 17 minutes.” Mike replied rearranging the cards in his hand.
“Seriously?” Josh asked and then saw the expression on Mike’s face. “I’m just saying you should
get updates or something. Maybe this whole thing is over and we could be going home right
now.” Mike and Donna both ignored him. “Hello? Can either of you hear me? Have you both
become deaf?”
“I wish.” Mike muttered. “Donna, did Josh ever tell you about his childhood desire to be a
ballerina?”
“Excuse me?” Donna choked on her drink.
“It seems that when the Deputy Chief of Staff was four-“
“Enough. I give. In fact, I quit this whole thing. Take all my pretzel sticks; I’m out.” Josh pushed all
his pretzel sticks into the pot and left the kitchen table. A few seconds later, they could hear the
sound of the television channels being flipped repeatedly.
“He doesn’t mean it Mike.” Donna said quietly. “He just hates feeling helpless and dependent on
other people.”
“You think I don’t know that, Donnatella?” Mike grinned at her surprise when he used her full
name. “I’ve known him a lot longer than you have.”
“What was he like when you first met him?” she asked curiously.
“Pretty much like you see him now.” Mike replied. “Egotistical, neurotic, funny, passionate about
the things he believed in, and steadfastly loyal. Our first year at school together he organized a
student protest about…God, I don’t even remember about what, but I remember watching him
when he going toe to toe with the University President and thinking…’that guy is going to get
thrown out of school and put in jail’.” Mike smiled at the memory.
“But he didn’t.” Donna finished.
“Of course not.” Mike shook his head. “Josh Lyman can talk himself out of any kind of trouble. He
can out-negotiate anyone on the other side of the table…except his dad. Noah Lyman really was
something. Did you ever meet him?”
“No. I got to talk to him on the phone during the campaign, but I never met him.”
“Imagine Josh Lyman with 20 more years experience and acumen; that was Noah Lyman. We’d
go to Josh’s house for breaks or Holidays and the two of them could debate for hours. I swear,
Ruth had to threaten them both on more occasions than I could count.”
“Sounds very noisy.” Donna noted.
“It was that, but never dull.” Mike replied. “Josh always seemed to be doing enough for two
people; like he was living for Joanie too. His Dad was so incredibly proud of him.”
“I could hear that when I talked to him. He also had a wicked sense of humor.” Donna
remembered. “He had me going more than once.”
“Like father, like son.” Mike quipped. “Anyway, I’m just saying that I know Josh well enough not to
take his insults personally. You don’t have to protect me from him or him from me. Although he’s
damn lucky to have you there for him.”
Donna blushed a bit at Mike’s knowing grin. “You might want to mention that to him at frequent
intervals.” She suggested.
“How long has this been going on, because I have to tell you I’m more than a little insulted he
hasn’t said anything before this.”
“It’s a recent development; a very recent development.” Donna admitted.
“Ah, that explains it then.” Mike popped a couple pretzel sticks in his mouth and Donna got up to
look out the kitchen window, but stopped abruptly.
“Is it okay? If I look out the blinds?”
“The glass is treated, so it’s okay. This place has perimeter alarms, Donna. If anyone picks a
blade of grass, I’ll know about it.” Mike assured her.
“And there’s really no update in on hour and ten minutes, right?” she confirmed.
“Really, no, unless there’s been a break in the case.” Mike replied.
“I’ll go check on Josh.” Donna turned to leave Mike in the kitchen, grabbing a few pretzels on her
way out. She found her man lounging on the couch still flipping channels.
“Anything good on?” she asked with a chuckle since Josh was flipping so quickly she couldn’t
even identify what was on each channel.
“No.” Josh replied not looking up. Donna lifted his feet and sat down on the couch before
replacing his feet on her lap.
“Want to put a movie in?”
“No.”
“Want to play a board game?”
“No.”
“Want to do some work?”
“No.”
“Want to get naked?”
“No….what did you say?” Josh broke out of his reverie.
“Just wanted to see if you were actually listening to me.” Donna answered. “Now are you going to
tell me about this alternative career in ballet or is Mike going to have to tell me all the nasty
details?”
“I told him that story once…many years ago…when we were both drunk. Why is that the one
detail he remembers from that night?”
“I’m guessing it was pretty memorable.” Donna explained. She let the silence play out.
“I hate this.” He finally spoke.
“I know. We all do.” Donna soothed.
“You know, as much as I like to pretend I’m all important and everything, I never really thought I
was important enough that someone would try to…on purpose.” Josh said quietly, unable to say
the words ‘kill me’ out loud.
“At the risk of inflating your already sizeable ego, it would appear that you are important enough;
what you do makes a considerable difference.” Donna maneuvered herself into a position where
she was lying next to Josh on the couch; well mostly on top of him, but her head rested on his
chest and she took the TV remote out of his hand.
“Let’s try this. Let’s pretend it’s a lazy Sunday afternoon and we don’t have any work to do. We’ll
turn off the TV, snuggle and take a nap together.” She put the words to action turning off the TV’
s power before chucking the remote on the floor.
“A nap? What am I five now?” Josh inquired.
“No, you’re a grown man with a woman who loves you lying in your arms. Close your eyes and
enjoy it.” She commanded. Not seeing the point, but unwilling to piss her off when he had her in
his arms, he closed his eyes and rubbed her back in slow, lazy circles.
It wasn’t 20 minutes before Donna felt the rubbing slow and then cease altogether indicating
Josh had succumbed to sleep. She followed him into subconscious shortly thereafter.
Donna woke disoriented later; unsure where she was or what time it was. The room was darker
than when she’d joined Josh and as she slowly recalled where they were and why. Then she
noticed what had woken her in the first place; Josh’s breathing had grown labored and he was
moaning in his sleep. He was having a nightmare. Donna was sure of it.
As gently as she could, she stroked his face and called his name. Within a few seconds, he woke
up; startled.
“It’s okay. You’re safe. We both are.” She assured him. He blinked a couple times and then
nodded his understanding and pulled her back down into his arms.
“Sorry I woke you.” He told her.
“Don’t apologize for that, Joshua.”
“I’m just sorry I woke you, okay?” he responded grumpily.
“No, it’s not okay. I’m sure that in the future there will be plenty for you to apologize to me about,
but these…the nightmares…these aren’t among them.”
“Okay.” Josh agreed quickly.
“Okay.” Donna muttered and settled back into the couch with Josh.
Mike walked in and surveyed the scene in front of him.
“I thought I heard voices.” He said with a smile on his face.
“Leave us alone, Mike. With luck and a little skill, I may get to 2nd or 3rd base in here.” Josh
replied without looking at Mike.
“Fine, I’ll leave you alone.” Mike agreed immediately. “I just thought you’d want to know about the
update I just got on your case. Carry on.” Mike made it all of 5 feet before Josh sat bolt upright,
taking Donna up with him.
“What update?” Josh asked hungry for details. Mike sat down across from them and proceeded
to fill them in on what he knew.
********************************************
Chpt 11
.”C.J.! C.J.!” C.J.’s head was pounding and she had only just begun her briefing.
“If you’ll let me make my statement, then I can answer your questions; or at least try to answer
them.” The room quieted down.
“There has been a major development into the investigation of the murder of Senator Jeff
Harmon and attempted murder of Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman.” Pandemonium broke out
and it took several minutes before she could regain control of the room and finish her statement.
“Several arrests are underway and the F.B.I. agent in charge, Adam Sinclair will be holding a
press conference from this podium once all the suspects are secured. Several members of
Congress as well as staff in the West Wing have been implicated through direct testimony of
cooperating witnesses. In addition, copious notes detailing the motive and means of the
attempted murder of our Deputy Chief of Staff were found in the home of Senator Harmon.” C.J.
took a deep breath. “Questions?” Her name erupted from the lips of every reporter in the room.
“Steve?”
“When did the investigation involving Josh Lyman turn from an attempted suicide investigation
into an attempted murder investigation?”
“That you’ll have to ask Agent Sinclair, but I believe it was suspected almost immediately then
confirmed when Josh Lyman’s memory of the evening came back.”
“You’re stating that the two investigations are related?” Steve followed up.
“Intimately.” C.J. responded. “The F.B.I. in conjunction with the Secret Service has conducted
over 200 interviews and have been able to piece together a very compelling case. Senator
Harmon was allegedly involved in criminal activities with a multi-million dollar corporation. Chris?”
“Where is Josh Lyman? And why did the administration lie about his whereabouts to begin with?”
“Josh Lyman is in the protective custody of the F.B.I. We announced he was admitted to the
hospital in an attempt to safeguard him while the investigation proceeded.”
”Is he still considered to be in danger?” Chris continued.
“That’s another question for Agent Sinclair. Jamie?”
“What has the President’s reaction been to the turn in this investigation?”
“The President has always had the utmost faith in his Deputy Chief of Staff and wants only to
have a speedy conclusion to these investigations in order to see that justice is done on his
behalf. That’s all for now. Thank you.” C.J. closed her briefing book and made a hasty retreat
from the press room. She walked directly to her office and shut the door behind her.
“Was that okay?” she asked.
“Perfect.” Ron Butterfield assured her. “Just perfect. Now we wait.”
**********************************
“What was that?” Donna asked Mike.
“That was the gifted and talented C.J. Cregg laying the bait out for whoever the White House
contact is.” Mike answered.
“You really think this is going to work?” Josh inquired.
“I really do. Whoever has been giving out all access passes to the White House is new to this
game. They’re going to see that,” Mike pointed to the news conference on TV, “And panic.”
“I feel a little panic coming on myself.” Donna noted and Josh squeezed her arm. “Why did C.J.
lie and say Josh’s memory came back? Won’t that put him in greater danger?”
“He’s safe enough here and having whoever is responsible believing Josh can point a finger at
them jump starts the panic. This will all be over very soon.” He promised. “I’d try and get some
sleep.”
“Sleep?’ Josh repeated incredulously. “You think I can sleep right now?”
“Joshua. A little sleep.” Donna cajoled. “Goodnight Mike.”
“Goodnight Donna, Josh.” Mike offered.
Donna drew Josh with her up the stairs, but she could see his brain ticking away at the
possibilities.
“Turn it off for the night, Josh. The professional investigators are all over it.”
“I can’t help it. Mike says they’re sure it’s someone we know; someone who works with us every
day. How can that be?” He asked as he threw himself down on the bed.
“I don’t know.” She said stroking his hair as she lay down beside him. “But then I don’t
understand how anyone could hurt another human being on purpose so it’s all lost on me. If this
is over soon, like Mike believes it will be, are you prepared to go back there to work?”
“I don’t know.” Josh replied honestly. “What about you?”
“I don’t know if I can go back into your office again.” Donna barely whispered it.
“Yeah.” Josh agreed. “I thought about that too.”
“Let’s not think about it at all right now.” Donna suggested and leaned over him to kiss her way
down his face while her hands moved under his t-shirt. Josh tried to do what she asked and put
the investigation out of his head to concentrate on the woman kissing him.
“I thought you were against this activity with Mike downstairs.” He mused.
“I changed my mind.” She countered.
“You just can’t keep your hands off me. Admit it.”
“I can too.” Donna protested. “I was just trying to distract you.”
“You’re too good to me.”
“I really am.” Donna nodded. “But if you’d rather skip it and get some sleep, that’s fine with me.”
she rolled over and turned off the bedside lamp. She yelped when he grabbed her from behind.
“When I said you couldn’t keep your hands off me? I might have been overstating it a bit.” He told
her while he kissed her neck. She smiled at the reference to her admissions on that day in
Nashua, long ago.
“Well, you didn’t overstate it by much.” She told him and proved it by turning back to him and
using her hands to pull him closer to her. “I love you so much, Joshua.” She took his mouth with
a desperation he couldn’t understand. When he drew back for a moment he saw tears in her
eyes.
“What is it Donnatella?” he asked her quietly.
“Nothing.” She tried to smile but the tears that escaped her eyes negated the expression.
“Don’t pull that crap on me.” he chided her. “I know you too well. Talk to me.”
“It’s stupid. You’re here and you’re fine. I guess it was just hearing Mike describe all the
evidence, the drugs they gave you, the money that changed hands. It just…it made me realize
how easily they could have succeeded; that I could have lost you forever without ever once
getting to tell you how much I love you.” She said without meeting his eyes.
Mike had been very clinical about describing the plan to eliminate the Brigham bill and Josh
Lyman according to Senator Eggleston. Josh was thinking now, that she should have been
spared that information. He couldn’t imagine what had gone through her head when she found
him unconscious and barely breathing that morning. Hearing the details seemed to have brought
it all back to her with painful clarity.
Josh wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m sorry.” Josh murmured. “I can’t erase the memory of that morning, but I would give anything if
I could.” He kissed the top of her head. “If you don’t want to go back to the White House, we’ll
find something else. I go where you go.” He repeated her words back to her and she smiled
through her tears and he managed a smile back at her as he tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Make love with me.” she said. “I need to feel you inside me.”
Josh’s expression turned serious and he kissed her once before he slipped off her shirt and bra.
His fingers explored her breasts and his heart picked up at hearing her moan in response. His
mouth trailed the path between her chin and the waistband of her jeans while she writhed
beneath him.
He slipped the button from the top of her jeans and slowly drew down the zipper while his mouth
continued it’s assault on her bare skin. She repaid him in kind by slipping off his t-shirt and
running her hands over his shoulders to reach his back and draw him back up to her mouth.
Josh obliged her, using his teeth to take small bites of her lips while his fingers reached down to
touch her intimately. As soon as his fingers made contact with her delicate skin she came apart
in his arms. Her orgasm moved through him and he found himself unable to wait another second
to be inside her. Sloughing off his pants while he continued to stroke her body; let her say he
couldn’t multi-task now, he moved over her again. Her eyes were closed while she absorbed the
sensations of being with him.
“Look at me Donna.” He quietly commanded and her eyes instantly opened and focused on him.
“I love you.” He told her as he entered her and began to slowly build the tempo between them.
“Joshua…” she groaned as she felt herself approach the peak for the second time. He slowed
down, teasing her and drawing out the anticipation. Impatient, she maneuvered them until she
was on top and picked up the tempo. Josh looked up at her in wonder. Her long, blond hair was
teasing the skin on his face and shoulders; determination and desire were playing on her face.
How had he managed to keep his hands off her all this time? Fortunately, he no longer had to.
He couldn’t hold back any longer and called her name as he came inside her. His orgasm
triggered hers and they clung to each other; hearts pounding and breath mingling.
Neither of them knew what tomorrow would bring; but knowing they would get through it together
helped each of them drift into sleep.
*************************************
“So all of it was a lie?” Sam asked C.J. as they sat together in her office with Toby.
“I read what they told me to read.” C.J. responded wearily. “I don’t know what’s what anymore. I’m
having a hard time believing any of this is happening.”
“You should have seen Eggleston demanding a lawyer. That would have brought it home for
you.” Toby noted paging through a 3 ring binder.
“What are you doing?” Sam asked trying to see the pages from his vantage point next to Toby
on C.J.’s couch.
“Finding someone to run in a special election in Ohio.” Toby told them. “Eggleston’s resignation
will be effective immediately.”
“That’s not exactly your forte, Toby.” C.J. teased reminding them all of his horrible record in
choosing candidates before President Bartlet.
“No, it’s Josh’s, but since he’s not here at the moment, I thought I’d get started on it until he’s
back.” Toby snapped.
“You’re assuming he’s coming back.” C.J. pointed out.
“Of course he’s coming back.” Toby declared confidently. “Why wouldn’t he?”
“Oh, I don’t know…maybe because someone tried to kill him in his own office?” C.J. snapped
back.
“Josh Lyman does not back down from a fight; any fight. He’s not going to let these bastards win
by walking away from the job he’s worked his whole life to get!” Toby insisted.
“Gee, that’s kind of the attitude that made him a target to begin with, isn’t it?” C.J.’s voice rose to
a shouting pitch.
“So it’s his fault?” Toby’s pitch matched hers.
“I didn’t say that!” C.J. protested.
Sam stood up between them and gave a loud whistle. “Shut up!” He looked between the two of
them and was surprised to note they both obeyed him.
“Why don’t we focus on what we can do right now to help and worry about Josh’s career path
when he’s back here safe and sound.” He suggested. C.J. and Toby didn’t say anything, but they
didn’t tell him off either, so Sam took their silence as agreement.
This waiting was going to kill them all.
12*******************************
“Hey, Sam. What are you doing here so late?” Ainsley asked curiously.
Sam shuffled into her office, also known as the steam pipe trunk distribution venue, and Ainsley
could see something was bothering him. He’d been on edge for awhile now with his concern for
his friends and colleagues, Ainsley certainly understood that, but this seemed to be something
different. Still…
“Has there been some word on Josh?” she asked.
“No, not really.” Sam replied plopping down into one of her guest chairs and picking up one of
her paperweights.
“What’s up?”
“I thought maybe you’d want to get something to eat with me.” he said quietly then looked up at
her.
Ainsley briefly considered the pile of work on her desk before meeting Sam’s eyes. “I’m always
up for food.”
They argued over the new teacher standards on the way to the mess, debated points on the
recent Supreme Court rulings on the way back to her office, but once they sat down at the
corner table in her office, Sam turned somber again.
“Are you worried about Josh?”
“Of course I’m worried about Josh; Donna too.” Sam replied. “I think it’s absolutely wrong to use
them as bait in this mess. I think they’ve been through enough already, but what do I know about
criminal investigations?”
“I thought you said the President was on top of this?”
“I’m sure he is, but you gotta ask yourself; what does he know about criminal investigations?”
“Yeah.” Ainsley agreed. “He’s only the leader of the free world. Probably can’t find someone with
experience to help him. What’s really bothering you Sam?”
“Eggleston’s resigning his seat. He’s admitted to bribery and conspiracy.”
“Sam, I don’t think you should be telling me-“
“What? You’re going to pick up the phone and call the paper of record? That’s not who you are,
Ainsley. That’s the last thing I’m worried about.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“When did we become these people?!” Sam shouted as he stood up and started to pace. “If the
Secret Service and the F.B.I. are right, this is all over a bill put before Congress. Republicans
are our opponents, I get that, but they’re not our mortal enemies! When did opposition to a bill
mean you became a literal target? They tried to kill Josh because he looked like he might win the
vote, Ainsley, and that was going to take money out of their pockets. Would you ever believe
such a thing?”
Ainsley let him vent. She could certainly understand his frustration but more than that she could
feel his disappointment. She hadn’t known Sam a week before she’d discovered how idealistic he
was about people, about Government. He always saw the best in people; and the best about
Government for that matter. It was part of what made him such a gifted speech writer; those lofty
ideals. It was also responsible for the crash he was currently experiencing.
“Senators, supposed statesmen, accepting bribes and conspiring with corporations. If they could
have bought Josh off, I’m sure they’d have preferred that method of eliminating him from the
opposition but he couldn’t be bought off so they tried to kill him. And even their method, making it
look like suicide? How did we devolve into these people?”
Ainsley waited until he took a breath and sat back down with her before she responded.
“WE haven’t devolved, Sam. A few people who work here have. I wish it wasn’t so, I wish it had
never happened and would never happen again, but you and I both know better. It’s happened
before and it will happen again tomorrow. With power comes greed, corruption, and hubris.”
“C.J. said something right before I came down here. She suggested Josh wouldn’t want to come
back here, even after the arrests are made. Then Toby went off on this rant about Josh never
backing down from a fight…It hadn’t even occurred to me until that moment that Josh might not
come back.”
“He’s been through a lot.” Ainsley agreed.
“Too much. After Rosslyn, he came back like nothing happened. We didn’t even know how badly
hurt he was. If it hadn’t been for Donna…who knows what might have happened to him, and
Rosslyn was an accident. This was on purpose.”
“Sam. I think this has less to do with whether or not Josh chooses to come back to work at the
White House and more to do with whether or not YOU choose to come back to work at the White
House.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t left. This isn’t about me.”
“It’s absolutely about you. This confirms every awful thing you never wanted to believe about
Government and the people who serve in it. This has to strike at the very core of what you
believe, Sam.”
“It strikes at something.” Sam agreed. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Ainsley.”
“You can. Whether or not you want to is something else entirely.”
“Toby’s up there trying to pick a replacement for Eggleston, C.J. is outright lying at her briefings-
“ he broke off abruptly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.”
“Opponents, not mortal enemies, remember?” Ainsley reminded him. “Actually, since I work for
you all right now, I can’t even be considered an opponent.”
“You’re a Republican.” Sam chided, but she saw a ghost of a smile playing on his face. “You’ll
always be an opponent.”
“Only on Capitol Beat.” She quipped. “You should go home, Sam; get some sleep.”
“I guess.”
“But you’re not going to.”
“Nope.” Sam agreed as he stood up. “They seem to think there’ll be a break soon.”
“Will you call me when there is?” she asked.
Sam seemed to consider the request for a moment. “Sure. Sure I will. Thanks Ainsley; for
listening, I mean.”
“Anytime, Samuel, anytime at all.”
*******************************
Commander Jacobson had served his country for 22 years. He had served in combat and
earned commendation after commendation, but none of that mattered now. None of that would
be remembered now. This would be the story. He held the note in his hand and took another
bracing drink of Whiskey. His service revolver sat on the table in the other room. He wasn’t a
coward, but he was ashamed and he knew he could face anything but shame. Isn’t that what got
him here in the first place?
He took another swig of Whiskey and jolted when there was a knock on his door. He glanced
quickly toward the door which was between him and the service revolver.
“This is the F.B.I., open the door.”
He made a dash for the service revolver and got to it just as the door splintered in. “Hold it! Set
the gun on the floor and put your hands on your head.”
Jacobson hesitated, the gun still in his hand moving toward his head. Several calls of “drop your
weapon” rang out in the room. Then one man stepped out in front of the rest.
“Hold your fire.” The man commanded. “Commander Jacobson isn’t going to hurt anyone. Are
you, sir?”
Jacobson shook his head ‘no’ but kept the gun at his temple. All he had to do was pull the
trigger; just one tiny pull. His hand tightened.
“Commander Jacobson is a man of honor. If he tells us he’s not going to hurt anyone, I believe
him. The rest of you can clear out now.” The man continued.
Reluctantly, the other agents retreated from the apartment.
“My name is Adam Sinclair, Commander. I’d like to talk to you for a minute. I’m sorry for the
unexpected entrance, but my team had you under surveillance and they were concerned that
you might make an irreversible mistake. See, there are some mistakes that are reversible and
some mistakes that are irreversible. So far, you’re still at the reversible mistake stage. Why don’t
you put your weapon down and we can talk?”
“Do you think Josh Lyman thinks it’s all reversible?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never met Josh. But we could call and ask him, so my guess is yes, it’s
reversible.” Sinclair paused to let that sink in. “I’ve studied your file, Commander; it’s impressive.
Jacobson laughed derisively. “Was impressive, you mean.”
“Every notation in your file; valor, integrity, honor. So I have to wonder; what is it that Medalliance
has on you? Bribery wouldn’t work. Threats would never intimidate you.”
“That depends on the threat doesn’t it?” Jacobson responded and Adam saw him relax his grip
of the revolver.
“What did they threaten you with Commander?” Adam kept his tone neutral.
“It started with some mail. The first couple postcards were reminders about clinic appointments.
Then came envelopes with copies of my prescriptions in them; which wouldn’t be alarming except
for the fact that I got the prescriptions under a fake name at a community clinic. I got scared
then, but I still didn’t know who I was dealing with or what they wanted.”
“Then they lowered the boom.” Adam guessed.
“Hell, yes. They had me right where they wanted me. I had just been promoted to the White
House; my dream job. They could take it away from me just like that.” Jacobson snapped his
fingers. “I probably could have taken that hit, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. My career, my
family…I was going to lose everything.”
“You made a mistake.”
“They never told me they were going to hurt Lyman. That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“I believe you, Commander.”
“They wanted appointment tags for some of their people to get into the West Wing. They were
going to make copies of stuff in Lyman’s office; figure out what his strategy was, maybe play
some head games with him. No one was supposed to get hurt.”
“You must have been pretty upset when you saw what happened to Josh then.” Adam
purposefully used Josh’s first name again and was relieved to see Darrel’s hand move to his
side, with the gun pointed to the ground.
“I went to them then and told them I was done. They laughed at me. Said I was an accessory to
attempted murder now, so I wasn’t close to done for them. There’s no way out for me now.”
“Yes, there is, Commander. I can help you get out. The prescriptions?”
“AZT.” Jacobson replied softly and Adam nodded.
“I kind of figured.” Sinclair told him and Jacobson looked up in surprise. “You’re career military,
your father’s career military. Threatening to tell your family and your employer that you’re taking
HIV medications…that would pretty much sew it up for you, wouldn’t it?”
Darrel nodded. “It seemed like my whole world was blowing apart then. I didn’t know it was just a
pre-cursor to this. Please tell Josh Lyman I’m so sorry.”
“Tell him yourself, Commander.” Adam countered. “You can even make it up to him. Come back
with me. Let me get a formal statement. I need your help to put these bastards in prison. You’ve
seen enough combat, Commander, wouldn’t you like a piece of that?”
“This will destroy my parents. My father-“
“And you thinking killing yourself won’t destroy them? Don’t compound the mistakes. Come back
with me. We’ll give you a chance to talk to your family before the story breaks and I give you my
word we’ll nail every one of the people involved.”
“You don’t know how far up this goes.”
“Then tell me.” Adam challenged. “This is the part that takes courage, Commander.”
Darrel Jacobson stared at the gun he never wanted to use in the first place and took a chance
by handing it to Adam Sinclair.
*******************************
“I don’t understand. You said they’ve made the arrests. Hell, CNN said they’ve made the arrests.
Why can’t we go home now?”
“This wasn’t a one person operation, Josh. We need to make sure we’ve got everyone involved
covered.” Mike argued.
“The whole lid is blown off of this thing now. I’m no threat to them anymore.”
“Yes, you are. We don’t know who was with you in your office that night and whoever it was,
might not yet be in custody. You want to take that risk?”
“I want my life back.”
“Go back now and it may be cut very short.” Mike countered.
“I’m going back to D.C., Mike. I can call a cab or you can drive me back.”
“What about Donna?”
“I’ll put her on a plane to Wisconsin.”
“You will? Have you talked to her about this?”
“I don’t need Donna’s permission, Mike. I’m still her boss. If I tell her to get on a plane to
Wisconsin, she’ll get her ass on a plane to Wisconsin.”
“Technically, I’m on a leave of absence.” Donna’s voice came from behind Josh.
“There was no way you could tell me she’s standing there?” Josh muttered while Mike smiled and
took a bite of his apple.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Mike asked. “You go ahead and discuss this privately and we’ll see
whose ass is on a plane going where later today.”
Mike gave Donna a wink and left them alone.
“Let me just say in my own defense, that I was going to talk to you about my plans.”
“That’s your defense?”
“Well, not all of it.”
“Good thing since it sucks.”
“Donna-“
“How can you stand here this morning and tell Mike ‘I’m still her boss and I can put her ass on a
plane to Wisconsin’ after all the things you said to me during the night?”
“One has nothing to do with the other.” Josh snapped and Donna blinked in surprise and hurt.
“One has very much to do with the other.” She answered quietly. “At least it did for me.”
“Did?” Josh repeated.
“I guess I should have asked you how you see this affecting our work before I jumped into bed
with you. Gotten all the details straight first.”
“What I said to Mike was factually correct. I am still your boss, and I can still order you to go
where I tell you to go.”
“Well, I’ll just remove that impediment. I quit.” Donna turned and walked out of the kitchen.
Josh was frozen in shock. “Donnatella Moss. Come back here.” When she didn’t return he
followed her out into the living room where Mike was reading the paper. “You can’t just quit.”
“On the contrary; I can and I just did.” Donna refuted. “Mike can I see the lifestyle section. It looks
like I’m going to have some free time, being unemployed, maybe I can catch a movie or a show.”
Mike’s eyebrow shot up, but he handed her the section she asked for, then glanced over at his
friend to see Josh’s response.
“Fine. Quit. It’s nice to know how deep and abiding your loyalty is.”
“MY loyalty? You just sent my ass to Wisconsin without even talking to me about it. I thought we
were in this together. ‘I go where you go’.”
“Yes, after this is over and it’s safe. For now, you go to Wisconsin.”
“Like hell.” Donna responded. “Have you sent this new Tom Cruise movie, Mike?”
“Donna…this is serious.”
“You think I don’t know that? I found you that morning Joshua! I searched frantically for a pulse
and called 911 while I tried to figure out if you were still breathing. I am the LAST person you
need to convince that this is serious.”
Donna threw the lifestyle section on the floor and stomped upstairs.
“Boy, are you an idiot.” Mike pronounced without looking up from the sports pages.
“You were more than enough help earlier. Why don’t you stay out of this?”
“Yeah, cause you’re doing very well on your own.” Mike folded the sports pages back up. “You
have been in love with that woman since she took over your life in Nashua. If you’re stupid
enough to blow it with her now that you have her in your life, you don’t deserve her. I’m getting
some more coffee. Here, you can read all about how the Met’s lost last night.” Mike handed him
the paper.
Josh just grimaced; talk about adding insult to injury. He couldn’t bear to look at the paper. He
dropped the paper on the floor and went upstairs to try again with Donna.
She was lying on her side on the bed, her back to him, crying. The sight nearly broke his heart.
He walked around the bed until he was in front of her and knelt beside her. His hand stroked her
face and wiped some of her tears.
“Donna, please don’t. I’m sorry.” He told her. “I’m very sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” She argued.
“I am.” He insisted.
“You’re sorry you told Mike you’d put my ass on a plane to Wisconsin?”
“No. I mean, yes. I should have talked to you first. I can see where that was bad. But I have to go
back to D.C. Donna and I want you someplace safe when I do.”
“Don’t you think I want the same thing? To know that you’re safe? How do you imagine I’d feel
sitting in my mother’s kitchen while you’re in D.C.?”
“Donna…”
Donna sat up and looked down into his face. “If we’re going to have a future together then you’re
going to have to come to grips with the fact that a personal relationship is a partnership. You can’
t make unilateral decisions about us, about me, without talking to me about it.”
Josh saw the determination in her eyes and nodded his agreement. “Would you please consider
going to Wisconsin until this is cleared up?”
“Will you be going with me?” she countered.
“Donna..” Josh stood up and rolled his eyes. “Give me two days in D.C. and then I will join you in
Madison.”
“I’ll go with you to D.C. for two days and then we’ll fly together to Madison.”
“What was that? A counter offer? Where the hell did you learn to negotiate?” Josh complained.
“You’re supposed to come up with something in your offer that I want, to get something you want.”
“I’ll go with you to D.C. for two days and two NIGHTS, then we’ll fly together to Madison.” She
offered.
“I assumed the nights were implicit in the offer.” Josh clarified.
“You can’t assume anything in a negotiation. Where the hell did you learn to negotiate?” Josh’s
lips twitched at her rejoinder, but then his expression turned serious again.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you, Donna. I couldn’t live with that.” He said it so sincerely
she felt her anger melt away.
“I know the feeling.” She told him and wrapped her arms around him. “Mike doesn’t seem to think
this is a good idea.”
“Mike is a woman.”
“Nice way to talk about your friend..” Donna murmured.
“I mean it, Donna, the man is overly cautious and has a suspiciously large knowledge of
showtunes.”
“Can I sing a little something for you?” Mike’s voice came from behind Josh and he looked into
the twinkling eyes of Donnatella Moss.
“You couldn’t tell me he was there?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Donna repeated Mike’s line verbatim and had Josh glaring at both of
them.
“So whose ass is going where now?” Mike asked when he ventured further into their room.
“All our asses are going to D.C.; that is if you’re driving.” Josh phrased it like a question.
“I’ll drive on one condition.”
“Which is?” Josh queried.
“We go straight to the White House. We can meet with Ron Butterfield and Adam Sinclair and
they decide what happens next.”
“I can live with that, but I’ll have to check with Donna first before WE make any decisions.” He
tipped Donna’s chin up to face him. “How does that sound to you?”
“It sounds like a plan. I’ll pack our stuff.” Donna agreed.