ACT 1
CAPITOL BUILDING CONFERENCE ROOM
“No, we’re both fine,” Lou said to Sam on the phone. She was surprised word had gotten to the White House so quickly. The whole thing had only happened about three minutes before Sam called her. “We heard the shots but we haven’t seen anything.”
“Where are you?”
Lou looked around the moderate sized room. It held a large oval table with twelve or so chairs around it that were taken by people who were brought there before she and Amy were. She sighed and sat on the floor against the wall. “We’ve been herded into a conference room.”
“Is there a security guard in there?”
“Yes. He’s about a thousand years old though. I don’t know how much protection he is.”
“Just stay put.”
“We don’t have much of a choice. We’re on lockdown.”
“Right. How’s Amy handling it?”
Lou looked over at Amy. She was on her phone near a corner of the room. “Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But if they come for a hostage, I’m volunteering her.”
Sam chuckled. “Hopefully it’ll turn out to be nothing, but they’re probably going to cut off your communication in a few minutes.”
“That should lead to an exciting day.”
CUT TO
INT. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF - CONTINUOUS
Sam hung up the phone and looked over at Josh, who was pacing as he dialed his cell phone again. He’d done the same thing no less than five times since Sam had called Lou and there was no need to ask who he was calling; Sam knew Donna had a morning meeting in Congresswoman Payne’s office.
Her voicemail must’ve picked up, because Josh stopped pacing and spoke quietly into the phone. “It’s me again. You’re starting to scare me.” Sam watched as he stopped speaking and took a deep breath. “Call me the very second you get this.”
When he hung up the phone, he looked at it for a second before screaming for Margaret, who walked quickly inside.
“Call Donna’s cell phone every two minutes until you get her.”
Margaret nodded. “Ok.”
“Every two minutes, Margaret. That’s your job until we hear from her. Everything else waits.”
“I understand,” Margaret said, leaving and closing the door behind her. Josh walked to his desk and looked down at the phone there, sighing slightly when he saw an outside line being used.
“Lou and Amy?” he asked Sam without looking up.
“They’re fine. They’re in a conference room.”
Josh looked up at him. “Donna’s not in there, is she?”
Sam shook his head. “No.”
Josh put his hands down on his desk and leaned on his arms, hanging his head.
Sam walked a little closer to the desk. “Are you alright?” he asked with a worried voice.
“This is…” he paused, taking a deep breath before looking up at Sam. “It’s too familiar.”
Sam knew what he was talking about. He might not have been there, but he could guess how Josh had reacted almost two years earlier. “There haven’t been any casualties reported,” he reminded him.
“That just means they haven’t found any yet.”
“Josh…”
Josh shook his head and held up a hand, stopping Sam. He stood upright and picked up his cell phone again, checking the screen for missed calls and then dialing.
CUT TO
CAPITOL BUILDING CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Amy watched Lou hang up the phone across the room as Congressman Richards’ voicemail answered. Shit, she needed to speak with him.
“Congressman, it’s Amy Gardner. I’m calling about our meeting this afternoon. I’m not sure how long the lockdown’s going to last. We might have to reschedule. Please give me a call as soon as possible.”
She hit end and sighed. She didn’t need this. Not today. They were supposed to be hammering out details on how to kill 722 and how to introduce the congressman’s highway repairs bill. She needed this to go her way.
She looked at the table; all of the chairs were taken. Of course. She sighed again and walked over to Lou, who was sitting up against a wall. “This is ridiculous,” she said, sitting down beside her.
“What is?” Lou asked while punching something into her PDA. “The fact that somebody shot a gun in the
Amy glared at the side of Lou’s head. “I have a full day planned.”
“As opposed to the rest of us who might as well sit here because we’ve got nothing better to do,” Lou said without looking up.
“You’re not the most polite.”
“I’m not the one bitching about my day being more important than the rest of the room’s.”
Amy rolled her eyes and shook her head. She’d never had many female friends, and she had no desire to try to make Louise Thornton one of them. She looked around the room at the mostly tourists she was trapped with. A toddler was crying a few feet away from her and she rolled her eyes just as her cell phone vibrated in her hand. She looked down at the caller id and breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m just gonna…” she gestured towards the other side of the room, which was pointless since Lou didn’t bother to look up at her or acknowledge anything other than her PDA. She stood up, walking several feet away before answering. “Amy Gardner.”
“Ms. Gardner, this is Congressman Richards’ executive assistant. The congressman got your message.”
“Oh, good,” she said in relief.
“The congressman had an early golf game this morning, so he’s not in the building. He asked me to tell you he’d meet you at two as planned; but at the White House.”
“No!” Amy nearly shouted. A few people looked over at her and she turned to face the wall. “That won’t work,” she said quietly. “I am in the lockdown.”
“Oh,” the woman replied. “I don’t think he was aware of that.”
Obviously, Amy thought sarcastically. “I think most things are going to be put on hold for the day. I’m hoping he and I can meet in his office whenever the lockdown ends.”
The woman paused, probably looking at a schedule that no longer meant anything. “That should be fine, Ms. Gardner. He has dinner reservations at seven, but I can’t imagine the lockdown lasting that long. I’ll call the congressman and let him know.”
“Thank you, I…”
Amy was cut off by an announcement on the loud speaker.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay and assure you that we’re doing everything possible to resolve this matter in a safe and timely manner. We ask that you please turn off all cell phones, computers, and other portable electronic equipment. Failure to do so is against federal law and will result in prosecution. Thank you for your cooperation.”
CUT TO
EASTERN MARKET,
Donna stood next to Congresswoman Payne in Eastern Market, both of them holding cafeteria style trays. She looked around at the loud, bustling market place and smiled. There was something about the international cuisine, the produce vendors, the butchers and fish markets that made it not only unique and not only a restaurant, but an experience. She made a mental note to convince Josh to bring her for a Sunday brunch soon.
The congresswoman ordered breakfast and paid, then stood to the side so Donna could do the same. It was hard to hear over the noise, but that only added to the ambiance of the market. She ordered a fruit bowl and eggs over easy, then handed the cashier a ten dollar bill.
They walked over to the pick up area and waited for their breakfast. “Breakfast was a wonderful idea,” Donna said loudly to the congresswoman. “I usually try to eat before leaving the house, but I ran out of time this morning.” She didn’t mention why she ran out of time; it was best not to talk to congress about such things.
“This is one of my favorite places,” the congresswoman replied. “I usually try to drag someone here with me at least three times a week.”
Donna smiled and nodded. “So what got you involved in this computer program?”
“I met Michael Dell a few years ago at a fundraiser for inner city after school programs. After several discussions, Dell Computers supplied two computers for every elementary classroom in
“Of course,” Donna said as they waited for her breakfast. “And with computers, it’s not a one-time thing. They need to be replaced fairly often.”
The congresswoman nodded. “We’re hoping to make them last seven years by adding memory and upgrading software, but that might be a stretch.”
Donna’s meal arrived then and they started walking through the marketplace to some seating in a somewhat quieter corner.
“Have you given thought to the type of roll you’d like the first lady to play?” Donna asked.
“Awareness, obviously,” the congresswoman said as they weaved through the building. “We’ve got to get other computer manufacturers involved. And, of course, if she’d like to be involved in any other way, I’m certainly open to suggestions.”
They sat down at a small table next to a window that overlooked the river. There were tables outside, which would’ve been nice, Donna thought, but it was still a little chilly out for that.
“I don’t think we should limit ourselves to computer manufacturers,” she said to the congresswoman. “We should find businesses that are willing to buy computers from the manufacturer at cost or just above and donate them to the schools.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Thank you,” Donna said, stabbing a piece of honeydew. “The most important thing is to make it a national campaign. Get communities involved, individuals, businesses, schools themselves…”
“We’re arming students today with skills they’ll need tomorrow and we need everyone’s participation to do it.”
“Exactly,” Donna said with a smile. She took a drink of her bottled water before speaking again. “I’m sure you know the president’s in the middle of passing his education legislation. We’d like to tie this in with that as much as possible.”
The congresswoman nodded. “It’s wonderful legislation. The most comprehensive education bill to go through the house since I’ve been in it.”
“Thank you,” Donna beamed. “We’re very proud of it.”
“My only concern with tying this into the bill is that the bill will pass in the next few weeks and this project could take a few years. I don’t want it to appear as though the problem’s solved when the bill passes.”
Donna’s cell phone rang and she pulled it from her purse while speaking. “Absolutely, I agree completely. We want the education bill to catapult the program, get it off the ground so to speak.”
“Yes.”
She looked at the display and saw a White House number. “Excuse me, Congresswoman. I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem,” the woman said before taking a bite of her eggs.
Donna flipped her phone open and said hello.
“Donna?”
“Margaret?”
CUT TO
INT. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF
He could hear them talking, but he wasn’t paying attention. Not enough attention anyway. He was the chief of staff; it was his job to remain calm, to get things done during a crisis. And he could; any crisis, any problem. As long as it didn’t involve her. He looked at his cell phone, which he hadn’t put down in the twenty minutes since he’d called her the first time. No missed calls. And now the FBI had shut off communication in the Capitol and it could be hours before he heard anything. The thought made him sick.
“Lou has a meeting scheduled with Annabeth,” Otto said to the room.
“Do you know why?” Sam asked.
He shook his head. “Something about computers. That’s all I know.”
“Computers in inner city school classrooms,” Josh said absently without looking up from his phone.
“For the education bill?” Sam asked.
“No,” he said, reluctantly looking up at Sam. “Something the east wing’s working on with Congresswoman Payne. They’re still working on how to deal with the PR.” He sighed and looked at Lester. “You take it.”
“Just tell her how to deal with the PR?” Lester asked.
Josh raised an eyebrow. “Annabeth’s a media genius, you won’t need to. But they want to tie it into the education bill and this can’t be like the HPV announcement where they looked wonderful and we looked like idiots.”
Lester looked confused and Sam stepped in. “It can’t look like they’re getting computers for schools because the education bill isn’t.”
Understanding dawned on Lester’s face and he nodded. “Right, got it.”
“This is just a thought,” Otto said out of nowhere. “But wouldn’t getting people out of the Capitol and away from the gunmen wandering the halls be better than trapping everyone inside with them?”
“They lock it down tighter than
“What about Amy’s schedule? Who’s covering for her?” Josh asked, avoiding Sam’s stare.
“I think she’s…”
“Isn’t there some sort of White House authority we could use to get Lou out of there?” Otto asked, cutting Sam off.
Josh’s head snapped to Otto. “Don’t you think if we had authority in this, I would’ve used it by now?” he shouted.
Otto’s eyes widened but he remained silent.
Josh stared at him for another second before looking back down at the cell phone in his hand. “Amy?”
“Amy was um…” Sam stuttered, looking at Otto and Lester, who were obviously surprised and not quite used to these outbursts of Josh’s. Surprisingly, he’d been the picture of calmness since taking office. “I think she was scheduled to be on the Hill all day courting votes.”
There was a tap on the door and Margaret walked in quietly. “Josh, you have a phone call.”
Josh, who hadn’t even noticed Margaret walk in, looked up at her with questioning eyes. She nodded.
He looked at the others. “Everyone out.”
“What? What about…” Lester started, stopping when Sam looked at him and slightly shook his head. The three of them stood and left as Margaret went back out through the door to her office.
The doors hadn’t even closed all the way when he picked up the phone, asking in a panicked voice, “Are you ok?”
“Josh, I’m fine. I…”
“Are you safe? Is there a guard near you?” he rambled, cutting her off.
“I’m safe,” she said calmly. “The congresswoman and I walked to the Eastern Market for breakfast.”
“Is there… wait?” He paused for a second as her words sunk in. “You’re not…”
“I’m not at the Capitol.”
He sighed and rested his face in his hand. “You’re not at the Capitol,” he breathed.
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer when you called. It’s loud here and my phone was in my purse. I didn’t hear it ring.”
“I don’t care,” he said, shaking his head and taking deep breaths. “I don’t care. Just… just as long as you’re alright.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah… yeah, ok.”
“Josh,” she said softly. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m…” he took another deep breath and sat up. “I’m fine.”
“You’re sure?”
He stood up and leaned against the wall, ignoring her question. “You’re coming back here now?”
“I’m still meeting with the Congresswoman. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“You want me to send a car?” he asked, rubbing his free hand over his face. “Or come down and get you?”
“Josh,” she said slowly. “I’m fine.”
He nodded to the empty room. She wasn’t there, so she was fine. It was just taking a minute to fully comprehend. “I know.”
“I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Take a cab; don’t walk.”
“I will.”
He thought she was about to hang up, and found himself saying her name quickly to keep her on the phone. “Donna?” He just needed another second. Just another second.
“Yeah?”
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. “I…” Choking on the word he stopped, unable to speak around the tightness in his throat.
“I know,” she said softly. “Me too.”