ACT ONE
INT. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF
By the time Josh made it back to his office, Lou was waiting for him outside the door.
"Did you know about this?"
"Where's Margaret?" Josh scooted past her, ignoring her question.
Lou followed him into the office. "Did you know that
"It's an active volcano, Lou!" He spun around to face her. "Everyone knows it could blow."
"Don't mess around with me on this, Josh." She put her hands on her hips. "You met with a scientist today."
"I met with a scientist last week, too!" he yelled. "You want a play-by-play of my weekly schedule? Because I could arrange something with Margaret."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Lou said. "This has PR disaster written all over it."
"No, it doesn't," Josh stated with a confidence he didn't feel. "We need to figure out the best way to help people and get accurate information out to the public."
"And you need to be straight with me, the Communications Director!" She pointed a finger at her chest.
He let out a long breath. "We're going to concentrate on saving lives right now, Lou."
She bit her lip and lowered her head. "Fine. But we're coming back to this, Joshua. I'm not going to be blindsided by the press."
He threw his suit jacket over the back of his chair, then turned on the TV. He knew he should tell Lou about his meeting with Kaplan, but now wasn't the time.
The picture of
"We have word now that a 5.3 earthquake precipitated the eruption," the reporter said. "It appears to have been a vertical blast, which means that it's straight in the heart of the volcano."
He picked up the phone to call Sam.
"The plume of ash and steam that you see on your screen has apparently reached 12 miles above sea level," the reporter continued. "The National Weather Service reports that the ash is moving northeast at about 60 miles per hour."
"See what you can get from the local stations." Josh got a busy signal and hung up. "Where's Lester?"
"In his office, seeing what he can get from the local stations," Lou wisecracked.
"Right." He began rifling through a stack of papers.
Lou turned to walk out. "We're not done with this, Josh."
He ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. "I need a goddamn deputy! Where the hell is Bram?"
CUT TO:
INT. RESTAURANT, STIR
Music and laughter filled the air as Bram motioned for the bartender with a raised hand.
"I think I'll try a different one this time." His date scrolled down the list of cocktails. "Let's go with the blue sting."
Bram chuckled. "That's an interesting name."
"I love fruity drinks." She smiled and closed the menu.
"Have as many as you want." He looked up at the bartender. "I'll have another Dewar's on the rocks."
Bram had waited three weeks to ask Caitlin from the GAO out on a date, and it took another two to get this evening secured. He had to pull a number of strings to get on the guest list at Stir, the newest Yuppie restaurant to grace the streets of the nation's Capital.
"So tell me," he began. "Have you ever been to a restaurant on opening night?"
"Can't say that I have." She twirled a long curl with her finger.
"Are you enjoying it so far?" He put his arm on the back of Caitlin's chair.
"I am." She watched the 20- and 30-somethings, bopping around the room with colorful cocktails in hand. "I can't believe you got reservations. My roommate has been talking about this place for months. She's going to be incredibly jealous."
Bram smiled. That was one of the benefits of being in office: getting a ticket to the hottest places in town.
When their drinks arrived, he lifted his glass and proposed a toast. "To good times and making your roommate jealous."
Caitlin clinked her glass against his and laughed. "I'll drink to that!"
In the middle of his third sip, Bram felt his pager vibrating in his pocket. "Excuse me."
His date took a long gulp of her drink and continued twirling her hair.
"Shit," Bram said under his breath when he saw the message: 911 POTUS. "I can't believe this is happening. I have to go."
"To the bathroom?" Caitlin asked.
"No. I have to go to work. I'm really sorry." He stood and threw $30 on the bar.
"But it's
"I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow." He kissed her cheek, then disappeared out of the frosted glass door.
CUT TO:
INT. CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE
Josh had finally found the piece of paper with Kaplan's number, but he couldn't get in touch with the man. He'd called Margaret and told her to come back to work, and he'd tried reaching both Sam and Ainsley several times with no success. The governor of
Josh sat back in his chair with the phone pressed to his ear and sighed. He hoped there would only be a small number of casualties due to the eruption. He didn't want to think about how many deaths they could've prevented had the President listened to him earlier in the day.
A light tap on the door shook him from his reverie.
"Hi."
Josh turned his head at the sound of her familiar voice and smiled as best he could. "Hey."
Donna stepped into the office. "How's it going?"
"Not well," he hung up the phone. "I've spoken to one person in the last 30 minutes, and he couldn't give me any more than what I'm hearing on CNN." Josh checked his cell phone – no new messages. "I've paged Bram twice. Do you have any idea where he is?"
"No." She took a few steps closer. "Is there anything I can help you with until Margaret and Bram show up?"
Josh stared at the woman in front of him and wondered, not for the first time, how he'd ever survived those months without her. "Seriously?"
"Yes." Donna smiled. "Seriously."
He covered his heart with his hands as a quiet moment of understanding passed between them.
"I've been trying to get hold of Sam, but the lines must be down." He stood and combed a hand through his hair. "Try calling him every few minutes. In the meantime, see if you can get any of these guys on the phone." He handed her a sheet of paper.
"Sam's not in danger, right?" Donna asked. "I mean, he's far enough away from the volcano to not be affected."
"Knowing Sam, he probably thinks this is exciting." Josh grinned. Still unsatisfied with the gloomy expression on Donna's face, he stepped closer to her and lifted her chin. "Sam's fine, Donna. I promise."
She was able to manage a small smile as Josh trailed a finger across her jaw. She took a deep, steadying breath, then looked down at the sheet of paper in her left hand. "The Cascades Volcano Observatory, Army Corps of Engineers, National Weather Service, US Forest Services, and the FAA," she read aloud. "Watkins is the Secretary of Agriculture?"
He nodded. "I think Ronna's got FEMA and the USGS covered, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to confirm with her."
"Got it," she said. "Anything else?"
Josh wanted to tell her abut the scientist's warning and Lou's accusations. It was on the tip of his tongue. However, he didn't want to drag Donna into what was sure to be a 'he-said, she-said' match.
"That's all for now." He squeezed Donna's hand. "Thank you."
"Any time," she whispered.
CUT TO:
INT. MARCUS WHITMAN HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTER
The crowd around the TV in the hotel lobby grew as the guests heard about the eruption. Sam and Ainsley listened to the reporter talk about evacuation routes while the picture on the screen remained focused on Mount St. Helens. Lava was now flowing down the east side of the volcano.
"How far are we from Mount St. Helens?" Sam asked no one in particular.
"About 250 miles," a short, stout man said. "The wind is carrying the ash northeastward. People will probably start heading this way and into Oregon to get away from it."
"That's how most people died in '80, you know," an elderly woman said. "They inhaled the ash."
Ainsley swallowed hard.
The anxious crowd began asking a string of questions.
"Are we safe here?"
"Should we evacuate?"
"Where's the nearest hospital?"
A middle-aged woman stood in front of a tall ficus tree in the corner and waved her hands. "Can I get everyone's attention?"
The crowd of about 20 looked her way.
"I'm Sally Peyton, the hotel manager," she began. "Before things get out of hand, I want to assure you that you're safe here."
Ainsley stepped closer to Sam.
"The vertical blast and the wind direction indicate that the heavily affected areas will be northeast of Walla Walla. A fair amount of ash will fall on the city sometime this evening, but as long as you follow precautions, you'll be fine."
The crowd started chatting again.
"Please! Please listen," the manager pleaded. "You should know that the people who died of asphyxiation in the 1980 eruption did so by inhaling burning ash. By the time the ash reaches us, it will not be burning. That doesn't mean it's safe to inhale, but it's not going to kill you. You should stay inside the hotel and turn off the vents in your room. You should also conserve energy. If there is a power outage, the emergency generators will automatically turn on within 30 minutes. They will provide electricity for up to three days, but I hardly think we'll need supplemental power for that long. If you plan to check-out of the hotel today, please check the road closings before you depart. Chances are we're going to get a number of evacuees here within the hour, so if you're going to leave this evening, it would be helpful to let the front desk know as soon as possible."
While Sally Peyton spoke, the reporter on the news was going through a laundry list of safety tips.
"If you reside in the Pacific Northwest, you know the danger and uncertainty we live in every day because of the Cascade mountain range's many volcanoes. If you're in an area where ash is falling or
will fall, you should first put on a filter mask to protect yourself from inhaling the ash and goggles to protect your eyes." The newscaster demonstrated. He looked like someone from those airplane safety videos. "If you get ash in your eyes, wash them out immediately and seek medical attention as soon as possible."
Sally's voice was much more soothing and her recommendations much less scary than the man on TV.
"What should we do?" Ainsley asked.
"I need to call the White House," Sam replied, yanking his phone off his belt. "Would you mind checking us in?"
"You want to stay here?" she asked loudly.
"You heard the manager. We're safe." Sam hit redial after his first call failed. "Besides, where would we go?"
"I would think, Sam, that going home would be best under the circumstances." Ainsley twisted her hands together. "Maybe we should drive to Portland and catch a flight from there?"
"First of all, I'm sure the airports are closed by now. Second, in what vehicle do you suggest we travel?"
"Sam," she said with a worried voice. "I'm frightened."
"I would never put you in danger, Ainsley." He put his hand on her shoulder. "We're going to be fine."
FADE TO BLACK