Leo was asleep when his phone rang. As he reached for it, he saw the clock was reading 1:20 AM. He knew it had to be the White House switchboard calling him for something in the Situation room.
"Yeah?"
"Mr. McGarry?"
"Yeah?"
"Please hold for George Washington University Hospital Emergency Room."
As the phone call was being connected, Leo became instantly awake. His first thought, of course, was that something was wrong with the President. But why had they transferred him to the hospital before calling the Chief of Staff? That was not the protocol.
"Mr. McGarry?"
"Yes?"
"I'm Dr. Stanford. I have three of your staff here as trauma patients and I wanted you to know their condition."
"Excuse me. Did you say three of my staff?"
"Yes, sir. We have a Mr. Seaborn, a Ms. Cregg, and a Mr. Zeigler, who is already in the operating room. Their IDs say they work at the White House and when we called, the switchboard said they all work for you."
"Yes, they do. Can you tell me their condition? No, wait. I'll be right down."
"Yes, sir. Ask for me when you get here."
"I will. I should be there in about ten minutes. Good bye."
Leo rushed around, getting dressed and called for his car. Within fifteen minutes, he had been dropped off at the ER at GW and ran inside, looking for the main desk.
"I'm Leo McGarry. I need to speak to Dr. Stanford. He's expecting me."
"Yes, sir. Let me call him."
Leo didn't have to wait long until he saw an older gentleman walking quickly toward him. "Mr. McGarry?"
"Yes."
"I'm glad to meet you. Before I tell you about the three I told you about, we just received a Mr. Lyman by ambulance. His ID also tells us he works at the White House."
"Josh? What happened?"
"Apparently, he was hit head on by a box truck on Pennsylvania Ave about thirty minutes ago and the rescue unit had to cut him out of his car. According to the police, the car was smashed like an accordion and it took them a long time to get Mr. Lyman out. We're assessing his injuries right now."
"Oh my God." Leo could feel himself getting weak with all this bad news. "Is there someplace I can sit down?"
"Certainly. Let's go over here." Dr. Stanford took the Chief of Staff over to a small conference area and they both sat.
"Doctor, I have to know everything. These people are the most senior advisors to the President of the United States. I have to know why they were all attacked on the same day, within the same time period."
"I can't answer the why, Mr. McGarry. That will be up to the police. But I can describe their various injuries. First, Mr. Seaborn. He came in with a fractured skull as his worse injury. Blunt force trauma as we call it. He also has multiple bruises and cuts as if he has been in a fight or brawl. The police think it was a robbery of some kind in his apartment."
"Ms. Cregg?"
"She was brought in in critical condition with a gunshot to her chest. Point blank range. It had to go through a coat and her clothes so it slowed the velocity of the bullet down. That was good. It traveled through her lower lung on her right side and lodged in her liver. Right now, she's stable, but has lost a lot of blood. She's being prepped for surgery, upstairs. We had to wait until we could get her blood pressure stabilized. We hope she will make it through."
"Thank God. Mr. Zeigler? You said, when you called, he was in surgery."
"Yes. He came in last, and we sent him directly to the OR. According to the EMT's, he was shot through his living room window, but was able to push the 911 button on his phone before becoming unconscious. It took a while for 911 to locate the signal, but when they did, they sent help immediately. The bullet nicked his left carotid and he also lost a great deal of blood before he arrived here. We sent him directly upstairs where a vascular surgeon and an operating room was ready for him. I heard just a few minutes ago that, although he coded twice, he made it though and is now in ICU. The surgeon is hopeful, but doesn't know if he will make it through the night."
Leo sighed. It wasn't the best news about Toby, but right now he was still alive.
"Can you go and see about Mr. Lyman please?"
"I'll be right back."
Leo sat there, trying to digest everything. He realized that, before he called the President, he had to call Ron and tell him what was going on. All this was not a coincidence. He dialed Ron's cell phone and waited for him to pick up.
"Ron Butterfield."
"Yes, Ron, Leo McGarry. Sorry to wake you up."
Ron knew the Chief of Staff just didn't call in the middle of the night on a whim. Something big was occurring.
"Yes, sir?"
"I need to tell you something and then I need for you to meet me at GW. First, it's not about the President. Here are the facts as I know them now." Leo went on to explain everything he knew.
"I agree, Mr. McGarry. This is something more than a coincidence. I'll be there in thirty minutes. In the meantime, I'll set up agents to guard each of the Senior Staff at the hospital until we know more."
"Thank you, Ron. I'll be here. And when you're up to date, we'll notify the President."
"Yes, sir."