She sighed. "I still don't know where we're going or why. All I know is that someone said something about planes blowing up. You have my sympathy, but I can't do anything about it until I get an official statement to read. I have a few hundred other things I need to do before I talk with the press and I have no doubt that this will be attended to with high priority before then. But I can't do anything until I get word from the higher offices."
"Ms. Cregg, this is very important. It has to do with terrorists and the World Trade Center Towers."
Now this unnamed woman had CJ's attention.
"What about the towers?" CJ stopped walking.
"They were run into by terrorists who hijacked planes."
"The planes hit the Twin Towers?"
"Yes."
"Our Manhattan? Our World Trade Center? Our Twin 110-story Towers?"
"Yes."
CJ began walking again - this time with a mission plan revised from trying to get away from this woman she didn't know - to Toby's office. She glanced back at the woman who was still trying to follow her. "Where were you going to take me?"
"To the Roosevelt Room. Mr. McGarry wanted -"
"Ok. I'll be there. I just need a minute. I'll bring Toby."
----------------
Josh walked into Sam's office. "When did they start showing movies on CNN?"
Sam looked over his glasses at him. "Never. Why?"
"Turn it on."
Sam wheeled his chair over to the TV. He was stopped short by a slightly hysterical calling of his name.
"Sam!"
"In here."
Donna poked her head in. The two guys noticed she was struggling to keep her composure.
"Oh, Josh. Good." She handed them each a memo.
Sam turned the TV on mid-sheet.
"Wait, wait," Josh looked up to the screen. "This says two planes, the TV said a fire... or something."
"The memo's right."
"Why isn't the news up-to-date?"
"Because we're Washington, Josh."
"Yah. But I normally never hear about anything first. This is a new experience for me."
"Will you be serious, Josh. This is devastating."
"What do we do now?" Sam interceded.
"Well, you two need to go to the Roosevelt Room. Leo will be there. I'll... be in Josh's office... watching the news."
Sam stood up, placing the papers he had started reading earlier to sit - forgotten for the moment, now being cumbersome objects - on his desk.
"Let's go, Josh."
----------------
CJ burst into Toby's office - not knocking, uncharacteristic for her - and he stood there, facing the door, as if expecting her. His muted TV showed the newest footage of the second plane crashing into the South Tower.
"Toby," CJ said softly.
He finally seemed to realize she was in the room.
He spoke quietly. "Leo wants to see us."
It could have been a question or a statement. His face was blank. CJ walked behind his desk where he was standing.
Toby's face remained expressionless as he talked to her. "My cousin had been planning to go to Manhattan with her daughters to see her brother at the Windows on the World Restaurant for breakfast."
CJ continued to speak softly, surmising, "They were there today."
Just as much of a statement as a question. And she could tell his answer without even looking at his face. She put her arms lightly around his neck and coaxed his head onto her shoulder. She watched silently as a plane flew into the South Tower in slow motion.
"Toby."
"Yeah."
"Let's see Leo."
----------------
"They're all here, Mr. President," Leo thought to himself. "Now, what the hell do I do?"
Leo sighed and cleared his throat. "As you all know, we have a serious situation on our hands."
----------------
Charlie took his liberty to walk around the school's premises. He wouldn't be able to see Washington or the President for a while; he'd make his isolation interesting, at least.
Everything was calm and seemed like it could have been any normal school day, but he knew that the teachers were neglecting their lesson plans and that the pictures they were labeling on their boards were those of the Manhattan skyscrapers. To calm the fears and to attempt to answer the questions of all those kids, he knew the teachers had their work cut out for them today.
Charlie found himself back with some of the other men who had nothing to do now that the President was gone. Some women were in tears or close to it. Charlie looked up to the sky - where God was said to be.
He whispered, "God help us."
In the back of his mind, Charlie knew that they were already being helped in so much as the country was the schoolchildren and the President, their teacher.
----------------
They weren't accomplishing much of anything, but still, they didn't want any interruptions. And the entire group considered the staff aide as just such an interruption.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but security is asking that the building be evacuated within the next hour."
The man left quickly, retreating from their seemingly unfounded, icy glares.
"Well..."
Sam couldn't have summed up the others' thoughts any simpler.
And he wouldn't have had the chance, either. A polite knock came to the door, and Donna followed it.
"Donna, we're in a meet-"
"Don't talk just right now, Josh. I know you were told about the evacuations and didn't take it very seriously for the moment because we have excellent people working in security and... What I wanted to say... What happened is... Look. Things just changed. Another plane just crashed into the Pentagon and now we're receiving bomb threats. Forget about the orderly evacuations that we're supposed to follow. Forget everything. Just run."
----------------
"You don't understand. I want to know where my parents are."
Pause.
"Fine. Then you don't understand that I NEED to know where my parents are."
Pause.
"Of course it's not a secure line! It's a pay phone at Georgetown!"
Pause.
"He should be on television? Okay. When?"
Pause.
"You know, I've gotten more information about my father from my father while he was asleep!"
Pause.
"Yeah. Uh-huh."
Slam.
Zoey Bartlet wasn't happy.
----------------
"The American people need to know what I think. They want me to say something, Abbey."
"Do you absolutely have to disclose your location, Jed? There could still be... people... out there trying to..."
"I know. But I also know that if I show that I'm going to hide, the American people will sense that fear. They need to have faith in their government. They can know that I'm in Louisiana."
"Okay, Jed, okay."