West Wing Sam's Secret #4



More corrections: - Thanks guys. Bartlett will now be Bartlet and Seabourne will become Seaborn. I don't know what made me think those.



Sorry if any part of this story contradicts "Real time" Events. No dishonour meant



President Bartlet sat alone in the back of the limousine during the motorcade. He had decided to attend the charity function without his staff and allowed them to run the House while he was gone. There was still so much work to be done for the staff. There was always ways to get in contact with him if there was an emergency. Still, that made a ride in the back of the limousine a little boring.

"So Jack." Bartlet pressed the button so he could speak to the driver, "You're going to watch the game tonight?"

"No Mister President." Jack said, "I've hired out a great movie. Can't stand sports at the best of time."

"You don't know what you're missing. It's going to be a thriller tonight." Bartlet said.

"If you say so Mister President."



Josh had just come back from the Hill to find Donna waiting at the back offices for him. She had a pale look on her face, but it took Josh a couple of seconds to look up from the folder he was carrying.

"I've just come back from the Hill Donna." Josh said, "And I just want to go into my office and sit in silence." Josh continued walking through the offices.

"Josh-" Donna said.

"Donna, I've just come from the Hill. I've been drilled with questions from people that don't know what they're probing for. Who's only goal in life is to disrupt me from my work." Josh said, "So unless it's important Donna, don't interrupt my quiet time."

As they walked past the many workstations, the television sets were virtually showing the same images just of different angles. A fire burnt brightly on a picture behind a newsreader.

"Josh. Toby, Leo and Charlie are waiting for us in Leo's office." Donna said, "CJ will be right in after her press conference. It's important Josh." "Why didn't you just say that Donna?" Josh asked.

"You didn't give me a chance."

"All you had to say was Leo wanted to see me in his office now." Josh said as he changed direction without notice, "You have any idea what it's about Donna?"

Donna struggled to keep up, "Something happened in Bali. Leo's been on the phone to everyone."

Josh's pace stopped, "Bali? Has Sam called us?"

Donna shook her head, "Not from the last time I heard."

He picked up his pace again where he met CJ just before they entered Leo's office. The only thing that could be heard from the office was the television. Toby and Leo stood close to the television set while Charlie had his head down just listening to it. CJ's jaw dropped as soon as she heard what was going on.

'Today we're sad to announce that an explosion has rocked a Katu nightclub.' The man on the television, 'at the moment terrorism has not been confirmed but authorities are not ruling out the possibility. So far the death toll stands at seventy-three. That death toll is sure to rise.'

Leo turned down the sound using the remote and leant against his desk. There was a long silence before anyone spoke.

"Have you heard from Sam yet?" CJ's thoughts immediately went to her colleague. Her previous doubts about where Sam was were now out the window.

"No CJ." Leo answered, "I'm going to have to notify the President. Charlie you get the Indonesian government on the phone so when the President comes back he'll be in contact with them. CJ and Toby get the new guy and prepare a press relief offering condolences. And Josh ring up the FBI and get them to move their butts into high gear." Without realising it himself at first, Leo had shifted himself into work gear. He had been able to set aside what he felt at the moment.

Leo grabbed his car keys and walked to the door trying to think of how he was going to tell the President about this. He allowed himself time to think of Sam, and wandered if was all right. Margaret was to call his pager if Sam had called.



At first, Sam was shocked to see how tiny the installation looked with the vast desert area as its background. The jacket that Sam brought along was working wanders in keeping warm in the desert night. The two marines with him were taking a look through the binoculars and jotting down notes. Security around the installation looked pretty thin.

"Yeah I think we can take it out." One marine said, "Its not guarded heavily."

They were engrossed in plan making so heavily that they didn't hear a couple of jeeps pull up close by and several ununiformed soldiers leap out.

"Just wait guys." Sam said to the marines, "I have to phone in the co ordinates."

He keyed in the co ordinates into the phone and was just about to hit the return key.

"You lot are our prisoners." A loud voice seemed to echo through the still air, "You come quietly or you come dead."

Sam leapt to his feet and held his hands in the air, his phone still in his hands. The marines quickly followed suit. Without thinking, Sam hit the return button to send off the co ordinates. They had their hands roughly and tightly bounded by rope and tied together before being manhandled onto the top of the jeep.



Leo flashed his Whitehouse ID to an usher standing outside the banquet hall who then opened the door for him. In the main dining hall, he could here the President's booming voice over the speakers. He opened the main doors and waited for the speech to conclude.

Bartlet was surprised to see Leo standing to one side of the room, "Leo, I thought you were still at the Whitehouse."

"Mister President." Leo said as calmly as he could muster, "There's been an incident in Bali. Possibly terrorist related."

Bartlet said goodbye to the guests, "What happened?" He asked as they headed out the dining hall under heavy guard.

"Its too early to speculate Sir." Leo said, "But an explosion flattened a Bali nightclub. Reports indicated that there are a hundred dead. Maybe more. We've arranged for you to speak to the Indonesian government as well as the Prime Minister of Australia as soon as you get back. CJ is going to be issuing a press statement any minute now. And Josh is getting the investigation going on."

"Good Leo." Bartlet said, "You've kept things rolling."

Bartlet stepped into the limo as Leo drove away in his car.



Leo received the message from Margaret that the others were waiting for him in the East dining room of the Whitehouse. Before leaving, Leo looked through the opening of the Oval Office. The President was busy talking on the phone and sitting down. He guessed that he was either talking to the Australian or Indonesian authorities or government.

In the East Room, the senior Whitehouse staff sat around the dining table. Toby, Mrs Landingham, Josh, Donna and Charlie were seated equally around. Mrs Landingham had her usual jar of cookies on the table in front of her.

"Who shall go first?" Mrs Landingham asked. Leo had just walked in after it started, for a moment he waited at the door before walking in.

"Sorry I'm late." Leo said, "But I had to finish something up."

He found an empty chair and made himself comfortable.

"I'll go first." Josh said, thinking of a story he could tell about him and Sam, "Well there's really one story that always comes to mind. Our college years, oh boy now there we had some interesting times." Josh took a drink of water, "I was attempting to run for school President for the council. Now this guy who I didn't know much about at the time was a flop when it came to communicating with people and when it came to speech writing he could put across any message he wanted to. I found out later that Sam actually wrote a speech that had a passage in there that asked a classmate out to a dinner. At first I didn't see where it happened. But there it was in plain sight."

Josh laughed softly, he didn't tell that story too often but it seemed to get everyone smiling. Mrs Landingham slid one of her cookies over to Josh and he took it in his hand.

Leo smiled as he thought for a moment recalling incidents that had occurred just a few months earlier.

"Remember the hooker thing." There was a laugh as they all said she was a callgirl in chorus, "Laurie or Maurie, can't remember her name. We sure gave him grief with that one didn't we? I know I use to call her hooker just to annoy him. He quickly came to her defence for sure. That was one good quality that he had, he was always willing to help out and it didn't matter what anyone else thought. Cause if he did, wander what would've happened with her."

They laughed as they recorded about how they all gave him grief about the callgirl and nodded about how Sam ignored their advice about her.

"Of course I recall the inauguration day speech." Toby said after searching his mind for a good anecdote like the rest, "We were working on that for about a week straight, and after a draft or two I was about to wring his flaming neck. When it came to speechwriting he was a perfectionist, everything needed to sound exactly right."

Toby and Leo ate the cookies that were given to them and listened to the others.

Donna leant forward on the desk, "Well there was one good quality about Sam." She said, "Sam never really talked down to anyone and he always seemed to know how to make someone feel better when they felt lousy about something."

"I remember." Mrs Landingham reminisced about the first couple of weeks, "His persistence. The first couple of weeks he worked in the Whitehouse he would try and convince me to give him a cookie. Anything from idle gossip to paying compliments, I almost gave him one for persistence. Sam soon learnt though."

The others turned to Charlie, "Well I know you haven't known Sam for too long Charlie. But you must have something to talk about."

Charlie had been quiet for along time, just listening to the others, "Well the first day I came to the Whitehouse looking for a job as a courier and I was being interviewed by Josh. After asking a couple of questions, he came to a pretty confusing one. That was when Sam came in and said I didn't have to answer about being gay and that he would represent me if I wished to sue." Charlie smirked, "At first I thought Sam and Josh hated each other, but soon found out they had a really close friendship. He always seemed to be close to everyone he worked with and said what he felt."

They told more stories about Sam until it was time to go home. Saddened by the fact that they all felt like they had lost someone close to their hearts. They hadn't realised how close to Sam they all were until he was gone.



Sam's watch had been taken so he couldn't tell what time it was and all the travelling had confused him. Right now he was sitting in a cell alone. The other three were held in adjoining cells he guessed. Several times he had attempted to communicate with them through the walls but to no avail.

The door to the cell opened and in walked an official looking man with two armed guards.

"So Mister Seaborn." The man said, "Perhaps now your President will give us what we ask him? We know you're close. I wander what he will trade you for."

"Nothing." Sam said, his knees felt weak, "The President won't negotiate with the likes of you."

"Don't you want out of here Mister Seaborn? You can turn him around. No?"

"Yes I want out of here. But I can't change his mind, even if I could I wouldn't want the President of the United States to turn on his morals and negotiate with terrorists like you." Sam said taking a quick glance of the guns that the guards were pointing to him, "No President would."

"But Mister Seaborn you got it wrong. We're no terrorists, we are fighting against oppression." The man said solemnly, "Israel has kept our allies under lock and key to survive we must retaliate."

"Your methods are inexcusable." Sam snorted, "That's what makes you terrorists. As soon as the President negotiates with you, he's going to be laughed at."

"You give us no choice Mister Seaborn." The man said, "We will make the President want you back at all costs. Enjoy your cell."

The man and the guards closed the door behind them, leaving Sam to contemplate what the last statement had meant. The man had sounded like there was something else up his sleeve. Sam couldn't fathom what it was. A meal tray was passed through the slot in the door. He took it and sat on the thin mattress on the floor. There was no choice but to eat it.