Title: Blind Curve
Author:
Willow
Summary: CCTV footage of Rosslyn had seemed to be the worst of their problems this week, but you never know what's around the corner.
Spoilers/Episode: Set in an a/u starting after season 5, Memorial Day. This chapter takes place a month after Chapter 4.
Characters: Ensemble.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Everyone mentioned below belongs to Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, John Wells & NBC. Please don't sue me, this is a not for profit enterprise.


Part III

CJ hesitated before knocking on Leo's office door. Was it better to wait until she'd seen the tape and then tell him? Should she talk to Toby first or maybe Josh himself? She'd waited too long though and Margaret had returned to her desk. CJ knocked on Leo's door and entered the office. "Do you have a minute?" she asked.

"If that's all it is," Leo replied absently.

CJ closed the door and stood in front of the desk. "A documentary maker is sending me a tape of CCTV footage from Rosslyn," she told Leo.

"What?" Leo was momentarily thrown.

"It apparently shows Josh as he waited for help," CJ continued.

Leo took his glasses off and stared at CJ. "How the hell did anyone get hold of that?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me. Should I tell Josh?"

Leo was still trying to take in what CJ had told him, he had no idea how Josh would take the news. He knew that on the outside Josh was fully recovered from the shooting, inside though was a different matter and he wasn't sure what effect watching a video of the events would have on his deputy. "Might be better to wait until you've watched it, see what it shows."

"Yeah," CJ agreed. She watched Leo for a second, while she tried to think how to word her next question. She had thought Josh was fine, until Gaza. Now she wasn't sure. The way he blew up in the outer office, before Leo sent him to Germany, had reminded her of how he'd been three Christmases ago. Then at Camp David he'd looked tired and distracted. "Is he okay?"

"Why wouldn't he be?" Leo asked.

"I just don't want him watching this tape and it, I don't know, triggering something. I know his PTSD is gone, but still," she shrugged.

"PTSD never goes," Leo told her, "but he has it under control. If you're asking whether watching himself get shot will trigger an episode," he shook his head and frowned, "I don't know. But if the tape's out there, we're just going to have deal with that possibility."

CJ nodded, "I'll let you know when I've seen it and I'll talk to him."

"Just let me know," Leo said. "I'll talk to him."

.............................................................................

CJ and Carol sat in the office with the door closed and watched the video they'd just received.
The first scene was a grainy image of people running. The next was a little clearer, though CJ thought the person falling backwards into a wall could have been anyone, if you didn't know it was Josh. There was more footage of the crowd and then the CCTV switched to a new camera.
This one was clearer and it was obvious that someone had taken over the controls and had zoomed it in on the man sat on the steps. CJ and Carol watched in horror as people walked past him, one man actually stepped over him and looked down, before hurrying away.

The picture kept cutting to another time frame, but the camera remained focused on Josh. Finally, after six minutes according to the time at the foot of the picture, Toby appeared in the scene and CJ and Carol felt a ridiculous sense of relief. Ridiculous, because they already knew Josh had been found and was fine now. Although there was no sound, Toby was obviously calling for help, before crouching down next to his friend and catching him as he fell.

CJ remembered vividly what happened next, but she watched with nervous anticipation as first she appeared in the scene, followed closely by Sam and Charlie. As she watched, she remembered those few seconds waiting for the medics. She remembered trying to staunch the bleeding. She remembered Josh moaning in pain as she pressed down on his chest. Finally she remembered her relief when Charlie bought the medics over and her disbelief at the amount of blood on the ground when they moved Josh.

"Turn it off," CJ said.

Carol pressed stop and sat staring at the blank screen for a few seconds before turning to her boss. "They can't show that."

"I need to see Leo and Toby," CJ replied.

"And Josh," Carol added.

"Yeah," CJ reluctantly agreed.

....................................................................

"Did I do something wrong that I don't remember?" Josh asked Donna.

"It's distinctly possible," Donna replied. "Why?"

"CJ keeps walking past the door and smiling at me. I just saw Carol and she gave me that, 'sorry your cat died,' smile."

"Sorry your cat died smile?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, you know, it's a, 'don't know what to say to you, so I'll just smile and hope you don't talk to me', look."

"Yeah, okay," Donna replied indulgently."Why don't you just ask them?"

"Because it'll turn out I have done something, and I'd rather not know."

"So you're just gonna hide in your office and hope whatever it is goes away?"

"Yeah. I figure if I do that often enough, the odds say that one day it has to work," Josh replied.

Donna shook her head and answered the phone, when she hung up she looked at Josh, "Not this time it hasn't, Leo wants you and CJ wants to see me."

"So we're both in trouble?" Josh suggested.

"If I'm in trouble, it can only be because of something you've done," Donna replied.

"Well that's just," Josh began to protest. "Actually it's probably true," he agreed.

.........................................................................

"Close the door and sit down," Leo said when Josh entered his office.

"What's going on?" Josh asked.

"Sit down," Leo repeated.

Josh did as he was told and studied Leo. "What's going on?" he repeated nervously.

"There's a documentary coming out about CCTV and how it affects people's privacy."

"What's it to do with me?"

"You're in it."

Josh looked shocked and worried as he tried to remember what he'd done wrong. "Doing what?"

"At Rosslyn."

"Rosslyn?" Josh stared at Leo. "I didn't know there was CCTV."

"Yeah, Treasury took the tapes."

"Then how.....?"

"I don't know."

"Have you seen it?" Josh asked.

"Not yet," Leo replied. "Do you want to see it?"

"I don't know," Josh admitted.

Part 4 ......