Chapter 2
The next morning
Leo hurried off the plane and into the terminal, scanning the small crowd as he moved through it carrying a leather duffle bag. Unconsciously he raised a hand to work out the kinks in the back of his neck. Although the private plane Jasper Jacks had had waiting for him was a step up from commercial flights, he had been too spoiled by Air Force One to think it near comfortable.
"Mr. McGarry?" Jax asked as he came towards the man.
Leo merely looked over and gave him a once over, not sure what he thought of the man. Then he sighed, it was eight in the morning and the man had probably spent all night at the hospital keeping a vigil, how could he take him on first appearances? "Mr. Jacks," he said extending one hand, surprising Jax with his recognition. "Is there any more news?"
Jax let go of his hand and went to take the bag, only to have Leo shake his head. Shrugging Jax stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. "Let's get your other luggage and I'll fill you in on the way."
"This is all of my luggage. I learned to pack light over the years," Leo shrugged as he indicated that Jax should lead the way. "Now, what about Donna?"
"She's being treated at PCGH. Tony Jones, one of the best neurologist in the country, is consulting on the case. Eve Lambert and Chris Ramsey are the doctors in charge of her case. She's hasn't regained consciousness. We're having some problem, though, since no one seems to have a medical power of attorney. The hospital's dragging their feet on treatment."
Leo cursed slightly at that, "I wish you had told me that last night. I would have called Oliver then. Thank G-d Abbey had the foresight to have us all fill ones out. I think I'm the alternate on Donna's. But if not I should have no trouble getting whoever has it here."
Jax looked at Leo perplexed. He spoke as if he should know who this Oliver and Abbey were. . . "Well, I didn't know. Never ran into this sort of problem before. Even Tony seemed at a lost."
Leo raised a surprised eyebrow at that as they got into a waiting limo. "We'll figure something out. Is there a fax number at the hospital? I'll call and see if Oliver can find the paper work and send it out."
"Whatever you think is best. . ." Jax sighed as he looked out the window, and lost himself in thoughts.
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Toby Zielger walked quickly into the bullpen and slammed the door behind him, startling the people under his direction. "Does anyone want to tell me how we got scooped on the returns from the Monroe polls? Who didn't call Lyman?" No one answered, causing Toby to turn an even angrier glare on his staff. "Not only does sloppy reporting like that make this station look bad it makes me look bad! I don't like being made a fool of!" he paused and took a deep breathe, "Now, does anyone have something worth while for me?"
"I do," a voice came from the doorway, causing him to turn the glare on the young woman who was standing in the doorway.
"You're late."
"Sorry, conferring with a source," she said with a shrug as she slid into a chair at the end of the table. "I just heard that at the party celebrating the completion of the ELQ Docks Project in Port Charles, NY, there was an attempted murder."
"Small town news," another reporter scoffed.
"Not when the person who might be charged is one AJ Quartermain. Besides, the victim's name was familiar, although I still can't place it. She's the Personal Assistant of an ELQ Board Member, Jasper Jacks. Her name's. . .ummm. . . oh here it is," she said as she flipped through her notes, "Donna Moss."
Toby froze at the name and walked closer to the young reporter as a few of the others in the room frowned, also trying to place the familiar name. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"Huh?"
"Repeat that for me."
"What part?" she asked bemused.
"THE WHOLE D@MNED THING!"
She gulped as she looked around the room for help, but none was forthcoming. She inhaled sharply and then forced the words out, "a source called and said that AJ Quartermain almost killed a woman by throwing her down a flight a stairs at a party for ELQ."
"I heard that. HER NAME! REPEAT IT!" Toby said in exasperation.
"Moss. Donna Moss. But my source saids she's a nobody. . ." she replied as Toby stormed towards the door and threw it open storming towards his office. "Get me Leo McGarry on the phone. NOW!" he snapped to his stunned secretary as he slammed his own door shut and moved to his desk. A lump forming in his throat as he caught sight of the picture on it. The senior staff---- and her. He reached out and picked it up, staring at it slightly as he tried to calm himself down. They had been unbeatable then. Before anyone knew. . . "Mr. McGarry's on line two, do you need anything else?" she asked as she watched him put the picture back in it's place.
"Nothing you could get me," Toby sighed as he sunk into his desk and he grabbed for the phone and punched down the button for the line. "Leo, it's Toby. Seems we may have a situation arising."
"Now what?" Leo sighed as he looked out the car window.
"There's a rumor going around. Seems. . . well, I got a reporter telling me that someone tried to kill a Donna Moss."
"Kill?" Leo asked surprised as he looked towards Jax. "Look, Toby, I don't know what you heard, but I'll get to the bottom of it."
"So you haven't heard anything. It's not our Donna Moss."
Leo sighed and ran a tired hand down his face, "It is. I got a call last night that she was in an, and I quote, 'accident.' I'm on the way to the hospital right now."
"And you didn't think to call any of us?" Toby asked, a mixture of anger and hurt in his voice.
"Would you really have liked a call at two in the morning with little to no information? Hell, Toby, your reporter seems to have more information than I do right now! I only called. . ."
"I can guess who you called," Toby grumbled and then sighed as he leaned further back in his chair. "How do you want me to handle this? I can't guarantee we're the only news station to be contacted."
It only took Leo a moment to come up with an answer, as he'd been contemplating it since he'd been so rudely woken up. "Call CJ. I was going to start rounding up the troops later today, once I knew more. We'll need her to handle the press once people know."
"Want me to call any of the others."
"He's going to tell Zoey and Charlie. I can handle Sam it's. . . " Leo stopped, shaking his head.
"Josh is not going to handle this well at all," Toby sighed knowing where the other man was going. "You do realize we'll spend half the time riding herd on him and the other half keeping Sam from flirting with the nurses."
Leo laughed slightly at that, "We'll keep Sam too busy writing and rewriting to have time to flirt."
"I'll start a draft on a statement on the plane ride there, if I can get a flight."
"I'll see if I can pull some stings. Donna's new boss might be able to help."
"OK," Toby said as he looked over at the picture. "And, as for the story, well. . . I'll handle it myself. I'm not handing it over to someone I can't trust."
"Conflict of interest, Toby."
Toby cursed at that, "Fine. Who do we know who. . . " he paused as a name came to him. He might not completely trust the man, but he had always been a good reporter.
"Why don't I like that silence?"
"Cancannon."
"No."
"He's freelance. I've shown some of his stuff. He liked Donna. . . Besides, CJ can ride roughshot over him."
"You just like seeing him tortured."
"True," Toby replied, earning a laugh. "Call me when you hear something. I'll call CJ."
"I'll take the other two, after I report in to Abbey."
"They flying in?"
"Ron's having a heart attack over arrangements as we speak."
"Figures. I'm assuming she'll want to take over the case."
"That's an assumption?" Leo asked, earning a chuckle from Toby.
"Talk to you later, Leo."
"Get to work," Leo couldn't help but shoot back earning a colorful response as he hung up and then turned to Jax. "Want to tell me why there's a rumor going around that this wasn't an accident but attempted murder?"