CHAPTER 2

January 20

9:16 PM EST. Oval Office

Bill Fryer, the Secretary of Education, had been chosen to sit out of the State of the Union. He was sitting on a couch in the Oval Office with a cup of coffee, musing how the walls would look better painted pastel green when the room shook, causing him to spill his coffee all over the Seal of the President. Swearing, he looked around for paper towels. Then he stopped. Were they under attack?

"Hey!" he yelled to everybody and nobody in particular. "What was that?"

The President's secretary, was her name Debbie, came in. "Sir," she said, her voice trembling. "I think that was the Capitol."

"But the Secret Service--"

"Most of them are there, sir." she said, "Hopefully we'll get a phone call in a few minutes."

"Who's still here?" Fryer asked.

Debbie thought for a second. "There's you, the assistance staff, a few guards, and the cleaners and chefs. But the cabinet and senior staff are there."

"Go wait by the phone."

"Yes, sir." She left.

"Mr. Secretary!"

Two more women ran into the room, an older one and a young blonde. Several Secret Service agents were right behind them.

"It was the Capitol building, sir." one of the agents, a young man with a shaved head confirmed. "It just exploded."

"What do you mean?" Fryer snapped.

"I mean, sir, that some kind of explosive device was set off in the Capitol Building. We don't have much information, only a cell call from an agent who went outside for a smoke and was locked out."

Fryer was silent for a second and the others waited. Then he barked, "What the hell are you doing standing there? Call the police, fire, ambulance, FBI, the friggin' Potomac River Militia, everyone! Get your asses out there!"

"Yes, sir." the agent said. He and the others, except Donna and Margaret, filed out.

"You two," Fryer said, "Who do you work for?"

"Josh Lyman."

"Leo McGarry."

"Go tell the rest of the assistants if, by some chance, they don't know. Then go to Leo's office and wait by the phone. Apart from me, that'll be the office they'll call."

"Yes sir."

Donna went to Josh's office to get the work she'd been doing. She knew there was no way she could finish it now, but it gave her a little bit of a feeling of realism to do her job. She didn't know what logic made her figure that.

She sat down at his desk, numb. The Capitol had blown up. The worst case scenario they always prepared for but never expected.

She mentally listed all the people that had been there. The President, the First Lady, Leo, Josh, Toby, CJ, Charlie, Sam...wait, had Charlie been there?

January 20

12:43 PM EST

"Charlie, you look terrible."

"Thanks." Charlie said, giving Sam and Donna a weak smile as they passed in the hall.

"I'm serious." Donna said, "Are you sick?"

"A little." he admitted.

"You should go home."

"Naa, I'm okay."

"Go home." Sam said.

"Seriously, I'm okay. State of the Union tonight, I can't go home. See you later."

"If you're sure then."

They parted. "He should go home." Donna said.

Sam shrugged, taking a sip from his ever present coffee cup. "The President will send him home as soon as he sees him."

January 20

9:27 EST. Charlie Young's apartment.

The phone ringing pulled Charlie out of a bizarre dream involving a giant rabbit and a flying fork. His eyes still closed, he fumbled around on the floor for the phone.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

"Charlie?"

"Yeah." Who was this?

"Oh my God, Charlie, did you hear it?"

"Donna? Is that you?"

"The Capitol just blew up."

He was wide awake now, leaping out of bed and throwing on a pair of pants he found on the floor. "Are you at the White House?" he asked.

"Yeah. Me and Margaret and the other assistants. I know you're sick, but please hurry."

"I'll be there in a minute."

He hung up the phone, threw on a jacket, and hurried out the door, ignoring the urge to puke in the hallway.

As he got toward the center of the city, the streets were clogged with emergency vehicles. Finally he pulled over onto the sidewalk and half-ran, half-stumbled seven blocks to the White House. He was astonished to find only a single guard at the door. He nodded solemnly at Charlie as he passed, flashing his ID.

9:50 EST. Josh Lyman's office

Donna was still in Josh's office. She knew she should go to Leo's, but she wasn't sure she could move. A shadow filled the doorway and she looked up, half expecting to see Josh's ghost standing there.

It was Charlie, trembling and sweating profusely. She got up and threw her arms around him. "I thought you were dead." she choked out.

He gave her a second, and then said, "What happened?"

"The building blew up right at the beginning of his speech. I saw the TV feed disconnect and me and Margaret felt something like an earthquake. You can see the flames from here."

She was right, but Charlie didn't want to see them. "Does Secretary Fryer know?" he asked.

"Yeah. He ordered the Secret Service guards to call anyone they could for help."

"Is he in the bunker?"

"The bunker?"

"Where is he?"

"Last I saw, the Oval office."

Charlie whirled around and ran out. "He has to go to the bunker." he said as Donna followed him. "What's stopping them from attacking the White House? There's barely any security right now."

Donna hadn't even thought of that. As Charlie strode into the Oval Office, she went to see if Margaret had recieved any calls.

Margaret and Carol, CJ's assistant, were sitting in Leo's office. They were silent and Donna could hear Charlie arguing with Fryer in the Oval Office.

"Sir, please."

"Are you going down? Are the assistants?"

"But we need you to be alive, sir." Charlie said, "We may need--"

He didn't finish, but Donna knew what he was going to say.

We may need you to be President.