MARTIN SHEEN
Good, evening. I'm Martin Sheen, and I'm with the cast of The West Wing.

For those of you who tuned in to see our season premiere, I'm afraid you won't. That'll be next week.

ROB LOWE
We're eager to get back to our continuing storylines, but we wanted to stop for a moment and do something different.

ALLISON JANNEY
You'll notice a few things different about this show tonight. For instance, in place of our usual main title sequence, we'll be putting phone numbers up on the screen where you can pledge donations to groups that are able to help with victims' assistance.

JOHN SPENCER
By now, nobody needs to be convinced that when they named New York's finest and New York's bravest, they knew what they were talking about. So, we're pleased to tell you that the profits from tonight's episode will be donated to the New York Firefighters' 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund, and the New York Police & Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund.

DULÉ HILL
A helping hand, from our family to theirs.

BRADLEY WHITFORD
Now, don't panic! We're in show business and we'll get back to tending our egos in short order. But tonight we offfer a play. It's called "Isaac and Ishmael". We suggest you don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out where this episode comes in the timeline of the series. It doesn't. It's a storytelling aberration, if you'll allow.

RICHARD SCHIFF
Next week, we'll start our third season. You'll see stories about a reelection campaign, an MS disclosure, an embassy in Haiti...

STOCKARD CHANNING
Repealing the estate tax...
ROB LOWE
A fight against Big Tobacco...

DULÉ HILL
A fight to get our friends back...

JOHN SPENCER
Funding the NEA...

ALLISON JANNEY
A veto override...

STOCKARD CHANNING
A marriage in trouble...

JANEL MOLONEY
And I get a boyfriend.

MARTIN SHEEN
That's all for us. Thank you for listening.

FADE TO: INT. FBI FIELD OFFICE, BURLINGTON, VERMONT - NIGHT
In a series of offices, people are at their desks, flags hanging off walls. A man walks in, comes up to a woman by a computer.

GREG
Joan? Run a search in the NIC. Yaarun Nabi. Y-a-a-r-u-n N-a-b-i.
JOAN
Yarun Nabi is a Persian name.

GREG
Yeah?

JOAN
Means "friend of the prophet."

GREG
Getting anything?

JOAN
Four AKAs. Yaquin Kashani, Raqim Ali, Yamin Bandari, Yawar Aryanpur.

GREG
Run them.

JOAN
[runs the search] I wonder if they all mean "friend of the prophet." Guess that would be silly, or at least remarkably coincidental that the aliases would mean the same thing as the actual name. I mean, you gotta ask: what good would an alias be if it... [cuts off, gestures for Greg to come closer] Greg?

[Greg approaches, looks at the screen, then dials a number on the phone.]

GREG
[into the phone] Get me the Secret Service Joint Operations center at the White House.
CUT TO: INT. JOSH'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Josh picks up his bag.

JOSH
Donna!

DONNA
Yeah?

JOSH
I'm going home.

DONNA
It's only five.

JOSH
Yeah, I know.

DONNA
You can't go yet, you have to talk to the students.

JOSH
What students?

DONNA
From Presidential Classroom.

JOSH
What are you talking about?

DONNA
They're high school kids from across the country who were accepted for...I don't know. They come to Washington for four days. They get to meet with interesting people and you're one of them.

JOSH
[putting on his coat] What did...When did this get on my schedule?

DONNA
[comes inside] It's been there.

JOSH
No it hasn't, it's just...There isn't anybody else who can do this?

DONNA
It's supposed to be you.

JOSH
I have to work.

DONNA
You can work in the office.

JOSH
No, I can't work in the office. We've crashed five times in three weeks.
[He walks out. Donna follows him into the bullpen.]

When I'm not being evacuated from the building, I'm not being allowed to leave the building and now, the one...God, Donna. I want to go home.

DONNA
Josh, it's been on your schedule.

JOSH
[stops] Alright, I'll give them a few minutes, but then I gotta go, okay?

DONNA
Yeah.

JOSH
[sighs] When am I supposed to do this?

DONNA
Now.

JOSH
Where are they?

DONNA
They're right in the Northwest lobby.
[Josh sighs, hands her his bag and walks out]

CUT TO: INT. NORTHWEST LOBBY.
A group of students and their teachers are standing as Josh walks in.

JOSH
Good evening. Good to see you. You're the group from Presidential...something?

DONNA
[from behind] Classroom.

JOSH
Classroom?

MARJORIE MANN
I'm their supervisor, Marjorie Mann.

JOSH
Josh Lyman.

MARJORIE
[shakes his hand] Thank you for taking the time.

JOSH
So, how'd you all get here?

STUDENTS
The bus.

JOSH
I meant...

MARJORIE
They qualify with essays, recommendations, grades in history and government. It's very competitive.

JOSH
Well, alright, uh, I'm Josh Lyman. I'm the Deputy White House Chief of Staff. I joined the Bartlet campaign shortly before the Iowa Caucus and served as the campaign's political director. Before that, I worked with then Senator John Hoynes for a while...

DONNA
Josh...

JOSH
[turns] Yeah?

[Josh looks at the red phone on the table; its incoming call button is flashing. The security guard picks up the phone with a sticker labelled "Crash" on the receiver.]

GUARD
Station One, Code Black. Crash!

JOSH
[to the students] Alright, listen, something's about to happen. Don't let it frighten you. They need to seal the building.

[Secret Service agents burst in through all doors]

AGENT 1
Stay where you are, please.

AGENT 2
Everybody, please, stay where you are.

GUARD
Mr Lyman, are these kids with you?

JOSH
Yeah, I guess they are. [to the students] Something's happened.

FADE OUT.

ACT ONE

FADE IN: INT. THE WHITE HOUSE MESS - NIGHT
Donna leads the school kids into the mess from a hallway right outside.

DONNA
Right in here. Just grab a seat anywhere. Right in here. This is the mess. This is where we eat lunch. We'll just...wait here.

[Josh walks up from behind Donna]

JOSH
What's going on?

DONNA
How should I know?

JOSH
Would you call Leo's office and find out what's going on and, more important, how long it's going to be going on for?

DONNA
They're probably scared. You might try lightening up a little bit.

JOSH
Yeah, I'll definitely give that a try.

[Josh and Donna follow the rest of the kids into the mess. Josh stands in front of the kids and addresses them.]

JOSH
Okay, well, uh, this is called a "crash". It means there's been some kind of security breach and no one's allowed in or out of the building.

[Josh turns around, smacking his hands together nervously, and looks at Donna who is standing behind him.]

JOSH
[to Donna] Would you call Leo's office?

So, I guess we should use this time. This is the White House, the home of the President and the Executive Branch, the most powerful of the three branches of the federal government.

[Josh is pacing back and forth in front of the students. One of them raises his hand to ask a question]

JOSH
Yeah?

BILLY
Actually, Mr. Lyman, isn't it true that the Framers made sure that the Executive Branch was the weakest of the three branches? Because we were breaking off from the royalist model that put absolute power in just one place. I mean, isn't that why they made the Legislative branch - or People's Branch - the most powerful?

[Josh stops in front of Billy and acts vaguely menacing, a little smirk on his face, and Donna can be seen reentering in the background]

JOSH
What's your name?

BILLY
[with slight hesitation] I'm Billy Fernandez.

JOSH
I'll call you Fred. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. I don't know how long we're all going to be down here, but you just made my list.

[Billy smiles and Josh walks off, continuing.]

JOSH
Yes, I suppose technically, constitutionally, the Legislative Branch is the most powerful, but we get a motorcade, so back off. Alright, you already know about the branches of government, I assume you know how a bill becomes a law. What do you want to talk about?

[The kids have no response; they seem nervous]

JOSH
Guys, seriously, it's nothing to worry about. We've been having these crashes once a week. Let's go. Somebody ask me something.

[A girl pipes up from the group.

Girl 1
So...what's the deal with everybody trying to kill you?

JOSH
Well, it's not everybody, and they're trying to kill you, too.

GIRL 1
But mostly you.

JOSH
No, both of us at the same time. Let's go, it doesn't have to be about politics. You're off to college. I'm the guy who knows what you need to know. Sophomore year, my roommates and I got a fish registered for 18 credits, and she made Dean's List. My roommates and I made a Dean's List of a different sort, but that doesn't matter.

[Another boy behind Billy pipes up]

BOY 1
Do you get scared coming to work at the White House?

JOSH
No. I mean, we're bystanders, basically, and we work around a lot of people who routinely put themselves in harm's way - the Secret Service and the military. You know, the protection detail? They practice a thousand different scenarios for a gun: who tackles the President, who opens the car, who's covering the perimeter. And there's one guy whose job it is to stand in front of the bullet. Not get the shooter - stand in front of the bullet. I've seen him do it.

GIRL 1
Do you ever think about quitting?

JOSH
No. [he hesitates for a moment, then continues] Well...my, uh...my mother wants me to. My family members have a habit of dying before you're supposed to. So it's just me and my mom now and... You guys know I guess, that I got accidentally shot a little bit or something at Rosslyn. So, she'd like to see me in the private sector. But I tell her my government salary may not be a lot, but I still make more than the guy whose job it is to stand in front of the bullet, so how do I tell him I'm quitting? So she made me this box that I'm supposed to keep in the trunk of y car, and it's got a super-powered flashlight, five gallons of water, and a transistor radio, and some first aid. But she keeps thinking of things to add to it. She'll call and say "I found that cap that Dad got Joe Pepitone to sign for you on your birthday. You wore it to school every day in the seventh grade. You want me to send it to you so you can put it in the box?"

[He has trailed off a bit and stops for a moment, looking sad and serious. He looks around the room for a moment, then starts up again, livelier this time.]

So...I'll say, "Yeah Ma, let's put it in the box."

[He gives a little chuckle. He walks over, leaning against something by the wall.]

So, anyway, I...I don't know against who, and I don't know what it's going to look like, but one of these days we're gonna have a big win, and for a lot of us who've seen what we've seen, we're not leaving till we do. I'm gonna be here six Presidents from now, in my office - Wile E. Coyote and a map.