Bartlet Demands Zoey Contact as His Wound Worsens

In the racing limousine, a pained President Bartlet urgently demands radio confirmation of Zoey's safety, rejecting Ron Butterfield's assurances she's unharmed but vomiting from shock. Probing her protection and spotting Ron's bloody, bandaged hand, Bartlet overrides protocol to demand a hospital detour despite Ron's insistence on White House security first. As blood trickles from Bartlet's mouth, Ron palpates a stomach wound and radios for George Washington Hospital, executing a sharp U-turn. This pivotal beat humanizes the crisis, amplifying paternal stakes, exposing security toll, and turning Bartlet's condition into an imminent medical emergency.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Bartlet demands confirmation of Zoey's safety and immediate radio contact, revealing his paternal panic and urgent need to verify her security.

concern to escalating urgency ['moving limo']

Ron discloses Zoey's violent shock reaction when pressed, confirming physical safety but psychological trauma in the aftermath of the attack.

urgency to horrified realization

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

8
Mike
primary

Calm professionalism amid high-threat transit

Reported by Ron as one of two agents actively escorting shocked, vomiting Zoey in her separate car racing toward White House security amid assassination fallout.

Goals in this moment
  • Deliver Zoey intact to White House
  • Contain her shock without compromising speed
Active beliefs
  • Convoy integrity shields against follow-on attacks
  • White House is ultimate secure haven
Character traits
unflappable escort precision protective vigilance
Follow Mike's journey
Fred
primary

Steadfast resolve in familial peril

Reported by Ron as shotgun escort alongside Mike in Zoey's car, providing taut protection during her shock-vomiting rush back to White House sanctuary.

Goals in this moment
  • Bolster Zoey's convoy security
  • Execute flawless White House return
Active beliefs
  • Paired agents ensure redundancy in crisis
  • President's family demands unyielding veil
Character traits
shadow-silent duty ironclad guardianship
Follow Fred's journey
Coop
primary

Unyielding focus amid bloodied command crisis

At limousine wheel, directly addressed by wounded Bartlet to 'turn around' for hospital; responds by wrenching vehicle into sharp 180-degree U-turn on Ron's radioed GW command, navigating chaos with iron grip.

Goals in this moment
  • Execute presidential detour order precisely
  • Maintain convoy stability in emergency pivot
Active beliefs
  • Driver's wheel bends to leader's will in extremis
  • Speed carves survival from peril's edge
Character traits
mechanical mastery discreet obedience
Follow Coop's journey

Stoic resolve cracking under concern for president's deteriorating state

Gripping radio with crimson bandaged hand amid speeding limo, Ron reassures Bartlet on Zoey's security with Mike, Fred, and Gina's actions, admits hand injury, insists on White House protocol first, palpates president's stomach upon seeing mouth blood, then urgently radios 'G.W.! Blue! Blue! Blue!' to redirect convoy.

Goals in this moment
  • Maintain presidential security via White House return
  • Address president's critical gut wound with emergency medical reroute
Active beliefs
  • White House perimeter is safest containment for threats
  • President's survival demands swift medical override when evident
Character traits
stoic duty protocol adherence adaptive crisis response
Follow Ron Butterfield …'s journey

Focused operational intensity post-extraction

Reported via Ron as having secured Zoey in her car during initial chaos then stayed behind to coordinate with ID agent, absent from ongoing limo crisis but invoked in Bartlet's protective interrogation.

Goals in this moment
  • Ensure Zoey's rapid vehicle securement
  • Link with ID agent for shooter pursuit
Active beliefs
  • Split duties maximize protectee and investigation coverage
  • Principal safety enables secondary threat neutralization
Character traits
decisive field command prioritized threat containment
Follow Gina Toscano's journey

Overwhelmed shock manifesting as physical nausea

Absent but centrally focalized via Ron's radio reports and Bartlet's demands: secured in separate car post-chaos, vomiting from shock, escorted by Mike and Fred back toward White House while Gina handles ID agent behind.

Goals in this moment
  • Reach safety in White House convoy
  • Process traumatic escape without harm
Active beliefs
  • Trust in Secret Service escorts for protection
  • Immediate flight averts further sniper peril
Character traits
vulnerable filial poise shock-induced fragility
Follow Eleanor Bartlet's journey

Pained urgency laced with paternal terror and mounting frailty

Pained and gasping for breath on the limo seat, Bartlet repeatedly demands radio contact with Zoey, probes her protection details including Gina, Mike, and Fred, recoils at Ron's bloody bandaged hand, overrides protocol with defiant commands to driver Coop for hospital detour, blood trickling from his mouth signaling worsening condition.

Goals in this moment
  • Confirm Zoey's immediate safety and condition
  • Force detour to hospital despite security protocols
Active beliefs
  • Family safety supersedes institutional protocol in crisis
  • Visible agent injuries demand immediate medical priority
Character traits
paternal ferocity defiant leadership unyielding insistence
Follow Josiah Bartlet's journey

shocked, nauseous

secure in separate car with agents but vomiting from shock

Character traits
affectionate protective playful/teasing impulsive
Follow Zoey Patricia …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

2
Ron Butterfield's Bloody Hand Bandage

Ron's makeshift white bandage, now fully saturated crimson from shattered glass and bullet chaos, becomes starkly visible to Bartlet mid-interrogation, symbolizing the human toll on protectors; its seep underscores urgency, fueling president's protocol override and hospital demand amid his own bleeding escalation.

Before: Wrapped tightly around Ron's mangled hand, partially concealing …
After: Visibly blood-drenched and straining, gripped on radio as …
Before: Wrapped tightly around Ron's mangled hand, partially concealing injury during initial reassurances
After: Visibly blood-drenched and straining, gripped on radio as U-turn executes
Ron Butterfield's Secret Service Radio

Ron's compact handheld Secret Service radio crackles alive in his bandaged grasp; after palpating Bartlet's stomach wound upon mouth blood, he jams the key with coded urgency 'G.W.! Blue! Blue! Blue!', ripping through static to commandeer the convoy's trajectory, transforming dialogue standoff into kinetic medical pivot.

Before: Held compactly during Zoey status reports, smeared with …
After: Actively keyed for GW alert, clutched amid U-turn …
Before: Held compactly during Zoey status reports, smeared with initial blood
After: Actively keyed for GW alert, clutched amid U-turn screech

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

2
George Washington Hospital

George Washington Hospital invoked as lifeline via Ron's frantic radio code 'G.W.! Blue! Blue! Blue!', overriding White House protocol; its trauma bays loom as narrative pivot, pulling limo from security reflex into medical imperative amid Bartlet's visible decline.

Atmosphere Anticipated clinical frenzy of beeps and scrubs
Function Emergency destination overriding secure site
Symbolism Stripper of political armor to mortal flesh
Access Emergency protocols for 'Blue' presidential arrival
Implied fluorescent trauma readiness Racing convoy inbound sirens
Presidential Limousine

The armored presidential limousine serves as claustrophobic crucible for raw confrontation—tires howling through Washington night, interior blood-smeared and jolting as Bartlet badgers Ron, wound checked, radio blares, and Coop executes screeching U-turn; embodies hurtling fragility where power bleeds personal.

Atmosphere Hemorrhagic tension thick with gasps, shouts, and screeching tires
Function Mobile crisis command and medical reroute stage
Symbolism Cocoon of executive vulnerability amid national assault
Access Heavily secured Secret Service perimeter, president and detail only
Blood dripping from mouths and bandages Radio static piercing confined space Violent 180-degree turn jolting occupants

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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Key Dialogue

"RON: "Zoey's secure." BARTLET: "Get her on the radio, please!""
"RON: "She's vomiting in the car." BARTLET: "Why is she vomiting?" RON: "It happens. It could be shock.""
"BARTLET: "What happened to your hand?!" RON: "I got hit." BARTLET: "Coop, turn around, we gotta go to the hospital.""