Object

Missing Cargo Container from Ship Agile

Standard intermodal shipping container—corrugated steel box, twenty or forty feet long, secured with twist-locks on the freighter Agile's deck—turns up missing during routine inspection. Bartlet and his security team learn of the breach in the Residence hallway briefing; Ron Butterfield flags it as a potential vulnerability, while agents like Molly O'Connor and Randy Weathers absorb the news amid their readiness drill. The absence alone drives urgency, evoking unseen threats in everyday maritime traffic.

2 appearances

Purpose

Secure overseas transport of bulk cargo

Significance

Ignites White House maritime security briefing, exposing gaps in port oversight and amplifying Bartlet's demands for overwhelming protective force amid personal and national threats.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S4E22 · Commencement

Overwhelming Force — Port Closed After Missing Container

The missing cargo container from the ship Agile is the catalytic clue delivered in the President's study; its absence is presented as a concrete anomaly that elevates the hallway drill into a national-security crisis, directly prompting the order to close the Port of Portland.

Before: Manifested on the Agile's shipping list (expected to be one of 46 containers at dock).

After: Unaccounted for — officially reported missing, subject of an immediate federal investigation and operational response.

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S4E22 · Commencement

Quiet News — Leo Tells Bartlet When Toby & Andy Will Be Induced

The missing cargo container on the Agile is the operational pivot that produced the tense port-closure briefing immediately preceding this private moment. Its absence creates the background threat that makes Leo's domestic news feel like a reprieve from crisis calculus.

Before: Reported missing from the Agile while the ship sat in Portland; manifest discrepancy (46 supposed, 45 present) flagged by Harbor Patrol.

After: Still missing and a central subject of the FBI hunt; the port has been ordered closed pending further investigation.

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