Shareef's Assassination Confirmed; Bartlet's Isolated Revelation
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo answers the phone in the theater hallway and quietly informs Bartlet of Shareef's execution before walking away, leaving Bartlet alone.
Bartlet stands in silhouette behind a theater curtain, the weight of his decision settling heavily as the chorus sings of peace, contrasting the brutal act.
The screen dissolves to black, emphasizing the gravity of the assassination and Bartlet's isolation in the aftermath.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Grim resolve hardening into quiet vindication
Alone in the dimly lit Situation Room, stands vigilant by the phone amid ongoing distant chorus, picks up receiver to absorb the terse confirmation signal of assassination success.
- • Confirm operational success
- • Close the command loop on presidential order
- • Target elimination secures national interests
- • Covert precision upholds military efficacy
Unaware complacency shattered in instant
Exits the private plane with bodyguards onto remote airstrip, glances around unsuspectingly before sniper fire fells him dead on the tarmac.
- • Disembark safely post-flight
- • Scan for immediate threats
- • Diplomatic status affords protection
- • Remote landing poses no peril
Cold operational focus devoid of hesitation
One sniper peers through night vision as plane lands, tracks Shareef and bodyguards exiting; team fires fatal shots dropping them dead; operative kneels to extract pen recorder from Shareef's pocket and plugs it into phone, transmitting signal.
- • Execute authorized kill shots
- • Retrieve and transmit confirmation device
- • Mission parameters demand lethal finality
- • Chain of command ensures flawless execution
Alert duty turning to fatal surprise
Flank Shareef exiting the plane, sweep surroundings protectively before collective sniper barrage crumples them lifeless beside their principal.
- • Secure Shareef's perimeter
- • Detect potential ambushes
- • Professional training suffices against threats
- • Isolation minimizes exposure
Profound moral solitude amid hollow triumph
Turns head toward Leo answering phone in hallway, engages brief meeting to receive relayed news of Shareef's death amid loud singing, steps behind curtain where his stark silhouette lingers in isolation as sole visual.
- • Absorb confirmation of ordered kill
- • Seek momentary seclusion for reckoning
- • Choice exacts irreparable personal cost
- • Leadership demands such shadows
Steadfast delivery veiling underlying gravity
In theater hallway, answers ringing phone amid swelling chorus, meets Bartlet's gaze, quietly relays execution confirmation drowned by song, then departs leaving president alone.
- • Inform president of mission completion
- • Minimize emotional fallout in public venue
- • Pragmatic necessity overrides moral qualms
- • President must bear isolated burden
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Shareef's Gulfstream executes forced 'crash' landing on remote Bermuda tarmac, disgorging target and guards into sniper kill zone—transforms from false sanctuary to fatal delivery mechanism, catalyzing instant execution under night cover.
Bartlet ducks behind Broadway theater box curtain post-relay, its dense folds framing his stark, solitary silhouette against swelling chorus—potent symbol of presidential isolation in moral aftermath.
Snipers' night vision pierces Bermuda darkness, tracking plane touchdown and unaware trio's exit to frame precise kill shots—essential surveillance tool enabling flawless targeting in pitch-black isolation.
Plucked from Shareef's lifeless pocket by sniper, pen recorder—bearing Bartlet's authorizing voice—is jammed into phone, beaming irrefutable confirmation signal to Fitzwallace, sealing covert op's legal and moral closure.
Sniper thrusts pen recorder into compatible phone's port at airstrip, activating transmission of success ping across to Fitzwallace's line—critical relay device bridging kill site to Situation Room command.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Theater hallway hosts clandestine relay: Leo fields call, briefs Bartlet amid intermission chorus drowning words; president retreats to curtained box—hurried shadows underscore revelation's intimacy against public obliviousness.
Remote Bermuda landing strip engulfs assassination: Gulfstream thuds down, Shareef and guards emerge into night-veiled sniper traps, bullets claim lives amid dust—isolated kill zone amplifies operation's cold finality.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"The pen recorder Bartlet drops in discomfort is later retrieved as evidence after Shareef's assassination."
"Bartlet's silhouette behind the theater curtain symbolically contrasts with the hopeful chorus about peace, highlighting the irony of his decision."