Fabula
S2E1 · In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part I
S2E1
· In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part I

Ron's Desperate 'No Drill' Confirmation as Bartlet Fights for Breath

In the hurtling limousine post-assassination, President Bartlet gasps desperately for air, his labored breaths signaling plummeting survival odds. Wounded Secret Service chief Ron Butterfield shouts into the phone to the hospital nurse, declaring 'We're coming in!' Her skeptical query—'Is this a drill?'—prompts his urgent, emphatic 'No!', obliterating doubts and igniting full medical mobilization. This beat escalates life-or-death stakes, excavating Ron's stoic resolve amid chaos while bridging the attack's brutality to the hospital's frantic response.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

Bartlet gasps for breath as Ron shouts into the phone, escalating the urgency of the situation.

calm to panic ['limousine interior']

Ron confirms the severity of the situation to the nurse, dispelling any notion of a drill.

uncertainty to alarm ['limousine interior']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
Ron Butterfield (Secret Service Special Agent)
primary

Urgent determination masking personal pain

Shouting urgently into the limousine phone despite his own shot hand, declaring 'We're coming in!' and emphatically blasting 'No!' to counter the nurse's drill skepticism, driving the crisis alert forward.

Goals in this moment
  • • Force hospital acknowledgment of real emergency
  • • Secure immediate triage for incoming President
Active beliefs
  • • Skepticism must be crushed for swift action
  • • Duty demands overriding all protocols now
Character traits
resolute authoritative
Follow Ron Butterfield …'s journey
Nurse 3rd
primary

skeptical

responding over voiceover on the phone 'I copy that. Is this a drill?'

Goals in this moment
  • • verify if the incoming situation is a real emergency or a drill
Character traits
inquisitive collegial wry efficient wryly exasperated skeptically cautious decisively urgent collegially sharp sarcastic warm professional weary
Follow Nurse 3rd's journey
Josiah Bartlet
primary

Desperate survival instinct overriding agony

Slumped in the limousine, gasping desperately for breath with labored, ragged inhalations that underscore his abdominal gunshot wound's mortal toll amid the speeding chaos toward the hospital.

Goals in this moment
  • • Sustain consciousness to reach hospital
  • • Endure transport without succumbing
Active beliefs
  • • Rapid medical intervention is his only hope
  • • His will can defy physical collapse
Character traits
vulnerable resilient
Follow Josiah Bartlet's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Presidential Limousine Phone

Acts as vital lifeline clutched by Ron Butterfield; he bellows arrival alert and emphatic 'No!' denial into its receiver, countering nurse's doubt to propel limousine frenzy into hospital mobilization, embodying raw bridge from street-level assassination chaos to institutional response.

Before: Held by Ron Butterfield, actively connected to GW …
After: Still gripped by Ron, line open post-confirmation as …
Before: Held by Ron Butterfield, actively connected to GW Hospital nurse
After: Still gripped by Ron, line open post-confirmation as limo races on

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Presidential Limousine

Armored cocoon hurtles through night streets, enclosing Bartlet's desperate gasps and Ron's phone shouts in blood-streaked intimacy; U-turn echoes fade as it vectors presidential peril directly to ER, amplifying isolation of power's fragility amid assassination's aftershock.

Atmosphere Claustrophobic tension thick with ragged breaths, urgent shouts, and screeching momentum
Function Crisis transport barreling wounded leader to hospital
Symbolism Shattered fortress exposing leadership's human vulnerability
Access Sealed to President and Secret Service detail only
Blood trickling on leather seats Speeding jolts and engine roar

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

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This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph

Key Dialogue

"RON: "We're coming in!""
"NURSE 1ST ([VO]): "I copy that. Is this a drill?""
"RON: "No!""