Excluded and Instructed: Leo's Quiet Contingency
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Margaret questions why she and Leo weren't invited to the meeting, revealing tension about constitutional protocol.
Leo instructs Margaret to remind Josh to 'pick a guy', hinting at secretive contingency plans.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Alert and urgent but professional; concerned about narrative control and quick to mobilize a response.
C.J. enters, asks direct questions about the President, informs Leo that the story is already on the Internet, and offers to coordinate a preemptive press strategy—moving the private exchange into the realm of public crisis management.
- • Develop and execute a preemptive communication strategy to manage imminent media exposure.
- • Work with Leo to present a controlled, coherent public message in the morning.
- • Once information appears on the Internet it will shape the narrative and must be countered or framed quickly.
- • Coordinated, preemptive messaging reduces damage more effectively than reactive statements.
Controlled and weary; masking urgency with brevity and focusing on operational containment rather than explanation.
Leo receives Margaret's questioning with a dismissive, pragmatic tone, downplays legalism as a 'technicality,' and issues a quiet, transactional order about 'pick a guy.' He then briefs C.J. on the President's condition and authorizes a coordinated press response.
- • Contain institutional risk by activating necessary contingencies without creating alarm.
- • Control the flow of information to minimize political and media fallout.
- • Operational secrecy and selective omission are warranted to protect the presidency and the institution.
- • Decisions should be handled efficiently and communicated only to those who need to act on them.
Irritated and puzzled at being slighted; professionally anxious to know protocol but containing personal hurt beneath civic concern.
Margaret follows Leo into his office, challenges him about being excluded from a meeting, invokes constitutional language, writes down Leo's terse order, and leaves — a procedural steward insisting on form while registering personal slight.
- • Establish why she and Leo were omitted and restore procedural correctness.
- • Get clarity about Leo's terse instruction and ensure she can carry out any administrative task accurately.
- • Constitutional and institutional protocols should be observed, not bypassed.
- • Knowing the details is essential to correctly perform her administrative role.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Andrews Air Force Base is referenced as the First Lady's point of departure; its invocation compresses personal travel into the political timeline and explains why the First Lady is en route rather than present, impacting optics and staff decisions.
Leo's office is the cramped, private site where institutional discretion is exercised: Margaret confronts Leo here, Leo issues operational orders, and C.J. arrives to pivot the conversation toward public messaging. The room concentrates personal loyalty and administrative authority into a pressure-filled exchange.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Leo's instruction to Margaret to remind Josh to 'pick a guy' directly leads to Josh selecting Roger Tribby as the designated survivor."
"C.J.'s arrival to discuss Leo's press crisis transitions into Abbey praising Leo's actions, showing the shifting focus of the narrative."
"C.J.'s arrival to discuss Leo's press crisis transitions into Abbey praising Leo's actions, showing the shifting focus of the narrative."
"Margaret's curiosity about being excluded from meetings parallels Josh's explanation of the 'designated survivor' protocol, both touching on the theme of hidden responsibilities."
Key Dialogue
"Margaret: "We weren't invited?" / Leo: "That's right.""
"Leo: "Also, remind Josh to pick a guy." / Margaret: "Pick a guy?" / Leo: "Yeah.""
"C.J.: "How's the President?" / Leo: "He's in bed. Hackett's up there with him." / C.J.: "It's on the Internet right now.""