Fabula
Object
Object

Zoey's Panic Button

Wes spots the panic button discarded on the nightclub alley ground near the ajar back door and Molly's body. He picks it up as key evidence. At the street crime scene, Josh and Charlie learn from Wes that Zoey never pressed it—no struggle occurred during her abduction. Agents treat it as proof kidnappers removed her swiftly without activating the alarm.
6 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

6 moments
S4E22 · Commencement
Demanding 'Overwhelming Force' — Bartlet Inspects Zoey's Detail

Zoey's panic button is referenced by Wesley as a daily verification ritual — a non-kinetic security device invoked to establish routine accountability and immediate call-for-help protocol between protectee and SAC.

Before: In Zoey's personal possession (implied), part of her standard protection kit.
After: Remains in Zoey's possession; Wesley instructs it will be checked daily, preserving its role as a living link in the security chain.
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S4E22 · Commencement
Overwhelming Force — Port Closed After Missing Container

Zoey's panic button is referenced as a daily-procedural requirement by Wesley — a small personal device that embodies the interface between the First Daughter's independence and the protective protocols that constrain it.

Before: In Zoey's possession (carried or accessible), personal protective device.
After: Remains in Zoey's possession, with an explicit instruction to display it daily to the detail.
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S4E22 · Commencement
Contact Lost — Panic Button and Agent Down

Zoey's panic button is found discarded on the alley ground by Wesley; its presence proves Zoey's emergency alarm was separated from her and implies forcible removal, turning a missing-person worry into tangible evidence of abduction and severed protective measures.

Before: In Zoey's possession as an active personal alarm carried inside the nightclub.
After: Found on the ground in the alley and picked up by Wesley; it becomes material evidence of a violent removal from Zoey.
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S4E22 · Commencement
Panic Button — Molly Down, Zoey Taken

Zoey's panic button is found discarded on the alley ground; Wesley picks it up — the device functions as incontrovertible physical proof that Zoey had been in the immediate area and that her protective tether was forcibly removed or abandoned during an abduction.

Before: In Zoey's possession as an operational protection device on the nightclub floor (with her).
After: Lying on the alley pavement until picked up by Wesley and used as evidence to confirm abduction.
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S4E23 · Twenty-Five
Frantic Timeline and the Ecstasy Lead

Wes reports finding Zoey's panic button on the ground — a concrete clue that Zoey did not or could not press it during her abduction; the button reframes the abduction as sudden and unresisted and narrows investigative hypotheses.

Before: Was in Zoey's possession (prior to abduction) or on her person near the club.
After: Recovered by Wes and treated as evidence in the hands of the Secret Service.
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S4E23 · Twenty-Five
Ambulance Confrontation — Jean‑Paul Accused; Wes Secures Evidence

Wes references the panic button as evidence that Zoey never triggered an alarm, stating he found it on the ground; the object's discovery reframes the scene by removing signs of a struggle and sharpening focus on toxicology rather than forcible abduction.

Before: Recovered from the club alley ground by agents; treated as evidence indicating no active press occurred.
After: Held by agents as part of the evidence chain that shifts investigative focus away from a physical struggle.
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