"Donna, you still coming to the Embassy party tonight?"Josh Lyman asked as he poked his head out of his office.

The blonde woman blinked in surprise. "Embassy party?"

Josh frowned. "I told you about that, right?"

Donna shook her head. "No."

"You sure I didn't tell you about it?"Josh asked as he walked into the bullpen.

Donna nodded as she placed a letter into the fax machine. "I keep track of your schedule, remember? You made no mention of a party."

The brown haired man shrugged. "Well there is one tonight "

"Can't go."Donna replied knowing it was a futile gesture. This had been her first full night off in eons she wasn't letting this go without a fight, or a raise.

Josh raised an eyebrow. "You have plans?"

Moss nodded. "First night off in months Josh, you promised."

"I know and I'll make it up to you."Josh replied as he sat on the corner of her desk. "Just show up for a couple hours and then duck out."

Donna sighed. "If I go I want three nights off a week."

"You know I can't promise that, Donna."Josh replied.

"Have a good time."Donna stated as she stood and walked over to the copy machine.

"Okay, two nights, best I can do."Lyman relented as he rose to his feet."Be ready by six."

*******

"Why are we here?"C.J. Cregg asked as the quartet of White House staff members stood just off the main room near the stairs of the Embassy.

"White House needed to be represented."Sam Seaborn replied with a grin as he snatched a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

The press secretary shook her head. "There's an Embassy party every week. What's so different about this one."

"I was asking the same thing."Donna interjected.

"This is the Saudi Arabian embassy."Josh replied as he watched guests spill out from the main room into the hallway and onto the small patio. For late February the night was unseasonably warm.

"So?"Sam replied as he took a sip of champagne.

"We have troops in Saudi Arabia."Lyman replied as he absently tugged at his bow tie.

C.J. glanced at him. "We've had troops in Saudi Arabia for years."

Josh grinned. "It's a party guys and we get paid to be here so just relax and enjoy."

***********

Chief of Staff Leo McGarry was just flicking off the light in his office when Toby Zeilger appeared in the doorway.

"Whatever it is, Toby, forget it."The older man stated as he grabbed his jacket and briefcase and walked around his desk. "Mallory and I have had this trip planned for weeks."

The brown haired man nodded as he stepped into the room. "I know Leo and I 'm sorry. But we've got a situation breaking on one of our bases in Turkey."

Leo stepped out into the hall. "How do I know this can't wait until Monday."

Toby shook his head. "A teenage boy was shot and killed."

"By one of ours?"Leo asked even though he already knew the answer.

The communications director nodded. "Guard claims the boy had a gun but no weapon was found on him."

"Does the President know?"Leo asked.

"Yes."Zeigler replied.

McGarry sighed. "Let me call my daughter and I'll meet you in the Oval office in a few minutes."

*******

"How long have we been here?"C.J. asked Donna as the four friends started to move back into the main room of the Embassy.

Donna glanced at her watch. "About an hour."

"Is that all?"C.J. replied just as Sam glanced back at them.

"You're having fun, admit it."Sam commented with a grin.

Glass shattering behind them interrupted the conversation causing the group to come to a stand still.
They turned just in time to see fifteen masked heavily armed men burst through the front door and spread throughout the Embassy.

One of the gunman who had been at the center of the group wrapped an arm around a startled Donna and dragged her in front of one of the reporters covering the party.

Josh instinctively started toward his assistant but Sam placed a restraining hand on his friend's arm.

The gunman shoved the reporter roughly away from the cameraman. "Turn it on!"

"It is on."The young blond haired man replied struggling to keep the fear out of his voice.

The gunman slammed his semi-automatic rifle against Donna's temple. "People of America."The man stated in a Middle Eastern accent. "Your government has two hours to remove the sanctions from Iraq or we will kill every person in this building. "

Donna closed her eyes not quite believing what was happening.

The gunman shoved Donna closer to the camera as he aimed the gun at the back of her head. He squeezed the trigger just as the Embassy lost all power.

******

White House reporter Susan Johnson rapped lightly on Danny Concanon's open office door. "Hey Danny wasn't C.J. going to that Saudi Embassy party tonight?"

Danny nodded as he glanced up at the blonde woman. "Yeah, why?"

Susan's face was grim as she pointed to the small TV in the corner of the office. "Just turn on channel four."

********

At Margaret's small scream Kathy glanced up at the bank of monitors that covered the right wall of the bullpen. The dark haired young woman moved to stand next to her friend as she scanned the monitors trying to find what had upset her friend.

Then she saw it.....on the far left monitor one of the local stations had been covering the embassy party. Now it showed a masked man pressing a gun against Donna Moss's head.

"Get Toby."Kathy ordered shakily once she found her voice.

********