Barriers

SATURDAY JANUARY 3 1998

"Tobus," CJ knocked on Toby and Sam's office door. "Come for drink."

"I'm working," Toby replied without looking up.

"All work and no play, Tobus."

Toby gave CJ an irritated look. "Will you stop calling me that."

"Then come for a drink. Josh and Sam are coming."

"Good for them, I've got to finish this for tomorrow."

"Fine, then it's just me and Josh," CJ said as she turned to leave the small office.

"What about Sam?" Toby asked.

"Won't leave until you do. I think he may be a little scared of you."

"Good," Toby smiled. "Have a nice time."

CJ turned back into the room and stood in front of Toby's desk. "Toby," she pleaded. "Just a couple of hours, come on, be sociable."

"Sociable?"

CJ grinned, "I know that's a alien concept for you. But give it a try, you might find that you like Sam and Josh."

Toby seriously doubted that. No matter what Leo said, he couldn't trust Josh. It didn't seem very loyal or professional to Toby, that Josh just up and left Hoynes. It worried him that if Josh could do that to a man he'd worked for almost a year, then what was to stop him doing it to them.

"You coming?" CJ held Toby's jacket out to him.

Toby sighed, he knew when he was beat. "Yeah." 

The four campaign staffers walked to the Hansom Cab; the only bar that served food, had a pool table and reasonable music and was within walking distance of the campaign headquarters. Toby walked in silence, puffing on a cigar and CJ was listening as Josh laughed at Sam's sailing ability, or should that be lack of ability. As she listened to the banter, she decided that she had to find some common ground between them and Toby. She wasn't sure how anyone could not like Sam, he was open and honest, he was willing to help and to learn, but he was also very good at his job. She could however see how Josh could irritate if you took him at face value, but underneath the arrogance and the cockiness and the swagger was a charming, intelligent and funny man, who was also a brilliant politician.

As they entered the bar the talk turned to the campaign and the weeks ahead. "You know what we need?" CJ said when they found a table.

"Food?" Toby asked.

"Yes," Josh agreed.

"I meant the campaign, but yes you're right we need food. Sam go and order some," CJ told him with a  grin, as she sat down.

"What am I your servant?" Sam asked, as CJ's grinned turns to a glare. "I'll go and order some fries and chicken and stuff," 

"What do we need?" Toby asked, sitting next to CJ.

"A media consultant," CJ replied.

"I thought that was your job," Josh asked.

"No. The press is my job. Releases, briefings, interviews."

Josh looked slightly confused, "OK. So what does a media consultant do?"

"Analyze. How long have you been doing this job?" CJ asked him.

Toby looked doubtful, "Do you really think we can afford one?"

"Well I'd say that's Leo's problem and if he wants to win then he should find a way to afford one."

"Which will probably mean he cuts our salaries," Josh pointed out.

"If we don't get the nomination we won't have any salaries," CJ replied.

"Fair point," Josh nodded.

Sam sat down and asked, "What do we need?"

"A media consultant," Toby supplied.

Sam smiled mischievously and turned to Josh "What about Mandy?"

"What about Mandy?" Josh asked.

"She's a media consultant."

"She has a job," Josh protested.

"Who's Mandy?" CJ asked.

"Josh's girlfriend," Sam supplied.

"I think that may be overstating it a little. And she has a job."

CJ grinned, "You never mentioned a girlfriend, Joshua, tell us more."

"Yeah. I don't think so, 'cos she's not my girlfriend and I'm not suggesting to Leo that we hire her."

The food arrived, with more drinks, and they started discussing campaign strategy. "We're not being taken seriously enough," Josh told them between mouthfuls.

"Which is one of the reasons we need a media consultant," CJ reasoned. "Setting aside that she may or may not be your girlfriend, is Mandy any good?"

Josh frowned and considered how to answer that. "Yeah," he reluctantly admitted. "She's very good, ruthless, but good."

"Then suggest her to Leo, or I will," CJ told him. 

"He might think I'm suggesting her 'cos we dated."

"Is that something you'd do?" Toby asked.

"No."

"Then he won't think that will he. It's not like you're here because he knows your father, are you?" Toby's statement came out as a question.

"Is that what you think?" Josh asked.

"I don't know," Toby admitted, while CJ and Sam quietly watched. "Leaving Hoynes to come here seems like a strange career move."

"Not if we win."

"I guess," Toby agreed, without much conviction.

"Say what's been on your mind for the last six weeks, Toby."

"I just don't understand," Toby muttered.

"And therefore you don't trust me, because you think if I can do that to Hoynes then I can do it to you," Josh added.

Toby was a little startled by Josh's ability to read his mind so clearly. "Maybe."

Josh took a drink of beer and looked at CJ, "You been wondering that?"

CJ shook her head. "No. You didn't believe in Hoynes, you do believe in Bartlet so why would you leave him."

Josh nodded and smiled, "Sorry," he told CJ.

Toby wasn't convinced though. "If you didn't believe in Hoynes why did you work for him?"

"While I was working for Earl Brennan, he thought about running for the nomination. Ruth, his wife, wasn't too keen, she thought that the first black president is going to be the target of assassins."

"She's probably right," CJ interjected.

"Yeah," Josh nodded. "He was still considering it though. Then he was became ill and he resigned, just as Hoynes was setting up his stall for the nomination. Hoynes approached me and asked me to work for him. I didn't know that much about him to be honest, but Earl thought he was in with a good chance and had recommended me to him. He told me not to stay if Hoynes didn't change his strategy of only covering the safe ground. He didn't change, no matter how hard I argued with him," Josh smiled ruefully at the memory of some of their arguments. "You seem to think that he'd have made me his chief of staff, but I'm not sure we trusted each other enough for that to have worked. When Leo offered me this job, it was the perfect opportunity. Believe me no-one was more shocked than me, and Hoynes wasn't shocked at all." Then Josh grinned, "My dad was pretty pleased though."

Toby studied Josh's face and found that he likes what he saw. Josh was slightly drunk and most people weren't so good at hiding their thoughts when they were drunk. Josh's explanation appeared to be genuine and honest. Trust wasn't something that came easily to Toby, but for now he was prepared to give Josh the benefit of the doubt.

Two hours, and much alcohol, later they've moved onto another bar. The discussion had turned to what happened once they won the nomination, something that was a along way off happening yet, but they were all drunk and enjoying the dream.

"Hang on a minute," Sam interrupted. "You're saying we should roll over?"

"No," CJ told him, "I'm saying that we should listen to what they have to say. They may be Republicans, but they're allowed to have a point of view."

"Okay," Josh nodded. "But once we've listened to them, can we tell them where they're going wrong?"

CJ laughed, "We'd be surrounded by Republicans all day, you do realize that?" she asked Josh and Sam.

"We're not scared of them," Josh told her.

"We laugh in the face of danger," Sam rather drunkenly agreed.

"And we poke fun at..... " Josh looked at Sam for help.

"The thing that needs fun poking at it," Sam helpfully finished.

"Yes," Josh gave a satisfied smile.

"You two shouldn't drink, at least not without supervision," CJ informed them.

"You're our supervision," Josh told her.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of responsibility just yet," CJ laughed. "You're both light weights. You," she pointed her finger at Josh, "have been a professional politician for a good number of years and my ten year old niece could drink you under the table."

"You let your ten year old niece drink?" Toby asked with a smile. "Not that she'd need that much obviously."

"Hey," Josh protested.

"Everyone's leaving," Sam complained to Josh.

"It's not my fault. I didn't do anything."

"We should probably go while these two can still stand," Toby suggested.

"Back to the hotel," Sam replies. "I have a mini bar."

"So do I," Josh told him, making sound like he was amazed at the coincidence.

CJ glanced at Toby and saw him smiling at Sam and Josh. "Back to the hotel and sleep. We've an early start," she told them.

"Wow, she's strict," Sam said to Josh.

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END
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