Summary of Ordnance Tactics
The newsroom is deserted. Phones are ringing, lights are on, jackets are hanging on the backs of chairs, but there is not a person in sight. The control room is the same way, things pile haphazardly on desks, monitors on, phones ringing, but no people. Suddenly, everyone comes running in. There are only fifteen minutes to air time, and everyone is scrambling to their places to be ready. As the people swarm in and around, Dan and Casey are standing in the middle of the newsroom on a daze with their jackets on. Casey is desperately clutching a football. Dana asks them if there isn't something else they should be doing than just standing there. They can't believe that everyone else is unperturbed by the fact that they just had a bomb scare. Dana can't believe how upset they are by it. Dan and Casey trail Dana into the conference room, then into the control room, and then into the studio. She's trying to get ready for the show, and they're trying to get some assurance that the possible bomb really isn't there. She tells them about bomb-sniffing dogs. They are not comforted. Dan and Casey follow Dana back to the control room, where they encounter Natalie who encourages them to get into wardrobe. Dan and Casey try to get some reassurance from Natalie and Jeremy that they bomb is definitely not there. Natalie and Jeremy just repeat the dogs story. Dan wonders if the dogs ever get a cold. Dana assures him that they don't. Finally, Casey asks the whole room if anyone can say anything that will make them think that the correct thing to do would be to stay in the building. Dana reminds them that in ten minutes, three and a half million people will be tuning in to watch them on television, and many of them will be women. Dan and Casey decide that this is a good enough reason to stick around, and they depart for wardrobe.
Dana is on the phone in Isaac's office, not sitting in the chair, but standing next to the desk and talking to someone named Alan about the deficit overlay. She finds some useful papers on Isaac's desk, and makes an appointment for later that day to go over them. Meanwhile, J.J. (network brass) comes the door. Dana gets off the phone, and begins walking down the hallways with J.J. trailing after her. They talk about the fact that she told Alan on the phone that she had spoken to Isaac that morning, when in fact she had only spoken to Esther because Isaac was unable to come to the phone. J.J. thinks that Dana blames him for Isaac's stroke in some way, and he encourages her to get over this because he can help her. He wants to help her. He even wants to help her propagate the illusion that Isaac is healthier than he is. Dana tells him everything is fine, and Isaac has kept her up to speed. J.J. says that Dana can't run the show and the organization at the same time. Dana ducks into Dan and Casey's office to address J.J.'s concerns in private. J.J. tells Dana she should delegate some of her responsiblities to Sally. She says she'd rather give them to Natalie. J.J. says the network brass has more confidence in Sally. Dana says she has more confidence in Natalie. J.J. says the network is thinking about bringing in a temporary managing editor. Dana says that's totally not necessary, and she'll go to Luther and tell him that. J.J. says he agrees, but Luther doesn't care what Dana thinks, Luther cares was J.J. thinks. Dan and Casey walk in and are interested to find J.J. and Dana in their office. As J.J. and Dana are leaving, Dan and Casey bring up the bomb scare with J.J. J.J. explains that it was a hoax, and it was from someone who didn't like Danny Denton's radio show. Dan comments that he doesn't like Danny Denton's radio show either, but he just changes the channel. J.J. and Dana leave the office, and Casey calls Dana back in. She gives them and update on Isaac, and they ask her if she's okay with J.J. She says she's fine. Dan and Casey, left alone in their office, continue to bitch about the bomb scare.
Natalie is in the control room, looking at some film. Chris and Will are arguing over whether or not Seattle is on this tape, and Dave is getting frustrated with them both. Jeremy taps on the glass to get Natalie's attention. She steps out to talk to Jeremy, telling him the good news that Pluto isn't going to be demoted as a planet. Jeremy guides Natalie into the editing room, and tells her that he thinks they should temporarily, and he stresses temporarily, that they should temporarily break up. She is surprisingly calm, and simply accepts what he says. He tries telling her again, and her reaction is the same. She isn't accepting his break up. She tells him that he may have broken up with her, but she hasn't broken up with him. He follows her back to the control room, trying to get his point across. Even in front of all the guys in the control room, Natalie continues to deny that they're broken up.
Dan is walking down the hall to Rebecca's office, greeting people by name on the way. When he enters Rebecca's office, she tells him that before she gets mad, she wants to ask about Isaac. Dan says Isaac's blood-pressure is normal, and asks why Rebecca is mad. Rebecca says that Dan was avoiding her during the bomb scare. He tries to make excuses, but then admits that yes, he was avoiding her. She asks why, he tells her to guess, and of course, she guesses correctly. He is upset that she is thinking about going into counseling with her not-so-ex-husband that he hates. She tells him that just because she's thinking about it, doesn't mean that she and Dan have to stop dating. He says that he'll be there for her, but that it would be wrong for them to date, because he would never stand in the way of another man's marriage. A guy named Stuart rushes by in the hallway and says hi to Dan. Dan says hi back, calling Stuart by name without even turning around to look at him.
Dana and Sally are in the conference room as Dana is handing over some of her duties to Sally. Sally tells Dana that she's surprised that Dana is giving this stuff to her and not to Natalie. Dana pretends surprise that Sally would ever think such a thing. Sally says that she would have though Dana would have more confidence in Natalie. Dana denies it. Natalie comes in, talking about how Pluto is still a planet. Dana tells Natalie that Sally is going to be assuming a very small number of Dana's functions during Isaac's absence. Natalie accepts this news calmly. Dan and Casey come in. Dana tells them the same thing she told Natalie. They also accept it calmly. As everyone else comes into the conference room for the upcoming meeting (no one sits in Isaac's chair), Jeremy comes in and announces that he and Natalie have broken up. Everyone looks at Natalie, and she shakes her head. Jeremy asserts that he can ask other women out, and asks out Dana, who turns him down because he's dating Natalie. Jeremy, in frustration, threatens to call the police. Dana quickly conducts the business of the meeting, and as everyone's about to adjourn, Casey interrupts with information about what to do in case of a bomb. Everyone politely sits through Casey and Dan's paranoia, and then walks out. Jeremy wants to talk to Natalie. Jeremy is freaking out about the changes that have been going on in his life. Natalie tries to come back at him with normal couple speak. When he brings up that his father has been having an affair since before Jeremy was born, Natalie uses that as her cue to remember Jeremy's birthday. Finally, Natalie tells Jeremy that she doesn't think his decisions making skill are at their best right now, and so they're not broken up.
Casey is in his office on the phone with Isaac's wife Esther. He tells Esther to tell Isaac to watch the show tonight, and that everything is fine. Sally comes into the office with business regarding the show. Casey is a bit hostile towards her, accusing her of having something to do with Natalie getting pushed to the side. Sally says that for someone she's sleeping with, he's not very nice to her. He apologizes, but says to check her business with Natalie. He asks how many know about them. She asks who he has told. He says Dan. She says then that's who knows. They agree that she'll come over to his place that night. Dan walks in a greets Sally. She blows up at him, then realizes she totally overreacted. He gives her a second chance, greets her again, and this time she just greets him back and then leaves. Dan and Casey decide that Sally has just illustrated how tense things are. They decide that Natalie and Dana have been way too calm, and that they're going to blow at any second. Dan and Casey compare Dana and Natalie to explosives, and say that they should go and detonate them in a safe area instead of leaving them to explode in a crowd.
Dana is in Isaac's office, standing by the desk again and frantically searching through the papers on the desk as she talks on the phone to Alan. Natalie walks in and just as Dana gets off the phone, Natalie finds the paper that she's looking for and hands it to her. Natalie tells Dana about something that has been accomplished by Sally. Dana uses the opportunity to apologize to Natalie for bringing in Sally. She tells Natalie it's what J.J. wanted, and now is not a good time to go up against the network. Natalie completely understands. Dan and Casey come striding into the office with no warning, and spout out everything that is going wrong in the office: the bomb scare, Rebecca thinking about going back to her husband, Jeremy dumping Natalie, the network brass stressing out Dana, and Isaac's stroke. The boys think they have just set the fuse on the bomb, and tactfully go running for cover. They are stopped on their way out the door by Natalie, who simply says, "We're women." Natalie and Dana completely understand what the guys are trying to do, and they explain that they don't need to lose it. They're women in charge, and what women in charge do is keep it together. Dan and Casey are amazed, but since the women do seem so together, they just offer themselves as sounding boards. Dana does admit that this doesn't seem to be one of their better weeks. The show is about to start. Natalie and Dana run off down the hall. Dana tells Natalie that she's going to tell the network that she can use Sally's help, but she's going to run her own show. She also says Natalie is doing the right thing when it comes to Jeremy. In the control room, Chris and Will arguing about a certain F/X getting loaded, and Dave threatens to kill them. As the show is about to get underway, Casey announces to everyone to be carefuly if they hear ticking, and run for their lives. Natalie reminds everyone that she is Jeremy's girlfriend and Jeremy has seen her naked. Casey assures Dan that if something horrible had to happen to one of them, he wants it to be Dan. The show starts.
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