State of Play

Oh, the night that Paddy Murphy died

Is a night I'll never forget

Some of the boys got loaded drunk

And they ain't got sober yet

As long as a bottle was passed around

Every man was feeling gay

O'Leary came with the bagpipes

Some music for to play

That's how they showed their respect for Paddy Murphy

That's how they showed their honor and their pride

They said it was a sin and shame

And they winked at one another

And every drink in the place was full

The night Pat Murphy died

As Mrs. Murphy sat in the corner

Pouring out her grief

Kelly and his gang came tearing down the street

They went into an empty room

And a bottle of whiskey stole

They put the bottle with the corpse

To keep that whiskey cold

That's how they showed their respect for...

They took the white kid to the hospital.

He's in a coma.

Officer, you should check in with the family.

Whatever you're selling, I ain't buying.

Okay, guys, take off.

Yes, sir.

Coffee's free for friends of the press.

I heard Metro ballistics was just here.

Who told you that?

You just did.

You got the names of the victims for me?

You gotta be kidding me.

You know I'm gonna find out anyway.

Not from me.

Okay. You want to play a little confirm or deny?

I'm not playing this game with you, Cal.

Look, Don, I got a living to make, all right?

I got mouths to feed, goldfish.

No names, no quotes, all right?

Okay.

Two victims, one shooter?

Confirm.

One dead, one in the hospital?

Confirm.

Drug related?

Confirm, but deny later if I have to.

Good morning. Good morning, sir.

Okay, I'm late. I know.

I don't need to be reminded of it.

I've been over the briefing notes 1,000 times.

Stephen. Yes?

Metro Police just called.

What?

Sonia Baker was killed in an accident on the Metro this morning.

They identified her by her staff badge.

Horrible news for all of us.

But, Stephen, we're scheduled to start now.

What do you want to do?

Morning, Pittsburgh.

Yinzer.

Cal. Morning.

Talk to me about this shooting.

You know, one guy's still alive.

Deshaun Stagg?

No, he's dead.

The other guy on the bike, Vernon Sando.

Hey, Gene, did you read the guinea pig piece I filed?

Yeah, I'll get to it, Ferris.

Because it's a great human interest story. Yeah, human interest.

So what's the deal?

Stagg's drug deal goes wrong, and this guy just rides by?

Yeah, something like that, I think.

That's a remarkable feat of survival.

Well, at least it's got a little bit of a zip code to it.

Georgetown's the angle, right?

No, no, the angle is that this guy Vernon Sando

has got an MBA from Duke.

What's he doing on a bike?

He's buying a pizza franchise.

You know, they make you ride the bike

for the first six months, learn the ropes.

He's got a wife, two kids, mortgage, total citizen.

What's his condition?

Critical, non-reactive. Paragraph three. He's in a coma.

Okay, let me know.

I will.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Welcome to our hearings with private security contractor PointCorp,

part of the inquiry into the Defense Department's

privatization and outsourcing practices.

Before we begin, I've just received some terrible news.

Sonia Baker,

who was the lead researcher for this committee

and a valued member of my staff, died this morning.

The circumstances of her death are not yet clear.

Well, I'd like to send my condolences to her family.

Oh, my God, are those tears?

50 bucks says he's balling her.

50 bucks? Wait, you owe me 50 bucks.

Bad Congressman! Bad.

What a scumball!

Somebody get me a picture of the girl.

Let's hope she's not 5'2" and 300 pounds.

Gene, Gene, what is your obsession with fat girls?

If you want to have sex with Pete, you should just say it.

Not tonight, I got a headache.

Say it. Say it, Gene. Say it.

Picture! Picture!

Reaction to the tragic death was initially,

and understandably, one of shock,

yet questions immediately began to surface

as soon as Ms. Baker's death was announced.

Hey, Joe, Cal McAffrey over at the Globe.

Just calling about that shooting in Georgetown last night.

I heard the dead kid had a couple of priors as a purse snatcher.

Got any more details for me?

Call me back? Yeah, yeah. You, too.

Hey, I got a question for you.

Stephen Collins.

He's an old friend of yours, is that right?

Yeah.

I'm Della. Della Frye.

I write the Capitol Hill blog.

All right. Online side.

I'm a big fan of your work.

So, I'm writing this piece on personal relationships

in the political sphere,

"single girl in the corridors of power" kind of thing,

and as you probably know,

there was this incident this morning on the Hill,

at your friend's hearing.

Is there a question on the horizon?

Yeah. Have you spoken to him today?

Are you trying to make me part of your story?

No. I'm trying to get a little context.

Context, re: Dirt?

Well, do you think he was having an affair with that girl?

Gee, Della.

Yeah.

I don't know. I'd have to read a couple of blogs

before I could form an opinion.

Okay. Thanks for your help.

Anytime!

Capitol Hill may be rocked with another bombshell.

Speculation is rife that Stephen Collins

may have been romantically linked

with the young aide found dead this morning.

His spokesmen call this another political cloud...

The timing couldn't be worse for Collins.

He needs all the political leverage he can get

as he begins looking into the Defense Department's

outsourcing practices.

Called mercenaries by some and saviors by others,

PointCorp, the controversial private military contractor,

is said to be the biggest beneficiary

in the Defense Department's outsourcing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Collins, who'd been married for 10 years to his college sweetheart,

is thought to have refused to leave his wife for Miss Baker.

Brass tacks.

Were you having a relationship with this girl?

Yes,

and I can't tell you how sorry I am about all of this.

Okay.

I've asked Andrew here to help us

handle things from a media point of view.

If anyone can steer us through this, he can.

Well, the next 72 hours are gonna be brutal.

You ought to brace yourself for that.

For a while, you're gonna be everything that's wrong with politics.

You're still a star, Steve.

The party takes care of its stars.

You just have to lay low for a while.

How low?

Low.

Nothing that would bring any undue attention to yourself.

At the hearings, for instance.

We're not finished with PointCorp.

No, but you are.

If you open up fire on those guys right now,

that's not gonna look like good governance,

just a calculated distraction.

Is your wife speaking to you?

No, not right now.

Then that's job one, isn't it?

Yinzer! She knows you got the message,

and she knows you're in the building.

Yes.

Morning.

So, where are we? Was he knobbing her or not?

Morning, Cam.

It's funny about you. Every time your friend runs for reelection

or conducts a hearing,

you drop his name to me until we give him some coverage.

But he finally does something

that actually might sell some newspapers,

you're rendered mute.

It's incongruous.