Jacob Barnes is a reporter working after the US government has just been restored.
Biography[]
Before the Red Flu outbreak, Barnes was married with a child on the way but both were killed by the Red Flu at an unknown point. Barnes was in Jackson, Mississippi when he first heard President Jeffrey Michener broadcast a message across the country saying a cure to the Red Flu had been found. Barnes received the cure and returned home to the Mid-Atlantic Region after the US Government is restored. Randall Croft was given control of his region and Barnes eventually got a job as a White House reporter and moved to St. Louis, Missouri to cover stories related to Michener and his presidency as they established the new White House there.
Events of The Last Ship[]
Barnes is first seen covering President Jeffrey Michener's speech to the country on his 154th day as president to reaffirm their growing progress to rebuild the country. (“The Scott Effect”)
At a press conference at the St. Louis White House, Barnes asks Michener about CNO Tom Chandler's progress in China. When Michener replies Chandler is making progress in convincing China to help spread the cure, Barnes retorts that due to reports of border conflicts between China and Vietnam, Barnes wonders if Chandler was sent their to defuse a potential foreign war in Asia. Michener responds that Chandler was only sent their to help convince president Peng Wu spread the cure across Asia.
After the press conference, Barnes asks Deputy Chief of Staff Kara Green out to get a better lay of the land and she tells him to make an appointment through her office and mentions she is married with a child at home. He asks her if they are going to war with China and Kara reassures him that although the President strategy is classified, it is working. Barnes then warns Kara that while she was on the Nathan James the silence from the US Government during the Red Flu outbreak caused many deaths and the people can't trust the government just yet and leaves saying he will make that appointment for that coffee. (“Shanzhai”)
When footage of six kidnapped sailors is streamed across the world, Barnes uses the footage to question how long the president knew they were taken, what he told the families of the hostages, and whether he will give into their demands. While having coffee with Kara where she praises Michener as a good man, Barnes claims she is too enamored with the man to see the people still remember how the government fell and abandoned them and feels doesn't trust Michener. Kara says it is good that he keeps the White House on its toes, but Barnes doesn't care about the country, all he wants is the glory of exposing a scandal like Watergate to try and discredit the government and it is the last thing Michener needs if he is going to repair the country.
Barnes doesn't listen and ambushes Barbara Miller near her car while carrying groceries to interview her after footage of her son being tortured in shown. He gets Barbara to say that President Michener never contacted her to say her son was kidnapped and gets her to call out Michener on it and addresses the people himself to asks what Michener's next move will be. (“Devil May Care”)
When Michener organizes a press conference to address him pulling two US Naval Destroyers out of Japan, Barnes asks how they can know this is the truth when Michener has been keeping secrets ever since Chandler left for China. After Michener refuses to lift his domestic policies at the request of the regional leaders, one of them leaks to Barnes that Chandler left China is onboard the Nathan James to find the suspected leader of the pirates holding the American sailors, Takehaya. Barnes uses the info to prepare a story which paints the President as holding out information before Kara interrupts him. She demands to know how he got that information and tries to convince him that the regional leaders are manipulating him for their own benefit and he simply counters that the administration is the one manipulating the public and refuses to back down. Kara begs him not to run that story as it could endanger the operation to save her friends and Barnes agrees to hold off for twelve hours in exchange for an interview with President Michener tomorrow. (“Minefield”)
During the interview in Michener's office, Michener confirms that Chandler left Hong Kong and is indeed on the Nathan James located in the South China Sea searching for the hostages. Barnes asks whether they are making any progress and Michener says they are through diplomatic initiatives. Barnes is skeptical since the Nathan James is a US Naval warship and Michener asks him who leaked the story about Chandler to him. Without revealing which one, Barnes admits one of the regional leaders did and Michener tries to convince Barnes that the regional leader is manipulating him and Barnes infers that they are gunning for him. With Michener confused, Barnes explains that while only one gave it to him, the others share the same concerns and Michener counters they are only thinking of their regions while he is thinking of the entire country. Barnes then asserts that he thinks Michener is the one manipulating him seeing how everything they say is off the record with no cameras and wasn't what Kara promised and won't keep his promise if she won't Michener offers him another deal: the hostage situation is going to be resolved within a couple of hours and when it is, Barnes will be the first to interview the President. But iff Barnes prematurely reports what he already knows however, Barnes will never have access to the White House ever again. (“Dog Day”)
Barnes reports in front of the St. Louis White House about the current situation and how President Michener has vowed to use every resource to rescue the hostages and comments on how the administration has fallen silent, wondering what it means. Barnes later visits Curtis in federal prison under the guise of being his lawyer. When Curtis arrives and they are left alone, Barnes explains he is a reporter looking to tell Curtis' story, asking specifically about his interactions with President Jeffrey Michener. Curtis tells him Michener didn't even know he was the President when they met and all he did was talk about was he apparently got everyone at a quarantine zone he was running at killed when he used his influence to get his son in who was in a hot zone filled with people infected with the Red Flu.
Barnes shows the footage of Curtis' statement to Michener, Shaw, and Kara as well as public records showing the validity of this. Michener explains that quarantine zone he ran was porous and plenty of infected people broke in despite the security measures they took. Barnes agrees but then adds that if that was his mental state then, what was his mental state when he took the oath of office eleven days later. Barnes claims he takes no pleasure in this but Michener angrily cuts him off telling him to get out. While walking out Barnes tries to say something before all three cut him off. Barnes is later seen reporting to follow the story after Michener apologizes to the nation for being derelict in his duties as Secretary of Housing and Development. (“In the Dark”)
Barnes later covers the funeral of President Michener after he supposedly committed suicide and later reports that the hostages have all been rescued. Barnes speculates that the pressures of maintaining his agenda and the revelations about his son may have pushed him over the edge. Barnes then mentions that Michener's VP, Howard Oliver, is beloved for running the most successful safe zone during the Red Flu pandemic, saving 100,000 lives in the process. (“Sea Change”)
Barnes attends a press conference where President Oliver announces he has signed an executive order rollbacking all of Michener's domestic policies. Barnes immediately tries to ask questions before Oliver says briefing packets are being handed out which detail the changes in people's respective territories. Barnes asks the one passing them out where Kara Green is, but she just shrugs him off. Oliver then announces that he has promoted the National Guard to active duty to help quell the riots in territories. Barnes immediately asks President Oliver why he is rollbacking Michener's domestic policies, but Shaw stops him from answering and takes over. Barnes questions these drastic changes from President Oliver's previous stands and from Michener's, Shaw simply states Oliver is his own man trying to make America stronger. Shaw then adds that daily addresses to America by the President will be discontinued in favor of weekly briefings worked through Shaw's office, shocking the reporters, including Barnes.
Back at Barnes' house, Kara comes over asking if he is alone and when he says he is she tells him to shut the door. When Barnes does, Kara tells him Beatty and Rivera are dead, gunned down by the Secret Service while Rivera was going over troop readiness reports. Barnes tries to get her to slow down but Kara continues talking, revealing the hit was ordered from the inside by Shaw and can't trust anyone but Barnes still has access through his press pass and can access Beatty's office for information. Barnes summarizes everything Kara has said and wants him to do before Kara adds that she suspects Shaw also had Michener killed and has been leaking information to Chinese President Peng Wu and begs Barnes for his help.
Barnes gets into the White House and tries to get into Beatty's office, but finds Secret Service agents emptying of his office. Barnes tells Kara this and tells her he initially believed she wasn't crazy but this just confirmed his suspicions. When Kara calls Dennis to get his help and mentions she didn't want to put him at risk, Barnes makes a snarky remark that she didn't mind putting him at risk. Dennis arrives and delivers Beatty's calendar and files over for Barnes and Kara to go through. Barnes asks if President Oliver is a part of the conspiracy but Dennis isn't sure. After Dennis leaves, Barnes and Kara discover the regional leaders are planning to control the troops, hoard the food and expect people to fight back so they will lock them up in maximum security prisons spread across the territories. Barnes realizes Beatty must've gotten cold feet after Michener's death which is why he didn't attend the funeral and was getting in contact with Rivera to stop them. Just then, agent Raife bursts in and shoots Barnes in the arm before Kara manages to kill Raife using Barnes' shotgun. Kara and Barnes flee the area and hear over the radio that they have been framed for the murders of Beatty and Rivera as look for a friend who could help them. They later notice the National Guard protecting a construction crew building a wall around the borders to make the regional borders permanent. (“Scuttle”)
Barnes and Kara are stuck on the road when their car breaks down in the middle of the road and they listen to a radio broadcast announcing Oliver is scheduled to deliver a speech. Kara tells Barnes he has to counter that by getting on the air and spreading the truth with Barnes protesting that he can't but Kara insists. Barnes reflects on his past actions and realizes Kara was right all along: the regional leaders were manipulating him to set the stage for Michener to be killed and Kara comforts him by saying there is still time to make things right. After Kara manages to get the car working, Barnes asks if this friend they are meeting is reliable and Kara reassures him that his is.
When they arrive at a gas station to meet him, they are surprised to find he isn't there and are ambushed by Price's men. Kara's friend, Tex Nolan arrives in time to save them and takes them back to their base to regroup. Barnes tells Kara and Tex that Dennis managed to hack into Shaw's network and get a copy of President Oliver's speech, which basically amounts to dissolving the country and plan to go back to St. Louis to stop him. Barnes arrives at the White House with the others as Dennis hands them passes to get in. As a part of the plan, Barnes interrupts the President's speech just as he is about to announce the plan and calls Oliver out on his actions.
Barnes reminds Oliver how he was a hero to St. Louis and manages to get Oliver to respond that he had forgotten who he was and vows never to forget ever again as he is taken away by Shaw's Secret Service agents. Barnes demands to know where they are taking them and accuses Shaw of holding President Oliver hostage inside the warehouse. Barnes tries to escape while Tex's men cover him but he is captured by secret Service agents and they are forced to leave him as they rescue the President and take him to safety. Barnes is taken to an abandoned house where he is tortured by a secret Service agent and killed as Barnes begs him not to do this. (“Legacy”)