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Coming Out of the Dark - Part III

INT. FUNERAL PARLOR

About 50 people are gathered at a small memorial service for Jack. President Palmer finishes speaking, and Michelle grips Tony’s hand to show support as he gets ready to take his turn. After a moment, Tony releases
her hand and works up the nerve to go up to the podium.

TONY

I’ve known Jack for almost eight years, and to say we’ve had our share of disagreements would be an understatement. When I first started working at CTU, he was my boss, but in the beginning, I didn’t respect his leadership. I thought he was arrogant, and I didn’t like the way he delegated authority or ran operations. But over time, I came to realize that what I had once seen as cockiness was really dedication and conviction. Jack trusted his instincts and he went with them, even when that meant operating outside of protocol and putting his job, his life, and even people he cared about on the line. No matter what happened to him, no matter what he had to sacrifice, his dedication to serving his country never waivered. When he believed in something, he saw it through no matter how many people told him he was wrong,
no matter how many hoops he had to jump through to accomplish what he needed to accomplish. And he believed in me, even when I thought it was a mistake to believe in me. I’ve spent the last year and a half feeling bitter and betrayed by a government I spent most of my adult life working for. (He looks directly at Michelle when he says his next line.)I wasted a year of my life feeling sorry for myself and dwelling on everything I’d lost instead of remembering everything I still had. But when Jack called me the other day, he reminded me why I made the decision to serve my country in the first place. He never gave up no matter how many setbacks he was dealth, and he wouldn’t let me give up.
It’s because of his persistence that I feel hopeful about the future, for the first time in a long time, and I owe it to him, we all owe it to him, to keep on being the best that we can be and doing our part to make a difference.

Tony returns to his seat and Michelle squeezes his hand tightly, tears brimming in her eyes. The service wraps up and people start to file out, many going to the front to express their condolences to Kim. Tony and Michelle are waiting to speak to her when President Palmer approaches them.

PALMER

Mr. Almeida, may I speak to you for a moment in private?

TONY

Yes, sir.

Slightly surprised, Tony follows President Palmer outside and away from everyone.

PALMER

That was a very nice thing you said during the service.

TONY

Thank you, sir.

PALMER

It doesn’t seem just, does it?

TONY

No, sir.

PALMER

Somehow knowing the truth doesn’t make it much easier.

TONY

Knowing the truth? I…I don’t understand.

PALMER

Neither do I. But if you ever sense any trouble or are afraid that anyone’s becoming suspicious, I want you to call me at this number.

(He pulls a piece of paper

out of his jacket and gives it to Tony.)

PALMER

I advised him not to contact you directly…legally you’ve had all of your rights as a citizen restored but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone were monitoring your communications illegally. So if you ever need to communicate a message to him, call me at that number and I’ll pass it on.

TONY

Thank you, sir. I’ll do that.

PALMER

Alright. Take care of yourself, Tony.

TONY

You too, sir.

He starts to walk away but then stops and works up the nerve to say what he couldn’t a moment ago.

TONY

Mr. President?

President Palmer turns around. A lump forms in Tony’s throat as he speaks.

TONY

I probably should have said this a long time ago, but I just…I wanted to say thank you…I wanted to thank you for giving me another chance.

PALMER

Mr. Almeida, since you got out of prison, you’ve saved the life of the daughter of the Secretary of Defense, obtained information that was vital to stopping the meltdown of five nuclear reactors, and risked your life to help stop a nuclear missile that would have killed over a million Americans.
That’s all the thanks I need. I will admit that when I signed the order a year and a half ago, I had my doubts. But your actions last week leave no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision.

TONY

Thank you, sir.

Tony goes to rejoin Michelle. He spots her towards the corner of the room talking to Audrey, and he starts weaving through the crowd toward them.

MICHELLE

I wish I knew the right thing to say…I just wanted to let you know that if there’s anything I can do…

AUDREY

Actually, there is something.

MICHELLE

What’s that?

AUDREY

Just…take care of Tony, alright? He needs a lot of love and a lot of support right now, and I just don’t want to see you make my mistake of assuming someone’s always going to be there…I know you probably don’t need to be reminded of that with everything you’ve been through, but just please, don’t ever forget how lucky you are that he survived, okay?

MICHELLE

I won’t…I promise. I won’t ever forget.

She gives Audrey a hug. Audrey goes to look for her father,
and Tony rejoins Michelle, gently touching her arm.

TONY

Hey.

MICHELLE

Hey…are you alright?

TONY

Yeah, I guess so…did you talk to Kim?

MICHELLE

Yeah.

TONY

How’s she doing?

MICHELLE

As well as can be expected, I guess…I think she kind of always knew this would happen someday…although I think she was kind of shocked that it happened now, when he wasn’t even supposed to be in the field anymore.

TONY

Yeah. Did you express my condolences as well?

MICHELLE

Yeah.

TONY

Alright, I won’t bother her then…she’s got a lot of people waiting to talk to her. You ready to go?

MICHELLE

Almost. I was just talking to Audrey, and she said her dad wanted to talk to you…I think he wants to thank you for everything. She went to find him.

TONY

Alright.

Audrey spots Tony and motions her father to him.

HELLER

Tony, can I talk to you for a minute?

TONY

Yes, sir.

(He follows Secretary

Heller away from the crowd.)

HELLER

I never got a chance to thank you for everything last week.
You saved my daughter’s life, and you helped save countless others with the role you played in bringing down the missile and protecting our nuclear reactors. You should be very proud of yourself, son.

TONY

Thank you, sir.

HELLER

I looked through your file last week when Jack asked me to consider your reinstatement. It looks like you’ve got quite a history.

TONY

Yes, sir.

He looks down, ashamed.

HELLER

I had heard about your case before that day, but I never knew the details, and until my daughter and I were kidnapped that morning, I probably wouldn’t have understood. It’s a horrible feeling, isn’t it? Knowing that you let your country down and feeling ashamed but also knowing that you’d if you were ever faced with the same situation again you’d probably react the same way.

TONY

Yes, sir, it is.

He seems surprised at how well Secretary Heller understands his dilemma.

HELLER

According to your file, you’ve been out of work for over a year. Is that true?

TONY

Yes, sir.

HELLER

Now, is that because you couldn’t find a job or because you didn’t want one?

TONY

A little bit of both, I guess. My conviction makes it pretty tough to find a job to begin with, and the thought of trying to explain it was intimidating enough to prevent me from even applying for a lot of positions. I guess I kind of gave up.

HELLER

If I offered you Jack’s old position, would you be interested?

TONY

Wow…um, you kind of caught me off guard…yeah, I’d definitely be interested, but I don’t think I could get a clearance for a job like that. Doesn’t the DOD have a policy of denying a security clearance to anyone who was convicted of a crime carrying more than a year of jail time?

HELLER

Yes, and I didn’t think you could get the proper clearances either, which is why I didn’t offer you the job last week. But Audrey looked into it yesterday, and apparently there’s a provision that allows me to grant a waiver to the policy on a case-by-case basis. I looked over the mitigating factors that I’m supposed to consider when deciding whether to give someone a waiver, and almost every single one of them applies to you, so I feel more than comfortable exercising that authority in this case. Now, you’d still have to go through the adjudication process, and I can’t promise that they’ll decide in your favor, but I spoke with one of the adjudicators yesterday and explained your situation, and he said that their philosophy is to look at a person as a whole and not just one isolated incident. Your record of service to this country before and after your arrest is long and impressive, and I’m fairly confident that when they look at everything you’ve done for your country,
they’ll feed comfortable with granting you a clearance. So assuming you can get a security clearance, what do you say? Would you like to replace Jack as my special assistant for counterterrorism and counterintelligence?

TONY

Yes, sir, I’d definitely be interested…I just need to talk to Michelle and see how she feels about moving to Washington…can I give you a final answer later today?

HELLER

Yeah, take a few days if you need time to discuss it.

Heller notices Audrey eyeing him expectantly and nods,
shaking his head with a smile.

HELLER

Audrey was motioning to ask me if I offered you the job…she’s been hocking me about it for the past week. I was going to see what I could do for you anyway in terms of a job, but since Audrey got the idea in her head to have you replace Jack she’s been relentless about it.

TONY

Sir, I hope you’re not offering me this job because you feel obligated or indebted in any way.

HELLER

Not at all. I wouldn’t offer you the position if I didn’t think you were the best person for it. The fact that trying to help you find a job has been cheering Audrey up a little and keeping her mind off everything else is an added bonus. I think she’s eager to help you because of what you did for her, but I think there’s more to it than that.

TONY

What do you mean?

HELLER

Yesterday was her first day back at work since what happened,
and I think coming back to work without Jack there was kind of a shock for her.
We had Paul’s funeral over the weekend, and she was so busy dealing with all that that I don’t think Jack’s death even really hit her until yesterday, when she went to ask Jack’s office to ask him something and realized he wasn’t there and wasn’t coming back. That’s when she started making phone calls and actively lobbying me to ask you if you wanted the job…I think the idea of someone she knows and trusts occupying that office is making it a little easier for her.

TONY

I understand, sir. I’m just glad she feels comfortable talking to me.

HELLER

So am I.

COMMERCIAL BREAK INT. MICHELLE’S APARTMENT - SIX HOURS LATER

Tony paces back and forth, waiting for Michelle to get home from work, continuously looking out the window to the parking lot until he sees her car pull in. He lights candles on the table, which is covered with a table cloth and the dinner he made for them, and grabs the red roses he bought for her, looking nervous as he steps out into the hall and waits for Michelle, a smile forming on his face as he sees her approach.

MICHELLE

Hey honey…I’m so sorry it took me so long to get home…

She notices the flowers.

MICHELLE

Hey, what are those for?

TONY

Just to say I love you…C’mere.

He pulls her in for a kiss and then takes her hand and leads her inside. She gasps when she sees the candlelit dinner waiting.

MICHELLE

Wow…Tony…you did all this?

TONY

Yup.

MICHELLE

How come?

TONY

I just wanted to…we both know I still have too much time on my hands.

MICHELLE

Well, I’m impressed. You sure there’s nothing going on?

TONY

Why are you getting suspicious of my motives?

MICHELLE

I’m not. It’s just…I haven’t seen you in this good of a mood since before…in a really long time.

TONY

Alright. I was gonna wait until after dinner to talk about this, but I have some good news. At least, I think it’s good news…I’m not sure how you’re gonna feel about it.

MICHELLE

What’s going on?

TONY

This morning, Secretary Heller offered me Jack’s old job as a special assistant.

Michelle grins and throws her arms around Tony.

MICHELLE

Oh my g-d…Tony, that’s great. You told him yes, right?

TONY

Not yet…not without talking to you. That’s um, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I didn’t tell you about the job until now because I wasn’t sure how to approach it…I was wrestling with whether or not it was right to ask you to come with me given the circumstances…

MICHELLE

Tony…

TONY

Please, Michelle, just let me try to get this out. I don’t know for sure that I’ll be eligible for this job…Secretary Heller’s going to sign a waiver for my criminal background and he spoke to the adjudicator, but it’s not guaranteed that I can get a security clearance. So I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this job or if I’ll be able to get another job if this doesn’t work out. I don’t know how quickly I’ll be able to get my life back together or whether I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for everything…I don’t know if I’ll ever fully get over the shame that comes with being deemed a traitor…but I know that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you think it’s too soon, I wouldn’t blame you…I understand if you think it’s too soon to get married again, if you want to wait until I can prove to you and to myself that I can pick up the pieces…but I wanted you to know how I felt…what you decide to do is your choice, and I’ll understand no matter what you decide, but I wanted you to know that I’d really like for you to come to Washington with me, and I’d like it even more if you would be my wife again.

He gets down on his knee and takes her hand. Tears fill her eyes.

MICHELLE

Tony…

TONY

Look, Michelle, you don’t have to give me an answer now. I told you, I’ll understand if you want to give it more time…I just…

She interrupts him by kissing him firmly.

MICHELLE

I don’t want to give it more time, Tony. I don’t need to wait until you pick up all the pieces…I believe in you, and I know you can do it,
and I’m going to be there to help you every step of the way. I told you two years ago I’d go anywhere with you, and I’ll go anywhere with you now.

TONY

And I promise, I won’t make you cook.

MICHELLE

Hey, what makes you say I still can’t cook? I could be a gourmet chef by now, for all you know.

TONY

Yeah…and I could be a politician. C’mon, honey, let’s not kid ourselves.

MICHELLE

Alright, you win.

TONY

So is that a yes? You want to come to Washington with me, and get married again?

MICHELLE

More than anything, Tony.

TONY

You’re sure?

MICHELLE

Yes…yes, I’m sure. Call Secretary Heller and tell him it’s yes.

TONY

Alright, I will. But first things first. C’mere.

He pulls her close and kisses her gently. She wraps her arms around him and runs her hands through his hair as they continue to kiss, both of them feeling happier than they’ve felt since the day Tony was arrested.

Thanks to Foggy for the icon.