10 A.M. - 11 A.M.
Act One | Act Two | Act Three | Act Four | Act Five | End
“24″
“10 A.M. - 11 A.M.”
The following takes place between 10 A.M. and 11 A.M. on the day of the presidential inauguration.
FADE IN:
INT. PENTAGON / EXT. CONSOLIDATED SERVER ROOM
Jack runs towards the Consolidated Server Room where Michelle is tied up, but stops short when he sees two Secret Service agents standing outside. He glances around to make sure the hallway is clear, then takes out his phone.
JACK
Audrey, it’s me. I need your help. I need you to check the Secret Service personnel database and find out who’s currently stationed in the Army wing. I need you to see if from that list you can identify a white male, mid-fifties, bald, cleanshaven. I need name, employment history, and start date.
AUDREY
Alright, give me a sec.
She opens the database and enters the criteria Jack gave her,
and is surprised by what she finds.
AUDREY
Jack, you can’t go in there…I think this is a trap.
JACK
What do you mean?
AUDREY
No wonder he looks familiar…I think this is the guy who tried to kill you.
JACK
Are you sure?
AUDREY
I think so…he looks like the guy who was in the conference room with that guy Bill when he told me what happened to you, and his file says he used to work for Secret Service.
JACK
Dammit. Alright, we’re going to have to find another way to get her out of there. See if you can get a feed of CSR and the hallway outside it from the security camera.
AUDREY
Alright. Make sure you stay out of sight…you can’t let him see you…the guy who tried to kill you is the same one who interrogated Tony this morning…there’s definitely something going on here.
JACK
Okay. Is your dad sending his Secret Service Detail down here?
AUDREY
Yeah, he just told them to stand by in case you needed help.
JACK
I need you to call them, tell them that they need to go in there and get her and bring her to OSD…tell them to make it look like an arrest. And make sure they use the side exit.
AUDREY
What?
JACK
It’s the only way to make sure she gets out of there right away…she’s not going to willingly abandon what I asked her to do unless she’s physically dragged out…she doesn’t know about anything we’ve figured out in the past hour…she still thinks the Edgewood facility is the primary threat.
AUDREY
I’ve got a feed…she’s still in there…she’s doing something at the computer now…she’s got the handcuffs dangling from one hand but she managed to get the tape and the rope off.
JACK
Yeah, I set it up to make sure she could…so she looks okay?
AUDREY
Yeah, she looks fine…I don’t know why she didn’t answer the RF. Should I send a message to her screen telling her to leave?
JACK
No. I don’t want her going anywhere without protection…it’s likely that the guy who tried to kill me would recognize her. Secret Service has access to a secret tunnel that they can take her through without anyone seeing.
AUDREY
Alright, I’ll call them now.
JACK
Thanks.
INT. AUDREY’S OFFICE
Tony is sweating and fidgeting, trying desperately to get the security camera feed back online when Secretary Heller comes in.
TONY
Mr. Secretary, you’ve gotta let me out of here…Michelle’s in danger…so is Jack…the guys I’m monitoring said they’d taken care of both of them.
HELLER
Relax, Tony. Come with me…we can’t discuss this in here…there could be bugs all over the place.
He unlocks Tony’s leg and leads him to the conference room.
HELLER
Audrey just got the security camera feed working in my office…she said Michelle’s fine…she’s doing something on one of the computers now. PFPA is going to arrest her and bring her to OSD.
TONY
Why is she being arrested? I thought we all had immunity,
assuming I help find Jack…
HELLER
She’s not actually being arrested. I instructed PFPA to make it look like an arrest because Jack was concerned that she’d insist on finishing what she was doing if she wasn’t forcibly removed from the room.
They’re going to bring her to my office and then they’ll uncuff her and we’ll all sit down and try and figure out what the hell is going on.
TONY
I’ve gotta go down there.
HELLER
No, Tony, you can’t. If you do that everyone could be endangered.
TONY
Mr. Secretary, I know why you’re doing this. I’d probably do the same thing if I were in your position. But I promise you, I will not compromise this operation…I just want to make sure she gets out of there before anything happens to her.
HELLER
Don’t make assumptions about my motives, Tony. My reasons for doing this are not what you think. I’m keeping you here for the same reasons I locked my daughter in my office…and I don’t think she’s ever gotten so much as a speeding ticket. It’s not because I don’t trust you…it’s because I’m afraid that all of you who knew Jack’s alive might be in danger. For right now,
Michelle’s going to be fine…Audrey’s monitoring the room and she’d call if there’s any trouble. Let’s go back to my office and you’ll see Michelle in a few minutes, alright?
TONY
Alright.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
INT. OSD
The scene begins by zooming in on the television in the Secretary’s Office, which has CNN on.
JUDY WOODWARD
So far, everything appears to be going relatively smoothly.
Police report a record number of protestors, but the scene so far is nothing compared to the nightmare scenarios some were predicting given the controversy surrounding the election. The Democrats are still standing strong and refusing to budge on their fillibuster of the Vice Presidential vote, so unless something happens in the next two hours to change their minds, it looks like this may be the first inauguration in history where no vice president is sworn in. Here with me now is election law expert Jeffrey Tober to analyze the ramifications of that. Welcome.
TOBER
Thank you, Judy.
JUDY
Now, assuming the Senate fails to vote on the Vice President before noon, as it looks like will be the case, what happens next?
TOBER
That’s a tricky question, Judy. There are a lot of wrinkles in the situation that the Constitution gives no guidance on. It’s not clear whether after President Logan is sworn in, the Senate will continue to debate the competing slates of Florida electors, or whether the president at that point would nominate someone who would then have to be confirmed by Congress.
JUDY
But wouldn’t both outcomes leave us with the same stalemate in the Senate?
TOBER
Not necessarily. In the latter scenario, the president would not necessarily reappoint Vice President Thomas…he might be forced at that point to pick someone else, someone he can get at least a few Democrats to support.
JUDY
So he’d have to compromise?
TOBER
That would be my guess…I think that if the president is required to nominate a Vice President, he would have to choose a compromise candidate…a liberal Republican or maybe even a conservative Democrat, or someone who was acceptable to both sides, like a military general whose political views were not well known.
JUDY
I have breaking news from Capitol Hill…we’ve just been informed that Senator Keith Palmer, a first term senator from Maryland and son of the former president, has announced intentions to mount a filibuster of the president’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Walt Cummings. He The Democratic leadership had agreed to cooperate on this nomination in spite of some protests from its liberal wing, including Senator Palmer, about some statements he had made about the means justifying the ends in the fight against terrorism…some have expressed concern that these statements could be a quiet endorsement of additional military engagements. But the Democratic leadership had agreed not to block what was already looking like a fairly close vote…the Senate minority leader is yet to comment on this latest announcement from Senator Palmer, who is said to have been elusive about his reasoning, citing national security concerns. Sources close to the senator refused to elaborate but said they did not believe that the filibuster is driven by political or ideological considerations. It’s unclear thus far whether or not he will be able to get 41 senators to support him…Jeffrey, are you still there?
TOBER
Still with you, Judy.
JUDY
What’s your take on the latest developments? Could this have anything to do with the controversy over the election?
TOBER
It’s possible but unlikely. The Secretary of Defense is seventh in the line of succession, and…
Tober is cut off as Audrey, who had been listening to the news while monitoring the security cameras and fiddling with financial records,
abruptly changes the channel to Fox and minimizes Quicken when she hears a knock at the door.
JACK
Hey, it’s me. Can I come in?
AUDREY
Yeah, hold on a sec.
She pushes a button on the phone to unlock the door.
JACK
Watching something illicit on TV?
AUDREY
Just CNN.
JACK
You were watching CNN? The epitome of the liberal media?
AUDREY
(Defensively)
Fox was in commercials, alright?
JACK
Relax, Audrey…I’m just teasing you. (He walks over to where she is sitting. As he approaches, she right-clicks on the Quicken icon on the taskbar and selects ‘Close’. He walks around behind her to look at the screen.)
Did Secret Service get Michelle out of there yet?
AUDREY
Yeah, they went in a minute ago, and she resisted, so they put her in handcuffs and they’re escorting her here now. I don’t think they told her she’s not really under arrest, from the look on her face.
JACK
We’ll clear it up when she gets here. What about Aberdeen?
AUDREY
Tony managed to set it up to record the audio feed so he can analyze it later. The thermal scan of the building shows that they’ve been stuck in the same area for a while.
JACK
So Michelle managed to scramble at least one of the codes?
AUDREY
I guess so.
JACK
Good. The Marines are on standby and have access to the keypad log so they can move in the second they try a code that looks close,
right?
AUDREY
Yeah, and they uplinked it to the system here so we’ll know as well.
JACK
Alright. Thanks for your help, Audrey…I’m sorry to have to throw all this on you.
Before she can respond, a dialog box pops up asking her if she is sure she wants to save the changes to her financial records, warning her that modifying transactions could throw off the balance. She quickly presses okay and closes the window, looking flustered. Jack notices this and looks at her suspiciously, but Secretary Heller reenters the room before he can say anything.
HELLER
What’s going on with Michelle?
AUDREY
They’re bringing her here now…they just got into the elevator.
HELLER
And she’s unharmed?
AUDREY
As far as I can tell.
HELLER
Alright. I brought Tony back to his office…when Michelle gets back here I’m going to send her in there…what’s the latest on Cummings?
AUDREY
They just said on the news that Senator Palmer had announced his intentions to mount a filibuster…no word yet on whether or not his party leadership will support him. I didn’t call anyone on the Hill because I didn’t want to raise suspicious that anyone here had anything to do with this.
HELLER
Makes sense…I’ll have Scott do it…he’s not related to me so he won’t evoke as much suspicion.
Two Pentagon Police officers escort Michelle in.
GUARD
Here’s the suspect you asked for.
HELLER
Thank you. Uncuff her.
The guard does as he is told, giving Secretary Heller a questioning look, which goes unanswered.
HELLER
That’ll be all. I’ll handle this from here.
GUARD
You don’t want us to question her?
HELLER
No, I’ll handle that…relax, she’s not dangerous. Thank you.
GUARD
Yes, sir.
The Secret Service agents leave. Michelle, fighting back tears and looking totally confused, starts to speak.
MICHELLE
Mr. Secretary, I wasn’t…I mean, I was trying to protect…
HELLER
Relax, Michelle. You’re not really under arrest…Jack explained what you were doing. I had Secret Service escort you up here because you weren’t answering your radio and Tony picked up something on the audio feed that we thought might mean you were in danger down there, and Jack said you would resist if they told you to leave before you had finished securing the codes, so I told them to arrest you if necessary to get you out of harm’s way.
MICHELLE
What kind of a threat? And where is Tony?
HELLER
We’re not exactly sure…Tony’s in his office down the hall.
Why don’t you go down there…take a few minutes to regroup and then I want you both back here so we can all sit down and try to figure out what’s going on.
MICHELLE
Okay. Thank you, sir.
INT. TONY’S OFFICE
Tony is typing something on his computer, glancing around anxiously, when Michelle runs in. He gets up and throws his arms around her.
TONY
You okay?
MICHELLE
Yeah, I’m fine.
TONY
You scared the hell out of me.
MICHELLE
I know…they told me the cameras went down for a minute and you thought something had happened to me…I didn’t mean to scare you…
She goes to kiss him but he turns away, clenching his hands into fists and shaking with some combination of fear and anger. Michelle notices and steps back.
MICHELLE
I’m so sorry, Tony.
TONY
How could you do this to me, Michelle? How could you put yourself in danger and lie to me about it?
MICHELLE
Given the circumstances I didn’t feel like I had a choice.
I…I hated having to lie to you, Tony…having to keep this from you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I’m so sorry…
Tony sighs and calms down a little.
TONY
I know you are. And I know that you had my best interests at heart, and I know I did the same thing to you when we worked at CTU…but I can’t help feeling a little betrayed.
MICHELLE
I understand.
Tears well up in her eyes. Tony wipes a tear from her face and speaks in a more gentle tone.
TONY
Look, I know I don’t really have the right to be angry…I’ll get over it, I promise. I just need a little time. Let’s go back to OSD and see what we can do to get to the bottom of all this.
MICHELLE
Okay.
Tony softens a little when he sees her crestfallen expression and touches her arm gently.
TONY
Come here.
He pulls her into an embrace and kisses her on her forehead.
TONY
I’m just…I’m just glad you’re okay.
MICHELLE
I’m glad you’re okay too.
He kisses her gently on the lips. She wraps her arms around him and strokes his hair as she kisses him back. They continue like this for a minute until someone knocks on the door.
TONY
Come in.
JACK
Hey guys…I’m sorry to interrupt.
TONY
I guess we should probably go back to OSD.
MICHELLE
Yeah.
JACK
Actually, Tony, can I talk to you for a second first?
TONY
Sure.
(He turns to Michelle.)
TONY
You go ahead…tell them we’ll be there in a minute.
He kisses her forehead and squeezes her hand before letting her go. Tony motions to Jack to have a seat, and they wait until Michelle closes the door behind her.
TONY
What’s going on?
JACK
What do you know about this guy Skip Taylor?
TONY
He’s a senior partner for the contractor that handles some of our network operations…before that he served as a lobbyist for Boeing…he’s a managing partner in several other companies…he’s well connected and active in Republican Party politics, and he’s seriously considering running for the Senate in 2010.
JACK
Tell me about his relationship with Audrey.
TONY
Uh uh. I’m not doing this, Jack. It’s none of your business,
and I’m not getting in the middle of this.
JACK
This isn’t personal, Tony. I’m not asking because I’m jealous. I’m asking because it could be relevant to figuring out what the hell is going on. We know this guy is involved somehow, and I know Audrey’s not going to want to talk to me about him, so the more you tell me, the less she has to.
TONY
Fine. But you can’t breathe a word to her of what I’m about to tell you.
JACK
Fair enough.
TONY
Alright. In my opinion, this guy is an asshole who doesn’t deserve her. He makes decisions on her behalf without consulting her, he acts suspicious of her when she’s around me as if our friendship poses a threat to him, and this is just my speculation, but I think he may have been using her to advance his political career.
JACK
What do you mean?
TONY
When President Logan decided not to reappoint Secretary Heller for the new term, Skip’s attitude toward Audrey changed. He started acting less concerned with how she felt and she said she noticed that he no longer seemed as concerned about staying on her father’s good side…that’s when he started becoming more domineering also.
JACK
So you think he was using her to get close to her father in hopes that his support would help him win his Senate campaign?
TONY
Something like that, yeah. But once he found out Secretary Heller wasn’t going to be in the government anymore I guess he didn’t care as much about getting his support…I guess his endorsement is less influential now that he’s leaving office.
Jack clenches his fists and fights to control the anger that is evident in his eyes.
JACK
So does Audrey just put up with this? Does she just let him walk all over her?
Tony sighs.
TONY
She doesn’t exactly see it that way, Jack. She grew up in a political family…she understands the need to maintain tight control when you’re running for political office…and it’s not like she just sits back and gives in all the time…she asserts herself…not as often or as loudly as I’ve encouraged her to…and sometimes she just does things behind his back…like,
her brother’s in town to protest the inauguration right now, and Skip didn’t want him and his friends staying at their house because he didn’t think it would look good, but he was supposed to be away on business so she was just going to let them stay there anyway…then he cancelled his trip and she had to scramble to get them out of there before he got home from work.
JACK
Is there any chance she would cover up whatever he’s doing because she’s intimidated?
TONY
I can’t believe you’re asking that, Jack. You think she was involved with what happened this morning?
JACK
I don’t think she was knowingly involved or had any prior knowledge of what he was going to do…I haven’t seen her in three years but I’d like to think I know her better than that. But you know as well as I do that after finding out someone you trusted has betrayed you, you think of things they did that didn’t seem suspicious at the time but in hindsight make you wonder how you didn’t realize what was going on before it was too late.
TONY
So you think Audrey’s thinking of things like that and trying to cover his tracks?
JACK
I think it’s possible.
TONY
And what makes you say that?
JACK
She was acting strange earlier when I came back to OSD…she quickly changed the television channel, and when I teased her about watching CNN she got defensive about it.
TONY
Why did you tease her about watching CNN?
JACK
I was just surprised…come on, you’ve never heard her rant about the bias of the quote-on-quote liberal media?
TONY
Um…yeah…yeah, I guess I have. I just couldn’t remember which channels she said were bad. So that’s what’s making you suspicious?
Because she got defensive about what she was watching on television?
Jack senses that Tony is not telling the whole truth but doesn’t press the issue.
JACK
No. When I went over to look at her screen to see if the guards had gotten Michelle out of the room, a message popped up that looked like it was from Quicken asking her if she was sure she wanted to modify the amount of a transaction. It seemed a little strange but I wouldn’t have thought that much of it, except that the message seemed to make her nervous…her face changed colors and she looked away nervously…she was acting as if she had something to hide.
Tony sighs and nods.
JACK
You know what that’s about?
TONY
Yeah. Look, if she was doing what I think she was doing, it has nothing to do with Skip or anything that happened this morning.
JACK
What do you think she was doing?
TONY
I think she was modifying her own financial records so they wouldn’t raise a red flag if anyone searched her computer to see if Skip hacked into it.
JACK
Why would her financial records raise a red flag? Is she doing something she shouldn’t be?
TONY
No. She just…there were certain transactions she didn’t want on her record for political reasons…she has to file a personal disclosure form and I don’t, so she asked me to make them for her and gave me the money in cash. I’m guessing that she was concerned because CTU is still being bogged down investigating every aspect of my life and she was adjusting her financial records so they didn’t match mine.
JACK
What kind of transactions?
TONY
It’s none of your business.
JACK
Maybe not. But what you just told me sounds pretty sketchy, and even though there’s nothing inherently illegal about it, it’s going to raise eyebrows. If she acts like she’s got something to hide she could become a suspect…and I don’t think anyone wants her to be dragged through a lengthy and intrusive process to clear her name.
TONY
Why would she become a suspect? Who’s going to ask about her personal finances? So far she’s the only one of us who seems to still be trusted by people who don’t know you’re here.
JACK
And we can’t afford for that to change, Tony.
TONY
It won’t. Her father knows she would never play any part in an action designed to frame me for a terrorist attack…for crying out loud,
she’s the one who convinced him I was innocent. I don’t see why anyone would question her about her personal finances, and if they do, I don’t think she’d lie about it.
JACK
That’s not good enough, Tony. I’ve seen Secretary Heller authorize the use of forcible interrogation methods against his own son…if Audrey’s been involved in anything that could raise a red flag she’s got to come clean about it.
TONY
Jack, that was a totally different situation. Secretary Heller would never let anyone lay a hand on Audrey.
JACK
Maybe not. But he’ll get the information out of her if he thinks it’s necessary, and I don’t think either of us wants her to have to go through any kind of interrogation, especially if it could easily be avoided if she’d tell him whatever she knows now.
TONY
Alright, I’ll talk to her.
JACK
Thanks, Tony.
Jack stares at his new ID sadly as they leave the room and head back to OSD. They see Michelle and Audrey exit the office as they are about to enter.
TONY
Hey…I thought Secretary Heller wanted everyone to meet in his office.
AUDREY
Yeah, go on in. We’ll be back in a few minutes…Michelle’s just going to take a quick look at the security on my computer to see if anything’s been compromised.
JACK
Good idea.
TONY
Actually, Audrey, can I talk to you for a second first?
AUDREY
Sure. Here, Michelle, this is the key to my office…don’t make any phone calls in there…I’ll be there in a few minutes.
Michelle looks slightly confused, but she merely nods and starts walking down the hall.
JACK
Can I go on in there?
AUDREY
Yeah, my dad wants to talk to you.
JACK
Alright. I’ll see you in a little bit.
AUDREY
Yeah.
Jack goes into OSD while Tony and Audrey walk back to Tony’s office.
INT. OSD
Secretary Heller is on the phone when Jack enters. He motions for Jack to sit down in the chair facing his desk.
HELLER
I do…I believe he’s told us all he knows. I don’t think they’ve been in contact for three years…if they had, it most likely would have been picked up…he’s been subject to such scrutiny since he started working here. So far, just Chloe O’Brien at CTU…I understand she’s been kept in holding for the past half hour, and it’s imperative that she be released and allowed to continue her work without being questioned. With all due respect,
sir, I think you’re making a mistake to focus on the people who helped him escape instead of the people who drove him to escape…yes, I do believe him on that. I knew Jack for a year and a half, and I don’t think he’d have tried to escape unless he had a good reason…all of the evidence we have so far corroborates Tony Almeida’s claim that Jack was warned that the Secret Service agent had orders to take him out…talk to President Palmer…he gave Tony an emergency number that might work even on a plane…I’ll get it from him and get back to you. Alright, thank you, sir.
He hangs up and turns to Jack.
HELLER
Alright, the president said I could stop treating Tony like a criminal, and he’s going to tell Erin Driscoll to let Chloe O’Brien get back to work. But Jack, we need to figure out what to do here…I can’t just keep lying to the president…I’m essentially harboring a fugitive.
JACK
I know, sir. I hope to leave for the embassy within the hour and then it’ll be safe to bring the White House up to speed on everything.
HELLER
I really don’t like this, Jack.
JACK
I know you don’t, sir…I know I’m putting you in a terrible position, and I’m sorry.
HELLER
That’s not what I meant. I don’t like the idea of you being taken away and locked up in a Chinese prison…if you hadn’t carried out that raid on the consulate millions of Americans would have been killed.
JACK
Mr. Secretary, this is how it has to be. Otherwise we could find ourselves at war with a nuclear superpower.
HELLER
Can I at least try to talk to the president, see if he’d be willing to negotiate with the Chinese?
JACK
That’s your call, sir. I can’t stop you from trying to find another solution. But if I were still your advisor and helping you to make a call like this, I’d advise against it.
INT. TONY’S OFFICE
AUDREY
What did you want to talk to me about?
TONY
Jack said you were modifying some kind of financial records earlier. What’s that about?
AUDREY
Yeah, my dad said that CTU went through your financial records when they thought you were involved in the air traffic attack, and they noticed some unusually large cash deposits. So I just modified my own records so in case anyone goes through them to assure that I had nothing to do with whatever Skip may be doing, they won’t match yours.
TONY
Audrey, it’s one thing to have me make some transactions you’d rather the rest of the world not know about. It’s another thing to start screwing around with records…you could be charged with tampering with evidence if this ever gets investigated.
AUDREY
I didn’t modify the actual records, Tony. The bank still has those on file…I was just modifying the record of them I keep in Quicken…it’s not illegal to keep inaccurate records of your own finances.
TONY
It’s a slippery slope, Audrey. Once you start lying and covering things up it gets harder and harder to dig your way out of it…trust me, I’ve been there.
AUDREY
So what am I supposed to do?
TONY
I think you need to talk to your father now. Just tell him what’s been going on before anyone asks so nobody gets suspicious.
AUDREY
Why would anyone get suspicious? They’re just bank statements…there’s nothing illegal on them…the only way they would raise suspicion is if they matched yours, so I changed my records, and I don’t think I have anything else that would make them suspicious enough to check on the accuracy of the data I have in Quicken.
TONY
Audrey, An hour ago you asked me if people would suspect you of involvement in the attack this morning because of Skip…right now, the answer is no. But if you start acting like you have something to hide, that’s going to change pretty fast. Jack already thinks something’s up, and you know as well as I do that if he decides this could be relevant to what’s going on he’s not going to let up until you tell him everything.
AUDREY
What did you tell him when he asked about it?
TONY
Just that there were some transactions you didn’t want in your name because of the financial disclosure form you have to file…I may have mentioned that some of these transactions were things that Skip wouldn’t appreciate having to explain if asked about them on the campaign trail.
AUDREY
And he didn’t press you further?
TONY
No. But he urged me to talk to you about it and encourage you to preempt any suspicion this could arouse by talking to your father about it,
and I think he’s right.
She shakes her head, looking conflicted.
TONY
Look, Audrey, nothing you did is illegal or immoral…you have nothing to be ashamed of, alright? Your father loves you and telling him about this is not going to change that.
AUDREY
You don’t know my dad as well as you think, okay? You don’t know him as well as I do…you just…don’t understand.
TONY
I don’t claim to know your father as well as you do. And you’re right, I don’t know what it’s like to grow up in an environment where politics played such a large role in people’s day to day lives. But I know what it’s like to be the quote on-quote “good child”, the one who played by the rules and didn’t get into trouble all the time like my brother Marco, who had been in and out of juvenile detention three times by the time he was eighteen.
He sighs.
TONY
I grew up in a community of Peruvian immigrants outside of Chicago, and most of the families there were first generation immigrants like my parents. I was the first one in my family to even finish high school…as hard as my parents pushed me, I don’t think me getting a master’s degree from Stanford was something they’d even dreamed of. And I know what it’s like to fall from grace and let everyone down…not just my parents, but my whole community. Now I’ve got my life back on track…for crying out loud, I’m a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense…I don’t think my parents ever imagined I’d get this far…but my dad still won’t look me in the eye…he hasn’t since I got out of prison. So I know what you’re going through, alright?
AUDREY
So why are you making me do this?
TONY
Nobody’s making you do anything right now, Audrey. I’m not giving you an ultimatum. I’m not going to volunteer any information without your permission…I wouldn’t do that to you. But if CTU flagged the deposits on my records, somebody’s going to ask me about them…please, Audrey, don’t put me in the position of having to either betray your confidence or lie to your father or to the authorities.
(Audrey sighs.)
AUDREY
Look, Tony, I can’t ask you to lie for me. If you can’t dodge the question, tell the truth.
TONY
Why don’t you just come forward now so I won’t have to answer questions and nobody will treat you like a suspect in any of this? Come on,
I’ll go with you. I’ll help you explain it to your dad or I’ll tell him myself if you’d prefer.
AUDREY
No, don’t! Please, don’t do anything…I’ll think about it,
okay?
TONY
Alright. But if we’re going to talk to him before anyone asks questions, we’ve got to do it soon.
AUDREY
Okay.
INT. OSD
JACK
Mr. Secretary, you said that records showed Tony getting some sort of a phone call from me under my alias this morning, right?
HELLER
Yeah…did you call him to warn him you were coming here?
JACK
No. I think someone fabricated the call to try to prove that Tony was in contact with me. But we can use that to our advantage. You can call the president and say that Tony had gotten a message to me that people were suspicious after the staff meeting yesterday, and this morning I called to tell him that I was going to turn myself in but I needed to come here first because I had some information about the threat at Aberdeen.
HELLER
And then what?
Tony enters the office.
JACK
And then I’m assuming Secret Service will send someone to take me into custody and arrange to have me handed over to the Chinese.
TONY
What?
JACK
Tony, I don’t have a choice. I’m going to finish being debriefed and tell you everything I know about the terrorists who are being apprehended at Aberdeen, and then I’m going to go to the Chinese embassy and Secretary Heller’s going to brief the president before he turns in his resignation.
TONY
No. You can’t do this, Jack. You can’t just give up. I’ve spent the last three years of my life living in fear and keeping secrets from the government, and so have Michelle and Chloe, and I guess Audrey has too…I had no idea she knew until this morning…it’s still sinking in that she knew all along you were alive. If you turn yourself over to the Chinese now it’ll be all for nothing.
JACK
Tony, if I don’t turn myself in, you’re going to have to deal with all that for the rest of your life.
HELLER
Jack, I’m going to make this call, but once I do, you won’t be able to change your mind. So before I do it, if you ever repeat this I’ll deny it to the grave, but right now, nobody knows you’re here except the two of us and Michelle and Audrey, as far as I know. So if you can come up with a plausibly deniable escape scenario that won’t get us all in jail, I’m willing to look the other way, as long as you don’t involve my daughter in it.
JACK
No, sir. I appreciate it, but I’m not going back into hiding.
Having to cover for me has been a heavy weight on the people who knew, and I’m not going to put the people I care about through that again. Me escaping again would put everyone in danger, and I’m not going to do that.
HELLER
Alright. I’ll give the president a call.
JACK
Thank you, sir.
He picks up the phone to call the president, dialing the numbers hesitantly. Before he has finished dialing, Michelle walks in.
MICHELLE
Hey…Audrey will be here in a few minutes…she just went to talk to Skip for a minute.
Secretary Heller drops the phone and stands up.
HELLER
She did WHAT?
MICHELLE
She just wanted to tell him she was going to be too busy to meet him for lunch today.
JACK
And you let her go?
MICHELLE
I didn’t know she needed my permission…what’s going on?
TONY
She didn’t tell you? They did a fingerprint analysis of the workstation where the air traffic attack was launched from, and Skip’s fingerprints matched the keyboard…then PFPA found security camera footage of him using the workstation at the time of the attack, and someone in NetOps said Cummings had authorized the disclosure of my login info to Skip right before it happened.
MICHELLE
Oh my g-d…Mr. Secretary, I’m so sorry…I had no idea…I asked Audrey why she was worried about her computer and she said she was afraid that whatever Jack did to put the video file on her system could have exposed it to hackers…does she know about Skip?
HELLER
Yeah, Tony told her a little over an hour ago.
MICHELLE
So why would she go to see him as if nothing’s wrong?
JACK
That’s what we need to figure out. Tony, how did she react when you told her?
TONY
At first she got kind of indignant…she was in denial at first…then when they found footage of the security camera showing him on the computer at the time of the attack, she couldn’t deny it anymore. But she was still reluctant to accept that he could be involved in this…I know she thinks it’s possible that whoever tried to frame me could be trying to frame Skip as well, which is a possibility that frankly, I don’t know that we should rule out entirely, though the evidence against him is pretty strong.
HELLER
So you think she could have gone to warn him?
TONY
It’s possible.
Jack presses a number on his cell phone to call Audrey while everyone is talking, and gets a message that the number has been disconnected.
JACK
Tony, give me your phone.
Tony hands Jack his phone.
TONY
She’s number 8 on the speed dial, but use your phone to make the call…mine may be compromised.
JACK
Alright.
MICHELLE
That doesn’t make sense. If she were involved in the attack or if she knew about it beforehand, why would she have offered to go to help me present the evidence when I called her?
Jack enters Audrey’s new number into his phone and presses “send.” As expected, it immediately kicks into voicemail.
JACK
Damnit!
TONY
I think we can pretty much rule out any knowing involvement in the attack…besides from the fact that Audrey being involved with terrorists is preposterous if not absurd, if she had anything to do with the attack she wouldn’t have gone to bat for me this morning. But it’s possible that she believes he’s being framed and wanted to warn him. Or she might just want to see for herself what he’s up to…I hope she’s not planning to confront him about it because that could put her in more danger, but I don’t think we can rule that possibility out completely.
JACK
Is it also possible that she’s trying to use her relationship with him to try to get information and hope he won’t suspect anything?
HELLER
You think she just decided to put herself under cover?
JACK
I don’t think we can rule out that possibility. Sir, we both know she’s done it before. And I think if any of the other scenarios were true,
she wouldn’t have told Michelle she was going to talk to him…she’d have fabricated an alibi.
TONY
But Michelle didn’t know about Skip.
JACK
No, but she had to know there was a good chance Michelle would tell one of us where she was because she didn’t know anything…Michelle,
did she ask you not to tell anyone?
MICHELLE
No…she didn’t act furtive at all…that’s why I didn’t suspect anything. She just said to tell you she’d be back in a few minutes, and I think she said voluntarily that she was going to talk to Skip.
JACK
What was she carrying with her?
MICHELLE
Just her purse, I think…I can’t remember if she had her briefcase.
HELLER
Regardless of why she went down there, if he even suspects that she knows anything she could be in danger. We have to get her out of there…I’m going to have Secret Service go down there and get her.
JACK
With all due respect, sir, I don’t think that’s the right move.
HELLER
Jack, don’t even try to convince me that we should let her do this so we can get information out of him. I am not going to allow her to put herself in danger.
JACK
I wouldn’t have, either. Believe me, sir, if I’d been in any position to stop her, I would have. But if Skip sees Secret Service, he’ll know she’s onto him, and if he has time to react before they can restrain him we could have a hostage crisis.
Secretary Heller shakes his head and sighs, then looks to Tony for advice.
TONY
I think Jack’s right, sir. I think we’re going to have to be creative about how we handle this. We need to get someone in there who’s armed and can put himself between Skip and Audrey to prevent him from being able to put her between himself and Secret Service. The problem is, I can’t do it and neither can you, because if he sees you or me he’ll know we’re onto him and we could have the same situation. And even though as far as I know he’s never met Jack if there’s any relation between Jack being here and what happened this morning, he’s likely to know what Jack looks like…he’s probably expecting Jack to come after him…it could be part of the plan for all we know.
MICHELLE
I could do it.
TONY
NO!
MICHELLE
Tony, just hear me out. Skip works for a contractor that does some of our internal network administration. I told Audrey when she said she was going there to ask him if they’ve gotten any more information about how your logon information was compromised…I could go knock on the door to his office without looking suspicious, and you guys could wait in concealed positions and listen on COM waiting to move in on my codeword.
TONY
No way…it’s too dangerous. Skip knows you’re my wife and he used my login to launch the attack this morning…for all we know he could know a lot more about me than we think. Under no circumstances…
MICHELLE
Tony, this isn’t your decision.
HELLER
Tony’s right, Michelle. I can’t sign off on this plan…it’s too risky, and it could end up putting you and Audrey in more danger.
MICHELLE
So how can we get her out of there?
TONY
I have an idea.
He copies a number from his old cell phone to his new one and dials a number.
INT. PENTAGON - CONCOURSE
Audrey exits a store carrying a shopping bag and nervously walks through the concourse, looking around for anyone who might recognize her.
After checking that it’s clear, she pulls out her phone, turns it on, and dials a number.
AUDREY
Hey, it’s me…just wanted to let you know that I may get held up…nobody’s suspicious yet but that could change, due to some other things that happened this morning…If I’m not there to meet up with you, carry out the plan without me…call me when you get this.
She hangs up and furtively approaches the elevator.
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT - COMMERCIAL BREAK
INT. OSD
HELLER
So let’s go over this one more time…
He is interrupted when Michelle reenters the room.
MICHELLE
Is he here yet?
TONY
He’s on his way. Did you disable Skip’s access to the server.
MICHELLE
Yeah. I created an obscure error message that doesn’t give him any information, so he won’t be able to figure it out by himself and he’ll have to call NetOps.
JACK
Is there a chance he could have another computer in the office to log on from?
MICHELLE
It won’t matter. I disabled his login…it won’t work from any computer.
TONY
Could he use mine? Remember, Cummings authorized him to get my login info this morning?
MICHELLE
No. Your password’s been reset and your account’s been temporarily disabled, since your login info was visible to everyone who saw the report this morning. You’re going to have to change your id as well as your handle…I’ll get you a new logon later. I disabled Audrey’s, too, in case he had her information.
The phone rings.
HELLER
Yeah?
MARCY
I have a Sergio Ramirez here…he said Tony Almeida asked him to come up?
HELLER
Yeah, send him in. Thanks.
A short-ish, stocky man with dark hair limps on. PAN DOWN to show that the awkward walk is a result of a fake left leg.
TONY
Hey, man. Thanks for coming on such short notice.
SERGIO
No problemo.
TONY
Secretary Heller, this is Sergio Ramirez. We served together in the Marines.
Sergio nervously shakes Secretary Heller’s hand.
SERGIO
It’s an honor, sir.
Secretary Heller looks down at Sergio’s leg.
HELLER
Is that a battle wound?
SERGIO
Yes, sir. I lost my leg the night we took out a brigade of Iraqis in a Kuwaiti oil field…if it wasn’t for Tony, I’d have probably been killed…Tony saved my life that night.
JACK
Welcome to the club.
Everyone laughs. Sergio looks a little confused.
SERGIO
I’m sorry, sir, I don’t think we’ve met.
TONY
That’s because he’s been presumed dead for the past three years. Most people still think he’s dead, and we need to keep it that way.
SERGIO
Whoa, is this your friend Jack? The loose canon who made a hobby of breaking protocol and always got you in trouble but usually saved a lot of lives in the process?
(Jack chuckles.)
JACK
Yeah, I guess that’s a pretty good way to describe me. I’m currently operating under the alias…
He glances down at the ID Audrey modified.
JACK (CONT’D)
Donovan Alastair, so outside this office, call me Don.
SERGIO
It’s nice to meet you, Jack/Don…whatever your name is.
JACK
Nice to meet you too.
TONY
You remember my wife, Michelle, right?
SERGIO
Yeah. How are you doing?
MICHELLE
I’m alright.
SERGIO
So, uh, what’s going on? You sounded pretty frantic on the phone.
TONY
Yeah. We’ve got a bit of a situation here and we need your help.
SERGIO
Sure. Tell me what I need to do.
TONY
Do you remember Secretary Heller’s daughter, Audrey? I introduced you to her when I ran into you in the food court on my first day?
SERGIO
Yeah, I think so…I don’t think you told me that she was Secretary Heller’s daughter, but I remember you introduced me to one of your colleagues…she was pretty thin, blond hair…is that right?
TONY
Yeah. She’s engaged to this guy Skip Taylor. Do you know him?
He’s a managing partner for the contractor that handles DOD network operations.
SERGIO
No, I don’t think so.
TONY
Okay, good. We believe Skip was involved in this morning’s attack on the Air Traffic Control Center and tried to frame me for it. I don’t have time to explain how we know this, but I told Audrey about an hour ago what we had uncovered, and she was understandably shocked…about 15 minutes ago,
she told Michelle, who at that point had no knowledge of Skip’s involvement in the incident, that she was going to stop by his office to talk to him. We don’t know why she did that…we’ve pretty much ruled out the prospect of her having knowing involvement in the attack, because she helped prove that I had nothing to do with it. But her motives could have been a number of things.
SERGIO
Like what?
TONY
She may believe that someone else was trying to frame both of us and wanted to warn him, she might just be trying to see what he’s up to in hopes of being able to tell us he’s innocent, or she might be trying to either monitor his activities or put in place some kind of mechanism to do so after she leaves his office. Jack believes this is the most likely scenario, since she told Michelle where she was going knowing there was a good chance she would tell us.
HELLER
But regardless of why she went in there, it’s dangerous, and we need to get her out of there without Skip becoming suspicious.
SERGIO
And you want me to go in there because he won’t recognize me.
TONY
Exactly. And with any luck, Audrey will.
SERGIO
Alright. So how are we going to play it?
MICHELLE
I got you a NetOps ID. I’ve disabled his network logon, and I’ve instructed my department to call me when he calls for someone to fix it and tell him they’ll look into it on their end, and at that point, you go in and pretend to be a technician to look at his computer. Skip’s company helped design the intranet software, so you’re going to have to withstand pretty careful scrutiny to look like you know what you’re doing. I’m going to go over some basic protocols with you now.
SERGIO
Alright.
JACK
We’re going to put several different trackers on you so we can hear what’s going on. We need to develop a code for you to communicate with us, since we don’t know exactly what Audrey’s trying to do. First off, if she’s in there, I want you to cough. If you sense any danger and need us to move in,
tap your foot.
SERGIO
Alright, got it.
TONY
If she asks if you know me, act like you may have heard my name but don’t know me…if you have to, say something about having heard of me on the news…if you call me a traitor and act like you don’t know the whole story he probably won’t suspect anything. Hopefully she’ll figure it out and won’t ask.
SERGIO
Tony, I fought beside you in Kuwait…you saved my life…I’m not going to call you a traitor!
TONY
It’s okay, man. I know you don’t feel that way.
The office phone rings.
HELLER
Excuse me.
JACK
Michelle, did you get the schematic of the hallway?
MICHELLE
Yeah, it’s updating now. There’s a utility closet across the hall…you can position yourselves there. I’ll run COMM from here.
SERGIO
So how exactly am I supposed to get her out of there without him being suspicious?
TONY
You’re not. You just need to position yourself between them and then say “I’m going to check for viruses or violations of the TOS that could have resulted in your account being suspended.” Virus is the key word…don’t use the word virus until you’re ready. When you say that,
Secretary Heller’s going to call Skip’s office to see if he’s seen her and if he has to tell her he needs her in his office.
MICHELLE
Hey, the live feed of the security camera in Skip’s office just came through.
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
Skip is typing and talking on the phone.
SKIP
I don’t know…she switched phones this morning…not sure if that’s because she knows something’s up or because she’s so close to Almeida…I’ll get back to you when I know anything…stay on alert.
Skip jumps when he hears a knock on his door.
AUDREY
Hey, it’s me. Can I come in?
SKIP
Yeah, hold on a sec..alright, come on in.
She enters cautiously.
INT. OSD
Everyone crowds around Michelle’s laptop.
TONY
It looks like she just walked in…she’s still holding her purse.
JACK
That’s strange…didn’t she say she was going there like fifteen minutes ago?
MICHELLE
Yeah.
Tony’s cell phone rings.
TONY
Almeida.
There is no response, but he can hear faint voices in the background. He presses the mute button on his phone and hooks it up to Michelle’s laptop.
TONY
Hey guys, I think she’s trying to transmit whatever he says to my cell phone…check this out.
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
SKIP
What’s up? Are you okay?
AUDREY
Yeah, I’m fine. Why?
SKIP
You seem nervous, and you look like you’ve been crying.
She sits down in the chair next to his desk.
AUDREY
Yeah, I guess I’m just a little shaken up about what’s going on with Tony.
SKIP
I don’t blame you. I’m sorry, Audrey…I know you trusted him, and you’re probably feeling pretty violated right now, huh?
AUDREY
Yeah.
SKIP
Come here.
He gets up and puts his arm around Audrey, planting a quick kiss on her lips. SPLIT SCREEN shows Jack watching this on Michelle’s laptop.
AUDREY
It’s just really spooky…I can’t stop wondering how much of everything he’s told me over the past three years is true, how long has he been doing whatever he’s doing, has he been spying on me, was he using me?
INT. OSD
JACK
Tony, Sergio, let’s go.
TONY
Where are we going? I thought we were going to wait until Skip called for help with his network logon.
JACK
Yeah, but I want to be close by in case he tries to do something beforehand. She’s trying to make him think she’s accepted that you were responsible for the attack this morning so he’ll think she doesn’t know anything, but it’s a risky strategy, because if any reports clear your name or anyone tells him they’ve seen you walking around he’ll know she’s spying on him. Come on, let’s get down there.
TONY
Alright. Michelle, can you patch the video feed through to my handheld?
MICHELLE
Yeah. Remember to have Sergio wait a few minutes after I get the call. If a technician comes right away it’s going to look suspicious.
SERGIO
Alright, got it.
Secretary Heller hangs up the phone and goes over to the standing desk to look at Michelle’s laptop screen.
HELLER
What’s going on?
MICHELLE
They went down to the corridor where Skip’s office is to be on alert in case they have to move in. I’ve got a feed from the security camera on my laptop, and Audrey called Tony a minute ago, but she didn’t say anything into the phone…I think she was trying to give him a way to monitor what’s going on.
HELLER
So she’s okay?
MICHELLE
So far, she seems fine…I don’t have the audio here, but from what I can see here it doesn’t look like anything’s wrong.
HELLER
Okay, good. If I keep an eye on that for a minute, can you take a look at something for me?
MICHELLE
Yes, sir. What do you need?
HELLER
It looks like before everyone came in here, Audrey was doing something with some kind of financial records…I just got a message that a series of modifications to what looks like a ledger or something had been completed. The undo key was grayed out…is there another way to undo what she did and see what the original transactions were?
MICHELLE
Yeah, I think so…let me take a look.
She goes over to the computer and starts typing.
INT. PENTAGON - CORRIDOR 4 - D-RING - 3RD FLOOR
TONY
Jack, we’ve got a problem.
JACK
What?
TONY
If I go into an elevator or stairway, I’m going to lose the cell phone signal.
JACK
Where is Skip’s office?
TONY JACK
So one floor down from here?
TONY
Yeah.
JACK
Sergio, I want you to monitor the phone from here…Tony,
come with me downstairs.
SERGIO
Alright.
JACK
Here’s my cell number. Wait a few minutes, then patch the call through to my cell.
SERGIO
Alright, got it.
TONY
Jack, that’s not going to work…we need your phone and he needs his for when Michelle calls to give us the go. Sergio, just monitor it and call Jack’s cell if there’s any sign of trouble.
JACK
Fine. Let’s go.
INT. OSD
MICHELLE
Alright, I got it.
HELLER
You found a way to restore the original transactions?
MICHELLE
Yeah…this is strange.
HELLER
What’s strange? Is there anything that seems related to what she’s doing right now?
MICHELLE
No…I don’t think so. But there are a lot of unusually large ATM withdrawals…
HELLER
All recent?
MICHELLE
No, this seems to be going on for at least a few months…
(She stops speaking suddenly.)
HELLER
Did you find something else?
MICHELLE
Not exactly, sir. (She hesitates). But there’s one here for $600 that looks like she withdrew it last Thursday.
HELLER
What’s special about last Thursday?
MICHELLE
Nothing. It’s just…I’m pretty sure I remember noticing that Tony had a similar amount of cash on him that night…he doesn’t usually carry a lot of cash around so I asked him about it, and he started acting kind of funny…he seemed nervous, like there was something he didn’t want me to know…I didn’t think much of it at the time…I thought maybe it had to do with our upcoming anniversary…but now that I think about it, I feel like he’s had a lot of money in his wallet a few times lately.
HELLER
Well, that would make sense. CTU Los Angeles was going through his personal finances earlier when they were trying to connect him to terrorists in connection with the attack on the air traffic control center. But we know now that Tony had nothing to do with that, and I thought maybe someone planted those transactions as part of the effort to try to force him to talk about Jack. Michelle, do you remember noticing any large cash deposits on your bank statements, or any balances larger than what you expected?
MICHELLE
No, sir. Tony takes care of most of that stuff…he pays the bills and keeps track of the finances…I don’t really check unless I have a reason to.
HELLER
Alright. I’ll talk to Tony and Audrey later and see if either of them can explain what’s going on. In the meantime, just in case, after this operation’s over, can you check your bank statements and see if these numbers match?
Michelle hesitates, not wanting to feel like she’s spying on Tony, but realizing it may be necessary.
MICHELLE
Yes, sir.
HELLER
I’m sorry to have to put you in this position. Ordinarily, I would never pry into his finances or my daughter’s, but today’s not an ordinary day.
MICHELLE
I understand, sir.
INT. UTILITY CLOSET - CONTINUOUS
JACK
So did you talk to her?
TONY
Yeah. She said she’d think about it…but that was before she ran off to Skip’s office…now I have no idea what she’s thinking.
JACK
Maybe I’m not being objective, but I can’t imagine she’s involved in any of this.
TONY
I can’t either.
Jack looks at the handheld screen and sighs.
TONY
You still care about her, don’t you?
JACK
It doesn’t matter how I feel, Tony. She’s clearly moved on and I’m grateful for that…I know that my being here is hard enough for her…I’m leaving the country forever in a couple hours, and the last thing I’d want to do is make things harder for her. I just want to get her out of there and make sure she’s okay before I go…that’s all that matters to me now.
Jack’s phone rings.
JACK
Yeah?
MICHELLE
He just called NetOps…Sergio’s on his way.
JACK
Alright. Sergio, do you copy?
SERGIO
Yeah.
JACK
Alright, it’s a go in 5.
INT. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER - HERNDON,
VA
DAVE
Jong, we’ve got a problem. Detroit has no record of the flight.
JONG
Could it have landed in DC?
DAVE
No, DCA isn’t cleared. All flights to DCA and IAD have been diverted to BWI until after the inauguration, but I checked with BWI and they have no record of this flight landing.
JONG
And it’s not showing up on the radar as being in the air?
DAVE
No.
JONG
Are there any unidentified radar signals in the air?
DAVE
Not that I could tell.
JONG
Alright, have someone in COMM try to contact the pilot, and get a passenger list to CTU in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit. I’ll update the White House.
DAVE
Alright.
END OF ACT - COMMERCIAL BREAK
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
AUDREY
Oh, I almost forgot…I found an extra mouse in my drawer…I remember you said the one you said was bugging you because the scroll button didn’t work.
SKIP
Oh, that was nice of you…thanks…I’ll go ahead and swap them out.
She reaches into the bag and takes out the mouse and hands it to him.
SKIP
Honey, it’s a PS-2.
AUDREY
Is that a problem?
SKIP
Yeah…my computer only has one PS2 slot and it’s being used for the keyboard. I’ll have to get a converter…thanks anyway though.
She looks at the back of his computer, trying to hide her nervousness
AUDREY
Wait, you don’t need one. Your keyboard’s USB…you’ve got it hooked up through a converter…you can use the PS2 slot for the mouse and plug your keyboard in directly.
SKIP
Are you sure?
AUDREY
Yeah.
SKIP
Alright, problem solved. Since you’re already back there,
would you mind hooking it up?
AUDREY
Not at all.
He hands her the plug for the mouse and she swaps out the peripherals.
INT. UTILITY CLOSET
TONY
Something’s not right.
JACK
What do you mean?
TONY
She just gave him a new mouse for his computer and he asked her to hook it up for him…if he’s involved with any of this he wouldn’t let her near his computer. As it is he doesn’t let her touch his personal computer when they’re at home.
JACK
Maybe he’s playing along…he’ll probably check the mouse for bugs as soon as she leaves.
TONY
Yeah.
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
AUDREY
So what did NetOps say?
SKIP
They couldn’t tell over the phone…they’re sending someone down to take a look in a little bit.
AUDREY
Alright. I’ll get out of your hair…I just wanted to apologize for jumping down your throat earlier, about Tony.
SKIP
Don’t worry about it…I understand.
AUDREY
You do?
SKIP
Yeah, of course. You feel betrayed…you realize he has this secret life you never knew about…you thought you could trust him…that’s gotta hurt.
AUDREY
Yeah.
He leans in and kisses her, which makes her flinch.
SKIP
What’s going on, Audrey? Everytime I come near you, you flinch. Why are you acting like you’re afraid of me.
AUDREY
Why would I be afraid of you?
SKIP
You tell me.
INT. UTILITY CLOSET
JACK
Alright, Sergio, move in now.
SERGIO
Copy.
Sergio knocks on the door to Skip’s office.
SKIP
Come in.
Sergio enters. Audrey looks at him curiously, feeling like she has seen him before.
SERGIO
Hi. My name’s Sergio Ramirez, from NetOps.
SKIP
Wow, that was fast.
SERGIO
Yeah, we have an unusually light caseload today, since all of the non-exempt federal workers have the day off.
AUDREY
Hey, are you T…
Sergio cuts her off before she can ask.
SERGIO
So I understand you’re having a problem with your network logon.
SKIP
Yeah, it’s saying it’s been disabled due to a violation of the TOS. I don’t know what I could have done to trigger that.
SERGIO
Alright, let me take a look. It’s possible that your computer could be infected with a virus, or it’s possible that someone could be controlling your machine remotely.
INT. UTILITY CLOSET/TONY’S OFFICE
JACK
All teams, it’s a go. I repeat, phase two is a go. Michelle,
do you copy?
SPLIT SCREEN between Jack in the utility closet and Michelle in Tony’s office.
MICHELLE
Yeah.
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
The phone rings.
SKIP
Skip Taylor…yeah, she’s right here…right now? Alright,
I’ll send her right up. Yes, sir.
He hangs up the phone.
AUDREY
Was that my dad?
SKIP
Yeah, he said he needs you in his office.
AUDREY
Alright. I guess I’ll see you later then.
(She kisses his forehead quickly.)
SKIP
Actually, why don’t I go with you? I have to talk to your father about something anyway.
AUDREY
Um, okay.
SERGIO
Actually, sir, I need you to be here while I scan your computer…that’s NetOps policy, so we can’t be held liable for doing anything to a machine without the knowledge of the primary user.
SKIP
So you’re telling me I can’t leave the office?
SERGIO
Not while I’m working on your computer, no.
SKIP
Fine. Can you hold off on working on my computer for just a minute so I can speak to my fiancee in private?
JACK
(Through earpiece)
Sergio, do not leave them alone.
Sergio taps a pen on the desk.
SERGIO
Alright. I’ll wait until you come back before I start the scan.
SKIP
This is my office. You step outside…
Audrey interrupts him.
AUDREY
I have to go anyway…my dad said he needed me right now. Why don’t you walk me to the elevator and then you and Sergio can look at your computer?
SKIP
Fine.
INT. UTILITY CLOSET
TONY
Michelle, can you switch feeds to get the hallway from the office to the elevator?
SPLIT SCREEN
MICHELLE
I have the hallway outside the office, but the elevator’s in Corridor 3…I’d have to put in a new request.
TONY
How long will that take?
MICHELLE
It took about ten minutes to get the last feed.
JACK
That’s too long. Michelle, I want you to tell me when they’ve turned the corner…I’ll follow them from there. We cannot let them get in the elevator.
MICHELLE
Roger that.
TONY
Jack, you’ve got to be careful. This wing is a lot of the contractors, and their employees don’t all have the day off. You can’t just walk around here like you can upstairs.
JACK
That’s why I’m wearing this uniform…I’ll put my sunglasses on too. We don’t have a choice…if he sees you he’ll know she’s been lying.
INT. TONY’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Michelle is watching Skip and Audrey exit the office and walk down the hall. When they turn a corner, she speaks into her mouthpiece.
MICHELLE
Alright, you’re clear.
A SPLIT SCREEN shows Michelle in Tony’s office, Jack creeping out into the hall, and Skip and Audrey walking down the next corridor.
JACK
Alright. Tony, stay here…if I go off COMM, that’s your cue to come out ready to shoot if necessary.
TONY
What? Jack, I don’t have a gun.
JACK
What do you mean?
TONY
I’m a civilian employee now. I don’t carry a gun everywhere I go.
JACK
Damnit. Sergio, come in.
SERGIO
Yeah?
JACK
I need you to slip your gun under the door to the office. I’m going to come get it and give it to Tony.
SERGIO
Alright, got it.
MICHELLE
Sergio, how are you coming with the filters?
SERGIO
Almost got it…I need your password so I can send everything to your system.
MICHELLE
It’s 2vvr56hdjg78. Make sure you use a Newman filter, so he can’t detect it.
SERGIO
Copy that.
(Skip and Audrey walk towards the elevator. Audrey is about to get in, but when she leans in to give Skip a kiss goodbye, he grabs her arm to restrain her. Jack starts to move instinctively, but hears Tony speak through the earpiece.)
TONY
All teams, stand down. I repeat, all teams, stand down.
Jack stops himself and sighs, watching angrily and nervously.
Zoom to Skip pushing Audrey up against the wall and leaning in, whispering in a threatening tone.
SKIP
Look, I know what you’re up to, and I am not okay with it.
AUDREY
What?
SKIP
Don’t get smart with me, Audrey. I know what you’re planning to do this afternoon…you’re going to humiliate me and your father and I am not going to let you do that.
SPLIT SCREEN:
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
Sergio frantically types on Skip’s computer.
INT. HALLWAY
Skip continues to threaten Audrey.
INT. UTILITY CLOSET
Tony sighs and wipes his forehead.
INT. HALLWAY
Jack watches Skip and Audrey, looking confused.
JACK
Tony, what’s he talking about?
TONY
I’ll explain later. Michelle, is Secretary Heller in the room?
Michelle replaces Sergio on the split screen.
MICHELLE
No, he stepped out to make a phone call. What’s going on?
TONY
Nothing…Jack’s just watching to make sure he doesn’t follow her upstairs.
BACK TO:
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
AUDREY
You can’t tell me what to do, Skip.
Skip becomes infuriated and grabs Audrey’s other shoulder,
shaking her almost violently. She bites her lip nervously. Jack watches angrily and fights to restrain himself. Tony hears what’s going on through his cell phone and speaks into his mouthpiece in a commanding tone.
TONY
Don, stand down!
Jack reluctantly obeys, pursing his lips and trying to stay calm.
AUDREY
I’m going and there’s nothing you can do about it.
SKIP
Oh, no, you’re not.
He starts shaking her again.
AUDREY
Yes I am.
SKIP
Not unless you want your father to know!
He continues shaking her until she bangs her head against the wall and winces with pain. He steps back, slightly stunned.
SKIP
Audrey, I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean…are you okay?
AUDREY
I’m fine.
SKIP
I didn’t mean to hurt you…you know that, right?
AUDREY
Yeah, I know. Look, I’ll call my brother and tell him I’m not going…just please don’t say anything to my dad…please, Skip, don’t say anything.
SKIP
Alright, I won’t. Just promise me you’ll stop sneaking around behind my back.
AUDREY
Alright, I promise.
He lets go of her and tries to kiss her. She flinches but does not pull away or return the kiss, just kind of standing there numbly.
After a minute she turns to get into the elevator. Jack goes into the men’s room and checks the stalls to make sure nobody is there.
JACK
Mission accomplished. I repeat, mission accomplished.
Michelle, can you go meet her by the 5th corridor elevator in the D-Ring?
MICHELLE (O.S.)
Yeah.
INT. HALLWAY
Audrey leans against the wall of the elevator and wipes her eyes.
INT. SKIP’S OFFICE
Sergio types frantically, looking nervous.
SERGIO
Tony, is he on his way back in here?
TONY (O.S.)
I assume so. Michelle, tell us when it’s clear.
SERGIO
We’ve got a problem then. The Newman initialization is only at 72…it says it’s going to be another 4 minutes before it’s finished starting up.
TONY (O.S.)
Press cancel…forget about it.
SERGIO
It’s not working…cancel’s greyed out.
INT. MICHELLE’S OFFICE
MICHELLE
Can you get to the terminal?
INTERCUT:
SERGIO
Yeah, hold on. Alright, what do I do.
MICHELLE
Try to disable process accounting by typing “accton”.
SERGIO
Alright…it says “process accounting disabled.”
MICHELLE
Okay, good. Now type ps, find the number of the process for the Newman initialization, and type kill and then that number.
SERGIO
Got it.
MICHELLE
Now type smbpasswd -r md5763.
TONY
Guys, I heard footsteps…he’ll be there any second.
MICHELLE
Did you get it?
SERGIO
Yeah, it looks like it worked…I gotta go.
He quickly closes the terminal and moves away from the computer as Skip opens the door. Skip looks suspicious but doesn’t say anything.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
FADE IN:
INT. PENTAGON - FLOOR 3, CORRIDOR 5, D-RING - EXT. ELEVATOR
Michelle approaches Audrey carefully as she exits the elevator.
MICHELLE
Audrey, are you okay?
AUDREY
Yeah, I’m fine. I put a ps-2 keylogger on his computer and a bug in his mouse…I wasn’t able to bug his cell phone though.
MICHELLE
That’s okay…you did great. You scared everyone half to death though…I told your father you were on your way upstairs and you seemed okay…you should probably go talk to him now though.
AUDREY
Alright, I will. Here’s the information to access the keylogger from your system.
MICHELLE
Okay, thanks.
AUDREY
Yeah.
She starts to walk away.
MICHELLE
Audrey?
AUDREY
Yeah?
MICHELLE
I feel kind of awkward asking you this, but do any of these transactions look familiar to you?
She hands Audrey a printout of an online banking statement,
with the transactions in question highlighted. Audrey looks at it for a minute,
clearly nervous, then looks up, attempting to appear unphased.
AUDREY
No, why?
Michelle sighs.
MICHELLE
These are expenditures Tony made that I don’t recognize, and they matched the original amounts on a ledger your father asked me to restore a little while ago.
AUDREY
What? What did you tell my dad?
MICHELLE
Just that I remembered Tony having unusually large amounts of cash on him a few times and the dates and amounts seemed to roughly match…so he asked me to check my bank statement…why? What’s going on?
AUDREY
I can’t talk about it…did you tell my dad what the transactions were?
MICHELLE
No, not yet…look, I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you but I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that the last thing Tony needs is to be involved in anything that looks suspicious…what are you doing and why?
AUDREY
He’s not doing anything illegal, I promise…I don’t want to get him in trouble any more than you do. But can you please do me a favor and don’t say anything to my dad about the bank statement just yet?
MICHELLE
Audrey…
AUDREY
Look, I’ll take care of this…I just need to talk to Tony first, alright?
MICHELLE
Okay. But what should I do if your father asks me?
AUDREY
Tell him you haven’t gotten a chance to check yet…or if you’re not comfortable with that, just reassure him that there’s nothing illegal going on and tell him I’ll explain later.
MICHELLE
Alright. But please…just don’t make anyone suspicious of Tony, ok?
AUDREY
I won’t, I promise.
INT. PENTAGON - FLOOR 3 - HALLWAY
Jack and Tony are walking back to Tony’s office.
JACK
I don’t get it…how does she have the money to do all that?
TONY
She’s Senior Executive Service…those jobs pay pretty well.
JACK
I was Senior Executive Service also when I had your job…it paid well, but not that well…I didn’t have that kind of money and neither did she.
Tony hesitates.
JACK
She inherited it from Paul, didn’t she?
TONY
Yeah.
JACK
Could that be part of Skip’s motive?
TONY
You mean do I think he’s using her for money in addition to political access?
JACK
Yeah.
TONY
Possible but unlikely. To say she doesn’t flaunt it would be a major understatement…I don’t think he knew about it until he moved in with her and he asked about the mortgage and she told him there was none. Plus, he’s pretty well off himself…
JACK
Tony, is it possible that he might not be involved with what’s going on? Could he just be trying to prevent her from going to that rally this afternoon?
TONY
That doesn’t make sense. If that was his only motive why would he try to frame me for a terrorist attack?
JACK
I don’t know…but something doesn’t seem right here.
Michelle approaches them before Tony can respond.
TONY
Hey…what’s going on?
MICHELLE
Audrey managed to plant a hardware keylogger in the PS-2 port of his computer…she’s monitoring it now in your office. Sergio’s still checking it out…I instructed him to open anything that looks suspicious so we can read it on my screen.
JACK
Has he found anything?
MICHELLE
No, not yet.
JACK
Where is she now?
MICHELLE
She’s in her office…she said she had a headache…Tony, can I talk to you for a second?
TONY
Yeah.
Jack walks off and leaves them alone.
TONY
What’s going on?
MICHELLE
That’s what I’m wondering.
TONY
What do you mean?
MICHELLE
Why is Audrey giving you money to make transactions on her behalf and trying to cover it up?
TONY
What?
MICHELLE
Tony, don’t lie to me. Secretary Heller asked me to restore some records that Audrey had been messing with, and I noticed a lot of large cash withdrawals that seemed to coincide with the few times I noticed you having an abnormal amount of cash in your wallet.
TONY
So what did you tell him?
MICHELLE
I restored the original records and then I told him I remembered you having similar amounts of cash on you…I said that I thought maybe we were having trouble with the condo payments and Audrey was helping and you didn’t want me to know about it. Is that what this is about?
TONY
No…I told you last week we were fine with the condo. I can’t believe you not only didn’t believe me, but would make my boss think I can’t handle my financial obligations. Geez, Michelle…
MICHELLE
Tony, what was I supposed to think? What are you hiding from me?
TONY
It’s none of your business.
MICHELLE
Tony…
TONY
When you asked me about the cash last week, I swore to you that I wasn’t doing anything illegal…isn’t that enough for you? Do you not trust me?
MICHELLE
Tony, why are you doing this? Whatever you’re doing, it makes you looks suspicious and untrustworthy, and that’s the last thing you need right now.
TONY
Oh, you are one to talk. You maintain regular communication with a fugitive, get yourself involved in some crazy scheme, stage your own kidnapping, and lie to me about all of it, and I’m the one who’s untrustworthy?
MICHELLE
Tony, we both know there are people…
TONY
You don’t have to say it, Michelle. I’m perfectly aware that that there are people who see me as a criminal and don’t trust me…I just never thought you’d be one of them.
MICHELLE
Tony!
TONY
Save it.
He storms off.
INT. AUDREY’S OFFICE
Jack knocks on the door hesitantly. He is holding a cup of water and an ice pack.
AUDREY
Come in.
Jack enters and sits down in the visitor’s chair facing her.
JACK
Hey…are you okay?
AUDREY
Yeah, I’m fine.
JACK
Michelle told me you managed to plant a hardware keylogger on his computer…I have to say, I’m impressed.
She blushes slightly.
AUDREY
Hey, I learned from the best.
Awkward. silence.
JACK
She said you hit your head…I brought you an icepack and some ibuprofen.
He places the water down on the desk and pulls a pack of ibuprofen out of his pocket.
AUDREY
Thanks.
JACK
Yeah.
(pause)
Audrey, how long has this been going on?
AUDREY
How long has what been going on?
JACK
How long has Skip been treating you like this?
AUDREY
What?
JACK
I saw what happened outside the elevator earlier.
AUDREY
You don’t know what you’re talking about. It was an accident…he didn’t mean for me to hit my head.
JACK
I know. But does he regularly shake you around like that?
AUDREY
I am not having this conversation with you, Jack. What happens between me and Skip is none of your business.
JACK
If you don’t want to talk about it with me, that’s fine. But you need to talk to someone…
AUDREY
There’s nothing to talk about.
JACK
Audrey, he shouldn’t be treating you like this.
Audrey is silent for a second, then shakes her head and looks at him with stormy eyes.
AUDREY
You have some nerve, you know that? You beat people, use barbaric methods of torture, and hold doctors at gunpoint and force them to stop treating an innocent man who saved your life in order to save the life of a terrorist, and yet you’re up in arms because Skip shook me a little too hard?
JACK
This isn’t about me, Audrey. You can hate me as much as you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t deserve to be treated like this.
She slumps down in her seat, defeated. She knows he is right but is unwilling to concede that to him, instead placing her hand on the back of her head, which is beginning to throb, and looks away.
JACK
Come on…let’s get some ice on that.
He walks over to her and gently coaxes her hand away from her head so he can apply the ice pack. He pushes the button to make the chair recline and slowly pushes the chair back. When he tries to help her get her head situated in a comfortable position, she pushes his hand away.
AUDREY
Jack, stop it.
JACK
I’m just trying to help you get comfortable, I promise.
AUDREY
I know.
JACK
What’s wrong?
AUDREY
I can’t take this, okay? Go ahead, torture someone, kill as many people as you want, I can take it. I just can’t…you can’t…please don’t make it harder to hate you, okay?
Jack backs away, the hurt he feels evident in his eyes.
AUDREY
I’m sorry, Jack…I didn’t mean…
JACK
Hey, it’s okay. You don’t owe me an apology…I understand. I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do…I hate myself for the things I did to you just as much as you hate me for them, alright?
She is silent, feeling terrible about what she said but not sure how to tell him that.
JACK
I know how hard my being here has been for you today and I’m sorry…the last thing I wanted to do was make things worse. I’ll be out of your hair forever soon…but before I go, I just want to know that you’re okay…that’s all I care about.
AUDREY
Jack…
JACK
It’s alright. You don’t have to say anything. I’m going back to Tony’s office to see how they’re coming with Skip’s computer…I’ll tell him to come down and check on you when he gets a chance, alright?
Audrey opens her mouth to speak but stops, clearly unable to articulate how she really feels. Instead, she just nods. Jack looks into her eyes wistfully, and for a split second, their eyes seem to connect, before he turns away with a sigh and leaves the office.
FADE OUT.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
INT. OSD
Secretary Heller is on the phone with the White House when Tony enters nervously.
HELLER
With all due respect, sir, that’s not the right way to handle this. We don’t even have any proof they know he’s alive…if they wanted him,
they wouldn’t call once this morning and then drop the matter…I’m not saying Walt’s lying…I’m saying he could have been deceived…I know you want the problem dealt with, but this isn’t the only solution, and I think we should at least wait until they call again to demand that he be turned over. Alright, get back to me.
He hangs up the phone and sighs.
HELLER
Tony, have a seat.
TONY
Was that about Jack?
HELLER
Yeah. Between you and me, the president is going about this all wrong. He wants to just turn him over without even confirming that Chinese know he’s alive. He refuses to even consider the possibility that everything that’s happened this morning may be part of something larger than just the Chinese wanting us to hand over Jack. He’s arranged for Jack to be picked up by Secret Service within the hour.
TONY
What? That doesn’t make any sense…
HELLER
I don’t like it any more than you do, Tony, but the president’s made up his mind.
TONY
Where is Jack now?
HELLER
In your office…don’t ever repeat this, but there’s a part of me that hopes he finds a way to escape so I don’t have to turn him over. Is Sergio still working on Skip’s computer?
TONY
Yes, sir.
HELLER
Has he found anything suspicious?
TONY
Not that I know of. Michelle and Audrey are monitoring his activity through a filter Audrey managed to sneak into the PS-2 port on his computer.
HELLER
Alright, I’m sure they’ll keep us up to date. PFPA are monitoring to make sure he doesn’t leave the building. When the Secret Service picks up Jack, I’d like you and Sergio to follow them to the Embassy…I want to make sure nobody decides to take matters into their own hands again.
TONY
Yes, sir.
HELLER
Tony, I need to ask you about something CTU found this morning…
TONY
Is it about my bank account?
HELLER
Yes. Now, I understand that your personal finances are none of my business. As far as I can tell, there are no illegitimate or illegal transactions, and on an ordinary day, your assurances that nothing illegal was going on would be enough for me. But today’s not an ordinary day. I’m worried about my daughter’s safety, and I need to know everything that’s going on with her. I know she trusted you not to tell me whatever it is you’re covering for her, and I’m sorry for forcing you to violate that trust, but I don’t think we have a choice.
TONY
I understand, sir. I guess the crux of it starts about a year and a half ago, when I was in LA for a series of meetings. While I was there,
your son, Richard, got arrested for smoking marijuana in public. (Heller sighs.) It was April 20th, and apparently, it’s a tradition for marijuana users in California to celebrate this date, which in numbers is 4/20, the police code for marijuana, by getting high in public, often right in front of the cops.
(Heller shakes his head.) He must have used his phone call to call Audrey,
because she called me frantically to see if I would go bail him out.
HELLER
Is that what one of these transactions is?
TONY
Yes, sir. That was the first one.
HELLER
Go on.
TONY
So I picked him up, and he thanked me, and when I was driving him home he said something along the lines of “sorry to make you do this.
Usually they don’t take us to jail, they just cite us.” I shouldn’t have let it get to me, but when he said that, it just made me so mad, the idea that anyone would go out of their way to get arrested just to make a point…
HELLER
I can understand why you’d feel that way. I can’t say I disagree, and I never spent three and a half months in federal prison.
TONY
Yeah. So I should have just kept it to myself, but for some reason, I couldn’t. I pulled over, slammed my fist on the steering wheel, and I kind of laid it into him.
HELLER
You used physical force against my son?
TONY
No, sir. Other than grabbing the front of his shirt to get him to look at me, I didn’t lay a hand on him, I promise. I just lost my temper…I told him that if he kept up his childish rebellion he could find himself actually serving time in jail, and then it wouldn’t feel like a game anymore.
Heller nods.
TONY
I told him my story and tried to make the case that if he’s going to break the law, he better have a damn good reason and have exhausted all other options first. I said that if he really wants to change the world for the better, if he thinks marijuana should be legal and wants to change the law,
if he wants to protect the environment or bring about a reduction in the world supply of nuclear weapons, he should go back to school, get a degree, then join the Peace Corps or come to Washington and work for one of those groups that always bombards your office with faxes…do something about his beliefs instead of just rebelling.
HELLER
How is it that my son was arrested and taken to jail and I never found out about this? I’m surprised it wasn’t in the news.
TONY
I pulled some strings to get the arrest expunged…nothing illegal, but it’s better if you don’t know the details. I figured you could live without the embarrassment.
HELLER
Fair enough. So you gave him a little talking-to after picking him up…
TONY
Yes, sir. I was probably out of line…it wasn’t my place,
and I’m sorry.
HELLER
Don’t apologize, Tony. I’m glad you said that to him…I’ve long given up trying to get through to him, but maybe coming from you it meant something.
TONY
Actually, I think you might be right, sir.
HELLER
What do you mean?
TONY
I’ve kept in touch with him since I got back…it sounds like he’s taking steps to get his act together. He’s back in school…with any luck he’ll graduate from USC in May with a degree in Peace Studies and a minor in international environmental policy. He’s cut back on the marijuana and last I talked to him it sounded like he was trying to quit entirely.
HELLER
Well, that’s good news. Is Audrey paying his tuition?
TONY
Yes, sir. That’s what most of the other large cash deposits are.
HELLER
That’s very nice of her, but why is she doing it that way?
Why didn’t she just pay it directly?
Tony sighs.
HELLER
There’s more, isn’t there?
TONY
Yes, sir. Richard’s goal after graduation is to join the Peace Corps. And he’s…(Tony hesitates before saying the next part) He’s been in a steady relationship with this guy for a while, and they want to serve together. So they’re planning to go to Boston tomorrow to get “married” and then fight for recognition as a married couple. Audrey told Richard a while ago that if he stayed out of trouble through the first of the year and got decent grades she’d pay for the tickets.
HELLER
And she didn’t want me to know because she knew I wouldn’t be happy that he was once again going out of his way to embarrass me and she’s for some reason financing this effort.
TONY
To be honest, sir, I don’t think that’s Richard’s motive here. He’s been wanting to serve in the Peace Corps for a while, and then he met Xing…I think it’s a genuine desire to do this together, not to make a political statement. If the goal of this were to embarass you Audrey wouldn’t have anything to do with it and neither would I.
HELLER
So when are they leaving for Boston?
TONY
They were supposed to leave tonight, sir. They actually stopped off here to protest the inauguration first.
HELLER
You mean Richard’s here, in Washington, right now?
TONY
Yes, sir. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think Richard’s planning to speak or anything…he’s not going as your son, just as a citizen exercising his right to free speech.
HELLER
Yeah, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. Hopefully the media won’t pick it up. I guess I should be encouraged by most of what you told me…at least he’s trying to do something with his life…I probably don’t agree with any of his causes but at least he’s involved with something other than getting in trouble. Don’t get me wrong - I appreciate the support you’ve given him, Tony. It was above and beyond the call of duty and I hope he’s been appreciative.
TONY
Yes, sir, he has. He even thanked me for losing my temper at him that day.
HELLER
Tony, I can see why Audrey didn’t want me to know about this…honestly, I had no idea she and Richard were in contact…but I can’t believe she went to all this trouble just because she thought I might be upset about her brother’s political activities.
Tony sighs.
HELLER
There’s something else going on, isn’t there?
Tony slumps down in his seat and reluctantly answers after a minute.
TONY
Yes, sir.
HELLER
I’m listening.
TONY
Ever since that day three years ago, Audrey’s been having what I guess can be called a crisis of faith, except with politics instead of religion.
HELLER
What do you mean?
TONY
That day called into doubt a lot of the beliefs she used to hold as a given. After spending a large part of her professional life lobbying for the government to fund and purchase all these fancy weapons and gadgets,
seeing our own weapons used against us had a big impact on her. She started wondering what good all those systems are if things like what happened that day can happen on our soil and if we wouldn’t be better off if we focused less on accumulating weapons and more on addressing some of the root causes of terrorism.
Heller sighs, realization sinking in.
TONY
Some of her disagreements are policy-based, but some of it’s personal. She really dislikes the president…in addition to thinking that he’s incompetent and disagreeing with his policies, I think she blames him for what happened to Jack.
HELLER
Knowing what I now know, I don’t blame her.
TONY
When she started to question her views, she turned to her brother, hoping that maybe he’d understand since he’d always had major issues with US foreign policy.
HELLER
How long ago was that?
TONY
I think about two years.
HELLER
And when did you find out?
TONY
About 4 months ago. I think that’s when it really started to get to her…the election made it harder for her to keep this under the rug,
especially with Skip testing the waters for the 2010 Senate race…he kept dragging her to all these political fundraisers and party functions. One day in late September, she offered to take my place at some reception that I didn’t really want to go to the following night. I didn’t think much of it at the time…she knew Thursdays were the only night of the week Michelle didn’t have class back then, and I thought she was just being nice. But then the next morning, I heard her talking to Richard on the phone when I stopped by her office…she sounded really upset, and she was saying something about being afraid she’d throw up if she had to be in the same room with someone that night…she was talking about feeling violated, and I got kind of concerned, so I pressed her about it.
HELLER
So what happened?
TONY
Skip had said something a week earlier about some $2,000 a plate dinner where the president was speaking to raise money for the RNC. She said she hadn’t RSVP’d or donated any money to the RNC this cycle, and she didn’t really feel like going. He apparently didn’t hear the “didn’t feel like going” part, and assumed that when she said she hadn’t donated, she meant she just hadn’t gotten around to it, so he took the liberty of using her credit card to make the requisite donation for her. When she confronted him about it,
he just said something about how he couldn’t buy the ticket for her because of campaign finance laws…it never occured to him that maybe she didn’t want to spend what seems to me like an insane amount of money for a plate of food or that she didn’t want to go to the event.
HELLER
Geez. So what did she do?
TONY
I tried to convince her to tell him she wanted her money back, but she kept insisting it wasn’t worth starting a fight. She told me Richard had suggested she match the amount Skip essentially stole from her and give it to this anti-war group…but she didn’t want to do anything that might embarrass you or Skip, and she didn’t want anyone to know about it.
HELLER
So she used you as an intermediary?
TONY
Yes, sir. Since she has to file a financial disclosure form,
it’s hard to keep any kind of significant financial transactions under the radar. I don’t have to file the form, since I’m technically not Senior Executive Service, so I agreed to do it for her. I think she would have preferred to give to a group that was a little more mainstream and oriented towards electoral politics rather than protests, but apparently it’s illegal to be reimbursed for that kind of donation. We looked into this group thoroughly to make sure it was okay to donate this way and we also checked to make sure they weren’t connected to any terrorist groups or other illegal entities.
HELLER
Well, I’m glad to hear that.
He sighs.
TONY
Mr. Secretary, I know you’re upset about this, but I just want you to know that Audrey never meant this to be a slap in your face…that’s why she kept it from you…she wasn’t trying to rebel or embarass you. And for what it’s worth, I’m really sorry for keeping this from you. I know that given my history, your trust isn’t something I should take for granted, and I’m really sorry I had to violate that trust.
HELLER
Don’t apologize, Tony. You did the right thing…I’m glad my daughter had someone to talk to about what she was going through.
TONY
I tried to convince her to tell you…I’m not sure why she was so resistant.
HELLER
That’s because you don’t know our family history. I don’t blame her for keeping this from me…if you knew the history you wouldn’t either.
TONY
What do you mean?
HELLER
This isn’t the first time Audrey’s questioned her political views or her commitment to politics in general. See this picture here?
He pulls a picture out of his wallet.
TONY
Yeah.
HELLER
That’s Audie when she was five years old, handing out pamphlets the first time I ran for Congress in 1976.
Tony chuckles a little. Heller smiles nostalgically.
HELLER
All the other girls in her class that year had Rainbow Bright stickers on their lunchboxes…Audie’s was covered with Republican campaign stickers. I’ve never had presidential ambitions, but trying to convince my daughter of that when she was little was about as useful as trying to convince my son now of the need for missile defense. In 1976, the first time I ran for Congress, she came with me to knock on some doors, and I had dressed her in a Ford for President sweatshirt with my button on top. These people at one house we visited said “don’t worry, definitely planning to vote Ford for President too,” and she got all upset and started demanding to know why they weren’t voting for me. So I explained to her that I was running for Congress, not president, but I think it went in one ear and out the other. She kept asking when I was going to run for president, and finally I got tired of trying to explain why I didn’t plan on doing that, so I told her I’d think about it someday, but only if she’d serve as my chief of staff. I don’t think she knew what that was at the time, but it stuck in her head, and for most of her childhood, whenever someone asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up,
she’d say “White House Chief of Staff.” She’s worked on every one of my campaigns since she was born…except 1992.
TONY
What happened in 1992?
HELLER
She was a junior in college in the spring of 1992. She was home over spring break and she overheard me on the phone with a fellow member of the House Appropriations Committee…I was trying to lobby him to vote for welfare reform, and he expressed concern because his district was largely urban and minority, meaning a lot of his constituents were going to oppose the bill.
He mentioned something about the black vote in his district, and I said something I never should have said - I said ’screw the blacks, they don’t vote for us anyway.’
Tony looks shocked.
HELLER
It was a terrible thing to say and I’m not defending it, but I didn’t mean it in a racist way. I just meant that since 8 out of 9 African Americans vote Democrat, he wasn’t going to win most of the poor urban blacks in his district anyway…the same way northeastern Democrat might say “screw the South, they don’t vote for us anyway.”
TONY
Yeah, I understand. I’m surprised Audrey didn’t…she understands politics way better than I do and I understood what you meant.
HELLER
She might’ve, if she’d known the context of the conversation.
But she just heard my side of it, and I don’t think she’d been standing outside the study all that long when I said it.
TONY
You didn’t try to explain?
HELLER
I didn’t know she’d heard me say it until a year later…we didn’t speak for almost a year. She acted kind of funny the next day, but I didn’t read too much into it. Then she went back to school, and about a month later, she called and told me she needed to stay at Yale for the summer to take classes because she was switching her major from political science to English.
Redistricting after the 1990 census had thrown me into a tough fight for my seat against a 12-term Democratic incumbent in a district that was 57 Democrat.
I told her I needed her help with my campaign, and she said she didn’t want to be involved.
TONY
But she didn’t tell you why?
HELLER
No. She was dating this guy at the time whom I suspected of being a Democrat…he had several environmentalist bumper stickers on his car…so I chalked it up to that, even though she had sworn that he wasn’t political last time we’d talked about it.
TONY
Was dating a Democrat in your family like dating anyone other than a Latino Catholic in mine?
HELLER
It was her rule, not mine. If she’d been corrupted by the liberal environment at Yale and become a Democrat, I’d have dealt with it. I wouldn’t have been thrilled about it, but I certainly wouldn’t have loved her any less. But she didn’t tell me what was going on…she just said she didn’t want to be involved with the campaign, and I was crushed.
Tony nods understandingly.
HELLER
I’d never run for anything since college where she wasn’t right there by my side. I got angry and demanded to know why, and when she wouldn’t tell me, I told her how disappointed in her I was…and I snapped that she was a big girl and she could take care of herself.
TONY
Wow.
HELLER
I don’t want you to think I cut her off and left her to freeze out in the cold New England weather…I paid her tuition, including the summer classes. I paid for her room and board and kept depositing money in her spending account until she got a job and told the bank not to allow any outside deposits so I couldn’t…but I stopped visiting her, I stopped writing to her,
I stopped sending her care packages. The campaign was brutal…I ran nasty ads and let my handlers talk me into doing things I never would have considered if she’d been around to keep me honest. I probably wouldn’t have won if my opponent hadn’t suffered a death in his family that kept him off the campaign trail the weekend before the election…I didn’t deserve to win. On election night, my wife had to practically force me to give a victory speech. I should have been happy…I was a two-term member who had defeated a 12-term committee chairman in a district that was predominantly Democrat…but all I could think about was the fact that Audie wasn’t there to celebrate with me. She called and told her mother to send her congratulations…Susan asked if she wanted to speak to me, but she said she didn’t want to ruin the celebration…my wife tried to convince me to call her back but I was too damn stubborn. When she came home the day before Thanksgiving I sent one of my LA’s to pick her up at the airport and stayed at the office until 1 AM…we barely spoke to each other all day on Thursday, and Friday morning I got on a plane to Detroit for an aerospace convention. I didn’t even sneak a mushy note into her suitcase. She decided to spend Christmas with her boyfriend’s family and then go skiing over winter break…I could hardly blame her for not wanting to come home.
TONY
So when did you finally reconcile?
HELLER
Not until March, about two months before her graduation. One morning, my wife mentioned to me that she was going to see Audrey in a debate tournament at Georgetown…she didn’t come out and say it, but I think she was hinting that maybe it would give me a chance to see her. I blew it off at the time, but later that afternoon, I was sitting in my office in Rayburn and I had CNN on the TV…at the time that was the only 24-hour news channel…and the reporter announced that the body of a female marine who had been MIA since the Gulf War had been found. They showed her parents crying when they got the news…the young woman was 20, the same age Audie was at the time, and something inside me just kind of clicked, and suddenly I realized I had to go see her. I think this is why the Senate majority leader went off on you…he was House Minority
Whip at
the time, and I missed a few important votes to go watch the debate…he’s had a grudge against me ever since. I tried to duck in discreetly because I didn’t want to distract her, but I know she saw me because she got flustered for a minute…I think she was so shocked to see me there she thought something terrible had happened…like I was there to tell her there’d been a death in the family. We talked for a long time that night and she finally told me what she overheard…I think she knew I didn’t mean what I said in a racist way…it was just a shock to hear me say it. She’d been around politics her whole life…she wasn’t naive…she’d seen all kinds of backroom dealing and dirty politics. But I think she had somehow seen me as above it. I started to explain to her that nobody could be above it and expect to be successful, but for some reason, halfway through, I stopped, and I found myself promising that to the best of my ability, from that point on, I would be, so long as she was around to hold me to it. I promised myself that for the rest of my political career, I would never do or say anything I wouldn’t want my daughter to see me do. In 1994 she ran my campaign for a fourth term, and we turned what looked like a tough rematch into a pretty decisive victory. She’d tell you that’s because ‘94 was the year the Republicans swept Congress, but I know that I couldn’t have done it without her. I guess she never told you any of this?
TONY
No, sir. It was mostly about preventing Skip from finding out about any of this…I didn’t even realize until this morning how strongly she felt that you be kept in the dark. She had said at one point that she wanted to keep this on the DL for fear of embarassing you, and she did hint that she was afraid you’d be disappointed if you knew.
HELLER
Yeah, well, I don’t blame her for thinking that. You’d think I’d learn from my mistakes.
TONY
With all due respect, sir, you couldn’t really do anything about this if you didn’t know about it. And I’m sure you and Audrey will work this out.
HELLER
I know we will. It’s Richard I’m not so sure about. Correct me if I’m wrong, Tony, but did you not just tell me that my son is getting married tomorrow?
TONY
Um, I guess so…depends how you look at it, I guess.
HELLER
Forget whether or not you think what Taxachusetts does is legitimate or how you think marriage should be defined. My son is for all intents and purposes getting married, at least by his definition, and I wasn’t even told, let alone invited. And I have nobody but myself to blame for that.
TONY
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Richard didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you there…I think he expected you not to approve. I don’t think it was meant to be a slight or anything.
HELLER
Yeah.
TONY
I may be overstepping my boundaries here, but why don’t you give him a call? Maybe you can arrange to see him before they leave, which probably won’t be tonight now, since commercial flights are still grounded.
HELLER
He doesn’t want to talk to me. He made that pretty clear three years ago.
TONY
Mr. Secretary, Richard’s never come out and said it, but I know he’s not happy about the current state of your relationship, or lack thereof…I know deep down, he wishes things were different. If you’d like, I’d be happy to call him and ask if he wants to talk to you…I can’t promise that I’ll be able to get through to him right now…I doubt he’ll hear his phone over the crowd, but it’s worth a shot.
Heller considers Tony’s offer for a moment.
TONY
Sir, you’ve got nothing to lose.
HELLER
Alright, why don’t you go ahead? And if he doesn’t want to talk to me, I understand. Just tell him if he ever changes his mind, I’d love to hear from him sometime.
TONY
Alright, I will. Do you want me to send Audrey in here?
HELLER
When she’s ready, yeah. In the meantime, can you tell her I love her, and I’m not angry or ashamed…I’m just sorry she had to suffer because she felt she couldn’t tell me?
TONY
Yes, sir.
He turns to leave.
HELLER
Tony?
TONY
Yeah?
HELLER
Thank you.
Tony nods, not sure what to say.
HELLER
You’re a good man, Tony. Just don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
Tony smiles.
TONY
Thank you, sir.
He walks outside the office and sees Audrey waiting, biting her nails nervously.
AUDREY
Did you tell him?
TONY
Audrey, I didn’t have a choice…I’m sorry.
AUDREY
What did he say?
TONY
He’s not angry…he just feels bad that you felt you had to hide it. He explained to me why you were so reluctant to tell him.
AUDREY
He told you what happened in 1992?
TONY
Yeah.
TONY
Yeah.
Secretary Heller steps out of his office and joins them in the hall. Audrey looks up at him, an uncertain look in her eyes. He walks over and embraces her. Tony starts to walk away.
AUDREY
I’m sorry, Dad…I’m so sorry.
HELLER
Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong…I’m just sorry you had to suffer because you felt you had to hide it.
AUDREY
I just…I couldn’t stand the thought of a repeat of junior year…I was afraid of how you would react.
HELLER
I know. And I don’t blame you for that. I just want you to know that you should never feel afraid to talk to me about anything, no matter what. You’re my daughter, and I love you, and I’m proud of you…nothing could change that, certainly not something as trivial as politics, alright?
He cups her chin to get her to look at him. She eventually nods slowly.
INT. MICHELLE’S OFFICE
Michelle is analyzing a file from Skip’s hard drive when her cell phone rings.
MICHELLE
Michelle Dessler…what? Are you sure? Did they check the backup? Has their been any communication with the pilot? What about the passenger list? Alright, I’ll let the Secretary know.
Tony walks in, a contrite expression on his face.
TONY
Look, Michelle…
MICHELLE
Not now, Tony. I need to go talk to Secretary Heller…we have a situation on our hands.
He follows her out of the office.
TONY
What’s going on?
HALLWAY OUTSIDE OSD - CONTINUOUS
HELLER
Come here…I want to tell you a secret.
He whispers something into Audrey’s ear that makes her gasp.
AUDREY
No way…
HELLER
You can’t tell anyone, Audrey…not even Tony.
AUDREY
Okay, I won’t…so…what did you do? Did you vote for Kaplansky?
HELLER
No. I couldn’t quite bring myself to vote for a Democrat,
although if I’d known Virginia would be as close as it was, I might have considered it. I wrote in Mickey Mouse…and based on the way President Logan’s handling the situation with Jack, I’m becoming more convinced by the minute that Mickey would do a better job of leading this country.
AUDREY
What do you mean? Did you tell the president about Jack?
HELLER
Yeah.
AUDREY
What did he say?
Before he can answer, Tony and Michelle approach.
MICHELLE
I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but I just got a phone call about a situation that requires your immediate attention.
HELLER
What?
MICHELLE
The air traffic control center reported that their data may have been compromised in the attack this morning.
HELLER
Why do they think that?
MICHELLE
There’s one flight that should still be in the air that’s showing up on the servers as having been diverted to Detroit and landed, and they haven’t been able to make contact with the pilot, so they don’t know where the plane is.
HELLER
Jesus Christ…where was the flight supposed to land?
MICHELLE
Dulles.
HELLER
And where’s it coming from?
MICHELLE
Los Angeles, with a stopover in Chicago.
TONY
Chicago?
MICHELLE
O’Hare’s data shows the flight having taken off on schedule,
but no airport has any landing data.
HELLER
And it’s just this one flight?
MICHELLE
As far as we know. CTU Los Angeles examined the passenger list, and nobody raised a red flag…they’re doing more thorough background checks now.
HELLER
Does the radar show any planes off course?
MICHELLE
No, sir, although most planes that took off this morning are still circling…only a few airports have been cleared for landing of presently airborne flights, and no new flights are being allowed to take off.
TONY
Hold on a second. Audrey, didn’t you say Skip was playing with your cell phone this morning?
AUDREY
Yeah, why?
TONY
Was that before or after you talked to President Palmer?
AUDREY
Oh my g-d…
FADE OUT.
11:00:00
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