In accordance with this afternoon's vote
at the OAS, the quarantine shall hereby
be effective as of ten o'clock tomorrow
morning.
Kenny observes in silence as the President SIGNS the
Proclamation of Interdiction.
INT. OVAL OFFICE - LATER
The Oval Office has emptied out. Only Kenny, Bobby, Sorensen
and the President remain. The President looks out the
window, Sorensen sits in a chair in front of the desk. Bobby
and Kenny sit on the edge of the desk.
THE PRESIDENT
Last summer I read a book. The Guns of
August. I wish every man on that
blockade line had read that book.
The President moves over to the GLOBE by his desk, spins it,
stopping in on Europe.
THE PRESIDENT (CONT'D)
World War One. Thirteen million killed
all because the militaries of both
alliances were so highly attuned to each
other's movements and dispositions,
afraid of letting the other guy have a
theoretical advantage. And your man in
the field, his family at home, couldn't
even tell you the reasons why their
lives were being sacrificed.
(beat)
Why couldn't they stop it?
Can we? The President's fingers turn the globe. It stops on
North America. Kenny and Bobby listen.
THE PRESIDENT (CONT'D)
And here we are, fifty years later. One
of their ships resists the inspection.
We shoot out its rudder and board. They
shoot down our planes in response. We
bomb their anti-aircraft sites in
response to that. They attack Berlin.
We invade Cuba. They fire their
missiles. We fire ours.
The President sets the globe gently spinning and walks away.
INT. KENNY'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Kenny rubs his eyes, listens to his phone and the WOMAN'S
VOICE at the other end. It's his wife.
HELEN (O.S.)
When are you going to be home?
KENNY
I don't know, Helen. I want you to keep
the kids close tomorrow. Leave the T.V.
on, sleep with it on in the bedroom
until I tell you you can turn it off.
HELEN (O.S.)
What's happened?
KENNY
Nothing. Nothing you don't know about.
Tomorrow's the big day. Just have the
car ready to go if I call or if the
Civil Defense Warning comes on.
HELEN (O.S.)
What happens to you? I'm not leaving
without you.
KENNY
I'll be evacuated with the President.
A long silence on the other end of the line.
HELEN (O.S.)
Great. So while you're under a rock
somewhere with the President, what am I
supposed to do with your five children?
And to that, there is no answer. A beat, and it's all Kenny
can promise:
KENNY
I'll find you. But we're not going to
let it come to that. I promise.
INT. WHITE HOUSE CAFETERIA - NIGHT
Kenny hands Bobby and Bundy cups of coffee. The three men
nurse them in the silence of the abandoned cafeteria.
KENNY
Helen just asked me what sort of
arrangements we have for the families.
BUNDY
I just checked myself.
(beat)
They're being issued identity cards.
Call comes, and evacuation officers meet
them at pre-arranged departure areas.
They go by helicopter to Mount Weather.
We meet them there.
Bobby looks at his coffee, then up at Kenny. He gently
shakes his head. It's all a sham.
BOBBY
Course that's for morale. The missiles
only take five minutes to get here.
INT. KENNY'S OFFICE - NIGHT
SUPER: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24TH. DAY 9.
Kenny bolts upright from his couch. He rubs his face, sits
on the edge in the dark for a beat. He's not going back to
sleep. He grabs his trousers.
INT. WEST WING HALLS - CONTINUOUS
Kenny makes his way through the dim, deserted halls.
Somewhere in the distance a phone rings. He reaches a door.
EXT. WHITE HOUSE - NIGHT
Kenny, bundled in an overcoat, steps outside the North
Entrance. The cool air invigorates him. He eyes the fence,
Pennsylvania Avenue beyond it, seeming to isolate this world
from the living city beyond. He starts for the main gate.
EXT. MAIN GATE - CONTINUOUS