"It's been over for a long time." " So you didn't call her." " No!" "Then how did she end up in your suite?" "!" "What the fuck happened?" "You had to be straight with her, correct?" "That is immaterial." "Answer the question." "You thought I did it?" "Senator, I have been down here culling the herd on your behalf." " Well, that is your job, my friend." " I know." "And it should demonstrate how dangerous this situation can become." "Excuse me." "Waverly." "Christ." "For a second there," "I thought I had something to worry about." "You know, I usually get a call from the Justice Department when they're sending an agent to my detail." "I also usually get a call from that agent when he or she's on his way." "It's called professional courtesy." "Yeah, it is, when deserved." "And why wouldn't it be deserved this time?" "How long you been with the Service?" "How long you been with the Bureau?" "Look, at some point, one of us needs to answer a question instead of ask one." "I mean, I like a reach-around as much as the next guy, but I'm on the fucking clock." "You Justice guys are such infants." "You Treasury guys are pussies." "What are you doing down here?" "There's credible evidence that Senator Faulkner committed a crime." "I mean, besides being a Democrat." "And what's the evidence?" "Hearsay." "But enough to have me sent down from D.C." " Nothing happened here." " Really?" "Angela Mancarlo?" "Is that your porn name?" "That's a good one." "No, she's a thousand-dollar-an-hour piece of ass." "Faulkner fucked her a bunch a few years back, she was here getting piped by that asshole on Tuesday." "He knocked her around, then you guys prevented EMTs from treating her." "Wow." "So are you down here on a criminal investigation, or is this just a political witch hunt?" "Oh, I hate the fuck, if that's what you're asking." "I mean, if he were on fire, I wouldn't waste my piss." "Careful." "Verbal threats against a protectee is a federal offense." "So is lying to me." "You're in the weeds." "Hey." "Tell me, how do you stand the fuck?" "Him and his phony man-of- the-liberal-people bullshit?" "The mission of the Secret Service is to ensure the safety of the President, the Vice President, their families, the White House, the Vice President's residence, national and visiting world leaders, former presidents," "and events of national significance." "Wow, you drank all the Kool-Aid, didn't ya?" "He's a national leader." "It's my job." "He's gonna fuck this country up." "It takes three." "What do you mean?" "Where did you go to school?" "Mississippi State." "Did you ever take a civics course while you were there?" "Executive, legislative, judiciary... three branches of government." "Checks and balances." "That's not even the biggest check and balance." "Which is?" "Are you... voting." "One man cannot ruin this country." "Read a book." "It's not a monarchy." "He's gonna close bases." "There goes homeland security." "He's gonna close Guantanamo, set those jihadi motherfuckers free." "You know he's pro-abortion, which means he's pro-murder." "And the ayatollah's got his dick so far up his ass, you can see the tip in the back of his throat." "Are you married?" "Divorced." "Lucky girl." "Fuck you!" "Don't you ever do that again." "You are a pussy." "Every asshole deserves a mulligan." "That was yours." "We done here?" "No." "Stay away from the candidate and his family." "Yeah." "You see that?" "That's a backstage pass, motherfucker." "You can't stop me." "I've got the right of way here, and you know that." "No formal charges, no indictment means no right to be here and question or harass." "Oh, you're protecting him." "And I don't mean just from bullets." "Something did happen here!" "Rick?" "Um, can we talk for a minute, please?" "Sure." "Excuse us, guys." "Thank you." "I found this in my room." "You found that in your room?" "I went downstairs to get some Maalox and aspirin from the gift shop, and when I came back upstairs, someone had slipped that under the door." "_" "Did you touch this when you read it?" "Well, just two fingers from the top." "I... too much "CSI."" " What do we do?" " Well..." "This is attempted extortion and blackmail of a United States senator." "I have to turn it over to the FBI." "But then we lose privacy." "I mean, there's no way that it won't be leaked." "Mrs. Faulkner, I can't hold onto this." "I'd be breaking the law." "What if you hadn't read it?" "Mrs. Faulkner, please." "Good morning, Damon." "Rough night?" "Slept like a baby... woke up hungry and crying every two hours." "We have a problem, Damon." "I guess we couldn't start the day without one." "What is it?" "I was delivered a letter that's threatening to expose what happened between my husband and Miss Mancarlo." "They're aggressive, and they're asking for money." "How much?" "A million five." "It's right here." "_" "This is great." "Excuse me?" "What are you talking about?" "This is great!" "Look, if this gets out, this letter proves that the senator is the victim of a scurrilous plot to defame him." "It moves him further away from blame and responsibility because he was obviously set up." "What about the poll numbers?" "His constituency would have to catch him with a bag of baby heads to turn on him." "They already think the Darth Vaders of the GOP are after him." "This is a beautiful thing." "You could find the upside to a car bomb." "How do you do it?" "It's a gift." "I'll see you in Knoxville." "She, uh..." "She hasn't seen the pictures of Mancarlo riding the senator, has she?" "No." "Good." "Let's..." "let's keep it that way." "God damn it." "We got a few days till the primaries." "We gotta destroy this issue, okay?" "It's a cancer on this campaign." "You're misquoting John Dean." "You have to involve Waverly, right?" "No way around it at this point." "Mr. Houserman, he is after the senator." "It's personal and it's relentless." "Shit." "Fuck am I supposed to do with this?" "Investigate the source." "What, accept the terms, set up a drop, and arrest someone?" "That would be a good start, yeah." "This is bullshit." "Number one, the chain of evidence is all fucked up by the fact that you, Mrs. Faulkner, and probably the entire cheerleading squad from the University of Miami touched it." " Second, I don't buy it." " Why not?" "Because it's exactly what I would do to get an asshole like me off my scent." "I mean, get bogged down in some daisy-chain investigation." "What are you saying?" "I think you wrote it." "You what?" "Someone in your campaign." "Look, you said nothing happened here." "Why do you feel so threatened by this letter?" "I do not feel threatened by this letter, but it is a crime to attempt to extort or blackmail a U.S. senator." "How many of these have you gotten since you started protecting him?" "How many?" " A dozen." " 12?" "And this is the first the Bureau's hearing about it?" "Hotheads, crackpots, stalkers... we chased down every one." "A dozen leads, a dozen dead ends." "So have the Service investigate." "Why give this one to me?" "I am being transparent with you." "Oh, man." "I can see right through you just fine." "What mental calamity occurred to turn you into such a sullen son of a bitch?" "There's not enough time." "Fine." "We'll do the investigation." "I'll brief you as we go." "I'm gonna get this motherfucker." "You should know that." "And I will be in your way." "You should know that." "You're herding cats, my friend." "When I prove perjury, you're gonna be a fry-cook in Guatemala using your badge as an ashtray." "What are you talking about?" "I got a bead on the girl." "Yeah." "Poker face all you want, hoss." "But I'm gonna pin the tail on this asshole." "And because the Secret Service is cluster-fucking itself into irrelevance, everyone will believe me." "What did he ever fucking do to you?" "He killed my family." "What?" "All right, you want a shitty story?" "I'm from Wisconsin, too." "I was married for 10 years." "For 10 years, tried to have a baby." "Tried everything..." "IVF, IUI... diets, religion... everything." "Then one day, she comes to me and tells me she's pregnant." "We laughed over baby names, converted my office into a nursery." "And I swore, boy or girl," "I'm gonna teach my kid how to hit a fastball, right?" "Next morning, she goes off to work, and a drunk fucking illegal blows a light, crashes her." "My life was over." "Started drinking... doing all those things men do when they... you know." "Anyway..." "When Faulkner was governor, he vetoed a bill that would have limited the number of Central American refugees into the state." "Guy that killed my wife was there six days." "He was there because of Faulkner's veto." "Therefore, Faulkner killed my family, so fuck him." "Good story, right?" "When I am elected..." "And I say that not with arrogance or with hubris, but with faith in people and in God..." "I am introducing legislation to initiate what I call a soft fee on multinational corporations affiliated with the Church but who hide behind the Church as charities." "Enough is enough." "If you profit off the Church but pay no tax, circle your wagons, 'cause that is gonna change." "But it's not a new tax." "Don't forget that." "And, no, it's a reverse tithe." "Okay, folks." "Thank you, Senator." "That's it, guys." "Thank you so much for coming by." "And lingering queries can be directed to our press relations suite on the third floor." "All righty, guys." "Hey, and if you guys are hungry, we got food on the second floor." "You think you'd ever be able to pass that legislation?" "I don't know, but it sounds good." "That's horribly cynical." "Besides blatant political pandering." "Maddie, the Congress is gonna remain firmly in Republican control." "That is a given." "All I'll be able to do is throw ideas at the wall and hope one sticks." "Well... that went well, I think." "Yeah." "Seducing the God vote..." "what could be better?" "Sometimes she gets it." "And then there's now." "Yeah." "How's the weather looking?" "Yeah, bad." "The FBI agent told D'Andres that he located Angela Mancarlo." "Oh, my God." "Mine too." "Senator... do you have any way of getting in contact with her?" "I do not." "I told you, that's been a dead issue for over a year now." "What the fuck is wrong with you?" "I'm getting ready to bail water, that's all." "In fact, you asking me that question implies that you hold some doubt as to my innocence." "Somebody opened my door and put her in my bed." "Somebody wants me dead." "What, dead?" "You know what I mean." "They want this candidacy dead." " I won't let that happen." " Good, good." "Hey, Senator Dellahunt's people called." "They want a sit-down." "If they're involved, maybe we can make a deal." "Fuck." "Him." "Got it." "I have to write." "If you'll excuse me." "You ever push an elevator button?" "You see it light up, but you push it again and again?" "Or, you know, when you hit a crosswalk more than once, but you only have to hit it that one time." "Yeah, all the time." "Why?" "Why do we do that?" "I don't know." "Maybe it's comfort, a false sense that it will come faster or you'll cross the street sooner." "Yeah, but it doesn't work that way." "I..." "I'm not your fucking punching bag, Damon, okay?" "Well, I don't understand." "You and my husband, you make jokes, you laugh." "You guys aren't taking this seriously." "Madeline, we are taking this seriously... deadly seriously." "Yeah, that's the way it sounds." "This crisis, it's real." "And it is not going away any time soon." "We've been blackmailed, and it's probably by someone on the inside." "Okay." "It's not out of the realm, is it?" "What?" "The more success my husband has, the less relevant you become." "Maybe you created this whole disaster just so that you would become indispensable." "Okay." "That's ridiculous." "And... and... and more than that, it's fucking insulting." "You're stressed." "We all are." "Okay, I'm sorry." "Your pity is bullshit and unwelcomed." "You need me to play nice." "Don't forget that." "So what are you saying?" "What am I saying?" "I am saying... keep your guard up." "And don't fucking push me again." "I..." "Agent Waverly, you got a minute?" "No." "Can you tell me who was working the night the EMTs tried to gain access to the senator's floor?" "I can tell you that." "Let's talk." "All right, you remember anything else, there's my cellphone." "Carli Laughton was on duty." "She works Fridays to Sundays, 9 P.M. to 6 A.M." " Happy?" " Almost never." "I've instructed my agents to answer any questions you may have." "Oh, you're playing nice now?" "You're so pull of shit, Agent D'Andres." "You're a distraction here." "Yeah, well, I don't quit." "And I'm getting subpoenas for the wife," "Houserman, and the daughter." "Subpoenas, there's no grand jury?" "Know that for sure, do ya?" "'Cause the U.S. Attorney's gonna call you up, too, so you better dress pretty." "You really are out of your mind." "No, it's called extreme prejudice." "You should try it some time." "Let's get out of earshot." "Boy, I can't wait to see the mighty Secret Service take this ass-punch." "I've fucking had it with you." "Something I said?" "You are on a death march." "You want to destroy Faulkner with no evidence, no cause, and collaterally cause further damage to the Secret Service." "Oh, I think you guys are doing a pretty Goddamn good job of that yourselves." "Aren't we part of the same country, under the same flag with the same objectives?" "Protecting an asshole and the reputation of your bureau?" "Brother, you got a full plate." "Because I'm not out for myself." "Rah fucking rah." "Hey, does it get through your thick fucking skull that what is at stake here is not only the integrity of our individual bureaus but that of the society in which we live, that lies and conspiracies cannot rule the day?" "That we have to resist pettiness and revenge to keep this whole experiment going?" "What experiment?" "!" "The experiment of this republic, of this democracy." "For fuck's sake, the imperfections of men were set aside a long time ago to form a more perfect union, and that is the legacy we have to honor." "I pledge allegiance to the flag, not your fucking bullshit." "Pie-eye ideologues like you have been flushing the toilet on this country's future on a daily basis." "I'm not gonna be a party to it." "I'm not gonna take a knee just because your point of view is more popular." "You're going down, cocksucker." "You motherfucker!" "If I ever fucking see you again, you won't see me or the bullet I will put in your brain, you waste of fucking skin." "Use the back door, and stay the fuck away from the Secret Service." "Fuck you." "Hour 20 to Knoxville, then we caravan west to Nashville." "The town hall is in the Grand Ole Opry." "Try not to do what you did the last time" " we were in Tennessee." " What was that?" "You effected a southern accent." "Well, it's impossible not to, it's so easy and musical." "You came off as patronizing." "Very good, sir." "Come!" "Senator." "Holy shit, Rick!" "Jesus Christ." "What happened?" "Whoa!" "Are you okay?" "Yeah, yeah, you should see the other guy." " Sit down, sit down." " The other guy?" " Waverly, the FBI guy?" " Yes." " That who you're talking about?" " Yes." "Hey, Rick, will you get into trouble for this?" "Will I... will I get into trouble?" "Senator, no!" "Don't worry about it, listen." "There's bigger and worse news." "Oh, I can't wait." "Somebody fed him Angela Mancarlo." "What?" "!" "He said he knows how to get to her and he's going after her." "Fuck." "Jesus Christ." " Fuck!" " Senator." "No, I do not know how to get ahold of her." "Like I told Damon, that relationship is long dead and gone." "It almost cost me my marriage." "Shit." "Senator, I believe that you were set up." "I believe that." "And I believe that this crime was committed by another hand." "But the longer this goes unresolved, the deeper I get drawn into a cycle of lies that starts to look like a cover-up." "And it will cost me my badge and my pension." "There's no fucking cover-up, Rick, okay?" "!" "And the only Goddamn reason you're in it is because you fucked up and let that slut into the senator's suite." " Hey, easy... calm down." " No, listen!" "If he is telling the truth... and he has gotten to her..." "Senator... stay away from her if she reaches out to you." "He'll probably get her to wear a wire." "Could I have the room, guys?" "Please?" "Yes, sir." "I'll meet you in the garage, for pick-up." "Sure." "Angela?" "It's me."