"("Company" by Stephen Sondheim playing)" " ♪ Bobby, Bobby ♪ - ♪ Bobby, Bobby ♪" "♪ Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba, la-la-la-la ♪" " ♪ Bobby ♪ - ♪ Bobby ♪" " ♪ Bobby ♪ - ♪ La-la-la... ♪" "(alarm beeping loudly)" "♪ ♪" " ♪ Bobby ♪ - ♪ Bobby ♪" " ♪ Bobby, baby ♪ - ♪ Bobby, bubi ♪" " ♪ Robby ♪ - ♪ Robert, darling ♪" " ♪ Bobby, we've been trying to call you ♪ - ♪ Bobby, baby ♪" " ♪ Angel, I've got something to tell you ♪ - ♪ Rob-o ♪" " ♪ Bobby, love ♪ - ♪ Bobby, honey ♪" " ♪ Bobby, we've been trying ♪ - ♪ Darling ♪" " ♪ To reach you all day ♪ - ♪ Bobby baby ♪" " ♪ The kids were asking ♪ - ♪ Bob-o ♪" "♪ There was something we wanted to say ♪" " ♪ Your line was busy ♪ - ♪ Bobby bubi ♪" " ♪ Bobby, Bobby ♪ - ♪ Fella ♪" "♪ How have you been?" "♪" "♪ Stop by on your way home ♪" "♪ Seems like weeks since we talked to you ♪" "♪ Drop by anytime ♪" "♪ Bobby, there's a concert on Tuesday ♪" "♪ Hank and Mary get into town tomorrow ♪" "♪ How about some Scrabble on Sunday?" "♪" "♪ Why don't we all go to the beach next weekend?" "♪" "♪ Bob, we're having people, it's Saturday night ♪" " ♪ Whatcha doing Thursday?" "♪ - ♪ Bobby, baby ♪" "♪ Time we get together, is Wednesday all right?" "♪ ♪ Rob-o ♪" " ♪ 8:00 on Monday ♪ - ♪ Bobby, baby ♪" "♪ Bobby, come on over for dinner ♪" "♪ We'll be so glad to see you ♪" "♪ Bobby, come on over for dinner ♪" "♪ Just be the three of us ♪" "♪ Only the three of us... ♪" "This is why I'm in therapy, Mom." "I'm literally the assistant to the secretary of state and you keep asking when I'm gonna get a promotion." "I... yes, I know." "Yeah, Mom." "Mom, the work I do is very important." "I put in the usual and a special brioche for the secretary to try." "Thanks, Keith." "It sounds like I'm in a bakery because I am in a... bakery." "Mom, I got to go." "Love you." "Bye." "(sighs) Moms." "Did you get my e-mail?" "Sure." "About Colin Mitchell?" "It's in the to-be-read folder." "Colin Mitchell, journalist?" "Unjustly imprisoned on bogus espionage charges in Sudan for six years?" "His parents live in my boss's district?" "Jordan, saying everything in the form of a question won't make me know what you're talking about." "Fine, whatever." "Obviously, Congressman Baskin has been into it with the Sudanese regime over the years and, spoiler alert, they're not awesome, but an intermediary reached out to us to say they might be willing to make a deal to free him." "And you want State to find out if they're for real?" "Hence my e-mail." "I'll look into it and get back to you." "ASAP." "Congressman's way invested in this one." "I'll do my best." "Thank you." "At 6:50 p.m., the secretary has a pre-call brief with Undersecretary Albertell about relations with Japan." "Then at 7:00, she has the call with Minister Shimabukura." "After that, she leaves for a personal dinner with her husband and friends." "His friends." "Professor Lagman and his wife." "M. Sec hates the wife." "So, we'll set the call with the Mexican ambassador for 8:35." "That should get her out of most of the main course." "Gracias." "When she gets home, she'll review the briefing books for tomorrow." "And that's her day." "Anything else?" "Uh, actually... yes." "I ran into Congressman Baskin's aide this morning." "He said that Sudan reached out to the congressman about making a deal for a journalist named Colin Mitchell." "We've been after them for years about Colin Mitchell." "Seems odd they would change their tune all of a sudden." "Baskin's office wanted to know if we could find out if they're serious." "Well, it's Sudan, so they're probably not." "I skimmed through some of his stories." " He's impressive." " Yeah." "He's a hell of a reporter." "Gutsy." "Arguably, too much so." "Okay." "Let's run this through the traps." "Get into it with the special envoy's office, but, Blake," "Peter Harriman can be..." "Hostile?" "Territorial." "Ah." "Tread lightly." "(chuckles)" "Is this coming from the secretary?" "Congressman Baskin asked that..." "WOMAN:" "Yeah." "We don't work for him." "Baskin's just spinning up 'cause he's getting pushback from his district." "I'll ask again." "Is this coming from the secretary?" "Not exactly." "Then come back when it is." "Special Envoy Harriman, the Sudanese government has been holding Colin Mitchell" " for six years..." " WOMAN:" "For six years, seven months," " and five days." " PETER:" "We're well aware of Mr. Mitchell's plight, but, hey, welcome aboard." "In the meantime, we're trying to hold the regime in Khartoum accountable for conflicts in Abyei," "South Kordofan and Blue Nile State." "All of which have caused massive population displacements." "And don't even get me started about Darfur." "Seriously, don't." "It's bad." "PETER:" "Then, of course, there's South Sudan." "Jessica?" "All we're trying to do there is end a civil war and a famine." "Easy-peasy." "The point is, Mr. Mitchell is, regrettably, one small piece of a very large, very complicated web." "I understand that, but do you know if there's any truth to the rumor that Sudan is looking to make a deal for him?" "PETER:" "You don't have the clearance to know what I know." "But thanks for stopping by." "What about him?" "Do I have the clearance to know what you know, Pete?" "You seventh-floor types." "Every few years, Bono reminds you the Sudan exists and you're in my ear." "Did the Sudanese government reach out to you about Colin Mitchell?" "Fine." " Yes." " BLAKE:" "See?" "Wasn't so hard." "And what did they say?" "They said he's sick." "Advanced tuberculosis." "And you didn't see fit to kick this upstairs?" "First of all, the Sudanese government says a lot of things." " Did they provide any evidence?" " PETER:" "No." "And frankly, they're just trying to scare us into engaging." "Sudan wants out from under a host of sanctions." "They're betting that we want Colin Mitchell back so badly that we'll take them off the list of nations that use child soldiers." "They've actually made some progress on that, thanks to said sanctions, but they're not there yet." "In our judgment, their claims about Mr. Mitchell weren't credible." "Let's take this to the secretary." "This is a regime that's committed genocide." "That's on a list of state sponsors of terror." " Whose president..." " Is a war criminal." "I know about Sudan." "Not like I do." "So, trust me when I tell you it's not worth stepping on my toes over this one." "See you upstairs." "Okay, bye." "Hey, hey." "Thanks, man." "Oh, no, thank you." "Harriman's a beast and now he hates me." "Well, you didn't have to get into it with him." "Of course I did." "A guy steps to you like that, you can't back down." "Haven't you ever seen Lock Up?" "Uh, no." "Blake, I need the secretary's signature on this." "Come see me between 9:35 and 9:40; we'll get it done." "Okay?" " But, but..." " Blake, my boss needs five minutes with the secretary." "Too late." "Just gave them away." "Try again tomorrow." "Megan, Megan, don't walk away from me." "M. Sec wants that report from the working group today." "It's like herding cats." "Then hire a cat-herd." "Get it done." "(elevator bell dings)" "Good morning, Blake." "Morning, ma'am." "Oh." "♪ ♪" "WARE:" "The purpose of this meeting is to get all the relevant agencies up to speed on the latest developments in regards to the Virginia Field Force." "FBI Director Doherty and some of his staff are here to brief us on their investigation." "Thank you, Director Ware." "I'm gonna turn this over to Dr. Henry McCord." "He's a religious scholar" " who's been assisting us on this case." " Good morning." "Our working theory is that the remaining leaders of the Virginia Field Force have made contact with an Al-Qaeda cell someplace in Syria." "Both groups share millenarian philosophies and VFF has had contact with another jihadist group in the past." "What would be their shared objective?" "A biological attack on Jerusalem." "In order to do what?" "To start an apocalyptic war in the Middle East." "Both groups see it as their purpose on Earth to do just that." "WARE:" "The NSA obtained signals intelligence that confirmed communication between the two groups." "Last known whereabouts of the three remaining VFF agents, including a scientist with experience in engineering bio-agents, was on a freighter bound for Greece." "And from there it's just a short trip to the Syrian coast." "We've put out alerts to all of our intelligence agencies and those of our partners in the region, but Syria is a bit of a black box." "WARE:" "And we know they have designs on Jerusalem." "So, please, instruct your agencies to put all available resources into this." "We'll be briefing the president this afternoon." "We could be looking at the big one, folks." "Thank you." "I did underscore the seriousness of the situation, right?" "He's concerned we're not all sufficiently terrified." "Nope." "Message received." "I am deeply, deeply scared." "You want to know a real nightmare?" "Our dinner tonight." "Oh, come on, the Lagmans aren't that bad." " Not only is he that bad..." " What but the wife..." "You're just being overly dramatic now." "Just underscoring the seriousness of the situation." " (laughing):" "Oh." " That, well..." " Excuse me." "That was a one time she did that thing." "Bet you don't miss that part of being married, huh?" "Sorry, what?" "Yeah, that was insensitive." "Listen, my first marriage was a nightmare." "The second one, it's going on 22 years." "How'd a jerk like me get so lucky?" "I'm really asking." "Love is... you know, mysterious." "(laughs)" "I don't know what the hell we're talking about." "Sorry." "Ever since the heart attack," "I'm spilling out all over the place." "I got to go." "So, what do we think?" "Are the Sudanese for real about releasing Colin Mitchell?" "They could be." "They could not be, ma'am." "And given the conditions that he's being held in, it's highly probable that Mitchell is very sick." "Your concern is that they're playing us to undermine our negotiations on other key issues." "That's correct, ma'am." "NADINE:" "On the other hand, if we don't engage..." "We've potentially let a respected journalist, not to mention an American citizen, die in a foreign prison for a crime he didn't commit." "Which is a bad look for us." "Uh, ma'am, if I may?" "The Sudanese appear to be very serious, based on some of the conversations" "Daisy's been having." "Sorry, ma'am." "Uh, many media outlets have reached out looking for a statement about Mitchell's health." "My guess is Sudan is leaking to them." "They're trying to squeeze us." "PETER:" "Exactly." "Create public sympathy, make us look cruel for not engaging." "JAY:" "Yeah, but the point is why would Sudan put it out there if they're not looking to deal?" "Why shouldn't we engage?" "Respectfully... because of this boy." "He was dragooned into a pro-government militia." "And when he tried to desert, this is what they did to him." "Since this photo was taken, three years ago, the regime's policy of recruiting child soldiers has been drastically reduced, because of the sanctions that we drove the UN to impose." "But what we're saying is, no relief until they've been free of child soldiers for five years." "They still have two years to go." "So before we abandon a negotiation strategy that is yielding results, think about this boy, and the thousands like him." "Think about what they could be made to do again if we pump the brakes too early." "That's all I ask." "I hear you, Pete." "But engagement doesn't have to mean agreement." "Let's talk to them informally, maintain the primacy of your negotiation, see what they're playing at." "JAY:" "There's an open event at the Sudanese embassy today." "I can make it known that I'll be there, and see how things shake out." "ELIZABETH:" "Okay, then." "What?" "Okay, my ex-mother-in-law is here with Chloe." "The word "emergency" is being bandied about." "Go, go." "There you are." "Hi." "Hey, hi, honey," "Daddy's so happy to see you at work." "Pam, what's up?" "What's going on?" "Well, I tried to call, but..." "I was in a meeting, is everything okay?" "Well, you know about my hip." "Your what?" "My hip." "The bursitis?" "I've been limping since Christmas." " Sure." "Okay, so..." " Well, the specialist said he could see me in six weeks, thank you very much, but then, this morning, just as I was hobbling out of Chloe's music class, his office calls, and asks if today at noon is convenient." "I said, well, for your information, it's not, but I..." "And Abby is where, again?" "She took the train down to Delaware for a meeting." "Don't you check your calendar?" " I-I was very busy this morning, Pam." " Okay." "Delaware's, uh, but..." "Can't Chloe just go to the doctor with you?" "Well, you might be comfortable exposing her to an antibiotic resistant Staph infection, but I'm certainly not." "You know what, I'll take her." "How long do you need, two hours?" "Oh, let's make it three." "That so-called music class, man alive, I need a breather." "I was actually on a way to a meeting myself." "Why don't we all just ride down together?" "Oh, sounds good." "(Sudanese lute playing)" "Look." "Wow." "Mr. Whitman." "What an honor to receive such a renowned visitor." "(laughs)" "Tayeb Elkashief." "Thanks for holding the event." "My daughter Chloe loves music." "Indeed." "There is so much more that unites us than divides, no?" "Let's hope so." "Here you go, honey." "Just fry your brain while Daddy talks to this nice man." "To the matter at hand." "Again, I return to what unites us." "We are as sincere in our desire to release Mr. Colin Mitchell as you are in your desire to bring him home." "That's good to hear." "There's a rumor going around that he's sick." "Regrettably, that is no rumor." "Do you have proof?" "This is from a week ago." "One can only imagine that his condition has deteriorated since then." "I wanted you to see it first." "What do you mean, "first"?" "Before the media does." "What are you trying to do here?" "Free my country from punishing sanctions we do not deserve." "That's not going to happen." "Then other things will." "If he dies, it'll go badly for you." "But not only for us." "Thank you for your hospitality." "Here, honey." "It's time to go." "Daddy needs his phone back." "♪ I've been working on the railroad... ♪" "Just, uh..." "Daisy!" "Wait, wait, wait." "Hey, Jay." "What's up?" "Hi, Chloe." " Did you get any of my calls?" " Uh..." "Doesn't matter." "The Sudanese have confirmation of Mitchell's poor health." "They're leaking it to the press." "Wow." "Well, I'm glad you're telling me this before the briefing." "It's gonna be a thing no matter how you play it, just didn't want you to get caught out." "Yeah, definitely." "Thanks." "Look who you've brought to work." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "Okay." "I didn't understand that, but I understood that." "And she is not on our team." "This is America." "There's a healthy tension between the state and the, you know, organs of the press." ""Organs"?" "Ew." "Anyway, I got to..." "You okay?" "Yeah, totally." "Oh, God." "(coughing, retching)" "Hey, is what I think is going on with you going on with you?" "(exhales)" "I don't want to talk about it." "Really." "Well, if it is, congratulations." "They devour your life." "I mean, they're the best." "Oh, I better go." "JAY:" "So, how long are you gonna be in Buenos Aires?" "Six weeks." "That's why I texted you back so fast." "You know, my grandmother still lives there." "In Palermo." "You should pop over and say hi." "(laughs)" "Mm." "If I did, you'd never hear the end of it." "I promise, she'd like me way more than your ex." "Oh, absolutely." "She warned me against marrying an American." "Turns out, I should've listened." "And there's the, uh, awkward pause." "Sorry, I'm a little out of practice with all this." "You're doing fine." "My friends have been after me to get back out there or whatever, but I don't even know what I want." "Okay, no, sure, no, no." "We all, we all want that, but... (laughs)" "It's complicated, you know?" "No está complicado." "(phone chimes)" " Is that you or me?" " I think it's me." "Just ignore it, ignore it." "Please, like you would." "It'll just take a second." "(panting)" "Colin Mitchell's family is going to give a press conference tomorrow." "To protest the State Department's handling of the case, and to plead for their son's life." "Just like Sudan wants them to." "Care to comment?" "Really?" "Maybe later." "(Jay groans)" "Okay." "I just need to send a quick e-mail." "Quick." "(sighs)" "Maybe you were right." "This is a little complicated." "No, you were right." "It's really not." "(whispering):" "Quédate ahí." "♪ Help me, I think I'm falling ♪" "♪ In love again ♪" "♪ When I get that ♪" "♪ Crazy feeling, I know I'm in trouble again ♪" "♪ I'm in trouble 'cause you're a rambler and a gambler ♪" "♪ And a sweet-talking ladies' man... ♪" "(groans)" "This is why you don't go outside the chain of negotiation." "(quietly):" "Oy vey." "You let the secretary's errand boys wander into something they weren't qualified to deal with." "Good thing I did." "Since you didn't see fit to mention that Colin Mitchell is dying." "And so now we've played right into Sudan's hands." "If Colin Mitchell's family goes out there and says that they just want to get their son back before he dies, but the callous U.S. State Department won't help them, what then?" "That's exactly why" "I reached out to the family and invited them in for a talk this morning." "What?" "Without even consulting me?" "Yes." "Because I can do that, Pete." "(elevator dings)" "Look, I understand the chain of command." "That's not the point." "They need to feel heard." "That's the point." "Look, not to be callous, but this threat of a press conference is a demand to speak with your supervisor." "I think I have a better chance of walking them back from that at this point." "Agreed." "Good." "And of course, I agree with you that it's important that we maintain leverage on the broader issues with Sudan." "Good." "Thank you." " Okay." " (elevator bell dings)" "Great." "This guy again." "Uh, hi." "Nadine, can I talk to you for a second?" "Do you know how hard it was for me to calm him down, and today's the one day you decide to meet me at the elevator?" "Sorry, I just needed a quick word." "It's fine." "What's up?" "So I had an, uh, unauthorized meeting with a member of the foreign press last night." "So, per HR, I thought I should, you know, disclose contact." "Okay." "Um, how long did this meeting last?" "From 8:00 p.m. last night until... uh, two hours ago." "I see." "And, uh, said member was...?" "Uh, Sofia Martinez." "Well, thank you for alerting me." "I will make a note." "Thanks, Nadine." "Jay?" "Yeah?" "Good for you." "(laughs softly)" "MIKE:" "My son has a weight problem." "(sighs)" "What?" "My son, he's getting fat." "My ex says it's hormones, but I think she just lets him eat whatever he wants." "Mike, what are you doing here?" "M. Sec wants a word, off the books." "One of your interns let me in, which should alarm you." "I have a very busy day." "It was lovely seeing you." "Oh, so you, you want me to go?" "Please." "Okay, sure." "Absolutely." "The thing is," "I feel like you don't call me back." "That's because I don't call you back." "Yeah, well... why not?" "(sighs) Mike, um, what we... shared on election night was..." "Crazy." "Surprising." "But, frankly, you're not my type." "I get it." "The hatchet man mystique, it's sexy, but it's intimidating." "That's what I'm talking about." "Fine, I like you, Nadine." "I like you and I would like to" " go out with you." " You sound like a teenager." "Americans have an underdeveloped language for romance." "Yes or no?" "No." "(intercom beeps)" "Yes, Maggie?" "The family of Colin Mitchell is here for you." "Thank you, I'll be right there." "I have to go." "(grunts)" "Look," "I'll drop the act." " (scoffs)" " No more "Mike B" show." "Just Mike." "Have dinner with me." "Have dinner and a salad bar with me and my fat son." "I'll think about it." "(softly):" "You look amazing, by the way." "(sighs)" "Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell... uh, Claire," "I can't imagine the pain that you've been going through." "No, Ms. Tolliver, you can't." "We've been patient." "We've done everything you people have asked of us." "And now, we hear that our son... is dying." " Alone." " And I will be damned if I don't do everything I can to prevent that." "So, we are going public." "I understand." "And if it were my son," "I would do the same thing." "CLAIRE:" "This is our daughter." "Ashley." "She's ten now." "NADINE:" "She's beautiful." "She's forgetting her father." "(voice breaking):" "Every day, she remembers him less and less." "And honestly, Ms. Tolliver," "I don't know if that's good or bad anymore." "Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell," "Claire." "It's an honor to meet you." "And I wish it were under better circumstances." "I'm Elizabeth." "This is our lawyer, Bill Freundlich." "BILL:" "I, uh... (clears throat) mostly do real estate law." "Welcome." "Please, let's all sit." "And tell me how you are and what I can do." "CLAIRE:" "Uh, for starters, it's nice to hear you ask that, after all these years." "Mm, look, Peter Harriman..." "BILL:" "He's the special envoy" " for Sudan." " They know that, Bill." "DON:" "Peter's been very professional all these years." "No doubt about that." "To be quite honest, the Chinese government has been more sympathetic than our own." "The-the Chinese have reached out to you?" "DON:" "Yes." "We have spoken with them a few times." "Uh, w-what, uh, what did they say?" "CLAIRE:" "Mostly, they just asked how we were doing, and what we'd heard from Colin." "And then, they said that they have a lot of pull in Sudan, and that they'd try their best to help him." "Now, I understand you all are holding a press conference later on today." "BILL:" "You can't stop us." "I mean, legally speaking." "CLAIRE:" "They're aware, Bill." "God." "All I ask is for 24 hours." "If we can't make significant headway in securing Colin's release by this time tomorrow, then, yeah, go ahead and take your story public." "DON:" "Well, we are going to hold you to that, Madam Secretary." "(elevator bell dings)" "Thanks for coming when I sent out the Bat-Signal." "That was brutal." "Coffee?" "Thank you." "The China piece is weird, right?" "Well, they do buy significant amounts of Sudan's oil and other resources." "So, they are a player there." "But they normally don't say much about human rights abuses or advocate for freedom of the press." "Well, why would they?" "They don't have it themselves." "Exactly." "Why would they?" "Why reach out to the family of an American journalist locked up in Sudan?" "You're right, ma'am." "It is weird." "They do have more levers to pull over in Khartoum than we do." "You know what?" "Let's get into it with Harriman, see if there's a play where China can help us get Colin Mitchell released." "And we have 23 and a half hours to make something work." " Will do." " (sighs):" "Okay." "NADINE:" "Oh," "I didn't get a chance to ask you:" "how was the NSC meeting at the White House yesterday?" "The stuff of nightmares." "It's a strange thing, living your life like normal, when things are afoot that could end it at any moment." "Indeed." "But what else can we do?" "Nadine?" "A word?" "Um... why not?" "NADINE:" "Oh, so many confessions today." "Did you talk to Jay?" "Um, about disclosing contact?" "What?" "Did that idiot sleep with Sofia?" "Oh, maybe don't quote me on that." "What can I help you with?" "I'm gonna need a month off." "Oh, well, that's a long time." "Um... when?" "In about six months." "Oh." "I see." "Yeah." "Congratulations." "Or not." "Do you want to talk about it?" "Honestly, I still have a lot to figure out, almost none of it super fun." "But thanks." "Maybe we can talk later?" "Absolutely." "I'm here." "PETER:" "I guess I can see cards that China could play to get Mitchell freed, I just can't see why they'd play them." "NADINE:" "Particularly since he wrote some unflattering stories around the Beijing Olympics and was asked to leave the country." "JESSICA:" "Here's something." "Remember when" "Sudan was trying to develop the oil field in Abyei?" "PETER:" "Yeah." "The sanctions were keeping them from getting the drill bit technology they needed." "But, then a year later, they miraculously developed it themselves." "And the oil went to China, I presume?" "Correct." "We always thought that China had secretly given them the technology to get at the oil, but we could just never prove it definitively." "What if Colin Mitchell could?" "What do you mean?" "Look at the timeline." "A dogged investigative journalist parachutes in a few months after the oil field was discovered." "All the other journos were visiting refugee camps in Darfur." "Colin was in Abyei when he was arrested." "JESSICA:" "Locked up for espionage, his laptop destroyed, and basically held incommunicado ever since." "Are we saying that" "China might be behind his imprisonment?" "They could definitely lean on Khartoum to do that." "China wasn't checking in on Colin Mitchell's family out of the kindness of their hearts, they were digging to find out if they knew what he'd been up to." "Looks like the road to his release really does go through Beijing." "Just not in the way we thought." "ELIZABETH:" "Morning, Matt." "Sit down." "NADINE:" "Are you up to speed with the latest developments on the Colin Mitchell case?" "I heard we suspected China might be behind the arrest." "JACKSON:" "Yeah." ""Might be."" "ELIZABETH:" "The intelligence community had to do a rush job, but their best estimate is that Colin Mitchell was reporting on the Chinese efforts to circumvent sanctions, so China leaned on Sudan to have him arrested and silenced." "NADINE:" "The secretary spoke with both China and Sudan." "They deny it." "So, now that there's no upside to carrying China's water," "Sudan's trying to squeeze us for concessions they haven't earned." "MATT:" "And meanwhile, his family's press conference is just a few hours away." "So that's where you come in." "The only play we have left to save Colin Mitchell is to take control of the narrative." "In short, we need a speech." "ELIZABETH:" "So, with the Mitchell family at my side," "I need to shine a light on his treatment, and put pressure on both Beijing and Khartoum to release him immediately." "But if it doesn't work, then the administration looks feckless at home and abroad, and we own the death of a hero journalist." "So it has to work." "Can you do that?" "Today." "Absolutely." "♪ Work, work ♪" "♪ Work, work ♪" "♪ Work, work ♪" "♪ Work ♪" "♪ Diamonds all on my ring, player ♪" "♪ Gold watches, gold chain, player ♪" "♪ Hundred thou' on champagne, player ♪" "♪ Yeah, my money insane, player ♪" "♪ Yeah, I'm making it rain, player ♪" "♪ But I was just on the plane. ♪" "(sighs)" "Oh, I am so screwed." "(Matt yells)" "DAISY:" "What's wrong?" "Writer's block." "Did you try your song?" "Oh, I tried everything." "Well, you better get unblocked." "The secretary needs that speech in, like, three hours." "I know." "You don't think I know that?" "I mean, Colin Mitchell is a hero." "Traveling the world, speaking truth to power." "Meanwhile, w-what have I done with my life?" "A man is dying in a Sudanese prison and you're making this about you?" "MATT:" "Yes!" "That's my process." "I identify with my subject so I can write about my subject." "Well, go have your process someplace else, okay?" "I have problems of my own." "Hey." "Are you okay?" "I'm pregnant, is what I am." "Whoa." "(laughing):" "Wow." "D-Do, uh, who's the dad?" "I wish it were me." "Not because I wish we were still together, but because then I'd start every day with a worthy purpose." "You know?" ""I got to go out there," ""get things done." "Daisy and I have a baby."" "(chuckles) Unbelievable." "Now you're making this about you, too?" " Oh, come on." " You know what, go." " What?" " Come on, get out." "Daisy." "Da..." "Can I just say one thing?" "Whoever he is, he's a lucky guy." "But even more importantly, that baby is a lucky guy." "I feel like he's a guy, by the way." "'Cause he is going to have the best mom in the whole world." "Thanks, Matt." "Now go." "Get inspired, okay?" "People are counting on you." "Right." "Congressman, this is Matt Mahoney," "Secretary McCord's speechwriter." "Mr. Mahoney, pleasure." "Thank you for taking the time to see me on such short notice, sir." "Given the circumstances, it's the least I can do." "Please, take a seat." "So you want to write a speech about, uh, Colin Mitchell." "Yes, and any information you might have would be very helpful." "Well, for starters, Colin Mitchell's a pain in the ass." "Okay." "He started out writing stories for his hometown newspaper about how" "I wasn't doing this or that for my district." "And I thought, who in the hell" " does this kid think he is?" " I see." "Next thing I know, he's over in Iraq." "He wrote stories about how our troops are having to up-armor their own vehicles to protect against IEDs because the Pentagon wasn't doing it." "Young men and women coming back to my district missing arms, missing legs." "I started seeing Colin a little differently after that." "After Sudan happened, I got to know his parents, his wife." "They told me stories about Colin." "They, uh, changed my heart about the Fourth Estate." "Is that right?" "Colin Mitchell is a pain in the ass, but he's the kind of pain in the ass that makes this country great." "His wife Claire told me something that Colin liked to say." "I've come to believe it myself." "The stories we want to hear the least are the ones we need to hear the most." ""Sometimes the stories we want to hear the least" "MATT/ELIZABETH: "are the ones we need to hear the most."" ""That is the credo investigative journalist" ""Colin Mitchell has chosen to live by." ""From his earliest as a cub reporter" ""in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina," ""to the battlefields of Iraq, to the streets of Beijing and Khartoum..."" "This is good, Matt." "I mean, this is really good." "Thank you, ma'am." "Colin Mitchell has spoken truth to power at home and abroad." "And in so doing, improved the lives of his fellow citizens and fellow man." "To the governments of China and Sudan," "I say release him now." "To those of you listening today, do what Colin would do... hold those responsible for his imprisonment to account." "For trying to tell a story some didn't want told," "Colin Mitchell has paid with his freedom." "We cannot allow him to pay with his life." "Thank you." "(applause)" "Good speech, Matt." "Thank you." "Let's hope it works." "(sighs heavily)" "And numerous outlets are asking for a one-on-one with you," " uh, about your speech." " Well, that's good." "At least we managed to make the news cycle." "(intercom beeps)" "Yeah, Blake?" "BLAKE:" "I have Minister Chen for you on SVTC." "Put him through." "Why don't you hang out?" "Yes." "Thanks, ma'am." "(sighing):" "Oh, boy." "Mr. Foreign Minister, to what do I owe the pleasure?" "CHEN:" "These scurrilous accusations you have hurled at China in private, and now in public, are totally unacceptable to my government." "Unacceptable or untrue?" "If you continue to assert them, there will be consequences." " I see." " However, as befits our status, it is sometimes incumbent upon us to take the high road." "Therefore, in our capacity as economic partners, we shall advise our colleagues in Khartoum to release Colin Mitchell, as a humanitarian gesture." "Of course, the final decision is up to them, but that will be our last word on the matter." "Is that understood, Madam Secretary?" "Perfectly understood, Mr. Foreign Minister." "Then good day." "Did I miss something, or did he just yell at me and then give us everything we wanted?" "I don't think you missed anything." "Huh." "But we are not out of the woods yet." "I still need to get into it with Khartoum, and Colin Mitchell is at death's door." "But stand by, you might need to make a statement soon." "Absolutely." "Good evening." "Five minutes ago, a specially equipped medical plane left Sudanese airspace with journalist Colin Mitchell aboard." "ALL:" "Daisy, Daisy..." "He is described as being in serious but stable condition, and is bound for Ramstein Air Base in Germany for further medical evaluation." "Now, once he's been cleared, he will be free, after nearly seven years, to return home to his friends and family in the United States." "I'll now take questions." " Yeah." " (overlapping questions)" "I heard you were up here." "Yeah." "My detail hates it." "Sometimes a person just needs a breath of fresh air, you know?" " Mm." " (inhales, exhales)" "It's something that we got him back, isn't it?" "Yeah... (voice breaking): ...it really is." "Well, you gonna be okay there?" "I'm sorry, ma'am." "I don't know what's wrong with me." "I'm all emotional." "Guess I'm just..." "Pregnant." "Who told you?" "Experience." "Well, since I'm having a breakdown in front of my boss, can I tell you something?" "You can tell me anything." "The father is Joseph Garcia." "Well, was." "(softly):" "Oh, gosh." "Daisy, I'm so sorry." "His parents live in Connecticut, I guess." "But what am I supposed to say?" "Your son and I dated for a week before he got murdered." "I only knew him by his cover name." "Anyways, here's your grandchild." "Because that's not a crazy intro or anything." "I think his parents might be comforted by a grandchild." "Yeah, but what about my parents?" "I mean, they're church people." "This isn't exactly what they had envisioned for me." "I mean, I... guess I always thought that I may have to do it alone, but not like alone alone." "Yeah." "You know, maybe every mother feels that way, no matter who's in their life." "I mean, at the end of the day, it's just you and the baby and... it's my job to protect him." "Or her." "Right... but what if I'm not up to the job?" "Oh, you are." "You are one of the strongest women I have ever met." " (scoffs)" " Even if you don't feel like it right now 'cause you're drowning in a sea of hormones." "(sighs) You have no idea, ma'am." "(laughing):" "Oh, yes, I do." "(chuckles)" "(sighs)" "You don't have to go at it alone." "Your parents might be shocked, but you are literally the light of their lives and they'll get over it." "And Joe's parents raised a hero, so, really, how bad can they be?" "Then you got all of us here." "God help you." "Thanks." "It's a beautiful world, Daisy." "(sighs)" "And the best ride is just about to start." "♪ You're broken down and tired ♪" "♪ Of living life on a merry-go-round ♪" "♪ And you can't find the fighter ♪" "♪ But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out ♪" "♪ Move ♪" "♪ Mountains ♪" "♪ And I'll rise up ♪" "♪ I'll rise like the day ♪" " ♪ I'll rise up ♪ - ♪ Ooh ♪" "♪ I'll rise unafraid ♪" " ♪ I'll rise up ♪ - ♪ Ooh ♪" " ♪ And I'll do it a thousand times again ♪ - ♪ Ooh ♪" "♪ For you, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪" " ♪ For you, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ - ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪" "♪ For you ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪" "♪ For you ♪" "♪ Ah ♪" "♪ Ah ♪" "♪ When the silence isn't quiet ♪" "♪ And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe ♪" "♪ And I know you feel like dying ♪" "♪ But I promise we'll take the world to its feet... ♪" "Welcome home, Colin." "Thank you." "♪ Move mountains ♪" "♪ For you. ♪"