"The Vietnam peace talks are continuing here in Paris today  against the background of what to do about the release of American POWs." "In the United States, sentiment is running high  for a complete accounting for all of the POWs and MIAs  those listed as Missing in Action, before any treaty is signed." "The prisoners, men such as these  are Americans who have been captured during the 10 years of fighting in Vietnam." "The Undersecretary of State, Conrad Morgan  is the chief American delegate to the talks." "This morning, outside the mansion in which the talks are being held  Morgan told reporters that he is optimistic." "I now sincerely believe  the North Vietnamese delegates are dealing in good faith  and that significant progress can now be made." "As chief delegate to these talks  are you saying a final agreement has been reached?" "What I'm saying is what I said." "The situation is extremely delicate, but significant progress can now be made." "Is that clear?" "I certainly hope it is  because I would appreciate those of the press getting that straight." "What if Kuong Yen decides to throw new roadblocks into these negotiations?" "I suppose we'll have to take things one step at a time." "There is one more question the American public deserves to have answered." "What about the Missing in Action?" "Have you and Kuong Yen discussed that at all?" "Of course we have discussed that  and we will continue to discuss that question." "But I'm sure you can all realize, that is of such a sensitive nature  I'm not at liberty to go into that now." "I can only say this:" "I'm very hopeful that we will arrive at a solution." " What the hell are you doing in my room?" " You told me to meet you here." "Could have waited in the lobby." "Turn that goddamn thing off, please." "I'm enjoying it." "Mr. Morgan, please, can we have a statement before you..." "Harolds?" " Come on, bring that shit in here!" " Coming." "I'm not as nimble as I used to be." "Nor as coordinated." "Actually, Conrad, I have always been rather clumsy." "When you get that stuff cleaned up, make me a scotch, will you please?" "So, the war is over, Mr. Undersecretary?" "You're practically a national treasure." "Son of a bitch." "Which son of a bitch is that?" "Hope they cut his balls off." " Give Harolds a pair of scissors." " When the time's right, I'll do that myself." "Sounds like your private meeting with Kuong Yen was what you guys in State called "a frank discussion of the issues."" "What the hell is this, some kind of a joke to you?" " You could say so." " It's not to me." "Somebody's gotta take it seriously." "I told 'em I didn't need any goddamn CIA help on this thing..." "And they shove me down your throat!" "We've been through this before, Morgan." "Now, what the hell is it this time?" "How many of your CIA people are the VC holding?" "What are you talking about?" "Save that bullshit for Congress." "How many?" "150, maybe." "Why?" "They're dead." "The fact that we have positive information to the contrary is irrelevant." "He wants a sacrifice." "Speak intelligently, Morgan." "As an addendum to the peace terms, Kuong Yen wants a sacrifice." "Call Omaha and get a flock of sheep." "He claims he's lost a lot of family to you people." "This isn't important, of course, but I also think he's a psychopath." "That makes him unique in this business, doesn't it?" "In any case, we agree to write off those people as Missing in Action and they agree to call off the war and give us a lot of other people back." "And you agreed?" "I didn't agree to anything." "You practical son of a bitch!" "You're gonna cash in those people's lives just for a shot at the Nobel Peace Prize!" "Saunders, don't get sanctimonious with me." "Nobody's gonna win anything when this war's over." "If the VC want 'em dead so bad, why don't they just kill 'em?" "They won't because they're worth too much as a bargaining point." "Wrong." "They'll kill 'em as soon as they sign the treaty or they'll hold them as MIA till they're through interrogating them." "In any case, what I'm trying to say is we have to at least try to get some of those people out of there." "I hate to think I've been misjudging you." "That would be unfortunate." "What do you call the commandoes you're holding under the Phoenix umbrella?" "Black Tigers." "Who the hell thinks up names like that?" "Black Tigers!" "Actually, a group of us did, some years ago." "Don't let anybody kid you, Harolds." "It's a great name." " Can they get your people out?" " I don't know, it's very risky business." "Take at least a couple of weeks for an operation like that." "Forty-eight hours." "Forty-eight hours?" "Right." "What about staging a major operation in the middle of your peace talks?" "I'll worry about the diplomacy." "I get the feeling I'm offending some sensibility in you." "The American public is crying for peace." "I intend to achieve it for them." "Like I said, you're practically a national treasure." "Saunders, when this war is over you should get a job as an advance man for cancer." "In support of the disease or the cure?" "I sometimes find it difficult to understand the American custom of joking during a time of crisis." "How certain are you of your intelligence?" "To be perfectly honest with you, Maj. Mhin the only thing certain about intelligence is uncertainty." "As usual, you're a big help." "This better be as important as your boys at headquarters said it was." "Let's go, Mhin." "What do you think Prince will say when we come walking in there after him?" ""You came a long way, Fred, to collect your bread."" " That's what he's going to say." " You'd better believe that, baby." "What makes them think Hanoi will sit still for this kind of stunt?" "It must make sense or they wouldn't be sending us." "One camp." "What good could it do?" "The POWs are in dozens of camps." "It's the camp with the most guys in it." "I do not see how a raid at this time can do anything but harm the negotiations." "Major, I thought the goddamn war was over." "So did I, but it's not." "What's your point?" "The point is we don't want to be the last guys killed in this war if there's someone else available." "I think they've got us down for second to last." "Whatever happened to the good old days when Randolph Scott and John Wayne were happy to get their asses blown off for the good ol' US of A?" "Who the hell is Randolph Scott?" "Randolph Scott Key:" "dude who wrote the national anthem!" "Oh, that Randolph Scott!" "You can joke if you want, but I've got a score to settle." "That's the spirit, Gordie, an ear for an ear!" "I said not to joke around about my ears, didn't I?" "You're gonna have a hard time finding an ear that size." "Just give me a couple whole heads." "I'll use what I need." "What do you know?" "We can go first class!" " You gonna serve coffee, Randolph?" " Sure!" "I want Lola Falana to serve my coffee!" " Gonna be a movie on this flight?" " Yeah." "Mhin?" " Major, over here!" " Get in!" "Gordie, he's hit!" "Get him." " Come on!" " All right, let's get out!" " Get him!" " Come on!" " What's the matter?" " Goddamn thing won't start!" "Come on!" "Get out!" "Move out!" "Let's go!" "Come on!" "Come on, Gordie." "We gotta run!" "Where we running, Mike?" "Are we late for the train or something?" "Where the hell are the choppers?" "The choppers aren't here." "Why don't we take the train?" "Radio." "Nighthawk, this is Tiger 1." "Over." "Somebody's going to pay for this screwup." "I think I know who." "Yeah, us." "Nighthawk, this is Tiger 1." "We're at LZ and waiting for pickup." "Over." "I don't get it." "Everything went wrong by the numbers and that takes planning." "What are you talking about?" "I'm saying we've been set up." "Where are the choppers?" "I just told you, Gordie, it was a screwup." "I like choppers." "They're like birds." " You like birds, don't you?" " Sure I do, Gordie." "Jesus." "Where are the choppers?" "I like choppers." "They're like birds." "I shot a bird once." "My daddy took my rifle away..." " Take care of him, Mike." " Yeah." " What do we do now?" " Survive." "Lou, the point." "Walker, the rear." " Where are you going, Mike?" " Going home." " What do I do, walk out?" " lf you spot a taxi, flag it down." " How'd it feel?" " A hell of a lot better!" "Let's clean her out and I'll give her another try." "I think our troubles with this baby are just about history." "You spend one more minute with this car, I think that baby there will be history." "Damn, can you believe I forgot all about her?" "Any man who forgets her needs a lube job and oil change real bad." "I can't wait to get her on the rack." "Goddamn it, Booker, what's a girl have to do to get your attention?" "I'm sorry, Kelly." "You're really going to be mad." "I've got a class to teach in one hour." "Shit." "Come on, Booker, get in." "And so, as history slowly places it into some kind of perspective a few things about the Vietnam War have become clear." "It was a war that never should have begun in a country we never should have entered." "And its thousands of victims died without really understanding why mainly because the reasons for the war were beyond any rules of logic." "On Wednesday, we'll sing patriotic songs and pretend I said none of the above." " Good lecture, man." " Thank you." " See you, Booker." " Okay." "I hope you didn't mind my sitting in." "It seems a long way from the '60s, doesn't it?" "Yes, it does." "Can I take you to lunch?" "I don't eat lunch." "Who are you?" "Let me take you to dinner and find out." " You do eat dinner?" " I've been known to." "I'm on an expense account." "You're a reporter." "Why else would I fly all the way out from Washington to see you?" "I don't know." "Pick me up at 7:00?" "7:00 is too late." "For us?" "For dinner." "How about 5:30?" "At 5:30 in Washington, they're still out to lunch." "In Washington, they're always out to lunch." "Besides, I have a feeling this might be a very interesting evening." "You're the professor, Professor." " That's it, mister." " That's a good job." "Too bad you weren't born black." "There might have been a future in this for you." "Hey, mister, you forgot your newspaper." " 19 and 25." " Thank you, my man." "Quite a car." "Not exactly ideal for going from stoplight to stoplight, is it?" " Only if they're 200 miles apart." " Pretty much for a grad student." "I do test driving, and like a damn fool, I took the car instead of the salary." "What the hell is he trying to do?" "Hang on!" "You son of a bitch, what the hell's going on?" "Relax!" "The accelerator pedal stuck!" " What?" " I said, "The accelerator pedal stuck!"" "Why didn't you kill the engine?" "Because I thought I could kick the pedal loose." "What the hell was that all about?" " I wish I knew." " I think I need a drink." " Any place in particular?" " Your place." "As long as you drive carefully." "Are most of your days usually as exciting as this one?" "Not quite, but I've got a feeling things are about to change." "If you've got something to say, say it." "If you've got something to say, say it." "You were on a top-secret mission to rescue some POWs at the end of the war." "No response?" "I get it." "You're writing a book about the war." "Something like that." "When you arrived at the camp, there were no POWs, only Vietcong." "You lost most of your men." "I wonder who told you about that." "It was all top secret." "Shall I go on?" "Are you married?" "After the raid, you were to be met and flown to safety with the POWs." "The helicopters didn't show so you marched out of the jungle with five of your men." "Do you fool around?" "It took you three weeks to get out of the jungle." "Then you were, as they say, "debriefed" in the hospital for two months." "Nothing was ever printed about that strange sortie." "Why not?" "How about something to eat?" "What ever happened to those POWs who weren't there to be rescued?" "Have they been returned?" "Are they MIA?" "Are they dead?" "Will anybody admit that they ever existed?" " Will you answer any of those questions?" " Now, what can you do with one egg?" "Watch out." "Nice selection." "We can sauté these." "I tried it once." "I didn't like it." "How about some frozen halibut?" "Your unit was a part of Operation Phoenix." "Its job was to neutralize, I believe they called it the Vietcong undercover agents." "You were also assigned to rescue our own POWs." "You're very intense for a girl with such..." "How about one egg with oysters and sauerkraut?" "Are you going to tell me anything?" "There's really not much to tell." "In the hospital, they told us the VC intelligence had cracked our security." "Reasonable possibility." "They said our choppers had been shot down." "Reasonable possibility there." "Then by the time they got replacements to us, there was nothing but bodies." "That's what they said." "And like an obedient soldier, you believed them." "In the hospital, I told myself the war was over." "I lived through it, now put it behind you." "I could spend years trying to find out if somebody set us up." "And if I found him, well he most likely would be someone I couldn't get to anyway." "What if he were someone you could get to?" "I decided no to waste my life to avenge something I'd survived." "It's over and I want to keep it that way." "I don't believe you really feel that way." " Why are you asking all these questions?" " I can't tell you." "Then stop asking them." "I met a man at a cocktail party in Washington." "He was what the newspapers refer to as "a high-ranking government official."" "He was also very drunk." "The scotch seemed to break some barrier in his mind." " He mentioned the Black Tigers." " How's the sauerkraut coming?" "Coming nicely, thank you." "John T. Booker:" "A man taking his Ph.D. in Political Science who used to be a member of the CIA." " Sounds schizophrenic." " I was never a member of the CIA." "The Black Tigers were CIA." "I didn't know the Freedom of Information Act was that effective." "It isn't, but I am." "What do you think of Conrad Morgan being named Secretary of State-Designate?" " Nothing." " Doesn't interest you?" "I'm only interested in finding out what you're not telling me." "Who's going to tell who first what he or she isn't telling?" "Maybe I'll tell you after dinner." "Or maybe in the morning." "How about the morning?" " Bad dream?" " Yeah." "What?" " You don't sleep well, do you?" " No." "I don't either." "Did I keep you awake?" "I didn't mind." " I'll make it up to you." " You already have." "How do you turn this thing off?" "Why does anyone who doesn't sleep well have an alarm that sounds like Big Ben that can't be turned off?" " Where are you going?" " To run." "I run, too." "Well, come along." "I think I had sufficient exercise last night." " Breakfast?" " lf you can find anything." "Of course, you don't eat breakfast." "I'll see you in exactly 27 minutes." "When I get back, we can talk about breakfast, maybe." "Hey, Murray." "Why don't you get an honest job?" "What, and give up my cloak and dagger?" "John, I have to talk to you." "Pull over." "Gas is expensive." "I know better than to ask where you've been but that cigar smells like pure Havana." "Fringe benefits." "John, what did you and Marilyn talk about?" "Do I know her?" "The reporter who seems to have more answers than questions." "You wouldn't be talking about a writer named Margaret?" "She told me "Marilyn." Next guy'll get "Myrna" or "Marilee."" "She's obviously in the "M's." What did you tell her?" "I told her about a long walk I took a couple of years ago." "What did you tell her?" "Somebody told her more about that mission than even you and I know." "That scar is ugly, but it's healed." "It's about to be reopened." ""Operation Sandstone." I don't recall that one." "There was no Operation Sandstone." "You see that line with "D.A." on it?" "It means that sometime during an operation which never happened it was confirmed that you were a double agent." "See that "Sanction Authorization 1"?" "There's a contract out on me." " Correct." " Why?" "I think the reporter found out something she shouldn't." "What'd she say?" "Someone talked to her about the mission." "I didn't want to hear about it." "That's why ostriches die young." "Whoever talked to her has evidently decided to rectify his error." "Who the hell can get into this machine and put out a hit on me?" "Only the President, the Secretaries and a few Undersecretaries of Defense and State." "The directors of the FBI, the CIA the Chairman of the National Security Council and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." "Thank God it's nobody important." "Jesus, this is crazy." "It's not just you, John." "I had reason to check out all five of those guys who came out of that jungle with you." "Holly Washington is dead." "I think Lou Goldberg is, too." " Was it your people?" " I don't know." "Well, find out." "Look, first I get a tip on Holly and Lou." "Then I meet a girl who knows more about that goddamn raid than anyone should." "Then there's the fact that I'm the one that sent you on it." "It isn't on that computer, but it's a good bet that my name is there with the rest of the Tigers." " Can't you warn them?" "Protect them?" " You can." "Last known names and addresses." "Mhin Van Thieu?" "What is his name doing on here?" "He was killed on that last raid." "Evidently not." "First listed as MIA, then POW released at the end of the war." "We obviously paid him off by bringing him into this country." "He's cooking for some Peking-style restaurant in San Francisco specializing in fried dumplings." "That's great." "What else do you know that you may have forgotten to tell me?" "There is something, but I just can't remember what it is." "That helps a hell of a lot." "Look, John, there's a lot I can't help you with." "The company has too many eyes." "So you're going to have to warn those guys yourself." "This is my life you're screwing with, Murray." "It's mine too, friend." "Hello?" " Gordie Jones, please." " He's not home." " Where is he?" " At his Uncle Sheffield's Travel Town." "Can I call him there?" "He ain't got no phone there." "God, we don't owe you any money, do we, mister?" "Look, you can find him at his uncle's." "In Washington, Secretary of State-Designate, Conrad Morgan  goes before his final Senate subcommittee hearing this morning." "Morgan's approval by the committee is virtually certain." "At 41..." " Good morning." " Is Gordie Jones here?" "All aboard!" "Hey, Gordie!" "Hey, Sammy!" "How ya doin'?" "Not much business today." " You doin' any?" " No, business isn't too good." "It's Maj. Booker, Gordie." "John T. Booker." "I thought you were Sammy." "You look just like Sammy." "Has anyone been to see you recently?" "Has anyone asked you about that last mission?" "What I wish we had is pelicans instead of seagulls." "Who asked you about the last mission?" "Just yesterday." "A lady." "Maybe today." "I told her about the pelicans." "How was the halibut?" "Who the hell are you?" "That's the lady, Major." "Where are we going?" "Skiing." "Maybe we can get to Mike Potter before they do." "But I've got a rental car." "You're on an expense account." "Don't worry." " I don't have any ski clothes." " We'll get something." " Want some?" " No, thanks." "Is it occupied?" "Go find out." "Go to the bathroom." "No. 1 or No. 2?" "The window seat, last row, left side as you go down the aisle." "An Oriental." "See if you recognize him." "Looks like a waiter in a Chinese restaurant I used to frequent in Des Moines." "I'll bet Chinese food in Des Moines is something to remember." " Is he following us?" " I'm not sure yet." "Maybe it's that waiter." "I don't think I tipped him last time I was there." "Who did you talk to at that cocktail party in Washington?" "Please don't ask." "I'm almost certain I'll lie." "Make a call." "There's another one." "So much for that." "When you're silent, you're silent." "What are you thinking about?" "Old friends." "Mhin." "That guy on the plane was Mhin." "Maj. Mhin Van Thieu?" "Another Black Tiger." "What don't you know?" "What did you talk to him about?" "I never said a word to him in my life." " What about Murray Saunders?" " I don't know any Murray Saunders." "You were someone named Marilyn." "That Murray Saunders." " What did he tell you?" " Nothing." "Good evening." "You got here just in time." " For what?" " The snow is melting fast." "Is Mike Potter in?" "He's on the ski patrol." "Mike?" "No, try his house." "I'll dial it for you." "Do you want to take it over there?" " He's not in." " Tomorrow's his day off." "He's jump-crazy." "He'll be on the jump first thing in the morning." "We better spend the night." " Do you have a room?" " I think so." "Do you want to fill this out?" "To what extent are we speaking to each other?" "What do you want to talk about?" "I was wondering, for instance if we're speaking enough to share the only bed in the room." "Sure, we can share the bed." "Any enemies out there?" "I'm just as worried about the enemy within." " Are you an enemy, Margaret?" " No." "You just happened to be there when Gordie was killed today." " Were you there when Lou and Holly died?" " No." "Are you some kind of finger-man for whoever's doing this?" "Finger-person." "John, I haven't lied to you." "Including last night?" "Especially last night." "You fit in somewhere." "So do you." "Mr. Morgan, I want to thank you for the cooperation  you're affording this committee by your appearance here." "Thank you, Senator." "And I want to assure you and the other members of the committee  that I fully understand the necessity for hearings such as these." "And I want you all to feel free to probe into any areas at all  that might be of interest to you." "I'm sure I can speak for the entire committee  when I say, sir, that such an attitude is deeply appreciated." "Because we've had to deal..." " Think he'll make it?" " Morgan?" " Yeah." " Yes." "He's the new darling of Washington." "The attitude of the nation today is far different from what it was  in those early days before Vietnam." "I think the American public today is far less eager..." "We'd better get going." "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Squaw Valley, USA." "After being selected as the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games  the Squaw Valley Complex was developed  into one of the world's greatest ski areas at a cost of over $25 million." "You are now standing in the lower terminal  of one of the world's most spectacular aerial tramways." "The terminal alone cost over $3.5 million in 1960 dollars." "What snow we had this year is now melting rapidly." "So as we approach the top station, we advise you to hurry out to the slopes  and make the most of what's left." "On behalf of Squaw Valley, USA  I'd like to thank you for joining us, and have a happy day." " I'm looking for Mike Potter." " You got him." "Major?" " What are you doing up here?" " Didn't you get my message?" "You mean the Code Red?" "I thought that was a gag." "Mike, you're up." "Let's go in the shack." "We've gotta talk." "Meet me at the bottom." "Bring these with you." "Mike, wait." "Oh, Jesus!" "Jesus Christ, I thought I'd never find you." "There were cops all over the place up there." "I've got your clothes." "You can change in the car." "Are you all right?" " It was Mhin, wasn't it?" " The woman he met at the airport." "I'm sorry about Mike." "But you were right on the scene again." "I'm not the enemy, John." "I told you that last night." " I think we better talk." " Tell me!" "Edgar Harolds." " Childhood sweetheart?" " A drunk at a cocktail party." " Who is he?" " Undersecretary of State." "A career man at the end of his career, maybe the end of his rope." "Goddamn it, who are you?" "Edgar Harolds worked for Conrad Morgan during the Vietnam War and he hates him." "Morgan on the TV?" "The Senate does more than question a man who's nominated for Secretary of State." "Before Watergate, it was generally a formality." "Now, they do a pretty thorough job of it." "They even hire attorneys to investigate." " What does that have to do with you?" " It's actually pretty funny." "I was invited to a cocktail party by the head of the committee." "Just a social event." "I had barely started to work for him." "You're a lawyer?" "An investigator?" "I'd been standing for hours when I noticed this man sitting all alone at a table." "He looked pleasantly drunk and harmless." "I went over and sat with him." " Is Morgan mixed up in this?" " I don't know." "Harolds never mentioned him, but it seems there's a connection." "The papers keep saying his approval is assured." " How, if you told the committee..." " I never told the committee anything!" "You don't survive in Washington by attacking men like Morgan without substantial facts." "I just said I wanted to follow up on some leads and they said, "Go."" " They know nothing about this?" " Not yet." "That's why we'll take the first plane east." "That may take days." "I have to get to Joe Walker in Mexico." " He's the only man left." " You're left." "And I want you to stay alive for personal reasons." "Do you believe me now?" "Your attention, please:" "Will all passengers holding tickets for Intermountain Flight 184  please contact the agent at the Intermountain ticket counter." "Is there any space on 322 to San Francisco and Washington?" "Yes, ma'am." "Round trip or one-way?" " One way." " Round trip." "You'll need it, back to LA." "You heard the man." "Make mine one-way to LA." "Next flight out." "Final call:" "Flight 2, now boarding at Gate No. 21." " How about a farewell cup of coffee?" " Why not?" "You better hurry." "They're beginning to board." "Have a good flight." "I'll do my damnedest to get them to delay the confirmation but I'm gonna need you there to stop it, if Harolds'll talk." "I'll be there day after tomorrow." "Flight 62, now boarding at Gate 21." "That's me." " You gonna wave goodbye?" " I have to turn in the rental car." "Oh, God, I left one with the meter running in San Diego!" "The committee will love you." "They can ask for a bigger car rental budget." "Don't worry about us taxpayers." "Bye." "Collect call, please." "John T. Booker calling Murray Saunders." "The emergency over the runway is causing no danger to the terminal area." "Please remain calm." "All persons in the terminal area are asked to clear all gates  and entrances to the field so emergency workers and equipment can get through." " Hold it!" "Obey the commands of the airport guards and police officers  so that rescue workers may perform their duties as efficiently as possible." "I repeat, there is no danger to the terminal area." "Thank you for your cooperation." "What are you doing with that gun?" "Harolds!" "Jesus Christ, I should have figured it out." "In Paris." "It was a setup all the way." "That's what Harolds was trying to tell Margaret." "John, are you okay?" "Yeah, thanks." "She wanted me to talk to him and get the proof we need." "I think our next stop is Washington." "Are you sure you've got Walker covered?" "I still can't figure out why they suddenly decide to kill us all off." "Maybe Morgan found out that Harolds was about to crack." "Why didn't he arrange an accident for Harolds?" "Five'll get you ten there's a damn good reason he didn't." "Let's go ask him." "Morning." " May I help you gentlemen?" " Yes, Mr. Harolds' apartment, please." " May I have your name?" " We want to surprise him." "I'm afraid we're not allowed to surprise our tenants." "Even if you were J. Edgar Hoover himself, I couldn't allow you upstairs." "It's not likely he could be Mr. Hoover if he wanted to." "Not only is he the wrong color, but Mr. Hoover is dead." "I'm sure you get my meaning." "Yes, we do." "We want to make sure you get what we mean." "You see, my friend here is very cranky." "In fact, I'd say he's on the very edge of anger." "And in about five seconds, I'm going to ask him to kick your teeth in if you don't show us the way to Mr. Harolds' apartment." "Very well." "Follow me." "He must have good teeth." "Remember what happened the last time a Washington apartment was broken into for political reasons." "Think about it." "It altered the course of history." "He will alter the course of your nose if you don't show us where the apartment is." " lf you put it in that perspective..." " Now!" "There it is." " Should we ring the buzzer or kick it in?" " No, I'll ring the bell." "Yes?" " Tell him it's you." " It's me, Mr. Harolds." "Who?" "Louder." "Be more specific." "Albert, the doorman." "What do you want?" " Package." " I've got a package." " It's all right, Albert." " Thank you." "You've been quite civilized." "Good morning, Mr. Harolds." ""My vengeance is swift, saith the Lord."" "I expected it to be swift and very violent." "I haven't been disappointed." "Since the day you walked out of that hotel room in Paris I've been wondering if I might not see you again." "The fact that you are here now is testimony to your powers of survival." "The test is not over yet." "I'd like you to meet John Booker." "Maj. Booker, the shepherd of the betrayed flock." "That's what we're here to talk about." "Normally, I'd do what I've done all the years I've served my country and feed you a line of shit." "But I don't think I'll bother." "Perhaps you're doing me a favor." "No, Major, there's no one else here." "My wife and children had the good sense to go on about their own lives years ago." " Do you have a family, Major?" " I had plans, but they didn't work out." "Then perhaps you're fortunate." "So this is what I get for having too much to drink and finding a receptive ear." "Can you imagine a career diplomat getting drunk and babbling at a Washington cocktail party?" "You don't get to be an old-timer here without learning not to do that unless you're over the hill." "An interesting phrase, "over the hill."" "Conrad has been telling me for years, that's where I am." "He's a brilliant man, Conrad." "Most of us think we know what we want out of life." "But Conrad is one of those few who knows how to get it." "Of course, he learned immediately of my drunken indiscretion." "The captured indiscreet remark is a source of power in Washington a lesson Conrad learned well." "I may have been the one who first taught him that." "Perhaps I am over the hill." "And she is a brilliant young woman, quite lovely." "There was something about her." "I just wanted to talk to her." "But, of course, you must know that by now, Major." "Your being the leader of the Black Tigers I assume she must have gone directly to you." "Of course, Morgan assumed the same thing." "His efforts to find out just how much you knew and whom you might have told have probably kept you alive." "Four of the men who came back with me weren't as lucky." "My condolences, of course, will seem meaningless." "I was there in the beginning when they invented the Phoenix Operation." "Do you know what everyone was most upset about?" "Not the idea that we were consciously structuring a group of men whose purpose was the clandestine murder of other men." "Not the moral ramifications that might befall us in another life for the decision based on political expediency." "What we got most embroiled in was an argument over what a particular group of assassins we decided to call the Black Tigers what that group of assassins would wear when they went out to relieve selected individuals of their very lives." "Finally, after a great deal of bitter argument we determined to dress the Black Tigers in all black." "The commission was then paid to a noted designer who shall be nameless who designed the black clothing the Black Tigers wore as they rolled out  on their holy crusades." "You made quite a reputation for yourselves." "Mr. Morgan?" "Mr. Harolds has some visitors." "No, sir, I'm not sure." "I think one of them is Murray Saunders from the Los Angeles office." "You want them stopped?" "Right, and a man on Harolds." "You've got it." "We were set up." "Yes." "What was the deal?" "When I was a younger man, I knew I was going to be Secretary of State or perhaps even President." "If I tell you the answer to that question I may not even be afforded the opportunity to retire next year with the modicum of dignity left to me." "But then, I suppose your life is not nearly so inconsequential to you as it is to Mr. Morgan or even to me." " I hope this letter's the answer." " It's the best shot we've got." "Okay, Saunders, I want that letter." "Listen, Al." "Somebody got into that computer and this letter proves it." "The letter, Murray." "Come on." " Get the letter." "I'll cover you." " Watch out!" " Enjoy the fight?" " Terrific." "Here it is." "Why would this guy live halfway to Baltimore?" "Who knows?" "Maybe it has something to do with Spiro Agnew." "It wasn't very hard to get an appointment with the big man." "Morgan's very interested in what he thinks we might have to sell." " Good morning, Saunders." " Good morning, Morgan." "I don't believe I've had the pleasure." "A gentleman whom I'm sure will add to our discussion." "I see." "John T. Booker." "Saunders, I trust this rather unusual meeting is as important as you indicated." "Something you said had to do with our last rather unusual meeting in that Paris hotel room." "Something, yes." "But with one notable addition." " Coffee?" " No, thanks." "Can we get on with it?" "I have a rather busy day ahead of me." "You made a deal in Paris with Kuong Yen, the North Vietnamese negotiator." "Secret deals are the heart of diplomacy." "This deal called for the murder of the Black Tigers." "Murder, Mr. Booker?" "One other American knows about it and he talked." "Indeed?" "At first, I couldn't figure out why you didn't try to kill Harolds along with the rest of us." "He told me." "He sent a registered letter to four lawyers, none of whom you know." "The letters were to be opened in the event of his untimely death." "Early Agatha Christie." "And just as effective." "The letters explain what was known by you and Kuong Yen as the Phoenix Solution." "I couldn't figure out what Maj. Mhin was doing popping in and out of my life." "At first, I assumed he worked for them, whoever "they" were." "But of course, "they" are you, and you are all one." "I see. "We have met the enemy and they is us."" "Comic strip philosophy, Mr. Booker." "Agreed, and now Kuong Yen is manipulating you like the comic strip diplomat you are." "He waited patiently until the moment of your greatest vulnerability the eve of your confirmation as Secretary of State." "Now he's blackmailing you into completing the deal you never finished the extermination of the Black Tigers." "They are very unforgiving people." "Toward you or the Black Tigers?" " Toward us, Mr. Booker. "We" is us." " Perhaps." "Interesting document." "Morgan, you're gonna pick up that phone and call the White House." "Sudden personal problems are going to prevent you from accepting the nomination as Secretary of State." "If you don't, the news media is going to have one hell of a time with that letter." "I understand, Maj. Booker, that you were quite a jungle fighter." "This is my kind of jungle, Major." "No, I just don't think it would be expedient for me to resign at this time." "Expedient?" "Just like it was expedient to send us on that POW raid?" "Expedience built this country, Maj. Booker." "It was expedient for this great democracy to have legal slavery for half its existence." "And it was expedient to keep the vote from women for 150 years." "Expedient to declare war on Spain and Mexico and to invade Cambodia." "From the halls of Montezuma, Maj. Booker, to the shores of Tripoli..." "And it was expedient, goddamn it, to get rid of the Black Tigers." "The end still justifies the means." "I don't buy that." "It occurs to me that most of those who follow your logic end up in places like Elba and San Clemente." "Come now..." "Check your history." "Most of our expedient wars ended up in failure." "Our successes didn't just happen because they were expedient." "Those Americans you spoke of gave up their lives willingly." "Does that really make such a difference?" "It makes all the goddamn difference." "People like you never could see that and maybe they never will." "It's not that you don't deserve to be Secretary of State." "You don't deserve to live." "That's an interesting philosophy, but..." "But philosophy is bullshit, right, Morgan?" "That letter isn't." "I tell you what." "You take this letter over to the Washington Post with my best regards." "But tell them they're gonna have a hard time verifying that with Harolds because visitors are not allowed in the Bethesda Hospital psychiatric ward." "Yes, it was a shame." "They found him crawling on the floor and howling like a banshee." "Took four men just to put him into the straitjacket." "Nervous disorder, they called it, but actually, he's quite mad." "Hello?" "I'd like to check on the condition of a Mr. Harolds, Edgar J." "Thank you." "A letter written by a madman is hardly what they call prime evidence." "Is it, Mr. Booker?" "As I told you, I have a rather busy day ahead of me." "So if you'll excuse me, I'm sure you can find your own way out." "By the way, Mr. Booker." "Tragic news about your lady friend." "Margaret, was it?" "All that information she had must have been irreplaceable." "Tragic." "You bastard!" "Wait a minute." "Accelerator pedal working all right today?" "Work for Morgan?" "Do you?" "We're running a little late, Franklin." "Secretary of State Morgan will become one of the youngest men ever  to achieve this high office." "He's described as one of the new breed of diplomats for the '70s." "Although still in his early 40s  Morgan has had a long and distinguished career  as one of America's leading diplomats." "His skill at top-level negotiations has made him  one of the few State Department leaders to..." "Franklin, where are we going?" "I said, "Where are we going?"" "What the hell is this?" "Good morning, Mr. Secretary." "Booker." "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" "You said I was a good jungle fighter." "I'm also a fast learner." "All right, now, you stop this car, you fool." "Relax, Morgan, we're just going to talk." "All right, go ahead." "Talk!" "What you said about expedience made a hell of a lot of sense." "I see there's only one way to deal with people like you: expediently." "You won all the battles, Morgan, but you're gonna lose this war." "How would you like to be an MIA?" "What're you talking about?" "When it comes time for your swearing in today, you're not gonna be there." "I'll be there." "You're dreaming." "Am I?" "Booker, they're going to come looking for me." "You can't just disappear a Secretary of State without arousing someone's ire." "Let 'em look." "All right." "Tell me, what's your plan?" "If you get away with this it'll betray every guy that ever died in any war we ever had." "And God knows how many more people you'll kill in the future." "I'm not gonna let it happen." "You're insane." "It won't work." "You can bet your ass it will." "Crazy, goddamn idiot!" "You stop this car!" "You hear me?" "Stop this car or I'll kill you!" "You're panicking." "Stop the goddamn car!" "The Greenpeace Foundation in San Francisco  says the Russians are using 250-pound explosive..." "Are you okay?" "... which are against international treaties." "In Washington, meantime  the State Department has an even bigger headache." "Who will be its new boss?" "Morgan, due to be sworn in this morning, suddenly..." "Morgan, due to be sworn in this morning, suddenly withdrew his name." " I'll give you a lift." "Morgan himself has been unavailable for comment." "He is said to be keeping a low profile in a secret hideaway on Chesapeake Bay." " In we go." " Also unavailable  is Morgan's long-time deputy, Edgar Harolds." "It is speculated that Harolds might now be nominated for the job  but he is reportedly in the Bethesda Naval Hospital  undergoing his annual physical examination." "Morgan's withdrawal came as a shock to most..." "I see you've had a busy morning, too." "Yeah, it was nothing like yours."