"Previously on Madam Secretary he has lost the race." "President Conrad Dalton will be a one term president." " Run as an independent." " What?" "Okay, my computer is officially possessed." "It keeps crashing." "I'll take it to the White House, see if Oliver Shaw can fix it." "Someone was hacked into the webcam." "You should take this to the FBI for further examination." "I said we shouldn't jump to conclusions." "Like it was a concerted, organized effort to get the computer?" "Where'd these come from?" "I have no idea." "Someone is stalking our kids." "_" "Have you seen the latest" "Hizb Al-Shahid video?" "Musée Du Tuareg?" "Algeria?" "Only a matter of time before they reach the Monastery of St. Gabriel in Djanet." "It was built in the sixth century." "It survived for 1,500 years." "There are these statues of the apostles carved right out of the walls of the nave." "They are breathtaking." "And these..." "There's got to be something we can do." "State has a... a program to try and protect UNESCO sites, but there's barely any funding." "But, uh, Jay has the program portfolio in his office." "You can talk to him." "Wait, Jay has the portfolio?" "That's great." "Maybe you can paper-cut them into submission." "For the record, I really do care about this." "Even if I'm... redirecting some of my anger because of why we're here." "Sorry to keep you waiting." "I just wanted to personally make sure that the Bureau is linked in directly with Diplomatic Security, so there won't be any communications glitches." "Thank you." "Any new threat information will be immediately relayed to your security detail and that of your children." "They'll each have two agents, 24/7." "Kids are gonna love that." "Make me the bad cop if you want." "It's not a choice." "Until we figure out who's threatening them, it's a national security matter." "How long do you think it'll take?" "Anonymous stalking cases are always the hardest ones to game out." "But, uh, listen, I'm a dad, too." "Three girls." "So I promise you, we'll keep at it till we find the sons of bitches." " Thanks, Keith." " Thank you." " Yeah." " You bet." " Thanks." "Oh, and, uh, we'll also need all of your devices." "Phones, tablets, laptops." "We need to make sure they're not compromised." "Wow." "Yeah." "Well, are we sure we need to tell the kids about this?" "I don't know." "Maybe we should soft-pedal it." "I'm all for the soft pedal." " You sure you're good with that?" " You mean ethically?" "Well, you're the religion professor." "Well, if it means we don't terrify our kids, then I'm happy to be off the clock." "Good." "What exactly do we tell them?" ""Routine security escalation"?" "That's what Diplomatic Security told us." "With the upcoming election and all that." "Yeah, but you're not VP anymore." "But she's still got a pretty big job." "So is that why you guys were out all night?" "Partly." " What was the other part?" " Look, it's no big deal." "Yeah, we'll each have a pair of goons following us around?" "They're not goons;" "they're the same folks that follow Mom everyplace." "They just are expanding their domain." "Just temporarily." "Very convincing, Mom." "Hashtag CIA training fail." "Okay, hashtag over hashtag jokes." "Well, if you need me," "I guess you can just, uh, call my bodyguard." " Ooh, maybe I'll have a cute one." " Okay." " Bye, girls." " Love you, guys." "Bye." "Jace, still need your phone." "You realize your obfuscation is an insult to my intelligence?" "Noted." "And, look, I get it if you don't want to worry the girls, but I..." "I got it, okay?" "Good luck cracking the security code." " Hey!" " Jason!" "Jace!" "You're the one that wanted to go for three." "Good morning, everybody." " Good morning." " Good morning, Madam Secretary." "Your Algeria remarks are waiting for you on your desk." "Oh, thanks, Matt." "I'm sure they're appropriately momentous." "Quite a healthy dollop of momentousness, ma'am, with a soupçon of historic and extraordinary." "It's a big win, ma'am." "I'll say." "The peaceful transfer of power from a brutal dictator to a popular moderate promising free elections." "All while keeping a roiling insurgency at bay as Hizb Al-Shahid terrorists set up shop in the south." "Hoping the headlines are a tad snappier than that." "I'm just saying, you don't see that every day." "Ambassador Curtis deserves all the credit." "I just let him do his thing, given his relationship with President Haddad." "And where-where is Nadine?" "She is on the phone in her office, ma'am." "She waved me off like a thirsty fan boy when I tried to wrangle her." "Does feel 20% less austere in here." "Hey." "Okay, is everything on schedule for President Haddad to go to Malta?" "Ambassador Curtis will depart for Algiers this morning." "He'll meet with Haddad to sign the transfer of power accord, then they'll fly to Valletta, at which time Professor Kamel Arkoun will be sworn in as the new president." "Seeds of democracy sown." "Well, let's hope they get plenty of..." " Sun." " Yes, and..." "Moisture." " And love." " Okay." "Uh, actually, Jay, um, Henry might be calling you about an ancient monastery in Djanet that he's concerned about." "Does he know he should also be concerned about our lack of budget to actually do anything..." "Madam Secretary, Ambassador Curtis is on his way to the White House to resign." "I thought he was on his way to the airport to save Algeria." "Yes, well, apparently, he's more of a party loyalist than anyone realized, and he's furious with Dalton" " for declaring as an independent." " Where did you get this?" "His chief of staff is an old friend." "Ma'am, President Haddad made it clear that" "Ambassador Curtis is the only reason he trusts this deal." "I am aware." "Blake, motorcade, please." "Yeah." "Russell." "What the hell?" "It's called party loyalty." "If you ever belonged to one, maybe you'd understand." "Here I thought loyalty to country was enough." "Yeah." "I stalled his car at security gate, but Roy Curtis is no shrinking violet." "I'm well aware." "Listen, I'm sorry about this business with your family." "Thank you." "I..." " Get the hell out of my way, Russell." " Roy." "What a delightful surprise." "President knows I'm coming." "Ah, sadly, he had to step in to a briefing." "Oh, he stepped in it, all right." "If he wants to blow me off, then you can just give him this." "Why don't we wait for the president in my office." "I'll bust out the civet coffee." "Fine." "But caffeine just makes me angrier." "Henry." "Welcome to the Pentagon." "Hey, pal." "They kick you out of the White House for drinking the president's coffee?" " Hey, that just happened once..." " Oh, right." "...and, uh, I needed the elbow room to take down terrorist networks." "Black Dog Station." "Ruff." "I can clear you for an access badge." "Takes five minutes." "Set you up with a desk." "How about I buy you lunch instead?" "Memory serves, a touch of cream." "Isn't that right, Roy?" "Charm just looks creepy on you, Russell." "What can we do for you, Roy?" "We share the same goals." "We want to make this right." "First rule of diplomacy:" "gain trust." "I know your playbook, ma'am." "I wrote it." "And here we go." "Ah." "Thank you." "Mmm." "Madam Secretary, do you know why civet coffee isn't bitter?" "No, I don't." "Th-The beans are gnawed on and digested by little animals called civets, but the bean's core is too hard to digest fully, so eventually they poop it out." "Farmers gather them." "Because the bitter outside is already eaten away, they don't need to be roasted too long, preserving the natural sugar... and complexity." "I always thought it was a good metaphor for what I do... getting foreign leaders to eat a plate of crap and like it." "But I don't like eating it myself, especially from my own president." "And I've been a party loyalist for over 40 years, and I intend to die one." "Dalton running as an independent is the biggest case of traitorism I've ever seen, and I simply won't be a part of it." "Your job as a foreign service officer is apolitical." "It's unethical for you to let politics unravel a vital deal that you brokered on behalf of the..." "You're damn right I did, no thanks to you!" "And Dalton." "And your new namby-pamby softball vision of foreign policy!" "You think I sat in a circle with Haddad and made friendship bracelets?" "I got in his face;" "I told him he'd lose a civil war, get captured by an angry mob that'd yank out his fingernails, cut off his nuts, and hang him in the Place de l'Emir!" "It was your finest moment." "You are the only person in the diplomatic corps with the skill, connections and intelligence to have made it happen." "Now you're appealing to my well-documented ego." "Well, then let's just stick with the facts:" "you are the linchpin of the deal with Haddad." "Without you, hundreds of thousands of lives will be lost." "You have a beef with Dalton, you want to give him a piece of your mind, Russell can put that on the books." "But do it after you deliver Haddad out of Algeria." "I think you're right." "It's end times for the monastery." "Unless we do something about it." "There's no "we" in antiquities." "I hunt terrorists, not tchotchkes." "I don't see why they should be mutually exclusive." "How many times have these groups used the destruction of heretical artifacts as propaganda to recruit fighters?" "It happened in Afghanistan when the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan." "And in Syria, ISIS blew up the ancient ruins of Palmyra." "And now Hizb Al-Shahid is using the same tactic in Algeria." "So you think preserving the monastery could help slow the momentum?" "I think it's a piece of the puzzle, yeah." "What do you want from me?" "Money." "State has a working group, but it's underfunded." "If you could convince your higher-ups to reprogram part of the budget, we could do a joint operation." "Save the monastery, save Algeria." "You sure this isn't just a religion professor doing everything he can to rescue an old church?" "Look, if you're asking me if I have an emotional stake in this, the answer is: you're damn right I do." "But I also firmly believe that by saving it, we could disrupt HS in southern Algeria." "Which is what Black Dog Station is all about, isn't it?" "Off to Algiers I go!" "Like a dutiful servant." "Sounds like Tuesday." "Well, yeah, but last Tuesday" "I wasn't working for President Turncoat Dalton and his little Iago-esque puppet master Elizabeth McCord." "I thought you liked her." "Oh, she had me fooled, too." "Yeah, with her realpolitik." "But she's just a blonde Yoko Ono, making an administration over in her Kumbaya, peace-on-Earth baloney." "You know when we'll have peace on Earth, Mary?" "After we nuke ourselves to kingdom come, dear." "That's right." "And until then, the only meaningful diplomacy is... is achieved when our adversaries begin to feel their own mortality." "Feet to the fire." "I said feet to the fire, darling." "Good afternoon, Madam Secretary." "Oh, I don't like the sound of that." "Well, I received an interesting message from Agent Santangelo at the FBI." "Um... what did he say?" "Uh, Th-they need to know the code for Jason's phone." "I'm sorry, ma'am." "Why does the FBI have Jason's phone, ma'am?" "He didn't do anything, Blake." "No." "No, no, no." "Of-of course not." "Why can't the FBI just crack the code?" "I mean, isn't that what they do?" "Wha..." " Oh, that doesn't look good." " No." "Ma'am, the president urgently needs you at the White House." "The excitement never ends." "His wife Mary said he was ranting about us right before he collapsed." "Well, at least he died doing what he loved." "He was a good man, and his death should be mourned properly, but, uh..." "But right now we need to save our Algeria deal." "Well, Haddad's already intimating that we had Curtis killed to spike the deal." "That makes no sense." "Haddad has a tenuous relationship with sense." "All he knows is power." "And it sure sounds like he's looking for an excuse to maintain it." "If he does, it'll be civil war." "And beyond the suffering of the Algerian people, the world can't afford another Syria right on Europe's doorstep." "We have no choice but to try and salvage this deal." "I'll go to Algiers." "And how exactly do you plan to make President Haddad trust you?" "The man's impulsive, paranoid, unstable." "Sounds like a teenager." "I deal with those every day." "You can't send a brutal dictator to his room." "I don't have to." "Just to exile." "What if he won't go?" "Henry." " Good to see you." " Jay." "I know what you're thinking." "State doesn't have the resources to save the monastery." "Religious scholar, Marine pilot and psychic." "Well..." "I've got two words for you:" "counterterrorism funding." "And this is a done deal?" "Money's already been reprogrammed to an Ongoing Operations account." "It's ingenious bureaucratic jujitsu, but I don't think any amount of money can save the monastery." "Look, I'm aware that the instability in the middle of the country has left the south under the control of HS." "Exactly." "So even if we muster up sufficient force protection, it's too dangerous to leave boots on the ground for an extended period." "I figured as much, but here's what we can do." "We can send in a UNESCO recovery team to remove the statues of the apostles." "They're the most famous feature of the site, carved right into the nave walls." "But they could be detached with a masonry saw." "It's not ideal, but... it's better than losing them forever." "Okay." "Okay." "We'll need permission from the Algerian government." "And the UNESCO team will need a security force." "Which we can now afford." "I'll get into it." "Thanks, Jay." "Hey." "Hi." "Jay give you our sad budget sitch?" "Yeah, but we're trying something." "Well, that's good." "So, are you cool with the Justice Department subpoenaing our son?" "So, the FBI can't crack his phone code?" "Bingo." "I'd talk to him, but I have to go stop a bloody civil war." "I'll put the screws to him." "He'll be begging for his mommy." "Perfect." "I'll be in Algeria." "Ah, see how that works?" "You know, I don't know who's got the tougher job, but I'll take a brutal dictator any day." "Oh, look at us..." "functioning moderately well." "Just keep lowering that bar." "All clear, girls." "Thanks for your cooperation." "Thank God." "I felt like I was missing a limb all day." "You might want reflect on that just a little." "No, I'm good." "Since when do we have so many devices?" "Since when did we give up our Fourth Amendment rights?" "Here we go." "The Fourth Amendment protects against" ""unreasonable" searches and seizures." "Exactly." "It's unreasonable if there isn't probable cause." "How do you know there isn't?" "That's the point, dummy." "We don't know because the Stasi here won't tell us." "All right, that's enough, Jason." "I need the security code to your phone." "And I'm not gonna ask you twice." "You can ask as many times as you want;" "I'm not giving it." "Okay, you're grounded for a month." " What?" "!" "Dad..." "Dad, are you serious?" "!" " Unless you want to go for two." "You want to go for two?" " Dad..." " Give me the code." "Dad, you of all people should respect that I'm taking a principled stand." "I mean, isn't that what all your heroes did, like Thomas Becket" " or St. Sebastian or Gandhi?" "Hey, hey." " Really, dude?" "At least someone in this family still has integrity." "You know the only reason you're taking such a "principled stand"" "is because you want to keep hiding your secret Instagram account from Mom and Dad." "I'm gonna kill you!" "You know that?" " You are so dead!" " Is that true?" "Is that true?" "!" " Yes." "But that's not the point." " Okay, we'll deal with that later." " The point..." "I..." " But for now, give me the code." "Fine." "Take it." "Take the Constitution while you're at it." "Give me up to the thought police and torture me till I'm saluting a portrait of Big Brother." "Oh." "I don't understand." "We gave him the drinking talk." "Apparently, it didn't take." "Nadine's making a face." "Maybe... we needed more than one talk." "Now Blake is pointedly avoiding eye contact." "Well... he's already grounded for a month." "We can wait till you get home to give him the big talking to." "Okay." "I'm afraid to say anything else, lest the mime troupe weighs in again." "Excuse me, Madam Secretary?" "There's been a change of plans." "Henry, I got to go." "Thank you for dealing with our delinquent." "Be safe." "Love you." "Yeah." " What's up, Matt?" " Algerian DGSP just informed us that instead of the Presidential Palace," "President Haddad would like to meet you at the Ministry of Defense." "It's unusual, ma'am." "But... so is President Haddad." "It sounds like a power play." "Yeah." "How are we feeling about it from a security standpoint?" "It's acceptable, ma'am." "Our new route is being cleared." "Okay, then." "President Haddad." "Good morning." "Thank you so much for meeting with me." "Madam, uh..." "I was expecting my friend, Roy Curtis." "President Dalton sends his condolences." "We mourn his loss along with you." "Do you?" "Or are you just here to push me out?" "I'm here to express our most profound respect for your bold, selfless and historic leadership of Algeria." "Madam, allow me to introduce, uh, General Mourad Cherat." "My chief of staff of the military." "We have known each other since we were boys." "We were, uh, lab partners in biology class." "Dissected mice together." "General Cherat, good to meet you." "Secretary McCord." "And, um..." "The rest of them do not matter." "Coffee?" "Y-Yes, thank you." "That's..." "Please." "Uh, is Professor Arkoun on his way?" "Is Roy Curtis on his way?" "Mr. President, we... deeply regret Ambassador Curtis's passing." "He was murdered by your government." "I know about your CIA's targeted killings." "Roy... was more than a friend." "He was a brother." "Again, I'm very sorry for your loss." "Can you check on" "Arkoun's status?" "Professor Arkoun will not be joining us." "Mr. President, uh, with respect, Arkoun has to be here to sign the accord for the transfer of power." "The man is a traitor." "He confessed to his crimes against the state this morning." "_" "Now you can see why the distinguished professor cannot be joining us." "Mr. President, if you let this happen, it will lead to your ouster and death." "That is exactly what you were trying to avoid by making the agreement to abdicate in the first place." "Madam, do you think I am a fool?" "If I get on your plane, you will take me to The Hague." "That is not..." "You never had any intention of honoring our deal!" "We fully intend to honor it and take you to Malta as agreed." "Now, for your own safety and the good of your people, do not let this happen." "You must leave Algeria." "I am Algeria." "_" "Don't do this." "Don't do..." "And tell Dalton no deal." "And Haddad will never leave Algeria!" "It was a setup, intended to weaken our resolve." "And now the one man who can unify the country is dead." "Mr. President, our satellites are showing Algeria's military mobilizing to move on the insurgents' stronghold of Tindouf." "Where there are 10,000 rebels and 40,000 civilians who'll be no match for Haddad's tank brigade." "That's right." "It'll be a massacre, sir." "How long until they reach Tindouf, Ellen?" "About 48 hours." "Well, then that's how long we have to draw up plans to stop him." "You want to strike a nation that poses no immediate threat to the United States?" "Russell, just two days ago, you were saying that we can't afford another failed state this close to Europe." "I'll take a failed state over an even worse debacle of our making." "What the hell happened to your new era of principled foreign policy?" "There is nothing unprincipled about trying to save 50,000 lives." "And I never said anything about outright pacifism." "And what about the hundreds of thousands who are gonna die when the rebels move on Algiers?" "Which will inevitably embolden Hizb Al-Shahid to move up from the south, leaving a failed state anyway." "Remember Libya?" "Haven't we all seen this movie too many times already?" "This is exactly the kind of thinking that Haddad is counting on." "And the next thing you know, we're in a ground war in an election year." "Are you telling me we can't keep the world safe in an election year?" "No, I'm telling you the last thing our country needs is a North African sequel to Iraq." "Look, you heard what Curtis said about Haddad." "And based on what I've just seen, a show of strength is our only hope of changing his mind and avoiding a war." "That's a hell of a gamble, counting on a madman" " to change his mind." " All right." "Obviously, there are no easy solutions." "But I'm more sympathetic to Bess's view." "The world really can't afford another Mediterranean nation falling apart." "Now, we can't move unilaterally, so... let's reach out to NATO and our other allies in the region, see if we can build a coalition." "Yes, sir." "Military sources tell us that President Haddad has followed up this execution with a new ground offensive" " in rebel-held territory." " Hey." "Elizabeth's in the air." " Already cleared Algerian airspace." " I talked to her." "Thanks." "Hell of a thing." "Yeah." "Look, I know the political and logistical part of this is a nightmare, but it doesn't mean we have to give up on the monastery." "The Algerians already did that for us." "What?" "What do you mean?" "Their military officially pulled the plug." "Diverted all resources to the impending fight in Tindouf." "Without their security guarantees," "UNESCO won't send the archeological team." "I'm sorry, Henry." "You know... people often say that Napoleon's army shot off the Sphinx's nose as target practice." "But it's apocryphal." "Yeah, Napoleon stole a lot of artifacts on his way through Giza, but he also purposely kept the Sphinx and the pyramids intact." "He even hired artists to sketch them so the people of France could marvel at their grandeur." "Protecting the world's treasures matters." "Even during war." "What..." "What can we do?" "Okay, what if there were elements in the Algerian military who were amenable to back-channel negotiations?" "My colleague, Jose Campos at DIA," " is invested in this." " We're literally..." "He could... he could facilitate the process." "...literally gearing up for war with Algeria as we speak." "But yeah." "I guess we can take a shot." "Not at the Sphinx's nose." "We'll take a shot." "Look at him." "The guy negotiated peace in every corner of the planet, was revered by his peers." "For what?" "Country." "Humanity." "Yeah, I guess." "I hate death." "So, how you guys doing?" "You mean after seeing a man hanged?" "As well as can be expected, I guess." "Oh, man." "Who invited Jessica Rabbit?" "Algeria did." "That's Salima Tengour." "She's their official representative to the funeral." "I-I'm surprised that they're even allowed one." "Well, we tend to give a bit of leeway when it comes to paying respects." "Isn't she President Haddad's mistress?" "And also his Minister of Internal Affairs." "Oh, God." "Haddad has 11 wives." "Why does he need a mistress?" "Have you met men?" "Welcome back, Bess." "How is our coalition coming together?" "I'm expecting commitments from all of NATO and..." "Tunisia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia by morning." "Giving us plenty of time to start hitting" "Haddad's tank columns by the afternoon, before they reach Tindouf." "Good." "I want to bring in as many countries as possible." "Mary." "Sorry to be talking shop." "No need to apologize." "Roy wouldn't have it any other way." "Hello, Jonathan." "Mr. President." "Madam Secretary." "And dear Mrs. Curtis." "Allow me to convey the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria's and His Excellency President Aman Haddad's deepest and most profound sympathies on the loss of his beloved friend, Roy Curtis." "Thank you." "Thank you, Minister." "And please tell the president there is still time to talk." "I think we can all agree that that would be the best way to honor" "Ambassador Curtis's memory." "Indeed, Mr. President." "In fact, His Excellency asked me to pass along word that he would welcome such communication." "After careful consideration, uh, I'm willing to enact the reforms that the insurgents have demanded." "Well, I am glad to hear that." "Now, you need to call off your troops and get on a plane to Malta." "No." "No." "Who will lead if I'm gone?" "Well, you murdered the one man everyone agreed on." "But we will cobble together a provisional government..." "Nonsense." "Algeria needs a leader." "I will call for elections." "My people should have the chance to choose me." "Do I really need to remind you that at the beginning of negotiations, the insurgency demanded your head?" "There is no chance that they will accept you staying in power." "Now, you need to get on that plane to Malta." "That is the only deal that is available to you." "Fine." "But I hate talking like this." "Come back to Algiers, and, uh, we can discuss all these options." "I'm always willing to talk." "But given when just happened when I came to Algiers, no." "I'm-I'm not coming back." "But I am willing to meet with you in Geneva." "Impossible." "I cannot leave my people during such a difficult time." "We have nothing left to discuss." "Hey." "Are we really doing this?" "He gets home in an hour." "He'll never know what hit him." "Welcome home." "Oh, you've always been such a fantastic welcoming committee." "Keep welcoming me on the couch, will you?" "Sure you can be away from the office?" "I know." "You'd think I'd have more to do in the lead-up to war, but it's mostly DoD at this point." "Speaking of war, we're in agreement." "Jason's grounded for two months, yeah?" "Toast." "Make him cry." "But am I...?" "Am I crazy for thinking that it could be worse?" "With a mysterious stalker out there and the country on the brink of war?" "There's a chance you're not crazy." "I'm sorry about that monastery." "Mm." "Jay said that you fought the good fight right up to the end." "Yeah, we came so close to saving at least some of it." "We even got the head of the Algerian military to agree to let our UNESCO team in, but then UNESCO decided it wasn't safe," " so they pulled the plug." " Wait." "What head of the Algerian military?" "What?" "The general." "Um..." "Cherat." "You spoke to General Cherat?" "Not me personally, but he was cooperating with DoD." "You're sure?" "He-he's working with the U.S.?" "Oh... yeah." "No, wait." " Blake." " Yes, ma'am?" "Come on." "Listen, Blake." "Will you, um..." "You tell President Haddad I'll meet with him in Algiers first thing in the morning." "And get me DIA's military leadership profile" " on General Cherat." " Yes, ma'am." "I am really sorry." "I'm playing the Algerian card again, so you're gonna have to kick Jason's ass all on your own." "Just wait a minute." "I don't like you going to a country that's preparing for war." "I know." "Okay." "So for this next proof, we have a non-isosceles..." "What the hell is this?" "MPD." "Stand aside." "Whoa, whoa." "Diplomatic security..." " Report of a kid with a gun!" " Where are you getting this?" "!" " Jason McCord!" " Oh, my God!" "Hands!" "Hands!" "Show me your hands!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Okay, okay!" "Fine!" "Wait!" "Did you talk to him?" "No, but I spoke with Metro police." "He's fine." "Nobody got hurt." "Oh, thank God." "I thought you were on your way to Algiers." "Well, I-I was on the tarmac when I got the call." "But I turned it around." "Where is he, Todd?" "Madam Secretary, Alex is with him inside." "How the hell did this happen?" "FBI is into it, Dr. McCord, but it looks like a prank." "Metro police received an urgent call from the school's main office that Jason had a gun and was threatening to shoot up his classroom." "It looks like the school's phone system was hacked." " Oh, Jason." " Mom." "I'm so sorry." "Okay, okay." " At least they didn't shoot me, huh?" " Hey, pal." " Oh, God." " It was just a..." " sick, disgusting prank." " That must have been terrifying." " You okay?" " So, what?" "Does this have anything to do with why I have security guys now?" "Possibly." "We don't know." "We're gonna get to the bottom of it." "Yeah, soon." "You sound really confident." "Okay, come on." "Get your stuff." "I'll take him home." "You don't worry about a thing when you're on your trip." "Well, that won't be a problem, 'cause I'm not going." "Babe, we're fine." "Where are you supposed to be going?" "Algeria, but somebody else can go in my place." "Okay, this is so much worse than I thought." "You're scaring him." "Well, maybe he should be scared." "Seriously, I will lock the whole gang" " in the house till you get back." " I don't understand." "An hour ago, you were trying to convince me not to go." "I still don't want you to go, but I trust that you need to." "Don't aphorize me." "I got this." "Go stop a war." "Hey, Matt." "Uh, change of plans." "Instead of going to the Presidential Palace," "I want to visit the Ministry of Defense." "I'll clear it through Algerian DGSP." "Actually, no." "I want to keep the circle tight." "Just you and me and anyone else you need to alert on our team." " Okay?" " Ma'am," "I can't guarantee that local security and surveillance won't stop us." "Understood." "But it's important." "Yes, ma'am." "Secretary McCord, you are keeping the president waiting." "I-I didn't come to see President Haddad." "I came for you." "We have nothing to discuss." "W-Why did you engage with the U.S. military in saving St. Gabriel's Monastery?" "Whatever I did to try to save the monastery, it was a failure." "Hizb Al-Shahid militants destroyed it this morning." "I'm sorry to hear that." "But the fact that you tried to save it tells me that you cherish your country." "And I just recently learned that when you took leadership of the military, you enacted reforms to prevent abuses against the public, which tells me that you care about the Algerian people." "Certainly more than your president does." "What do you want?" "In less than an hour, U.S. and French fighter jets will decimate your tank columns." "Then the insurgency will march on Algiers, and it's anybody's bet whether you or Haddad will survive." "But there is one guarantee." "It'll be a long, drawn-out conflict that will rip your country to shreds." "Our forces are stronger than you think." "No." "Listen to me." "I convinced the insurgency to accept a truce with you as the interim leader, as long as you enact the reforms already agreed upon." "What about Haddad?" "You'll transport him to The Hague, where he will be tried by the International Criminal Court." "This is treason." "This is how you save your country." "Madam McCord!" "How dare you sneak around my country!" "What is this all about?" "I demand to know what is going on." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "Guns down!" "Put 'em down!" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "Hizb Al-Shahid put this up about an hour ago." "Guys, I get it." "You don't have to convince me these bastards are evil." "Just watch." "_" "That's a lot of explosives." "Yeah, but look at this." "Through the nave." "There's a statue of Matthew on the back wall, but that's not the same statue they showed before;" " that's a fake." " Come on." "You can really tell that this pixilated image of a 1,500-year-old statue is a fake?" "I don't have to." "Check this out." "This is the same shot after the dust has cleared." "See that?" " That's rebar." " Which wasn't invented until 1,000 years after the monastery was built." "HS wants us to think they destroyed the statues, but they didn't." "Terrorist groups have a history of looting museums and selling their treasures on the black market." "Makes for a substantial, albeit nefarious, revenue stream." "And you think Hizb Al-Shahid is getting into that business?" "I know they are." "This is a back door." "We can take them down from the inside." "I think you just signed up for Black Dog Station, Henry." "I'm home!" "Hi, babe." "War averted." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Nicely done." "Thank you." "So... how's Jason holding up?" "He's playing a lot of Xbox." "Great." "Family coping tradition is born." "Yeah." "We need to talk." "Yeah, I'm getting that." "Director Doherty came by to catch us up on the investigation." "As we suspected, the spoofed 911 call from the school office was completely untraceable." "Okay, get to the "need to talk" part." "Agents found a note in Jason's locker." "Here's a copy of it." " Oh, my God." " Yeah." "What about the-the school security cameras?" "They were hacked." "Turned off an hour before the SWAT call." "What... what the hell is going on?" "Is, uh, is this about my job?" "Why are they focusing on the kids?" "Wh..." "What do they want from us, Henry?" "I'm racking my brain." "What are we gonna do?" "I..." "I don't know." "Jason is right." "We've got to tell the kids." "All of it." "Oh, my God."