"The secretary is so sorry, Mr. Ambassador." "She was called away to a meeting at the White House." "Hmm, regarding the talks with Iran, no doubt." "I hear there's a snag." "Of course, you couldn't say, could you?" "She did want me to tell you that Canada is a very high priority." "Ah." "Very nice of her to say." "What you're looking at, Mr. President, is an act of war on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran." "I'm looking at a building that could be a Walmart." "It's the heavy-water production plant, sir." "It's the same heavy-water reactor the Iranians agreed to halt construction on over a week ago." "Sir, I've been negotiating." "I'm getting nowhere with these people here in Vienna for almost 18 months." "Right now, if you ask me, I need to go in that room and tell them the talking is over." "What are you proposing, Allen?" "Well, sir, we have a squadron of F-18's on a carrier in the Gulf." "They can be over that thing in 40, 45 minutes." "And then boom... you won't need a satellite to know that something's going on." "Uh, so we're clear, as chief" "U.S. negotiator for the Middle East peace talks, you are recommending a threat of military aggression against Iran." "Correct." "The trouble with a threat is you have to be ready to act on it." "Elizabeth?" "Sir?" "You agree with Mr. Bollings?" "Well, he's-he's been in the room since day one, sir." "Right." "He was Secretary Marsh's appointment." "Under your advisement, Mr. President." "Of course." "But now I'd like to know what my new secretary of state thinks." "Wasn't there some discussion that if the Iranians shut down this particular reactor on schedule, we would give them something in return?" "We did discuss lifting the ban on airplane parts." "Right, because we haven't given them any new parts or planes since the Revolution." "Maybe it's time to put that on the table." "You can't reward this kind of action..." "No." "It's not a reward if you also stipulate they have to allow inspectors." "To make sure that that thing is turned off when they say it's turned off." "Something the Iranians have refused to do up until now." "Carrot and stick." "I like it." "Do you think you could make that work, Allen?" "Well, I can try, sir." "If you both think it will work." "I do." "And it had better." "Otherwise..." "There's no way Iran gets a nuclear weapon on my watch." "Otherwise, it's war." "So, we're going with the peace talks in Vienna with Iran are continuing." "And we continue to look for progress." "Well, we can't say continue twice... it sounds desperate." "Just keep it short and simple." " Nothing to sound the alarms." " Right." "We've given them 48 hours to shut down the reactor." "After that, say a prayer to whatever God you pray to by whatever name." "Sorry." "Did I just bring the mood down?" "You're in good hands with Mr. Bollings, ma'am." " Really?" " As a U.S. Special Envoy, he negotiated the settlement in Northern Ireland." " Brought about the cease-fire in Kosovo." " Yeah." "And he's rumored to be on the short list for a Nobel Prize." "So I've heard." "A lot." "Why are you all out here?" "The Honorable" "Lester Clark, Ambassador of Canada, is still in your office." "Holy crap!" "Which is not soundproof." "Damn it." "Is he mad?" "In a Canadian kind of way." "Is this about that explosion on the pipeline?" " It's probably about the party." " Which party?" "The reception Canada's throwing for her at their embassy this weekend, welcoming her to her new job." "Oh, wait, not everybody made the list." "The meeting could be about both." "And not to worry, we're all on the list." "And we're all plus one." "You guys bringing Callie and Winthrop?" " Carly." " He prefers Win." "Whatever." "Just let me know so I can put their names on the list." "Are you bringing a date, Blake?" " Yes." " Anybody we know?" "Not yet." "He never identifies a gender." "It's rude to ask, too, right?" "He knows... about us." "He does not." "Every time this happens, you think everybody knows." "This does not happen enough times to create a ratio." "Last night was an aberration." "Yes." "Our sixth aberration?" "Best to date in my opinion." "Look, it only happens when we work late under pressure and someone says..." "I admit, usually me..." ""A tequila shot couldn't hurt."" "So we have to not do that anymore." "Because I'm with Win and you're with Callie." " Carly." " These episodes are dishonest and weak." "And fun." "But mostly dishonest and weak." "Look, I mean it." "Last night was the absolute last time." "Absolutely." "It's clearly an act of Eco-terrorism aimed at stopping the building of a link between our two countries." "Well, whatever it was, it happened on Canadian soil... or Canadian arctic tundra." "Forgive me." "But it's subarctic taiga." "It isn't tundra unless there's permafrost." "My mistake." "But until we know the motives and nationality of the people responsible, we can't say what it... clearly is or isn't." "Madam Secretary?" "My government has been very clear about its commitment to this pipeline." "Can you say the same?" "No, not until you make it clear why you're asking." "Well, the State Department..." "your State Department... is sitting on a report." "The Environmental Impact" "Assessment of the Pipeline." "I haven't had a chance to review that." "It was prepared under my predecessor." "Yes." "Secretary Marsh assured me last time we talked in this office that its conclusions would be favorable." "Look... the longer you withhold this report, the more hope you give these bomb-throwers and Eco-activists that they can pressure you into killing the pipeline." "Is that what you want?" "Wow." "I-I-I don't know which fallacy to start with." "Allow me to rephrase." "I want your word that you will make it a priority to release the report on the pipeline." "Yes." "To read... and release." "You have my word." "There should be no misunderstanding" " between friends." " Well, I agree." "Friends should have parties." "Like the one you're throwing me Friday night." "Thank you again by the way." "You're most welcome." "Our two countries have always found a way to work out our differences amicably." "Right." "I mean, at least since the War of 1812." "Not to bring up a touchy subject." "And why would it be touchy?" "Well... we won." "Madam Secretary?" "The War of 1812 was a draw." "We're looking at a live feed now of the palace where representatives of the United States and Iran are resuming talks on nuclear disarm..." "Something smells really good!" "Mom, what's really happening?" "When will you get the part that she can't talk about her work?" " Hi." " Hi, darling." "It's chicken chili this time." "And cornbread." " It tastes pretty good." " Wow!" "Yum." "We get no heads-up on nuclear war?" "Listen, all you need to know is that your government is doing everything to keep you safe." "Yeah, even if it means nuking someone else." "Hey, cut it out." "Nobody's getting nuked." " Hi." " Hi." "How can you absolutely know that?" "You can't absolutely know that." "Look." "Come here." "There was a time when nuclear war was a much bigger possibility and it didn't happen then." "When was that?" "Well, back when your dad and I were young and dinosaurs roamed the earth." "Yeah, you know, like, before the Internet." "Okay, somebody tell Mom about their day." "And make it good." "Why don't you tell Mom about your day?" " Oh, no." " Mom?" " What?" " Did you know that today Dad also made the news?" " Don't tell her everything." " Come on, Dad!" "No, no, no!" "What happened?" "Apparently..." "I made some list of famous spouses." "Uh, prettiest spouses." "TMI Magazine's list of The Arm Candy." "Top Ten:" "U.S. Government Edition." " Get out!" " Dad is number three." "Well..." "Who's one and two?" "Oh, they're both women and they're both former supermodels." "Yeah, just so you know where the country's priorities lie." "Aw, I think it's adorable." "All right, that was a very good start." "More." "I need more good news." "I got assigned the world's stupidest report" " in English class today." " Oh, come on." " Which I am totally psyched about." " And I'm dying to hear about." " What is it?" " I have to interview a parent or caregiver about their lives." "It's a 500-word essay about their occupation." "What they like and don't like about it." "The teacher is obviously angling for me to write about you, Mom." " Of course." " That's why I'm writing about Dad." "Mr. Arm Candy." "I'm telling you it's not just rebellion." "Honey, it is." "He's not interested in the life of a religious scholar." "No, but you were a Marine Corps pilot." "And you guys can talk about cool fighter jets and stuff like that." "Come on, he's an anarchist." "He's not interested in my military history." "Oh." "Without government institutions, what would the anarchists have to anarchy about?" "Hello?" "Yeah, put her through." "Thanks." "Seized when?" "Blockaded?" "No, um..." "I'll be right in." "Thank you." "We're at war with Iran?" "No." "With Canada." "These are a few fishing boats, Madam Secretary." "These are American boats, boarded and seized." "Uh, the salmon, I believe, are Canadian." "It's a clear violation of the 2009 revision to the Pacific Fisheries Treaty of 1985." "This is simple enforcement." "You're trying to strong-arm me into releasing the pipeline report." "I'm sorry you feel that way." "What if instead of releasing the report," "I canceled the Level P-1 temporary athletic visas of every Canadian national in the NHL?" "For violations to Section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965?" "Simple enforcement." "Hockey season starts soon." "That'll be a short season." "I'm sure you wouldn't stoop to that." "And I was sure that in the face of our trying to avoid military escalation with Iran, you wouldn't stoop to this." "I repeat, Madam Secretary, it's a clear violation of the Fisheries Treaty." "You know what?" "You're right." "Let's get the president in on this." "Secretary McCord for President Dalton." "What do I get out of this, Madam Secretary, if I release the boats?" "You get to not find yourself on the business end of a midnight call with President Dalton about salmon." "Do you want to wake him?" "I don't know, Lester." "Do I?" "Your boats will be released." "Thank you." "Cancel the call." "And I will read and release the report." "When I'm ready." "Well, this is not the last you've heard on the matter, Madam Secretary." "I believe you, Lester." "Good night." "Who'd you call?" "My sister." "She's used to it." "I try to lecture so the students grasp the organization of what I'm saying, see the way the subject is laid out." "So that later they can see the whole pattern." "Understand it and retain it." "Right." "Okay, so did you always want to be a teacher?" "No, I didn't know what I wanted to do." "Except go to college." "Which for me wasn't really an option, unless I figured out a way to pay for it myself." "That's how I wound up in the ROTC, and that's why I joined the Marine Corps Air Wing." "Wait." "Wait... s-so you, like, didn't even care about flying planes?" "No, of course I did." "What, are you nuts?" "I always wanted to fly a plane." "It took me five years of active duty to get in the cockpit, but I did it." "Okay." "So, you flew some planes." "And then you left because you decided to teach religion?" "Well, the transition was a little more complicated than that." "Mom's on TV." "30 years of mutual mistrust cannot be resolved overnight." "But there has been tangible progress on key issues, so, thank you." " Eric." " How do you respond to reports the Iranian president's visit to the White House may be postponed, even canceled?" "I see no indication of that happening at this time." "The visit in itself is a significant step." "I mean, you have to remember that formal diplomatic relations between our countries ended in 1980." "President Shiraz will be the first Iranian leader to visit Washington since that time." "Yeah, that is if we don't go to war." "It's okay, honey." "That was great." "Just spot on." " Professional." " Good." "Just one observation... it's more of a note than a criticism... your voice gets a little breathy when you lie." "But..." "I WA..." "I was not lying." "I meant "obfuscate."" "I was reassuring." "Your voice gets breathy when you're reassuring." "And doing a very good job" " reassuring." " Mr. Jackson asked for a moment" " of your time." "Here he is." " Mm." "I see that." "Thank you." "Seriously, nice deflection in there." " You're getting the hang of this." " Are you telling me I'm" " shrinking into the role?" " Except I hear you found a way to offend the Canadians." "How'd you manage that?" "The situation with Canada is being managed." "Is it?" "I don't know if you've noticed, but you're getting all sorts of attention." "They're right outside your building." "The longer you hold off on this environmental permit report, the more of a story it becomes." "Yeah, the Canadians made the same threat." " Point." "Of course I meant "point."" " Well, the Canadians are right." "Release it." "Give the president the excuse he needs to approve it and get this whole Canadian pipeline off his plate." "I've been a little busy trying to avoid war with Iran." "The pipeline report is a thousand-page document." "You need to read it?" "Of course you do." "So read it, then sign off." "You got a day." "That's less time than we gave the Iranians." "Sometimes you got to walk and chew gum." "Futile and aggressive attempt by a so-called superpower in its decline to impose its will on a sovereign people." "Just tell him I want a simple yes or no." "No." "Madam Secretary, Mr. Jackson is asking to see you." "Already?" "He wants an update on the pipeline report?" "I..." "You can tell him this:" "I'm on page 411 and" "I have real problems with it." "Have you read this?" "Uh, no one has, ma'am." "Except the people who wrote it." "Well, who did write it?" "I will find that out for you." "Um, Mr. Jackson is calling about something else." "The talks in Vienna have adjourned and you're wanted right away at the White House." "I don't understand." "Bollings didn't make the airplane offer?" "He said he tried but it was too late." "They were so outraged by the notion of foreign inspectors on the ground, he Nev..." "He wasn't supposed to lead with that." "It's the carrot before the stick." "I'm just relaying what he said." "Mr. President, I'm having real questions about how Allen is doing his job." "Then ask him the questions and get those questions answered." "These are your peace talks now." "If it all gets kicked back to me, what are you here for?" "This is what State does." "I want to know why I don't give the order now." "Today." "Blow Hekmat off the face of the earth." "Put an end to the Iranians' equivocation." "Sir, you do that... you even threaten to do that... that's the end of the talks." "I mean, sure, you might set back their weapons development six months... maybe a year at most... but you'll have convinced them to go full bore." "They'll take their reactors, stockpiles, everything underground where we can't detect it, we can't get at it." "When we bomb them with bigger bombs, again and again and again." "And the joke of it, sir... is that this is exactly what the militants want." "This is not what I need from you." "What do you need, sir?" "For you to fix this." "Have I been unclear about that?" "Sir, in fairness, she, uh, she inherited a lot of this, including Allen Bollings." " This was Marsh's agenda." " Vincent Marsh is dead." "When are you gonna do your job?" "Sometimes I think it's better when two people can just" " talk, one-on-one." " I think I understand you," "Madam Secretary." "Let's hope so." "I've just sent you a photograph." "Zahed Javani." "He's their former UN ambassador." "Yeah." "He's just joined the talks." "Oh, so I've heard." "Their story is he's just there as an observer." "There's another story that he used his time at the UN well, taking advantage of the fact that it's the one place he can legally speak to Americans on American soil." "He's rumored after this to be on his way to Tehran to be the new foreign minister." "So I've heard." "It's not my first time dealing with these people." "I think you can talk to him." "What do you mean?" "One-on-one?" "A take-aside, where the others can't hear." "And then, if you repeat our offer... airplane parts and inspectors for a chance to be a part again of the civilized world... he might actually be ready to listen and do something." "And what makes you think it will work?" "Oh, based on my read of him." "I'm pretty good at reading people." "You can ask around." "Well, it's worth a try." "Good luck." "Madam Secretary." "You wanted to meet with the people who wrote the pipeline report?" "Oh." "Yeah." "Oh." "Wh-Whoa." "Hey, what the hell happened?" " Nothing." " Ah-ah-ah-ah." "A little encounter with a protester." "Matt had to engage in a debate." "Look, he started by claiming that the pipeline would add CO2 to the atmosphere, so I had to tell him that it's nothing compared to the trucks and tanker cars we'd need if we didn't have the pipeline." "And anyway, oil from Canada could potentially supply America's energy" " for the next 30 years." " And then he sludged you?" "No, no." "He had a few more comments to add." "Yeah." "Yeah, I pointed out to him that his T-shirt was misspelled." "You know? "Greenhouse gases" doesn't have a double "S"" "It's one "S."" "I might have sludged you for that." "Get cleaned up." "She's right." "Correcting people's grammar and spelling is so annoying." " Do you do it to Carly?" " You know what?" "I don't do anything to Carly anymore." "We broke up." "Since when?" "Yesterday." "Not because of me." "Of course not." " We had issues." " What kind of issues?" " I corrected her spelling." " Tell me you did not break up with her because you want to keep having..." "What?" "Aberrations?" "With me." "How you guys doing?" "That is... not why I broke up with her." "I don't believe you." "Oh, that's... that's nice." "That's really... really nice." "No meta-analysis." "Tables and statistics that are out-of-date or-or just plain irrelevant." "Right here... there's an entire section in here that seems lifted from somewhere else, talking about the effects of fracking in the Everglades." "In Florida." "Who did this research?" "Secretary Marsh contracted out to an independent firm." "And then what?" "Bruce and I both took a pass at it." "And neither one of you raised an eyebrow at the content?" "We were tasked with languaging, Madam Secretary." "That's nice verbing, Bruce." "I was looking for a yes or no." "Come on, you guys." "This reads like it was written by an oil lobbyist." "What was the name of the independent firm?" "The Cathcart Group." "It was written by an oil lobbyist." "The biggest one on K Street, in fact." "I think that's enough for now." "Thank you both for coming in." "I know what you're thinking." "That Secretary Marsh commissioned an oil lobby to create fake reports so we could rush the pipeline through?" "It looks bad..." "I know." "He made no secret of being a friend" " to the oil companies." " Nadine, it is bad." "They were some of his biggest contributors to his campaign." "But he wasn't in anyone's pocket." "You have to believe that." "He was for energy independence, as is the president." "This report says exactly what the White House wants it to say." "Jackson told you as much." "I know." "But I can't put my name on a falsified document." "Mr. Jackson also gave you a day." "Starting over on this report would take six months." "Are you really ready to tell that to the president?" "I just got a call from Vienna." "The Iranians walked out." "They've adjourned?" "No, walked out, as in they've ended the talks." "Packing up and leaving." "Allen Bollings is getting on a plane." "There's going to be a full briefing at the White House as soon as he touches down." "All right," " think about this." " Mm-hmm." "You admire people who protest, correct?" " Mm-hmm." " The right to dissent." "Well, in my work, I get to teach and learn about the greatest, most articulate protesters in the history of mankind." "Martin Luther, for example." "The leader of the Protestant Reformation." "The original protestors." "Yes, I've heard you say that." "Okay, well, there's others." "There's Ignatius of Loyola, Joan of Arc, Blaise Pascal." "These people were not exactly rule followers." "Mm-hmm, right." "Oh, wow." "Okay." "Listen, buddy, you should just write about Mom." "I totally get it, I understand." "It's not gonna hurt my feelings." "No, no." "It's too late." "It's due tomorrow." " Oh." "Really?" " No." "I didn't mean it like that." " I'm kidding you." " All right, listen." "I think they forgot about us." "You want a refill?" "Sure." "Yeah, I know you." "You're the husband." "I've seen you in a magazine." "The Arm Candy list." "You're married to the lady secretary of state, right?" "Yeah." "Hey, he's Mr. Secretary of State." "That's nice, thanks." "Your wife and this president... they want to make peace with the Iranians." "Why don't we just pack up our balls and send them over?" "I'm here with my kid, okay?" "You know how many of my friends died trying to get out from under these bastards?" "And now your wife wants to make peace?" "I'll tell you what I think about that." "She's a piece." "She's a real piece of work." "Get off me, man!" "You're drunk, and you're in uniform." "You know what that means?" "Big Chicken Dinner..." "Bad Conduct Discharge." " You MP?" " No." "Fortunately for you, Captain, USMC." "Retired." "Just don't disgrace yourself in public, okay, Lieutenant?" "You need a cup of coffee," "I'll buy you one, I'll put you in a cab." "He's with us, sir." "I'll take care of him." " Get him out of here." " Thank you, Captain." "I'm sorry you had to see that." "At that point, I made it very clear to Javani." "Turn off the reactor, let in the inspectors." "And?" "And if he could agreed to it, if he could get the Supreme Leader to agree to it, then we'd let U.S." "aerospace firms resume selling them planes and equipment." "What was Javani's exact response?" "Well, sir, his response was no response." "What they always say when they can't say yes." "That he would take it under consideration." "The next thing I hear, the talks are off, and the entire delegation has left the building." "I'm sorry, sir, but, uh," "I guess it just proves what we've suspected all along." "They were never serious." "I want a complete COA." "Not just how we take out that reactor, but every centrifuge and stockpile, every lab and enrichment device." "I want you to tell me we can take out any hope of their getting a bomb, not for months or years, but for an entire generation." "Give me a briefing by 1200 hours." "Yes, sir." "No more deadlines?" "No ultimatums?" "They say they're done with talking, then so are we." "Let's give action a chance." "Bess?" "This morning, I woke up thinking, I get to be it." "The one who lands it." "Peace in the Middle East." "And tonight, I'm the guy who's going to order air strikes against Iran." "That's why I want to talk to you about that pipeline report." "Sir... isn't that a fairly low priority right now?" "It all connects." "I want energy independence for this country." "I want us free of the influence of people who want to kill us." "Yeah." "Ten presidents before me... ten... have all got bogged down over there." "Iran, Iraq, the Middle East." "But if I can get that freedom for at least the next generation, that's a legacy I can live with." "That report is a fake." " It's a little one-sided." " Sir, it's false." "Let me ask you something." "Of those ten that came before you, how many got us into trouble giving us something other than the facts, including leading us into war?" "What do you want?" "Six months." "That's how long it'll take to get you a new one, a real one, and then you can decide." "Don't worry about Canada." "I think I have a way to get them to live with it." "It's a big ask." "Nothing compared to my next one." "I need you to give me a day before you send those bombers into Iran." "A day?" "For what?" "For me to do my job." "She asked me to get her the Canadian ambassador." " No one else?" " No." "Well, that doesn't sound like war with Iran." "Unless she's canceling the party" " because of war with Iran." " She told me to wake him up if I have to." "That's not about canceling the party." "I have Secretary McCord for the ambassador." "Yes." "Hey, can you come here?" "Look, there may not even be a tomorrow, but, uh, for what it's worth..." "Yes?" "I did not break up with Carly because of you." "We were coming up on our one-year anniversary, and..." "I didn't want to give her the wrong idea." "What idea was that?" "That she was the one." "I mean, she was almost the one, but not quite." "And I'm not saying that anybody else I know is the one." "I'm just saying, she wasn't." "Got it." "Uh, okay." "Do you think Win is the one?" "Yes." "Oh." "Cool." "Good for... for you." "Oh, my..." "Oh, very nice." "She wears brink-of-disaster very well." "I am having unclean thoughts about my boss's husband." "Okay, you're talking out loud." " Where's Winthrop?" " Win." " Thank you." " And he had to work." "Oh, what does he do again?" "He's a lobbyist for an alternative health care pharmaceutical company." " Oh, the medical marijuana thing." " That is just one aspect." "God." "Everybody goes there." "Uh, where's your date?" "Uh, new relationship." "I thought this shindig was a little, you know, big to bring in a start-up." "Also in government work?" "SEC lawyer." "SEC lawyer by the name of...?" "Chris." "French Canadian." "I'm only getting every third word, but who cares?" "I'm guessing that isn't Carly." "...take it from a block of ice." "Especially in Winnipeg, they have large..." "Hi." "We were just talking about ice." "Ice is a wonderful substance." "You might say we Canadians know a lot about it." "And we also know the wonderful things that happen when it melts." "Your Northwest Passage." "Our Northwest Passage." "Thank you, again." "The trade route?" "Atlantic to Pacific." "The water route to China that so many died looking for." "For a long time, it didn't exist." "Now it exists all the time, right?" "Because of global warming and the melting of the Canadian ice pack." "Which both countries agree is a bad thing." "And which, with patience, we will both do our best to keep from getting worse." "In return, Madam Secretary, unlike her predecessor, has agreed to recognize Canadian claims to the northern waters." "Again, merci, Madame la Secrétaire." "Thus ending disputes over the shipping rights that have lasted for centuries." "Since the War of 1812, if I'm not mistaken." "Which many think was a U.S. victory, but historians agree was more like a... a draw." "Hand to God, I did not prep him." "I didn't." "Shall we?" "I'm supposed to ask you to dance." "Yes." "To create a distraction." "What makes you think I wasn't going to ask you anyway?" "You're very kind, Dr. McCord." "Down here to the right." " Okay." " Good luck." "Thank you." "So, where's your Canadienne Francaise?" "We exchanged data." "We both had to work." "Decided to keep it professional." "Smart." "It looks odd." "Us not dancing." "We probably should." "Yeah, to be professional." "Exactly." "Ambassador Javani." "I've been looking forward to meeting you, Madam Secretary." "It's very generous of your host to offer us this piece of Canadian soil on which to meet." "Since I am not allowed to step foot on yours outside of the, uh," " UN grounds in Manhattan." " Well," "I'm hoping that our diplomatic status will change soon." "It will." "If you take military action." "We don't want war, Mr. Javani." "Then why send us your Mr. Bollings, huh?" "He is a bully and a saber-rattler." "What did he say to you?" "You need to ask?" "He said that he brought a message from, uh, you and the president saying that the next step would be bombings unless the reactor was shut down and inspectors allowed in within the next 24 hours." "Nothing else?" "No." "Nothing else." "Was there supposed to be?" "Secretary McCord, is it possible that, um, you and your chief negotiator are not in perfect agreement?" "I was hoping as much when I accepted your invitation here." "Via Ambassador Clark." "Ambassador, I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to give me a reason to believe everything you just told me." "And why would I be lying?" "When I have taken such a risk in coming here." "If certain factions found out, I-I..." "I would be destroyed." "I have, um..." "I have two boys, nine and 11." "I do not want them to inherit a war any more than you want that for your children." "I have a copy of a letter from me to the Office of Foreign Assets Control." "It authorizes lifting the ban on trade in civilian airplanes and equipment by American firms with the Republic of Iran." "Take it to your Supreme Leader." "You haven't signed it." "I'll put my name there when that reactor goes offline and an inspector tells me it's offline." "And if you and President Shiraz want help in bringing your more militant faction into line, you can also say that you personally forced this concession from me and my president." "You can tell 'em that you got the Great Satan, the United States, to blink in a private meeting between us in New York." "I don't have to show him." "I'll call him." "Tonight." "Thank you." "Tell me, is it true that while you were at the CIA," "I was referred to as your boyfriend?" "Uh, it was more of a joke." "Well, not a joke, but..." "more of a code name." "And what was it code for?" "I had my eye on you." "I picked you as a sort of metaphorical dance partner." "Hmm." "I thought you were someone who could help lead us to peace." "Well, I hope that I can join you in that dance one day, Madam Secretary." "Thank you." "Hey." "There he is." "The prettiest one at the ball." "Ah, that would still be your mother." "Hey, buddy." "You're up kind of late." "Alison went to bed early, but he said he wasn't sleepy." "Maybe he needs to talk to someone who isn't his sister." "Okay, where is Mom?" "She still had some stuff to do." "She'll be a little while." "Are we going to war?" "Well, your mother's gonna do everything in her power to make sure we don't." "And you know Mom when she makes up her mind about something." "Yeah." "You were in a war, right?" "Yeah." "Desert Storm." "That was the first time we invaded Iraq." "Did you fly fighter jets?" "Mmm." "F/A-18 Hornet." "Yeah." "Did you kill anyone?" "Yes, I did." "How many?" "Well, it's like this." "You're 20,000 feet up." "You press a button, look at your screen, and you see if you hit your target." "And I always hit my target." "I'll tell you this." "By the time you find yourself in a situation like that, you've made up your mind how you feel about... a lot of things." "It's part of the training." "You don't take an action like that lightly." "Do you still think about it?" "I do, yeah." "A lot." "Good night, Dad." "Good night." " I'm taking the stairs." " I'm taking the stairs." "You were supposed to take the elevator." "I took the stairs because I thought you were taking the elevator, so we wouldn't get here at the same time." "Oh, well, now we're getting here at the same time, both taking the stairs." "And we both have coffee from the same place." "We should just make a public announcement." "Sounds good to me." "Also, I got you this coffee." "Good morning." "You're both late." "We're both early." "Total coincidence." "She's already called a meeting." "The talks with Iran are set to resume, and we need to get out the good news." "What happened?" "The reactor at Hekmat went offline four hours ago, weapons inspectors are in the air, and I understand there's to be an announcement from the Treasury Department." "We're selling them commercial airplane parts." "That's great." "I'm assuming you didn't get my e-mails because there's no signal in the stairwell." "I have started taking the stairs." "The whole 10,000 steps a day thing... for my heart." "Health." "And she inspired me to care about my heart." "In a health way." "Mmm." "How can I say this with love and respect?" "No one cares." "So they blinked." "My tactics worked." "Well... well, not exactly, Allen, but the details are irrelevant." "No, I called you in here on something else." "The president wants your resignation." "I want to hear this from the president himself." "Oh, trust me... you don't." "What is the charge?" "You looked the leader of the free world in the eye and lied about making an offer to Javani." "Now, who told you that?" "Javani." "You went behind my back." "You never really had faith in this process, did you?" "You were always hoping for a military solution." "Yes." "I was." "Because I sat across from the Serbians in Kosovo, the Provos and IRA in Northern Ireland." "And I know what they understand, and it's force." "You don't let them know you're prepared to make concessions because they already know you're weak." "And they know it, Madam Secretary." "You and this president..." "they know what you are." "The Iranians, Javani... they know, if they can just string you along long enough, delude you with enough please-and-thank-yous, that's all they need to get what they want." "Then one day, we'll all wake up to a mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv." "My God, is that what you really believe?" "Yes." "As did your predecessor." "Vincent Marsh gave me this job because he knew how to do his job." "And I'll tell you another thing." "If he'd lived, Vincent Marsh would have been the next president of the United States and I'd be sitting in that chair." "I'd have your job." "But it's my job now." "And you're fired." "Do you need anything, ma'am?" "Yeah." "Would you send Blake in?" "Of course." "Thanks, Nadine." "Ma'am." "How much can I trust you, Blake?" "With your life, Madam Secretary." "And your career, obviously." "The latter will be sufficient." "I need you to help me run an investigation on someone, and I need it to be confidential." "Yeah, no problem." "Uh, someone in the State Department?" "Yeah." "Nadine."