Madam Secretary (2014) s01e02 Episode Script
Another Benghazi
Previously on Madam Secretary Well, this can't be good.
The secretary of state's plane just went down over the Atlantic.
- I want you to step in.
- Step into what? - Secretary of State.
- Probably should've brought my own staff.
Probably.
But you know what, their boss had just died.
I couldn't just clean house like that.
- It's an encoded text.
- Saying what? It's from George.
Vincent Marsh's plane crash was not an accident.
Be careful, Bess.
This is me not being a politician.
- Trust me.
- You'd better be right about this.
I got the president to sign off.
How could you do that without my knowledge? By blatantly circumnavigating your authority.
What's wrong? George is dead.
That wasn't an accident.
I know.
_ Uh, sweetie, will you bring this in, please? Thank you.
That's wrong.
It is not! Fine.
Leave it.
What's the answer? You suck at math.
- Hey! - Don't say "suck.
" Make him stop bothering me! - Stop bothering your sister.
- I was helping.
Okay.
Stay here.
_ No.
It's this one.
- Give me this - It's the landline.
Yes.
Hello, hello? Madam Secretary, at approximately 0800 hours, local time, our embassy in Yemen came under heavy encroachment by a crowd of armed protestors.
Define "encroachment.
" It means they breached our perimeter.
We have reports of gunfire.
Are they still outside the compound? Yes.
And their numbers are growing.
Okay, what's the threat assessment? The situation is still fluid.
Let me put it this way.
On a scale of one to ten, how far are we from another Benghazi? Best guess we're looking at a seven.
Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna SVTC in with Paul.
Put everybody on standby.
Baptism by fire.
You were bored at the horse farm.
No, I was not.
Ah, there can't have been more than 25 of them.
Lot of yelling, shots in the air.
Scared the hell out of us, but it was the shock more than anything.
So there haven't been protests leading up to this? Nothing.
There was a drone strike in the Abyan Province yesterday, which apparently set them all off.
Bet the Yemeni troops have it under control for now.
Has the crowd dispersed now? No, they're still out there, but unarmed.
They're just chanting, you know.
Standard "Death to America" stuff.
These things have a way of picking up steam pretty quickly.
I'd feel better about it if you took a nice, long diplomatic vacation.
I can't do that.
Cut and run at the first loud noise? That's not part of the job description.
Well, at least let me get Jessica and the kids out.
She's way ahead of you on that one.
They're on the first flight to D.
C.
I'm gonna work on beefing up your security.
It's not necessary.
I'll be the judge of that.
Yes, ma'am, Madam Secretary.
Director Munsey, what does the CIA have? The drone strike in the Abyan Province was on a militant camp of fighters being trained to kill Americans.
Al-Qaeda are claiming that three civilians were among the dead, and are circulating photos of mangled women and children.
The pictures are fake, but many local Yemenis believe them.
The crowd has doubled in size since yesterday.
The good news is that they're much less volatile.
There are no more reports of gunfire and the Yemeni Security Forces seem to have it in hand.
Well, that's also the bad news.
Without active aggression, we're gonna have a hard time pushing the button on FAST.
That's Marine Marine Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Teams.
I know.
I've been in a situation to recommend that action.
So you know how challenging it is to get it approved.
Have the protestors given themselves a name? Their clarion cry is "Death to America.
" Early intel was that they are not an organized group.
But they have been calling themselves "Al mawt Li Amreeka," which means "Death to America.
" All right, so aside from a startling vocabulary, what else is in their arsenal? A handful of automatic weapons and a lot of enthusiasm.
What about Paul? What protection does he have other than the standard Marine Guard complement? The ministry of the interior has deployed a handful of troops for now.
They don't have the resources to keep them there, let alone send more if the action escalates.
The ambassador's office is still saying he doesn't want reinforcements.
I know Paul.
He was a visiting scholar when I was at UVA.
He wore cowboy boots with a suit and drove a Harley.
He's not a man whose sense of environment you can trust.
Is there any way to send extra Marines without declaring it an emergency? No, not without going through Everard Burke.
Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Fighting off jihad is a cakewalk compared to getting anything past him.
What kind of guy is he? Slow, methodical cheap.
It'll take us a month to get a meeting.
I mean, what does he like? Fruit baskets? Steak? Is flirting gonna get me anywhere? Everybody has a weakness.
Nice shot.
You're up, Congressman.
Nice shot.
Congressman Burke? Elizabeth McCord.
We haven't officially been introduced.
Madam Secretary.
I was told I might find you out here.
You play? Uh, I was raised in Virginia by a man who wanted sons.
What do you think? You know, now that I have you, I was wondering if maybe we might talk a little business? Of course.
We have a situation at the embassy in Yemen.
Yes, I've heard about that.
I want to bring in some military personnel on the ground for protection.
Hmm, sounds expensive.
Uh, not a full unit.
Special ops forces.
50 guys.
Madam Secretary, I am sure that, uh, your boss is aware that he's coming up against a hard deadline for pulling troops out of Afghanistan? - Yes.
- Well, uh, that involves a lot of military personnel.
And that's not cheap.
You think war is expensive? Wait until you get a load of peace.
Well, perhaps if I could get you to read the briefs that I sent over from my office? I've read them.
The answer is no.
Uh, I was, uh, gonna take a mulligan.
Why don't you play through? No, that's all right.
You go ahead.
No, no really.
I insist.
Thanks for your time.
Now, what makes you think this is large scale aggression as opposed to small scale irritation? I was trained to recognize a global hot spot.
Give me the criteria.
Organization.
These guys have given themselves a name.
A modest show of retaliation.
But the Marine Guard, they're not allowed to engage.
This group doesn't understand that.
They perceive it as weakness.
Yeah.
And news coverage is increasing, which adds validity to their cause.
It's a solid ground for precaution, but it doesn't qualify as a dire security threat.
There are protests outside embassies all over the world.
We have a Naval base in Djibouti.
If things get worse, we could get troops there in an hour and a half.
Exactly.
An hour and a half.
We're preparing to pull troops out of Afghanistan.
Sending the cavalry to Yemen without sufficient provocation delivers entirely the wrong message.
It looks like a shell game.
I agree.
Then I recommend pulling Ambassador Wellington out of there.
Not an option.
That's worse than sending forces.
It's tantamount to an act of war.
I think that's an exaggeration.
Really? We once had diplomatic relations with you, now we're shutting down the embassy and we have none? That's not an invitation to a sleepover.
We're not braiding each other's hair after that.
She gets the point, Russell.
Bess, I can't make a move here.
My hands are tied.
I have to kick this over to State.
The situation has to be resolved and it can't look like a military action.
How you get that accomplished is up to you.
It's your call.
So, when he says it's my call, what does he mean by that? He means it's your ass.
Got a call from Everard Burke's office.
He was a little taken aback by your encounter on the golf course.
Oh, what can I say? I'm a beast off the tee.
My short game would've made him relax.
All jokes aside, Madam Secretary.
There's a concern that you might be overreacting to the situation in Yemen.
Thanks.
Do you have any actual intel on the situation? Not much change.
Crowd's about the same.
Here.
This is the only photograph of George I've got.
Thanks.
When we cleaned out his desk at Langley, we couldn't find anything.
He left no paper trail, like he never existed.
Well, he was good at his job.
I didn't want to put together a memorial without a recent photo.
I will get this back to you.
Hey, Andrew, you know, we, uh we never got a chance to talk about George's accident.
Just wanted to know that The Company handled it properly.
I'm not sure I follow.
He's a former operative who died in a dramatic single-car collision.
I trust you handled the investigation.
You checked his online history, e-mail, bank accounts, professional correspondence Just tell me you looked into it.
Thoroughly.
Of course we did.
And you're satisfied with the results.
I know what you're getting at.
Unfortunately, there was too much damage to the body to test for substances.
He was hitting the bottle pretty hard there toward the end.
I don't think we can count it out, but we'll never really know.
Of course, the official word is just an accident.
Of course.
Thank you.
So I struck out with Mr.
Burke and the president has put the ball in my court.
We need to come up with a solution to Yemen.
It needs to be fast and it needs to be something that we can push the button on ourselves.
Madam Secretary we have another problem.
Since when? This morning.
The headline was on the Policy POV startup page.
There are mentions everywhere, including the Post and the Times.
There's also footage on YouTube and TMZ.
"Secretary of State's Daughter Leads Lovell University Protest, Detained By Security.
" Yes, I can read.
Any idea why she decided to come out of hiding? Wait.
You have a hidden daughter? She's not hidden.
She's underrepresented.
It was in the official bio.
It was in all the papers during the confirmation hearing.
It's not her fault the public has the long-term memory of a goldfish.
Madam Secretary, you've never mentioned her before.
So even if you're not trying to hide her, it's like you're trying to hide her.
When I talked to the family about taking this job, everyone agreed, but Stephanie had conditions.
She didn't want to be talked about in the press, she didn't want to trotted out for functions and she didn't want to be hounded by reporters.
She asked that I keep her presence low-profile.
She's a legal adult, she's in college, and she wants to live her own life.
I respect that.
Then how did she go from Greta Garbo to Erin Brockovich overnight? Well, that I can't explain.
She's never been outwardly political.
It doesn't sound like her.
What's the issue? Lovell University is changing its admissions policy from need blind to need aware, which means a student's ability to pay will be taken into consideration.
She's against it.
That's a worthy cause.
The cause isn't the issue.
Fine.
You want me to talk to her and explain why the Secretary of State's daughter can't be doing things like this? And we need to release a statement.
Explaining your mystery daughter.
Not a mystery daughter.
By "mystery" do you mean born out of wedlock or sired by aliens? Well, we'd like to remove all doubt about either of those speculations.
Knock yourself out.
Can we talk about matters of national security now? - Please? - Sure.
But the situation in Yemen is not a long discussion.
If we can't pull Wellington out and we can't send in military support, what do we have to talk about? The last resort.
We have a discretionary fund.
I'd like to think about hiring private security contractors.
Okay, come on.
You mean, like Vesuvian? I mean exactly like Vesuvian.
- That might be a problem.
- I'm aware.
We are talking about the people you referred to a year ago in a national publication as "the latest guise of Satan, "bloodless mercenaries who serve and protect "and kill out of naked ambition "rather than honor or duty, "while cashing a check three times the size of anyone in military service.
" I really thought I'd cut the Satan line.
The press will jump all over that.
And my crack team will handle it brilliantly.
Look, on an ideological level, I'm opposed to everything a private army stands for.
But there is a reason they exist.
Given our limited options, this would be the most efficient way to keep the ambassador safe.
And unless I'm missing something, right now it's the only way.
You guys are really overreacting.
I wasn't arrested I was detained by the campus security.
For like an hour.
I understand that, but And the need aware policy is so screwed up.
I have a right to speak up against things that I believe are wrong.
Speak up? Yes.
Organize a protest? That was not part of the agreement.
Is that Mom talking? No, actually, it's the State Department.
And as head of that, I guess, yeah.
Look, just try to stay below the radar until Thanksgiving when we can all talk about this, okay? Okay.
Thank you.
Okay, here's the latest Stephanie McCord business.
Most popular headline, some version of "It's A Girl! Madam Secretary Welcomes a Newborn Adult Daughter.
" There's an article saying she's illegally adopted, one saying she's a Communist and another saying she's a love child.
Exact words.
Wait, here's one randomly demanding to see Madam Secretary's birth certificate and her college records.
All right, you knew it would be ugly.
It's one news cycle and one uncomfortable late-night circuit.
I don't think so.
She has to put out a statement now.
- She doesn't have time.
- Why? What's she doing? - Meeting with Satan.
- More specific, please? Oh, Isaac Bishop.
The CEO of Vesuvian.
The private security for Yemen.
Oh.
That Satan.
I met with him.
He seems like a nice guy.
That's how he gets you.
I've come up with a threat assessment evaluation based on your memo and the film footage.
Put some in the air if you feel it's necessary, and then a helo or two on standby in case of a sudden evacuation.
One should do it.
We've pulled most of the personnel.
The point is not to let it get to that.
Our whole approach is to demonstrate our ability and willingness to use force, so that we don't have to.
I have your word on that.
Of course.
Can I ask you how you plan to handle the financial end? We have a discretionary fund.
This'll classify as a home improvement.
Happy to pave over the money trail accordingly.
No.
I'm not afraid if this becomes public.
So the illusion of transparency? No, Mr.
Bishop, actual transparency.
I'm happy to defend actions that protect our people.
And making the ambassador's home safer qualifies as an improvement, don't you think? Maybe I'll throw in a fountain.
If anyone is well-acquainted with your code of ethics, Madam Secretary, it is "the new guise of Satan.
" I didn't actually call you Satan.
No, no.
Just my life's work.
I was in academia then.
I have a different job now.
Right.
You're a diplomat.
I'm responsible for the safety of our employees overseas.
I understand.
Desperate times, desperate measures and all of that.
We'll let Shakespeare have the last word on that, shall we? How does it feel? To make a deal with the devil? Thank you, Mr.
Bishop.
Do not come near me with that.
Don't.
I love you.
I know.
Can you really not give work a break? I am.
I'm-I'm I'm shopping.
It's weird.
Nobody's doing a wedge heel this fall.
Right? Seriously.
I called my congressman.
What? Hey! What are you doing here, Norma Rae? Go ahead.
Get it out of your system.
I just needed the one.
I'm good.
I'm good.
How'd you get here so fast? I just talked to you.
I know.
I hung up and I suddenly realized what I needed to do.
I quit.
You quit what? College.
Is there any more of that? No, no, no, no.
Uh I can't believe you don't even have - a room for me.
- You have a room.
It just happens to be filled with boxes at the moment.
Don't get any ideas about sharing a room with me.
Don't worry.
You know, for what it's worth, I applaud you for pulling out of a corrupt system.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
Time for bed.
- Let's go.
You two, upstairs.
- Out.
Please.
So you need the Wi-Fi password or anything? I'm good, Dad.
Not that we want you posting on Facebook Okay.
Your turn.
Okay Can we save the lecture for the morning? Sure.
I think you know what I'm going to say.
Mom, the need aware policy means that you can buy your degree.
It doesn't make you qualified to do anything.
Meanwhile, as I'm sure you're aware, there's a dearth of employees in a whole host of hands-on professions.
Yes.
Large machinery mechanics.
You plan on working on tractors? I don't know what I'm going to do yet.
I need more than half a day to think about it.
Well, let me take the mystery out of it for you.
You're going back to college.
Not back to Lovell.
I alerted my advisors and signed the forms.
Your cerebral cortex isn't fully formed until you're 25 years old.
That's the decision-making part of your brain.
That's science.
Good night, Mom.
There's going to be fallout from her hiring Vesuvian.
Look, I know that's just amusing to the rest of you, but I got to write the actual statement.
It's an easy spin.
There's a difference between philosophical thought, academia and practical application work in action.
Well, if it's so easy, why don't you give me the headline to that? Uh, "Secretary of State.
"Discovers that Doing "is More Challenging than Talking About Doing"? And we still have to explain the mystery daughter.
Not a mystery daughter.
Blake everyone appreciates your allegiance to your boss.
Well, she is not my boss, she's our boss.
The fact is, she publicly denounced Vesuvian and now she's employing them.
We all have to figure out a way to explain that.
Well, call me goofy, but I'm going with, "She's Concerned with the Personal Safety of a State Department Official"? You're goofy.
Let's not get lost in the weeds.
We have to sell Vesuvian and defend her daughter's behavior.
First order of business the situation in Yemen.
Oh, it was pretty quiet there this morning it looks like employing Vesuvian was a knee-jerk move; waste of money.
Let's find a way to make it not look like that.
Wow! Nice digs! Hey.
You're actually taking up my invitation for lunch? A girl's got to eat.
Seriously this place is insane.
Did you get a promotion? Uh sort of.
Theology Department is better funded.
Hey, have a seat.
Uh-oh there's a pre-lunch discussion.
Feels like a trap.
Just sit.
Consider giving your mom a break.
God, Dad.
You would defend her if she were standing over a bloody corpse with a knife.
I would not, it-it would totally depend who the corpse was.
You guys just really don't know me at all, do you? Other than sucking snot out of your nose with a tube when you were two days old, I'm barely acquainted with you.
Okay, come on, I'm hungry.
Look, I'm not a brat.
Hmm.
I know how lucky I am - to have you guys as parents.
- Hmm.
And when Mom asked us about taking the job, I was on board; I thought it would be cool to have a famous mother.
Guess what? It's not cool.
Tell me.
Okay, even though you guys tried to keep me out of it, um, everyone at school found out anyway.
Then I had people who hated me trying to be my friend.
People who liked me trying to be better friends.
Then there were the people who were just openly hostile, because they didn't approve of her politics or the way she got the job or the way she wears her hair; anything, it doesn't matter.
And it doesn't matter that I'm not her.
What do you expect your mom to do, quit? No! That's the reason I came home.
She can't quit.
So I have to.
The Vesuvian guys are here on post.
I'm better protected than Kate Middleton.
It's good to hear.
You really shouldn't have.
But I have to admit, it's nice to see them out there.
Your family back home? Yeah.
My daughter's already enrolled in swimming lessons.
Good.
Listen, I want you to keep the phone lines open; I'm not taking any chances.
Got it.
Hey, by the way, the coffee here, it's amazing they bring it in from Turkey.
We don't have anything like it at home.
I'll bring you some next time I'm Hey, Paul?! Paul, are you there?! _ Blake! We have no contact on the ground radios, cell phones, cameras; everything's down.
Drone images just show fire and rubble.
What about Vesuvian? Haven't made contact.
How many guys on the ground? You think that was enough? It was about 50 more than anyone else thought we should have.
Where are we? We're finally getting some footage from Al-Harun.
Any idea what they're saying? I have a rough translation.
The protestors were peaceful; no mention of Death to America.
They're saying the American security guys fired first into the crowd.
At least one civilian death has been reported.
The explosion was a retaliation to this action.
President Bassara assures me his people are on top of it, which means they're all in some room like this getting their story straight.
Have our forces been deployed? Yes, sir.
Special Ops are on their way.
Should be on the ground in 90 minutes or less.
Is it safe to say, this is another Benghazi? Oh, it's safe to say, it's a lot worse than that, politically speaking.
'Cause it looks like we didn't learn anything from the first one.
We need more information.
We're in the blind.
There's nothing to do but stay on top of this for now.
_ How's it going in there? Not good.
We can't get any information and the images we're getting look like the end of the world.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Guess this isn't a good time to give you something else to think about.
You're about to plead Stevie's case, aren't you? It's not a case.
It's a situation.
Why didn't she come to me about it? She's scared of you.
Because of my long history of chastising and humiliating her? She doesn't want to let you down.
- She said that? - Of course not.
'Cause last night it was all about how she was gonna work on farm equipment.
- That was a defense.
- Yes, I'm beginning - to pick up on that.
- Everyone at school has turned on her in one way or another.
She's become a spectacle.
And she can't handle it.
That's why she started acting out and that's why she came home.
So then she can take some time off.
And when she feels better, she can go back.
I just wish that she wouldn't split us like this.
And you're not helping, acting like her lawyer.
No, you're not helping.
That's what she's telling you.
Excuse me, that's what she's telling you and you're telling me.
Since when do we have a system like that? I was there.
She was upset.
I listened to my daughter.
Guilty.
Really? You're gonna go there? Oh, I'm already regretting it.
I will talk to her.
And I'll make it better.
I just wish she'd come to me first.
Henry, look at me.
I can't quit this job.
I know.
Can I? N-No, you can't.
_ I got to get back.
- Hang in there.
- I will.
I'm inside what used to be the ambassador's residence.
Not sure what did this.
Couple of grenades? Maybe they got some C4 in somehow.
It's gonna take a while to dig through this rubble.
Is there any sign of the Vesuvian detail? No, ma'am.
Nobody in sight.
I hate to use the language "cut and run" but those guys just work for a paycheck.
I don't think I would have hung around for that.
What's the status on casualties? Don't have that information right now, sir.
But I can say with full certainty that nobody could have survived this.
And if we avoid making a statement, it makes us looks weak.
Well, I am not going on the air with "no one could have survived the attack.
" The destruction is gruesome.
His family's watching.
- Absolutely.
- Madam Secretary, Isaac Bishop is here.
Finally.
Did he give up a spa day? He didn't say.
Gee, I hope I'm not interrupting anything.
Not at all.
How's it going? You tell me.
I've been unable to raise any of my men.
We have a shutdown procedure, just as the military does.
They can't take a chance on anyone following a signal.
I'm sure we'll hear from them any minute and as soon as I do, you'll be the first to know.
Al-Harun is reporting that your guys fired into the crowd and provoked the attack.
Let's not convict them just yet, okay? You let me know the minute I can.
Yes, ma'am.
Hello.
Hi.
Hey, Mom.
- Hi.
- You okay? I'm fine.
- Hi.
- Hi.
We saved you dinner.
Wow, that was really sweet.
Thank you.
Maybe you'd like a drink? Yeah, I would.
A big one.
I can't believe you guys.
Whoa.
What guys? The State Department.
You used Vesuvian? They're mercenaries.
They're completely corrupt.
Why didn't you send troops? Because they wouldn't authorize it.
Who's they? Stevie, mom knows this guy that's probably dead.
It's not just a headline.
Yeah, it's not a kingdom, all right? She-She can't just do what she wants.
Uh, you know what, you guys? Would you mind giving us a minute with your sister, please? Of course.
Thank you.
I understand you're upset.
Your dad told me about what happened at school.
I am so sorry, Stevie.
I wish that you'd talked to me about it.
- I was trying to be a team player.
- I know, and I really I appreciate it.
This whole thing has turned out to be a lot harder on all of us than we anticipated.
And it's still relatively new.
We need to find out a way to get through it.
So we're okay with you leaving college.
Taking a year off.
But, in the meantime, you got to stay busy.
You got to start looking for a job.
We'd be glad to help you with your résumé.
Yeah.
What, you mean, like, working in an office? Being a waitress? Well, whatever interests you.
None of it interests me.
I'm working on a novel.
I-I was gonna take the time to finish that.
Well, you can still write your novel.
Everybody needs a day job.
Chekhov was a doctor.
Oh.
Oh, God.
We have more intel coming in.
I got to go back.
I'll see you guys later.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Oh This doesn't feel like guidance.
It feels punitive.
Okay.
Look, honey.
College is like a four-year deferment from real life.
You say you don't want the full four, so you gotta go to work.
Tell me the truth.
Is this you or is this her? This is us.
We're a unit.
You got that? I came as soon as I got the message.
You haven't missed anything.
Mr.
Bishop refused to give us any information until you arrived.
Technically speaking, I do work for Madam Secretary.
What's going on? I just started receiving communication from my men.
They waited until they were completely out of the war zone to get in touch.
We've located them in a Vesuvian safe house, and if you're ready, we'll connect with them.
I believe we're more than ready.
We've got video coming in.
- Oh - Oh, Paul.
Hey.
It is really good to see you.
It's really good to be seen.
Next time you ask me to vacate the premises, Madam Secretary, that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
You okay? Yeah, not a scratch, thanks to these boys.
The first explosion didn't do much damage.
My men mobilized and evacuated Mr.
Wellington.
He was well inside an armored vehicle when the second explosion occurred.
They proceeded away from the high-risk area and did not attempt contact until the package I mean, the ambassador was secure, according to our protocol.
We've also received better intel from our people on the ground.
Al-Harun reporting was, in fact, not accurate.
Our men did not fire first.
I believe you mean my men, Mr.
Munsey.
Of course.
The only casualty was one of my men.
A sweeper.
He was checking the premises to make sure all souls had cleared out.
I'm sorry to hear that.
So were we, Madam Secretary.
He was aware of the risk.
Thank you, Mr.
Bishop.
We are indebted to your security forces.
However, your display of theatrics here was unworthy of them.
I have my way, Mr.
President.
You all have yours.
If that's all, Mr.
Bishop, we'll, uh, say good bye to you and get on with our situational assessment.
Pleasure doing business, gentlemen.
Ma'am.
That's quite a character you found there.
You're welcome.
Very happy to have you safe and sound, Mr.
Ambassador.
We'll get you home that way, too.
Thank you.
I'm looking forward to it.
That's about as close as it gets.
We got very lucky.
May I take a moment, sir? Go ahead, Bess.
Mr.
Bishop.
The man who died in this operation I would like to tell his family.
They've already been told.
Well, then, I'd like to see them.
That's not protocol, ma'am.
You may have picked up on this: I'm not big on protocol.
Then that makes us two peas in a pod.
- May I call you Elizabeth? - No.
Madam Secretary, you should know this.
That little article you wrote? You know, the one where you called me Satan? I-I didn't actually call you Satan It changed our policy.
Our guys had a tendency to fire at first provocation.
Made some bad calls under pressure.
Following your article, we did a lot of training and we built some real restraint into our procedures.
I think, in this case, it paid off.
We didn't fire first.
I'm grateful.
It was your idea.
What you did for me back there? It was unnecessary.
I'd be tempted to thank you, but it was very risky.
That is the President of the United States.
Yeah, I didn't vote for him.
This is my son, Dylan.
Dylan.
Nice to meet you.
Thank you for seeing me so quickly.
We were impressed by your résumé.
You did a lot of copy editing at Lovell, I see.
Yes, and I did some freelancing for charity organizations.
I believe very strongly in your cause.
Potable water for the developing world is the most pressing issue of our time.
So you said in your e-mail.
Your passion was well articulated.
- Thank you.
- Sit.
I'm afraid your résumé needs work.
It's not up to date.
It's not? You haven't listed your BA.
It looks like you haven't graduated college.
Oh.
Well that's because I haven't graduated college.
This is a full-time position.
It requires a four-year degree.
I thought you might make an exception.
I'm sorry, we can't.
We'll keep your résumé on file.
You can contact us when you've completed your education.
Thanks.
Ms.
Hardwick I have an unusual amount of exposure to world politics.
My mother is Elizabeth McCord.
The Secretary of State? Yes.
Well, that kind of exposure creates an interesting perspective.
Perhaps we can work something out.
No.
Sorry, we can't.
Thank you for your time.
Hi.
Good afternoon.
I'm glad I caught you.
Do you have a minute? Uh, not really.
I just got confirmation from our SEAL team that they captured the ringleaders in the embassy attack.
The Yemenis are fully cooperating with the rendition.
They're being taken into FBI custody as we speak.
Good.
The Yemeni government also agreed to rebuild the embassy.
So Wellington could be back in there within the year.
All right, that's great.
Sorry, I've got a call holding.
How long do you think you're gonna punish me for going around you? I don't know what you mean.
"We got lucky yesterday"? That's one way to look at it.
Yes, I know.
If it's any consolation, that's not how the president sees it.
He thinks you saved his ass.
Told me to tell you that.
Were you going to tell me that? I hadn't decided.
Hello? Hi.
I will give you $50 cash for a bite of what's in that bowl.
Well, you got really lucky about the Wellington thing.
Congratulations.
Let's not to use the "L" word, shall we? Why? Did you pull off some badass diplomacy? Let's just say a strategy came together and some people made very big sacrifices to make it happen.
Yeah, the Vesuvian guy.
I heard.
That's too bad.
How'd your job search go today? Uh, unsuccessful.
That's all right.
It's just day one.
- Something'll come up, you know? - Mm-hmm.
Don't ever tell me how to make this.
I mean, ever.
Mmm.
Mmm.
Uh, yeah, Dad opened that.
I looked at it.
I hope that's okay.
Yeah.
George was a good friend.
He was.
Remember those bad magic tricks he used to do? You never fell for those? No! - Even as a kid? - No, they were terrible.
He was funny, though.
He could hide an entire top secret operations, make it disappear into thin air, but not a quarter.
No.
You could always see it under his thumb.
_ How did he die? A car crash.
Oh.
How'd it happen? It was an accident.
The secretary of state's plane just went down over the Atlantic.
- I want you to step in.
- Step into what? - Secretary of State.
- Probably should've brought my own staff.
Probably.
But you know what, their boss had just died.
I couldn't just clean house like that.
- It's an encoded text.
- Saying what? It's from George.
Vincent Marsh's plane crash was not an accident.
Be careful, Bess.
This is me not being a politician.
- Trust me.
- You'd better be right about this.
I got the president to sign off.
How could you do that without my knowledge? By blatantly circumnavigating your authority.
What's wrong? George is dead.
That wasn't an accident.
I know.
_ Uh, sweetie, will you bring this in, please? Thank you.
That's wrong.
It is not! Fine.
Leave it.
What's the answer? You suck at math.
- Hey! - Don't say "suck.
" Make him stop bothering me! - Stop bothering your sister.
- I was helping.
Okay.
Stay here.
_ No.
It's this one.
- Give me this - It's the landline.
Yes.
Hello, hello? Madam Secretary, at approximately 0800 hours, local time, our embassy in Yemen came under heavy encroachment by a crowd of armed protestors.
Define "encroachment.
" It means they breached our perimeter.
We have reports of gunfire.
Are they still outside the compound? Yes.
And their numbers are growing.
Okay, what's the threat assessment? The situation is still fluid.
Let me put it this way.
On a scale of one to ten, how far are we from another Benghazi? Best guess we're looking at a seven.
Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna SVTC in with Paul.
Put everybody on standby.
Baptism by fire.
You were bored at the horse farm.
No, I was not.
Ah, there can't have been more than 25 of them.
Lot of yelling, shots in the air.
Scared the hell out of us, but it was the shock more than anything.
So there haven't been protests leading up to this? Nothing.
There was a drone strike in the Abyan Province yesterday, which apparently set them all off.
Bet the Yemeni troops have it under control for now.
Has the crowd dispersed now? No, they're still out there, but unarmed.
They're just chanting, you know.
Standard "Death to America" stuff.
These things have a way of picking up steam pretty quickly.
I'd feel better about it if you took a nice, long diplomatic vacation.
I can't do that.
Cut and run at the first loud noise? That's not part of the job description.
Well, at least let me get Jessica and the kids out.
She's way ahead of you on that one.
They're on the first flight to D.
C.
I'm gonna work on beefing up your security.
It's not necessary.
I'll be the judge of that.
Yes, ma'am, Madam Secretary.
Director Munsey, what does the CIA have? The drone strike in the Abyan Province was on a militant camp of fighters being trained to kill Americans.
Al-Qaeda are claiming that three civilians were among the dead, and are circulating photos of mangled women and children.
The pictures are fake, but many local Yemenis believe them.
The crowd has doubled in size since yesterday.
The good news is that they're much less volatile.
There are no more reports of gunfire and the Yemeni Security Forces seem to have it in hand.
Well, that's also the bad news.
Without active aggression, we're gonna have a hard time pushing the button on FAST.
That's Marine Marine Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Teams.
I know.
I've been in a situation to recommend that action.
So you know how challenging it is to get it approved.
Have the protestors given themselves a name? Their clarion cry is "Death to America.
" Early intel was that they are not an organized group.
But they have been calling themselves "Al mawt Li Amreeka," which means "Death to America.
" All right, so aside from a startling vocabulary, what else is in their arsenal? A handful of automatic weapons and a lot of enthusiasm.
What about Paul? What protection does he have other than the standard Marine Guard complement? The ministry of the interior has deployed a handful of troops for now.
They don't have the resources to keep them there, let alone send more if the action escalates.
The ambassador's office is still saying he doesn't want reinforcements.
I know Paul.
He was a visiting scholar when I was at UVA.
He wore cowboy boots with a suit and drove a Harley.
He's not a man whose sense of environment you can trust.
Is there any way to send extra Marines without declaring it an emergency? No, not without going through Everard Burke.
Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Fighting off jihad is a cakewalk compared to getting anything past him.
What kind of guy is he? Slow, methodical cheap.
It'll take us a month to get a meeting.
I mean, what does he like? Fruit baskets? Steak? Is flirting gonna get me anywhere? Everybody has a weakness.
Nice shot.
You're up, Congressman.
Nice shot.
Congressman Burke? Elizabeth McCord.
We haven't officially been introduced.
Madam Secretary.
I was told I might find you out here.
You play? Uh, I was raised in Virginia by a man who wanted sons.
What do you think? You know, now that I have you, I was wondering if maybe we might talk a little business? Of course.
We have a situation at the embassy in Yemen.
Yes, I've heard about that.
I want to bring in some military personnel on the ground for protection.
Hmm, sounds expensive.
Uh, not a full unit.
Special ops forces.
50 guys.
Madam Secretary, I am sure that, uh, your boss is aware that he's coming up against a hard deadline for pulling troops out of Afghanistan? - Yes.
- Well, uh, that involves a lot of military personnel.
And that's not cheap.
You think war is expensive? Wait until you get a load of peace.
Well, perhaps if I could get you to read the briefs that I sent over from my office? I've read them.
The answer is no.
Uh, I was, uh, gonna take a mulligan.
Why don't you play through? No, that's all right.
You go ahead.
No, no really.
I insist.
Thanks for your time.
Now, what makes you think this is large scale aggression as opposed to small scale irritation? I was trained to recognize a global hot spot.
Give me the criteria.
Organization.
These guys have given themselves a name.
A modest show of retaliation.
But the Marine Guard, they're not allowed to engage.
This group doesn't understand that.
They perceive it as weakness.
Yeah.
And news coverage is increasing, which adds validity to their cause.
It's a solid ground for precaution, but it doesn't qualify as a dire security threat.
There are protests outside embassies all over the world.
We have a Naval base in Djibouti.
If things get worse, we could get troops there in an hour and a half.
Exactly.
An hour and a half.
We're preparing to pull troops out of Afghanistan.
Sending the cavalry to Yemen without sufficient provocation delivers entirely the wrong message.
It looks like a shell game.
I agree.
Then I recommend pulling Ambassador Wellington out of there.
Not an option.
That's worse than sending forces.
It's tantamount to an act of war.
I think that's an exaggeration.
Really? We once had diplomatic relations with you, now we're shutting down the embassy and we have none? That's not an invitation to a sleepover.
We're not braiding each other's hair after that.
She gets the point, Russell.
Bess, I can't make a move here.
My hands are tied.
I have to kick this over to State.
The situation has to be resolved and it can't look like a military action.
How you get that accomplished is up to you.
It's your call.
So, when he says it's my call, what does he mean by that? He means it's your ass.
Got a call from Everard Burke's office.
He was a little taken aback by your encounter on the golf course.
Oh, what can I say? I'm a beast off the tee.
My short game would've made him relax.
All jokes aside, Madam Secretary.
There's a concern that you might be overreacting to the situation in Yemen.
Thanks.
Do you have any actual intel on the situation? Not much change.
Crowd's about the same.
Here.
This is the only photograph of George I've got.
Thanks.
When we cleaned out his desk at Langley, we couldn't find anything.
He left no paper trail, like he never existed.
Well, he was good at his job.
I didn't want to put together a memorial without a recent photo.
I will get this back to you.
Hey, Andrew, you know, we, uh we never got a chance to talk about George's accident.
Just wanted to know that The Company handled it properly.
I'm not sure I follow.
He's a former operative who died in a dramatic single-car collision.
I trust you handled the investigation.
You checked his online history, e-mail, bank accounts, professional correspondence Just tell me you looked into it.
Thoroughly.
Of course we did.
And you're satisfied with the results.
I know what you're getting at.
Unfortunately, there was too much damage to the body to test for substances.
He was hitting the bottle pretty hard there toward the end.
I don't think we can count it out, but we'll never really know.
Of course, the official word is just an accident.
Of course.
Thank you.
So I struck out with Mr.
Burke and the president has put the ball in my court.
We need to come up with a solution to Yemen.
It needs to be fast and it needs to be something that we can push the button on ourselves.
Madam Secretary we have another problem.
Since when? This morning.
The headline was on the Policy POV startup page.
There are mentions everywhere, including the Post and the Times.
There's also footage on YouTube and TMZ.
"Secretary of State's Daughter Leads Lovell University Protest, Detained By Security.
" Yes, I can read.
Any idea why she decided to come out of hiding? Wait.
You have a hidden daughter? She's not hidden.
She's underrepresented.
It was in the official bio.
It was in all the papers during the confirmation hearing.
It's not her fault the public has the long-term memory of a goldfish.
Madam Secretary, you've never mentioned her before.
So even if you're not trying to hide her, it's like you're trying to hide her.
When I talked to the family about taking this job, everyone agreed, but Stephanie had conditions.
She didn't want to be talked about in the press, she didn't want to trotted out for functions and she didn't want to be hounded by reporters.
She asked that I keep her presence low-profile.
She's a legal adult, she's in college, and she wants to live her own life.
I respect that.
Then how did she go from Greta Garbo to Erin Brockovich overnight? Well, that I can't explain.
She's never been outwardly political.
It doesn't sound like her.
What's the issue? Lovell University is changing its admissions policy from need blind to need aware, which means a student's ability to pay will be taken into consideration.
She's against it.
That's a worthy cause.
The cause isn't the issue.
Fine.
You want me to talk to her and explain why the Secretary of State's daughter can't be doing things like this? And we need to release a statement.
Explaining your mystery daughter.
Not a mystery daughter.
By "mystery" do you mean born out of wedlock or sired by aliens? Well, we'd like to remove all doubt about either of those speculations.
Knock yourself out.
Can we talk about matters of national security now? - Please? - Sure.
But the situation in Yemen is not a long discussion.
If we can't pull Wellington out and we can't send in military support, what do we have to talk about? The last resort.
We have a discretionary fund.
I'd like to think about hiring private security contractors.
Okay, come on.
You mean, like Vesuvian? I mean exactly like Vesuvian.
- That might be a problem.
- I'm aware.
We are talking about the people you referred to a year ago in a national publication as "the latest guise of Satan, "bloodless mercenaries who serve and protect "and kill out of naked ambition "rather than honor or duty, "while cashing a check three times the size of anyone in military service.
" I really thought I'd cut the Satan line.
The press will jump all over that.
And my crack team will handle it brilliantly.
Look, on an ideological level, I'm opposed to everything a private army stands for.
But there is a reason they exist.
Given our limited options, this would be the most efficient way to keep the ambassador safe.
And unless I'm missing something, right now it's the only way.
You guys are really overreacting.
I wasn't arrested I was detained by the campus security.
For like an hour.
I understand that, but And the need aware policy is so screwed up.
I have a right to speak up against things that I believe are wrong.
Speak up? Yes.
Organize a protest? That was not part of the agreement.
Is that Mom talking? No, actually, it's the State Department.
And as head of that, I guess, yeah.
Look, just try to stay below the radar until Thanksgiving when we can all talk about this, okay? Okay.
Thank you.
Okay, here's the latest Stephanie McCord business.
Most popular headline, some version of "It's A Girl! Madam Secretary Welcomes a Newborn Adult Daughter.
" There's an article saying she's illegally adopted, one saying she's a Communist and another saying she's a love child.
Exact words.
Wait, here's one randomly demanding to see Madam Secretary's birth certificate and her college records.
All right, you knew it would be ugly.
It's one news cycle and one uncomfortable late-night circuit.
I don't think so.
She has to put out a statement now.
- She doesn't have time.
- Why? What's she doing? - Meeting with Satan.
- More specific, please? Oh, Isaac Bishop.
The CEO of Vesuvian.
The private security for Yemen.
Oh.
That Satan.
I met with him.
He seems like a nice guy.
That's how he gets you.
I've come up with a threat assessment evaluation based on your memo and the film footage.
Put some in the air if you feel it's necessary, and then a helo or two on standby in case of a sudden evacuation.
One should do it.
We've pulled most of the personnel.
The point is not to let it get to that.
Our whole approach is to demonstrate our ability and willingness to use force, so that we don't have to.
I have your word on that.
Of course.
Can I ask you how you plan to handle the financial end? We have a discretionary fund.
This'll classify as a home improvement.
Happy to pave over the money trail accordingly.
No.
I'm not afraid if this becomes public.
So the illusion of transparency? No, Mr.
Bishop, actual transparency.
I'm happy to defend actions that protect our people.
And making the ambassador's home safer qualifies as an improvement, don't you think? Maybe I'll throw in a fountain.
If anyone is well-acquainted with your code of ethics, Madam Secretary, it is "the new guise of Satan.
" I didn't actually call you Satan.
No, no.
Just my life's work.
I was in academia then.
I have a different job now.
Right.
You're a diplomat.
I'm responsible for the safety of our employees overseas.
I understand.
Desperate times, desperate measures and all of that.
We'll let Shakespeare have the last word on that, shall we? How does it feel? To make a deal with the devil? Thank you, Mr.
Bishop.
Do not come near me with that.
Don't.
I love you.
I know.
Can you really not give work a break? I am.
I'm-I'm I'm shopping.
It's weird.
Nobody's doing a wedge heel this fall.
Right? Seriously.
I called my congressman.
What? Hey! What are you doing here, Norma Rae? Go ahead.
Get it out of your system.
I just needed the one.
I'm good.
I'm good.
How'd you get here so fast? I just talked to you.
I know.
I hung up and I suddenly realized what I needed to do.
I quit.
You quit what? College.
Is there any more of that? No, no, no, no.
Uh I can't believe you don't even have - a room for me.
- You have a room.
It just happens to be filled with boxes at the moment.
Don't get any ideas about sharing a room with me.
Don't worry.
You know, for what it's worth, I applaud you for pulling out of a corrupt system.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
Time for bed.
- Let's go.
You two, upstairs.
- Out.
Please.
So you need the Wi-Fi password or anything? I'm good, Dad.
Not that we want you posting on Facebook Okay.
Your turn.
Okay Can we save the lecture for the morning? Sure.
I think you know what I'm going to say.
Mom, the need aware policy means that you can buy your degree.
It doesn't make you qualified to do anything.
Meanwhile, as I'm sure you're aware, there's a dearth of employees in a whole host of hands-on professions.
Yes.
Large machinery mechanics.
You plan on working on tractors? I don't know what I'm going to do yet.
I need more than half a day to think about it.
Well, let me take the mystery out of it for you.
You're going back to college.
Not back to Lovell.
I alerted my advisors and signed the forms.
Your cerebral cortex isn't fully formed until you're 25 years old.
That's the decision-making part of your brain.
That's science.
Good night, Mom.
There's going to be fallout from her hiring Vesuvian.
Look, I know that's just amusing to the rest of you, but I got to write the actual statement.
It's an easy spin.
There's a difference between philosophical thought, academia and practical application work in action.
Well, if it's so easy, why don't you give me the headline to that? Uh, "Secretary of State.
"Discovers that Doing "is More Challenging than Talking About Doing"? And we still have to explain the mystery daughter.
Not a mystery daughter.
Blake everyone appreciates your allegiance to your boss.
Well, she is not my boss, she's our boss.
The fact is, she publicly denounced Vesuvian and now she's employing them.
We all have to figure out a way to explain that.
Well, call me goofy, but I'm going with, "She's Concerned with the Personal Safety of a State Department Official"? You're goofy.
Let's not get lost in the weeds.
We have to sell Vesuvian and defend her daughter's behavior.
First order of business the situation in Yemen.
Oh, it was pretty quiet there this morning it looks like employing Vesuvian was a knee-jerk move; waste of money.
Let's find a way to make it not look like that.
Wow! Nice digs! Hey.
You're actually taking up my invitation for lunch? A girl's got to eat.
Seriously this place is insane.
Did you get a promotion? Uh sort of.
Theology Department is better funded.
Hey, have a seat.
Uh-oh there's a pre-lunch discussion.
Feels like a trap.
Just sit.
Consider giving your mom a break.
God, Dad.
You would defend her if she were standing over a bloody corpse with a knife.
I would not, it-it would totally depend who the corpse was.
You guys just really don't know me at all, do you? Other than sucking snot out of your nose with a tube when you were two days old, I'm barely acquainted with you.
Okay, come on, I'm hungry.
Look, I'm not a brat.
Hmm.
I know how lucky I am - to have you guys as parents.
- Hmm.
And when Mom asked us about taking the job, I was on board; I thought it would be cool to have a famous mother.
Guess what? It's not cool.
Tell me.
Okay, even though you guys tried to keep me out of it, um, everyone at school found out anyway.
Then I had people who hated me trying to be my friend.
People who liked me trying to be better friends.
Then there were the people who were just openly hostile, because they didn't approve of her politics or the way she got the job or the way she wears her hair; anything, it doesn't matter.
And it doesn't matter that I'm not her.
What do you expect your mom to do, quit? No! That's the reason I came home.
She can't quit.
So I have to.
The Vesuvian guys are here on post.
I'm better protected than Kate Middleton.
It's good to hear.
You really shouldn't have.
But I have to admit, it's nice to see them out there.
Your family back home? Yeah.
My daughter's already enrolled in swimming lessons.
Good.
Listen, I want you to keep the phone lines open; I'm not taking any chances.
Got it.
Hey, by the way, the coffee here, it's amazing they bring it in from Turkey.
We don't have anything like it at home.
I'll bring you some next time I'm Hey, Paul?! Paul, are you there?! _ Blake! We have no contact on the ground radios, cell phones, cameras; everything's down.
Drone images just show fire and rubble.
What about Vesuvian? Haven't made contact.
How many guys on the ground? You think that was enough? It was about 50 more than anyone else thought we should have.
Where are we? We're finally getting some footage from Al-Harun.
Any idea what they're saying? I have a rough translation.
The protestors were peaceful; no mention of Death to America.
They're saying the American security guys fired first into the crowd.
At least one civilian death has been reported.
The explosion was a retaliation to this action.
President Bassara assures me his people are on top of it, which means they're all in some room like this getting their story straight.
Have our forces been deployed? Yes, sir.
Special Ops are on their way.
Should be on the ground in 90 minutes or less.
Is it safe to say, this is another Benghazi? Oh, it's safe to say, it's a lot worse than that, politically speaking.
'Cause it looks like we didn't learn anything from the first one.
We need more information.
We're in the blind.
There's nothing to do but stay on top of this for now.
_ How's it going in there? Not good.
We can't get any information and the images we're getting look like the end of the world.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Guess this isn't a good time to give you something else to think about.
You're about to plead Stevie's case, aren't you? It's not a case.
It's a situation.
Why didn't she come to me about it? She's scared of you.
Because of my long history of chastising and humiliating her? She doesn't want to let you down.
- She said that? - Of course not.
'Cause last night it was all about how she was gonna work on farm equipment.
- That was a defense.
- Yes, I'm beginning - to pick up on that.
- Everyone at school has turned on her in one way or another.
She's become a spectacle.
And she can't handle it.
That's why she started acting out and that's why she came home.
So then she can take some time off.
And when she feels better, she can go back.
I just wish that she wouldn't split us like this.
And you're not helping, acting like her lawyer.
No, you're not helping.
That's what she's telling you.
Excuse me, that's what she's telling you and you're telling me.
Since when do we have a system like that? I was there.
She was upset.
I listened to my daughter.
Guilty.
Really? You're gonna go there? Oh, I'm already regretting it.
I will talk to her.
And I'll make it better.
I just wish she'd come to me first.
Henry, look at me.
I can't quit this job.
I know.
Can I? N-No, you can't.
_ I got to get back.
- Hang in there.
- I will.
I'm inside what used to be the ambassador's residence.
Not sure what did this.
Couple of grenades? Maybe they got some C4 in somehow.
It's gonna take a while to dig through this rubble.
Is there any sign of the Vesuvian detail? No, ma'am.
Nobody in sight.
I hate to use the language "cut and run" but those guys just work for a paycheck.
I don't think I would have hung around for that.
What's the status on casualties? Don't have that information right now, sir.
But I can say with full certainty that nobody could have survived this.
And if we avoid making a statement, it makes us looks weak.
Well, I am not going on the air with "no one could have survived the attack.
" The destruction is gruesome.
His family's watching.
- Absolutely.
- Madam Secretary, Isaac Bishop is here.
Finally.
Did he give up a spa day? He didn't say.
Gee, I hope I'm not interrupting anything.
Not at all.
How's it going? You tell me.
I've been unable to raise any of my men.
We have a shutdown procedure, just as the military does.
They can't take a chance on anyone following a signal.
I'm sure we'll hear from them any minute and as soon as I do, you'll be the first to know.
Al-Harun is reporting that your guys fired into the crowd and provoked the attack.
Let's not convict them just yet, okay? You let me know the minute I can.
Yes, ma'am.
Hello.
Hi.
Hey, Mom.
- Hi.
- You okay? I'm fine.
- Hi.
- Hi.
We saved you dinner.
Wow, that was really sweet.
Thank you.
Maybe you'd like a drink? Yeah, I would.
A big one.
I can't believe you guys.
Whoa.
What guys? The State Department.
You used Vesuvian? They're mercenaries.
They're completely corrupt.
Why didn't you send troops? Because they wouldn't authorize it.
Who's they? Stevie, mom knows this guy that's probably dead.
It's not just a headline.
Yeah, it's not a kingdom, all right? She-She can't just do what she wants.
Uh, you know what, you guys? Would you mind giving us a minute with your sister, please? Of course.
Thank you.
I understand you're upset.
Your dad told me about what happened at school.
I am so sorry, Stevie.
I wish that you'd talked to me about it.
- I was trying to be a team player.
- I know, and I really I appreciate it.
This whole thing has turned out to be a lot harder on all of us than we anticipated.
And it's still relatively new.
We need to find out a way to get through it.
So we're okay with you leaving college.
Taking a year off.
But, in the meantime, you got to stay busy.
You got to start looking for a job.
We'd be glad to help you with your résumé.
Yeah.
What, you mean, like, working in an office? Being a waitress? Well, whatever interests you.
None of it interests me.
I'm working on a novel.
I-I was gonna take the time to finish that.
Well, you can still write your novel.
Everybody needs a day job.
Chekhov was a doctor.
Oh.
Oh, God.
We have more intel coming in.
I got to go back.
I'll see you guys later.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Oh This doesn't feel like guidance.
It feels punitive.
Okay.
Look, honey.
College is like a four-year deferment from real life.
You say you don't want the full four, so you gotta go to work.
Tell me the truth.
Is this you or is this her? This is us.
We're a unit.
You got that? I came as soon as I got the message.
You haven't missed anything.
Mr.
Bishop refused to give us any information until you arrived.
Technically speaking, I do work for Madam Secretary.
What's going on? I just started receiving communication from my men.
They waited until they were completely out of the war zone to get in touch.
We've located them in a Vesuvian safe house, and if you're ready, we'll connect with them.
I believe we're more than ready.
We've got video coming in.
- Oh - Oh, Paul.
Hey.
It is really good to see you.
It's really good to be seen.
Next time you ask me to vacate the premises, Madam Secretary, that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
You okay? Yeah, not a scratch, thanks to these boys.
The first explosion didn't do much damage.
My men mobilized and evacuated Mr.
Wellington.
He was well inside an armored vehicle when the second explosion occurred.
They proceeded away from the high-risk area and did not attempt contact until the package I mean, the ambassador was secure, according to our protocol.
We've also received better intel from our people on the ground.
Al-Harun reporting was, in fact, not accurate.
Our men did not fire first.
I believe you mean my men, Mr.
Munsey.
Of course.
The only casualty was one of my men.
A sweeper.
He was checking the premises to make sure all souls had cleared out.
I'm sorry to hear that.
So were we, Madam Secretary.
He was aware of the risk.
Thank you, Mr.
Bishop.
We are indebted to your security forces.
However, your display of theatrics here was unworthy of them.
I have my way, Mr.
President.
You all have yours.
If that's all, Mr.
Bishop, we'll, uh, say good bye to you and get on with our situational assessment.
Pleasure doing business, gentlemen.
Ma'am.
That's quite a character you found there.
You're welcome.
Very happy to have you safe and sound, Mr.
Ambassador.
We'll get you home that way, too.
Thank you.
I'm looking forward to it.
That's about as close as it gets.
We got very lucky.
May I take a moment, sir? Go ahead, Bess.
Mr.
Bishop.
The man who died in this operation I would like to tell his family.
They've already been told.
Well, then, I'd like to see them.
That's not protocol, ma'am.
You may have picked up on this: I'm not big on protocol.
Then that makes us two peas in a pod.
- May I call you Elizabeth? - No.
Madam Secretary, you should know this.
That little article you wrote? You know, the one where you called me Satan? I-I didn't actually call you Satan It changed our policy.
Our guys had a tendency to fire at first provocation.
Made some bad calls under pressure.
Following your article, we did a lot of training and we built some real restraint into our procedures.
I think, in this case, it paid off.
We didn't fire first.
I'm grateful.
It was your idea.
What you did for me back there? It was unnecessary.
I'd be tempted to thank you, but it was very risky.
That is the President of the United States.
Yeah, I didn't vote for him.
This is my son, Dylan.
Dylan.
Nice to meet you.
Thank you for seeing me so quickly.
We were impressed by your résumé.
You did a lot of copy editing at Lovell, I see.
Yes, and I did some freelancing for charity organizations.
I believe very strongly in your cause.
Potable water for the developing world is the most pressing issue of our time.
So you said in your e-mail.
Your passion was well articulated.
- Thank you.
- Sit.
I'm afraid your résumé needs work.
It's not up to date.
It's not? You haven't listed your BA.
It looks like you haven't graduated college.
Oh.
Well that's because I haven't graduated college.
This is a full-time position.
It requires a four-year degree.
I thought you might make an exception.
I'm sorry, we can't.
We'll keep your résumé on file.
You can contact us when you've completed your education.
Thanks.
Ms.
Hardwick I have an unusual amount of exposure to world politics.
My mother is Elizabeth McCord.
The Secretary of State? Yes.
Well, that kind of exposure creates an interesting perspective.
Perhaps we can work something out.
No.
Sorry, we can't.
Thank you for your time.
Hi.
Good afternoon.
I'm glad I caught you.
Do you have a minute? Uh, not really.
I just got confirmation from our SEAL team that they captured the ringleaders in the embassy attack.
The Yemenis are fully cooperating with the rendition.
They're being taken into FBI custody as we speak.
Good.
The Yemeni government also agreed to rebuild the embassy.
So Wellington could be back in there within the year.
All right, that's great.
Sorry, I've got a call holding.
How long do you think you're gonna punish me for going around you? I don't know what you mean.
"We got lucky yesterday"? That's one way to look at it.
Yes, I know.
If it's any consolation, that's not how the president sees it.
He thinks you saved his ass.
Told me to tell you that.
Were you going to tell me that? I hadn't decided.
Hello? Hi.
I will give you $50 cash for a bite of what's in that bowl.
Well, you got really lucky about the Wellington thing.
Congratulations.
Let's not to use the "L" word, shall we? Why? Did you pull off some badass diplomacy? Let's just say a strategy came together and some people made very big sacrifices to make it happen.
Yeah, the Vesuvian guy.
I heard.
That's too bad.
How'd your job search go today? Uh, unsuccessful.
That's all right.
It's just day one.
- Something'll come up, you know? - Mm-hmm.
Don't ever tell me how to make this.
I mean, ever.
Mmm.
Mmm.
Uh, yeah, Dad opened that.
I looked at it.
I hope that's okay.
Yeah.
George was a good friend.
He was.
Remember those bad magic tricks he used to do? You never fell for those? No! - Even as a kid? - No, they were terrible.
He was funny, though.
He could hide an entire top secret operations, make it disappear into thin air, but not a quarter.
No.
You could always see it under his thumb.
_ How did he die? A car crash.
Oh.
How'd it happen? It was an accident.