Salvation (2017) s02e01 Episode Script
Fall Out
1 Ladies and gentlemen, tech pioneer, Darius Tanz.
Sir, my name's Liam Cole.
In 186 days, an asteroid's gonna collide with Earth, and we're all gonna die.
Previously on Salvation HARRIS: An asteroid, Samson, large enough to cause an extinction-level event.
- So what is the plan? - HARRIS: A gravity tractor.
Oh, that would deflect the asteroid using gravitational pull.
I'm sure you understand why this needs to remain classified.
- If the public were to find out - DARIUS: Of course.
The asteroid's iron core we didn't account for its density.
The gravity tractor's mass may not be great enough to move Samson off its course.
Get a medic for the president! Cameras off, now! Claire, you poisoned a sitting president.
Mackenzie was too weak.
And now it seems, so are you, which is why you have to die.
MACKENZIE: I was poisoned in an attempted coup led by Vice President Bennett.
And it's only through the heroic actions taken by a handful of patriots that I am still here.
GUARD: Bennett has escaped.
I repeat, Monroe Bennett has escaped.
BENNETT: You're familiar with the group RE/SYST? An underground hacktivist group.
Tess, she's being attacked.
This is RE/SYST.
MAN: We are tracking four Russian ICBMs.
We're under attack.
We can stay defensive, or we can launch our own.
AGENT: Get to the Ark bunker! It's the only safe place.
An ark? For 160 people? DARIUS: The hangar is fully equipped to sustain life for several years in the event of a nuclear attack.
- Wait, you're not staying? - No.
I want to be with you.
I don't care where.
Jillian, I need to tell Darius something.
What? You can't leave.
You'll be locked out.
I'm sorry, I've got to go.
Darius! The iron core.
I know what to do.
There's still hope.
I've got the world on a string Sittin' on a rainbow Got the string around my finger What a world, what a life I'm in love Life is a beautiful thing Darius? Sorry, I-I tried not to wake you.
(chuckles): No, that's okay.
Breakfast will be ready in 47 seconds to be exact.
You all right? Yeah, yeah, just I had the most horrible dream.
Well, it's over now.
You're here with me.
Mm.
(chuckles) (smoke alarm beeping) Something's on fire.
(alarm blaring) What's happening? I'm afraid we're out of time.
The asteroid? No.
We did this to ourselves, Grace.
(echoing): Darius? Darius? (hyperventilating): I can't breathe.
(gasps) (alarm blaring) Oh, my God.
Darius! Liam.
The iron core.
I know what to do.
Magnets? LIAM: Yes.
Look, here's the idea.
We reprogram the gravity tractor's EmDrive, turn it into an electromagnet, which pulls the asteroid off course.
Voila, save planet Earth, collect Nobel Prize.
Your plan, while clever, would require oscillating the EmDrive between thrust and magnetism, a delicate dance with zero margin for error.
With 127 days left to go, that's a chance we can't take.
Potassium iodide.
Protects the thyroid from radioactive iodine if we're exposed to nuclear fallout, which may or may not happen in about 12 minutes.
(people murmuring) Can't get any signal.
Yeah, me either.
How the hell are we supposed to know what's going on outside? All right, people.
People! Everyone! Everyone, listen up.
We're all on edge.
But like Darius said, this facility is air-gapped and EM shielded.
We won't be able to get cell service or any outside information for now.
But I can assure you, this bunker will protect us from any nuclear strike.
And just how long are we supposed to be down here? Could be 30 days.
No, no, no.
I didn't sign up for that.
I'm going to see my family.
I'm going to see them right now! - Get out of the way.
- GRACE: Sir.
Sir.
This facility is sealed.
The elevator isn't going anywhere.
MAN: Hey, hey, come on! We've got to get out of here! I'll make my own damn door.
- No.
No, no, no! - No, no, no! No! Stay back, stand back.
Get off me! Get off me! What did you mean when you said magnets? We build an electromagnetic railgun to fire projectiles into the asteroid, nudging it off its trajectory.
Seriously? We already build railguns for the Navy.
To shoot targets here on Earth.
See? We're already halfway there.
All we have to do is scale it up.
- Yeah, to the size of Massachusetts.
- (mechanical whirring) At least run the numbers on my idea before you shut it down.
- What is this? - A protective shield.
Titanium cladding.
We've just become a hermetically sealed bomb shelter.
We're safe in here, right? From the nukes? I guess we're gonna find out.
You all right, sir? No.
I am not all right.
I got a family up there, two daughters and a wife, and a nuclear bomb headed right this way.
Anyone else in here all right?! What's your name? Joe.
Joe Riggs.
I'm Grace.
What do you do, Joe? I'm an electrician.
I don't even work for Tanz.
How old are your daughters? 12 and 18.
I have an 18-year-old daughter out there, too.
We all have family out there somewhere.
But we needed to seek shelter, and this is the only thing we can do right now, wait it out.
MACKENZIE: General, how long until we know if the Interceptors are successful? 30 seconds.
Have we reached Russian Defense Minister Toporov? Yes.
Moscow is aware that we are not retaliating.
TECH: Switching to intercept detail.
- Two ICBMs have been destroyed.
- (exhales) (alarm beeping) One has made it past our defenses.
And the fourth? TECH: I've lost telemetry, but NORAD radar tracking reports one ICBM.
Is this confirmed? One ICBM has entered a low Earth orbit.
One got through.
To where? (computer beeping) We'll know any moment.
I know some of you were prepared to head up to Mars.
And the rest of us, we were just seeking refuge.
Whatever the case, Darius has sealed this hangar for our own protection.
We'll know within 24 hours if it's safe to go back out there because he'll unlock those doors if all is clear.
In the meantime, there are food supplies and blankets that need to be distributed.
Who wants to help? I'll help.
OTHERS: I'll help.
I'll help.
GRACE: Follow me.
Jillian.
We need to know exactly who's down here, who's part of Darius's Mars project and who's not.
This place is a powder keg.
I want to know who's gonna light the next match.
TECH: NORAD radar tracking reports one remaining ICBM inbound.
Ma'am, Russian Defense Minister Toporov is on a secure line.
Minister Toporov, you see that we're not retaliating.
I urge you to call off this attack.
Issue the self-destruct codes, sir.
What do you mean you can't? Ladies and gentlemen prepare for impact.
HARRIS: So only 85 of these folks were selected for Darius's Mars project? Yeah, the other 104 got swept up from Tanz in the panic.
Visitors, employees, uh, vendors dropping off materials.
I've created profiles for all of them.
Wait, she's one of Darius's 160? JILLIAN: Yeah, Fiona Lane.
Getting her PhD in environmental engineering at GW.
Applied for the space program at NASA.
Didn't make the cut.
You're sure? Yeah, I screened her myself.
DARIUS (over monitor): This hydroponic garden is the product of years of R&D that will make it possible for you to have fresh fruit and vegetables on Mars.
This tutorial will explain, in simple steps, the process of operation and maintenance.
I didn't come for the bourbon.
I came for the company.
Of all the bomb shelters in all the world, he walks into mine.
I don't believe we've properly met.
Harris Edwards.
Fiona Lane.
So, student by day, bartender by night? Well, tuition isn't free.
You got to pay the rent, you know? You never mentioned you were an environmental engineer.
You never mentioned you were the Secretary of Defense.
Yeah, I suppose we didn't do very much talking that night.
No, we didn't.
I've never seen a setup quite like this before.
Oh, these LEDs are tuned to emit light at two specific wavelengths to maximize energy absorption.
Grows 50% faster than a soil garden.
Tanz really went state of the art.
How you holding up? Some people cope by crying.
I just get busy.
GRACE: Uh, set up the meal pouches on that table there, and let's run some power to those stoves.
Thank you.
JOE: Ms.
Barrows.
Yeah? I'm sorry about yesterday.
I don't know what came over me.
No need to apologize, Joe.
None of us have dealt with anything like this before.
It's, um, been 24 hours.
No word from the outside world.
People are starting to assume the worst.
What do you assume? (clattering in distance) MAN: Hey, he's taking extra rations! MAN 2: No, I didn't.
MAN: I just saw you! Put them back! You gonna lie to my face? Guys, come on.
Guys, guys, break it up.
Hey! Hey, hey, hey, enough! Break it up! Come here! You, that way! Go! Now! Enough! Claire? Are you okay? Yeah, uh I'm fine.
Uh, we're gonna need a lock on food storage.
(groans) And 24-hour security.
Sign me up.
God, it's been four days? I keep looking at that door, just waiting for Liam and Darius to open it.
And for all we know, everyone we love could be dead.
Hey.
Speculation is a thankless sport.
(sighs) You're right.
(indistinct chatter) Jillian, who's that? (laughs): Right? JILLIAN: Oh, it's funny, Harris asked the same question.
GRACE: Really? A bartender you had a one-night stand with is a member of Darius's 160, and oops, you forgot to mention it? Okay, forgive me, but we've got more pressing issues, - don't you think? - You don't find this a little strange? Compared to everything else that's happened these last few weeks? No, I don't.
And she's an environmental engineering PhD PhD student.
Yes, I'm aware.
(sighs) Look, I'm sorry.
I should've told you.
But I checked her out with Jillian.
Her credentials are impeccable.
And there is such a thing as coincidence, Grace.
(sighs) Okay.
You're right.
I'm overreacting.
I just I just keep waiting for that damn door to open.
I know.
But it might not, Grace.
Ever.
And we need to prepare for that.
I know.
Where are you, Darius? (sharp thud, man grunts) HARRIS: Looks like he fell from the gantry.
Maybe Joe hadn't given up on finding a way out.
Or maybe he just gave up.
Suicide? No.
No.
He's been completely rational these last few days.
Harris, this is a man who had hope.
What the hell was he doing up there? What if this wasn't an accident? (whispering): We don't know everyone in this Ark, or what they're capable of.
- Anyone else see the body? - No.
- We need to manage this, fast.
- Yeah.
First we need to manage Joe.
HARRIS: It was an unfortunate accident.
Joe was up there in the dark, walking in an area completely unfamiliar to him, apparently looking for a way out.
Let this be a lesson going forward.
How do we know it was an accident? Um, we have no reason to suspect otherwise.
(laughing) (clears throat) But if anyone has any information about what happened (laughs) (laughter) Grace, something's wrong.
I know this euphoria from my pilot training.
(chuckles) Hypoxia.
The oxygen supply has been compromised.
I I need to find masks, or we're all gonna die.
CLAIRE (echoing): Looks like a tough spot.
GRACE: Claire? You're dead.
Thank you for stating the obvious, as always.
What do you want? To watch you die, Grace.
The way you watched me.
(alarm blaring) Karma's a bitch, isn't it? Darius? We did this to ourselves, Grace.
- Darius, what's happening? - (alarm beeping) - I'm afraid we're out of time.
- Help.
I can't breathe.
(voices echoing) (hyperventilating): I can't breathe.
(gasps) (alarm continues blaring) (distant mechanical clanking) Oh, my God.
(mechanical whirring) AGENT: Mr.
Vice President, she's over here.
The vice president is here? Yes, ma'am.
Vice President Tanz is right here.
Grace, are you all right? You're vice president? I don't understand.
Oh, well, we have a lot of catching up to do.
- Liam? - Jillian.
Hey.
You okay? Yeah.
GRACE: You're vice president? How long have we been down here? Five days.
Darius, what exactly happened outside? You don't understand.
I need to speak to the president now.
Darius Tanz.
NEWSWOMAN: And updating you now on breaking news T-A-N-Z.
Who am I speaking with? multiple reports of a massive explosion outside of Lebanon, Kansas.
Eyewitnesses as far away as Wichita Turn that down, will you? Yes, I understand she's unavailable.
A nuclear bomb just went off in Kansas.
But she'll want to speak to me.
She needs to speak to me.
No, I don't want to leave a bloody message! Why would Russia drop a nuke on-on Lebanon, Kansas? They didn't.
It's RE/SYST.
Grab your coat.
We need to get to the president while we still can.
Mobilize the National Guard.
And get congressional leadership down here ASAP.
Two-megaton explosion occurred on the ground, as opposed to mid-air, reducing the blast radius and the nuclear fallout.
Casualties? Fewer than 100.
We're monitoring for radiation.
MACKENZIE: Why would the Russians want to blow up a nearly empty wheat field? Because it wasn't designed to kill.
- It was a message.
- Mr.
Tanz.
What kind of message? And from whom? RE/SYST.
They masterminded this from the start, played us against each other, tricked us into a shooting war.
And then hacked those missiles once they were in the air.
DARIUS: And where did they choose to drop the bomb? New York? D.
C.
? No, seven miles outside Lebanon, Kansas.
The exact geographical center of this country.
DARIUS: Calculated to cause maximum fear and minimal casualties.
And demonstrating what they're capable of if we don't give in to their demands.
What demands? That's the trillion-dollar question.
(computer beeping) I think we're about to get the answer.
(concerned murmuring) (distorted voice): Global citizens, we are RE/SYST, a hacker collective dedicated to radical transparency.
We are reaching out to give you answers to what is happening and why.
The United States and Russia have initiated an armed nuclear conflict.
In an effort to minimize the damage, we intercepted one ICBM and guided it to the safest possible location.
Had we not intervened, the results would have been catastrophic.
They're positioning themselves as the saviors.
most recent escalation is due to a far greater threat, a profound secret your governments have been keeping from you for the last four months.
An extinction-level asteroid is on course to collide with Earth in 127 days.
RE/SYST has a plan to compel the countries of the world to stop the asteroid.
We control one remaining ICBM, currently in orbit and carrying 13 warheads.
Any country that refuses to participate in our plan will face dire consequences.
From this moment on, no more secrets.
We are RE/SYST.
Mr.
Tanz, any idea how to disarm that ICBM? You have one of the world's fastest supercomputers in the basement of the Department of Energy.
I need a tie-in right now.
We already have half the NSA working the problem.
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted this done today.
Madam President, we need to get this done before they release their official list of demands, or we'll have no choice but to comply.
Get Mr.
Tanz what he needs.
Meantime, we need to keep the peace here at home.
(siren whooping) Driving was a stupid-ass idea.
There's already a run on stores.
People have skipped fear and gone straight to panic.
(tires screech) - What the hell?! - Watch it! Darius, when are we opening the Ark? I mean, the immediate threat to D.
C.
is over.
Over? Nukes are circling as we speak.
Imagine what they're all going through, not knowing if we're all alive or dead.
Liam, right now they're safe.
And we're not.
Wait here.
- What the hell? - (horns honking, people shouting) Darius! OFFICER: The road is closed.
Get back in your cars and turn around! Out of the way or we're gonna move these barricades ourselves! Get back or I'll shoot! Everyone, calm down! Don't shoot, don't shoot! Calm down.
Put your weapons down.
Please.
- I know you're all frightened.
- MAN: Frightened? A nuke went off.
We're all gonna die! No, we're not, if you put your gun down.
How the hell would you know? Because because most of you hold in your hands a computer a million times smarter than the one NASA used to put a man on the moon just 50 years ago.
Human ingenuity is a powerful force.
Every day, we solve the unsolvable.
Imagine what your ancestors would think if-if they knew we could fly, cure diseases, yeah, pay for the parking meter with a credit card.
If we can do the unimaginable, we most definitely can nudge a space rock a few degrees off course.
But only if we keep our heads and work together.
Now sir, what you do in the next ten seconds will determine whether you go to sleep tonight in the comfort of your own bed, the discomfort of a jail cell cot or worse.
Your call.
Why can't we move these? Civil defense protocol.
This road is reserved for evacuation of VIPs.
Can we agree right now that, as far as the eye can see, there are no VIPs? All right! One car a time! Move on through in an orderly fashion.
LIAM: Are you completely insane? You could've been killed out there.
That was mere mortal's work.
What we're about to do, I'm afraid, requires superhero skills.
LIAM: Tess could have done a month's worth of analysis in minutes.
The DoE's supercomputer, it doesn't have the same juice.
It could take us weeks to go through every line of code to find some sort of vulnerability.
We don't have weeks and we don't have Tess.
RE/SYST found a backdoor to hack those ICBMs.
Let's just hope they didn't lock the door behind them.
Hey, how long will this go on? Until we solve the problem.
No, I'm talking about the Ark.
(sighs) It's been three days.
How long do you leave them down there? A week? A month? Until it's safer up here than it is down there.
If we can do the unimaginable, we most definitely can nudge a space rock a few degrees off course.
And that's just one of many incidents happening all over the country, Madam President.
There's a crisis of confidence out there.
The public has more faith in Darius Tanz than they do in their own government.
RE/SYST is winning the PR war.
They've destroyed our credibility.
No.
We've destroyed our credibility.
We need to make a bold move to restore it.
To remedy the loss of faith, we need to take a leap of faith.
Madam President, we just received this communiqué from RE/SYST.
Thank you.
They've sent their list of demands.
Madam President, what's going on? Is Tanz being invaded? In a manner of speaking, yes.
We just received the demands from RE/SYST.
They're assembling their own asteroid mitigation project with 30 scientists from around the world to be convened 24 hours from right now.
They've given a list of names.
- And I'm on it.
- No.
But he is.
Wh-What? Y-You can't hand Liam over to them.
I'm afraid we don't have much leverage right now.
They're threatening to bomb any country that doesn't turn over the scientists on their list.
Unfortunately that's not all.
They're asking for Tanz as their base of operations.
- Absolutely not.
- Darius No, I refuse! You can't negotiate with terrorists.
I signed the order five minutes ago.
Under the NSPD, I was given the emergency power to nationalize Tanz Industries, and I had no alternative.
Ah, this is insane.
Now first Tess.
Now Liam and-and Tanz? Well, they've taken away all my power.
I'm-I'm I'm essentially useless.
Not to me.
Me, vice president? You have lost your mind.
(scoffs) I need someone above politics.
An outsider.
A bona fide hero.
That situation off K Street, video's gone viral.
Millions have seen it already.
None of that qualifies me to be VP.
People have been VP on far less.
Presidents, too.
I convened an emergency session of Congress, and they have approved you with a two-thirds majority.
I didn't know you were born in Philadelphia.
Ah, my-my parents were on holiday.
My-my mother went into labor prematurely.
I can't give up Tanz.
You will assemble a team of scientists of your choosing and you will oversee it from the West Wing.
You will have every resource imaginable and then some.
We are on a knife's edge here.
I need you, Darius.
I, Darius Tanz, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend - the Constitution of the United States.
- (computer beeping) LIAM: Uh, um, Darius? (chief justice clears throat) Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
- (computer beeping) - DARIUS: Against all enemies, - foreign and domestic.
- LIAM: Hey, Darius.
Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt.
Excuse me.
Uh, the air supply in the Ark hangar has been compromised.
Oxygen levels are falling rapidly.
You asked when it was time to open up the Ark? The answer's now.
Mr.
Tanz? CHIEF JUSTICE: Mr.
Tanz! Are you going to finish taking the oath? And I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I'm about to enter.
So help me God.
Which brings us to the here and now.
You left us down there for five days even though the immediate threat was over? Immediate threat? Missiles are circling as we speak.
A man died down there.
Your Ark nearly killed us all.
My Ark did no such thing.
Th-This was sabotage, pure and simple.
(scoffs) Of course, I forgot.
You're Darius Tanz.
It couldn't possibly be your fault.
W-Wait.
Why would someone sabotage the hangar? That would be a suicide mission.
Why, I have no idea, but-but the nitrogen isn't stored on the rocket.
It's kept in tanks under the hangar.
Someone had to intentionally start the flow, open a specific valve.
MACKENZIE: Well, we are all met and caught up, I gather.
Grace.
Harris.
Thank you for your service to country.
Dare I say, the situation has gotten even more complicated since last we met.
Among the many obstacles we face now, Monroe Bennett and his men have managed to escape, and there were casualties.
Now, he and Claire Rayburn, they're in the wind.
And we need to find them.
Madam President Yes, Madam President, finding Monroe Bennett and Claire Rayburn will be my top priority.
MACKENZIE: Thank you.
Grace, as my new senior advisor, assuming you accept I'd be honored.
I'd like you to craft a speech for our vice president here.
He's going to address the nation for the first time, tonight.
Of course.
And I have less than 15 hours to disarm RE/SYST's warhead before they take control of the world's top scientists, Liam included.
If you'll excuse me.
Ms.
Barrows, Mr.
Secretary, it is so good to have people back whom I can trust.
Where are you going? We have to tell her.
Them.
Grace, you shot the president's top aide, - then disposed of her body.
- Yes, to save your life.
We never called the authorities.
We were under nuclear attack.
Claire was a traitor, Harris.
But we can't prove that, Grace.
Come here.
Listen, you need to hear me.
There will be an investigation of us and your father.
That's the last thing any of us needs.
And if we tell Mackenzie and Darius and-and they don't take action They're complicit in a cover-up.
It could bring down our whole government at the worst possible time.
Claire's dead.
She's not coming back.
This is a Pandora's box we need to leave locked.
(phone vibrating) Harris Edwards.
Yeah.
DARIUS: Where are we? Nowhere, Darius.
I've gone through source code for hours.
Whatever door they went through they sealed pretty tight.
Well, we've got ten hours, so it's not over till it's over.
(phone chimes) Don't even think about leaving that chair.
Jillian, you're in charge of him and the chair.
We're not giving you up to RE/SYST without a fight.
Anyone ever tell you you're a loud writer? Well, technically a loud editor, and (chuckles) yes.
Darius is there anything you want to say to me? The speech is good.
It's good.
Although, some of it's a bit rigid.
I-I'd like go off book here and there if you don't mind.
Not about the speech.
I'm sorry.
I thought the Ark was the safest place for you.
Oh, my God, this isn't about the Ark.
Then what, Grace? I poured my heart out on that hill to you.
- I mean, I thought we were - Grace.
Don't say my name like that.
Not if you don't mean it.
Well, I don't know what I mean.
Suddenly I'm vice president of the United States.
Mackenzie has thrust me into the position of father figurehead.
Meantime, I'm supposed to disarm a nuclear warhead and protect the fate of humanity without even breaking a sweat, and you're wondering why I can't be emotional right now? I-I can't be anything right now, Grace.
To anyone.
I'll have the revisions done and loaded into the teleprompter, Mr.
Vice President.
(phone vibrating) DARIUS: It's Liam.
Grace.
He's found a way in.
Hey! Hey, I'm in.
I'm in the logs.
Look at what they did.
DARIUS: RE/SYST modified the rocket's firmware to transfer control from Russia to them.
Exactly, but the radio frequency they used is still active.
Which means? We can take control back.
(claps hands) (typing) - Okay, that is it.
- Stop, Liam! (exhales) It's a trap.
(beeping) Look.
Right here.
RE/SYST added something to the firmware.
- A daemon.
- What does that do? Uh, it's like a stealth security guard.
It watches for any changes in the code.
And if it finds any? Are those GPS coordinates? New York, Shanghai, Moscow.
Oh.
Well, RE/SYST left the door open, but they rigged the house to blow.
Liam, you were one keystroke away from detonating 13 nuclear bombs.
So if we try to disarm those missiles Millions of people die.
LIAM: That's it.
It's over.
They got us.
HARRIS: As secretary of defense, I'd be remiss if I didn't voice my objection.
Darius Tanz is volatile, unpredictable and listens to no one.
Putting him in the number two position during a crisis like this seems for lack of a better word, irresponsible.
Well, you have your opinion, and I have mine.
And I'm on this side of the desk.
Fair enough.
I just thought I'd mention it before he makes his television debut.
And this has nothing to do with the fact that perhaps you think you're the man for the job? I know how things get done here, and how they don't.
And Mr.
Tanz knows how to get things done when no one else does.
But if you're not able to support my decisions, perhaps we should have that discussion.
No, we're good.
As long as it's clear from whom I take orders and from whom I don't.
(door closes) JILLIAN: They, uh, they said that you wanted to see me? Yes.
What are you doing for the next 122 days? I have, um, no idea.
Well, now you do.
You're hired.
- As? - My assistant.
Karissa's gone home to Miami.
I-I need someone I know and trust.
Uh, yes, Darius.
I-I mean, um, i-it would be an honor, um, Mr.
Vice President.
It's been 12 hours, and I'm already sick of that title.
To you, I'm Darius.
Here.
I need everything that's marked with that ready to go in my office.
In the West Wing, tomorrow.
One more thing.
You put together profiles of everyone that was down in the hangar? Yes, I interviewed them all personally.
I have a list catalogued.
Good.
Because someone on that list sabotaged the Ark, and we're gonna find out who it was.
Gentlemen.
Don't worry, I'll be back.
MACKENZIE: Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the vice president of the United States, Darius Tanz.
(reporters murmuring, cameras clicking) Good evening.
Over the years, I've made hundreds of speeches, but usually with the aid of slick graphics depicting the future, our shared future.
But tonight, it's just me without all the eye candy.
I'm sorry, I can't stand the formality of all this.
Um (quietly): What the hell is he doing now? What he always does: whatever the hell he wants.
DARIUS: C-Can I borrow this? Do you mind if I just sit closer to you? Camera still sees me? Now, I'm no politician, obviously, and no one's ever accused me of being very politic.
(chuckles softly) But I agreed to be vice president your vice president on one condition: that I would never be a politician and that I would always be able to tell you the unvarnished truth.
And the truth is it's a scary time, for all of us.
But I assure you that President Mackenzie has given me every resource at the government's disposal to stop that asteroid.
RE/SYST holds a threat over our heads, that is true.
But if we allow them to stop us in our daily lives, then the terrorists win, and I for one won't allow that to happen.
Now, I promise you, the American people, that I will solve the problems of tomorrow.
And in return, I ask you to be the solution today.
Regard your fellow human beings with kindness.
Continue with your daily lives.
Panic and fear never solved anything.
In the words of the great FDR, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
" And I can tell you this: I'm not afraid.
We will not go gentle into that good night.
We will fight with every fiber of our beings to preserve what is true and dear to us: our fair planet Earth.
And perhaps some of our dreams are on hold for the moment, but make no mistake, we will prevail.
(applause) (speaking indistinctly) CLAIRE (echoing): You're not alone, Grace.
I'm here.
(gasps, panting) JILLIAN: Till we meet again, and we will.
Stay safe.
Jillian.
(beeping) GUARD: Name? Uh, Liam Cole.
Phones, electronics, passport, everything goes in there.
Welcome to RE/SYST.
Name? - CROFT: Malcolm.
- GUARD: Last name? Croft? Hello, Liam.
Looks like we're working together again.
Croft.
I don't want to kill you.
But I will if I have to.
(indistinct military radio chatter) DIGBY: Confidence is high that we have control of three airbases and two aircraft carriers.
What are your orders? Let's hold a beat.
I have a few pieces I need to move first.
But make no mistake, we will take back the White House.
By any means necessary.
Yes, Mr.
President.
Sir, my name's Liam Cole.
In 186 days, an asteroid's gonna collide with Earth, and we're all gonna die.
Previously on Salvation HARRIS: An asteroid, Samson, large enough to cause an extinction-level event.
- So what is the plan? - HARRIS: A gravity tractor.
Oh, that would deflect the asteroid using gravitational pull.
I'm sure you understand why this needs to remain classified.
- If the public were to find out - DARIUS: Of course.
The asteroid's iron core we didn't account for its density.
The gravity tractor's mass may not be great enough to move Samson off its course.
Get a medic for the president! Cameras off, now! Claire, you poisoned a sitting president.
Mackenzie was too weak.
And now it seems, so are you, which is why you have to die.
MACKENZIE: I was poisoned in an attempted coup led by Vice President Bennett.
And it's only through the heroic actions taken by a handful of patriots that I am still here.
GUARD: Bennett has escaped.
I repeat, Monroe Bennett has escaped.
BENNETT: You're familiar with the group RE/SYST? An underground hacktivist group.
Tess, she's being attacked.
This is RE/SYST.
MAN: We are tracking four Russian ICBMs.
We're under attack.
We can stay defensive, or we can launch our own.
AGENT: Get to the Ark bunker! It's the only safe place.
An ark? For 160 people? DARIUS: The hangar is fully equipped to sustain life for several years in the event of a nuclear attack.
- Wait, you're not staying? - No.
I want to be with you.
I don't care where.
Jillian, I need to tell Darius something.
What? You can't leave.
You'll be locked out.
I'm sorry, I've got to go.
Darius! The iron core.
I know what to do.
There's still hope.
I've got the world on a string Sittin' on a rainbow Got the string around my finger What a world, what a life I'm in love Life is a beautiful thing Darius? Sorry, I-I tried not to wake you.
(chuckles): No, that's okay.
Breakfast will be ready in 47 seconds to be exact.
You all right? Yeah, yeah, just I had the most horrible dream.
Well, it's over now.
You're here with me.
Mm.
(chuckles) (smoke alarm beeping) Something's on fire.
(alarm blaring) What's happening? I'm afraid we're out of time.
The asteroid? No.
We did this to ourselves, Grace.
(echoing): Darius? Darius? (hyperventilating): I can't breathe.
(gasps) (alarm blaring) Oh, my God.
Darius! Liam.
The iron core.
I know what to do.
Magnets? LIAM: Yes.
Look, here's the idea.
We reprogram the gravity tractor's EmDrive, turn it into an electromagnet, which pulls the asteroid off course.
Voila, save planet Earth, collect Nobel Prize.
Your plan, while clever, would require oscillating the EmDrive between thrust and magnetism, a delicate dance with zero margin for error.
With 127 days left to go, that's a chance we can't take.
Potassium iodide.
Protects the thyroid from radioactive iodine if we're exposed to nuclear fallout, which may or may not happen in about 12 minutes.
(people murmuring) Can't get any signal.
Yeah, me either.
How the hell are we supposed to know what's going on outside? All right, people.
People! Everyone! Everyone, listen up.
We're all on edge.
But like Darius said, this facility is air-gapped and EM shielded.
We won't be able to get cell service or any outside information for now.
But I can assure you, this bunker will protect us from any nuclear strike.
And just how long are we supposed to be down here? Could be 30 days.
No, no, no.
I didn't sign up for that.
I'm going to see my family.
I'm going to see them right now! - Get out of the way.
- GRACE: Sir.
Sir.
This facility is sealed.
The elevator isn't going anywhere.
MAN: Hey, hey, come on! We've got to get out of here! I'll make my own damn door.
- No.
No, no, no! - No, no, no! No! Stay back, stand back.
Get off me! Get off me! What did you mean when you said magnets? We build an electromagnetic railgun to fire projectiles into the asteroid, nudging it off its trajectory.
Seriously? We already build railguns for the Navy.
To shoot targets here on Earth.
See? We're already halfway there.
All we have to do is scale it up.
- Yeah, to the size of Massachusetts.
- (mechanical whirring) At least run the numbers on my idea before you shut it down.
- What is this? - A protective shield.
Titanium cladding.
We've just become a hermetically sealed bomb shelter.
We're safe in here, right? From the nukes? I guess we're gonna find out.
You all right, sir? No.
I am not all right.
I got a family up there, two daughters and a wife, and a nuclear bomb headed right this way.
Anyone else in here all right?! What's your name? Joe.
Joe Riggs.
I'm Grace.
What do you do, Joe? I'm an electrician.
I don't even work for Tanz.
How old are your daughters? 12 and 18.
I have an 18-year-old daughter out there, too.
We all have family out there somewhere.
But we needed to seek shelter, and this is the only thing we can do right now, wait it out.
MACKENZIE: General, how long until we know if the Interceptors are successful? 30 seconds.
Have we reached Russian Defense Minister Toporov? Yes.
Moscow is aware that we are not retaliating.
TECH: Switching to intercept detail.
- Two ICBMs have been destroyed.
- (exhales) (alarm beeping) One has made it past our defenses.
And the fourth? TECH: I've lost telemetry, but NORAD radar tracking reports one ICBM.
Is this confirmed? One ICBM has entered a low Earth orbit.
One got through.
To where? (computer beeping) We'll know any moment.
I know some of you were prepared to head up to Mars.
And the rest of us, we were just seeking refuge.
Whatever the case, Darius has sealed this hangar for our own protection.
We'll know within 24 hours if it's safe to go back out there because he'll unlock those doors if all is clear.
In the meantime, there are food supplies and blankets that need to be distributed.
Who wants to help? I'll help.
OTHERS: I'll help.
I'll help.
GRACE: Follow me.
Jillian.
We need to know exactly who's down here, who's part of Darius's Mars project and who's not.
This place is a powder keg.
I want to know who's gonna light the next match.
TECH: NORAD radar tracking reports one remaining ICBM inbound.
Ma'am, Russian Defense Minister Toporov is on a secure line.
Minister Toporov, you see that we're not retaliating.
I urge you to call off this attack.
Issue the self-destruct codes, sir.
What do you mean you can't? Ladies and gentlemen prepare for impact.
HARRIS: So only 85 of these folks were selected for Darius's Mars project? Yeah, the other 104 got swept up from Tanz in the panic.
Visitors, employees, uh, vendors dropping off materials.
I've created profiles for all of them.
Wait, she's one of Darius's 160? JILLIAN: Yeah, Fiona Lane.
Getting her PhD in environmental engineering at GW.
Applied for the space program at NASA.
Didn't make the cut.
You're sure? Yeah, I screened her myself.
DARIUS (over monitor): This hydroponic garden is the product of years of R&D that will make it possible for you to have fresh fruit and vegetables on Mars.
This tutorial will explain, in simple steps, the process of operation and maintenance.
I didn't come for the bourbon.
I came for the company.
Of all the bomb shelters in all the world, he walks into mine.
I don't believe we've properly met.
Harris Edwards.
Fiona Lane.
So, student by day, bartender by night? Well, tuition isn't free.
You got to pay the rent, you know? You never mentioned you were an environmental engineer.
You never mentioned you were the Secretary of Defense.
Yeah, I suppose we didn't do very much talking that night.
No, we didn't.
I've never seen a setup quite like this before.
Oh, these LEDs are tuned to emit light at two specific wavelengths to maximize energy absorption.
Grows 50% faster than a soil garden.
Tanz really went state of the art.
How you holding up? Some people cope by crying.
I just get busy.
GRACE: Uh, set up the meal pouches on that table there, and let's run some power to those stoves.
Thank you.
JOE: Ms.
Barrows.
Yeah? I'm sorry about yesterday.
I don't know what came over me.
No need to apologize, Joe.
None of us have dealt with anything like this before.
It's, um, been 24 hours.
No word from the outside world.
People are starting to assume the worst.
What do you assume? (clattering in distance) MAN: Hey, he's taking extra rations! MAN 2: No, I didn't.
MAN: I just saw you! Put them back! You gonna lie to my face? Guys, come on.
Guys, guys, break it up.
Hey! Hey, hey, hey, enough! Break it up! Come here! You, that way! Go! Now! Enough! Claire? Are you okay? Yeah, uh I'm fine.
Uh, we're gonna need a lock on food storage.
(groans) And 24-hour security.
Sign me up.
God, it's been four days? I keep looking at that door, just waiting for Liam and Darius to open it.
And for all we know, everyone we love could be dead.
Hey.
Speculation is a thankless sport.
(sighs) You're right.
(indistinct chatter) Jillian, who's that? (laughs): Right? JILLIAN: Oh, it's funny, Harris asked the same question.
GRACE: Really? A bartender you had a one-night stand with is a member of Darius's 160, and oops, you forgot to mention it? Okay, forgive me, but we've got more pressing issues, - don't you think? - You don't find this a little strange? Compared to everything else that's happened these last few weeks? No, I don't.
And she's an environmental engineering PhD PhD student.
Yes, I'm aware.
(sighs) Look, I'm sorry.
I should've told you.
But I checked her out with Jillian.
Her credentials are impeccable.
And there is such a thing as coincidence, Grace.
(sighs) Okay.
You're right.
I'm overreacting.
I just I just keep waiting for that damn door to open.
I know.
But it might not, Grace.
Ever.
And we need to prepare for that.
I know.
Where are you, Darius? (sharp thud, man grunts) HARRIS: Looks like he fell from the gantry.
Maybe Joe hadn't given up on finding a way out.
Or maybe he just gave up.
Suicide? No.
No.
He's been completely rational these last few days.
Harris, this is a man who had hope.
What the hell was he doing up there? What if this wasn't an accident? (whispering): We don't know everyone in this Ark, or what they're capable of.
- Anyone else see the body? - No.
- We need to manage this, fast.
- Yeah.
First we need to manage Joe.
HARRIS: It was an unfortunate accident.
Joe was up there in the dark, walking in an area completely unfamiliar to him, apparently looking for a way out.
Let this be a lesson going forward.
How do we know it was an accident? Um, we have no reason to suspect otherwise.
(laughing) (clears throat) But if anyone has any information about what happened (laughs) (laughter) Grace, something's wrong.
I know this euphoria from my pilot training.
(chuckles) Hypoxia.
The oxygen supply has been compromised.
I I need to find masks, or we're all gonna die.
CLAIRE (echoing): Looks like a tough spot.
GRACE: Claire? You're dead.
Thank you for stating the obvious, as always.
What do you want? To watch you die, Grace.
The way you watched me.
(alarm blaring) Karma's a bitch, isn't it? Darius? We did this to ourselves, Grace.
- Darius, what's happening? - (alarm beeping) - I'm afraid we're out of time.
- Help.
I can't breathe.
(voices echoing) (hyperventilating): I can't breathe.
(gasps) (alarm continues blaring) (distant mechanical clanking) Oh, my God.
(mechanical whirring) AGENT: Mr.
Vice President, she's over here.
The vice president is here? Yes, ma'am.
Vice President Tanz is right here.
Grace, are you all right? You're vice president? I don't understand.
Oh, well, we have a lot of catching up to do.
- Liam? - Jillian.
Hey.
You okay? Yeah.
GRACE: You're vice president? How long have we been down here? Five days.
Darius, what exactly happened outside? You don't understand.
I need to speak to the president now.
Darius Tanz.
NEWSWOMAN: And updating you now on breaking news T-A-N-Z.
Who am I speaking with? multiple reports of a massive explosion outside of Lebanon, Kansas.
Eyewitnesses as far away as Wichita Turn that down, will you? Yes, I understand she's unavailable.
A nuclear bomb just went off in Kansas.
But she'll want to speak to me.
She needs to speak to me.
No, I don't want to leave a bloody message! Why would Russia drop a nuke on-on Lebanon, Kansas? They didn't.
It's RE/SYST.
Grab your coat.
We need to get to the president while we still can.
Mobilize the National Guard.
And get congressional leadership down here ASAP.
Two-megaton explosion occurred on the ground, as opposed to mid-air, reducing the blast radius and the nuclear fallout.
Casualties? Fewer than 100.
We're monitoring for radiation.
MACKENZIE: Why would the Russians want to blow up a nearly empty wheat field? Because it wasn't designed to kill.
- It was a message.
- Mr.
Tanz.
What kind of message? And from whom? RE/SYST.
They masterminded this from the start, played us against each other, tricked us into a shooting war.
And then hacked those missiles once they were in the air.
DARIUS: And where did they choose to drop the bomb? New York? D.
C.
? No, seven miles outside Lebanon, Kansas.
The exact geographical center of this country.
DARIUS: Calculated to cause maximum fear and minimal casualties.
And demonstrating what they're capable of if we don't give in to their demands.
What demands? That's the trillion-dollar question.
(computer beeping) I think we're about to get the answer.
(concerned murmuring) (distorted voice): Global citizens, we are RE/SYST, a hacker collective dedicated to radical transparency.
We are reaching out to give you answers to what is happening and why.
The United States and Russia have initiated an armed nuclear conflict.
In an effort to minimize the damage, we intercepted one ICBM and guided it to the safest possible location.
Had we not intervened, the results would have been catastrophic.
They're positioning themselves as the saviors.
most recent escalation is due to a far greater threat, a profound secret your governments have been keeping from you for the last four months.
An extinction-level asteroid is on course to collide with Earth in 127 days.
RE/SYST has a plan to compel the countries of the world to stop the asteroid.
We control one remaining ICBM, currently in orbit and carrying 13 warheads.
Any country that refuses to participate in our plan will face dire consequences.
From this moment on, no more secrets.
We are RE/SYST.
Mr.
Tanz, any idea how to disarm that ICBM? You have one of the world's fastest supercomputers in the basement of the Department of Energy.
I need a tie-in right now.
We already have half the NSA working the problem.
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted this done today.
Madam President, we need to get this done before they release their official list of demands, or we'll have no choice but to comply.
Get Mr.
Tanz what he needs.
Meantime, we need to keep the peace here at home.
(siren whooping) Driving was a stupid-ass idea.
There's already a run on stores.
People have skipped fear and gone straight to panic.
(tires screech) - What the hell?! - Watch it! Darius, when are we opening the Ark? I mean, the immediate threat to D.
C.
is over.
Over? Nukes are circling as we speak.
Imagine what they're all going through, not knowing if we're all alive or dead.
Liam, right now they're safe.
And we're not.
Wait here.
- What the hell? - (horns honking, people shouting) Darius! OFFICER: The road is closed.
Get back in your cars and turn around! Out of the way or we're gonna move these barricades ourselves! Get back or I'll shoot! Everyone, calm down! Don't shoot, don't shoot! Calm down.
Put your weapons down.
Please.
- I know you're all frightened.
- MAN: Frightened? A nuke went off.
We're all gonna die! No, we're not, if you put your gun down.
How the hell would you know? Because because most of you hold in your hands a computer a million times smarter than the one NASA used to put a man on the moon just 50 years ago.
Human ingenuity is a powerful force.
Every day, we solve the unsolvable.
Imagine what your ancestors would think if-if they knew we could fly, cure diseases, yeah, pay for the parking meter with a credit card.
If we can do the unimaginable, we most definitely can nudge a space rock a few degrees off course.
But only if we keep our heads and work together.
Now sir, what you do in the next ten seconds will determine whether you go to sleep tonight in the comfort of your own bed, the discomfort of a jail cell cot or worse.
Your call.
Why can't we move these? Civil defense protocol.
This road is reserved for evacuation of VIPs.
Can we agree right now that, as far as the eye can see, there are no VIPs? All right! One car a time! Move on through in an orderly fashion.
LIAM: Are you completely insane? You could've been killed out there.
That was mere mortal's work.
What we're about to do, I'm afraid, requires superhero skills.
LIAM: Tess could have done a month's worth of analysis in minutes.
The DoE's supercomputer, it doesn't have the same juice.
It could take us weeks to go through every line of code to find some sort of vulnerability.
We don't have weeks and we don't have Tess.
RE/SYST found a backdoor to hack those ICBMs.
Let's just hope they didn't lock the door behind them.
Hey, how long will this go on? Until we solve the problem.
No, I'm talking about the Ark.
(sighs) It's been three days.
How long do you leave them down there? A week? A month? Until it's safer up here than it is down there.
If we can do the unimaginable, we most definitely can nudge a space rock a few degrees off course.
And that's just one of many incidents happening all over the country, Madam President.
There's a crisis of confidence out there.
The public has more faith in Darius Tanz than they do in their own government.
RE/SYST is winning the PR war.
They've destroyed our credibility.
No.
We've destroyed our credibility.
We need to make a bold move to restore it.
To remedy the loss of faith, we need to take a leap of faith.
Madam President, we just received this communiqué from RE/SYST.
Thank you.
They've sent their list of demands.
Madam President, what's going on? Is Tanz being invaded? In a manner of speaking, yes.
We just received the demands from RE/SYST.
They're assembling their own asteroid mitigation project with 30 scientists from around the world to be convened 24 hours from right now.
They've given a list of names.
- And I'm on it.
- No.
But he is.
Wh-What? Y-You can't hand Liam over to them.
I'm afraid we don't have much leverage right now.
They're threatening to bomb any country that doesn't turn over the scientists on their list.
Unfortunately that's not all.
They're asking for Tanz as their base of operations.
- Absolutely not.
- Darius No, I refuse! You can't negotiate with terrorists.
I signed the order five minutes ago.
Under the NSPD, I was given the emergency power to nationalize Tanz Industries, and I had no alternative.
Ah, this is insane.
Now first Tess.
Now Liam and-and Tanz? Well, they've taken away all my power.
I'm-I'm I'm essentially useless.
Not to me.
Me, vice president? You have lost your mind.
(scoffs) I need someone above politics.
An outsider.
A bona fide hero.
That situation off K Street, video's gone viral.
Millions have seen it already.
None of that qualifies me to be VP.
People have been VP on far less.
Presidents, too.
I convened an emergency session of Congress, and they have approved you with a two-thirds majority.
I didn't know you were born in Philadelphia.
Ah, my-my parents were on holiday.
My-my mother went into labor prematurely.
I can't give up Tanz.
You will assemble a team of scientists of your choosing and you will oversee it from the West Wing.
You will have every resource imaginable and then some.
We are on a knife's edge here.
I need you, Darius.
I, Darius Tanz, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend - the Constitution of the United States.
- (computer beeping) LIAM: Uh, um, Darius? (chief justice clears throat) Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
- (computer beeping) - DARIUS: Against all enemies, - foreign and domestic.
- LIAM: Hey, Darius.
Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt.
Excuse me.
Uh, the air supply in the Ark hangar has been compromised.
Oxygen levels are falling rapidly.
You asked when it was time to open up the Ark? The answer's now.
Mr.
Tanz? CHIEF JUSTICE: Mr.
Tanz! Are you going to finish taking the oath? And I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I'm about to enter.
So help me God.
Which brings us to the here and now.
You left us down there for five days even though the immediate threat was over? Immediate threat? Missiles are circling as we speak.
A man died down there.
Your Ark nearly killed us all.
My Ark did no such thing.
Th-This was sabotage, pure and simple.
(scoffs) Of course, I forgot.
You're Darius Tanz.
It couldn't possibly be your fault.
W-Wait.
Why would someone sabotage the hangar? That would be a suicide mission.
Why, I have no idea, but-but the nitrogen isn't stored on the rocket.
It's kept in tanks under the hangar.
Someone had to intentionally start the flow, open a specific valve.
MACKENZIE: Well, we are all met and caught up, I gather.
Grace.
Harris.
Thank you for your service to country.
Dare I say, the situation has gotten even more complicated since last we met.
Among the many obstacles we face now, Monroe Bennett and his men have managed to escape, and there were casualties.
Now, he and Claire Rayburn, they're in the wind.
And we need to find them.
Madam President Yes, Madam President, finding Monroe Bennett and Claire Rayburn will be my top priority.
MACKENZIE: Thank you.
Grace, as my new senior advisor, assuming you accept I'd be honored.
I'd like you to craft a speech for our vice president here.
He's going to address the nation for the first time, tonight.
Of course.
And I have less than 15 hours to disarm RE/SYST's warhead before they take control of the world's top scientists, Liam included.
If you'll excuse me.
Ms.
Barrows, Mr.
Secretary, it is so good to have people back whom I can trust.
Where are you going? We have to tell her.
Them.
Grace, you shot the president's top aide, - then disposed of her body.
- Yes, to save your life.
We never called the authorities.
We were under nuclear attack.
Claire was a traitor, Harris.
But we can't prove that, Grace.
Come here.
Listen, you need to hear me.
There will be an investigation of us and your father.
That's the last thing any of us needs.
And if we tell Mackenzie and Darius and-and they don't take action They're complicit in a cover-up.
It could bring down our whole government at the worst possible time.
Claire's dead.
She's not coming back.
This is a Pandora's box we need to leave locked.
(phone vibrating) Harris Edwards.
Yeah.
DARIUS: Where are we? Nowhere, Darius.
I've gone through source code for hours.
Whatever door they went through they sealed pretty tight.
Well, we've got ten hours, so it's not over till it's over.
(phone chimes) Don't even think about leaving that chair.
Jillian, you're in charge of him and the chair.
We're not giving you up to RE/SYST without a fight.
Anyone ever tell you you're a loud writer? Well, technically a loud editor, and (chuckles) yes.
Darius is there anything you want to say to me? The speech is good.
It's good.
Although, some of it's a bit rigid.
I-I'd like go off book here and there if you don't mind.
Not about the speech.
I'm sorry.
I thought the Ark was the safest place for you.
Oh, my God, this isn't about the Ark.
Then what, Grace? I poured my heart out on that hill to you.
- I mean, I thought we were - Grace.
Don't say my name like that.
Not if you don't mean it.
Well, I don't know what I mean.
Suddenly I'm vice president of the United States.
Mackenzie has thrust me into the position of father figurehead.
Meantime, I'm supposed to disarm a nuclear warhead and protect the fate of humanity without even breaking a sweat, and you're wondering why I can't be emotional right now? I-I can't be anything right now, Grace.
To anyone.
I'll have the revisions done and loaded into the teleprompter, Mr.
Vice President.
(phone vibrating) DARIUS: It's Liam.
Grace.
He's found a way in.
Hey! Hey, I'm in.
I'm in the logs.
Look at what they did.
DARIUS: RE/SYST modified the rocket's firmware to transfer control from Russia to them.
Exactly, but the radio frequency they used is still active.
Which means? We can take control back.
(claps hands) (typing) - Okay, that is it.
- Stop, Liam! (exhales) It's a trap.
(beeping) Look.
Right here.
RE/SYST added something to the firmware.
- A daemon.
- What does that do? Uh, it's like a stealth security guard.
It watches for any changes in the code.
And if it finds any? Are those GPS coordinates? New York, Shanghai, Moscow.
Oh.
Well, RE/SYST left the door open, but they rigged the house to blow.
Liam, you were one keystroke away from detonating 13 nuclear bombs.
So if we try to disarm those missiles Millions of people die.
LIAM: That's it.
It's over.
They got us.
HARRIS: As secretary of defense, I'd be remiss if I didn't voice my objection.
Darius Tanz is volatile, unpredictable and listens to no one.
Putting him in the number two position during a crisis like this seems for lack of a better word, irresponsible.
Well, you have your opinion, and I have mine.
And I'm on this side of the desk.
Fair enough.
I just thought I'd mention it before he makes his television debut.
And this has nothing to do with the fact that perhaps you think you're the man for the job? I know how things get done here, and how they don't.
And Mr.
Tanz knows how to get things done when no one else does.
But if you're not able to support my decisions, perhaps we should have that discussion.
No, we're good.
As long as it's clear from whom I take orders and from whom I don't.
(door closes) JILLIAN: They, uh, they said that you wanted to see me? Yes.
What are you doing for the next 122 days? I have, um, no idea.
Well, now you do.
You're hired.
- As? - My assistant.
Karissa's gone home to Miami.
I-I need someone I know and trust.
Uh, yes, Darius.
I-I mean, um, i-it would be an honor, um, Mr.
Vice President.
It's been 12 hours, and I'm already sick of that title.
To you, I'm Darius.
Here.
I need everything that's marked with that ready to go in my office.
In the West Wing, tomorrow.
One more thing.
You put together profiles of everyone that was down in the hangar? Yes, I interviewed them all personally.
I have a list catalogued.
Good.
Because someone on that list sabotaged the Ark, and we're gonna find out who it was.
Gentlemen.
Don't worry, I'll be back.
MACKENZIE: Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the vice president of the United States, Darius Tanz.
(reporters murmuring, cameras clicking) Good evening.
Over the years, I've made hundreds of speeches, but usually with the aid of slick graphics depicting the future, our shared future.
But tonight, it's just me without all the eye candy.
I'm sorry, I can't stand the formality of all this.
Um (quietly): What the hell is he doing now? What he always does: whatever the hell he wants.
DARIUS: C-Can I borrow this? Do you mind if I just sit closer to you? Camera still sees me? Now, I'm no politician, obviously, and no one's ever accused me of being very politic.
(chuckles softly) But I agreed to be vice president your vice president on one condition: that I would never be a politician and that I would always be able to tell you the unvarnished truth.
And the truth is it's a scary time, for all of us.
But I assure you that President Mackenzie has given me every resource at the government's disposal to stop that asteroid.
RE/SYST holds a threat over our heads, that is true.
But if we allow them to stop us in our daily lives, then the terrorists win, and I for one won't allow that to happen.
Now, I promise you, the American people, that I will solve the problems of tomorrow.
And in return, I ask you to be the solution today.
Regard your fellow human beings with kindness.
Continue with your daily lives.
Panic and fear never solved anything.
In the words of the great FDR, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
" And I can tell you this: I'm not afraid.
We will not go gentle into that good night.
We will fight with every fiber of our beings to preserve what is true and dear to us: our fair planet Earth.
And perhaps some of our dreams are on hold for the moment, but make no mistake, we will prevail.
(applause) (speaking indistinctly) CLAIRE (echoing): You're not alone, Grace.
I'm here.
(gasps, panting) JILLIAN: Till we meet again, and we will.
Stay safe.
Jillian.
(beeping) GUARD: Name? Uh, Liam Cole.
Phones, electronics, passport, everything goes in there.
Welcome to RE/SYST.
Name? - CROFT: Malcolm.
- GUARD: Last name? Croft? Hello, Liam.
Looks like we're working together again.
Croft.
I don't want to kill you.
But I will if I have to.
(indistinct military radio chatter) DIGBY: Confidence is high that we have control of three airbases and two aircraft carriers.
What are your orders? Let's hold a beat.
I have a few pieces I need to move first.
But make no mistake, we will take back the White House.
By any means necessary.
Yes, Mr.
President.