House of Cards (2013) s04e10 Episode Script

"She squared off mano-a-mano with Petrov to finalize the bailout deal.
Meanwhile, Secretary Durant twiddled her thumbs, waiting without a seat at the bargaining table.
" Pretty wild, huh? - When was that posted? - 3:00 a.
m.
You should go.
- No breakfast, even? - I have work to do.
Welcome back.
It's a dramatic day.
Let's see where things stand.
And, Wolf, you can see the big change.
Catherine Durant now on our presidential nominating wall.
She has shifted from vice presidential hopeful to potential presidential candidate.
And a Durant candidacy might be appealing to Democrats who aren't enthusiastic about either Underwood or Dunbar.
And imagine this scenario if we play this out through this convention.
Heather Dunbar came out of the primaries, of course, with 46%.
It's not enough to win the nomination, but for him to win, President Underwood, he still needs these superdelegates.
He won the popular vote when Dunbar withdrew, but you're saying he doesn't have a technical majority.
659 superdelegates yet to weigh in, so you see Frank Underwood drops down to 48%.
He's still in the lead, but not enough to clinch the nomination.
And you want a little bit more intrigue, like we need that? Twenty-four states, Wolf, these 24 states highlighted, they do not have so-called faithless delegate laws, meaning in these 24 states, the delegates don't have to, they are not legally bound to vote for the candidate who won their state's primary or caucus.
- They can vote for whoever they want.
- They could vote for Heather Dunbar.
They could switch over and vote for Catherine Durant.
Wolf, if they want, they could vote for you.
They're not gonna vote for me.
But if Secretary Durant siphons off enough votes or Underwood doesn't get that majority in the first ballot, what, all bets are off? I think about the only sure bet today is President Underwood must be wishing he hadn't agreed to this open convention.
Does Durant or Dunbar really have a shot at winning this thing? Sure.
You've got a president who wasn't elected to begin with.
His health is a giant question mark right now.
He's had a rocky tenure, plus you've got an open convention.
Anything could happen.
Like giving, uh, Durant a run for her money.
Uh, Slugline, by the way, picked up the Politico story from yesterday.
It could get traction out there on the floor.
That's true, and, again, at an open convention, Claire Underwood may suddenly be the dark horse here.
Mother.
Hello, Claire.
Why'd you move down here? Hospice lady said I shouldn't be going up and down stairs anymore.
Besides, I like it.
More light.
Who's that? Uh, Tom, would you give us a minute, please? Sorry.
No, no.
Come here, young man.
Hi, Mrs.
Hale.
My name's Tom.
It's Thomas Yates, the novelist.
You've probably heard of him.
Mmm, I think everything since John Cheever isn't worth readin'.
You're probably right.
Well, Claire did you come to take stock of everything you're gonna inherit when I die? Hmm.
Well, it's convenient, isn't it, having a dying mother when you need an excuse to skip town? We won't disturb you.
It was nice meeting you, Mrs.
Hale.
- Elizabeth.
- All right.
Well, then you call me Tom.
I hate "Thomas.
" - Fair enough, Tom.
- We have a deal.
We want a unified party, not a fractured one.
I can't play fast and loose with the rules.
This is an open convention.
There are no rules.
I already gave Senator Sheer that prime-time spot that you wanted.
But this, as chair of the convention-- And I made you chair of this convention precisely for moments like this.
I have an obligation to not play favorites.
Your obligation to the party is an obligation to the leader of the party, and as the president, that would be me.
- Correct? - Yes, sir, but-- Then this isn't about favoritism.
It's about solidarity.
We've got a car waiting to take you to the convention hall, Ms.
Whittaker.
I call this convention to order.
Of the Democratic National Committee and the convention chair, Patti Whittaker.
Good morning.
I was just informed that the president will travel to Washington to meet with his national security team.
Given that key contenders for both slots on the ticket aren't able to be on the floor today, the Rules Committee has advised that we should wait for their return before any further votes are held.
There is a motion to postpone all votes until the president's return.
ICO began its advance from As Suwar late last night, and by our calculations and their current pace, we expect them to reach the Euphrates within 72 hours.
Now, this could disrupt highway and river traffic, but more importantly, could give them the opportunity to destroy vital dams in the region.
And as a result, I am heading to Washington right now so that we can decide exactly how we should stop this ICO advance.
Is this sudden change of plans a result of your meeting with Governor Conway yesterday? Well, it wouldn't surprise me if ICO accelerated their plans, uh, because of the governor's comments.
They certainly know how to take advantage of media attention.
But whether that's the truth or not, this is an imminent threat which we must deal with immediately.
I'm glad the president heard me and finally took General Brockhart's advice to heart.
Now we'll just have to wait and see if it actually results in anything.
I just hope it's not too little, too late.
What are your plans now, Governor? Remain in Atlanta? No, Hannah and I are heading back on the trail.
We accomplished what we needed to here in Georgia, and we're heading off to Arizona today and then Utah.
Mr.
President.
Mr.
President.
Why Washington and not here? This issue is too sensitive for a mobile White House.
I need to be in the Situation Room with my entire staff and team of advisors around me.
Yes, Adam.
Mr.
President, is this a way to silence Secretary Durant after Louisiana put her in the running for president? I don't use national security matters for political purposes.
You know that, Adam.
You have any other further questions, please direct them to Seth.
Thank you all very much.
- You want me to come with? - No, you stay behind.
- Keep everything under control.
- Yes, sir.
There are reports that she's left Atlanta.
The First Lady left earlier this morning.
Her mother's health has deteriorated in the past few days.
- Seth! - Adam.
Does this mean she's out of the running for VP? The First Lady was never in the running.
She and the president continue to support Catherine Durant-- Father of four, sailor staph infection from stepping on a rusty fish hook.
Heavens! And this one, yeah, you were a fruit fly.
- A fruit fly.
- Yes.
Oh.
Oh, oh You were a consort to Rasputin and his 14-inch No, don't say it.
I don't have to say it because you're already imagining it.
I looked it over.
I'll meet you outside.
Uh, gonna leave all this to Vi and the girls if you're not interested.
- Grandmother's jewelry? - Mmm-hmm.
She'd turn over in her grave if I didn't at least offer it to you.
- She had great taste.
- Hmm.
Where do you think I got it from? What's this? Look at it.
Open it up.
Must be worth somethin', baby teeth of the First Lady.
I like that boy.
Makes me laugh.
Like your father used to.
Can't imagine Daddy dressed up as a fortune teller.
Oh, you'd be surprised.
He had a silly side to him.
Not that I ever saw.
Well, there were certain things that he only did with me.
Oh.
Oh, you see, laughter is good for the pain.
Even better than this morphine.
- Let me help you.
- No, no, I can do it.
You just go.
Go! You crossed everything out.
- It wasn't good.
- I know.
Is that what you're gonna do here, after she dies? Cross everything out because it wasn't good? You're not going to get me to talk about my mother.
I hope not.
Hatred's ugly.
It's too beautiful a day for that.
Back to the salt mines.
Please, sit.
Sir, these are the current ICO positions.
We're still drafting action items, but we can give you a rough sense-- Well, before we discuss any military options, I'd like to put a call in to Damascus and see what they'll allow.
Madam Secretary, won't you join me? So you had to call a national security meeting just to get us in the same room? And to keep you off the phone with Conway.
All I needed was one call to him.
I don't need to make another.
You don't actually think he's gonna make you Secretary of State, do you? Probably not, but I would've paid good money - just to see your face when he told you.
- Mmm.
I never promised you the ticket.
I promised you I'd try.
You pretended to try.
Claire's support didn't just happen on its own, and you had the gall to take my hand, look me in the eye and lie to my face.
- You're mistaken, Cathy.
- Oh, come on, Frank.
I've had a front row seat to everything since the day Walker took office, all the lies and betrayals, and I helped you.
My mistake was I assumed you wouldn't stab me in the back.
Your mistake is that it backfired.
This is all personal, isn't it? This is about how Claire treated you when I was in the hospital.
Give me more credit than that.
This is business.
We were partners.
You broke the contract.
- So, what do you want? - What else is there, Frank? Nothing.
It's simple.
Either Claire's votes come my way or I turn the convention upside down.
We need to talk about Seth.
I've been getting calls from former clients.
Now, before you say anything, here's the dirt.
I cheated on a math test in 8th grade, I shoplifted a homecoming dress when I was 16, I experimented with a sorority sister in freshman year, and I was late on my taxes in 2007.
What he won't find is anything that justifies firing me.
I'm sure he was just vetting you.
We do that with everyone.
Okay, if that's your story, then fine, but all I care about is winning this election.
So let's get past our personal shit and be a team, okay? We're fighting a common enemy here, Mr.
President.
It's important that we remain united.
Yeah, and I can assure you that Secretary Durant will reach out before we conduct any operation.
Thank you for your time, Mr.
President.
We'll be in touch as soon as we come up with a plan.
You're acting like I'll still be Secretary of State.
Well, if you play your cards right, you will be.
Who else did you offer the VP slot to? There's Jackie, Austen, me.
Anyone else? Austen withdrew on his own, and so did Jackie.
I did not push her out.
Jackie says you took her for granted, that you bullied her, you intimidated her.
And that is what she is telling every member of the California delegation, one phone call at a time.
California.
Lots of votes.
California, the largest piece of delegates at the Democratic Convention.
I'm told that delegation is trending toward Heather Dunbar.
Let's watch this, Wolf.
Let's imagine she only picked up two-thirds of the California delegates.
That gets you above 300 there.
Plus, we assume she'll keep her home state Connecticut's support.
Off to a pretty good start.
It's over 300 delegates.
What, roughly, uh, 7% of the vote? That alone could take this, what, to a second ballot? That takes it to a second ballot, an open convention again.
Plus, we also assume that Louisiana will stay with Catherine Durant.
So, we are not going to have a definitive idea of how all this is gonna shape up at least until they conduct the first ballot.
There's still no update as to, uh, when the president and Secretary Durant will return.
No, and that adds to some of the uncertainty here.
So let's go back to the floor, see how things are playing out.
It didn't specify in the article which direction the motorcade was heading.
East.
You're sure? Thank you very much.
Hot damn! I am promising you Secretary of State for as long as you want it and my full support when you run for president in 2024.
I mean, who knows, you might even get lucky.
My liver might fail before then.
Your promises stopped meaning much after you promised Baker my job.
I have no intention of offering him Secretary of State.
Oh, so you lied to him the way Walker lied to you.
No.
Walker and I didn't have a history.
And Walker didn't respect me.
You and I have a history, Cathy, and I respect you immensely.
But our history goes back three years.
Claire's and my partnership goes back 30.
You have to respect that.
I might have if you had been honest with me from the beginning.
Well, I wish I could turn back time, but here we are.
And you can keep me out of Atlanta for as long as you want, but you can't hold the vote back forever.
Time's moving forward, not back.
And time is on my side.
If Heather Dunbar wants to take advantage of the president's absence, that's her prerogative.
But she's still in D.
C.
, there's no public statement.
You see that as taking advantage? You think Congresswoman Sharp would make calls on her behalf if she wasn't pulling the strings from Washington? Sharp says she's doing it on her own.
You don't have any proof of coordination.
You're right, I don't.
Just human nature, basic logic, and a slightly better than average understanding of political gamesmanship.
Uh, if you will excuse me, even press secretaries have to pee.
- I'll just be right back.
- Okay.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
I'm sorry.
Excuse me.
What's up? LeAnn knows, and I think you told her.
I did.
Straight up.
I told her everything.
- Let's go.
Upstairs.
- No.
- Excuse me? - You've got Dunbar in play, you got Durant with the president, and the First Lady's in Dallas.
And I've got a room full of press that I've been keeping at bay since 8:00 this morning, so I will tell you why I told her after I tuck in all the children.
Let's vote now! Order, please! It is Senator Sheer's time to speak.
Order! Maybe we should let Cathy have her way.
If the vote's held now, you two win.
We focus on the general.
What's brought all this on? I just wonder if we're in over our heads, Francis, trying to do this.
Is it your mother? I'm sure it's difficult to see her this sick.
She's completely helpless.
But we're not helpless.
We can turn this around.
I guess I'm just I don't know, maybe maybe we're making a mistake.
Maybe I'm not ready to be your running mate.
- Conway has a four-star general.
- Is she happy, your mother? No, she's miserable.
Tom makes her laugh, but mostly, no.
Imagine my liver's failing.
- Imagine I'm dying.
- Francis No, I just want you to picture it for just a moment.
There I am, lying in a bed just like your mother is now.
The only thing that would make me happy is to know that you would take over after I passed.
If it were Cathy I'd be just as miserable as your mother is.
I'll do my part.
You just concentrate on that speech.
All right.
Thank you, Francis.
Good night.
- She, uh she won't eat? - It's hard for her to swallow.
How much time do you think she has? I can't be definitive, but a couple of weeks, maybe.
If she stops eating altogether, it could be days.
She's in a lot of pain.
She doesn't have to be.
When it gets to this point, we can make her comfortable.
Comfortable enough that the body will let go.
Does she want that? That is something you should discuss with your mother.
I like the plants.
The plants you put in there.
It's the little things, right? If we take out the refineries, that would eliminate their revenue stream.
They can't advance if they don't have the resources.
President Makhzun made it very clear he wants those to remain intact.
It's our best option from a strategic point of view.
Minimal loss of life, maximal impact on capability.
It's either total war or nothing at all.
Well, that doesn't sound very diplomatic, Cathy.
We're going to be diplomatic with terrorists? I made a promise to President Makhzun.
You've broken promises before.
Why should this be any different? Why don't we break for dinner? We'll pick this up afterwards.
I wanna review this a bit more.
I'll have some food brought into the Roosevelt Room.
Thank you all very much.
Cathy, why don't you and I eat in here? "Total war or nothing at all"? The moment I get in front of those cameras and I tell them that Conway is right and Brockhart is right, and that you completely bungled the ICO situation, how do you think Dunbar will do then? Can we get two Cobb salads in here, please? - I don't like Cobb salad.
- Then you don't have to eat it.
Thanks for coming over.
Way easier coming here than you coming there.
Must be ten news crews outside of my house.
How'd you escape? The old-fashioned way.
Back door.
- Hmm.
- How did you get my home phone? Oh, old-fashioned way.
- Rolodex from the Herald.
- Ah.
Come with me.
I won't keep you long.
Yeah.
- How long did this take you? - Couple of months.
I've been working on my own.
We had a whole team and we didn't find this.
Well, you probably weren't digging as deep as the Bates City Vine.
No.
We spent most of our energy tracking the money.
We should've been more focused on the travel logs.
I wouldn't have checked either until I spoke with a pizza guy.
Then I realized they might be manipulating the logs.
Which gets you to Lanagin.
It still doesn't prove he met with Lanagin, but I don't know where else that motorcade would've been heading.
Are you going public with this? I could, but he has some plausible deniability.
He pins it all on Meechum.
If he's covering up travel, who knows what else he's covering up? That's the story I want, not some Secret Service man being loose with the books.
- So you're still under the radar.
- Mmm-hmm.
I have to ask you to keep all this to yourself.
I know it can be tempting now that you have a chance, but if this goes public too early, his guard goes up.
Listen, it was hard when I withdrew.
How the leadership abandoned me, how the public did.
It took some time but I made my peace.
It's a crapshoot whether I can win this.
He can probably fight that off.
You need to write the story that he can't fight off.
You investigated him.
Where's the weak link? Remy Danton.
Tom did that.
It's a shame.
He'd be good for you.
I never believed in the tooth fairy.
Well, you took the money anyway.
Could you turn off that light, please? Hurts my eyes.
When you were small you used to used to ask me to make it stop, the dark.
Do you remember? Yes.
And I promised you I would in the morning.
But, damn it, you would sit at that window every night trying to make the sun rise, all by yourself.
Your daddy would put you in bed after you'd fallen asleep with your face against the glass.
And I was so jealous.
Of me and Daddy? That you believed.
You believed you could make the sun rise.
I spoke to her, Mother, the nurse.
I can't do it.
I can't do it, Mother.
I can't do what you want me to do.
Claire it'd help you win having your mother gone.
Do this for me.
And let me be a help to you.
Finally.
Tom.
She wants you to be there.
What do you want? I want you to be there, too.
Okay.
Okay.
I told her because you put me in an impossible situation.
There's nothing on her, but you wouldn't listen.
And you must not have listened when you came over to my house.
I was very clear.
So you're gonna throw me on the ground again? Look, here's a glass.
Let's go ahead.
You wanna fire me? Fine.
It's another resignation.
After Remy, after Brockhart.
With Durant, with Dunbar.
You know, I spin stories for a living.
I can't begin to tell you how to spin this.
You know, the minibar wasn't open because you wanted a Diet Coke.
- I'm worried about you, Doug.
- Nobody needs to worry about me.
Yeah, somebody does because this scorched-earth policy is bad for us.
I don't give a rat's ass about LeAnn Harvey.
We need her.
And you need me.
And we both need you.
- At your best.
- I'm fine.
Are you? Instead of having me do damage control, you're having me do damage to one of our own.
- I am trying to protect the president.
- And I'm trying to protect you from yourself.
You're so full of shit.
You don't care about me.
After what you did, I should hate you.
But where does it get us? Check out the Telegraph.
The strategy is working if you let it.
Or make me resign.
Your call.
- Are you okay? - It's what she wanted.
I was asking you.
Schedule the vote for tomorrow.
I'll fly back to speak just before.
Claire, your mother just passed.
Schedule it, Francis.
Tom wrote a speech.
It's good.
- Cathy's not on board yet.
- Then get her on board.
I'm sorry.
- I didn't mean to-- - No, no, it's all right.
I'll get it done.
Thank you.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Good night.
Ask Secretary Durant to meet me in the Oval.
Yes, sir.
Mr.
President.
Coffee table.
The funny thing is I didn't even have to ask him to do it.
He did it on his own.
I especially like where he says, "Catherine Durant is functional.
Claire Underwood is formidable.
" So, you see, you don't even have time on your side.
It's on ours.
By tomorrow morning, there'll be a dozen articles just like that.
So you have a choice.
You can redeem yourself as Secretary of State over the next four years, or go down in history as a fluke, who bungled the Middle East and couldn't even close the deal in Brandenburg.
You have your version.
I have mine.
I'm sure mine will get just as much traction as this.
But my version wins because it's the better story and it's also exactly how things went down.
You see, you don't even have the truth going for you.
I'm not scared of you.
My endorsement of Dunbar, that makes for an even better story.
But you wanna know what the best story is? Claire's mother just died.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- Oh, I don't think you really are, but that doesn't matter because the rest of the world will.
And by the time she gives her speech tomorrow night, there won't be a dry eye in Atlanta or across the rest of the country.
So, you get to keep your job, Cathy, in return for your delegates.
That offer is still on the table.
I have been loyal.
I got you that table.
Do you wanna keep it, or do you wanna give it to Conway? You know, when I was waiting for my transplant, I had the most vivid hallucinations.
You wouldn't believe 'em.
Do you know who I saw? Peter Russo and Zoe Barnes, right here in this room.
Zoe was trying to seduce me, right here on this couch, and Peter, he shoved my face up against this glass.
Cigarettes and razor blades and sex.
It was terrifying.
All I wanted to do was get out of this room that I worked so hard to get in.
But of course, it makes sense that they would've haunted me because it's all true.
- What is? - Everything Lucas Goodwin claimed.
I killed them both, just like he said I did.
But of course, nobody believes it, and nobody ever will.
Because that's how good we are at making things disappear.
No, we didn't kill anybody.
But we would have if it was necessary.
So, you're right, the time for negotiations is over.
You will hand over your delegates, and you will serve on in my cabinet.
And we will forget that any of this ever happened.
Because if you don't I swear to God I will never ever forget.
Do you understand now? Yes.
Good.
Now, let's go decide what we're gonna do about these terrorists.
Want me to call someone? Make arrangements? We made the sun rise.
- She told you that, too? - Mmm-hmm.
We should get going.
Me and Hannah want to extend our warmest condolences to the First Lady and the President.
They and all of Elizabeth Hale's loved ones are in our prayers.
And we won't be campaigning today out of respect for their loss.
God bless President and Mrs.
Underwood.
Got it.
Put it out.
Perfect timing for her to drop dead.
We were on a roll, too.
I should prep for the speech.
I have a room set up for you.
I'll be right in.
Right this way, Mrs.
Underwood.
I read the draft.
And? - I wouldn't change a thing.
- I'm glad you're pleased.
I'm glad you were with her.
She's strong.
You're a lucky man.
Don't I know it.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor to introduce Secretary of State Catherine Durant.
Thank you, thank you very much.
I know that all of you join me in offering our sincere condolences to the First Lady for her loss.
Tonight, I want to offer my sincere gratitude to all the delegates who have honored me with their support during the course of this convention.
Thank you so much.
However, after much deliberation I have decided that I have more to offer you as Secretary of State than to resign and run for office.
But I want to encourage every one of you who has supported me to join me in supporting this extraordinary woman, the First Lady of the United States, Claire Hale Underwood.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And good evening.
As all of you know, my mother, Elizabeth Constance Hale, passed away last night after a long illness.
She was a strong woman a fierce Texan We had a difficult relationship from childhood onwards.
At times, there were long periods of estrangement.
We hurt each other often and deeply.
If there was one good thing that came from my mother's illness it gave us a chance to reconnect, to mend old wounds.
And that's not an opportunity people always get before a parent dies, and I'm grateful to have had that.
And what am I doing here? I'm here because my mother wanted me to be.
Yesterday, before she passed, she said to me, "Claire do this.
If the people want it, listen to them.
And if you lose, then you lose.
But if you win be honored, be humbled, and win this election with Francis!" And I told her, I said, "The Conways are tough opponents.
" And she said, "They may be tough, but they're not Texas tough.
" Loss is a sobering phenomenon.
Several months ago, I almost lost my husband.
Our nation almost lost a president.
Loss makes us reevaluate what we hold dear.
And I'll tell you, there were times in the not too distant past, where Francis and I, we almost lost our marriage.
Hard times when we thought we wouldn't make it.
And like many of you know, marriage isn't always the smoothest road.
And it took the actions of a deranged young man to remind me how important Francis is to me.
And now, with my mother gone he's the only family I have left.
I trust Francis Underwood with my life, with our nation, with our future.
I hope you will, too.
And if you trust the both of us, I'll heed my mother's words, and I'll be honored if you nominate me as his running mate.
Claire! Claire! Claire! Jesus! You did great work.
Ladies and gentlemen Madam Secretary, as convention chair, I move that we make the nomination of Claire Underwood for vice president and Francis Underwood for president by acclamation.
Do I hear a second to vote by acclamation for the nomination of the president and the vice president? - Hear, hear! - So moved.
All of those in favor of the nomination of Francis Underwood for President of the United States, say "aye.
" - Aye! - All those against.
Nay! All those in favor of the nomination of Claire Underwood for our Vice President of the United States, say "aye.
" Aye! - Against? - Nay! The ayes have it! Our party's ticket for the 2016 presidential election will be Francis and Claire Underwood!