Kenny, Bobby and the President make their way across the
lawn, out of earshot of the building.
BOBBY
What happened to speak when spoken to?
KENNY
Give it a rest. You were thinking the
same thing, just didn't have the guts1 to
take the heat.
Bobby likes getting under Kenny's skin. Bobby aims a punch
at his head which Kenny knocks away. The President changes
gear, serious.
THE PRESIDENT
We can horsetrade with Khruschev on
ships. But it doesn't get us any closer
to removing those missiles.
KENNY
Have to hope it's a signal that he'll
back down on the real issue too.
BOBBY
We're going to have to sTOP a ship
eventually, show the quarantine's got
teeth, or we'll prove McCone right.
THE PRESIDENT
McNamara's on his way back here now. We
need to pick the right ship. No subs.
No armed boarding parties either. We
need a little more time to figure this
one out.
KENNY
Then let's move the quarantine line.
It's a simple suggestion. The President considers him a
beat, and then McNamara emerges from the White House, heads
for them. The three friends assume their more reserved,
political faces as he comes up.
MCNAMARA
Mr. President. Bobby. Kenny. The
Essex battle group has the Gagarin,
Kimovsk and the sub escort under their
thumb. We've got a few hours now before
we need to worry about any more
flashpoints on the line.
We could use a few more hours. I think
we should consider moving the quarantine
line back to 500 miles.
Bobby and the President look at Kenny like he's some kind of
Svengali. Kenny just stands there, poker3 faced.
INT. WEST WING - DAY
Kenny and McNamara enter the White House from the South Lawn.
They stride down the hall, side by side.
KENNY
Moving the line. Stroke of genius.
MCNAMARA
Of course it is. But the President
needs to realize we're going to have to
sTOP a ship eventually.
They turn a corner, silence for a beat.
KENNY
The Chiefs are looking for a provocation4
out there. The President's going to
come under enormous pressure. You have
to keep 'em on a short leash5, Bob.
McNamara spares Kenny a short, nasty look.
MCNAMARA
You must think I'm blind and stupid.
I've already gotten the birds and bees
from Bobby. The President doesn't have
to double-barrel me.
KENNY
Listen to me, goddamn it. We're talking
about a possible nuclear war. You
dropped the ball on Bay of Pigs --
MCNAMARA
-- you sonofabitch, goddamn it, I didn't
drop --
KENNY
You were in the room. It was your
purview6. It was your job to make sure
Bissel wasn't fucking us over and you
didn't do it. You've got the most
important job in the world right now.
You're the smartest guy the President
has.
Besides me.
That gets an amused snort from McNamara, breaking the
tension.
MCNAMARA
Anybody ever tell you you're an
egomaniac and a prick7, O'Donnell?
Kenny stares him in the eye, serious, hushed. A friend.
KENNY
You need to be the best you've ever
been.
McNamara enters the elevator. He turns, stands there facing
Kenny for a dramatic beat. Then the doors close.
INT. KENNY'S OFFICE - DAY
WALTER CRONKITE, on the BW T.V. screen, sits in front of a
map showing Cuba and the blockade line.
WALTER CRonKITE
-- well, it appears the world has just
received a reprieve8. Defense9 Secretary
Robert McNamara has announced that the
quarantine zone has been moved from 800
to 500 miles.
PULL BACK, REVEALING:
Kenny watching the T.V., is yelling at the phone.
KENNY
Find out how close our exercises are
coming to their cruise missiles. I'm
calling you back in five, and you will
have an answer for me or I will come
down there and beat the shit out of you.
Then you can press charges, and I'll get
a Presidential pardon.
He hangs up, hears SHOUTING from the Oval Office. He goes to
the door, enters --
INT. OVAL OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
-- and sees the President leaning over his desk, jabbing his
finger at General Taylor.
THE PRESIDENT
-- how the goddamn hell did this happen?
I'm going to have Power's head on a
platter next to LeMay's!
Hey, Kenny, did you hear me give the
order to go to DEFCON 2? I remember
giving the order to go to DEFCON 3, but
I must be suffering from amnesia10 because
I've just been informed our nuclear
forces are DEFCON 2!
Kenny realizes he's not joking as he spots Bobby sitting on
the couch behind Taylor, pale as a ghost. Taylor, embattled,
wants to die, but stands there like a man.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. MISSILE SILO - DAY
CLOSE ON
The nose cone2 of a TITAN MISSILE, its 20 megaton nuclear
warhead wrapped in the steel re-entry shell. Cold, silent,
fearsome.
GENERAL TAYLOR
Mr. President, the orders were limited
to our strategic forces in the
continental11 U.S.
INT. OVAL OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Taylor continues on.
GENERAL TAYLOR
Technically12, General LeMay is correct
that SAC has the statutory authority --
The President punches his desk.
THE PRESIDENT
-- I have the authority. I am the
commander-in-chief of the United States,
and I say when we go to war!
GENERAL TAYLOR
We are not at war, sir, not until we're
at DEFCON 1.
THE PRESIDENT
General, the Joint13 Chiefs have just
signalled our intent to escalate14 to the
Soviets15. You have signalled an
escalation16 which I had no wish to
signal, and which I did not approve.
But Taylor knows this very well. And the way he's suffering,
it's clear he's taking the heat for his underlings. From
over on the couch Bobby chimes in:
BOBBY
LeMay... he's history.
The President glances at Kenny who stands there, speechless.
THE PRESIDENT
Get out of here, Max.
The General leaves. Kenny closes the door, wanders deeper
into the office. He looks from the President to Bobby.
There's a long, long beat of shocked silence.
KENNY
Jesus...
BOBBY
Rescind17 the order. Can all the Chiefs.
Put Nitze, Gilpatric and the
Undersecretaries in charge.
KENNY
We can't do that, Bobby.
THE PRESIDENT
He's right, we can't rescind DEFCON 2.
The Soviets will think we've gotten
sweet on them.
KENNY
And we can't purge18 the Chiefs. Our
invasion talk will look like a bluff19.
Or even that there's been an attempted
coup20.
Bobby is disgusted, but knows they're right.
BOBBY
McNamara won't be able to handle them.
It's too much for one man...
...with all due respect to our heroic
fifth column.
The President collapses21 in his rocking chair. Kenny leans
over the back of the sofa next to Bobby.
KENNY
We've got Khruschev's attention with the
blockade. If we want a political
solution. I think it's time to turn up
the diplomatic heat. Cause if we let
this go on too long, we're going to find
ourselves in a war.
Bobby looks at the President, meaningful. The President
turns to Kenny.
THE PRESIDENT
I've been considering a variation on one
of Stevenson's ideas. We're going to
send up a trial balloon through Lippman.
The Jupiter missiles.