影视剧本：13 DAYS-31
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EXT. WHITE HOUSE - DAY Kenny puts on his jacket as he goes down the steps into the bright autumn day, walking away from the White House. It drops behind him -- his step is faster, more urgent. EXT. STREET - DAY Kenny walks down the sidewalk, drawn toward the Ellipse. The sixth grade FOOTBALL PLAYERS sweep forward with a running play. Kenny scans them, searching, his breath coming hard. EXT. ELLIPSE - DAY He reaches the edge of the open field. And then he spots the name on the jersey: O'Donnell. It's Kevin. The players relinquish the ball and the offense comes off the field. Kevin sees his dad. KEVIN Hey! Dad! Kenny manages a smile as Kevin trots over. Kevin pulls his helmet off. They stand there a long beat, Kenny desperate to take him up, abandon his post... but he doesn't. KENNY Hey, sport. You winning? KEVIN Yeah. But Kevin sees the turmoil in his father's face. KEVIN (CONT'D) Is everything going to be okay, Dad? Kenny's forced smile is answer enough. KENNY Yeah, Kev. Everything's gonna be fine. But Kevin knows. Together they know. The end of the world is at hand. KEVIN I guess you won't be coming home tonight. KENNY I, uh... Suddenly a car HONKS. Kenny turns around. Bobby is leaning out the rear passenger window of his limo. And he sees what Kenny is doing. He doesn't want to cut in, but has to. BOBBY Kenny! We need to talk. Kenny looks back at his son. KENNY Get back out there, kid. Remember to hit 'em hard. KEVIN What about you? Where are you going? KENNY Back to work. Kevin puts his helmet back on his head. Kenny watches as Kevin jogs off to rejoin his team. Kenny turns his back on his son, and strides for Bobby's limo, dying inside. EXT. SANS SOUCI PARKING LOT - DAY Kenny and Bobby stand by their car off to one side of the restaurant's parking lot. Bobby's Secret Service Agents maintain a discreet distance. KENNY If we're going to make a deal, we're going to have to do it fast. This is only getting out of control. The only reason we're not at war this very minute is he's been able to stretch, bend and break his own rules. He won't be able to keep it up forever. Bobby jams the last bit of sandwich in his mouth. A beat. Kenny looks him in the eye. BOBBY And? KENNY And Jack wants to trade the missiles in Turkey. BOBBY The Jupiters are obsolete. They were supposed to have been dismantled last summer anyway -- KENNY -- Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I told you how stupid it was to float the Lippman article! But you wouldn't listen to me. What if there hasn't been a coup at all? What if it's you two who invited that second letter by raising the possibility of a trade? Bobby is speechless with rage. KENNY (CONT'D) And if the two of you are thinking this trade is your ace in the hole, you're so wrong. It's a deuce. Bobby's beyond furious. They catch their rising voices. KENNY (CONT'D) And it's not just me who thinks that. Everyone on this so-called EXCOM is telling you exactly the same thing: make the trade, and they're going to force us into trade after trade until finally they demand something we won't trade like Berlin, and we do end up in a war. (beat) Not to mention, that long before that happens, this government will be politically dead. Bobby simmers for a long beat, thinking. And boy, does this guy hate admitting he's wrong. BOBBY All right, so maybe we overestimated how reasonable this trade would look. Okay? You happy? So now what? KENNY So now you've got to talk him out of it. And then we've got to figure out an acceptable political solution. BOBBY And if there has been a coup and there is no acceptable political solution? Kenny stares off at the city, agonized. INT. OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT Kenny enters from his office, finding Bobby, Rusk and Sorensen talking with the President. The President gives him a brief, meaningful look. RUSK Whatever response we send, it will take several hours for the wire to be received by our embassy and delivered to the Kremlin. So we're looking at early tomorrow morning at the earliest before Khruschev could respond. As Rusk talks, Kenny passes close by Bobby. Bobby whispers: BOBBY He gets it, but he's pissed. THE PRESIDENT That's all well and good, but what do we say to 'em? SORENSEN It depends on if we really believe there's been a coup. That strikes a cord with Kenny. KENNY I agree. If there has been a coup, and there's a hard-line government in power now, then it doesn't matter what we say. The end of the day we'll either agree to their terms, they'll agree to ours, or we'll go to war. But what if there hasn't been a coup? What if... what if what is happening is a series of accidents? SORENSEN The second letter is an accident? KENNY No. The letter is an intentional, but it's having an effect far greater than its authors intended. (beat) What if our Jupiter missiles are just a last minute haggle to salvage something? Maybe a bone Khruschev is throwing to the hard line, not really caring if we reject it or not? (beat) And then these accidents have happened. BOBBY Making the second letter and the overall picture look worse than it really is. SORENSEN The Guns of August. KENNY Exactly. (beat) If they're sane and human like we are, then maybe we just refuse, and they'll let it slide, like we've been letting things slide. SORENSEN So we reject the second letter. And Kenny looks at Bobby. The world stops. KENNY No. We don't reject it... It hits Bobby like a lightning bolt. BOBBY ... We accept the first letter and pretend the second doesn't exist. The President, Rusk and Sorensen stare at him, mute.
INT. CABINET ROOM - NIGHT HOLD ON the exact same mute reaction from the entire assembled EXCOM. Finally McCone breaks the spell. MCCONE It won't work -- Bobby, Kenny and Sorensen start to object, but McCone raises his voice over theirs. MCCONE (CONT'D) -- because it's wishful thinking! It's the same wishful thinking that blinded us all these months while the Soviets were sneaking those missiles in under our noses! McNamara shakes his head, intrigued but skeptical. MCNAMARA Ignore the second letter, agree to the conditions of the first... GENERAL TAYLOR There's no reason to believe the Soviets will let it go. RUSK Max is right. Why will they accept it? MCNAMARA It can work. If, IF they believe we'll hit them. Kenny, Bobby and Sorensen look at McNamara, grateful. MCNAMARA (CONT'D) We've only got time for one more round of diplomacy. The first airstrikes start in less than 36 hours. RUSK But we have to make them agree to it. So how do we do that? The President leans forward. Sensing he's about to speak, all eyes turn to him. THE PRESIDENT We give them something. We tell them we'll remove the missiles from Turkey say, six months from now so that there appears to be no linkage. We also tell them if they go public about it, we deny it and the deal is off. KENNY And we do it under the table so we can disavow any knowledge of it. MCCONE It's transparent. The press'll be all over it. KENNY Six months from now, I'm not going to care. Are you? We'll deal with it. MCNAMARA At least it will expose whether Khruschev has been overthrown. We'll know what we're dealing with. KENNY And if this is a move to appease the hard line, then it may just be the bone he needs to regain control of his own house. Most EXCOM is nodding, agreeing. McCone shakes his head in disgust. Taylor sits in silence. RUSK Whoever carries the message has to hit the nail on the head. Come across as too soft, they'll push us. Too hard, they'll be cornered and even more dangerous. MCCONE They could pre-empt. It's a terrible responsibility to bear. The room is silent. At last Bobby looks up from his folded hands to his brother. The President stares back. There is nobody else who can do this. Only Bobby. His brother. THE PRESIDENT Bobby. You know Dobrynin best. Bobby nods, taking up the gauntlet. THE PRESIDENT (CONT'D) Ted, you get working on the draft. Sorensen and Bobby rise as one, head for the doors. THE PRESIDENT (CONT'D) And make sure he knows we have to have an answer tomorrow. (beat, final) Because on Monday we begin military action against Cuba. Bobby and Kenny exchange a look. EXT. WEST WING DRIVEWAY - NIGHT A LONG SHOT: Bobby emerges from the West Wing in his overcoat, briefcase in hand. He pauses, tiny, alone. The West Wing - and all its imposing spotlit power behind him - reduced to this insignificant man on his eleventh-hour mission. And then, out of the shadows, in the f.g., steps Kenny in his own coat, his breath frosting in the late-night air. Bobby sees him, and knows he is not so alone anymore. ON THE DRIVEWAY They meet in front of the limo. Bobby stops, shuffles his things, awkward. BOBBY What do you want? A good-bye kiss? Kenny opens the driver's side door. The Secret Service LIMO DRIVER peers out. LIMO DRIVER Hey, Kenny. KENNY Hey, Joe. Listen, I'll take care of him. Go ahead in, grab some coffee. We'll be back pretty quick. LIMO DRIVER You sure? Kenny's nod and look -- there's no arguing. The Limo Driver hops out, and Kenny gets in. Bobby stands there outside for a beat. He tries to hide how touched he is, but can't completely. KENNY What's the matter with you? Forget how to open a car door? INT. BOBBY'S LIMO - NIGHT Bobby recovers, opens his own door, gets in the front seat next to Kenny. |
