GENERAL SWEENEY

                      Sir, I can guarantee we'll get all the

                      missiles we know about.

 

            The President holds Sweeney in his gaze.  Thank you.

 

                                LEMAY

                      Mr. President, we can get better than

                      ninety percent of them.

 

            The President doesn't respond to LeMay's last-ditch appeal.

            Ninety-percent isn't good enough with nuclear weapons.  He

            moves to his desk, signs a paper, hands it to General

            Sweeney.

 

                                THE PRESIDENT

                      As of seven o'clock Monday night, all

                      United States armed forces world wide

                      will stand up to DEFCON 3.

 

            EXT. BARKSDALE AFB - SUNSET

 

            SUPER: MONDAY, OCTOBER 22ND.  DAY 7

 

            A DEAFENING¹ WHINE².  And INTO FRAME yawns the enormous

            spinning mouth of a B-52 bomber³ jet engine.  It closes on us,

            sucking us in like a maelstrom⁴, but at the last second the

            CAMERA SLIPSTREAMS OVER IT --

 

            -- carrying us over the aircraft's wing.  The CAMERA pivots⁵

            and the vast war machine crawls away underneath⁶ joining --

 

            -- a long LINE of identical behemoths, in single file inching

            down a taxi way which vanishes into the distance.  As the

            plane's immense vertical⁷ tail WIPES OUR VIEW:

 

            EXT. MISSILE SILO - NIGHT

 

            The CAMERA races toward a spotlighted⁸ concrete emplacement,

            over the immense BLAST DOOR which is sliding open, and DOWN --

 

            INT. MISSILE SILO - CONTINUOUS

 

            -- into the depths of a missile silo.  The CAMERA speeds down

            the side of the Titan missile, through CLOUDS of steaming

            liquid hydrogen, past FUELING HOSES which clamp one by one to

            the rocket's side, past GANTRY ARMS pulling away.  The CAMERA

            hurtles all the way to the bottom, SMASHING THROUGH THE FLOOR

            TO:

 

            EXT. CARRIBEAN SEA - NIGHT

 

            The dark ocean, whitecaps whipping luminous⁹ around the

            aircraft carrier, U.S.S. ESSEX and her escorts.  Running

            lights flash red and green.

 

            The carrier's SIREN begins a lonely, eerie¹⁰ WOOP WOOP WOOP

            WOOP like some immense creature which has lost its mind.  The

            ship FILLS THE SCREEN, CUTTING US INTO:

 

            INT. WEST WING - CONTINUOUS

 

            The doors to the Cabinet room.  A beat.  Then they SWING

            WIDE.  The President emerges, livid fury on his face, leaving

            chaos¹¹ behind: the Congressional briefing.  Kenny comes out a

            beat later, catches up with him.

 

                                KENNY

                      You'd worry that something was wrong if

                      Congress offered you unconditional¹²

                      support.

 

                                THE PRESIDENT

                      They want this fucking job, they can

                      have it.  It's no great joy to me.

 

            The President exhales¹³, getting control.

 

                                THE PRESIDENT (CONT'D)

                      The elected representatives of the

                      people have spoken...

                          (beat; determined)

                      Now let's tell the people...

 

            INT. OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT

 

            Kenny stands there in the doorway¹⁴, arms folded.  As we PULL

            AWAY FROM HIM, we REVEAL the three NETWORK T.V. CAMERAS

            staring straight at us.  Their red lights go on as one, and

            we swing around REVERSING TO:

 

            The President at his desk: telegenic, powerful.

 

                                THE PRESIDENT

                      Good evening, my fellow citizens.  This

                      Government, as promised, has maintained

                      the closest surveillance of the Soviet¹⁵

                      military build-up on the island of

                      Cuba...

 

            EXT. BARKSDALE AFB - NIGHT

 

            The first B-52 trundles to a stop at the end of the runway.

            It begins to throttle-up, the ROAR of its engine mounting...

 

                                THE PRESIDENT (V.O.)

                      ...unmistakable evidence has now

                      established the fact that a series of

                      missile sites is in preparation on that

                      imprisoned¹⁶ island.  The purpose of these

                      bases can be none other than to proved a

                      nuclear strike capability¹⁷ against the

                      Western Hemisphere...

 

            -- AND DROWNING OUT the President's speech as the plane

            lurches forward, down the runway into the night.

 

            EXT. MISSILE SILO - NIGHT

 

            The Titan solo door GRINDS OPEN.  And the missile inside

            begins to rise into the white bath of the crossed spotlights¹⁸.

 

                                THE PRESIDENT (V.O.)

                      Therefore, in the defense¹⁹ of our own

                      security and under the authority of the

                      Constitution, I have directed that the

                      following initial steps be taken.

                      First, to halt this offensive build-up,

                      a strict quarantine --

 

            EXT. CARRIBEAN SEA - NIGHT

 

            The President's words conjure²⁰ the ESSEX battlegroup, its

            destroyers plunging²¹ through heavy seas, lit up in the night.

 

                                THE PRESIDENT (V.O.)

                      -- on all offensive military equipment

                      under shipment to Cuba is being

                      initiated²².  All ships of any kind bound

                      for Cuba, if found to contain cargoes²³ of

                      offensive weapons, will be turned back.

                      Second: I have directed the continued

                      and increased close surveillance of Cuba

                      and its military build-up.  Should these

                      offensive military preparations

                      continue, further action will be

                      justified --

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