Previously on Madam Secretary...
One truckload of spent fuel rods
stolen by Moldovan thugs
with no expertise in handling the material
is hardly what I would deem a priority situation.
If the uranium comes with its own nuclear physicist
to show them how to use it?
I'd call that getting the most bang for your buck.
Mom is hosting a conference this week featuring Noura al-Kitabi.
I think we should all go.
Isn't that the girl who got acid attacked?
In Saudi Arabia, we learned that Hizb al-Shahid
is targeting the family of Noura al-Kitabi.
Now you're telling me that that's the same group
that was trying to buy the uranium?
The conference/ Shut it down/ Now/
Ma'am!
This way, everybody. We need to get out.
Allahu Akbar/
No.
Come on. Come on.
Please pick up. Pick up.
Come on, come on, pick up, pick up, please.
Hey, it's Stevie. You can leave a message,
- but you really should be texting me. - Oh, damn it.
Stevie, listen, as soon as you get this,
I need you to call me back, baby, okay? Really...
I need you to call me back
- and let me know that you guys are okay, okay? -
It's Ali, and you have the talking stick.
Leave a message at the beep.
Why can I not get in touch with my family?
Oh, for God's sakes, now what?
The network keeps crashing.
What?
Turn around. We're gonna go to St. Anne's in Virginia.
Negative, ma'am. We're under strict protocol
- to get you to the White House bunker. - No, no, I don't care.
Just turn around, now.
I'm sorry, ma'am. Not your call.
There could be a secondary attack.
- Do you really think that might happen? - It did on 9/11.
Whoa, whoa. Uh, Nadine.
- You keep trying, okay? - Yeah.
Nadine, what is it? What do you have?
Uh, we're getting reports of dozens of severe injuries.
Uh, but no details yet.
We're putting all of our foreign outposts on high alert.
No, no, no, forget high alerts, okay?
I want every embassy and consulate on lockdown.
Yes, ma'am.
Hey, hey, wait.
Don't go anywhere. Stay there, stay there.
I got to call you back.
- Jason. - Jason.
Hey, baby. How are you?
We just went through triage.
They're saying the bomb is radioactive.
Do you feel sick?
Do your sisters?
No, no, we all tested negative.
Dad got us out in time.
- Okay. - It's bad, Mom.
I mean, we've seen people with, like...
There's a lot of blood.
I know. Listen, deep breaths.
Listen, baby, I got to go to the White House for a little bit
and then I'm gonna get to you as soon as I can, all right?
You just... put Dad on the phone, okay?
Mom, Dad went back inside.
- What do you mean? - After the bomb went off.
I don't know, he wanted to help.
Where is he now?
Pull up, please.
How is she?
- Who? - How's that woman?
The woman I was helping. She was wearing
- an orange dress. - Lots of injured, sir.
You feeling any dizziness, nausea?
Uh, no, I'm fine.
I just need to call my wife.
Sample is positive.
How long were you at ground zero?
Uh, I don't know... seven, ten minutes.
- Look at this. - What is that?
- He's deteriorating. Hazmat Five, dispatch. - What is that?!
Patient two-niner is now Level One.
Radiation burns on both hands, probable lung exposure.
I need to call my wife.
Sir, sir, it's contaminated, sir!
I need to call her right now!
It's contaminated, sir!
Lay back.
Come on, Henry,
come on.
- Can you get down to St. Anne's? - Yes.
- Find out whatever you can. - Yeah, yeah.
- And take my security detail with you. - Yes, ma'am.
POTUS just activated the National Response Plan.
The Guard's mobilizing, including
the 260th regiment and the WMD civil support team.
Any sign of secondary attack?
Not yet. But protocol demands we shelter in place.
You hear from Henry?
Do you know anything?
EMTs found him at ground zero.
He's on his way to St. Anne's with the others.
Hey, hey.
Our hazmat teams... they're the best in the world.
You need a minute?
No, I don't.
Metro police confirm a complete shutdown.
All airports and roads are now closed.
Our NIRT Team is putting a perimeter in place.
Exclusion zone will be a one-kilometer radius
- in Northern Virginia. - What about airspace?
F-16s are scrambling out of Andrews now, sir.
They'll be in combat formation over the district
in less than two minutes.
Preliminary readings indicate that the device
was composed of C-4 and packed with
- fuel grade uranium. - Fuel grade?
Wait, isn't that the same type that was stolen in Moldova?
But obviously from a different source.
My boys secured that shipment.
I have an update on casualties.
43 wounded, ten critical.
That's just from the blast.
About 100 others are being evaluated
for radiation poisoning.
Could have been much worse if Elizabeth hadn't ordered
the evacuation of the building.
Our biggest problem now is panic.
Dirty bombs are technically classified as WMDs,
but they're really more like...
Weapons of mass disruption. I'm aware.
Terrorists just bombed an American university.
I'd say that's a little more than a disruption.
She's right, sir. We can't minimize this.
How bad is the radiation?
Don't know yet.
We got an I.D. On the bomber.
Linda Peavy, age 22.
NSA got into her Twitter feed.
Has Hizb al-Shahid's fingerprints all over it.
Was she on anybody's radar?
No, ma'am. Apparently she was radicalized
several months ago, but didn't act until now.
A sleeper cell of one.
That's a chilling thought.
- Who gave her the uranium? - Unknown.
But the man ultimately responsible is Jibral Disah.
He recently emerged as the de facto leader
of the organization.
- And where is he? - Libya.
Care to elaborate?
I wish we could. HS is a new group.
Information about its leadership and whereabouts are slim.
17 intelligence agencies, almost a million employees,
and this is the best we have?
Yes, Mr. President. I'm afraid so.
- So what's your plan? - We follow the uranium.
If we can trace the pathway to the bomb,
it might lead us to Disah.
Well, get into it with everything you have.
I want answers, and fast.
The longer we take to respond, the weaker we become.
Did you get that statement?
Just sent it.
Oh, my God, is that your...
Neighborhood? Yeah. We're right inside the exclusion zone.
So much for living in a quiet college town.
You hear about Laura Vargas?
Is she hurt?
Shrapnel. She's in surgery now.
Well, what about Dr. McCord? Any update?
Blake is on his way over to St. Anne's.
There's no word yet.
How is the secretary even supposed to function?
Okay. I know this is...
overwhelming.
But right now, we need to roll up our sleeves
and stay focused.
We can start by figuring out where that uranium came from.
We know it wasn't domestic.
Right, it's all tightly controlled.
So it was smuggled in. How?
Well, there are multiple vectors,
all depending on point of origin.
I can get into it with Energy and DHS,
but it's... it's a scary long list.
- We can divvy it up. - It's the secretary.
Oh. Uh, Madam Secretary.
Hey, is everybody there?
Yes, ma'am.
We heard about Henry.
We're all pulling for him.
Thank you. Um...
Look, I-I know that we ruled out Moldova.
As the source of the uranium?
Yes, ma'am. CIA thinks that...
Thinks they're infallible, got it.
But what if CIA is wrong?
I mean, could Hizb al-Shahid
have brought the uranium here in time?
I'm... not sure that...
Humor me.
Considering the time elapsed between the theft
and, uh, the detonation?
Yes.
It's theoretically possible.
- Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. -
Move, move, move, move, move.
Uh, coming through, coming through.
State Department. Thanks.
McCords. Hi. Do you have information about a?
Excuse me. McCords? McCord? No.
One squeeze every half minute, okay?
- Thank you. - Oh, McCord children.
Thank God. You guys all right?
- Where's your dad? - No clue.
We've been trying to find out,
but nobody will tell us anything.
Um...
All right, wait here, okay?
Hey, excuse me, ma'am.
Uh, I need information about a patient: A Henry McCord.
- McCord. - McCord. McCord. I don't have him.
Uh, McCord? He's in the HIU.
What does that mean?
Uh, biocontainment. It means he's critical.
Uh, I'm sorry.
The records were falsified.
What are you talking about?
The manifest for the truck in Moldova
was a fiction, perpetrated by the same corrupt inspector
who arranged the theft.
How the hell did we miss that?
Well, apparently CIA took the stats at face value.
How much uranium is missing?
Eight kilograms.
Enough for up to three additional bombs.
Which, for all we know,
- are already here. - At least tell me
- we have some targeting data. - No, sir. Not yet.
Madam Secretary, I have Blake Moran for you.
Talk to me, Blake.
Uh, I'm with Dr. Cary, who did Henry's triage.
Uh, here she is. Secretary of state.
Ma'am, your husband is expressing symptoms
of radiation poisoning.
Beta burns, nausea, vomiting.
Is he gonna be okay?
We won't know for a few hours.
We're taking bioassays for estimations.
It all depends on the initial exposure.
Okay, I want, I want to talk to him.
That's not possible.
We're administering DTPA
and a prophylactic dose of Prussian blue.
Uh, Prussian... That's-that's, uh,
it chelates heavy metals, right?
That's right. Uh, but the medication is only effective
if his exposure was limited.
What if it wasn't?
We'll try to keep him as comfortable as possible,
but there's nothing else we can do.
Ripped & Corrected By mstoll
Bess.
How's Henry?
They're running tests.
I know we have the shelter-in-place protocol,
but I can make an exception.
Deputy Cushing can ride shotgun until you're ready to come back.
Sir, we need you.
Henry would never forgive me if I left now.
- What is it? - We caught a break.
This is security footage of Linda Peavy
outside a coffee shop five blocks from the conference.
It's a dead drop.
The dirty bomb is in that backpack.
And this is the man who left it for her ten minutes earlier.
Do we know who he is?
Facial recognition identified him
as Munthir Tuwala, an agricultural attaché
at the Saudi Arabian Embassy.
A Saudi diplomat did this?
Tuwala entered the United States by car
early yesterday morning from Quebec after a flight
to Montreal from Bucharest.
Which is only about
200 miles from the Moldovan border.
Our working theory is he was able to use his diplomatic pouch
to smuggle the nuclear material into the country.
Son of a bitch could be the key to finding Disah in Libya.
- Where's Tuwala now? - At work,
at the Saudi Embassy on New Hampshire Avenue.
Where we have no jurisdiction.
Marguerite, deploy an FBI tac team to the embassy.
General Kohl, I want the National Guard providing backup.
- Right away. - Yes, sir.
Bess, summon the Saudi ambassador.
Yes, sir, right away.
Madam Secretary, it's Henry.
Oh, please.
Baby?
Hey.
Uh, hey, they finally gave me my phone call.
Oh, my God, it is so good to hear your voice.
How are you feeling?
I'm a little woozy.
The worst part is this Prussian blue stuff
they have me on; it tastes like paint.
Well, because it-it is.
I mean, literally made from paint. I looked it up.
Okay, you didn't have to tell me that.
You're one to talk, Mr. Fun Fact.
Baby, I want to be with you so much.
You can't without a Hazmat suit.
And honestly, babe, that's not a good look on you.
Listen, right now
your place is with the president.
Uh-oh.
Okay, listen. I got to go.
They're about to do some more medical experiments on me.
Okay. Okay, I'm gonna get there as soon as I can.
I love you so...
I love you, too.
Madam Secretary, I'm as horrified by this as you are.
Good.
Because the FBI is gonna be at your embassy
to pick up Mr. Tuwala in five minutes.
I understand your urgency, but inside our embassy gates,
Munthir Tuwala is on sovereign Saudi soil.
I have no authority to hand him to you,
not without official proceedings.
Well, you can't seriously think that we're gonna sit around
and wait for you to talk about it?
You must respect our process.
You're harboring the known perpetrator
of a terrorist attack.
So let me lay out our process:
You're gonna open your gates and hand over Tuwala,
or we're gonna break them down.
Madam Secretary, that would be an act of war.
It sure would be.
You have four minutes.
This is your last chance to surrender Munthir Tuwala!
You have to wait.
We must have permission from the king.
We have our orders.
You cannot enter.
We will resist.
Open the gates now.
- Up there! - On the roof!
Someone get on the roof!
Freeze!
- It's Tuwala! - Someone stop him!
We need him alive!
Don't let him jump!
Don't jump!
Don't do it!
With Tuwala dead, the Saudis are being
much more cooperative.
Ambassador Asim has assured me
that their entire government is behind our investigation.
All it took was a diplomatic terrorist face-planting
on New Hampshire Avenue.
Where are we, Ephraim?
Moving into position outside Munthir Tuwala's apartment
here in D.C.
Sir, we have an update on the uranium.
What is it?
My team found a lead-lined canister
in a Dumpster near the embassy.
It tested positive for the same radioisotope signature
as the uranium used in the bomb.
Combined with our analysis of the material at ground zero,
we are now confident that Tuwala used his entire supply,
approximately two kilograms,
on the device that detonated in Virginia.
What about the rest of the stolen uranium?
CIA is into it, but the trail is pretty cold.
- Not exactly the stuff of lullabies. - Our current thinking
is that it's still overseas.
"Our current thinking"?
NIRT team just gave the all clear.
We're ready to go, Mr. President.
Let's do it.
Apollo team in position.
Standing by for green.
Apollo, you are green to enter.
Go, go, go. Go, go, go!
All right.
Nothing here.
- Clear! - Eagle, it's empty.
Guy pulled up stakes.
Nothing but an air mattress.
Copy, Apollo.
So much for leads.
So it was a suicide mission all along.
Mr. President,
Saudi GID just gave us everything they have
on the terrorist organization Hizb al-Shahid.
Including a cell phone intercept
with a recording of Disah's voice.
Alleged voice.
We don't have any recordings of him in our files.
But if it is him, we have a target.
Yes, sir.
NSA says the signal originated here,
at a compound near Sirte.
I took the liberty to deploy drones,
just in case we get confirmation.
And I'll reach out to our NATO allies,
see if they have anything.
Ephraim, I'm ending the National Response protocols,
including the order to shelter in place.
Yes, Mr. President.
Sir, if that's the case... - Go.
Thank you.
Godspeed.
Italy. In theory, they've been sharing everything they have
on Hizb al-Shahid, right?
All of our NATO allies have been alerted.
And Ambassador Civarelli responded
- that he doesn't have anything. - Which is hard to believe,
with Libya right in their backyard.
Not to mention the hostages.
What hostages?
In principle, Italy is like us...
they don't negotiate with terrorists. In practice...
They've been paying ransom to extremist groups for years.
And you think Hizb al-Shahid is one of them?
CIA has reports of two hostages from Libya
who were freed only last week.
Okay, France, Spain, Austria...
a lot of our allies pay for hostages.
Not from Libya.
And that's Hizb al-Shahid's hub.
Well, if Italy's dealt with them,
they have intel they're withholding.
Look, if I'm wrong, we risk offending an ally
who needs us more than we need them.
But if I'm right...
Call the secretary.
Right now.
Where's Henry?
Isolation ward. Right this way.
Here. Here, thanks.
Any word on the test results?
Nothing yet. Uh, here.
- What is this? - Fruit punch. It's all they had.
You forget to hydrate when you're stressed, so...
Okay.
Okay. Where are the kids?
They're in the chapel.
Here, he's right-right over here. This room.
Sorry.
Just... yeah.
Can I talk to him?
Uh...
Let him sleep.
You okay, ma'am?
No.
Hey, kiddos. I'm so sorry I took so long.
- Hi. - Sorry. I'm sorry.
Hey.
- Did you see Dad? - He's sleeping.
We're gonna go see him when he wakes up, okay?
Is he gonna be okay?
Oh, baby, I don't know.
I'm sorry.
I thought religion was the opiate of the masses.
It is.
But sometimes you need a good hit.
- Hey there. - Huh?
Oh. Hey.
Everything all right?
Yeah.
I'm just, um...
I'm looking for a place to crash tonight.
I thought the perimeter was lifted.
Oh, it was.
Yeah. My apartment is ready for me.
I'm just not ready for my apartment.
I got this thing about dust, so...
Okay, then.
I would ask Jay, but he's got the baby. And...
Daisy would be... no.
And Blake's studio is about
this size of one of his pocket squares.
So I-I am about five minutes away
from a desperation move on Tinder.
You could have asked me.
Thanks, but I'm allergic to cats.
I don't have a cat.
Really?
Are you sure?
'Cause I-I could have sworn you ha...
You think I'm a cat lady?
No.
Ha. No. Of course not. I would, uh...
I don't know why I said that.
I'll text you the address.
What are you doing?
Here you go, ma'am.
Thank you. Signor Ambasciatore.
Madam Secretary.
Thank you so much for meeting me here.
I realize it's highly unusual.
No, of course. Of course.
Allow me to present Italy's condolences
to the people of the United States.
Very kind of you. Thank you.
Listen, let me ask, when I took this job,
did you, by chance, read my bio?
The blurb on State's Web site?
Yes, of course.
You worked at CIA with President Dalton and...
Right.
And my-my uncle died on the beach at Anzio.
- Yes. - William Adams.
He was 18 years old.
My brother is named after him.
And my country is eternally grateful for him
and for every American who died to save us from fascism.
And yet, when we were attacked, you held out on us.
I don't know what you mean.
Your government has been paying for hostages in Libya.
The CIA has identified two being held by Hizb al-Shahid
in Al Wahat.
You have intelligence you're not sharing.
The official policy of my government...
I've had enough of official policy today.
I mean, have you looked around?
Do you see what's happened here?
Well, Libya is already a failed state.
Another intervention would send waves of refugees
hurtling towards our shores and...
Refugees?
That's your excuse?
Well, I assure you it is a serious concern
for the Italian people, not to mention our national security.
It's funny you should bring up security.
Because maybe if we stop the people who attacked us,
then your voters will stop being kidnapped.
Well, it's never that simple.
Mm, hardly. I agree.
But sometimes it is.
We have a recording that we think is Jibral Disah.
All we need is confirmation.
Secretary McCord, your husband is awake.
He's asking for you.
I trust that your government's gonna do the right thing.
- The doctor will be with you in a minute. - Hey.
Hi.
- Hi. - Finally!
- People without needles and pills! -
- We love you! - Hi. - Secretary McCord,
I have the results of your husband's bioassay.
Henry's exposure was limited to one sievert of radiation.
That's enough for some nasty symptoms,
but it's well below a fatal dose.
He's gonna be fine.
Oh. Thank you.
Mom, let go of the doctor.
- Can we see him now? - Go ahead.
We can? Okay.
Hi. Hi. You're in.
- You're in! Hi. Hi, hi. - Hi, Dad!
- Hi, sweetheart. Hi, big man. - Ooh!
Come on.
- Hey, buddy. - How you feeling?
Oh. Waiting for my superpowers to kick in.
- Hi there. - Hi.
- Are you okay? - Hi. Yeah.
- I just want to go home. - Can I go home? -
As soon as you sign the release.
- Really? - Yeah.
Okay.
Hi.
So, is it cool if I spend the night at Bobby's tonight?
Seriously? A sleepover, Jace?
What? I'm returning to normalcy.
- "Normality." - It's an accepted form.
Uh, not while I'm still breathing.
Jace, are you seriously asking?
I mean, no. Come on. We're gonna go home as a family.
While your father's still breathing.
Besides, don't you want to see if he glows in the dark?
Ma'am, uh, I have Jay for you.
Tell me the Italians came through.
Big-time. The recording's authentic.
Former hostage I.D.'d it as the voice of Jibral Disah.
So we have a target?
White House is expecting you.
Babe...
It's okay.
I...
I'm in good hands.
I love you.
- I love you. - Okay.
- Take care of your dad. - I will.
Where are we?
Our Reapers are just coming into range.
Sir, before we launch,
I think we should consider a capture mission.
What's the situation on the ground?
Difficult. There are a number of active militias in the area,
plus whatever guys HS has behind those walls.
Well, after today's attack, I'm not eager to underestimate them.
I agree, sir.
We could be looking at heavy casualties.
For a target of this value, isn't it worth it?
I'm not saying go in hard.
We can monitor then slowly contain them
with Special Forces.
How confident are we that Disah is there?
80%.
A man matching his description
was seen entering the compound little over an hour ago.
2001, we slow-played it on bin Laden.
It was almost a decade until we saw him again.
The public does want a win, sir.
So do I.
And I don't want another Tora Bora, Dennis.
Take the shot, Admiral.
Yes, sir.
Reaper One, Reaper Two, you are cleared to engage.
Copy. Missile on the way.
Eight seconds.
Seven, six, five,
four, three, two...
Come on in.
Here. Uh, let me take your coat.
Oh. Oh. Thank you.
Are you thirsty?
Is-is that you with Nelson Mandela?
You know what, I-I could go for a scotch.
Single malt or blend?
Surprise me.
Okay.
Hello?
Ah, Gaël.
Sorry.
That was an old friend.
We were supposed to go see Uncle Vanya this evening
at the Kennedy Center, but it was... canceled,
obviously.
- I didn't know you were into theater. - Secret's out.
Mm.
That's lovely, isn't it?
That was a present from Boris Yeltsin.
Do you play?
I dabble.
I had to learn for an experimental piece
my dance troupe did in Minsk.
Here's to unexpected skills.
Wow.
Smoke bomb.
Yeah.
It's not the night for that expression.
Sheets.
You know, I always figured that you lived more like a...
Not a cat lady, all right?
I just mean more like me.
Half of my furniture is from Ikea.
And that's the good half.
Well, we all have our priorities.
I just can't get out of the mindset
that this is all temporary.
Well, if you're worried about job security...
Well, that's a given in this town.
No, I mean... I mean life.
And that was before
someone set off a bomb in my neighborhood.
When I was a kid, I had severe asthma.
Oh.
Spent most of high school in the hospital.
My prom date was, uh, the most beautiful drip bag in the ward.
- -I grew out of the worst of it.
Some of my friends weren't as lucky.
That explains your fear of dust.
My rational mind knows that it's safe to go home.
But I just... I can't.
Not yet.
Well...
you can stay here as long as you like.
No need for rationality.
I'll get you a pillow.
Wow.
- They sent the secretary of state to check on me. -
Well, the president was busy, so...
Mm. Yeah.
Mm. Excuses, excuses.
Gosh.
Hit by a dirty bomb, and I still find you hot.
Well, that's probably 'cause I'm radioactive.
What do you think was up with Jason
and that whole sleepover thing?
Oh, he's a teenager.
I think maybe he's afraid to sleep at home
because, on some level, this house is a target.
This house is a fortress.
So was the conference. Look what happened.
Speaking of, the doctor said
that the tourniquet you applied to that woman's leg
- saved her life. - Hmm.
What is it?
I've decided to rejoin DIA.
Oh.
Wow.
You know, why don't we talk about this
when you're feeling better?
Babe, don't patronize me.
You know, a few hours ago,
I didn't know if you were gonna live or die.
Can't we just take a minute here?
No. Hizb al-Shahid isn't taking a minute.
You really want to have this conversation now?
Okay, fine, but you know what?
I don't think that we can handle
the both of us being in the line of fire again.
Look what it did to our marriage the first time.
We were fine.
We weren't.
I wasn't.
I got to close my eyes.
Of course.
Good morning.
Good morning. Please.
Eggs in the hole.
The one and only dish in my culinary repertoire.
You shouldn't have.
It's just a small token of my appreciation.
I know it was an imposition.
It really wasn't.
I should be thanking you.
It's hard to be alone in the wake of a tragedy.
Honestly, I was happy for the company.
Me, too.
So, how runny would you like your egg?
Really doesn't matter.
The pan's on fire.
What?
Oh.
Uh, uh, uh...
Jane, I want back in at DIA.
I'd ask what changed your mind,
but, uh, it seems fairly obvious.
A dirty bomb does have a way of clarifying things.
That's irony for you.
Okay. I'll run it up the flagpole,
but it should be a formality.
In the meantime, take care of yourself.
- I will. - Seriously, Dad?
You should be resting.
Have you met our father?
He doesn't just march to the beat of his own drummer.
He killed the drummer and smashed his drum.
Did he also kill the doctor that ordered him to stay in bed?
Okay, okay, enough metaphoric violence.
Um, and I'm feeling much better, thank you for asking.
Oh, good.
- Okay, bye. Please rest. - Bye.
- I will. - I love you.
- Bye, Dad. - You, too. Bye.
Are you going?
- Yeah. - All right. Bye.
Bye.
Did you call Jane Fellows?
I did.
I support your decision.
No, you don't.
Okay.
I'm not gonna divorce you over it.
Well, that's fair enough.
Okay, good. Now will you please get back in bed?
Well, that depends.
You gonna come with me?
I'll give you five minutes.
You okay for tonight?
You know what? I think I'm okay.
Oh. Good.
That is, until the next national existential crisis.
Hmm?
I'd like the secretary's remarks for the NCTC by noon.
On it.
Satellites confirm
the target was completely destroyed.
But new SIGINT indicates
that Jibral Disah was not present at the compound.
- You're sure? - His phone pinged
from as-Sultan, about 60 klicks away.
Obviously our recon team was mistaken about
the target's identity.
We probably missed the real McCoy
by a matter of hours.
So for all we know,
he's gone to ground, free to rebuild
the organization at will.
I made the wrong call.
No, sir.
It was worth the shot.
We eliminated key members of the organization.
The secretary is right.
We, uh... we did real damage.
Then again, that wasn't our mission.
Mr. President,
I'd like to offer my resignation.
Ephraim, what...
- what are you doing? - The right thing.
Now that the dust has cleared on the dirty bomb,
I have to take responsibility for the botched raid at Moldova,
and the failure to track the uranium used in the bomb.
I'm the Director of National Intelligence.
The buck stops with me.
No.
This wasn't on you, Ephraim.
Not by a long shot.
I won't accept.
Sir.
But rest assured, heads will roll.
We need to make changes, and fast.
Something our proud bureaucracy
isn't exactly known for.
Sir, if I may.
If we're going to prevent future attacks,
I suggest creating a special working group.
- How special are we talking? - I mean,
an elite group with executive powers.
The tip of the spear.
You're describing the National Security Council.
No, the opposite, actually.
We need to bypass the mandarins
and find people who are willing to challenge the status quo.
Hizb al-Shahid is
unlike any terrorist group we've ever seen.
If we're gonna stop them,
we have to think outside the box.
I'll take it under advisement.
For the moment, let's adjourn.
I have victims I have to go see.
Dennis, why don't you hang back.
Mate in three.
No, no. No, I...
I can... Oh.
Busted.
- So much for superpowers. - Hey, watch it.
I could still have death rays. Well played, Padawan.
I'm afraid your request has been denied.
What? Why?
No idea.
But word is that Director Ellerman just got fired.
SecDef might be next, and the bleeding doesn't stop there.
The whole I.C. Is in turmoil.
That doesn't explain the decision.
Look, I'm sorry, Henry.
I wish I had an answer for you.
Did you block me at DIA?
- Excuse me? - I was rejected.
Somebody had their finger on the scale.
Well, I-I didn't have my finger on any scale.
Yeah, but you weren't exactly thrilled about me rejoining.
Did you say anything to Ephraim Ware or Russell?
Are you actually accusing me here?
Look, maybe you just complained about me rejoining,
and they took it from there.
I don't complain about you, Henry.
Not anywhere. Not at work.
And I'm starting to feel attacked.
Well, I'm feeling played, because it makes no sense.
- I'm on your side. I... - Good.
Then call the president and ask him to reinstate me.
Uh...
Hello.
Okay.
Well, you can ask him yourself.
That was the White House.
Conrad's on his way over here.
Now?
Hi, Conrad.
Henry. Good to see you back on your feet.
Good to be back on my feet. Hey, Russell.
- Can I get you a drink? - No, I'm good, thanks.
I will get out of your hair.
No.
- Stay. - Uh...
Oh, God.
Jason! Socks!
- Sorry. - Sorry!
Sorry.
So, I, uh, heard you're interested in rejoining DIA.
Yeah, that's right.
But, apparently, the feeling wasn't mutual.
They were just acting on my orders.
I see.
Because your wife told me something this morning
that stuck with me.
I'm starting a working group
and making Russell its point man.
I want the circle to be tight and close,
and I want you to be on it.
I'll check in from time to time,
but for the most part, it'll be autonomous.
What? Uh, uh, uh, wait.
I'm playing catch-up here. What is this?
It's a special working group
tasked with tracking Hizb al-Shahid,
in particular its leader, Jibral Disah.
With the ultimate goal of eradicating both.
Okay.
Okay. Why me?
Because you have experience,
an impartial point of view,
and, frankly, because I trust you.
And given what we're up against,
your religious expertise should be invaluable.
My background is really more medieval.
So is our enemy.
As far as we're concerned,
your fitness for this assignment is unmatched.
And State will be fully read in.
Which means that I'll be...
We can actually...
- Talk. ...talk to each other.
With luck, we should be able
to cut through any intelligence community disconnects
and bring Jibral Disah to justice, swiftly.
So, Henry, what do you say?
You up for helping to capture
the most wanted terrorist on the planet?
Yeah. I'm in.
Ripped & Corrected By mstoll