Scandal (2012–2018): Season 7, Episode 7 - Something Borrowed - full transcript

Seriously?

Do you know what a fidget spinner is?

Those stupid toys they
sell in all the bodegas?

I'm designing my own.

With some modifications, of course.

Huck, II...

Razor blades on every end.

With the right ball bearings,
sharp enough blades,

it will cut through skin
and just keep spinning

and cutting and spinning.

Death by thousand cuts a minute.



Nice.

When we get Quinn back,

we can fieldtest it on
the people that took her.

If we get Quinn back.

I've got all my computers running QR.

I'm scanning the dark web for chatter.

We are going to find her, Charlie.

Alive.

Then why the hell am I
flipping through a list

of unclaimed body parts?

We're just covering our bases.

You know what I'm gonna do

if I ever get ahold of the
people that took Quinn?

It's gonna be a lot less
millennial than you.



I'm just gonna go down to the junkyard

and I'm gonna pick up the most jagged,

rusty piece of metal I can find,

and I'm gonna go to town.

Then I'm gonna wait a few days

and wait for the tetanus to set in.

And then I'm gonna go
to town some more.

Yeah, that works, too.

I've got something.

Early 30s, brunette, 9 months pregnant.

Where?

Germantown.

- You want us to come with...
- Nah.

Just covering all our bases, right?

It's important that you reiterate

just how cooperative the new
Bashrani regime has been.

Emphasize your optimism
moving forward, and...

Okay, I think that
second coat was enough.

Thanks.

Liv, you don't have to
coach me on what to say.

I've already given three
interviews this week,

and we're not even signing the
treaty for another two days.

Do you really think

48 hours isn't enough time
for something to go wrong?

How is your friend, by the way?

The one who went missing.

It's Quinn, right?

Has there been any word from her?

If there is anything
I can do to help...

People are on it.

You just need to worry about
getting this treaty signed.

We have nothing. We
still have no leads.

I had my team analyze every
frame of the elevator footage.

Checked the street cams within
a sixblock radius of QPA.

And no Quinn.

So far, we have nothing.

Have them go through it all again.

- Whoever took her was good.
- Then be better, Jake.

Be better.

Olivia, we are on the hunt,

and we don't quit, we don't lose.

We will find her.

I want lists of our enemies,
armed patrols on alert.

I want satellites, super computers,

CIA domestic units on this.

I want this entire town...

I want the entire federal government

turned into one giant
machine for finding Quinn.

I want the monster who did this.
I want them here.

I want them to face Command.

I want them to understand whose
fight they stepped into,

and then I want them finished.

Yes, ma'am.

Just find her.

Yes, ma'am.

Where are you?

This nuclear treaty is about peace,

and not only for our friends
in the Middle East,

but for us, the United
States of America.

We have a chance here
to finally put an end

to a problem the entire
world has been dealing with

for decades.

I got to hand it to her.

Mellie Grant for the win!

You seeing this?

What do you think this treaty does

to her approval numbers?

Think she gets above 60?

Hell, 70 even.

I think the only numbers we
need to be worrying about

are right here.

What?

- We could use her.
- No.

The amount of political
capital she's gonna earn

with this treaty, Mr. President.

She has to spend it on something.

So why not on what we're doing here?

Criminaljustice reform.
We could use her.

- It's a nonstarter, Marcus.
- It doesn't have to be.

Do you know what happens when I go
to the White House to pick up Teddy?

No, sir.

I am allowed to be on site
for all of eight minutes.

Eight minutes to get in,
go up to the residence,

meet a woman named Geraldine,
take hold of my son's hand,

and then I'm promptly escorted out.

You and I are an island, Marcus.

If we want our agenda pushed, we're
gonna have to do it ourselves.

ChCharlie, what are you doing here?

Is it Quinn? Do you have some news?

There's a body in Germantown...

Female, early 30s, brunette,
9 months pregnant.

Do you need me to go with you?

I can't.

I can't look at another
dead pregnant woman.

I'm sorry for showing up here,
but I had nowhere else to go.

I sure as hell am not
going to Germantown.

I'm sure it's not her.

Have you ever played Russian roulette?

Yeah, I guess not.

Well, it feels an awful lot like this.

Every pregnant Jane doe
that is not Quinn,

it's just another empty chamber,

and I'm running out of chambers, Liv.

One of these times, I'm gonna
pull back the sheet... bam.

You don't know that.

I need you to level with me.

Because those two Pollyannas
back in the office won't.

She's dead, right?

She's got to be. I can't...

I just need to hear
someone say it out loud.

Then, maybe I can move on.

Whatever that means.

Charlie...

What is it?

I forgot to delete this
dumb Daddytobe app.

It's telling me that
due date is tomorrow.

Congratulations to me.

Anyway.

Look at me.

For all we know, we can
have her back tomorrow.

Anything's possible.

She was better than me.

She is.

She is better than you.

Thank you.

Again, I have a
responsibility to remind you

that you don't have to do it this way.

We have a sitting room.

It's nice. Peaceful.

I can bring you a picture. Face down.

You can take all the time you...

Just pull back the stupid sheet.

Charlie. Charlie!

- Charlie.
- It's some other dead lady.

- It's not Quinn.
- Thank God.

Maybe she's still alive.

Is it better? Or worse?

Thank you, Red, for coming.

I don't mean to take you
away from the search.

Are you kidding?

This is the first room
I've been in today

that doesn't smell like death.

What is that?

Ponderosa Pine candle.

Fenton sent it to me.

You're not allowed to burn
them in the White House.

Fire code. But the scent... wafts.

Anyway.

I wanted you to know that Fenton
isn't going to be a problem.

I was able to talk him down

from filing charges against Charlie.

Thank you.

He's gone up to his ranch
in Montana for awhile.

The candle is supposed to
keep him in my thoughts

while he's gone or something.

Anyway.

Charlie really did a number on him.

He needs time to recuperate.

How did... we get that so wrong, Red?

Fenton is not someone who would...

He is many things, but not a killer.

It was the intel we had, Cy.

The fact that someone on the tarmac

used to work for Glackland?

It was a red flag.

Maybe we jumped to a conclusion,

but in that moment, it
was all we had to go on.

And it came direct from
the NSA after all.

Ballard?

Admiral Ballard!

Mr. Vice President.

Look a little rough there, Admiral.

Putting in some late nights?

No more than usual.

So that's a yes.

I just mean with Rashad and this treaty

and our missing friend Miss Perkins,

you must be burning the
candle at both ends.

Some things are bound to
slip through the cracks.

Like this Sergeant Ladd fella.

The one who planted the bomb
on President Rashad's plane.

It was your intelligence

that connected him and
Fenton Glackland, wasn't it?

Which is funny.

'Cause I did a little
digging of my own,

and there was nothing I could find

that put Sergeant Ladd anywhere
near Fenton Glackland.

Granted, I don't have the
same fancy computers you do,

but if that's the case?

Charlie kidnapped and nearly murdered

the wrong man altogether
for no reason at all.

Well, like you said, Mr.
Vice President,

there's a lot going on.

We do our best, but mistakes do happen.

Hey. You know what?

Find yourself 15 minutes.

Close the door to your office.
Stretch out on the couch.

Little power nap?

I tell ya, makes all the difference.
Keeps you sharp.

I'll give it a try.

Any news?

How ya doing?

The team's moved on to
morgues and hospitals.

Morgues and hospitals.

Doesn't mean she's dead, Liv.
There's no reason she would be.

Why is that?

Because the only two people
with a reason to kill her

are standing in this room.

Someone took her.

And Charlie is doing a tour

of dead pregnant white Jane Does, Jake.

We'll find her.

Alive?

We did this.

This is on us. Maybe...

No, it's not.

This is on the monsters who took Quinn.

Maybe the people who took
her aren't the monsters.

Maybe we're the monsters.

Don't worry about that.

You know who I'm worried about?
Curtis Pryce.

We don't know what Quinn
told him or what he knows.

He's a real threat.

Sorry. Your father just called.

He's been trying to get
in touch with you.

He said it's urgent.

What?

There's a Oscared filet
as the special tonight.

Doesn't that sound good?

Quinn Perkins is missing.

I don't have time for you.

So. What.

What is it that's so urgent that I...

I have Quinn Perkins.

What?

I have Quinn.

She is mine.

Where is she?

There are people...

We've been worried.

Tell me where she is, and
then tell me why you...

That reckoning that I said is coming?

That reckoning is here.

Quinn Perkins, the one person
that can take you down.

The one person that knows about
your new assassination hobby.

The one person that
you would never kill.

Your reckoning.

I have Quinn Perkins, your downfall,

and the key to my freedom.

Check mate.

I want my bones back.

I win. You lose.

You think this is a game?

Mnhmnh. Even trade.

You give me my freedom,
return my bones,

I give you Quinn Perkins.

Or what?

You'll kill her?

You took my dinosaur, Olivia.

That's war.

My plan is to kill Quinn Perkins

unless I get back what you stole.

You're her friend.

You are her child's godmother.

I'm giving you a chance
to save em both.

You're pathetic.

You won't hurt a hair on Quinn's head.

You won't do anything
until I say do something.

You don't make the decisions.
You don't think.

You don't make moves.
I am in charge here.

You will hear from me

when I decide you will hear from me.

Until then, you don't touch Quinn.

You stay put,

and you wait to be told what to do.

I'm not bluffing.

Don't ever waste my
time like this again.

What do you want to do?

Nothing.

I can put together a
team, raid his house.

We wait him out.

This is an act of aggression.
I suggest we respond in kind.

This is an act of desperation.

He's weak, old, grasping for power.

My father will return Quinn to me.

What if he doesn't?

He will.

Are they ready for me on
the security briefing?

Not yet, but Marcus Walker
would like five minutes.

You're signing the treaty.

Someone told me to do the right thing.

It was good advice.

I'm glad to hear it.

Because I have some more.

Abolishing private prisons,

doing away with mandatory minimums,

ending mass incarceration.

You want me to work
with Fitz's institute?

I do.

He's not leaving town, is he?

No. And neither am I.

I have my own advisers, you know.

A whole wing of them.

I know, and I'm sure
they're telling you

that with the amount
of political capital

you're about to pull down,
the sky's the limit,

and they would be right.

With your influence, we
might actually be able

to accomplish everything on this list.

Marcus.

Why are you here, really?

To hand me a folder?

I'm here because I know the only reason

you would turn down an
opportunity to do this much good

is because Fitz's name
is on the folder.

Out of spite.

I'm here because Fitz can't be,

which you and I both
know is just... sad.

Because you're better than that.

I see.

So you are not here
to hand me a folder.

You're here to condescend, as well.

That's not... No. I...

Do me a favor. Send Rachel
back in here on your way out.

Madam President.

I'm finished talking to you, Marcus.

You can go.

Fresh from FBI central servers.

Every Jane Doe admitted to
a morgue in the last week

in all 50 states.

This will save us a lot of calls.

Did you filter for pregnancy?

So, it turns out

when you're dealing with
unidentified persons,

you can't always count
on there being a uterus.

Or a torso or...

- I get it.
- Sometimes it's just a foot or a toe.

David.

One of these toes might be Quinn.

I know.

I've spent the last three
days with missing persons.

Right now...

I really need a present person.

Do you know the most
common missing part?

- The face.
- David.

Sorry.

I'm... I'm just... Those photos.

I should probably get
back to the bureau

and see if anything turned
up in the evidence vault.

So... she send you to case the joint?

This game needs to end.

I couldn't agree more.

Unfortunately, there's
still time on the clock,

so make your empty threat or...

She didn't send me.

I came on my own to warn you.
You're not gonna win this thing.

In fact, you've already lost.

You forgot who you're dealing
with, what she's capable of.

She's my daughter. I know
exactly what she's capable of.

You don't. Not anymore.

She's gonna ride this train
to the end of the line.

And if you don't get out of its way,

you and that innocent woman

and that innocent woman's
child, you'll all be crushed.

So what should I do, then?

Tuck my tail between my legs
and ask for a job, like you?

Mnhmnh.

Let her do her worst.

I'll be ready for her.

Maybe not as ready as you think.

You went to him?

- To deliver a warning.
- I specifically told you...

And to disarm him.

You what?

I took away his toys, his guns.
They're all gone now.

And you think that's
gonna make a difference?

At the very least, I thought it
might buy us a little more time.

We had to do something, Liv.

We were doing something.

We were waiting.

We were running out the clock.

And now... Now he knows.
Now he knows we're scared.

Now he knows we're panicked.

Any advantage we thought
we once had is now gone.

What do you think is gonna
happen when the clock runs out?

You think your father's
just gonna admit defeat,

hand Quinn back over to you
with a wink and a smile?

You need to stop pretending
that Rowan isn't capable

of putting a bullet in
Quinn Perkins' skull.

I know... you think your
father isn't in control here.

But I'm starting to
think that maybe he is.

So you need to figure it out,
Liv, what the hell you're doing.

Let me know what you decide.

Time's almost up.

Curtis Pryce.

Hello?

In here.

I thought I recognized that voice.

You work for Olivia Pope.

Yeah, but...

Olivia doesn't know I called you.

I figured as much.

So...

You said on the phone
you have information

about the assassination
of President Rashad.

If I tell you what I know,

Olivia can't find out.

Miss Pope entering now.

Hello?

Livvie.

What a pleasant surprise!

I thought maybe you forgot about me.

Work has been busy.

As Chief of Staff or as Command?

Both.

I told you you could have it all.

How are you?

Do you like the new apartment?

Yes.

But there was really no
reason for me to move.

The other one was just fine.

Once I found out Dad was
scheming behind my back,

I couldn't risk it.

Last time he found you, he shot you.

Who knows what he would've done
if he knew where you were.

Like lock me up in a place
that only he has access to?

It's all good, baby.

I got cable, food, and no complaints.

That's good to hear.

So what brings you here, Livvie?

What did your father do now?

He took Quinn.

- Who?
- Quinn Perkins.

Brunette girl.

Used to work for me. She's pregnant.

Yeah.

What do you mean he took her?

He kidnapped her,

and he refuses to let her go

until I give him his freedom
and his dinosaur bones.

His dinosaur...

Lord!

You can't be serious.

He put a clock on it.

If I don't give him his bones back,

he's going to kill her.

Okay.

So what are you going to do?

I don't know.

I thought you could help me.

Well, that depends.

On?

What am I getting out of it?

You can either be my mother or a bitch.

What's it gonna be?

Girl, if you don't sit
your dramatic ass down...

- What's she got on you?
- Who?

- This Quinn girl.
- Nothing.

Don't lie to me.

If she was just your friend,

you'd have traded for her by now.

Instead, you're playing

this game of chicken with your father,

letting her sweat it out.

Why?

She knows things.

So she's got secrets.

Secrets she's ready to spill.

Something like that.

Okay. All right.

So you're just here to get
Mama's permission, then.

What are you talking about?

"What are you talking about?"

I'm talking about the fact

that all your problems go
away if this bitch dies.

You're not ready to admit that.

You still got that tiny
little sweetness about you,

but I can see it clear as a day.

This was a mistake.

Don't hate the player, baby.
Hate the game.

That's how you beat
your daddy, sweetheart.

That's how you stay Command

and protect this empire of yours.

You let the clock run out,

and you do nothing.

Let her die, Livvie.

Let. Her. Die.

It's done.

Reported missing.

Employees of the program
contacted the police...

May I? It's urgent.

The president just stepped
away for a minute, sir.

Be reached by phone.

- Shortly after, his...
- I'll wait.

Was found abandoned on an embankment

of the Potomac River in Southwest D.C.

Police are telling BNC that
an empty bottle of bourbon

and cans of beer were
found in the vehicle,

but still no sign of Mr. Pryce himself.

Shame.

All morning searching for a body.

Such a dogged pursuer of the truth.

It's a real loss to our nation.

A guy like that is basically
a professional snitch.

One can... create a lot
of enemies that way.

Am I right?

Drug abuse.

Coworkers couldn't recall

anything at all suspicious
in his behavior...

David, you're back.

How's it going?

Well, I'm still looking at dead bodies,

so you probably won't
want to get near me.

- Abby.
- I just...

You're the Attorney General
of the United States.

You see dead bodies every day.

Using it as an excuse to reject me?

Abby, I wasn't rejecting you.

Then what's going on?

The world you run in,
your world is terrifying.

Today, Quinn is missing.

Before that, Huck was shot.

Olivia was kidnapped.
Harrison was killed.

Everyone involved with this
place has bargained with death.

If we get together,

how long will it be before
you're the toe in a file?

David.

I could really love you.

I don't want to end up
in Charlie's position.

None of those toes are Quinn.

I know it.

She's strong. She's a survivor.

It's why Charlie took a risk on her.

And when we find her alive,
like I know we will,

he'll get to marry her.

So, yeah, our world is terrifying.

We all take risks.

So far, those risks have paid off.

I still got six of my eight
minutes left by my watch.

We're fine, Jim. Thank you.

Where's Geraldine?

Where's Teddy?

He'll be down in a minute.

Until then, I wanted to talk
to you about something.

I thought you weren't allowed
to talk to me about anything.

Criminaljustice reform,

a goal we apparently share, yes?

Shall we get started?

Hey. Hey.

Did you hear?

Curtis Pryce has gone missing.

- Okay.
- Presumed dead, they think.

I don't need to know the details.

Tragedy all around.

Wine?

Sure.

Good answer.

I am... tired.

Yeah?

This is exhausting, this game.

It never ends.

Nope.

You know what I think it is?

It's the hiding.

The energy it takes
to hide all the time.

Clock runs out tomorrow morning.

I know that.

And you also know you need to
decide what you're gonna do.

I can't let Quinn die.

I know it would solve
a lot of my problems,

but I can't do it.

You let Rashad die.

Rashad wasn't Quinn.

So give him back his bones.

No.

- They're his bones, Olivia.
- Today.

Today, it's his bones. Tomorrow?

This is about... power.

Power he will slowly begin to assert.

Power he will slowly begin
to exercise over me

because I was stupid
enough to let him discover

that this theory of his,
the one about being able

to control me by kidnapping my friend

in order to get whatever it
is that he wants, it works.

It works.

And he can't know that.

Today, it's his bones.

Tomorrow it's B613. Then it's Mellie.

Then it's the White House.

Then it's the empire I have built.

It's everything.

So then kill him.

Eliminate the problem. Your
father is the problem.

You're not listening.

Listen to yourself right now.

You can't let your father win.
You can't let Quinn die.

Where the hell does that leave you?

I'm very sorry, Olivia,

but you do not get to have it all.

It's late.

You should probably...

Stop hiding!

Come out of the shadows.

Make your choice.

Are you Command or are you not?

- Get out.
- Liv.

Get out.

I had the stagecraft people set marks

so you'd know where to stand.

Um, getting the symmetry right
is essential to the imagery.

I also cut down the speech.

And tweaked some lines.

Read through and make sure
it all works for you.

I will do so.

Good luck. See you after.

Wait. Stay. Be here with me.

This is a major moment.

Rare air.

Over 40 years...

Spanning three wars costing
thousands of lives...

Six United States presidents
have worked tirelessly

to make it here, to this moment.

To peace.

All six fell short.

Were it not for you?

I would have been the seventh.

Had I sought revenge for
Rashad's assassination,

his death would have been meaningless.

Now, thanks to you,

his death is a sacrifice
for the greater good.

You saw the big picture
when I couldn't.

You led us here.

To this moment.

And I know it's hard
for you to see that

while fearing the worst for Quinn.

But know...

that you are a champion.

And that this is only the beginning.

Only the beginning.

Yes.

Let's hope so.

Hope? No.

Let's make damn sure of it.

Yeah.

Let's be worthy of these sacrifices.

You and me, together.

Say it with me.

You and me, together.

Nothing, no one, no man...

standing in our way.

Nothing... no one, no man,

standing in our way.

Time's up.

Your dad's summoning you.

What's it gonna be?

Your father's freedom or Quinn's life?

Perkins' life... or my freedom.

You don't summon me.

You do not push me or rush me.

This is serious business.

You have no idea.

Choose one, Olivia!

Perkins' life or my freedom.

You're not going to kill me.

I don't have to.

You won't be able to live with
that girl's blood on your hands

or the blood of the baby
she has inside of her.

No.

I mean, you're not going to
kill me, and you should.

You should kill me.

It's your only way out
of this, seriously.

It's what you would
tell anyone else to do.

Eliminate the problem, sever
the head of the snake.

I am the snake.

I am the problem.

A bullet in my head is your
only chance at freedom.

Good.

Now all you have to do
is pull the trigger.

Pull it.

Pull it!

If you're not willing to kill me,

then you have no cards left to play.

I win. You lose.

You have a soul left, Olivia.

You will not let that girl die.

Don't worry. I don't have a gun.

I don't need one.

I have better weapons at my disposal.

Red Five Two. Olivia Pope.

This is a Kill Order.

Eli Pope. You have his file.

247 Rocking Bird Rd. 5'10".

AfricanAmerican, 72 years old.

Alert the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security,

and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Unless you hear from me,

Kill order begins in
exactly 20 minutes.

Level Five. Shoot to kill.

You have 20 minutes to live.

Unless you want to put your toys away,

sit down, and shut up.

If you fold now,

I can pretend this was nothing
more than a senior moment.

- I will kill her.
- You think I'm bluffing.

You think Quinn and I are BFFs forever

and I'll let that cloud my judgment,

or that miniQuinn she's carrying

is a little person I am
already in love with

so I just can't handle the
idea of both of them dying.

You think there's a soft,
chewy center in here.

You do think that.

And for the life of me,
I can't figure out why.

You gave me a dead mother,

a life in boarding school,

then you told me everything
I knew was a lie.

You took away the only
man I ever truly loved.

You killed his son.

You consistently erased my hopes...

- Mnhmnh.
- My dreams, my ambitions.

You taught me the only constant

worth holding on to is the Republic.

You made me in your own image.

"The apple doesn't fall
far from the tree.

Poison though it may be."

Remember that?

I am just as you made me.

That ray of light you think I am

isn't a warm campfire, Dad.

It's a blowtorch.

So why would you think

I would choose Quinn over the Republic?

You need to make a choice.

I'll even throw in a bonus.

I'll give you 60 seconds of grace.

You have 60 seconds to pull
the covers over your head

and tell yourself that all the
monsters are just dreams.

Then, you will either kill
Quinn or hand her over.

Otherwise, I'll walk out that door,

and you can spend the next
20 minutes waiting to die.

You're bluffing.

I think you're the one who's bluffing.

Your judgment is clouded.

Your soft, chewy center is out.

If I am who you hope I am,

then killing Quinn and her baby

destroys me for sure.

If I am already done,

killing her gets you nothing.

You are bluffing.

Your bluff is showing. I can see it.

Try me.

If Quinn has to die for the Republic,

then she has to die.

60 seconds starting now.

Your move.

Five, four, three, two...

Please!

God!

You want to see the body?