The Brink (2015): Season 1, Episode 8 - Who's Grover Cleveland? - full transcript

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How bad is this politically?

You absolutely did nothing wrong, Mr.
President.

- No, sir.
- Zaman was there. The intel said so.

- Yes, sir.
- Israel confirmed it.

It was the right call.
Of course it was.

Even knowing
we were going to miss,

I would still recommend
we do the strike again.



I agree. Yes, sir.

It shows resolve. Don't fuck
with our friends in Tel Aviv.

Stay sharp!

Yes, I understand.

I will not let these girls
out of my sight.

I trusted you.

You fucked me.

I'm trying to save you.

Please, Alex,
stop pretending you care.

I do care.
This is the best thing
for everyone.

This is the best thing
for you and Walter Larson,

and the goddamn
United fucking States.

The goddamn fucking
United States brings
clean water into your homes.

We bring medicine
to you people...



Did you just really say
"you people"?

- Did I?
- Yeah.

Is there
a problem with "you people"?

I mean, you can call
my people "you people."
We don't mind.

Come on, Rafiq,
I'm the good guy.

Oh, you're the good guy.

What about that $200,000 tip
that Raja gave you

for risking
my family's lives?

You gonna use
all those Grover Clevelands
to build me a well?

You know what?
I think I deserve a little
gratuity for making sure

that your farmers
don't die of malaria
and waxy eye disease.

It's the worst
of all the eye diseases.

We don't need you to solve
our waxy eye problems.

We need you
to get out of our country
and leave us alone.

When we leave you alone,

we get the Taliban and 9-11.

You supported Osama,
in the '80s!

He was your creation,
just like Zaman.

Okay, well, now I'm trying
to make up for all that.

How? By risking
these girls' lives
so that they become targets

for every crazed militant
who wants to make a name
for himself?

Now you're overreacting.

You're a patronizing
little shit.

You boys appreciate
Shakespeare?

Sir, yes, sir.

Romeo y Julietas.

Cuban.

These are not a reward for
getting your asses shot down.

I'm just glad you're alive
to smoke them.

Oh, thank you, sir.

And, Tilson,
CENTCOM was kind enough
to set up a video chat

with your family back home.

I'll leave you to it.
Make it quick.

We got to get shot down
more often.

So tell us more
about this little plan
that you have

where you lie
about everything
to everyone.

Gail tells me there's
a Dunkin' Donuts in San Diego.

Maybe you could bring up some
Boston Kremes and a Coolatta

when you come to LA pretending
you don't have a third child.

Seriously?

- What the fuck's wrong with you?
- What the fuck were you thinking?

Um...

I'm going to give you
a little privacy here.

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Mr. President,
Zaman was in custody.

Raja was in control.

We achieved the most delicate
transition in modern diplomacy,
a bloodless coup.

But why bother

when you can just drop a bomb
down his goddamn chimney?

That's actually
And after you took out Zaman,
what came next?

Vehement denials
that we did anything wrong.

I mean, was there a plan

or are we just
freeballing it?

Like we did in Iraq,
Syria, Libya?

Because then we know
what happens next.

Rival factions emerge.
Civil war breaks out.

Total fucking chaos.

These people tend
to prefer chaos.

Yeah, but Iraq
didn't have nukes.

What happens when extremists
swallow up a nuclear state?

We work to install
a friendly dictator.

Who eventually
turns against us,
then needs to be removed.

Why mess with something
that works?

Oh, Christ! Am I in Oz?
What the fuck? Jesus!

Mr. President,

we need to think
very carefully
about our next move.

I've already decided
our next move.

I'm ordering the evacuation
of our embassy.

You what?

What about the Pakistani
school girls?

I say we take them, too.
Get them onto US soil.

If we leave
those girls behind and Zaman
comes to their rescue,

he'll parade them all over TV
and now he's a big hero.

You put those girls
on a chopper,
they're hostages.

You're just throwing
fuel on the fire.

We can't give Zaman the win.
Put the girls on a chopper.

Christ! Can't anyone
in this room see

more than three feet in front
of their fucking face?

Except for you,
of course, Mr. President.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Let's go, girls!

Just wait for Raja, okay?

He'll get the girls
safely back to their families.

- Raja's dead.
- What?

Mm, yeah. We got him good.
Zaman's alive, so we gotta go.

Evac order just came in
from the president.

It looks like the Lord is
finally pulling this place
back down to hell.

"And it shall come
as destruction
from the Almighty."

Evacuated to where, sir?

Afghanistan.
Bagram Air Force Base.

These Marines are gonna take
the girls to the helipad.

Let's go, now!

Sir, Bagram
is a clearing house
for torture and rendition.

Ten years ago.
They've cleaned
it up since then.

What?
They cannot make us go.

These girls need
to be back home
with their families,

not held prisoner
at a US Army base.

Prisoner! No, no, no, no!
More like guests.

They'll be well taken care of.
It'll just be a few days.

- Move! Come on!
- I'll talk to Walter.

The girls will be fine.
Don't worry!

Buddy, you got to know,
this is not the outcome
I anticipated!

I am not your buddy.
I am not your friend.

I am not your driver.

I don't ever want
to talk to you again.

- I realize you're upset.
- No!

I'm done with your banter!
I'm done with your jokes!

Fuck you!

I'm pregnant and you were
going to leave me alone
for three days a week?

- And every other Saturday.
- What about when we get married?

I thought you wanted
to fix our marriage!

And what fucked up Mormon
universe are you living in

where you think you can have
two wives you just bounce
back and forth from?

- Yeah, say something!
- Anything that makes sense!

Okay, fine!

Ashley, I love you.
I never stopped loving you.

I want to move back in
with you and the kids.

Gail, I don't love you.
I'm sorry.

I can't start
another family.

I will be there for Atticus
or Petunia or whatever
you want to call this kid,

but the romantic side
of us? It's over.

Fuck you, Zeke. Really.

And fuck you.

Well...

What do you say, Ash?

Did you get that
care package I sent?

Yeah, but I haven't
opened it up yet.

I sent you a ton of Provigil,

and some of that
buffalo jerky that you like.

Sell the pills,
make a little cash,

and then we can start talking
about how to save

this fucked up relationship.

Okay. Thank you...

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What the fuck was that?

"And it shall come
as destruction
from the Almighty."

At zero-nine-two-three
hours, Echo Time,

USGS has confirmed
a seismic event
registering five-point-one

at a Pakistani
military installation.

Zaman's forces
attempted to launch

an intercontinental
nuclear ballistic missile.

It failed...

and detonated underground.

Good God.

Mr. President, it's time.

We're out of options.

I agree.

Gentlemen,

Operation Infinite Wisdom
begins now.

You should all take note that
I do this with a heavy heart.

Infinite Wisdom?
What the hell is that?

I'm not seeing
any infinite wisdom here.

Operation Infinite Wisdom,

in which the gods
cease to be benevolent,

in which the full bicep
of the American
military machine

flexes its... bicep.

This is full-scale war
against a nuclear-armed state.

Yes, sir. We've been gaming
this one out since the '90s.

Jesus.

Are you...
You're actually drooling.

He's...
He's actually drooling.

The full resources
of the US Fifth Fleet.

The biggest show
of American air power
since North Vietnam.

Every military base...

Everywhere they could hide
a nuclear weapon
will be neutralized.

We will completely remove
their ability to wage war.

You will return.
You will reload.

You will take off again.

Gentlemen, you're about
to send the Pakistani army

back to the Chinese junkyard
it crawled out from.

No one on this ship
should expect to sleep

for at least
the next 36 hours.

Is that understood?

Yes, sir!

Let's sell
some fucking drugs.

This way! This way!

Let's move it!

Sir, this way.

Rafiq! I know you told me
never to talk to you again,

but you're right,
I was fucking stupid.

It's my fault.
I'm an asshole!

Tell me what I can do.
What can I say?

You want me to admit
that America sucks?

That I was wrong
about Raja?

That... that I'm just another
entitled American douche bag?

It's true. It's all true!
I'm sorry.

I'll say anything,
because I love you, dude.

You're my Tonto!

I'm your "Tonto"?

I realize how that sounds.
I can be Tonto. Whatever.

The only thing
that matters is you know

that if this goes down
like Saigon,

and there's only room
for one of us on that chopper,

that seat is yours, man.
That's how much
you mean to me.

You know that once
those choppers take off,

we're never coming home.

Sergeant, Sergeant.
All of these people have to be
out of here by 1100 hours.

Where are the rest
of the helicopters?

Why, what happens
at 1100 hours?
Unilateral bombing.

This time tomorrow,
Islamabad is gonna look like
Newark, New Jersey.

- Fuck! I need to call my parents.
- Hey, here.

Take my phone!
I have full bars.

Also, these girls and I must be

on the final chopper
out of here.

But, sir, I got to get you
on the next chopper,
for your own safety.

No, no, no.
All these people first.

I know where I die.
It is not at this embassy.

- Whatever you say, sir.
- Everybody stick together.

And the angels descended
and carried us
to our hereafter.

Is that the Bible?

No, it's just me talking.

Mr. President,
do we even know if Zaman
is capable of launching

any of these missiles
without blowing
his hands off?

We don't know.

And because we do not know,
we must act.

Wow. That is the dumbest
fucking thing I've ever heard.

Walter, our backs are
against the wall.

Zaman's already shown
he's willing to strike first.

Estimated civilian casualties
of Operation Infinite Wisdom?

Don't have
an exact number.

Then ballpark it for me.
What? Nagasaki?

Oh, hell no.
More like a Redskins game.

Especially after
the season they had.

I'd say more like
a James Taylor concert.

- Yeah.
- Christ.

So, we really do not know.

It's an unknown known,

but we're working on it
becoming a known unknown.

Okay. I know before I said
that that was the dumbest
thing I ever heard.

What you just said right now,
is the dumbest thing
I've ever heard.

Okay, Walter.
I'm still not hearing
a better option from you.

I mean, the man has
already tried to launch
a nuclear weapon,

- for Christ's sake!
- He's right, Walter.

What other options
do we have?

I don't have a clue.

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You need to get
back in that room, sir.

No. I need some fucking air.
I need a fucking drink.

I need to be fucking
an Asian hooker
with a pillow over my face.

No. No, you don't.
I'm out of options.

Raja was my one good card,
and these a-holes torched
his fuckin' corpse.

And he's a corpse
because he trusted me.

There's nothing to do now
but watch it all blow up.

Good-bye Israel!
Good-bye Pakistan! Good-bye...

Is that a hockey team?

Yeah, it's
the Minnesota Snow Devils.

They're the under-12
state champs.

They're waiting to take
their photo with the president.

Here? Today?

Are you fucking kidding me?

The president wants
to maintain a sense

of business as usual
during this crisis.

Hey, kids!

Just want you to know,
your future is in the hands

of a bunch of impotent,
war-loving maniacs.

Sir?
Gather round.

No. Sir, I don't think
you want to...

You kids need to start
a goddamn revolution.

And I don't mean this
Occupy Wall Street bullshit,

with their human microphone
and their jazz hands.

I mean the real deal,

where people
are actually terrified
to leave their homes.

You need to arm yourselves!
Fuck the ballot!

Time for bullets!
Burn it all down, I say.

Okay, kids?

We're just here to get
our picture taken
with the president, sir.

Excuse me,
while you're here,

the president
would like you to come
into the Situation Room

to immortalize today's events
in their historical context.

Okay.

Wow. Well, I guess someone
should capture the moment

when our country doomed
its future generations

to a nuclear winter
of perpetual darkness.

That's sort of my job, sir.

While we're at it,
let's call the Franklin Mint!

Maybe they can glaze it
onto a commemorative plate.

You don't remember me,
do you?

Haymarket Hotel.
Eisenhower suite.

You asked me to kill you.

- Cheryl.
- Kimberly.

Asshole.

Fuck.

Sir, where are you going?

Bobby Van's Steakhouse.

If you need me,
I'll be getting hammered

with the help
of a ridiculously
well-hung bartender

who's also banging my wife.
He owes me a drink.

No. I did not choose to work
for someone who cuts and runs.

I need you in that room.

The world needs you
in that room.

God, you are
the smartest man I know,

and if you won't go
back in there for them,
then do it for yourself.

Because...
and I'm just gonna
say this, sir,

I think stopping a world war

might cure your
survivor's guilt

from your activities
in Cambodia,

which is the root
of all your insecurities.

And probably
why you always want

East Asian hookers
to pretend-kill you.

Well, draw me up
a play that works.
Please. I'm all ears.

- Fine. You want a play.
- Yeah, I want a play.

Fine. Fine. Fine.
How about this?

Stop acting like a child,
get back in there,

and be a goddamn grown-up.

Sir.

Fine.

As you can see
from the strategic map,

the red circles indicate
primary targets,

and the green circles are
our secondary target.

Walter. Would you mind
getting out of the way?

You're not in my photo.

I am now.

- Get off of me!
- Walter!

All right, boys.
We got some Provigil,
30 bucks a pop.

Side effects include
intensified concentration,

unnatural stamina,

and a totally unfounded
sense of invincibility.

What if we don't have
any money?

Then you don't get
your Provigil.

I don't have
any money either.

Well, does anybody here
have any fuckin' money?

I got money.
You got Ecstasy?

What the fuck?

He works in the kitchen.

- What?
- Look, you guys, I'm really sorry.

I'd love to help out,
but I got mouths to feed,
you know this.

Tilson!

It is illegal to sell
prescription drugs

on a US military ship.

Or in general,
for that matter.

Now, I can either
confiscate them

or you can quit being
a selfish asshole

and lower your damn prices.

But, sir, you always...

I don't care.
Your country needs you.

Be a goddamn hero.

On the house!

Whoa, whoa, man.
Are you sure?

Yeah.

Band of brothers, right?

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- And they're going to bomb everything!
- Fareeda!

Fareeda!
I know you hate me

and you never want
to see me again.

But I need you to know
that even though
we weren't meant to be,

just knowing you
has changed me profoundly!

- Fareeda!
- Did you reach the family?

Yes. They are going
to Uncle Hassan's cabin
at Banjosa Lake!

They'll be fine!

That sounds nice!
Get on the bird now!

- Alex!
- Yes?

Go fuck yourself!

Okay.

Okay.

Oh, Ashley's
going to murder me.

Listen, man,

I've been waiting
for the right moment
to tell you this.

Well... now that you're
completely destitute,

it seems like
the right moment.

I stole it from those crazy
antique sex people.

Goddamn it, Glenn.

Hey, they said it was
worth a fortune.

I want us to go 50-50 on it.

Fine, 60-40, your way.

Okay. ... 70-30,

'Cause you got kids.

God bless you,
Jammer!

Uh, it's a little tight, man.

- So, we're all good?
- We're good.

- You're doing great.
- Thanks, man. We're good.

- Thank you. All right.
- We're good.

Where are we going?

To a beautiful place.

It has a great high wall,
with 12 gates and 12 angels.

And on the gates
are written the names
of the 12 tribes of Israel.

And for saving your lives,

I have earned admission
into this wonderful place.

Uh, yes,
but where are we going?

Let's get
the fuck out of here!

Come on, man.
I'm not a protester!
I work here!

No one gets on
without a US passport!

What are
you talking about?

Okay, I'm with the girls
and my sister.

He's with me.
He's seeking asylum.

Are you seeking asylum?

Yes. Fine, okay.
I'm seeking political asylum.

Nice try, Haji.
But you'll have to apply
at our nearest embassy.

Are you a fucking comedian?
Look at the...

Mr. Ambassador,
I cannot go without Rafiq!

And I am part
of the Lord's plan!

You need me!
I'm the leopard!

I am so proud
of you, Talbot,

for staying behind
with your friend.

Fuck!

That's the kind of sacrifice
Jesus speaks of!

I will surely
see u in heaven!

Oh, by the way,
you're definitely the bear,
not the leopard!

- No, Fareeda...
- You're a crazy motherfucker!

- That's my brother! Rafiq!
- They'll be fine!

- Damn it! We got to go!
- No! I got to get on...

- Fareeda!
- They'll be fine!

Rafiq!

Come on! We got to go
to the Chinese tunnel!

The Chinese tunnel,
come on!

What in God's name
were you thinking?

I'm sorry, Mr. President.
It was involuntary.

Every time
you piss somebody off,

you... you go rogue,
you ignore my direct orders,

I think to myself,
he's doing this

because he believes
there's a better way.

Thank you, Mr. President.

This isn't a testimonial.
Shut the fuck up!

Yes, sir.

Your position in
this administration is
no longer tenable.

Sir?

I'll expect your
letter of resignation

so I can announce
your replacement.

Who?

Carlyle.

Carlyle? Warren Carlyle?

Mm-hmm.

He's a four-star general.

He sits on the board
of Raytheon.

Every time we bomb someone,
he gets a fuckin' royalty.

My decision is final.

And seriously, Walter,

I'd look into getting
some real psychiatric help.

Now get the hell
out of my house.

Shit, shit, shit.
I've got a chip light warning.

What the hell is that?

Yeah,
what the hell is that?

I got to land this thing,
right away!

What? No, no, no!
We've gotta get to Bagram!

Mr. Ambassador,
unless you wanna be part of
a "Black Hawk Down" situation

somewhere in the
Taliban-controlled region
of Afghanistan,

we got to put this baby
on the ground, now!

Well, I saw that movie.
Do what you got to do, son!

Why? What happened
in the movie?

Hi.

Hi.

I'm glad I did that.
Thanks for the advice.

What happened?

I punched Pierce in the face.

What? Oh, my God.

No, I really enjoyed it.
Thanks for the advice.

You're welcome.

- Downside is I lost my job.
- What?

Listen very carefully.

Get Alex Talbot
on the phone, ASAP.

The president just suggested
I get psychiatric help,

which is exactly
what I'm gonna do.

Well, that's actually
pretty good advice, sir.

A few days ago,
Talbot managed
to fax us three pages

of Umair Zaman's
psychiatric evaluation.

I want the other 27 pages.

Oh, okay.
That's a good idea, too.

And let's find a place
to lay low in this building

so I can spend
my last few moments

as Secretary of State
doing my job.

Sir! Our stabilizer bar
is showing undue stress.

We're gonna need to lighten
our payload significantly

or we're never gonna make it
to Bagram in one piece!

Uh...

Uh... Get rid of her!

Not enough! You're gonna have
to lose the girls as well!

No, no, no.
I need these girls!

These girls are the beast!

Sir, I'm not even sure
we can make it without them,

but it's our only shot!

For fuck's sakes!
Let 'em go!

Okay. Fine, fine.

Sergeant...
Get the girls off.

Let's go, move it!

Just get back in the air
before Infinite Wisdom turns

this entire country
into a smoldering heap.

Dear Lord...

clearly, these girls
are not your chosen.

I mean, they did come
from that loser Talbot.

Alex Talbot is not with you?
It's a glorious day!

Father!

Forgive me for misinterpreting
your divine guidance.

My bad!

Everything's happening
so fast.

I promise I'll get it right
next time. Amen.

All right, let's get
the hell out of here!

Who's Grover Cleveland?

Who the fuck cares.

Where are we?

My Uncle's cabin.
Girls, go inside.

We need to call
all your parents.

What is wrong?

I just realized
I have misjudged
someone very badly.

And I may never
get the chance
to thank him.

We have to get
to the Chinese tunnel.

From there,
we can get to the street
and back to your house.

Where is
the ambassador?

He's not here?

Where is
the deputy ambassador?

He, uh...

Also, not here.

Who's the highest official
still here?

I guess that would be me.

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- What?
- No. No!

Come on. Come on.

Come on!

Pick the fuck up, Talbot!