Wiseguy (1987–2009): Season 3, Episode 12 - Day Nine - full transcript
In a Senate executive session, a falsely accused Vinnie is systematically stripped of his honor, even as Gen. Masters' diabolical scheme is exposed.
- [Narrator] Tonight on Wiseguy.
- You're facing
serious allegations.
- What I have to say I
will say in open court.
- [Man] You're suspended,
pending this investigation.
- This man told me
there was a crisis.
That it was my moral
duty to stop it.
I didn't know Kay
Gallagher, but they did!
And they put me on her
like a dog on the hunt.
- My life became a nightmare
the day I met Mr. Terranova.
- We have nothing in common.
- We got Strichen
in common, Vernon.
And he will waste
the both of us.
(dramatic music)
- [Man] Previously on Wiseguy.
- This is one of the most
powerful weapons in the world.
It's a printing plate.
The Japanese yen.
We believe a plan exists to
undermine the economy of Japan.
- The most powerful
economy in the world
is about to be destroyed
by a Capitol Hill PR firm?
- It's your moral
duty to stop it.
We do what we do with justice,
don't we, Agent Terranova?
- You bet your ass.
- [Older Man] Terranova's
fingerprints are all over this.
Put it where it'll
do the most good.
- I haven't done anything
to hurt this country.
- If we don't find that plane
before it gets lost,
trade bill passes,
that money will be released.
The only thing that'll
be left after that
is nailing you to the cross.
- We found a plane.
It was registered to
a Panama corporation,
a corporation owned
100% by a dead man.
- You mean Mel Profitt?
- The person being
hung out to dry is you.
(dramatic music)
- I want you to
proceed immediately
with as much manpower
as is necessary
and arrest Agent Terranova.
- Do you have a warrant?
- You can do this.
Or we can get someone else.
(menacing music)
(drum beats)
(slow orchestral music)
- What happened to us?
I know but one code
of morality for men.
Whether acting singly
or collectively.
(scoffs)
It's a dusty notion in
this town of yours, Tom.
Men just don't
live by it anymore.
They redefine morality
on a daily basis.
- Vince?
I've just come from the
Attorney General's office.
I'm supposed to detain you.
- Yeah, I was the
patsy all along, Frank.
I should be detained.
For stupidity.
- Well, it's a big world, Vince.
I didn't have to
catch up with you.
- I don't wanna run, Frank.
I'm exactly where I wanna be.
My conscience is clear.
- I don't know if
that's gonna help you.
- I think it will.
So what are they doing
with Kay Gallagher?
- She's been detained
at her apartment.
They're going to wanna
contain this scandal, Vince.
If it's never made
public, it never happened.
You're in a position to
make a deal with them.
You could accept an
early retirement.
- [Vince] And that's what's
wrong with this place, Frank.
Instead of making
laws, they make deals.
- [Frank] Gallagher will never
be able to stand up to 'em.
That'll leave only you.
And me.
- [Vince] Then that's
the way it'll be.
(melancholy music)
- At some point, you're gonna
have to deal with reality.
You wanna rely on the truth.
The reality is
there is no truth.
The truth is what Strichen
and Masters want it to be.
(melancholy music)
- [Leland] Where have you
left us exposed, Walter?
- [Walter] There
was no exposure.
- We were exposed the
minute you ordered
the assassination of
Valenti without my approval.
Where are we vulnerable, Walter?
Which one of your moles
pulled the trigger?
- General, we are so
far removed from--
- By God, I'm dealing
with an idiot!
- I resent that, General!
Every aspect of this operation
was deployed with precision.
Major Biggs saw to
Valenti's removal.
- And where is Biggs, Walter?
Where is he?
- Major Biggs, sir.
- Hello, this is the
Attorney General.
Who sent you to Guam?
You're sitting on a
plane with untold sums
of counterfeit currency to
which you are inextricably tied
for the next 12 hours.
Now, I suggest you take that
time to search your soul
about what truly serves the
best interest of your country.
And yourself.
Search your soul, son.
(dramatic music)
I'm not gonna get any straight
answers from you, am I?
- When it's for the record, yes.
- Lock him up.
(melancholy music)
- Hey!
You got a problem with
turning out the light?
(dramatic music)
- [Man] If you'll grant blanket
immunity to Ms. Gallagher,
we can sign off on this now.
- We're not interested
in formally charging her,
so immunity isn't an issue.
- And without immunity, Kay
is left twisting in the wind?
- This is a closed-door session.
- My career is based on
the good relationships
that I have established
on the hill.
Closed-door or
not, I am a leper.
- Kay, would you
please calm down?
- She is still involved.
- I am not involved!
I was manipulated!
My involvement is
out of my control.
Everything is out of my control.
God, look at me.
I look like a bad
night with Roy Khan.
I can't go like this.
- You got a half
hour to get ready.
- [Kay] Fine.
- She's gonna take
the fifth, Buffy.
- You don't have to perform now.
Your client's out of the room.
We're not looking
to incriminate her.
This is not a trial.
(clattering)
(dramatic music)
- Towels.
We've got a suicide attempt.
Wrists cut.
Get the car downstairs
immediately.
- [Reporter] Here they come.
(reporters chattering)
- Hi, Mary.
(reporters chattering)
- [Reporter] Come
on, talk to us.
- [Man] Wait, one
more, one more.
(reporters chattering)
- Good morning.
We've got a trillion
dollars worth
of counterfeit yen sitting
on the runway at Andrews
and we've gotta find
out how it got there.
This is an informal
session, so let's hope
we can end it here.
We all have security
clearance and anything said
must be considered classified.
Parliamentary duties
will be handled
by the Attorney General.
Ferris.
- Thank you, Obadi.
General Masters, when did
you first become aware--
- Excuse me?
All the participants
are not here.
Where's Kathren Gallagher?
- She's hospitalized after a
suicide attempt this morning.
- You proud of yourself?
- Please, don't make
this any more difficult
than it already is.
General Master?
- Three weeks ago,
I received a call
from the Post Master
General's office that a
damaged parcel revealed contents
the National Security
Commission should examine.
The package contained
that printing plate.
And on it, our lab discovered
Agent Terranova's fingerprints.
- Hey, now wait a minute.
- You'll have your
chance, Agent Terranova.
- I took the plate and the
lab report to General Masters.
- I was alarmed.
The package had been addressed
to Gallagher's lobbying firm.
We had very little to go on,
except a supposition
that the counterfeit yen
were being made and
Terranova was involved,
possibly Gallagher.
- I decided to avoid
alerting other conspirators
to our discovery by putting
the plate back en route
to Gallagher.
I then had her put
under surveillance.
Now I have to deal with
the Terranova situation.
I sent for him through
Dewitt Clipton.
- [Man] Dewitt?
- I received a call
from Admiral Strichen
requesting a loan of
Agent Terranova to the
National Security Commission.
- It was our intent to
confront him with the basic
fact of the plate's existence
and see how he responded.
- You didn't tell him you
found his fingerprints
on the plate?
- Of course not,
he was all we had.
At the very least, I
expected he'd play it dumb.
The very most, maybe guilt,
remorse, may have come out.
Some signs suggesting that
he knew he'd been caught.
What I didn't expect was
probably the slyest reaction
I've ever seen to
one's being confronted
with one's own complicity.
The arrogant bastard
suggested that
I had brought him in to
lead the investigation.
- That is a lie!
I was called to Washington
by Dewitt Clipton
under the guise of a promotion.
- Opportunity, I
said opportunity.
- Fine.
He dropped me off at the
White House and I met
with General Masters.
- I was in attendance.
- Admiral Strichen was
not in the meeting.
- Yes, he was.
- Not in my version, he wasn't.
Now, the reason my
fingerprints were on that plate
was because Masters
put it in my hands.
He wanted me to see it.
He told me about this scheme
to flood the Japanese economy
with counterfeit currency.
He also asked me to
lead an investigation
to find and stop the delivery
of the counterfeit yen.
He then directed me to
Kathren Gallagher's firm.
- Why would General
Masters ask for you,
when as a member of the
National Security Commission,
he has his own investigators?
Men with credentials
equivalent to your own.
- Because he wants
to pin it on me.
- [Man] Do you feel
you're being persecuted?
- No, no, no.
It was a payback.
Three years ago, I
foiled General Master's
illegal covert operation
to overthrow the island
of Eel Paval.
- I can attest to that, Ferris.
Agent Terranova testified
before my committee.
- I remember the
hearing, Senator.
I don't recall General
Masters involvement.
- That's because it
never got past Strichen.
The man that could've
tied it to Strichen
blew his brains out.
Suicide follows you
around, doesn't it?
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
let's take this
one step at a time
and the Eel Pavoe is
not the issue today.
General Masters, what
did you do after the
meeting with Terranova?
- I ordered Admiral
Strichen to have
Agent Terranova followed.
- [Ferris] And Agent
Terranova, what did you do
after the meeting?
- I returned to
OCB to discuss this
with Frank McPike.
It was at this time
that we discovered
Dr. Valenti's death was
actually an assassination.
- Valenti was assassinated?
- Yes sir, he was.
An OCB toxicology
report found that
Dr. Valenti was struck down
with curare packed bullets.
- Why am I hearing this
for the first time?
Dewitt?
- I specifically ordered
Agent McPike to return
all evidence concerning
the Valenti murder
to the DC Police.
In fact, Admiral Strichen
specifically requested
I make sure that
it was returned.
- Admiral, why were you
so interested in all this?
- I knew from surveillance
that Agent Terranova
was involved in the Valenti case
and I feared he might
manipulate or alter evidence
if left to his own devices.
- [Ferris] Agent McPike,
did you return the evidence?
- I did except for
a toxicology report
that was being processed.
When the report returned,
it indicated a
professional killing.
Valenti held security clearance.
And then we discovered all
the files in his personal
computer had been erased.
- What does that have to
do with counterfeit yen?
- Nothing until I
instructed Agent Sermat
to search the Library
of Congress or find
any hard copies of
Valenti's recent work.
And that search yielded
his hypotheses on
non-genuine disstabilization,
which I believe is the reason
why he was killed.
- Ferris, Agents Terranova
and McPike came to me
with this scheme they said
General Masters had plotted
based on Valenti's theory.
I believed it was lunacy.
But I didn't dismiss
it for two reasons.
One, I believe General Masters
is capable of almost anything.
And two, the third point of
Valenti's theory is defense.
The basic notion being,
it would be fool-hearted
to coax a foreign
sovereigns economy
if it damaged your own, unless
you defended against it.
The best form of defense to
avoid that kind of spillage
is a restrictive trade bill.
Much like Senator Getzloff's.
- Are you insinuating
that I was somehow
involved in this
undercover operation?
- I'm simply saying the bill
came at an opportune time.
And it is common knowledge
that you are involved
under covers with
General Masters.
- You son of a bitch.
- General.
- Let go of me!
- What's personal and
private have no place here.
- [Ferris] Gentlemen,
please, both of ya.
- I'm not surprised that my
healthy, romantic relationship
is being attacked by
a withered old cracker
who hasn't seen the
deep south in 20 years.
- Senator.
- I want it on record that
I have been a proponent
of a fair trade bill
for over a decade.
- Yeah.
Bring him in.
(somber music)
- That guy was in the
hotel room next to mine.
- Somehow I don't think
that's coincidental.
- Major Biggs, you wanna
tell us who you are
and how you got here?
Major, don't look to anyone
but yourself for guidance.
- I am United States Marine
Corp Major Vernon Biggs,
on loan to the National
Security Commission
from General Simon
at the Pentagon.
Two weeks ago, I was
ordered by Admiral Strichen
to follow an agent
Vincent Terranova.
It was arranged for me to
be in a room next to his
in order to conduct
electronic surveillance.
However, I was unable to do
so because of the frequency
in which his room was swept.
I was able to
follow him to Utah,
where I took photographs
of him entering
an abandoned transport depot.
- You have the photographs.
- Later, I entered the depot
and discovered tread
marks on the runway
suggesting it's recent
use by heavy transport.
I also discovered
dried printer's ink,
the type of which is used in
making Japanese money.
- I found the same evidence.
General Masters told me
to check out that depot.
That's how I was
photographed there.
- He was halting the forward
movement of the investigation.
He knew that to continue to play
the ruse of being
an investigator,
he had to present
me with something.
So, he showed me a list
of likely locations
for the production of
counterfeit currency.
I purposefully recommended Dawn
Valley, Utah off that list.
- Why?
- Agent Terranova used
OCB authority to search
Gallagher's office.
He confiscated a file
containing Valenti's theory
which had been commissioned
through her firm
by Mr. Wilson.
- Naturally, the name
Wilson meant nothing to us
until I saw Dawn Valley,
Utah on Terranova's list.
Dawn Valley is owned practically
lock, stop and barrel
by that old hermit,
Prescott Wilson.
- I was able to photograph
Terranova and Gallagher
meeting with Wilson.
- The reason I met
with Wilson was because
evidence suggested that he
had commissioned Valenti
to write that paper.
- Did he?
- He denied it.
- He denied it.
So, you're contending that
this massive undertaking
was created by General
Masters to set you up?
- No, no.
I'm saying he would've gone
along with the conspiracy
anyway, he just needed somebody
to lay the liability on.
I was his target of choice.
It's in Valenti's theory.
Look under accountability.
- How do we get to Guam?
- Sir, I went with
Vinnie to Dawn Valley.
I had a conversation with
the Deputy Sheriff there
and he mentioned to
me that he had seen a
C-130 transport plane
flying low over the area
just a few days earlier.
Well, I told Vinnie
and we told Frank.
- And I began a global search
for the plane to the FAA.
- Why didn't you
use the military?
- Because Agent Terranova
felt General Masters
and Admiral Strichen
might sabotage the search.
- I see.
Agent Terranova decided
that you shouldn't use
the most sophisticated
tracking systems in the world
to find that plane.
- When Major Biggs told
em about the C-130,
I immediately contacted
the Air Force.
They found the plane
within two hours.
- Why didn't you tell me that
when we were on the phone?
Damnit Vernon, the
answer's with you,
not with Admiral Strichen!
In this room, you are
accountable to your country
and your conscience now.
- It wasn't a secure phone.
Plus, I was in the presence
of two OCB officers.
One had just shot me.
Frankly, I wasn't
even sure it was you.
- You love this country, son?
- Yes sir.
- Mr. Clipton, who
owns that airplane?
- The late Mr. Mel Profitt.
- You were investigating
Mr. Profitt at the time
of his death, were you not?
- I was.
- He's worth a fortune.
- After the first
billion, you lose track.
- Was a complete accounting
of Mr. Profitt's assets
ever made?
- To my knowledge, no sir.
- It was certainly enough
money to underwrite
this kind of operation.
- That is enough.
What?
This man told me
there was a crisis
and it was my moral
duty to stop it.
I didn't know Kay
Gallagher, but they did!
They know how fragile
an individual she is.
And they put me on her
like a dog on the hunt.
And I chased her
until they caught me.
He's had it in for Gallagher
ever since she lobbied
for the Japanese jet fighter.
You told me that yourself,
Senator Pickering.
And you have seen my crime
and have sought my
punishment ever since
the day the invasion of
Eel Pavole collapsed.
And now, Dr. Valenti,
an innocent man is dead.
Does anybody care?
Or does this come under the
heading of an acceptable
level of death?
I wonder.
I wonder which one
of you killed him.
It doesn't matter, does it?
'Cause we'll never know.
It just got passed down
the chain of command
from you to you to you.
And right on down the line.
Badabing.
Somebody's on the next
plane to El Salvador.
Hmm?
(sighs)
You know, when I
came to this town,
it was one of the
happiest days of my life.
I was here
to work in the
shadow of Jefferson.
I was warned.
About the man that had
become addicted to power
and complacent
about it's misuse.
I should've heeded that warning,
but I was naive.
I was naive enough
to believe
that there was more
backbone in the truth
than there was in corruption.
Well you know something,
I still believe it.
Despite this fair,
informal hearing.
I still believe it.
(melancholy music)
(bell ringing)
- Ferris, if we don't get
to the floor and vote,
come Friday, there'll be no
checks for federal employees,
which includes almost
everyone in this room.
- Well then, we'll adjourn
until tomorrow morning at 10:00.
- I'll see you in the morning.
- Where ya going?
Where's he going?
- No idea.
(chattering)
- Take him back
to his hotel room.
Keep him under guard.
- You can't continue to hold me.
- For the next 36 hours, I can.
- Major Biggs is working for the
National Security Commission.
He's not under suspicion,
there's no reason to hold him.
- He was sitting in a plane
with a trillion dollars worth
of counterfeit yen.
If that isn't suspicious,
I don't know what is.
- Better pay attention, guys.
This could happen to you too.
- Thank you man.
(somber music)
- There's no reason for
them to hold Major Biggs
unless the Attorney
General is out to get you.
- Me?
- I wasn't the one who ordered
the elimination of Valenti.
That was you, Walter.
- It was an appropriate action!
How was I to know that Biggs
was gonna hire a professional
with a pension for exotic drugs?
- He made a mistake.
How do you know he
won't make another one?
- Biggs is solid.
- For your sake, I hope so.
- You open the gate.
Open the gate!
You don't give me
a song and dance.
You tell the old man to
come off his mountain
or I'm gonna go up
there and shoot him.
- Sir?
We got another one.
Yes sir.
Stand in front of the camera.
- [Man] You're a pathetic
excuse for something, aren't ya?
Get on.
(gate rattling)
(dramatic music)
- Prescott Wilson?
- No, I'm the damned
harvest fairy.
You want me to come down and
testify for that grease monkey.
Your fellow got snookered
by old Leland, son.
He's not the first one
and he won't be the last.
Got anything else
you want to say?
- Yes sir, I think
you're a coward.
- I may be a coward,
but I'm not so stupid
as to call a man with
a bazooka a coward.
- It's a big hole or
it's a little one.
Either way, we're both dead.
I have a friend in Washington,
D.C. who's being framed
by General Masters.
He's using your eccentricities
as part of that frame up.
Now my friend is a good man.
He needs your help and there
is nothing in this world
that you have to do that is
more important than that.
- I can't help you.
(slow music)
(knocking)
- Set it up there, that's fine.
Sit down.
Now somewhere between the
two of you is the truth.
Shake hands.
Do it.
Vernon Biggs, Vinnie Terranova.
Good, you've both done a
sworn duty to your country.
You have a lot in common.
You ought to get to know
a little about each other.
Major Biggs, Vinnie
was born in Brooklyn.
His father died when
he was a teenager.
His brother was a
priest who was murdered
by members of a white
supremist organization.
Vinnie later brought
those men to justice.
Vinnie, Major Biggs--
- I know who he is.
- Oh? Have you read his file?
- No.
I just know who he is.
And since the Attorney
General made a point
about my brother being a priest,
I'd guess your father
was a preacher.
Maybe your mother taught school.
They were educated people
but they didn't achieve
all that they could have.
Because of society,
circumstances.
Well if they couldn't achieve,
you sure as hell would.
No sandlot ball or shootin'
hoops for you, right Vernon?
You had to hit the books
and you couldn't be as
good as the other kids.
You had to be better.
Nobody wants to play with a
kid who's so busy being better.
Any kid so busy doesn't have
a chance of being a child.
- Shut up.
I wanna go back to
my holding cell.
- This is your holding cell.
- If this is some new kinda
brainwashing technique,
I'm not buying into it.
- You bought into
it with Strichen.
- I was given an assignment.
I completed my task.
- Ah, yeah.
So how far off was I?
- Close enough.
- Look, who I am and
where my family's from
has nothing to do with this!
- It's got everything
to do with it, Vernon.
You were tailor
made for Strichen.
The good soldier who
only wants to serve.
I had this friend once.
He was outta the house and
into a military academy
by the time he was 12 years old.
First in his class too
because there was just
no alternative.
Went straight from the
academy into special forces.
Strichen shaped and molded
him from a good soldier
that did his country's duty
to a blind soldier that
did his admiral's bidding.
After a while, those two things
became indistinguishable.
When my friend's mission failed,
Strichen put his head
on the chopping block
of the same Senate
committee we face today.
You know what he said?
Strichen sat there and said,
"What a shame good men go bad."
Then he went back to his
office in the White House
and my friend vanished in
a mysterious explosion.
See, I don't wear
a uniform Vernon,
but I'm a soldier too
and the first order
is to follow orders.
Well you do it too easily.
I don't do it easily enough.
Gets us both into trouble.
- Major?
Is there anything
you want to say?
- Look, I don't
give a damn about
who this man's brother
was or who killed him.
And I won't be swayed by
your transparent appeal.
That's what you
think is my emotion.
I know who you are.
And we have nothing in common.
- We got Strichen
in common, Vernon,
and he will waste
the both of us.
- Look, if I have
anything else to say,
I'll say it in front
of a sub-committee.
You wanna keep me
here all night?
Fine.
- The Attorney
General's right Vernon.
The truth is in this room
and you know what it is.
You've gotta sleep with it.
(melancholy music)
- I want that door to stay open.
(chattering)
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, yeah.
Where'd you go?
- No place, doesn't matter.
- [Man] Come to order,
come to order please.
Ferris, we're ready to proceed.
- We won't keep you
long, Ms. Gallagher.
Were you involved
in the conspiracy to
counterfeit Japanese currency?
- No.
- [Ferris] You are aware of it.
- Yes.
- When did you first become
aware of the conspiracy?
Ms. Gallagher?
- Terranova told me.
- When did he tell you?
- At his hotel room
over a $400 dinner.
- [Ferris] What else
did he tell you?
- Oh, that the invisible
Mr. Wilson would kill me.
- Ms. Gallagher, why did
you do to Dawn Valley, Utah?
- Yes I did.
- Why did you go?
- I don't know.
- Ms. Gallagher
insisted on coming here
against the advice of
myself and her physician.
She wants only to
make a statement.
- I am an advocate for hire.
I love my work.
I love working with the
people in this room.
I'm good at what I do.
My career was perfect.
My life became a nightmare
the day I met Mr. Terranova.
- Thank you Ms. Gallagher.
(chattering)
Does anyone have any
significant new information
to add to these proceedings?
- The evidence speaks for
itself, Mr. Attorney General.
- Evidence doesn't speak
for itself, General.
It is spoken for by
whoever is presenting it.
Major Biggs?
- Mr. Attorney General, I
have nothing further to say.
- Agent Terranova,
from what we've heard
and the evidence
that we have seen,
I believe that if this
matter were brought
before a formal Senate
hearing, you would end up
being indicted and I
know as a prosecutor,
you would be convicted.
Obadi, if this became
a public matter--
- It would cripple our
foreign relations for years.
- Agent Terranova, can you
carry the scars of these events
in silence?
- And continue to
believe in this system
that I was sworn to uphold?
Absolutely not.
- I see.
Agent Terranova, you
are relieved of all your
duties, responsibilities,
and authority
as an agent of the
justice department.
Your paycheck and pension
will remain intact.
Your privilege to carry
a shield is revoked,
but you remain
accountable to your oath.
Everything evidenced in
this room during the past
two days are to be considered
classified information.
Any violation of your
secrecy will be dealt with
to the full extent of the law.
- Hell of a punishment
for treason.
But it's more important to
sweep all this under the rug
because we're worried
it'll make us look bad.
We spend too much time
worrying about the perception
and not enough time
exercising the authority
our brave men fought and
died for all over the world!
We're no longer interested
in being the preeminent power
on earth!
We've let it slip
through our fingers.
And that is a tragedy!
- Vince.
- You really got me
good, didn't you?
- You bet your ass.
- It's amazing how
hot air carries.
Haha, I could hear
that load of manure
all the way down the hall.
- Sir, this is a security
clearanced only session.
- I've had security clearance
since you were sucking milk.
- Who the hell--
- Prescott Wilson.
Shut up.
You know Leland Masters
is a son of a bitch,
always has been, always will be.
Could lie in the face
of God and be indignant
when he got called on it.
Sent that boy up to my mountain.
Leland tried to
tie me to this crap
because he figured I
would never come down,
didn't ya Leland?
Well, I did.
I had nothing to do
with Valenti's paper.
Nothing to do with
this lame brain scheme.
Used his subordinance
all his life.
I've made three billion
dollars from scratch,
employed 100,000 men.
I know something about
how you treat people
to turn a profit, but
Leland never had to.
He had you fools to
hand him blank checks.
Used his young men
as cannon fodder.
Boys full of ideals,
willing to snap up a salute
and do whatever.
I walked away from a fortune
in Pentagon contracts
after the Bay of Pigs
because I couldn't stomach
this cue balls talking out
of both sides of his mouth,
whispered in Ike's ear,
"Let's burn Castro."
But Kennedy wasn't keen on it.
So he said, "Let
him go it alone."
All those boys
slaughtered on the beach,
they were chopped to pieces.
Oh, but Leland kept his
office and his limousine.
I don't wanna know what
you did in Vietnam.
Make me puke.
Who's saluting
you today, Leland?
Sure as hell ain't that boy.
I'm not staying.
I'm not answering
your questions.
I just gave you my answers.
When they're done sticking
it to ya, you give me a call.
Nice uniform.
You kissing his butt now?
You still dreaming
about those lions?
Tell em about your
dreams, Leland.
Tell em about all those
lions tearing you apart.
(chuckling)
- Go to hell!
- Real clever response.
- That man's a liar.
If he told the truth for 30
years, I could never believe it.
I don't have any dreams.
I know nothing about lions.
That man is more Machiavellian
than Machiavelli.
He was the one who told Kennedy
to withhold the air support
and then he forged the
memos with my name on it.
I know nothing about lions.
I was the one who told them
they need more helicopters
in the desert and
the losses be damned.
But Prescott, he
couldn't stomach the fact
that it's a
soldier's job to die.
So he ran away to his mountain.
- I lied.
(ominous music)
I lied for Admiral Strichen.
- Major!
- I was told Terranova
was a subversive.
- Shut him up.
- I was told to link
Terranova to the yen.
I oversaw it's
production for Strichen.
I arranged for the
plane at his orders.
He ordered me.
God forgive me.
I arranged for the
assassination of Valenti.
- I had nothing to do with it.
Strichen did it
without my authority.
They were his dreams.
- You told me to
get the job done.
And you didn't care how.
It was your idea.
And you, you gloated about it.
(guns shooting)
- Everybody down!
(ominous music)
- You don't have the nerve.
- [Man] Okay, nobody
move, that's an order.
Secure that weapon, take it.
(chattering)
(ominous music)
- Came here two weeks
ago seeing Jimmy Stewart
behind every model column.
I mean, my heart was actually
pounding in my chest.
Now I feel like
it's been cut out.
- The system worked, Vince.
- I went up against Masters
armed only with the truth.
I was naive enough to
think that's all I needed.
The system failed, Frank.
- The system failed?
- [Vince] That's right.
- That why the Attorney
General hand delivered
Biggs to you?
Is that why Pickering
put himself on the line
to make sure that Masters
scheme wouldn't succeed?
The fact that Strichen
and Masters turned bad
shouldn't be an indictment
of the entire institution.
The system depends on
decency and honesty,
an interest by the
majority, Vince.
And the majority is
decent and honest.
Thank God.
- I'm seeing Jimmy Stewart now.
- You're right.
You're not the only one
that's spent nights reading
those words at the Jefferson.
And if those words of the
foundation on which we're built,
we are the greatest
country on earth.
Since I was the one
that detained you,
I told them I should be
the one to reinstate you.
(melancholy music)
Come on, Vince.
Now you don't want that pension
and that big paycheck
without a few other
little aggravations to
go along with it, do ya?
(soft orchestral music)
- You're facing
serious allegations.
- What I have to say I
will say in open court.
- [Man] You're suspended,
pending this investigation.
- This man told me
there was a crisis.
That it was my moral
duty to stop it.
I didn't know Kay
Gallagher, but they did!
And they put me on her
like a dog on the hunt.
- My life became a nightmare
the day I met Mr. Terranova.
- We have nothing in common.
- We got Strichen
in common, Vernon.
And he will waste
the both of us.
(dramatic music)
- [Man] Previously on Wiseguy.
- This is one of the most
powerful weapons in the world.
It's a printing plate.
The Japanese yen.
We believe a plan exists to
undermine the economy of Japan.
- The most powerful
economy in the world
is about to be destroyed
by a Capitol Hill PR firm?
- It's your moral
duty to stop it.
We do what we do with justice,
don't we, Agent Terranova?
- You bet your ass.
- [Older Man] Terranova's
fingerprints are all over this.
Put it where it'll
do the most good.
- I haven't done anything
to hurt this country.
- If we don't find that plane
before it gets lost,
trade bill passes,
that money will be released.
The only thing that'll
be left after that
is nailing you to the cross.
- We found a plane.
It was registered to
a Panama corporation,
a corporation owned
100% by a dead man.
- You mean Mel Profitt?
- The person being
hung out to dry is you.
(dramatic music)
- I want you to
proceed immediately
with as much manpower
as is necessary
and arrest Agent Terranova.
- Do you have a warrant?
- You can do this.
Or we can get someone else.
(menacing music)
(drum beats)
(slow orchestral music)
- What happened to us?
I know but one code
of morality for men.
Whether acting singly
or collectively.
(scoffs)
It's a dusty notion in
this town of yours, Tom.
Men just don't
live by it anymore.
They redefine morality
on a daily basis.
- Vince?
I've just come from the
Attorney General's office.
I'm supposed to detain you.
- Yeah, I was the
patsy all along, Frank.
I should be detained.
For stupidity.
- Well, it's a big world, Vince.
I didn't have to
catch up with you.
- I don't wanna run, Frank.
I'm exactly where I wanna be.
My conscience is clear.
- I don't know if
that's gonna help you.
- I think it will.
So what are they doing
with Kay Gallagher?
- She's been detained
at her apartment.
They're going to wanna
contain this scandal, Vince.
If it's never made
public, it never happened.
You're in a position to
make a deal with them.
You could accept an
early retirement.
- [Vince] And that's what's
wrong with this place, Frank.
Instead of making
laws, they make deals.
- [Frank] Gallagher will never
be able to stand up to 'em.
That'll leave only you.
And me.
- [Vince] Then that's
the way it'll be.
(melancholy music)
- At some point, you're gonna
have to deal with reality.
You wanna rely on the truth.
The reality is
there is no truth.
The truth is what Strichen
and Masters want it to be.
(melancholy music)
- [Leland] Where have you
left us exposed, Walter?
- [Walter] There
was no exposure.
- We were exposed the
minute you ordered
the assassination of
Valenti without my approval.
Where are we vulnerable, Walter?
Which one of your moles
pulled the trigger?
- General, we are so
far removed from--
- By God, I'm dealing
with an idiot!
- I resent that, General!
Every aspect of this operation
was deployed with precision.
Major Biggs saw to
Valenti's removal.
- And where is Biggs, Walter?
Where is he?
- Major Biggs, sir.
- Hello, this is the
Attorney General.
Who sent you to Guam?
You're sitting on a
plane with untold sums
of counterfeit currency to
which you are inextricably tied
for the next 12 hours.
Now, I suggest you take that
time to search your soul
about what truly serves the
best interest of your country.
And yourself.
Search your soul, son.
(dramatic music)
I'm not gonna get any straight
answers from you, am I?
- When it's for the record, yes.
- Lock him up.
(melancholy music)
- Hey!
You got a problem with
turning out the light?
(dramatic music)
- [Man] If you'll grant blanket
immunity to Ms. Gallagher,
we can sign off on this now.
- We're not interested
in formally charging her,
so immunity isn't an issue.
- And without immunity, Kay
is left twisting in the wind?
- This is a closed-door session.
- My career is based on
the good relationships
that I have established
on the hill.
Closed-door or
not, I am a leper.
- Kay, would you
please calm down?
- She is still involved.
- I am not involved!
I was manipulated!
My involvement is
out of my control.
Everything is out of my control.
God, look at me.
I look like a bad
night with Roy Khan.
I can't go like this.
- You got a half
hour to get ready.
- [Kay] Fine.
- She's gonna take
the fifth, Buffy.
- You don't have to perform now.
Your client's out of the room.
We're not looking
to incriminate her.
This is not a trial.
(clattering)
(dramatic music)
- Towels.
We've got a suicide attempt.
Wrists cut.
Get the car downstairs
immediately.
- [Reporter] Here they come.
(reporters chattering)
- Hi, Mary.
(reporters chattering)
- [Reporter] Come
on, talk to us.
- [Man] Wait, one
more, one more.
(reporters chattering)
- Good morning.
We've got a trillion
dollars worth
of counterfeit yen sitting
on the runway at Andrews
and we've gotta find
out how it got there.
This is an informal
session, so let's hope
we can end it here.
We all have security
clearance and anything said
must be considered classified.
Parliamentary duties
will be handled
by the Attorney General.
Ferris.
- Thank you, Obadi.
General Masters, when did
you first become aware--
- Excuse me?
All the participants
are not here.
Where's Kathren Gallagher?
- She's hospitalized after a
suicide attempt this morning.
- You proud of yourself?
- Please, don't make
this any more difficult
than it already is.
General Master?
- Three weeks ago,
I received a call
from the Post Master
General's office that a
damaged parcel revealed contents
the National Security
Commission should examine.
The package contained
that printing plate.
And on it, our lab discovered
Agent Terranova's fingerprints.
- Hey, now wait a minute.
- You'll have your
chance, Agent Terranova.
- I took the plate and the
lab report to General Masters.
- I was alarmed.
The package had been addressed
to Gallagher's lobbying firm.
We had very little to go on,
except a supposition
that the counterfeit yen
were being made and
Terranova was involved,
possibly Gallagher.
- I decided to avoid
alerting other conspirators
to our discovery by putting
the plate back en route
to Gallagher.
I then had her put
under surveillance.
Now I have to deal with
the Terranova situation.
I sent for him through
Dewitt Clipton.
- [Man] Dewitt?
- I received a call
from Admiral Strichen
requesting a loan of
Agent Terranova to the
National Security Commission.
- It was our intent to
confront him with the basic
fact of the plate's existence
and see how he responded.
- You didn't tell him you
found his fingerprints
on the plate?
- Of course not,
he was all we had.
At the very least, I
expected he'd play it dumb.
The very most, maybe guilt,
remorse, may have come out.
Some signs suggesting that
he knew he'd been caught.
What I didn't expect was
probably the slyest reaction
I've ever seen to
one's being confronted
with one's own complicity.
The arrogant bastard
suggested that
I had brought him in to
lead the investigation.
- That is a lie!
I was called to Washington
by Dewitt Clipton
under the guise of a promotion.
- Opportunity, I
said opportunity.
- Fine.
He dropped me off at the
White House and I met
with General Masters.
- I was in attendance.
- Admiral Strichen was
not in the meeting.
- Yes, he was.
- Not in my version, he wasn't.
Now, the reason my
fingerprints were on that plate
was because Masters
put it in my hands.
He wanted me to see it.
He told me about this scheme
to flood the Japanese economy
with counterfeit currency.
He also asked me to
lead an investigation
to find and stop the delivery
of the counterfeit yen.
He then directed me to
Kathren Gallagher's firm.
- Why would General
Masters ask for you,
when as a member of the
National Security Commission,
he has his own investigators?
Men with credentials
equivalent to your own.
- Because he wants
to pin it on me.
- [Man] Do you feel
you're being persecuted?
- No, no, no.
It was a payback.
Three years ago, I
foiled General Master's
illegal covert operation
to overthrow the island
of Eel Paval.
- I can attest to that, Ferris.
Agent Terranova testified
before my committee.
- I remember the
hearing, Senator.
I don't recall General
Masters involvement.
- That's because it
never got past Strichen.
The man that could've
tied it to Strichen
blew his brains out.
Suicide follows you
around, doesn't it?
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
let's take this
one step at a time
and the Eel Pavoe is
not the issue today.
General Masters, what
did you do after the
meeting with Terranova?
- I ordered Admiral
Strichen to have
Agent Terranova followed.
- [Ferris] And Agent
Terranova, what did you do
after the meeting?
- I returned to
OCB to discuss this
with Frank McPike.
It was at this time
that we discovered
Dr. Valenti's death was
actually an assassination.
- Valenti was assassinated?
- Yes sir, he was.
An OCB toxicology
report found that
Dr. Valenti was struck down
with curare packed bullets.
- Why am I hearing this
for the first time?
Dewitt?
- I specifically ordered
Agent McPike to return
all evidence concerning
the Valenti murder
to the DC Police.
In fact, Admiral Strichen
specifically requested
I make sure that
it was returned.
- Admiral, why were you
so interested in all this?
- I knew from surveillance
that Agent Terranova
was involved in the Valenti case
and I feared he might
manipulate or alter evidence
if left to his own devices.
- [Ferris] Agent McPike,
did you return the evidence?
- I did except for
a toxicology report
that was being processed.
When the report returned,
it indicated a
professional killing.
Valenti held security clearance.
And then we discovered all
the files in his personal
computer had been erased.
- What does that have to
do with counterfeit yen?
- Nothing until I
instructed Agent Sermat
to search the Library
of Congress or find
any hard copies of
Valenti's recent work.
And that search yielded
his hypotheses on
non-genuine disstabilization,
which I believe is the reason
why he was killed.
- Ferris, Agents Terranova
and McPike came to me
with this scheme they said
General Masters had plotted
based on Valenti's theory.
I believed it was lunacy.
But I didn't dismiss
it for two reasons.
One, I believe General Masters
is capable of almost anything.
And two, the third point of
Valenti's theory is defense.
The basic notion being,
it would be fool-hearted
to coax a foreign
sovereigns economy
if it damaged your own, unless
you defended against it.
The best form of defense to
avoid that kind of spillage
is a restrictive trade bill.
Much like Senator Getzloff's.
- Are you insinuating
that I was somehow
involved in this
undercover operation?
- I'm simply saying the bill
came at an opportune time.
And it is common knowledge
that you are involved
under covers with
General Masters.
- You son of a bitch.
- General.
- Let go of me!
- What's personal and
private have no place here.
- [Ferris] Gentlemen,
please, both of ya.
- I'm not surprised that my
healthy, romantic relationship
is being attacked by
a withered old cracker
who hasn't seen the
deep south in 20 years.
- Senator.
- I want it on record that
I have been a proponent
of a fair trade bill
for over a decade.
- Yeah.
Bring him in.
(somber music)
- That guy was in the
hotel room next to mine.
- Somehow I don't think
that's coincidental.
- Major Biggs, you wanna
tell us who you are
and how you got here?
Major, don't look to anyone
but yourself for guidance.
- I am United States Marine
Corp Major Vernon Biggs,
on loan to the National
Security Commission
from General Simon
at the Pentagon.
Two weeks ago, I was
ordered by Admiral Strichen
to follow an agent
Vincent Terranova.
It was arranged for me to
be in a room next to his
in order to conduct
electronic surveillance.
However, I was unable to do
so because of the frequency
in which his room was swept.
I was able to
follow him to Utah,
where I took photographs
of him entering
an abandoned transport depot.
- You have the photographs.
- Later, I entered the depot
and discovered tread
marks on the runway
suggesting it's recent
use by heavy transport.
I also discovered
dried printer's ink,
the type of which is used in
making Japanese money.
- I found the same evidence.
General Masters told me
to check out that depot.
That's how I was
photographed there.
- He was halting the forward
movement of the investigation.
He knew that to continue to play
the ruse of being
an investigator,
he had to present
me with something.
So, he showed me a list
of likely locations
for the production of
counterfeit currency.
I purposefully recommended Dawn
Valley, Utah off that list.
- Why?
- Agent Terranova used
OCB authority to search
Gallagher's office.
He confiscated a file
containing Valenti's theory
which had been commissioned
through her firm
by Mr. Wilson.
- Naturally, the name
Wilson meant nothing to us
until I saw Dawn Valley,
Utah on Terranova's list.
Dawn Valley is owned practically
lock, stop and barrel
by that old hermit,
Prescott Wilson.
- I was able to photograph
Terranova and Gallagher
meeting with Wilson.
- The reason I met
with Wilson was because
evidence suggested that he
had commissioned Valenti
to write that paper.
- Did he?
- He denied it.
- He denied it.
So, you're contending that
this massive undertaking
was created by General
Masters to set you up?
- No, no.
I'm saying he would've gone
along with the conspiracy
anyway, he just needed somebody
to lay the liability on.
I was his target of choice.
It's in Valenti's theory.
Look under accountability.
- How do we get to Guam?
- Sir, I went with
Vinnie to Dawn Valley.
I had a conversation with
the Deputy Sheriff there
and he mentioned to
me that he had seen a
C-130 transport plane
flying low over the area
just a few days earlier.
Well, I told Vinnie
and we told Frank.
- And I began a global search
for the plane to the FAA.
- Why didn't you
use the military?
- Because Agent Terranova
felt General Masters
and Admiral Strichen
might sabotage the search.
- I see.
Agent Terranova decided
that you shouldn't use
the most sophisticated
tracking systems in the world
to find that plane.
- When Major Biggs told
em about the C-130,
I immediately contacted
the Air Force.
They found the plane
within two hours.
- Why didn't you tell me that
when we were on the phone?
Damnit Vernon, the
answer's with you,
not with Admiral Strichen!
In this room, you are
accountable to your country
and your conscience now.
- It wasn't a secure phone.
Plus, I was in the presence
of two OCB officers.
One had just shot me.
Frankly, I wasn't
even sure it was you.
- You love this country, son?
- Yes sir.
- Mr. Clipton, who
owns that airplane?
- The late Mr. Mel Profitt.
- You were investigating
Mr. Profitt at the time
of his death, were you not?
- I was.
- He's worth a fortune.
- After the first
billion, you lose track.
- Was a complete accounting
of Mr. Profitt's assets
ever made?
- To my knowledge, no sir.
- It was certainly enough
money to underwrite
this kind of operation.
- That is enough.
What?
This man told me
there was a crisis
and it was my moral
duty to stop it.
I didn't know Kay
Gallagher, but they did!
They know how fragile
an individual she is.
And they put me on her
like a dog on the hunt.
And I chased her
until they caught me.
He's had it in for Gallagher
ever since she lobbied
for the Japanese jet fighter.
You told me that yourself,
Senator Pickering.
And you have seen my crime
and have sought my
punishment ever since
the day the invasion of
Eel Pavole collapsed.
And now, Dr. Valenti,
an innocent man is dead.
Does anybody care?
Or does this come under the
heading of an acceptable
level of death?
I wonder.
I wonder which one
of you killed him.
It doesn't matter, does it?
'Cause we'll never know.
It just got passed down
the chain of command
from you to you to you.
And right on down the line.
Badabing.
Somebody's on the next
plane to El Salvador.
Hmm?
(sighs)
You know, when I
came to this town,
it was one of the
happiest days of my life.
I was here
to work in the
shadow of Jefferson.
I was warned.
About the man that had
become addicted to power
and complacent
about it's misuse.
I should've heeded that warning,
but I was naive.
I was naive enough
to believe
that there was more
backbone in the truth
than there was in corruption.
Well you know something,
I still believe it.
Despite this fair,
informal hearing.
I still believe it.
(melancholy music)
(bell ringing)
- Ferris, if we don't get
to the floor and vote,
come Friday, there'll be no
checks for federal employees,
which includes almost
everyone in this room.
- Well then, we'll adjourn
until tomorrow morning at 10:00.
- I'll see you in the morning.
- Where ya going?
Where's he going?
- No idea.
(chattering)
- Take him back
to his hotel room.
Keep him under guard.
- You can't continue to hold me.
- For the next 36 hours, I can.
- Major Biggs is working for the
National Security Commission.
He's not under suspicion,
there's no reason to hold him.
- He was sitting in a plane
with a trillion dollars worth
of counterfeit yen.
If that isn't suspicious,
I don't know what is.
- Better pay attention, guys.
This could happen to you too.
- Thank you man.
(somber music)
- There's no reason for
them to hold Major Biggs
unless the Attorney
General is out to get you.
- Me?
- I wasn't the one who ordered
the elimination of Valenti.
That was you, Walter.
- It was an appropriate action!
How was I to know that Biggs
was gonna hire a professional
with a pension for exotic drugs?
- He made a mistake.
How do you know he
won't make another one?
- Biggs is solid.
- For your sake, I hope so.
- You open the gate.
Open the gate!
You don't give me
a song and dance.
You tell the old man to
come off his mountain
or I'm gonna go up
there and shoot him.
- Sir?
We got another one.
Yes sir.
Stand in front of the camera.
- [Man] You're a pathetic
excuse for something, aren't ya?
Get on.
(gate rattling)
(dramatic music)
- Prescott Wilson?
- No, I'm the damned
harvest fairy.
You want me to come down and
testify for that grease monkey.
Your fellow got snookered
by old Leland, son.
He's not the first one
and he won't be the last.
Got anything else
you want to say?
- Yes sir, I think
you're a coward.
- I may be a coward,
but I'm not so stupid
as to call a man with
a bazooka a coward.
- It's a big hole or
it's a little one.
Either way, we're both dead.
I have a friend in Washington,
D.C. who's being framed
by General Masters.
He's using your eccentricities
as part of that frame up.
Now my friend is a good man.
He needs your help and there
is nothing in this world
that you have to do that is
more important than that.
- I can't help you.
(slow music)
(knocking)
- Set it up there, that's fine.
Sit down.
Now somewhere between the
two of you is the truth.
Shake hands.
Do it.
Vernon Biggs, Vinnie Terranova.
Good, you've both done a
sworn duty to your country.
You have a lot in common.
You ought to get to know
a little about each other.
Major Biggs, Vinnie
was born in Brooklyn.
His father died when
he was a teenager.
His brother was a
priest who was murdered
by members of a white
supremist organization.
Vinnie later brought
those men to justice.
Vinnie, Major Biggs--
- I know who he is.
- Oh? Have you read his file?
- No.
I just know who he is.
And since the Attorney
General made a point
about my brother being a priest,
I'd guess your father
was a preacher.
Maybe your mother taught school.
They were educated people
but they didn't achieve
all that they could have.
Because of society,
circumstances.
Well if they couldn't achieve,
you sure as hell would.
No sandlot ball or shootin'
hoops for you, right Vernon?
You had to hit the books
and you couldn't be as
good as the other kids.
You had to be better.
Nobody wants to play with a
kid who's so busy being better.
Any kid so busy doesn't have
a chance of being a child.
- Shut up.
I wanna go back to
my holding cell.
- This is your holding cell.
- If this is some new kinda
brainwashing technique,
I'm not buying into it.
- You bought into
it with Strichen.
- I was given an assignment.
I completed my task.
- Ah, yeah.
So how far off was I?
- Close enough.
- Look, who I am and
where my family's from
has nothing to do with this!
- It's got everything
to do with it, Vernon.
You were tailor
made for Strichen.
The good soldier who
only wants to serve.
I had this friend once.
He was outta the house and
into a military academy
by the time he was 12 years old.
First in his class too
because there was just
no alternative.
Went straight from the
academy into special forces.
Strichen shaped and molded
him from a good soldier
that did his country's duty
to a blind soldier that
did his admiral's bidding.
After a while, those two things
became indistinguishable.
When my friend's mission failed,
Strichen put his head
on the chopping block
of the same Senate
committee we face today.
You know what he said?
Strichen sat there and said,
"What a shame good men go bad."
Then he went back to his
office in the White House
and my friend vanished in
a mysterious explosion.
See, I don't wear
a uniform Vernon,
but I'm a soldier too
and the first order
is to follow orders.
Well you do it too easily.
I don't do it easily enough.
Gets us both into trouble.
- Major?
Is there anything
you want to say?
- Look, I don't
give a damn about
who this man's brother
was or who killed him.
And I won't be swayed by
your transparent appeal.
That's what you
think is my emotion.
I know who you are.
And we have nothing in common.
- We got Strichen
in common, Vernon,
and he will waste
the both of us.
- Look, if I have
anything else to say,
I'll say it in front
of a sub-committee.
You wanna keep me
here all night?
Fine.
- The Attorney
General's right Vernon.
The truth is in this room
and you know what it is.
You've gotta sleep with it.
(melancholy music)
- I want that door to stay open.
(chattering)
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, yeah.
Where'd you go?
- No place, doesn't matter.
- [Man] Come to order,
come to order please.
Ferris, we're ready to proceed.
- We won't keep you
long, Ms. Gallagher.
Were you involved
in the conspiracy to
counterfeit Japanese currency?
- No.
- [Ferris] You are aware of it.
- Yes.
- When did you first become
aware of the conspiracy?
Ms. Gallagher?
- Terranova told me.
- When did he tell you?
- At his hotel room
over a $400 dinner.
- [Ferris] What else
did he tell you?
- Oh, that the invisible
Mr. Wilson would kill me.
- Ms. Gallagher, why did
you do to Dawn Valley, Utah?
- Yes I did.
- Why did you go?
- I don't know.
- Ms. Gallagher
insisted on coming here
against the advice of
myself and her physician.
She wants only to
make a statement.
- I am an advocate for hire.
I love my work.
I love working with the
people in this room.
I'm good at what I do.
My career was perfect.
My life became a nightmare
the day I met Mr. Terranova.
- Thank you Ms. Gallagher.
(chattering)
Does anyone have any
significant new information
to add to these proceedings?
- The evidence speaks for
itself, Mr. Attorney General.
- Evidence doesn't speak
for itself, General.
It is spoken for by
whoever is presenting it.
Major Biggs?
- Mr. Attorney General, I
have nothing further to say.
- Agent Terranova,
from what we've heard
and the evidence
that we have seen,
I believe that if this
matter were brought
before a formal Senate
hearing, you would end up
being indicted and I
know as a prosecutor,
you would be convicted.
Obadi, if this became
a public matter--
- It would cripple our
foreign relations for years.
- Agent Terranova, can you
carry the scars of these events
in silence?
- And continue to
believe in this system
that I was sworn to uphold?
Absolutely not.
- I see.
Agent Terranova, you
are relieved of all your
duties, responsibilities,
and authority
as an agent of the
justice department.
Your paycheck and pension
will remain intact.
Your privilege to carry
a shield is revoked,
but you remain
accountable to your oath.
Everything evidenced in
this room during the past
two days are to be considered
classified information.
Any violation of your
secrecy will be dealt with
to the full extent of the law.
- Hell of a punishment
for treason.
But it's more important to
sweep all this under the rug
because we're worried
it'll make us look bad.
We spend too much time
worrying about the perception
and not enough time
exercising the authority
our brave men fought and
died for all over the world!
We're no longer interested
in being the preeminent power
on earth!
We've let it slip
through our fingers.
And that is a tragedy!
- Vince.
- You really got me
good, didn't you?
- You bet your ass.
- It's amazing how
hot air carries.
Haha, I could hear
that load of manure
all the way down the hall.
- Sir, this is a security
clearanced only session.
- I've had security clearance
since you were sucking milk.
- Who the hell--
- Prescott Wilson.
Shut up.
You know Leland Masters
is a son of a bitch,
always has been, always will be.
Could lie in the face
of God and be indignant
when he got called on it.
Sent that boy up to my mountain.
Leland tried to
tie me to this crap
because he figured I
would never come down,
didn't ya Leland?
Well, I did.
I had nothing to do
with Valenti's paper.
Nothing to do with
this lame brain scheme.
Used his subordinance
all his life.
I've made three billion
dollars from scratch,
employed 100,000 men.
I know something about
how you treat people
to turn a profit, but
Leland never had to.
He had you fools to
hand him blank checks.
Used his young men
as cannon fodder.
Boys full of ideals,
willing to snap up a salute
and do whatever.
I walked away from a fortune
in Pentagon contracts
after the Bay of Pigs
because I couldn't stomach
this cue balls talking out
of both sides of his mouth,
whispered in Ike's ear,
"Let's burn Castro."
But Kennedy wasn't keen on it.
So he said, "Let
him go it alone."
All those boys
slaughtered on the beach,
they were chopped to pieces.
Oh, but Leland kept his
office and his limousine.
I don't wanna know what
you did in Vietnam.
Make me puke.
Who's saluting
you today, Leland?
Sure as hell ain't that boy.
I'm not staying.
I'm not answering
your questions.
I just gave you my answers.
When they're done sticking
it to ya, you give me a call.
Nice uniform.
You kissing his butt now?
You still dreaming
about those lions?
Tell em about your
dreams, Leland.
Tell em about all those
lions tearing you apart.
(chuckling)
- Go to hell!
- Real clever response.
- That man's a liar.
If he told the truth for 30
years, I could never believe it.
I don't have any dreams.
I know nothing about lions.
That man is more Machiavellian
than Machiavelli.
He was the one who told Kennedy
to withhold the air support
and then he forged the
memos with my name on it.
I know nothing about lions.
I was the one who told them
they need more helicopters
in the desert and
the losses be damned.
But Prescott, he
couldn't stomach the fact
that it's a
soldier's job to die.
So he ran away to his mountain.
- I lied.
(ominous music)
I lied for Admiral Strichen.
- Major!
- I was told Terranova
was a subversive.
- Shut him up.
- I was told to link
Terranova to the yen.
I oversaw it's
production for Strichen.
I arranged for the
plane at his orders.
He ordered me.
God forgive me.
I arranged for the
assassination of Valenti.
- I had nothing to do with it.
Strichen did it
without my authority.
They were his dreams.
- You told me to
get the job done.
And you didn't care how.
It was your idea.
And you, you gloated about it.
(guns shooting)
- Everybody down!
(ominous music)
- You don't have the nerve.
- [Man] Okay, nobody
move, that's an order.
Secure that weapon, take it.
(chattering)
(ominous music)
- Came here two weeks
ago seeing Jimmy Stewart
behind every model column.
I mean, my heart was actually
pounding in my chest.
Now I feel like
it's been cut out.
- The system worked, Vince.
- I went up against Masters
armed only with the truth.
I was naive enough to
think that's all I needed.
The system failed, Frank.
- The system failed?
- [Vince] That's right.
- That why the Attorney
General hand delivered
Biggs to you?
Is that why Pickering
put himself on the line
to make sure that Masters
scheme wouldn't succeed?
The fact that Strichen
and Masters turned bad
shouldn't be an indictment
of the entire institution.
The system depends on
decency and honesty,
an interest by the
majority, Vince.
And the majority is
decent and honest.
Thank God.
- I'm seeing Jimmy Stewart now.
- You're right.
You're not the only one
that's spent nights reading
those words at the Jefferson.
And if those words of the
foundation on which we're built,
we are the greatest
country on earth.
Since I was the one
that detained you,
I told them I should be
the one to reinstate you.
(melancholy music)
Come on, Vince.
Now you don't want that pension
and that big paycheck
without a few other
little aggravations to
go along with it, do ya?
(soft orchestral music)