173    EXT. ANDREWS FIELD, WASHINGTON – NIGHT                                               173

 

It’s raining again.

 

SEAGRAM(V.O.)

I don’t believe it.  How did they

find out?

 

174    INT. TERMINAL                                                                                                         174

 

Sandecker, Pitt and Seagram stand just inside the departure gate.  THROUGH the GLASS we SEE a

Navy A-3/C-1A waiting.

 

SANDECKER

I don’t know.  All Nicholson

told me is what I’m telling you. 

The Russians know about the

Sicilian Project.  And that’s

just the start.  Nicholson wants

to feed them more information as

we go along.

 

PITT

About what?

 

SANDECKER

About the project.

 

SEAGRAM

Dear God . . . he can’t do that.

 

SANDECKER

Yes, he can.  He’s already got White House approval.

 

SEAGRAM

Wait a minute.  You mean false information.

 

SANDECKER

No.  Straight poop.

 

SEAGRAM

How the heck can we . . .

 

PITT

There’s no use getting steamed

up.  This stuff happens all the

time.  You give them the facts on

something secret and from then on

they swallow anything you leak. 

For a while at least.

 

SEAGRAM

You mean they’re willing to

jeopardize this whole project . . .

 

PITT

Tell him, Jim.

 

SANDECKER

Nicholson’s people have their own

fish to fry.  They’ll shoot down

anything to get a keyhole into the

Kremlin.

 

SEAGRAM

But what about the President?  I

thought he was on our side.

 

174A ANOTHER ANGLE                                                                                                   174A

 

In b.g. we SEE an ENSIGN approaching.

 

SANDECKER

He didn’t give Nicholson a blank

check.  He promised me he would

only approve harmless information,

facts the KGB would be likely to

get from some other source.  The

President’s on our side, Gene.

 

SEAGRAM

Can you guarantee that?

 

SANDECKER

No.  I believe it.  But I can’t

guarantee anything.

 

174B SINGLE ON ENSIGN                                                                                                174B

 

The Ensign, fresh out of Annapolis, stiff and proper, walks up and salutes.

 

ENSIGN

(to Sandecker)

The aircraft is ready for take-off,

sir.  Estimated flight time to the

carrier U.S.S. Garfield, four hours

and twenty-seven minutes. 

Helicopter standing by there to

transport you to the Salvage Group.

 

175    EXT. AIR TERMINAL, ANDREWS                                                                           175

 

Rain is lighter now.  Seagram and Pitt walk to the plane.

 

SEAGRAM

I feel like somebody hit me in

the knees with a club.

 

PITT

It won’t be the last time.

 

SEAGRAM

What the heck does that mean?

 

PITT

Just what it sounds like.  You

can plan and scheme all you want

to.  But other people have plans

of their own.  Like I told you,

it always turns out different than

it started.

 

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