You sure it's the Russians?
One hundred percent, sir. Submarine launched...
12 to 15 megatons, and they went to strike status 15 minutes prior.
CINC-LANT reports the Roosevelt splashed six incoming cruise missiles.
The Russians are moving west through Poland.
If they head for Germany, the Berlin Brigade is outnumbered.
We've got another launch from Alyesk, Central Russia.
I don't believe it. What the hell's in Alyesk?
SS-18 ICBMs. Probable targets... New York, Washington, here.
- How good is this ceiling? - Anything but a direct hit.
Satellites confirm birds in the air... multiple launches.
- First impact estimated 25 minutes. - How do we know that's accurate?
It's accurate.
Sir, I advise we go to DEFCON-1.
- Get President Zorkin on the hot line. - Zorkin is missing.
We have reports of a coup in Moscow.
General Bulgakov is calling the shots now.
Who the hell is Bulgakov?
The asshole who wanted to use nukes in Chechnya.
Sir, DEFCON-1, we're out of time.
Do it.
Mr. President.
After you give the order, the launch sequence takes a minute to process.
Before the order can be taken, an I.D. check must be performed.
My I.D. number is fifth from the top.
- Sir, it's your wife on 2104. - Thank you.
Under the two-man rule...
the order must be confirmed by someone on the approved list.
Gene Revell, National Security Advisor.
- Second from the top. - Is it black-tie?
Okay, I'm on my way.
Can we...
finish this up some other time?
We gotta update these fire drills, Billy.
If the shit ever hits the fan, I'm not goin' underground.
The place is a goddamn tomb.
We have to choose someone to face off against besides the Russians.
Really? Let's see. Who else has 2 7,000 nukes for us to worry about?
It's the guy with one I'm worried about.
Speaking of Russia, I have to send some folks over there...
inspect their nuclear decommissioning facility.
- Place called "Armazaz." - Arzamas.
Yeah. Whatever. Someone from your staff should be on the trip.
I'll go.
Billy, send staff.
I wanna go.
Okay.
And don't underestimate Zorkin, pal.
Between his economy, crime, Chechnya...
- His liver. - What's left of it.
How is he?
He's scheduled a press conference for this afternoon...
so at least we know he can sit up.
- Why not negotiate? - The interview is over.
Only criminals and their friends in the West wish it to be separate.
But, Mr. President, if you will kindly come back...
we do have a few more questions we would like to ask you.
You see what I see?
- His jacket. - He used to button it all the way.
He's gettin' fat!
I know how he feels. Wow. Look at that.
Maybe it's not the same jacket.
No... Yeah. Shiny sleeves. He wore it last time he got out of the hospital.
- He's definitely off the diet. - He's also off the wagon.
You hear how he slurred?
That must be why Chelinski's hanging around, to keep him off the sauce.
Where's Chelinski?
Next to... What's her name? The chick with the brown hair.
- Elena Rishkov. - No, that is not Chelinski.
Busted. It's Chelinski.
You're thinking Cherpitski. That ain't Cherpitski, either.
- I know. It's Chelinski. - No, it's not. Trust me.
He's next to Elena Rishkov. He was banging her at the Geneva Summit.
Chelinski was not at Geneva. Cherpitski was at Geneva.
What are you saying? Cherpitski was banging Elena Rishkov?
I say Zorkin's putting on weight. Why reduce everything to sex?
I agree. Write it up. And if he is putting on weight...
that might have health consequences so get it in the afternoon brief.
And somebody find out who is banging Elena Rishkov. This is good.
What shall we make of Chechnya...
asking the West for protection?
She is like a beautiful virgin...
escaping the clutches of a lecherous bear...
and running to Bill Clinton to save her maidenhood.
A poet once wrote:
"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
He could have been writing of us, of Europe in the 21st century.
Over 50 years of America and Russia...
imposing their will on the European community... East and West.
And we are still treated like children...
but without the toys or the good-night chocolates.
Each day we lose a little bit more of our separate...
sovereign ability to determine our own futures.
And each day the world comes closer to that terrible moment...
when the beating of a butterfly's wings...
unleashes a hurricane...
God himself cannot stop.
Was that yours or mine?
It must be yours. Mine's just for show.
- It's not the hospital. - Cool.
- Good. Hi. - You're still here?
I think to be accurate and everything...
it's actually you are still here.
Oh. Right.
Not that I'm complaining.
Jack?
I know this is new and all, but...
I have something I have to say or I'm gonna explode.
I don't want you to be scared.
What?
You're in love with me.
I'm a medical professional. I can read the symptoms.
You're definitely in love with me.
And that scares you.
Not even a little.
But I think it scares you.
No. Not even a little.
And, for the record, you're the one who brought it up.
Forget it.
- I'm gonna get it. - No, wait. It'll stop.
I don't know who this is.
But...
-Just go about your business. - The timing sucks.
Do what you have to do. I totally understand.
Yes. This is Dr. Muller.
Muller. You paged me?
Hello?
Stop. Yes, this is Jack Ryan.
Jesus.
Okay. I'll be there in half an hour.
I gotta go. I have an emergency at work.
I have to run. I'm sorry.
Cathy, how about dinner tonight?
Yeah.
- How about tomorrow night? -Jack, I said yes to tonight.
I know.
What kind of emergency does an historian have?
He died at 04 20 Zulu.
Eight and a half hours later, they swore in a new president.
Everybody wants to know who this new guy is.
- Who is he? - Alexander Nemerov.
You're kidding me. I wrote a paper about him a year ago.
- I know. - Mary Pat, I said he could be next.
I said he could be next. I predicted this. And nobody read it.
- They're reading it now. - Who?
- Cabot. - I've been here 14 months.
I don't think he knows what I look...
Are you Ryan?
Yes, sir.
What is this? "The Paper Chase?"
Sir, my...
Come on. We're late.
You're about to breathe air that's over your pay grade, so listen up.
You're gonna be asked for analysis and advice.
Be sure you know what you're talking about before you give it.
Don't be afraid to say you don't know.
Choose your words carefully. Words have a habit of becoming policy.
You, you. Give me your coat. Come on.
You'll get it back.
Tie.
So, Intelligence Committee?
Mm-hmm.
I've watched these on C-SPAN.
Never actually been to one.
You've never watched one of these on C-SPAN.
Our most important assessment comes from a high source in the Kremlin.
In his opinion, Nemerov does not owe his ascension to the military.
Everyone has opinions, Mr. Cabot.
I respect that.
This morning my wife woke up and said I was old, bald and ugly.
Is that a question, Mr. Chairman?
I told her appearances aren't everything.
- Would you agree, Mr. Cabot? - I certainly would, sir.
Now, this new fellow "Nezmeroz"... Is that his name?
Nemerov, sir.
Despite what your source says, we hear "Nezmeroz" is a hard-liner.
Is he a hard-liner?
No.
It's a bit too soon to make that assessment, sir.
According to CNN...
your Mr. "Nezmeroz" is making promises...
to rebuild the Russian Empire.
That sounds pretty rash from where I sit.
If I were sitting in Chechnya, I'd be even more worried.
Sir, Nemerov's saying what he needs to get the hard-liners off his back.
If we leave him alone, Russia will stabilize. Push him, bets are off.
When I asked for your advice, I didn't mean you should actually speak.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Cabot.
Mr. Chairman, some of our assets in the Russian government...
who actually know Mr. Nemerov, have not had a chance to report in.
I'd like to take a couple of days...
and get more information for you before characterizing him.
But I do maintain my opinion that appearances can be deceiving.
You're saying I'm wrong?
Absolutely, Mr. Chairman.
I don't think you're ugly.
- I apologize for being out of line. - Senators don't like surprises.
I give them a hint of what I'm going to tell them...
then I give them a while to get used to it.
Then I tell them.
I understand.
Good.
But I'm right about Nemerov.
Your girlfriend like this stubborn streak in you?
What?
Cathy Muller, second-year surgical resident...
Baltimore Memorial Hospital.
Welcome to the CIA, sport.
Well, your intelligence is just a little flawed in this matter.
I wouldn't call her my girlfriend yet.
What exactly would you call her?
Great. Amazing.
She's just afraid to commit.
He's terrified of commitment.
The man is afraid of commitment after three dates?
- Alert the media. - I know, I know.
What does he do?
He was in the marines before he hurt his back.
- Now he's an historian. - Yawn.
No. He works for a think tank across the river.
Double yawn.
All right, Rita.
Let's see what you have to say after you meet him tonight.
He's...
Cute?
- I have fat fingers. - Cathy!
- Cute scale. One to ten. - Oh, God! I don't know.
Twelve.
Ask them where they found this.
In the field, in the Golan.
There was a lot of fighting in 1973. Did they witness it?
This one says he lost his son.
Does he remember? Was there a plane shot down?
Yes. An Israeli jet, destroyed.
This is worthless.
But tell him...
I will give him $400 because of his son.
Thank... Thank you.
You don't find this lying around.
-Absolutely not. - How did you come by it?
I found her in the attic of an old mansion in Glasgow.
All right.
Your trip to the attic actually has got you a piece worth...
the best part of a thousand pounds, even in this condition.
Had she been in better condition, even more. Ajolly nice find.
Hello? Cathy.
So glad you called. I'm running a little late. I'm sorry.
Can you come a half an hour later?
I can't make it. I'm really sorry.
It was a last-minute work thing.
What's that noise?
I'm calling from a plane.
-This just came up. I tried to call. -Where are you going?
- I can't tell you that. -Jack.
You can't tell me where you're going?
- Hold on one second. Yes, sir? - What are you doing?
I had a date tonight, so I had to call and cancel.
Don't be stupid. Tell her where you're going.
In fact, tell her who you work for. She'll be impressed.
I work for the CIA and the director asked me at the last minute...
to come with him to Russia to do a nuclear arms inspection.
- That is so lame. - I swear.
We're making sure...
they're decommissioning their nuclear arsenal.
Thanks. Thanks a lot.
"Zdrastuyte", William Cabot.
President Nemerov.
Pleasure, sir.
May I present Mrs. Lathrop.
Mr. President.
- General Rand. - Mr. President.
- And Dr. Ryan. - Mr. President.
You must be the Dr. Ryan who's done such interesting research on me.
You should not be surprised by this. We know quite a bit.
For instance, we know how wrong you were that...
I had many girlfriends in college.
I met my wife in my third year and haven't looked at other women since.
I was referring to the first two years...
sir.
I like him.
In that case, so do I.
Let me apologize for interjecting myself in your inspection tour.
But there is a message I wish for you to take to President Fowler.
You could just call him on the phone.
I would like him to hear it from you, his friend of many years...
who received it personally from me...
saw my expression and the language of my body as I spoke it.
I understand.
Chechnya is an internal affair.
What we do there should be none of your concern.
I will relay the message, but I don't think he will agree.
There are those in my country who will use this issue to weaken me.
There are those in my country who say your war in Chechnya...
is exactly your weakness.
Chechnya is a nation of criminals.
Every day brings another cowardly attack on innocent Russian citizens.
It is none of your concern.
Stability is our concern.
Peace in Chechnya is our concern.
And, if I may speak frankly...
your control over your military concerns us too.
For you to get involved here, it's...
like sleeping with another man's wife.
And what you are suggesting is that afterward...
they can all live together under the same roof.
But what really happens is...
the betrayed husband buys a gun.
That went well.
- Who's the guy with Nemerov? - Anatoli Grushkov.
Old KGB?
Been lurking around since Brezhnev. Plays all sides.
And nobody's had the guts to get rid of him.
Is that because he knows where the bodies are buried?
Probably because he buried them himself.
And we were able to obtain a roster of their scientists at Arzamas.
Who's who, what their expertise is.
Arzamas-16 is home to the All-Russian...
Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics and...
is the birthplace of our first atomic bomb.
Many of our greatest scientists worked here and many still do.
Since 1995...
We tried so hard to get in here over the years.
I sent three people.
They all died trying.
What does the T-shirt say?
"I am a bomb technician. If you see me running...
try to catch up."
Sir? I'm sorry. Just one quick thing.
I'm sure it's nothing.
According to this, there are 17 senior scientists on duty today.
I only count 14.
Doctors Milinov, Orlov and Spassky.
They don't seem to be here.
I will make inquiries.
Dr. Milinov is out sick.
Orlov is on vacation. Spassky, I'm grieved to say, was killed...
driving his car to work just this past week.
We move on, shall we?
Please.
Very impressive.
You almost seemed to have that information memorized.
I assumed you would ask, Dr. Ryan.
We touch down at Andrews at 2130. Tell him to meet me there.
Sir, those three missing scientists?
Milinov's expertise is detonators.
Spassky's expertise is the package, the nuclear core itself.
And Orlov is a mathematician whose expertise is the geometry...
of high explosives inside a fission bomb.
Exact three men you would need if you wanted to build a bomb.
- Grushkov would have us believe... - Grushkov's a liar.
Milinov is not sick. Orlov hasn't taken a vacation in years.
And Spassky, who's supposed to have died driving a car, doesn't drive.
They have no idea where these guys are.
I'm dying to ask you how you know that.
Secure source inside the Kremlin.
Code name: Spinnaker.
He gives me stuff. I give him stuff.
We keep the back channels open in hopes of staving off disaster.
And speaking of disaster, did you call your girlfriend yet?
No. I haven't figured out how I'm gonna dig myself out of this.
Listen. Call her up and invite her...
to the White House Correspondents' Dinner Sunday night.
It's the hottest ticket in town. She'll love it.
That sounds great. How do I get in?
Trust me.
I'll see you at the car.
Still loving your desk job?
Yeah, I am.
How's your Russian?
It still works. Why?
Three Russian nuclear scientists are missing.
I need to know where they are.
I thought I wasn't doing this anymore.
I just need information this time,Johnny.
Your orders are on the plane. Wheels up at 2330.
Have a nice flight.
Sunday night at 8:00 at the Hilton.
The tickets are under the name of John Clark.
- You do have a tux? - Yeah! Yes, sir.
My beautiful wife, Julie...
is from New Jersey... 15 electoral votes.
And is, as you know, half Jewish...
so we'll take Florida's 25 electoral votes and divide by two.
- This is a nice hotel. - Yeah, it's beautiful.
My friend Rita stayed here once. She said it was real nice.
Maybe after dinner, we can...
- I don't know. We could get a room. - I already did.
She reminds me that I have publicly acknowledged...
- No, you didn't. - Yes, I did.
I did, on a handful of occasions, smoke marijuana.
California...
54 electoral votes.
At approximately 0600, Moscow time, the Russians launched...
a massive artillery strike against Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
The shells contained an experimental chemical weapon...
known as the Novichok binary nerve agent.
On those infrared sat photos, you can see saturation took 20 minutes.
After which, every man, woman and child...
inside a radius of 12 miles was rendered helpless...
by symptoms approximating acute, late-stage cerebral palsy.
How many dead?
Best guess, 80 percent.
Which means, Nemerov just launched...
the most massive attack in the history of chemical warfare.
Let's talk response.
-Worst thing we could do is nothing. -I agree.
Let him get away with chemical weapons, what's next? Biological?
Nuclear?
Okay. Short of gassing the Kremlin, what's our strongest response?
- We send in peacekeepers. - Chechnya's not sovereign.
They requested recognition, so we recognize them.
Not full diplomatic recognition. Provisional.
Then we get the Chechens to request emergency international assistance.
- And we send in peacekeepers. - How do you get them in there?
- Fly them in from Turkey. - Over Armenian airspace?
To screw Russia, they won't complain.
Let's do it. Nemerov can choke on it.
Bill.
Dr. Ryan.
- Yes, sir? - What do you think?
Mr. President, conventional wisdom would suggest that Nemerov...
is playing the traditional Russian role...
be aggressive, flex your muscles...
dare the world to stop you.
But Nemerov isn't conventional.
He walks like a hard-liner, talks like a hard-liner.
Yes, but with all due respect, I don't think he is one.
He gassed another country's capital. With all due respect, you're wrong.
Why are we wasting our time?
What if he didn't order the attack?
What if Nemerov didn't order the attack?
What if it was...
a rogue general or a splinter military unit...
frustrated they couldn't get their rebels out of the city?
Have you any reason to believe he didn't order it or are you...
just floating this?
You don't know.
I don't think he did it, sir.
I would bet he didn't do it.
If I could ask senior staff to remain behind, please.
Roger, we have to interrupt because we're going back to Moscow...
where Russia's newly installed president, Alexander Nemerov...
has just begun to address the state.
Wejoin him in progress.
For ten years now, we have contended...
Excuse me, sir? Would you mind turning that up?
Finally...
every nation has a right to defend itself.
This terrorism must end.
The bombing of Chechnya was my decision.
Nice goin', ace.
And how is our Russian friend affected by this?
I am not affected.
I remain devoted to our little plan.
At what you're charging us, I am not surprised.
- And the American? - Mr. Mason is a believer.
I put a little extra in the escrow account for him.
Why?
Because he won't live long enough to receive it.
Where is the package?
It left Haifa a week ago.
I'm told these things can kill you.
But so much has changed.
Perhaps the new situation...
suggests we consider a different approach?
Maybe try to bring Russia...
more into Europe, more into our way of thinking.
We have discussed that, Monsieur Monceau.
And with your concurrence, rejected it.
Oh, perhaps we were hasty.
Perhaps our plan is...
Is what?
Well, not perfectly conceived.
Well, I respect the will and judgment of my friends.
But in light of the week's events, I am grown...
uncomfortable with this plan.
So I must beg your leave.
Gentlemen.
Herr Haft will help you out.
Your scarf, Monsieur.
Mason, would you watch it with that? You're gonna kill someone.
Yo, what's up, Mason?
I always wanted to ask you.
Where'd you get that tat, man?
The navy.
Navy? I was in the navy.
Hospital ship, six years. You?
Eight months.
Oh. You wash out?
All right, brother. You have a good one.
Yeah, brother.
You've got to realize the Russian world is watching...
and they're gonna take the cue from us and what we...
The unprecedented attack on Chechnya...
signals a dangerous and troubling shift in Russian policy.
It demands the toughest and most unambiguous response from the West.
NA TO forces are on their way to Chechnya to serve as peacekeepers...
and to provide desperately needed humanitarian relief.
Victims of this monstrous...
These are four hours old. Russian 12th, 15th and 2nd tank regiments.
They haven't moved. Why haven't they moved?
- Nemerov's too smart to move tanks. - He speaks.
Jack, look. Nemerov's got, like, what, 19,000 tanks?
- No way NATO can match that. - That's why he won't move them.
It's a chess game. He's thinking three moves ahead.
He knows he has more tanks than we do.
NATO says the only way to stop them is by using tactical nuclear weapons.
And there's no way he wants to risk a nuclear war over this.
I also think he's sending us a message.
He didn't bomb Grozny.
Clark got us her number.
NSA collected records of all calls made to that number and traced it...
back to here, an abandoned Soviet army base outside Cherkassy...
on the Kremenchug Reservoir.
What are three Russian atomic scientists doing in Ukraine?
Fair guess, they're building a bomb.
Nemerov has thousands of bombs.
Why does he need to build a secret one?
Deniability.
Build one nobody knows about.
He could drive it to Chechnya in the trunk of his Beemer.
No way to track it. No way to trace it.
And he could set it off, sit back and say, "I didn't do it."
With all due respect, sir, I don't think that adds up.
It adds up. You just don't like what it adds up to.
The explosive blocks must be replaced...
and machined to a thousandth of a millimeter...
in a mathematically determined configuration.
Do we have a bomb?
First, we must analyze the yield...
Spassky...
do we have a bomb?
Yes.
Yes, we do.
This is a test.
Yeah.
Answer it.
- Answer it. - You sure?
Yeah.
Hello?
Yes.
Yes, sir.
I have to go outside for just a second.
Okay? I'll be right back.
I'll be right back. One second.
I write reports.
I reviewed your military records. You can take care of yourself.
Yes, sir, but I'm not trained for that.
I'm asking you to be my eyes and ears, not an operations officer.
I can't go.
So, this isn't sanctioned.
Give this to Clark, see what he finds out, bring it home.
Yes, sir.
We never had this discussion.
What discussion?
Okay. Clark?
This is three days ago, and it shows vehicles here...
guards here and here.
I oughta get one of those.
The infrared satellite, in position 34 hours ago, took this photograph.
It shows guards here and here.
I don't even have E-mail.
Two more at the checkpoint.
Between two and five in the barracks, two with the package.
- Which we believe to be here. - No problem.
Give me a couple of guys, a box of tranquilizer darts.
If we're lucky, we can be out in six minutes.
- Actually, there is a problem. - What's that?
This is yesterday. No guards visible at all.
And why is that a problem, Mr. Ryan?
For two reasons.
Either we can't see 'em, which is bad...
or, worse, they left, and we're too late.
Suit up.
- What? - You can't go dressed like that.
No, no. Besides, I'm an analyst.
I don't go on the, you know, missions.
Relax, 00 7, it's not a mission. It's just a recce.
Fine. Whatever you call it, I don't do that. I just write reports.
Okay. So write a report about it. Suit up!
Clark, no!
Cabot tells me you got my ticket to the correspondents' dinner.
Have a good time?
Never been to one of those. Was actually looking forward to it.
Clark, no.
- I'm not going in there. - Goddamn right, you're not.
You'll stay and make sure nobody steals my boat. Be right back.
Damn.
Oh, God. Immigration didn't call you guys, huh?
I'm sorry. You speak English? I don't speak Ukrainian. You?
I know this doesn't look good. I'm an American citizen. My papers...
Okay, no papers.
Please, just put the gun down. All right?
The light. Put the light down.
Okay, okay. Take it easy. I'll put the light down.
Here we go. I'm putting it down.
Shoot him, Ryan.
Shoot him.
Shoot him before he figures out what I'm saying.
- Get their shoes. - What?
Tell them to take their shoes off.
- You speak Ukranian. - Yeah.
You don't?
Whatever it is they were spray-painting was big.
About the size of a fridge.
The imprint it left was deep, so we know three things...
it was heavy...
something was radioactive...
and now it's gone.
- One of them spoke English? - South African.
Okay, so the question is...
what's a South African doing in the Ukraine...
with three Russian scientists and a crate from Israel?
Tell Cabot I'll call him from Haifa.
I have a feeling you'd better hurry.
Most people believe the 20th century was defined...
by the death struggle of communism versus capitalism...
and that fascism was but a hiccup.
Today we know better.
Communism was a fool's errand.
The followers of Marx, gone from this earth.
But the followers of Hitler abound and thrive.
Hitler, however, had one great disadvantage.
He lived in a time when fascism, like a virus...
like the AIDS virus...
needed a strong host in order to spread.
Germany was that host.
But, strong as it was, Germany could not prevail.
The world was too big.
Fortunately, the world has changed.
Global communications, cable TV...
the Internet.
Today the world is smaller...
and a virus does not need a strong host in order to spread.
This virus...
is airborne.
One more thing.
Let no man call us crazy.
They called Hitler crazy, but Hitler wasn't crazy.
He was stupid.
You don't fight Russia and America.
You get Russia and America to fight each other...
and destroy each other.
So what'd you find?
Ukraine doesn't have a thriving export economy, but it's on-line.
I pulled up every shipping manifest for the past two weeks.
The only crate the size of that imprint...
was picked up at Kiev International ten days ago...
and flown to the Canary Islands.
I can't find Cabot. The Air Force has a nuclear assessment team.
Call them and tell them...
It got put on a cargo freighter headed for the East Coast.
- What? - Baltimore, Jack.
It's coming here.
It's another spectacular view from the Budweiser blimp...
as we count down to game time.
We'll have all the rest of the pregame festivities...
as well as the arrival of the nation's number-one football fan...
in just a moment.
Then conquer we must
For our cause it is just
And this be our motto
In God is our trust
And the star-spangled banner
Forever shall wave
O'er the land of the free
Then give me the duty officer!
And the home
Of the
Brave
Ladies and gentlemen...
the president of the United States...
Robert Fowler.
Show time.
Shit!
Fifteen-yard penalty.
First down.
That's the way!
Shit.
Sir!
Hello?
Sir!
Shit!