Air Force One Page #3

They ascend into the belly of Air Force One.

MITCHELL:

* I'll be giving

you a brief tour, then during the

flight, two members of your crew

will be allowed out of the press

area at a time for filming. You

will have exactly ten minutes with

the President and twenty with the

crew...

EXT. STREETS OF MOSCOW, PRESIDENT'S MOTORCADE - NIGHT

Winding its way down narrow cobblestone streets onto a major

thoroughfare.

INT. PRESIDENTIAL LIMOUSINE - NIGHT

The limousine is packed with advisers, aides, military staff,

including LT. COL. PERKINS, the keeper of the NUCLEAR FOOTBALL

handcuffed to his wrist. In the b.g. on the limo's television

set, the LARRY KING SHOW indulges in its normal banter.

Marshall wearily rubs his temples as he stifles a yawn.

SHEPHERD:

You wanna knock of f?

MARSHALL:

No, no. I'm fine. What did the

Speaker say?

SHEPHERD:

He and the NRA don't like the wording.

DOHERTY:

Apparently taking uzis away from

sixth graders isn't as popular as we

thought it'd be. Representative

Taylor is working on a compromise.

MARSHALL:

Put together a score sheet. I'll

make some calls.

SHEPHERD:

With all due respect, sir, maybe you

should give them this one. Your

numbers are still pretty low and you

called in a lot of chips to nail

Stravanavitch.

MARSHALL:

I might still have a few chips left.

SHEPHERD:

* We could always

put you in a duck blind with a twelve

gauge. The second amendment types'll

love that.

MARSHALL:

This is a crime bill, Shep. Killing

a couple ducks won't get it through

committee. Besides, Shep, I told

you... I don't shoot babies and I

don't kiss guns.

SHEPHERD:

Other way around, sir.

MARSHALL:

(realizing what he

said)

Right... Christ I'm tired. Do me a

favor and keep me away from the press.

Marshall's watch alarm beeps and he automatically reaches

into his breast pocket, pulls out a medicine vial and downs

two pills with a coffee chaser.

On the T.V.

LARRY KING (T.V.)

... and your reaction to the

President's trip to Moscow. Good or

bad?

Shepherd turns up the volume.

SHEPHERD:

This is the part I wanted you to

see.

REP. DANFORTH (T.V.)

Criminal. One of our boys died in

Marshall's little publicity stunt

and for what? So we could claim

victory over another country's

problems instead of our own? And

now he's got the nerve to prance

around Moscow gloating, while that

poor boy's family is left to bury

him. If I were Marshall, I'd be

ashamed of myself.

LARRY KING:

There you have it. Harsh words for

the President from Michael Danforth,

the Speaker of the House.

Marshall mutes the television. A quiet moment.

SHEPHERD:

* My opinion.

We can't let him get away with that

kind of language.

Marshall considers. Then decides.

MARSHALL:

It's bait. Don't take it.

SHEPHERD:

Sir, the Speaker of the House attacked

this administration on national

television. You can't afford to

leave that hanging.

MARSHALL:

(ignoring Shepherd)

Did we tape the Duke game?

AIDE:

It's waiting on the plane. The ending

was pretty...

MARSHALL:

(interrupting)

Please don't tell me. Just for once,

* let me be

surprised.

INT. AIR FORCE ONE, CORRIDOR, TRAVELING - NIGHT

Maria Mitchell escorts the Russians down the plane's length.

As they pass the galley, Maria motions up a set of stairs.

MITCHELL:

Up on the upper deck is the cockpit

and the Mission Communication Center.

The MCC, as we call it, can place

clear and secure phone calls to

anywhere on earth. We're linked to

a network of military and civilian

satellites and ground stations. We

could run the country or run a war

from there if we had to.

KORSHUNOV:

This is a remarkable aircraft.

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