Kill the Messenger Page #7

I think he died though.

I'd like to review your flight logs.

Names of pilots-

I can't do that, Mr. Webb.

Is there anyone else I can speak to?

I don't know, maybe if you try back

in a week you can talk to my boss.

Is Cullen residing in Lake City?

Down in Florida maybe? Look,

I can't talk to you.

You didn't even open the box I gave you.

What? Oh honey, I can't open that.

You can't?

Look, I gotta focus.

You understand? I gotta focus

so I can finish this thing.

And then what happens?

Then it's done.

And then what?

Then what? What? I didn't choose

what's happening here, Sue.

I didn't choose this.

I don't want to f***ing be here in

this shitbox. Away from home.

Come on. What is this?

What do you mean?

Can't you see what this

is doing to all of us?

That's not fair.

Look, you are who you always were, Gary.

No regret...

...no blame, no judgment, it's just a fact.

I guess it's me who's changed.

What are you saying?

- What are you saying?

- I don't know.

You do know.

Say it!

I don't know.

Don't turn on the light.

I'm John Cullen.

Do you know that name?

What you found here, Gary, is a monster.

I was recruited by the Agency...

...out of college.

I knew Spanish and Law...

...and I wanted to do good.

I wanted to fight some evil empire.

I went to Central America.

Made nice with radicals.

Slept with some of the pretty ones.

And turned in names.

Then I started noticing

that they were disappearing.

Permanently.

The people that we hunted...

Murdered...

All they had...

...was a deep desire to reform the

government and have free elections.

That's it.

After I left the Agency,

I worked my way

into a major drug cartel.

It was early Medellin.

I solved logistical issues.

Bringing supply into the United States.

Paved the way, you might say...

...as the traffic grew. And grew.

Well someone in Washington knows what

you do and is doing nothing to stop it.

It's all lies and corruption, Gary.

You become attracted to the power,

then you become addicted to the power...

...then you're devoured by the power.

Your thing and my thing,

are they connected?

Are they the same?

Yes. They are the same.

Danilo Blandon.

This is him. Yesterday.

This is you here. Today.

Nobody wants to hear your sad story,

Gary.

You can go on record.

And end up dead?

No.

Then why are you here?

I'm confessing.

Who else am I going to tell?

Anna?

Who is it?

It's Gary

It's six in the morning.

I found him. Or he found me.

- Who?

- The asset.

It's the piece I've been missing.

The only thing I didn't have.

It's what you kept asking for.

So I can keep going.

He was a part of the operation, Anna.

You understandthat? CIA.

Look if I can just get him to go on record,

he'll confirm everything.

He came to my goddamned motel room.

- I'm not finished with it.

- You gotta talk to Jerry about this.

Calm down.

I'm not finished!

Look, I'm trying to keep you on the payroll,

ok? I'm trying to save your career.

I know I'm not just gonna sit back

and be quiet and do nothing

so I can collect your goddamn check.

- I understand.

- You know that. You know me.

I'm gonna keep going.

I'm gonna finish this.

For you.

Or I'm gonna do it for somebody else.

Look, there's a staff meeting tomorrow.

We'll talk about it there. OK?

OK.

OK.

Morning, Gary.

I wanted to run a couple

ideas past you guys.

About this asset, the CIA asset.

Gary, have a seat.

- Hey Pete.

- Hey.

When'd you get in from Washington?

No easy way to say this,

Gary so I'm just going to say it.

We've had Pete backtrack

a few of your leads.

Why didn't you tell me?

Well I'm telling you now.

Pete, why didn't you say anything?

We didn't like some of the some of the

stuff that Pete brought back, ok?

Some of your sources

have changed their stories.

Of course they did.

Well, they're saying they never said

the things you have them saying.

Well that's how they operate, Jerry.

- They"?

- The Agency.

They deny everything.

Everyone who works with the CIA,

the CIA denies everything.

Did you ever get an actual

CIA operative on the record?

We never made that claim.

I think that's been

very clear at this point.

Did you not tell them about

the guy who came to my hotel room?

But he said he's not going

on the record, Gary.

- No. I think I made-

- Did you get anyone who works

for the CIA on the record?

Who is this guy?

Outside Counsel.

OK, let me catch you up

to speed here, counselor.

The CIA uses people who work for the CIA.

They also use people who work with the CIA.

You get the difference.

We don't operate in a

courtroom or in absolutes, Gary.

We operate in shades of grey.

I didn't realize truth

was a shade of grey.

Anyone else?

It's not what you can prove,

it's what people say they remember.

Your word against theirs.

Would have been wonderful to get a couple

of innocent people on the record.

Yeah, well nobody a part

of this story's innocent, Jerry.

You know, call Norwin Meneses.

He's in Managua.

He's in a prison.

He was happy to speak

to me when I came down...

He said he never spoke to you.

You kidding me?

I was in Managua for three days,

you know this-

I know you were in Managua.

He said you never got

inside the prison.

He said he never saw you.

Well there were five hundred

other people who did.

Yeah, but can you prove it?

What, you mean, like did I bring home

a t-shirt from the prison gift shop?

Do you have any proof you were

actually inside that prison?

I bribed my way in.

For Christ's sake.

It's a third world country.

What did you expect me to do?

What about all my notes?

Legally, they're just your notes.

All it means is you wrote them.

You could have made them up later.

- F*** you.

- Easy Gary.

F*** you both.

You questioning my ethics?

Thinking I'd re-engineer a goddam thing.

- How f***ing dare you!

- Calm down.

What about this Swiss banker? Baier?

Yeah, what about him?

- I can't find him.

- We're going to have to

look a little harder then.

No one's heard from him, Gary.

This is crazy. This is nuts.

The CIA can't take a piss without

getting their d*cks caught in their fly

but they're absolutely fantastic at this.

I mean, look at you guys.

You're looking at me like I'm crazy.

Like I'm lying.

- This is-

- That's what you're doing!

Nobody's saying that.

- This is not personal. Do not-

- How is this not personal?

Look, we got into this together,

so we're going to get out of it together.

How are we going to get out of it?

We are going to print an open letter...

...saying that some mistakes were made.

Don't do that.

Don't do that.

Come on, there's a bigger

picture here, open your eyes.

My eyes are wide open.

Know what I see?

I see a bunch of people who are

worried about their reputations.

Terrified that the Post

or the Times aren't going to

pluck you from the foothills of San Jose...

...and give you a job on the mountaintop.

You know Jerry, you print that letter,

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