Seven Days in May Page #5

My conclusion is that my friend,

Colonel Casey...

...is one Marine with a hell

of an imagination.

You know something, Paul?

I'm not about to disregard his story.

But, Mr. President...

Of course, if it's true, we've only got

four full days left before Sunday.

We'll have to come up

with a list of men I can trust.

I can't move very far without the head

of the White House Secret Service.

And Chris Todd. He has the best mind

in the government.

And can keep his mouth shut.

And get Ray Clark.

With all due respect to Colonel Casey,

let me give you my unequivocal reaction.

To believe any fraction of it, you have

to believe in this ECOMCON business.

Nobody's heard of it before.

Not you, Mr. President. Not Girard.

Not even Bill Condon

who should've heard of it.

What makes you think it does exist?

We have only, and again,

my apologies, Colonel Casey...

...your conjecture. No supportable facts.

What about the Hardesty note?

That refers to it and to a Site Y.

That could easily mean another place.

These military games.

The multiplicity of our secret bases

confuses ourselves more than the Soviets.

Army Intelligence was asked

to run a security check on...

...Colonel Broderick almost two years ago.

There's no question that the man's views

are more than just extreme.

They border on out-and-out fascism!

- Again, that's suspect, but not evidence.

- Exactly.

- Colonel Casey.

- Yes, sir.

What about this communications setup

at Mount Thunder?

Whoever controls it, controls

the communications across the country.

Rubbish. If I went into court

as Scott's counsel...

...l'd move to quash the indictment...

...and we'd be out of the courtroom

in 10 minutes.

I'm only offering presumption of evidence.

The Navy being left out

of the JCS meetings...

...the Hardesty note,

this business of the jet transports...

Forgive me, Mr. President...

...but as for flying troops

to the big cities in an alert...

...that seems to me not only logical

but prudent.

Obviously, if the Russians struck,

we'd need disciplined troops...

...in the metropolitan areas to keep order

and prevent complete breakdown.

And if I may say so, the conversion

of a wagering pool on the Preakness...

...into a code for some sinister plot

to seize the government...

...seems to me suggestive of rather lurid

deductive powers to say the very least.

Mr. Secretary, you saw Scott's

performance on television last night.

That was no apolitical military officer.

That was a dedicated politician.

We've always known that, Senator...

...but that's no proof of this military junta

you're suggesting.

Gentlemen, gentlemen.

We've pretty much exhausted

the information as well as ourselves.

I don't know if the evidence is

as damning as it seems.

I do know it's sufficiently damning...

...to proceed as if there were more

than a few grains of truth in it.

So the following is the plan of procedure:

Chris will stay here to coordinate things.

Art's job is to keep tabs on

the Joint Chiefs that were mentioned.

You'll have to have men available,

men you trust...

...to handle any situation that comes up.

I want you to go to El Paso.

Take the phone number from Colonel Casey

of his friend there.

You're to find that base...

...if it means crawling underground

until you hit a tunnel.

But you're to find that base if it exists.

I don't like sending you down there, Ray.

- Lf there were anyone else I could trust...

- Forget it, Jordie.

Outside of getting parity

for Georgia cotton...

...I haven't accomplished a lot

for this country. Maybe this is my chance.

- Paul?

- Yes, sir.

This is a note you're to take

to Admiral Barnswell in Gibraltar.

I want you to get his reply in writing.

Understand?

In a court of law,

your word wouldn't count for much...

...against that of Barnswell's or Scott's.

Mr. President, it's Wednesday evening.

My feeling is that next week at this time

we'll all be laughing about this.

I hope you're right.

- Colonel Casey?

- Yes, sir.

You'll have the thankless job of informer.

Keep your eye on General Scott.

Keep us informed as to whom he talks to,

whom he hears from, where he goes.

Find out everything you can about him.

Yes, sir.

I think that does it, gentlemen.

It strikes me you're taking

all the necessary steps save one.

Chris, I hope you're quite correct

in your assumption...

...that we're all panicky idiots.

But if you are incorrect in that judgement...

...we're in for a week

of unadulterated nightmare.

Good evening, sir.

Working late, Jiggs?

Just checking out some final touches

so there won't be any foul-ups on the alert.

Some problems in Texas?

No, sir. No problems.

I'm glad everything goes well.

I called you after I got back

from New York.

About 4:
00. They said you'd already gone.

Well, as you can see, not so.

How was the big city, General?

You know these conventions.

A rat race, luncheons, dinners...

If I ate one more piece of chicken,

I'm afraid...

Did you hear the speech?

Yes, sir.

And?

Lmpressive.

Now, there's a carefully chosen word.

You wouldn't be holding something back,

would you?

That commentator who introduced you,

he struck me as being a little overripe.

He is. But he provides a platform

for stating my position.

I merely use him. I don't have to like him

or trust him.

I see.

Do you see?

This country's in trouble, Jiggs,

deep trouble.

Now, there are two ways

we can handle this.

We can sit here on our duffs and...

...ask for divine guidance and hope for it.

Or we can...

Or we can what, Jiggs?

What would your advice be?

We're a nation of laws, of rules.

We're military men so we've taken an oath

to uphold the Constitution.

The democratic way.

Yes, sir. The democratic way.

Do your duty and, as you put it,

ask for divine guidance.

You're right, Jiggs.

You're absolutely right.

You know, Jiggs, you've been working

too hard on this damned alert.

You look tired.

Why don't you take the rest

of the week off?

Duck down to White Sulphur Springs

and blow yourself to a good time.

I couldn't. There are too many details

on the alert.

Murdock will handle it.

I should be with you at Mount Thunder

on Sunday.

And you will be.

Check back on the job Sunday morning

and we'll pick it up together.

In the meantime,

you've got a three-day pass. Enjoy it.

- When do you think I ought to leave, sir?

- Right now.

Yes, sir.

Have a good time, Jiggs.

Thank you, sir.

Paul Girard get off all right?

Still skeptical, but he's on his way

to Gibraltar.

Some fellows have all the luck.

Me, I get to go to Texas.

It's enough to make a man

want to quit politics.

It's Mutt Henderson's home phone.

... Flight 543 for Dallas and El Paso...

- Well, that's me.

- Good luck, Senator.

Oh, incidentally, Jiggs.

I'm told that a Miss Eleanor Holbrook,

you know her...

Yes.

I'm told she knows more

about General Scott...

...than his wife knows about him

or the Air Force.

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