Designated Survivor (TV Series)

Grief (2018)

Paulo Costanzo: Lyor Boone

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Quotes 

• Emily Rhodes : Seth, it's only been ten weeks.

  Lyor Boone : [joining them]  Hey, you know what else has happened in the past ten weeks? Absolutely nothing.

  Emily Rhodes : Lyor...

  Lyor Boone : He came right back to work after the First Lady's death, and now he's President Hamlet.

  Seth Wright : He's right, Em. I mean, the military spending bill is stuck on the president's desk, judicial nominations are piling up, and he's put the brakes on every major policy initiative.

  Aaron Shore : [joining them, as well]  Including foreign ones. Canceled trips to Beijing, Jerusalem. Bailed on the IMF meeting.

  Seth Wright : This is turning into the ghost presidency.

  Emily Rhodes : Okay, you all need to relax. The man just lost his wife, the mother of his children. It takes a while to recover from that.

  Lyor Boone : Understood, but the world keeps moving. And the White House is getting left behind.

  Emily Rhodes : Not today. It's the Cuban intiative. It'll jump-start us.

  Lyor Boone : Good, 'cause we're flatlining.

• Tom Kirkman : Kendra, what's the legality of military action against rebels in another country?

  Kendra Daynes : If American lives are at stake, the rules of war will allow it, sir, especially if the foreign sovereign is unwilling or unable to act.

  Tom Kirkman : And with President Ortega, am I correct in assuming the latter?

  Lyor Boone : No, it's both. I mean, he doesn't have the firepower, but even if he did, he can't be seen as actively helping America to attack Cuban citizens, even those that oppose him. His grip on power's loose enough as it is.

  Senator Sanchez : But he won't stand in our way. I've interfaced with his top advisors. Ortega has given us access to his ports.

  Tom Kirkman : General, is it your opinion that military action will secure the safe release of the hostages?

  General : Sir, our consensus is that the show of overwhelming force will bring the rebels to heel.

  Tom Kirkman : But you can't guarantee it.

• Tom Kirkman : What other options do I have, aside from military?

  Emily Rhodes : Ransom, sir.

  Lyor Boone : Which is a non-starter.

  Tom Kirkman : No, Lyor. The killing of Americans is a non-starter. We've got Congressmen, Senators, business leaders. My National Security Advisor. This is a mess. We're running out of time. I want options. Come on, people.

  Emily Rhodes : What about recon mission?

  Lyor Boone : That's good, that's good. We can buttress our data. Then we'll know exactly what we're getting into if you deploy military assets.

  Tom Kirkman : Could still be mistaken as aggression. What about a camera-equipped drone?

  General : It won't work because of the canopy, sir, but a single Blackhawk infrared camera is low altitude.

  Tom Kirkman : A single one?

  General : Yes, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : Okay. Let's find out what we're really dealing with. Try it.

• Emily Rhodes : He wants assurances. Guarantees. You know what that sounds like?

  Lyor Boone : Yeah, a president who's gun-shy, which is exactly what he's been since the First Lady's death.

  Emily Rhodes : The problem is, you don't risk anyone...

  Lyor Boone : You risk everyone.

• Tricia Sims : Mr. Boone!

  Lyor Boone : [starting]  Please don't do that.

  Tricia Sims : Do what?

  Lyor Boone : I'm carrying hot coffee. If you startle me and I spill it on myself, cardiac arrest. 2% of all males under 40 die from a heart attack triggered by a liquid burn.

  Tricia Sims : I don't think that's true.

  Lyor Boone : It could be.

• Tricia Sims : Sir, I'm Tricia Sims. I'm supposed to interview with you this morning for the assistant job.

  Lyor Boone : [groaning]  Oh, come back.

  Tricia Sims : I've come back three times, sir.

  Lyor Boone : Well, you're obviously good at coming back. Maybe that's your thing.

  Tricia Sims : I promise I won't take much of your time.

  Lyor Boone : [glancing at his watch]  I can promise you that, too.

• Lyor Boone : Well, you're good on paper. You know what else is good on paper?

  Tricia Sims : No, sir.

  Lyor Boone : Ink. And ink smudges. It, uh, fades. It's temporary. Just like all my assistants. Because this job is very demanding. It requires... perfection.

  Tricia Sims : I understand, sir.

  Lyor Boone : Good. Let's get you started, then, on a trial basis.

• Lyor Boone : As you may know, the president is an architect. He's been searching for the original blueprint of the Capitol forever.

  Tricia Sims : I can see why that would mean a lot to him.

  Lyor Boone : Which is why I want you to hunt it down. Start with Madge in Records. She knows everything.

  Tricia Sims : Will do. Thank you, sir.

  Lyor Boone : Mm-hmm.

  [she stands to leave] 

  Lyor Boone : Oh, and, uh... Tricia.

  Tricia Sims : Yes?

  Lyor Boone : You know what else causes heart attacks in men under 40?

  Tricia Sims : No, sir.

  Lyor Boone : Failure.

• Emily Rhodes : So you told the president there's no legal bar to ransom.

  Kendra Daynes : Correct. The executive branch has absolute discretion.

  Emily Rhodes : Which would set a dangerous precedent by exercising.

  Lyor Boone : [joining them]  Yeah, which is exactly what I just told him.

  Emily Rhodes : Well, what did he say?

  Lyor Boone : That America has never faced the possible execution of hostages, including six Senators and five Congressmen, that he'd rather be criticized for how he kept them alive than how he let them die.

  Kendra Daynes : And what did you say?

  Lyor Boone : That the old Tom Kirkman would have advocated military action, that his tentative behavior could wind up getting more people killed.

  Emily Rhodes : You did not tell him that.

  Lyor Boone : Of course not. I like my job.

• Emily Rhodes : Okay, so if it's ransom, we need Congressional support. Senator Sanchez is our power broker here.

  Lyor Boone : Yeah, she's on her way.

  Kendra Daynes : [Emily glances at Aaron's empty office]  We're getting Aaron back.

  Lyor Boone : Yeah, safe and sound.

  Emily Rhodes : Let's make it happen.

• Emily Rhodes : Secretary Braden said the funds have been made available.

  General : Sir, all that remains is for you to okay the wire transfer.

  Tom Kirkman : Where do we stand on the release of the hostages?

  General : We have Ramon Bravo's promise that he'll put them on a bus to Marti International Airport as soon as he can confirm receipt of the funds.

  Tom Kirkman : Can we corroborate that there's a bus at the site?

  General : No, sir, we cannot.

  Senator Sanchez : Mr. President, we're not going to be able to corroborate anything.

  Lyor Boone : Sir, the essence of ransom is blind faith. Bravo will either keep his word or he won't.

• Tom Kirkman : General, cancel the wire transfer.

  General : Sir?

  Tom Kirkman : How long will it take you to get your men ashore?

  General : 45 minutes, sir.

  Tom Kirkman : Bring the fleet in as close to land as possible. If a show of force doesn't get the insurgents to back down, send in the Marines.

  General : Yes, sir.

  Senator Sanchez : I'll have a Congressional statement of support ready to issue.

  Tom Kirkman : Good.

  [Sanchez leaves, and Kirkman follows her out] 

  Emily Rhodes : What the hell just happened?

  Lyor Boone : He made the hard decision, but the right one. I think the president's back.

  Emily Rhodes : Hallelujah.

• Lyor Boone : Whatcha doing?

  Tricia Sims : So, I talked to Madge, who told me to check with Earl.

  Lyor Boone : In the basement.

  Tricia Sims : Yes, and Earl sent me to the records annex.

  Lyor Boone : Wait, you got these from the annex?

  Tricia Sims : Mm-hmm.

  Lyor Boone : No one's opened that room in fifty years. You know, it's a breeding ground for black mold. Look.

  Tricia Sims : [freezing]  Black mold?

  Lyor Boone : Stachybotrus chartarum; yeah, it can cause serious respiratory illness. You should be doing this in a contained environment, all right? With a mask. And a hazmat suit.

• Emily Rhodes : Hey, the president needs us in Command Ops.

  Lyor Boone : Emily, this is Tricia Sims. She was just down in the annex.

  Emily Rhodes : [reaching out to shake hands, she pulls it back]  Oh! Uh, my god, I'm so sorry. I hope you were wearing a hazmat suit.

  Lyor Boone : [to Tricia, as he follows Emily out]  It was nice meeting you.

• Emily Rhodes : Mr. President, Hannah's signaling us.

  Tom Kirkman : How do you figure?

  Emily Rhodes : She's not Catholic, but she just did the sign of the cross.

  Lyor Boone : The hostage who just offered to pay the ransom is Phillip Cross of Cross International Development.

  Tom Kirkman : Look into it.

• Tom Kirkman : We were looking for connections between Ortega and Cross. We found something very different.

  Senator Sanchez : [looking at the paper he hands her]  I don't believe it.

  Tom Kirkman : Those phone records prove that President Ortega and Mr. Bravo were working together to frame the rebels for the kidnapping.

  Senator Sanchez : That doesn't make any sense.

  Emily Rhodes : It does if you put yourself in Bravo's shoes.

  Lyor Boone : He's 75. He's lived a life of struggle that has gotten him nothing.

  Emily Rhodes : So he kidnaps our delegation. He has to know that there will be a military response, one that will destroy the rebels.

  Lyor Boone : Ortega is paying him off. So Bravo gets money, a financial legacy for his family. Cross' price for delivering the delegation is development rights worth billions. And Ortega gets to hold on to power, just as soon as we destroy the ELP.

  Senator Sanchez : But I know President Ortega. He wouldn't put American lives in danger this way.

  Tom Kirkman : Senator Sanchez, if you do this long enough, you'll realize you don't really know anyone.

• Lyor Boone : So, about the blueprint. You can call off the dogs now.

  Tricia Sims : I can?

  Lyor Boone : Yeah, the point of the task was not to find the blueprint.

  Tricia Sims : It wasn't?

  Lyor Boone : No. This job is about perseverance and learning to navigate a mind-numbing bureaucracy. I find the most interesting introdution to...

  Tricia Sims : [pulling a rolled-up paper out]  Here it is, Mr. Boone.

  Lyor Boone : What?

  Tricia Sims : The papers of the architect who designed the Capitol aren't in the White House. They're in the National Archives. They wouldn't let me take them, so I took pictures on a hi-res camera, had them color-corrected and enlarged.

• Tricia Sims : Can I tell you something, Mr. Boone?

  Lyor Boone : After finding this blueprint, you can tell me a few things.

  Tricia Sims : My dad works in construction. My mom, she cleans houses. They've worked their entire lives to send me to college, and now I have a job at the White House. The White House. I will find the blueprints to Atlantis if you ask me.

  Lyor Boone : [quietly, as she leaves]  Oh, I will.