Argo Page #7

O.’DONNELL

Traffic calls them The

Houseguests. Haven.’t left the

Canadian ambassador.’s house since

it happened.

MENDEZ:

Compromised? *

O.’DONNELL

(shakes his head)

Just a matter of time. We.’ve got

Revolutionary Guards going door-todoor

like Jehovah.’s Witnesses,

looking for escapees. They.’re out

for blood, Tony. Half of them

think Khomeini.’s been too lenient

with the ones in the embassy.

Walking out of his office, Mendez following.

MENDEZ:

White House?

56A INT. CIA - THE PIT - CONTINUOUS ACTION 56A

They walk through an open floor of cubicles lined with

offices, we get a look at the 1979 CIA headquarters:

nothing sleek or sexy about the interior. An open area

of desks where Woodward and Bernstein might be spilling

coffee on their thick .‘70s ties. Papers and files

everywhere. Trash emptying happens only once a week.

Cigarette and cigar butts in ashtrays. Everything is

perpetually a mess. And typewriters. The constant

percussive sound of telexes and typing is the metronome

that beats out the day here.

O.’DONNELL

Carter.’s shitting enough bricks to

build the pyramids. He wants the *

six of them out.

MENDEZ:

Who else knows?

O.’DONNELL

Just the families. Meanwhile,

some genius in the embassy was

keeping a mug book of everybody

who worked there.

MENDEZ:

Jesus Christ.

ARGO - Final 16.

56 CONTINUED:
56

(CONTINUED)

O.’DONNELL

We think it got shredded before

they got in, but the f***ers have

sweat-shop kids in there reassembling

the shreds.

O.’DONNELL

They.’re gonna make an example of

the ones who escaped. Standingroom-

only for beheadings in the

square.

MENDEZ:

Who.’s handling?

They walk through a door and out of the Pit.

57 INT. D.O. FLOOR - HALLWAY - AFTERNOON 57

-- into a HALLWAY WITH POP ART on the walls. People with

laminated badges and folders with red stripes walk with

purpose. *

O.’DONNELL

State.’s coordinating in-house.

MENDEZ:

They don.’t do exfils. *

O.’DONNELL

They do now. They want to run it

by us, strictly as consultants.

Off his look.

O.’DONNELL

Engell.’s saying it.’s lose-lose.

These people die, they die badly.

Publicly. .‘State wants the blame,

he.’ll give it to them.

MENDEZ:

Then why.’s he want me?

O.’DONNELL

So he can tell State he ran it by

his best exfil guy.

They stop in front of a conference room. Jack looks at

him.

O.’DONNELL

Tony. This isn.’t the kind of

meeting where you talk.

ARGO - Final 17.

56A CONTINUED:
56A

58 INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - A FEW MINUTES LATER 58

They enter to find: ADAM ENGELL, 40s or 50s, Deputy

Chief of Operations, hosting visitors from the State

Department:
PENDER and BATES from State. The State guys

are both dressed better than the CIA guys, except for

Engell.

Other CIA Operations OFFICERS and ANALYSTS sit in

audience.

ENGELL:

Okay. This is Bob Pender from

State O.S. He.’s been talking to

Morgan at ExtAff.

GENCO, a State Department Assistant, removes a drape from

the photographs of SIX FACES, State Department I.D.

photos. Pender indicates the first two photos -- and

during this, we may flash to scenes of the Houseguests in

the Canadian ambassador.’s residence --

PENDER:

Mark and Cora Lijek, 29 and 25.

He.’s a consular officer and she.’s

an assistant. Newlyweds. They

just got there a couple of months

ago. No language skills or incountry

knowledge.

(re:
the next photo)

Henry Lee Schatz. Agricultural

attache from Idaho. He was there

to sell U.S. tractors to Iranian

agro. Hid out with the Swedes

during the takeover then made his

way to join the others with the

Canadians.

(re:
next photo)

Joe Stafford. Late twenties.

He.’s smart and a climber. Speaks

Farsi. Arranged the hire of his

wife Kathy --

BATES:

Understaffed so the faculty wives

were the typing pool.

That goes without comment in this room of men.

PENDER:

(then, finally)

Bob Anders. Senior consular

officer, oldest of the group.

Most likely to be group leader.

So.

ARGO - Final 18.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

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