(In General Francis' office, he and three other men wait for the Cigarette-Smoking Man. They were the men watching before. The Cuban Man sits off to the side, smoking. The Mob Man looks over at the Agent Man, who stares at the door nervously. A buzzer sounds.)

MAN: He's here, sir.

(General Francis presses a button on his intercom.)

FRANCIS: Send him in.

(Another buzzer sounds, and the Cigarette-Smoking Man walks in.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: You wish to see me, sir?

(The Agent Man, holding a folder, stands.)

AGENT MAN: Have a seat, Captain.

(The Captain does so, facing the Agent Man. He looks a bit confused.)

Captain, have you ever seen these two men...

(He points to the Mob Man and the Cuban Man.)

...met the general, or myself?

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: No, sir.

(The Agent Man starts to walk slowly, reading from the folder.)

AGENT MAN: In January, 1961, did you aid Congo President Kasavuba in the arrest and assassination of Patrice Lamumbra?

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: No, sir.

AGENT MAN: Were you involved in the training of Cuban nationals during "Operation Zapata," also known as "The Bay of Pigs?"

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: I'm sorry, sir, I'm unaware of any such operation.

AGENT MAN: On May thirty-first, 1961, did you aid Dominican locals in the assassination of Rafael Trujillo?

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: No, sir.

(The Agent Man sighs.)

AGENT MAN: Your father was a convicted spy for the Soviet Union, executed in a Louisiana electric chair, was he not?

(The Cigarette-Smoking Man's eyes aim down to the floor, thinking.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: My only regret, sir, is I was too young to throw the switch myself.

FRANCIS: At ease, Captain.

(He stands and walks around his desk.)

Your father's actions were totally out of your control. Each of us in this room stands a life eviscerated by the actions of another. Cigarette?

(He holds out a pack of Morley's.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: No, thank you, sir. I never touch them.

(Francis starts across the room.)

FRANCIS: You see, Captain, most people seek to control life's events in order to secure a more positive, productive and free existence. Often, however, the objectives of others conflict with our objectives.

CUBAN MAN: Viva la libertada.

FRANCIS: Now, most people, common people, really... can barely manage to control their own self-centered, myopic existence.

(He lights a cigarette, moving back across the room.)

They command armies of lawyers, armed with paper weapons, attacking with spiteful, vengeful... cowardly litigation. Others... operate within elephantine bureaucracies. And then, Captain...

(He takes another drag and stands in front of the lesser officer.)

There are extraordinary men... those who must identify... comprehend, and ultimately shoulder the responsibility for not only their own existence, but their country's, and the world's as well. Your father, Captain... believed his country should look to another form of government, and he took control of that belief. So, in that respect, we view him as an extraordinary man. And we believe... we know, Captain... that it runs in the family.

(He starts to walk around the confused soldier.)

Now, don't misunderstand. Your father should have been executed. Communism is, without a doubt, the most heinous personification of evil mankind has ever confronted...

(He sits at his desk.)

... and it is, in part, the reason that you are before us here today.

(The Agent Man steps out of the shadows and in front of the Cigarette-Smoking Man.)

AGENT MAN: You must understand, Captain, everything I'm about to say is classified "compartmentalized"... so intensely that if you accept this assignment and successfully execute it, you will no longer be an officer of the United States army, nor will any record of your service.

(He sighs.)

The assignment... is the assassination of an American civilian, age forty-six... former Naval PT-Boat Commander... married, father of two.

(The men stare at the Cigarette-Smoking Man for a reaction, who gives none. The Agent Man sits. The Cigarette-Smoking Man looks at General Francis.)

FRANCIS: Last week, Captain, this country was brought to the brink of nuclear annihilation, a situation which never would have arisen had the individual in question, as Commander-in-Chief, provided an umbrella of air support during the invasion of Bacha de Cochinos.

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Is there a cover story?

MOB MAN: Tell them it was done by men from outer space.

(The statement makes the Agent Man grow even more nervous.)

AGENT MAN: We've found and are setting up a patsy.

(The Cigarette-Smoking Man looks at General Francis through the cigarette smoke, then looks back at the Agent Man.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Where?