will seem meaningless.
I was there in the beginning...
...when they invented
the Phoenix Operation.
Do you know what everyone
was most upset about?
Not the idea that we were
consciously structuring a group of men...
...whose purpose was
the clandestine murder of other men.
Not the moral ramifications
that might befall us in another life...
...for the decision
based on political expediency.
What we got most embroiled in
was an argument over what...
...a particular group of assassins...
...we decided to call the Black Tigers...
...what that group of assassins
would wear...
...when they went out to relieve
selected individuals of their very lives.
Finally, after a great deal
of bitter argument...
...we determined
to dress the Black Tigers in all black.
The commission was then paid to
a noted designer who shall be nameless...
...who designed the black clothing
the Black Tigers wore as they rolled out...
... on their holy crusades.
You made quite a reputation
for yourselves.
Mr. Morgan?
Mr. Harolds has some visitors.
No, sir, I'm not sure.
I think one of them is Murray Saunders
from the Los Angeles office.
You want them stopped?
Right, and a man on Harolds.
You've got it.
We were set up.
Yes.
What was the deal?
When I was a younger man, I knew
I was going to be Secretary of State...
...or perhaps even President.
If I tell you the answer to that question...
...I may not even be afforded
the opportunity to retire next year...
...with the modicum of dignity left to me.
But then, I suppose your life...
...is not nearly so inconsequential to you...
...as it is to Mr. Morgan...
...or even to me.
- I hope this letter's the answer.
- It's the best shot we've got.
Okay, Saunders, I want that letter.
Listen, Al.
Somebody got into that computer
and this letter proves it.
The letter, Murray.
Come on.
- Get the letter. I'll cover you.
- Watch out!
- Enjoy the fight?
- Terrific.
Here it is.
Why would this guy live
halfway to Baltimore?
Who knows? Maybe it has
something to do with Spiro Agnew.
It wasn't very hard
to get an appointment with the big man.
Morgan's very interested
in what he thinks we might have to sell.
- Good morning, Saunders.
- Good morning, Morgan.
I don't believe I've had the pleasure.
A gentleman whom I'm sure
will add to our discussion.
I see.
John T. Booker.
Saunders, I trust this rather unusual
meeting is as important as you indicated.
Something you said had to do with
our last rather unusual meeting...
...in that Paris hotel room.
Something, yes.
But with one notable addition.
- Coffee?
- No, thanks.
Can we get on with it?
I have a rather busy day ahead of me.
You made a deal in Paris with Kuong Yen,
the North Vietnamese negotiator.
Secret deals are the heart of diplomacy.
This deal called for
the murder of the Black Tigers.
Murder, Mr. Booker?
One other American knows about it
and he talked.
Indeed?
At first, I couldn't figure out...
...why you didn't try to kill Harolds
along with the rest of us.
He told me.
He sent a registered letter to four lawyers,
none of whom you know.
The letters were to be opened
in the event of his untimely death.
Early Agatha Christie.
And just as effective.
The letters explain what was known by you
and Kuong Yen as the Phoenix Solution.
I couldn't figure out what Maj. Mhin
was doing popping in and out of my life.
At first, I assumed he worked for them,
whoever "they" were.
But of course, "they" are you,
and you are all one.
I see. "We have met the enemy
and they is us."
Comic strip philosophy, Mr. Booker.
Agreed, and now Kuong Yen
is manipulating you...
...like the comic strip diplomat you are.
He waited patiently until the moment
of your greatest vulnerability...
...the eve of your confirmation
as Secretary of State.
Now he's blackmailing you...
...into completing the deal
you never finished...
...the extermination of the Black Tigers.