A door opens, and the AIDE emerges with a pleasant smile.
KREMLIN AIDE They'll see you now.
342 INT. KREMLIN CONFERENCE ROOM - MORNING 342
Gorbachev, the bureaucrats, and generals listen.
SHCHERBINA (O.S.) ...and after thousands of sorties, our brave helicopter crews successfully extinguished the fire.
Legasov is staring at one man across the table. At CHARKOV.
The KGB minister.
SHCHERBINA The miners are working heroically to ensure that the fuel does not reach the groundwater. Furthermore, there is no longer a threat of additional explosion. The Soviet People have faced this challenge, and they have risen to the task. They, and everyone in this room, are to be commended.
A palpable sense of relief in the room. Finally.
SHCHERBINA Lastly, Professor Legasov and I have been vigilant to protect the security interests of the State. Since the unfortunate release of information directly following the accident, we believe there has been no further lapse. Comrade Charkov, we hope we have lived up to the higest standards of the KGB.
Charkov gives a non-committal smile.
CHARKOV
You have.
(glances at Legasov) Of course you have.
Legasov, caught staring, quickly averts his eyes.
SHCHERBINA Thank you. Professor Legasov will now speak about the work that remains.
Shcherbina sits, and Legasov rises. Reads from notes.
LEGASOV
Thank you. Deputy Minister Shcherbina has given you the good news.
(MORE)
LEGASOV (cont'd) And it is good. The immediate danger is over. But now, I am afraid, a long war must begin.
He glances up for a reaction. There is none. He continues.
LEGASOV
There is an enormous amount of radioactive debris and contamination spread across a zone of approximately 2,600 square kilometers. This entire region must be completely evacuated. Men will need to go to every town, every village, to ensure this.
Another look. Again, no one seems deeply concerned.
LEGASOV
All animals still surviving within the zone— domesticated or wild— must be presumed contaminated, and will have to be destroyed to prevent the spread of radiation and disease.
He turns a page. Unnerved by the silence.
LEGASOV In the immediate area around Chernobyl, every tree, every rock... the very ground itself has absorbed dangerous amounts of radionuclides, which will be carried by the wind or rain if left exposed. We will have to raze forests. And we will have to rip up the top layer of earth, and bury it under itself. Approximately 100 square kilometers. Finally, we will need to construct a containment structure around the power plant itself, which of course is still extremely--
(beat) There will be deaths.
He's finished. Sits. A silence. Then a young general,
NIKOLAI TARAKANOV, 45, speaks up.
TARAKANOV What amount of time, what number of men do you require?
SHCHERBINA We expect this liquidation effort to take three years, and approximately 750,000 men, including a number of doctors and structural engineers.
GORBACHEV (still stuck on-- ) How many deaths?
LEGASOV
Thousands. Perhaps tens of thousands.
Gorbachev absorbs that. The brutal weight of it. But there is no choice.
GORBACHEV Begin at once.
343 INT. KREMLIN HALLWAY - LATER 343
Meeting over. Legasov and Shcherbina emerge... and Legasov sees CHARKOV ahead, walking away.
He can't help himself. Walks fast to chase Charkov down.
SHCHERBINA (alarmed) Valery...
But all Shcherbina can do is follow Legasov, and:
LEGASOV Comrade Charkov.
Charkov stops and turns around. Ah.
CHARKOV Yes, Professor?
LEGASOV
My associate was arrested last night. CHARKOV
Oh?
LEGASOV
I mean no disrespect, but I was wondering if you could tell me why.
CHARKOV
I'm sorry. I don't know who you're talking about.
LEGASOV (yes you do) She was arrested by the KGB.
Charkov says nothing. Just an "and?" face...
LEGASOV
You are First Deputy Chairman of the KGB.
CHARKOV (friendly chuckle) I am! That's why I don't have to bother with arresting people anymore.
LEGASOV
But you are bothering to have your people follow me.
Okay. That's enough of that. Shcherbina takes Legasov's arm to lead him away.
SHCHERBINA Professor, the Deputy Chairman is a busy--
CHARKOV
No, no, it's perfectly understandable.
(to Legasov, warmly) Comrade, I know you've heard the stories about us. When I hear them, even I am shocked. But we're not what people say. Yes, people are following you. People are following those people.
(points) And you see them?
Two non-descript men in suits at the end of the hallway.
CHARKOV
They follow me. The KGB is a circle of accountability. Nothing more.
LEGASOV (at a loss) You know the job we're doing. Do you really not trust us?
CHARKOV
Of course I do! But you know the old Russian proverb: "Trust, but verify." And the Americans think Ronald Reagan came up with that! Can you imagine? (warmly)
It was very nice speaking with you. As he turns away:
LEGASOV
I need her.
Charkov turns back. All warmth gone. Icewater stare.
CHARKOV
So you will be accountable for her?
Legasov registers the implicit threat. Even so, he nods.
CHARKOV Then it's done.
LEGASOV Her name is--
CHARKOV I know who she is.
(back to friendly) Good day, Professor.
He walks off. Legasov feels Shcherbina's eyes on him. Knows he's about to get a lecture. But:
SHCHERBINA No, that went surprisingly well. You came off like a naive idiot.
(off Legasov's look) Naive idiots aren't a threat.
344 EXT. PRISON - MOSCOW - NIGHT 344
A squat, red building with a castle-like tower. Thunder rumbles in the distance. A storm is coming.
TITLE:
BUTYRSKAYA PRISON, MOSCOW
345 INT. HOLDING CELL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS 345
THE BLOND MAN walks down the dimly lit, narrow hallway. The ugly paint can't disguise the brutish, 19th century walls.
All around us, the sounds of caged men. Junkies. Drunks. Lunatics. Enemies of the state. And occasionally, the scream of someone in pain.
Legasov follows the Blond Man to:
KHOMYUK'S JAIL CELL. She's sitting on the floor, back against the wall. And she is still, absurdly, in her radiation-protective outfit.
She looks up at Legasov. A bit of relief. But mostly, numb. The Blond Man unlocks the barred door and slides it open.
BLOND MAN
I'll come back when the paperwork is complete.
Legasov nods, and steps into the cell. The Blond Man closes the door, locks it, and exits. Legasov stands there.
LEGASOV Are you all right?
KHOMYUK They didn't hurt me. (beat)
They let a pregnant woman into a room with a— it doesn't matter. They were stupid. I was stupid.
The misery of it all washes over her.
KHOMYUK
Dyatlov won't talk to me. Toptunov and Akimov, yes, but...
(can still see him) Akimov. Valery, his face is gone...
LEGASOV You want to stop.
KHOMYUK (stares at him) Is that a choice I even have?
He slowly sits down next to her on the floor. She takes a long look at him. He's not well. And now she feels guilty.
LEGASOV
Do you think the fuel will actually melt through the concrete pad?
A strange non-sequitur.
KHOMYUK
What?
LEGASOV
It's a matter of probability, of course. So... odds?
She doesn't understand this shift in tone, but—
KHOMYUK
I don't know. A forty percent chance? LEGASOV
I've said fifty. Either way, the numbers mean the same thing. "Maybe." Maybe the core will melt down to the groundwater. Maybe the miners I've told to dig under the reactor will save millions of lives. Or maybe I'm killing them for nothing.