House of Cards- "Plan B…"
Summary: One AU ending…I'll play with more, including a full S6 with Frank at some point.
Disclaimer: No copywright infringement intended.
The Oval Office, the White House…
Three days after the shocking assassination attempt…And the more shocking invocation of the 25th amendment by Congress, still pending…And the even more shocking outright refusal by the military to accept Claire's order to release and detonate a tactical nuke in Syria against ICO, Congress agreeing with the military standdown in a constitutional crisis…
"Ms Janine Skorsky..."
Claire smiles, standing with aide at side by desk.
"Ah, Ms. Skorsky, thanks for coming...You can leave us." Claire turns to aide. "Have a seat, Janine."
"It's Ms. Skorsky and I'll remain standing."
"It's also Madam President, then." Claire notes, coldly, as she sits.
"Not for long given your new cabinet's invoked the 25th and no one supports you." Janine notes. "I take it you called me in to try and kill the story? Stop my release of the audio diary?"
"Obviously that's too late..." Claire shrugs.
"Oh, please, at least threaten to kill me." Janine, quietly. "But as you say, it's too late. Not that now we even need the diary and my story..."
Calm pause by Claire, cool stare at her guest…
"I'll survive...You may not." Claire, coolly.
"Thanks." Janine nods. "I was a little afraid you'd think I was too much of a coward to threaten."
"Ms. Skorsy...I want you to retract your story and admit you and Doug edited the diary. Do that and I won't sue you and things will be better for us all. Proceed...And who can tell what the consequences will be for you and your family? Janine, sorry...Ms Skorsy? Can't you see we should be allies...?" pleadingly sincere tone…
Janine rises, furious now... "You'd try to sell me that horse manure? We're in this together? Not even your all women cabinet believes your crap anymore, Mrs. Underwood."
"Hale!" Claire sharply.
Janine, shaking head, wan smile…"It's sad really, you denying Frank like this...I've listened to the diary so many times and you and he whatever else you both loved each other once, almost as much as you loved power. Now you don't have power...And you don't have each other. But for you...There's the legacy thing..." Janine smiles. "Frank didn't care about his legacy but you were hoping you could redeem yourself in history with crap about it being all worthwhile for the great cause. But the only cause you ever had was Claire Hale Underwood is entitled to whatever she wants."
"You think you understand me? Cause you listened to Francis' diary?" cold fury.
"No. I think he understood you. And he understood, at the end, that you were even worse than he was. At least he never lied about what he was and he was willing to sacrifice any 'legacy' to stop you from lying about him and yourself."
"Francis Underwood was a murderer and a monster...I suffered as much as..."
"Fuck that." Janine coldly. "Lets get down to it. I won't do what you ask...You'd kill me anyway. But if you kill me now, it just looks like proof."
Claire considers, then chuckles. "So many people thought their deaths would matter...Kathryn Durant thought hers would. Even Tom Yeats..."
"His book is coming out next week." Janine notes, calmly. "I wrote the foreword at his request when he sent me one of the copies. He knew you'd or Francis would kill him but all he cared about was the book. For him that was what power was to you two."
Hard stare…"He was a fool...Charming but a fool." (to us, Claire arrogantly...There, I've said it.)
"They don't like you..." Janine shakes head. "Why bother? You don't charm them like Frank did, till he killed Peter and Zoey. Nor do you still fascinate them like he did after that."
"What?" Claire blinks, pocketing audio recorder.
"He said you were starting to do it, too. Not able to stop speaking to an audience. But he thought your arrogance was off-putting and it is."
Claire reddens..."Lets get back down to it as you say. I have urgent matters to attend to."
"Your removal from office and lack of support by your party...Congress' intervention to sanction the military refusing to allow you to nuke those ICO leaders, not that any really are there. That is a lot on your plate. Yet you still found time to have me called in."
"There was an attempt on me, here, Janine. You were involved with one of the men trying to kill me. It can't go well for you, Ms. Skorsy. Cut a deal with me while you still can. Don't waste your life like..."
"Tom, Lukas, Zoey? I don't call that waste, Mrs. Underwood."
"Then you're a fool and I am Claire Hale. And still President of the United States."
"No, you're the only possible mate for Francis Underwood."
"You've destroyed yourself, Janine." sneer. "I tried to save you here, today but..."
"I know I'm a walking corpse. But I brought you down with me..." Pulls gun, shooting as Claire stares. "I knew Doug just wanted to die and he'd never do it. And you got the wrong man in that colonel. The real guy was just a guard who let me in. I was Plan B, Claire. And a better shot than poor Lukas."
Janine eyes the dying Claire.,"Consider it a tribute to Underwood survival prowess, I had to be sure you'd be stopped. Say hello to Frank in Hell."