Special Ops: Lioness (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[MEN SHOUTING IN ARABIC]
[PANTING]
[MEN SHOUTING IN ARABIC]
What in the fuck is he doing?
You see that guy at my
11 o'clock, 200 meters out?
Maybe he was sick the
day they taught tactics.
[CHUCKLES]
Wait. What is that?
[JOE] Looks like he's dragging something.
[TWO CUPS] Mm-hm.
What is this guy doing?
[BEEPING]
[BOBBY] You trying to get shot?
It's my plant.
What happened?
[ISABEL] I'm blown.
You think you're blown
or you know you're blown?
I'm blown.
How?
She saw the cross.
The cross. What cross?
My cross, the
What fucking cross?
On my side.
On my ribs.
From when my brother died.
A tattoo with his name
And a cross
Does everyone know or just her?
Everyone. They're hunting me now.
You in the compound?
I'm under it.
We're on our way.
[BEEP]
[BOBBY] What in the
fuck is this guy doing?
[TWO CUPS] Can we just
shoot this fucker?
I mean, Bob-O, what the
fuck are we doing here?
He's not armed.
We move now! Her cover's blown!
[JOE] Chief, we gotta roll.
It's det cord. Shoot him!
[GRUNTS]
[GUNFIRE]
[MEN SHOUTING]
[MAN] Suppressing fire now!
Get on that 50!
[GRUNTS]
- [SHOUTING]
- [GUNFIRE]
Hawg 3-3, this is Alabama 2-7
with an immediate CAS request, over.
[MAN] Alabama 2-7 this is
Hawg 3-3, send it.
Hawg 3-3, control type 2.
Guns only on target from the overhead.
Enemy pax in the open.
270 degrees for 100 meters,
marked by yellow smoke.
Danger close on my command.
Pop smoke!
[MAN] Smoke out.
Cleared hot.
[AIRCRAFT APPROACHING]
Get your team ready to move.
[BOBBY] Sam. Let's go! Come on.
[MAN] I'm coming over!
[GUNFIRE]
[MAN] Your side! Your side!
- [MAN 1] Six o'clock.
- [MAN 2] Two o'clock! Two o'clock!
[MUSIC]
- [INDISTINCT ARABIC CHATTER]
- [GRUNTS]
[CLAMORING]
[ISABEL] I can hear them.
They're coming.
They're coming!
I'm going to mute you.
I need a fucking ETA.
We're here. Heavy resistance.
This won't be quick.
Bobby, no bullshit, can you get her?
I'll never say no.
I have to make a decision.
You understand that?
Roger that. We're gonna
fight 'till you make it.
[RINGING]
Sir, I have a problem.
An HV asset is compromised.
I have a team approaching the location.
Please advise.
[MAN] Are you in contact with the asset?
- I am.
- Now?
[PHONE BEEPS, ISABEL SCREAMING]
[MEN SHOUTING IN ARABIC]
- [ISABEL SCREAMS]
- [ENDS CALL]
Nevermind. I know what to do.
[BEEP]
Maintain altitude at 500 meters.
Do not engage.
Roger that. Holding in place.
[SCREAMING]
[JOE] Reaper 1-4, this is Alabama 2-7,
set position for
whiskey-whiskey-alpha-niner.
[WOMAN] Reaper's ready.
Confirm tally target.
Reaper is tally target.
[EXPLOSIONS, GUNSHOTS IN DISTANCE]
Cleared hot.
Weapon away.
[SCREAMING]
Holy shit.
[EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE]
[MUSIC]
[PANTING]
[MUSIC]
[CHATTERING]
215!
["WORKIN' ME" BY QUAVO PLAYING ♪]
Yo, Cruz, whatchu got?
[CHUCKLES]
[GUNFIRE ON TV]
You get me a shake?
You said burger. That's what I got.
I texted you burger.
Then I texted you shake.
- Bitch, can't you read?
- Don't call me bitch.
But you are.
Dumb fucking bitch.
Working for seven dollars an hour.
Hey, how much you make tonight?
- 500.
- I won't shake my ass for money.
Bitch, I'm a dancer.
Bitch, you're a fucking stripper.
What the fuck you call me, bitch?
- Yo, chill!
- And a fucking hoe!
Train your bitch, motherfucker.
- Fuck's wrong with you?
- Oh, you taking her side now?
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Attractin' all the dogs
But work for me ♪
Workin' me She workin' me ♪
[PANTING]
Urgently It be urgin' me ♪
Just let up the top And
close the curtain, please ♪
I'm sorry.
Goddam right you sorry.
Go to fucking bed.
She just popped the Perky
Say I hurt her knees ♪
She hurtin' me, Wrist
strong, Hercules ♪
She hurtin' me, Wrist
strong, Hercules ♪
[MUSIC]
Need to trade that
bitch for a new model.
[CHUCKLES]
New model and less miles.
Ain't that the fucking truth.
[SIGHS]
[STIFLED SOBS]
[CAR ALARM BLARES, DOG BARKS]
Where you goin'?
Bathroom.
[MUSIC]
Where you goin'?
I don't know.
What the fuck happened to you?
You don't shake your ass no more?
Shaking your ass is how we fucking met!
Now you sling burgers
and you think it's noble?
Don't drink, won't smoke, won't fuck.
Like, what the fuck is wrong with yo
[SCREAMS]
I'm gonna fucking kill you!
[SCREAMS]
Help!
[GRUNTS]
[HONKING]
Somebody fucking help me! [SCREAMS]
Somebody help me!
No! No!
Is there a problem?
Problem's between me and her.
Not anymore.
Now it's between you and
the United States Marines.
Life boils down to a few decisions.
You are now facing one of them.
Oh!
You okay?
Thanks.
You do that to his face?
I cheated. I used a frying pan.
In war, if you aren't cheating
you aren't trying.
I been at war my whole lifespan.
Well, you came to the right place.
[MUSIC]
[DISTANT SIRENS]
That'll do, Cruz.
It's not gonna get any cleaner.
I can get it cleaner.
It wasn't that clean when it was new
I can get it cleaner.
They here for you?
Yeah.
[SIGH]
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
He's saying you assaulted
him, is that true?
I assaulted him back.
Fair enough.
I recommend you file a restraining order
first thing tomorrow.
Then we have an actionable
response if he comes near you.
What about tonight?
I can take you to a shelter.
I'll take my chances at the park.
I know your chances in the park.
They aren't good.
[MUSIC]
[CHATTERING]
[BABY CRYING]
[MUSIC]
Men. Your minimum
standards is 3 pull-ups.
Your recommended standard is 15.
Ladies.
Your minimum standard is a
twelve second flexed-arm hang.
Recommended standard is 3
pulls ups. Any questions?
I want to be in that line.
Why?
Because I can give you
fifteen right now.
Fifteen.
- Yes, sir.
- Sergeant.
I work for a living.
So do I, Sergeant.
And I'm telling you I can
give you fifteen right now.
Prove it.
[GRUNTING]
That's nineteen, recruit.
You wanna break a record for me?
Yes, sir.
Stop fucking calling me sir.
Yes, Sergeant!
- Come on, come on!
- [GROANS]
[PANTING]
Look at me.
Stand straight.
Tuck that ass, we ain't
at the fucking beach!
Attack everything they
throw at you just like this,
and there's no stopping you.
I must be reading this wrong.
You're not, sir.
99 percent on her ASVAB score?
She got 99 percent on her PT.
On the men's scale.
I want to talk to her.
[DOOR OPENS]
[CHUCKLES]
You're not enlisted yet.
No need to salute me.
Sorry, sir.
Don't be sorry. Have a seat.
Your test scores are unusual.
Once every five or so years unusual.
I'd park you in psy-ops,
but your PT test
No woman has done this.
Most men don't.
Twenty-two pull ups, 114 push ups
in 3 minutes, and you ran an
eight minute mile and a half.
The standard is fifteen.
I ran the 800 in high school, sir.
Threw the javelin. Won state in both.
I'm aware. Did my homework on you.
What I don't understand is
why you didn't go to college.
Why are you here and not
achieving all the things
that these tests say
you should be achieving?
Mother died in junior year.
I just stopped caring.
Hated myself. Hated the world.
And I treated myself like it.
- Father?
- Who knows? I don't.
So no family.
One brother dead and one in prison
if you call that family.
What does the word "Marine" mean to you?
I don't know.
Then why are we talking?
Why are you here?
[MUSIC]
I was being hunted and I
pushed through these doors
and a Marine was there
and he protected me.
He offered me a chance
So you do know what it means.
We are the strong. We protect the weak.
We are merciless in that endeavor.
Is that an endeavor you wish to pursue?
Yes, sir.
There's 1.4 million active
duty personnel
in the armed forces.
They all do their part.
But there's not a thousand among them
that we can call on
that make a difference.
I think you could be one of those few.
But it means walking away from the life
that you lived up to this
point and never looking back.
That life is over.
I have no life, sir.
You do now.
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]
- [JOE] She was compromised.
- Compromised how?
Her mark walked in on
her bathing and saw
[SIGH]
Saw the tattoo of a
cross beneath her armpit.
A tattoo?
Yes, sir.
You didn't think to check
your operative for tattoos?
I asked her if she had
tattoos and she said no.
And you just took her word for it?
Would you rather I strip
searched her in the barracks?
That's exactly what I
Regulations forbid me from doing that
Fuck's sake, Joe.
Regulations?
Stop acting like this is
your first day on the job.
Walk us through your decision
to call a drone strike.
ISIS members had her in custody.
You knew this how?
I heard it through my sat phone.
- You had a CAG team en route.
- Two. And my team.
And you still ordered the strike.
There were more than forty ISIS fighters
at that location prepared
for our assault.
At best, it takes my team an
hour to secure the location.
And during that time
I God damn guarantee
they've strip searched her
and made a home movie we
don't want on the internet.
She was dead either way.
I chose to protect my team
and the sanctity of our operation.
Check the next one for tattoos.
Every inch of her.
Fucking asshole.
Debriefs are unpleasant
for a reason, Joe.
I can assure you his debrief
will be that and worse.
Good.
What next?
Go to Bragg. Make another one.
[SCOFFS]
It's not your fault, Joe.
She lied to you.
I trusted her.
I know better than that.
Twenty two years-old.
Her whole life ahead of her
and I just dropped a missile on it.
[MUSIC]
[CRICKETS]
[CHILD LAUGHING]
You say you don't like
them but I've never
seen you try them.
I've tried them.
Honey, grits don't have a taste.
They taste like whatever you put in it.
And I put cheese in it
because you like cheese.
It's not the taste. It's the texture.
Mom! [LAUGHS]
Oh! Oh my God
You're so big.
Let me see you.
No phone call?
Thought I'd surprise you.
Well, you achieved your goal.
You hungry?
Yeah. Yeah.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
I hate it when she's here.
Hey. We don't say that.
Finish your meal.
You, finish whatever it is
you're willing to eat.
When you call first,
I can download you on
what they've been doing.
Then they aren't ambushed at dinner
and you have something to say.
I didn't know I was coming back.
Thought about staying at Bragg,
calling tomorrow, but
You don't need permission to come home.
I'm just trying to make
the landing softer.
Yard looks nice.
You're staying fit out
there in the desert, I see.
Who said desert?
Just a guess.
[MUSIC]
[WATER RUNNING]
You seeing anyone?
No. Not really.
You?
Just You know. To feel something.
Anything
That's what I meant by not really.
You're right. I should've called first.
Then everyone knows
how to play their role.
How long you staying?
Not long.
[CHUCKLES]
Well, they say love is all you need.
That's not a saying,
baby. That's a song.
If your theater is the Middle East,
I have seven that could
work, but this one
Fucking pipe hitter, this girl.
She's from Mexico, Jack.
Father's Syrian, mother from Jalisco.
- Muslim?
- Catholic.
How's her Arabic?
Clean. Done four language courses.
Keeps up with it good
- She did a tour in Afghanistan?
- Two.
She was Force Recon before we got her.
H.A.L.O. jumps in country.
Passed S.E.R.E. school on her first go.
She's a fucking gangster.
She's a fucking door kicker.
Fuck am I gonna do with
a door kicker, Jack?
She's got a brain.
She tested top ten percent
on the officer's scale.
She's been in insertion
training for six months.
I'm telling you.
I don't like my assets
picked for me, Jack.
See for yourself.
[GRUNTING]
Manuelos, Hastings. In the pit.
Sergeant Hastings.
- Give him a helmet.
- I don't need a helmet.
You're gonna need a helmet.
Yeah, we'll see about that.
Oh!
[GRUNTING]
[SHOUTS]
[GRUNTS]
[HASTINGS] Like fighting
a fucking raccoon!
[CRUZ] Told you you needed a helmet.
Fuck you!
At ease, Manuelos. I'm not an officer.
Who are you with?
Special Activities.
You wanted your chance, so here it is.
- When?
- Classified.
- Where?
- Classified.
I'm not done vetting you yet.
I was vetted before they
let me in the program.
Not my program.
When the Lioness team was first formed,
we just needed female soldiers
to frisk and interrogate
female insurgents.
We can't have a man running his hand
over some Muslim teenager's groin.
What it has evolved to
What we do now is locate the
wives and the girlfriends
and daughters of these
high-value targets,
and we place an operative close to them.
The operative makes friends with them.
Earns their trust.
Leads us to the target,
and we kill the target.
Some might consider that cruel
and outside the lines of what's just.
What do you think?
I think if you ain't cheatin'
you ain't tryin', ma'am.
You got any tattoos?
No, ma'am.
Prove it.
All of it.
[MUSIC]
Lift your arms.
What are those?
From cigarettes.
Turn around.
Those are from an extension cord.
Should answer your question
about how much pain I can take.
And this should tell you
how much indignity.
This is how you get off?
Knock yourself out, lady,
I can stand here all fucking day.
You'll do. Get packed.
We leave 0600.
[MUSIC]
Asmar Ali Amrohi.
One of the leaders of the
Iranian backed militia in Iraq.
- He's a target?
- He is the target.
- Who's my mark?
- Daughter.
They have money.
She's young so she likes to spend it.
Where can you spend it in Baghdad?
You can't. You spend it in Kuwait.
Is that where we're going?
It's where we're starting.
You're not married?
Hey. We don't do that.
I'm not your friend and you aren't mine.
Getting real tired of you telling me
what we are and aren't gonna do.
Get used to it, because
that's our relationship.
Then turn the fucking plane around.
[SIGH]
You'd like to be in charge, is that it?
With your years of experience?
I'd like to know you.
I'd like to know the person responsible
with saving me if my cover is blown.
If your cover's blown
there is no saving you.
That's what this job has taught me.
You have to save yourself,
then we come get you.
You can trust me to do that.
[MUSIC]
[MP] IDs all the way around.
Yeah. You'll get mine.
Fair enough.
- Just for me?
- Just you.
There's a cantina down the hall.
Rest of the team is gonna meet us there.
And a cafe in case you're hungry.
You have a cafe?
More importantly, we have a cantina.
Do you have a mirror under there?
I know this Vegas magician
shit you're pulling.
[BOBBY] I'm just good.
Chief, she's cheating at cards again.
And what am I, 0 for 7, 0 for 18 now?
Stop cheating, Bobby.
Cheating?
Yeah, because next time
I win you're cleaning
the fucking toilet is what you're doing.
How do you drink that with
no ice in this fucking desert?
This is for cooling off.
And this is not.
Just drink beer like me.
Get both at the same time.
Then I'll look like you.
[LAUGHING]
That our little sparrow?
The one and only.
Hey, if you're here to purify the water,
it's right around the corner.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your service.
Just fucking with her.
I'll introduce you around.
This is our QRF team leader, Bobby.
This is Two Cups, that
over there is Tex,
- Randy, and that's Tucker.
- [RANDY CLICKS TONGUE]
Why Two Cups?
[LAUGHING]
[BOBBY] We went to Thailand on leave.
And he drank two cups
of something and tried
to fuck everything.
- It was horrible.
- And we mean everything.
How many beers is that?
Just so I know where to sit.
[CHUCKLING]
- Texas, huh?
- New Jersey.
When he shaves his beard he, uh,
he looks like Matt Dillon.
Don't get it.
He starred in the movie "Tex."
Still don't get it.
So your name's Cruz, huh?
What's that from?
Not a nickname.
Want a beer?
Water please.
Water?
When do we start?
His family keeps an apartment here.
We have eyes on it.
When she moves we move.
Where does he stay?
That's the million dollar
question you're here to answer.
Let's see that.
I don't trust anyone who
doesn't get drunk with me.
When's our wake up?
Uh, we wake up when we feel like it.
That's when we wake up.
- Welcome to CIA.
- Welcome to the team.
Here we go.
I think I'm in love.
[RANDY] Don't hurt yourself.
I'm a fucking Marine.
What did you expect?
[BOBBY] All right, then.
Come on, you want in?
Hey, listen she cheats at cards so much.
Shut the fuck up.
Watch your six, I swear to God.
Hey, Tuck, can I borrow some money?
[KNOCKING, DOOR OPENS]
Let's go.
There's clothes in the closet.
Something cute, stylish [GROANS]
Take this blue purse. The Chanel.
Meet us in the briefing
room in 15 minutes.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[MUSIC]
[KNOCKING]
Yeah, I'm coming.
Now. She's on the move.
What is your name?
Zara Adid.
Where are you from?
Where the fuck are you from?
I was born in Boston but my
parents were born in Abu Dhabi.
What are you doing in Kuwait?
- My cousin.
- Uncle.
Uncle. Fuck.
I'm taking a semester off school
and staying with my uncle.
What does your uncle do?
He's a producer for Al Jazheera.
Moving on foot now. Salhiya market.
- Three blocks ahead.
- You know what she looks like?
I know what she looks like.
- Look at her again.
- Wait, I don't know her name.
You're not supposed to know her name.
- You haven't met her yet.
- This is too fast.
- We need to slow down.
- Too late for that.
I don't know what I'm doing.
I don't know anything about
her or who she's with.
Look at me.
You're not supposed to.
What if you say her name
or you say something she hasn't
told you about herself yet?
You're blind on purpose.
Up ahead. On the right. Get ready.
I get out first. Do not follow me.
Do not look at me. Understood?
Say it.
I understand.
Wait! Fuck. I don't know where I'm going!
Relax. Louis Vuitton.
Fifth store on the left.
Go there now.
[MUSIC]
Sorry.
[SPEAKS ARABIC]
- American.
- Yeah.
It's, uh beautiful.
Wishful thinking.
A woman can't buy jewelry for herself.
Why not?
Because it doesn't mean anything.
It has to be given to you.
You're pretty enough to know that.
[LAUGHS]
If you wait for an American
man to buy jewelry
you'll never have any. [LAUGHS]
You have family here?
My uncle.
Here to find a husband?
Well, with that face it won't take long.
But you American girls and make up.
No subtlety.
It's okay, we go down to Estée Lauder.
It's across the street.
What's your name?
If you don't want my help that's fine.
Just trying to be nice.
Zara. Adid.
Aaliyah Amrohi.
- This will be fun.
- Yeah.
[MUSIC]
She's in.
[MUSIC]
[MUSIC]