Covert Affairs s01e04 Episode Script

Helvetica's wheels down.
On two.
How was your flight? Like a giant nursery ward in the sky.
I got 10 minutes of shut-eye.
Max.
Well, who said our career isn't glamorous? Now, I've got to turn around and fly right back.
Any chance of upgrading out of coach? You'll have to take that up with the Appropriations Committee.
Good luck with that on a Sunday.
Come on, Auggie.
I'll be fighting the jet stream.
Hey, any time you want to switch places, just let me know.
Someone's a little cheeky this morning.
Too bad.
I was going to get you a souvenir.
Yeah? Yeah.
A Saint Bernard.
Stuffed, of course.
They kind of remind me of you.
Great.
I remind you of Cujo.
It's the slobbering, isn't it? Yeah, that, and they're cute and dependable.
And when you're feeling low, they bring you booze.
It's my contact.
Wish me luck.
Good luck.
Get off! At the end of the day, the CIA is acting in our name.
But we need to demand more transparency.
I was personally assured by the Director of Clandestine Services himself, Arthur Campbell, that things would be different under this new regime.
What evidence have we seen that anything has actually changed? What are you doing? Oh, I couldn't help it.
I had to watch it.
Give me that.
Give it.
You promised.
No David Gregory.
She mentioned my name.
It's just noise, Arthur.
Plus, it's like she's being CC'ed on every piece of paper.
I thought we agreed.
No shoptalk until noon today.
Just tell me you're plugging any leaks from your division.
I will find the leaks.
Trust me.
Now, are you going to take advantage of my largesse already, or do I have to find someone who appreciates me more? Toast soldiers.
Mmm-hmm.
With one soft-boiled egg.
Just the way you like it.
I also brought you the paper.
Aw! Oh! It's very light.
That's because I shredded everything related to geopolitics.
You redacted the sports page.
I know how you get about the Nationals.
They got smoked, didn't they? I'm not talking.
Yeah, well, I have ways of getting it out of you.
Really? Yeah.
Ignore that.
Ignore what? That.
Try to ignore this.
I can't.
I really can't.
I really can't.
I Oh.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now? It's Annie.
The Swiss authorities reporting no casualties, but a handful of people have been rushed to the hospital with injuries.
And as of yet, no terrorist group I'll see you in 15.
It's just a run-of-the-mill brush pass.
Just tell me we didn't pull her off the Farm before she learned how to go to ground.
Hey! Are you all right? The bomb I'm fine.
I think.
You ever try and disguise a government-issue titanium briefcase on the run before? I can assure you, it's not easy.
All right, so you've got the package? Which one? Mine.
Ours.
And your 20? Downtown.
On foot.
On my way to the Turk's.
That's still the backup, correct? That would be our backup, yes.
They wanted the briefcase.
You think it might be time to read me in on what I'm carrying here? That information has not gone vertical yet.
Tell me what happened with the pass.
Did you establish a visual with the contact? Yeah.
With both of them.
Both of them? Seems like orange wristbands and metal briefcases are all the rage in Zurich, Auggie.
It's getting hard to tell who's on my team out here.
I am.
Okay? I'm on your team.
I'm with you all the way home.
I think I've been made.
I'm going to have to dead drop this package.
Annie? Well, that's the protocol, right? When things go Tango Uniform? Yes.
Yes, that's the protocol, but we don't have one vetted.
It makes our lives infinitely more complicated if you're taken into custody, Annie.
Annie? Okay, can you make it to the Turk's? That's not an option right now.
Okay.
Do what you have to do.
What's the word on Annie? En route to the Turk.
Clear head.
Wits about her.
Good.
And the package? She had to drop it.
There's an empty safe house nearby.
I can take you there now.
Thank you.
What's that? Oh.
I I must have forgotten.
Now, your shoes, please.
My shoes? Your passport.
Any ID.
They're no good to you anymore.
Oh, hello? Hold on.
He's expecting me.
Hello, Bill.
Ken.
David.
Maybe I should come back later.
No, we're all family here.
Saves me from catching everyone up one at a time.
Okay, then.
Here's what we know.
Fedpol grabbed this image off the closed circuit just prior to the bomb going off.
The briefcase matches the shrapnel from the explosion.
Do they have enough for a visual ID? They matched it to the passport.
The SAP is looking for a Gayle Beacham from Scarborough, Ontario.
She already made it to the Turk, so we're good there, but we need to get her out of Zurich.
What's the status of the briefcase? It's been dead dropped.
Walker's confident it's secure for now.
We have some good news from Tel Aviv.
Their operative, Eyal Lavine He also escaped with his package.
So, for now, there hasn't been anything compromised.
I'm sorry, Bill.
Did I say something funny? Nothing's been compromised? That's right.
Now, I've been constructing a plan for Walker's extraction.
From what I understand, we have three active assets operating in Zurich canton.
Thank you, Joan.
Ken's going to be coordinating the extraction.
But Annie's my operative.
I'm not going to jeopardize the safety of my operatives in the field through contact with your division.
What are you talking about? Where are we on the Liza Hearn leak? We're proceeding as scheduled.
Diligently, systematically I'm sorry.
Is this really the time? We have an operative out there in the dark.
Is this really the time to focus our energy on the leak? The DPD has been compromised.
I'm wondering whether you're too close to your people to prosecute this fully.
Bill's going to initiate a company-wide investigation starting today, with the DPD.
Are we all on the same page? Absolutely.
You can come up now.
Apartment 503.
The towels and bedding should be clean, but I cannot make any promises.
Okay.
Um Is there milk? For the mac and cheese? You can make do with water.
Okay.
I will bring your new passport as soon as I cobble it.
Isn't this where you tell me everything is going to be okay? I am just a bridge agent and a cobbler.
I'm not a handler.
Meaning? Meaning that I do not traffic in false hope and baseless reassurance.
Okay, then.
The hair dye.
Hold it to your face.
I want to check the color.
What do you think? In case the color does not flatter you.
Oh, I couldn't.
Better this than that hat.
You're my contact! What are you doing here? I could ask you the same question.
I don't get this.
We get tasked with a simple brush pass.
In and out, in a presumably secure airport.
Then, things go sideways.
I go my way, you go yours, I get to ground Hold on a second.
You're already here? It's funny how things happen, huh? Why would CIA and the Mossad share the same safe house? I don't know.
Maybe for the same reason we both fly coach instead of first class.
You did fly coach, right? This doesn't make any sense.
Come on.
Stop making this seem more random than it actually is.
What? You've never seen Munich? You want to tell me what you're doing with that thing? Pass me that foil.
There's only one bed.
That's all we need, neshama.
Come on.
Think of it as kismet.
We shack up here for a few days, we let things die down, and then we do what we were brought together to do.
Which is what, exactly? Exchange briefcases, of course.
You want to tell me where yours is? It's somewhere safe.
This is somewhere safe.
That's why they call it a safe house.
Where else is safe? It got hot.
I had to drop it.
So That's how they teach you in the CIA? Not to get caught with compromising materials? Yeah.
It's basic CIA protocol.
Protocol? I take it Mossad doesn't have the same procedure? A Mossad man never separates from his package.
Ever.
You're just a jobnik, aren't you? All this talk about protocol.
It's like you're sitting at a desk, pushing papers.
I'm not a paper-pusher.
I've done fieldwork before.
Yeah? How much? Plenty.
You made a police scanner out of that thing? Yeah.
In case you speak only American, what they're saying is I know.
The Swiss security apparatus is looking for you and me.
At least we're in a friendly country.
Friendly? A colleague of mine is in prison here for five years for an act of espionage no different than this.
That's not going to be my fate.
I'm going to go take a shower.
Try not to broadcast our location while I'm in there.
Pretty cloak and dagger, no? Shouldn't you be feeding the pigeons or something? You apparently think this is funny.
Yes, I do.
Not as funny as if you were also wearing a trench coat, but You mentioned me by name.
You broke the rule, Liza.
It's unwritten, Arthur.
The DCI and the director of public affairs, the only names ever spoken in public.
It's not like anyone can't find you on the org chart.
What's your end game here? You getting me pushed out the door? Don't you think you're overreacting? If I'm gone, there will be another Henry Wilcox moving in, blacking out the windows, installing floor-to-ceiling drapes.
Good luck with your transparency then.
I've heard this song before, Arthur.
How all you need is a little more time to gradually change the culture.
But nothing ever happens.
I'm more of a rip-the-Band-Aid-off type of girl.
I can play Rip the Band-Aid Off, too.
Trust me when I say this.
My version hurts more.
They with you? It must be hard to level empty threats and pretend to be a good guy at the same time.
You break any more rules, written or unwritten, you put any of my people anywhere in jeopardy, I'll let you judge for yourself how empty my threats are.
I don't know about the pigeons, but the squirrels go crazy for that stuff.
If you were Mossad, where would you stash your briefcase? Hold on.
I'm pulling his 201 up now.
All right.
Eyal Lavine.
Three years IDF, Field Intelligence Squad.
Then, two years with Magav in the Golan Heights, before becoming Mossad in '98.
Oh, wow! What? You said this guy tried to kill you? Yeah, with a piano wire.
Why? This guy was with Kidon for five years.
The hard squad.
Assassinations, kidnappings This brush pass seems way beneath his pay grade.
And yet, it's not beneath mine? I don't see anything in his file.
Maybe he's a burnout case or a drinker.
Yeah, or maybe he just pissed somebody off somewhere.
You know, he's the kind of guy that likes to piss people off.
A Mossad man and his package? Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? Whoa! My God! What? Uh Nothing.
Just tell me you're working on getting me home.
I'm working on bringing you home.
Okay.
Is it Is it possible that this guy is a double agent? I mean, are we even sure he was my contact in the first place? Well, you can send me his picture and I can try to match up his ID.
I could send you a picture, but, uh Not sure it will work for ID purposes.
All right, listen.
They want to know where you dropped the briefcase.
We're going to send someone to go pick it up.
I can still complete the mission.
I mean, I can't stand this guy, but I can still make the pass.
Annie, this is not a reflection on you.
This is standard operating procedure.
Of course.
Okay.
Oh, my God.
What are you doing? Annie? Annie? Know how easy to trace one of these things are? I was talking to Langley.
Yeah, let me guess.
CIA protocol? It's an encrypted phone.
What? Someone knew every nut and bolt of our mission.
So, either your agency or mine has been corrupted.
My guess is it's yours.
But, hey, I don't mind admitting I'm biased.
You really enjoy being a jerk, don't you? I do.
Oh, and by the way, if you're looking for this, you're welcome to join me.
Whoa! Ugh! Yeah, I need a reverse cell look-up on Walker's phone.
All right.
You four.
Report to polygraph.
No, I've got the last known location.
I just need to know if it starts moving.
Let's go, Anderson.
Step to.
I'm sorry.
This is going to have to wait.
Now.
Walk this up to the DCS with the other background you're compiling as soon as humanly possible.
Yeah.
Joan, will you call off Arthur's attack dog? I'm trying to reestablish contact with Annie.
Leave the intel with me.
We'll make sure someone fills the gap.
I don't understand.
It's a company-wide directive.
Everyone's coming under scrutiny.
You ready yet, hotshot? Don't be a baby.
Ow.
Ah! Oh! Neshama! What? Come quick.
It's an emergency.
What is so pressing that it can't wait? Your food.
You don't want it to get cold.
It smells good.
Yeah, if there's something I've learned over the years, it's treat every meal as though it's your last.
Come on.
Sit down.
Eat.
What is it? Oh, just a little hanger steak, with some charred eggplant and pine nuts.
Oh, and a little beurre rouge.
Oh.
We're okay? How did you What When did you, uh I stowed away on a food service truck getting out of the airport.
What is it? No.
I don't know.
It must have been from the shrapnel.
Let me see.
Hey! Come on.
Don't be shy.
Oh, I'm going to have to stitch that.
You keep eating.
I got this.
That's okay.
I'll get this.
I insist.
If you take his money, someone will be listening in on every phone conversation you have for the rest of your life.
Don't listen to her.
She doesn't have the power to make that happen.
I, on the other hand, do.
He's the DCS.
We need to talk.
I'm going to forgive you for the price of a double latte? Is that what you think? Thank God you're not out in the field handling assets.
You don't have a feel for it.
I think you're being overly sensitive.
You hung me out to dry, Arthur, to save face with your foursome.
Heaven forbid I'm actually kept in the loop in any of this stuff.
I still don't even know what's in those damn briefcases.
It's just protocol.
It's just wrong.
Am I failing you as head of DPD? No, of course not.
If I cut you any slack running down this leak My wife? They'd run the both of us out of here.
I've got to tell you something.
David, Ken, and Bill are Brutuses.
Every single one of them.
They're just waiting for the chance to stab you in the back.
Oh, come on.
It's not their fault.
It's how they were trained.
It's how we were all trained.
But there is exactly one person in this place who you can truly trust to the core, and you are doing your best to alienate her.
God! Is that going to scar? Oh, most definitely.
But in a cute way.
Right.
You can always put a tattoo over it if you don't like it.
You're not Jewish, are you? No.
Good.
Well, good for the tattoo.
Not so good for me going and introducing you to my mom.
Were you read in on what's inside the briefcase? No.
It doesn't make you curious, what someone tried to kill us over? It's not for me to speculate.
I I can't stop thinking about it since I boarded the plane.
I don't know how you can be so Zen about it.
I'll give you two scenarios.
One, you're carrying a krytron tube, capable of triggering a nuclear device.
The second, you're just a bagman, shuffling shekels back and forth.
You having that knowledge, is that going to change how you conduct yourself? Honestly? Yeah.
I'm going to conduct myself differently.
And that's why they don't tell us.
Just cogs in the wheel, you and I.
Keep your head, complete your mission.
Let the suits worry about the bigger stuff.
All right.
We're done.
Let's find you something else to wear.
I I already looked in there.
There's nothing to wear.
Yeah, I saw that already.
Yeah? What, you weren't going to tell me? Black leather and Polaroids.
Still the best way to flip a politician.
I thought it was something like that.
That's a lot of rope for one person.
Well, how do you know it's just for one? Last time I holed up in a safe house, all we had to play with was, uh, Scrabble.
I'm fine with Scrabble.
So You gonna tell me where you dropped the package? Huh? The terminal? Or did you leave it with the Turk? Who's the Turk? So, you're going to play it that way.
What's the matter? That guy down there.
In the overalls.
With the power company van.
It's Sunday.
And those aren't work boots.
Get dressed quickly.
This was your big idea? Rappelling with the bondage gear? Not like we could take the stairs.
You learned this on the Farm? Yeah.
Bouldering at Moab.
Oh! All right? Yeah.
All right.
Ladies first.
Do you want me to, uh No, I got this.
Stop! Right there! I'm going to ask you a series of questions to act as a control sample.
Okay? No, it's not okay.
You wanted the truth, correct? Just answer the questions, please.
Your name is August Anderson? Yes, but my friends call me Auggie.
You can call me August.
Yes or no, please.
You were born in Glencoe, Illinois.
Is that correct? Yes.
Okay.
You lost your eyesight while with Special Forces in Iraq.
Is that correct? I'm sorry.
You'll have to be more specific.
You were in Tikrit.
Yes.
There was an incident.
An explosion.
Yes.
And now, you're blind.
No, I'm not.
You're not? What does the machine say? I spent 12 months down on the Farm, I did my SERE training at Fort Bragg, and I have four mean-ass older brothers.
You don't think I know how to lie well enough to beat that thing? Are you happy with your current position as field ops support? Yes.
Have you requested more field responsibilities? Once or twice Yes or no? Yes.
Are you frustrated with your superior's decision to keep you on the bench? Well, yes, but I think that's understandable.
Do you think you know better than management? No.
Good.
Now that we've determined a baseline, we can get started.
Fatma.
Boy, am I glad to see you.
You're here.
What the hell? What are you doing here? I'm here to rendezvous with you.
What do you think? Get these handcuffs off of me.
She was dead when I got here.
I swear.
It just occurred to me.
In the airport, before the flash-bangs went off? You put your sunglasses on.
Like you knew what was coming.
Well, you You're completely paranoid, aren't you? Listen.
Check the body if you don't believe me.
All right? Rigor has set in, all the way through the torso.
She's been dead for four hours, at least.
Chesapeake Bay Letterpress.
How can I help you? Offset litho and proof desk, please.
Hello, Helvetica.
It's good to have you back.
I'm sorry, do I know you? I I need to speak with my normal service representative.
Officer Anderson's currently unavailable.
I'm going to be your acting liaison now.
My name is Braithwaite.
Eric Braithwaite.
Acting liaison? I don't understand.
Hang up the phone, Annie.
You You're not DPD? I'm NCS.
We're going to be handling your extraction.
Changing liaisons mid-mission? With no handover? I need your 20.
Hey.
We can't rely on normal channels.
We must assume everything has been compromised.
Helvetica, I want to remind you to please just follow protocol.
Just give me one good reason to trust you right now.
It doesn't matter if you can trust me or not.
The question is, can you use me to complete your mission? That's all that's important.
And it's going to be really difficult for you to leave the country without this.
Listen, we retrieve your package, we make the exchange, and then this is yours.
I found some fresh clothes in the back.
Come on, Annie.
Use me.
Helvetica? I'll call back in when I can.
Don't make me regret this.
Let's go.
Do you believe in the concept of a greater good? Yes, I suppose.
And you believe yourself qualified to be the arbiter of that? What are you getting at? Let me rephrase.
Do you think that there's a part of you that wants to punish the Agency for what happened to you? I don't believe this.
There is an operative out there somewhere in the cold, alone and in danger.
And every second I am spending here twaddling with you is a second I am not helping her to get back home.
So, let's cut the psychobabble and just ask me the question you want to know.
Did I corrupt the Zurich exchange? No.
That's not what I want to know.
It's not? Are you the source in the Liza Hearn leak? What? Are you Liza Hearn's source? No.
Are we done now? Ah, the old, hidden in plain sight gambit.
It works well until the manager sees something out of place.
And trust me, retail managers, they always notice when things are out of place.
No matter how small.
You want to recruit a spy? Forget about the Army or your Ivy League.
Just set up outside a good Benetton It's not in the luggage store.
Then, where? The linen closet? The ice machine? You're not instilling me with a lot of confidence here.
I know what I'm doing.
A slow Sunday afternoon, in a half-booked hotel? Don't tell me.
Yeah.
It's under the bride.
What's this? That's all we know Re: Zurich.
The operation was compromised on the Israeli side.
They believe one of their operatives went rogue.
This guy, Daniel Klein.
You know him? No.
I'm trying to negotiate sanctuary for Walker, but the Swiss are in no mood to do us any favors since we forced their hand on bank secrecy.
You're reading me in on this.
Excuse me, Mr.
Campbell? I was told to tell you they need you back upstairs.
Dinner later? Maybe? If I can? Sure.
Just let me know.
Unbelievable.
You found the one hotel in Zurich without a working fire alarm? They can't sit there all night.
They have to get up and dance sometime.
Oh, let's just topple the table and make Hey.
Hey.
You see that crew cut leaning on the post? Yeah.
Canton police sergeant.
Off-duty.
That's their regiment tie.
I don't know how long we have before someone makes us.
We should dance.
Don't you think? To blend in.
In case anyone asks, you're cousin Heidi's son from Liechtenstein.
You're pretty good at this, you know? I used to dance competitively as a boy.
Get out of here.
Why did you quit? Well, it was all rigged.
You stop kissing the ring, the judges go East German on you.
And you don't like to kiss the ring, do you? Is that why they sent you on a mission they'd normally have a rookie run? Another lesson I've learned, neshama? Don't pretend to know something you have no clue about.
I was just curious.
I'm going to ask her to dance.
Get ready to grab the package.
Okay.
Just, uh Try not to be yourself.
You didn't heed my advice.
She's injured.
Oh.
Looks like a walking cast to me.
If she really wanted to, she could have, uh Well, you can't account for some women's taste.
Mmm.
I mean, look at the guy she just married.
Can you imagine a lifetime of that? She's getting frustrated with him.
Yeah? Yeah.
Get ready to grab the package.
Hello! Oh! Get in! Get in! Where did you go? I wasn't sure you were coming back.
You want to know why I was sent here? It's because I missed a ferry.
I was escorting an asset off of Corfu.
A ferry to Athens, then a flight to Tel Aviv.
Sounds easy, right? Except the guy's in the middle of this custody thing with his wife.
Didn't get a chance to say goodbye to his little girl.
And where we're going, he might never get that chance.
That's another thing you learn in our business.
Make every goodbye count.
Anyway, we, uh We missed the ferry.
We caught the one the next day.
They benched you for that? I didn't follow protocol.
That's what I get for being such a nice guy.
So, where to now? We'll head to Bern.
I know another safe house there.
Then, maybe a train to France or Italy.
The Riviera? Spend some time on the beach.
Eyal! Eyal! You're going to have to start pulling your weight in this partnership.
You know, it's only fair.
Eyal, get up.
Get up.
Stay where you are.
Don't move.
I'm going to need you to find us a quick way out of here.
You've had that this whole time, and you're just using it now? Wouldn't have done any good earlier.
It was the first time I had a clear advantage.
Langley doesn't issue you these? No, they don't.
I guess that makes you the only Americans who don't carry guns.
I take it you are Walker and Lavine? We've just received word from Interpol.
Seems you two have some planes to catch.
Auggie.
Good news.
You passed your polygraph.
You'll be back on your desk tomorrow morning.
Imagine that.
See you tomorrow.
So, when did you make them for Mossad? Oh, it was the way they entered the safe house.
The team's always four.
Always.
One for transport, one to locate the target, and two for the execution.
I think you owe Langley an apology.
Yeah, I know.
Plus, I'm horribly embarrassed by their inability to take us out.
I mean, it's a national disgrace, the fact that you and I are still walking.
Especially you.
So, hold on.
You let me believe it was Langley, even after you knew it wasn't? Like I said, anything to complete the mission.
Just cogs in the wheel, right? Your attention, please.
Flight 143 to Washington So, don't you think we should finally do this? Wait.
How do we know which is which? Powerpuff Girl? My niece gave it to me for luck.
Never put it this much to the test before.
Maybe the Riviera next time.
I don't know.
The beaches in Israel are much better.
Really? Didn't you hear, neshama? Everything's better in Israel.
Are you awake? Now, I am.
Can I ask you something? When you read me in earlier, on the Zurich situation, did you do that as my boss or as my husband? Honestly, I don't know.
Is there a right answer to that question? I don't know, either.
Welcome home, Annie.
I was going to pick you up from the airport myself if I still had a driver's license.
Or a car.
Call me after you've made the hand off.
Did you check any luggage, Ms.
Abramowitz? No.
Just the one carry-on today.
Cab fare.
Just in case.
Nice work, Helvetica.