The Agency (2024) s01e04 Episode Script
Quarterback Blitz
1
[PHONE RINGING]
- [MARTIAN] Hello?
- [HENRY] Come downstairs.
You're signed in as Paul Lewis?
Why are you using
a defunct identity to get
This has to stop.
[PULSING, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
Felix is active.
Charlie's okay, right?
[BOSKO]
Capture of these operatives
would constitute an immediate
strategic geopolitical disaster.
We have to get them back.
Whatever it takes.
You're being sent to Tehran to identify
Iranian nuclear engineers.
Professor Mortazevi runs
an exchange program.
Your job is to be hired there.
How do I get a research job
at the Institute of Geophysics?
- [NAOMI] That's your problem.
- Professor Wartenburg.
- Hello.
- Hi.
Aren't you worried that a kid
can figure out
your supersecret hiding place?
- This isn't a game.
- [WHIMPERS]
[MARTIAN]
Why are you really in London?
[SAMI] Why am I being interrogated?
- Hey.
- Do I ask you why we only meet
when and where you say?
This isn't working.
[OSMAN] Samia!
"Love is Blindness"
by Jack White ♪
Love is blindness ♪
I don't want to see ♪
Won't you wrap the night ♪
Around me ♪
Oh, my heart ♪
Love is blindness ♪
Blindness ♪
Love is blindness ♪
I don't want to see ♪
Won't you wrap the night ♪
Around me, yeah ♪
Oh ♪
My love ♪
Love is blindness ♪
Oh, love is blindness ♪
Blindness ♪
[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
Civil war in Sudan had been
raging for years.
[SLOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
In the midst of fierce fighting,
refusing all peace talks
brokered by American
and Saudi diplomats,
no one could have guessed
both sides were in London,
meeting secretly
with the Chinese.
On the table, billions
in infrastructure investment.
Control of oil fields
to the south.
Gold mines in the north.
A home port on the Red Sea
- en route to the Suez Canal.
- How are you?
Sudan was a triple play.
Everyone wanted in.
Us, the Russians, the Saudis.
Now here were the Chinese.
The worst part?
We knew nothing about it.
[OSMAN] I have one role here.
To guarantee the secrecy of these talks.
No one discusses anything
outside of this room.
No one leaves their hotel at night.
Women are forbidden in hotels.
No press.
Any mistakes
will terminate negotiations.
[PULSING, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
Before I, uh, pick up
where we left off yesterday,
I would like to remind you all
of the general Hemedti's
central position
with regards to the deadlock
in Khartoum
[MAN] What was the nature
of the talks with the Sudanese?
What was at stake?
Only the future of their entire country.
Division of territory.
Safety of the clans.
Access to rich resources.
Between Sufis, Darfurians,
Fallatas, Rashaidas,
Beja nomads, Bedouins.
They needed an expert.
Someone who understood
the region, its history.
[SAMI] We see that villages
in the Melut Basin,
up to the White Nile rift
are unhappy with this administrative
division into two provinces.
[MARTIAN] Nobody knew that
was Samia Zahir.
We can learn from the
mistakes made after the discovery
of the Paloich oil field in South Sudan.
[MARTIAN] No woman had ever
played a role close to Hemedti,
or with the Sudan mabahith.
Yet here she was, fighting
for the survival of her people.
The interests of the many ethnic groups
who live in these regions
cannot be bulldozed.
[MARTIAN] To end a bloody war.
Risking everything for peace.
[MONITOR BEEPS]
- [SQUEAKING]
- [HENRY] Wanker.
[GRUNTS]
[CLATTERING]
Mecca's that way.
Brand-new building,
already we have mice.
Do you know, most of the rats
in New York City come from here?
Brown rat. Rattus norvegicus.
Listen, about what happened
at the hotel
[HENRY] Before you say anything,
- you already apologized.
- I did?
Well, no, but yeah.
I mean, no, you didn't, but yes, you did
in your own fucked-up way.
Well, I just wanted to say
- [STAMMERS]
- Thanks. It's obvious you don't.
But I appreciate your trying.
Felix pretty much made up
for it. That was good work.
You know my fuck-up?
It was Charlie.
Last week, I called
and asked him the name of his op
to see if he was in danger.
I never should have done that.
Well, Henry, I mean
that's way fucking worse.
I should report you. I mean, seriously.
You should be in jail
for, like, 40 years.
All right, go on, then.
I could use a little me time right now.
You owe me one, but I owe you two.
One for Felix, one for Charlie.
Well, at least
let me buy you a mousetrap.
[PULSING, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[BUSY, INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪
Okay.
We got a situation.
Fifth floor.
A Belarusian delegation
is downstairs.
Some congressman from Idaho
called them a puppet state.
Lapdogs of Putin.
Bosko's in there bailing water.
They want a public apology
or else they escalate.
- [MARTIAN] Who's on their team?
- Uh, the usual.
Assorted flunkies, senior attaché.
[HENRY] They're not room meat.
At least one will be KGB.
- I have an idea.
- What is it?
I'll rush the edge, you stun
up the middle, and force a pass,
expose their quarterback.
Love it.
Fuck off. What do you want?
[HENRY] We need a word.
[SIGHS] I've got the U.S.
and Belarus ambassadors in there
trying to avert
a major diplomatic incident.
- We have an idea.
- [SCOFFS]
Is it better than,
"Oh, we've lost an agent,
can we please get him back?"
[HENRY] Why are they here now?
'Cause some bumfuck, no-name congressman
throws a little shade on Capitol Hill?
Maybe they want to start
a negotiation here.
If they do have Coyote,
they'll allude to it.
They'll give us a sign.
Open a back channel.
It'll be masked. Subtext.
We need to be in there to spot the sign.
- Owen.
- [OWEN] Sir?
- Walk away.
- Sir.
- Observers.
- Observers.
- Not a fucking word.
- Not a word.
I mean it.
these inflammatory comments,
uh, widely reported in the press.
Your congressman from Iowa said,
and I quote, "Belarus is a failed state
we trust no more than North Korea."
Senior elected officials
of the United States of America,
insulting the reputation
of our great nation.
I'm sorry, Idaho.
Excuse me?
Mr. White, foreign policy.
Congressman Daniels is from Idaho.
Iowa has four representatives
in Congress,
but not one of them has said
anything catty about Belarus, of late.
[ATTACHÉ] I have to say, either Idaho,
I-Iowa, it's, uh
[HENRY] Not that it diminishes
your central point,
that this is an insult to
the reputation of your country.
But it matters, does it not,
who actually said it.
[SLOW, ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]
But I-I interrupted.
Forgive me. Please continue.
What my colleague Mr. White is saying
is you're right, our countries
should respect one another,
trust one another.
But we don't. Why?
History.
Remember three years ago,
you lost a MiG-35 over the Baltic?
Precisely what I'm talking about.
We offered to support search and rescue,
offered our surface radar.
You guys denied
ever even having lost it.
[ATTACHÉ] I fail to see what relevance
- that has in this situation.
- [HENRY] Well,
if had been more
detail-focused and accurate,
on the same page,
the situation might have been
handled better.
Collaboratively.
Like here, today.
The one at the far end
of the table, thick-set.
- He's our guy.
- Yeah?
Because?
[MARTIAN] It was obvious.
[BOSKO] [SIGHS] He didn't say a word.
Him, I like.
Signal was clear.
Now we need to let them respond.
Through a less official channel.
How do you plan to do that?
They're still in the building.
[ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES]
Excuse me?
Oh.
You've heard of this place?
Sure. You want to go?
[CHUCKLES] I'm impressed
you can understand us.
I studied Russian
at Queen Mary here in London.
I can get the gist.
I see.
Mm, pardon me.
- My name is Mikhail.
- Tom Vincent.
Nice to meet you.
How about tomorrow, 10 p.m.?
[SLOW, CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC]
You at the Lanesborough?
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Yeah, sure. Thank you.
[ELEVATOR DOORS OPEN]
♪
Ready?
I hope so.
I hope so, too.
I mean, yeah, I'm-I'm
I'm ready.
Good, because your mission just started.
[QUIET, TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[NAOMI] The Institute
of Geophysics is not a new job.
It is hostile ground,
filled with enemies.
Targets.
Three types of enemy.
FIRST: Your rivals.
Anyone who could be chosen
to go to Iran instead of you.
Exploit any weakness
with prejudice.
[MANAGER] Noble
gas lab on the left.
Eh, and, um, this is the TIMS lab.
TIMS?
Thermal ionization mass spec.
Of course.
That's Alice. She's looking at
- chondritic meteorites.
- [ALICE] Hi.
- [NAOMI] TYPE TWO:
- Early solar system stuff.
Friends.
Drop your guard, show weakness,
they'll exploit your mistakes.
[MANAGER] Here's another
mass spectrometer.
Eric, our visiting volcanologist.
We love him.
We're trying to make him
stay with us forever.
- [ERIC] Hi.
- [NAOMI] If people like you,
use it against them.
There's an SEM, too,
upstairs, of course.
Fair warning, though, it gets busy.
The team just back from
- the Iceland eruption
- [NAOMI] Enemy type three:
The predator.
The type you must
be most wary of.
Never attack them head on.
You must seduce them,
draw them in.
♪
[DOOR OPENS]
Uh, can I help you?
Hi.
Did I get fired?
Is this your de I'm so sorry.
I'm They said wait here.
I'm Danny, the new research associate.
Oh. Hi. Uh, Rose. Uh, Danny
Daniela Moreno Acosta.
Oh. Acosta Spanish?
Studied in Madrid and just finished
my second degree in geophysics
at the University of Barcelona.
Ah. Did, um, did Manny show you around?
Yeah. Okay. [CHUCKLES]
Oh, Manny and Danny, right?
I met most of the team.
Nice.
Who's that?
That is Reza.
He runs the exchange program.
He picks a candidate to take
back to Tehran for the year,
and everyone's sucking up.
Do you see, um, see that guy there?
That's Jerome.
He's Reza's human jockstrap.
He even plays squash with him.
[DANNY] So, everyone wants to go?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Like, Iranian tectonics
is the shit, right?
[LAUGHS] Yeah.
Isn't it a isn't it a scary country?
What? I mean, oh, sure, but it's just
it's just so active, you know?
Um yeah. Tell you what,
I'll-I'll introduce you.
Come, come.
Professor Mortazevi?
May I introduce Danny,
the new recruit from Spain,
postdoc Barcelona Uni.
Nice to meet you, señorita.
[JEROME] Jerome. Hi.
- Hello.
- Do you play squash?
- Do you?
- No.
Oh. This guy spanks me every time.
Can't get within, like,
five points of him, basically.
But you love it, though, right?
Right. Well, we have about
45 minutes, so, rematch?
- Sure.
- Great.
Hasta luego.
See?
Right up his arse.
[SIGHS] I've given up.
You don't want to go to Tehran?
Are you nuts? Of course I do.
It's just, the Iranians
would never take a girl. Ever.
[MAN] Rose? Do you have a moment?
Oh, hey.
Sorry, I meant to get back to you.
[QUIET, DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Have you seen much of London?
Our work here has kept me busy.
I know the city well.
London is for having fun
as well as working.
Perhaps I could show you around.
Mrs. Zahir,
your husband Dr. Mustafa called.
I told him you would return his call.
Excuse me.
[QUIET, DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[REFRIGERATOR CLOSES]
You want anything else?
Some fruit?
Some cookies?
You got any blow?
[CHUCKLES]
Or, like, ketamine?
Look
I've only been a dad,
for as long as you've been a daughter.
We're both making this up
as we go along.
But while you were busy
being a daughter,
I wasn't there.
We both know why, but that's no excuse.
So
I apologize.
And I would like
for us to try and make a fresh start.
That's all I got. [CHUCKLES]
That's what my therapist
said you would say.
- Really?
- Mm-hmm.
Small world,
'cause that's what my therapist
- told me to say.
- [LAUGHS]
You have a therapist?
- Actually, yes.
- Since when?
Since I got back.
[SCOFFS]
That is that's so fucked up.
- Thank you.
- No, Dad, I'm serious.
That's like you telling me you joined,
like, a ballet school or something.
Thank you,
I appreciate it, and I'll pass it on.
I do think we need
a fresh start, though.
We should mark it,
do something together.
Like what?
You should
take me shopping and buy me
a bunch of shit I can't afford?
[LAUGHS]
- Makes sense.
- Yeah,
whereupon I will
forgive you for everything.
- Everything?
- Everything. The whole nine.
All the pain, the confusion.
It shall vanish.
Your soul shall be wiped clean
by the pure clean waters
of a nearby shopping center.
[HUFFS]
We can do this, Dad.
Together.
You're on.
So, how long you got?
An hour.
Okay, well, we do provide
a comprehensive, deluxe
60-minute soul cleansing service.
[LAUGHS]
Mm. But the bad news is
it's twice as expensive
as the two-hour package.
Ooh.
Sold.
I got my student card as well.
Ten percent off.
Treat yourself, if you like.
Ten percent.
It's a deal.
Where do we start?
[POPPY CHUCKLES]
[QUIET, DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
So, how is work?
Nonspecifically, broadly,
non-national security
or personally compromisingly?
Out of ten.
Minus two.
Are you still being followed?
By at least two separate parties.
Okay. How scared should I be?
Want to play a game?
Okay.
♪
Won't you get in trouble,
for taking the piss like this?
Oh, it's good for 'em.
Keeps them on their toes.
Plus, it's fun.
Come. Come on.
When did you last have sex
and with whom?
[CHUCKLES]
You go first.
I haven't had sex in 17 months.
Not since a
messy rebound fuck in a bar
after I separated with my husband.
I've been telling myself
that I'm concentrating on work,
moving countries,
but really I'm just scared.
It's been years
since I dated and I
I found that a one-night stand
in Georgetown
just made me sad.
- Is it my turn?
- [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
- Yes, it is.
- What was the question?
You know what the question was.
Not since I was in Addis.
I was in a relationship,
one that you know about,
that I broke off
because of my exfil.
- Do you miss her?
- I loved her.
I think so.
Whatever it was,
whatever those feelings
they were more for her
than anyone I've ever met.
I don't know how many chances
at feeling like that life gives you.
My guess is not many.
- That's hard to cope with.
- It's not hard.
It's impossible.
Unless you've spent your
whole life in training for it.
You seal it in a box, bury it.
Do your job. Carry on.
Wounds heal.
They become stories.
Like that one on your hand.
Can you tell me how you came by it?
This?
Avocado pit.
- [RUMBLING]
- [GLASS SHATTERING]
Most of the damage
in an earthquake like this
is usually caused by the surface waves.
[DOOR CLOSES]
You can see here the staggered arrivals
of the different
seismic phases at stations
across the Global Seismographic Network.
But new instrumentation gives us
a more detailed picture
than ever before.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[REZA] Great job.
Thanks.
[CHUCKLES]
Are you familiar with
distributed acoustic sensing?
Of course.
Do you think you could
explain the technology,
say a few words about it?
Well, uh, okay, I
I-I worked on dark fiber data.
No, no, not now.
Later, at an event tonight.
At the Wellcome Library on Euston Road.
- [CHUCKLES]
- I'll pick you up.
Let's say 6:30?
T-T-Tonight?
Sure.
Great.
Oh, and it's black-tie.
You'll need a dress.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[BUSY CHATTER]
[NAOMI] Hello. Elements Spa.
I need a leg wax appointment.
Not at the spa.
We do home visits.
Uh-huh. I was, I was really hoping
It's that or nothing.
Um
Okay. Let me give you my address.
Uh, I can, I can be there
in about half an hour.
[ETHEREAL MUSIC]
♪
[TIRES SCREECH]
Sorry.
- [LOCK RATTLING]
- [ANNOYED GRUNT]
How did you get into my apartment?
Any more dumb questions?
You said this was urgent.
At 7 p.m. in front of
every expert in the country
at some black-tie fundraiser,
I have to deliver an overview
from my direct experience
of distributed acoustic sensing.
What's that?
I have no idea, but it's on my résumé.
How many pages
can you memorize fast? Ten? 20?
20 to 25.
25 an hour?
25 in total.
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [PHONES RINGING]
- How'd it go with Dr. Blake?
- Good.
Say no more.
[SIMON] Uh, do you have a second?
Simon, how can I help you?
I got more on that target for you.
[MARTIAN]
She's not a target, she's a POI.
What have you got?
Uh, yes, so, um, since April 2018,
she taught at the Addis Ababa
Central University.
And the last three months,
she's been a visiting fellow
at the Public University of Khartoum,
and, um, she was elected head
of the Sudanese Center
for Cultural Heritage.
She ever disappear
for any length of time?
A few days even?
Any contact with Ministry
of Internal Affairs
or the security departments?
No, the only unusual thing
was contact with a lawyer in Khartoum.
Uh, it looks like
she's getting a divorce.
It's unusual in her culture
but not unheard of.
Uh, maybe not relevant to your focus.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
The divorce is real. Lawyer's real.
They filed it and started proceedings.
I mean, the war's upped
divorces by, like, 50%.
Very good.
[DANNY] Backscattered signals
from imperfections
in the optic fiber that backs
Ah, fuck. The interrogation unit
[MUFFLED] receives
backscattered signals
imperfections in the optic fiber.
Interrogation unit receives
backscattered signals
from imperfections in the optic fiber.
Acoustic waves change
the fiber's signal shape,
converting no altering
The acoustic waves change
the fiber's shape,
altering the backscattered signals,
which can be converted to strain rate.
Acoustic waves change the fiber's shape,
altering the backscattered
signal's phase,
which can be converted to strain rate.
No.
Fuck! No.
No!
[BUZZER SOUNDS]
Fuck!
[PANTING]
[BUZZER SOUNDS]
Fuck.
Spectral analysis
of frequencies in the signal
can identify seismic phases.
Spectral analysis
of frequencies in the signal
can identify seismic phases.
- [REZA] All ready?
- Totally.
- [CHUCKLES]
- All right, let's go.
[BUILDING DOOR CLOSES]
Do you have a phone charger in your car?
- Sorry, I don't.
- [ENGINE STARTS]
Sorry I didn't have a charger.
Not a problem.
[QUIETLY] Networks
from unused telecommunication,
uh, infrastructures can-can be
uti can be utilized.
I'm sorry?
Nothing.
[CHUCKLES] Going over my speech.
Lot of important people there.
[UNSTEADY EXHALE]
Relax. This is a home game for you.
- Your specialist subject, right?
- [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Teach us what you know.
You're smart.
Extremely impressive.
I'm not sure I've known
anyone quite like you.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
With your focus, your intelligence.
I'd like to see you outside work.
It's something I've thought about a lot.
I don't think this is a good idea.
I'm sorry, it's
your eyes.
My eyes?
They remind me of my father's.
Your father's.
How old is your father?
He died when I was six.
He was 35.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- All I remember
are his kind, sweet,
soulful eyes.
Soon as I saw you,
that's who you reminded me of.
Listen, I'm
I'm hugely flattered an-an-and
I enjoy working with you a lot.
Of course, but I-I understand.
Listen, this event we're going to
is the Institute's
biggest night of the year.
I can see how nervous you are.
Maybe it's kinder to let someone
with more experience make the address.
Jerome, perhaps.
I can let you out here.
Wait, I'm-I'm not even coming?
No, there's really no need.
It's fine.
I don't want you to be anxious.
- See you in the office.
- Okay.
[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]
[LIVELY CHATTERING, WHOOPING]
We have nothing like this in Minsk.
We're not in Kansas anymore.
Yeah, I can see.
I love it here. Anything goes.
Tell me about it.
Last week my bike got stolen
around here.
Lot of crime in London?
Had it 20 years.
It had my phone number
engraved on the crossbar.
If the guy who stole it called me,
I'd give him five times what it's worth.
Like that jet.
In our meeting?
Your MiG fighter that vanished
over the Baltic?
[LAUGHING] I-I don't follow you.
I mean, if you lose something
and you really want it back,
maybe it's worth more than face value.
A lot more.
Ask me if I'd buy my bike back.
I'd say, "Name your price."
You're very
sentimental.
Call me old-fashioned.
If you're ever back in London
for a night out
or just to talk about anything,
this is my number.
- Great evening.
- Stick around.
- [CHUCKLES]
- I got work in the morning.
- Enjoy yourself.
- Good luck with your bike.
Who knows? You may get that call.
What's it gonna take
to make you stay? ♪
What's it gonna take? ♪
[PHONE CHIMES]
[SLOW, MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]
♪
Henry.
- What are you reading?
- Hmm.
Gulf War?
You need a hobby, my friend.
It's just out. Great read.
Like you have hobbies.
What the hell is this?
[BOSKO] Mm-hmm.
You believe I painted that?
Not for a moment.
When do you have time for that?
[CHUCKLES] I don't.
I carry that around to remind me
that somewhere in me is
the guy who once did.
Got a million of them.
- [HENRY CHUCKLES]
- [DOOR BEEPS]
The line's open.
[BOSKO] How do we know he's legit?
He knew what we want.
May take some time
to filter up the chain,
but the line's open.
- What if it's a shakedown?
- It's always possible.
All right.
You guys get some rest.
Both of you. You look like ghosts.
No, no, you keep it.
It was really lucky for me.
You might need it.
This works, I'm sending
that congressman a fruit basket.
[HENRY] Yep.
Good old Congressman Daniels.
Whose son was stopped
at Miami Airport in 2014
with a half kilo of cocaine.
The honorable gentleman
from the 2nd district remains
extremely grateful
to Langley to this day.
- Fuck off.
- [BEN] Wait, you made him do it?
You got a U.S. congressman
to sound off in Congress about Belarus.
I didn't make him do anything.
I may have gently suggested it.
[BEN AND MARTIAN SCOFF]
- [DOOR OPENS]
- [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[LINE RINGING]
Mom?
[SPEAKING SPANISH OVER PHONE]
Hey.
[LAUGHS]
Mm-hmm.
I know. I know.
Yeah.
[GENTLE, PLAINTIVE MUSIC]
♪
[WATER RUNNING]
[BLAKE] Can you tell me
how you came by it?
[MARTIAN] This?
Avocado pit.
[SAMI AND CROWD CHANTING INDISTINCTLY]
- Hey.
- No military rule.
[CROWD CHANTS INDISTINCTLY]
No military rule!
[CROWD SCREAMING]
[GUNFIRE CONTINUES]
[GAS HISSING]
[SOLDIER SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY]
[MARTIAN] Lock the door.
Where are you going?
To find a way out.
[SAMI PANTING]
[GUNSHOTS NEARBY]
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
[STATIC CRACKLING OVER RADIO]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GUNSHOT NEARBY]
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[MARTIAN] Sami.
Let's go.
[GUNSHOTS NEARBY]
- Your hand.
- It's okay.
[PHONE CHIMES]
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[SAMI SPEAKS ARABIC]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
[MONITOR BEEPING]
[MAN] Why didn't you stop?
Because I was falling.
When you fall,
when you really fall,
you never know how far it is.
After a while,
it feels like flying.
Then you hit the ground.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
[PHONE RINGING]
- [MARTIAN] Hello?
- [HENRY] Come downstairs.
You're signed in as Paul Lewis?
Why are you using
a defunct identity to get
This has to stop.
[PULSING, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
Felix is active.
Charlie's okay, right?
[BOSKO]
Capture of these operatives
would constitute an immediate
strategic geopolitical disaster.
We have to get them back.
Whatever it takes.
You're being sent to Tehran to identify
Iranian nuclear engineers.
Professor Mortazevi runs
an exchange program.
Your job is to be hired there.
How do I get a research job
at the Institute of Geophysics?
- [NAOMI] That's your problem.
- Professor Wartenburg.
- Hello.
- Hi.
Aren't you worried that a kid
can figure out
your supersecret hiding place?
- This isn't a game.
- [WHIMPERS]
[MARTIAN]
Why are you really in London?
[SAMI] Why am I being interrogated?
- Hey.
- Do I ask you why we only meet
when and where you say?
This isn't working.
[OSMAN] Samia!
"Love is Blindness"
by Jack White ♪
Love is blindness ♪
I don't want to see ♪
Won't you wrap the night ♪
Around me ♪
Oh, my heart ♪
Love is blindness ♪
Blindness ♪
Love is blindness ♪
I don't want to see ♪
Won't you wrap the night ♪
Around me, yeah ♪
Oh ♪
My love ♪
Love is blindness ♪
Oh, love is blindness ♪
Blindness ♪
[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
Civil war in Sudan had been
raging for years.
[SLOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
In the midst of fierce fighting,
refusing all peace talks
brokered by American
and Saudi diplomats,
no one could have guessed
both sides were in London,
meeting secretly
with the Chinese.
On the table, billions
in infrastructure investment.
Control of oil fields
to the south.
Gold mines in the north.
A home port on the Red Sea
- en route to the Suez Canal.
- How are you?
Sudan was a triple play.
Everyone wanted in.
Us, the Russians, the Saudis.
Now here were the Chinese.
The worst part?
We knew nothing about it.
[OSMAN] I have one role here.
To guarantee the secrecy of these talks.
No one discusses anything
outside of this room.
No one leaves their hotel at night.
Women are forbidden in hotels.
No press.
Any mistakes
will terminate negotiations.
[PULSING, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
Before I, uh, pick up
where we left off yesterday,
I would like to remind you all
of the general Hemedti's
central position
with regards to the deadlock
in Khartoum
[MAN] What was the nature
of the talks with the Sudanese?
What was at stake?
Only the future of their entire country.
Division of territory.
Safety of the clans.
Access to rich resources.
Between Sufis, Darfurians,
Fallatas, Rashaidas,
Beja nomads, Bedouins.
They needed an expert.
Someone who understood
the region, its history.
[SAMI] We see that villages
in the Melut Basin,
up to the White Nile rift
are unhappy with this administrative
division into two provinces.
[MARTIAN] Nobody knew that
was Samia Zahir.
We can learn from the
mistakes made after the discovery
of the Paloich oil field in South Sudan.
[MARTIAN] No woman had ever
played a role close to Hemedti,
or with the Sudan mabahith.
Yet here she was, fighting
for the survival of her people.
The interests of the many ethnic groups
who live in these regions
cannot be bulldozed.
[MARTIAN] To end a bloody war.
Risking everything for peace.
[MONITOR BEEPS]
- [SQUEAKING]
- [HENRY] Wanker.
[GRUNTS]
[CLATTERING]
Mecca's that way.
Brand-new building,
already we have mice.
Do you know, most of the rats
in New York City come from here?
Brown rat. Rattus norvegicus.
Listen, about what happened
at the hotel
[HENRY] Before you say anything,
- you already apologized.
- I did?
Well, no, but yeah.
I mean, no, you didn't, but yes, you did
in your own fucked-up way.
Well, I just wanted to say
- [STAMMERS]
- Thanks. It's obvious you don't.
But I appreciate your trying.
Felix pretty much made up
for it. That was good work.
You know my fuck-up?
It was Charlie.
Last week, I called
and asked him the name of his op
to see if he was in danger.
I never should have done that.
Well, Henry, I mean
that's way fucking worse.
I should report you. I mean, seriously.
You should be in jail
for, like, 40 years.
All right, go on, then.
I could use a little me time right now.
You owe me one, but I owe you two.
One for Felix, one for Charlie.
Well, at least
let me buy you a mousetrap.
[PULSING, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
[BUSY, INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪
Okay.
We got a situation.
Fifth floor.
A Belarusian delegation
is downstairs.
Some congressman from Idaho
called them a puppet state.
Lapdogs of Putin.
Bosko's in there bailing water.
They want a public apology
or else they escalate.
- [MARTIAN] Who's on their team?
- Uh, the usual.
Assorted flunkies, senior attaché.
[HENRY] They're not room meat.
At least one will be KGB.
- I have an idea.
- What is it?
I'll rush the edge, you stun
up the middle, and force a pass,
expose their quarterback.
Love it.
Fuck off. What do you want?
[HENRY] We need a word.
[SIGHS] I've got the U.S.
and Belarus ambassadors in there
trying to avert
a major diplomatic incident.
- We have an idea.
- [SCOFFS]
Is it better than,
"Oh, we've lost an agent,
can we please get him back?"
[HENRY] Why are they here now?
'Cause some bumfuck, no-name congressman
throws a little shade on Capitol Hill?
Maybe they want to start
a negotiation here.
If they do have Coyote,
they'll allude to it.
They'll give us a sign.
Open a back channel.
It'll be masked. Subtext.
We need to be in there to spot the sign.
- Owen.
- [OWEN] Sir?
- Walk away.
- Sir.
- Observers.
- Observers.
- Not a fucking word.
- Not a word.
I mean it.
these inflammatory comments,
uh, widely reported in the press.
Your congressman from Iowa said,
and I quote, "Belarus is a failed state
we trust no more than North Korea."
Senior elected officials
of the United States of America,
insulting the reputation
of our great nation.
I'm sorry, Idaho.
Excuse me?
Mr. White, foreign policy.
Congressman Daniels is from Idaho.
Iowa has four representatives
in Congress,
but not one of them has said
anything catty about Belarus, of late.
[ATTACHÉ] I have to say, either Idaho,
I-Iowa, it's, uh
[HENRY] Not that it diminishes
your central point,
that this is an insult to
the reputation of your country.
But it matters, does it not,
who actually said it.
[SLOW, ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]
But I-I interrupted.
Forgive me. Please continue.
What my colleague Mr. White is saying
is you're right, our countries
should respect one another,
trust one another.
But we don't. Why?
History.
Remember three years ago,
you lost a MiG-35 over the Baltic?
Precisely what I'm talking about.
We offered to support search and rescue,
offered our surface radar.
You guys denied
ever even having lost it.
[ATTACHÉ] I fail to see what relevance
- that has in this situation.
- [HENRY] Well,
if had been more
detail-focused and accurate,
on the same page,
the situation might have been
handled better.
Collaboratively.
Like here, today.
The one at the far end
of the table, thick-set.
- He's our guy.
- Yeah?
Because?
[MARTIAN] It was obvious.
[BOSKO] [SIGHS] He didn't say a word.
Him, I like.
Signal was clear.
Now we need to let them respond.
Through a less official channel.
How do you plan to do that?
They're still in the building.
[ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES]
Excuse me?
Oh.
You've heard of this place?
Sure. You want to go?
[CHUCKLES] I'm impressed
you can understand us.
I studied Russian
at Queen Mary here in London.
I can get the gist.
I see.
Mm, pardon me.
- My name is Mikhail.
- Tom Vincent.
Nice to meet you.
How about tomorrow, 10 p.m.?
[SLOW, CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC]
You at the Lanesborough?
[LAUGHS SOFTLY]
Yeah, sure. Thank you.
[ELEVATOR DOORS OPEN]
♪
Ready?
I hope so.
I hope so, too.
I mean, yeah, I'm-I'm
I'm ready.
Good, because your mission just started.
[QUIET, TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[NAOMI] The Institute
of Geophysics is not a new job.
It is hostile ground,
filled with enemies.
Targets.
Three types of enemy.
FIRST: Your rivals.
Anyone who could be chosen
to go to Iran instead of you.
Exploit any weakness
with prejudice.
[MANAGER] Noble
gas lab on the left.
Eh, and, um, this is the TIMS lab.
TIMS?
Thermal ionization mass spec.
Of course.
That's Alice. She's looking at
- chondritic meteorites.
- [ALICE] Hi.
- [NAOMI] TYPE TWO:
- Early solar system stuff.
Friends.
Drop your guard, show weakness,
they'll exploit your mistakes.
[MANAGER] Here's another
mass spectrometer.
Eric, our visiting volcanologist.
We love him.
We're trying to make him
stay with us forever.
- [ERIC] Hi.
- [NAOMI] If people like you,
use it against them.
There's an SEM, too,
upstairs, of course.
Fair warning, though, it gets busy.
The team just back from
- the Iceland eruption
- [NAOMI] Enemy type three:
The predator.
The type you must
be most wary of.
Never attack them head on.
You must seduce them,
draw them in.
♪
[DOOR OPENS]
Uh, can I help you?
Hi.
Did I get fired?
Is this your de I'm so sorry.
I'm They said wait here.
I'm Danny, the new research associate.
Oh. Hi. Uh, Rose. Uh, Danny
Daniela Moreno Acosta.
Oh. Acosta Spanish?
Studied in Madrid and just finished
my second degree in geophysics
at the University of Barcelona.
Ah. Did, um, did Manny show you around?
Yeah. Okay. [CHUCKLES]
Oh, Manny and Danny, right?
I met most of the team.
Nice.
Who's that?
That is Reza.
He runs the exchange program.
He picks a candidate to take
back to Tehran for the year,
and everyone's sucking up.
Do you see, um, see that guy there?
That's Jerome.
He's Reza's human jockstrap.
He even plays squash with him.
[DANNY] So, everyone wants to go?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Like, Iranian tectonics
is the shit, right?
[LAUGHS] Yeah.
Isn't it a isn't it a scary country?
What? I mean, oh, sure, but it's just
it's just so active, you know?
Um yeah. Tell you what,
I'll-I'll introduce you.
Come, come.
Professor Mortazevi?
May I introduce Danny,
the new recruit from Spain,
postdoc Barcelona Uni.
Nice to meet you, señorita.
[JEROME] Jerome. Hi.
- Hello.
- Do you play squash?
- Do you?
- No.
Oh. This guy spanks me every time.
Can't get within, like,
five points of him, basically.
But you love it, though, right?
Right. Well, we have about
45 minutes, so, rematch?
- Sure.
- Great.
Hasta luego.
See?
Right up his arse.
[SIGHS] I've given up.
You don't want to go to Tehran?
Are you nuts? Of course I do.
It's just, the Iranians
would never take a girl. Ever.
[MAN] Rose? Do you have a moment?
Oh, hey.
Sorry, I meant to get back to you.
[QUIET, DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Have you seen much of London?
Our work here has kept me busy.
I know the city well.
London is for having fun
as well as working.
Perhaps I could show you around.
Mrs. Zahir,
your husband Dr. Mustafa called.
I told him you would return his call.
Excuse me.
[QUIET, DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[REFRIGERATOR CLOSES]
You want anything else?
Some fruit?
Some cookies?
You got any blow?
[CHUCKLES]
Or, like, ketamine?
Look
I've only been a dad,
for as long as you've been a daughter.
We're both making this up
as we go along.
But while you were busy
being a daughter,
I wasn't there.
We both know why, but that's no excuse.
So
I apologize.
And I would like
for us to try and make a fresh start.
That's all I got. [CHUCKLES]
That's what my therapist
said you would say.
- Really?
- Mm-hmm.
Small world,
'cause that's what my therapist
- told me to say.
- [LAUGHS]
You have a therapist?
- Actually, yes.
- Since when?
Since I got back.
[SCOFFS]
That is that's so fucked up.
- Thank you.
- No, Dad, I'm serious.
That's like you telling me you joined,
like, a ballet school or something.
Thank you,
I appreciate it, and I'll pass it on.
I do think we need
a fresh start, though.
We should mark it,
do something together.
Like what?
You should
take me shopping and buy me
a bunch of shit I can't afford?
[LAUGHS]
- Makes sense.
- Yeah,
whereupon I will
forgive you for everything.
- Everything?
- Everything. The whole nine.
All the pain, the confusion.
It shall vanish.
Your soul shall be wiped clean
by the pure clean waters
of a nearby shopping center.
[HUFFS]
We can do this, Dad.
Together.
You're on.
So, how long you got?
An hour.
Okay, well, we do provide
a comprehensive, deluxe
60-minute soul cleansing service.
[LAUGHS]
Mm. But the bad news is
it's twice as expensive
as the two-hour package.
Ooh.
Sold.
I got my student card as well.
Ten percent off.
Treat yourself, if you like.
Ten percent.
It's a deal.
Where do we start?
[POPPY CHUCKLES]
[QUIET, DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
So, how is work?
Nonspecifically, broadly,
non-national security
or personally compromisingly?
Out of ten.
Minus two.
Are you still being followed?
By at least two separate parties.
Okay. How scared should I be?
Want to play a game?
Okay.
♪
Won't you get in trouble,
for taking the piss like this?
Oh, it's good for 'em.
Keeps them on their toes.
Plus, it's fun.
Come. Come on.
When did you last have sex
and with whom?
[CHUCKLES]
You go first.
I haven't had sex in 17 months.
Not since a
messy rebound fuck in a bar
after I separated with my husband.
I've been telling myself
that I'm concentrating on work,
moving countries,
but really I'm just scared.
It's been years
since I dated and I
I found that a one-night stand
in Georgetown
just made me sad.
- Is it my turn?
- [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
- Yes, it is.
- What was the question?
You know what the question was.
Not since I was in Addis.
I was in a relationship,
one that you know about,
that I broke off
because of my exfil.
- Do you miss her?
- I loved her.
I think so.
Whatever it was,
whatever those feelings
they were more for her
than anyone I've ever met.
I don't know how many chances
at feeling like that life gives you.
My guess is not many.
- That's hard to cope with.
- It's not hard.
It's impossible.
Unless you've spent your
whole life in training for it.
You seal it in a box, bury it.
Do your job. Carry on.
Wounds heal.
They become stories.
Like that one on your hand.
Can you tell me how you came by it?
This?
Avocado pit.
- [RUMBLING]
- [GLASS SHATTERING]
Most of the damage
in an earthquake like this
is usually caused by the surface waves.
[DOOR CLOSES]
You can see here the staggered arrivals
of the different
seismic phases at stations
across the Global Seismographic Network.
But new instrumentation gives us
a more detailed picture
than ever before.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[REZA] Great job.
Thanks.
[CHUCKLES]
Are you familiar with
distributed acoustic sensing?
Of course.
Do you think you could
explain the technology,
say a few words about it?
Well, uh, okay, I
I-I worked on dark fiber data.
No, no, not now.
Later, at an event tonight.
At the Wellcome Library on Euston Road.
- [CHUCKLES]
- I'll pick you up.
Let's say 6:30?
T-T-Tonight?
Sure.
Great.
Oh, and it's black-tie.
You'll need a dress.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[BUSY CHATTER]
[NAOMI] Hello. Elements Spa.
I need a leg wax appointment.
Not at the spa.
We do home visits.
Uh-huh. I was, I was really hoping
It's that or nothing.
Um
Okay. Let me give you my address.
Uh, I can, I can be there
in about half an hour.
[ETHEREAL MUSIC]
♪
[TIRES SCREECH]
Sorry.
- [LOCK RATTLING]
- [ANNOYED GRUNT]
How did you get into my apartment?
Any more dumb questions?
You said this was urgent.
At 7 p.m. in front of
every expert in the country
at some black-tie fundraiser,
I have to deliver an overview
from my direct experience
of distributed acoustic sensing.
What's that?
I have no idea, but it's on my résumé.
How many pages
can you memorize fast? Ten? 20?
20 to 25.
25 an hour?
25 in total.
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [PHONES RINGING]
- How'd it go with Dr. Blake?
- Good.
Say no more.
[SIMON] Uh, do you have a second?
Simon, how can I help you?
I got more on that target for you.
[MARTIAN]
She's not a target, she's a POI.
What have you got?
Uh, yes, so, um, since April 2018,
she taught at the Addis Ababa
Central University.
And the last three months,
she's been a visiting fellow
at the Public University of Khartoum,
and, um, she was elected head
of the Sudanese Center
for Cultural Heritage.
She ever disappear
for any length of time?
A few days even?
Any contact with Ministry
of Internal Affairs
or the security departments?
No, the only unusual thing
was contact with a lawyer in Khartoum.
Uh, it looks like
she's getting a divorce.
It's unusual in her culture
but not unheard of.
Uh, maybe not relevant to your focus.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
The divorce is real. Lawyer's real.
They filed it and started proceedings.
I mean, the war's upped
divorces by, like, 50%.
Very good.
[DANNY] Backscattered signals
from imperfections
in the optic fiber that backs
Ah, fuck. The interrogation unit
[MUFFLED] receives
backscattered signals
imperfections in the optic fiber.
Interrogation unit receives
backscattered signals
from imperfections in the optic fiber.
Acoustic waves change
the fiber's signal shape,
converting no altering
The acoustic waves change
the fiber's shape,
altering the backscattered signals,
which can be converted to strain rate.
Acoustic waves change the fiber's shape,
altering the backscattered
signal's phase,
which can be converted to strain rate.
No.
Fuck! No.
No!
[BUZZER SOUNDS]
Fuck!
[PANTING]
[BUZZER SOUNDS]
Fuck.
Spectral analysis
of frequencies in the signal
can identify seismic phases.
Spectral analysis
of frequencies in the signal
can identify seismic phases.
- [REZA] All ready?
- Totally.
- [CHUCKLES]
- All right, let's go.
[BUILDING DOOR CLOSES]
Do you have a phone charger in your car?
- Sorry, I don't.
- [ENGINE STARTS]
Sorry I didn't have a charger.
Not a problem.
[QUIETLY] Networks
from unused telecommunication,
uh, infrastructures can-can be
uti can be utilized.
I'm sorry?
Nothing.
[CHUCKLES] Going over my speech.
Lot of important people there.
[UNSTEADY EXHALE]
Relax. This is a home game for you.
- Your specialist subject, right?
- [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Teach us what you know.
You're smart.
Extremely impressive.
I'm not sure I've known
anyone quite like you.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
With your focus, your intelligence.
I'd like to see you outside work.
It's something I've thought about a lot.
I don't think this is a good idea.
I'm sorry, it's
your eyes.
My eyes?
They remind me of my father's.
Your father's.
How old is your father?
He died when I was six.
He was 35.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- All I remember
are his kind, sweet,
soulful eyes.
Soon as I saw you,
that's who you reminded me of.
Listen, I'm
I'm hugely flattered an-an-and
I enjoy working with you a lot.
Of course, but I-I understand.
Listen, this event we're going to
is the Institute's
biggest night of the year.
I can see how nervous you are.
Maybe it's kinder to let someone
with more experience make the address.
Jerome, perhaps.
I can let you out here.
Wait, I'm-I'm not even coming?
No, there's really no need.
It's fine.
I don't want you to be anxious.
- See you in the office.
- Okay.
[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING]
[LIVELY CHATTERING, WHOOPING]
We have nothing like this in Minsk.
We're not in Kansas anymore.
Yeah, I can see.
I love it here. Anything goes.
Tell me about it.
Last week my bike got stolen
around here.
Lot of crime in London?
Had it 20 years.
It had my phone number
engraved on the crossbar.
If the guy who stole it called me,
I'd give him five times what it's worth.
Like that jet.
In our meeting?
Your MiG fighter that vanished
over the Baltic?
[LAUGHING] I-I don't follow you.
I mean, if you lose something
and you really want it back,
maybe it's worth more than face value.
A lot more.
Ask me if I'd buy my bike back.
I'd say, "Name your price."
You're very
sentimental.
Call me old-fashioned.
If you're ever back in London
for a night out
or just to talk about anything,
this is my number.
- Great evening.
- Stick around.
- [CHUCKLES]
- I got work in the morning.
- Enjoy yourself.
- Good luck with your bike.
Who knows? You may get that call.
What's it gonna take
to make you stay? ♪
What's it gonna take? ♪
[PHONE CHIMES]
[SLOW, MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]
♪
Henry.
- What are you reading?
- Hmm.
Gulf War?
You need a hobby, my friend.
It's just out. Great read.
Like you have hobbies.
What the hell is this?
[BOSKO] Mm-hmm.
You believe I painted that?
Not for a moment.
When do you have time for that?
[CHUCKLES] I don't.
I carry that around to remind me
that somewhere in me is
the guy who once did.
Got a million of them.
- [HENRY CHUCKLES]
- [DOOR BEEPS]
The line's open.
[BOSKO] How do we know he's legit?
He knew what we want.
May take some time
to filter up the chain,
but the line's open.
- What if it's a shakedown?
- It's always possible.
All right.
You guys get some rest.
Both of you. You look like ghosts.
No, no, you keep it.
It was really lucky for me.
You might need it.
This works, I'm sending
that congressman a fruit basket.
[HENRY] Yep.
Good old Congressman Daniels.
Whose son was stopped
at Miami Airport in 2014
with a half kilo of cocaine.
The honorable gentleman
from the 2nd district remains
extremely grateful
to Langley to this day.
- Fuck off.
- [BEN] Wait, you made him do it?
You got a U.S. congressman
to sound off in Congress about Belarus.
I didn't make him do anything.
I may have gently suggested it.
[BEN AND MARTIAN SCOFF]
- [DOOR OPENS]
- [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[LINE RINGING]
Mom?
[SPEAKING SPANISH OVER PHONE]
Hey.
[LAUGHS]
Mm-hmm.
I know. I know.
Yeah.
[GENTLE, PLAINTIVE MUSIC]
♪
[WATER RUNNING]
[BLAKE] Can you tell me
how you came by it?
[MARTIAN] This?
Avocado pit.
[SAMI AND CROWD CHANTING INDISTINCTLY]
- Hey.
- No military rule.
[CROWD CHANTS INDISTINCTLY]
No military rule!
[CROWD SCREAMING]
[GUNFIRE CONTINUES]
[GAS HISSING]
[SOLDIER SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY]
[MARTIAN] Lock the door.
Where are you going?
To find a way out.
[SAMI PANTING]
[GUNSHOTS NEARBY]
[SOLDIERS SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
[STATIC CRACKLING OVER RADIO]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GUNSHOT NEARBY]
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[MARTIAN] Sami.
Let's go.
[GUNSHOTS NEARBY]
- Your hand.
- It's okay.
[PHONE CHIMES]
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[SAMI SPEAKS ARABIC]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
[MONITOR BEEPING]
[MAN] Why didn't you stop?
Because I was falling.
When you fall,
when you really fall,
you never know how far it is.
After a while,
it feels like flying.
Then you hit the ground.
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪