Spy City (2020) s01e06 Episode Script

This date
Sunday, August the 13th.
What do you know?
No movement at all.
So what is happening on that day?
-I don't know.
I've helped the Stasi for six years.
I provide them with information
so they leave you alone.
Thorwald. "Mein Einbrecher."
A "burglar." It's insulting.
-What do you like to be called?
An interventionist? A door opener.
I need you to go to a place
called "Café Holst."
Where Simon Haldane was killed?
-You're well informed.
Someone else was killed there.
A waiter, I need his name.
What are we looking for this time?
-A yellow envelope.
I found a man who can lead me to Udo Hoff.
Make sure you bring me with you.
You are Hoff.
EAST BERLIN
AUGUST 6, 1961
If I had been
30 seconds earlier
she would still be alive.
Who killed her?
A contact.
A diplomatic contact?
She was a diplomat, like you?
Well, we have bigger responsibilities
than simple diplomacy.
I shouldn't make a joke about it.
Life is complicated.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Tell me about it.
I wanted to thank you
And apologize for the other night.
I shouldn't have come around
steaming drunk.
I shouldn't have bothered you again, really.
No, I was flattered you decided to come back.
It's funny I
I was operating on instinct, really.
Well
instincts are good on the whole.
I
tend to trust my instincts.
Is that your person?
Yes, I imagine so.
I will leave you two alone.
Quick.
Come in.
-Thank you.
Do you have it?
-Yes, there was no problem.
I know this man.
You know Udo Hoff?
His name is not Udo Hoff.
His name is August Froben.
August Froben?
How do you know?
It says he's disappeared.
SITUATION UNKNOWN
He is responsible for the supervision
of my boyfriend, Reinhart, who you met.
Reinhart was in prison for a while.
In the West?
-No
There were big student demonstrations
in the East in 1953.
Reinhart was arrested and accused
as an enemy of the state.
He went to prison.
And he's what, his probation officer?
In a manner of speaking, yes.
He's always watching Reinhart.
Can you contact him?
Yes, it's possible.
I would like to meet him.
Can you organize a rendezvous?
May I ask why?
-Yes.
I want to hurt him.
In that case, it will be my pleasure.
You can contact me here.
No one is to know, understand?
Of course. I'll call you.
Elisa?
Thank you. This is real progress.
Bye.
SPY CITY
WEST BERLIN
FRENCH SECURITY HEADQUARTERS
Fielding Scott.
She died in my arms.
You were there with Madame Bloch?
I was too late.
Who killed her?
I have my suspicions
which I'm following up.
If you need support, let me know.
I want that son of a bitch.
There is something you can do for me.
I would like to talk to Merkur.
Oh my god.
Guards, get moving!
Look for someone to take her down.
-Yes, sir.
WHY DOES NO ONE LISTEN?
BRANDENBURG, OUTSIDE BERLIN
AUGUST 7, 1961
Need any help, squire?
Morning, sir.
Good morning, Scott.
Let the Russians do their thing,
whatever it is.
Roadblocks. Close the air corridors.
Switching off the power.
It won't change the wider situation.
And it's better than World War III.
You know, if it was up to me,
I'd let them have Berlin.
Take the city. Be my guest.
Is this your private opinion
or the government's?
The government's.
Unofficially, of course.
I thought we were fighting for our values.
Well, this will divide families.
This could impact the lives of
hundreds of thousands,
if not millions of people.
Well, maybe there is something we can do.
You're out in the field, Scott.
You could act.
You could approach Kovrin.
Let him know that we know.
The element of surprise would be lost.
Maybe they'll think again.
-If I manage to stay alive.
Our own people tried to kill me, twice.
First Haldane, then the
waitress in the restaurant.
Did I tell you I met a man in Berlin?
An Arab from Beirut.
The name keeps coming up.
Told me my life was in danger.
Me, personally.
You've never been to Beirut.
-No, exactly.
That's what surprised me.
I couldn't make a connection.
Unless I was missing something, of course.
I better get back.
You wouldn't think
we were standing in a pocket
of capitalism in the depths
of a communist country, would you?
No, not really.
Sometimes it's good to remind yourself.
What was Simon Haldane doing in Beirut?
If I may ask.
I'd stop right there.
Don't ask me any questions about Beirut.
You're a very clever man.
You're an excellent operative.
You have an important job to do
and you've nearly completed it.
Get back to Berlin
and find our traitor.
Well, I'll keep you up to date.
EAST BERLIN, RUSSIAN CEMETERY
AUGUST 8, 1961
Rest in peace, Valodja.
Mr. Scott.
What a pleasant surprise.
Very touching, Mr. Kovrin.
I had no idea you were so devout.
Can you read it?
Vladimir Kuznetsov.
He was my adjutant.
And my best and oldest friend.
The same city.
The same street.
He was killed
a few days before the end of the war.
You were a soldier too, I believe.
Yes, in Sicily.
And then elsewhere.
We have that in common, at least.
Two soldiers, on the same side.
What do you want, Mr. Scott?
I want you to know that we know.
We know you are going to fence in the city.
Think about it, before you do it.
It could be World War III.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I have to go, sorry.
August the 13th.
I've seen the evidence.
I've seen everything.
Let's suppose, Mr. Scott,
just for a moment
that what you say is true.
Do you believe I would be in a position
to do anything about it?
Maybe not.
But, as you said, we were both soldiers.
And now, maybe we still are soldiers,
after a fashion.
We both have our responsibilities.
One world war
is surely enough for both of us.
Mr. Scott, always a pleasure to meet you.
I'm always interested
in what you have to say.
I wanted to ask you about Beirut.
Is this something to do with the photograph?
Yes, the photograph
I gave Simon Haldane in Berlin.
Your time is precious.
And information has a price tag,
as you reminded me last time we met.
Isn't that what you do for a living?
Sell information?
How can I help you?
-I want to know what Simon Haldane
was doing in Beirut in 1953.
Operation Ajax, ever heard of it?
Operation Ajax
Yes, that was Iran.
Precisely. Iran in 1953.
Operation Ajax was being run
out of Beirut in '53.
A joint MI6-CIA operation.
It was the swift removal
of the prime minister, Mossadegh.
A prime minister
the British and the Americans didn't like.
An enemy.
-But we kicked him out.
Had him arrested, if I recall.
Even though he was democratically
elected.
Mossadegh was getting in your way.
You, the British,
you had created Iran's oil industry.
The entire industry. It was making a fortune.
Then Mossadegh came
and nationalized your oil company.
From your perspective,
he effectively stole your oil.
So he had to go.
In this case, the Americans pumped
a lot of money into the Ajax plan.
And it turned out to be money well spent.
It was a total success.
Mossadegh was gone forever.
The Shah was now running the show.
And the Shah was a very good friend
to Britain and the US.
So the oil started flowing again.
And that famous photograph
shows the people who pocketed the money?
Perhaps it does.
But whoever finds that photograph
will be in a position of real power.
WEST BERLIN
AUGUST 9, 1961
I like this costume. Very good idea.
I'm going to use it in the future.
Glad I could be of help with your career.
Yes?
-It's the plumber.
There's a gas leak in the basement.
There.
Are you joking?
The only way to get
into the archive building.
I thought you said this would be easy.
Come on. It's 25 meters.
It's nothing.
Go on then. You go first.
I go first.
You watch what I do.
I will watch
watch you die.
Shit.
You're going to find a photograph in here?
I'm relying on your countrymen's
excellent capacity for filing.
German orderliness.
DECEMBER 1957
NITSCHKE
No, this is all way too early.
Let's go down a floor.
JANUARY 1958
GOETHE
Goethe.
What did he do?
Officiate?
Now I'm getting there.
February 1960.
Getting there.
Fuck.
Bit of luck.
Here it is.
"Haldane."
-No.
We don't need Haldane.
MARCH 1960
RITTER
Who is Ritter?
He was a waiter.
Didn't you see the sign?
It's just rubbish.
He was a waiter and a cleaner.
The men's room is closed.
My good god.
Gentlemen, I propose a toast
-Oh my god.
and profit.
Yeah.
Fuck.
Hold that up.
Fuck.
Victor Kovrin.
My god.
AUGUST 10, 1961
It's all good to go.
-Thank you.
This is suicide for you, Scott.
You realize that?
Petrie's got an arrest warrant
out for you all over Berlin.
Stop talking.
Turn the engine off.
I owe you an apology.
Strange way of apologizing.
For a while, I thought you were
the rotten apple in the Berlin barrel.
I was wrong.
-Apology accepted.
What made you change your mind?
-I found the photograph you were looking for.
My god.
Who was in it?
-You'll find out soon.
How'd you get a hold of it?
-I have my methods.
I want to take you back to Beirut, 1953.
We got rid of Mossadegh.
We had the Shah of Iran
eating out of our hand.
We got the oil back.
Money well spent.
Best return on an investment ever.
Was there any Russian presence
in Beirut in '53 or '54?
There were rumors, of course.
The Russian border with Iran
is 750 miles long.
They didn't like
what we were doing in Beirut.
But I didn't see any Russians.
They kept their distance.
Victor Kovrin?
Kovrin wasn't in Beirut. I would have known.
The British would have known.
One last question.
Why did you meet Lubkov in that cinema?
We had information Lubkov was ripe.
Ready to fall for the right money, of course.
I met him to see if he was worth picking.
And, of course, I had my questions
about the photograph you found.
He said he knew nothing.
Did you ask him about Beirut?
I probably mentioned the city.
That was the source of the photograph.
Why?
Not that you were to know this
But if he mentioned Beirut,
it probably cost him his life.
You're in the clear.
Don't fuck it up.
Listen, Scott. Don't go Scott!
I need to ask you a favor.
This is insurance.
If anything happens to me
or if I ask you, please send it.
Don't you think
you should tell me what it is?
If I'm going to be your insurance.
Yeah, that sounds fair.
Do you have a seal?
Please.
It's evidence
about collusion between
a senior KGB officer
and the British secret services.
It's dynamite.
The three men caught in one photograph.
Who are the three men?
The names would mean nothing to you.
But you do know
what they are conspiring about?
About a million dollars.
Possibly more.
-A million?
Who got it?
They all did.
Stole it.
And shared it amongst themselves.
Fuckers.
What happens now?
Now
Now I get out there
and make a nuisance of myself.
Again.
Sounds dangerous and exhausting.
That's why I love boredom.
EAST BERLIN
AUGUST 11, 1961
Excuse me. I've come to see Mr. Froben.
My name is Elisa.
Hello, reception speaking.
Miss Elisa is here for you.
Of course.
Mr. Froben is ready for you. Room 455.
-Thank you.
The door is open! Come in.
Mr. Scott
You know, I expected someone else.
But while you're here,
why don't we have some fun?
I knew you'd be here.
You see Elisa told me.
I want to come over.
I want to defect to the GDR.
Oh, really?
-Yes, absolutely.
Think about it.
Don't throw this opportunity away.
I'm a serving MI6 officer,
think how good that could be for you.
I'm about to be disgraced.
Thrown out, I need money. I need safety.
Safety? With me?
-Yes.
You need safety with me? You expect me
-Of course I do.
I have to have
Udo, Udo, Udo.
Udo, Udo, Udo.
Yeah
I need to explain to you
why I'm doing this, so you understand.
Yes.
-I don't want to die.
I need you to understand that sometimes
Sometimes you do have to pay.
So this is for Manfred.
And his lovely wife.
-No!
And his beautiful daughter.
And this is for Severine.
For François Bloch.
Just sometimes, you have to pay.
Do you understand?
Sometimes, there is retribution, Udo Hoff.
It's okay. It's okay.
It's okay.
Sometimes
I don't want to die, please.
WEST BERLIN, BRITISH SECURITY HEADQUARTERS
AUGUST 12, 1961
HEADQUARTERS BERLIN BRITISH SECTOR
What the fuck, Scott?
Ever heard of knocking?
-Well, the bad penny finally turned up.
Turned up something rather interesting.
I think you'd better leave us alone, Aldous.
Are you sure?
-Just do what I ask, will you?
Yes.
Yes, of course.
You have 24 hours.
Do what you want. Kill yourself.
Hand yourself in, defect.
I don't give a shit.
In 24 hours, every newspaper in Britain
will have a copy of that photograph.
You have 24 hours to decide
what to do with the rest of your life.
Very decent of you, Scott.
Before I let you go, one more thing.
Why Beethoven?
Why did you hand Beethoven
and his entire family over to the Soviets?
Because of Kovrin.
Kovrin needed a coup.
Something spectacular.
Lubkov was getting suspicious.
And the GDR wanted action fast
on the brain drain, the flood of émigrés.
Kovrin had been useful to us.
He helped us get the money out of Beirut.
He asked us to deliver a prize
to make him look good.
It was a simple quid pro quo.
Look
Beethoven was just meant to be arrested.
I was shocked at what happened.
The Stasi operatives rather lost their heads.
That's why you had Lubkov killed.
-Yes.
Good procedure, as I say.
What about Petrie?
Petrie?
He was never part of our group.
Aldous Petrie just dislikes you intensely.
Because he's friends with Simon Haldane.
Simon Haldane was best man at his wedding.
And that's why you blackmailed Conrad Greer
to get me to that restaurant.
Yes.
I'm afraid so.
You were getting too close.
I assumed the Soviets would be blamed
for a double assassination.
MI6 and CIA.
Put yourself in our place.
The CIA gave us suitcases of dollars.
Hundreds and hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
No questions asked.
-Operation Ajax.
We
We had a meal
to celebrate our good fortune.
It turned out to be the wrong restaurant.
The CIA had it surveilled.
Just routine.
Just to see who might turn up.
Take a few photos as evidence.
It was popular with foreigners,
diplomats, journalists
-Spies.
Some fucking CIA stringer
photographed us, turned it in.
Kovrin told us.
Every CIA phone in Beirut is bugged.
Word reached him
that this astonishing cargo was
on its way to Dunn in Berlin.
So I had it intercepted, just in case.
Just as well.
It was, as the saying has it, dynamite.
It was to be delivered to Simon Haldane.
He came to Berlin that night
from London, specially.
It would be delivered to him
incognito.
-Who put the envelope in my tray?
Brotherton?
-Yes.
Brotherton had no idea what it was.
He's our "useful idiot," Brotherton,
as the phrase has it.
I just told him what to do.
You needn't worry about him.
Why did Simon Haldane try and kill me?
Well
you, on the other hand, are not an idiot.
We couldn't be sure
you hadn't checked the contents
of the envelope you were delivering.
It was just good procedure.
"Good procedure."
24 hours.
What the fuck is going on, Scott?
-Have a look at that.
Jesus Christ.
That's Victor Kovrin.
-With your two chums.
I must admit I always thought
you were the traitor.
Turns out it was your boss.
My god.
What's going to happen to him?
-My money's on suicide.
He can't defect, can he?
His dear friend Kovrin is in the same pile
of steaming horseshit he is.
Cheerio.
AUGUST 13, 1961
You trust me again?
Does anyone trust anyone?
I found a man who can lead me to Udo Hoff.
Well, when you meet him,
make sure you bring me with you.
Come on. Let's get to it.
Keep going, keep going!
They're not letting anyone through.
That's the border.
What's all this about?
There's no way to other side.
EAST BERLIN
Are you sure we can trust your boss?
Everything's been arranged.
You'll see.
Excuse me.
We have to cross.
My aunt lives in the West.
That's not possible. It's closed.
But why? What's happened? For how long?
Forever.
We're building a wall.
Come, Elisa. Let's go.
We'll find another way.
But I work in the West.
Where can I cross?
I have a West German ID. One second.
Alright.
Then you need to go to Friedrichstrasse.
What about my boyfriend?
West German ID?
No.
Then it's not possible.
East Berliners can no longer cross.
Not anymore.
Come on, Elisa. Let's go.
No angel would sing for you
But I would like to sing
I never forgave the sinners
But I forgive you
No more bombs raining on you
This is what I am fighting for with you
I look into your endless eyes
But I don't see myself
You have so much to tell
But you keep it to yourself
You cry so many tears
And nobody is there
for you or for me
You are the city of divided hearts
You are the city of united pain
You are the city of liars
City of seducers
The city that knows everything
You are the city of losers
And winners
Does freedom have a price?
Our history
Get out of here.
is not over yet
You're soldiers. This is outrageous!
What's the meaning of this?
Ulrike!
Get back!
Elisa!
Let's go home.
Elisa!
-Back up! Get out of here.
Here we are! Here!
We don't know what's going on either.
They can't do this!
Kovrin.
Mr. Scott.
Good morning!
This will be a famous day.
Well, you must be very proud.
I have something to show you.
What can you have to show me, Mr. Scott?
It's over.
We won. The game is over.
I have the photograph.
I don't know what you're talking about.
The photograph from Beirut.
You're finished, Kovrin.
I won.
You are a demented man, Mr. Scott.
You should take good care of yourself.