Covert Affairs s01e09 Episode Script

Previously on Covert Affairs Believe me.
Whatever you think you know, it is not the whole truth.
Ben Mercer is a liar.
Leaving you was the hardest thing I ever had to do.
I was in love with you and you skipped out with a note.
It's bad enough you put Annie in the field to draw out Ben Mercer.
That's not it at all.
The Agency is using you to get to me.
We have a rogue operative out there.
We're not using Annie as bait anymore.
Classified information leaked to Liza Hearn at the Washington Recorder.
Someone among us is a traitor.
You're the leak.
Welcome to the Royal Park Hotel.
Uh, excuse me, sir.
Excuse me.
Do you work at this hotel? Hello? Annie? Annie.
I'm sorry.
I didn't hear you.
What are you working on at this hour? Oh.
I was just, um I had some free time, so I was looking through the classifieds in some of the European papers.
See if I can find some workable patterns.
We have a room full of computers dedicated to finding workable patterns.
Yeah, but you never know.
They might have missed something.
You know, it can be pretty overwhelming, your first few months off the Farm.
Maybe you should take a few days off.
Clear your head.
This is about the dings I got, isn't it? Looking into Ben Mercer and the access denieds.
But really, I'm over that, Joan.
All of it.
Want to talk about the note? What note? The note that our tech division spent six man-hours analyzing this week.
Ben Mercer left me that in Sri Lanka in lieu of saying goodbye.
I can tell you a lot about it.
The paper is It's made of ground wood pulp and manufactured in Andhra Pradesh.
And handwriting tells me that the strong T-bars and horizontal pressure indicate perseverance, even stubbornness.
The only thing I can't tell you about that note is what the hell it means.
Sometimes, we have to accept that and move on.
You're probably right.
A few days off is probably a good idea.
Tell me you're not doing anything for the next few days.
What? I'm on the edge of losing it here, Annie, and I need some undivided loyalty.
Danielle, come on.
Open the door.
What is going on? Someone decided to cancel our tenth wedding anniversary at the last second.
I'm not canceling our anniversary.
I'm just postponing our trip.
So you can play golf.
So he can play golf.
In Hilton Head.
With my new boss.
I told you already.
We can reschedule for next month.
Well, next month, the kids won't be at their grandparents', and next month won't be our anniversary.
I know.
And if I could get out of it, I would, baby.
I swear.
Oh, hey, Annie.
Oh.
Hey, Michael.
You're an idiot.
This is all your fault, you know.
What? Excuse me? You were my maid of honor.
You should have talked me out of marrying him in the first place.
Now, I have to eat the deposit on the hotel.
I'm sure you can call and explain the situation and get them to reschedule.
And let him win? No way.
You have to come with me.
No.
Yes.
Yes, you do.
This is what sisters do for each other.
You don't have to work, do you? Well So, you'll come? Hey! Hey.
Where you headed? I have, uh, $63.
How close can this get me to America? Just get in.
Remember the road trips we'd take with Mom and Dad in that old pop-top camper? How we used to sleep up on the roof? Please tell me we are not camping.
Of course not.
We have the honeymoon suite.
Niagara Falls, baby.
You're staring at me.
I know.
I can't help it.
It's not fair.
I can't reciprocate.
Trust me.
You do just fine in the reciprocating department.
You do fine in most every department.
You're, like, almost perfect.
Almost? You know.
There's a few holes in your resume.
For starters, you could stand to drive a nicer car.
I don't have a car.
And then, of course, there's your job.
And here we go.
I'm just trying to reconcile the man I know you are with the company you choose to work for.
I'm a techno geek.
I get to play with the coolest toys in the sandbox, and I get paid for it.
It's simple as that.
Yeah? Yeah.
I'd say it gets pretty complicated.
For instance Liza? There's a shipping consultant called the Albion Group.
They're based in London.
I thought we had a deal.
You don't pump me for information, and I don't ask you where you get your stories from.
You're right.
I'm sorry.
I'm a reporter.
Mmm-hmm.
I'm pushy and inconsiderate.
And I don't respect boundaries.
Arthur? Do you have any reaction to what Joan just said? About establishing clear boundaries? Yes.
No.
I have nothing to add to that.
Except to say I am not the one pausing Leno every five minutes to harp over things we should be leaving at the office.
Harp? Did you say "harp"? On things? What things? What are you talking about? Remember what we discussed last time, Arthur, about specificity.
Oh, you want specifics? How about you, at 1:00 in the morning, going on and on about reeling Walker in? Arthur.
I wanted to sleep.
Or maybe, you know, not sleep.
I really don't think we should be talking about this right now.
No.
This is good.
Dialoging is critical.
And he's right.
You can't cut me off just because you don't like what I have to say.
Arthur.
Uh, forgive me, Theo.
What's your clearance level again? She's confused.
She's exhausted.
We're risking losing her altogether.
She'll get over it.
The good ones always do.
That's how we find out they're the good ones.
Well, I gave her a couple of days off.
My operative, my call.
Yes, well, sometimes, fate intervenes.
What are you talking about? Last night, an Iranian national defected from his trade delegation.
He called in this morning from the border.
What about NROC? PL 110s fall under their jurisdiction.
We'll bring in Resettlement Ops if and when we decide to resettle the guy.
For now, I need him vetted.
Within the hour.
I can't get anybody up there that fast.
Except for Annie.
My department, my call.
You wanted clearer boundaries? There you go.
You're on the couch tonight, mister.
You should seriously consider a new line of work.
So Was I right or was I right? You were right.
It's spectacular.
I can't believe you haven't seen them before.
Michael and I didn't have a view like this last time.
We were over there, on the US side, in a dumpy little motel.
Maybe we'll find a nice, single guy for you up here.
Oh, yeah.
Because Niagara is where all the well-adjusted single men go to meet available women.
How about the bellhop? He was kind of cute.
You can't hold on to Sri Lanka forever, Annie.
Someday, you're going to realize that.
I am going to hop in the shower.
Order us up some spa treatments while I'm in there, would you? My Farsi is barely passable, Auggie.
Hey.
You don't need to look for an excuse to beg out on this one, slugger.
Joan's giving you plenty of leeway.
If you don't want to do it, she'll go to plan B.
I'll do it.
Coffee shop down the block from the hotel.
Give me ten minutes.
Set the meet.
Hey.
If you're going to jump in, I highly recommend the pulsate setting.
It's like a teeny-tiny Thai masseuse climbed up into the pipes and Where are you going? I feel a little crispy after that drive.
I think I'm going to take a run.
Right now? I thought we could catch the noon Maid of the Mist.
Later.
Promise.
You're going running like that? Oh.
No.
Of course not.
Hello.
Hello.
Lady.
Am I looking for you? The napkin said that I know.
Please get in the car.
You can call me Yahya.
Or Johnny, if you like.
And we can speak in English now.
Okay, Yahya.
Um, before we start, I need to see your passport.
Oh.
I don't have it.
I had to leave it with the head of the delegation.
That's what we do when we travel so people like me, we don't run.
Okay.
Well, do you have anything else to verify your You know, I'm sorry.
You know, my batteries, they ran out on my iPod.
I love American music.
That's good.
But I For shizzle! Mmm.
Mmm.
You seem kind of wired.
Did you get any sleep last night? Huh? No.
None.
None, whatsoever.
Too many cups of espresso.
I'm just so jazzed! Man, I can't believe I'm coming to America.
And with a real, live CIA spy.
I'm hardly a spy.
I was just sent up here to help you.
But I called the CIA.
I know.
But I need to verify your identity.
You understand why, don't you? Oh.
Of course.
Yes.
Here.
Uh Oh.
I use this, huh, to get my DVDs.
I like spy movies the best.
You know, like Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne That's how I know to call the CIA.
You guys are the best.
I square with you, you square with me.
Right? Huh? Yeah.
Are those your children? Are they in Tehran? Do we need to arrange for their removal? I don't want to talk about my family right now.
Okay.
I want to defect to the USA.
I want a new identity, and a house in West Orange, New Jersey.
You know, they say it's quite beautiful there.
You understand I'm just here to determine the value of the information you can provide.
I can't make you any promises unless it's determined that you possess something of use to us.
Look.
What do you think this is? Hmm? Hmm? He claims there's evidence here of Iran buying military technology in violation of UN sanctions.
Annie, do you have access to a scanner? Auggie, I'm on vacation.
I don't have access to a toaster oven.
You call that a vacation? Okay.
Annie, we're going to need you to fax all that back to us on a secure line.
And we'll have a team sift through it.
What do we know about this guy? There's not much to know about this guy.
He went to school for engineering.
He finished in the middle of his class.
And then, he applied for some post-graduate studies here in '96.
Did he get turned down for a visa? No, he got turned down for the studies.
He's not exactly a high-priority target.
Does it say anything about his family? No, I don't see anything.
Can I bring him across the border? No.
Not until we vet the intel.
And Yahya.
It's not like I can baby-sit him.
Let's not forget who I'm up here with.
You're in my car! Oh, no.
What is it? What are you doing in my car? You! I'm going to have to call you back.
Put the fruit roll-up down.
You have five seconds to get the hell out of my car, or I'm calling the police.
Five, four, three Danielle.
Hold on.
Hold on a second.
Oh, thank gosh you came.
I found this guy trying to steal my car.
What are you, the valet? Is this what you do for kicks? Joyride around, foraging for snacks? What's a valet? It's okay.
He's with me.
What? It's okay.
You can come out.
His name is Yahya Rahimi.
He's an Iranian dissident who's helping the Smithsonian recover some art that was looted from the Embassy when Tehran fell.
Yes.
Lots of art.
Good art.
What are you doing in Niagara Falls? It's a complicated visa situation.
Yeah.
I was visiting Toronto, and I always wanted to see the Falls.
They're very romantic.
Yeah.
They are, aren't they? My sister doesn't think so.
I never said that.
No, you said you were going running.
Well, I know.
I got this last-minute call from work when you were in the shower, and I know how you feel about the hours that I work and God, I'm so embarrassed.
Accusing your friend of stealing my car? No.
How could you have known? I want to make it up to you.
Let's go sightseeing.
Um We have to fax some documents back to D.
C.
The both of you? Well, Yahya was on the red-eye last night, so he needs to rest.
Oh.
Bad idea, Yahya.
The way to lick jet-lag is to power right through it.
Get right on the new timetable.
Yeah, I don't know about We'll go sightseeing.
It will be fun.
Uh Well, it's either that, or I'm going faxing with you.
Oh, okay.
Um If you mention any of this to my sister No, no, no, no.
I understand.
We keep secret together.
You can trust me.
Okay.
Okay.
See you later.
Yeah, yeah.
Yahya.
What kind of name is that? Uh, it's Persian.
Actually, Arabic.
Okay.
His and hers.
What do you think? Which is which? I don't even know.
Try one.
Take your pick.
I like these on you.
So, I'll take these.
You looked like you really got into it with that vendor.
No.
No, I think I, uh I think I offended him.
What do you say we get out of the city? Go to the beach.
I know this place.
Um Unawatuna.
Wait.
Unawatuna? I like the name.
It is like a dream.
It is beautiful and secluded.
And I swear nobody can find you there.
You looking to get lost? Aren't you? No.
I mean, who goes on a second honeymoon without a husband, right? It's insane, right? But it's like I heard this little voice inside of me saying, "Don't be such a pushover, Danielle.
"Don't be so reliable.
" Because once they think that you're always there for them, then they start getting bored.
And pretty soon, they stop wanting to have sex.
And then, where are you at? You're nowhere, right? I am sure he respects what you did.
You will see when you get home.
You're a good listener, Johnny.
That's a fine quality in a man.
Are you married? Oh, no.
I was arranged to be married once, when I was much younger.
Arranged? I was 14 years old.
Her name was Roudabeh.
Roudabeh Baktiar.
Oh, I have a picture of her.
Want to see? Yeah.
Is that you? You were so cute.
Anyway.
When the Shah fell, her family moved to America.
You never thought of marrying someone else? I never loved anybody else.
So tragic.
And romantic.
In a kind of Shakespearean way.
Whatever happened to Roudabeh? We never spoke again.
And she married someone else.
Do you know, last month, I see on the Facebook she was divorcing.
So, maybe, if America allows me, I will see her again.
Is that Rahimi's intel? The group he's associated with is smuggling in banned substances, all right.
But not arms.
They're bringing in cigarettes and alcohol? Into Iran? Naughty boys.
The clerics won't like that.
Seems like we're dealing with a bunch of bootleggers.
Fine men who place mammon over Mohammed.
Hard to find any more desirable assets to cultivate.
That's the name of the game in the Middle East these days.
Yeah! Yes! Yeah! Okay, ready? Hey.
Oh, my God.
You're missing all the fun.
Yahya is amazing.
Yes.
And it's my first time.
That's great.
I'm just going to take this.
Yeah.
Are you able to talk? Uh, I'm good for a few minutes.
How's Yahya's intel, and when can we hand him over to NROC? We're not handing him off to Resettlement.
Not yet, anyway.
We're talking about sending him back to Iran.
We think he might be of greater value there.
Uh That's ridiculous.
Pardon me? He's not up for it.
I can tell.
He's in over his head already just playing Skee-Ball with my sister.
He's playing Skee-Ball with your sister? Before we go down this line of questioning, I want us both to acknowledge that I did not volunteer for this op.
I say that we honor our deal with Yahya and bring him into the country.
What deal? You weren't authorized to make any promises.
No, I didn't make any promises, but the implication was there.
He's a potential asset, Annie, not a kitten you found on the corner.
He'll be fine.
Now, make this happen.
I can't go back there.
Try not to think in absolutes.
I ran away from the delegation.
How am I going to explain what happened? We have a plan for that.
You went running that night without an ID.
You suddenly had a pain in your chest, you collapsed, and you were taken to the hospital.
Until you revived, no one knew who you were.
The CIA can make that story happen.
They do it all the time.
No.
You said if I had good intel, I'd be taken care of.
You had to know that when you signed up with the Agency, things would not go exactly as you expected.
Signed up? I mean contacted.
Do you know what will happen to me if I'm sent back, don't you? To the mullahs? All right, they will take me and they will Things don't work there the same way they do here.
Yahya, I can't You know what? I will figure out a way to make it into America myself.
Oh.
No, no I have checked every hotel, motel, and Tim Horton's in Niagara.
There's no sign of him anywhere.
That's all right.
We're sending up some personnel from the Iranian desk, something that we should have done earlier.
When they arrive, you can bring them up to speed.
Annie, you did what you could under challenging circumstances.
Now, go enjoy your vacation.
Thank you, Joan.
I had a fascinating picture brought to my attention today.
The chair is right in front of you.
Want to guess who's in it? Want a hint? You are.
And you're not alone.
This doesn't look good, does it? No, Mr.
Anderson, it does not.
I'm not the leak.
You're not? I've been working Liza as an op.
Really? I'm Director of Clandestine Services.
It's my job to know of every covert op that's run from this place.
I haven't heard a thing about your op.
I realize I should have notified Joan, but I've been waiting until I had some actionable intel.
So, not only have you been running around unauthorized, but you haven't gotten anything at all out of Liza other than a good time.
Sir.
Despite how this may appear, I do respect chain-of-command.
And Joan is my immediate superior Sorry, soldier boy.
You lost your chance to play that chain-of-command card when you decided to go rogue.
Start talking.
Whoever her leak is, she's been well-trained in how to cover her tracks.
No phone calls.
No e-mails.
But this morning, she asked me if I knew anything about the Albion Group.
Well, what did you say? I told her the truth.
That I don't know anything, and that if I did, I wouldn't leak her any information.
I'm trying to gain her trust.
If I were to roll over and play fetch the first time she broached the subject, it would look suspicious.
Well, at least you did one thing right.
We can work with that.
You're going to tell her a story that only 17 people in the world know is a lie.
If she follows your lead, it will be months before she discovers she's at a dead end.
If she comes back to you right away crying foul Then, one of those When are you going to see her again? I can make this happen immediately.
But what do you want me to tell Joan? Nothing.
If necessary, lie.
I don't know.
If this Albion business blows up, it's going to take out anybody standing close.
Joan is your boss.
She's my wife.
I want her out of range.
Where is Yahya? I think he's in his room.
Oh.
Did Yahya tell you about his big date? His big date? With his first girlfriend, Rudy, from Iran? No.
He didn't say anything about that.
She lives in North Jersey now.
And he was too nervous to call her, so I took it upon myself.
You called his old girlfriend? Yeah.
She's on her way up here right now for the big reunion in one hour, on the observation deck.
Just like Sleepless In Seattle.
You shouldn't have done that, Dani.
Why not? Someone needs to be experiencing some romance around here, and it's certainly not either of us.
Be right back.
Her name is Roudabeh.
Roudabeh Rahnama.
She might go by Rudy now.
Her maiden name is Baktiar.
She can't be that hard to find.
My sister did it in, like, two seconds.
Okay, got it.
Hey, Annie, are you sure this guy isn't playing you? About what? About everything.
Who he is, what he wants.
Can we definitively rule out him being a plant? Jai.
If this guy is a plant, the world has been seriously underestimating Iran's sense of humor.
Jai? Is that Annie? Yeah.
You're on your way to find Yahya, I presume.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm out the door.
Patch me in with Toronto.
I want an update every five minutes on the movements of that trade delegation.
Where's Auggie? Uh, I think he was called to the DCS.
The DCS? I can sit in for him, if you like.
Auggie, what's this all about? We've never had to meet like this before.
That's because I've never done anything like this before.
Sit down.
You said you wanted to know about some of the dark stuff that we do, right? Uh-huh.
Well, here goes.
In 2007, right after the tsunami, a ship left Marseilles for Thailand.
The ship was purportedly carrying humanitarian aid, but there was more than that in the cargo.
What are we talking about here? Arms? Drugs? The man you want to contact is named Joachim Kuyper.
K-U-Y-P-E-R.
I don't have a number, but he's posted now in Maputo, Mozambique.
He's the guy who arranged all the transport.
Hold on, Auggie.
What exactly am I Why I am looking for Kuyper? Because he's in the Albion Group.
He's CIA.
Why the sudden change of heart? Is that really that important? Before I set off halfway around the world chasing down a lead? Yes, Auggie, it's important.
Look.
Maybe it has something to do with what you said to me this morning.
It's been a long time since I really looked myself in the mirror, so to speak.
And maybe I just needed a friend outside the Agency to finally call me on it.
I'm a friend? Yeah.
At least, I hope so.
Oh, my I didn't see that coming.
Me, neither.
Feels good, though, doesn't it? Yeah, it feels good.
You know what tomorrow is? Monday.
Tuesday.
I'm supposed to fly home tomorrow.
I don't know what you're thinking about this.
About us.
But I don't I could I could change my ticket.
I don't have anywhere I have to be.
Yes.
Change it.
Change it now.
I don't want you to leave.
Wow.
That is exactly what I wanted you to say.
I have the number for the airport in my bag.
I'll find a phone as soon as it stops raining.
How do you feel about heading to Rapa Nui next? Annie I've got to go get my sandals off the beach.
Before they wash up in Bali.
- Yeah.
- Hey.
Did you find him yet? Uh Hold on a sec.
Ha.
I found him.
Yahya.
Roudabeh? Hello, Yahya.
Listen.
We just spoke to Roudabeh, and she's still in New Jersey.
That's impossible.
I'm looking right at her.
No, you are not.
She told your sister that she'd fly up to meet with him.
But as soon as she'd hung up, she realized she couldn' do it.
Well, then, who is Yahya talking to? No, I don't want to go back.
I don't want to go back! What's he doing now? I don't know what he's doing.
He's talking to two people.
One man, one woman who I guess we know is not Roudabeh.
Something is definitely not right down there.
All right, Annie.
We're already on the horn with the Canadian authorities.
Just stand down and stay the hell out of it.
Is that understood? Answer the question, Annie.
Have I made myself understood? Uh, yeah.
Okay.
Where are you taking me? I was just pretending to be a spy so I could come to America.
You know me.
I hardly know anything.
No! Annie, help me! Annie! Annie, help! Yahya! Annie! Help! Here, reach out! This is as stretched as I can get.
Okay.
Hold on.
I will be right back.
No.
No, don't leave me! I will be right back.
Help! Annie, please! Okay.
Grab on.
You're going to have to climb up.
Reach out and grab onto it.
No, I can't! I can't hold on! You can do it.
Trust me.
Black cars.
Windbreakers.
The kung fu moves.
It's hard to believe you're really not CIA, Annie.
That guy I was just talking to, Joe McAfee? He's with the NROC.
It's the National Resettlement Operations Center.
They're going to be taking care of you from here on.
They may not be able to get you a spot in West Orange, New Jersey, but Look.
I can't believe how stupid I've been.
You know, wasting all these years, holding on to a fantasy.
And then, to have her betray me like this.
No.
It wasn't Roudabeh who called your people, Yahya.
We searched her home.
Her phones were tapped.
Illegally.
I wouldn't write her off completely.
Perhaps when you get resettled, you could contact her directly.
Mr.
Rahimi? Uh, we've got to take you in for processing now.
Oh, wait.
Might be a while till you get to recharge.
Thank you.
Oh.
Oh.
Say goodbye to your sister for me.
My sister.
Danielle? Danielle? Oh.
Uh, yeah.
Hey.
How are you? I'm fine.
What are you doing in there? Oh.
I was just Just getting a robe.
Just this robe.
Okay.
Listen.
I am finally done with work today, and I thought maybe you might want to do some sightseeing.
It's supposed to be beautiful at night, with the lights and Oh, yeah.
You know Yeah, I'd love to.
Except, I'm You know, I'm not feeling that well.
Oh.
Is somebody in there with you? Somebody? It is not some bellhop, is it? I know that you are mad at Michael, but I don't think that Hey, Annie.
Hi, Michael.
I'm, uh I'll just Mmm-hmm.
He came up to surprise me, the romantic little bastard.
In the closet? Well, why should our second honeymoon be any different than our first? Good for you.
I'm going to give you some privacy.
No, maybe you want to get a second room.
On us, of course.
No.
No, no, no.
I will see you at home.
Oh, my God.
Looks like I missed some big to-do.
Any idea what happened? Mmm-mmm.
Joachim Kuyper? Maputo? Liza? They're ghosts, Auggie.
Dead ends.
You sending me on a wild goose chase? I don't know what you're talking about.
There must be some mistake.
I'll give you credit.
I was really buying your "conflicted man with a conscience" routine.
It was almost perfect.
That something you want to talk about? Not yet.
Okay? Okay.
Just knocked down all the 19s and the 20s.
I'm on fire.
What's the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost.