FBI: International (2021) s01e21 Episode Script
Crestfallen
1
Hello, Scott.
You're Angela Cassidy's son, right? Your mother's still out there.
There's a file at the bureau's Washington office.
It's labeled "Hutchinson".
I need it.
I'm ordering you to cease and desist from any more personal investigation.
You're a traitor.
You sold secrets to the Russians, and then you just disappeared.
My country asked me to sacrifice you.
I love you.
I'll be in touch.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
♪ [SIGHS.]
♪ Eh? ♪ Ah.
♪ - Two.
- Ah! [SPEAKING POLISH OVER RADIO.]
Go.
Just go.
♪ Four-niner Charlie Delta, you are cleared for takeoff.
[SPEAKING POLISH OVER RADIO.]
♪ Who were you expecting? An old friend.
And I'll probably never see him again.
♪ What the hell is ♪ Remember, I'm German, so no need for any excessively emotional reactions.
Oh.
What's goin' on? It's Jaeger's last case with the Fly Team.
Yes, I know.
Do not remind me.
I'm still trying to talk her out of it.
You'll be just fine without me.
- Impossible.
- So who's replacing you? I'll have to figure that out.
- You get to choose? - Yes.
Part of my promotion at Europol included Oh, my God, you were promoted! [BOTH LAUGH.]
- That's amazing.
- Cam.
Cam, we have a case to run for Scott.
- Yeah.
- Shall we? Yes.
♪ Private aircraft went down three hours ago just after departure at an airfield outside of Chelm, Poland, near the border of Belarus.
On board were the two pilots, both American; a British flight attendant; and the owner of the jet, Greg Hutchinson, also American.
This was not a case of catastrophic mechanical failure.
Plane had just undergone safety inspections, and its maintenance record was impeccable.
Polish aviation officials report that witnesses on the ground, radar signals, and testimony of other aviators in the area indicate a contrail leading to the plane from the ground, highly suggestive of a surface-to-air missile being the proximate cause.
Hutchinson was a wealthy industrialist who had been working in Eastern Europe and Russia for the last 15 years.
He left behind a wife and two kids.
All right, get everything you can from the Polish police, and we'll decide our next move from there.
♪ [SIGHS.]
♪ Why'd the name Hutchinson resonate with you? [SIGHS.]
When I was in contact with my mom, she asked for the Hutchinson file.
What was in it? I never gained access to the real file.
Well, there's more than one Hutchinson in the world.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
♪ - What's that? - I'll be back.
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ [SIGHS.]
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
♪ - Mom.
- Hey.
- Are you all right? - I have to be quick.
Hutchinson's plane, you're looking into it? Uh, yes.
The key to the whole thing is a man named Pavel Novikoff.
He was supposed to be on the plane.
- Where are you? - Find Novikoff.
I have to go.
I'm in danger.
No, no, Mo Mom.
[SIGHS.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
♪ What'd you find? So Pavel Novikoff leads the Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia's CIA, works on producing deep-cover agents.
He's basically like the czar of all the top spies in Russia.
Further Intel on Novikoff has him involved in intimidating journalists, election interference, political engineering, and clandestine military operations.
But most important of all, he's inner circle at the Kremlin one of maybe a half dozen advisors at the top.
Why are we looking into this guy? I got a tip.
Okay, what would Novikoff's connection to Hutchinson be? If Hutchinson was making big money in Russia, maybe Novikoff was his protection for the appropriate price, of course.
We have possible suspects for the plane bombing.
Polish investigators had these two crossing the Belarus border, utilizing aliases the day before the attack, hanging around the airport, and then crossing back hours after.
Search of alias info indicates they're Vladislav and Stepan Pavlovic brothers.
The bureau's Intel has them flagged as Russian Mercaders.
That's Kremlin slang for "assassins".
Named after Ramón Mercader, the communist who killed Leon Trotsky in Mexico in 1940 with an ice ax.
- You got a sec? - Mm.
♪ [SIGHS.]
She's been out of your life for 15 years.
She asks for the Hutchinson file, and then two months later, he gets blown out of the sky? Scott, can you really trust your mom? [CELL PHONE RINGS.]
[SIGHS.]
Forrester.
Yeah, I remember.
I know where it is.
I'll be there.
That was Michael Rafferty, case officer for the CIA.
- He wants to meet me.
- Now the agency's involved? - I'm just gonna hear him out.
- Scott Scott.
Be really careful on this.
♪ Rafferty.
Why are you looking into Pavel Novikoff? [SCOFFS.]
Come on, you know all the keystrokes - on your work computer are - Are logged.
I know.
I got a tip from a confidential source.
Your mom? Yeah, that whole Hutchinson file thing? That was an integrity test on you by your mother to see if you would do her bidding, and you did.
I notified OPR when she reached out.
No, you asked for the case file, then had a change of heart and called in OPR, yes or no? What do you need, Mike? You're being played, Scott.
If this wasn't your mom, you'd see it from a million miles away.
And what is in the Hutchinson file that is of interest to her in the first place? It sure as hell wasn't so she could clear her name.
It was Hutchinson's chumminess with Novikoff that was of interest to her.
She wanted details on Hutchinson so she could find a way to expose Novikoff at the Kremlin.
But Novikoff ran before she could make her power move.
Why does she want Novikoff? He grew a conscience, gave the wrong advice to the wrong people.
Now he's out of favor at the Kremlin and on the run.
And your mom, as a Russian loyalist, is trying to find him and kill him and use you to facilitate it.
My own involvement started in this in Kraków when you gave me a surveillance photo of her.
You must've known that I was gonna look into her.
[CHUCKLES.]
So is that what you wanted? So are you her handler, hmm? You lost touch, you started to panic, wanted to use me as your bloodhound? Yes, and I thought I knew her well till she fully betrayed me and the United States and became fully absorbed in Russia.
Novikoff was the one who recruited and turned her, by the way.
So if he really is on the run, wouldn't it be in the best interest for the Americans to bring him in out of the cold? I mean, he's in the top lineup at the Kremlin.
All those communications are face-to-face, "Godfather"-style.
We could set back Russian penetration efforts a decade with what's rattling around in that man's head.
Yeah, that's not for you to determine - [CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
- Nor contemplate.
♪ Do you remember the oath you took when you became an agent? Maybe you forgot.
"I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic".
Now, nowhere in there is there a carve-out that if your mom becomes a spy for Russia, you can adopt some some situational ethics and everyone will let it slide.
[SIGHS.]
Okay, loop in the bureau's Counterintel folks.
Hand over everything you have.
Don't do anything on your own.
If you don't wanna do this for your country, Scott, do it for yourself, because your job your freedom may depend on it.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
♪ Hey, Novikoff is in Pula, Croatia.
You need to get there and find him.
Why? Mom, what is going on? He wants to turn, but he only trusts me, and I only trust you.
You can't imagine how big this would be for us.
- Who's "us"? - The United States.
The Kremlin will do anything to stop him, and anyone who helps him will be considered acceptable collateral damage.
Wait, so you're in direct communication with Novikoff? Yes.
Where are you right now? Are you okay? Stay safe.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
[SIGHS.]
- Yeah.
- Legat Dandridge wants the whole team in his office ASAP.
Great.
- My office is available, so - [KNOCK AT DOOR.]
Agent Forrester.
Ken Dandridge.
Nice to meet you in person.
It's nice to meet you as well.
- What happened to Legat Padilla? - Reassigned.
Great gal but in over her head out here.
Bureau wanted a legat with more of an active presence.
Hmm.
I was just getting an update from your colleagues on where you're at with the Hutchinson case.
- Okay.
- Might be worth a trip to Poland to check out the crash site, conduct some interviews Legat Warsaw has a team on it.
We've also been looking into the two brothers suspected of taking down the plane, Vladislav and Stepan Pavlovic.
Main suspects only suspects, really.
Good.
Good, good, good.
I've been getting calls from some high-level people various agencies, including our own, asking about our knowledge of a Pavel Novikoff.
Can anyone think of why I might be getting those calls? I've heard tidbits, nothing to move on just yet.
And why am I hearing about it from them and not you? Well, because things are moving pretty quickly, Ken, and my team is doing everything to find who blew four people out of the sky last night.
So that's why.
Fair enough.
Stay on the case, but stay on Hutchinson.
He was the target, okay? Don't overthink this.
Don't start getting pulled in all these different directions.
Head back to the off-site.
Stay put.
Investigate from there until directed otherwise.
You got it.
♪ - Where's Forrester? - He was gonna meet us here.
Katrin, where is he? Gone.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGS.]
♪ [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ - Hi.
- Hey.
- Scott Forrester.
- Astrid Janssen.
Please.
So you're with the Dutch National Police? Yes, assigned to Europol.
I've been covering Croatia for the last two years, and I have a very good relationship with the Croatian police here in Pula.
Well, Katrin Jaeger, she speaks very highly of you.
And you as well.
Double espresso? One sugar? - How'd you guess? - I texted Katrin.
Hmm, makes sense.
I have no Intel on Novikoff, and there's nothing to indicate he's in Croatia.
Not that anyone would be aware, considering his chosen profession.
- Mm.
- And there's nothing in terms of family, friends, or business associates here, although Croatia and Russia have long had a practical cooperation.
Has the Russian embassy had any new guests, or have you heard any heightened state of activity or chatter coming from there? We haven't.
Are you sure you got the right country? Croatia gets mistaken for Slovenia all the time.
No, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be here.
Europol and Croatia would also have a keen interest in locating Novikoff alive, preferably.
So I'll provide any help you need, covertly, of course, and unless and until you prove to be unreliable or misled, at which case, you'll be on your own.
That's fair enough.
Do you have a place I could work out of off-books, secured comms? Come with me.
♪ After you.
♪ Nice.
This is used by the Croatian Police for undercover drug ops.
And what reason did you use to sign out for it? I didn't.
Luka, the harbormaster, and I are in the same handball league.
[CHUCKLES.]
Works for me.
This is for when you and I need to communicate.
Great.
[SIGHS.]
[KEYBOARD KEYS CLICKING.]
I've got Forrester.
- Hey.
- Where are you? - Pula, Croatia.
- Because? Because we have a very small window to find out who killed all those aboard that plane and to secure a major asset in Novikoff.
But this has to stay in-house for now.
We cannot escalate this up the food chain, or they will overwhelm this place and everything will go sideways.
I have a local cell phone.
I will text you so that you can contact me with updates.
You realize the position you're putting us all in? - I do.
- Is Novikoff in Croatia? My source says he is, or he's headed here.
Okay, so I looked into Hutchinson's last 24 hours.
He was being very careful to cover his tracks.
But he did leave some digital dust behind.
He was in communication with someone repeatedly throughout the day.
A John Doe alias was added to the manifest.
Clearly, he was expecting someone.
If that someone was Novikoff, there's no telling why he didn't get on that plane.
But the hit team knew about it and assumed he was on the flight.
Anything on that hit team? Nothing after being ID'd as suspects in Poland, and Legat Warsaw has not been transparent with info.
Does Hutchinson have any connections to Croatia? Let's look for one.
If Novikoff is a void, then maybe we can find him through Hutchinson.
There has to be a reason why Novikoff is either headed to or in Croatia.
Hutchinson did spend time in Pula the last 15 years.
He'd always stay at the Hotel San.
All right, I'll head there now.
Why is your mom having all this go through you and only you? She trusts me, I guess.
And what if Novikoff is a double agent only making it look like he's on the run? Then we'll find out soon enough.
And if your mom is lying about all this or has bad Intel? Then you'll be the new head of the Fly Team, and I will be your first arrest.
Legat Dandridge is on his way up along with General Paul Finley from the Paris case.
Jamie.
They can't know, not yet.
Scott, why are you putting this all on the line for her? Because she's my mom.
♪ - Where's Agent Forrester? - I don't know.
- So he's not here? - No.
Not in this building or not in Budapest? Well, not in this building.
If anyone here is cooperating with Agent Forrester and withholding information, may I suggest you start updating your LinkedIn profiles? We all know the rules and protocol, no one more than Forrester.
He must have a good reason to go about this the way he is.
But he will be in contact when the time is right.
You're the ex-girlfriend, I take it? ♪ Okay, listen, it's not my place to speak for everyone.
So if any of you have a problem with how we're doing this, how Forrester is, raise your hand, or reach out to Legat Dandridge privately.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
- Hey.
- You in Pula? - Yeah.
- Okay, good.
I'll try to get you a location on Novikoff.
You'll try? Mom, I have risked I have risked everything - to be here.
- I know.
I am doing everything that I can, but no one else can be part of this, or he will get spooked and disappear, voluntarily or otherwise.
♪ Your tradecraft sucks.
I'm not trying to hide from you.
I'm trying to help you from getting killed.
- I'm doing just fine.
- Oh, yeah? Headed to the Hotel San? Don't bother.
That's stale Intel anyway.
Well, then why don't we join forces and play our cards faceup just like we did in Kraków? I do not understand why you are so resistant.
Because this is out of your league and purview.
You're being played by a Russian spy.
You're gonna screw this whole thing up to a fare-thee-well if you don't stop trying to - [GUNSHOTS.]
- [PEOPLE SCREAMING.]
♪ Get in! [GUNSHOTS.]
♪ [SPEAKING DUTCH.]
[SIGHS.]
I'll run interference with local police and Europol for as long as I can, but they'll want answers about everything soon.
If you need to bail, I I understand.
I owe it to Katrin.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
♪ Yeah.
♪ [SIGHS.]
[KEYBOARD KEYS CLICKING.]
- [DEVICE RINGS.]
- I've got Forrester.
♪ What's wrong? Rafferty was killed right in front of me.
Did you see who did it? The hit team, two brothers.
I saw them both.
Scott, we have to kick this upstairs.
♪ [SIGHS.]
Yeah.
- Do it.
- Loop in Dandridge and Finley.
- Yup.
- Novikoff? ♪ No sign of him yet.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
♪ - Scott.
- I'll be in touch.
[KEYBOARD KEY CLICKS.]
♪ [SPEAKING CROATIAN.]
- Um - English? - Yes.
- May I help you? I'm just taking a look around.
Thank you.
♪ [GUN COCKING.]
[GRUNTING.]
[SIGHS.]
Hello, Scott.
[SCOFFS.]
Now what? ♪ Local police use this apartment for prostitution stings.
Should be clear until tonight.
It won't take that long.
Sit down.
♪ [LAPTOP RINGS.]
I have Novikoff.
♪ Listen, I do not wanna go through the Croatian Police or any embassies.
I wanna hand him off to Dandridge and Finley, get his ass back to the United States as soon as possible.
Okay, just sit tight for five minutes, and we'll call back with an exfiltration plan.
Copy.
Thank you.
I know you've gone to great risk to find me.
- Why did you run? - I'm against the war.
It was the last straw, as you say.
What are you doing here in Pula? I was supposed to meet Greg Hutchinson on his plane in Poland, but my car got a flat tire five kilometers away.
I missed that flight, and well, you know what happened.
Came here to Pula because I have a safe house through my counterintel work.
I was trying to arrange boat travel to Italy and figure out what to do from there but ran out of time.
How do you know my mother? I recruited her to spy for Russia.
But at a certain point, she flipped back and became a double agent.
I'm not sure exactly when, but I do know why: you.
I grew to confide in her, to love her, if I am being honest, though it was unrequited.
When I told her I wanted to leave Russia, she revealed her true status with the U.
S.
and vowed to help me.
So her loyalty lies with the United States? Oh, yes.
- Where is she now? - I have no idea.
- Do you know them? - Of them.
Hit squad, top-shelf.
Who sent them? Kremlin, of course.
If you're in contact with my mother, you think she can reach out, call them off? Not her department.
[LAPTOP RINGS.]
[KEYBOARD KEY CLICKS.]
Okay, Finley and Dandridge will be at the Velanera airstrip with a jet.
They're heading there now.
Can you get Novikoff there? - Yeah, we'll be there.
- [LAPTOP SNAPS SHUT.]
Let's go.
♪ Let's do everything we can not to get you killed, all right? ♪ [LAUGHS.]
- That's funny to you? - Ironic.
All the years, all the agents, all the planning each time they were ready to venture out, I'd leave them with one final warning, one final piece of advice: from this moment on, death's embrace will always be right over your shoulder.
Hmm.
I'd be a hypocrite to fear it now.
How about the five people who were killed because of you? They didn't get the chance to hear that little speech.
Get down.
It was terrible, what happened to them.
I sure as hell hope you're worth it.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
She's here.
- Who? - Your mom.
- In Pula? - [TIRES SQUEALING.]
Yes.
[YELLS.]
[PEOPLE SHOUTING.]
[GRUNTING.]
Get him out of here.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
We gotta move.
- I broke my arm.
- Move your ass.
♪ [BOTH GRUNTING.]
Gun! He has a gun! Get down! [GUNSHOTS, PEOPLE SCREAMING.]
- I got him.
Go! - [GRUNTING.]
♪ Go, go.
♪ Empty.
[GROANS.]
- Sit down.
- [SCREAMS.]
Sit down.
[GRUNTING.]
♪ Hold it there.
Put pressure on it.
- Give me your scarf.
- [COUGHS.]
- This is gonna hurt.
- Okay.
- On three.
- Okay.
- One.
- One.
- [BONES CRACK.]
- [SCREAMS.]
♪ All right, you got it? All right.
Okay.
All right.
♪ [ALARM RINGING, SIREN WAILING.]
- Almost there.
- Okay.
All right, okay.
Okay, okay.
- Wait.
- You got it? - [WHIMPERS.]
Yeah.
- Over your head.
- Over your head.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- [BREATHES SHARPLY.]
- All right.
- All right.
- Yeah.
All right, hey.
Look at me.
We need to move.
We gotta move.
Can't they just pick us up here, hmm? What do you want, stretch limo, party van, any preference? - Champagne.
- Come on.
- Get up.
Move.
- Okay ah, bastard.
God.
[GROANS.]
♪ - You got it? - You remind me of your mother.
Yeah.
♪ [SIREN WAILING.]
[CELL PHONE RINGS.]
- Hey.
- Novikoff good? He's good enough.
Your next left, take it and go two blocks.
There's a Grey Skoda with tinted windows parked there.
- Keys and comm are in it.
- Got it.
♪ - Whoa! - [GUNSHOTS.]
[ALL GRUNTING.]
♪ [SCREAMS.]
♪ [GROWLS.]
♪ [GAGGING.]
♪ That's us.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ Will you get in the car? ♪ Okay.
♪ [GROANS.]
[HORN HONKING.]
Come on! [HORN HONKING.]
♪ - [LINE RINGING.]
- [CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
[HORN HONKING.]
- Scott.
- Hey.
We have your location.
Dandridge and Finley are at the airstrip waiting.
You're four minutes away, straight ahead.
I'll be there in three.
Your mom wants to meet.
What? Yeah, she wants to escape with us.
She's ten kilometers back that way.
[PANTING.]
♪ [BREATHING HEAVILY.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Whatever you decide, I'll understand.
♪ Yeah.
♪ Put your seat belt on.
[TIRES SQUEALING.]
♪ - [TIRES SQUEALING.]
- [HORN HONKS.]
[YELLING IN CROATIAN.]
♪ [YELLS.]
[HORN HONKING.]
♪ [TIRES SQUEALING.]
♪ Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
♪ [TIRES SQUEALING.]
[GRUNTS.]
♪ [LINE RINGS.]
- Go for Janssen.
- It's Forrester.
One of the brothers is right on my ass black Audi.
I have your location.
Stay on the line.
♪ Hold on.
[GRUNTS.]
[HORN HONKS.]
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ That worked.
I'm clear.
Good.
No sign of the brother, though.
♪ [CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
♪ Hmm.
What? ♪ It means "crestfallen" in Russian.
- It's a code.
- For what? ♪ She's been compromised.
And don't try to contact her.
♪ I'm sorry.
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ His arm is broken.
Otherwise intact.
My name is Pavel Novikoff.
I'm requesting asylum with the United States, and I will fully cooperate.
♪ I'm General Paul Finley, Department of Defense.
I'm here to inform you that America is the land of opportunity, and we will give you the opportunity to cooperate fully.
Then we'll decide if you've earned the right to asylum.
Understood.
♪ That's a major asset you just delivered.
Whatever damage your mother inflicted on our country, you just made up for it a hundredfold.
Great work, Agent.
♪ You know, the last time a plane took off with the assumption Novikoff was on board, didn't make it very far.
I've arranged for a sortie of F-15 Strike Eagles carrying live ordnance to accompany that jet.
Novikoff is getting back to D.
C.
Trust me.
My mom helped me bring in Novikoff helped us.
So I want you and everyone else to be aware of everything that that implies.
Implications, Agent, aren't what we When Angela Cassidy tells us her true allegiance in person, that will be the sole determinant as to our interpretation of your mom.
♪ You know the truth.
We all do.
♪ [SIGHS.]
You know, on this job, there's a lot of awful things we see and experience.
But the amazing thing is, you drop into a distant part of the world, far away from home, meet a fellow law enforcement officer, shake hands, come to an agreement, and within ten seconds of meeting them, you trust them with your life.
And I want you to know that I would have done anything anything to save yours.
I had a small speech prepared.
- [LAUGHS.]
- I think yours is better.
What's "cheers" in Dutch? Proost.
Proost.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
♪ - Mom? - You got him to safety? Yes.
Thank you.
Where are you now? This was never gonna work out.
Mom, don't disappear on me again.
- Let me help you.
- Scott forget about me.
This time, I mean it.
I love you.
Mom.
♪ Hey.
Hey, Tank.
Hey, buddy.
Hey.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Welcome back.
♪ Thank you, guys.
Thank you for all your help and all your trust.
Good to have you back.
Yeah.
I know I put you guys over a barrel on this one, and I'm - No need to explain.
- Novikoff landed in D.
C.
- All sorted out.
- That's good to hear.
And your colleague at Europol, Janssen, she was aces.
As I expected.
She's on my short list for my replacement.
Your mom? Back into the mist.
♪ - Anything on him? - No.
We have his photo out everywhere.
Could still be holed up in Croatia.
♪ Well the only thing left to do is to throw a proper going-away party.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
I was like, "Oh, my God, he's in jail".
[LAUGHTER.]
Okay, everybody gets to tell their favorite Jaeger story.
Oh, no, please, don't do that.
- Come on! - That's ridiculous.
- Oh, my God.
- They haven't heard it.
Okay, I'm gonna go anyways.
So the first time I met her, I was super nervous.
She walks over to me, and I have my hand extended, and she smiles, and I had a price tag sticking out of my collar, and I forgot to cut it off.
She cut it off, smoothed out my collar, and introduced herself.
Totally harmless, I would say.
My favorite memory is when you told me you'd always be there for me as a friend and as a colleague.
I'm gonna miss you, Katrin.
- I miss you all already.
- We all will.
Oh, really, you're standing up? - Yes! - Oh, my stomach hurts.
[LAUGHTER.]
- Okay.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Proost.
- ALL: Proost.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ - Cheers.
- ALL: Cheers.
- Proost.
- ALL: Proost.
[LAUGHTER.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ [WOLF HOWLS.]
You're Angela Cassidy's son, right? Your mother's still out there.
There's a file at the bureau's Washington office.
It's labeled "Hutchinson".
I need it.
I'm ordering you to cease and desist from any more personal investigation.
You're a traitor.
You sold secrets to the Russians, and then you just disappeared.
My country asked me to sacrifice you.
I love you.
I'll be in touch.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
♪ [SIGHS.]
♪ Eh? ♪ Ah.
♪ - Two.
- Ah! [SPEAKING POLISH OVER RADIO.]
Go.
Just go.
♪ Four-niner Charlie Delta, you are cleared for takeoff.
[SPEAKING POLISH OVER RADIO.]
♪ Who were you expecting? An old friend.
And I'll probably never see him again.
♪ What the hell is ♪ Remember, I'm German, so no need for any excessively emotional reactions.
Oh.
What's goin' on? It's Jaeger's last case with the Fly Team.
Yes, I know.
Do not remind me.
I'm still trying to talk her out of it.
You'll be just fine without me.
- Impossible.
- So who's replacing you? I'll have to figure that out.
- You get to choose? - Yes.
Part of my promotion at Europol included Oh, my God, you were promoted! [BOTH LAUGH.]
- That's amazing.
- Cam.
Cam, we have a case to run for Scott.
- Yeah.
- Shall we? Yes.
♪ Private aircraft went down three hours ago just after departure at an airfield outside of Chelm, Poland, near the border of Belarus.
On board were the two pilots, both American; a British flight attendant; and the owner of the jet, Greg Hutchinson, also American.
This was not a case of catastrophic mechanical failure.
Plane had just undergone safety inspections, and its maintenance record was impeccable.
Polish aviation officials report that witnesses on the ground, radar signals, and testimony of other aviators in the area indicate a contrail leading to the plane from the ground, highly suggestive of a surface-to-air missile being the proximate cause.
Hutchinson was a wealthy industrialist who had been working in Eastern Europe and Russia for the last 15 years.
He left behind a wife and two kids.
All right, get everything you can from the Polish police, and we'll decide our next move from there.
♪ [SIGHS.]
♪ Why'd the name Hutchinson resonate with you? [SIGHS.]
When I was in contact with my mom, she asked for the Hutchinson file.
What was in it? I never gained access to the real file.
Well, there's more than one Hutchinson in the world.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
♪ - What's that? - I'll be back.
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ [SIGHS.]
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
♪ - Mom.
- Hey.
- Are you all right? - I have to be quick.
Hutchinson's plane, you're looking into it? Uh, yes.
The key to the whole thing is a man named Pavel Novikoff.
He was supposed to be on the plane.
- Where are you? - Find Novikoff.
I have to go.
I'm in danger.
No, no, Mo Mom.
[SIGHS.]
[TENSE MUSIC.]
♪ What'd you find? So Pavel Novikoff leads the Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia's CIA, works on producing deep-cover agents.
He's basically like the czar of all the top spies in Russia.
Further Intel on Novikoff has him involved in intimidating journalists, election interference, political engineering, and clandestine military operations.
But most important of all, he's inner circle at the Kremlin one of maybe a half dozen advisors at the top.
Why are we looking into this guy? I got a tip.
Okay, what would Novikoff's connection to Hutchinson be? If Hutchinson was making big money in Russia, maybe Novikoff was his protection for the appropriate price, of course.
We have possible suspects for the plane bombing.
Polish investigators had these two crossing the Belarus border, utilizing aliases the day before the attack, hanging around the airport, and then crossing back hours after.
Search of alias info indicates they're Vladislav and Stepan Pavlovic brothers.
The bureau's Intel has them flagged as Russian Mercaders.
That's Kremlin slang for "assassins".
Named after Ramón Mercader, the communist who killed Leon Trotsky in Mexico in 1940 with an ice ax.
- You got a sec? - Mm.
♪ [SIGHS.]
She's been out of your life for 15 years.
She asks for the Hutchinson file, and then two months later, he gets blown out of the sky? Scott, can you really trust your mom? [CELL PHONE RINGS.]
[SIGHS.]
Forrester.
Yeah, I remember.
I know where it is.
I'll be there.
That was Michael Rafferty, case officer for the CIA.
- He wants to meet me.
- Now the agency's involved? - I'm just gonna hear him out.
- Scott Scott.
Be really careful on this.
♪ Rafferty.
Why are you looking into Pavel Novikoff? [SCOFFS.]
Come on, you know all the keystrokes - on your work computer are - Are logged.
I know.
I got a tip from a confidential source.
Your mom? Yeah, that whole Hutchinson file thing? That was an integrity test on you by your mother to see if you would do her bidding, and you did.
I notified OPR when she reached out.
No, you asked for the case file, then had a change of heart and called in OPR, yes or no? What do you need, Mike? You're being played, Scott.
If this wasn't your mom, you'd see it from a million miles away.
And what is in the Hutchinson file that is of interest to her in the first place? It sure as hell wasn't so she could clear her name.
It was Hutchinson's chumminess with Novikoff that was of interest to her.
She wanted details on Hutchinson so she could find a way to expose Novikoff at the Kremlin.
But Novikoff ran before she could make her power move.
Why does she want Novikoff? He grew a conscience, gave the wrong advice to the wrong people.
Now he's out of favor at the Kremlin and on the run.
And your mom, as a Russian loyalist, is trying to find him and kill him and use you to facilitate it.
My own involvement started in this in Kraków when you gave me a surveillance photo of her.
You must've known that I was gonna look into her.
[CHUCKLES.]
So is that what you wanted? So are you her handler, hmm? You lost touch, you started to panic, wanted to use me as your bloodhound? Yes, and I thought I knew her well till she fully betrayed me and the United States and became fully absorbed in Russia.
Novikoff was the one who recruited and turned her, by the way.
So if he really is on the run, wouldn't it be in the best interest for the Americans to bring him in out of the cold? I mean, he's in the top lineup at the Kremlin.
All those communications are face-to-face, "Godfather"-style.
We could set back Russian penetration efforts a decade with what's rattling around in that man's head.
Yeah, that's not for you to determine - [CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
- Nor contemplate.
♪ Do you remember the oath you took when you became an agent? Maybe you forgot.
"I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic".
Now, nowhere in there is there a carve-out that if your mom becomes a spy for Russia, you can adopt some some situational ethics and everyone will let it slide.
[SIGHS.]
Okay, loop in the bureau's Counterintel folks.
Hand over everything you have.
Don't do anything on your own.
If you don't wanna do this for your country, Scott, do it for yourself, because your job your freedom may depend on it.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
♪ Hey, Novikoff is in Pula, Croatia.
You need to get there and find him.
Why? Mom, what is going on? He wants to turn, but he only trusts me, and I only trust you.
You can't imagine how big this would be for us.
- Who's "us"? - The United States.
The Kremlin will do anything to stop him, and anyone who helps him will be considered acceptable collateral damage.
Wait, so you're in direct communication with Novikoff? Yes.
Where are you right now? Are you okay? Stay safe.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
[SIGHS.]
- Yeah.
- Legat Dandridge wants the whole team in his office ASAP.
Great.
- My office is available, so - [KNOCK AT DOOR.]
Agent Forrester.
Ken Dandridge.
Nice to meet you in person.
It's nice to meet you as well.
- What happened to Legat Padilla? - Reassigned.
Great gal but in over her head out here.
Bureau wanted a legat with more of an active presence.
Hmm.
I was just getting an update from your colleagues on where you're at with the Hutchinson case.
- Okay.
- Might be worth a trip to Poland to check out the crash site, conduct some interviews Legat Warsaw has a team on it.
We've also been looking into the two brothers suspected of taking down the plane, Vladislav and Stepan Pavlovic.
Main suspects only suspects, really.
Good.
Good, good, good.
I've been getting calls from some high-level people various agencies, including our own, asking about our knowledge of a Pavel Novikoff.
Can anyone think of why I might be getting those calls? I've heard tidbits, nothing to move on just yet.
And why am I hearing about it from them and not you? Well, because things are moving pretty quickly, Ken, and my team is doing everything to find who blew four people out of the sky last night.
So that's why.
Fair enough.
Stay on the case, but stay on Hutchinson.
He was the target, okay? Don't overthink this.
Don't start getting pulled in all these different directions.
Head back to the off-site.
Stay put.
Investigate from there until directed otherwise.
You got it.
♪ - Where's Forrester? - He was gonna meet us here.
Katrin, where is he? Gone.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGS.]
♪ [DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ - Hi.
- Hey.
- Scott Forrester.
- Astrid Janssen.
Please.
So you're with the Dutch National Police? Yes, assigned to Europol.
I've been covering Croatia for the last two years, and I have a very good relationship with the Croatian police here in Pula.
Well, Katrin Jaeger, she speaks very highly of you.
And you as well.
Double espresso? One sugar? - How'd you guess? - I texted Katrin.
Hmm, makes sense.
I have no Intel on Novikoff, and there's nothing to indicate he's in Croatia.
Not that anyone would be aware, considering his chosen profession.
- Mm.
- And there's nothing in terms of family, friends, or business associates here, although Croatia and Russia have long had a practical cooperation.
Has the Russian embassy had any new guests, or have you heard any heightened state of activity or chatter coming from there? We haven't.
Are you sure you got the right country? Croatia gets mistaken for Slovenia all the time.
No, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be here.
Europol and Croatia would also have a keen interest in locating Novikoff alive, preferably.
So I'll provide any help you need, covertly, of course, and unless and until you prove to be unreliable or misled, at which case, you'll be on your own.
That's fair enough.
Do you have a place I could work out of off-books, secured comms? Come with me.
♪ After you.
♪ Nice.
This is used by the Croatian Police for undercover drug ops.
And what reason did you use to sign out for it? I didn't.
Luka, the harbormaster, and I are in the same handball league.
[CHUCKLES.]
Works for me.
This is for when you and I need to communicate.
Great.
[SIGHS.]
[KEYBOARD KEYS CLICKING.]
I've got Forrester.
- Hey.
- Where are you? - Pula, Croatia.
- Because? Because we have a very small window to find out who killed all those aboard that plane and to secure a major asset in Novikoff.
But this has to stay in-house for now.
We cannot escalate this up the food chain, or they will overwhelm this place and everything will go sideways.
I have a local cell phone.
I will text you so that you can contact me with updates.
You realize the position you're putting us all in? - I do.
- Is Novikoff in Croatia? My source says he is, or he's headed here.
Okay, so I looked into Hutchinson's last 24 hours.
He was being very careful to cover his tracks.
But he did leave some digital dust behind.
He was in communication with someone repeatedly throughout the day.
A John Doe alias was added to the manifest.
Clearly, he was expecting someone.
If that someone was Novikoff, there's no telling why he didn't get on that plane.
But the hit team knew about it and assumed he was on the flight.
Anything on that hit team? Nothing after being ID'd as suspects in Poland, and Legat Warsaw has not been transparent with info.
Does Hutchinson have any connections to Croatia? Let's look for one.
If Novikoff is a void, then maybe we can find him through Hutchinson.
There has to be a reason why Novikoff is either headed to or in Croatia.
Hutchinson did spend time in Pula the last 15 years.
He'd always stay at the Hotel San.
All right, I'll head there now.
Why is your mom having all this go through you and only you? She trusts me, I guess.
And what if Novikoff is a double agent only making it look like he's on the run? Then we'll find out soon enough.
And if your mom is lying about all this or has bad Intel? Then you'll be the new head of the Fly Team, and I will be your first arrest.
Legat Dandridge is on his way up along with General Paul Finley from the Paris case.
Jamie.
They can't know, not yet.
Scott, why are you putting this all on the line for her? Because she's my mom.
♪ - Where's Agent Forrester? - I don't know.
- So he's not here? - No.
Not in this building or not in Budapest? Well, not in this building.
If anyone here is cooperating with Agent Forrester and withholding information, may I suggest you start updating your LinkedIn profiles? We all know the rules and protocol, no one more than Forrester.
He must have a good reason to go about this the way he is.
But he will be in contact when the time is right.
You're the ex-girlfriend, I take it? ♪ Okay, listen, it's not my place to speak for everyone.
So if any of you have a problem with how we're doing this, how Forrester is, raise your hand, or reach out to Legat Dandridge privately.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
- Hey.
- You in Pula? - Yeah.
- Okay, good.
I'll try to get you a location on Novikoff.
You'll try? Mom, I have risked I have risked everything - to be here.
- I know.
I am doing everything that I can, but no one else can be part of this, or he will get spooked and disappear, voluntarily or otherwise.
♪ Your tradecraft sucks.
I'm not trying to hide from you.
I'm trying to help you from getting killed.
- I'm doing just fine.
- Oh, yeah? Headed to the Hotel San? Don't bother.
That's stale Intel anyway.
Well, then why don't we join forces and play our cards faceup just like we did in Kraków? I do not understand why you are so resistant.
Because this is out of your league and purview.
You're being played by a Russian spy.
You're gonna screw this whole thing up to a fare-thee-well if you don't stop trying to - [GUNSHOTS.]
- [PEOPLE SCREAMING.]
♪ Get in! [GUNSHOTS.]
♪ [SPEAKING DUTCH.]
[SIGHS.]
I'll run interference with local police and Europol for as long as I can, but they'll want answers about everything soon.
If you need to bail, I I understand.
I owe it to Katrin.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
♪ Yeah.
♪ [SIGHS.]
[KEYBOARD KEYS CLICKING.]
- [DEVICE RINGS.]
- I've got Forrester.
♪ What's wrong? Rafferty was killed right in front of me.
Did you see who did it? The hit team, two brothers.
I saw them both.
Scott, we have to kick this upstairs.
♪ [SIGHS.]
Yeah.
- Do it.
- Loop in Dandridge and Finley.
- Yup.
- Novikoff? ♪ No sign of him yet.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
♪ - Scott.
- I'll be in touch.
[KEYBOARD KEY CLICKS.]
♪ [SPEAKING CROATIAN.]
- Um - English? - Yes.
- May I help you? I'm just taking a look around.
Thank you.
♪ [GUN COCKING.]
[GRUNTING.]
[SIGHS.]
Hello, Scott.
[SCOFFS.]
Now what? ♪ Local police use this apartment for prostitution stings.
Should be clear until tonight.
It won't take that long.
Sit down.
♪ [LAPTOP RINGS.]
I have Novikoff.
♪ Listen, I do not wanna go through the Croatian Police or any embassies.
I wanna hand him off to Dandridge and Finley, get his ass back to the United States as soon as possible.
Okay, just sit tight for five minutes, and we'll call back with an exfiltration plan.
Copy.
Thank you.
I know you've gone to great risk to find me.
- Why did you run? - I'm against the war.
It was the last straw, as you say.
What are you doing here in Pula? I was supposed to meet Greg Hutchinson on his plane in Poland, but my car got a flat tire five kilometers away.
I missed that flight, and well, you know what happened.
Came here to Pula because I have a safe house through my counterintel work.
I was trying to arrange boat travel to Italy and figure out what to do from there but ran out of time.
How do you know my mother? I recruited her to spy for Russia.
But at a certain point, she flipped back and became a double agent.
I'm not sure exactly when, but I do know why: you.
I grew to confide in her, to love her, if I am being honest, though it was unrequited.
When I told her I wanted to leave Russia, she revealed her true status with the U.
S.
and vowed to help me.
So her loyalty lies with the United States? Oh, yes.
- Where is she now? - I have no idea.
- Do you know them? - Of them.
Hit squad, top-shelf.
Who sent them? Kremlin, of course.
If you're in contact with my mother, you think she can reach out, call them off? Not her department.
[LAPTOP RINGS.]
[KEYBOARD KEY CLICKS.]
Okay, Finley and Dandridge will be at the Velanera airstrip with a jet.
They're heading there now.
Can you get Novikoff there? - Yeah, we'll be there.
- [LAPTOP SNAPS SHUT.]
Let's go.
♪ Let's do everything we can not to get you killed, all right? ♪ [LAUGHS.]
- That's funny to you? - Ironic.
All the years, all the agents, all the planning each time they were ready to venture out, I'd leave them with one final warning, one final piece of advice: from this moment on, death's embrace will always be right over your shoulder.
Hmm.
I'd be a hypocrite to fear it now.
How about the five people who were killed because of you? They didn't get the chance to hear that little speech.
Get down.
It was terrible, what happened to them.
I sure as hell hope you're worth it.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
She's here.
- Who? - Your mom.
- In Pula? - [TIRES SQUEALING.]
Yes.
[YELLS.]
[PEOPLE SHOUTING.]
[GRUNTING.]
Get him out of here.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
We gotta move.
- I broke my arm.
- Move your ass.
♪ [BOTH GRUNTING.]
Gun! He has a gun! Get down! [GUNSHOTS, PEOPLE SCREAMING.]
- I got him.
Go! - [GRUNTING.]
♪ Go, go.
♪ Empty.
[GROANS.]
- Sit down.
- [SCREAMS.]
Sit down.
[GRUNTING.]
♪ Hold it there.
Put pressure on it.
- Give me your scarf.
- [COUGHS.]
- This is gonna hurt.
- Okay.
- On three.
- Okay.
- One.
- One.
- [BONES CRACK.]
- [SCREAMS.]
♪ All right, you got it? All right.
Okay.
All right.
♪ [ALARM RINGING, SIREN WAILING.]
- Almost there.
- Okay.
All right, okay.
Okay, okay.
- Wait.
- You got it? - [WHIMPERS.]
Yeah.
- Over your head.
- Over your head.
- Yes, yes, yes.
- [BREATHES SHARPLY.]
- All right.
- All right.
- Yeah.
All right, hey.
Look at me.
We need to move.
We gotta move.
Can't they just pick us up here, hmm? What do you want, stretch limo, party van, any preference? - Champagne.
- Come on.
- Get up.
Move.
- Okay ah, bastard.
God.
[GROANS.]
♪ - You got it? - You remind me of your mother.
Yeah.
♪ [SIREN WAILING.]
[CELL PHONE RINGS.]
- Hey.
- Novikoff good? He's good enough.
Your next left, take it and go two blocks.
There's a Grey Skoda with tinted windows parked there.
- Keys and comm are in it.
- Got it.
♪ - Whoa! - [GUNSHOTS.]
[ALL GRUNTING.]
♪ [SCREAMS.]
♪ [GROWLS.]
♪ [GAGGING.]
♪ That's us.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ Will you get in the car? ♪ Okay.
♪ [GROANS.]
[HORN HONKING.]
Come on! [HORN HONKING.]
♪ - [LINE RINGING.]
- [CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
[HORN HONKING.]
- Scott.
- Hey.
We have your location.
Dandridge and Finley are at the airstrip waiting.
You're four minutes away, straight ahead.
I'll be there in three.
Your mom wants to meet.
What? Yeah, she wants to escape with us.
She's ten kilometers back that way.
[PANTING.]
♪ [BREATHING HEAVILY.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
Whatever you decide, I'll understand.
♪ Yeah.
♪ Put your seat belt on.
[TIRES SQUEALING.]
♪ - [TIRES SQUEALING.]
- [HORN HONKS.]
[YELLING IN CROATIAN.]
♪ [YELLS.]
[HORN HONKING.]
♪ [TIRES SQUEALING.]
♪ Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
♪ [TIRES SQUEALING.]
[GRUNTS.]
♪ [LINE RINGS.]
- Go for Janssen.
- It's Forrester.
One of the brothers is right on my ass black Audi.
I have your location.
Stay on the line.
♪ Hold on.
[GRUNTS.]
[HORN HONKS.]
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ That worked.
I'm clear.
Good.
No sign of the brother, though.
♪ [CELL PHONE CHIMES.]
♪ Hmm.
What? ♪ It means "crestfallen" in Russian.
- It's a code.
- For what? ♪ She's been compromised.
And don't try to contact her.
♪ I'm sorry.
♪ [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ His arm is broken.
Otherwise intact.
My name is Pavel Novikoff.
I'm requesting asylum with the United States, and I will fully cooperate.
♪ I'm General Paul Finley, Department of Defense.
I'm here to inform you that America is the land of opportunity, and we will give you the opportunity to cooperate fully.
Then we'll decide if you've earned the right to asylum.
Understood.
♪ That's a major asset you just delivered.
Whatever damage your mother inflicted on our country, you just made up for it a hundredfold.
Great work, Agent.
♪ You know, the last time a plane took off with the assumption Novikoff was on board, didn't make it very far.
I've arranged for a sortie of F-15 Strike Eagles carrying live ordnance to accompany that jet.
Novikoff is getting back to D.
C.
Trust me.
My mom helped me bring in Novikoff helped us.
So I want you and everyone else to be aware of everything that that implies.
Implications, Agent, aren't what we When Angela Cassidy tells us her true allegiance in person, that will be the sole determinant as to our interpretation of your mom.
♪ You know the truth.
We all do.
♪ [SIGHS.]
You know, on this job, there's a lot of awful things we see and experience.
But the amazing thing is, you drop into a distant part of the world, far away from home, meet a fellow law enforcement officer, shake hands, come to an agreement, and within ten seconds of meeting them, you trust them with your life.
And I want you to know that I would have done anything anything to save yours.
I had a small speech prepared.
- [LAUGHS.]
- I think yours is better.
What's "cheers" in Dutch? Proost.
Proost.
♪ [CELL PHONE RINGING.]
♪ - Mom? - You got him to safety? Yes.
Thank you.
Where are you now? This was never gonna work out.
Mom, don't disappear on me again.
- Let me help you.
- Scott forget about me.
This time, I mean it.
I love you.
Mom.
♪ Hey.
Hey, Tank.
Hey, buddy.
Hey.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Welcome back.
♪ Thank you, guys.
Thank you for all your help and all your trust.
Good to have you back.
Yeah.
I know I put you guys over a barrel on this one, and I'm - No need to explain.
- Novikoff landed in D.
C.
- All sorted out.
- That's good to hear.
And your colleague at Europol, Janssen, she was aces.
As I expected.
She's on my short list for my replacement.
Your mom? Back into the mist.
♪ - Anything on him? - No.
We have his photo out everywhere.
Could still be holed up in Croatia.
♪ Well the only thing left to do is to throw a proper going-away party.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
I was like, "Oh, my God, he's in jail".
[LAUGHTER.]
Okay, everybody gets to tell their favorite Jaeger story.
Oh, no, please, don't do that.
- Come on! - That's ridiculous.
- Oh, my God.
- They haven't heard it.
Okay, I'm gonna go anyways.
So the first time I met her, I was super nervous.
She walks over to me, and I have my hand extended, and she smiles, and I had a price tag sticking out of my collar, and I forgot to cut it off.
She cut it off, smoothed out my collar, and introduced herself.
Totally harmless, I would say.
My favorite memory is when you told me you'd always be there for me as a friend and as a colleague.
I'm gonna miss you, Katrin.
- I miss you all already.
- We all will.
Oh, really, you're standing up? - Yes! - Oh, my stomach hurts.
[LAUGHTER.]
- Okay.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Proost.
- ALL: Proost.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ - Cheers.
- ALL: Cheers.
- Proost.
- ALL: Proost.
[LAUGHTER.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
♪ [WOLF HOWLS.]