TURN (2014) s02e03 Episode Script

Previously on Washington's Spies.
There is a valuable piece of royal property.
It is concealed inside a waxwork.
You would find it and destroy it.
My name is Captain John Grave Simcoe.
And I'm your new commander.
There are rumors that Horatio Gates and Charles Lee have both written to have you removed as the Commander In Chief.
Benedict Arnold.
I hear he once stayed at your house.
I believe that the Sons of Liberty must still be operating in New York.
You wish to act the patriot.
In order to catch traitors I must play one myself.
- Corporal Eastin.
- Sir.
- What when did you - We arrived two hours ago.
Mr.
Woodhull went straight up to bed.
It was a long ride from York City.
You traveled the coast road at night? I preferred to lodge at Northport and get home tomorrow, but your son insisted we get home tonight.
Probably eager to tell me about his apprenticeship.
How did it go? I No, no, no.
That's all right.
I'll talk to him in the morning.
Be needing an escort, sir? No, just taking a once around.
Get some fresh air.
The King's Arms on Pearl Street.
Pearl Street.
Several members of the Sons of Liberty boarded there at that tavern before the army took over the city.
I inquired after a man named Hondrick.
Please spell it.
Well, it's not his real name.
In any case, I left word for him and checked out.
Here is the the bill.
You left word? And you consider this to be a successful completion of your mission? Completion? No, no.
Major, this is just the beginning of several months of These traitors will be well-entrenched.
They couldn't have survived there this long if they weren't.
I mean, just imagine how dangerous life would be for a Patriot spy living inside York City.
So why do you imagine they exist at all? Because I know the one thing these rebels can't resist Home.
They were born in New York.
They see it as theirs.
But we can use that against them.
Hush, hush There's snakes in the garden Soul for sale Blood on the rise Hush, hush Know there will come a day As they hide in the cover of night - I can't wait anymore - Soul for sale I can't wait anymore Hush, hush.
- Papa.
- There he is! Little Sprout.
- Good morning, Abraham.
- Good morning, all.
Eat your breakfast.
There we go.
I didn't hear you come in last night.
Oh, I was bone-tired.
I didn't want to wake you.
So, tell us, how was the trip? Well, it was successful.
I secured an apprenticeship, was assigned reading.
"Blackstone's Commentaries," actually.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's like Papa's back in school, isn't it? Perhaps we can go through what you've learned.
- I can guide you.
- Well, I have to do it on my own, no? Take some eggs.
Eggs? I'd love some.
After some fresh air, yeah? Abe.
Yeah? I never received your response.
- What? - To my proposal for you taking over the estate.
Can we talk about this later? I've reconsidered it.
I have been conservative in my stewardship of our holdings.
The Royal Army is more creative in its accrual of assets.
I feel they might take advantage of you.
I think this may be too much responsibility for your shoulders at this time.
- I understand, yeah.
- Mmm.
- You seem distressed.
- No.
No, no, no, no.
What you said makes sense.
It does.
Tell me the truth.
The truth, Father, is I've been bound up since Brooklyn and I need to take a shit.
So can we talk about this later? See you got my message.
Found it under my tavern door.
Good.
I got back last night.
Listen, good news.
I need you to put the signal out for Caleb.
- I did.
- What? - Two nights ago.
- What for? Why do you need Caleb? I thought Mary had an escort watching your every move.
Well, I, uh She no, wait, wait.
Answer me first.
Got this from Abigail.
Sent in secret from Philadelphia.
"General Lee a traitor.
" - Charles Lee? - Mm-hmm.
The man with the fort named after him.
Abigail must have heard or read something from Major André.
Well, this is This is better than what I have.
How do you have anything? I saw you and Eastin head off to New York together.
Oh, well, he just accompanied me to Brooklyn Ferry, then I went into the city by myself.
There's something you're not saying, something you don't want me to know.
No, no, it's just It's this.
This is a count of men, ships, and defenses in York City.
- Put this in the drop along with Abigail's note.
- Abe.
No, Tallmadge will need to read both of these right away.
- Take it.
I have to go.
- Abe.
Take it.
I'm using Hewlett to get around Mary.
She thinks I'm in New York studying the law.
- Everyone does.
- Using Hewlett how? Look, it's a long draw, all right? I'm pretending to seek out hidden rebels in New York.
I feed him false names, dead ends.
I get real names and real numbers for Washington.
That's how it works.
You you sold yourself as a spy to an enemy officer? Yeah, but it's a lie.
It's a draw.
I'm using him.
You're - Why didn't you tell me? - Look, I know what I'm doing.
- Why didn't you tell me? - When? When do we get to see each other? Look, I don't have time to tell you every little thing, all right? Hey.
I never should have jumped from that boat.
No.
No, no, no.
You did the right thing.
This is the proof.
I jumped for you, Abe.
And for the cause, yes, but for you most of all.
For a life I can't have, I betrayed Selah.
And my comeuppance is to clean up after men he hated in a tavern he used to own.
If it's too much right now, I understand.
I can find another way to signal Caleb.
Another way? No.
No.
I made a promise to our friends and I plan to keep it.
I'll put this in the drop along with Abigail's.
Our main concern should be Hewlett.
If he finds out you're lying, you're dead.
I'll watch over him while you're away in the city.
What, on the major? He offered me his friendship.
I'll say yes.
What? When did this happen? I don't have time to tell you every little thing.
Seems our Culper Ring is alive and well.
Two frigates, the 32-gun Alarm and 28-gun Sybil moored at Peck's Slip along with the 18-gun sloop Tobago.
__ "The whole of the king's troops including outposts does not exceed 3,500 men.
" - Are these numbers precise? - Approximate.
He had to transcribe from memory after losing the egg.
Mr.
Sackett is working on better means of encryption.
- The egg? - It's detailed in the report, sir.
It's wonderfully detailed.
Please tell Mr.
Culper I eagerly await his next report.
And impress upon him that time is of the essence.
Yes, sir.
And what of the other intelligence? It's unclear, inconclusive.
Eight ships anchored in the lower North River.
I beg your pardon, sir, but this is clear as day.
"General Lee a traitor.
" And this comes direct from enemy headquarters, from the house of their head of intelligence.
No, it comes from a source I have not heard of before today.
The message is four words in length, lacks context, is unverified, and so cannot be trusted.
Sir, the source is the former housemaid of our signal agent in Setauket.
The spirits of the men are lifted after our victory at Saratoga.
Now is not the time to disparage a fellow general.
- Oh, calm down.
- Bite that.
You get angry.
I lost my entire patrol to Robert Rogers.
My men were butchered in that ambush.
Do you know who we were on our way to rendezvous with? Charles Lee.
We should have seen it earlier, yeah? Washington should see it now.
The truth is staring him straight in the face and he refuses to even look.
Every hour that Lee remains within our camp, the more his poison infects this army.
Our dear general may be overly stubborn, numbingly obsessive, and downright bullheaded at times, but he is not, in this case at least, wrong.
Empirically, that is.
I can assure you, Abigail's intelligence is not wrong.
No, but she is an unverified asset.
Ergo, it falls to us to verify her.
Gentlemen.
Sweet Jesus.
What the hell is this place? We don't have a name for it yet as Congress is suspicious of allocating monies to Secret Services.
And ever since you told me about 355, I have been working on securing a new protocol for communications.
Abigail, our lady in Philadelphia.
She requires instruction on how to operate properly.
Her messages lack context.
Worse still, we don't know when they will arrive and there's no way for us to message her until now.
- That's enough.
- Right.
Sorry.
Now, there's a hidden compartment insi What in the name of God is this? Her son is supposed to have carved it.
Her son is nine years old and he is not Michelangelo! - Start again.
- And how long will this take? Oh, not long.
Larsen here used to carve figureheads in the Norwegian navy.
I mean to get this to Philadelphia.
It still has to go by way of Setauket first.
Patience, Major.
Rome was not built in a day.
No, but it was sacked in one.
I need to verify for Washington that Lee is a traitor now, not a month from now.
Don't touch that! It's very expensive.
It's for special operations only.
- Yeah? - Yes.
I'm very special.
You're useful.
Learn the difference.
It's the reason you're here.
Ah, right.
This is about that secret mission you keep jabbering on about, isn't it? Oh, your head may be empty, but hers is not.
Now, there's a message concealed within the waxwork.
Here, practice drill Take it.
Practice drilling without damaging the bust until you can retrieve it in under two minutes.
Is this an order? It's a challenge.
- Mr.
Sackett.
- Hmm? What What does this do? Oh, it's Thomas Jefferson's newest toy.
It allows him to write two letters at the same time and to keep a double of his correspondence.
The polygraph duplicator is what he calls it.
Now, could it Could it duplicate something that's already been written? Such as a personal signature? You wish to forge a letter? No, to set a trap.
This is not a trap.
This is a contraption.
No, but you see, sir, with the right signature, it's anyone we say it is.
As far as Lee knows, it's someone he can trust.
It's a friend.
__ I I say it is the moon.
I know it is the moon.
Then you lie.
It is the blessed sun.
I will never remember all this.
Calm down, Delancey.
All that it requires is a little concentration.
Why don't you take a moment to look through your lines, Captain? Major André.
Miss Shippen.
What a lovely surprise.
I admired the playbills going up around town and thought I would drop by for an early viewing.
Is all of this for the war effort? General Howe likes to keep the men entertained.
Theater is a welcome distraction.
Do you prefer Shakespeare's comedies over his tragedies? Comedies are a better tonic for soldiers at war.
Tragedy often lurks behind the facade of comedy.
Isn't the notion of taming a shrew in itself tragic when it robs a woman of her right to sovereign thought? Mm, such remarkable attention to detail.
As fine a painter as you are a dancer.
Which makes me wonder why you were so clumsy the night of my party.
Did I step on your toes? You inquired about my acquaintance with Benedict Arnold.
Why? Perhaps we can speak about this at a more appropriate time.
I will have your answer now, sir, if it please you.
I had hoped you'd be willing to write Arnold a letter recalling your meeting with him years ago at your family home.
You wish for me to write a rebel general? All I was going to ask is that you inquire after the health of a former guest of your family recently wounded in battle, nothing more.
A young woman of marrying age writing to a bachelor and a traitor to the Crown.
Consider my request withdrawn, even though I never actually asked it in the first place - and not in the way - The way in which you had planned? I'm not a piece on your chessboard, Major.
I never saw you as such, Miss Shippen.
And I regret the implication both by what it suggests of my character and yours.
If that constitutes an apology, then I suppose I accept it.
Margaret.
Miss Shippen, forgive me.
I hope that this misunderstanding won't prevent you from coming back and seeing the play.
The entertainment is not just for soldiers.
There's been far too little culture to enjoy in this city as of late.
If my social diary permits.
- Shall I stop? - No.
No.
How bad is it? Well, the ball is out.
But while I was digging for it, I found splinters where the bone should be.
You wait any longer, your blood could be poisoned.
Wait any longer for what? Amputation.
Take my leg and I take yours.
You should count yourself lucky, Mr.
Thatcher.
The first time General Arnold was wounded, he kept a sword and two loaded pistols beside the bed.
Well, apparently I've been tempered.
I should hope not, for our enemy's sake.
I come with news from Congress.
You're to be appointed to major general, a distinction as well deserved as it is long overdue.
Why is it they only ever promote me when I'm wounded? Well, they realize they could lose you.
It makes them come to their senses.
That's precisely why I feared it might never happen.
I'd like to see St.
Clair's face when he learns that I outrank him once again and rightly so.
Doctor, will you excuse us? The promotion is in title only.
You remain subordinate to those promoted in February.
You mean to tell me that the man who defeated Burgoyne is outranked by the men who retreated from him? Stephen, St.
Clair, Mifflin, Lincoln I've won more battles than all of them put together.
Title only.
What about pay? They are four years delinquent in reimbursing my expenses.
The Congress is without surplus.
We must all continue to make sacrifices.
Sacrifice? What do you know of sacrifice? Remember, George, my wife did not come from means.
All she left to me were three sons to care for, three mouths to feed, three men to raise strong.
I would rather die before I see shame brought on them as my father did me.
Something you would understand if you had any sons of your own.
And who are you fighting now? I'm fighting for what I deserve.
And I will need your support.
Yes, and it has always been there.
And it will always be.
Washington is a weak and feckless leader blinded by his own arrogance.
Heh, it's too strong.
Well, what about cold and indecisive? Indecisive, yes, but cold is a bit too personal a modifier for Horatio Gates to use.
What, you think I'm making this too personal? Me? Heavens, no.
I think you're violating the law, committing treason in a very considered and rational manner, as far as I'm concerned, but what I am curious to know is are you doing this to prove yourself right or Washington wrong? I'm doing this to protect him, to expose his enemies.
They're the ones committing treason.
I am simply gathering the proof.
Now where is that letter from Gates? You're forging it right now.
No, not this one, the one to Congress - with his signature on it.
- Oh.
Where he proclaims his victory at Saratoga.
Drill and extract, two minutes.
Huh? Now I haven't gotten head like that since before the war, boys.
Here it is.
Good.
Now you can help me.
What are we doing? - Laying a trap for Charles Lee.
- Right.
See, in this letter I pose as General Gates and I call for Washington to be replaced.
I'll intercept the reply from Lee and I'll take it straight to the commander.
It will be evidence he can't ignore.
That is genius, Tall boy, but how you gonna get that to Lee's tent? It'll circulate through another general's mail.
I've got that handled.
What I need you for is tomorrow to help snatch the reply.
Tomorrow? No.
Not good.
I need Mr.
Brewster to set out tonight on his mission.
He's to collect intelligence from my London contact.
- I am? - You have contacts in London? Don't make too much of it.
It's just parliamentary gossip.
But every little morsel is crucial.
I ain't going to London, all right? No, you're going to New Jersey to the home of a Tory Loyalist by the name of Dr.
Charles Hallum, Hackensack Township.
Now, the intelligence is hidden inside a bust of King George.
You're to extract it without its new owner knowing it was ever there.
These hands are the silkiest in the colonies, my friend.
If the messages inside the waxwork are discovered, my London contact is dead.
It'll be like I was never there.
Hmm.
Enjoy your stay on New York Island.
Your horse, is he watered? Is he rested? - Why do you ask? - I don't have time to stop.
I'm to make a hard ride straight for the home of Dr.
Charles Hallum, Hackensack Township, New Jersey.
Are you drunk? I haven't touched a drop in weeks.
Easy now, boys.
Unless you care to explain to the king why you shot his royal messenger.
Stay your firelocks.
Take whatever you need.
Just to avoid any future misunderstandings.
Your king thanks you.
Charge up bayonets.
Shoulder firelocks.
Fix your target.
Eyes up.
Fix your target.
Give him every inch of cold steel.
If I mean to thrust at close range, then I'll use my pego.
Robert Rogers trained us up in hatchets.
They suit us just fine.
If you'd like to split wood, by all means use a hatchet.
The bayonet is the finest weapon for close-quarter killing.
Would anyone like me to demonstrate? Very well, then.
Continue.
I've made some inquires about you.
I even spoke to Rogers' Indian before he vanished.
Not only have you taken to the bayonet, but you're also renowned for your exotic fighting skill.
Give me a weapon, I'll fight with it.
Correct answer.
Your deed of manumission.
My my deed? Freedom papers.
I want you to be free to make your own decision when I ask you to be my second-in-command.
Why? What do you get out of this? You're the only one here that I know for certain doesn't wish me dead.
- Am I interrupting, sir? - Not at all.
I was merely informing the Congress of my resignation.
The officers' dinner.
You offered me your place at the table.
Yes, sir.
Major Benjamin Tallmadge at your service, sir.
We would have met earlier had I not disobeyed my orders.
I came here to apologize directly.
General Washington sent our company to Ridgefield in support of your campaign, but I deviated to Setauket on a rescue mission.
And who did you rescue? My father, sir.
I learned that the Tories there meant to hang him.
I never would have done that.
But then again, my father was not worth saving.
Your dinner, sir.
The doctor insists.
Well, I'll leave you to your dinner, sir.
You weren't dismissed, Tallmadge.
I knew your brother Samuel.
He fought for me at Valcour Island.
It pained me to hear of his death.
He was a fine soldier.
Well, thank you, sir.
It means a great deal to me that you remember him.
I never forget valor.
- There is so little of it in this world.
- Courier here, sir.
Your apology is not accepted, Major, because you did nothing wrong.
You disobeyed Washington to save your own father.
We do what is right and we live with the consequences.
Ah, off to hunt, are we? Yes, you're welcome to come along.
Oh, no, no, no.
I'm not yet ready.
- Soon, though.
- I look forward to it.
It's getting quite brisk out there.
- Do you know where to fetch my gloves? - No, sir, I don't.
Must I do everything? Richard.
What the hell are you doing? How dare you invade my privacy? - I I'm sorry.
- Answer me! I I saw you and Abraham talking the other night.
The two of you talking in secret on his return from the city and then pretending like you'd just seen each other the next morning.
I was concerned that I was being excluded and alarmed to find I couldn't imagine why.
Oh, Richard, Richard.
This kind of confusion is exactly why I wanted to tell you about our plan, - but Abraham begged me not to.
- What plan? Your son volunteered for an unseemly but necessary task.
He is working with me to help root out rebels in New York.
What? Abraham had a fleeting connection to a few young men with seditious leanings from his days at King's College.
His agreeing to contact them strikes me as penance.
He's deeply ashamed of his association and he did not want to disappoint you or worry you.
He's right, I would worry.
Which would put undue pressure on him at a time which, I'm sure you'll agree, he needs all his wits about him.
I can see that you are right.
And despite my conduct here, I would ask a favor of you.
What? Don't tell him that I know.
Of course.
Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? - In his tail.
- In his tongue.
Whose tongue? Your tongue.
My tongue? Ah, yes.
Yours if you talk of tails.
So farewell.
What, with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again, good Kate.
I am a gentleman.
Half the men could not remember their lines and the rest could only recall verses that should not be spoken in delicate company.
I've heard worse from the gentlemen who have shared our table.
You say.
They're novices, Father, not trained professionals.
Would you rather have players defending us? Judge Shippen.
I'm happy your social diary could accommodate the show.
It's worth the trouble if only to see the kind of woman you're drawn to.
As for my tongue, I fear it carried too strong a sting when last we spoke.
You had every right to be waspish.
My presumption deserved a rebuke.
At the peril of repeating the same mistake, should I dare to inquire if we might see each other again? If your social diary permits, of course.
Margaret, it's time.
Oh, Major.
I was able to send that letter for you after all.
What letter? Oh, to the Benedicts, a family in Lancaster with whom he wished to become acquainted.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
__ Where's King George, you little shite? Pork for you.
Do you know the hour? What in God's name? - Dr.
Charles Hallum? - Uh Sorry to interrupt, but you have something I need.
What is this about? A shipment.
A bust of the king commissioned from a Miss Patience Wright in London.
But I don't have it.
I I never did.
Oh? Well, this receipt says that you should have received it three weeks ago from the vessel Margaretta.
On my honor, sir, the package never made it to my home.
The Margaretta was ransacked by privateers.
Oh? Yes.
There was a letter from the shipping company.
Go and get it.
Don't take your time.
Oh, hello.
Hello.
Come on.
Eh, come to me.
Come to daddy.
Hey, come here, you stupid dog.
It was seized two weeks ago in the Long Island Sound.
The rebel ship Revenge approached under false flag and proceeded to board it.
Oh, Ryder.
No, Revenge.
No, Ryder is their captain.
I know all the crews all the way along Devil's Belt, Tory and Patriot alike.
Rough waters.
But you mark my words, revenge will be mine.
Huh? - Good night.
- Good night.
- Oh! - Oh, my goodness.
How clumsy of me.
Here, let me help you, here.
Here we are.
Up we go.
- Thank you, sir.
- Steady.
You all right? Yeah? Good.
- There you are, lad.
- Thank you.
Good.
Here you are, son.
Carry on.
"Washington will not go.
He must be pushed.
If the Congress will not rid us of this demigod, I pray a higher power will intervene.
" I have heard enough.
Well, I wanted you to see General Lee's nature with your own eyes.
That part about a higher power sounds like he's calling for your death.
- It is damning.
- I agree.
And I think more than sufficient to relieve Lee of his command.
I wasn't referring to the general.
How did you obtain this? I I forged a letter from Gates to prompt his response.
So his reply was coerced.
You entrapped him through falsehood and created two documents which if discovered may shame this army.
No, no, sir.
The letter I wrote as Gates contained a request to be burned upon reading.
Lee's letter contains the same request.
This evidence is for your eyes only.
I wanted you to witness his treachery firsthand in ink.
So that I may do what, precisely? So that I may do what? This man has been working to undermine you for Since the day I was appointed.
And Gates and Conway and others.
Would you have me court-martial them? Hang them? Stone them to death? - Sir, I - What would you have me do? I would have you defend yourself.
I am not in danger.
America and her future depend on this army.
If we fight ourselves, we will appear to be divided and disorganized.
We are divided, sir.
We are greatly divided.
And the French cannot know it! For the head of intelligence, you have so little understanding of what is truly at stake.
The French? Only France has the arms and munitions and ships needed to defeat Howe's army and liberate our cities.
Without France, we have no chance to succeed.
Versailles is watching, waiting to see if we are a worthy ally.
Exposing treachery in our highest ranks proves that we are not.
Sir, I I was only trying to protect you.
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
Forgive me, sir.
I did not know.
And it is not my task to teach you better sense.
I'm not your father and you are not my son.
Look at you! Look at you! - Growing bigger all the time.
- Oh, careful.
Who's this? Is that Mama? - Can you say Mama? Mama.
- Mama.
- That's Mama's nose.
- Remember? Someone's tired, I think, huh? - Aw, time for bed? - Are you tired? Time for bed.
Come on.
Okay, go.
- Say good night, Papa.
- Good night.
And I so weary, full of care You'll break my heart You warbling bird That wanders through the flowering thorn You mind me of departed joys Departed never to return.