Covert Affairs s03e11 Episode Script

My parents told us not to be frightened because they were bringing along this weathered old steamer trunk.
And what was in it? Didn't matter.
We felt protected.
And I realized you weren't asking for permission.
You were telling us you were going to Russia.
You get caught by Russian authorities, there's nothing the CIA can do to help.
Zarya I knew your brother.
I knew Simon.
You expected me to fall I did.
What I didn't expect was for him to fall for you.
Go ahead, Annie.
Pull the trigger.
Annie, where are you? I thought you were on your way back.
I am now.
I'm done here.
So you I did.
And now I'm coming home.
Annie, I can barely hear you.
I said I'm coming home.
I imagine you would like to go home.
I would like that for you too.
All I need from you is to cooperate.
My name is Alexei.
Please tell me yours.
You're not Pinja Stavis.
Your name is Annie Walker, and you're a CIA operative sent here to murder your former colleague Lena Smith.
The phone.
Chip.
Your last contact, somebody called Mingus.
The same area code used to contact Lena.
You were calling your handler.
Who is Mingus? Wrong again.
This is your Mingus.
Lena was a tremendous especially about you.
If you know all the answers, why do you ask the questions? So I know how it looks like when you lie to me.
That's good.
Thank you.
So How you holding up? I've been better.
Listen, that offer still stands if you're interested.
There's Arthur.
None of us look forward to this kind of contingency planning of having to discuss worst-case scenarios.
It's been four days since we lost contact with operative Walker, and it's time to address the potential fallout if she's been captured.
That's the worst-case scenario? For the purposes of this exercise, yes.
Her being captured is as bad as it gets.
If she can't hold up under the pressure of interrogation She'll hold up.
But if she can't, and she tells the FSB everything she knows, we need to know what kind of damage that can do to the Agency's operations.
Annie is not going to talk.
She's already demonstrated her commitment to this Agency by eliminating someone who could have done a hell of a lot more damage to our operations.
Joan, no one is questioning Annie's courage or her commitment.
We're conducting a risks and vulnerabilities inventory for operative Walker, Joan.
Same as we do for every captured operative.
So? Okay.
Annie has top secret clearance level knowledge of the following ops, Project Spartacus, Operation Zyzyx, Operation Sentinel Believe me, if I could've chosen a different venue, I would have.
Could you have been any more clinical? Well, this was a significant snafu, Joan.
Yours is not the only resignation being considered.
So, yes, for the time being, we get everything on the record to eliminate any confusion.
A vulnerabilities inventory? You know, you can keep referring to her as operative Walker all you want, but it's not gonna make this feel any less personal.
We're doing everything we can to bring her back.
We're holding strategy sessions nonstop.
I hope so.
We are doing what we can.
She knew what she was getting into.
Well, I'm not so sure she did, Arthur.
Come on, what operative truly understands the meaning of "We will deny all knowledge?" Uh, I'm not sure what you want me to say or what you want me to do.
I want you to stop pretending that Annie is just a line item, a thing to be damage-controlled.
Message received.
I'm impressed.
You have held out longer than most.
It's important for you to hear that you're better than the others, isn't it? I'm guessing you didn't hear that much at home, as a child.
But Simon was more generous with his affections.
What did he tell you about his operations? Nothing.
He takes you to Cuba.
His handler ends up dead.
You he keeps alive.
You keep asking me the same questions, and I keep giving you the same answers.
So which one of us is the stubborn one? Sir? I mean no disrespect, but it has been more than two weeks since Annie was captured.
When are we gonna get off our asses and do something? But you meant no disrespect? I felt I needed to get your attention.
Consider it gotten.
Is that all you came up here for? No, I came to pitch you this.
I've been researching Lefortovo.
I've drawn up some blueprints based on the recollections of ex-prisoners.
We have no confirmation that's where they're holding her.
That's where they kept Litvinenko and Rust.
They're keeping her at Lefortovo.
I'm fairly certain.
And I do realize that no one's ever escaped, but I think I've found some vulnerabilities.
A small team might be able to breach the prison via an adjacent tunnel.
We're talking about an underground fortified prison, smack-dab in the middle of the sixth largest city in the world.
Even assuming we make it out, what then? We can't control the air space.
We're over 200 miles from the nearest border.
Yeah, it's a risky gambit, granted.
It's a suicide mission.
Do you think you're the only one in this place to work up a rescue? I've had a team constructing plans since Annie was taken.
None of them have been initiated because none of them have been deemed feasible.
What about a negotiated release, some kind of spy swap? No, Russia won't even admit they have her in custody, and we can't exactly admit our part in it either.
So you're telling me Annie's fate is tied up in a game of liar's poker? Unless facts change on the ground, there's nothing I can do.
I wish that wasn't the case, but it is.
Nobody's coming for you.
You understand that by now, don't you? What are you afraid of? Being thought of as a traitor? Is that it? Yes.
Well, don't be.
That word has no meaning anymore.
It hasn't had for a long time.
I just wanna go home.
Then tell me what you know.
I can't.
Write it down.
It's easier that way.
I'm left-handed.
If you were wondering when I'd introduce more extreme methods of interrogation Go ahead.
I'm not going to hurt you.
You recognize her? Simon's sister.
Some people find it harder to watch other people suffer pain than to suffer pain themselves.
Tomorrow we shall see what kind of person you are.
Argh! Sorry to drop in unannounced.
I didn't have your phone number.
You weren't doing anything today, were you? You're okay.
Listen, I, uh, I grabbed what I could.
I hope this fits.
Hey.
Your go-pack.
Listen, uh, we don't need to leave for at least another 14 minutes, so why don't you, uh Why don't you go grab a shower, okay? Get, uh Get your feet back under you.
What are you doing? Just establishing protocol.
What is this place? It's a friend's.
This isn't official Mossad business, if that's what you're getting at.
You came on your own? How did you know how to find me? It was a lucky guess.
Believe me, that's just a slight exaggeration.
Hey, just know That you have at least one really good friend back home.
Go.
Now, let me get this straight, you stage an unsanctioned, off-book, one-man jailbreak with an operative from a competing spy service.
That's what you took away from our last discussion.
It worked.
For the time being.
If this thing went sideways, I didn't want it to connect back to us.
Plus Eyal is exceptionally competent, and he owes Annie a favor or two.
Can you get me Tel Aviv? I would've done it myself if I could, just so you know.
Did Joan know about this? Not beforehand, no.
Does she know about it now? She's not in her office yet.
We've been trying to reach her.
Well, this does change everything for the Russians.
That was the idea.
If I were to put myself in the Russians' shoes, the proper play is to shoot Annie on sight.
You and I both know she was gonna die in that prison.
The escape at least gives her a chance.
What's the plan now? We've obtained clean IDs and travel documents for both of them.
They're gonna be on the 216 to Helsinki.
They're traveling by train.
Yeah, they have a car, but there'll be too many roadblocks to avoid.
Now, anything you can do, any strings you can pull to give them extra protection We don't have any suitable assets on the ground in Moscow, not after Lena burned the covers.
I've got Rivka Singer on two.
Tell her I'll be 30 seconds.
We might be able to fly some assets down from Helsinki.
I assume you can get them a message? Yeah, we've established a protocol.
Tver's a couple hours north.
We'll have some reinforcements catch up with the train there, but Until then, they're on their own.
Yeah.
Rivka.
We need to make tracks, Annie.
We got a train to catch.
I have to make a stop first.
What are you talking about? A friend of mine's in danger.
Zarya Fischer.
Yeah, well so is a friend of mine, Annie Walker.
Have you ever heard of her? My interrogator threatened to hurt her to elicit a confession from me.
Well, interrogators say a lot of things.
I can't take that chance.
Listen.
Zarya's no good to the FSB unless they have you in custody, so the best thing you can do for her right now is keep your distance and get home safely.
I understand if you want to go on without me.
You've already done more for me than I can already repay.
You bet your ass I have! We're talking about Simon Fischer's sister, right? Look, whatever he may have meant to you, it's over.
You don't owe him in perpetuity.
I owe her.
A normal person doesn't do this kind of thing.
You know that, right? The coast looks clear, doesn't it? Why would the FSB Think that you'd stop running to come here? I know you, and I barely believe it.
Five minutes.
Three.
That's not me haggling.
Annie.
You're still alive.
I am.
I tried to find out what happened to you.
I heard so many rumors.
I didn't want to believe them.
Is there somewhere else we can talk? You're talking to someone who spent their entire life living with spies.
I know how to make a fast exit.
I just renewed it last year.
It's under your real name.
That's never been a problem before.
What are you doing? Making sure you have a better way out of here.
This is as clean a passport as you can find.
I want you to go somewhere clever enough that they will never be able to find you.
And what about you? Don't worry about me.
I'll be fine.
I did this for a living.
Please let me give this to you.
This is the key to my family's steamer trunk.
It doesn't open anything anymore, but It's always brought me great peace, and Simon would've wanted you to have it.
I can't accept it.
It belongs to your family.
You are my family now.
Thank you.
Maybe next time, the stars will shine brighter on us.
Where's your friend going? To the airport.
I thought it was best if we separated.
So you finally realized I was right.
You said we were on a timetable.
That's us.
See what I'm seeing? Yeah.
Don't be alarmed, neshama.
Let's go.
FSB.
Let's keep moving.
Maybe we can find a private cabin or a bathroom to stow away in or something.
Let's just go.
Annie! This way.
No, don't send them.
Because there'll be nobody there in Tver for them to rendezvous with.
Just keep everybody on standby until you hear back from me.
Why didn't anyone call me? I tried what felt like half a dozen times.
You weren't picking up.
What's going on with Annie? Where is she? We're not sure.
All we know for sure is that she's not on the train to Helsinki.
We're not in contact with her? Not directly, no.
I've established a protocol with Eyal using a third-party message board so as to avoid a direct point-to-point link.
Good call.
The Russians are too skilled at monitoring cell transmissions.
So what now? Can we use another border crossing? What about Latvia or Estonia? We could get them a car.
Honey We've been brainstorming alts for hours.
I'm not getting anything.
I'm not getting anything.
Okay.
All right, all right, we still have our go-packs.
There's this ex-army guy that I served with.
He's working security at the port of Petersburg.
Eyal Maybe if we're lucky, if we're not too compromised Eyal, I don't have my go-pack.
What do you mean? I gave mine to Zarya.
What were you gonna do when we needed to cross into Finland? I don't know.
I figured we'd work that out before we got there.
The FSB was not gonna let us on that train.
At least Zarya can use it.
You gave away your lifeline, Annie.
Do you have any idea what that means? No boat, no plane, no train.
Our options are severely limited, as in I can't think of any.
Give me your cell.
I want to check in with Langley.
No way.
No way.
Too easy to track.
We don't have that luxury.
Not until we find sanctuary.
I don't care.
I wanna talk to Auggie.
Hey, I'm talking to Auggie! This is his plan.
He's the one who set up the protocols.
Now, I don't know how harshly they worked you over, or what kind of number this Simon guy did on your head But if somehow you lost the will to escape because of guilt or shame or whatever, you better get rid of that baggage, or I swear to God, I'm gonna take you up on that offer and leave you here.
Now tell me you're ready to go home.
I'm ready to go home.
Say it again.
I need to know you mean it.
I'm ready.
Looks like somebody's heard you.
Alex, see if you can pull this aircraft up on the screen.
Transponder code, De Havilland DHC-5A, squawk 1634.
Transponder found.
What are we looking at? There's a flight crew from Poland, a pilot and co-pilot.
They fly a cargo supply route, the Urals to Warsaw and back, twice a week.
Stops at Borisovsky Air Field for scheduled refuelings.
Both pilots served for Poland in Central Asia, alongside us.
They're loyal.
They can be trusted.
They promised to keep their cargo hold door open while they're refueling.
At 7:00 pm they're back in the cockpit and on their way to Warsaw.
That's Annie and Eyal's window.
If they're not on that plane by 7:00 pm the cupboard gets bare.
Take a left up here.
It's about a mile that way.
What's that? My interrogators.
Can I see it? I don't know why I grabbed it.
I think I just wanted to take something from him.
There's an inscription on it saying, "To Alexei with pride.
" Yeah, that's his name.
Alexei Vershinin.
Your interrogator? What's the matter? No, nothing.
It's just that our intel said that a guy named Oleg Yursky was going to handle your interrogation.
Must have been a last second switch.
You're sure here? That's what the map says.
So what kind of questions did he ask you? He wanted to know about Simon's ops.
And what'd you tell him? Nothing.
Not because I was trying to be a hero or anything.
Because I didn't know the answers.
He didn't believe me.
That was the scariest part.
The CIA sure likes to do things the hard way.
If Auggie says this is the best way out of Russia, then this is the best way out.
I'm sure it's the best way out.
But first we got to figure out a way in.
There's cyclone fencing around the entire perimeter, barricades there, there, there plus flight crew.
I'm open to suggestions.
You look like you lost a little weight in there.
You should come back to Israel with me.
Safta Lavin will help you fill up those uniforms in no time.
I'm not sure I can sell this.
You know, I may have been a little too quick to dismiss this gambit.
After all, my people, we know something about counter-strikes, you know? The Raid of Entebbe, the Six-Day War.
I had a similar experience in Lebanon myself when I was in service.
It was a walk in the park compared to this.
Wheels up in two minutes.
We'll get there.
Like I said A walk in the park.
Can I ask you a question? Yes, my eyes are naturally this color.
I'm serious.
I want to make sure that you didn't sign up for this mission because of that file you gave me.
The one about Simon Fischer? With or without the intel in that file, I would've ended up where I ended up.
I made my own bed.
I just want to make sure that you don't have any feelings of guilt or Guilt? I'm Jewish.
What do I know from guilt? No, the truth is Auggie caught me at a good time.
I was gonna be in the neighborhood anyway.
Yeah? Yeah.
I got this thing for balalaikas.
Whatever happened in that raid in Lebanon? I got to admit, it wasn't our finest hour.
We were all so green.
Yeah, but that was then.
This is now.
Different day, better team.
There's a problem.
What happened? The plane stopped.
Oh no, it can't stop.
We just lost our window.
Wasn't sure I'd get this back.
I had less doubts about you.
Mark Sanderson.
I'm guessing this is not your real name.
Who are you really? A friend.
I congratulate you, Annie.
You obviously inspire great loyalty from your friends.
Shame you can't inspire more intelligence.
I'm guessing that was a gift from someone.
Your dad? Grandfather.
Holding on to something like that says a lot about you.
If you think you uncovered sentimentality in me, I caution you not to read too much into that.
It says you're not Oleg Yursky.
You stepped in for him at the last minute, and I think that's because you were afraid of something I might say.
And what would I be afraid of? That I might say that you, Alexei Vershinin, are a traitor to the FSB.
A traitor? Mmm-hmm.
That's what Simon told me.
That you're double-dealing.
Embezzling.
You're making this up.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Oh, but I do.
It's all in the file we assembled on Simon Fischer.
I'm Mossad, by the way.
This is all ridiculous.
Maybe.
But if anything I'm saying even has a grain of truth, I wouldn't wanna be you.
A person in your position could use an exit strategy.
Such as a new identity.
That passport is clean.
There's access to funds.
The FSB might never find you.
At this time tomorrow, you could be leading a completely new life with a completely new identity.
Become Mark Sanderson.
It's an even trade for letting us go.
Let's assume for a second what you say is right.
What's stopping me from taking this package and shooting you both in the head, huh? If we're not both home and safe in 24 hours, the details of that identity will be sent to the FSB.
You'll be signing your own death certificate.
And how would I know you wouldn't do that anyway? You'll have to take my word for it.
You said you could tell if I was lying.
Look at me.
Am I not telling the truth? You will be reported dead.
And as long as you stay that way, you'll find it easy to make your exit.
Nearest port is May God help us all.
Hey.
You okay? Double-dealing, huh? Calculated guess.
Scored.
Just wish I could've found us better digs.
Feels like first class to me.
I should probably give you a little space, you know? After all that time in solitary, you get used to being alone.
Probably sick of me by now.
Never.
Well, see how you feel by Stockholm.
When was the last time you slept? I can't remember.
It's funny, though.
I don't feel tired.
It's probably the adrenaline.
Yeah.
I got to tell you, Walker, I've seen my fair share of hairy situations, but when Alexei told his guy to stop out there, right there in the middle of nowhere Yeah, I don't mind telling you, I