01x03 - III

Episode transcripts for the TV show "The Old Man". Aired: June 16, 2022 - present.*
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Based on the best selling novel of the same name, centers on Dan who absconded from the CIA decades ago and has been living off the grid since.
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01x03 - III

Post by bunniefuu »

(SEMI-TRAILER TRUCK DRIVING AWAY)

(PHONE VIBRATING)

MAN: Hey, Grandma.

I already went to the pharmacy.

Mm-hmm. I'm on my way home.

I-I got the extra strength kind.

They didn't have the back pain kind.

Well, the... the extra strength
and the "for back pain"

are the same stuff.

No, they... they just sell it
in two different boxes.

Exact same stuff, Grandma.

(GRUNTS)

Uh...

just literally, physically,

chemically identical.

Yeah.

To make life interesting.
I don't know why. But...

I-I got to-I got to run, Grandma.

Because there are people here,

and we're turning into a vaudeville act.

Yeah. All right, see you soon.

Excuse me, do you know
if the came already?

Oh, no, it's late.

Again.

Thanks.

Can I-can I help you with that?

Yeah. Thank you.

(PHONE VIBRATING)

Hello?

I've been expecting your call.

Uh, well... Yeah, hold on, please.

I'll catch the next one.

Thanks.

(BUS DOORS CLOSE)

You do understand what it is I do, yes?

HARPER: ...went to
great lengths to make sure

I'd never be on one of them again.

I was offered your number. I took it.

I don't know why I took it.

I guess I figured it was okay
because there was no way

I'd ever be able to use it.

Why wouldn't you be able to use it?

The guy I wanted you to visit...

I figured there was a good chance

he'd never be found again.

It's hard to disappear in this world.

You're giving this guy a lot of credit.

- Are you good at this?
- Beg your pardon?

Are you good at this?

I don't think you would've been
given my number if I weren't.

I don't think so either,
but I'd like to hear you say it

Yeah. I know what I'm doing.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

What's happening?

Oh, we found the guy.

- You found him? Chase?
- I think so.

Older couple was stopped
at a roadblock yesterday.

Husband didn't have ID.

Wasn't red-flagged because
he wasn't alone.

Didn't fit our criteria,
but the boss man pulled it

from the low-priority pile.

The boss pulled it out?

Well, I'm not sure
why that surprises you.

They teach a class at the
academy about fugitive mindset.

Half the reading is about him.

Local branch tracked down
the police officers

that made the stop.

We sent over Chase's
Vermont driver's license photo.

We're waiting on confirmation,

but if it's a match, we move.

Hmm.

Nice of you to join us this morning.

Well, no one called me
about the early start.

Is that a fact?

I heard you made a move
on Agent Adams yesterday.

Oh, me? No, no, never happened.

Are you calling her a liar?

I don't like to use that word.

Maybe she was confused.

Sometimes I just... I get curious.

Can't help asking questions, that's all.

And what'd she have to say
about your questions?

Oh, she told me to go f*ck myself.

Yeah.

Probably should have known
I wouldn't get any answers

- from her, though, huh?
- Oh, I don't know.

When I was in your shoes,
sometimes I'd ask questions

to get an answer.

Sometimes I'd ask questions to see

what kind of reaction it got.

Sometimes I'd ask questions

and watch the billiard balls
bounce for a while

on the off chance one of them
led somewhere interesting.

That's funny. I'm trying to figure out

which one of the three
you're doing with me right now.

It's fun, isn't it?

You're digging around on a case

that is so very hard to know.

Just when you think you have it,
it'll turn on you.

Be very careful with
this story, Mr. Waters.

It bites.

It's him. Both officers, both confirmed.

Marty, tell Captain Leslie
he's got a full green light.

SWAT team's a go.
How long until they get there?

MARTY: Two hours, give or take.
Getting details now.

JOE: That's too long.
We need 'em there sooner.

Someone make sure
the third floor is looped in.

Let's get a clock up on the screen.

ETA of SWAT's arrival on site, please.

WATERS: And here I was worried
you didn't want this guy caught.

Congratulations, sir.

I'm happy to be wrong about you.

And Waters,

if there's something
you want to know about me,

don't harass my people.

Have some balls. Ask me yourself.

You still think I'm the one
you need to worry about.

Look, maybe I don't know

what story we're in right now

or why we're here or how it began.

But maybe I'm not the only one.

(WIND WHISTLING)

(SLOW HOOFBEATS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)



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CHASE: I got the g*ns.

Uh... uh, probably, I got 'em.

Uh...

might take a little while,
but I'm almost positive

that they're on their... on their way.

HAMZAD: The United States of
America has made it very clear

to anyone who will listen

that they have no interest
in helping me.

How is it that you're the only person

who can't seem to hear them?

It's possible sometimes
I only hear what I want to hear.

Why are you here?

I told you why I'm here.
I signed up to k*ll Russians.

This is the only place
they let you do that.

It is a big country.

You can do that anywhere.

Why are you here?

(CLEARS THROAT)

(BELL CLANGING)

As long as the Agency
is backing your rivals,

it's gonna be an uphill struggle
for you to keep up.

All struggles are uphill.

That is why they call them struggles.

Not with my help.

I can get things for you
that you can't get on your own.

I can help you do things
that you can't do on your own.

HAMZAD: Not for long.

Sooner or later,
the CIA will put a stop to that.

CHASE: They already tried.

I am here against their orders.

And I am procuring supplies
for you without their knowledge.

Why?

Been fighting the Russians
for two generations.

This is the b*ttlefield
where we finally defeat them.

The one who strikes the final blow

can't just be some stooge
the CIA thinks they can control.

Has to be someone worthy of the moment.

Been here longer than you know.

I hear what's whispered
about you in the hills.

You're the one it should be

when the dust finally settles here.

Who is that?

HAMZAD: You hear
whispering in the hills.

She is the one who whispers.

If you want to join us here...

...you will have to persuade her, too.

My wife.

ZOE: There's a moment...

...when you know they're only seeing

the version of you
that they want to see.

And then there's another moment...

...where they realize
that they were wrong.

There's another version of you
in there somewhere.

Probably always was there.

And you just see it wreak havoc on them.

I mean, with my husband,
it wasn't all that surprising.

Before I said anything to him, I...

I suspected that...

he would struggle
with a version of a wife

who wasn't working...

so hard to prevent his discomfort.

But with my son...

That's the hard part.

To feel your kid
looking at you in that way.

In what way?

Like someone who...

...isn't worth the trouble.

CHASE: Mm.

(SIGHS)

Um...

- you know...
- What time is it?

- : .
- Oh, sh*t.

- What?
- I got to get to the bank.

They open at : ,

-and if I'm not there right
-Oh.

when it's open, it's...

- You can't get anyone to talk to you.
- Uh...

Before you leave, there's
something I need to tell you.

Yeah? What's up?

(CLEARS THROAT) Uh,

I got a message
from my contractor this morning.

Uh, he's had some things shift,
and now he's ready to start.

Turns out I need to be there
before he gets started, so...

(SIGHS) I think I got to go.

- Oh.
- So, I'd delay,

- but if I miss the window...
- No, no. No.

I understand.

You want to come?

- What, to Montana?
- Yeah.

You're not joking, are you?

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY) I don't think so.

I can't go to Montana. I...

I have things to do here.

Well...

I had fun last night. Did you?

Yeah. Yeah, I-I did.

I don't know. It felt, uh,

more like the beginning than the end.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Here's what's gonna happen.

Uh, I'm gonna...
I'm gonna go get some caffeine,

and then I'm gonna go to the bank

and yell at a stranger for two hours,

and-and when all of that is done,

uh, we'll come back here,
we'll make some lunch

and-and-and we'll...
and we'll talk about it.

I'm-I'm-I'm not saying no.

I mean, who knows. It-it
could be fun for a few days.

I just have to deal with this now.

I can't do that.

- ZOE: Can't what?
- Yeah, I...

I won't be here when you
get back in a few hours.

I'm sorry, but I-I can't wait.

- You can't? Why can't you?
- Well, uh...

Why can't you wait until lunchtime

to start a drive
that's gonna take three days?

- (ZOE CHUCKLES)
- Yeah, well, last night...

...you told that officer who stopped us

that I was your husband.

(CHUCKLES) Why
do you think you would've done that?

I don't know.

Why, uh, why did you lie to the police?

And why did you feel, you know,

that you needed to protect me from them?

They were looking for you.

Why were they looking for you?

(SIGHS)

- Why were they looking for you?
- (CHUCKLES)

Whatever nightmares that
you're imagining right now,

please understand it's not that.

This... this is a political thing.

Uh, I fought in a w*r

that my country supported, uh,

against enemies
that my country condemned.

(SIGHS) I did it...

I did it on the wrong side of a border,

and it shouldn't have mattered.

But to the people it mattered to,

it mattered a lot. Uh...

This is all ancient history, Zoe.

- Am I in danger?
- No.

Once we get on the road,
I'll fix all this.

Am I in danger from you?

No, Zoe.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

No, no.

sh*t.

Look, you can come with me

or you can

walk out that door.

It'll be like I...

...you know, I was never here.

Like you were never here.

Well, you know, you...

They might question you, but...

You didn't do anything wrong.
Just tell them the truth,

that, you know, I lied to you
and then I was gone.

You lied to me.

Yeah.

- You lied to me.
- (SIGHS)

And then I'm left with the questions.

How f*cking stupid must I have been

to not have seen this?

How f*cking lonely? How f*cking sad?

It's easy for you to say
there's no consequences.

There'll be consequences.

Just none of them will affect you.

(PHONE RINGS)

(SIGHS)

I got to take this. This is my daughter.

Hey.

No. No, I'm still here.

Yeah, I haven't left.

I know. I know time is short.

Uh...

Well, because I would've
had to leave alone,

and I didn't want to leave alone.

As opposed to with her.

Oh, you know.

(CHUCKLES)
Think about that for a second.

I bet you can figure it out.

Why would you want to do that?

She wants to talk to you.

Please don't move.

Hello?

EMILY: Hi, Zoe.

My name is Emily.

I know how you feel right now.

I know because I'm probably
the only other person on Earth

who's felt it, too.

On my th birthday,

my dad sat me down, and he told me

that my world

wasn't what I thought it was.

Until then, it had been soccer, braces.

You know, summer camp.

But before that,

long before that,
long before I was born,

it had been a w*r...

...that ended very badly

and an escape that forced
my father and my mother

into hiding under assumed names

I couldn't breathe.

I was so frightened of him.

I imagined all the things he'd done,

the blood on his hands.

But I think the most frightening
thought I had in my mind was

how could I trust someone

who had hidden something from me

as important as a name?

And then my mother sat down beside me,

and she took my hand in hers.

And she said...

"A name is just a name.

"A sound we make in his presence.

A breath of air."

What's meaningful
isn't what we call him.

It's what he is.

The good he did.
The suffering that he lessened.

The lives he saved.

So many lives.

Her life.

He freed her...

...so that one day, I would be free.

A name is just a name.

And if a new name is the price
to be paid for freedom,

for meaning, for purpose,

for finding a place
in the world to stand

and do something good...

...then it's a small price to pay.

My father protected me.

He protected my mother.

And I can hear it in his voice.
He wants to protect you.

He will.

If you want him to. If you let him.

Time is short, and I have to go,
and so does he.

So, go. Stay.

Either way.

I just needed you to know

who it was you had crossed paths with,

no matter what name
you happen to know him by.

(HANGS UP)



Don't be here when I get back.

(DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

(SNIFFLES)

(GRUNTS)

- (METALLIC THUD)
- (DAVE AND CAROL BARKING)

(ENGINE TURNS OFF)

(CAR DOOR CLOSES)





(MUFFLED GRUNTING)

(GRUNTING)

- (GRUNTING)
- (WHIMPERS)

(BLOWS LAND)

Zoe. Zoe! It's okay.

- It's okay? What's okay?
- CHASE: Yeah.

- We're going...
- I'm not going anywhere with you.

CHASE: There's no time to argue now.

- You're not safe here.
- (SCREAMS)

- (GASPING)
- Zoe.

- I'm going to the police.
- I don't know

that you're safe there, either.

I'm not safe with the police,
but I'm safe with you?

It's a different thing now, Zoe.

I don't know who we can trust.

Get away from my car.

I can't let you go.

No, I need three miles. Hey, minutes.

Is the UAV live yet?

Four minutes.

Oh, hello. Half day today?

- I had an errand to run.
- Ah.

- What kind of errand?
- HARPER: Adams!

That kind.

Joe thinks I went to the f*cking
movies this morning, or something.

I don't think they have movies
at : in the morning.

Actually, I don't really know

if they have movies
at : in the morning.

Last time I went to a movie,

I looked up the times in the newspaper

and bought a ticket at the little window

with cash.

What?

Um, no, I-I was just...

I just remembered
that the last time, uh,

I saw a m... a movie was with Chip.

- Sorry.
- About what?

No, I've just been trying
so hard not to bring it up,

and then, of course,
I just walk right into it.

You think maybe not talking about it

just makes it worse?

Definitely doesn't make it
feel any better, does it?

You haven't been to the house
since it happened.

(HARPER SIGHS)

Once we dig ourselves out of

whatever the hell this is...

...maybe we can fix that.

Yeah.

Any news this morning?


Yes. Sally Singleton

and I had bagels at Abe's,

and I asked her
about our friend over there.

Told her I figured he must be wired in

to a top-tier rabbi
to get an assignment like this.

- Porter or Brady.
- That's what I said.

- You know, is it possible that Myers...
- Everyone hates him.

Wh-What do you mean, "everyone"?

Literally everyone hates him.

You know how a four-year-old
asks a simple question,

and you give them an answer,

and then they ask, "Why?"

And then you answer it,

and then it's,
"Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?"

until the point where you're explaining

the nature of reality?

- Yeah.
- That's him.

Sally said, and I'm quoting,

"He's the nosiest m*therf*cker

in the history of the CIA."

Faraz Hamzad has all this leverage.

We are following his script.

And then an unqualified busybody
that nobody likes

gets put in charge of this op?

How does that make any sense?

It doesn't.

You don't seem too concerned about this.

Well, I can understand why you'd be.

That's how I taught you
to play the game. Like a cop.

- Mm.
- To a cop,

a puzzle is a thing to be solved.

But the other game,

the one that Chase and I played
when we were young...

the one I'm starting to realize
we're playing again...

that game has no rules.

Its puzzles have no solutions.

They just lead to other puzzles.

That's what makes this game
so interesting.

It's not for the faint of heart.

But it's a hell of a drug.

MARTY: We've got a problem here.

There's a car leaving the target.

JOE: Can we zoom in?

(TYPING)

Who's in it?

MARTY: No idea how many bodies.

SWAT is still seven minutes away.

HARPER: Follow the car.

MARTY: Hang on.

Tree cover on the street,
it's hard to see.

- sh*t.
- I'll ask ops to get closer.





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CIA.

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You are here to help? All right.

What are you going to do for us?

Well, tactically,

- I can supply...
- ABBEY: My husband

is a brilliant tactician.

- What are you going to do for us?
- CHASE: I have intel

on Soviet unit strength

that the Agency
doesn't even give to ISI.

We know more about their unit strength

than ISI does, too.

What are you going to do for us?

I have four cases of M
sn*per r*fles on their way.

Could you maybe use those?

If you can produce those g*ns...
emphasis on "if"...

maybe you can start
sh**ting Russian officers

from yards away.

Maybe you can k*ll a few more of them.

Maybe you can even cause
a little chaos in their ranks.

But you cannot solve
our problems that way.

Our problems are
far more complicated than that,

and I fail to see
what use you would be to us.

CHASE: Thousand yards.

What?

I can start sh**ting
Russian officers for you

from a thousand yards away.

yards is for children.

(DRONE BUZZING)

JOE: What's going on, Marty? Come on.

- We need eyes.
- MARTY: Ops, get back to me.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Ops, what just happened?

- May I have a word, please?
- MARTY: Ops, we need eyes.

What's going on down there?

JOE: Somebody get me SWAT.

Oh, no, no, no, no. No.

You don't want to be here
for this. Trust me.

Okey doke.

Do you want to start or should I?

I'm not sure what you mean.

Yeah, that's what I thought.

(SIGHS)

Faraz Hamzad
is getting anything he wants

from the U.S. government.

And when he finds out
that the U.S. government

just lost his man again,
heads are gonna roll.

I do not know exactly
what happened out there,

but after watching you
just so clearly intervene

and help Chase escape the first time,

I'm-a go out on a limb

and guess that today wasn't an accident.

I'm not gonna get left
holding the bag here.

I'm reporting this up the chain.

Call your wife. Call your lawyer.

You're in deep sh*t trouble.

HARPER: "Faraz Hamzad
is getting anything he wants."

What?

You're the second person
to tell me that this week.

- So?
- HARPER: Why would anyone from Langley

choose you,

an unqualified busybody with no friends,

no network,

to lead an operation this important?

I could never make any sense
of it till right now.

No one at Langley chose you.

Faraz Hamzad did.

He asked for you himself.

Or someone just like you, at least.

Someone who would b*at the bushes,

ask questions,
dig things out of the dirt.

I figured this was a revenge story.

Figured that Hamzad wanted Chase alive

so he could k*ll him himself.

But maybe Faraz Hamzad

wanted Chase delivered alive,

yeah, and wanted
the nosiest m*therf*cker

in the history of the CIA
to do the delivering

because Faraz Hamzad has questions

that he wants answered.

There's something he wants to know.

Tell me I'm wrong.

- Listen, if...
- HARPER: Don't bother.

I'm not wrong.

But what the hell
kind of questions does he have?

I know what started all this.

It's ugly, it's dangerous,
but there's no mystery to it.

What do you know?

years ago,

Dan Chase stole Faraz Hamzad's wife,

and I helped him do it.

That's it. That's the story.

That's why we're here.

years ago,

a woman living in the Hindu Kush
met an American,

started f*cking him,

saw a chance for a better life

and easier access to a Walmart.

So she left her w*rlord husband

and followed the American back home.

And here we are.

But what is Hamzad hoping for,

that after all this time, he'll find her

and, what, just spirit her away?

She's been dead for years.

Either he's got
some serious smelling salts

- or...
- Stop it.

This isn't getting us anywhere.

We're heading in the wrong direction.

Dan Chase profiles as a true believer.

Somebody who fights for causes.

A guy that absolutely,
at no matter what cost,

has to believe
that he is on the right side

of whatever fight he's in.

A guy like that,

the kind of woman that would follow him

halfway across the world,

their story is going to be

a lot more complicated than that.

And if you're right

and Hamzad is chasing answers here,

then we have to find out
what the questions are.

And the only way to do that
is to ask him ourselves.

Ask him... him who?

Hamzad.

(CHUCKLES)

Come on.

I'm supposed to believe that you
can't get a message to Hamzad?

Not can I. Why would I?

ANGELA: And what's the alternative...

you go back there and admit you failed?

Or you don't fail

and the three of us

get Hamzad the answers
that he's looking for.

We put the genie back in the bottle

and everyone wins.

(PHONE RINGS)

- Yeah.
- JOE: SWAT team is arriving.

They're about to enter the house.

(DOOR OPENS)

Local PD is searching
for the car that escaped,

but the team's concerned
there might still be someone

- in the house.
- HARPER: Why?

There's a b*llet hole
in one of the windows.

Signs of a fight, maybe.

(OFFICER SHOUTS)

Go, go, go!

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Watch your six!

WATERS: He's good.

You know, if we're being honest,
I can't imagine a guy like that

will ever have to answer
for anything he's ever done.

It's just guys like that,
they just never do.

You, on the other hand...

If you got secrets,

if you got things
you don't want out in the open,

tread lightly.

Because if he fucks me over again,

I'm gonna dig those things out
of the ground,

and I'm gonna use them
to hold you responsible.

- MAN: Delta Team, one clear.
- MAN : Copy that.

- Copy.
- MAN : Clear.

MAN : We're clear here.

Whoever was here, they're gone now.

MAN : Alpha one coming out.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

I'm gonna get us
that meeting you wanted.

Careful what you wish for.



- (JULIAN PANTING)
- Just breathe, man.

Just breathe.

(GASPING SOFTLY)



(ENGINE TURNS OFF)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(BABY CRYING IN DISTANCE)

CHASE: Mind if we join you?

Your English is good.

- Thank you.
- University abroad?

Or Kabul?

I'm not who you think I am.

Want to help your husband win this w*r.
That's it.

There's no other agenda here.

Do you believe me?

When I was seven years old,

my parents told me
we were moving to Ohio.

They were professors,

and they secured positions
at the university there.

I was weeks away from being
a little girl from Columbus.

I remember the pamphlets
on my father's desk.

The pictures of young people,
so full of hope.

I would stare at them for hours.

I wanted to be them.

Then came the coup here.

And plans changed.

And things got dark.

Next Americans I knew...

...were from the CIA,

working so very hard

to bend our w*r to their purpose.

That's when I realized
there's two kinds of Americans.

The kind so determined to be better,

there's no progress they believe
to be out of their reach.

And the other kind,

the monsters so determined to be right,

there is no v*olence
they believe to be unjustified

to secure their ends.

Until I know which kind you are,

I will assume the worst
and protect my husband from it.

I'm not who you think I am.

I'm no monster.



(ROOSTER CALLS)
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