02x04 - Men of Blood

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Previously on TURN: Washington's Spies[/i]

Intelligence is hidden inside a bust of King George you are to extract it without its new owner knowing it was ever there.

Well I had hoped that you would be willing to write another letter.

You wish for me to write to the rebel general.

[Exhausted] I'm fighting for what I deserve and I will need your support.

Your son volunteered.

He is working with me to help root out rebels in New York.

[Angry] What!

The name is Townsend, Robert Townsend and I don't care to see you here again.

(Panting)

Great. Nothing.

(Grunting)

(laughs)

What the hell is that?

(Coughs)

Ben? Ben!

Christ, what day is it?

It's Monday.

Wait, how long have you been out here for?

I don't know. Two, three days maybe.

I thought you checked the dead drop at week's end.

No, no, I check it when I can.

Do you want to tell me what the hell you're doing here?

Why is Caleb not here?

Sorry, he's on assignment in New Jersey.

And this can't wait. I need you to go get Anna and bring her back here.

I need to brief you both.

Both? No, no.

You tell me what you have and I pass that along. This place isn't safe.

Well, if it were that simple, I'd have written a letter.

This has to be in person. Besides, I come bearing gifts.

(Music playing)

(drunken singing, laughing)

Look, I know, the codebook, the egg, they're not safe.

But this, this is.

That's brilliant there, Ben.

Look, this clear fluid is called the agent.

And the green is the reagent.

Now you apply just a little bit with a very fine brush.

It took us months to acquire this much.

There.

Just wait.

(Door opens)

Anna: Abe?

Ahem. Yeah.

I came as soon we closed.

What have you done to your root cellar?

(Growls)

(shrieks)

(laughing)

Oh!

Anna Strong.

Abe: Oh, come on. He's filthy.

I thought you had forgotten about us.

Who, me? No, I've been down here for months.

(laughs)

Good to see you.

This is a gift for Abigail.

It's made to look like her son carved it.

But when she handles it, she will discover... this.

What is it?

It's instructions on how to compose her intelligence reports.

Washington requires proper protocol and context.

No. No.

No, Abigail had an arrangement with me.

She never volunteered to spy for Washington.

Anna, she is vital to us.

Right now, she's our only window into Philadelphia.

She'll be terrified. She won't do it.

She sent us the information about General Lee.

Let her make the choice. I believe she'll make the right one.

I don't know how I'd get it to her.

Abe: What about Major Hewlett?

He's already offered you his friendship.

I'm sure he'd send it by special courier for you.

Ah, look.

What did I tell you, huh? (laughs)

Invisible ink.

Magic.

No, chemistry.

I'll show you how to apply it as well.

While Abe remains in the city, you'll have to transcribe his letters and Abigail's and put them both into the drop.

While Abe remains in the city?

I was just about to tell him that I can't do it.

Ben, I can't do it.

What? Why?

Abe, you're studying the law. It's the perfect cover.

If it were that simple, I'd be there already.

All right? As it is, I can't stay for longer than a week, so...

Look, whatever's happening between you two, it has to be put aside.

Both: It's not that.

I can't help you unless you tell me the truth.

(sighs)

The truth is... ahem.

(Sighs)

I have a better solution.

Now what we really need is a friend inside the city.

And I may have found him.

Ah, a friend? Who?

His name's Townsend.

He's originally from Oyster Bay, but he runs a boardinghouse in the Bowery now.

He's very smart. He's very discreet.

Right, this Townsend, he... what, he just volunteered?

Well, he wants to, he just doesn't know it yet.

Ah, Abe.

Look, I'm travelling to see him tomorrow.

I can't go back with this. I can't go back there.

Look, Ben, I know him. Trust me.

Yeah, I do trust you, Abe. But Washington...

Washington may not trust me.

I... I... I've earned his disappointment of late and I need something to make up for that.

Something real or else I'm out.

All right, all right. You... you go back and you tell Washington that I have found our man in New York.

♪ 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. ♪

Hewlett: Careful, please.

(chatter continues indistinctly)

That's it. Settle it there.

Major Hewlett.

Oh, Mrs. Strong. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there.

How can... hello.

Good day.

I was wondering, you remember the gift sent from my former housemaid Abigail to her son?

From Philadelphia, of course.

Well, he was overjoyed to receive it and he quickly carved this for his mother.

Oh.

He has a talent for woodworks, you see.

I was wondering if I could prevail upon you to send this back by way of the same post.

Well, I... suppose it would travel alongside a larger shipment.

I confess, I'm curious as to what's in this box.

Ah. Well, it isn't ready to show yet.

But I'll tell you what.

If you return here tomorrow night, you will see what is in this box standing right here.

And if you but have the courage to look, you will perceive marvels that will quite take your breath away.

Marvels?

Unlike anything you've ever known.

(Chatter)

(exhales)

Ahem.

Mr. Townsend, very good to see you again.

Damn cold day outside, but a very fine one.

We're fully booked.

Doesn't look it.

Now the old room would be fine.

I said there are no rooms here for you.

So why don't you take your studies somewhere else?

Oh, no, I'm not here to study.

I'm here to talk to you, Robert.

(Bell tolling)

What time is breakfast again?

Oh, and you do remember how I like my eggs, don't you?

(chatter)

Come on, Nick. Ain't got all day.

Right you are, governor.

(Branch snaps)

Man: Hey, who goes there?

Show yourself.

Haxon, it's Brewster.

Brewster? Caleb Brewster?

Is the captain awake yet?

Huh? Come here, you.

(laughs)

So you finally decided to join the corporation, eh?

Aye, that's right.

Come on, then.

Jesus.

It's a nice bit of piracy you got there, Ryder.

It's privateering, Caleb.

Ah, privateering.

(Caleb laughs)

My ass is licensed by Congress.

Ah, apologies, then, sir.

Come by way of the sound, did you?

New Jersey.

Oh. Still playing soldier boy, then?

That's right. My ass is paid by Congress.

Ah, but you still set sail by your old ways to get paid for real, yeah?

This man knows me too well, huh?

(laughs)

See anything you fancy?

Could be. Could be.

Which ones?

Uh, that China silk.

I know a buyer.

Oh.

Maybe that chandelier.

Maybe not that dildo.

(laughs)

I'll tell you what, you throw in that bust of old King Georgie and some of that cutlery, and we'll have ourselves a fat Saturday.

Let's drink on it.

Some Madeira courtesy of the good ship Margaretta.

I can't. Love to, but can't.

Sit and drink with me.

Unless you want to tell me why it is you keep looking out to them trees.

Ahem.

Jim, you may not be as safe here as you think you are.

All right? I heard rumors of Rangers in the woods.

And British patrols.

No one can find us here.

I found you.

Yes, but you're a friend.

Sit and drink!

Now, seeing as what you're really after is that bust of old King George, maybe you can tell your old friend Ryder why.

You wished to see me, sir?

I wished? No.

I summoned you three bloody days ago.

My... my apologies, sir.

Where the bloody hell have you been, Tallmadge?

I've been on special assignment for General Washington, sir.

Assignment? What assignment?

I'm afraid I cannot say, sir.

I thought I could trust you, Major.

You know, I need a new aide-de-camp.

And I was gonna offer the post...

You can trust me, sir.

Yeah, come here. Come here!

Help me up.

(Groans)

I need to show Washington that I can stand, that I can fight.

That I can fight.

I... (groans)

I said some words to him, words that I should not have said.

Oh, sir, he speaks very highly of you.

He knows you are his friend.

Does he?

Does he know his friends?

His enemies? Gates? Lee? Conway?

You may not see it, Ben, but this camp is full of Judases and Machiavels.

I do see it, sir. Believe me, I do.

Yes. Yes.

You are a sharp one.

A Yale man, right?

Yes, sir.

Yes.

I was supposed to attend there before my father drank my tuition and I was apprenticed to a druggist.

My education was among the sick and the weak.

It was there that I learned to hate the smell of weakness.

The same wretched stench that now seeps from my useless leg.

(Groans)

Sir. Sir.

It's all right. It's all right.

Yeah.

You know, Washington has a weakness, too.

His belief that providence will shield him from harm.

But there will come a time when he sees that he is all too mortal and it is up to us to protect him.

But I cannot do it from this tent.

I cannot do it alone.

Tell me. Tell me what you need.

André: "Obliged to choose between gold and his country, General Benedict Arnold would doubtlessly select the former.

Crafty and designing, like the snake in the garden, he nevertheless lacks that beast's minimal sense of honor even if he shares its most singular characteristic...

An inability to walk on his own legs."

Or leg, in this case.

Provocative.

But I thought your aim was to turn the man to our side.

Well, these aren't my words for him.

You wrote them.

But it is Charles Lee who will give them voice and spread them throughout Washington's camp.

You see, sir, I am like the ventriloquist.

And Lee is the dummy?

I write them here, and he says it there.

And in doing so, we twist the Kn*fe deeper into Arnold's already wounded vanity, softening him for the approach, as it were.

Just arrived for you, sir.

An invitation to tea at the house of Judge Edward Shippen.

Meaning Peggy Shippen, a far prettier puppet.

Tell me, John, do you have your hand up her backside as well?

(laughing) Great tale, Brewster.

Wild. Robert Rogers, a bobtailed wench, and a tattling terrier.

(laughs)

Aye, and all of it true.

So consider my trade...

I take the bust, yeah, and let Rogers hunt me.

I don't know.

Seems like if it's that important, I might swing a better deal from them lobster backs.

Yeah. In case you didn't hear me, Jim, the letter inside that bust you stole, it's meant for General George Washington himself.

Whose side are you on?

That depends.

How much is General George willing to pay for old King George?

(laughs)

(hatchet thunks)

(g*nf*re)

(men shouting)

General quarters!

Men: General quarters!

Drop it!

Good idea.

(Quiet chatter)

Good morning, Major André.

We are honored you accepted our invitation.

I must insist, sir, the honor and pleasure is all mine.

Miss Shippen, how wonderful to see you again.

You brighten the darkest room on the dullest day.

You're too kind, Major. Tea?

Major, please.

Let me introduce these other gentlemen.

Mr. Hezekiah Shagg, my lawyer.

Mr. Percival Pidcock, banker.

And the Reverend Mr. Runt, secretary.

Now, ahem...

To begin, we are all aware that a sufficient income and the right sort of breeding are vital to a happy and independent marriage.

Beg pardon?

If you wish the hand of my daughter, we must elicit whether or not you're a suitable match for this family.

I believe there's been some misunderstanding, sir.

I have not proposed anything to Miss Shippen.

(Whispers)

We'll take your denial as assumed, of course.

Now, tell us, your family assets, are they in land or in trade?

Father.

Who are your people?

André doesn't strike one as quite English, does it?

French, maybe.

I must apologize, sir.

I'm afraid I have a prior engagement.

Lord Howe requires my counsel this morning.

Judge Shippen.

Miss Shippen.

Man: Sir... (whispering)

(laughs) Of course.

Allow me to save you some time.

My people are from mercantile stock.

My father Swiss, my mother French.

Huguenots. No land, new money.

Like you, sir, though less of it, I suspect.

Possibly owing to the fact that my father chose to invest in 4% government bonds rather than on the backs of West Indian slaves.

Margaret.

I am so sorry.

I... I had no idea he was going to do that.

All I said to him was that I was impressed by you, that you were a well-appointed officer and a fine actor.

I am an excellent officer and I don't like being ambushed.

Good-bye, mademoiselle.

(Chatter, laughter)

I thought I'd wait till nightfall so we could speak in confidence.

Do you play draughts, Mr. Woodhull?

You don't remember from before?

I play a little, yeah.

That's what good players always say to keep their opponent off guard.

Do you play?

A little.

So, Mr. Townsend... what are the stakes?

After I win and you go, you stay gone.

And what if I win?

The king or Britannia.

Bit of a tough choice for you?

You go first. I insist.

Where are you from, Mr. Townsend?

Near you, I believe.

Long Island, then?

Mm.

Perhaps our fathers are acquainted.

Perhaps. Your father is?

Richard Woodhull, the magistrate.

I don't believe my father knows any Woodhulls, I'm afraid.

There was a Townsend, I recall, over in Oyster Bay.

A Samuel.

A very worthy gent, if Whiggish in his views.

Like father, like son?

The sins of the father should not be visited upon the son.

Surely you agree.

I agree that every man should move according to his own belief.

Why do you not crown your man?

I don't want a king.

Why ever not?

Because it's more profitable for me to keep a man behind the enemy line.

To spy out the land?

If called upon, yes.

Pity, my king just k*lled your spy.

How much longer do you want to talk around it?

Do you forfeit?

Why did you do it?

You held my life in your hands.

You could have given that egg to the British and watch me hang from the gallows and earned yourself a fat reward.

Or do you make enough money housing British soldiers?

Don't ever presume to know me.

Well, then enlighten me, Robert.

Or ask me a question. I will answer with the truth.

I already know the truth about you.

Oh, you think so?

You are a boy playing a man playing a spy.

And each one a liar.

The son of a Tory magistrate who risks his life and others to rebel against his father.

You're not the only man who can investigate another's history.

There was a young Captain Woodhull who d*ed during the Liberty Pole Riots not far from here.

Seems painfully coincidental to me that the registrar shows you withdrawing from King's College so soon after.

You married your brother's intended, did you not?

Tell me, was she worth it?

(Pieces clatter)

Forfeit. You lose.

And you always have a way out.

Don't you?

Always a place to hide.

(Door opens)

Any rooms to let?

One just opened up.

I used to be just like you and it sickens me now.

You are planning to return, Mr. Woodhull?

To finish our game.

I believe we said best out of three.

(Door opens, closes)

Hey!

Whoa, where are you running to?

You picked the wrong alley.

Begging your gentlemen's pardon, Dr. Jehoshaphat Tongue at your service.

Formerly fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, but now, as you can see, sadly impoverished, defrocked, and greatly needful of all you can spare.

None of that, you nonce.

(Man groans)

(groans)

He's got a Kn*fe!

Let him go!

Let him go!

Let's go!

(Groaning)

Man: Come on! Come on!

Don't touch it! Don't touch it!

Come on, we've got to go. We've got to go.

On your feet. On your feet.

Who are you?

Your father said just to follow you.

That's all.

Wait, my father?

Who are you?

Henry Browning.

From Hempstead.

Could you see that my wife receives my pay from the judge?

(Screams)

Jesus!

Man 2: Guards! Guards!

Woman: Fetch the regulars!

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Soldier: Right!

Soldier 2: Prime your firelocks!

Major André.

Miss Shippen.

Is there anything else I can help you with?

I wish to apologize once again for my father's behavior.

It was highly improper.

I wonder what he would think of your behavior right now.

A young woman visiting a bachelor officer of questionable means without chaperone.

Pray, do not condescend to me.

Why not?

One good turn deserves another.

Tell your father I've entertained the affections of duchesses with 100,000 acres and pedigrees going back to Charlemagne.

You entertained them, you say?

Or were you the entertainment?

You can tell me the truth.

I know I've been both.

Don't presume you know what it is to be me.

I had to earn my way in this world.

It wasn't served to me on a china plate.

This judgment has been passed on you before.

What was her name?

You come here to rub salt in the wound?

I'm not my family, John, as you are not yours.

I told my father I was impressed by you.

I never say that about anyone.

It's what made him so afraid.

You're a man who makes his own fate, and I...

I wish to be a part of it.

You should listen to your father, young lady.

You are the prize of Philadelphia, the favorite daughter of its wealthiest patron, the most beautiful woman in America.

You must have heard those platitudes a thousand times before.

What could possibly impress you more than that?

Don't presume you know what it is to be me.

Major Hewlett.

Oh, you've come.

As I said.

I hope I'm not interrupting.

No, no, no, no. Not at all.

Not at all. Here.

Come look.

What is it?

This is a reflecting telescope.

It's the very latest of its kind.

Look.

(Anna gasps) What is that?

Hewlett: They are the constellations.

Only closer.

You were right, this is a marvel.

Yes. This one's mirror was cast, ground, and polished by William Herschel himself.

William...?

Herschel.

The greatest astronomer of our age.

We've long been in correspondence and he has recently confided to me there may be a seventh planet in our solar system.

I suggested to him that if he finds it, he should christen it Georgium after our king.

The heavens are serene and eternal, Mrs. Strong, their movements predictable.

There is a divine law and order to the universe just as there is to our empire.

Am I to presume you wanted to be an astronomer and not a soldier?

Well, it is true that the stars were my calling.

But the American trade boycotts almost bankrupted my father.

One must earn a living. The army beckoned.

And then this rebellion came and, well, here I sit.

I admit, when I first saw this, I thought it some kind of cannon.

(laughs) Yes.

To be aimed across the sound at our rebel counterparts.

Yes, I suppose we could use it as a spyglass.

On a clear day, possibly at a lovely outpost much like this one, you might even see them.

(laughing)

You hear the one about the Irish soldier who upon being asked by his captain, "What's a fortification?" answered, "It takes two twentifications to make a fortification"?

(Men groan, laugh)

Man: Have I told you the one about the builder's wife?

Man 2: Oh, no!

(men groan)

Man: It's the only one I've got.

Beautiful sky tonight.

I find myself constantly impressed by modern science.

It gives me hope to hear it for we are at the birth of a new age, Anna.

Hewlett: A struggle between men of reason and men of blood, of base instinct, contending for the soul of mankind.

Damn you.

Skulking in here like Indians.

Who... (groans)

Travel safe.

Hewlett: A w*r between men who desire civility and those who crave savagery.

Between those golden in head and heart and those red in tooth and claw.

And if reason loses, there will be pandemonium or hell to pay.

I for one put my faith in reason and order.

For example, I believe that Halley's Comet will return precisely on schedule in 1835, like celestial clockwork, as a mark of the Lord's favor towards our empire.

Amen, sir.

Anna, may I request that you call me Edmund?

At least when we're alone?

Edmund?

Yes.

Named after Halley himself.

Well, Edmund... it's getting late.

Yes.

My men will escort you home.

(Sighs)

Why do you need the tongue?

To put a fine point on it.

(Groans)

Impressed?

Very much so, sir.

Wait until you hear this.

"It has been several years since last we met, yet I recall your gentlemanly mien and abounding vigor and pray that you are rapidly returned to your former health."

Guess who it's from.

No idea.

Miss Peggy Shippen of Philadelphia.

Oh, she's very rich, you know?

Remarkable to receive more goodwill from the enemy's lines than one's own colleagues.

Speaking of, what news from the viper's nest?

Well, it's just as you suspected, sir.

General Lee and General Gates fear to denigrate the commander to his face, but they certainly exchange looks behind his back.

Cowards.

They hide in the shadows just like in the field.

Well, they are not, however, afraid to denigrate you, sir.

How?

What did they say?

They say if obliged to choose between gold and his country, you would select the former.

They say that you lack even a minimal sense of honor.

And was Washington present when these things were said?

Yes, sir, he was.

And what was his contribution?

He made none, sir.

He neither spoke in your defense nor spoke against you.

He said nothing.

Leave it.

Sir, has the position of your aide-de-camp been filled?

For if not, I wish to apply for the post.

And what of your... special assignment for Washington?

I can fulfill both duties, sir.

Neither will detract from the other.

Really?

What is this secret detail that you cannot possibly relinquish?

Intelligence, sir.

Acquisition, translation.

Intelligence?

Yes, sir.

Tell me, where is the personal honor in that?

What I mean to say, Benjamin, is that you are a man of blood, not some deskbound clerk.

You can be a spy or you can be a soldier, but you can't be both.

If you wish to serve at my side, then you must give that up.

(Door opens)

Abraham.

You back so soon?

What?

Come here.

He's dead.

What?

You heard me. Don't play the fool.

Get off.

Who was he?

What are you talking about?

Henry Browning of Hempstead!

He... he was just to follow you.

Tell me what you were doing.

Who was he?!

Just a petty thief. He stole a horse once and I...

Oh, my God, what am I gonna tell his wife?

His widow.

And you can tell her that he was gutted by an alley g*ng in New York.

But then you'd also have to tell her what he was really doing there, wouldn't you?

What were you doing there?

Gentlemen. What is this about?

Let me guess. Your recent trip to New York.

I told your father what you were doing there.

If you want your wife to know about it, I suggest you continue to raise a ruckus.

Major, why did you tell him?

He saw us talking the other night.

I tried to honor your request for discretion, both of yours, but there are too many secrets in this household and for no good reason.

We're on the same side.

You were right.

Abraham, I was worried that you were putting your life in danger.

But I was wrong to lay hands on you.

And you were justified in fighting back.

Well, there's nothing for it.

We're here, we are up.

We should listen to your report from the city, both of us.

(Clearing throat)

So, when last we met, you were on the trail of a man named Hondrick.

Isn't that the name of a Mohawk chieftain?

Richard, please. You'll find that the intrigues played by these miscreants are quite byzantine.

Indeed.

Go on.

One problem they cannot avoid, sir, is communication.

Now, I remember that the Sons of Liberty would use a secret drop to pass messages to each other and that was hidden under a loose brick in an old wall.

And I thought maybe it was still in use.

So I went there last night,

I looked under the brick, and I found a note.

Go on. Go on. What did it say?

Gibberish, sir.

Nothing but a jumble of numbers and letters, I'm afraid.

Enciphered.

Exactly.

So where is the note?

Surely you brought it back with you?

Well, if I'd...

If I took the note, I thought they'd know someone was onto them.

So...

So another dead end. How inconvenient.

(Sighs)

Well, not quite.

No, I... I decided to wait there to see if someone would come along and pick up the note.

And around midnight, someone did.

And you recognized him?

No.

But I followed them through streets,

and alleyways, sir, then I waited while he stopped in a tavern.

The Merry Monarch, it was called.

And I described our stranger to the barkeep there, claiming that he dropped a couple shillings from his bag and I was keen to return them.

And he was very happy to give me his name.

Henry Browning of Hempstead.

Henry Browning...

I believe, sir, if you find this man, you'll find the Sons of Liberty.