01x10 - A String of Pearls

[bunniefuu]

Previously on the Romeo Section...

Are you f*cking kidding me?

We got a few more bags down here than we counted on.

If the dope's gone, it's Rufus that pulled it off.

What's her name?

She's a liability.

And that's what I told Wolfgang.

Have you at any time been in the employ of a foreign government?

No.

She's been trained for this.

Like we all were.

Perhaps it's time we all returned to China.

She's alive, living in Mexico.

I want Eva.

And I would like to have an hour alone with her.

So, yeah, that's it.

I'm on my own.

Let's see how that works out for you then.

Oh, my god, my husband just sh*t an intruder!

I think they're both dead!

Please help me. Oh, my God!

S01E10
A String of Pearls

Hey, where are you? I haven't seen you in a week.

f*cking call me!

Who keeps calling you?

One of those f*cking debt collectors.

Let's go.

I want to see her.

Gascoyne does not want to speak to anyone right now.

She wants to spend time with her family.

She left a big piece of her family behind in the People's Republic.

What does that tell you?

That tells me that we got ripped off at the bargaining table.

Or more likely, that Daniel has changed teams, which has gotta get you wondering if they're sending Martha back as a dangle.

We're taking all precautions in how we handle her return.

I want to see her.

The last thing this needs is you muddying the waters.

She's my recruit.

I want to find out what they got out of her.

And whatever her g*dd*mn husband has been telling them.

Martha Gascoyne is under wraps, and she's gonna remain that way for quite some time.

Leaving so soon.

My dope is gone, informant's dead.

I know when to cut my losses.

Sounds to me like sh*t's just warming up.

Well, here's a tidbit for the road.

Last meeting before he got k*lled, Vincent was telling me about a guy named Rufus.

Rufus Decker.

You know him.

Been hearing the name.

Well, apparently, he offed some guy in his crew just to move up the food chain.

Guy by the name of Rick Frost.

Vince said he dumped the body in the bay.

That's a pretty good little tidbit.

I'll see what washes up.

Vincent said to check his boat, it's probably swimming in DNA.

Anyway, I hope that buys me a pass next time I'm up here on business.

I believe it might just.

Rupert...

Hey.

You could have a problem with your friend, Rufus, down on the docks.

What are you hearing?

Sounds like he could be connected to the m*rder of the number two guy behind Vincent Taggart.

He's the chief of the Red Mountain puppet crew.

Well, I think there's a job opening.

Vincent Taggart got sh*t dead the other night, along with another guy.

Who's looking good for it?

They like Vincent's wife.

She's saying that her husband sh*t an intruder, who sh*t back...

I could put you in touch with the detective who's on it.

No, I'd rather you stay the middle man.

You think your guy is involved?

Hard to say. I mean, anything's possible.

Yeah.

You know where he keeps his boat?

Should I come with you?

No, I'm good.

Stick to the story.

It's not a story. It's what happened.

Right.

You want me to wait?

No.

The last time took two hours.

I don't mind.

I'll be fine.

[cell phone ringing]

You feeling okay today?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Did you find Vincent's will?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, we can talk about it after.

What did it say?

Did he write me out of it?

Yeah.

You gotta burn it.

I'm not glad he's dead.

I'm relieved.

Do you know a Rufus Decker?

Yes.

How long have you known him?

A long time.

Almost five years, I think.

What about Rick Frost?

Do you know him as well?

Rick is my husband's...

Was my husband's best friend.

We've been trying to locate him.

Last I heard, he was in Montreal to see his family.

How does this relate to the investigation?

We don't know.

What about Rufus?

He dropped me off here today.

Did you ever solicit someone to k*ll your husband?

Say again?

Did you ever ask someone to k*ll your husband?

Why do that when I could just handle it myself if I needed to?

My client is under a good deal of stress.

I hope you recognize sarcasm when you hear it.

Did I solicit m*rder?

Where did that come from?

He's just baiting you.

Don't let your thoughts run wild.

You say that like it's easy.

We gotta deal with the will.

Where the Chinese supplied both labor and opium as they mined and built the rail roads across the west.

Now, nothing new here, except that this strategy has been given a name, "The String of Pearls," a strategy to gain access to ports, develop diplomatic relations, and to protect Chinese commercial interests, leading many to wonder, is this just a precursor to something larger?

I invite you to immerse yourselves in this question.

Are we, here, a pearl on a string?

We need four passports for safe passage home.

Only three.

You're not accompanying your father?

I need to stay.

Are you falling in love?

Good.

I hope you can protect your heart.

We're in a delicate place.

He is suspicious.

More than a lover's doubts.

If he is suspicious...

Confess what?

Everything.

I'm, uh, looking for a patient, Mr. Chan?

Are you family?

Yeah, he's my uncle.

You need to check in at security.

Bossman around?

He's in the kitchen.

What's happening, Wing?

How's the investigation going?

Any developments?

I dropped Dee off for another interview today.

Is she reliable?

Lawyer says they got no evidence against her, so it's looking good.

We need to move things along, make new arrangements for transport.

Yeah, I've been thinking that over.

What's your deal with the Mexicans?

They've got distribution all across the Midwest, and can't meet the demand.

Can you maintain Vincent's contacts at the port here?

That's where Dee comes in.

Her dad's the O.G. down there at the Longshore Hall.

Dee put the whole crew together, Vince just hopped on her back to ride her connection to her old man.

Does her father have any connections at the port in San Pedro?

I believe he might, yeah.

You're thinking about shipping it by boat?

It's an option.

Think about it.

Come on in.

The String of Pearls strategy.

Still singing that old song, huh?

Ringing the alarm bell.

How did you get in?

The plumbers let me in.

The plumbers are not supposed to be in here.

They should.

Have you had a look at that mold on your ceiling?

You could catch something.

What do you want?

Well, the good news, regarding the whole Martha Gascoyne affair is, the Service has narrowed down their leak to a couple of candidates.

[chuckles] Bad news is you're still one of them.

What possible bearing does this have on my life today?

You have now been formally invited on a date with Mr. Sproule and his polygraph machine.

Sproule can piss off.

Who are the other candidates?

You know I won't tell you that.

This interview will happen voluntarily, or it will happen through the lawyers.

Well, you know this is going in the memoir, under the chapter...

"Of all the assholes I've ever known..."

That's a silly thing to say.

You know that's exactly why they're paranoid, that you might publish this stupid thing.

You may not be aware, but they do not appreciate criticism.

You've been lying down with the dogs too long, my friend.

There's concern that maybe this leak might have something to do with your new lady friend.

I don't have any idea who you're referring to.

Professor Lily Song, ring any bells?

You f*cking bastard.

You put the screws to Helen.

It didn't take much.

She's as concerned about you as I am.

Haven't you done enough to Helen?

You've lost all perspective, my good man.

You've been drinking your own swill.

Bring Professor Song in, and I can properly vet her.

I'm not going to do that.

This is going to happen whether you agree to it or not.

And you should have that mold looked at.

All those little black spores flying about?

[shudders]

I wouldn't risk it myself.

[wincing]

i][Rufus: This is the one.[/i]

Can I help you?

What kind of engine you got in this?

Uh, it's a Jimmy 12-71.

Huh.

How's she ride?

Like a baby in a cradle.

What are you thinking of using her for?

Tuna.

My buddy here, he's, um...

He supplies the Asian markets.

What can she carry?

60 ton.

If you come on board, I can give you a tour.

Where you gonna be fishing?

Where the fish are.

Well, let me know when you figure that one out.

Mind if I take a look at the engine?

Help yourself.

Look, I...

I got a pot of mud on if you want.

Hey.

Hey.

What are you asking?

1.5 million.

I've put that into her already.

Wolfgang: I've been told they'd like to take the next step.

Lily: What is that?

I don't know.

They'll contact you directly.

I think they want me out of the loop.

Can I say I want you with me?

You can try, but I don't think that'll go anywhere.

I shouldn't have said anything.

I should have just kept it all to myself.

Look what I've done.

Can I back out?

I don't want to do this.

They'll only just hound you till you agree.

[elevator dings]

[whispering]

[whispers]: Get back into bed.

Shh!

He has just fallen asleep.

I can come back.

Go, quickly. To the left, sign out with Security.

Hurry.

That was quick.

My brother was sleeping.

I'll come back later.

Professor Song?

Yes?

Excuse me for not setting up an appointment, but I was in the area, and I took a chance.

You're a friend of Wolfgang.

I've known Professor McGee a very long time.

I was hoping we could make an appointment for you to come to a meeting at our offices.

I don't want to impose on your professional time.

I've been approached by a Mr. Sproule.

Are you familiar?

Don't recognize the name, no.

[sighs heavily]

I don't have a polygraph handy, but I doubt it couldn't tell me anything I don't already know.

That's very cryptic.

We have that in common, don't we?

How so?

"How so?"

You are not who you've pretended to be and I am not who I've pretended to be.

Is that not so?

You go first.

I'll try to follow along.

I know who you are.

I've been encouraged by the People's Republic Intelligence Service to become friendly with you.

Well done.

You've delivered.

The hitch is, I've also fallen in love with you.

And I believe you've also fallen in love with me.

Yes, I have.

Were you assigned to recruit me?

No, I did that on my own initiative.

So... I know, and you know, what we're both up to.

And the important thing for me now is that we continue to love each other.

The rest is detail.

Say something.

You just said it for me.

You're the woman that I've waited for, and I don't want to let you go.

[boisterous conversations]

Scabies.

Scabies in the eye?

I didn't know that was possible.

Yeah, it came as news to me, too.

Does it hurt?

It's itchier than you would believe.

It's all I can do to keep from clawing the whole g*dd*mn thing out.

Are they giving you anything?

Oh, yeah, they keep us doped up real good here, otherwise they'd have a mutiny.

I'm getting you out of this place.

I've survived worse.

Things are gonna change.

I got a raise.

A big one.

Now, that doesn't surprise me at all.

Pretty soon, you won't have to get your hands dirty at all.

You'll have your own crew, your own garage.

Maybe I could come down and tinker about.

We'll see.

You know, those garages do pretty good business, especially if you have a lot of women customers.

I don't rip anybody off.

Mr. Integrity.

Yeah, who knows where I got it from.

[players cheering excitedly]

f*cking Mahjong, all day long.

You're not staying for supper?

Can't.

But you should pack up and be ready to move next week.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Leave me a couple smokes?

Thanks, son.

We're informal at this stage, Professor, so we're not recording any of this.

Good. Neither am I.

Let's start at the beginning.

How did you come to know Professor Wolfgang McGee?

Ah, well, I had heard of him before I met him, of course.

A grad student quoted something of his in a paper.

I found it insightful.

I have to admit, I did a little cyber stalking before.

But that didn't turn up much at all.

So, I made it my habit to try and run into him accidentally, and I managed to do that, and we began to talk about his work, in particular a book about his years in China.

One thing led to another, a cup of tea to dinner, dinner to dancing.

You know how it goes.

Why?

Wind down.

It's good for you.

They're going to steal my f*cking asset.

Ah...

Is that all she is now?

You've f*cked me out of a prize.

Take a pill.

She's not your problem anymore.

I'm sure you can continue to enjoy her benefits until you tire of her.

That's neither here nor there.

The point is, I can't f*cking trust you anymore.

Did you ever, really?

Who have you ever trusted anyway?

That's what made you a good recruit, and a good professor, and a lonely, vulnerable man!

As you know, that campus has become something of a hub and a hunting ground for foreign intelligence.

Research and patent theft, all that sort of thing.

I hear the rumours.

We need all the help we can get leveling the playing field.

That's where we think your eyes and ears would be of great service to the country.

Is this the kind of work Wolfgang does for you as well?

Professor McGee has been a good patriot, that's all I can say about that.

Of course.

Well, I'm happy to help any way I can.

Fantastic.

I would only ask for some kind of assurance that myself and my family aren't in any danger of reproach from the PRC.

This arrangement would be totally confidential.

We would train you.

So who will I be reporting to?

To Bill here.

Directly.

Anytime.

Your money is offshore.

Here's the swift number.

Let me know if you have any trouble.

Appreciate that.

You earned it.

Oh, I got the skipper of that boat down to 900k, and he's willing to stay on as skipper until I get the hang of her.

Excuse me.

Get on the f*cking ground! Face down!

Hands behind your f*ckin' back!

Rufus Decker?

What the f*ck is this?

Shut the f*ck up.

Get him on his feet.

What's the charge?

Being a f*cking assh*le.

I f*cking knew it.

I know you're riding a high from pulling off that slick trick down on the docks, but you seem to forget that without my blessing, you're going to spending the rest of your life in jail.

And this is what happens when you ignore me.

f*ck that.

I told you, we're done.

We're f*cking done?

I'll f*cking tell you when we're done.

I will f*cking tell you when we're done!

Tell me about this m*rder.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You don't know what I'm talking about.

No f*cking idea.

Yeah, you know why?

Because you can't f*cking decide which m*rder it is I'm talking about, can you?

Because you've been involved in a few.

[scoffing]

You've gone f*cking mad, you know that?

Let me make this f*cking plain for you.

Rick Frost, Vince's number two man, all of a sudden, he disappears, and you move on up.

Now you're tight with Vince, you're balling his wife, you pull off this big job for the new triad man.

Oh, look at you.

Look at f*ckin' you!

And then a little f*ckin' bug worms its way up your nose and into your brain, because you've tasted real blood and real power... and you like it.

You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?

You've probably got a hard-on right now.

You're a f*ckin' psychopath.

You m*rder*d someone, I've got the evidence and the witnesses.

You've got sweet f*ck all on me.

There are no witnesses, because I didn't k*ll anybody.

That doesn't mean there aren't people willing and eager to f*cking say that you did.

Don't forget where I found you, and don't f*cking forget this...

You are mine, until one of us is dead.

I guess the clock is ticking on that one, isn't it?

I guess it f*cking is.

[handcuffs rattling]

You had us worried there for a sec.

Everything good?

You guys, get some professional cleaners over to the garage and clean your cars out, too.

I don't want a single thing tying us back to the docks or Vince.

We're gonna have eyeballs on us from here on out.

We can't be sloppy.

Get going.

I got some other sh*t to take care of.

There she is again.

Professor Lily Song.

She keeps popping up.

Hmm.

Where'd you take these?

At the hospital.

She was visiting the General on his deathbed.

Thanks.

How did it go?

No surprises.

I met with Mr. Sproule and a Mr. Bill West.

West, what did he look like?

Mid 50s, bald, very formidable.

What do they want?

They want my help.

Well, I have a feeling that they may rethink that once they find out whose daughter you are.

Whose daughter am I?

I remember you telling me that your father was a m*llitary man.

He was.

Does he still go by the name General Wu?

In certain circles, yes.

I want to meet him.

If you and I are going to continue down this road together, it's a necessity.

All I want is a friendly conversation that both he and I can walk away from.

You can make that happen.

You are asking a lot of me.

Look at the roots.

How they grow uncontrolled like that.

I had forgotten how marvellous this tree is.

Father...

I have something to ask you.

Yes, my treasure.

It's unorthodox.

Go ahead.

The professor.

He wants to meet with you.

He knows we are family?

Yes.

How?

I don't know yet.

My father has agreed to meet you if you are able to guarantee his safe return to China.

That sort of thing is not so easily done these days.

He's sick, and he doesn't want to die away from home.

My father, my mother, and my uncle.

Three passports.

You get them to Hong Kong, we'll handle it from there.

"We?"

You're going with him?

This is a very tall order.

[quietly] I know I'm asking a lot of you.

I'm not going to play a whore, Tony.

It's a good part.

She's not a whore, she just makes up her mind to do whatever it takes to get revenge.

I'm tired of gangster movies.

I want to do a drama.

I got one for you.

Mata Hari.

She was a dancer and a spy...

I know who she was.

She was sh*t by f*ring squad.

Not exactly a happy ending.

Maybe a great opening.

One woman, facing a dozen men with r*fles.

And she refuses a blindfold.

We're not doing a period movie, they k*ll you.

It's contemporary.

Tony...

Get me something to read about her, and I'll think about it.

You got a company we can take off the shelf and set up quickly?

Yeah, I got a couple start-ups papered, ready to go, or maybe you could acquire something that's already in the business.

I can sniff around.

You can raise money here?

Better in L.A.

Here is better.

I'd like to see some outside investors involved.

Not too many, but a few.

We need to... co-mingle the money.

Co-mingle, yeah, I get it.

I think I know a couple of solid citizens might appreciate the opportunity to help you out.

You're clean, right, Tony?

On nobody's sh*t list?

Clean, no heat whatsoever.

She's my wife, nothing bad happens to her.

Whatever it takes, the picture's a success, okay?

Absolutely.

No problem.

Whatever it takes.

Miguel trusts you.

Not anymore.

He wants to see you, that's a condition of his coming in.

Look, I don't know how much you care for this guy, but maybe you can convince him, 'cause he is dead the second he crosses over the Mexican border.

I betrayed him over and over and over again.

Why would he listen?

Good to see you.

There's gotta be more than that.

Miguel's got the attention of all three countries.

There's some safety in that.

But it's not sanctuary, is it?

Where is he?

There.

I had to see you one last time to tell you...

I lied to you.

We both lied.

From the beginning.

About everything.

Not about everything.

It doesn't matter.

They have my wife.

I must go back.

What do you want from me?

Forgiveness.

Me too.

I'm done.

Let's go.

Can I do something for you?

Got a good lead on the General.

So he's not a ghost after all.

I'll know for sure soon enough.

Yeah, I've heard that before.

Well, this is an excellent source.

A possible Gold Mountain.

I won't bother asking who.

Tony Zhao, the producer.

Remember him?

[chuckles] Of course.

I gifted him to you.

Just wanted to thank you for that.

Looks like the gift is finally starting to give back.

What have you got there?

Scottish.

Hmm.

The smell of good earth.

How can we help each other?

I was released from the labour camp with the help of our Secret Service.

Went to Hong Kong with many of our old troops.

We turned to crime.

I have seen regimes come and go, government and underworld.

They go hand-in-glove.

And you?

Not so different.

I was posted in Latin America, saw a bit of the cocaine trade develop, then China, then the southwest, the golden triangle.

[chuckles] I know it well.

Perhaps we passed in the night.

Would you consider sharing information?

To what end?

Open a back door.

Soft diplomacy.

Yes.

Exchange views.

Avoid conflict.

Gain insight.

What would you do with information we exchange?

I'd learn something.

[printer whirring]