01x08 - What Is and What Should Never Be

[bunniefuu]

Look, we're not gonna bust you if you say you're a... call girl.

We don't like to use that term.

Ben mercer... we move too quickly, he could slip away again.

Ep the girl working, keep her out there, and let's see what he does.

Hopefully, she'll lead us right to him.

Let him go, Annie.

You're right.

It's stupid. It's time to move on.

Hassan's down.

Who fired the sh*t?

The order was to take him alive.

Who fired?

Drop the w*apon!

Drop it now! Get on the ground!

I didn't... I don't... put the g*n down.

Move away from the w*apon and lie facedown.

I just heard.

Where is she? The bureau's got her?

Yes. See, this is what happens, Arthur.

You put Annie in harm's way, she gets harmed.

Was Mercer involved?

Do I need to authorize an ops team?

I have an operative in federal custody, one who's lucky to be alive.

We can talk about you and your agenda when I get her back here safely.

I know you.

Let's see, you're not dressed like a call girl.

Who do you work for today?

The Smithsonian.

Do you, now?

[Knock on door]

We can do the "he said, she said" back-and-forth thing when I get back.

[Door opens]

[Door closes]

[Intriguing music]

I'm not gonna like this, am I?

Girl's lawyer is here.

Her lawyer?

You mean the one she didn't call, because we didn't let her call anybody yet?

That's her.

Yeah, I got it.

I'd like to speak with my client, alone.

Your client.

She's as much your client as this is my gavel.

Just understand that we expect a little interagency communication and support.

Right this way.

[Door opens]

Thank you.

You're welcome.

[Door closes]

I said I was your lawyer.

Did they buy it?

No.

But you might as well treat me like one, because it's gonna be the same advice.

You're sitting in a federal interrogation room, Annie.

Why?

I-I... I didn't... a blanket denial is not gonna get you anywhere with them or with me.

I'm looking for a detailed, moment-by-moment explanation.

I've been trying to work it through.

Right. So you're confused, maybe in shock?

I understand.

So let's just work through it together.

Take a deep breath and start at the beginning.

Two days ago, I attended an auction at Bramble's as part of my Smithsonian cover.

Do I hear $500,000?

Thank you, ma'am. $500,000.

Do I hear $750,000? $750,000?

Sir, $750,000. Thank you.

Do I hear $1 million? $1 million?

Thank you. Do I hear...

Bidding on the, uh, velvet Elvis?

Oh. I hear the brushwork's amazing.

Yeah. I'm holding out on the dogs playing poker.

There's a dogs playing poker?

I'll have to add that to my list.

You bidding on multiple lots?

Yeah.

My resources are pretty good.

Funded corporate viper.

We private buyers don't really care for your kind.

Just don't go for the piece I'm after.

You better hope not.

Fair warning and...

Sold for $5.75 million.

Thank you, ma'am.

The Renoir is now closed for bidding.

Next up is lot 33, Thomas Cole's 1832 painting a wild scene.

We'll open bidding, please, at $1.5 million.

$1.5 million.

Thank you, sir.

Do I hear $1.75 million?

$1.75 million.

Thank you. Do I hear 2...

$2 million?

$2 million. Thank you very much.

Do I hear 2.25?

Don't look at me.

$2.25 million, sir?

Thank you. Do I hear 2.5?

2.5? $2.5 million.

Thank you. Do I hear 2.75?

2.75?

Two and three-quarter million dollars... thank you very much.

Do I hear 3... $3 million?

$3 million, sir. Thank you very much.

Do I hear 3.25? 3.25?

$10 million.

$10 million.

Ladies and gentlemen, do I hear 10.1?

$10.1 million?

Very well. Fair warning, and...

[Bangs gavel] Sold for $10 million.

Thank you.

The Cole is now closed for bidding.

That was a gross overbid.

Excuse me, miss Jacklin?

Yes.

Who was the man that bought the Cole painting?

I. - I'm sorry. We can't release personal information.

Our bidders value their privacy.

I understand, but let me ask you... wasn't that bid a little outrageous?

I think if you can pay outrageous, you can buy outrageous.

This happens from time to time.

Yeah, but the... the painting was not worth that.

Apparently, it was.

Excuse me.

August.

Ann.

So if we see something that we don't think feels right, the company wants us to report it, right, no matter how ridiculous?

Encourages it, in fact. Why?

You see your gardener buying too much fertilizer?

Somebody wanted me to watch a certain lot at Bramble's this morning.

They even circled it on my lot schedule.

And...?

And the piece sold for way more than it was worth.

How much more?

$6, maybe $7 million.

File a civ ob.

May tick something in the server.

Civilian observation... right.

File a civ ob, catch the Unabomber.

Or a stupid art collector who pays too much for a painting.

Hey. We still on for tonight?

Sure. But just to clarify, it's just a family barbecue... paper plates and paper napkins.

I totally understand what you're trying to say.

I'll dress casually.

So she was working at the Smithsonian when you met her?

I- I'm confused.

Not exactly.

I wasn't at work. I was, uh...

Actually, we met at a coffee shop near her work.

So... what is it you do, Jai?

Ann says that you're some kind of a g-man or something.

I think that usually means the FBI.

No, I'm... I'm just a suit-and-tie man for the state department.

I, uh, have a number instead of a name at work.

[Chuckles]

Oh!

Ugh!

[Both giggling]

Oh, my God.

He's, like, the George Clooney of wherever he's from.

Nice. He's actually third generation D.C.

But that bone structure is ridiculous.

Okay, you're making me self-conscious here.

Oh, come on, you're one of the beautiful people too, which is why it works.

Is it serious?

I don't know.

I haven't been on a date in a while.

Aha. Finally, she admits it.

It's a barbecue date.

It's not a serious date if everyone has hickory sauce on their chins.

Oh, come on, you can tell if has potential or not.

I'm not too much of a mom. I remember new romance...

Sort of.

[Both laugh]

That was fun...

[Both chuckling]

As far as barbecues go, with paper napkins.

And paper plates?

Mm.

Dates are so much fancier.

They are.

I appreciate the lack of pressure.

And I appreciate the understanding.

We've all had relationships that take time to get over.

Are you talking about me?

You're a little g*n-shy...

A lot g*n-shy.

I guess I am.

All I'm saying is I've been there.

If you want to take your time, take your time.

I'm around.

There's nothing I like more than a good barbecue.

Hello, Annie.

Ben.

I'm not sure whether I, uh...

Apologize first for leaving you in Sri Lanka or...

Breaking into your home.

Sri Lanka.

Leaving you was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

"Had to"?

You changed things for me, Annie.

And you left me.

I was in love with you, and you skipped out with a note.

If I would have stayed any longer, you would have been in danger.

From what?

My mission.

I was with the agency.

I knew it.

With Stas on the train tracks...

It was you who saved me.

I was tracking him.

I'm on my own now.

A-and somehow that's my responsibility?

I was in love with you, Annie.

That was it.

I thought so long about what I would say to you if I ever saw you again, and now I realize I don't want to talk.

I want you to talk. Why are you here? Now?

The Cole painting at the auction.

You marked it on my program.

There's more there.

Keep digging. Just push it hard.

What kind of cryptic nonsense is that?

You show up two years later out of the blue, and you expect me to "push it hard"?

You push it hard.

I don't believe you.

There's an arms dealer...

Seref Murat.

The auction is one of the ways he moves his money.

That's why that guy overbid so much.

Murat's number two, Russ Hilburn.

He wasn't just buying a Thomas Cole painting.

He was buying a Cole and schematics for a Russian m*ssile-guidance system.

That doesn't make sense. The CIA would want to stop that.

Why... - they want to control it.

They want to control him.

I want to stop Murat.

So just to be clear...

You're not asking for forgiveness.

You're asking me for a favor.

What do you want me do to?

Go to Sophie Jacklin, the bramble's director.

Ask her about February 22nd, lots 19 and 75.

It may take some coaxing, but I think she'll come into Langley with you.

And if you have to use my name, you use it.

You know her?

Call her Mona Lisa, and she'll know you're not bluffing.

No.

Annie...

I know this is a lot to take in.

The CIA... forget protocol.

The agency is using you to get to me.

You can't believe anything they say about me or anything I've done.

Do not trust Joan and Arthur.

Maybe I don't deserve this, but I'm asking you to trust me.

Trust the man you fell in love with in Sri Lanka.

[Computer beeps loudly]

Uh-oh. I know that sound.

Access denied.

Someone's gonna throw a net over you in five, four...

Three... Har har.

I mock your attempt at humor.

What, are you looking for Kennedy's assassin?

Just blown password.

I'm checking on some stuff for Joan.

Careful. The walls around here have eyes and ears.

Try to avoid major felonies.

[Computer beeps loudly]

[Laughs] Damn password.

[Whispering mockingly]

At least turn down your speakers.

Who called your attention to the auction?

Sophie Jacklin.

She called me yesterday morning.

And what did she say on the phone?

That she needed to see me, alone.

Excuse me!

Excuse me.

We're closed.

I. - I need to speak to miss Jacklin.

Sorry. I.

I haven't much time.

I'm Annie Walker.

From the Smithsonian, yes.

You were upset about the price of the Cole painting.

It was exorbitant.

Like I told you, you know, people have their reasons.

I can't really guess why someone might bid what they bid.

What about February 22nd, lots 19 and 75?

May I see your credentials, please?

I need another 15 minutes.

Yeah, well, make them wait. Something urgent's come up.

In my office. Yeah.

So, um...

Lots 19 and 75 on...

Was that the 22nd of February?

Don't play games with me.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Do you want me to mention Murat?

Maybe you should show me your other credentials now.

FBI? Interpol?

Well, you can't be CIA.

What makes you say that?

Because they would have sent someone else.

So tell me, Annie Walker, who the hell are you?

I'm not here to arrest you or k*ll you or whatever you think.

Put the g*n down.

Oh, you just happen to be interested in those particular lots.

I know about Murat's deals and Hilburn making the transactions.

That was him at the auction, wasn't it?

You must think I'm naive.

I was sent here to help you.

By whom?

You haven't told me anything yet.

I was sent by Ben Mercer.

Ben's dead.

I saw him last night.

I don't believe you.

Believe me, Mona Lisa.

Who was he to you?

He didn't tell you?

Ben has many secrets.

He was my contact at the agency.

He was the operative who first approached me.

I facilitated certain financial transactions for the company, similar to what I do for Hilburn and Murat.

Ben made me feel safe, protected.

When they told me that he'd been k*lled, it wasn't the same anymore.

I felt exposed.

You started double dealing.

No, I. - I was having some financial troubles, and Russ Hilburn's money looked awfully good.

So why...

Why didn't Ben come himself?

Ben's in a complicated situation.

A And so are you.

It's the Russians who are selling the plans to Murat, right?

I don't know anything about any plans.

They don't tell me.

That's not gonna hold up when they start handing out indictments or when Murat and Hilburn decide that you're the one causing this problem.

They'll k*ll me.

But they won't have the chance if you come with me to Langley now and tell us what you know.

We have to hurry.

Um, Hilburn's men are on their way now to pick up the painting.

That's who you were with on the phone?

If you're here when they arrive, they... look, they're not the kind of men to waste time asking questions.

There's a side exit through the warehouse.

You always pack that much heat?

I don't even know if it works.

I guess what you said about Hilburn...

It's not the first time I thought about what they might do to me.

Hello, Sophie.

Something wrong?

The Cole is waiting for you in receiving.

You are supposed to be alone.

This is a friend of mine... Annie.

She dropped by. Which is why you're hurrying out with your g*n.

I've never seen you with a w*apon.

Look, this must be some kind of misunderstanding.

Miss Jacklin?

Go, go, go!

[Floor creaks]

The loading dock's through that way.

Hey, do you want this? keep it.

Keep moving towards the dock.

[g*nshots]

Aah!

[Alarm bell ringing]

It works.

Drop the w*apon!

Drop it now! Get on the ground!

I didn't... I don't... put the g*n down.

Step away from the w*apon and lie facedown.

Sophie Jacklin tipped you to the overbid and then denied anything was wrong when you approached her afterwards?

Sh... she was worried she was being watched.

She told you that.

When she called me...

Yesterday morning.

And what did she say on the phone?

That she needed to see me, alone.

So she knew who you worked for.

She didn't say, only that she had information for me about the buyer.

[Door closes]

What'd it say?

Confirms two men at your sh**t were Turkish, foreign nationals, which is why you're in federal custody, not state.

Find anything yet?

I'm in the middle of it now.

She deleted her history, tried to cover her tracks.

On a civ ob?

It's not like Annie to work off book.

So Ms. Jacklin took you back to her office and told you the buyer was paying for more than just a Thomas Cole.

The only reason you you hesitate is because you're trying to handle me.

You do that, and you lose, Annie, because I am much, much better at this than you.

Just answer. What did she say?

It was a money exchange for schematics for a Russian m*ssile-guidance system.

If the Russians were the sellers, who were the Turks?

Who was it that overbid for the Cole painting?

She didn't say.

She didn't say. Really?

After being such a fountain of information.

Sophie Jacklin was a CIA asset.

She had been for six years.

Did she bother, after all that, telling you why she didn't contact her regular handler?

No, ma'am.

Did she tell you who her first handler was?

No, ma'am, she didn't.

[Engine turning]

[Car alarm chirps]

Haven't got much here.

You get her search history restored?

Working on it.

Looks like she was digging into some pretty serious classified stuff.

Hey, have you ever run across anyone named Ben Mercer?

Never heard of him.

Uh, listen, I got to make another call.

I'll see you back at the shop.

Yeah.

Wrong guy, Annie.

[Cell phone ringing]

Mm-hmm?

What exactly were you searching for in the agency database?

Art comps... activity from the auction house.

I don't believe you.

I don't believe a single thing you've told me.

And as far as the feds out there are concerned, you work for the Smithsonian.

Do you know what that means?

That means you are a citizen ripe for prosecution.

That means you are responsible for four bodies.

So unless you start opening up, unless you start telling me the absolute truth, I am gonna hang you out to dry, Annie.

Believe me, I will.

Tell me about Ben Mercer.

This is the day she was arrested?

Yeah, earlier... before the place got all sh*t to hell.

Mick...

That was my friend who d*ed.

Good man.

I'm sorry.

[Scoffs] It's my fault.

I had a feeling she was trouble.

Miss Jacklin, she knew something was wrong.

Watch this move here...

Ah. Bang.

Should have pulled the trigger.

How much did you not disclose about Mercer during your initial with us?

Why are you so interested in Ben?

Because he is in this up to his eyeballs.

And is that why I was recruited by the agency?

Have you seen him?

Have you seen him?

Yes.

Annie went to Sophie, not the other way around.

Nothing in the auction house database on who the buyer was.

Jacklin must have deleted it.

Nothing in Annie's home either.

Auggie confirmed her looking into Mercer at the agency.

And she just admitted contact with him.

I still have four bodies that I have to account for.

So don't try and pull your spook magic and disappear the case from my docket.

This is domestic through and through.

I'm not finished talking with my client, Mr. Rossabi.

But I'm about to be.

No more games, Annie.

If there's a weapons plan in play, you need to tell me everything you know.

Who's the buyer?

Believe me, whatever you think you know, I promise you, it is not the whole truth.

Ben Mercer is a liar who abandoned the agency.

You need to make a choice right now, Annie, because this is it... right now.

The name of the buyer, or I will leave you here to be prosecuted.

I guess Annie opened up.

What do you think they're gonna do to her?

That's up to Joan.

How forgiving did she look?

You could tell as much as I could.

[Exhales sharply]

Ben Mercer was a CIA operative.

He turned Sophie Jacklin six years ago and made her an asset.

That's it?

That's all you're gonna give me?

I already knew that!

There is no quid pro quo, Annie.

I don't owe you anything.

After I... after you what?

Finally stopped lying, breaking protocol, and did your job?

You do understand that you could be fired or tried for treason for what you've done.

Do you understand that?

He went rogue, Annie.

That's all that matters in the end.

You never answered my question.

Are you using me to get to him?

Is that why you recruited me?

We recruit people for all kinds of reasons.

What matters is how they perform in their duties once they're here.

If they don't perform, we'd let them go, no matter why they were recruited.

So where do I stand?

What's my status here?

I thought I said to avoid major felonies.

I'm sorry, Auggie.

I didn't make things too hard for you, did I?

My problem is I like you, so I'm always gonna try and cover for you, which I now see is going to lead me straight to potential treason.

If they would just be straight with me about Ben, I could settle it in my own head.

What do you know about... I can't, Annie.

Even if I did know something, I can't.

So...

How bad was the fallout, anyway?

I have to report to FBI Agent Rossabi.

It's part of my release and something about good will, to help him with the Bramble's sh**t.

You know what that is, right?

A huge break.

Don't kid yourself.

Joan must like you.

Ha! Right.

I can't stop thinking about Sophie.

I feel like it's my fault.

Hey, don't do that, Annie.

You can't shoulder that.

Russ Hilburn k*lled her.

Just tell me it gets easier.

When it does...

That's when you have to start worrying about yourself.

Where do you keep your g*n when you're being a museum curator?

I don't carry a g*n. And I'm not a curator.

I'm in acquisitions.

Is that a spook cover deal, or are you actually qualified for that?

Oh, I'm fully qualified.

Want to quiz me?

You don't really have a badge to flash, do you?

I have a library card. It's like a badge.

It's badge-like.

Agent Rossabi, FBI. You got a crime scene here?

Wow.

Not bad for a bunch of art majors.

You guys tore it up.

This is where the director went down.

For all intents and purposes, Agent Rossabi, she was in my custody.

Ah, it was the first time you lost someone on your watch.

Can't let it take you down...

Whether you're a cop or an art dealer.

A colleague of mine said that earlier.

It feels like something that people say to avoid the ugly feelings.

You got to own the ugly feelings.

That's our responsibility.

You just don't get lost in the guilt.

Can't afford it in our line of work.

Oh!

Oh, wow.

That's 20 years' worth of my salary.

About... it's about 20.

Well, the bad guys left it teetering.

It was clearly teetering.

The Cole painting's down here.

Great.

Standard issue switchblade?

See, I bet the Smithsonian doesn't let you have these.

Important enough to come back for.

What the hell?

He had to come and get it after your sh**t, in the last 24 hours.

Or the last five minutes.

You can't possibly view this as my fault.

I did exactly what you said... interdepartmental... whatever.

Can I help it if it took us to what you guys are supposed to be finding?

No.

Do we have any other leads on where Hilburn might be headed, any other intel?

Nothing actionable yet.

What do you want me to do?

Just...

Go home.

Go home and stay home for the rest of the night.

Please.

Hello, Smithsonian.

It's you... the guy from the auction.

You're Russ Hilburn.

The other guy... oh, he's also on the payroll.

Like to keep them guessing, just in case, well...

And you don't work for the Smithsonian.

Actually, I do.

But you file more than one tax return.

Is that how you treat iconic American art?

It wasn't really about the piece so much as the packaging.

Take her inland.

Dumping's not allowed in the harbor.

[Boat engine whirring]

He said don't k*ll me in the harbor!

No. He said don't dump you here.

I can k*ll you wherever.

Hey!

That's not really a fair fight.

Have harbor patrol pick up Hilburn.

He can't be more than a mile out.

Joan had you tail me?

I think it worked out.

"I'm so tired"

[grunts]

"being worried"

"ill and unkind"

"if I could stop my panic"

"abandon my troubles"

"let go of my doubts"

"maybe then"

"I'd be just fine " she told me Mercer left her a matchbook with Hilburn's slip number written on the inside cover.

She went after Hilburn herself... no backup.

Well, I think she thought Mercer would be there, not Hilburn.

And you accuse me of putting her in harm's way.

My guess is Mercer thought Annie would report it, just like she did with the auction.

Why write it on a matchbook?

He was probably trying to order the way things went down, to make sure Annie brought Sophie here first to protect her.

Can't say he accomplished that, did he?

Sometimes men can be misguided when they think they're helping women.

We're not using Annie as bait anymore.

It's not your call.

As long as Annie works for us, Mercer's gonna be keeping tabs on her.

Annie is in this, whether she wants to be or not.

See ya at home?

[Door closes]