03x12 - Wishful Beginnings

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Covert Affairs...

Lena has already fled to Russia.

I have to go.

Then I'll support it.

But if you get caught by Russian authorities, there's nothing the CIA can do to help.

Hey, Joan.

Seth.

How you holding up?

I've been better.

You'll never make it out of Russia.

Now I need you to come home.

There are things that I need to say to you, face-to-face.

They're keeping her at Lefortovo, but I think I found some vulnerabilities.

[Men shouting]

[Alarm blaring]

[Engine turning]

Where are we going?

Ma'am, I'd sit back and get comfortable.

Ms. Walker...

I'm Gary.

I'd like to welcome you to Bluebonnet Farm.

This is an Agency safe facility.

A safe facility?

We're gonna get you up to speed, and you're gonna get us up to speed regarding the events in Russia.

I'd like to go to Langley.

We'll build up to that.

We brought you some of your things from home.

Can I get you some coffee, maybe some juice?

No, thanks. I don't want any juice.

Have a seat.

Over the next few days and weeks, we'll be doing timelines, we'll be doing polygraphs, and we'll talk.

And if I act contrite enough, I get to go back to my desk.

Do you have something to be contrite about?

No.

I've done nothing wrong.

Didn't you fall in love with Simon Fischer?

You asked me if I did anything wrong.

Did you love him?

Yes.

I loved him.

So you were unable to separate your professional life from your personal one.

The CIA has asked me that question before.

Both then and now, it feels like an indictment.

The truth is the CIA needs me to blur those lines, and I am very good at it.

You didn't answer the question.

My mission was to make my professional life my personal one... and my personal life professional.

Thank you.

There's a been a slight change of plans.

[Elevator bell dings]

Walker.

Auggie.

They treat you okay down at Bluebonnet?

Come here.

Why was I only there two hours?

No idea. But take solace.

The entire building's been under review.

Our polygraphs have been so long we've been taking meal breaks in the middle.

[Sighs]

Feels like you're here, but you haven't really come back to earth yet.

Give me the secret.

After Iraq, you came back into this building like it was an ordinary day.

I did walk back into the building and then into a column.

But you adjust.

You learn to avoid columns.

But there was something you wanted to tell me... something important, face-to-face.

You should settle in first.

Annie.

Good.

We have a developing situation. We're going to code orange.

What?

Oh, this creeps me out when we have uncleared visitors.

Who, who's here?

Rivka, welcome.

Thank you.

Nice to see you.

You too.

Follow me.

[Can You Save Me? By Apple Trees and Tangerines]

♪ Covert Affairs 03x12 ♪
Wishful Beginnings
Original Air Date on October 23, 2012

♪
♪ Can you save me ♪
♪ from this nothing I've become? ♪
♪ it's just something that I've done ♪
♪ I never meant to show you my mistakes ♪

[Door opens, closes]

Everyone, please, have a seat.

Thank you.

Rivka Singer, Eyal Lavin... welcome to the CIA.

Thank you.

How can we be of assistance?

Let me remind you we were of assistance to you first.

What is it you'd like to discuss?

Yesterday, one of our assets-- a Swiss national by the name of Karina Vost-- has gone missing on American soil.

And we would like the CIA's help to locate her.

How?

Access to the CIA's voice-recognition tracking capability.

We know you have the power to tap into your nation's telecommunications grid.

Yes.

Let me be clear.

This is not a favor. It's a trade.

You assist us in locating Miss Vost, and the Mossad will share her intel with you.

And what kind of intel would we be getting?

Our asset is a flight concierge for a private aviation company.

She works a charter flight between D.C. and Riyadh full of Saudi oil executives.

We turned her.

We gave her an NFC-enabled watch that can pull data off of any device.

Surely, the CIA must be curious about what files are on that watch.

What do you think happened to your asset?

I mean, why do you think she went missing?

Miss Walker, our primary concern is to get that watch back and the intelligence on it.

Which you will share with us.

Of course.

Of course.

Please know how happy we are to be continuing our fruitful partnership with Mossad.

Is there any other information--

Why didn't you tell me you were coming here?

Aren't endless debriefs like a religion in your Agency?

I thought you'd be out of touch for weeks on some farm in the country.

You watch too many movies.

Introduce me to your friend with the grand plan.

I think we should meet.

Auggie, are you busy?

I'm the only one here who can work without a screen, so, yes.

I just need a minute.

I wanted to introduce you to Eyal Lavin.

Hey. Oh!

Hello.

It is so great to finally meet you.

Yeah. Uh, August Anderson.

Thanks for helping us out.

You know, I have to confess that after weeks of coded text and encrypted emails, one forms a picture in one's mind.

You didn't think I'd be blind.

I didn't think you'd be this short.

Well, I didn't think you'd be this handsome.

[Laughs]

I like you, Auggie Anderson.

I'll try to take that as a compliment.

Eyal, we should get going.

Annie... a moment, please.

James will escort you out.

Very good.

Right this way.

Annie.

Welcome back.

Am I back?

Provisionally.

For now, you're cleared to come here and go home.

Later, you'll have to follow CIA protocol and go through the many layers of reintroduction.

You'll have to finish your debrief, shutter your safe house, and coordinate with the cover office to find a new NOC.

I no longer work for the Smithsonian?

I don't know where they'll place you.

Come in.

Eyal couldn't negotiate this with me on his own.

That's the only reason Rivka came here with him.

Mossad chose Eyal, and so you chose me.

There's nobody better than you when it comes to handling him.

"Handling him"?

Since Lena, the Agency has been in damage control.

We're rethinking how we do business... even with our closest friends.

Meaning?

I want you to work with Eyal, then bring the watch back here but don't share the intel with him.

He risked his life for me, and you want me to repay him by lying and blocking his mission?

Annie, it's prudent to assume they have another agenda at play.

So all that talk about fruitful partnership-- that was a lie?

That's good politicking.

I'm not a politician.

No, you're a spy.

Welcome back.

Listen, uh... you know, just because I saved you out of a Russian prison doesn't mean you owe me anything.

I didn't say I did.

Why not? I saved you out of a Russian prison.

And I'm helping to save one of your assets.

Voice recognition put her in room 412.

That's a pretty invasive technology for the CIA.

You wanted our help.

No, I mean it as a compliment.

[Knock at door]

Karina?

Karina?

[Clatter]

[Woman gasps softly]

[Breathing shakily]

Karina?

It's okay. You can come out.

You're not Israeli.

Are you feeling okay?

Just nerves, I guess.

Who are you?

She's with me.

And I am Mossad.

Come on.

Sit down. Tell us what happened.

My purse was stolen.

Then I came home to find my house in shambles.

Nothing was taken, so someone was searching for something they didn't find.

I think it was that weird man who came up to me on the plane.

What'd he look like?

Dark hair, strong jaw, muscles.

He asked me all these questions about how I started working for Horizon Jet and the kinds of people I meet.

And also...

Have you ever been offered other kinds of work?

I don't know what you mean.

I thought he was just being creepy.

But... [Sighs] now I am afraid.

What if he knows I was working with Mossad?

Who was he traveling with?

I don't know. I can't...

I want to be done.

I want out.

No.

We need you in the field.

This is not what I signed up for.

I was supposed to wear a fancy watch and then just go about my job-- that's all.

You knew the risks involved when you accepted our money.

I don't care about the money anymore!

Please.

I know there is something called an exit package.

Never heard of it.

You can't decide when you want to leave?

You can decide.

It would just be easier for us to help you... if you gave us the watch.

[Scoffs]

The watch is my only leverage.

We'll give you half a million.

You're not listening. I just want--

[gasps]

Are you all right?

Karina?

[Wheezing]

Karina?

Is she dead?

We were able to remove the body without the FBI catching wind.

Tech Ops is currently drilling down on Karina's flight manifest for leads.

Well, that's now beside the point.

You promised to help us.

And we did.

Our asset dies on your soil, and we still don't have our intel.

The medical examiner said she was poisoned 24 hours ago.

That's before we were involved.

Really?

Well, forgive us for feeling that you have not upheld your side of the bargain.

Is there anything that Mossad could share with us about the intel on that watch?

Maybe if we had some specific leads--

Ms. Walker, those questions are inappropriate, and they are not helpful.

As far as I can tell, your fieldwork at best is unpredictable.

At worst, it is reckless.

Hey!

Don't talk to her that way.

Excuse me?

She's just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

If you want to yell at somebody, yell at me.

Oh, that can be arranged.

All I meant was that just because we lost the asset doesn't mean we've lost the intel.

We can still continue the mission.

Prove it.

I will call you as soon as we speak to Tech Ops.

[Knock at door]

You wanted to see me?

Annie, come on in.

Well, you've done a great service for this Agency.

Thank you.

Now, we're gonna be presenting you with the Intelligence Medal of Merit.

Are you familiar with that award?

That's the award with the cash payment.

Yes.

What am I supposed to take away from all this?

That you've done something important for this agency and for this nation at great personal risk.

Please sit down.

You closed a circle.

And Simon Fischer d*ed.

I mean... [Clears throat] we didn't get to debrief him.

I know it's hard.

But these awards are part of our culture.

And we need to recognize our heroes, if only to each other.

It's our way of saying thank you.

We're proud of you.

And I'm not the only one who's relieved that you're home.

Joan is shy about expressing emotions.

But she was deeply distraught while you were in Russia.

And it means a great deal to her that you're home... and safe.

I appreciate hearing that.

Annie's come home.

I heard.

[Clears throat]

Congratulations.

Seth, I see her falling into all the same patterns I did.

Listen, maybe you can talk to her about this.

How can I do that without compromising my position?

Your position as what-- as her manager?

As a constant.

I would like to be the one thing in her life that's not changing.

You are going to reach Annie, okay?

She's not gonna be in the shadows alone.

I hope not.

[Telephone ringing]

You got news for me?

Who do you see on my screen?

He looks like the guy from the plane Karina was describing.

It says "Agency trained."

Is he a private security officer?

Yes. Griffin Cole is his name.

He's ex-CIA.

He's one of those guys who still games the Agency for access while he makes a mint in the private sector.

He's a green badge?

More like a black badge.

Okay, so what do we know? Does he have a k*ll pattern?

Ricin.

She probably didn't even feel the prick.

But I'm still burying the lead.

Griffin Cole now works for this guy.

Is that who I think it is?

Do you think it's Khalid Ansari, son of one of the most powerful oil men in Saudi Arabia?

I do.

Then, yes.

I got to talk to Joan.

Mm-hmm.

Mossad is using us to spy on Khalid Ansari.

Now do you understand why we can't trust them?

Is Khalid an asset?

Worse.

He's a friend of the State Department.

His dad plays golf with the vice president.

He's untouchable.

Even more reason for a counter play.

No, I am calling this off.

The only reason I agreed to this is because we owed Mossad.

Right, you agreed.

And now they're here on our soil spying on our ally.

Don't you want to know why?

Do you think Eyal will tell you?

I think there's more to discover than just the watch.

[Sighs]

I think I can find out what Eyal's after and get to the intel first.

What if he gets to it first?

You said you put me on this because I'm good at handling Eyal.

Let me handle him.

That's fine.

My concern is that he's handling you.

He isn't.

He won't.

Okay.

Since this whole thing is hush-hush, I can't use my guy at Metro police to get traffic photos.

So we may have very carefully hacked into their system.

Don't worry. They'll never know.

[Chuckles]

I have no doubt.

So this is the last place she visited yesterday morning.

You don't happen to see a sign reading "watch buried here," do you?

[Chuckles]

That'd be nice.

You know that if metaphorical sunshine were allowed on this one, I'd have an entire team out there.

We could dig up that whole area, call it a parks project.

But the State Department would start buzzing.

I know.

Any chance this thing you gave me is some sort of magical metal detector?

No. Sorry.

It's just a regular one.

Auggie, I got to go.

Yeah.

How did you find me?

I checked my tail.

I had a GPS tracking device in my pocket.

It must've fallen out when I riding in your car.

Uhhuh.

I would've called you if I'd found anything.

Oh, absolutely-- as would I.

Does Mossad have any idea what kind of intel is on this watch?

The mission is to retrieve the watch.

That is all.

Who's the target?

You tell me.

Khalid Ansari.

Why is Mossad investigating him?

Your nation is its own worst enemy when it comes to Saudi Arabia.

You can't allow yourself to see anything bad when oil is involved.

That may be true of my nation.

But this is me asking.

We believe he's using a series of charities as terror fronts.

What's on the watch-- his travel details, his bank accounts, Rolodex?

All of the above?

Like I said before, the mission is to retrieve the watch... not to spin theories.

[Sighs]

Okay.

Let's retrieve it.

What does that open?

It doesn't open anything.

You know, at Mossad, when you return home after surviving capture, they throw you a feast in the desert.

What does CIA do?

Pay you off.

[Shovel thuds]

There's something here.

Ha ha.

Tech int believe Karina rented a box at a private bank in Alexandria.

So we open the box.

We can't break into a bank to access a personal safety deposit box.

American laws-- they're so baffling.

Let me rephrase.

We can't use full agency resources to break into a bank without involving the FBI or Homeland Security.

And if we do that, our ability to operate discreetly vanishes.

I can go in.

How do you propose to do that?

We're roughly the same age, and I have her key.

If I learn her personal details and her signature, who's to say it's not my account?

We cannot support that approach.

CIA would have privileged access to whatever's inside.

Are you suggested we'd keep something from you?

No, Joan.

This is a partnership, but, uh... we would be most grateful for some reassurance.

We can wire her.

You'll be able to maintain contact.

But not in the vault.

Those things are like cages. It's no place for a spy.

I know what I'm doing.

Annie, think about what you're saying.

You want to pretend to be someone who was just k*lled for this intel.

I don't think she was k*lled for the intel.

He poisoned her because he believed she was a spy for Mossad.

Taking the purse is just good trade craft so he can find out what she's really after and why.

Where are you going with this?

To rent a safety deposit box, you have to pay for it.

That means receipts and credit cards.

All that could've been in the purse.

How long do you think it'll take for him to get to the bank himself?

We can't keep standing around discussing this.

We have to act.

Yeah, but not recklessly.

You said it yourself.

He may be monitoring the bank, waiting for some young woman to show up with a key.

He's right, Annie.

The risks are not insignificant.

This is our best sh*t at finding the intel.

Isn't that right?

Mossad will provide the wire.

That way, each partner can do his part.

Good.

I got the answer from him.

Mossad believes Khalid is moving money through charities to terror organizations.

Hmm.

The watch contains his schedule, Rolodex, and bank details.

I figured he'd tell you something like that-- tease you with the most potent piece of intel.

I believe him.

Okay. Well, we'll find out soon enough-- as soon as you bring that intel back.

In the meantime, Karina's signature and details are on file for you to memorize.

I'll be right in.

Okay.

Wow, first day back's turned into night?

I have to learn this by tomorrow.

So...

I guess beer's out of the question.

Unfortunately.

It's been a strange day.

This morning I was being debriefed at a horse farm, unsure if I still had a job.

I've been ushered back and told I'm getting a medal tomorrow.

That's good.

Is it?

Let's discuss that over beers...

Just not tonight.

Welcome home, Walker.

[Door closes]

Hi.

I've been looking for you.

I had a meeting at Persia House.

Oh, your assistant said you've been off campus.

It's been a busy day.

Was that Seth Newman?

Uh...

I didn't see.

Oh.

Well, I'll see you at the house.

Wait. Did you want something?

Oh, the engraver for Annie's award had a style question.

Beth helped me out.

Okay.

I'll see you later.

See you later.

[Silenced g*nshots]

[Dog barking]

Good evening.

Hi.

Uh, I'd like a room, please.

Of course.

How many nights?

I'll be staying for a while.

Good morning, Miss.

Good morning.

My name's Karina Vost.

I'd like access to my safe deposit box.

Just a moment.

[Keys clacking]

Birth date and place, please.

October 31, 1981, Lugano, Switzerland.

I was raised here, though.

I see.

Account number?

785-5... 4-3-2... 11-86.

Thank you.

And sign here, please.

[Computer beeps]

Oh, there seems to be a problem.

I don't understand.

The signature doesn't match.

Oh, let me try again.

Sure.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Ms. Vost. Follow me.

Box 4-2-5, please.

Here's the key.

I'll give you some privacy and be back in a minute to check on you.

Thank you.

[Door closes]

That doesn't belong to you.

How did you get in here?

Just give it to me-- whatever you just took out of that box.

It's just money. I left it all inside.

You don't think I know how to tap into a bank camera feed?

There are holes in your plan.

You'll never get out of here.

There's a man-- I'm guessing Mossad-- waiting outside.

He's not my only backup.

I trained at the farm too.

If CIA wanted a big party, there'd be one.

Now hand it over.

No.

Hey!

Help!

Help!

[g*nsh*t]

[g*nsh*t]

Help!

What's going on?

Open the door.

Hurry!

What are you doing for Khalid?

He's gone, Eyal.

[Speaking Hebrew]

How did he even get in there?

He must've found a hole in the security or paid someone off or--

Those are just theories.

Yeah, they're just theories. But it doesn't matter now.

He didn't succeed.

Well, he's got the watch.

Will you just wait a second?

No. It could take years before we get intel on Khalid again.

Eyal!

I've tried firewalls and keeping layers of secrets from people close to me, and it didn't work out so well.

What does that mean?

I mean this belongs to both of us.

Ann Catherine Walker... please accept this award on behalf of a grateful agency.

Thank you.

Sir...

I know I'm not allowed to keep this.

I'll make sure it's safe.

Congrats again.

Annie.

I, um...

I thought you might like to know we're tracking Griffin Cole, and I'm confident we'll find him.

Good.

And the analysts are already combing through the intel on that watch.

Okay.

Maybe it seemed callous that I didn't want you to share it with Eyal.

I'm sure you had your reasons.

There were intelligence reasons, yes, but there were other reasons too.

I...

I see how close the two of you are.

We've run a lot of missions together.

And I know that kinship can be comforting, but he works for a competing service, Annie.

I understand that.

And I just didn't want to see this becoming a pattern.

What I mean is... the people you can count on are here.

Thanks for the award.

Good night, Auggie.

Hey, Tommy, have you seen Annie?

I think she just headed home.

Okay, thanks.

What are you doing here?

Well, uh...

Hotels are depressing, Neshema.

I have something better.

Go get your bag.

I'll wait for you here.

Hi, everybody.

My name is Alison. I'm an addict.

All: Hi, Alison.

I have faithfully served the Central Intelligence Agency for 16 years.

And it is filled with my friends.

But the people in this room are my family.

I'm so grateful for these meetings to be able to share our struggles in the shadows.

I know this trick.

I pulled an apartment out of a hat to fool someone once too.

There's no trick.

This is my place in D.C.

You can stay here until you get yourself back on your feet.

Eyal, it's too much.

I won't get in your way.

There are fresh sheets on the bed, there's food in the fridge, and, uh...

I've got a flight to catch.

Well, wait.

Stay and eat with me first.

All right.

But I'm cooking.

[Dog barking]

Hey, Walker, you home?

[Insects chirping]

So how long before your supervisors realize you shared your intel with us?

I don't know. I don't care.

They paired us together because we work well together.

They can't have it both ways.

I'm impressed.

You're learning to work your agency, show them you can't be pushed around.

You had me, you know.

When Griffin was running away, you could've kept that watch for yourself.

Why share it with Mossad?

I didn't share it with Mossad.

I shared it with you.

Good night, Annie.