04x05 - Here Comes Your Man

All episode transcripts for this TV show, "Covert Affairs". Aired: July 2010 to December 2014.*
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A young CIA trainee with linguistic skills, Annie Walker, is sent into the field to work for the DPD (Domestic Protection Division). Auggie Anderson is a blind tech operative, and is Walker's guide in her new life in the CIA. Walker's cover story is that she works at the Smithsonian Museum.
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04x05 - Here Comes Your Man

Post by bunniefuu »

Henry has moles inside Langley, and Annie just discovered that Seth Newman was one of them.

He att*cked Annie.

Where's the body?

Somewhere in the Potomac.

I have a son. His name is Teo.

My name is Calder Michaels, and I'm the station chief here in Medellin.

Calder!

[Grunts]

Don't!

Every time this phone rings I want you to answer it.

It's untraceable.

Anderson, you went against my advice, and you continued with an operation that led to the violent deaths of two Chinese citizens under your protection.

You have been relieved of your duties as interim head of the DPD.

Who's my replacement?

It's Calder.

♪ Covert Affairs 04x05 ♪
Here Comes Your Man
Original Air Date on August 13, 2013

I'm sorry, Auggie.

Annie!

[Elevator bell dings]

It's me.

Operative Walker is dead. I repeat, Annie Walker is dead.

[Door closing]

Hey. You went out?

Hey, sorry, I didn't want to wake you when I got up.

It's okay, I'm up. What's going on?

I just had drinks with Amy Jacobs.

I don't know who Amy Jacobs is.

She's an LD on the intelligence committee for Senator Pierson, used to work in the DPD.

Hmm.

I just can't let go of this Calder stuff. I wanted to get a little more background on the DCI's decision.

Did you find anything out?

Well, Amy just told me that Senator Pierson has a very tight relationship with Henry Wilcox.

Henry and Pierson had a long conversation two days ago, just before she put in a call to the DCI.

Topic of conversation: Calder Michaels.

Henry got Calder the DPD job?

Looks like he's Henry's new mole.

Fox is in the hen house.

Think we just overloaded on animal metaphors.

Looks like Calder didn't waste any time putting his stamp on the place.

Hey, sorry to hear the news, Auggie.

I'm angry and sad, and you know what, I'm slightly annoyed too.

Thanks, Eric. It's all right, I'm fine.

Let's get started, everyone.

As you all now know, my name is Calder Michaels.

Look around. A lot feels different.

The reason for these changes?

I am shattering the old ways of doing things.

Red tape will be replaced with vertical communication.

The shortest distance between two points is a direct line.

I am that line.

And these changes will push you out your comfort zone.

But that's a good thing. Comfort is not our goal.

Over the next few days, I'll be meeting with each of you one-on-one to fully evaluate your job efficiency, and some egos are gonna get bruised.

But that's okay too, because we are the Domestic Protection Division.

The work we do is vital.

So let's be smarter and more aggressive than our enemies.

Let's do this. Let's get to work.

Tough few days, huh?

Spent most of last night getting up to speed on the Chens.

You got outplayed.

Didn't turn up a shred of actionable intel.

I'm gonna analyze the SIM card on Wendy Chen's cell this morning. I'm sure we'll find something.

I analyzed it already myself.

One of her contacts led me to the discovery of a wire transfer made about five weeks ago to an arms dealer named Dion Stavros.

You just said there wasn't any actionable intel.

I said you didn't find any actionable intel.

Greek national, based out of Madrid for the last nine years. Deals in Cruise missiles, heavy a*tillery, whatever he can get his hands on.

We know who Dion Stavros is.

Did you know that two months ago, Spanish intelligence raided his apartment in the Salamanca district?

Stavros barely escaped.

Now, he's setting up shop in Vienna.

Why isn't the CNI after him?

He's Interpol's problem now, and we all know how long that's gonna take.

Where do we fit in?

You, Annie Walker, are going to Vienna to fit in with him.

Find out where exactly he's getting his weapons and to whom he's selling them.

And it could take some time and a new cover.

My new NOC's as an importer/exporter.

Using your old cover working for the Smithsonian, where you were fired.

Now, in Vienna, you'll pitch yourself to Stavros as a businesswoman looking to expand into international trade as his new shipping agent.

Why does he need a new shipper?

He's been running g*ns for more than a decade.

His last guy ratted him out to the Spanish and Stavros k*lled him.

When the CNI raided Stavros's apartment in Madrid, they confiscated everything he owned, including a massive art collection.

Yesterday, the media announced that the entire lot was stolen from a police lock-up.

But what really happened was the CNI just made it look like a robbery so they could get us his stuff.

Now Annie can go to Stavros and tell him she's the one who got the collection out of Spain.

Okay.

Annie and I can make that work.

Actually, Auggie, you're not gonna make it work.

I am.

As of this mission, I'll be Annie's handler.

Calder, that's not necessary.

You're having a sexual relationship, and quite frankly, there's no worse way to compromise a mission or the safety of an operative.

Come on, guys, a trainee at the Farm could see it by watching you.

Think of it as a compliment.

You like each other. It shows. It's just not safe.

Calder, why don't you settle into this job for a couple days at least before adding the responsibility of handling an operative in the field?

My decision's made. And one more thing-- during this mission, I need 100% radio silence between you two.

I'm sorry?

We can't communicate?

Why?

It sounds harsh, but it's in your best interest.

If you talk, you're going to talk shop, and it could lead to emotional decisions.

Annie, your flight to Vienna leaves in three hours.

Let's rock and roll.

What do you think we should do about this?

We'll figure it out. We're spies.

Calder's a spy too.

He's going to be scrutinizing our every move.

I think we should go silent on this one.

You think we should stop talking to each other?

At least until Calder trusts us.

It doesn't help us in the short term.

Calder's almost certainly working for Henry.

We don't know why he's sending you to Vienna.

We don't know that his intel's even real.

He certainly found the money transfers between Stavros and the Chens quickly.

I know it won't be easy, but I think it's the prudent play.

Annie, this is dangerous. It could be a trap.

Ever since I came up here from the Farm, talking to you was the way I made sense of this job, of this life.

But I think we should try this.

We're good.

Yeah, we're good.

[Car engine starts]



[Cell phone rings]

I wanted to wait until a decent hour to call you.

If it's about work, it's always a decent hour.

How's the hotel?

Looks great.

Did you get my gift?

Yes.

Good, it should all look like there's no expense spared for your cover.

And speaking of your cover-- I did nothing but study it on the nine-hour flight from D.C.

I'm assuming this belongs to Stavros.

Yes, it's part of his confiscated collection.

You'll need it tonight.

What's tonight?

Dion Stavros is going to the Vienna opera.

It's your perfect chance to cross with him.

Calder, I just got my NOC yesterday.

And just said that you were up to speed.

You said Stavros doesn't trust easily.

If what we're going for is the long-term play, we have nothing but time to make sure we're absolutely ready for him.

The situation's changed.

I just found out that a cache of m*ssile launchers disappeared from Maribor, Slovenia, one week ago.

Intel suggests that Stavros has them, and if he does, he needs to move them fast, which means he'll need to hire someone to ship them quickly.

I'm willing to forgo the long term play to make sure the missiles don't end up in the wrong hands.

We're accelerating the time line.

You see I knew you were a quick learner.

Auggie Anderson.

What's it been, two, three years?

Tyler, good to see you.

What the hell brings you to Fort Belvoir?

Someplace private we can catch up?

[Typing clacks]

Dion Stavros was dealing weapons out of Madrid for the past nine years, at least until recently.

Yeah, that stuff I know. I was hoping you might have something in your files I couldn't get in the CIA.

Maybe you guys did your own investigation?

No, everything we got, we got from you.

He was a CIA asset up until '09.

There's nothing in our database about Stavros being a CIA asset.

Among other things, says Stavros was feeding Langley intel on the 2007 rebellion in Niger.

Hey, do me a favor, would you put whatever you've got on this flash drive?

As long as you brought whiskey.

Who do you think you're talking to?

My man.

[Laughs]

You're glowing even more than this morning.

Pregnancy suits you.

Let's not get carried away.

This isn't for show, Joan.

I know, and I'm very glad you're home.

But we have some serious matters to discuss.

Auggie found out it was Senator Pierson who had the DCI's ear on Calder Michaels.

Pierson?

Mm-hmm.

How the hell did she even know of Calder?

Henry recommended him to her.

Damn it.

Calder's already making waves.

He removed Auggie as Annie's handler and installed himself.

Henry said it would be a tough day at Langley the same day this all happened. He's calling his own sh*ts.

You have to do something about Calder.

Calder is well on my radar, believe me, especially now with what he's doing with Annie, but he's head of the DPD now.

I've got to paint inside the lines.

Oh, you can't just play defense.

We need to find a way to learn what Henry's doing before he does it.

I'm on it.

[Exhales]

[Phone buzzing]

Hey, what's up?

I thought we said we weren't gonna call each other.

This is worth calling about.

Stavros used to work for Henry.

He was a CIA asset until the day Henry was run out of Langley, then every mention of it was wiped from the database.

I'm making a pass at Stavros tonight.

No, Annie, that's too fast.

I know, but there are factors... I can't tell you about.

No factor can be that compelling.

You gotta tell Calder you're not ready.

Stavros has an itchy trigger finger, and he probably knows you're coming.

You're not my handler, Auggie.

You think you can do this?

I can do this.

Where you been?

I went out for a walk to clear my head.

You know, I know the changes around here have probably been harder on you than anybody else in the department.

I've had better weeks.

Maybe I can make things easier.

I read in your file about an application for a long-range biometric identification software project.

Code name: Hummingbird.

Sounded like a way to track anybody anywhere.

What can you tell me more about it?

It didn't get approved. DST is working on something similar, although less sophisticated.

They didn't want Hummingbird to steal their thunder.

Yeah, that classic bureaucratic bullshit.

Welcome to my world.

[Chuckles]

I'm approving Project Hummingbird.

You're approving it?

Yeah.

The money can come out of the DPD discretionary fund.

Get started on it right away.

You sure you aren't just looking for busy work for me?

Why, what'll you be doing if you're not working on it?

Taking more walks to clear your head?

What's that supposed to mean?

It means that if I find out you're leaving campus to call Annie on your private cell, me and you are gonna have some real problems.

You and I are gonna have some real problems.

[Typing clacks]



[Orchestra tuning in the distance]

[Applause]

[Classical music playing]



[Classical music]



Hello.

I know you. Caroline Stainach, right?

Excuse me?

Sorry, I'm Annie Walker.

I went to the Sorbonne with your sister, Vanessa.

Oh, of course.

[Chuckles] Annie.

She married that wonderful boyfriend of hers, didn't she?

Peter, right?

Mm, yes.

They have three kids now.

Three kids.

Mm-hmm.

Will you give her my love?

I will.

[Chuckles]

Oh, excuse me, how rude of me. Dion Stavros, Annie--

Walker.

Pleasure.

Are you enjoying La Traviata?

Yeah, Alfredo's quite good.

Better than the tenor in Madrid. He sang like a goat.

[Laughing] I agree, Alfredo's excellent.

Maybe better than Vittorio Grigolo.

Mm-hmm.

Grigolo is quite good, though he doesn't hold a candle up to Vargas.

I saw Vargas once. Manon, in Barcelona.

[Clears throat]

You two are losing me.

Please excuse me, Annie. I need champagne.

[Laughs]

You two make a nice couple. Have you been dating long?

Oh, we're not together. She's just a friend.

To be honest, I'm not sure why I brought her.

She likes dressing up more than she does the performance.

[Laughter]

I'd, uh, much rather bring someone who appreciates it more.

You're not from 'round here. How long are you in town?

Uh, that depends.

I wasn't planning on staying more than a day or two.

I had business in Madrid, and always wanted to see the opera in Vienna, so I thought, "why wait any longer?"

So what does your stay depend upon?

If I get any business in Vienna, I'll write the whole thing off as a tax deduction.

[Laughter]

Well, I also like mixing business with pleasure.

[Intermission bells dinging]

Let me take you to La Bohem next week.

I told you. It all depends on my business.

[Chuckles]

[Applause]

How did you enjoy the Opera?

Very much.

Where's Caroline? I was hoping we could exchange numbers.

She went home.

After three glasses of champagne, she slept through most of the third act.

Oh, what a shame. I hope she's all right.

You work for Interpol or CNI, yes?

No.

I don't believe you.

Wait, I recently lost two Chinese friends to a large government agency, Wendy and Xu Chen.

I guess you could say I haven't had a lot of luck with large government institutions recently.

So...Import/exports... In Madrid?

And elsewhere.

I've recently purchased an apartment here in Vienna and haven't had a chance to decorate.

I recently acquired a large apartment full of furniture, sculptures, and antiques.

Some Flemish modernist painters, George Grosz, Wols, and a Paul Klee.

[Chuckles]

I might be interested in acquiring the lot.

If you have everything you say you have, I'll pay 300,000.

Give Caroline my regards.

Where are you going?

I could make much more selling each lot off individually.

Wait.

How much do you want?

If you can come up with 1/2 million, meet me tomorrow at noon under the Francis bridge.

[Beep]

[Phone ringing]

Hello? How was the opera?

Have the truck waiting on the Danube as scheduled.

No holes in the cover?

Drilling down on Stavros's blue-blood date worked, and the jeweled egg bit?

I have my wily ways.

Nice.

One more thing though.

What's that?

I pulled the call logs on your cell.

You tell your boyfriend one more thing about our mission and he'll be transferred out of the DPD faster than you can say "Luciano Pavarotti."


Hello, Annie.

So where's the stuff?

Nearby.

You have something for me?

You can trust me.

[Speaking in German]

I have another proposition for you.

I think we should work together.

I know you need someone who can move things without detection.

You're that person?

The proof's right in front of you.

I know which border crossings are understaffed, which airports aren't on the map, and which rivers don't have enough inspectors.

Well, I have a proposition for you.

How about I take my money, I take my possessions, and I drop you in the Danube?

That's--that's not as good a deal for me.

I'll give you credit.

You pulled a magic trick getting my stuff back from the Spaniards.

You see, it backfired.

I did my research.

You may have worked for the Smithsonian Institute, but no one in my line of work has heard of you.

You're out of your league.

You're right, Dion, I've never worked on this side of the business, but that's a good thing.

I don't have allegiances to anyone else.

And there's one more reason.

Your Klee isn't in any of those crates.

That painting alone is worth over 1/2 million.

You k*ll me, you'll never see it again.

Maybe you're a better businessperson than I thought.

Okay. I'll give you a job.

A deal of mine has just fallen through, so I have 25 m*ssile launchers I need to move.

You got 24 hours to find me a buyer, and he better be carrying my Klee.

If you don't deliver, there'll be no more chances.

You'll be dead.

Calder, I have one day.

How am I going find someone who wants to buy 25 m*ssile launchers?

Damn, Annie, when you make a move, you go big.

Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly my idea.

Listen, it'll be fine.

I know a guy in Hamburg, Tarel Birkin.

He spent time gathering intel on Kurdish terror cells.

Has he done this kind of work before?

Tarel's solid. He's definitely the best man available in this time frame.

[Typing clacks]

I'll get him on the next plane to Vienna.

[Beep]

[Computer voice]

From: Number unknown.

"I hear the woods are nice this time of day."

From: Number unknown.

"Need bio, Tarel Birkin, Hamburg Station.

Urgent."

Birkin only worked at the Ankara station for nine months, though he was focused on the PKK.

He wrote cables for al-Qaeda Kurdish battalions.

Nine months? That's it?

The guy's green, Annie. You have to test him hard.

Actually, no. Leave Vienna now.

This is a set-up. At the very least, this is cowboy bullshit on Calder's part.

You have to abort this mission.

I can't.

Birkin's coming here. I can't ditch him.

It'll tip Calder off.

To what, the fact that he's taken unnecessary risks with your life?

I don't see the problem. Stavros was Henry's asset.

We could get intel on Solstar or the Medellin bombing.

If you're not gonna take my advice, why did you buy a burner phone and call me?

'Cause I needed to know what I was up against with Tarel Birkin. And I knew you would tell me.

And I'm also telling you to get out of Vienna.

Yeah, well, I can't. I'm too close.

Annie, wait a minute--

I gotta go.

[Beep]

Annie.

I want to help with Annie's mission.

She tell you what's happening?

I'm out of the loop on her side.

Good.

Then get back to Hummingbird until I say otherwise.

I checked into Tarel Birkin. He's in way over his head.

So you talked to her?

You are sending him and Annie straight into a buzz saw.

You're dead wrong. I worked with Birkin myself.

Served four months with him in Berlin.

I saw your record, you haven't worked in Berlin in five years.

How well could you know him?

At best, Calder, this is a Hail Mary.

Okay. Man, come on, let's do this in private. Come on.

What, your open door policy doesn't apply when you're getting called on your sh*t?

Watch yourself, Anderson.

You are compromising the safety of two operatives.

You know what's compromising Annie's safety?

Sharing mission intel during phone sex.

If anything happens to her, you're going down.

I don't care what your job is or who you're working for.

[Knocking at the door]

What does the Court Jester say?

He serves at the pleasure of the king.

Come in, Tarel. We don't have a lot of time.

I've been studying my cover ever since I got the call from Mr. Michaels.

Huh, we'll see how well.

You're a Kurdish t*rror1st working out of a cell in Ankara.

My name is Mirko Baradost. I've been in the PKK since 16.

Where were you born?

Diyarbakir.

What does your brother do?

Omar is a mechanic in Istanbul.

Your grammar school teacher's name?

Gabar Zaragosh. He taught me Turkish.

I still see him in the bar in my neighborhood.

Who's the leader of the PKK?

Murat Karayilan.

What's his assistant's name?

Fenel Abdullah.

What's Fenel's nickname?

Keci.

It's Gulakam.

Gulakam. Right, I remember.

Where are these m*ssile launchers going?

We have a building behind the produce market in Cankaya.

Cankaya?

Yes, the produce market.

The produce market in Cankaya closed three months ago.

I'm sorry, Tarel, this isn't going to work.

No, I think I can do this.

You're good.

You're not perfect.

If Dion Stavros even smells that you're not who you say you are, we're both dead.

My 24 hours are up. I'm aborting this mission.

Let's both just go home.

[Speaking in German]

[Loud engine and sirens approaching]

[Both grunting]

[Grunts]

Ugh!

[Coughing]

[Yells]

[Clears throat]

Excuse me.

Sorry I'm a little bit late.

Tell your boss to be a little less paranoid.

His buyer is here, Teo Braga.

Make the call.

How did you know I was here?

[Speaking German on phone]

How did you know I needed your help?

Auggie called me.

[Chuckles]

You okay?

Yeah.

We have Coke, Sprite, or Almdudler.

Almdudler, definitely.

I was surprised to hear the guy who b*at me up in Medellin is your handler now.

Calder?

[Chuckles]

You're not the only one who's surprised.

What didn't surprise me is his plan had holes.

Auggie, obviously, feels the same way.

What I don't understand is how'd you get to Vienna so fast?

I was nearby.

Where?

Close enough to be here in 24 hours.

Well, thank you, Teo.

You helped me in Medellin.

We need to work together.

Henry wants to destroy your father, and part of that is destroying you.

I have my own ways of working.

He funded the Solstar bombing.

We have to go.

Stavros must be waiting. Let's go.

Welcome to my home, Annie.

Hello, Dion.

Is that my Paul Klee?

I must admit, I was very surprised when Gunter called me.

I've been very impressed with what the Puma has achieved in Colombia.

How close is he?

He's just downstairs. Where are the m*ssile launchers?

25 launchers in those two vans.

Come on up.

I have another proposition for you.

Now that I've proven myself to you again, I want your business going forward.

I'll give you the number of a friend in Africa after we're done today.

[Door buzzer buzzes, door opens]

Welcome, Mr. Braga.

You must be tired after your journey.

May I offer you a seat?

Where are my missiles launchers?

Outside in vans, awaiting your inspection.

I don't need to inspect them.

If they not what you say, I'll find you.

I like how you do business.

I, however, shall inspect my payment.

Of course.

Seems in order to me.

Whoa!

[Panting]

What are you doing?

I told you, we have different missions.

Now we're never gonna find out what Henry wanted from him.

Stavros wanted to sell weapons to the ALC.

I was not going to let that happen.

Maybe he has a computer or something.

[Clatter upstairs]

I'm sorry, Annie.

Hey, stranger.

Welcome home.

Auggie, I'm sorry.

Don't apologize.

Thanks for always being my handler.

I know it wasn't easy to make that call.

Sorry he smashed the phone.

I had a look at Stavros's cell on the flight home.

Tried to pull off whatever I could before handing it over to Calder.

Great, maybe we'll find something.

[Whispering]

We'll finish this later.

Annie, come with me.

I'm sorry, are Annie and I also not allowed to speak in the office?

I'm not high on his list right now.

[Whispering]

I don't think I am either.

[Laughs]

What the hell happened over there?

You k*lled Stavros and the bodyguard in self-defense, but why were you in the apartment at all if you sent Birkin back to Hamburg?

His men overpowered me and brought me there.

It was either them or me.

Ah, Tarel could have made it work.

And k*lling Stavros doesn't exactly leave us with an abundance of intel.

What about the cell phone?

It must have something.

Nothing actionable on it whatsoever, but a guy as paranoid as Stavros probably changed out phones every couple days.

Hmm.

Anything else unusual happen over there?

Anything you want to mention?

No.

What about the Interpol team who cleaned the apartment?

They didn't find anything.

Though the m*ssile launchers were in the vans out front like you said.

Well, that's something, isn't it?

Except your count was off.

There were only 20 m*ssile launchers, not 25.

What does that mean?

It means you get into business with arms dealers, trust goes out the window.

By the way, I'm keeping you in the NOC.

Why?

The mission's over.

Don't want to waste a good cover.

You're gonna move into a new apartment in Kalorama Heights.

So you don't think it was a trap?

It's tough to say.

If Stavros only wanted to k*ll me, he had plenty of chances.

Maybe he just wanted to put you on the hook for those five missing m*ssile launchers.

Maybe the count really was off, like Calder said.

Or that's what he wants us to think.

I think he's testing us.

Henry?

And Calder.

Well, we have something they don't have.

Yeah? What's that?

I have you, and you have me.

Yeah, you do.

[Chuckles]

So sounds like you're moving into a new place.

Yeah, importer/exporters keep really weird hours.

Sometimes they stay out until the middle of the night driving around in their fancy cars.

Sometimes they even pick up sexy blind guys.

I can keep playing this game of charades as long as we need to.

[Mellow music playing]

[Laughs]



[Whispering] The night I wore this dress to the opera, I was hoping I'd have another fancy occasion to put it on.

Then I thought, "why wait?"

Wow.

There's only one problem.

Mm?

I'm gonna have a hard time waiting for you to take it off.

[Laughs]

[Phone buzzes]

You have got to be kidding me.

It's Henry Wilcox. He wants to meet.

How was Vienna? Did you enjoy La Traviata?

I did, actually. It was beautiful.

Interesting title, wouldn't you agree?

"La Traviata" translates to "The woman who strayed."

Did I interrupt something?

Apologies, but I felt this was news that affected us all.

Seth Newman was found in Virginia, extremely dead.

That's terrible.

What happened?

His body was found washed up on the banks of the Potomac.

FBI's already on it.

Rest assured that they will solve this soon enough.

Good night, Annie. Don't want to keep you.
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