04x07 - Crackity Jones

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Covert Affairs...

I spent most of last night, getting up to speed on an arms dealer named Dion Stavros.

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

So, I have 25 m*ssile launches I need to move.

You've got 24 hours to find me a buyer.

Where are my m*ssile launchers?

[g*nf*re]

Hey!

Your count was off.

There are only 20 m*ssile launchers--not 25.

We might keep secrets for a living, but we can't keep them from each other.

I had a partner. Her name was Helen Hanson.

We were married for the mission, but--

You fell in love.

The last couple of days, I've learned quite a bit about Auggie's ex, Helen Hanson.

Ask him if he's talked to her recently.

She's dead!

Is she? Ask him.

I could never work for you.

I held out my hand and pulled you out of the fire, and this is how you repay me!

I have Seth Newman's flash drive, and I am taking you down.

♪ Covert Affairs 04x07 ♪
Crackity Jones
Original Air Date on August 27, 2013

Hey.

Hey.

You're here.

What are you doing here? What happened with Rossabi?

Henry.

Henry? What'd Henry do?

He tanked the DNA results, saved me from the Feds.

What?

Then, he offered me a job at Lexington.

When I turned him down, he told me to think about the people I've aligned myself with.

Those people being me.

That's right.

Did he say anything else?

He said to ask you if you've spoken to Helen lately.

Why would he tell you to ask me that?

[Sighs]

I don't know.

What do you think?

Well, I haven't talked to her.

How could I?

She's dead.

Is there any more to that story?

Annie.

Everything that I've told you about Helen is the truth.

So, what do you think is his angle here?

I don't know.

I mean, if he's trying to drive a wedge between us, using my dead wife seems a clumsy way to do it.

He stood a better chance using that file.

[Sighs]

Do you keep any old photos?

Uh, yeah, a few. Why?

Do you have any of Helen?

The woman in this photo is Teresa Hamilton, the go-between for Arthur and Teo.

No, that's Helen.

Helen and Teresa are the same person.

Auggie, Helen is still alive.

[Exhales sharply]

You know, they say if you throw a coin in this fountain, you'll have crazy sex with me all night long.

I'm pretty sure throwing a coin in the Trevi means you'll return to Rome one day.

I must be thinking of a different fountain.

The meet's on. 12:30, Bar Mecagni.

Looks like Teo's intel is panning out.

You okay?

Yeah.

For just a second, I let myself forget we were here on a mission.

Then you ruined it.

Let me make it up to you.

[Laughs]

Now we'll come back to Rome together.

Not for work.

Here's a little token to remember our promise.

I love it.

[Laughs]

You sure you're okay?

I'm fine.

[Overlapping chatter]

I've been looking for a hat like that.

Did you buy it here?

If you have a map, I can show you where.

Hey! Hey!

Go that way! Cut him off!

Okay.

[Engine revs]

Whoa!

[Shouts in italian]

[g*nsh*t]

No. No, no.

[g*nsh*t]

[g*nsh*t]

No!

[g*nshots]

[Siren blaring]

[g*nshots]

[Tires squeal]

[g*nshots]

[Siren blaring]

[Shouting in Italian]

Helen!

[Heavy blow]

[Thud]

That was the last time I saw her.

I woke up in a jail cell, and two days later, Arthur got me out.

He's the one who told me she was dead.

You think he knew then she was still alive?

I don't know, but he knew at some point.

Henry had recent pictures of them together in that file he gave you, right?

I need to talk to Arthur.

I'll drive.

[Knocks on door]

Annie. Auggie. Were we supposed to meet?

We found some new intel, and we wanted to talk to you right away.

Was there something else on Seth Newman's flash drive?

I know about Helen.

Auggie.

Ooh! Aah!

Helen arranged the entire scenario.

The Colombian mark, the police.

So, she wasn't really sh*t?

Mmmm. Squibs and blood packs.

I didn't know the truth myself until she came to me with the idea of working from the shadows.

I helped set her up with a new identity.

She worked for me directly.

No one else at the CIA even knew she existed.

Why wouldn't you read me in?

Because she needed the world to believe she was dead, and the only way to do it convincingly was if you believed it too.

I would never compromise a mission or another operative.

I would have followed that protocol.

You should have trusted me.

I'm sorry.

You and Teo kept in contact with her?

Yes, Helen's been our cutout as needed, passing messages between us.

I pulled her in more fully into Henry's situation about a week ago.

Why?

Because she's been working on sensitive counter-proliferation missions.

She has an extensive knowledge of global arms trafficking networks and all the players involved.

You had her look into the five missing missiles from Vienna.

Yes, and she found out that Henry paid an Interpol officer named Sabino Laurent to steal them.

Henry's going to Lyon on Monday to make a deal, and Helen's going tonight to Lyon.

You want me to go with her.

Why?

Because Annie's import/export NOC combined with Helen's experience in arms trafficking makes you two the ideal team for this.

It's a two-person job.

You squeeze Sabino from both sides and take the missiles before Henry has a chance to use 'em.

Use 'em? You think he's gonna fire 'em?

Well, he doesn't need to.

He can already prove that I've been giving money to a known ALC t*rror1st.

He wants revenge for Jai's death.

He's not interested in taking me down.

He wants to bury me.

Imagine if he could prove that I've been providing arms to Teo too, outside of normal CIA channels?

Yeah, sounds like you're in deep sh*t get somebody else to go to Lyon.

This affects all of us, Auggie.

Henry's a scorched earth kind of guy.

I'm going.

I was there when the missiles were taken.

I can be on a plane tonight.

Thanks, Annie.

You want to talk about what happened in there?

Not really.

You punched Arthur in the face.

He's been lying to me for years for no good reason.

The only other time you've done something like this was after Parker.

I dealt with my feelings for Helen seven years ago.

If that's true, why do you still have photos of her?

I don't know. I just do.

It's not like I look at 'em.

Would you have told me about this if circumstances didn't force your hand?

Honestly, I don't know.

So it's not, "no more secrets."

I have been in intelligence since I got out of college.

I have secrets even I can't remember.

I don't understand what you want from me here.

I just want to talk to you.

You're going on a mission with my dead ex-girlfriend.

What more is there to say?

Wife.

So, there's a lot more to say.

You're leaving in two hours.

You really want to do this right now?

[Sighs]

[Footfall]

Hello, Auggie.

Helen?

What the hell are you doing here?

Arthur called.?

I figured since the cat was out of the bag, this meeting was inevitable.

So, you broke into my apartment to avoid an awkward reunion?

I couldn't exactly wait in the hall.

You didn't have to come here at all.

I needed to talk to you.

[Keys strike desk]

Seems like everyone needs to talk these days.

I'm about to go on a mission with your girlfriend.

Arthur tells me she's solid, but I wanted to hear your assessment of her fieldwork.

[Laughs]

This is the first time you've contacted me after pretending to be dead for seven years.

There's a lot of stuff we should talk about.

A credit report on my girlfriend is not high on that list.

Arthur already told you what can be declassified.

Don't hide behind the clearance.

Okay.

Here's what I can tell you.

The work I've been doing since going dark has involved inserting myself into tactical situations that weren't possible before.

You mean, when we were married.

Our marriage was for the Agency.

You got confused about what the relationship really was.

You know, it may have started off as a cover, but it didn't stay that way.

It did for me.

You would say "I love you" when no one else was around.

How was that part of your cover?

It was a long time ago, Auggie.

Who are you?

I haven't changed.

[Sighs]

I'm the same person I was then.

You just saw what you wanted to see.

[Sighs]

You don't have to worry about Annie.

She can keep up with you and then some.

[Footfall]

[Plane engine running]

Helen?

Annie.

Sit wherever you'd like.

[Thud]

Our target is Sabino Laurent, Interpol's chief munitions officer.

And the plan is?

You'll appraise your NOC as Annie Walker.

Importer/exporter, and confront Sabino about your missing missiles.

And what are you gonna do?

I'll pose as an MI6 officer investigating the missiles.

He'll be desperate to unload them long before Monday.

Why'd you go dark seven years ago?

Unless it's about this mission, I'd rather not talk.

I like to keep focused.

It's just that I've never heard of a person doing what you did.

I'm curious.

No.

You were wondering how I could do it to Auggie.

You're protecting him.

But as long as we're talking, you should know, I have serious concerns about your ability to make objective decisions in the field.

Henry Wilcox offered you a job at his consulting firm.

You turned it down. Why?

How do you know that?

Does it matter?

I made a judgment call.

You had a prime opportunity to embed yourself right beside your target, and you turned it down because you despise him.

You made an emotional decision.

Wrong.

Henry wanted me to see it as a chance to spy on him, but I saw it for what it really was-- a ploy to keep me close.

Still, an interesting decision.

Don't worry about my decisions.

They've served me well so far.

[Plane engine running]

[Knocks on door]

Hey, Auggie, sorry we're late.

We had to stop for a milkshake.

Breakfast of champions.

I got you one. That's a chocolate expl*si*n.

Whoa, nice digs!

Where should we set up?

What are you guys doing here?

You emailed us yesterday and invited us over, remember?

Something about a super secret project?

Yeah, right. Sorry.

You can set up on the credenza.

Are you all right, man?

Yep.

Just didn't sleep very well.

Nothing a few gallons of coffee can't cure.

Hey, listen, before you get set up, you guys should know, this is off-book and unsanctioned, so if anyone finds out about this, we could lose our jobs, maybe worse.

You had me at pizza.

I assume there will be pizza, right?

Okay.

Now, this is a 1.8 gigapixel image taken by a surveillance drone.

[Taps keyboard]

Nothing's happening.

Exactly.

When you click on this image, it should automatically zoom in.

We should be able to click on those trees until we can count the veins in the leaves.

It's a lot of data to rebuild.

Offbook and on-point. This is awesome.

Hey, there's nothing awesome about this, Eric.

We are risking our careers and our freedoms because people's lives are at stake.

I'm really sorry, man.

I mean, I'm here to help, whatever it takes.

[Sighs]

All right, let's get to work.

[Overlapping chatter]

[Taps keyboard]

I informed Tarel Birkin that I was aborting the mission.

He left the hotel first.

I waited 15 minutes, and then I exited through the front entrance.

Outside, I was overpowered by Gunter Schmid.

He took me to Stavros' apartment.

I believed that they were going to k*ll me.

I fought them both off until I could get Gunter's g*n, and I used it against them.

I left the scene immediately and flew out of--

[stops video playback]

[Phone rings]

Robert Bernard.

Robbie B.

Calder Michaels.

Calder Michaels. Jesus.

You sound like hell.

Because I've been here all night.

It's called dedication.

You should look it up sometime. It's under "D."

You finally got that big promotion and now you actually have to work for a living, huh?

Yeah.

What can I do for you?

I'm going through my operative's report from the Dion Stavros mission, and I wanted to take a look at the crime scene photos, but your lazy ass hasn't uploaded them to the server yet.

Let's look at them together.

[Taps keyboard]

What exactly are we looking for?

Well, nothing specific.

I was just curious about their injuries.

Wounds look big.

You know the caliber yet?

Well, the victims were sh*t with a .45.

What were they packing?

Stavros was unarmed.

The big fellow was carrying a 9-millimeter.

I take it that means the .45 belongs to your operative?

[Taps keyboard]

I fought them both off until I could get Gunter's g*n, and I used it against them.

[Stops video playback]

Robert, can you get me security camera footage from the Imperial Hotel?

Yeah, you bet.

Thanks, brother.

Sabino?

Sabino.

Do I know you?

Indirectly.

I'm the owner of the m*ssile launchers you stole.

I want them back, and I'm willing to pay.

You must have me confused with someone else, mademoiselle.

Uh, no. You're Sabino Laurent.

You're in control of Interpol's munitions clearinghouse.

You're the only man with the means and opportunity to turn a van of 25 m*ssile launchers into a van of 20.

And you can do it without anyone else knowing, but the thing is... I know.

And what is this incriminating information you claim to have?

You had two opportunities to return to the DGSE, and you turned them both down.

Nobody chooses to stay at Interpol.

The pay's a joke. And the work's boring.

But you chose to stay because you're making a mint...

Stealing impounded weapons and selling them.

Like my m*ssile launchers.

My card.

There's a number for a crime tip line on back.

Feel free to call anytime.

I'm sure my superiors will have no issue taking my word over that of an admitted arms trafficker.

I don't want to make trouble for you.

I want...to make a deal.

I set him up.

Get ready to knock him down.

Bonjour.

Bonjour.

[Beep]

Emily Howard. MI-6.

What is this regarding?

Five stolen Stinger missiles.

Forgive me, mademoiselle, but how does this fall under MI-6 purview?

We've had eyes on Dion Stavros since he was dealing to the I.R.A.

Now he sells to numerous terror groups operating within the U.K.

So if weapons he owns have suddenly vanished, we'd like to know who has them.

This is the first time I'm hearing of anything being missing.

I find that deeply concerning, considering the missiles disappeared while under your supervision.

I need to see every scrap of paper you have regarding those missiles straightaway, and then you and I are going to inventory the clearinghouse.

You have no authority to order such an action.

Your boss Benoit Collet does.

He's already given his approval and assured me you'd be at my full disposal until my investigation is complete.

Perhaps I should call Monsieur Collet myself.

You're about to call your boss's boss at home on the weekend to question his directives?

We have a phrase for that at MI-6.

Incredibly bloody stupid.

[Laughs softly]

[Speaking french]

Oui.

[Speaks french]

My apologies, Ms. Howard.

Monsieur Collet has just explained the situation to me.

I'd like to offer my full attention to your investigation.

We could meet later for dinner to discuss your needs.

8:00, Les Adrets?

Perfect.

[Both murmuring in french]

Ms. Walker. Sabino speaking.

Perhaps we can do business after all.

Arthur. Your pal Collet came through in a big way.

Whatever favor he owed you-- consider it paid in full.

[Men murmuring]

Hey, what's Annie up to tonight?

She's working.

Oh.

Oh, cool.

Cool.

[Whispering]

[Whispering]

What?

[Whispering]

Is there something you two wanna ask me?

It's just--

N-no.

It's...just there's this rumor...

Going around that, um, you and Annie started dating.

Hmm.

You hear this rumor, Hollman?

I want no part of this.

You want to know if it's true.

I don't mean to overstep...

But, yes, I want to know if it's true, please.

What's the consensus at Langley?

60/40 in favor of.

Where do you fall in there?

Ah, see, honestly...

I'm not sure.

I mean, I'd like to think that you guys are together, but if you're not, I hope you are doing everything humanly possible to make it happen, 'cause...

'Cause you hit the jackpot.

You did. You hit the jackpot when you got assigned to be her handler.

When are you ever gonna find another girl like that?

Are you guys hungry?

Constantly.

Let's get that pizza.

Here. You're not coming?

No. Bring me back a slice.

I gotta go into Langley for something.

Joan, you got a minute?

Yeah, sure. Come in.

[Door closes]

What's up?

I'm wondering...

How do you determine...

Pairings for operations?

Well, we take into account the Myers-Briggs assessment, personal background, interests, work experience.

Standard compatibility regression matching.

You're wondering why I assigned Annie to you.

I'm just curious how these decisions are made.

Annie needed someone to ground her.

And you needed someone to force you out of your comfort zone.

Comfort zone.

Yeah.

You constantly push each other, and as a result, you continue to evolve as people and operatives in ways that never cease to impress me.

But the truth is...

You were also the guy available that day.

Do any of these pairings ever go the distance?

In this line of work...

We're good liars to begin with.

The Agency trains us to be better liars.

We use lies to protect our friends and fool our enemies, but...

At the end of the day, a lie is still a lie.

Some relationships can survive in these conditions, but... the reality is most don't.

Hey.

You find what you need at the office?

Not sure. How's it going?

I think...We've...Got it.

Now we go through every last pixel.

What are we looking for, exactly?

Anything that doesn't belong in a jungle.

Uh...

Do humans fit that bill?

I say so. What'd you find?

Two men. One looks...

Latino.

The other--whoa!

You are not gonna believe who it is.

Henry Wilcox.

[Knock at door]

[Speaking french]

First you miss the meet we were supposed to have an hour ago, then you show up at my safe house?

We're not supposed to know each other.

If anybody saw you come in here, you could have blown the entire mission.

Henry's here. We need to leave Lyon ASAP and reassess. I can't cut bait and run.

I'm meeting Sabino at a dock on the Rhone.

What part of "he's here" don't you understand?

It's a setup.

To do what? k*ll me?

I don't think so.

If Henry wanted me dead, he's had plenty of opportunities.

Then why is he here two days early?

Henry Wilcox doesn't just drop everything on a whim.

And get on a plane.

I can't leave-not yet.

I can turn Sabino--I can get him to sell me these missiles.

Why are you being so obstinate?

If I ran every time my life was in danger, I'd never complete a mission.

I know where those missiles are today.

If I don't act, I lose them forever.

Ever win for Henry is another log on the fire.

He's building to burn the people I care about, and I am not gonna let that happen.

That's exactly why you're gonna fail.

Two weeks before I went dark, Auggie and I went to plant a bug, in the office of a man we believed was laundering money for Dev Sol.

Auggie was planting a listening device in the office.

I was supposed to install a signal relay across the street.

[Vehicle approaches, stops, car alarm]

The target was a dangerous man.

If there was even the suspicion that someone in his organization was working against him... they disappeared.

The situation of protocol is to never risk revealing yourself unless your life is at risk... and you have no choice.

But in that moment, I didn't care about preserving the mission.

The only thing I cared about was saving Auggie.

Hey!

Turns out he had no intention of going up to the office.

He was just picking up a package he left behind.

Had I just kept my cool and stayed on the roof, he never would have known we were there.

But I made an emotional decision.

In trying to save Auggie, I endangered both of us.

A week later, I saw the target on the campus where Auggie and I were posing as married grad students.

[Bell tolls distantly]

Viene.

I was blown.

I couldn't stay in Rome.

But Auggie's cover was still intact.

The target never knew he was there.

But every second I stayed with Auggie, I put him in danger.

Here.

What's wrong?

Nothing.

That night, I realized what I had to do.

[g*nsh*t]

Helen!

I knew if I could make it through that moment...

Helen!

[Thwack, thud]

[Sirens approaching]

I could do anything.

If you loved Auggie, why didn't you tell him all of this?

You could have left and been reassigned somewhere together.

You know what getting b*rned does to an operative's career.

It ends it.

Going dark freed me up to become an operative I never imagined was possible.

What about the tradeoffs?

Only a handful of people even know you exist.

It's true. Relationships are a liability.

You have any regrets?

I've been able to do a lot of good things in this world.

But leaving Auggie changed the course of both our lives.

And I have to live with that every day.

Do you still love him?

I don't even know what that word means anymore.

Yes, you do.

Know the stakes are high for you and the people you care about, and I know you think leaving Lyon means all hope is lost.

But there are other ways to b*at Henry.

Losing one battle doesn't mean the w*r is over.

But if you die, there is no w*r.

I've come too far.

I'll be smart, but I'm not backing down.

That's an emotional decision.

I can't be any part of that.

I didn't ask you to be.

The m*ssile launchers are in the plane.

Did you bring the money?

After this, my business with Henry Wilcox is finished.

You know what happens to people after they finish their business with Henry Wilcox.

They die.

He doesn't leave loose ends.

[Muffled whooshing]

The missiles were never here.

Henry probably has them halfway across the world by now.

Yeah. The question is which half?

What time will the jet be ready?

I'm not going back to D.C.

I hope this won't offend you, but when we met, I didn't think much of you.

No. How could anyone take offense to that?

But I saw something in you this weekend.

You will run through brick walls for Auggie...

And Henry will use that against you every chance he gets.

Seven years ago, I learned the most dangerous thing a spy can do is fall in love.

I had to make a choice.

Like it or not, you do too.

Decide what it is you really wanna do here.

Be with Auggie, or stop Henry.

There may come a time when you'll be forced to choose between the two, and if you can't... You're gonna fail at both.

[Doorbell rings]

Auggie.

We found something.

The Colombian is Eduardo Vargas..

He's one of Teo's ALC comrades.

He was detained when Annie and Calder raided their stronghold.

Henry's been having secret meetings with ALC rebels.

It's no wonder he had Seth sneak this out of the building.

It's a safe bet it's been purged from the CIA database.

Eduardo's still in CIA custody.

Hopefully we can get him to tell us why Henry was in Colombia.

There's something I need to tell you, Auggie.

When I supported Helen's choice, I was making a decision to help her, not hurt you.

I'm sorry for the pain it's caused you over the years.

But I still stand behind my decision.

So you're sorry, but you have no regrets.

Well... since Helen went dark, the things she's been able to accomplish are astounding.

Yeah. She's been a big help to Teo.

What's that mean?

You trusted me to train Teo and keep your secret.

But when Helen went dark, you had a choice.

You could be honest with me or help your son.

You chose Teo.

This is a job of hard choices.

You made those decisions because you felt they were for the better good.

But you should know this.

I can't ever trust you again.

Auggie.

You're back.

It wasn't fair of me to challenge you about where your head is at.

No, no, come on.

I flew off the handle at Arthur, I...

I definitely have some things to think about.

Well, the truth is that--

I'm not totally clear about my feelings.

I have a lot that I need to think about too.

Meaning what?

The last few days with Helen have been...

Interesting.

After a couple days with Helen, you're thinking...

You're feeling like you can't have love and be a spy.

Like you have to choose.

This is the part where you're supposed to refute all that.

Helen is wrong about a lot of things.

I don't know... Maybe she's right about that.

Meaning what?

I wanna be with you, Annie.

I have from the second you walked into my life.

But since we started this...

It's like we have never had time...for us.

First Henry and the file and then Teo and then Helen...

Yeah. And I just keep thinking that it's gotta stop.

It has to end. We have to find someplace more normal, but...

For people like us, there is no normal.

What do we do?

I don't know.

I don't know either.

But I know that... If the only thing we can agree on is the fact that we don't know, that's not good enough.

So is that it, is this...

The end?

I think so.