01x08 - W.T.F.I.O.H.

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "The Recruit". Aired: December 16, 2022 - present.*
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A fledgling CIA lawyer gets caught up in a dangerous game of international politics when a former asset threatens to expose the nature of her relationship with the agency unless they clear her name.
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01x08 - W.T.F.I.O.H.

Post by bunniefuu »

Previously on The Recruit:

- Do you know who gatekeeper is yet?

- Lev Orlova.

It's the Council member

who I need to bribe to welcome me back.

Can you unsanction a Swiss bank account?

Welcome to Geneva.

I'll be your operational support here.

We go to the Bank of Geneva,

access one of Max's sanctioned accounts.

Once the money is secure,

Max will reach out to Lev Orlova

and set a meeting so she can buy her way

out of the Russian mafia doghouse.

This is a uniquely dangerous moment, Owen.

- We can only rely on each other.

- You think they're sleeping together?

Hi.

- How's it going?

- Better.

- Owen.

- Marta.

- Cheers.

- Skál.

Who is this?

A k*ller.

He can't save you

if I decide to end your life.

Then you will never find out

who slept with Stasia.

I have pictures.

The bounty, is it still 2 million euros?

Pay her.

No, send it to Lev.

I am so dead.

- sh*t.

- f*ck. That's Xander.

Do you think Max k*lled him? Or Hendricks?

That's not what's important right now.

I'm going up.

With any luck, cops haven't figured out

which room he came from.

- You try to track down Owen.

- Are you insane?

Nyland was clear. Protect the agency.

That means scrub the room.

Owen?

Please call me and just tell me

what's going on, okay? Please.

All right, this is bad.

If you really did see Owen

and he was running away

I mean, did he?

- Is that guy dead because?

- No. No way.

I mean, not on purpose.

Linus says the CIA staffers

are attached to embassies

for their covers overseas.

- That's where we should go, right?

- Think I wanna hang around here?

The cops are on their way.

I tried texting you, you didn't answer.

- What's happening?

- You don't need to know.

- Any luck connecting with our guy?

- No, his phone keeps going to voicemail.

If he's smart, he dumped it. Last thing

he wants is somebody tracking him.

Yeah. We need to get to the consulate.

You got a CIA officer k*lled.

I didn't. His d*ck did.

You signed his death warrant

when you handed over the photos.

I can't believe I bought your spiel.

How we'd be safer if operational support

didn't know where we were.

You didn't wanna be standing

next to Xander

- when they threw him out of a window.

- I did what I had to do.

It was my only path back to Belarus

since you f*cked up getting my money.

Okay, if your plan was to k*ll Xander

- why are we on the run?

- Kirill is fast, but not that fast.

What do you mean?

There is a possibility

Xander wasn't the target.

That the assassin was there

to k*ll me or us,

that he was just wrong place, wrong time.

Do you really think I saw Hannah?

Outside the hotel?

- Well, you better hope not.

- Why?

Because people are being k*lled.

- Pridurok, your phone.

- Wait.

Wait, wait, wait. No

Your phone is a tracking device.

Do you want the person who k*lled Xander

to be able to find us?

Let me answer that for you. No.

That is why I left my phone in Geneva.

You didn't have to throw it out.

We are radio silent until I say otherwise.

Do you understand?

What kind of minor league operation

are you running?

I slip off to Florida to catch a marlin

or two, everything goes to hell?

This was a simple supply run

before the asset was placed in country.

What happened to Xander Goi

is a tragedy, but

It's a f*cking fiasco. What were

so many of your lawyers doing there?

This phase involved

sanctioned bank accounts.

So I sent Kitchens and Ebner to help.

Did any of them happen to see

who k*lled my guy?

That would have been helpful.

Sir, we have no evidence yet

that points to who took out our CO.

Hendricks and the asset

were clear of the location at the time.

Or the asset k*lled Goi

and we'll find the new kid in a ditch.

My money's on that.

I made certain there was nothing in the

asset's room to identify the occupants.

I'm in the process of pulling security

footage from in and around the hotel.

Still no contact

from Hendricks or the asset?

No. They may have gone quiet until they

can contact us from a secure location.

Since we got lawyers all over this,

tell me what's our legal exposure?

Ebner, you're handling the media scrub

from the consulate?

That's right, sir.

How Goi was papered, there's no reason

an agency connection would be made.

Okay, um

Gilbane, shut down your op.

Focus on finding your asset.

Sir, that's not necessary.

Not necessary?

Your eyes and ears are dead.

For all you know, your asset tipped

her hand and now your op is blown.

Or my asset is still in play

and Goi's death is unrelated,

which means there's no need to terminate.

Before we pull the plug,

we need to do everything

to save this operation.

This asset has unique access

to General Kuznetsov.

If we land her back in his orbit,

it will be the biggest

Russian intelligence coup in 40 years.

- How much time do you need?

- Twenty-four hours.

If I don't have the asset by then,

we'll dump the op, go into cleanup mode.

You have a day,

but you're down a field operative.

I'm putting Kitchens on operations duty

until this is over.

Mr. Kitchens can't take off his lawyer hat

when it's convenient.

I'm certain Lester understands

that in this time of crisis

the agency needs him to be a CO regardless

of whether it jeopardizes his new career.

Isn't that right, Kitchens?

Don't do it.

Yes, sir.

Good. Everyone who isn't Kitchens

or Gilbane, meeting's over.

- Sir

- That includes General Counsel.

Okay.

I agree that Kuznetsov

is a priority one target.

We need to get an asset

next to the general.

If it's not one of yours,

we need to move on.

If it comes down

to losing this opportunity altogether

or cutting our losses and starting over,

burn the current players, understood?

Understood.

Now someone do me a favor,

who the f*ck is Owen Hendricks?

- Owen?

- What? What?

We're clear to call in.

Get the nun's phone.

Get the nun's phone.

You don't think we have enough bad luck?

We'll rob a nun now?

Just get it.

Fine.

Okay.

- Hello.

- Did I wake you?

- I take it you cleared the border?

- We did.

We're ready to come home. Is it safe?

It is.

You remember the address?

I do, if it's where we debriefed

during Butcher.

Can't wait to see you.

Hey. Sorry.

Um, I gotta use the

I'll return the phone.

- So you don't go to hell when you die?

- Better safe than sorry.

What?

It's me.

- You're in trouble. I'm hanging up.

- Hold on. I got an offer you can't refuse.

Something that could save you, us.

What is it?

I have in my possession

high-level Russian intelligence.

I stole a notebook

from Max's safe deposit box,

but there's a chance

I won't be able to hold onto it.

I'm about to e-mail you pictures of it.

No, don't. Don't. Otherwise,

they could be found during discovery.

Right.

Okay, I'm gonna save the pictures

to my Instagram draft folder.

You'll get into my account,

download them, then delete them.

- My password is 123LFG.

- Of course it is.

There has got to be some way

for you to use these

to muddy the waters on our scandal.

Holy sh*t, I think I know what to do.

It's the end of the line.

We've gotta go steal a car.

- Yeah.

- I didn't hear that.

Yes, he was, in fact,

one of ours.

I need you to confirm to the Swiss police

that he was a Commerce Department attaché,

which is what it says

on the ID they found.

Hey, there you are.

I'm busy doing lawyer things,

I'll let you know

if I need anything extracted.

Wow.

Next action item.

You'll insist the Swiss authorities

run any leads or suspects by you,

i.e., me, first.

There are two American citizens here

who need emergency assistance.

What's the emergency?

They say their friend was at a hotel

where someone was m*rder*d.

- Does this friend have a name?

- Yes, Owen something.

Good morning. Can you tell me

how you're associated with Mr. Hendricks?

He's our roommate in D.C.

Oh

Have you been in Geneva long?

- Nope, we basically just got here.

- Oh.

- You came out here to meet Mr. Hendricks?

- No, he didn't know we were coming.

But I don't see how that matters.

Someone was m*rder*d,

and now we can't find him.

So what brought you out here?

I think you're missing the point.

This isn't about us.

Our friend is missing

and you don't seem to be alarmed.

Is there a supervisor we can talk to?

There are hundreds of guests at the hotel.

So why do you think

your friend is in trouble?

Because he works for the CIA.

So do I.

- With Owen, in fact.

- Why didn't you just say that?

Why did you follow a CIA officer

around the world?

Like I said, we were concerned.

You were concerned before the incident

at the hotel? That's interesting.

Did he tell you

about what he was doing here

or what he does on his work trips

or what he does at the agency?

- He never talks about work.

- Why are you worried about this trip

when you haven't been worried

about others?

Was there something

about what he was doing here?

Like I said, he doesn't tell us anything.

Who besides me knows you're here?

My mother, who's got half of D.C.

on speed dial, including your boss.

How about giving us answers

instead of interrogating us?

Well

I wish I had answers for you.

But at the moment,

we don't know where Owen is either.

Which is why I was asking the questions.

But I'd be happy to reach out

if I find out anything.

- Please do.

- That mean we're free to go?

Of course.

But some advice.

Go home.

The agency is all over this.

You can blame me for coming here.

We were questioned by the CIA.

It feels like

you're not understanding that.

Our names are now in a file.

- We didn't do anything wrong.

- It doesn't matter.

Need I remind you, you and I

are not in the same position

when viewed by authorities.

I'm sorry. You're right.

Look, we have to face the facts that

Owen, he might be in some real trouble.

And instead of helping,

we've unintentionally created more.

- Who are you calling?

- My mother.

So do you understand?

Print the pages I sent you and plant them.

How does a bunch of Russki scribbles

help with our rocket situation?

You know Havana Syndrome?

Pulsed radio frequency att*cks

giving our diplomats concussions in Cuba,

China, Vietnam and Australia?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

The scribbles from the notebook pages

confirmed they are courtesy

of Russian m*llitary intelligence.

Here's what you're gonna do.

Find these pages at the

Nigerian compound you're about to raid.

Now, I want it on helmet cam,

I want you to find them tucked

in some crevice like the Holy Grail.

Copy that. Mission is the pages.

Exactly. And then, amazing coinkidink,

you also find the anti-t*nk rockets

you lost in the same place,

and you destroy them

because they're unstable.

Poof.

- We blow up the notebook pages too?

- No. No! No. You bring me the pages.

I wave them around,

an incredible intelligence coup,

and nobody gives two shits why our rockets

ended up in the hands of Boko Haram.

God help me,

you'll be a f*cking hero.

Copy that. Where did you find

the notebook pages anyway?

f*ck you! I didn't.

You did, at the compound.

Copy that.

Oh, f*ck.

- Mom, please.

- I still don't understand.

You think Owen's been arrested,

hurt, or what?

He's not answering his phone,

and he disappeared.

I told you what happened at the consulate.

Can you just use some of your contacts

and make phone calls

to find out where he is, if he's okay?

Honey, people who have that clearance

take it seriously.

No one wants to wind up

like Scooter Libby.

Scooter Libby

is playing golf at Mar-a-Lago.

Please. Okay, just make a few phone calls.

Owen doesn't matter to anyone except me.

Okay. I will look into this

on one condition.

You will move out of that apartment.

- I don't want you involved in Owen's life.

- Mom!

No. I'm tired

of him constantly derailing you.

This is non-negotiable.

Fine.

Also, I'm buying two tickets for you

and Terence to come home. Coach.

Consider it your punishment

for being so reckless.

- I'm going to tell you Dawn's secret.

- What? Why?

If the agency thinks Xander's death has

compromised putting me back in Belarus,

then I become useless to them

and Dawn kills me.

But if I tell you her secret,

then she will have to k*ll us both.

- Yeah. No, I'm good. Thank you.

- Owen

On the list of things I don't wanna know,

sh*t that gets me k*lled is at the top.

Stop being a child.

- I'm not being a child.

- Dawn

No, don't Stop

Dawn is running ghost assets

and pocketing the money.

I don't know what that means.

I'm still in the dark.

Every asset gets paid depending

on the level of intelligence they provide.

Dawn created high-level fake assets

and stole the money the CIA sent for them.

- That is super illegal.

- Yes.

And now I have a legal responsibility

to inform my boss.

You didn't inform your boss

of all the illegal sh*t you and I did.

As long as Dawn plays nice,

we keep her secret.

Sir, the White House chief of staff

is here.

- You mean on the phone?

- No, sir.

- He's here.

- sh*t.

Kevin. Nice surprise.

Why the hell am I getting calls

about Owen Hendricks?

I don't Calls from who?

From a lobbyist

who says a CIA operation in Geneva

has gone sideways

and a CIA lawyer's gone missing.

What kind of leaky ship

are you running here?

First, I resent the implication

that whatever issue D.O. might be having

is somehow my fault.

Secondly, do you really wanna be briefed?

Of course not.

But my previous conversations with

Hendricks about a certain former asset

leaves me a little pregnant.

There was an operation in Geneva.

The first phase,

returning a former asset into the field.

Things went wrong.

Case officer was k*lled,

Hendricks and the asset are missing.

Who was the case officer?

Xander Goi.

You keep this away from me.

No reason to believe it'll get near you,

unless there's something

you're not telling me.

Not telling each other sh*t

is literally in our job description.

My contact with Hendricks was incidental.

It doesn't ever need to be mentioned.

Are we clear?

- Kevin?

- Are we clear?

- Yes.

- Great.

I was never here.

What's with the g*ns?

Till we know what happened to Goi,

we have to treat you as hostiles.

No hard feelings.

What the f*ck? Hey. Yo.

Ow! sh*t. f*ck!

I know you.

- Yeah, what's up, buddy?

- sh*t.

I'm telling Nyland about this.

You're way out of line.

Park him in darkness

till I'm ready for him.

Oh, f*ck. Come on, man.

You can't be this stupid.

Maybe nobody gives a sh*t about Meladze,

but I work at the OGC.

Relax, hotshot.

As long as you're not a problem,

this will all work out.

Can't be a coincidence that you're here.

Dawn made a request

since you and I go way back.

Plus, this op has extra hazard pay,

which is sweet since you made me

sign away half my f*cking salary.

That money goes to your wife and kids.

Ex-wife.

And I'm not sure

the rugrats are even mine.

Do we really need all this drama?

Can't you come cut me loose?

We can open a bottle,

talk about what happened.

Nah.

I like the drama.

And I don't trust you.

Fair enough.

Then let's get into it.

Xander Goi's death had nothing

to do with me or our operation.

He was k*lled

for f*cking the wrong man's wife.

I'd love to believe that. Why should I?

Because the person

whose wife he was f*cking

is a high-level Russian mobster

who runs Geneva.

And yesterday,

I gave him photos of Xander in the act.

That's cold, Max.

Even for you.

I don't see you weeping.

Why did you do it?

The lawyer f*cked my money.

It was the only thing I had worth enough

to get me that meeting with Lev.

You just confessed to being responsible

for a CIA officer's death.

How does that help save our op?

Because you're going

to leave that part out.

Why would I do that?

Because you want to become

Moscow station chief.

And the only way that happens

is if this operation is a success.

Otherwise, you've run a failed mission,

got a fellow case officer k*lled,

which means

you'll be lucky if they give you a desk

in some forgotten CIA basement.

What does the lawyer know?

That keeping his mouth shut

is in his best interest.

You have dirt on him too?

I'm starting to get

a real sense of déjà vu.

Yeah, me too.

That mean we can skip the conversation

where I tell you not to make a thing

of a standard mission safety protocol?

Is that what you call zip-tying

and assaulting an agency lawyer?

It's what I call doing what was necessary

to protect an agency operation.

Now, if you're done being delicate,

can I tell you the good news?

You decided to retire

with the other replicants.

We are about to get

on a call with Langley,

where we will recommend to the director

that our operation should proceed

because Goi's death was unconnected.

Is that what you believe,

or what you wanna believe?

It's what we both believe,

unless you plan not to back me up.

Mr. Hendricks.

You had people very worried.

Yes, sir. I apologize.

Given the death of the asset's handler,

I felt it was prudent to go dark

until we knew if we were compromised.

Are you saying Goi's death

wasn't connected to your operation?

That is the working theory.

I'm sorry to say we have HUMIN

that Goi was k*lled for having an affair

with the wife of a Russian criminal.

Sir, I can confirm that.

I managed to pull security footage

from the hotel and surrounding streets.

Facial recognition pinged

this woman, Nichka Lashin.

Intel pegs her

as a Russian mafia enforcer.

I saw her outside our hotel

before we left.

Nyland, what do you think?

- It's your call.

- Way to hedge your bets with the boss.

Okay, I am satisfied

the op can proceed as planned.

What are our next steps?

We go to Prague with the asset

to make the buy-in.

In success,

my team clears the path of obstacles,

then we return her to Belarus.

Try to avoid any more f*ck-ups.

Yes, sir.

Okay, my turn.

Salazar, Hendricks stay here.

Everybody else, go away.

I got a very unwelcome visit today

from the White House chief of staff.

- Someone called him about you.

- Sir

This person, a lobbyist,

wanted to know if you were safe.

Seemed to know things

had gone badly where you are.

I take it from your reaction

you know who called?

Hannah's mom.

Hannah's my

My roommate.

I'm pretty sure that she came to Geneva

- because she was worried about me.

- I can confirm she was concerned.

I went to Owen's apartment

to help with the sanction SNAFU.

When this is over,

you're both gonna take a refresher course

in keeping your damn mouths shut.

- Yes, sir.

- Yes, sir.

Do I need to tell you

to remain radio silent

- until this operation is complete?

- No, sir.

And if I hear about any more calls

being made on your behalf

you're fired.

Is that understood?

Yes, sir.

Owen is fine.

- Are you sure?

- Yes.

I got it from the chief of staff himself.

Owen is in the middle

of something sensitive,

which is why he's not calling you back.

Now, get your ass on the plane.

Owen's fine.

Thank God.

Now, let's go.

You're not coming, are you?

No.

I mean, I can't.

If I'm this unhappy now,

where am I gonna be in five years?

Or how much harder will it be

to make a change then?

I could think of a lot worse places

to have a quarter-life crisis.

Privilege has its privileges.

Well, if you're gonna do

this emotional audit, don't stop halfway.

You need to figure out

how you really feel about Owen.

Yeah.

Because you can't move forward

until you do. Come here.

You got this.

Be safe.

Wow.

Oh, this is sick.

Don't touch anything.

This is our mobile ops center.

You'll ride in this

while we drive to Prague

for the meeting with Lev.

- What's this?

- That is an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone

currently taking off

from Ramstein Air Base.

It's being piloted by a kid

sitting in a bunker

underneath the Las Vegas Strip.

It'll provide tactical surveillance

for Max's meeting with Lev

while my team

provides boots-on-the-ground security.

JAG1, RAQ4 is on site.

I see you landing at the staging area.

We're gonna move into position.

When I give the "all clear,"

you're gonna get into the car,

drive to your meeting with Lev.

We will provide overwatch.

When the deal is done,

you'll get out of there.

- Give me a g*n.

- They're gonna take it away.

Then give me two.

I'll put the first where they can find it.

The goal is to not sh**t anyone.

b*ll*ts start flying

and we came all this way for nothing.

Put this in your pocket. There's a mic.

It's active

so we can listen in on what's going on.

If things go badly,

you're gonna come rescue me.

Of course.

Hey. What am I doing?

You're with me.

- Seriously?

- No, you stay in the f*cking truck.

Let's go!

You nervous?

No. I'm terrified.

There's even odds Lev will k*ll me

once I give him the money,

but there's no other way home, so

Go.

We're in position. You're a go.

I'll see you on the other side.

Okay. Yeah.

Kirill sent me your bounty.

There's 7 million more in that case.

That's serious money.

Well, I'm serious about making amends.

You know, there are some that

won't let you come home

no matter how much money you give them.

Well, that's my problem to deal with.

And what if they've already paid me

to leave your body out in the snow?

Then I'd already be out there.

So shall we talk terms?

Da.

Okay.

Oh, jeez.

JAG1, I'm having a software glitch.

You're flying solo while I reboot.

Roger that. Eyes peeled.

Eye of God closed.

Yeah, I knew you were trouble

When you walked in, yeah ♪

And now I'm lying

On the cold, hard ground, what? ♪

Who the f*ck are these guys?

Overwatch One. Come in, Overwatch One.

Overwatch, we got a problem. Do you copy?

Stay off this channel.

We have a serious problem.

Do you not hear me?

That's why you never bring a lawyer

on an op.

f*ck.

sh*t.

What the f*ck is this?

f*ck.

I knew I couldn't trust you.

Learn to lie, learn to cheat ♪

Razor blades, hard to eat ♪

Hear my voice, scream my name ♪

Tried the punch

But I don't like the taste ♪

Read my lips, nod your head ♪

Can't pretend like

You know what I said ♪

Over and over again ♪

Over and over and over again ♪

RQ4,

I need you on-site now.

Yeah. Hi, I could use some help.

Where are you?

Down here!

What the sh*t are you doing down there?

JAG2, we got a friendly to protect.

You're weapons free.

Let's f*cking go!

Over and over and over again ♪

Over and over again ♪

Over and over again ♪

You're sleep walkin' ♪

Just sleep talkin' ♪

Over and over and over again ♪

f*ck.

f*ck.

You got sh*t.

Yeah, no sh*t.

I k*lled someone.

Oh, sh*t.

sh*t.

Wait.

Lev.

Lev.

Oh, God.

I didn't do this.

I didn't betray you.

But

you'll never believe that,

which means if you live

then I don't get to go home.

Max, no.

No.

And I'm going home.

Let's go.

What was happening?

Who was sh**ting at the compound?

Owen!

- Who was sh**ting at the compound?

- Nichka.

- Nichka?

- Yeah.

- How do you know her?

- I met her in Geneva.

She was outside the hotel

that Xander got k*lled at.

She was the one

who pushed the Council to k*ll me.

I don't feel so good.

Because you're in shock.

Just lie down for a minute.

Close your eyes.

Just rest and breathe.

Just breathe.

- Stop the car, Max.

- I'm not stopping the car.

Stop the f*cking car, Max.

Stop the f*cking car, Max! f*ck!

What the f*ck are you doing?

I can't do this anymore.

Look, I get it.

Your first time, it's upsetting.

Max, I pulled a trigger and a guy's head

came apart, and I can't stop seeing it.

- That will pass.

- It's not the right answer.

- That is what a psychopath says.

- Or a survivor.

Same thing.

f*ck.

- Just get in the car.

- No!

I quit. I'm through with you

and I'm through with the agency.

Owen, stop.

I said, stop.

Oh, I have been so stupid.

I thought I could save you.

I thought

underneath this whole psychokiller

that there was someone that

had actually suffered loss and tragedy,

that was desperately alone and just,

I don't know, needed someone

to f*cking care about them.

I thought that I could help you.

I thought if I helped you,

then you could change.

But you can't change.

Max, you have dug yourself

in so f*cking deep, there's no way out.

You are a prisoner

of this incessant need to survive.

Just like I'm a prisoner

of my own self-sabotaging bullshit.

f*ck.

Dead dad, f*cking manic mom,

as if that's an excuse to be so selfish,

to hurt the people

that actually care about me. I

I need you.

To get back home.

After what just happened

Please.

I can't.

Max, if I don't get out now,

I'm gonna be lost forever. And you

Nobody can save you.

- Hello?

- Hannah.

Owen?

Oh, my God.

- Are you okay?

- Uh

I'm not sure.

I mean, nobody's sh**ting at me,

so that's good.

I have made so many f*cking bad choices.

Like, every decision I made

since I started working this job

has been the wrong one,

including not listening when you said

that I was making bad choices.

Are you still in Prague?

- How do you know I'm in Prague?

- I'm here too.

I'm right near the w*r memorial.

- I'll go there. Just come find me.

- Okay.

Is this real?

Because, I swear, I'm so f*cking tired.

I feel like I could be dreaming.

It's real. I'm right here.

It's gonna be okay.

Okay.

- We have a problem.

- No sh*t. We're in full runaway mode.

No.

The lawyer is the problem.

Are you with him?

No. But I can track him

on the watch I gave him.

Good. I'm tracking you

through the phone I gave you.

See you in a minute.

I'm a rabbit in your headlights ♪

Scared of the spotlight ♪

You don't come to visit ♪

I'm stuck in this bed ♪

Thin rubber gloves ♪

She laughs when she's cryin' ♪

That was fast.

She cries when she's laughin' ♪

Fat bloody fingers ♪

Are suckin' your soul ♪

Away ♪

Away ♪

Away ♪

Away ♪

Away ♪

What the?

Away ♪

Away ♪

Away ♪

God.

Max.

Where are we?

- I don't know.

- Who has us?

Away ♪

Karolina.

Who are you?

And what the f*ck are you doing

running around with my mother?
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