01x02 - The Admiral's Glass

[bunniefuu]

Do you remember The Admiral's Glass?

The Admiral's what?

Glass.

By Southwark Bridge.

I think that's well and truly out now, Kim.

I don't think I know any pubs in Southwark.

You remember this one.

What's that?

I want f*cking witnesses.

- To what?

- Open the f*cking door.

- Kim, don't be ridiculous.

- Open the door!

Open it yourself. It isn't locked.

You can't seriously believe they've come here for you?

I don't know what to f*cking well believe right now.

Be honest, Nick did you or did you not come to Beirut as my friend?

Well, I'll tell you this much:

MI5 were champing at the bit to send their first 11 out here,

until C intervened with the Minister and insisted that this was still

technically an intelligence matter as opposed to a security one,

because you are, after all, an SIS man for whom there may

still be a path to redemption.

- Poor dear.

- Yeah.

I mean you.

Have you finished buggering about yet?

One more thing, what

you're accusing me of

- That's new.

- What?

You're wearing a wedding ring now?

It's what you get when

you marry an American.

Treason.

That's what I'm accusing you of.

To be clear.

Speaking of America,

what have they been told?

Nothing.

Yet. Which is why the sooner

you tell me everything,

the sooner we can take care of them

and any others

that might be out there.

- Others?

- Well, you must've thought about

what the Russians might try to do to you

if they ever find out you're blown.

So CLEARS THROA

in that regard, yes,

I suppose you could say that I

came to Beirut as your friend.

- The Admiral's what?

- Glass.

By Southwark Bridge.

Any more tea in the

I think that's well

and truly out now, Kim.

I don't think I know

any pubs in Southwark.

Bloody hell, look at

you. Freezing to death!

Boots!

Ooh!

Pay the toll.

More, please.

I like your carrots. What?

I know that face.

I mean it!

They are very impressive carrots,

not what you'd expect to

see in a London back garden.

- Nearly finished.

- Take your time.

I'll just be a minute.

Speaking of America,

what have they been told?

Nothing. Yet. Which is why the

sooner you tell me everything,

the sooner we can take care of them,

and any others that might be out there.

Ciao, ragazzi!

- Those poor bloody foxes.

- It's a mink, che cazzo!

Hundred percent mink.

Cheeky bastard!

Cuppa tea and a bacon and egg roll

for young Nicholas, please, love.

Ooh, I like-a the look of your salami.

- Whole or sliced, sir?

- All together now:

What do I look-a like,

a f*cking money box?

- Morning, gents.

- Morning.

Thirty four and a

half hours of two spies

talking rings around each other.

Elliott, though, was in

Beirut for four days, 96 hours,

so that's 60

one and a half.

Let's call it 62 hours

we know sweet FA about.

Explain to me cricket.

Nobody wins. What is point?

England against Australia.

Oh, it's a draw!

- That's good?

- It could have been worse.

We leave in 30 minutes.

So, for example, on the last night

he was there, believe it or not,

he went for dinner at Philby's

flat on Rue what-ya-ma-call-it

- Kantari.

- Er, and

SIS expect us

to believe that they

talked about, what, the weather?

More likely cricket.

Cricket. Right.

Make your point, Mrs Thomas.

Philby's life was on the line,

as was the meaning of Elliott's,

not to mention the reputation

of the Intelligence Service,

so I, for one, find

it very hard to believe

that he'd come back

from Beirut empty-handed.

Based on what?

His entire career.

He was supposed to

come back with Philby.

Maybe he came back

with something better.

- From Philby?

- Such as?

- I dunno yet.

- Ah.

But I do know we won't

find an answer to that

in an interrogation room.

Very sure of yourself,

aren't you, Mrs Thomas?

Is that a problem?

I believe that under

that posh, jovial exterior

is a man fighting for his

life, which is his career.

So I suggest that we

take him off the lead,

watch where he goes, what

he does, who he talks to

All right, hold on a minute.

Say, for the sake of

argument, we do that

what makes you think

you're the right person?

She doesn't.

That's not what she's saying. Is it?

So I'll say it for her -

SIS will never see her coming

and even if they do, they're

bound to underestimate her.

Just a minute.

I said just a f*cking minute!

Did you hear about Olga,

the Russian sh*t putter?

"Doctor, Doctor," says Olga,

"lately, I have been growing

a lot of hair on my chest."

The doctor says, "Oh,

really, Olga? How odd.

"Mind me asking how far down it grows?"

To which Olga replies, "All

the way down to my balls."

Isn't the doctor Russian, too?

I want f*cking witnesses.

- To what?

- Open the f*cking door.

- Kim, don't be ridiculous!

- Open the door!

Open it yourself. It isn't locked.

Was he using the

ambulance as a distraction?

I think in that instant

he was genuinely concerned

that the men in white

coats were coming for him.

That said, as we now know,

one can never be completely

certain with a man like him.

A man like him?

Do you always have

to have the last word?

No.

Not what you expected?

I don't know what I expected.

The Admiral's what?

Glass. By Southwark Bridge.

I don't think I know any pubs in So

What's so important

about The Admiral's Glass?

Nothing. It's just a pub.

Feels like a bit more

than just any old pub.

It has to do with a minor

personal matter, that's all.

Which is why I decided,

in light of what I actually

went to Beirut to achieve

and the small amount of time I

had to do it in, to let it go.

Personal in what way?

In that it's not really

relevant to any of this.

I've listened to and analysed

every single second of every hour

of you and Philby in Beirut.

Please don't tell me

this is not relevant.

Women.

Pardon?

Aileen.

Aileen?

Aileen Philby?

Flora Solomon's best friend.

The same Flora Solomon

who it took 25 years

to come forward about Philby.

Do you mind if I smoke?

Burst into flames for all I care.

That was unnecessary. I'm sorry.

Where on Earth did they find you?

Will you be quiet,

you horrid little dog?!

Sorry, come in.

She called me out of the blue one day,

asking me to drop by, spring 1941,

said she had something

"urgent and sensitive,"

I think are the words she used,

that she needed to discuss in person.

Willie! Stop it this instant!

We're in the drawing room.

Hello, Nick.

Aileen! Darling, what a nice surprise.

I didn't know you were

going to be here, too.

That's enough, Willie.

Naughty Willie.

- What?

- Nothing.

Anyone care for a drink?

Actually, erm, if you don't mind,

Flora, I'm a little pushed for

Kim's cheating on me, Nick.

What?!

He's having an affair.

Please, Nick, you can save

us all a great deal of time

by sparing us the loyal friend act.

This is the reason you wanted to see me?

Yes or no: did you know

he's having an affair?

No, of course I didn't know,

'cos there's nothing to know!

There's something wrong, Nick.

Kim's behaviour

It

It's hard to describe, but

Here. Have one anyway.

a wife can tell.

And, er

What?

Nothing.

No, no, what is it?

I don't know.

We need you to find out who she is.

What? Oh, no.

No, no. Absolutely not.

Surely if he's innocent

there's nothing to worry about?

Please, Nick. There's

no-one else I trust to ask.

And if there is any hope of Kim

and I ever getting past this,

then I first have to know the truth.

Your words or hers?

Look, the point is,

you'd be doing this for Kim

as much as anything else.

With all due respect, Flora

Well, we all know what

that means, but go on.

What you're asking me

to do amounts to spying.

On my closest friend.

You actually said that?

- Single to Paddington.

- Tuppence ha'penny, sir.

Thank you.

Mind the doors!

Wait, please.

He knew you were following him?

No, I don't believe Well, at

least I didn't think so at the time.

It was the middle of the w*r.

Tradecraft was something we were

all required to do at all times

until it was second nature.

Why do all this if you

considered it such a betrayal?

I thought Aileen's suspicions of

an affair were more likely to be

a misunderstanding caused by

the type of work he did for SIS,

which, of course, he

could never tell her about.

Secrets can be very

testing of a marriage.

So I wanted to prove Aileen and

Flora wrong, and him innocent.

You didn't think he was

the type to have an affair?

I never said that.

Surely you could've just

told Flora and Aileen anything

and they'd have had to

have taken your word for it?

Now I suppose you're gonna tell me

I had other subconscious

reasons to spy on him,

beyond mere suspicions of adultery.

Not even a niggling feeling

in the back of your mind?

Sorry.

Er, yeah, sorry, you were saying?

I wasn't. You were.

Do I believe that you, a

career intelligence officer

and keen observer of human behaviour,

may have had a feeling that all

was not right with your friend?

Mm-hm. That's precisely

what I'm saying.

Did he see you?

If he did he didn't

say a word about it.

Everything was business as usual

for the next couple of weeks until

Nicholas Elliott and Ian Fleming.

- Achtung, Jerry.

- Hello, Kim.

- Thank you, sir.

- Ian.

The moment of truth.

Peter Tazelaar, Kim Philby.

Peter's from Holland.

And will soon be going

back, God willing.

Dry as a bone. What'd I tell you?

Well, I'll be a Dutchman.

Macallan's if I'm not mistaken.

Peter's going to swim ashore

and walk straight into a German

officers' shindig at a seaside hotel.

We thought a little bit of whisky

on a jacket would be in order.

Shouldn't it be Schnapps?

Well, there's such a

thing as too clever, Kim.

You come up with this wheeze?

No, joint effort with Fleming here.

A minute.

What I'm about to tell you

must remain strictly between us.

Oh, well, you know

there's no need to say

I've been a bloody fool, Nick.

And I think now Aileen

might be on to me.

Oh? This is a personal thing.

Has she said anything to you?

Look, Kim, if it's all the same

I'd really rather not get dragged

Quite. Quite. No need

to say another word.

- You understand.

- Perfectly.

Good man.

She has said something,

hasn't she? Excuse me, sir.

Well, go on, then, spit it out, if

you must, before I change my mind.

Her name's Alice. Litzi.

She She's Austrian.

I met her in Vienna in '34

when I was there, you know, trying

to cut my teeth as a journalist.

She's the bravest woman I've ever known.

And also, as it happens, Jewish.

- So when the time came for her to get out

- You helped her.

- I-I shuffled some papers.

- Papers? What kind of papers?

Oh, Christ, no! Marriage

papers. Bloody hell, Kim.

It was only ever meant to just be paper,

and then all of a sudden

she's in London, and

What do I do, Nick? I

I I never had the

slightest intention of

Cheating on Aileen, to be clear.

Don't f*cking tell me you've never

made any mistakes in your life!

Aileen's about to have your baby.

You know exactly what to do.

He did see you at The Admiral's

Glass. He must've done.

Probably not my finest hour.

Why tell you about all that

business in Austria, though,

when he could've just

admitted to having an affair

and left it at that?

He was obviously probing to

see what else I might know.

Obviously? You mean in retrospect.

Wasn't the resistance in Vienna

communist?

It was a workers' uprising.

Right.

Communism wasn't the

problem then. Fascism was.

OK.

You're probably thinking why on Earth

didn't I put two and two

together, right there and then.

And?

All I can tell you is we

were at w*r with Germany

and Kim happened to be one of

the most effective espionage minds

in that fight. That's a fact.

Despite everything that came later,

that will never, ever change.

He's not having an affair.

On that much, I can give you my word.

You see, his work - our work -

the work we both do

to fight the Nazis

can be quite, um

Well, it requires, erm, at

times, certain levels of, erm

Not to mention the

ungodly hours that we

Do stop waffling on, Nick!

We know that you and

Kim work for MI6 or SIS

or whatever it is

it's called these days.

That's not what Aileen's talking about.

- Is it, darling?

- I

I I don't know, I-I mean

I suppose.

Well, I, for one, think

you're obfuscating.

Well, now you mention it, I

did have plums for breakfast.

Oh, for goodness' sake! That

Bertie Wooster turn you do

is utterly beneath you and nobody

with half a brain falls for it.

You're-you're a serious

man with a serious mind

and this is very serious stuff.

Damn it all, she's six months pregnant!

And Kim must be brought to

heel before it's too late.

All right.

I've tried to be patient

and keep an open mind,

but now I've had enough.

Now, listen, both of you.

Kim is a good man fighting

hard for his country

- under some very difficult circumstances.

- May I just say

He is categorically

not having an affair!

Not only does he not have the time,

he would never do such a thing,

and my advice to you, Aileen,

is to stop worrying about

everything under the sun

and start believing in him.

And, Flora, with all due respect,

keep your nose out of

other people's business.

That is all I have to say on the matter.

Do you think Philby's

safe in the Soviet Union?

Do you have confirmation

that's where he is?

Let's assume.

Safe from whom?

Come on, now.

Ah, do you mean would we

bump him off? One of us?

What about the CIA?

Ah, well, them I'm

afraid I can't vouch for.

I have something to play

you, then I have a question.

How long has Flora bloody Solomon

known you're a Soviet double agent?

From now on, no matter

how many clever ways

you try to frame this nonsense, I'm

just not going to respond any more

because it's not worth dignifying.

You've known each other

since you were at Cambridge.

I don't believe for a f*cking minute

she suddenly realised you were

a Soviet spy just last week!

How many times do I have to

tell you, I am not a traitor!

- She's f*cking well lying!

- To MI5?

She's still upset about Aileen.

Rest in peace.

Now you're accusing

me of k*lling Aileen?

An alcoholic, bless her,

with too many psychological

problems to count,

who bloody well drank herself

- Years after she left me!

- You know, the irony is

that even though you've

managed to hide your real self

for all these years, I know

you all the better for it now.

And today

you're a man on the brink.

I can see it in your

eyes, plain as can be.

By the way, I know you feel

responsible for Aileen's death.

How could you not, after

everything you put her through?

Because I also know you're not

a complete and utter monster.

- Do you resent Mrs Solomon?

- Resent her?

Well, you've read her statement to MI5,

she knew about Philby going on 30 years.

That he was a communist,

maybe. Not a spy.

Right. OK.

And the reason she would've kept

quiet about his communist beliefs

would've been to protect

her friend, Aileen.

How many people do you

think the Soviets k*lled

based on the information

they got from Philby?

I don't know.

You don't know or you don't wanna know?

Now, now, Mrs Thomas.

Hundreds, possibly thousands.

You said so yourself, to Philby

in Beirut. It's on the tape.

If Mrs Solomon knew Philby

was spying for the Soviets

right from the beginning,

more or less right after

he got back from Vienna

Hm how can you not resent her?

Where are you going?

Lunch.

When did you introduce Philby to Aileen?

- I didn't introduce

- Oh, no.

That's right.

You didn't.

Flora Solomon did.

Some friend she turned out to be.

To Aileen, I mean.

Shall we say an hour for lunch?

Yeah?

You got a pen?

Hang on.

All right. Got it. Go ahead.

19 Spencer Square, Kensington.

I need Ian in that house as

soon as you can get him there.

Got it.

Why are you communist?

Several reasons.

Beginning when I was a boy

and witness to my father's rage

at how the British betrayed

the Arabs between the wars.

Not why you are angry with the British.

Why you are communist.

Then when I was at

university, up at Cambridge,

I had an economics professor

who was profoundly offended

by the predicament of the workers

in the industrial north of England.

Tell me about Vienna.

- What?

- In 1934.

Tell me about Litzi Friedmann.

What?

No, no. You go. I'll

stay. Give me the g*n.

So, it starts for you

with romantic adventure.

It started for me as the

only way to fight fascism.

Romanticism is a weakness.

Kim

Kim, stop. Stop.

This is our first time, not our last.

Wake up.

He is Directorate of

Agriculture Inspector.

Son of m*llitary officer.

Wearing handmade shoes from England.

Drink.

I don't want another drink. Drink.

How do you know those are English shoes?

How do you not know?

They were gift to his father from

a British officer at the end of w*r.

And you believe that?

You know who doesn't wear

English shoes in Russia?

An English spy.

Does the name Konstantin Dmitrievich

Volkov mean anything to you?

What has this to do with English shoes?

Nothing. Have you heard of him or not?

No.

When the w*r against

Germany was all but won

and new battle lines were being

drawn between East and West,

there were, I'm sorry to say,

many from the Soviet Union

who had succumbed to the temptations,

during their wartime

postings, of the West.

One such person was Konstantin

Dmitrievich Volkov

who had spent most

of the w*r in Istanbul

as the deputy chief of

Soviet intelligence in Turkey.

But now he wanted SIS to help him defect

in return for a list of

Soviet agents in Britain,

including, he claimed,

an agent who had penetrated

the uppermost echelons

of the foreign intelligence service.

You.

Two years before that, in '42, while

Nicholas Elliott was in Istanbul,

he and Volkov crossed paths

as allies against the Nazis.

Which is why Volkov insisted Elliott

be summoned back to Istanbul

to run his exfiltration.

As luck would have it,

I had, by that time,

risen to head of Soviet

Counter Espionage in London.

And so Volkov's somewhat

amateurish approach

to the British vice-consul in Istanbul

was relayed directly to me at SIS

Where is Mr Elliott?

without Elliott ever

knowing the first thing about it.

I specifically asked for

Mr Elliott. Who are you?

I'm so very sorry.

I tell a lie.

Luck had nothing at all to do with it.

Romantic adventure or not

you can imagine

why it might irritate me

to be condescended to by someone

who hasn't bothered to do his homework.

Loving Father, we thank

you for your servant Moses,

who led your people through

the waters of the Red Sea

to freedom in the promised land.

We thank you for your son Jesus,

who has passed through

the deep waters of death

and opened for all the way of salvation.

Now send your spirit

that those who are washed in

this water may die with Christ

and rise with him

Do you have any idea what you're doing?

Not the foggiest.

alive in Christ forever.

Creator God,

we thank you for the gift

of the life of this child

who is to be baptised.

May your blessing of peace and

joy be with them and protect them

for all their days.

We make this prayer in

the name of your son Jesus.

- She back from lunch yet?

- Just rang.

She's been summoned back to

MI5 for the rest of the day.

Kensington 5062, please.

Welcome to Moscow.

- Good Lord!

- No, only me.

Crikey, is that

That can't be Willie?

What on Earth would

MI6 ever do without you?

No, this is Dickie!

Course it is.

- Willie's grandson.

- Stop it!

Dickie's slightly bigger than Willie.

Come on.

I've been wondering

when you might appear.

Dickie. Dickie, come on, come to Mummy.

Come on.

I want you to know how awful I feel

about this whole business with

Kim?

- How long have you known?

- What difference does it make now?

- We almost caught him in '45, you know.

- Really?

Chap called Volkov.

Konstantin Dmitrievich Volkov.

- Almost gave him up to us.

- What happened?

Bit muddy on the details.

But what I came to talk to you

about happened four years earlier

when you asked me to find

out if Kim was cheating on Aileen.

It wasn't adultery that you were

trying to steer me towards, was it?

Please try to understand, Aileen

was heavily pregnant at the time.

You already knew.

- Knew what?

- Flora

- That he was a communist?

- That he was KGB.

Oh! I didn't know anything of the sort.

Not then.

Why on Earth did you introduce

Aileen to Kim in the first place?

Cos he was eligible and witty.

And a communist.

That was at Cambridge.

And Kim wasn't the only one that

dabbled with communism. We all did.

- I didn't.

- Don't be obtuse, Nick.

A lot of people flirted with it.

A lot of people flirted with

lots of things at university.

It's what young people do,

most of whom go on to be

utterly respectable and normal.

Well, you must remind me to ask you

for a list of those people one day.

I introduced Kim and

Aileen to each other

because, for my sins,

I like to believe the

best in my friends.

Surely you, of all people,

can understand that.

And in Kim's case, it was

just impossible to believe

Because he was so eligible and witty!

If I'd known he was spying for Russia

I would have said something back then.

You'd started to suspect,

though, hadn't you?

Which is why you asked me to spy on him.

And you bloody well missed it!

Say I had cottoned on

to what Kim was really up to

what were you

expecting me to do about it?

You were his friend.

His good and loyal friend.

And as long as we were

still at w*r with Germany,

Russia was technically our ally.

Ah. You were expecting

me to change his mind,

convince him of the error of his ways

- Before it was too late.

- Oh, for Christ's sake, Flora!

I-I was also trying to protect Aileen.

I thought you'd understand that.

And I knew you'd do the same for Kim.

I wasn't going to just

blurt out suspicions

and accusations in case I was wrong!

Especially not after the way you reacted

to my suggestion he

was having an affair.

Do you even remember that?

She was his KGB cut out.

Who?

Not just his mistress.

Who?

Litzi.

What did Kim tell you in Beirut?

Tell me about what?

You seriously expect me to believe

you'd just let him go scot-free

without getting

something from him first?

You may fool others,

but you can't pull the

wool over these eyes.

Do you want to know what

he once told me about you?

He said that at any given moment

you're far more switched

on than you let on

which is what

makes you so dangerous.

He said that?

Tell me you'll make

something of all this, Nick.

That in the end, you were, in

fact, always one step ahead of him.

Lovely to see you again, Flora.

Liar.

Bye-bye, Dickie.

- Nicely done, ma'am.

- Please don't call me that.

Petr Il'ich Chaykovskiy

blizok kazhdomu russkomu serdtsu.

Muzyka yego vdokhnovlyayet i

trogayet struny kazhdoy dushi.

Tovarishch polkovnik.

She's talking to you.

Hello.

Tovarishch Soboreva.

What did she call me?

Comrade Colonel. That is your rank.

Does she speak English?

Pakhnet supom?

Svinina s kartoshkoy.

She has made soup. Potato and pork.

- Does she speak English?

- You will learn Russian.

Is she KGB?

She's comrade. Friend.

Soup.

- What's the matter?

- Nothing.

Don't worry about it.

- Are you coming to bed?

- I'll be up in a minute.

Do you remember that day?

Yeah.

Still newlyweds.

It's just that sometimes I feel

we live in two separate worlds

and every now and again,

sort of meet in the middle.

And occasionally you will tell me

a little about someone or something,

like the man that didn't know

his friend was lying to him

for over 20 years, but

but sometimes, if I'm honest

I worry how well I know you.

I just love you, you know?

And I never want to lose you.

Lose me?

Gosh, man!

Are you joking?

Every day, when I get to work,

I take my wedding ring off

and I-I put it in the box that

it came in when you proposed to me.

And every night, on the

train home, I put it back on.

Why do you take it off?

Because

I-I love putting it on!

Did you remember to get cigarettes?

sh*t. Slipped my mind. Sorry.

g*dd*mn it!

One day you'll get a sense of humour.