01x07 - Communication Breakdown

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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01x07 - Communication Breakdown

Post by bunniefuu »

[Indistinct chatter, computers beeping]

[Chatter continues]

[Horns honking]

[Sirens wail]

[Beeping]

Good morning.

Stupid Internet.

What's with the four seasons breakfast spread?

[Sigh] Taking pictures for my catering site. Don't touch...

Mm.

Sorry. I didn't know.

It doesn't matter.

It takes, like, 200 pictures to get anything worth using, and now I can't upload.

How am I supposed to start a business?

You don't have to get everything to work instantly.

I know.

It's just every other mom in the playgroup works at least part-time.

And now with Michael out of work...

He knows you're trying.

And super mom is not an easy job.

Mm...

But if you're gonna do this breakfast thing, you think you can get fresh squeezed?

Because this OJ from concentrate tastes like sand.

[Giggles] Oh, no!

Wait.

Don't move, that's the perfect light.

Oh!

Okay, ready?

[Camera clicks]

Mommy, Elmo went away.

[Static crackles]

Cable's out.

You know, I don't know if you've heard, but most of the civilized world went hi-def a few years back.

I never claimed to be civilized.

Plus, I haven't had much use for a new TV lately.

You may not, but I wanna watch myself in 1080p when that call from Charlie Rose comes in.

What makes me think that that's only gonna happen when I'm on trial for espionage?

[Giggles] Silly Auggie.

You're not the only person I know at the CIA.

Just the only one you're sleeping with.

Or maybe not.

[Giggles] You know it's just you.

Mm-hmm. And the others are...?

Just sources.

Sources?

Mm-hmm.I'm not a source.

You're a source of happiness.

Do we have time?

Don't they call in the cavalry when you miss work?

Mm. Not...If...I...

Call in.

[Busy signal]

The cable is out, phone is out...

It's not the 13th already, is it?

Yeah, why?

I've gotta go.

Joan, hear me out.

There was a metro-wide communication shutdown today.

No cable, no Internet, no cellular network.

And I bet the satellite array was down for ten minutes.

That's classified.

It was more like 15.

This was not an accident, I guarantee you.

There is a hacker out there somewhere who is trying to make a name for themselves.

The Datatech conference starts today.

You gotta send me in.

There's a briefing in ten.

Signals intelligence is running point.

I'm going in?

You're going in.

[Chuckles]

Has anyone ever told you you look amazing in that color?

Why do I have the feeling you're about to?

What do you call that color, anyway?

Um...

Blue.

Well, blue really suits you.

Briefing time, kids.

You do not wanna miss this one.

Why are you so happy?

I'm going to Datatech.

Data-what?

Datatech.

It's a computer security conference.

It's like comic-con for nerds.

Isn't that just comic-con?

[Chuckles]

Oh, Harry.

A couple of years ago, some national security genius decided it would be a good idea to sit down with the black cat types.

Now, twice a year, 1,000 hackers converge on Washington and 1,000 law enforcement types pick their brains and, in many cases, hire them.

And this has him wound up because...?

He's a dork.

And it was his cover.

Oh, and it will be again.

This morning, a well-coordinated cyber att*ck took down civil communication systems in the D.C. area.

It also briefly disrupted our secure satellite link.

The hack is reminiscent of a 2007 event that temporarily disabled phone service to the Pentagon.

But this one takes advantage of a security flaw we've never seen before.

The Pentagon believes that select government servers may be susceptible to this hack.

Isn't cyber crime FBI territory?

Cyber crime is, cyber terrorism is not.

Everyone's gonna want a piece of this one...

Spy agencies, terror groups, organized crime.

So who do we think did the hack?

We've been analyzing the code and a familiar name has popped up.

Wow.

You're gonna find this interesting.

What?

No. No.

Natasha Petrovna appears to be behind the att*ck.

What is it?

Natasha Petrovna is my ex-girlfriend.

Natasha Petrovna, born and raised in St. Petersburg, graduate degree in computer security from Lomonsov university, now a member of the swedish-founded pirate bureau.

A card-carrying anarchist.

Barber from tech intel will fill you in.

Natasha was busted two years ago for illegally accessing department of agriculture servers.

She was demonstrating a firewall hack.

There was no further intent.

Ah, justice department didn't think so.

She just spent two years at Danbury women's correctional center.

Yeah, I'm well aware.

That's where Martha Stewart did her time.

That's pretty good company.

Paroled in February, it seems that Ms. Petrovna is back to her old ways.

The infection vectors from this morning's hack were classic Petrovna.

Elegant, efficient, and pointed.

That's Natasha all right.

Auggie, we're sending you to datatech to reunite with Natasha and negotiate a consulting deal.

We're gonna pay her off?

We're the only government agency who can.

We'll go as high as 2 million.

Natasha's father was a political prisoner under Brezhnev.

She hates the government.

If we try to pay her off, she's only gonna stonewall us more.

Well, we've had very good luck at this agency using money to get people to re-examine their ideals.

Annie, you're gonna be his eyes.

Datatech is already underway; There's not a moment to lose.

Joan...

You know that putting me on this mission is a bad idea.

It's not gonna make Natasha any more cooperative.

You're the one who wanted back into the field.

If we buy this tech, she's gonna learn I'm CIA.

Yeah?

You're kidding.

Two years ago I can't say anything, and now I'm just supposed to announce that I'm a spy?

[Sigh] Look.

I know this isn't easy.

But you of all people know how hard it is to get ahold of technology like this.

We really need this hack.

Hey, before I forget, I found some pictures of you up on the Internet.

What?

So you've got an Annie Walker Google alert now?

Are you cyber stalking me?

Actually, personnel sent me the link.

They'd like you to take them down for security purposes.

Oh.

But I do like this one.

Auggie, are you ready to go?

I guess.

I gotta stop at home and change. Can you drive?

How serious was it with this Natasha girl?

We had fun.

'Cause you're the good time guy.

What's that?

Nothing.

[Chuckles]

Solo board games?

Don't touch that.

I'm playing an Internet game with a girl from Brazil.

Well...

At least I think she's a girl.

At least I think it's Brazil.

Are you ready?

[Giggles]

Where did you get that? 1986?

Datatech has something of an unofficial dress code.

You can always tell the type of person you're dealing with based on their look.

Hackers are the ones in t-shirts with no sense of personal hygiene.

The more employable variant is the security consultant, whose workplace-required collared shirts usually feature short sleeves so they can show off their body art in defiance of their corporate overlords.

Blue jackets and khakis are always law enforcement.

The bureau's never been known for their subtlety.

What about $1,000 suits and silk ties?

Europeans.

Never really got nerd fashion.

The FBI does not like to comment on ongoing investigations.

But in general, I can tell you that we are...

Who are these guys on stage?

Used to be FBI's most wanted.

Now they're datatech celebrities.

As for the case you asked about, the copyright holder is a U.S. corporation...

Doesn't it strike you as odd how many criminals are able to just exist here?

Not exist, thrive.

This is the wild west of the information age.

Think Billy the kid and Pat Garrett didn't sit down for a sarsaparilla once and a while?

Does that answer your question?

My question is for Mr. Phillips.

How can the FBI defend the warrantless wiretap program while at the same time claiming a need for secrecy to avoid the freedom of information act?

Shouldn't access go both ways?

Well, first you have to remember that, at the time...

Natasha, right?

Yeah.

The warrantless wiretap program had been authorized by a federal judge.

The purpose for... she's pretty.

[Phillips continues] Yeah.

You all right?

Yeah, I'm fine.

And by tapping into their phones, that was just one of the few methods that we used...

She's talking to the Europeans.

It doesn't seem friendly.

They're probably offering her money as well.

Then we should change our strategy.

Yeah. Take me over there.

Wait.

What?

She's right in front of you.

Hold up. Tash?

Didn't see that coming.

You should have.

Do you know what I've been through the last two years?

No, I meant because I'm blind.

Huh?

Ugh. I'm...I'm so sorry, Auggie.

No, it's not your fault.

I buried the lede.

How are you?

This isn't fair.

You can't come here after what you did to me and expect me to feel sorry for you.

I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me.

I just wanna talk to you.

I sat there, Auggie.

I sat there at Kinkead's waiting for you, and you never showed.

Two days later, I was arrested by the FBI.

It was a hell of a week. I can explain.

Don't bother, I'm walking away now.

Tash, please, I know you're behind that hack today.

I want in.

Not here.

Who's she? Your seeing-eye dog?

Natasha, this is my business partner, Annie Walker.

Don't be fooled by his act.

He's a good hacker, lousy boyfriend.

I can assure you our relationship is purely professional.

Define "professional."

The kind of professionalism that can offer you $2 million.

I can't believe you don't know me well enough to know I'm not interested in money.

I have to ask for my company.

Tell your company they can have my code tomorrow when I release it wide at noon.

No group, no person should get to control information any more than they should control all the world's oil or food.

You know that's simplistic, Tash.

There are groups in there that wanna destabilize personal security, government security.

It'd be chaos.

I'll turn over my code when your company releases its copyrights.

That's not the kind of company I work for.

What do you mean?

I'm CIA.

Always have been.

I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you until now.

Well, that could've gone better.

So Natasha was just someone you had fun with back in the day?

No, maybe I undersold the relationship a little.

[Chuckles] You think?

Four years ago, I was breaking in my cover talking tech to random people.

So I was in a laundromat in Adams Morgan, and Natasha was reading snow crash while she waited for her whites.

We dated a little over a year, and I wish I hadn't liked that book so much.

[Car radio plays softly]

So you broke her heart?

I didn't want to.

I loved her.

I'm not buying it.

You don't break up with someone you're in love with.

You know what, when you work at the CIA, you do.

I put in for a close and continuing with a foreign national, and the agency told me to cut off all contact.

Well, I can't imagine they'd be too happy about you dating a Russian anarchist.

Well, I knew she was rebellious, I just didn't know how rebellious.

The FBI had her in a sting.

Which is why she thinks you abandoned her.

I did.

All I wanted to do was protect her, and I couldn't.

We made contact.

And Natasha was unresponsive to our initial offer.

Epic fail would be a better term.

Told you she hated me.

Auggie, she doesn't hate you.

If anything, she still loves you.

You don't get that passionate about someone if you don't love them.

Ah.

Dude, a blind guy works here.

Don't rearrange the furniture.

Sorry about that.

I got it.

Natasha's gonna release the hack tomorrow.

Everyone at the conference knows.

Yeah, and everyone at that conference will know how to do major damage immediately.

Right, so this needs to happen fast.

Auggie, you're going back in there tomorrow.

Am I the only one paying attention here?

Natasha won't negotiate with me.

Guys, can we have the room?

Auggie, you know this, people can be turned for three reasons...

Money, patriotism, or love.

I'm not sure she loves me anymore.

This isn't about her feelings.

It's about yours.

If you do still care for Natasha, then you know that what I'm asking you to do is the right thing for her.

Auggie?

Yeah.

Okay, I'm your man.

Oh, come on.

Rough day?

Like you read about.

How can working at a museum be so stressful?

It's not the work, it's the people.

One of my coworkers there...

I met his ex-girlfriend today.

[Scoffs]

She is nothing at all like I expected.

She's like... chaos in a bottle.

You sound jealous.

Hardly. I feel sorry for her.

I think this guy's more of a player than I originally thought.

So now you take an interest?

No, it's just he's definitely sleeping with someone he hasn't told me about.

You know when you think you know someone, and then you find out they had this whole other life?

This is really good.

Speaking of which, check this out.

Oh.

I know you're gonna hate me, but I need you to take those photos down.

What?

You know how hard it was for me to get these.

I know, it's just...

I want the people at work to think of me as professional.

[Sigh]

Do you have to knock over everybody's sand castle?

This site isn't about you, Annie; It's about food.

And not professional?

Wow.

Fine. [sigh]

Stupid computer. [banging on keys]

[Sigh]

[Knocking]

Sorry, I'm almost ready.

There's fresh coffee.

Well, I had a crappy night so I hope you're in a better mood today.

Let's just get this over with.

[Phone ringing]

[Female voice] Liza Hearn, Liza Hearn.

Liza Hearn, Liza...

Auggie, please tell me that you're not so pissed about this assignment that you called Liza Hearn.

I didn't. I swear.

We're dating.

You're the leak.

Come on, Annie. You know me better than that.

Do I? Up until yesterday, I had no idea you were... I'm running an op on her.

I'm working her to get to her source.

Does... does Joan know?

No.

If she knew, she'd farm it out.

According to the NCS, I'm not fit for field work.

You gotta report it, Auggie.

This is the woman who's trying to destroy the agency.

Why? So she can give it to jai?

James Bond was a lonely, sad, old man.

What does that mean?

It means I can't believe you're the kind of guy who would exploit a woman for intel.

What do you think I'm supposed to do with Natasha?
I'm here.

Happy?

Thank you for meeting me.

So where is your all-seeing CIA?

They're right here.

[Speaking Russian]

Tash, I know you don't have any reason to trust me.

But you have to know I never wanted to break up with you.

The CIA made me do it.

[Laughs] So they control your love life too?

I'm not gonna defend it.

Leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

Wow. So you're the victim?

Tash, I almost quit the agency.

When they told me I couldn't see you again, the only thing I could do was get as far away from here as possible.

I went to Iraq.

Six months later, I was blind.

We shouldn't be listening.

I know Auggie's a friend, but today he's an op.

He knows we're here.

He could be lying to her.

Blue blazers and khakis.

FBI's making a move.

Heads-up, Auggie. FBI at your 3:00.

[Sigh]

Tash, I don't want you to freak out but we have FBI agents across the street coming this way.

What did you do?

I had nothing to do with this.

But as long as you're with me, they won't do anything.

If you walk away, I can't protect you.

So this isn't a negotiation.

You're here to dictate terms.

I want you to do the right thing.

Sorry, Auggie.

Tash. [wheels screeching]

Tash!

Give me your hand.

Now, now!

[Dishes shatter]

[Wheels screeching, g*nf*re]

Auggie!

Tash.

Auggie...

Are you all right? Tash?

Tash! Are you okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Tash! Where'd she go?

I don't see her.

What do you mean, she disappeared?

I pulled her away from the car, she let go of my hand, and she was gone.

Okay. So what have we got?

Okay, police found the SUV abandoned at a bus stop about a mile from the hotel.

Traffic cameras photographed t these too.

Those are the guys from the conference.

They were the ones arguing with Natasha.

That's Alexander Markov and Yuri Tretiak.

These guys are career criminals with ties to the RBN crime syndicate.

Makes sense. Cyber crime is evolving.

It's mafia 2.0.

Damn it.

Organized crime is FBI territory.

Okay, package up what we have and send it to them.

God, I hate playing second chair.

What about Natasha?

FBI are gonna have to deal with that when they find her. FBI?

She's in danger. She's not our problem anymore.

I told her we'd protect her.

The bureau is telling everyone that CIA interfered with an investigation.

We've played our cards, it's over.

So this is how it goes?

Natasha gets the screw again because of an inter-agency pissing match.

Boy, I love my job.

As a security professional, I would advise you to change the locks after you dump a girl who has your house key.

Jesus, Natasha.

Who was in the car?

What?

Was it CIA?

No, of course not. It was the Russian mob.

Oh, God.

What did you do?

[Sigh]

Before I lived here, before I was pirate bureau, in university in Moscow, there were these guys.

They had flashy clothes, lots of money.

At first, it was nothing.

Translating bits of code for them.

But then they Drew you in.

First with money, then with threats.

Ever since then, everything I do they think they have a piece of.

And they want you to turn over the hack only to them.

They feel they own me.

Own my code.

They said they would k*ll me if I didn't turn it over.

When they saw me talking with you...

Jesus, Tash, you're in danger.

Let me take you in. No, CIA got me into this.

Those mob guys will not stop until they get the hack.

The CIA can protect you.

You act so self-righteous, but what makes you different from the mobsters?

You both want to control the code that I wrote.

You have to trust someone.

I trust the world.

That's why I want to release the hack.

Trusting everyone is the same as trusting no one.

Trust...Hmm.

It's not easy, Auggie.

And yet, you're here.

Maybe he's just hung-over, sleeping it off.

This is a guy who's never late for anything.

He knows the protocol. Auggie would've called in.

So what are you thinking?

Auggie?

Well, that's not Auggie's.

The train? Really?

Are you trying to make this as annoying as possible?

Ah.

Oh, step.

You don't like being stuck on the rails?

I remember us having an amazing time on the metro to Crystal City.

We weren't running for our lives.

We are now.

What do you mean, he's out of pocket?

Auggie's not at his apartment, and it looks like Natasha Petrovna was.

Okay, I'm attempting to trace the last known location of his cell phone.

Don't bother, it's right here.

Along with his keys and his I.D.

Anything we could use to trace them is right here in front of us.

Look, Auggie knows what he's doing, and we're not gonna find him unless...

DHS flags all cash transactions for transit tickets, right?

Yeah.

I need you guys to check all the stores around Auggie's apartment.

See if any of them activated a high value disposable credit card last night.

Barber, are you there?

Yeah, I'm typing. [scoffs]

Oh, okay. Okay, here we go.

The gas-n-sip at 18th and Calvert activated two $500 cards last night at 1:16 A.M., and one of them was used to buy tickets on Amtrak 3312 to Montreal this morning.

Find a table near the middle. I need to hear.

I still don't know what you're looking for.

I'm looking for a passenger with a Nexus immigration fast-pass card.

Digital documents are easier to fake than paper.

Here.

Here?

I'll just hack into the passenger manifests.

It'll be so much easier.

What, no. Tash, Tash.

I don't need the data. I need an actual card.

We'd be better going bag-to-bag to find the card.

And a blind guy and a smoking hot Russian girl looking through other people's bags wouldn't attract any attention?

It's better than you trying to divine a card using ESP.

So are you gonna give me this hack?

Is that what this is?

You're playing me to get my code for the CIA?

No, I'm trying to help you.

But I do still think you'd be better off entrusting it to the CIA, rather than everyone in the world.

A chef special with a side of back bacon.

And could I get another serviette?

Oh, and separate receipts, please.

That guy, what is he wearing?

Green suit, ugly tie.

And what does that tell you?

He's a businessman with no style?

No, he's a Canadian businessman.

An American would've ordered ham or Canadian bacon.

He ordered back bacon, and she asked for a serviette.

Take me over there. Follow my lead.

Excuse us, folks.

We're with the transit company's hospitality department and we're conducting a survey to try and improve our level of service.

Do you mind answering a couple of questions?

We'd be happy to.

Great, thank you.

Okay, first question.

On a scale from one to eight, how would you rate your travel experience thus far?

[Man on P.A.] next stop, Albany.

Eight?

Yeah, it was great.

Wonderful, I'm very happy to hear that.

The FBI is stopping the train at Albany.

I think Auggie wants us, not the FBI, to find him.

How else do you explain the scrabble board and the credit card scraps?

Those are bread crumbs.

Or he could've just been sloppy.

I think he's running Natasha.

Or he's helping her get to Canada.

Do you really think that?

Annie, you've only been here for a few months.

How well do you really know Auggie?

Okay, regardless of which one of you is right, we need to get to him before the FBI does.

They're still furious at us for losing Natasha.

I want you two to follow this down.

Got it, we'll liaise with the Albany office.

No, we're gonna keep this in-house.

Go to the airfield.

No sign of the girl?

I had my nexus card when we got on the train.

Somebody must've stolen it. [sigh]

It's got CIA written all over it.

[Train horn blares]

[Train horn blares]

Nice work.

What do you know? You didn't see anything.

It sounded awesome.

Current generation Nexus immigration cards have a flaw in the way they were encrypted.

For some reason, the designers left sequential register scanning enabled.

If that's the case, I can parse the addressable memory for the encryption key, and we'll have full redirect capabilities.

I love it when you talk dirty.

How did you know to switch trains?

I've been doing this a long time.

Protocol makes people predictable.

You used to be predictable.

Uh, no.

Yes.

Yes. Yes, you were so buttoned down.

Such a white hat.

What happened?

Something unpredictable.

Smile.

[Chuckles]

[Camera clicks]

[Beeps]

[Clears throat]

You didn't break up with me because the agency told you to.

Yes, I did. I can show you the memo.

Oh, please, Auggie. It's a notorious bureaucracy.

That memo probably came after you dumped me.

Wow. I thought I was kidding.

You were the one who didn't wanna move to D.C.

You didn't want a family, you didn't want kids, you didn't... here we go.

Yes, yes, Tash. Here we go.

You come in and talk to me like I ruined your life, but dating you wasn't easy.

So why bother?

Because I...

Because I loved you.

Don't ask me to explain it.

I didn't know we had access to a jet.

Why don't we fly this more often?

'Cause our title isn't "Director."

We don't come back with Auggie, don't count on flying it again.

[Whirring]

He wasn't on the train.

Neither was Natasha.

Look, I know what you're thinking.

That I'm an assh*le for not trusting Auggie.

So you're a bit of a mind reader?

Look, as hard as it may be for you to believe, I do like Auggie.

But if I put my personal feelings ahead of analysis, then I'm not doing my job.

I trust Auggie.

And I respect that.

But in our business, we can't rely on trust alone.

If we're wrong about Auggie... I know I'm right.

Let's assume you are right, he's running Natasha.

It is still a huge breach of protocol.

Wait.

CIA protocol, always travel unpredictably.

Amtrak splits at Albany to both Montreal and Toronto.

You think they switched trains?

Yeah.

Do you trust me?

I'll go talk to the pilot.

[Man on P.A.] Please remain in your compartments and have immigration documents ready, for passport control will be coming through the cabin.

Thank you.

We're in.

[Train horn blares]

[Knocking]

We already showed our cards.

[Knocking again]

I'll get rid of them.

Wait, Tash. Wait.

Wait! Aah!

[Groaning and grunting]

Tash, talk to me, how many?

Aah!

How many?

Two!

[Screams]

Aah! Tash, hit the lights.

Hit the lights!

[Pained groaning]

[g*nf*re]

Auggie.

[Train horn blares]

Auggie!

[Grunting and groaning]

[Glass shatters]

Tash?

Get dressed. Fast.

We're gonna have to jump.

We're gonna jump off a moving train?

We'll slow down at Niagara on the lake for coupling to the Canadian system.

The FBI will jump on then, and we'll jump off.

[Train horn blares]

Okay, the FBI will start at the ends and work their way in.

Do you see anybody out there?

They're out there, they're coming.

Good.

They can't set up on the eastern side because of the lake.

[Sirens wailing]

When you see the ops team coming in the back door, that's when we go.

I'm a big girl, Auggie. I can take it from here.

Tash, I couldn't help you before.

I am not abandoning you now.

What if I told you I couldn't give you the code?

If I didn't have it? Would you still help me?

Yes.

Yes, I want to help you.

That's the answer I wanted to hear.

This is the source code.

Everything you need is right here.

[Brakes squeaking]

I love you, Auggie.

Natasha!

Auggie.

Annie?

Where's Natasha?

Jai, don't worry. I got the hack.

Told you.

Hey, did you guys get to ride on the jet?

[Both chuckle] Where's the girl?

I didn't see anybody.

[Scoffs]

I know what you wanna hear.

That I knew Natasha had the hack the whole time and I was just playing her.

Working her like an asset to get it back.

But the truth...

I don't know.

In order to be a good operative, you need to play on emotions.

And sometimes that means you have to become emotional yourself.

Is that a compliment?

It is.

And just for variety, here's a thr*at to go along with it.

Don't ever do what you did again.

Have you heard from her?

No.

No, I don't imagine I'll ever talk to her again.

So...

Was it worth it?

Guess I am qualified for field work after all.

Speaking of which...

I assume you are elliptically trying to get me to talk about Liza Hearn.

What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna get as much information as I can and then turn it all over to Joan.

And then I'm gonna end it.

Okay?

It's okay with me if it's okay with you.

I trust you.

Thank you.

You're not such a bad sister after all.

[Mouths] Sorry.

Let me see, let me see.

Okay. [indistinct]

[Footsteps]
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