01x08 - Ghosts

[bunniefuu]

Previously on State of Affairs...

What the hell are you doing here?

Well, the box opened up and discovered I was in Yemen.

So this is no coincidence.

Moosari is our only link to Fatah.

We need to make a dent in Ar Rissalah now.

Jack!

Charlie, I've got Abdel Fatah.

I could have him dead bang by day's end.

Panamanian government, they've got Jack in their custody.

They think he's a spy. They're holding him prisoner.

Me and the boys'll be models of discretion.

He pulled me out of hell in Kabul.

[Machine g*n burst]

I'm an aid worker.

An aid worker?

Captured with high-end m*llitary weapons?

Yeah, Panama's a dangerous place.

I was delivering smallpox vaccines to the hospital.

Yeah? On whose orders?

No one's.

Look, many of these people, your people, have not been vaccinated.

After the earthquake, you can't be too careful.

Lies, your lies.

Blatant, offensive lies.

There's no official record of you ever entering the country.

The red cross has never heard of you.

You are CIA.

That's why no one has come for you.

But I can help you.

Admit that you work for the Central Intelligence Agency on a covert basis, sign a simple declaration...

And walk out the door.

[Snaps fingers] Hey, there you are.

I'm an aid worker.

Came here to help out after the earthquake.

[Prisoners yelling]

[expl*si*n and g*nf*re]

[Alarm beeping]

[Blues music]

♪ ♪

♪ yes, I feel real danger ♪

♪ but this world ain't simple ♪

♪ but I'm strong ♪

[Exhales] Take a b*at.

Get it together. You're gonna be fine.

You're gonna be fine.

♪ 'Cause it's love, real simple ♪

♪ and that's how it works ♪

As I understand it, Ms. Tucker, you discharged your w*apon at Doha, k*lling a man who may or may not have been Qatar security.

He was not Qatar security.

He was working with subversive elements inside the Qatar m*llitary.

Can you verify this?

No, sir. I can't.

But the man had a w*apon, and I believed my life and the life of my asset was in danger.

Now, I see that you've recently been removed as the president's briefer.

Reassigned.

And your new assignment is heavily classified, so we won't talk about that.

There's a notation here that you've been suffering from some memory loss, signifiers of PTSD after the att*ck in Kabul.

Do you feel that this condition is affecting your ability to do your job?

No, sir. I don't.

I've since taken measures to regain most of my memories of what happened in Kabul, and I am in what I would call a period of real recovery.

Glad to hear it, Ms. Tucker.

Well, we're done here.

My recommendation is that you return to your active assignment, whatever that may be, effective immediately.

Good luck out there.

Thank you, sir.

Charlie will be back as soon as she clears her debrief.

And then what? Who does she brief?

I assume she's targeting the Fatah operation.

What? Exclusively?

Where's she stand with the rest of the agency?

She's still Charlie.

She's still sharp as hell and more experienced.

Whatever she wants to lend the team, we'll take it.

And if we can help her...

Then we help her.

[Computer beeps]

Hey, hey, there's an alert from Latin American division.

Jack Dawkins was taken from prison Darien.

What? By whom?

People's army of Colombia.

Our friends the FARC made a move on the prison, ignited a riot.

L.A. division Intel says they were most likely targeting Dawkins for ransom.

And they want?

$10 million and the release of Enrique Valdez from U.S. prison.

$10 million and...

Yeah, let's not be greedy, guys.

And a temporary halt to drug interdiction from Colombia.

And free pizza for the rest of their lives, these guys.

Special activities center had elements on the ground in Panama.

They were working with South com to get an extraction team in.

Well, sac was holding back while justice was back-channeling Jack's release.

All right, let's redo the book.

We got to put this on top.

You brief in 30 minutes, mo.

POTUS has a personal relationship with Jack, so this headlines.

Lucas, I want pages on FARC for the briefing...

Present leadership, affiliations, the quick and dirty.

My specialty.

Kurt, get with the office of m*llitary affairs and sac, and find out where SEAL team four is on hostage recovery.

Dash, try to find out where Dawkins is being held.

On it.

This is not unusual behavior for FARC.

I mean, we've seen it before...

Hey, guys.

She's back.

Hey.

You headed off to the briefing?

Yeah, and I'm running late.

Can we talk when I get back?

Of course.

Check with Kurt; He'll fill you in.

Okay.

Hey, Mo. Knock 'em dead.

Thank you.

[Approaching siren wailing]

Everybody clear the area.

What's going on?

We need everyone to clear this area now.

Let's go.

I'm not going to leave an officer the caliber of Jack Dawkins stranded at the mercy of Colombian rebels.

This man saved my life.

I know, ma'am.

Southcom has SEAL team four ready to go in.

Go in where?

Preliminary Intel from Latin America division has them in the Darien gap jungle.

Page seven gives the rundown of FARC's affiliations, assets, and leadership.

There is no page seven, Ms. James.

Um, okay.

That's very embarrassing.

I apologize, madam.

The Intel about Dawkins came in last minute, but that's no excuse.

Get me that Intel asap.

Of course.

Just how much danger is Dawkins in?

They'll keep him alive as long as they think there's a ransom in play.

They've asked for several other considerations as well...

Release of political prisoners and so on.

Let's look like we're playing ball.

Get him the hell out of there.

Yes, sir, I will inform her of the situation.

Is it Jack?

D.C. b*mb squad just removed a suspicious backpack at the Washington monument.

It had the Ar Rissalah symbol drawn on it.

Loaded?

No, it was empty.

Could be a warning or a thr*at or maybe even a joke.

The monument was one of the Ar Rissalah photographs.

Yes, ma'am.

What do you think?

Is this an imminent thr*at on the homeland?

I don't know, ma'am. The analytics aren't there yet.

What's your gut say, James?

I think it would be premature to land on any one theory, ma'am.

That's it?

Ma'am... of course.

Thank you, Ms. James.

Thank you, madam president.

What do you think?

I mean, there's thousands of those photographs out there, right?

How many backpacks?

Madam president, I think we both know that I'm not the person you're seeking counsel from right now.

I could give you my two cents, but what's that worth against Charlie's line of credit?

[Sighs] Hi.

[Loudly] Hi.

Hey, Charlie.

Believe it or not, I am actually glad to see you.

Well, believe it or not, I'm actually glad to see you too.

Weird. Weird.

You picked a hell of a day to come back, Charlie.

b*mb scare at the Washington monument.

I heard.

Legitimate Ar Rissalah thr*at or copycat?

FBI wants to know the same thing.

They're sending agent Scott to coordinate.

Good.

Hopefully, your case officer near Fatah can shed some light.

Can I talk to you guys for a minute?

I know you've already been read in on Bellerophon, but I want you to hear it from me, because I feel like I've been lying to my friends, and the truth is, I ran Fatah for three years with Nick Vera.

I couldn't tell you before because it was an off-the-books, unsanctioned op.

But I believed it was the right thing...

The only thing... To do for the country.

You don't have to justify anything to us.

Yes, I do.

You're my friends, my comrades in arms.

So yes, I do.

Right now, today, I'm coordinating the Bellerophon targeting operation.

When I hear from Nick that he has Sheikh Hakam in his sights, we'll coordinate the strike together.

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner.

I couldn't care less.

Yeah, let's just air out Fatah and Hakam and call it a win.

Can I see today's brief?

Of course.

Thank you.

Top of book is Jack Dawkins.

FARC lit up the prison he was in, dragged him into the Darien gap.

They want $10 million, or they'll k*ll him.

[Laughs]

[g*nshots]

[Man speaking Spanish over radio]

There are no piranhas in Darien gap, dumbass.

We get 20 b*mb scares a month, but you put the damn horse head on the backpack, and you got everyone from the bureau to homeland boarding up the windows.

You know the drill.

What I'm about to show you is eyes only.

Is this full or partial compilation?

Just our favorites.

How many photos total?

As of yesterday, a little over 200,000.

It's become an Internet phenomenon.

Sick world.

So why are these your favorites?

Well, in these photos, the shutterbugs made mistakes.

Got to love an amateur.

This one has a hand in it.

And this one has the photographer's face reflected in the car window.

Get CTC to run this face through every recognition system we have.

We'll send the feed to your analysts too so they can run it against the security cameras from the monument.

Cameras got nothing. Bag was in a blind spot.

All right, we'll work our photos.

How many we got of the Washington monument, Earl?

About 17... Thousand.

[Sighs]

You k*lled me with POTUS, Lucas.

One of my first days on the job, and you spin me out?

What are you talking about?

Your pages in the PDB, two of them were missing.

She's asking me questions about FARC...

Direct, pertinent questions...

And I look like a moron.

I'm sure they were in the book.

Mo, I swear.

Did you double-check it before you went to the white house?

Mo, you got to double-check the book.

You sticking up for him?

No, I'm not sticking up for him.

I didn't have the time.

And I didn't think I would get sandbagged by one of my own.

You all right?

Nope.

Today is a rough day to be briefing the president.

Jack Dawkins is a hostage, there's a b*mb at the monument, and how am I supposed to brief her on Bellerophon?

I just learned about it two days ago.

I mean, you lived it for three years.

Bear down, mo.

You can do this.

Yeah, but I don't want to.

I just want things to be back to the way that they were.

Sorry, I'm selfish.

I just want the old band back together again.

Well, I'm running Bellerophon and Nick Vera full-time, but I can help you with it.

Have you talked to Nick?

Not since I left Yemen.

Worried?

But Dawkins is top of the book.

You got to get a line on him for POTUS.

I keep hitting walls at full speed.

Dawkins is good.

In a pinch, he's even better.

You know if our old amps base station can pick up a signal?

Even a weak one from a remote location?

Yeah, we can triangulate cell phones, even if they're powered down.

Not a cell, smaller.

Our surveillance dish can pick up anything as small as 850 megahertz.

Why?

We haven't been listening.

This is a little public for Fatah, isn't it?

Get out.

My associates say you're good at moving money.

Yeah, your associate's a smart guy.

So what?

Buyer's bonds, Switzerland, gems?

Among other things.

Switzerland's not the neutral gear it used to be.

Hmm.

Take off your clothes.

What?

Guys, if I knew it was gonna get weird, I would've wore something special.

My eyes are up here.

This doesn't go with us.

Knock yourself out.

[Phone clatters]

[Glass smashes]

Aegis got us some news.

POTUS will want to hear it.

Arizona pd found another backpack at the hoover dam.

Same Ar Rissalah symbol. Also empty.

They're upping the thr*at.

This one had traces of tungsten and tritonal in it.

b*mb chemicals.

Sophisticated b*mb chemicals.

Only universities or research labs would have it.

And we're all over both of them, bracing any students who would have access to those chemicals.

We'll run whatever you got against who's been visiting the middle east.

And visiting national monuments.

We could run every one of those names against the mistake photos.

Interagency cooperation. I like it.

Bureau, homeland, we're gonna need your help on this.

Everybody feels the next backpack we find is gonna be full...

If we find it at all.

You get whatever we get. That's a promise.

Agent Scott, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the ops center.

You're not read in on what's next.

No problem. I appreciate the help, folks.

Don't start a w*r.

We'll try not to.

All right, Earl, pipe in the feed from the amps surveillance dish.

Audio systems stat.

Maureen, do you think Jack's gonna suddenly call us?

No, he knows we can't see into the jungle.

And this whole time, we have been looking instead of listening.

Listen to this.

[Beeping]

Hold on a second. That's low-hertz output.

That's a walkie, from the looks of it.

Trying to lock it now.

Somewhere in this area.

Songbird, I need to clean up over these coordinates, over.

See that V? It's manmade. Jack did that.

That's code for S.O.S.

It's in every m*llitary training manual.

New heat signatures about five Miles to the east of that.

FARC.

Nobody goes that deep in the jungle on purpose.

Nobody good. Maureen?

Get those coordinates to Southern command so that SEAL team four can move in.

We may have eyes on Jack Dawkins.

SEALs are en route.

They have Dawkins' location.

Thank God.

I want to know the moment he touches down on American soil.

Of course.

Ma'am, this rescue could be...

It could be very good for you.

This nation could use a hero right now.

Kyle Green and her cronies have been carpet-bombing the airwaves, blaming you for the uptick in t*rror1st activity, making it look like you're responsible for all things Ar Rissalah.

Reminding Americans what a real, true patriot is in the form of a recently released decorated special ops soldier could earn us a lot of goodwill.

David, can I speak to my wife for a second?

Alone?

Is that really necessary?

Well, if it wasn't, I wouldn't be asking you to excuse yourself.

Um, it's fine. Give us a minute.

That man is just about everything I hate about politics wrapped up in a really good suit.

I depend on David to concern himself with appearances, Marshall.

That's the gig.

That's all David seems to concern himself with, grandstanding and exploiting any and all for pure political gain.

Politics is a game of overlapping currents.

You learn to read the waves, you ride them, or you get swept under.

Dawkins saved your life.

He did, and I intend to save his.

And let the world know you did it.

Dawkins doesn't need to be paraded around like a show pony just because Kyle Green is calling you out on your mistakes.

Oh, so you agree with her att*cks on my administration?

Political discourse and debate is a necessary thing, CeCe.

Checks and balances, ebbs and flows.

Mudslinging and b*mb-throwing, Marshall.

You're an academic.

I should think you'd be able to make the distinction.

You think I'm being a Thorn in your side just for the sake of being a Thorn in your side?

You tell me.

I need to get to work.

I'm still your husband, madam president.

I don't mind us having a disagreement, CeCe, but I do mind being dismissed.

All right, what the hell is this now?

Get out.

What?

What is the problem?

What is the problem?

The problem is money launderers who appear out of thin air.

Fatah vouched for me.

Which is also a concern.

How does he know you?

[Sighs]

Kabul, three years ago.

He needed funding. I arranged it.

The fields?

Yeah, the fields.

You know poppies. You know gems.

I know the money that moves them both.

That's why he brought me here; I'm an expert.

Give me your expert opinion on each one.

Name them.

SEAL team four, 30 seconds out from the DZ.

I need a go/no-go.

SEAL one.

Go.

SEAL two.

Go.

SEAL three.

Go.

SEAL four.

Go.

Copy that. We are a go.

Rickshaw one, I have visual on dz, over.

Copy, matchbox one, eyes on approach.

LZ coming up. Stand by.

They're a few clicks away from the LZ.

Come on, Jack.

Touching down now.

Go, go, go.

SEAL four, give me a sit rep.

Disco, rickshaw one, standby.

We really ought to push out about another hundred meters to the edge of that ridgeline.

Over.

We've got heat scoring on the tree trunk, fresh blood on the floor.

Oh, no.

Rickshaw one, looks like there was a ground skirmish between two factions.

Better than a dozen casualties.

Is Dawkins K.I.A.?

Matchbox two, can we get a confirmation or a no-com on Jack Dawkins?

Rickshaw actual, he isn't here.

These guys are FARC. Dawkins is unaccounted for.

SEAL, sit-rep, in your opinion, was Dawkins taken?

Rickshaw, whoever k*lled these FARC troops was trained up and efficient.

These bodies are riddled with armor-piercing .223-caliber rounds.

There's not a single piece of brass on the ground.

What the hell does that mean?

It means whoever has Jack now are pros.

There are no other special ops teams in that area.

Whoever took him got away fast.

Had to be a helo.

Yeah, get him out that fast without a trace, it would have to be a chopper.

An AK-13 helicopter rotored out of the jungle at 2:04 P.M.

It was seen heading south.

What's south of there?

Cordova international airport.

A G-5 departed five minutes ago. - Heading where?

Leesburg private airfield, Virginia.

Dash, go find out who the plane is registered to.

Maureen, you better brief the president.

She's gonna want to hear this in person.

I'm giving orders. I'm sorry. Old habits.

No, no, it's all right. What are you thinking?

That if you wanted to humiliate the president, you'd rescue Jack before her, then drop him off in her backyard.

The question then becomes, who would want to do that?

Soon as we recover Dawkins, we'll have him dispatched to Walter Reid medical center for evaluation and debrief.

I want that plane met.

Homeland security and FBI are inbound.

So is Charlie.

Ma'am, I need to talk to you about something.

An amethyst.

Cubic zirconia.

Am...

Alexandrite.

Impressive.

You can hide those in costume jewelry; they look cheap.

But you want to hide money in gems, you're gonna have to do a lot better than that, or you're going to be the one with a g*n to your head.

That's what you're here for.

To separate truth from fiction, yes?

And now provide the carat count on this Ruby, and we let you live.

It's not a Ruby.

1.2 carats, and a red diamond like that could pay for a plane.

Maybe it will, my friend.

Maybe it will.

Charlie.

Jack.

I'm always happy to see you, Jack.

But this, I'm so sorry you had to go through it.

I'll be okay.

This is the gig, right?

They'll take you to Walter Reid, get you checked out, and debrief you.

Okay.

Ready, sir?

He's gonna need some time to process.

Mr. Dawkins has been through a lot.

Commander Dawkins.

He didn't give up his rank when he became agency?

I'm sorry. Who the hell are you?

I'm sorry. Victor gantry.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Tucker.

I'd like to know the company you work for and what your interest in Jack Dawkins is.

I don't work for anyone.

We happened to be in the area.

We came upon a fellow American in need.

I like to think of myself as a patriot.

A very well-funded patriot.

God bless the free market.

How did you find him?

We were doing some work down there, private security for a copper mine.

Our radio picked up a signal, and we checked it out.

A signal on a secure frequency.

Sounds like the kind of cover story I would give...

When I was less experienced, of course.

[Chuckles]

What's the company you work with, Mr. gantry?

It's nice to meet you, Charlie.

I've heard great things about you.

You keep up the good work.

[Phone dialing]

[Line rings]

Hey.

Hey.

I'm sorry.

Apology accepted.

You went walking without your security detail again.

I love you.

Me too.

Marshall?

Hello, Kyle.

Well, if it isn't Senator Green's best and brightest.

Mmm. Hi.

Thanks for meeting me.

Of course. Love this place.

Yeah.

You should order a drink, like a triple.

Oh, so it's good news, huh?

Mm-hmm, this whole Ar Rissalah b*mb thr*at.

You understand it's like you guys are painting targets on your back?

So many arrows, so much time.

Well, we're trying to get to the bottom of that.

Hmm, "trying"?

Senator Green's gonna order an investigation into the mishandling of the crisis.

That's ridiculous.

It's been, like, 12 hours since we found that backpack.

What about the second one?

You didn't know about that one, did you?

Yeah, Green's gonna hammer the CIA too.

Press release I just wrote for her.

How does Senator Green know about a second backpack?

She doesn't tell me everything.

Really?

Mm-hmm.

Well, I wonder why that is.

[Chuckles]

So what do I get?

For this?

Mm-hmm.

I don't know. I'll buy you dinner.

I don't like this place that much.

Jennifer.

Mm-hmm.

I'm trying to be good.

Now, what's the fun in that?

Can we get a couple Martinis here, please?

Yes, sir. Coming right up.

Thank you.

New day, new brief, right?

We are the road crew.

Motorhead reference or cool hand Luke?

I was on a boat with a bunch of sailors, you remember?

I know a lot about both.

Lucas didn't mess you up on purpose.

Doesn't matter.

Yeah, it does.

I know he's drinking again.

I've known for a while.

I don't know what to do.

You knew.

Yeah, Kurt.

I knew.

It's none of my business, but is something up with you two?

Kurt, I know you're interested, and there is part of me that likes it, but it is none of your business.

Right, yeah.

You're right.

Victor gantry.

What do we got?

Very, very little.

Well, very little recently.

Anything you want before 1998, just go down and pull his personnel files.

He was agency?

Ages ago, case officer.

Lot of sharpie in his file, redacted pages.

We ran the plane's registration.

Plane's out of Belize.

Security company, controlled outcomes.

They're the guys used to light up Boko Haram.

They had offices in Kabul, Baghdad, and Tripoli.

Who owns controlled outcomes?

I'm still sifting through international tax filings, but so far everything points to the... the Krieg group.

Yeah, how'd you know?

'Cause Dawkins' grab felt less like a rescue and more like an audition.

How do you want me to move forward, Charlie?

Everything you can on the Krieg group.

Bite-sized pieces for the book.

POTUS will want to know about them after what happened.

Just get all the info you can to mo for the book.

You got it.

Charlie.

It's good to have you back.

Now, what the hell is this?

Kingdom is no place for men like us... Or Omar Fatah.

Come on.

Jack.

Ma'am.

Hey.

How are you?

Tired.

It's good to be home.

It's good to have you home.

I owe you.

The nation owes you, Jack.

I don't want a medal, ma'am. I mean, I know it's...

I'm not here to give you a medal, Jack.

I'm here to give you an apology, soldier to soldier.

We got hit hard in Kabul.

You got me out.

You got me to a safe place.

As commander in chief I was unable to keep the first rule of combat.

Leave no man behind.

I left you behind, Jack.

And for that, I am deeply and irrevocably sorry.

Apology accepted, madam president.

Thank you, Jack.

So when can I go back to work?

Hey, I've got dash gathering all the information he can on the Krieg group for you.

First customer will want that tomorrow.

You don't need to do that anymore, Charlie.

Oh, I know, mo. I'm sorry.

I'm just trying to help you out.

No, I know. It's just... it's silly.

I mean, you're playing Cyrano.

I go in there, and I have your words and your thoughts in my head, and it's just obvious.

I shouldn't be briefing her. She wants you.

You have a history.

You have a shorthand.

Not anymore.

Charlie, she wants you back.

She just... She doesn't know how to say it.

I resigned today as briefer. Maureen.

It just didn't feel right to me.

It was like wearing your sister's bra.

[Laughs]

Now we can put the book together the right way.

[Phone beeps]

I need everybody in the ops center right now.

Make sure it's verified, all right?

We got a match.

The photos, we found our first t*rror1st.

The reflection of the face?

Nope, the hand.

The grand canyon.

Your buddy Scott had the bureau trace the vascular patterns.

They're more definitive than a fingerprint.

All right, well, what's our girl's name?

Who the hell is Stacy Dover?

[Rock music playing faintly]

♪ ♪

Sorority girl who studies middle eastern cultures.

I'm interested in the misunderstood.

Yeah, some would say they both oppress women.

And some would be wrong.

I got to go. Thanks for the notes.

Hey, so theta pi kappa, do they really make you write down your goals for the year?

It's a pledge thing.

It's not bad. Gives you focus.

So what are yours?

Get all "A"s, make new friends, score a boyfriend?

My goal is sort of a big one.

I want to make a real difference in the world.

Like, a real one.

You asked to speak to me, ma'am?

Yes.

Come sit with me, Charlie.

I was just visiting Jack Dawkins.

How is he doing?

He's exhausted, dying to get back in the field.

That's Jack.

We let him down.

We left him stranded in a Panamanian prison.

And he got snatched up like a poker chip.

A private company goes in, gets the job done.

The Krieg group, ma'am.

They're staffed by ex-m*llitary and ex-intelligence officers run by a former CIA case officer named Victor gantry.

The team is researching them now.

I'm intrigued.

I'd like to know more about them.

Intrigued how, ma'am?

I just appreciate this firm's ability to color outside the lines.

And not get caught.

Put it in your brief for me tomorrow.

Is that an invitation, ma'am?

It is.

Battle lines are being drawn.

As much as I may need allies, even more so, I need my friends.

I'd be honored, ma'am.

So where are we on the photographs?

We've identified a college student, Stacy Dover.

Bureau and homelands think it's nothing... A harmless prank.

I'm inclined to think otherwise.