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03x05 - The Idiot Army

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Lioness". Aired: July 23, 2023 – present.*
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Taylor Sheridan’s spy thriller follows Joe (Zoe Saldaña) who leads undercover CIA operations on the w*r on terror by enlisting women operatives that are known as Lionesses.

03x05 - The Idiot Army

Post by bunniefuu »

The one thing that made
the United States

so dangerous for so long

was that your people believed
in the fantasy of freedom.

Spare me the f*cking lectures
on failed societies.

How bad can this f*cking thing get?

SVR has some knowledge
of the Lioness program,

but they don't have definitive proof.

Joe can provide that.

Okay, NSA has a hit.

All right, he's in a hangar
right f*cking here.

- Can you put us on the roof?
- You got a bird?

- Down, down, down, down, down!
- Down now! Down now!

- f*ck.
- Bobby.

Blood on the floor?

Looks like you missed a spot,
m*therf*cker!

We have diplomatic immunity.

- Tail number.
- N, five...

Departed 11:07.

They loaded her onto a Challenger 300.

She's on a jet.

Destination unknown,

transponder disabled.

We're still a step behind,

and time's not on our side.

Would you like a dance?

I think I said it earlier, and I meant it.

- You are the prett...
- Are you gonna tell me

- I'm the prettiest girl?
- You are...

How'd you know?

I wish I could take you home.

You can.

- Yeah?
- Yeah. Just got to sign me out.

- Okay.
- Yeah?

Yeah.

- Wait here.
- Okay.

Just gonna get my things.

I'll stay right here.

Hurry back.

Ready for me?

Right and left thumb.

Damn. Y'all take this pretty serious.

That it?

Need a f*cking blood sample
or anything?

I'll just... Okay.

See you tomorrow.

Where's your bedroom?

That way.

You have really good taste.

I can't take credit.

My company owns this apartment.

Your company has really good taste.

It's your lucky day.

You ain't f*cking kidding.

Hey! What the f*ck?

Our thoughts exactly.

What the f*ck, Cade?

What the f*ck would motivate the son

of two anesthesiologists
who went to Georgetown,

who grew up with every
possible advantage in life

to take money from a foreign agent?

More specifically,

what did you sell them?

What trade secret of Booz Allen's

did you f*cking sell them?

I want a lawyer.

I would, too,

if we were the FBI.

But we aren't.

I'm here to get the name

and the contact information
of your handler,

or my associate over here is
gonna carry you out the patio,

and he's gonna throw you
off the f*cking building.

What the f*ck
are you talking about? Wait.

Jesus Christ! Hey, no, wait. Okay.

All right. Wait! Okay, hey!

What, you-you got something to say?

My phone.

A name, Cade.

- Rooster. It's under Rooster.
- Rooster.

What does that mean, "you got
something"? What do you got?

It just depends
on-on whatever he's looking for.

He, who is he?

Is it Rooster? Who the f*ck is Rooster?

- I don't know.
- Cut the f*cking bullshit.

- I don't know.
- What does he look like?

Like a f*cking math nerd.

Set him down.

f*ck.

How did you meet Rooster?

He gave me a test.

- A test?
- The answers to a data

structures and algorithms test.

Gave 'em to me and f*cking

now I don't have a choice.
Do you understand me?

I don't get money.

He owns my f*cking degree,
my whole future.

Do you get it? My whole future.

Not anymore, he doesn't.

We hold it now.

So you get something.
You send him a text,

he sends you an address, and
you meet him there, is that it?

Yes.

Get dressed.

Okay.

Do you have a coffee machine
in your kitchen?

A coffee maker.

f*ck, Cade.

- Yeah.
- Can someone figure out coffee?

Our meet is at 0800.

Am I on coffee duty?

If the shoe fits, baby.

Since when did I become
Sally f*cking Homemaker?

Tucker...

You want to explain to Cade who we are?

"Shut the f*ck up" is who we are.

Not another f*cking word,

- you understand me?
- Yes. I understand...

The f*ck did I just say?

That's who we are.

Have a seat, Richard.

Shyla didn't mention a boyfriend.

All right?

Did you mention a wife?

Slipped my mind.

Four children.

You got me, man.

You-you got me.

Yes. I do.

There's also video, two hours of it.

Well...

That Viagra's no joke. What can I say?

This is funny to you?

There's a certain irony to it.

Yes.

I see no irony.

Hands, hands, hands, hands!

Hey!

- You see it now, don't you?
- Hands!

Turn the f*ck around. Face down.
Hands behind your head.

Interlock your fingers.

Now, lower your head down
to your knees.

Head all the way down.

Don't move.

Stand up. Turn around.
Hands behind your head.

Why me? I don't got sh*t to do with this.

Don't bullshit a bullshitter.

Get the f*ck up. Get up!

What the f*ck?

I have rights!

No, you don't. Not anymore.

I hope you wore a f*cking condom.

I'm serious.

I hope you wore it, too.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
you really f*cked that stripper?

Hey, I'm a method actor, okay, bro?

You Ground Branch guys
are f*cking nuts.

Okay, we're nuts? Okay, got it.

New deal on the way. Check your Signal.

Yes, ma'am. Coming our way when?

You're already late.

Yes, ma'am.

This kid's gonna pass out.

He needs to calm
the f*ck down. Tell him.

I'm trying.

Are Bravo and Charlie in place?

Bravo, Charlie, this is Alpha.
Are you set?

- Bravo set.
- Charlie set.


Good to go.

Asset's in place.

Why are you sweating?

Hungover as f*ck.

This didn't need to happen today.

I don't like having all this sh*t on a drive.

Green light. Green light, let's go.

Bravo, Charlie, you are green.

What the f*ck?!

Eyes down.

Okay. Okay, okay.

You didn't think this was over, did you?

We're just getting started.

You can't hold me.

My student visa gives me
diplomatic immunity.

That's why you kids have got to stop

getting your news from TikTok.

Only diplomats

who are registered with
the U.S. Department of State

are granted diplomatic immunity.

You're not on that list.

Believe me. We checked.

So, you're gonna be charged

with 18 U.S. Code 1831

and 18 U.S.C. 793-794.

I-I don't know what those mean.

Well, your lawyer's gonna explain it

when you get one.

Now, let me tell you the penalty.

When you're found guilty,

which you will be, because
there's caught red-handed

and caught with your d*ck in your hand,

and, somehow,
you found a way to do both.

And we have it on video.

Let me get back to the penalty,

which is life imprisonment times three,

a maximum-security prison

based on your threat to national security.

Can you imagine the commodity

a handsome young man

who can't weigh more than a buck 50

would be to a bunch of drug traffickers

who have surrendered to the fact

that they will never
get to love a woman again?

This is my senior case officer.

And she?

She's gonna determine whether

you can provide us
with enough information

that we're gonna pause
our demand for justice.

And when I say justice,

I mean vindictive retribution.

Understand the game?

I think so.

Trade information for freedom.

No.

We're not trading anything.

You're gonna dazzle me

with hard data, names,
and explicit information

to the structure, financing,

and execution of all your operations.

I'm gonna need to understand
your flow of information

as well as you do.

Or...

I'm gonna drive to the county jail

with a stack of 100s
as thick as my f*cking neck.

And I'll spend the next six hours

cherry-picking your cellmate
for the evening.

And then, tomorrow,
we get to do it all over again.

So what are all you Belarus f*ck

doing running around Washington, D.C.?

I'm Lithuanian.

Your passport's Lithuanian.

But last I checked, Belarus military

wasn't allowing Lithuanians
in their military.

I've never been to Belarus.
I don't know Belarus.

Boy, you got to give me a
little more f*cking credit here.

I'm a senior case officer for the CIA,

so if I want data on someone,

I just take their fingerprints
from their visa application,

and I run it through
a little program at the NSA,

which cross-references those
fingerprints with Interpol,

EU Entry, Privium, ETAS,

not to mention the database
of military enrollment

in virtually every nation,

if it pays a pension or has

a Veterans Affairs Department,

which...

our little brainiacs

have been mining and stealing
data from since the...

the internet went live.

You joined in 2010,

accepted to SSU in 2012,

served in the 5th Spetsnaz Brigade,

where you participated in putting down

the 2020 uprising in Brest,
where you guys...

you guys just started smoking f*ck.

Wow.

I mean, that...

that must really simplify
dispersing protesters.

As a foreign national entering the U.S.

on a fraudulent passport
and engaging in espionage...

which is a big no-no around here...

the constitutional protections
that lawful visitors,

immigrants, and citizens enjoy,

they don't apply to you.

So, I'm not gonna sit here and
listen to your memorized lies

and your bullshit intel that

you're gonna try and float me.

What I am gonna do is I'm gonna
send you to Guantánamo Bay.

Stick you in an eight-by-eight
cage, no ceiling,

feed you three times a week,

while you cook in the f*cking heat,

and we blast Metallica at 110 decibels



for three years.

Then we'll see if you feel like
telling me the truth.

Hey.

You ever had dengue fever?

You're gonna love it.

Yeah, the locals call it "bone-break fever"

because I guess that's what it feels like.

It's not a matter of
if you get it, I promise you,

I promise you, you're gonna get it,

'cause it's the first thing we give you.

Have a good trip. We'll see you in 2028.

Get up. Up.

Wait. Wait. Wait!

I will tell you the truth!

I will tell you now!

I promise I will tell you the truth!

I will tell you now. I will tell you now.

All right, guys, bring him back in.

Let's hear what he has to say.

Don't go far, guys.

Hey.

I want to introduce you to somebody.

What do you think of that?

A f*cking Russian
double agent in the flesh.

I mean, you just...

Jesus, you just don't see that
every day, do you?

What do you think it means
that I told you who she is?

It means...

I'm never going free.

Ever.

All we do today is pick a prison.

And believe me when I tell you...

there are levels to that game.

They're five minutes out.

That was them?

Kaitlyn, would you care
to bring us up to speed?

Sure. We began our operation

targeting known assets
of Russian intelligence.

We have apprehended
four individuals in one sting,

two individuals in another, although,

the second appears to be an asset

of the Chinese Ministry of State.

Our two senior case officers
are meant to be here now.

They're, conducting interviews

and they're en route to debrief.

NSA has been processing
the information provided.

They're also mining information from

seized computers and cell phones,

and NSA is sending information
in real time as they gather it.

Director Westfield, would you
care to elaborate on CIA's

decision to completely exclude.

FBI's counterintelligence
from this operation?

All our officers
have FBI credentials, ma'am.

This was, in essence, a CED operation.

Okay. Without any oversight,

without any adherence
to the chain of command.

So, in other words, this operation

was and is complete bullshit.

And those credentials are

a convenient work-around
to avoid violating

the National Security Act of 1947

and Executive Act 12333,
which you still violated.

Okay. Number one,

CED was informed
once the targets were detained

and are in FBI custody as we speak.

Yeah? All of them?

Two are still being interviewed.

Are any of my agents
present at those interviews?

Sworn agents of the FBI
are present, yes.

No, I don't mean your agents.
I mean my agents.

Can we pause the d*ck-measuring
over jurisdiction here

and discuss what has been
uncovered thus far, okay?

If this procedure
is not followed to the letter,

those cases will not be prosecutable.

I couldn't give a sh*t about prosecution.

I care about what secrets
have been stolen,

who has those secrets,

is our national security compromised

and to what extent?

Crimes against national security
give us extreme latitude

in detaining individuals,

as they are essentially w*r crimes,

which suspends the due process clause,

as well as the search and seizure

protections of the Fourth Amendment.

We can detain them
for years without trial.

If we assess that they are

a continued threat to national security,

we can detain them indefinitely.

That is why I don't care
about prosecution.

Which brings us to the question:

is our national security at risk?

Without a question.

Give us an example.

So, my Lioness was in contact

with a software engineer
at a leading defense firm

with heavy focus on AI enhancement.

This individual was extorted by

a Chinese Ministry of State
contract agent

into providing sensitive,

privileged information
on multiple occasions.

NSA is processing the exposed data

to make a threat
and damage assessment.

What's most concerning is this agent

seems to have been activated

by a professor at a university

where both these individuals

obtained advanced degrees
in software engineering.

The Chinese agent himself is
a software engineer at Raytheon.

We are in contact
with their head of security,

and he has isolated all
of this individual's accounts

and is processing
with DIA and NSA as we speak.

It appears a software engineer professor

that taught both these individuals

is also complicit based on
statements by the detainee.

We have obtained a warrant
through CED,

and we will be picking him up
this afternoon.

Another Chinese national?

American citizen.

A Richard Ealy, born 9-22-67 in Boston,

undergrad at Cornell,

advanced degrees
in both computer science

and software engineering.

He taught at Ann Arbor until


And how's he involved?

Apparently, he provides exam answers

to Mr. Lin... code name Rooster...

which then he peddles down to students

who seem to lack
a level of moral integrity.

How is this professor compensated?

Our source says no compensation.

It appears that our professor
believes that our government

and our economic system
are fatally flawed,

and he's more aligned politically

with the Chinese
governmental structure.

So he's a communist?

It's hard to call him a communist

with a professor's salary
of $280,000 a year

and an IT consulting firm,

but he certainly appears to be
a communist sympathizer.

So beyond this professor,

how far does this go?

We'll have a better understanding

after I interview him.

What we learned in Afghanistan

is those motivated
by ideology never cooperate.

With all due respect, ma'am,

but what we've learned in Afghanistan

is those motivated by religion
never cooperate

because their god
is with them everywhere...

in prison, in exile,

and in death.

Ideology is useless in those places.

Besides, he's got a wife and two kids...

both of them in private school...

and a beach house in Hilton Head.

It looks like his ideology
remains on campus.

Anything else?

More tomorrow, I hope.

So we placed an operator undercover,

posed as a salesman
for a defense contractor,

placed him in a bar
known for honeypotting,

and by the end of the night,
he made contact

and provided necessary evidence

to convince Russian
foreign agents to move on him.

What was the evidence, if I may ask?

Well, typically...

these honeypotters perform sexual acts

on the subjects,
providing blackmail material

that allows them
to be subjugated by the agent,

forcing them to provide intel
in any number of forms.

Are you saying that your operator

allowed sexual acts
to be performed on him?

If I recall from the video,

my operator did most
of the performing, ma'am.

Okay, so this has gone completely rogue.

Look, okay, with-with all due respect,

we are not infiltrating some biker g*ng

selling stolen g*ns and speed.

These are enemies of the state

actively seeking means
to weaken us as a nation.

We broke no laws.

Two consenting adults had sex,

no money exchanged hands.

All right? The-the fact that
one of them did so

with the intent of extorting
one of my officers,

that's a crime, and one
you should charge her with.

And by the way, you can slap

a treason charge on top of it.
You're welcome.

Okay, I could do without the flippancy.

Yeah, and I can do without
the inference of impropriety

towards my officers
at every f*cking turn.

Can we stop the d*ck-measuring

of jurisdiction and procedure?
Kyle, please continue.

Okay. Well...

what's interesting is these Russians

all have Belarus citizenship,

using passports
in Lithuania, Latvia, Malta.

Also, the senior contract agent

fed me intel, which was all planted.

How do you know
this information was planted?

Because it all checks out.

Everything he gave me, NSA can verify,

which means, obviously,
we already knew it.

And our double agent verified
that these gives

are all standard offerings that

most Russian agents
would utilize if detained.

So, we are gonna send him to Gitmo,

let him cook for a bit
and see if his intel improves.

Do you feel the Belarus agents are,

con-connected to,

Russian forces directly or indirectly?

My best guess?

They're g*ns for hire,

seeking information valuable
to our adversaries...

Qatar, Syria, Iran,

Venezuela, possibly China, but doubtful,

since Russia sees China
as an adversary as well.

So, beyond picking up this professor,

what's the next steps?

This was a pretty splashy first day.

They know we're hunting,
which was the goal.

They'll clam up.

Their sources will get nervous.

They'll possibly even reach out
to us looking for a parachute.

We have a very strong list

of Russian sources in the U.S.

NSA has already dug

into their bank accounts

and found some very big,
big-ticket purchases

that don't necessarily align
with their income.

Most of these sources are U.S. citizens,

so they'll be coming your way,
Director Wexler.

Okay, so why not this professor?
Let us take it from here.

We have a latitude in questioning

that the FBI does not have.

Because we're not investigating a crime,

nor can we charge him with any,

we're simply seeking information

in the interest of national security.

So, no Miranda rights,

no Fourth, Fifth, and 14th
to limit the scope

or manner of our inquiries.

And certainly, anything that we uncover

will still be admissible in court

as witness testimony on our part.

All right.

Good work, Joe.

Stay with it.

One last thing.

What we're about to divulge
requires, T.S. clearance.

It is Yankee White only.

Kaityln, Kyle and I don't
have that clearance.

You don't need it. You're
the ones who mine the intel.

We have a source in the Russian SVR.

This individual has provided us
with a list of Russian sources

who are currently working in the U.S.

We're aware.

What you aren't aware of

is some of the more prominent
names on that list.

How prominent?

Executives at multiple
television networks.

Senior editors
at The Post and The Times.

Four district court judges,
two circuit court judges.

Seven members of the House
and two in the Senate.

My God.

But you know this?
Not speculate, know it?

- We...
- We have the SVR files, ma'am,

which contain bank account information,

routing numbers, pay schedules
through various foundations

and NGOs, typically
as campaign contributions.

The evidence is damning.

The question is...

what would you like us to do with it?

Our worry is that,

whether we detain or FBI arrests,

this is gonna send a shock wave

through the higher learning institutions,

through the major media outlets,

through the public officials,
both elected to office.

Will it cause a collapse in confidence

through these institutions

that is actually more helpful
to the Russians

than the sources they have in place?

We could do arrests in stages
over a period of time.

What period of time
are we talking about?

Once one of the dominoes falls,
they all fall,

whether we knock them down or not.

May I?

Joe, let us figure this out.

Well, I know. I just...

No, I'd...

I'd like to hear what she has to say.

Go ahead, Joe.

Look, Kyle and I are the
only spies in the room, right?

It was spies who hooked these fish.

You can arrest them, sure,

but we can switch the hooks.

Remove theirs, put in ours.

Explain that.

We approach
every compromised official,

we present them our evidence,
and we give them

the option of retiring in the next 24 hours

or they face prison.

We don't offer them immunity.

We don't offer them anything.

We simply withhold action.

They tell us everything,
they give us everything,

and from this day forward,
they are our sources.

Who are these senators?

Olson and Mayer.

Mayer's a freshman.

It's likely they had him before

and were just instrumental
in his decision to run.

We audited his campaign contributions:

energy company in Crimea,
Armenian IT company,

Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu.

Jesus.

Yes.

Well, your plan makes sense, Joe.

They're removed
from power immediately.

They have no means
of defying the demand,

because we can prosecute.

We'd be forced to, in this instance.

No statute of limitations on treason.

We could prosecute any time we see fit.

Okay, you two.

You take Mayer, I'll take Olson.

Yes, sir.

You two, start working the House.

With pleasure.

Director Wexler.

- Sir?
- If we can have

special agents from CED
at all of these meetings.

Anyone that says no is arrested.

Let the chips fall where they may.

God have mercy on us all.

Do you think your guys were connected

with the guys in my house?

How many contract agents from Belarus

can there be in D.C., right?
They got to be.

Before you ship your guy off, ask, push.

My guy ain't talking,
not for a few months anyway.

Just ask anyway. Plant the seed
before you stick him in a box.

It'll be the thing he trades to get out.

All right. I'll ask him.
Have fun with your professor.

I plan to.

How's our house guest?

Pretty quiet, except for your big prize.

Yeah? What's he saying?

Been praying.

Lot of good that's gonna do him.

He's been praying in Arabic.

You got to be sh1tting me.

They all going to Gitmo?

No, just the prize.
You guys ready to travel?

We have a Moose holding for us
out at Andrews.

Wheels up at 1900, though.

This won't take long.

Well...

you've been holding out on me.

Didn't realize you were a religious man.

Been listening to you "Allahu Akbar"

for the last couple hours.

You a Lipka Tatar?

That's not very Muslim of you,
helping the Russian state.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Okay.

Now we're getting somewhere.

All right, well, listen,

you're about to ship off
to Camp Hell in a few minutes.

So, while you're there,
sitting in the 100-degree heat,

buck naked
with about a thousand mosquitoes

the size of f*cking sparrows
sucking you dry...

I want you to think about this.

Two Belarus contract agents

made an abduction attempt
on a case officer in Virginia.

You know what I'm referring to?

- This is news to me.
- Come on.

Give me a f*cking break.

You got less than 40,000 people
in your entire f*cking army,

a few hundred in SF.

All you f*ck know each other,

and you know exactly
what I'm talking about.

But...

when you feel like talking,

just tell that marine sergeant who

beats you with a baton
before every meal.

'Cause that's how you make
the pain stop, Alex.

And it's the only way.

Get up. Get up.

What is paramount to understand:

AI will likely render what I do

and what you aspire to do

as obsolete.

Likewise to careers in marketing,

accounting, engineering...

whether software,
biological, mechanical...

data analysis, research management.

All of these careers will
disappear in the next decade.

You must alter the focus
of your education to include

machine learning, computer vision

and management strategies,
NLP engineering,

computer vision engineering.

And you must prepare yourselves
for a world

in which your endeavors
are not compensated with money.

Your compensation is
in the collective betterment

of our society, of our state.

What, no money, you say?

Yep, that's the future.

Your efforts will be compensated

through the services provided to
you in return from the state...

housing, health care, food,

clean transportation, entertainment.

And as you prepare yourselves

for a career in the future,

you must prepare yourselves
also for a world

that replaces the imperialist goals

and economic meddling
of a "free-market society"

with a dedication to a state

that in turn dedicates itself

to an equitable life for all humankind.

Interesting position.

It's not a position, it's the inevitable truth.

Let's say the inevitable
becomes true tomorrow.

Are you willing to pull
your kids out of private school,

turn your beach house over
to the government,

and allow them to seize
the four million in equities.

Fidelity manages for you?

I bet not.

You strike me more as a

"have your cake and eat it, too"
kind of guy.

Who are you?

I...

am the inevitable consequence
of your actions, Mr. Ealy.

And what actions
would you be referring to?

Selling exam answers
through your TA to students

with the intent to extort and recruit them

to provide information
to the Chinese Ministry

of State Security.

The legal definition for that action

is treason, Mr. Ealy.

I guess you'll be
surrendering your money

and your property to
the U.S. government after all.

- Do you have a warrant?
- I do.

I want a lawyer.

I would, too.

You're not free to go,

- Mr. Ealy.
- I want a lawyer.

I don't know who you people are.
Get the f*ck out of my way.

Bad call, Richard.

We got a vehicle out back.

We're gonna spare you
the indignity for now.

You haven't read me my rights.

Let me show you my other badge.

You don't have any rights
with this badge.

Why are we even messing
with this guy, anyway?

Could've had CED pick him up,
bring him right to us.

'Cause this guy...

If this guy lived in a shitty apartment

and donated his entire salary
to the communist party,

I could at least respect
his commitment to the cause.

This as*h*le lives better than we do,

then advocates tearing down the
system that allows him to do it.

Nah, f*ck him.

I want to look him in the eye
when his f*cking world crumbles.

Perks of this job are endless,
ain't they, boss?

Yeah.

Hi.

Hey.

Sure.

Thank you.

Here you go, my love.

How was your day?

I saw a 16-year-old girl
with stage 3 colon cancer.

- In a teenager?
- Yeah.

I didn't think that was possible.

Yeah, it's becoming
more and more common.

It's got to be something environmental.

Micro plastics or some preservative

or, you know, something
with greed at its root.

That's pretty deep, babe.

Pretty philosophical for a physician.

Yeah.

Maybe so, but still true.

I'd ask you about your day, but...

You can ask.

How was your day?

It was...

illuminating.

Illuminating? How so?

Every enemy we have

has been waging

a 50-year covert w*r against us,

attacking us with the tiniest of cuts.

What kind of cuts?

To our infrastructure,

our government, our schools,

social media, everything.

I'm not really following.
How'd they do that?

Lenin used to call
compassionate progressives

in the West "useful idiots"

because, on the surface,

what they wanted
appeared to be what he wanted,

and he used that.

That's how he took power.

And now, they're all doing it,

and they've been doing it for so long.

Like spies?

Influencers, information peddlers,

an-an army of useful idiots

for 50 years.

And now, we're infested with them.

Open mouth.

Open mouth.

Come on.