Ransom (2017) s02e09 Episode Script

Hardline

1 English, for a girl who wants to study in America.
Hey, my English is as good as yours.
Three weeks away, and I still don't have my dream dress.
We discussed it, and because it's a once-in-a-lifetime event and only 'cause it's a once-in-a-lifetime event you may spend 500.
And that's shoes and everything else included.
And no negotiation.
Okay, but What did I say about negotiation? But this night will literally go down in history.
And we can afford it.
Mom, you can pick five of those “formative books” you want me to read.
I'll have them done by my birthday for shoes separate.
Okay, have it your way.
Eight books, English, at my discretion, for 500, shoes separate.
Six.
Ah, I have to - Got to go.
- Got to go.
Yep.
Bye, Mommy.
Oh, sorry.
Hello? Her airway's obstructed and her heart's racing from the epinephrine.
I'm a nurse.
Help! Help, someone! Help! When's the last time you were whisked away on a private jet by a client who wouldn't even give you their name? This is a first.
Hello, we're here to see Daniel.
Not much of a talker.
Or the staff were told to keep quiet.
Hmm.
Hello.
- I'm Daniel.
- Eric Beaumont.
Zara Hallam and Oliver Yates.
Right.
I need your assurance this will remain entirely confidential.
Goes without saying.
Please Uh, earlier today, my daughter Abby was abducted.
We received this.
This is my daughter.
The other woman is a bystander who tried to help.
What does the message say, please? It says “Two million euros.
Wait for instructions.
” I don't have access to that kind of money.
Not at the drop of a hat.
My wife Lana does through a family trust.
That explains the cloak-and-dagger routine.
Your wife is Lana Glas? Lana Glas, as in Lana Glas? As in soon to be the first person of color elected prime minister of the Netherlands.
If the polls are right, but there is a problem.
Lana's made a public vow.
She'll never negotiate with terrorists or kidnappers.
Can you negotiate without my wife's consent? It's not a deal breaker, but we like to have both parents on the same page.
Well, I'm not sure that's possible.
Are you not on good terms? We were, until today.
Look, we both lost our tempers this morning.
I called her things I shouldn't have called her.
The irony is, this is all wrapped up in what I love about Lana.
She's married to her principles.
This isn't about the election.
She really believes that paying ransoms only encourages more kidnappings.
Sounds like a formidable woman.
Yeah, well, for the first time in our life together, I wish she wasn't.
Does Lana know you've hired me? That's what started our fight this morning.
Hopefully, you'll be more convincing than I was.
Daniel, who's our guest? Eric Beaumont, private negotiator.
Hi.
Cynthia Walker, Lana Glas' chief of staff.
It would be best if you left the building.
I realize the optics are a concern.
It would suggest that Lana's willing to negotiate, - which is not true.
- Cynthia, are you really going to try to stop me from bringing my guest to see my wife? No.
But let me put it this way Lana's not going to negotiate.
And your presence here is putting Abby at risk by suggesting that she'll pay a ransom.
She won't.
Negotiation doesn't always mean money changes hands.
He's handled hundreds of negotiations.
I have handled hundreds of negotiations as well.
With politics on the line, or lives? Ma'am, they're ready.
For what? You're expecting contact from the kidnappers? It's not your concern.
I'm working for Abby's father, and his rights aren't diminished by Lana's position or yours.
You strike me as someone smart enough to never turn down an asset.
- I am an asset.
- They've called.
You can come in.
I do the talking.
Thank you.
I want someone who speaks English.
Who am I speaking with? Not your concern.
I want to speak to Lana Glas.
It would be best for you to consider that we have all the resources of the government mobilized to find Abby.
Think about what that means.
Turning yourself in is your only option.
He's making a video call.
Putting Lana Glas on the line is your only option.
Oh, God.
If you fire, you're giving up your leverage.
You've put too much effort into this.
- Ten seconds.
- Cynthia.
Offer him something.
Doesn't have to be money.
I can offer you something more valuable than money.
I can promise you your freedom.
If you release Abby now, unharmed, we won't pursue you.
Five seconds.
You need to buy time.
Tell him if they don't hurt Abby, you'll speak to Lana.
- You'll see what you can do.
- Right.
I can make you an offer.
Let me speak to Lana first.
Speak to her.
Then drop the money in a place we'll tell you.
You have 24 hours, until 10:00 tomorrow night, or we pull the trigger.
Hi.
Of course.
The minister would like to speak with you.
Thanks.
If you, uh, think of anything else, feel free to give me a call.
And feel better.
Okay.
Danke.
So, the bodyguard's all torn up.
Metrics say he's not involved.
You? No luck.
Apparently, when the Dutch government seizes a store's CCTV, they don't share it.
But I did find out a second ambulance arrived a few minutes after the first.
Which means the first one was fake.
Which takes planning.
The bodyguard suggests the guys in the ambulance were working for someone else.
He also said the peanut allergy wasn't widely known.
But these kidnappers knew.
Mm.
Lana Glas is minister of foreign affairs.
I'm guessing she's not making a huge salary.
How much is that family trust worth? Something like 50 million.
So, why ask for two million from a woman who's worth 50? I just need to see she is okay.
Five minutes.
You okay? I wouldn't go right to “okay,” but I can breathe.
You still sound a little wheezy.
Can I? I heard them.
They want a ransom from your mom.
She'll pay it, right? She'll get us both out of here? What's the matter? My mom's Lana Glas.
Wow.
I didn't realize.
She's made promises about not paying ransoms.
And she believes it.
She won't pay.
But you're her kid.
You don't know my mom.
She's really that cold? It's not cold, it's just she has these crazy high principles.
And she pushes herself hard.
And me.
I love her, but Lana Glas' daughter can't be average, right? This is Eric Beaumont.
I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances.
Mr.
Beaumont.
I asked to see you for two reasons.
One, to thank you for helping on that call.
And two, to tell you that we won't be needing your services.
Hear him out.
Why don't I hear you out first? Do you remember the mass bombing in Mogadishu in 1996? Killed 72 people, yeah.
What you don't know is that there was a kidnapping two months before.
I advised my superiors not to pay ransom, but they did.
The terrorists got their money but still executed three hostages.
And they used that money to fund the attack in Mogadishu.
Do you know how often a ransom gets paid and the hostages die anyway? I know 81% of EU nationals taken hostage by a terrorist are freed if their country has no policy against paying ransoms.
Which isn't the case in the Netherlands.
Maybe you should change your policy.
You think I'm heartless? Arguing statistics at a time like this? No, no.
I would give my own life for my daughter.
I don't doubt it.
This morning I had to ask my chief of staff to make sure that I don't break down and pay.
'Cause that's all I want to do.
But I'm not abandoning Abby.
I'm protecting lives in the future.
- With a manhunt? - Yes.
With less than 24 hours until they kill her? Every second she's out there, her life is at risk.
Your plan forces you to wait for more information.
I can act now.
You have strong principles, and I respect that, but this is a unique case.
You've kept the story quiet.
You can pay the ransom without encouraging any more kidnappings.
If we're dealing with a terrorist group, two million is small change.
How would it work? If I paid? If.
It's been leaked.
Excuse me.
Was this you? The last thing I want is the public aware.
Now our hands are tied.
Your boss told me that she asked you to keep her from paying.
I think we both know that leaking that video would make it a lot harder for her to pay.
You're right about one thing.
There's no way Lana's gonna pay now.
This is crazy.
“Watch what will happen if we elect a woman.
Bitch will cave”" “If that woman doesn't pay, she's a heartless robot”" I guess you've seen the video.
I analyzed the wave form from the kidnapper's call.
There's no latency, no hesitation.
He's cool, he's calm, I don't think he'd hesitate to kill.
That's a problem.
Lana's approach is a manhunt.
- Guns blazing? - Mm-hmm.
Well, that won't provoke any violence.
So I take it we're working for Daniel alone? Yeah, Lana won't even see me now.
She's refusing to consider the ransom.
What's our next move? We need to find out who broke the story.
Now, there's a woman, Cynthia Walker, Lana's chief of staff, she may have leaked it.
I need to know if I can trust her.
Okay, I'm on it.
I need to make contact with the kidnappers.
Excuse me, do you speak English? Yes.
All right, can you broadcast live? - Yes, we can.
- Great.
My name is Eric Beaumont, I'm a private negotiator working for Abby's father Daniel de Haan.
Now, I have a message for the kidnappers.
I can get you your money, but first we need to speak.
Call the number on my website, CrisisResolutionWeb.
com.
I'll be waiting.
Abby.
Can you hear me? I'm here.
Me, too.
You hanging in? Just scared.
I keep thinking we could escape.
These locks are like the ones in my old house.
I can work on it, but you're not well enough to run.
Well, I can try.
Or, if you got away, and I didn't I would come back for you.
Could you give my mom a message? Tell her that I don't blame her, and that I was going to make her proud.
And that I love her and my dad, too.
Okay.
Better give me a minute.
Mm-hmm.
You think you're pretty smart.
I never wanted the press involved.
This is me making lemonade.
You realize it will look like Lana was on board with that offer? I chose my words to avoid that, but yes, some people will assume.
You have no idea of the resources we have working on this.
We cannot have these surprises.
For Abby's sake, I need you to keep me in the loop.
Hey, I will if you will.
That is not my call.
Some of it's classified.
See, that's the nice thing about being a private negotiator.
I don't have to deal with red tape.
I can focus on the innocent 15-year-old kid.
I have known that 15-year-old kid since she was four feet tall.
You want to cause problems? Apparently, I can't stop you.
But you do not get to question my dedication to that kid.
I do need to know what you're planning.
I will share what I can.
Then, so will I.
- All right, then.
- Thank you.
You're welcome.
So, the V.
E.
B.
is gonna route calls to our phone and take messages.
I wish we had Max here to lighten the load.
We are gonna get a lot of scammers.
Yeah.
Anyway, we have been researching the other victim.
Tess Mason she's Canadian but works as an ER nurse in Amsterdam, so at least we know she can handle the pressure.
What about the peanut allergy? Daniel told us Abby's cell phone was found at the scene.
No fingerprints, so the guy was probably wearing gloves, but they did confirm that there was peanut oil - found on the phone.
- And Daniel also made a list of all family and friends who are aware of Abby's severe peanut allergy.
We've reached out to her doctors.
Where are we on who leaked the kidnapping video? Four major news outlets posted the video at almost the same time.
But there was also an obscure news site.
Now I'm thinking, why choose all the top dogs and throw in one site no one's heard of? Yeah.
Good thought.
Worth looking into.
I'm waiting to hear back.
We also checked out Cynthia.
Mm, she's impressive.
A litigator that got into politics.
International trade and cooperation.
A whole other kind of negotiator.
She's been active on everything from Brexit, the EU, UN, NATO And pretty much every other acronym you can think of.
Can we speak? Yeah, of course.
Yeah.
Uh I can probably get close to half a million.
Is that enough? I'll do my best to make it work.
I appreciate it's difficult to make this choice in opposition to your wife.
If you're not sure about this, I can give you time.
But when the kidnappers call, we need to move fast.
Tell me what happens next.
You warned Beaumont about interfering.
Yes.
He said he would keep us in the loop on his plans.
How are you doing? Just thinking about Daniel.
When he gets stressed, he forgets to eat.
The man can multiply four digit numbers in his head, but half the time he leaves without his keys.
You will be around to remind him.
And once Abby's home, it won't matter how it happened.
Do you trust Beaumont to keep his word? Uh I can't be certain.
We need to do better than that.
I'll take care of it.
Hello? This poor girl's been kidnapped, and we're getting prank calls.
How are you? - How am I? - Yeah.
Seriously, how are you? I've been so busy with the baby we haven't has the chance to talk since Max left.
.
Well don't need to hurt a heart? I've been talking to her.
- Makes one of us.
- I know.
And I called Max on it.
You deserve more than a sudden breakup and a dash to the airport.
For what it's worth, she thought a clean break would be easier for both of you.
How's she doing? With, you know, the shooting and everything? She's working her way through it.
- Come here! - No! - Yeah! - Ow! Try to escape? No, I please, I promise.
- Ow! - This is what happens.
I won't try it again.
I promise I won't try it again, I promise.
- I promise! No, no! - Come here.
Come here.
Crisis Resolution.
We have Abby.
Prove it.
Eric.
Kidnapper.
This is Eric Beaumont.
I want to thank you for sending another picture of Abby.
You said you can get what we want.
It's not possible for me to get you two million euros, but I can offer you 400,000.
Every second you delay increases the chance that they will find you.
Bring the money to the Ruisdael Treinstation.
You have three hours.
Thank you.
Two million to 400,000 just like that? I'd file it under cause for concern.
Mm-hmm.
What's up? Have you cleared Cynthia of the news leak? No, I'm still working on it.
Are you going to tell her about this? Yeah.
All right, sit tight.
The comms are up.
I've got the vehicle.
Everything okay? Something's not right.
Eric! - Are you Beaumont? - Eric! Sir, are you Beaumont? Respond, sir.
Are you Beaumont? I-I can't hear you! It's Beaumont.
Do you have any idea what you just did? My job.
You just blew our chance to save Abby.
We got one.
Okay.
Move.
It's okay, you're safe.
- We're gonna get you to a hospital.
- Where's Abby? They brought me to see if it was a trap.
The ransom's now ten million euros.
They said you have three hours before they kill Abby.
And until then Until then what? They're going to break her fingers one by one.
We're all set.
We saw an opportunity - to use our considerable resources.
- What does that mean? You saw an opportunity to do things your way and you obliterated the kidnappers' trust.
- Trust? - Yes.
You want to talk about trust? You told me that you would share information, then you went behind my back.
Okay, sure, you made the same promise and then you tapped our phones.
Well, clearly we had good reason.
Go ahead, take it.
Why not? Cynthia Walker.
Oh, who cares about the poll numbers now? Look, I know you're worried about what they might do to Abby.
So am I.
By all accounts, you're a great negotiator.
Your approach must serve you well when negotiating within an established framework, in a position of power, exchanging favors.
It's not as simple as that.
Still, I take a more nuanced approach.
I work with a profiler.
We focus on emotions, impressions, states of mind.
So, why the pitch? What do you want? We need to speak to the nurse.
She might know more than she realizes.
Mm.
Well, we don't know what she's been through with the kidnappers.
I think there's an argument for letting her face a woman instead of two men.
So you're looking for information about the Glas story? No offense, but you're not exactly The New York Times.
Who leaked the story and why to you? It was an anonymous e-mail.
As for why me, 20 years ago, I got a tip about a family sailing around the world that was kidnapped by Somalian pirates.
A Dutch family? My stories were getting massive attention.
Then I learned that the Dutch ambassador to Somalia refused to pay ransom.
Lana Glas.
What happened to the family? The story ruined my career.
I've got too many bills to pay.
Uh here.
- Thank you.
- Welcome.
The family was murdered.
And suddenly my editors decided not to publish anything unless my source went on the record.
Who pressured them? Draw your own conclusions.
All I know is, I pushed back and my editors blacklisted me.
Till this day on, people ask me what happened to that story.
A cover-up? It smells that way.
It may not have even occurred to Lana that it could be connected.
And 20 years in politics makes for a lot of enemies.
Oh, this was never about money, but now it looks more personal than political.
We should track down the relatives of the family who died.
I'm on it.
Actually, I need you for something else.
Did you talk to Tess? Yeah.
Her story's pretty brutal.
We'd still like to talk to her.
We've got information to trade if it'll help you get us access.
What information? We believe the kidnapping has a personal connection to Lana.
This is Oliver Yates, our profiler.
I noticed walking over here, your body language suggests you're trying to make a tough decision.
You're struggling, but you're open to every word I say.
You want help.
Hmm.
He's good.
But you had me at “information to trade.
” I'll make a call.
Can you give me one more minute? Look, that thing Oliver said that you looked like you were trying to make a decision, I'm wondering if that might be about what to do next.
I don't know, maybe it's getting harder to blindly follow that promise you made to your boss.
- I don't do things blindly.
- Bad choice of words.
What I'm trying to say is, if you think that Lana should pay the ransom, don't let that promise get in your way.
Lana trusts you.
Maybe you owe it to her to trust yourself.
Tess, if it's okay with you, I'd like to ask you some questions.
Can you tell us anything about who was in charge? He was a big guy.
Six-foot-five, I think.
Maybe 200 pounds.
A shaved head and a, a scar on his neck.
What was his motivation? Personal? Political? Financial? Just hatred.
Make her mom pay.
Abby's such a sweet kid.
They started hurting her.
I can still hear her screaming.
Did you hear them refer to each other by name? No.
They never use each other's names.
Look, all I know is they were sick, sexist, racist That's the basis of their hatred? They said stuff I don't want to repeat.
Yeah, I understand the impulse, but we need to know what they said.
I'll paraphrase.
They called her bitch.
Psycho ambassador.
They said “ambassador”? Is that a bad thing? No.
No, it's-it's telling.
Lana Glas hasn't been an ambassador in 20 years.
I promised not to let you make this choice out of emotion.
If you pay to get Abby back, you will have to question the choices you've made in the past.
You'll have to think about all those people who died when you didn't pay.
How can I live with that? Letting people even children die and then, deciding to To save the only life that's in danger right now.
I don't know.
I really don't know how you'll live with it, but I do know that that the weight of that guilt is not worth Abby's life.
Lana.
Abby's blood on your hands you won't come back from that.
Yeah.
Yeah, okay.
Call the bank.
Something's off about the nurse.
- What's your read? - Well, her nerves were off the charts.
I'd expect more relief.
Could be survivor's guilt, right? Every time we mentioned Lana's name, there was a spike in her stress level.
There could be resentment because she refused to pay the ransom.
Seems good.
- How's the nurse? - Resting.
You find out anything? The Dutch family that was killed 20 years ago only had a few relatives, and those have died.
So it's probably not revenge.
That doesn't make sense.
I could maybe write it off if it was just a leak to the journalist, but Tess said the kidnappers - referred to Lana as an ambassador.
- Which was her role when she refused to pay and got that family killed.
We're missing something.
The connection to the past screams revenge.
You said they died at sea.
Yes.
Were their bodies ever recovered? I don't know.
You're thinking Well, if it screams revenge, could there have been a survivor? The nurse told me you wanted to see me, and I wanted to thank you.
I don't want your gratitude.
There were parents and, what, children how many? Mother, father, twin girls.
- How old? - Four.
Four years old, 20 years ago.
A nurse might find a way to access private medical records.
Find out about a peanut allergy.
You should know I've decided to pay the ransom and, you know, bring her back home.
They told me to give you a message.
They'll kill her if I don't take you to her alone.
They said one word to your security, and she's dead.
Do you even know where to go? I know everything.
They have instructions to kill her if they don't hear from me.
You? Lose your security.
Don't move! Hey, whoa! Wait, wait, what-what'd he say? They're gone.
Was this all an assassination plot? No, she would've done that here.
Tess wants Lana to watch Abby die.
Cynthia.
We're not doing this dance again.
- We have protocols.
- Yeah, tactical protocols, which means bullets could fly around Lana and possibly Abby.
We were starting to work well together.
Let's compromise.
Your way and mine.
- Meaning? - I'm sure you have some way of tracking Lana: GPS, I'm guessing, implanted or otherwise.
- I can't - Confirm or deny, I know.
But when you track her down, let me have five minutes to do what I do.
If I can't get to a peaceful solution, you can deploy your considerable resources.
I'll talk to our people.
But I'll be there with you.
- Abby.
- Mama! What are you doing? 20 years ago your mom let my family be murdered because she wouldn't pay a ransom.
But Abby had nothing to do with this.
Do you know what my earliest memory is? My father's brain splattering across a porthole.
You have no idea how sorry I am.
Keep me, let her go.
You're missing the point.
- You're a spectator here.
- Wait.
Wait, wait.
She deserves to know why.
Do you want to know what it feels like to see your family murdered? Watch.
Tess.
Nobody should have to know what that feels like.
May I ask you a question, Tess? You think it's gonna feel good to pull that trigger? You think I can't do it? That's not what I asked.
What if I told you that what happened to your family was an impossible choice and that Lana was devastated? I'd say too little, too late.
- Wait, wait, please, please.
- Shut up.
- You're a hypocrite.
- Yes, she paid, but that was after 36 hours of you twisting the knife.
I know something about difficult childhoods.
When I was nine, my mom was depressed and they put me in foster care.
Then my mom killed herself.
I lost everything.
I am so sorry.
Tess, you will spend the rest of your life trying to deal with it.
You can decide.
You get to choose not to hurt anyone.
That's in your hands.
If you go public with your past, it can make world leaders think twice about their ransom policies, but nobody is going to listen to a vengeful woman who killed an innocent teenager.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
You did the right thing.
Hey, let's get you out of this place.
Come.
Come, baby, come.
Up.
Thank you.
What? Oh, I was just thinking.
Wondering if that story you told was true.
True enough.
Okay.
I got to let you go.
LET ME GUESS: you negotiated your way past security.
I had Lana make a call.
I owe you an apology for accusing you of leaking that video.
I realized later that Tess released it herself.
You just come from seeing Lana? I am, yeah.
She and her family are doing as well as can be expected.
Good.
Did she say anything about me? What do you mean? I'm leaving.
It's time to move on.
You know, I-I hate to leave Lana, but you know, the polls look good.
She's gonna be fine, and she understands.
Talking to Tess made me realize that I just I need to do more than argue policy.
Hmm.
What? What's with the look? Oh, it's just funny how the stars align, sometimes.
What do you mean? I came here to offer you more than an apology.
You offering me a job? I might be.
I don't come cheap.
Let's negotiate.
Starting with your office space.
Get used to something smaller, okay? It's gonna be hard.

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