The Agency: Central Intelligence (2024) s01e04 Episode Script

1
- Hello?
- Come downstairs.
You're signed in as Paul Lewis?
Why are you using a
defunct identity to get
This has to stop.
Pulsing, suspenseful music ♪
Felix is active.
Charlie's okay, right?
Capture of
these operatives
would constitute an immediate
strategic geopolitical disaster.
We have to get them
back. Whatever it takes.
You're being sent to
Tehran to identify
Iranian nuclear engineers.
Professor Mortazevi runs
an exchange program.
Your job is to be hired there.
How do I get a research job
at the Institute of Geophysics?
- That's your problem.
- Professor Wartenburg.
- Hello.
- Hi.
Aren't you worried that a kid
can figure out your
supersecret hiding place?
This isn't a game.
Why are
you really in London?
Why am I
being interrogated?
- Hey.
- Do I ask you why we only meet
when and where you say?
This isn't working.
Samia!
"Love is Blindness"
by Jack White ♪
Love is blindness ♪
I don't want to see ♪
Won't you wrap the night ♪
Around me ♪
Oh, my heart ♪
Love is blindness ♪
Blindness ♪
Love is blindness ♪
I don't want to see ♪
Won't you wrap the night ♪
Around me, yeah ♪
Oh ♪
My love ♪
Love is blindness ♪
Oh, love is blindness ♪
Oh, blow out the candle ♪
Blindness ♪
Civil war in Sudan had
been raging for years.
Slow, suspenseful music ♪
In the midst of fierce fighting,
refusing all peace talks
brokered by American
and Saudi diplomats,
no one could have guessed
both sides were in London,
meeting secretly
with the Chinese.
On the table, billions in
infrastructure investment.
Control of oil
fields to the south.
Gold mines in the north.
A home port on the Red Sea
- en route to the Suez Canal.
- How are you?
Sudan was a triple play.
Everyone wanted in.
Us, the Russians, the Saudis.
Now here were the Chinese.
The worst part? We
knew nothing about it.
I have one role here.
To guarantee the
secrecy of these talks.
No one discusses anything
outside of this room.
No one leaves their
hotel at night.
Women are forbidden in hotels.
No press.
Any mistakes will
terminate negotiations.
Pulsing, suspenseful music ♪
Before I, uh, pick up where
we left off yesterday,
I would like to remind you all
of the general Hemedti's
central position
with regards to the
deadlock in Khartoum
What was the nature of
the talks with the Sudanese?
What was at stake?
Only the future of
their entire country.
Division of territory.
Safety of the clans.
Access to rich resources.
Between Sufis, Darfurians,
Fallatas, Rashaidas,
Beja nomads, Bedouins.
They needed an expert.
Someone who understood
the region, its history.
We see that villages
in the Melut Basin, up
to the White Nile rift
are unhappy with this
administrative division
- into two provinces.
- Nobody knew
- that was Samia Zahir.
- We can learn
from the mistakes made
after the discovery
of the Paloich oil
field in South Sudan.
No woman
had ever played a role
close to Hemedti, or
with the Sudan mabahith.
Yet here she was, fighting for
the survival of her people.
The interests of the
many ethnic groups
who live in these regions
cannot be bulldozed.
To end a bloody war.
Risking everything for peace.
Wanker.
Mecca's that way.
Brand-new building,
already we have mice.
Do you know, most of the rats
in New York City come from here?
Brown rat. Rattus norvegicus.
Listen, about what
happened at the hotel
Before
you say anything,
- you already apologized.
- I did?
Well, no, but yeah.
I mean, no, you didn't,
but yes, you did
in your own fucked-up way.
Well, I just wanted to say
Thanks. It's obvious you don't.
But I appreciate your trying.
Felix pretty much made up
for it. That was good work.
You know my fuck-up?
It was Charlie.
Last week, I called and
asked him the name of his op
to see if he was in danger.
I never should have done that.
Well, Henry, I mean
that's way fucking worse.
I should report you.
I mean, seriously.
You should be in jail
for, like, 40 years.
All right, go on,
then. I could use
a little me time right now.
You owe me one,
but I owe you two.
One for Felix, one for Charlie.
Well, at least let me
buy you a mousetrap.
Pulsing, suspenseful music ♪
Okay.
We got a situation.
Fifth floor.
A Belarusian delegation
is downstairs.
Some congressman from Idaho
called them a puppet state.
Lapdogs of Putin.
Bosko's in there bailing water.
They want a public apology
or else they escalate.
- Who's on their team?
- Uh, the usual.
Assorted flunkies,
senior attaché.
They're not room meat.
At least one will be KGB.
- I have an idea.
- What is it?
I'll rush the edge,
you stun up the middle
and force a pass, expose
their quarterback.
Love it.
Fuck off. What do you want?
We need a word.
I've got the U.S. and
Belarus ambassadors in there
trying to avert a major
diplomatic incident.
We have an idea.
Is it better than, "Oh,
we've lost an agent,
can we please get him back?"
Why are they here now?
'Cause some bumfuck,
no-name congressman
throws a little shade
on Capitol Hill?
Maybe they want to start
a negotiation here.
If they do have Coyote,
they'll allude to it.
They'll give us a sign.
Open a back channel.
It'll be masked. Subtext.
We need to be in there
to spot the sign.
- Owen.
- Sir?
- Walk away.
- Sir.
- Observers.
- Observers.
- Not a fucking word.
- Not a word.
I mean it.
These inflammatory comments,
uh, widely reported
in the press.
Your congressman from Iowa said,
and I quote, "Belarus
is a failed state
we trust no more
than North Korea."
Senior elected officials of
the United States of America,
insulting the reputation
of our great nation.
I'm sorry, Idaho.
Excuse me?
Mr. White, foreign policy.
Congressman Daniels
is from Idaho.
Iowa has four
representatives in Congress,
but not one of them has said
anything catty about
Belarus, of late.
I have to
say, either Idaho,
I-Iowa, it's, uh
Not that it
diminishes your central point,
that this is an insult to the
reputation of your country.
But it matters, does it
not, who actually said it.
Slow, atmospheric music ♪
But I-I interrupted.
Forgive me. Please continue.
What my colleague
Mr. White is saying
is you're right, our countries
should respect one another,
trust one another.
But we don't. Why?
History.
Remember three years ago,
you lost a MiG-35
over the Baltic?
Precisely what
I'm talking about.
We offered to support
search and rescue,
offered our surface radar.
You guys denied ever
even having lost it.
I fail to
see what relevance
- that has in this situation.
- Well,
if had been more
detail-focused and accurate,
on the same page,
the situation might have
been handled better.
Collaboratively.
Like here, today.
The one at the far end
of the table, thick-set.
- He's our guy.
- Yeah?
Because?
It was obvious.
He
didn't say a word.
Him, I like.
Signal was clear.
Now we need to let them respond.
Through a less official channel.
How do you plan to do that?
They're still in the building.
Excuse me?
Oh.
You've heard of this place?
Sure. You want to go?
I'm impressed
you can understand us.
I studied Russian at
Queen Mary here in London.
I can get the gist.
I see.
Mm, pardon me.
- My name is Mikhail.
- Tom Vincent.
Nice to meet you.
How about tomorrow, 10 p.m.?
Slow, contemplative music ♪
You at the Lanesborough?
Yeah, sure. Thank you.
Ready?
I hope so.
I hope so, too.
I mean, yeah, I'm-I'm
I'm ready.
Good, because your
mission just started.
Quiet, tense music ♪
The Institute of
Geophysics is not a new job.
It is hostile ground,
filled with enemies.
Targets.
Three types of enemy.
Your rivals.
Anyone who could be chosen
to go to Iran instead of you.
Exploit any weakness
with prejudice.
Noble gas lab
on the left.
Eh, and, um, this
is the TIMS lab.
TIMS?
Thermal ionization mass spec.
Of course.
That's Alice. She's looking at
- chondritic meteorites.
- Hi.
Early solar system stuff.
Friends.
Drop your guard, show weakness,
they'll exploit your mistakes.
Here's another
mass spectrometer.
Eric, our visiting
volcanologist. We love him.
We're trying to make him
stay with us forever.
- Hi.
- If people like you,
use it against them.
There's an SEM, too,
upstairs, of course.
Fair warning, though,
it gets busy. The
team just back from
- the Iceland eruption
- Enemy type three:
The predator.
The type you must
be most wary of.
Never attack them head on.
You must seduce
them, draw them in.
Uh, can I help you?
Hi.
Did I get fired?
Is this your de I'm so sorry.
I'm They said wait here.
I'm Danny, the new
research associate.
Oh. Hi. Uh, Rose. Uh, Danny
Daniela Moreno Acosta.
Oh. Acosta Spanish?
Studied in Madrid
and just finished
my second degree in geophysics
at the University of Barcelona.
Ah. Did, um, did
Manny show you around?
Yeah. Okay.
Oh, Manny and Danny, right?
I met most of the team.
Nice.
Who's that?
That is Reza.
He runs the exchange program.
He picks a candidate to take
back to Tehran for the year,
and everyone's sucking up.
Do you see, um,
see that guy there?
That's Jerome.
He's Reza's human jockstrap.
He even plays squash with him.
So, everyone
wants to go?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Like, Iranian tectonics
is the shit, right?
Yeah.
Isn't it a isn't
it a scary country?
What? I mean, oh,
sure, but it's just
it's just so active, you know?
Um yeah. Tell you what,
I'll-I'll introduce you.
Come, come.
Professor Mortazevi?
May I introduce Danny,
the new recruit from Spain,
postdoc Barcelona Uni.
Nice to meet you, señorita.
Jerome. Hi.
- Hello.
- Do you play squash?
- Do you?
- No.
Oh. This guy spanks
me every time.
Can't get within, like, five
points of him, basically.
But you love it, though, right?
Right. Well, we have about
45 minutes, so, rematch?
- Sure.
- Great.
Hasta luego.
See?
Right up his arse.
I've given up.
You don't want to go to Tehran?
Are you nuts? Of course I do.
It's just, the Iranians would
never take a girl. Ever.
Rose? Do
you have a moment?
Oh, hey.
Sorry, I meant to
get back to you.
Quiet, dramatic music ♪
Have you seen much of London?
Our work here has kept me busy.
I know the city well.
London is for having fun
as well as working. Perhaps
I could show you around.
Mrs. Zahir,
your husband Dr. Mustafa called.
I told him you would
return his call.
Excuse me.
Quiet, dramatic music ♪
You want anything else?
Some fruit?
Some cookies?
You got any blow?
Or, like, ketamine?
Look
I've only been a dad
for as long as you've
been a daughter.
We're both making this
up as we go along.
But while you were
busy being a daughter,
I wasn't there.
We both know why,
but that's no excuse.
So
I apologize.
And I would like
for us to try and
make a fresh start.
That's all I got.
That's what my therapist
said you would say.
- Really?
- Mm-hmm.
Small world, 'cause
that's what my therapist
told me to say.
You have a therapist?
- Actually, yes.
- Since when?
Since I got back.
That is that's so fucked up.
Thank you.
No, Dad, I'm serious.
That's like you
telling me you joined,
like, a ballet
school or something.
Thank you,
I appreciate it,
and I'll pass it on.
I do think we need a
fresh start, though.
We should mark it, do
something together.
Like what?
You should
take me shopping and buy me a
bunch of shit I can't afford?
- Makes sense.
- Yeah,
whereupon I will forgive
you for everything.
- Everything?
- Everything. The whole nine.
All the pain, the confusion.
It shall vanish. Your
soul shall be wiped clean
by the pure clean waters of
a nearby shopping center.
We can do this, Dad.
Together.
You're on.
So, how long you got?
An hour.
Okay, well, we do provide
a comprehensive, deluxe
60-minute soul
cleansing service.
Mm. But the bad news is
it's twice as expensive
as the two-hour package.
Ooh.
Sold.
I got my student card as well.
Ten percent off. Treat
yourself, if you like.
Ten percent.
It's a deal.
Where do we start?
quiet, dramatic music ♪
So, how is work?
Nonspecifically, broadly,
non-national security or
personally compromisingly?
Out of ten.
Minus two.
Are you still being followed?
By at least two
separate parties.
Okay. How scared should I be?
Want to play a game?
Okay.
Won't you get in trouble
- for taking the piss like this?
- Oh, it's good for 'em.
Keeps them on their toes.
Plus, it's fun.
Come. Come on.
When did you last have
sex and with whom?
You go first.
I haven't had sex in 17 months.
Not since a
messy rebound fuck in a bar
after I separated
with my husband.
I've been telling myself that
I'm concentrating on work,
moving countries, but
really I'm just scared.
It's been years
since I dated and I
I found that a one-night
stand in Georgetown
just made me sad.
Is it my turn?
- Yes, it is.
- What was the question?
You know what the question was.
Not since I was in Addis.
I was in a relationship,
one that you know about,
that I broke off
because of my exfil.
- Do you miss her?
- I loved her.
I think so.
Whatever it was, whatever
those feelings
they were more for her
than anyone I've ever met.
I don't know how many chances
at feeling like
that life gives you.
My guess is not many.
- That's hard to cope with.
- It's not hard.
It's impossible.
Unless you've spent your
whole life in training for it.
You seal it in a box, bury it.
Do your job. Carry on.
Wounds heal.
They become stories.
Like that one on your hand.
Can you tell me
how you came by it?
This?
Avocado pit.
Most of the damage in
an earthquake like this
is usually caused by
the surface waves.
You can see here the
staggered arrivals
of the different seismic
phases at stations
across the Global
Seismographic Network.
But new instrumentation gives us
a more detailed picture
than ever before.
Great job.
Thanks.
Are you familiar with
distributed acoustic sensing?
Of course.
Do you think you could
explain the technology,
say a few words about it?
Well, uh, okay, I
I-I worked on dark fiber data.
No, no, not now.
Later, at an event tonight.
At the Wellcome
Library on Euston Road.
I'll pick you up.
Let's say 6:30?
T-T-Tonight?
Sure.
Great.
Oh, and it's black-tie.
You'll need a dress.
Hello. Elements Spa.
I need a leg wax appointment.
Not at the spa.
We do home visits.
Uh-huh. I was, I
was really hoping
It's that or nothing.
Um
Okay. Let me give
you my address.
Uh, I can, I can be there
in about half an hour.
Ethereal music ♪
Sorry.
How did you get
into my apartment?
Any more dumb questions?
You said this was urgent.
At 7 p.m. in front of
every expert in the country
at some black-tie fundraiser,
I have to deliver an overview
from my direct experience of
distributed acoustic sensing.
What's that?
I have no idea, but
it's on my résumé.
How many pages can you
memorize fast? Ten? 20?
20 to 25.
25 an hour?
25 in total.
- How'd it go with Dr. Blake?
- Good.
Say no more.
Uh, do
you have a second?
Simon, how can I help you?
I got more on that
target for you.
She's not a
target, she's a POI.
What have you got?
Uh, yes, so, um,
since April 2018,
she taught at the Addis
Ababa Central University.
And the last three months,
she's been a visiting fellow
at the Public
University of Khartoum,
and, um, she was elected head
of the Sudanese Center
for Cultural Heritage.
She ever disappear for
any length of time?
A few days even?
Any contact with Ministry
of Internal Affairs
or the security departments?
No, the only unusual thing
was contact with a
lawyer in Khartoum.
Uh, it looks like she's
getting a divorce.
It's unusual in her
culture but not unheard of.
Uh, maybe not relevant
to your focus.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah.
The divorce is
real. Lawyer's real.
They filed it and
started proceedings.
I mean, the war's upped
divorces by, like, 50%.
Very good.
Backscattered
signals from imperfections
in the optic fiber that backs
Ah, fuck. The
interrogation unit
receives
backscattered signals
imperfections in
the optic fiber.
Interrogation unit receives
backscattered signals
from imperfections
in the optic fiber.
Acoustic waves change
the fiber's signal shape,
converting no altering
The acoustic waves
change the fiber's shape,
altering the
backscattered signals,
which can be converted
to strain rate.
Acoustic waves change
the fiber's shape,
altering the backscattered
signal's phase,
which can be converted
to strain rate.
No.
Fuck! No.
No!
Fuck!
Fuck.
Spectral analysis of
frequencies in the signal
can identify seismic phases.
Spectral analysis of
frequencies in the signal
can identify seismic phases.
- All ready?
- Totally.
All right, let's go.
Do you have a phone
charger in your car?
Sorry, I don't.
Sorry I didn't have a charger.
Not a problem.
Networks from
unused telecommunication,
uh, infrastructures can-can
be uti can be utilized.
I'm sorry?
Nothing.
Going
over my speech.
Lot of important people there.
Relax. This is a
home game for you.
Your specialist subject, right?
tense music ♪
Teach us what you know.
You're smart.
Extremely impressive.
I'm not sure I've known
anyone quite like you.
With your focus,
your intelligence.
I'd like to see
you outside work.
It's something I've
thought about a lot.
I don't think this
is a good idea.
I'm sorry, it's
your eyes.
My eyes?
They remind me of my father's.
Your father's.
How old is your father?
He died when I was six.
He was 35.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- All I remember
are his kind, sweet,
soulful eyes.
Soon as I saw you, that's
who you reminded me of.
Listen, I'm
I'm hugely flattered an-an-and
I enjoy working with you a lot.
Of course, but I-I understand.
Listen, this event
we're going to
is the Institute's
biggest night of the year.
I can see how nervous you are.
Maybe it's kinder to let someone
with more experience
make the address.
Jerome, perhaps.
I can let you out here.
Wait, I'm-I'm not even coming?
No, there's really no need.
It's fine. I don't
want you to be anxious.
- See you in the office.
- Okay.
We have nothing
like this in Minsk.
We're not in Kansas anymore.
Yeah, I can see.
I love it here. Anything goes.
Tell me about it.
Last week my bike got
stolen around here.
Lot of crime in London?
Had it 20 years.
It had my phone number
engraved on the crossbar.
If the guy who
stole it called me,
I'd give him five
times what it's worth.
Like that jet.
In our meeting?
Your MiG fighter that
vanished over the Baltic?
I-I
don't follow you.
I mean, if you lose something
and you really want it back,
maybe it's worth
more than face value.
A lot more.
Ask me if I'd buy my bike back.
I'd say, "Name your price."
You're very
sentimental.
Call me old-fashioned.
If you're ever back in
London for a night out
or just to talk about
anything, this is my number.
- Great evening.
- Stick around.
I got work in the morning.
- Enjoy yourself.
- Good luck with your bike.
Who knows? You
may get that call.
What's it gonna take
to make you stay? ♪
What's it gonna take? ♪
slow, mysterious music ♪
Henry.
- What are you reading?
- Hmm.
Gulf War?
You need a hobby, my friend.
It's just out. Great read.
Like you have hobbies.
What the hell is this?
Mm-hmm.
You believe I painted that?
Not for a moment. When do
you have time for that?
I don't.
I carry that around to remind me
that somewhere in me is
the guy who once did.
Got a million of them.
The line's open.
How do we
know he's legit?
He knew what we want.
May take some time to
filter up the chain,
but the line's open.
- What if it's a shakedown?
- It's always possible.
All right.
You guys get some rest.
Both of you. You
look like ghosts.
No, no, you keep it. It
was really lucky for me.
You might need it.
This works, I'm sending that
congressman a fruit basket.
Yep.
Good old Congressman Daniels.
Whose son was stopped
at Miami Airport in 2014
with a half kilo of cocaine.
The honorable gentleman from
the 2nd district remains
extremely grateful to
Langley to this day.
- Fuck off.
- Wait, you made him do it?
You got a U.S. congressman
to sound off in
Congress about Belarus.
I didn't make him do anything.
I may have gently suggested it.
Mom?
Hey.
Mm-hmm.
I know. I know.
Yeah.
Gentle, plaintive music ♪
Can you tell
me how you came by it?
This?
Avocado pit.
- Hey.
- No military rule.
No military rule!
Lock the door.
Where are you going?
To find a way out.
intense music ♪
Sami.
Let's go.
- Your hand.
- It's okay.
intense music ♪
suspenseful music ♪
Why didn't you stop?
Because I was falling.
When you fall,
when you really fall,
you never know how far it is.
After a while, it
feels like flying.
Then you hit the ground.
Ominous music ♪