The Agency: Central Intelligence (2024) s01e06 Episode Script

1
For an hour or two, can we just
pretend to be like
we were before?
No Osman.
I'll leave here, go to
reception, get a room upstairs.
I don't need
to think about it.
They don't know Coyote
like I know him.
We need a break.
So we make one.
Coyote's leaking information.
Code Bravo. Don't
trust anyone.
Owen, you may have just
found the hole in the boat.
If they do have Coyote,
they'll allude to it.
Who knows? You
may get that call.
Whoever
made the call
knows we can trace it
- no matter what.
- Yes.
Eric Zheng Huang.
Why is he in London?
Business. Politics.
He's got Middle Eastern
and African links.
I finally saw
the size of the stakes
in the game I'd been dealt into.
China was trying to broker
a secret deal in Sudan.
Anyone who exposed
the people involved
would immediately
be neutralized.
I need to get rid of someone.
"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 ♪
Okay. Uh, approaching
the pickup point now.
No red team in sight. Proceed.
Uh, it's empty.
Oh, wait, no, no, no, no.
Th-There's something in here.
Uh, a photo. A polaroid.
That's a phone number.
9:53, contact made with Cossack.
Have you lost a bike?
I did.
I found it.
Is it still in good condition?
Information has a price.
This is an auction. Make a bid.
An auction. Who else is bidding?
Who sets the price?
Make a bid.
How? Who to?
Bidding ends in 24 hours.
How do I bid?
Bidding.
Bidding?
Would they actually sell
him to someone else?
Not necessarily.
Could be a method.
Oh, I found it.
Yeah. Image matches.
Uh, current bid is $140,000.
Uh, there's two bidders.
It could be other parties or
it could be to take raises
off the wall and
control the sale price.
Someone has put
an American agent
up for sale online.
Fuck that. I'm not playing.
I'll tell the Pentagon
Belarusians have decided to
invade the U.S., whatever.
Why is Cossack
being so cautious?
The treasure hunt,
the locker, the polaroid,
the anonymous phone number,
the voice on the end,
the damn auction?
If an agency had Coyote,
they'd come at us straight.
We've got channels. Why
anonymous go-betweens?
Because someone's scared
we'll identify them.
Why? What
are they hiding?
Well, one thing's certain:
this isn't the
playbook of the FSB.
Coyote isn't being
held by an agency.
Not the Belarusians,
not the Russians.
Cossack's working alone.
Guo.
You booked a taxi?
I have errands to run.
I can take you.
Thanks, but the taxi's
already on its way.
I cancelled it.
And I must ask you
not to leave the
hotel unaccompanied.
- Why?
- I'm here to protect you.
Protect? Or control?
I know people who know Osman
in Chad, Darfur.
I need to keep you safe.
- This mission is too important
- You're here to protect me
from my protection?
I'm here to work with them.
You need
anything, you call me.
Where did you get that jacket?
What have you done?
Enjoy the sushi.
I won't
dance. Not like this.
CIA operatives are valuable.
It's a bluff.
Even if it is, we
can't ignore it.
You find Cossack.
Then we'll talk.
Mikhail Bortnik
is first contact.
Cossack's in his circle.
Maybe his boss. Maybe not.
Cossack's experienced,
trained, professional.
Uses unconventional methods
to cover his tracks.
Okay,
I'll let him know.
The Brits are downstairs.
Is it in the diary?
No, but it's Richardson.
Bring him up.
Get Naomi. I'll
be right there.
Decent of you to accommodate
this at such short notice.
Try none.
Our, uh, weekly meeting for
tea and biscuits at Legoland
is coming up. What
couldn't wait?
Legoland.
We haven't got a droll
name for this place yet.
How can I help you, Jim?
Kensington Park Gardens.
What about it?
Come on. I thought
we shared toys.
The Chinese are brokering
a peace deal in Sudan,
which will leave them in control
of the Horn of
Africa for decades.
Eric Huang of number 73
Kensington Park Gardens
is making the sandwiches.
Deputies of General Hemedti
and de facto ruler
General Fattah al-Burhan
in attendance.
We thought you knew all about
it. Your backyard and all.
Do you have
anything useful to add
to what we already know
about these ongoing talks?
Is he in?
He's meeting the Brits.
- Why? Who?
- Richardson.
James Richardson?
I don't want to put anyone's
nose out of joint here,
but if you did know
about these talks,
why wouldn't you want
to share that with us?
This is, as you
say, our backyard.
I rather think we ought
to be kept up to speed
by an ally on everything
that's happening
on our sovereign soil.
Sorry to barge
in like this, Henry,
but they need you
in the crisis room.
Oh, we don't have
one of those, but then again,
we try to avoid crises
as a matter of policy.
You two know each other?
Hello, Brandon.
James is an old mate.
We served together overseas.
Here's the deal, you don't
say "mate," "bloody,"
or "quid," and I promise
not to "take a rain check."
I'll walk you to the elevator.
Don't want me wandering
around unescorted?
Nice catch.
So why does it feel
like I just got placed
on a concussion protocol list?
You don't think that was
just SIS sharing intel?
"Hey look over there!"
Someone says that,
in this business
You're about to
lose your wallet.
Or your life.
What the
fuck are you doing?
Oh, come on. I'm up
for Control next year.
Can't hand me an ace and
expect me not to play it.
Motherfucker, I trusted you.
We all make mistakes.
Don't try to fuck me, Jim.
You mean, after everything
we've been through together?
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen?
You say, "Jump,"
we say, "How high?"
If I do get C, all that changes.
PC-9 Zoaf is carried by a lot
of cops and army officers.
It's essentially an Iranian
copy of the SIG P226,
not terrible.
Chambers nine mil Parabellum.
Safety like a Sig.
Worth familiarizing
yourself with everything
you'd come across out there,
especially as you'll be
unarmed at all times.
Because I'm not a spy?
Mm. So any shooting situation
will be field-found weapons.
You may also find Iranian
copies of the Browning Hi-Power,
even old Colt M1911s.
So, Edward.
It's my job.
Finding out secrets.
Edward's nice. The end.
Relationships are impossible.
Choose a civilian,
you have to lie.
Choose another spook,
you're both never there.
It's okay, we're just fucking.
Okay.
Wait, did he say it was more?
See?
I'm not doing this.
Not doing what?
Running little notes between
lovestruck teenagers.
Who said anyone was lovestruck?
Did he say I was?
Think he is?
So, now, this is a
great illustration.
Avoid emotional entanglement.
Entangled?
I'm about to ship out.
Good.
A sailor on shore leave.
Exactly. With one
in every port.
- Hello?
- A call for you,
- Mr. Lewis.
- Who?
A woman. Didn't give a name.
Put her through.
Paul?
I'm here.
Abdel had your jacket.
- Are you okay?
- I'm fine.
I was so worried about you.
It was nothing. Are you okay?
I'm fine.
You don't sound fine.
I'm basically
under house arrest.
Do as they say.
They'll figure out
they've made a mistake.
I'm
I'm so sorry.
Look, if anyone hurts you
I can look after myself.
- I missed that.
- What?
Your laugh.
Here you are, mate.
- Who was following you?
- I don't know.
Maybe I'm just paranoid.
Lukashenko steamrolled his
secret service for years.
Hoarding power for himself.
It's created schisms.
Colonel Buloychyk
did all he could
to thwart Lukashenko's plans,
so he got sent to the provinces.
- This man
- Matskevich.
General Matskevich, real
opportunist, not a traitor.
Too much to lose.
Cossack, it's my opinion,
has nothing left to lose.
So, like who?
Novikov.
Retired KGB general.
Still active behind the scenes.
Lived for the KGB till
Lukashenko took a dump in it.
- Climbed the ranks.
- Vasminoh.
- The Octopus.
- Deep well of intel.
- Born spymaster.
- Old-school.
Trained at Lubyanka.
He's 76 years old.
Everything
about this was old.
Analog, dead drops,
breadcrumb meets.
But are you sure?
No.
Enough to go at him? Yes.
Bidding closes in 25 minutes.
Do a deep dive on Novikov.
Hello, I'd like
to speak to the general, please.
- Who is calling?
- His oncologist in London.
Dr. Kemple.
- Dr. Ian Kemple.
- One moment, please.
Dr. Kemple? I'll
put the general on.
Hello, Doctor.
Novikov,
I'm calling about a
bike you have for sale.
No questions, hung up.
It's him.
We have Cossack.
We start
paying kidnappers,
we put a target on
everyone's back.
A price on their head.
Our enemy takes
off heads for free.
Saving Coyote is the priority.
Why does it go up at
regular intervals?
I don't think it's about money.
It's a game.
Novikov has lived
in the same house
for the last 45 years.
Drives a Mercedes-Benz
he bought 18 years ago.
We're in the laundry.
He's checking to see
if we come out clean,
I can feel it.
It's not about the money.
Well, why does he ask for it?
Pressure.
- To get our attention.
- He's an old guy,
he wants to show he
can still mix it.
Still play the game.
All right, so
how do we let him know
that him we can, too?
Pay the two dollars.
How much?
It's at 1.4 million.
This is
a live audio feed
from the computer on
his accountant's desk.
Uh, you've
received a bank transfer
of 1.4 million from a
bank in Switzerland.
Who sent
me this transfer?
A company called
Sun Investors Partners Limited.
Established this morning.
I called you
straight away. It's a large sum.
We need to declare it.
Can I refuse it?
It's
already in your account.
Do you
have the number
of the account that
made the transfer?
Y Of course.
Send it all back.
To the penny.
Touchdown.
Novikov knows we're serious.
Now we wait for his response.
Dr. Kemple's office.
I'd like to speak
to Dr. Kemple, please.
This is General Novikov.
Uh, tell Martian
to get down here.
Yes, of
course. One moment.
Novikov's just
called his doctor.
Mr. Novikov?
Dr. Kemple here.
I wanted
to let you know
I'll be in London tomorrow.
I don't believe we
have an appointment scheduled.
You called
the other day.
You were waiting
for me to confirm.
Did I call you?
Your surgery did.
I arrive tomorrow a
little after 12 p.m.
I'm so
sorry, my schedule's
completely full all afternoon.
I'm sure
you'll find time.
Send a car to City Airport.
What? I-I
don't understand.
Mr. Novikov, I-I think there
must have been a mix-up.
Take
necessary measures.
He guessed we'd listen
to the doctor's line.
He's good.
Yes?
Grandpa's POB.
Novikov's inbound.
I'm on my way.
I'll be 20 minutes.
Going dark.
Hi, um,
I think my student
ID got handed in?
- Poppy Cunningham?
- Yes.
You're in luck.
Someone brought
it in last night.
- Thank you so much.
- That's all right.
I'll have an espresso, please.
You are studying at the college?
Yeah.
I, uh, I did two years at LIE.
- Oh, nice.
- Uh, best years of my life.
Oh.
Yeah, my, um, my
scholarship wasn't renewed,
so I-I never got
to finish, but, uh,
my country has, um
many problems.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- Yeah.
It broke my heart, but, uh,
I'm over it.
I made some good friends
there, you know, and
I had one, what
was his name? Um
Paul.
Paul Lewis.
Do you know him?
He's a teacher.
He's not one of mine.
And an author, Paul
Lewis the writer.
I don't know anyone
with that name.
Perhaps he doesn't exist.
I have to go. Sorry.
Yeah, have a good one.
I'm so sorry for the delay, sir.
Where the fuck is Martian?
- Hello?
- Daddy?
- Hello?
- Whoa.
- Hello?
- Slow down. Poppy
I was calling you.
Where are you?
Talk to me. What's happening?
Some guy asked if
I knew Paul Lewis.
A Black guy.
He was tall, handsome.
He was well-dressed
and he had an accent.
African, I think.
Listen.
I'm getting you an Uber.
Double check the plate.
I'll text it.
Go to your mother's.
Wait for me to call.
I'll talk to you later, okay?
Okay.
Fuck!
Okay. Okay.
Fuck.
He really is on his way, sir.
I'm so sorry.
General.
Thank you for waiting.
- You're sweating.
- I ran.
I was late.
I like people who are fast.
Can you do a deal?
Here, now.
I can, but I need to
know what I'm buying.
Goods or information?
Information.
We can do information as long
as it's guaranteed reliable.
Piotr Rybak.
Forty-two years old.
Investment manager.
Also known by your
Company alias as Coyote.
Goddamn it. He gave
up his code name.
I want
proof he's alive.
He is alive.
For four
five more days.
I can't give you proof.
Then what can you give me?
You're lost.
I'm your compass.
I know what you want to know.
What do you want?
February 11, 1989.
The Vogelsang barracks
north of Berlin.
The CIA made recordings.
I want the tape.
February 11, 1989.
Vogelsang barracks
just north of Berlin.
This country.
Used to be strong.
Majestic.
An industrial powerhouse.
Now look at it.
A ruin.
Authorized.
Approved.
You have a deal.
Where's Coyote?
Samia?
Uh, excuse me.
Samia.
My advice?
Get out.
You're still young.
This game
it's for ghosts.
All the things you love.
Family.
Friends. Lovers.
Country.
You will watch them burn.
All you have to do
is keep being good at your job.
Your drive.
Your will to make sacrifices.
Paul?
Play
me the beginning.
Stop the tape.
Look.
Your Coyote is weak.
Depressed. On drugs.
He fucked up.
Recruited someone connected
to the Russian mercenaries.
They got his psychiatrist
to mess with his pills.
Coyote didn't spot it.
He was arrested DUI.
Except he wasn't.
He was drugged.
They took him to
a police station
where a corrupt agent named
Bogdan Antuyk took him out via
one of the underground tunnels
that link our
government buildings.
Then he passed him
to the mercenaries
for 20,000 euros.
Fuck me. The
Russians have him.
And that's where
your friend's luck runs out.
Yours, too.
Because that officer
works for General Volchok.
You know this man?
Commander of Valhalla.
He's like me.
KGB to his bones.
So, what does he do
when an American spy
falls into his lap?
Sell him back to you?
No.
Because these days, Mr. Volchok
commands a powerful army.
I might say a diabolical outfit.
Special forces,
private military contractors,
ex-convicts.
To win friends in Moscow,
he wraps up your poor Coyote
as a present.
Wants to unveil him
when a VIP is visiting
the front next week.
A CIA agent
on a plate.
For his masters.
Maybe even for his president.
Where is Coyote now?
Behind enemy
lines in Ukraine.
Handover with the FSB
takes place next week.
You want him back?
Move fast.
Fuck.
Get me Langley, secured
line in my office.
Who is that?
Reiner Mielke.
Head of the Stasi
in East Berlin
from 1957 to 1989.
Who's the other voice?
What do you think?
Bad German. Heavy
accent. Lisp.
Sounds like a young
KGB goon. I don't know.
Right. Keep going.
Which other of our
friends was in Berlin
from late '80s, early '90s?
Who cut his teeth there?
Volchok?
Ding, ding.
Paul, it's me again.
I've tried you a million
times. Where are you?
I came to your hotel
but you're not here.
Please call me. I have to
Hello?
Finally. I've
been calling you.
I'm fine.
Did you tell Mom?
How did he
know that name, Dad?
Look, it's fine.
- You're safe.
- I didn't say anything.
How does he know that, Dad?
Trust me, it's nothing.
Look, honey, I got to go.
Poppy, I love you.
Thank you for
joining us, Director,
Mr. Secretary, ma'am.
I'm gonna hold
off on thank-yous.
From what I hear,
the news is not good.
Um, our missing agent is in
the hands of the Russians.
Uh, he'll soon be in Moscow
where they intend to use
him to maximum effect.
You mean
they'll go public.
That's the likely outcome, yes.
Well, the timing of this
couldn't be worse for us.
What's the fallout?
By the time we see
him in front of a camera,
the SVR and the FSB
will have worked him over.
He will sing
whatever tune they call.
American spies in Ukraine,
black ops on the ground,
this will no longer
be a proxy war.
American boots in
their backyard.
Yeah, he'll make
it us versus them.
Escalate, rattle
the nuclear saber,
maybe even justification
to go full alert.
What
do I tell the president?
Follow him down to DEFCON
1? It's not an option.
We'll have to lean out of
Ukraine, which is all they want.
This could change the shape
of the entire conflict.
Talk to me
about quality of intel.
How close is your
source to the fire?
Uh
Source is, uh, good,
close, reliable.
Look, this isn't
bad news. It's good.
You want to elaborate on that?
Well, we're saying the
Russians have Coyote.
It's not true. Valhalla does.
Those guys are a
bunch of cowboys.
Let's make no mistake here.
For the first time
since Coyote disappeared
14 days and 20 hours ago,
we know where he is,
who's holding him.
This is our ball.
So you think you can
still get him back?
Yes.
Right?
That's correct, ma'am, yes.
Uh, we-we have
a closing window
before he's to be handed over
to Russian forces proper.
- How long?
- Four days.
I don't want the
president briefed
that he doesn't
have a problem here.
He won't, once we
get Coyote back.
Yeah, if you get him back.
Something London station
has so far failed to do.
We'll find him,
we'll get him back.
Bosko, call me now.
We need to talk.
You ever heard about
managing expectations?
You know what we
do differently here
than they do in any other
part of the government?
What's so special about
our particular agency?
- Thank you very much.
- We don't go it alone,
- Martian.
- You can't think
- in years.
- Procedure's in place
- for a reason.
- We think in decades.
Geopolitical decades, eras.
And that fucking shit up there?
That-that flies five
minutes, and then it's over.
You do not you do not make
promises you cannot keep.
And if you have a
plan, you would think
it would be a good idea
to run it internally
before you go pitching it
straight to the White House
and the DCI
I was playing in
the biggest game of my life.
But I knew something
was about to go wrong.
All I could do
was raise the bet.
Fly higher, lie bigger.
Hello? Samia?
Hey, Paul.
Yeah, you are a
hard man to find.
You know who was easy to find?
Your daughter, Poppy.
But tell me,
is it Poppy Lewis?
Or Poppy Cunningham?
Yeah, I am close, aren't I?
I am very,
very close.