Original subtitles

There you go.

Thanks.

6, 3, 9,

7, 3,

5, 3,

2, 3,

2, 4,

9, 3,

8, 8, 8.

How much longer until the weapon is ready?

This device is unstable.

One wrong move and we're all dead.

Just get it done.

The attack must happen tomorrow.

Hey.

You're not seriously thinking about

putting Toni back in the field.

Well, good morning to you, too.

How do you know what I'm thinking?

- I know everything. - Mm.

It's a burden.

Talk to her?

No, not since you sent her back to Langley

for deep cleaning.

And I don't plan on it, either.

You know avoidance won't make your problems go away.

Just ask any of my ex-husbands.

Maybe you should bring 'em in for a panel.

Worst part is, they would love that.

Speaking of avoidance, you gonna answer my question?

Toni's status is still up in the air.

Good operatives are hard to find.

She has skills that we can use.

Yeah, chief among them lying.

Don't trust her, Nikki.

She'll tell you exactly what you want to hear

and then betray you the moment it benefits her.

I'll take that under advisement.

What?

Morning, Gina. What have we got?

All right.

- Woof. - My sentiments exactly.

This is... was Dan Kelly,

inventory supervisor at BHC Chemical,

at least until he landed at the morgue this morning.

The medical examiner ruled it

an accidental chemical exposure.

Well, that's a lot of accident.

Why are we getting a morgue report?

Isn't NYPD taking lead on this?

Well, CIA gets alerts on certain deaths.

Anything that trips a hostile actor wire.

This one tripped a lot of 'em.

The tox report was a real hell's brew.

You have organophosphorus, amine stabilizer,

fluoride, a bunch of other things

that you don't want at the spelling bee.

Those chemicals should never be in the same room.

Yeah, unless our friend here was making...

actually, Gina, you can take that down now.

Unless he was making some sort of chemical weapon.

Seems the most likely explanation.

Is this guy a part of any hate groups, terror cells?

- Still up, Gina. - Sorry.

Good questions, Bill.

Poke around the morgue. See what you can see.

But quietly, before word gets out and panic spreads.

On it.

I didn't peg you as a queasy type.

What are you talking about?

Had it taken down for your benefit.

Oh, yeah. You...

Hey, Toni.

Hey.

Well, would you look at the time?

I've been trying to reach you.

I called, texted.

I almost sent a carrier pigeon,

but I know how you get with birds.

Please say something.

I feel like I'm screaming in the void.

Oh, funny.

I know that feeling.

You said you had a mission for me?

Yeah.

Gabriel Silva.

He's a Brazilian government official.

Just landed in New York.

We think he's turnable,

so observe his movements and report back.

You had me on the bench for weeks.

My first assignment is a pattern of life workup?

You give those to trainees at the farm.

My trainees didn't murder anyone.

You're behind them in line.

Can I have his file, a list of known associates,

significant events... - You don't dictate terms.

You follow orders.

The mission starts now.

So, Toni.

A little awkward. You good?

Jeez, you and Nikki are worse than a knitting circle.

I'm fine. - Of course.

Girlfriend coming back from the dead

after betraying you and the whole team?

Hey, we've all been there.

Point is, I'm here for you.

Well, if my diligent journaling proves insufficient,

you'll be my next call.

Brace yourselves, gentlemen.

This isn't a pretty sight.

As you can see, the level of exposure was significant.

The cocktail we found in his tox screen

likely killed him on contact.

You hope. - It does not make sense.

These hazmat guys are usually meticulous.

Yeah, and yet here this man lies

looking like he took a sarin bath.

Actually, should we be...

In here with him?

I wouldn't give the man a hug,

but these chemicals, they're not persistent.

You're not at risk of exposure.

Well, uh, maybe you could just

cover his face back up.

My friend here is a bit queasy.

Uh...

can I see his personal effects?

They're over there.

Dan Kelly. BHC Chemical.

Huh.

Uh, excuse me. Do you mind if I...

Be my guest.

Thank you.

Well, well.

That's the real Dan Kelly.

So who the hell is this guy?

Photo on the left is the real Dan Kelly,

inventory supervisor for BHC Chemical.

On all accounts, a perfectly nice, boring man.

Except Kelly hasn't shown up to work this past week.

Girlfriend filed a missing persons report.

It's been sitting in a pile at the local precinct.

What about our friend at the morgue?

He is, unfortunately, much less boring.

This is Kamal Al-Tunisi,

former munitions engineer for Syria's Unit 417.

Defected during the civil war

and used his skill set for much less official clients.

Hmm.

Counter-terror desk says he's a bomb-maker

for the Covenant Front, civil war splinter cell.

Anti-regime, anti-reconciliation,

anti-anything that makes peace possible.

Yeah.

So what was he up to here?

I-I thought that Covenant Front was

wiped out from drone strikes.

What is it, Nikki?

Uh, we got a report

from Signals Intelligence this morning.

The analyst was Annie Gossage.

She intercepted a radio signal from the same region.

We get intercepts like this

I don't know how many times in a day.

I didn't think anything of it till now.

Annie Gossage... why does that sound familiar to me?

Because she used to work in this station.

Now she's a green badge. - Huh.

What did she intercept?

Well, in her report,

she said she didn't want to give any details

over an open line.

But it might be related.

I mean, this could be huge.

Covenant Front is... is hardcore, decentralized.

CIA, Five Eyes, no one has been able

to crack their communication.

Amazing. Let's bring her in for a briefing.

Bring her in. Hmm.

Here's the thing about Annie.

This woman hasn't left her apartment in five years?

Apparently so.

Our spies are an eccentric bunch.

I mean, severe agoraphobia doesn't even break into

my top ten of weird things I've seen.

Subtle.

Yeah.

Step back from the door.

Nice to meet you too, Annie.

Authentication protocol.

Ah. Of course.

Bravo Tango Six Foxtrot Two November.

I didn't catch the last letter.

"N" as in not enjoying this.

Secondary challenge phrase.

I don't...

Look, Annie, we're not discussing

national security matters on a drive-through speaker.

Please let us in or this could have been an email.

OK.

Hello, gentlemen. Come in, come in.

There's a lot of outside air coming in.

Thank you.

Uh, shoes inside the yellow tape.

Please. Thank you.

OK, maybe she does break into my top ten.

Do you have any idea

what lives on the sole of a New York shoe?

Pesticides, cigarette ash,

fecal bacteria.

I could culture a bioweapon off your left heel.

Outside stays outside.

- Understood. - Ah! No!

Don't. There's a system.

Sorry.

Thought it was a chair.

Mm-hmm.

Do you mind if we start this briefing?

The Signals room is this way. Uh...

Ah, stay inside the blue tape, please.

Keep up.

Apparently, the floor is lava.

6, 5,

3, 7, 3...

It's a numbers station.

Thought those died after the Cold War.

No, very not dead.

These transmissions travel around the planet

free to any radio that's listening,

but without the matching cipher, they're uncrackable.

Well, sometimes the best hiding place

is in plain sight, eh?

I've caught transmissions

on this particular frequency before.

Uh, April 21st, 2024.

When the Covenant Front bombed the Tokyo subway.

August 1st, 2022.

Embassy attack in Istanbul.

May 9th, 2019.

Well, that's the Madrid train bombing.

The transmissions are go orders.

This is the first time I've pieced one together

ahead of an attack.

Problem is, uh, this signal could be meant for someone

across the planet or across the street.

2, 6...

What? You know something.

We believe the Covenant Front has built a cell in New York.

Well, that's not good.

And that they're also close to finishing a chemical weapon.

Which means they're going to attack the city.

4, 2, 7,

8, 3.

Annie, you have to decode this message

so we can track the recipient and stop the attack.

Oh, sure thing. Simple! Except for all of that.

Did you not hear me when I explained this is uncrackable?

Annie, we've developed classified AI models

since you were last at the station.

We can brute-force it.

Oh, my God. You can't brute-force it.

It is a one-time pad. It doesn't break.

Not with AI, not with a supercomputer,

not if you put sunglasses on the supercomputer

and you call it classified.

This is not me being difficult, this is me reporting gravity.

OK, OK, Annie.

Maybe we can start playing the "yes, and" game.

I mean, what can we do?

I don't know. I don't know.

Stop reading the letter and start tracking the envelope.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

If we can find out who sent the signal,

we could get into their servers.

We might uncover some usable intel.

Is that doable?

Well, every transmission has a fingerprint,

a harmonic noise, carrier drift,

the way the signal bends at a given hour.

- Is it doable? - Give me some time.

I can locate the source. - Great.

We'll take you to the station, get you everything you need.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

I'm not minimizing what this is for you...

But you are.

It's just that if we don't find the source,

people will die.

- Annie. - No.

We can take an armored caravan there.

You'll be safe the entire time.

No!

No, please!

Do you think I sit in here because I enjoy the decor?

I-i-it's not that I don't want to leave, I can't leave.

OK. Fine, Annie.

Then you stay here.

All right? - Yeah.

I'll give you my number.

You track the transmission.

And the moment you find anything, you call me.

- Yes. - OK, good.

- All right. - OK.

Stay inside the blue tape... - The blue tape, yes.

OK.

Annie's a fun hang.

Yeah, she's a lot. I'll give you that.

I get it, though.

A fortified cocoon and a strict no-visitors policy

sounds quite tempting.

Yeah, I've seen this in soldiers back from deployment.

Hypervigilance.

You spend long enough around constant threats,

your brain forgets how to stand down.

Start shrinking your world till it's nothing but you.

Doesn't end well.

What, you think she has PTSD?

Not for me to say.

Could she use some professional help?

Maybe.

Yeah, well, today, we need her help.

Oh, speaking of.

Annie.

She's traced the transmission. - That was fast.

I'll alert Nikki.

The team found the code origin.

Annie's frequency analysis

put the transmitter inside a three-mile radius.

We analyzed topography and cell traffic

to narrow it to nine locations.

Thermal ruled out seven. - And the last two?

We've narrowed down to one.

Multiple sources vetted.

This is the spot, ma'am.

Ground One, this is Nikki Reynard,

CIA, New York station.

Yes, ma'am. Standing by for your go order.

Heat signatures near the entrance.

Hotter clusters deeper inside. This is what we came here for.

Seize the SSE off the servers.

Be safe. This is a go.

Copy. Go, go, go.

All clear.

Give me the key.

All clear. - All clear.

Here's the transfer drive.

Transmitted.

Let's get what we need and get out of there.

Yes, ma'am.

Nice work.

Anything useful from the servers?

Depends on how romantic you are about spreadsheets.

The headline is, we found the cipher.

Whoa. You sent it to Annie yet?

Yes, half hour ago, actually.

Good. We got a direction to run in.

Not exactly.

Just because she has the cipher,

she still needs to decode the message.

So a location, a target, it's gonna take a minute.

Oh.

Which is why I'm gonna start

sorting through financials.

Anything that can point to some sort of safe house in New York.

I mean, we might be able to locate these guys

the old-fashioned way.

Wait, what's this?

A warehouse lease in Hunts Point under a shell company.

They paid 12 months upfront. Cash.

- Yep. - That's it.

Finally, a door to kick in.

Yeah, Nikki's.

We run it up the chain. She decides who moves and how.

OK, well, just let us know as soon as you got something.

Thanks, Annie.

Decode's harder than she expected.

Well, we better find these guys fast, then.

Is this the place that Gina sent?

It's not exactly turnkey, is it?

It looks like an abandoned cold storage facility.

Perfect place for building a chemical weapon.

Quiet, industrial ventilation.

How are the schools?

Funny.

I don't see any security cameras.

Maybe there's an entrance out back.

Oh, here's something.

Go, go, go, go, go.

Go, go, go!

Gina.

See what you can get on a black Ford Transit, New York plates.

Hang on.

OK. Here we go.

New York plates.

November Uniform Quebec 1-7-2-4.

We're currently in pursuit.

Copy.

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

FBI! Let me see your hands.

Don't shoot!

Don't shoot.

I'm not with them.

You don't say.

Thankfully, my brakes work. You all right?

I was zip-tied in the back of a van.

Of course I'm not all right.

It's up through here.

Easy. Just take a breath. After you.

Start with your name and occupation.

Brian Torbick.

I'm a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering.

Published a few papers regarding

advances in aerosol dispersal.

OK. How'd you get here?

These guys dragged me out of my house

in the middle of the night.

Five of them, armed to the teeth.

Brought me here.

To mix more chemicals?

No.

Their guy got that done before he...

Yeah.

They wanted me to complete a dispersal device capable

of maintaining a precise micrometer particle range

and persistent volatility.

Right.

I totally get that,

but if I got to explain it to my friend over there?

A weapon that could kill as many people as possible

as quickly as possible.

I got something here.

Same model as the guy in the morgue.

- What is that? - Did they leave a bomb?

Alarm set for 11:15 a.m.

What time did Annie start her recording?

11:17.

It's a reminder to tune in to the radio frequency.

She's missed the first two minutes of the transmission.

That's why she can't decode it.

She doesn't have the whole message.

So we have a five-man cell on the loose

with a chemical weapon.

Our one lead is an incomplete coded message.

I-I'm really open to good ideas at this point.

Annie missed the start of the transmission,

so we find someone who didn't.

The number station transmits the message

on a shortwave frequency,

and shortwave people record everything.

Uh, forums, message boards,

and even Reddit threads where

men call each other idiots about ionospheric skip.

Mm.

I did some research.

Clearly.

All right, I see a post here from ShortWaveTallGuy.

He said, "I heard a live one." 11:15 a.m., same frequency.

Hmm. OK. Any way to get his real name?

By how much this guy likes to brag?

Shouldn't be a problem. Hold on.

Benjy White.

Looks like he owns a hobby shop

on the Upper West Side.

OK, Gina. Let's check it out. You're with me.

All right.

So what's the play here?

Scare him? Leverage him? Strap him to a car battery?

You've been sitting too close to Teddy.

No, this isn't an interrogation.

This is a guy who's been sitting

in a room full of machines nobody asks about anymore.

Ask yourself what does he want?

An audience.

Oh, hi.

Oh, well, hello.

We don't, uh...

we don't get a lot walk-ins anymore.

We're looking for a gift

for our boss who's really into this old-school radio stuff.

Ah.

Radio.

Well, be careful what you wish for,

because that is a big, old rabbit hole.

You know, I've never even owned a radio.

I've just only had my phone.

Yeah.

You know your cell phone is a leash with a flashlight.

Right.

Follow me.

If I do say so myself,

this will be the greatest collection of radios

you've ever seen in your life.

Wow.

Is this one of 'em?

How does this all work?

Well, shortwave transmissions run on skywave propagation.

Uh, the signals skip out over the ionosphere

and then hop around the planet.

Oh, yeah? Like a AM radio?

Uh, no. No, no, not... not at all.

But, uh, I appreciate the attempt.

- Ah. - Hey, what are all these?

Oh, those are QSL cards.

We listen to broadcasts on specific frequencies

and then mail each other the proof.

We're a very tight-knit group

and this is our way

of keeping things analog.

Hmm.

So cloak-and-dagger.

Well, they're always listening.

Aren't you always listening?

Well, yeah, but for fun.

Big Brother plays for keeps.

- Mm. - Right?

For example, the CIA is installing recording devices

into feral cats and then they are

sending these feral cats into target neighborhoods where...

Isn't her handwriting just beautiful?

- Wow, that is gorgeous. - Gorgeous.

Oh, yeah, she's a real character.

Knows her stuff, though. - Mm.

You know, there's...

there's not really a lot of women in the hobby.

I don't know why. - Hmm.

What's the best thing you ever heard?

It's funny you should ask.

The timing is excellent,

because just yesterday,

I got this.

It's called a number station.

And if you like cloak-and-dagger,

- which I think you do... - Mm?

Listen to this.

6, 3...

9, 7, 3...

Pretty cool.

5, 3, 2,

7, 2, 3.

- Of course. - 2, 4...

Good of course or bad of course?

Oh. They've updated the protocol.

They've added an indicator group.

It tells you where to start in the cipher.

Before this, I never had a prayer.

But now you can crack it?

Well, now I know where to start.

The indicator tells me which page the crossword is on.

I still have to solve the puzzle.

What? How long is that going to take?

It depends on how many questions you ask.

Oh, so you guys are just going to, uh...

OK, great. I do my best work under male supervision.

Uh, where did you get the full recording?

Uh, just a shortwave hobbyist.

What was his name? - Benjy White.

W... how did you find Benjy?

On a shortwave forum on Reddit. Why?

Well, that's very not good.

I mean, the shortwave world is small.

We communicate via closed channels only.

We don't raise our hands in a public forum.

So who's reading these forums?

Well, if I'm the bad guys, I'm keeping tabs on any chatter

that has to do with our big, bad, bad guy plans.

He's put a target on his back.

Nikki.

You still with Benjy?

- No. Why? - Turn around now.

Turn around.

We're too late.

Whoever did this

wanted to know who else had the recording.

Benjy's dead.

And they're gonna be coming for you.

They know we're close to cracking the whole operation.

My God.

Too late.

They're already here.

I only see three. We were told there were five.

Maybe the other two are deploying the chemical weapon.

All right, we're out of time. We have to evacuate now.

- No, I can't. - I know it seems impossible.

We're not expecting you to be miraculously cured.

That's not what she's saying, Bill.

This rig isn't going anywhere.

I leave, the decoding stops, and the attack moves forward.

All right, we'll buy you some time.

Give me a hand.

I'm gonna barricade the front door.

No, no! Don't touch anything!

Don't move anything!

It's either this or we ask them

to wipe their feet before killing us.

And this, this doesn't make any sense.

It... it's just decoding two more numbers?

Right. Because the numbers are the answer.

They're coordinates.

Nikki, the attack's at the Babbish Center.

This place is massive.

Should we evacuate? - No.

The second you do,

they'll dump the weapon into the crowd.

Stay still.

All right.

Insurance conference, tech summit,

floor hockey tournament.

I mean, where do we even start?

Annie's still decoding the second half

of the transmission.

Hopefully that'll have a specific spot.

You know what?

Forget the ballrooms.

Let's check freight corridors,

service elevators, loading docks.

Good idea. Let's move.

Little more, little more.

Got it.

SWAT's on the way, but they're 30 minutes out.

What?

She's bolted these things to the floor.

Hey, grab these boxes.

No, that's not a word. That's garbage.

Why are you giving me garbage?

Annie, are you asking for help

or are you in a fugue state?

Annie, do you need help?

Unless you became a cryptanalyst

on the way over here, please stick to

dismantling the system I spent five years building.

Funny.

Annie, I don't mean to rush you,

but if you could just, you know, rush!

I've got it! I've got it! The second half of the code.

I did not think that would work.

What is it?

"Attack Central Helix through the CP."

- What? - That's it?

Yes!

Attack Central Helix through the CP?

The hell does that even mean? - Central helix.

CP could mean anything.

Control panel?

Checkpoint, cargo point, collection.

NYPD...

Command Post.

CP.

Right beneath the spiral staircase.

"Central Helix."

Yeah. Come on.

This can't be right.

No. No, it can't.

Annie, are you 100% sure you got the wording right?

I don't do 99!

So then where's this attack?

I don't know.

We found the target.

There's a back channel summit today,

Syrian opposition factions,

in a secure conference room called the Helix Room.

OK.

What's CP?

Wait, the visuals on the specs Colin found

at the safe house, they're specs for an HVAC system.

OK, here we go.

HVAC system...

Central Plant. CP. Top floor.

Come on.

Get her out of here. I got this.

- Are you sure? - Yeah. Go, go, go, now!

Annie!

Annie?

Annie, we need to go. Now.

- I can't. I can't. - Yes, you can.

- Out the window? - Yes.

Out the window. - No, no!

Yes. Annie. Annie, look at me.

This place, it can't keep you safe anymore

because it's never the danger that you planned for.

It's the meteor out of the clear blue sky.

Oh, thanks.

I'll add meteors to the freaking list.

Annie, there is no such thing as infallible protection.

Trust me. OK?

- No. - Trust me.

- I can't do it. - We have to do this.

I can't. I can't. I can't do it.

- Yes, you can. - No.

You go and I will go down the stairs.

Annie, you can't get out the other way.

Give me your hands. - I can't do it.

They're coming. - Give me your hands.

Oh, no. No, they're coming.

- Yes, they're coming. - They're coming.

Yes, Annie. Come on. You can do this.

OK. Good job. Here we go.

We're gonna take it one step at a time.

OK? Give me your hand.

You're doing really well.

I've got you. You're OK.

OK.

All right, I've got you.

Take a second.

OK.

OK. don't look down. Annie?

In my eyes, OK? - OK, OK.

- Don't look down. OK? - OK, I just...

One step at a time. Here we go.

- Oh, my God! - Easy, easy, easy, easy.

Easy, easy, easy. - I'm...

I'm gonna go back inside.

No, no, no, no. Annie. Stop, stop, stop, stop.

- I have to go back inside. - Stop, stop, stop.

- I... - Take a breath.

OK?

We're not going back up. We're going down.

Here we go. You are doing so well, Annie.

Damn it.

They're about to activate the weapon.

I need you at the fire panel now.

- Wait, what... what's the plan? - There's no time to debate.

Just go. Red box on the left.

Great, now locate the fire suppression lever.

- Uh... - I'm gonna shut off

the HVAC system.

That'll stop anything from moving through those ducts.

Fire suppression pressurizes everything inside that room.

- Got it. - On my count.

One, two, three.

- No. - OK.

- No. - Come on, come on.

No, I don't think I... I can. I...

Annie, you're fine. Come on.

Hey. It's just a gate. It's a gate.

Look, the car is just down here.

Where... where is down here?

It's just across the road, Annie.

Across the road. You can see it.

- I don't... I... - OK?

You can do this, Annie. You've done the hard part.

- No, I can't. - Come on, come on, come on.

- I can't do this. - Come on.

Annie, hey. Annie, easy, easy.

What?

My God, it's gonna take me a year

to put this place back together.

Oh, you'll have to cancel all your social engagements.

Uh, a... a little to the left.

No, left-left.

- Yeah? - The other left.

Right.

It's a beautiful photo. Istanbul?

Yeah.

- Ever been? - Yeah.

Who do you think took the photo?

You used to do field work?

Oh, I used to do a lot of things.

I know what you want to ask.

It... it... it's the same question that everyone asks.

What was the moment?

Uh, the explosion,

the kidnapping,

the dead asset,

whatever makes it tidy.

But it... but it wasn't a moment.

I got this way slowly

and then all at once.

First, I stopped taking foreign posts.

Then airplanes,

then, uh, crowds,

then... - Everything.

Everything.

Then everything.

Oh, I do not love this. Huh.

It didn't kill you, though, did it, Annie?

No.

No. Not yet.

Nikki wants us for a debrief.

Joyful.

Heads up. Toni's gonna be there.

Uh...

OK, um, you know this morning, when I told you I was fine.

Yeah.

- I'm not. - I know.

You're not as good of a liar as you think you are.

That's hurtful.

Doesn't take two to debrief.

You don't have to come back to the office.

You sure?

Not exactly racing to get home to what's waiting for me.

Not after today.

Well, I'm sure your innate charm will win the day.

Yeah.

Thanks.

Of course.

Is this Silva guy even a person of interest,

or was this just some busy work?

This isn't what I signed up for.

No, you didn't sign up. You pled down.

It was either this or a federal cell,

so if I want you to spend the day

surveilling a target of limited interest,

that's what you will do.

OK.

So now what?

You know the way back to your safe house.

We'll call you when we have another assignment.

Did the CIA tell you to lie to me?

No. That was my choice.

Your choice.

Right.

Katie, I thought I was doing the right thing.

I thought I was protecting you.

I'm guessing you're feeling what I felt

when I found out about my dad.

And yet, you did the same thing to me.

Well, like father, like son, I guess.

Look, I don't know why my dad didn't tell me.

I don't really know who my dad was or what he was capable of.

I don't know what I'm capable of, but...

So what, you're a late-blooming sociopath?

Is what I'm afraid of.

And so what am I supposed to do exactly?

Hey.

Katie, I... I'm trying to tell you that there's stuff...

in me that I... I didn't know was there

and I don't know what to do with it.

Because the truth is...

Lying to me was easy.

I think for tonight it might be better if you, uh...

Take the couch. Got it.

Yeah.

You here to bug the place again?

I would never think of you as a mark, Colin.

Oh, well, that is very reassuring.

I don't want to fight.

Then why are you here, Toni?

Because...

- Because? - Because.

Because, because.

There is no station, no team, no country that'll have me.

A whole building that looks at me like I'm nothing.

And you,

you won't even look at me.

Why?

Tell me.

What are you so afraid of?