The Assets S1E2 - English Transcript

Previously on "The Assets" My name is Aldrich Ames. I work for the CIA. Our dead drop was intercepted two days ago in Moscow. Last night, we learned with certainty that our asset had been executed. We've lost more assets in the last three months than at practically any other time in our history. You keep everything in your life separate work, family, assets. They have an in to the agency, art. They've cracked us. We are both spies! And I caught you spying! I am senior counterintelligence colonel in the KGB And I wish to defect. One of the first things I told him and I think we have agreed on, that words are not going to be enough. It will take deeds to eliminate the suspicions and the mistrust on each other's part. That was amazing. What's gotten into you? Huh? Mm. So, he just, up out of nowhere, saunters into the U. S. embassy and asks for asylum? Well, the sun was out. Maybe he decided it was a nice day to defect. Right. He's in the Rome walk-in room waiting for a preliminary debrief, okay? Trace memo. Early background. It's limited. Take what we can get. Vitaly yurchenko 49 years old, born smolensk, ussr. He was a naval officer, then moved to the KGB. He's currently a colonel deputy chief of the first director at Moscow. Foreign espionage and counterintelligence? Extensive overseas experience the middle east, Cairo, the U. S. We think he served in the Soviet embassy in D. C. , as well. What are the exfiltration plans? Rome's station chief believes the KGB will start looking for the colonel in the next four hours. Once they realize he's gone, he expects they'll do pretty much anything to get him back. He's airborne And flying in French airspace, U. K. , then north Atlantic to Canadian territorial boundaries. Flight time 10 hours. That puts him Andrews at, uh, 5:30 tomorrow morning. Okay. By the time he lands, the KGB will be in full-blown panic mode. I want a security detail at the airport, the hangar, the safe house outside of D. C. , two separate travel convoys to get him there one real, one decoy. It is unlikely, but we cannot rule out the Russians trying to go after him on our soil. Okay. Get with it. Rick What do you know about yurchenko? Well, I've, uh I've skimmed his file. Well, get up to speed. I want you at Andrews at dawn to meet him. Why? You're counterintelligence. I want you to be initial debrief. Drill down. Get answers fast. We're in trouble. He'll know why. Yes, sir. I need to meet you now. Aldrich. Damn it. You must not call me at the embassy. The Americans are listening. You know this. A KGB colonel defected today in Rome f-first chief directorate. What is his name, this colonel? V-Vitaly yurchenko. Never heard of him. Well, who the hell cares? H-he he walked into the damn U. S. embassy and he asked for asylum. Sometimes They fall through the cracks the disenchanted ones. He'll know me!! All about me. He'll tell them everything, and I'll spend the rest of my life in a maximum-security prison. What am I gonna do? I'm his initial debrief. Can you believe that? Hmm? The debrief? It's an opportunity. Remember the unfortunate spy, Aleksandr Ogorodnik? I believe it was you who supplied him the pill to end his suffering quickly, undetectably. You don't have to use that pill on yourself. It will work equally well on another. Are you s-saying that I should I don't give advice. I lay out options. The path Will come clear. Do not call the embassy again, hmm? But You don't need this, Aleksandr. You have no idea what KGB does to traitors, Mr. Ames. I want the option of dying like a man. The cyanide pill is here, in the top part of the pen. The tubing is weakened. You put it in your mouth, bite hard, take three quick breathes. Your heart will stop instantly. Here. Oh. Oh. Thank you. And May I never need it. It was date night, you know. Something came up at work. Just tell me the truth. Is there someone else? Is it a big, hairy Russian guy? Handlebar mustache? I could gain weight, you know. Stop shaving. Good night. Night. I wonder what he's like, this guy. I mean, who just up and betrays their country like that? Time to go to work. Colonel yurchenko Welcome to United States of America. We have a safe house waiting for you. Let's get you into one of these cars. Here. Colonel yurchenko. My name is Aldrich Ames. I require herbal tea for my digestion rose hip and lemongrass. I hope that you have this at your safe house. Tea? Mm. Absolutely. Whatever you need. Very good. Everybody seeing and hearing this? We're up and running. Rick, what's going on with you? You with me? I'm with you. Colonel yurchenko, I just want to say, from all of us here at the agency, how incredibly pleased and honored we are to have you here. Your agency has been penetrated. There is a mole in the CIA! A mole? In the CIA? A traitor? Da. Yes. Feeding the KGB intelligence. Well, that seems highly unlikely. You say it's unlikely. Why? Why is it unlikely? Becau because your people are so happy? Because they're so in love with your government? Or is it because you believe in utopia of Central Intelligence Agency and you think that no one will ever betray it? Because we run extremely tight counterintelligence. Because our officers are vetted and tested repeatedly. You Americans. You Americans are so arrogant. I tell you that there is a traitor in your midst and you talk to me about procedure, procedure, procedure? Okay! Don't believe me! I need tea! Now! He's lying. It's a misdirect to confuse us. But why lie? The guy already defected nothing to gain. He's controlled, fully operated, by a handler in Lubyanka. And he seems unstable. I mean, why does he need herbal tea? Maybe he's a nut who wants attention. You're both wrong. Put yourself in his place. This is a traumatic moment for him making the decision to defect, the plane ride, the debrief. He's anxious. He wants us to take him seriously, to believe that he's important. If he is telling the truth, we're gonna have to draw it out of him. We'll keep him talking. If Yurchenko's telling the truth, if there is a mole it would explain how we've lost our assets. It would also mean that every asset we have left in the Soviet union has potentially been burned. The moment the KGB realize we've got yurchenko and he's talking, there'll be nothing stopping them from arresting all our people and killing them on the spot. I can pull all relevant files, look for any mentions of yurchenko in the last 10 years any reported behavioral oddities. Put together a small team. I also need to make phone calls long-distance To Canada. Why don't you go get his herbal tea, huh? I'll I'll keep him comfortable here, keep him talking. Okay. Will do. Grab a file. We're looking for any mention of Vitaly yurchenko sightings, pass-bys, developmental meetings. We need to figure out if yurchenko is a liar or crazy or both. Then we look for possible intersections between our assets and the first directorate. How would this particular KGB colonel know about a CIA mole? Where would that intel have come from? We need to know which assets are most in danger, and we need to know now. Hey, I'll take that one. Okay. And, Rick, push him for the name gently, but push. Shouldn't we wait till it's just me and him alone? I mean, what if the mole is watching the video feed? First thing's first the name. Got it. Mack is gone get your tea. Colonel If there is a mole In the CIA, the agency needs to know who that person is, and we need to know now. Hmm. Who is the mole? Who is he? It could be anybody, couldn't it? Look at me. Nobody in the KGB thought that I would defect. I was trusted, loyal, but here I am with you, betraying my country. So who is The American mole? It could be any of you anybody watching us now, in the lens there in the camera. But do you know what I think? I think That it is you. I assure you, I am not a traitor. Not a traitor, no. So everybody say, "I am not a mole!" Only I have the proof. Only I have the knowledge! But first, I must go to Montreal in Canada. There is someone very important that I must see. Until then, nothing. I got a hit. Yurchenko is mentioned in a report may 18, 1979, Cairo. Approached by a case officer. Recruitment rebuffed. No notes on his state of mind. Good. Keep going. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. This is junk. Low-level intelligence that gives us nothing about ballistic missile capabilities? No targeting, no strategies? I think he's struggling with our technology. The cable said his camera stopped working. Okay. What about the quality of the intelligence he's given, on a scale of 1 to 10? Five? One. So he's a dangle, set up by the KGB, trying to draw us out. Distinct possibility. I mean I mean, look at this list he sent us. Ballpoint pens. Rolex watch. Now, why is top hat asking for this stuff? What the hell is a size-six circle hook? Fishhook for catching lake trout. It fits perfectly in their mouths. I grew up in the country. Hey, do you want to go grab a bite? Uh I Hmm. New hobby? Can't really say. Right. Ahh. Hmm. Wallace. This is the watch I bought for top hat. This is a surveillance shot of top hat and his direct G. R. U. superiors. Look at the general on the far right. Look at his wrist. Top hat is using our gifts to climb up the G. R. U. ladder so he can be a better spy for us. That's a pretty big leap, Sandy. I've studied this man for months now. I know him. I understand how he thinks. He's smart and committed, and he's being fast-tracked to becoming a general. I believe that, given the right tools, he could be our jewel in the crown. He could help us win the cold war, but he needs better spy gear. Our embassy's holding a cocktail party in Moscow in two weeks. Military friendship. Our case officer could invite Polyakov and give him unique? Unique is the best spy technology this agency has developed in 10 years. We deliver it to top hat and he gives it to the KGB, heads will roll, Sandy my head and yours. Okay. Go for it. Colonel, I got your tea. So now you'll give us a name, right? Right? I know his code name. The KGB call him "Mr. Robert. " Okay, a code name is great, but we need details. Tell me something about this guy a bio, distinguishing characteristics. Your traitor is a man Who has problems money problems Relationship problems Drinking problems. Now my trip to Montreal. No, now you tell me okay, okay. Now, let's let's take five. I'll call Langley, check on that And, uh Make your tea. Yurchenko gave up a code name. The mole is Mr. Robert. We need to start from the beginning and check for it every single document. General Polyakov, glad you could make it. Now, the weather has been good in Moscow lately, hasn't it? What do you have for me? Another sophisticated camera? Americans And their technology. Do you think that's what wins war? Character wins war. Bravery. Will your technology make you unafraid of death? At every turn, Americans roll over, show their belly. Do you really think communist party of Soviet union will ever show its belly? Never. They are animals. You must put them in the grave first do you understand? It's a camera that transmits data from 100 yards away. - It - Fine. Yes! The weather has been quite good lately! Enough nonsense. I will win you cold war by myself. Kursky railway station, track four, ninth garbage can from the end. Good night! Nixon told reporters yesterday the only way his administration was willing to sign this treaty was on the basis of new intelligence he received about Soviet missile capabilities. According to white house sources, that classified information came directly out of the Soviet military machine. You were right about Polyakov. He's our jewel in the crown. Remember Jackson Thomas from middle school? Of course. Lives on third. - Parents are splitting up. - Really? Wow. He say why? His mom was never home, and his dad caught her sleeping with their accountant. Guess the accountant is super weird-looking, too. Going to my room. Bye. Bye. Hello? Rosario, it's me. It's Rick. Hey, baby. What are you doing? Are you coming for dinner? Honey Go get your passport. Why? What's going on? And I think you should pack a bag. What's going on, Rick? Why should I do that? Just trust me. I love you. Rick. To your health. Rose hip And lemongrass? It's what the package said. And my trip? You're a go. Montreal great city. So, marital problems, a drinker that could describe any number of CIA officers, or KGB agents, for that matter. We'll give you whatever you want. You're in the land of plenty now, colonel. But I need to know exactly what you know. Who is the mole? Your mole Mr. Robert he have addictive personality, which is why you fired him. He was about to be sent to Moscow station, where he failed polygraph. He is ex-CIA, but he is very, very angry, and we have used that bitterness to our advantage. Did you say, "ex-CIA"? He no longer works for the agency. Son of a ***! You think it's I know it is. Pull out every file we've got on Edward Lee Howard! Will you excuse me for a moment? I Boss, you okay? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I It's just a relief. Now we'll know who the mole is. We know who the mole is ex-CIA. We fired him two years ago for drug and alcohol use. Officer's name is Edward Lee Howard. *** sold us out. How much does he know? Pipelined in from Moscow station. I fired him a week before he left. He knows everything. Each red mark is an intersection between the first chief directorate, Vitaly yurchenko, and an at-risk asset. Each red mark represents the increasing chance that an asset has been reported to the KGB. And now we have a verified traitor who may know the name of every single one of these people. Hmm. Ahh. Mom. Marina. Hmm? Rick, what's going on? I'm not the only one. There's two of us. What are you talking about? Everything's gonna be great, rosario. Just great. Da?