Madeline Pratt - No. 73

COOPER: Previously on The Blacklist... LIZ: I'm gonna spend some time at home. Be with the baby. If you have any doubts about your husband you can't go through with this adoption. If there is even one shred of doubt. I can't do it. You're not ready. You leaked classified data in the name of improving security. I was authorized to stop the bidding process. Authorized by whom? What the hell are you doing in my house? You're the dirty rat, Diane. DIANE: We came into the post office to make a point. You talk too much. I didn't know anything about the safe deposit box until I saw the will. I've had all the necessary paperwork certified. The trust and the death certificate. The paperwork is in order. But to access your husband's box, you will need the key. Is there anything else? No, thank you. I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Mrs. Reddington. (ALARM RINGING) The box in Istanbul. It's been cleared out. Mmm? This was left behind. I was just starting to feel the endorphins vibrating in my spleen. The key. How did you get it? Macau. Last winter. I've always hated Macau. No, thank you. The documents in the box are worth over 10 million. You stood me up in Florence. I had to get your attention somehow. I have a proposition. In that case perhaps we should move to your room. I'll take the check. (CHUCKLES) Right. No. Okay, sure. Yeah, I'll talk to you soon. Right. That was Brian. He and Katie say hi. Did you tell him? Why would I tell him? I thought he'd ask. I just... I told him it's taking longer than we expected. I know this is hard. We spent six months talking about adoption. We spent another year going through the process. I know. I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm sorry, too. Katie's pregnant. That's great. Mmm-hmm. We should get them something, have them over for dinner. Wait, Tom, don't just walk away while we're talking. She's breathtakingly unattractive, but she's worth over $40 million. The only Vermeer in private hands. That's considered a masterpiece? Last night, I got up for a scoop of orange sherbet and she caught my eye. I just stood here in the dark squinting at her. Poor thing ruined my appetite. Even after I went back to bed, all I could hear was the hideous music she must be playing. Didn't sleep a wink. Why did you buy it? Oh, my God, no, she's not mine! She belongs to some hedge-fund manager who lives here. I thought you lived here. Well, for now. The owner has been on vacation ever since the SEC started its investigation. I've never met the man, but his housekeeper is an old friend. Please. Do you have any idea how much the U.S. government has spent on signals intelligence in the past year? No. Your country has become a nation of eavesdroppers. Frequency domains, triangulation, satellites, crypt-o-whatever. You've forgotten that what matters most is human intelligence. Alliances, relationships, seduction. Madeline Pratt is a master at... Madeline Pratt? Madeline Pratt... Is a thief. And a woman of singular talents. And now you want something of hers and you expect the FBI to help you get it. It was the right decision. Not to have the baby. What did she take from you? I'm sorry for your suffering. Madeline Pratt. How do we find her? Finding her is easy. Catching her is difficult. Luckily, she has asked me to help her plan a heist. To steal what? NOVAK: The effigy of Astarte. The effigy was thought to be lost. Disappeared from the British Museum in 1983. Two months ago, it pops up at an estate sale in Henderson, Kentucky. The Feds raided the auction and repatriated it back to the Syrians. Ah, here it is. The effigy. Novak, I have friends who are looking for this funny little statue, and they're not the least bit interested in antiquities. What is the real story? The Kungur Six. It's said that when the Cold War was ending, its owner hid a list inside the effigy, a list of Soviet spies. Why is that relevant today? The Kungur Six are still active and are said to be responsible for some of the most damaging intelligence breaches in the past 30 years. Find the effigy and you find them. Finding them would be the Holy Grail of U.S. counter-intelligence. You allowed him to vet everyone that works here? I made no promises. But I understand it was a pre-condition of his return, that aside from security and principal staff, everyone else has to be off site. I agreed to his terms to get him in here. Where we go from here is up to me. Excuse me. (LAUGHING) That's great. Harold! Look at you. Sit down. No, no, no, I'm fine, thank you. I was just looking at the pictures of Charlene and the kids. How old are they now? The kids, not Charlene. Diane Fowler. Where is she? I have no idea. And frankly, I'm flummoxed as to why you would even care. You expect me to believe that you walk in here, after she vanishes, and there's no connection? Has Diane gone missing? Perhaps you should ask Agent Malik. She works for the woman, doesn't she? I've had no contact. Well, there you go. You made it clear, you thought we had a mole, and you wouldn't set foot inside this facility until that mole was captured or dead. Who decided on this paneling? You told us you wouldn't come in until the mole had been caught. I said nothing of the kind. You said our house wasn't clean. Is it? I suppose you'll have to ask Diane Fowler when you find her. When we find out what's happened to her, and we will find out, if you had anything to do with it, you're gonna spend the rest of your life in a box. Understood? You smell nice. Something new? Did you hear me? Madeline Pratt. What about her? REDDINGTON: This is the Madeline Pratt you all know and love. Politically active. Influential. A good citizen. What you don't know is the Madeline Pratt I love. Six million in diamonds stolen from a De Beers outpost in the Congo. Security fibers used in printing the Czech koruna taken from a mint in Prague and used to produce counterfeit banknotes. The Madeline Pratt you know fosters relationships with incredibly powerful people. The one you don't, exploits those relationships in ways that impact national security. We can't just arrest her, we have no evidence. What you do have is an opportunity. Which brings us back to the effigy of Astarte. Madeline feels her profile is too high right now to steal it herself. So she's asked for my help. Where is the effigy? Secure wing in the Syrian embassy. For now. But it will likely be repatriated at any moment, which means Maddie is rushed and vulnerable. She's trying to make a grab that would normally take months to plan. Do the Syrians know what's inside the effigy? If they did, it would be in Damascus by now. I can only assume, Harold, that Madeline has a Russian patron, since it's the Russians who want to protect the identities of the Kungur Six. I'm not sanctioning an op in support of you going in to steal anything, let alone something that may affect national security. I'm flattered that you think I'm up to it, but thieving is not my strongest suit. Luckily, we have an ace of spades among us. Isn't that right, Agent Keen? COOPER: What's he talking about? There something you wanna tell us? No, sir. Your father's criminal record didn't show up on your background report. Maybe yours is missing, too. I don't have a criminal record. Because you never committed a crime, or because you were never caught? Yes. I believe my work speaks for itself. Sir, I can do this. All right. We take the case. But understand, if you do this, you're gonna be on foreign soil. If something goes wrong, we can't protect you. I need to know about you. How you respond under pressure. This is an embassy. Security, cameras, armed guards everywhere. One mistake and you go to prison. Nicole here is as calm as a Hindu cow. Tell her that story about Frank. Who's Frank? A guy I knew. What story? We met in high school. We grifted. Small jobs, really, just whatever we had to do to pay the rent. Tell her about Omaha. I was 17. There was a drug store. Thursday night, they made bank deposits on Friday. I was the look out. Night manager came back. He forgot his glasses. I gave the signal, but nothing. I'd convinced myself that Frank was the only thing I had in the world, so the night manager was an easy decision. What did you... I seduced him into the alley. Then what? I played him for a little bit, then I kissed him off, and told him he'd get more next week. Then Frank and I went away. And lived happily ever after. The end. I thought you didn't believe in happily ever after. I didn't come here to audition. Wait. The job. It's yours. I don't want the job. Call somebody who does. How did you get my phone? What if I paid you double? See, this is what I love about the two of you. Headstrong and vulnerable. Confident but cautious. I think you're gonna get along great. Your name will be on the guest list. The statue's in a UL approved class one vault situated in a strong room one level below the ground floor. How long will it take to breach? An autodialer can circumvent the electronic keypad in two, maybe three minutes tops. I'll supply equipment that can get through a metal detector. What about physical security? There are two guards stationed outside that strong room, armed and mobile. They do a hall sweep every 20 minutes. When they take their patrol at 9:20, you'll have 10 minutes. How do I get in? Dirar Marwan. Embassy official. He has the security credentials you'll need to get to the structure's classified lower level. He takes a coffee break every day at 4:00 p.m. Wears his ID on the lapel of his jacket. Easy enough to unclip in a standard brush pass. This lift needs to be round trip. Not one way. Can't raise any flags. I know someone who can clone this badge before Marwan can return to the embassy. Okay. Here we go. You good? I will be in 90 seconds. What's that? It's Madeline Pratt's SIM card. I swiped it when I palmed her phone. If I'm gonna do this, I want to know who she talks to and why. You know how to palm a phone? How will you return his badge? I won't. You will. In a second brush pass before he re-enters the building. He's coming. We have about 15 seconds. Hurry. How are we doing on Marwan's ID? How long do you need? Almost there. I need 30 seconds. MEERA: He's on the move. I need the badge now. Somebody stall him. We are a go. (COUGHING) Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. It's okay. Oh. Did you leave it on? Yes. Hey, I'm sorry. I broke our rule. I shouldn't have walked away upset. Brian and Katie are having a kid. It's hard. Whoa, mama. Hey, is this like an undercover thing tonight? 'Cause if you need a partner, I've got some pretty good fake IDs. Zip me up. Hey, I wanted to ask you something. So, you know I have that teacher conference in Orlando this weekend, and I was thinking you should come with me. You know, just sunshine and beaches, and get away from all this. Um, Orlando is land locked. Pretty sure there aren't any beaches. And that's why I don't teach geography. (LAUGHING) I would love that. Yeah? We could use a vacation. (SIGHS) Tell me about it. Just you and me. Do you wanna maybe go under cover before you go undercover? REDDINGTON: We have a problem. I had my people run background on the guest list for tonight's event. The file's on the ottoman. Rasil Kalif. Notorious playboy. Works as a cultural attache in the Syrian embassy. Apparently, Madeline's been seeing him for some time. Why is that a problem? Cultural attache is Kalif's cover. Truth is, he's been recruited as an asset by the Russian Bratva. He's a mobster. My guess is he's the one who hired Maddie to steal the effigy. And right about now, she's walking into the embassy as his date. What? You said her profile was too high and she wasn't going. Well, she is. Why would she hire us to steal the effigy when she's obviously planning on stealing it herself? Wow. And I like your clutch. What are you wearing? A tuxedo. I'm your plus one. You can't get into that embassy. Oh, yes, I can. Some of my best friends are Syrian. You act like this is a joke. There's a digital net over the embassy. Aram can't access the surveillance feeds. I'm going onto foreign soil to steal a priceless artifact, with no back up. You have me. And I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You wanted to see me, sir? Close the door. I meant what I said to Reddington. This thing with Fowler, wherever she is, whatever happened, I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Diane and I didn't have a lot in common, but she put this task force together. Made it possible. Without her, none of this would ever have happened. You're talking in the past tense. Agent Malik, you know as well as I that Diane Fowler is never walking into this facility again. As far as I'm concerned, this is a *** investigation and Reddington is our chief suspect. He was clearly convinced that Fowler was our mole. I don't care what he thinks. Even if Reddington's right, and Fowler was dirty, he's not judge, jury and executioner. He can't just kill her. That's not the way it works. Find out what he knows. Who did he talk to? What evidence did he have? I want to know everything. (CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING) There's Madeline. You think she beat us to it? Stay on task. We have two minutes to access the security door. Shall we? Lizzy, I know this must be very difficult for you, but we can't both lead. How did you know about Omaha? I didn't. You're the one who brought it up. Well, it was a heartwarming story. The night manager and the alley. I made it up. (CHUCKLES) You're not a cop tonight, you're a criminal. And you're going to be fine. Just be yourself. The security door is behind you. Twenty feet on your right. Okay. I'm gonna need a distraction. Be yourself. (DOOR BEEPS) Mind if I cut in? (MAN SPEAKING ARABIC) What are you doing here, Madeline? What are you doing here, Red? I came to watch you. Thank you. You still wear the hell out of a tux. REDDINGTON: My plane is 15 minutes from here. We could be in Tegucigalpa by breakfast. MADELINE: The girl. Tell me about her. What would you like to know? How did you pick her? Fate. She's a little young for you. You think? Last summer... What happened in Florence? What happened to you? You left me alone. I deserve an explanation. I was serious about Tegucigalpa. What do you think? Right now. What happened in Florence? (BEEPING) (ALARM RINGING) Come, I need to get you to the safe room. (FIRES TWICE) (WOMEN SCREAMING) (MAN SHOUTS IN ARABIC) MAN: All embassy dignitaries head to the safe room. (CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY) Quick, quick. Quick, hurry. Shh. There was a man. He had a gun. The man had a gun. (GRUNTS) MAN: Suspect spotted in stairwell A2. MADELINE: Reddington! It's him. He is the one who did this. Call security. (MAN SPEAKING ARABIC) There you are. What the hell happened to you? You just leave me stranded with that awful Algerian. He's been hitting on me for 20 minutes. Sir, this is a secure area! Well, not secure enough if you ask me, sister. You know what? Why don't you ask Rasil? We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for that troublemaker. Always an agenda with him. Cultural attache. Culture, my ***. The things I do for this one. Gallivanting around the globe for your little assignations with you know, hmm-hmm. Carrying her furs and bikinis as if I wouldn't rather be back in Dutchess County with my shulties. Hey. Don't take anything for granted. Everything you have was bought and paid for by your boyfriend. Do you have any idea whose horn this *** is blowing? Let's just say it starts with Bashar, and ends with Assad, gassing you faster than a Sunni. So let's get her out of the hot seat and into a limo. Good God, crumbs up! What? Your cummerbund. Pleats up. You look like Bob Yoshimura in eighth grade swing choir. It's upside down! Oh, God that hurts! What the hell was that? I don't know, it just felt so right in the moment. Where's Pratt? Gone. And the effigy? Gone with her. I have what you want. When you've wired payment, I'll contact you with the location of the effigy. If I don't hear from you within the hour, it's gone. Where the hell is Reddington? He told me he was going to try and locate Pratt. For all we know, he set up this whole thing so he could get the identities of the Russian spies, damaging national security. The Syrians know the safe was opened as a distraction, and they're still trying to account for exactly who was in that panic room with the effigy. They're attributing the whole heist to Reddington. She knew where the effigy was the entire time and she used us to get it. She got me to set off the alarm, and she used Reddington's notoriety to get the Syrians to believe that he took it. We got something. SIM card Keen took from Pratt's phone. This is a list of outgoing calls she made over the past two weeks. Several of these calls were to a mosque outside of Arlington. Homeland has a person of interest tied to the mosque, cleric named Firas Ashear. And he's connected how? We're not sure. But the biggest red flag is his family's connection to the People's Liberation Alliance. Extremist organization out of Aleppo. Apparently the father is a local warlord with financial ties to the group. Find him. Bring him in for questioning. Hey. Tickets have been booked, bags are being packed, and We are all set to fly out first thing tomorrow. Tom... Don't tell me. Work. There's nothing I can do. There's never anything you can do because your job has now become our life. What do you want me to say? You don't have to say anything. You know what, I'm gonna change my ticket. I'm gonna fly out tonight. Tonight? What? Wait. No, I'm not gonna wait. I think some time apart might be the best thing for us. That is the last thing I want. It's not always about what you want, Liz. Want me to rough him up for you? I hate this job. How do you know Madeline Pratt? She called me last month. Asked about the effigy. I'd never met her before, and I don't know how she found me. So why did she call you then? Because the effigy of Astarte once belonged to my father. He stole it from the British Museum. He was a patriot who revered Astarte. He thought it belonged in Syria. Then why put it up for auction? He didn't. As I told Ms. Pratt, my father only possessed the effigy for a few months. Until the Americans raided our compound. What were they looking for? All I remember is opening a door and seeing him holding the statue. He slipped something in it. A piece of paper. RESSLER: What did it say? I don't know. But he placed the effigy in my arms and told me to run and protect it. I was seven. When the Americans found me, they took the statue as a trophy. They let me go, but my father... What happened to your father? I never saw him again. For me, that was the day he died. The CIA sanctioned a covert op to raid the compound of Al Hakam Ashear in early December of 1983. The agency received credible intelligence that Ashear had met with a former KGB agent to purchase information. What kind of information? Ashear paid three million dollars for the location of the Kungur Six, which, according to the son's story, he hid in the base of the statue. So it appears the six aren't people. What do you mean? During the Cold War, there were rumors that Russia was able to hide several nuclear weapons in America. Those weren't rumors. Pratt was hired to steal the effigy because inside it are directions to those weapons. The Kungur Six are not Russian agents. They're nuclear bombs. Hidden all across the country. Tell me about the coordinates. What coordinates? Stop it. I had a little talk with Rasil. We had a few laughs. Compared notes about you. He told me all about that delightful thing you do with a trouser belt, which was a bit hurtful since I was pretty sure it was our thing. The coordinates. It's over. You were played. Go home. You really wanna know why I brought you into this? Florence. Because you didn't show. Florence was everything. Our way out, a fresh start. But to you, it's all just a job. (CHUCKLES) Tegucigalpa? Honestly? If I was interested in having an affair, I'd find a man with hair. (GRUNTS) (LOCK CLINKING) (MAN SHOUTING IN ARABIC) Raymond? Raymond, is that you? (COUGHS) Raymond, say something. MEERA: RA-115 suitcase nukes. This is the kind of device the KGB would smuggle into the US at the time. Each bomb has about 50 pounds of high explosive material. Blast radius of nearly 2,000 feet. You place one of these near a high profile target, the fallout alone guarantees mass casualties. Get a NEST team on standby. Where are we on Kalif? We confirmed Reddington's allegation. Rasil Kalif is an asset working undercover for the Russian mafia. If they get their hands on these nukes, God knows who they may sell them to. (PANTS) The Syrians aren't getting the effigy back. It's gone. I've already sold it to the Russians. I ran out of gas. Huh? I was so excited to get home I didn't even bother to look. My head was just... I ran out of gas. What are you talking about? It was Christmas Eve. I pulled off to the side of the road, seemed like it'd been snowing for days. No traffic. No cars to come help. Just me and a car full of gifts. It was more than 20 years ago. I must have walked four miles. Five, maybe. It was so still. Just cold and white. The whole time, all I could think about was them in our house. The warm light in the windows. The smoke from the chimney. The sound of my daughter at the piano. The smell of the tree, and the fire, oyster stew on the stove. I was so upset to think that I'd ruined Christmas for them, being late, leaving the gifts in the car. But the closer I got, the more I realized how funny the whole thing was. How much they'd love the story. Daddy running out of gas. How every Christmas they'd get such joy from telling that story at my expense. And then, finally when I got there, I walked... I walked through the door. And there was just blood. All I saw was blood. All there was, was blood. I can... I can still smell the nape of her neck. Feel her little... ...fingers on my cheek. Her whisper in my ear. That's why I didn't show up in Florence. It's why I haven't shown up in a lot of places over the years. (MAN SPEAKING ARABIC) MADELINE: No, don't. Please. Please. No, please stop! Please stop! Please stop! (BARS CLANGING) Please come back! I'll tell you what you want to know! Now, I gave you what you wanted. Where is he? No! We have the location of the effigy. You son of a... Yes. You'll never get to it in time. Damn you, Reddington! (BARS CLANGING) Damn you, Raymond! You let me out of here right now, you son of a ***! Was it true? That story about your family? Was any of it true? We should have gone to Tegucigalpa. We have to assume we're late to the party, so... Watch your backs. Go! Go! (SPEAKING RUSSIAN) (SPEAKING RUSSIAN) (INDISTINCT SHOUTING IN RUSSIAN) Rasil's just bailed out! Cover! ERT examined the statue. There was nothing inside, no coordinates, no papers of any kind. Nothing on Kalif or any of his men. It appears Madeline sent us on a good old fashioned snipe hunt. I sent a team to the warehouse where you said we could find Pratt. She was gone. Where is she? Let's talk about the effigy. Why? The idea that it actually contained anything was obviously a myth. Or maybe Madeline double-crossed the Russians and kept the coordinates to the nukes for herself and led you to believe it was all a myth. You have them. While you were chasing the effigy, I was coming to terms with Madeline. In a moment of weakness, she gave me the coordinates. You knew there was nothing inside the effigy when you sent us after Kalif. I thought you might have a passing interest in rounding up some Russian mobsters. The coordinates. Where are they? Relax, Harold. I have no use for rusty Russian firecrackers leftover from the 60s. You want the effigy. And you want the bombs. How about a trade? (LINE RINGING) (OVER MACHINE) Hi, you've reached Tom Keen. I'm away from my phone right now but leave a message... (BEEP) Case file on Pratt. You taking off already? Yeah. Meeting Audrey for dinner. I think he's gonna leave me. No. Go. You have dinner. She'll understand. Hi. Uh, Tom Keen checking in. Mr. Keen. Alone, right? (CHUCKLES) May I help you? Special Agent Walter Gary Martin. D.C. Bureau. Let me just start by saying the Director really values all the work you're doing here. Personally, I can't think of anyone better suited for the job. Your office said you wanted to talk about Diane Fowler. Absolutely. I tell you what. (CHUCKLES) I've heard people talk about the Post Office, but this facility... (CHUCKLES) Now, look, I don't want to sound any alarm bells, but I've become aware of the fact that you've tasked one of your agents to investigate the disappearance of Diane Fowler. Is that a problem? The disappearance of the head of the Criminal Division is a situation we need to manage carefully. What does that mean? You need to stop. I don't want to step on any toes. That's not gonna happen. But this is coming from up top. The investigation into the disappearance of Diane Fowler is being handled by the D.C. Bureau. If we have any questions, we'll call. I asked Agent Malik to look into... You need to stop. I've been cleared Level 4. I'm gonna need all your case files. Listen, Agent Martin... To be abundantly clear, the D.C. Field Office is running point. It's protocol. We'll take it from here.