Previously on The Recruit:
- Do you know who gatekeeper is yet? - Lev Orlova.
It's the Council member who I need to bribe to welcome me back.
Can you unsanction a Swiss bank account?
Welcome to Geneva. I'll be your operational support here.
We go to the Bank of Geneva, access one of Max's sanctioned accounts.
Once the money is secure, Max will reach out to Lev Orlova
and set a meeting so she can buy her way out of the Russian mafia doghouse.
This is a uniquely dangerous moment, Owen.
We can only rely on each other.
You think they're sleeping together?
Hi.
- How's it going? - Better.
- Owen. - Marta.
- Cheers. - Skál.
Who is this?
A killer.
He can't save you if I decide to end your life.
Then you will never find out who slept with Stasia.
I have pictures.
The bounty, is it still 2 million euros?
Pay her.
No, send it to Lev.
I am so dead.
- Shit. - *. That's Xander.
Do you think Max killed him? Or Hendricks?
That's not what's important right now. I'm going up.
With any luck, cops haven't figured out which room he came from.
- You try to track down Owen. - Are you insane?
Nyland was clear. Protect the agency.
That means scrub the room.
Owen?
Please call me and just tell me what's going on, okay?
Please.
All right, this is bad.
If you really did see Owen and he was running away...
I mean, did he...?
- Is that guy dead because...? - No. No way.
I mean, not on purpose.
Linus says the CIA staffers are attached to embassies
for their covers overseas.
That's where we should go, right?
Think I wanna hang around here?
The cops are on their way. I tried texting you, you didn't answer.
- What's happening? - You don't need to know.
- Any luck connecting with our guy? - No, his phone keeps going to voicemail.
If he's smart, he dumped it. Last thing he wants is somebody tracking him.
Yeah. We need to get to the consulate.
You got a CIA officer killed.
I didn't. His * did.
You signed his death warrant when you handed over the photos.
I can't believe I bought your spiel.
How we'd be safer if operational support didn't know where we were.
You didn't wanna be standing next to Xander
- when they threw him out of a window. - I did what I had to do.
It was my only path back to Belarus since you *ed up getting my money.
Okay, if your plan was to kill Xander...
- why are we on the run? - Kirill is fast, but not that fast.
What do you mean?
There is a possibility Xander wasn't the target.
That the assassin was there to kill me or us,
that he was just wrong place, wrong time.
Do you really think I saw Hannah? Outside the hotel?
- Well, you better hope not. - Why?
Because people are being killed.
- Pridurok, your phone. - Wait.
Wait, wait, wait. No...
Your phone is a tracking device.
Do you want the person who killed Xander to be able to find us?
Let me answer that for you. No.
That is why I left my phone in Geneva.
You didn't have to throw it out.
We are radio silent until I say otherwise. Do you understand?
What kind of minor league operation are you running?
I slip off to Florida to catch a marlin or two, everything goes to hell?
This was a simple supply run
before the asset was placed in country.
What happened to Xander Goi is a tragedy, but...
It's a * fiasco.
What were so many of your lawyers doing there?
This phase involved sanctioned bank accounts.
So I sent Kitchens and Ebner to help.
Did any of them happen to see who killed my guy?
That would have been helpful.
Sir, we have no evidence yet that points to who took out our CO.
Hendricks and the asset were clear of the location at the time.
Or the asset killed Goi and we'll find the new kid in a ditch.
My money's on that.
I made certain there was nothing in the asset's room to identify the occupants.
I'm in the process of pulling security footage from in and around the hotel.
Still no contact from Hendricks or the asset?
No. They may have gone quiet
until they can contact us from a secure location.
Since we got lawyers all over this,
tell me what's our legal exposure?
Ebner, you're handling the media scrub from the consulate?
That's right, sir.
How Goi was papered, there's no reason an agency connection would be made.
Okay, um...
Gilbane, shut down your op. Focus on finding your asset.
Sir, that's not necessary.
Not necessary? Your eyes and ears are dead.
For all you know, your asset tipped her hand and now your op is blown.
Or my asset is still in play and Goi's death is unrelated,
which means there's no need to terminate. Before we pull the plug,
we need to do everything to save this operation.
This asset has unique access to General Kuznetsov.
If we land her back in his orbit,
it will be the biggest Russian intelligence coup in 40 years.
- How much time do you need? - Twenty-four hours.
If I don't have the asset by then,
we'll dump the op, go into cleanup mode.
You have a day, but you're down a field operative.
I'm putting Kitchens on operations duty until this is over.
Mr. Kitchens can't take off his lawyer hat when it's convenient.
I'm certain Lester understands that in this time of crisis
the agency needs him to be a CO
regardless of whether it jeopardizes his new career.
Isn't that right, Kitchens?
Don't do it.
Yes, sir.
Good. Everyone who isn't Kitchens or Gilbane, meeting's over.
- Sir... - That includes General Counsel.
Okay.
I agree that Kuznetsov is a priority one target.
We need to get an asset next to the general.
If it's not one of yours, we need to move on.
If it comes down to losing this opportunity altogether
or cutting our losses and starting over,
burn the current players, understood?
Understood.
Now someone do me a favor, who the * is Owen Hendricks?
- Owen? - What? What?
We're clear to call in. Get the nun's phone.
You don't think we have enough bad luck? We'll rob a nun now?
Just get it.
Fine.
Okay.
- Hello. - Did I wake you?
- I take it you cleared the border? - We did.
We're ready to come home. Is it safe?
It is.
You remember the address?
I do, if it's where we debriefed during Butcher.
Can't wait to see you.
Hey. Sorry.
Um, I gotta use the... I'll return the phone.
- So you don't go to hell when you die? - Better safe than sorry.
What?
It's me.
- You're in trouble. I'm hanging up. - Hold on. I got an offer you can't refuse.
Something that could save you, us.
What is it?
I have in my possession high-level Russian intelligence.
I stole a notebook from Max's safe deposit box,
but there's a chance I won't be able to hold onto it.
I'm about to e-mail you pictures of it.
No, don't. Don't. Otherwise, they could be found during discovery.
Right.
Okay, I'm gonna save the pictures to my Instagram draft folder.
You'll get into my account, download them, then delete them.
- My password is 123LFG. - Of course it is.
There has got to be some way
for you to use these to muddy the waters on our scandal.
Holy shit, I think I know what to do.
It's the end of the line. We've gotta go steal a car.
- Yeah. - I didn't hear that.
Yes, he was, in fact, one of ours.
I need you to confirm to the Swiss police
that he was a Commerce Department attaché,
which is what it says on the ID they found.
Hey, there you are.
I'm busy doing lawyer things,
I'll let you know if I need anything extracted.
Wow.
Next action item.
You'll insist the Swiss authorities
run any leads or suspects by you,
i.e., me, first.
There are two American citizens here who need emergency assistance.
What's the emergency?
They say their friend was at a hotel where someone was murdered.
- Does this friend have a name? - Yes, Owen something.
Good morning.
Can you tell me how you're associated with Mr. Hendricks?
He's our roommate in D.C.
Have you been in Geneva long?
Nope, we basically just got here.
- You came out here to meet Mr. Hendricks? - No, he didn't know we were coming.
But I don't see how that matters.
Someone was murdered, and now we can't find him.
So what brought you out here?
I think you're missing the point. This isn't about us.
Our friend is missing and you don't seem to be alarmed.
Is there a supervisor we can talk to?
There are hundreds of guests at the hotel.
So why do you think your friend is in trouble?
Because he works for the CIA.
So do I.
- With Owen, in fact. - Why didn't you just say that?
Why did you follow a CIA officer around the world?
Like I said, we were concerned.
You were concerned before the incident at the hotel? That's interesting.
Did he tell you about what he was doing here
or what he does on his work trips or what he does at the agency?
- He never talks about work. - Why are you worried about this trip
when you haven't been worried about others?
Was there something about what he was doing here?
Like I said, he doesn't tell us anything.
Who besides me knows you're here?
My mother, who's got half of D.C. on speed dial, including your boss.
How about giving us answers instead of interrogating us?
Well...
I wish I had answers for you.
But at the moment, we don't know where Owen is either.
Which is why I was asking the questions.
But I'd be happy to reach out if I find out anything.
- Please do. - That mean we're free to go?
Of course.
But some advice.
Go home.
The agency is all over this.
You can blame me for coming here.
We were questioned by the CIA.
It feels like you're not understanding that.
Our names are now in a file.
- We didn't do anything wrong. - It doesn't matter.
Need I remind you, you and I
are not in the same position when viewed by authorities.
I'm sorry. You're right.
Look, we have to face the facts that...
Owen, he might be in some real trouble.
And instead of helping, we've unintentionally created more.
- Who are you calling? - My mother.
So do you understand?
Print the pages I sent you and plant them.
How does a bunch of Russki scribbles
help with our rocket situation?
You know Havana Syndrome?
Pulsed radio frequency attacks
giving our diplomats concussions in Cuba,
China, Vietnam and Australia?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
The scribbles from the notebook pages
confirmed they are courtesy of Russian military intelligence.
Here's what you're gonna do.
Find these pages at the Nigerian compound you're about to raid.
Now, I want it on helmet cam,
I want you to find them tucked in some crevice like the Holy Grail.
Copy that. Mission is the pages.
Exactly. And then, amazing coinkidink,
you also find the anti-tank rockets you lost in the same place,
and you destroy them because they're unstable.
Poof.
We blow up the notebook pages too?
No. No! No. You bring me the pages.
I wave them around, an incredible intelligence coup,
and nobody gives two shits why our rockets
ended up in the hands of Boko Haram.
God help me, you'll be a * hero.
Copy that. Where did you find the notebook pages anyway?
* you! I didn't.
You did, at the compound.
Copy that.
Oh, *.
- Mom, please. - I still don't understand.
You think Owen's been arrested, hurt, or what?
He's not answering his phone, and he disappeared.
I told you what happened at the consulate.
Can you just use some of your contacts
and make phone calls to find out where he is, if he's okay?
Honey, people who have that clearance take it seriously.
No one wants to wind up like Scooter Libby.
Scooter Libby is playing golf at Mar-a-Lago.
Please. Okay, just make a few phone calls.
Owen doesn't matter to anyone except me.
Okay. I will look into this on one condition.
You will move out of that apartment.
- I don't want you involved in Owen's life. - Mom!
No. I'm tired of him constantly derailing you.
This is non-negotiable.
Fine.
Also, I'm buying two tickets for you
and Terence to come home. Coach.
Consider it your punishment for being so reckless.
- I'm going to tell you Dawn's secret. - What? Why?
If the agency thinks Xander's death has
compromised putting me back in Belarus,
then I become useless to them and Dawn kills me.
But if I tell you her secret, then she will have to kill us both.
- Yeah. No, I'm good. Thank you. - Owen...
On the list of things I don't wanna know,
- shit that gets me killed is at the top. - Stop being a child.
- I'm not being a child. - Dawn...
No, don't... Stop...
Dawn is running ghost assets and pocketing the money.
I don't know what that means. I'm still in the dark.
Every asset gets paid depending on the level of intelligence they provide.
Dawn created high-level fake assets
and stole the money the CIA sent for them.
- That is super illegal. - Yes.
And now I have a legal responsibility to inform my boss.
You didn't inform your boss
of all the illegal shit you and I did.
As long as Dawn plays nice, we keep her secret.
Sir, the White House chief of staff is here.
- You mean on the phone? - No, sir.
- He's here. - Shit.
Kevin. Nice surprise.
Why the hell am I getting calls about Owen Hendricks?
I don't... Calls from who?
From a lobbyist who says a CIA operation in Geneva
has gone sideways and a CIA lawyer's gone missing.
What kind of leaky ship are you running here?
First, I resent the implication
that whatever issue D.O. might be having
is somehow my fault.
Secondly, do you really wanna be briefed?
Of course not.
But my previous conversations with Hendricks
about a certain former asset
leaves me a little pregnant.
There was an operation in Geneva.
The first phase, returning a former asset into the field.
Things went wrong.
Case officer was killed, Hendricks and the asset are missing.
Who was the case officer?
Xander Goi.
You keep this away from me.
No reason to believe it'll get near you,
unless there's something you're not telling me.
Not telling each other shit is literally in our job description.
My contact with Hendricks was incidental.
It doesn't ever need to be mentioned.
Are we clear?
- Kevin? - Are we clear?
- Yes. - Great.
I was never here.
What's with the guns?
Till we know what happened to Goi,
we have to treat you as hostiles.
No hard feelings.
What the *? Hey. Yo.
Ow! Shit. *!
I know you.
- Yeah, what's up, buddy? - Shit.
I'm telling Nyland about this. You're way out of line.
Park him in darkness till I'm ready for him.
Oh, *. Come on, man. You can't be this stupid.
Maybe nobody gives a shit about Meladze, but I work at the OGC.
Relax, hotshot.
As long as you're not a problem, this will all work out.
Can't be a coincidence that you're here.
Dawn made a request since you and I go way back.
Plus, this op has extra hazard pay,
which is sweet since you made me sign away half my * salary.
That money goes to your wife and kids.
Ex-wife.
And I'm not sure the rugrats are even mine.
Do we really need all this drama?
Can't you come cut me loose?
We can open a bottle, talk about what happened.
Nah.
I like the drama.
And I don't trust you.
Fair enough.
Then let's get into it.
Xander Goi's death
had nothing to do with me or our operation.
He was killed for * the wrong man's wife.
I'd love to believe that. Why should I?
Because the person whose wife he was *
is a high-level Russian mobster who runs Geneva.
And yesterday,
I gave him photos of Xander in the act.
That's cold, Max.
Even for you.
I don't see you weeping.
Why did you do it?
The lawyer *ed my money.
It was the only thing I had worth enough to get me that meeting with Lev.
You just confessed to
being responsible for a CIA officer's death.
How does that help save our op?
Because you're going to leave that part out.
Why would I do that?
Because you want to become Moscow station chief.
And the only way that happens
is if this operation is a success.
Otherwise, you've run a failed mission,
got a fellow case officer killed, which means
you'll be lucky if they give you a desk in some forgotten CIA basement.
What does the lawyer know?
That keeping his mouth shut is in his best interest.
You have dirt on him too?
I'm starting to get a real sense of déjà vu.
Yeah, me too.
That mean we can skip the conversation where I tell you not to make a thing
of a standard mission safety protocol?
Is that what you call zip-tying and assaulting an agency lawyer?
It's what I call doing what was necessary to protect an agency operation.
Now, if you're done being delicate,
can I tell you the good news?
You decided to retire with the other replicants.
We are about to get on a call with Langley,
where we will recommend to the director that our operation should proceed
because Goi's death was unconnected.
Is that what you believe, or what you wanna believe?
It's what we both believe, unless you plan not to back me up.
Mr. Hendricks.
You had people very worried.
Yes, sir. I apologize.
Given the death of the asset's handler,
I felt it was prudent to go dark until we knew if we were compromised.
Are you saying Goi's death wasn't connected to your operation?
That is the working theory.
I'm sorry to say we have HUMINT
that Goi was killed for having an affair with the wife of a Russian criminal.
Sir, I can confirm that.
I managed to pull security footage from the hotel and surrounding streets.
Facial recognition pinged this woman, Nichka Lashin.
Intel pegs her as a Russian mafia enforcer.
I saw her outside our hotel before we left.
Nyland, what do you think?
- It's your call. - Way to hedge your bets with the boss.
Okay, I am satisfied the op can proceed as planned.
What are our next steps?
We go to Prague with the asset to make the buy-in.
In success, my team clears the path of obstacles,
then we return her to Belarus.
Try to avoid any more *-ups.
Yes, sir.
Okay, my turn. Salazar, Hendricks stay here.
Everybody else, go away.
I got a very unwelcome visit today from the White House chief of staff.
- Someone called him about you. - Sir...
This person, a lobbyist,
wanted to know if you were safe.
Seemed to know things had gone badly where you are.
I take it from your reaction you know who called?
Hannah's mom.
Hannah's my...
My roommate. I'm pretty sure that she came to Geneva
because she was worried about me.
I can confirm she was concerned.
I went to Owen's apartment to help with the sanction SNAFU.
When this is over, you're both gonna take a refresher course
in keeping your damn mouths shut.
- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.
Do I need to tell you to remain radio silent
- until this operation is complete? - No, sir.
And if I hear about any more calls being made on your behalf...
you're fired.
Is that understood?
Yes, sir.
Owen is fine.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
I got it from the chief of staff himself.
Owen is in the middle of something sensitive,
which is why he's not calling you back.
Now, get your * on the plane.
Owen's fine.
Thank God.
Now, let's go.
You're not coming, are you?
No.
I mean, I can't.
If I'm this unhappy now, where am I gonna be in five years?
Or how much harder will it be to make a change then?
I could think of a lot worse places to have a quarter-life crisis.
Privilege has its privileges.
Well, if you're gonna do this emotional audit,
don't stop halfway.
You need to figure out how you really feel about Owen.
Yeah.
Because you can't move forward until you do. Come here.
You got this.
Be safe.
Wow.
Oh, this is sick.
Don't touch anything.
This is our mobile ops center. You'll ride in this
while we drive to Prague for the meeting with Lev.
- What's this? - That is an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone
currently taking off from Ramstein Air Base.
It's being piloted by a kid sitting in a bunker
underneath the Las Vegas Strip.
It'll provide tactical surveillance for Max's meeting with Lev
while my team provides boots-on-the-ground security.
JAG1, RAQ4 is on site.
I see you landing at the staging area.
We're gonna move into position. When I give the "all clear,"
you're gonna get into the car, drive to your meeting with Lev.
We will provide overwatch.
When the deal is done, you'll get out of there.
- Give me a gun. - They're gonna take it away.
Then give me two. I'll put the first where they can find it.
The goal is to not shoot anyone.
Bullets start flying and we came all this way for nothing.
Put this in your pocket. There's a mic.
It's active so we can listen in on what's going on.
If things go badly, you're gonna come rescue me.
Of course.
Hey. What am I doing?
You're with me.
- Seriously? - No, you stay in the * truck.
Let's go!
You nervous?
No. I'm terrified.
There's even odds Lev will kill me once I give him the money,
but there's no other way home, so...
Go.
We're in position. You're a go.
I'll see you on the other side.
Okay. Yeah.
Kirill sent me your bounty.
There's 7 million more in that case.
That's serious money.
Well, I'm serious about making amends.
You know, there are some that
won't let you come home no matter how much money you give them.
Well, that's my problem to deal with.
And what if they've already paid me
to leave your body out in the snow?
Then I'd already be out there.
So shall we talk terms?
Da.
Okay.
Oh, jeez.
JAG1, I'm having a software glitch.
You're flying solo while I reboot.
Roger that. Eyes peeled. Eye of God closed.
Who the * are these guys?
Overwatch One. Come in, Overwatch One.
Overwatch, we got a problem. Do you copy?
Stay off this channel.
We have a serious problem. Do you not hear me?
That's why you never bring a lawyer on an op.
*.
Shit.
What the * is this?
I knew I couldn't trust you.
RQ4,
I need you on-site now.
Yeah. Hi, I could use some help.
Where are you?
Down here!
What the shit are you doing down there?
JAG2, we got a friendly to protect.
You're weapons free.
Let's * go!
You got shot.
Yeah, no shit.
I killed someone.
Oh, shit.
Shit.
Wait.
Lev.
Oh, God.
I didn't do this.
I didn't betray you.
But...
you'll never believe that, which means if you live...
then I don't get to go home.
Max, no.
No.
And I'm going home.
Let's go.
What was happening? Who was shooting at the compound?
Owen!
- Who was shooting at the compound? - Nichka.
- Nichka? - Yeah.
- How do you know her? - I met her in Geneva.
She was outside the hotel that Xander got killed at.
She was the one who pushed the Council to kill me.
I don't feel so good.
Because you're in shock. Just lie down for a minute.
Close your eyes.
Just rest and breathe.
Just breathe.
- Stop the car, Max. - I'm not stopping the car.
Stop the * car, Max.
Stop the * car, Max! *!
What the * are you doing?
I can't do this anymore.
Look, I get it.
Your first time, it's upsetting.
Max, I pulled a trigger and a guy's head came apart, and I can't stop seeing it.
- That will pass. - It's not the right answer.
- That is what a psychopath says. - Or a survivor.
Same thing.
*.
- Just get in the car. - No!
I quit. I'm through with you and I'm through with the agency.
Owen, stop.
I said, stop.
Oh, I have been so stupid.
I thought I could save you.
I thought underneath this whole psychokiller
that there was someone that had actually suffered loss and tragedy,
that was desperately alone and just, I don't know,
needed someone to * care about them.
I thought that I could help you.
I thought if I helped you, then you could change.
But you can't change.
Max, you have dug yourself in so * deep,
there's no way out.
You are a prisoner...
of this incessant need to survive.
Just like I'm a prisoner of my own self-sabotaging bullshit.
*.
Dead dad, * manic mom,
as if that's an excuse to be so selfish,
to hurt the people that actually care about me. I...
I need you.
To get back home.
After what just happened...
Please.
I can't.
Max, if I don't get out now, I'm gonna be lost forever. And you...
Nobody can save you.
- Hello? - Hannah.
Owen?
Oh, my God.
Are you okay?
I'm not sure. I mean, nobody's shooting at me,
so that's good.
I have made so many * bad choices.
Like, every decision I made since I started working this job
has been the wrong one, including not listening when you said
that I was making bad choices.
Are you still in Prague?
- How do you know I'm in Prague? - I'm here too.
I'm right near the war memorial.
- I'll go there. Just come find me. - Okay.
Is this real? Because, I swear, I'm so * tired.
I feel like I could be dreaming.
It's real. I'm right here.
It's gonna be okay.
Okay.
- We have a problem. - No shit. We're in full runaway mode.
No.
The lawyer is the problem.
Are you with him?
No. But I can track him on the watch I gave him.
Good. I'm tracking you through the phone I gave you.
See you in a minute.
That was fast.
What the...?
God.
Max.
Where are we?
- I don't know. - Who has us?
Karolina.
Who are you?
And what the * are you doing running around with my mother?