Blood & Treasure (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - The Shadow of Projekt Athena - full transcript

When I left the FBI, I thought

my crime-fighting days were
over, but then I learned

that terrorist Karim Farouk
was on the hunt for Cleopatra,

one of the world's most
valuable treasures,

lost for over 2,000 years,

to use her as part of a
massive terror attack.

To find him, I needed some help,

so I went to Lexi Vaziri, a thief.

Excuse me, a master thief.

And my father was killed by Farouk.

Lexi and I have a complicated past.



He wants to bring Farouk
to justice, I want revenge.

Also, there's a mysterious group

who want Cleopatra as much as we do.

We're not sure whether
they're good or bad,

but the one thing we all agree on...

Is that we need to find Cleopatra...

Before Farouk does.

Previously on Blood & Treasure...

Farouk's looking for Cleopatra,

and a group of Nazis took
her after World War II.

We need to find out where they went.

I need the entire file
on Operation Paperclip.

The top secret U.S. program

that recruited Nazi
scientists to work for us



after World War II.

Came across an old list of names.

One of the names kind of stuck out.

Vaziri.

I'd say your father
was in the Brotherhood.

- So it's not true?
- No.

Can you trace this for me?

It's one of Lexi's underworld

contacts she's been texting with.

Fabi.

He's in the Brotherhood of Serapis.

I gave that number to Gwen.
Fabi's number, to trace.

We triangulated and traced the number.

Carabinieri HQ in Rome. Ground floor.

_

Good morning. How did you sleep?

I had this terrible dream
that I was thrown into hell,

and this angel, who
sounded a lot like Chuck,

was screaming about me
befouling his bedroom.

That wasn't entirely a dream.

Chuck left town for a
conference early this morning.

On his way out the door, he
loudly expressed his concerns

about what would happen
here while he's gone.

He's ridiculous.

Completely. Wait.

How do you mean?

I mean we won't befoul his bedroom,

or anything in general,
I guess, together.

I think maybe the word
"befoul" isn't helping here.

Are you saying you want
to just keep things

professional between us?

I think so.

We should, right?

I mean, we're a disaster when
we get together, every time.

You're not wrong.

So is that the file the FBI gave you?

Operation... I want to say... Stapler?

Paperclip. Operation Paperclip.

I was close.

Have you found where the U.S.

hid all its Nazi scientists?

Well, there's detailed information here

on German U-boats and shipping routes,

but looks like most of these ratlines,

which were the escape
routes for Nazi fascists,

were facilitated out of Spain.

And since the Nazis with Cleopatra

were forced to detour to Casablanca,

- all the information is useless.
- Not necessarily.

One of the failures
in the lead up to 9/11

was that the intelligence agencies

weren't talking to each other.

Now, there's only one
other agency who cares

about finding Cleopatra
as much as we do...

The Brotherhood of Serapis.

Yeah, they must've been
tracking the Nazis back then.

Maybe together we can connect the dots.

I'll bring it to Fabi.

We'll bring it to him.

What's so urgent you couldn't
tell me on the phone?

Hey.

I think it's time we talked.

Yes. He knows everything I do.

She's a thief and a liar.

And you're a double agent.

And I can have both of you arrested

and thrown into a prison cell.

- You're not gonna do that.
- Why not?

I took the precaution
of ensuring our safety.

In the event that anything
happens to either of us,

I left a file with a friend

to be sent to the FBI

that reveals your identity as a member

of the Brotherhood of Serapis,

which is implicated in at least

one murder that we know of,

Max Najjar.

You'll be the one who
ends up in a prison cell.

So how's about we skip the anger

and denial portion and get
right to acceptance, shall we?

We've got a lot to discuss.

What do you want?

We're suggesting an alliance.

You want Cleopatra.

We want Farouk.

Now we can be enemies,
but if Farouk wins,

people die and Cleopatra likely

gets destroyed in the process.

Operation Paperclip.

The U.S. government's effort to shelter

Nazi scientists to help
them win the Cold War.

I know what it is.

We've been looking for this for years.

- How did you get it?
- Doesn't matter.

What matters is, it's real.

Now, the Nazis made it to
Casablanca with Cleopatra.

We know they left
the gold sarcophagus there

and took the inner
coffin with her in it.

Can you help us narrow down

where they went after that?

Nazi hunters have already found

many of the names on this list

and brought them to justice.

Others I recognize from
our own operations.

I eliminated two of them myself.

Based on Lexi's tip,

we've been looking into

shipping manifests from the
Port Authority in Casablanca.

We know they left on one of three ships.

Two were destined for Argentina,

which was a Nazi haven after the war.

Let's go get her.

The Brotherhood

has maintained ourselves

for millennia

by being very careful
about who we work with.

Well, your bosses

don't even need to know
we were working together.

I think I know where to go,

but I have to consult
our archives to get

the exact location.

Meet me at the train station

in two hours.

We'll take the long way out of Rome

so no one tracks us.

We'll be there. Also,

get rid of your phone

soon as you can.

I, uh, found Lexi's burner
phone in Casablanca.

Didn't know who was
on the other end of it,

so I gave Gwen the number to track.

Just be careful, she may be onto you.

Going somewhere?

Don't.

You're under arrest for
the murder of Max Najjar.

- We're screwed.
- We're fine.

As far as I see it, we have one option.

This, this is the carabinieri.

The holding cells they're
keeping Fabi are here.

We need a truck. I know how
to get us an untraceable one.

We'll back it up here.

We'll also need some misdirection.

- I know a great explosives guy.
- Let me stop you right there.

First of all, your plan
is to break Fabi out

of the carabinieri like it's the

sheriff's office in a Western?

At least I'm pitching things

and not doodling on a map of Argentina.

I wasn't doodling.

The areas in black are potential places

the Nazis might have taken Cleopatra.

It's the whole country.

And most of the continent.

So your brilliant plan,
as I understand it,

is for us to go door-to-door
across South America

searching for Nazis for
the rest of our lives?

Actually, no.

I just got off the phone with

a client of mine, Mrs. Hoffman.

Not the Mrs. Hoffman?

Long story short, I found a way
for us to narrow our search.

It's just gonna take
a bit of a side trip.

- Where?
- Poland.

Poland? That's hours
in the wrong direction.

Yes, Poland is hours
in the wrong direction,

but it's also where Moshe Cohen lives.

He's ex-Mossad and a Nazi hunter,

and he knows Argentina
like the back of his hand.

Mrs. Hoffman's known
him since he was a baby.

Why can't we just phone him?

We can't just phone him
because he's a recluse.

Doesn't have a phone.

There's no way to contact
him except in person.

Yes, you can finish the
crackers before we go.

_

Okay,

this guy has spent decades

hunting down Nazis

and terrorists, then decided
to move back to the country

where three million Jews were
rounded up to be murdered.

That's pretty gangster.

Yup. So he's understandably
concerned about security.

Just let me do the talking.

I'm guessing the sign
says "No trespassing"?

That was a close call.

Crap. No, no, no, no,
no, no. Don't move.

Bloody hell.

It's a pressure sensitive
plate for a bomb.

I always assumed I'd be
the one to get us killed.

I'm filled with so many
contradictory emotions.

Who are you,

and what are you doing here?

Mrs. Hoffman sent us.

I... I represented her.

Her family had a Vermeer?

The painting was seized
by the Nazis in...

Long story short, Danny got it back.

- I got this.
- Doesn't seem like you do.

Well, if you'd stop interrupting me.

So you two are a couple?

- We're trying to figure things out.
- It's complicated.

Mr. Cohen, we're trying
to stop a terrorist,

and we need your help.

I am sorry about my

inhospitable greeting.

But in my line of work, you
can never be too careful.

So who is this terrorist?

Karim Farouk.

Mm.

I am aware of him.

Apparently, reports of
his death were premature.

Oh, he's most definitely

alive, and he's looking for a treasure

to be used somehow in
a terrorist attack.

We need to find it first to stop him.

Who did he take from you?

I know the look in your eyes.

You want vengeance.

Farouk killed my dad.

What kind of treasure is he after?

In 1942, the Nazis raided

the tomb of Antony and Cleopatra.

They escaped with Cleopatra only.

Farouk has stolen Antony and
is now looking for Cleopatra.

So you want to track
the Nazis who took her?

Did you ever hear anything

while you were in Argentina?

Anything that could help us

zero in on where they went?

The Nazis plundered many things

from many people,

but only the occultists

would have had any
interest in Cleopatra.

So that means you are looking

for Colonel Jürgen Steiner's group.

This box is like a...

Like an anchor tied to my soul.

I would like to cut it loose, but...

What would I be without it?

This is Colonel Steiner.

I never found the bastard.

Have you ever seen

the file on Operation Paperclip?

I, uh...

I knew of the operation's existence.

Not the name, but the...

The effect.

It became much harder to
bring these men to justice

when the U.S. government
was protecting them.

Well, combined with what you know,

maybe we can finally
figure out what happened

to Colonel Steiner and Cleopatra.

How long have you been a member

of the Brotherhood of Serapis?

This is ridiculous. I'm being set up.

Fabi, I know you're a double agent.

After I gave you the intel that

led us to Farouk's safe house

in Libya, coincidentally, Max
Najjar showed up dead there.

We know Max Najjar is connected

to the Brotherhood of Serapis, so

did you kill him to keep him quiet?

Have you been using me this whole time

to help the Brotherhood?

I have done nothing inconsistent

with the goals of the carabinieri.

Then help me understand why

you did what you did to Max Najjar.

Who have you been
communicating with? Hmm?

Who is this?

Steiner's occultist group of

Nazis was keeping Cleopatra

in Castle Schädelberg

near Gruneland Dam in Bavaria.

They had a replica of Cleopatra's tomb

and a bunch of lab equipment.

Ah, a radionics lab, most likely.

Grenzwissenschaft, uh, border science,

a mix of the occult with the

scientific method of the time.

That explains why they needed

a damn nearby, to power their lab.

I don't know what their
plans were for Cleopatra.

It was something called Projekt Athena.

It's referenced here
in the Paperclip file.

Project was put on hold when

the castle was bombed and they fled.

We've confirmed they took
Cleopatra from Germany

all the way to Casablanca
by way of Spain.

Not Steiner.

He was separated from the group.

Disappeared, apparently, with

the help of the U.S. government

in exchange for help
against the Soviets.

As far as I know, he made
it to Austria in the '90s.

And from there, his trail goes cold.

I-I never found a sign
of him in Argentina.

You know, according to the
shipping manifests we received,

only two of the three ships

that left Casablanca went to Argentina.

And we assumed that's
where Steiner's group went,

but maybe we were wrong.

Where did the third ship go?

Right here.

Quebec.

Look, there's a dam here
near the town of Saint-Denis.

That's a good place to start if

you're building a new radionics lab.

The town of Saint-Denis is

infamously known for one thing:

an unexplained malfunction

caused a blackout and a breach

in the dam, flooding the town,
killing hundreds of people.

And it happened on August 12, 1945.

The anniversary of Cleopatra's death.

Yet another coincidence.

That explains why we
never found Steiner.

We never knew about this ratline.

We're off to Canada.

You have one more hunt left in you?

I wish I was young like you.

But I will take great satisfaction

from closing the Steiner file.

We'll do our best.

Thank you, Moshe.

Transfer is ready.

Don't make any problems for me.

Ah, Enzo, you know me.

I thought I did.

We've had each other's backs

too many times to count.

Did you ever not trust me then?

Am I no longer the
godfather of your son?

Forgive me, my friend.

Sleep well. I'm sorry.

_

_

- Where are you?
- Rome. I am burned.

Head to Site Y. We'll bring you in.

I'm not coming in.

I need new documents for travel.

To where?

Track down every private jet

belonging to Jacob Reece.

Whichever one Lexi Vaziri is on,

that is where I am going.

I believe she's heading into danger.

_

A short time ago,

an American airplane dropped

one bomb on Hiroshima.

That bomb has more power

than 20,000 tons of TNT.

The Japanese began the war

from the air at Pearl Harbor.

They have been repaid manyfold.

And the end is not yet.

That was six days ago.

Soon our Axis allies
will also admit defeat.

We cannot compete with this superpower.

But Truman is right.

The end is not yet.

Victory can still be ours.

Mark this date:

12 August, 1945,

the 1,975th anniversary

of the Egyptian queen's death,

as the day we unleashed

our own superweapon,

Projekt Athena.

Cleopatra, holy incarnation of Athena,

I summon you now, to
bestow your powers upon us.

May I have power over water...

Air, the waters, streams,

riparian lands,

men who would harm me

in the realm of the dead and the living,

those who would order harm
done to me upon earth.

May the Fourth Reich begin!

_

Over here.

Look. A plaque.

It's the Saint-Denis
Dam disaster of '45.

What? Thought you'd be
getting to punch old Nazis?

No.

Sorry, Lex, time is a cruel mistress.

I mean, couldn't there just be

one too-angry-to-die Nazi left

for me to send to hell?

S... O... S.

Yeah, there's more.

D... E... A.

It's an anagram of ODESSA,

a secret group of SS officers

formed at the end of World War II

who facilitated secret
Nazi escape routes.

This is an old coded message

signaling a Nazi safe haven.

I bet the cafeteria here sells strudel.

Well, I thought we like strudel.

We do, but in this context,
it would be ominous.

Right. Okay, let's see
what else we can find out.

You don't belong in here!

This entire place is off-limits!

Who are you?

Oh, we're just, uh,

enthusiasts, really.

"We give a dam." That's our club motto.

Ah. We get a handful
of you folks every year.

Sorry, but this is not a museum.

Dam workers only.

None of them look like you, though.

I'm Danny, by the way.

Caroline.

I'm sorry, but I'm going

to have to escort you out.

Oh, you sure we can't just have

a little look around, Caroline?

Dam rules.

Ah, but there's no rule that

I can't take you the long way.

"We give a dam"?

I know. I could barely
hold back my high five.

Now go. Work your asset.

So, the disaster of '45...

Oh, all anybody ever
wants to talk about.

It was a freak occurrence.

We've had over 70 years
of a perfect record since.

What caused it? Do you know?

A massive power fluctuation.

- From where?
- Ah, they don't know.

The town wasn't that big at the time.

Caroline, I'm sure a
lady such as yourself

who's in the know has
probably heard some theories.

Well, I heard rumors it was
from the old weather station.

Some crazy stories about what used

to happen out there back in the day.

Old weather station.

And is that close by?

So those lines feed the weather station?

Used to. They aren't even
connected to anything anymore.

Station's still out there, though.

A few miles inland.

That's a lot of electricity

running into a weather station.

Mm-hmm.

Let's take a closer look.

How is this possible?

I mean, this happened hours ago.

Why am I finding out about this now?

I'm sorry that you
were not my first call

after I was assaulted.

So what, now he's just
magically disappeared?

Captain Fabi has betrayed us all.

We will find him, Agent Karlsson.

I think someone lives here.

Okay, so we'll wait
for them to come back.

Or just... break in.

Duh. Hi. I'm Lexi.
Apparently, we've never met.

Excuse me?

Hi. Uh, do... do you live here?

I do.

Name's Georges Larose.

I can't offer you much,
but I do have tea.

We're-we're fine. Thanks.

So, you're writing a book about the dam?

The disaster of '45, specifically.

The dam failed.

The town flooded.

They rebuilt.

Not much of a story.

Well, when you say it like that...

How long have you been
the caretaker here?

When the government
decommissioned it in the '90s,

I bought the whole
thing for a few grand.

They were happy to get
rid of it, I guess.

And I like the peace and quiet here.

Uh, the old caretaker from
the time of the disaster

left some stuff behind.

There's some of his
journals are over there...

- You're welcome to them.
- That'd be helpful. Thanks.

Actually, I will take that
tea, if you don't mind.

- I'll be right back.
- Thanks.

Hey.

Over here.

- Is that...?
- The Black Sun.

It's different from the Nazi version

we saw on Castle Schädelberg.

Huh. looks like a ceremonial sundial.

It's from her tomb.

When the Nazis took Cleopatra.

Larose is one of them.

Don't overreact.

I get to send the last
Nazi to hell after all.

So when I say, "Don't overreact."

Hey!

This isn't a museum!

What is it with people today?

I'm sorry, miss, I'm looking
for a couple of friends of mine.

I believe they came through
here: a woman and a man.

Ah... "You give a dam."

Yes.

Well, your friends left
without you a couple hours ago.

Do you have any idea where they went?

Sorry. No.

Oh, miss.

You know where this man lives?

Larose only brought up
the old caretaker's journals

when he saw me looking at it.

He was trying to distract me.

Yeah, but he's still too

young to be one of the Nazis

who took Cleopatra.

So who is he?

I have a better question.

Who...

Are you?

Where's Lexi?

Is that your girlfriend's name?

She's not my girlfriend.

Who's the girl?!

The girl's a thief.

She's looking for a treasure.

Cleopatra.

Yeah.

Cleopatra's long gone.

Where?

I got rid of her after my father died.

He thought Cleopatra could
help him defeat the world.

Complete nonsense.

So...

You're here to clean up loose ends

for Operation Paperclip.

Tell me why I shouldn't kill you.

Because I called the CIA.

They already know you're here.

When my father wasn't wasting

his time with Projekt Athena,

he was monitoring Soviet communication

over the Pole for the CIA.

This entire area

is shielded from radio
and mobile activity

to keep the people from spying.

If you worked for the CIA,

you would know that.

I ask...

One more time.

Who...

Are...

You!

Come on.

Come on.

Oh, there you go.

- Fabi.
- Stay still.

The caretaker here
is a very dangerous man.

Yes, we figured that out, thank you.

Now, let's go save Danny.

Let's go.

Okay. Okay.

I don't work for the CIA.

I'm an international lawyer
who's hunting a terrorist.

Your lies are getting worse.

I'm telling the truth!

Karim Farouk.

He attacked the pyramids.

Now he's looking for Cleopatra.

We're trying to find her
first to stop his next attack.

She does have some kind of power?

Or bad people just come
to the same bad ideas.

That's my father you're talking about.

Your father's a Nazi.

- Danny?
- Who are you?!

Who sent you?!

Lexi. Lexi.

- Wait, wait.
- What are you waiting for?

Listen, we go in without a
plan, we get Danny killed.

He's already being killed.

Oh, I thought you were dead,

and I'd never get to
tell you I was right.

Nobody needs to die here.

Just tell us where Cleopatra is.

Ask Eduardo Sanchez.

- He has her, and good riddance.
- The narco?

That's right. When the Cold War ended,

the CIA stopped paying the bills,

so I became a smuggler.

Right. That's all we needed to know.

Let him go.

What about your partner
out there? I heard two voices.

Are you gonna shoot me in
the back the moment I leave?

I recognize you.

I killed your partner when you

were here for my father.

He won't let me walk out of here alive.

Fabi, tell him he can go.

Doesn't matter what he says.

I'm gonna take one of you for insurance.

Take me. I'll go.

- Lexi, stop.
- Danny, stop.

- Here.
- No.

- Fine. I'll take you.
- No.

- Lexi.
- Let me do this.

No.

I'm not letting you leave here.

- You shoot, she dies.
- I'll be fine.

No, you won't. Trust me, Lexi.

I know this man.

He killed my partner.

My partner was your mother,

Jamila.

Fabi. Fabi.

I don't understand.

I thought my father
was in the Brotherhood.

I'm sorry.

It wasn't your father,

it was your mother.

She died because of me.

I failed your mother once.

I could not fail her again.

Her spirit lives on in you, Lexi.

She wanted you to...

To follow...

What happened?

They have found Captain Fabi.

He's dead.

How?

Where?

He was shot, in North America.

Quebec. Anonymous tip
led the police to the scene.

Can I see the report?

I have been instructed to tell you

that the death of Captain
Fabi is carabinieri business.

We will take care of it.

We're only informing Interpol
as a matter of courtesy.

_

Chuck keeps

raving about this restaurant
around the corner.

Says they have the best

Cacio e Pepe in town.

You want to go?

Dinner's on me.

My mother had this whole other life

I didn't know about.

She wanted me to be

this whole other person.

Prepared me for it since I
was born, I just never...

Never realized it.

She never told you anything

about Serapis?

My dad didn't tell me, either.

Was that why he sent
me to boarding school?

To keep me from it?

And maybe he was right
to keep it from me.

Fabi is... is dead.

My mother's dead.

Everyone I love dies.

Everybody dies, Lex.

The people closest to me

die too soon.

You need answers

about your mom,

about yourself.

There's only one place
you're gonna get them.

I, uh...

I took this off Fabi

before we called the cops.

I thought you might want

to bring it back to the Brotherhood.

Thank you.

But what if the answers I get

just make everything more complicated?

Yeah, you'll be walking
uninvited into the crypt

of a 2,000-year-old secret order.

It's absolutely gonna make

things more complicated.

But whatever happens,

we're gonna get through it together.

I know.