Rubicon (2010–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - The Outsider - full transcript

Truxton invites Will on a business trip to DC, leaving the team to make a very important governmental decision on their own. Katherine's attempt to move on is derailed when she finds a suspicious voicemail on Tom's cell phone from the day before he died.

Hey, man, it's Will.
I hope everything's
still good for tonight.

I'm taking a morning train in,

so I will call you when I arrive.

That was venetian
composer Tomaso Albinoni

and the concerto a cinque opus 5...

Morning.

Morning, sir.

You read Friedman's piece
on Sudan this morning?

Yes, sir.

And?

Still in lockstep with
the state department, sir.



I detected a little more
urgency in his tone.

I'll read it again.

Oh, goodness...

I hope not.

All passengers departing
for Washington DC,

the acela 8:30 to Washington

arrives on track 40 in five minutes.

That's us.

Good morning.

I'm going to assume that you
can all manage Will's absence

without me looking too
closely over your shoulders.

Let's put Yuri Boeck aside for a moment.

CIA just sent over a new field report

from an agent in Jakarta...



a member of the
Indonesian Mujahideen Council,

who provided very solid
information for us in the past.

It looks like we may have
a window of opportunity

to eliminate Kateb.

Eliminate?

Can't we grab him?

No. Jakarta won't sanction that.

The best we can do is a
hellfire strike from a predator.

How soon?

Day after tomorrow.

NSC wants an assessment.

In 72 hours?

Well, the bad guys
aren't going to sit still

just because you got some
more reading to catch up on.

When does Will get back from

his teacher's pet tour?

How's Wednesday?

You guys prep the file,

and he can help you write the final.

And it has to be unanimous.

There are no split decisions
when it comes to irreversibles.

Irreversibles?

People you can't un-kill.

Right.

Hello, darling, it's me.

Just a heads up.

The grandkids are coming over tomorrow.

I'm at the grocery store.

Let me know if there's
anything you want. Love you.

Tom, it's James.

If you keep this up, you
know what's gonna happen.

Tom, it's James.

If you keep this up, you
know what's gonna happen.

Tom, it's James.

If you keep this up, you
know what's gonna happen.

Kateb.

Real name unknown, nationality unknown.

First popped up in the chatter

after detachment 88 killed
Azahari Husin in '04.

- '05.
- '05.

We still don't know how much
operational authority he has

in Jemaaislamiah, but we can
link him directly to the bombing

of the Australian embassy,
the Ritz and the Marriott.

Our asset places him at
the safe house near Semarang

at 0900 GMT on Thursday.

So it's a no-brainer.
He's a bad guy.

This kind of assessment requires us

to build a solid foundation.

You do realize that

"surgical strike" is a euphemism

for a thermobaric warhead
capable of demolishing

this entire block?

Can we at least agree Kateb is

a legitimate target for lethal action?

These are schoolchildren.

Executive order 12333

prohibits assassination
unless the target

is specifically engaged in
against the United States.

None of this evidence points to

Kateb attacking the United States.

He's a leader of al Qaeda.

Kateb is more than just another player.

He's a symbol.

He's an al Qaeda rock star.

If we take this guy out,

we gain nothing new...

No intelligence, no leverage,
no real justice.

Just one less player on a crowded field.

D... do you guys need anything?

Think we're going to need lunch.

Pays to study the local flora and fauna.

You really could use a good briefcase.

Nothing eye-catching of course,

but something that lets
people take you seriously.

Kind of tached to the one I have.

There's no handle.

For a security tether.

A what?

Handcuffs.

Avoid anything that announces
its newness, its cost

or its distinctiveness.

You need one that locks,
preferably with a key.

Combinations have a nasty habit

of locking themselves
at the worst moments.

Clasps.

No zippers.

And none of those
spring-loaded closures

that announce to the whole
world you're opening the store.

I prefer a single clasp.

Something that allows a file
to go in without stopping

or using two hands.

Spangler.

With a... with a second
source confirming this,

our chances of success
jumped to over 60%.

Where do you even get these numbers?

Uh, data. Remember that?

We're never going to have
a second source in time.

We have to proceed or not
on the basis of this report.

And we're below 50%.

Is there any way to
get visual confirmation

- of Kateb's arrival at the location?
- No.

Then we don't know this is real.

Um, source reliability quotient: 71%.

Targeting accuracy differential: 4.3.

You think that's real?

She doesn't belong here.

Gather allies

in the intelligence community

who will support our bid to
keep API fully independent.

Make sure they remember

the information they gather is useless

unless they have us to make sense of it.

All right.

Now, I didn't receive
any type of schedule.

Mm. We've got one
meeting this afternoon,

one in the morning

and the big show tomorrow at 3:00.

Will, Will, I want you to meet

an old friend of mine.

This man knows more about
the intelligence business

than all the analysts

at API put together.

Travers here wrote
that, uh, Somalia report

that you liked so much.

Nice work.

Thank you, Mr., uh...

Don't worry.

Even this dinosaur
doesn't know my real name.

And he came to my wedding.

Sit down.

Now, uh, um...

You're going to have to excuse us.

All right.

I should probably go review

some of the material for this afternoon.

It's nice meeting you, sir.

Don't be modest.

You're not just the deputy
director of intelligence.

You're the voice of sanity around here.

I've got a file full of
old performance reviews

- that say otherwise.
- Yeah, we all know how capable

the gentlemen who wrote those
reviews turned out to be.

Well, you know where I stand.

But you're going to have
to check the forecast

in order to get a read on DIA or NSA.

Afraid I'm going to
have to fight this one

with the army I have.

We brought you an interesting tidbit.

One that I'm afraid we are not
in a position to make use of.

We picked up something
out of a Malaysian cipher.

We're pulling down the same data

from NSA as you.

But the analysis we've done

is pointing to something unusual.

A collection of cities

roughly centered on the mediterranean.

Dubrovnik, Larnaca,
Seville, among others.

We believe we're looking
at the travel itinerary

of a nascent Al-Qaeda operation.

You believe?

Why don't we walk you through it?

Has this agent ever given us
time and place info before?

Yeah, but nothing CIA

has ever been able to have verified.

What's his supposed motivation?

The original pitch the agency gave

was primarily nationalist,

but this guy has been
steadily sucking down

US Government cash for five years.

Why would he jeopardize
that relationship

by floating something big
like this if it weren't true?

Just because he thinks it's
true doesn't mean it is.

There is no evidence he has
ever lied to his case officer.

The guy is a professional.

All spies lie to somebody.

We have got to get past this.

Kateb is a good target.

This is a solid source.

This agent gave us great stuff on MILF.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

In the Philippines.

Don't ask me to do this again.

You know what kind of hell I'd catch

if the agency knew about this?

I know. I know. I'm sorry.

Besides, you're totally
cleared to see this.

Just do the paperwork.

It'd take me a month to get
CIA to cough up these files.

And besides, 30 people would
be notified that I asked for it.

You're API, man.

Nobody's going to question it.

Oh, you'd be amazed.

So, what's the deal with my seven names?

I could only find six.

All agency employees.

Mostly cold warriors.
Ops guys and black baggers.

One was a career case officer.

One was a station chief in damascus.

Two worked on Dewey's
counterterror crew for a while.

What's the story on number seven?

Not sure. His name didn't hit.

They all worked in the middle
east division in the 1980s?

Do you know where they are now?

Two of them are stars
on the wall at Langley.

One died of cancer a decade ago.

Uh, one's drooling in his
applesauce down in Boca.

Two of them are still kicking.

- Only two?
- Yeah. One is that guy, CM Haddox,

who writes those Johnny Gray thrillers.

The guy has made millions
off of airport boredom.

The other guy is a Donald Bloom.

You going to tell me what this is about?

- I can't.
- Right.

You got anything more?

Ungrateful bastard.

Daniel.

Can I keep this?

Thanks to you, I'm probably
going to fail my next polygraph.

We want to avoid
anything that undermines

our ability to act as an effective partner
to the secretary and the Pentagon.

We simply lack the resources
this kind of reporting would require.

Why, the preparation alone...

I hope you won't mind if
we just skip the foreplay.

Certainly.

You don't have to explain
to us why you don't want

that bra-burning congresswoman
poking into your business.

Nothing is clearer.

But with all due respect, Truxton,

why should you be spared
the same financial sodomizing

we're subjected to twice a year?

I see.

You want to know what's in it for you.

Will...

What's in it for Colonel Mitchell?

We maintain a unique position
in the intelligence community.

By virtue of our

interjurisdictional
portfolio, we at API are...

Can you please just get to the point?

Colonel... API sees everything.

We ask for it, we get it.

FBI, homeland security, treasury,

CIA, NRO, NSA...

We are aware.

We like to share with our friends.

That's my cell phone.

Betsy...

Table for one?

Uh, I want to do takeout.

Sure.

Uh, moo shu pork.

Rice?

Yes.

$12.55.

Do you keep computer
records of takeout orders?

For a month.

Would you check an address for me?

It's my husband.

Please?

What's the address?

5181 east 73rd.

March 24th, two orders.

Chicken with cashew,
shrimp and broccoli.

Did they pay with a credit card?

Yes.

What name?

James Wheeler.

James Wheeler?

See these figures on the roof?

Gotta be gunman, right?

I count at least half a dozen.

What do we think that is?

Looks residential for sure.

What's the distance from the target?

Close.

Too close?

It depends on how good
a shot that pilot is.

Can you really call him a pilot

when he's 3,000 miles
away operating a joystick?

So what do you estimate?

Uh, between ten and a hundred
civilians in the target zone.

That's a complete wag.

What's a wag?

"Wild-ass guess."

What's the CIA estimate?

It doesn't matter.
They're guessing, too.

So what, that's it?

Uh, no, unfortunately.

It came in overnight.

- This is the building.
- Jesus.

That's the site. Maybe those kids
don't actually live in the building.

I... I don't remember it
being this hard last time.

We had Will
and Hadas...

And no girls.

She must hate us.

It's her first time.

I hate us.

Hey.

What's going on in there?

Do you... need anything?

A blunt instrument.

- Miles or Grant?
- Both.

So, we're talking general slaughter.

Yeah, actually.

This is all we can do.

Three's no need to pretend.

It's just a cost-benefit analysis.

I missed that part in graduate
school where they explain

the formula for collateral damage.

Three dead infants plus seven old ladies

and a dozen farm animals.

But you invented that formula.

I did, but I'm still trying
to figure out how to value

Kateb's slaughter of
multiple schoolgirls.

You're switching sides.

I just want to feel good
about killing these people.

This is a mess.

There's been a change.

Our asset now says Kateb

will be at the safe house tomorrow.

We have to finish our assessment today.

That, that's impossible.

He, he's right.

Will's not back, and our file

is totally incomplete.

Our intelligence is incomplete.
Intelligence is incomplete!

That's the nature of it.

You have to do this without Will.

On my desk by 5:00.

Sweetheart, I cannot have this
conversation with you now.

Your, your mother and I pay

for your car insurance for precisely...

Yes.

I know what a deductible is.

Yeah. Sweetheart, I'm gonna have

to talk to you later.

Mr. Travers?

Yes.

Your office in New York has
been trying to reach you.

They've asked for a secure line.

Sweet...

Miles, I'm not there.
I don't have the intel.

You guys are gonna have to
figure this out on your own.

I trust you.

Listen, I need you to do a full trace

on a former agency guy for me.

Bloom...
B-L-O-O-M... Donald.

All right? I'll see you tomorrow.

If this were entirely our decision,

we'd be more than happy

to keep the entire
intelligence community

off-limits to congress,

but, uh, there are some
political realities in play

that make that impossible.

Oh, one, one final thought if I might.

When you left the house this morning

wearing that tie,

perhaps your wife stopped
you in the doorway.

Perhaps she told you how
good you looked in that tie...

How handsome it was.

Now, while I'm sure you love your wife,

might I suggest you have many reasons

to distrust her judgment about...

That tie.

Maybe she has a fond memory
of another time you wore it.

A sentimental attachment

or perhaps she knows
your tie collection,

and she's simply glad you didn't choose

one of the ties she dislikes.

Perhaps she just sensed

you were feeling a little fragile.

She felt like bucking you up a bit.

Now, imagine for a minute
you... you sit down here with us,

and I say to you how
much I admired that tie.

Instantly, you have another opinion,

but you don't know me.

There's nothing personal between us.

We have no sartorial history.

No emotional attachment.

Whose judgment are you going to trust,

mine...

Or your wife's

the gentleman to my right is

a remarkable intelligence analyst.

He is skilled in pattern recognition,

systems analysis, emergence theories,

but, but in truth, his
greatest asset for you

is that you don't know him

and he doesn't know you.

He doesn't care about you...

Or your feelings.

He just knows...

what your tie...

looks like.

You can trust him.

I know I'll regret this, but I say yes.

I'd rather live

with the consequences of
my action than my inaction.

Tanya?

We have to put the
assessment in by 5:00.

Tanya?

I heard you.

I know I'm supposed to say yes.

I... I just...

We have to be unanimous.

So?

Yes.

Yes?

We say yes.

Take him out.

Thank you.

A job well done.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

Oh, what did you think of
our... our little show, hmm?

Made me glad to be a lowly analyst.

Well, don't... don't sell
yourself short.

You were excellent this afternoon.

I didn't speak.

You'd be amazed how hard
that is for most people.

Go ahead.

Uh, yeah?

Thank you.

That's uh...

My eyes are shot.

What does that say?

Uh, "Danielle".

That's my daughter.

She your only child?

No. No, I have a son... in college.

Oh, where?

I never knew my father much.

He was a remote man.

Presbyterian.

He thought our business was insidious.

Which business exactly?

Intelligence, espionage.

Not that he ever really
understood what I did.

Most people misunderstand, I find.

They can't see it
for what it is.

It's a gift, you know?

What is?

The solitude, the...

The separation...

It's a gift.

That's what they don't see.

What does it mean, "Kateb"?

In arabic, it means "the writer".

They don't speak Arabic in Indonesia.

This guy is a genius.

A regular Will Travers.

Will would have done it just the same.

Just data and decisions.

And us to connect the dots.

Mm, and morality, values?

Not our job.

Values are for politicians,
not analysts.

I'm gonna get good and drunk.

Hey.

Welcome back.

How'd it go?

Interesting.

That's it?

Interesting?

That's it.

It's good to be back.

Nice to see you.

Team A, team B,

team C, team D, team F.

Will.

How was the trip?

Good. Productive.

It was an honor, you know?

I know.

Why me?

For some reason,

he thinks you have potential.

Hey, Miles? Miles? Hey.

- Hey.
- Did you get anything on Donald Bloom?

Oh. Very slippery character.

Just like you said, ex-CIA.

And...

I got you... a license photo.

This guy's been in and
out of Houston six times

in the past year, and

he flew into JFK two days ago.

He's here in new York?

He could be.

Trip's great.

Thank you.

Climbed the Washington monument.

Sat in Abraham Lincoln's lap.

We're wondering about Kateb.

Ah, Kateb.

Your recommendations were accepted.

Uh...

9:10 GMT,

a predator drone launched two missiles.

Both made their target.

- And?
- And that was only six hours ago.

We won't know if we were successful

until Kateb either surfaces
again or-or doesn't.

Two days of psychic
torture, and that's it?

I'm afraid so.

Okay?

Okay. Let's try to refocus on Yuri,

George and our mystery man.

Uh, what do we have?

Grant?

Uh, well, this morning,
DI sent up new humint

from FKSN that has Yuri

increasing arms sales outside
his traditional territories.

So he's up to something.

We see if we can't
connect the dots there.

Still waiting on BND for
the George Boeck file.

But NSA's telling us

they may have Munich
to Damascus intercepts

that might shed some light.

We're still hoping one of our
sources in Sofia will turn up

something from the hotel registries

and rail passenger lists, but,
uh, I don't think we should be

holding our breath
on that one, you know.

Beyond that...

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