Spy City (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - The Wall - full transcript

This date...

Sunday, August the
13th. What do you know?

No movement at all.

So what is happening
on that day?

I don't know.

A "burglar." It's insulting.

What do you like to be called?

An interventionist?

A "door opener."

Isn't that the place where
Simon Haldane was killed?

You're very well informed.



Someone else was
killed there that night.

A waiter, I need his name.

What are we
looking for this time?

A yellow envelope.

I found a man who
can lead me to Udo Hoff.

Make sure you bring me with you.

You are... Hoff.

If I had been 30
seconds earlier...

she would still be alive.

Who killed her?

A contact.

A diplomatic contact?

She was a diplomat, like you?

Well, we have
bigger responsibilities



than simple diplomacy.

I shouldn't make
a joke about it.

Life is complicated.

There's nothing
we can do about it.

Tell me about it.

I wanted to thank you...

And apologize
for the other night.

I shouldn't have come
around like that steaming drunk.

I shouldn't have
bothered you again, really.

No, I was flattered you
decided to come back.

It's funny I...

I was just operating
on instinct, really.

Well...

instincts are good on the whole.

I...

tend to trust my instincts.

Uh, is that your person?

Yes, I imagine so.

I will leave you two alone.

Quick.

Come in. Thank you.

Do you have it? Yes,
there was no problem.

I know this man.

You know Udo Hoff?

His name is not Udo Hoff.
His name is August Froben.

August Froben?

How on earth do
you know his identity?

It says he's disappeared.

He is responsible
for the supervision

of my boyfriend,
Reinhart, who you met.

Reinhart was in
prison for a while.

Was it in the West? No...

There were big student
demonstrations in the East in 1953.

Reinhart was arrested and
accused as an enemy of the state.

He went to prison.

And he's what, his
probation officer?

In a manner of speaking, yes.

He's always watching Reinhart.

Can you contact him?

Yes, it's possible.

I would like to meet him.

Can you organize a rendezvous?

May I ask why? Yes.

I want to hurt him.

In that case, it will
be my pleasure.

You can contact me here.

No one is to know, understand?

Of course. I'll call you.

Elisa?

Thank you. This
is real progress.

Bye.

Fielding Scott.

She died in my arms.

You were there
with Madame Bloch?

I was too late.

Who killed her?

I have my suspicions...

which I'm following up.

If you need
support, let me know.

I want that son of a bitch.

There is something
you can do for me.

I would like to talk to Merkur.

Need any help, squire?

Morning, sir.

Good morning, Scott.

Let the Russians do
their thing, whatever it is.

Roadblocks. Close
the air corridors.

Switching off the power.

It won't change
the wider situation.

And it's better
than World War III.

You know, if it was up to me,

I'd let them have Berlin.

Take the city. Be my guest.

Is this your private opinion
or that of the government's?

The government's.

Unofficially, of course.

I thought we were
fighting for our values.

Well, this will divide families.

This could impact
the lives of...

hundreds of thousands,
if not millions of people.

Well, maybe there is
something we can do.

You're out in the field, Scott.

You could act.

You could approach Kovrin.

Let him know that we know.

The element of
surprise would be lost.

Maybe they'll think again.

If I manage to stay alive.

Our own people have
tried to kill me, twice.

First Haldane, then the...

waitress in the restaurant.

Did I tell you I met
a man in Berlin?

An Arab from Beirut.
Name keeps coming up.

Told me my life was in danger.

Me, personally.

You've never been to Beirut.

No, exactly.

That's what surprised me. I
couldn't make a connection.

Unless I was missing
something, of course.

I better get back.

You wouldn't think we were
standing in a little pocket

of capitalism in the depths

of a communist
country, would you?

No, not really.

Sometimes it's good
to remind yourself.

What was Simon
Haldane doing in Beirut?

If I may ask.

I'd stop right there.

Don't ask me any
questions about Beirut.

You're a very clever man.

You're an excellent operative.

You have an important job to do

and you've nearly completed it.

Get back to Berlin...

and find our traitor.

Well, I'll keep you up
to date with everything.

Mr. Scott.

What a pleasant surprise.

Very touching, Mr. Kovrin.

I had no idea you
were so devout.

Can you read it?

Vladimir Kuznetsov.

He was my adjutant.

And my best and oldest friend.

The same city.

The same street.

He was killed...

a few days before
the end of the war.

You were a soldier
too, I believe.

Yes, in Sicily.

And then elsewhere.

We have that in
common, at least.

Two soldiers, on the same side.

What do you want, Mr. Scott?

I want you to know that we know.

We know you are
going to fence in the city.

Think about it,
before you do it.

It could be World War III.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

I have to go, sorry.

August the 13th.

I've seen the evidence.

I've seen everything.

Let's suppose, Mr. Scott,
just for a moment...

that what you say is true.

Do you really believe I would be
in a position to do anything about it?

Maybe not.

But, as you said, we
were both soldiers.

And now, maybe we still
are soldiers, after a fashion.

We both have
our responsibilities.

One world war is surely
enough for both of us.

Mr. Scott, always a
pleasure to meet you.

I'm always interested
in what you have to say.

I wanted to ask
you about Beirut.

Is this something to
do with the photograph?

Yes, the photograph I gave
Simon Haldane... in Berlin.

Your time is precious.

And information has a price tag,

as you reminded
me last time we met.

Isn't that what
you do for a living?

Sell information?

How can I help you, Mr. Scott?

I want to know what Simon
Haldane was doing in Beirut in 1953.

Operation Ajax,
ever heard of it?

Operation Ajax...
Yes, that was Iran.

Precisely. Iran in 1953.

Operation Ajax was being
run out of Beirut in '53.

A joint MI6-CIA operation.

It was the swift removal of
the prime minister, Mossadegh.

A prime minister the British
and the Americans didn't like.

An enemy.

But we kicked him out.

Had him arrested, if I recall.

Even though he was
democratically, um, elected.

Mossadegh was
getting in your way.

You, the British,

you had created
Iran's oil industry.

The entire industry. It
was making a fortune.

Then Mossadegh came

and nationalized
your oil company.

From your perspective,
he effectively stole your oil.

So he had to go.

In this case, the
Americans pumped

a lot of money
into the Ajax plan.

And it turned out to
be money well spent.

It was a total success.

Mossadegh was gone forever.

The Shah was now
running the show.

And the Shah was a very good
friend to Britain and the U.S.

So the oil started
flowing again.

And that famous photograph shows the
people who pocketed the money, I suppose?

Perhaps it does.

But whoever finds
that photograph...

will be in a position
of real power.

I like this costume.
Very good idea.

I'm going to use
it in the future.

Glad I could be of
help with your career.

There.

Are you joking?

The only way to get
into the archive building.

I thought you said this
was gonna be easy.

Come on. It's 25 meters.

It's nothing.

Go on then. You go first.

I go first.

You watch what I do.

I will watch...

Watch you die.

Shit.

Oh, shit.

You're going to find
a photograph in here?

I'm relying on your countrymen's
excellent capacity for filing.

No, this is all way too early.

Let's go down a floor.

Goethe. What did he do?

Officiate?

Now I'm getting there.

February 1960.

Getting there.

Fuck.

Bit of luck.Hmm.

Here it is.

"Haldane." No.

We don't need Haldane.

Who is Ritter?

He was a waiter.

It's just rubbish.

He was a waiter and a cleaner.

My good God.

Gentlemen, I propose a toast...

Oh, my God.

...and profit.

Yeah.

Fuck.

Hold that up.

Fuck.

Victor Kovrin.

My God.

This is suicide for you,
Scott. You realize that?

Petrie's got an arrest warrant
out for you all over Berlin.

Stop talking.

Turn the engine off.

I owe you an apology.

Strange way of apologizing.

For a while, I thought you were
the rotten apple in the Berlin barrel.

I was wrong. Apology accepted.

What made you change your mind?

I found that photograph
you were looking for.

My God.

Who was in it?
You'll find out soon.

How'd you get a hold of it?

I have my methods.

I want to take you
back to Beirut, 1953.

We got rid of Mossadegh.

We had the Shah of Iran
eating out of our hand.

We got the oil back.

Money well spent.

Best return on an
investment ever.

Was there any
Russian presence...

in Beirut in '53 or '54?

There were rumors, of course.

The Russian border
with Iran is 750 miles long.

They didn't like what
we were doing in Beirut.

But I didn't see any Russians.

They kept their distance.

Victor Kovrin?

Kovrin wasn't in Beirut.
I would have known.

The British would have known.

One last question.

Why did you meet
Lubkov in that cinema?

We had information
Lubkov was ripe.

Ready to fall for the
right money, of course.

I met with him to see
if he was worth picking.

And, of course, I
had my own questions

about the photograph you found.

He said he knew nothing.

Did you ask him about Beirut?

I probably mentioned the city.

That was the source
of the photograph.

Why?

Not that you were
to know this...

But if he mentioned Beirut,
it probably cost him his life.

You're in the clear.

Don't fuck it up.

Listen, Scott.
Don't go... Scott!

I need to ask you a favor.

This is insurance.

If anything happens to me...

or if I ask you, please send it.

Don't you think you
should tell me what it is?

If I'm going to be
your insurance.

Yeah, that sounds fair.

Uh, do you have a seal?

Please.

It's evidence...

about collusion between a...

senior KGB officer

and the British secret services.

It's dynamite.

The three men caught
in one photograph.

Who are the three men?

The names would
mean nothing to you.

But you do know what
they are conspiring about?

About a million dollars.

Possibly more. A million?

Who got it?

They all did.

Stole it.

And shared it
amongst themselves.

Fuckers.

What happens now?

Now...

Now I get out there and
make a nuisance of myself.

Again.

Sounds dangerous and exhausting.

That's why I love boredom.

Mr. Scott...

You know, honestly, I
expected someone else.

But while you're here, why
don't we have some fun?

I actually knew you'd be
here. You see, Elisa told me.

I want to come over. I
want to defect to the GDR.

Oh, really? Yes, absolutely.

Think about it. Don't
throw this opportunity away.

I'm a serving MI6 officer, think
how good that could be for you.

I'm about to be disgraced.

Thrown out, I need
money. I need safety.

Safety? With me? Yes.

You need safety with me?
You expect me... Of course I do.

I have to have...

Udo, Udo, Udo.

Udo, Udo, Udo.

Yeah...

I need to explain to you why
I'm doing this, so you understand.

Yes? I don't want to die.

I need you to understand
that sometimes...

Sometimes you do have to pay.

So this is for Manfred.

And his lovely wife. No!

And his beautiful daughter.

And this is for Severine.

For Francois Bloch.

Just sometimes, you have to pay.

Do you understand?

Sometimes, there is
retribution, Udo Hoff.

It's okay. It's okay.

It's okay.

Sometimes...

I don't want to die, please.

What the fuck, Scott?
Ever heard of knocking?

Well, the bad penny
finally turned up.

Turned up something
rather interesting.

I think you'd better
leave us alone, Aldous.

Are you sure? Just
do what I ask, will you?

Yes.

Yes, of course.

You have 24 hours.

Do what you want. Kill yourself.

Hand yourself in,
defect. I don't give a shit.

In 24 hours,

every newspaper in Britain will
have a copy of that photograph.

You have 24 hours to decide what
you wanna do with the rest of your life.

Very decent of you, Scott.

Before I let you
go, one more thing.

Why Beethoven?

Why did you hand Beethoven and
his entire family over to the Soviets?

Because of Kovrin.

Kovrin needed a coup.

Something spectacular.

Lubkov was getting suspicious.

And the GDR wanted action fast

on the brain drain,
the flood of emigres.

Kovrin had been useful to us.

He helped us get the
money out of Beirut.

He asked us to deliver a prize

to make him look good.

It was a simple quid pro quo.

Look...

Beethoven was just
meant to be arrested.

I was shocked at what happened.

The Stasi operatives
rather lost their heads.

That's why you had
Lubkov killed. Yes.

Good procedure, as I say.

What about Petrie?

Petrie?

He was never part of our group.

Aldous Petrie just
dislikes you intensely.

Because he's friends
with Simon Haldane.

Simon Haldane was
best man at his wedding.

And that's why you
blackmailed Conrad Greer

to get me to that restaurant.

Yes. I'm afraid so.

You were getting too close.

I assumed the Soviets would be
blamed for a double assassination.

MI6 and CIA.

Put yourself in our place.

The CIA gave us
suitcases of dollars.

Hundreds and hundreds
of thousands of dollars.

No questions asked.
Operation Ajax.

We...

We had a meal

to celebrate our good fortune.

It turned out to be
the wrong restaurant.

The CIA had it surveilled.

Just routine.

Just to see who might turn up.
Take a few photos as evidence.

It was popular with foreigners,

diplomats, journalists... Spies.

Some fucking CIA stringer
photographed us, turned it in.

Kovrin told us.

Every CIA phone
in Beirut is bugged.

Word reached him

that this astonishing cargo
was on its way to Dunn in Berlin.

So I had it intercepted,
just in case.

Just as well.

It was, as the saying
has it, dynamite.

It was to be delivered
to Simon Haldane.

He came to Berlin that
night from London, specially.

It would be delivered
to him incognito.

Who put the envelope in my tray?

Brotherton? Yes.

Brotherton had
no idea what it was.

He's our "useful
idiot," Brotherton,

as the phrase has it.

I just told him what to do.
You needn't worry about him.

Why did Simon
Haldane try and kill me?

Well...

you, on the other
hand, are not an idiot.

We couldn't be sure you
hadn't checked the contents

of the envelope
you were delivering.

It was just good procedure.

"Good procedure."

Twenty-four hours.

What the fuck is
going on, Scott?

Have a look at that.

Jesus Christ.

That's Victor Kovrin.
With your two chums.

I must admit I always
thought you were the traitor.

Turns out it was your boss.

My God.

What's going to happen to
him? My money's on suicide.

He can't defect, can he?

His dear friend Kovrin
is in the same pile

of steaming horseshit he is.

Cheerio.

You trust me again?

Does anyone trust anyone?

I found a man who
can lead me to Udo Hoff.

Well, when you meet him,

make sure you bring me with you.

Ulrike!

Elisa!

Elisa!

Kovrin.

Mr. Scott.

Good morning!

This will be a famous day.

Well, you must be very proud.

I have something to show you.

What can you have
to show me, Mr. Scott?

It's over.

We won. The game is over.

I have the photograph.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

The photograph from Beirut.

You are a demented
man, Mr. Scott.

You should take

good care of yourself.