TURN: Washington's Spies (2014–2017): Season 1, Episode 6 - Mr. Culpeper - full transcript

"Scenario 37--

agent-to-agent transfer."

Ripped By mstoll

Pharaoh, please.

I don't know which is colder,
the wind or the winter.

And weary winter comin' fast

and cozy here beneath the blast.

You there.

What's the price
for one of those?

I'm afraid these are not for sale.

Agreement with the commissary.



Oi, you turn your back on me?

It's one measly egg.

And I've the balsam to pay.

So how's about you quit acting a lout

'fore I shove one of these
burn nuts down your throat?

Oh, look at what you done now.

Hey, what's this?

Mm.

Traitor! Traitor!
I killed a traitor!

Try, try again.

♪ Hush, hush ♪

♪ There's snakes in the garden ♪

♪ Soul for sale ♪

♪ Blood on the rise ♪



♪ Hush, hush ♪

- ♪ I can't wait anymore ♪
- ♪ Soul for sale ♪

♪ I can't wait anymore ♪

♪ Hush, hush... ♪

Shoulder firelocks!

The prisoner exchange

was carried through
this morning, Excellency.

And what is the condition
of our returned?

Very poor, sir.

Some are unable to walk
owing to starvation.

It confirms Captain Gamble's account--

the enemy treat
our captured with brutality

while we protect theirs
according to protocol.

"To Lord Howe.

I am sorry to trouble Your Lordship

with a letter
almost wholly on the subject

of the barbaric treatment
our officers received

on board your prison ship
in New York Harbor."

Prepare a copy of
Captain Gamble's account.

- I want it enclosed.
- Yes, sir.

"I call upon Your Lordship to say

if our treatment of your men

had merited so severe a retaliation..."

Absent without leave,

falsifying intelligence,
insubordination--

I want you to know, Captain,

I plan to leave nothing
out of my report.

I wouldn't expect you to, sir.
Though you should know,

I already told the commander
everything I did.

Well, then likely
your punishment's been decided

and we've merely been called here
to see it carried out.

The accused, John Herring,

having been convicted
of breaking into the house

of Mr. Prince Howland

and robbing him of several spoons,

silver dollars, and wearing apparel,

has been sentenced
to suffer death.

His Excellency,
the commander in chief,

approves this sentence
as an example made

to deter the boldest
and most hardened offenders.

Shall we?

This is Mr. Nathaniel Sackett

of the Committee to Detect and Defeat
Conspiracies against America.

Sir, the presence of a civilian
at court-martial is highly irregular.

Yes, I agree, Charles.

Now, would you be so kind
as to brief the room

on the intelligence
uncovered at Trenton?

- Brief the room?
- Myself included.

Ahem.

An examination of orders

discovered in the desk
of Colonel Rall

suggests that the garrison
we took from the Hessians

was much more
than a winter camp.

Trenton was being prepared
as a launch point

for an attack on Philadelphia.

I know what Howe wants.

But how will Howe take it?

By land...

by sea...

or will he lunge north
to join forces with Burgoyne

so as to decapitate New England
from the rest of our colonies?

We have until the snow melts

before their forces
in New York begin to move.

New York,

which remains dark to us.

Sir, I have just dispatched new scouts
to observe the enemy.

I grow weary of contradictory accounts

that merely guess
at the intent of the enemy.

This letter written by your man
on Long Island...

That letter was not received
through the proper channels.

Which is why I paid it no mind.

It was a lone report and unconfirmed

until our victories at Trenton
and Princeton proved it accurate.

More accurate than any piece
of intelligence

we've received thus far, at least.

Gentlemen, I've asked you here today

to determine if this was a fluke

and, perhaps more importantly,

if this fluke can be repeated.

Mornin'.

What's your business in New York?

Feeding your officers.

These hogs I have here are bound
for Colonel Cook of the commissary.

- Papers?
- Yes, sir.

There you go.

- You often travel alone?
- Uh, usually I do, yeah.

Is that-- is that a problem?

- Not for me.
- Great.

Thought you might have
trouble closer to the city.

They're still jumpy
from the fire.

And after the rebels' victories,

they see lone arsonists everywhere.

Mm.

You look like you might
give them real trouble.

Safe travels, Mr. Woodhull.

Go.

I can assure you, sir,
you will be perfectly convinced

of my friend's integrity and loyalty.

Well, according to you,

he took an oath of loyalty
to King George.

Only to get closer to the enemy,
to learn their secrets.

Traditional military reconnaissance
is a proven discipline.

Multiple scouts
produce multiple reports

which may be cross-referenced
to ensure verification.

In addition, soldiers
are trained to recognize--

Actually, soldiers
make terrible spies.

All that discipline
drilled into their movements

makes them easy to spot,

unlike us civilians.

Excuse me, sir, but why exactly
are you in this room?

I've been invited here
by your commander in chief

to opine on the business at hand.

Mr. Sackett came to us
by way of William Duer,

who recommended him as a person
of intrigue and secrecy.

And I must say,
I find this young man's

chain of agents very intriguing.

I want this chain notion explored

and a unified recommendation
presented upon my return.

Any questions?

- I--
- Well, yes, Your Excellency.

The letter that I transcribed
regarding the Hessians and Trenton.

It was unsigned.

I mean to ask, how did you come by
the name Abraham Woodhull?

Excellent question.

Any for you, Mr. Sackett?

Plenty, but not for you, sir.

Very well.

♪ He'll not come back
for many a day ♪

♪ Johnny's gone for a soldier... ♪

- All right?
- Hey.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

- Are you all right?
- Go. I'm all right.

I think it came
from over here somewhere.

Don't worry...

I got ya.

♪ for many a day ♪

♪ Johnny's gone for a soldier... ♪

♪ With pipe and drum
he marched away... ♪

♪ He would not heed... ♪

Are you nearly finished?

We have important company
arriving, Abigail.

We must show them
a respectable welcome.

Now, let's have a look.

Oh, dear.

I'm afraid this is all wrong.

I'm sorry, sir.

I just arranged it how my mistress
had taught me.

I don't expect you to
anticipate my preferences.

Then again...

it is never too late to learn.

Have a seat.

Please have a seat.

Show me how
your former mistress

would cut up and eat her meat.

Ah, ah.

It is the European custom,
and most appropriate,

to switch and feed oneself

with the dominant hand.

The time it takes to transfer

prevents us from
descending into gluttony.

You must think us mad

to devote such attention
to trivialities, don't you?

I know I certainly did
when I was first made to learn it all.

If I ask you your opinion,
you need not be afraid to give it.

I want you to feel safe here

and perhaps find reason to smile.

- Ah!

And here they are.

Happy return, gentlemen.

You should all feel free to relax
and get some rest tonight.

Tomorrow, I shall interview
each of you

regarding your time in captivity.

Abigail will show you
to your rooms.

Look at this.

Liberty never smelled
so sweet, hey, snowball?

I smell his tackle on your breath.

You gonna pick it up?

Listen to the pickaninny.

We be Queen's Rangers, son.
Back to your digging.

Did you say the Queen's Monkeys?

There's your monkey.

Come on, huh?

You wanna play?

Come on.
Yeah?

Come here. Come on!

No eyes on him.

I am sorry to keep you waiting,

but, you see,
I've been looking for someone.

I've been tracking a man
who killed one of my boys.

And it's been four months--

just one of them, four months--

so, you see, if you hurt a Ranger,
you pay a price.

Now, it's nothing personal.
That's just the rules.

Do what you will.

Oh, yeah, I will.

But before all that,
I just wanna ask ya,

where the hell did you learn
how to use staves like this?

I have seen all manner of lethality,

but you showed me
something new today.

I'm Maasai.

We train with fimbos for initiation.

Fimbos?

Go on, then. Show me.

Only warriors are initiated.

I have been a warrior
for 30 years, boy.

Let me put him down, Major.

Drop your iron.
I'll make you my meat.

While you dream, snowball.

We'll have a fair fight, then.

The lads'll make a little coin,

and you and he will get the answer
you're looking for, eh?

So she then hangs a black petticoat
on a drying line

to signal to my courier
when the intelligence is ready.

- Not bad.
- And she hangs napkins

to signify which cove
is safe for the rendezvous.

Wait, wait.
Rendezvous?

Don't tell me your agent
meets your courier in person?

Oh, well, of course.

Failure. Death.

No, no, no.
Courier and agent

are never in the same place
at the same time.

Well, then how do you expect for them
to make the transfer?

You predetermine the location

to drop, id est, hide

the lettre confidentielle
in question

and then arrange
a later time for retrieval.

A dead drop...

to ensure your agents
don't drop dead

from being caught
in flagrante delicto.

Which demonstrates
the folly of this scheme.

If a single link is broken,
the entire chain is rendered useless.

Which is why
we use encryption, sir.

To shield the men,
not the message.

Captain, which enciphering method
have you been using thus far?

Rossignol? Trithemius?

Personally, I prefer Dumas.

Please tell me
you're using encryption.

My God.

I was told you were a graduate of Yale.

Yes, sir. Class of '73.

Hmm.

One supposes you've studied
Greek, Latin, Hebrew?

Nai. Certe. Chen-adon.

And lam a quick study, Mr. Sackett.

Then at least we have
somewhere to start.

Commit this to memory.

We don't have time for this.

The commander expects results,
not wordplay.

But we're ahead of the game,
thanks to Captain Tallmadge here.

Typically, I have to concoct a legend

for the agents I wish to embed
into enemy territory.

A poultry trader,
fishmonger, schoolteacher.

Requires wardrobe,
documentation, training.

The brilliance of Mr. Woodhull
is his life is his legend.

There's no reason
to invent a false one.

He's already living it.

- Who pays for it?
- Hmm?

Well, if the farmer's not farming,
who provides for his expenses?

His food, his lodging?
His money to bribe sources?

We do, of course.

The Congress will never
approve intelligencer salaries

while we cobble together
bounties for our regulars.

Congress needn't know about it.

We'll draw from a secret fund

authorized by Washington
to be used at our discretion.

General, please.

We've been asked to explore
how a chain of agents might work.

Some debate is to be expected.

Explore whatever you want, Tallmadge.

As the head of intelligence,
I will never approve this.

It's time that you learned how
the chain of command works.

Hmm.

That was predictable.

Ah.

♪ I sold my flax, I sold my wheel ♪

♪ To buy my love a sword of steel ♪

♪ So it in battle he might wield ♪

♪ Johnny's gone for a soldier... ♪

Listen to me.
You've made a mistake.

You're shivering, Mr. Woodhull.

Here.

This'll warm you up.

No, no, no.

I am the son of a Tory magistrate.

I'm a loyal subject of the Crown.

You've gotta listen to me.
You've gotta listen.

Little Tory boy.

I'm with the 19th
Continentals under Sullivan.

I've been out here five months--

the last man of my unit--

ambushing their dispatch riders,
hitting supply lines,

all while looking for a way to get back
to the regiment proper.

Only reason you're still breathing

is I got more questions
need answering

about who you sell to
and where, at what price,

anything they'll ask
at the checkpoints.

You plan to pass yourself off as me?

But that coat and that pin

is as much a disguise for me
as it is for you.

I'm under direct orders
to infiltrate the city

and gather intelligence
for the Continental Army.

- I swear.
- Oh, I see.

So...

you're a spy.

Benjamin Tallmadge,
Second Continental Light Dragoons.

He will confirm my loyalty
and he will verify my mission.

Your mission?

You're gonna tell me
what I need to know

or they'll find your body
liberated of its skin.

What, you know them all,
trust them all?

We all grew up together.

Childhood friends.
Fascinating.

Wouldn't have thought to try that.

Well, it wasn't exactly planned.

Don't tell anyone that.

Don't tell anyone else
Mr. Woodhull's name.

Time to gift Mr. Woodhull an alias.

One by which the other
agents will know him.

I'm sorry, the other agents?

Hmm, I've plans for your farmer.

Need him to nurture the seeds

that I've planted over
the last year and a half.

One of them
is sprouting right now,

right under the enemy's nose.

I-- no, I'm sorry,
but I'm afraid that's

not how this is going to work.

You see, Abe,
he's a very cautious man.

He won't meet with anybody
he doesn't already know.

- He'll have to.
- No, he'll quit is what he'll do.

I thought he was your friend.

Yes, which is exactly why
he trusts me to protect him.

Only that which
is concealed is protected.

You can't even conceal his name.

Luckily for you,
I am a master at the an of concealment.

Thank you, Lieutenant Terrence.

I have an uncle
in the Coldstream Guard,

so he'll be glad we've
reclaimed one of his own.

I remember the motto--
"Nulli Secundam."

Second to none.

Good evening, sir.
Have a seat.

- Name and rank.
- Captain John Graves Simcoe.

And where was your post?

A town called Setauket.

Setauket, Long Island?

Ambush, was it not?

Where are my manners.
Drink?

And how did you
find it there in Setauket?

May I have some more ink,
please, Abigail?

This is for military record?

Oh, my own personal curiosity.

It's a pit

run by a man who I'd say--

well, best not to talk out of turn.

Hewlett?

"The Oyster Major,"
as he's referred to in these parts.

If you'd like, I could see
to arranging a transfer.

Please, Major, not on my account.

There's someone
whom I left far too abruptly.

A local woman, perhaps?

In any case, I should very much
like to return to her.

By all means.

Tell me about her.

Well, I'm all packed up.

Tell me what I need to know

or I kill that fire 'fore I go.

No? Have it your way, then.

My-- my father's Richard Woodhull.

His deal is with Colonel Cook
for seven pounds per pound.

Now, was that so hard?

Tell me true...

if you're such a patriot,

why didn't you enlist with the militia

and fight for your country like a man?

Because you can't win.

Look at you.

Look at your--

your fort here.

You're one man.

You're alone in the woods...

surrounded by an army

on an island
surrounded by a navy.

That-- that is
the Continental Army.

That is what you're running back to.

So I should be like you, then?

Swear allegiance to the king
with my fingers crossed behind me?

What's your family think of you?

What I do, I do for my son.

He know you're a liar?

He's a year old.

I want to be there for him
when he grows up.

If I had a son, I'd have him know

I fought and died for my beliefs

so he could rise to avenge me.

I'd want my son
to choose for himself...

rather than have
his father choose for him.

But then our--

our views on liberty--

true liberty-- may differ.

You say you need this suit,
this pin, and this paper.

I'll do you a deal.

Fight me for them.

Come on!

I don't want to fight you.

Oh, don't worry.
I'll let you warm up first.

You think you deserve this more?

- Prove it.
- We're on the same side.

Prove you're worth more.

- No, I won't.
- You fight me.

- I'm not worth more.
- You fight me.

Wanna kill me?
Wanna kill me?

That's what a man does.

That 's Mr. Woodhull's cart.

He went through
the checkpoint yesterday.

Come around to the left, men!

No, he's the captive!

There he is!

Surrender!
You are alone and outnumbered.

You were right, Mr. Woodhull.

You Tory bastard!

It's over now.
You're safe.

Tough nut, that one.

Oh, it's a long story.
Too long.

- Do tell, tell.
- Tell, tell.

Very well, very well.

You see, I, too,
was once taken prisoner.

Not long after I arrived in America

during the defense of Fort Saint-Jean.

I took it upon myself
to write down everything that I saw--

troop movements,
gun placements.

I even drew a detailed map
of the territory.

You must be quite the artist.

I dabble.

My reports were sent
to General Howe

and, impressed with my initiative,

he assigned me to a new post.

So you see, I understand
the value of men in chains.

Thus it falls to me
to interrogate our returned.

Though I do prefer
to compare multiple accounts.

That way, if something is suspect...

it's easier to spot.

As an artist, I've learned
that it's not always the big picture,

but the little details

that effectively sell the tale.

Another line of the old author,
Lieutenant Terrence?

Lieutenant Terrence here
is a Coldstream man.

I propose a toast for

one of Colonel Mathew's finest.

Nulli Secundam.

Secundus.

What the hell have you done?

This man's a liar.

Coldstream lieutenant not knowing
his regiment's motto.

He was likely sent back to us
as a spy.

I know that!

You pale fool.

I had planned on
turning him double,

the opportunity of which
I have now been robbed.

I apologize, Major.
I just thought--

You didn't think.

You acted upon the assumption
that you were the only one

who could spot
a mouse in the cupboard.

Has it really been that
long since your last kill

or is violence
your natural inclination?

Go back to Setauket, Captain.

I pray that woman
can settle your savage side.

General, have we come
to a consensus?

Your Excellency, we believe
traditional reconnaissance

is the way forward

as it depends on
as little variable as possible

and would be carried out by men
who could be trusted to follow orders.

Captain, what say you?

I-- I concur with the general, sir.

The chain of agents approach
would require trust

and in that resource,

I'm afraid we find
ourselves lacking.

You're speaking now
of your men on Long Island.

No, sir, I'm speaking
of the men in this room.

Sir, for a conspiracy
like this one to function,

we would need to be
keeping secrets

from the enemy, from Congress,
even from our own army.

This would require absolute trust
amongst the secret-keepers,

and yet General Scott here

does not trust me or my judgment.

Mr. Sackett here mistrusts
my experience,

much as I mistrust his attitude

toward the lives
of the agents in the field.

And you, sir--

you know the name
Abraham Woodhull

and yet you will not
disclose to me

the source of your knowing.

Apparently, you do not trust me either.

Therefore, I cannot trust the success

of any chain that we might
build here today.

I would like to speak
with Captain Tallmadge alone.

Get up, boy.

Come on, fight!

Hold!

Shut your gobs!

You still gonna kill me?

Well, Rangers don't kill
their own initiates.

Samuel Tallmadge.

Samuel.

Mr. Sackett tells me
that you prefer

an alias for Woodhull.

I must say, I concur.

Forgive me, sir,
but I thought that we had agreed

- that the best way forward--
- You were right in your prescription.

We require an amendment
in the name of trust.

Following our retreat
from Brooklyn Heights,

I tasked a agent to reconnoiter
enemy encampments around Long Island

and seek out contacts
friendly to our side.

His name was Nathan Hale,

and he was captured
while he was on a mission for me.

He was hanged as a spy.

Fortunately,
his best friend at Yale,

a certain Benjamin Tallmadge,

spoke often of his hometown friends--

a whaler named Brewster
and a farmer named Woodhull.

I wrote those three names
down on a report,

a report I looked back on
when an unsigned letter

sent by an anonymous
farmer proved correct.

Captain Hale died without
friends to support him.

We cannot let that happen
to Mr. Culpepper.

Mr. Culpepper?

We'll never use
the name Woodhull again.

Why was he wearing your clothes?

His aim was to pose as me,

escape into the city, I suppose.

Right, and that proves
the general's anxieties.

Can't take any more
lone men into New York.

You mean I can't continue on?

Not alone.

He tell you his name?

No.

Please don't think that I condone
such barbarism.

Just...

miss my boy, is all.

You have a son?

His birthday's comin' round.

Well, then, we must
send him something.

If you think of a gift,
I'll make arrangements

to have it sent by special courier.

Well, there's that smile.

That's good. Good, good.

You are an invaluable asset to me,

and so, General Scott,
I feel it better

to apply your acumen
where it is most needed--

on the front.

But, sir, a captain can't
run the intelligence branch.

That's why I have
promoted him to major.

I wish you the best of luck,
Your Excellency.

He is a fine general.

Thank you for this promotion, sir.

- I pray I do you proud.
- As do I.

Your first duty is to come up

with a given name
for our Mr. Culpepper.

Samuel.

In honor of your brother,
I presume?

Yes, sir.

And might I ask, what is the meaning
of "Culpepper"?

Excellent question.

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