The Blacklist (2013–…): Season 5, Episode 11 - Abraham Stern (No. 100) - full transcript

I haven't felt this giddy

since Herbie Hunnicutt and I
pooled our box tops

and sent away for
the decoder ring and periscope.

Why is that? What is this feeling?

You love treasures, Raymond.

And you don't? Of course, you do.

Everyone loves hidden treasures...

Yamashits Gold, the Oak Island Money Pit.

Hell, even DB Cooper,
which was more of a mystery

and less of a treasure hunt, really.

That's what you love... the mystery.



Mystery? You know why?

Robert Louis Stevenson.

Yes! Edgar Allan Poe. "The Gold Bug."

What a story.

It has everything...

a delirious search for treasure,

the descent into madness,

along with ciphers and bugs,

a skull nailed to a tree.

What a yarn.

If he actually has the locations
of the other coins,

this could be a massive discovery.

Thank you, gentlemen. You may go.

We got what I came for.



Robert Navarro, MPD.

We need you to open the door, please.

Let's go, Bobby, open up.

We're here with the super.

We're coming in, you hear?

Guy's constantly got people
coming and going.

Music all night.

Sir, if could you step outside.

I ain't waiting outside.
I know the rules.

What'd he do? Drugs? It's drugs, right?

Apartment's clear.

You find something wrong,
you gotta tell me.

- That's how it works.
- Central to 8637, what's your status?

8637 to Central.

Domestic disturbance on Fernwick.

- Mark it unfounded.
- Copy, 8637.

We have a 1033 in your sector.
Requesting backup.

All right. We're good, right?

I don't want no problems with the cops.

You were robbed? You?

I'm glad my misfortune amuses you.

It's just the...

irony caught me by surprise.

Okay. So...

The very rare 1943 Lincoln penny

that I... liberated

from Grayson Blaise was stolen.

The thief knew where to find me.

He knew I had it. Now he has it.

And I need a little help to get it back.

You fooled us once into
helping you acquire that penny.

I think we'll pass
on helping you reacquire it.

The man we're looking for...
this man is on a quest.

Fantastic news.

The loan committee approved an extension.

This is a new payment schedule...

should keep you from defaulting

and allow you to repair your truck.

I hear there was an accident.

He has killed in service of it,

and unless we stop him,
he will kill again.

Care to hear more?

In recent years,

Federal Reserve Notes issued in the 1930s

have turned up in Manila and Singapore.

"The United States of America

will pay to the bearer
on demand $100,000."

How many of these notes
are floating around?

None, according to your government.

It denies issuing any such notes

and insists the few that have
turned up are counterfeit.

I thought this was about your penny.

It is because without the pennies,

we will never find the notes

or the man who's killing to get them.

This is never easy...

but your P&L statements
are not promising.

I'm afraid we have no choice
but to foreclose.

Please. I'll do anything.

"Pennies"... wasn't there only one?

No, there are four.

Bronze... minted in 1943.

Before stealing it,
you were willing to spend

$3 million of our money

to buy one of the pennies at auction.

Collectors value them
because they believe

they were minted in error...
bronze oneoffs

when every other penny
was made of copper.

But what collectors don't know,

what makes them truly valuable,

is not that they were a mistake,

but that there is a code put there

by the man who minted them...
a map to a vast fortune.

The lost Federal Reserve Notes

that Treasury claims it never made.

Finding the longlost notes is a quest

for the financial holy grail.

Hundreds of millions of dollars,
redeemable upon request.

And the man who attacked you knew this?

- Aram, if you would.
- Three security guards murdered

at the Sharjah Museum in Dubai,

an Italian art collector dies
when his home

is consumed by a fire
set by an unknown arsonist,

and just last night,

an antiques dealer murdered
in Georgetown.

After informing our Blacklister

that I'd arranged to meet with him.

That's how he got the where and the when,

and he used that intel to ambush me.

Three incidents,
presumably only three pennies...

That leaves him one short.

You were once an insurance investigator.

Funny... I have a personal situation

involving a rare coin.

Perhaps we could help each other.

Any indication he knows
where this last penny is?

No, and if he gets it,

he gets the code and the treasure,

which means we need to locate
that penny before he does.

Our only interest is
in stopping this guy.

The treasure's not our concern.

Don't be such a spoilsport.
This could be such fun!

Where's your sense of adventure?

I think it sounds like fun.

Thank you, Aram. That's the spirit.

Harold, you could learn a thing or two

from your subordinates.

Mr. Church, these are the men
I was telling you about

from the insurance company.

Frank Dobbs. Fairbanks & Hienz.

We underwrite rare collectibles.

And, this is our num...
numis... numistatic...

Numismatic expert, Ben Farber.

I was here last when you mounted
the Eliasberg Collection.

Yes, well...

Patrick Church, Collections Manager.

I understand this is a matter
of some urgency.

It's about the Lincoln penny
you have on display.

Is there somewhere
we could speak privately?

Like I said, we got the call,

super let us take a look around,

no sign of any problems.

And it was clean? Just like this?

Just like this.

It's too clean.

Wyman, hey. Singleton.

That's right. Don't worry about that.

The warrant's in the works as we speak.

I need a team here now.

I want you to tear this place apart.

Okay. Check this out.

I think I may have
located the fourth penny.

All right, after the coins were minted,

they disappeared for about 30 years.

No record of them anywhere.

But then, in 1975,

they started to appear at auctions.

The missing penny was last sold in 1984,

and, according to the bill of sale,

the man who bought it
passed away two years ago.

But did he have it when he died?

Yes, and it was included
in an extensive art collection

that he left to the
University of Pennsylvania.

- So, they have the coin?
- Yes and no.

I spoke to the head of donations
at the university,

and she says the coin is on loan
at the Gabor Museum.

Ressler and Navabi, get to the museum.

Find out what they know.

How did you become aware of this?

A German auction house sold a cast fake

of a litra from Sicily.

We have reason to believe
that forger duplicated

the 1943 coin you have on loan.

If so, you may be able to help us

solve a case that would eclipse

the Ready electrotypes sold
by the British Museum.

Can that even be possible?

These people... well,
they're very skilled.

But the estate provided us
with authentication.

If what you're saying is true,

should we be filing a fraud claim?

Let's take this one step at a time.

Is the coin here?

Might I be able to see it?

Of course. Amber.

I want prints run on everything,

from the floorboards to the light bulbs.

If this place was cleaned,
I wanna know how.

What chemicals?
What kind of rags were used?

Check every surface from the
floorboards to the light bulbs

because someone was here...

and I wanna know who.

Agent Keen.

Please, Please tell me you're back.

Obviously, you're here, so you're back,

but are you back or just here?

I've missed you, too.

Mr. Reddington has us working on this

- insane treasure hunt...
- That sounds amazing.

No, do you remember that penny

that he got in that elaborate scheme...

I'm actually just here

to get something out of the files.

Hey, what's that?

You need to come back.

I'm so sorry.

- That's my fault. I didn't...
- I got it.

I, Okay.

You know, it'd be a distraction.

Distraction?

From looking for Tom's killers.

I don't really see hunting Blacklisters

lightening my emotional load.

Mr. Reddington's penny...
There are four of them.

Now, the Blacklister has three
out of the four of them,

and Agents Ressler and Navabi
are en route

to the Gabor Museum
to find the fourth one.

I hear it's going well with Agent Navabi.

Talk about a distraction.

I'm here.

Not back.

Detective Singleton.
What do I owe the pleasure?

- Robert Navarro.
- What about him?

Last we spoke, I was under
the distinct impression

that you were looking for him.

And I got the impression
you didn't want me to.

So you didn't, even though
you believe that he works

for the man that killed your husband?

I don't believe. I know.

There was a report
of a domestic disturbance

at Navarro's place.

By the time we got there,
his apartment was cleaned,

Navarro was gone.

You think I murdered the one person

who could ID my husband's killer?

Did you?

I'm the last person in the world

who would want Navarro dead.

Now if there is nothing more...

There isn't.

Not until we receive results
back from the lab.

Results?

From the bloody rag we found
in Navarro's apartment.

Whoever did kill him left it behind.

What do you think?

I wouldn't want to say.

You don't... think it's a fake?

I'd want Chandler at the INA
to look at this,

run some tests.

So, it's a fake.

Amber, have security
take the piece to the safe.

Ruben, you need to notify the board

and pull the chain of ownership.

Excuse us for a moment.

Gentlemen.

- What's going on?
- Relax.

What do you mean relax?
You know why they're here.

Excuse me.

Agents Ressler and Navabi, FBI.
What's going on?

Well, it seems we have a situation

- about a piece in our collection.
- The Lincoln penny?

- Yes, how did you...
- Who told you about this?

We were notified
by our insurance company,

their investigator.

His numismatic expert is in my office.

I'm gonna need you to pull
the security feeds.

The expert... can you take us to him?

Please make your way safely to the exits

- as quickly as possible.
- Your offices.

Top of those stairs, make a left.

Please make your way safely to the exits

as quickly as possible.

Please make your way safely to the exits

as quickly as possible.

Please make your way safely
to the exits...

You don't have the penny?

- Nor the Blacklister.
- But it was there?

MPD booked the penny into evidence.

They won't let us check it out
without a court order.

MPD was there before you?

They received a tip that the coin

- was going to be stolen.
- A tip from whom?

Anonymous.

MPD pulled a print off the coin book.

With luck, it will help us
get an ID on the thief.

The thief is your concern, Harold.

Retrieving that penny is mine.

The FBI is not going to help you break

into a police evidence vault.

No, I wouldn't think so, Harold.

Let's go to Elizabeth's.

I've been looking for you.

Aram told me the penny from Lake Como

is actually a treasure map.

Do I have that right?

Are you on some insane treasure hunt?

Apparently, I'm not the only one.

He also thought a hunt would be
a good distraction for me.

I said "No," but to tell you the truth,

I could use a bit of
a distraction right about now.

He said you were looking for me.
I hope it's to help.

I've cautioned you that
in your pursuit of Tom's killer,

you need to restrain
your darker impulses.

Which I've done, mostly... more or less.

The help I need violates
the spirit of that advice.

I wouldn't even ask for it
if it wasn't critical.

The answer is "Yes."

You haven't even heard the question.

You're my father. You need my help.

It's not like you're gonna ask me
to get rid of a body or anything.

As a result of an anonymous tip,
the MPD has the penny.

I could use your help to get it back.

Well, if it's evidence
from a crime scene,

they keep it downtown
in the evidence vault.

Which Harold has shown no inclination

to access on my behalf.

They also keep evidence
from class 3 felonies...

rape, robbery, and homicide.

- Tom's evidence.
- Yes.

Now, I don't have my badge anymore,

so maybe the best way
to get your penny out

is for me to put evidence
from that case in.

Do you have any?

No, but I can make some.

Any word from the lab?

You excited or worried?

Appreciative of what you're doing.

The rag wasn't booked into evidence

until after the morning pickup.

Lab won't get it until tomorrow.

I know you think
I'm standing in your way.

I'm not trying to.

I hope this helps you see that.

I, finally got the courage
to go through Tom's things,

and I found this in his jacket pocket.

It's locked, and I don't
have the passcode,

but... maybe one of your techs
can pull the records,

and... it might give you a lead.

- Anything yet?
- No.

Remind me again what it is
that we think we're doing here.

The phone acts
as a passive packet sniffer.

It's a trick Tom taught me.

Packet sniffer?

The FBI uses them.

I'm sure your tech people know
all about them.

It can intercept and log traffic

that passes over a digital network.

It is an absolute mystery to me
how these gadgets work...

the Dick Tracey phones,
these blueteeth connections.

Quite frankly, I miss the rotary phone.

Except for that zero.

Watching that zero crawl back.

My God. It was painful.

- We have the code.
- Great.

Now all we have to do
is figure out how to get inside.

The lab got an ID from the print
on the coin book.

Abraham Stern.

Stern, Abraham J... He's a loan officer

at the Republic Commerce Bank
in Manhattan.

I don't understand.
I did everything you asked.

Yes, and you did marvelously.

If you're upside down on your loan,

Stern tries to work out
a new payment schedule.

But sadly, now the police are involved.

The linen truck that
hit Mr. Reddington's car...

that company is a client of Stern's bank,

and the insurance investigator

that paid a visit to the Gabor Museum,

he's also a client risking foreclosure.

So, he threatens bankruptcy

unless you help him commit crimes?

Ressler, Navabi, get to the bank,

find him, and bring him in.

I won't say anything.

I'm terribly sorry.

I couldn't possibly take that chance.

Hey, thanks again for doing this.

Okay, let's just be clear
about one thing.

This is no favor.

This is a JOB.

The check, as they say,
better be in the mail.

Yes, I told you twice already.
Why are you stalling?

I don't like pills.

You'll be fine.

You got your ID on you, right?

Okay, I will meet you at the hospital.

Tell you the truth,

I'm sort of looking forward
to getting out of the house.

I need some time away from Mom.

That hospital's gonna be like
a fivestar resort...

three squares and a remote,
juice with a bendy straw.

Between you, me, and the vending machine,

I've also had a fantasy
about a nurse handling my...

My God!

My God! Something's wrong!

He came up to me at the vending machine.

He said he was short of breath.
Is he gonna be okay?

He's having a heart attack.
Call an ambulance.

You have any aspirin?
Isn't he supposed to take aspirin?

Maybe in my purse!

You're gonna be all right.

I found the aspirin.

Does he need it?

Is he gonna be okay?

You stole the penny.

We discussed this.
Your interest is in Stern.

My interest is in this treasure.

Which you can't get to

without the pennies in his possession,

which means you're looking for him, too.

Harold, always a pleasure.

We raided the bank he works at
and his home.

Stern's in the wind, but
he'll come out for that penny.

Yes, I believe he will.

You cut a deal.

No, but I hope to.

Okay.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Mr. Reddington.

Once the Professor decodes the cipher,

what guarantee do I have
you won't doublecross me?

You seem quite capable
of guaranteeing your own safety.

Nevertheless,
I need some kind of assurance.

Fine.

Sentiment.

This is your inheritance.

I wouldn't dream of taking more than 50%.

You have one penny.

I have three.

75%/25%.

Sentiment only goes so far.

So, how do you know about my father?

Do we have a deal or not?

Other than secreting away a fortune

and hiding its whereabouts
in the pennies he minted,

I know curiously little
about your father.

Usually the person who creates a legend

becomes legendary.

Why not him?

My father was...

a little man with big dreams.

He worked for the
Treasury Department in Denver,

started out as an apprentice.

His goal was to become a master engraver.

But then...

Then the Federal Reserve
Notes went missing.

He had access, so he was a suspect,

but was never charged.

They punished him anyway.

Demoted him to the maintenance staff,

gave him a little office
in the boiler room.

He worked weekends, holidays,

sometimes he slept on a cot down there.

Then, in '43,
the Mint made security upgrades.

The same year he put the cipher
on the coins.

Within the year, he was let go.

My father spent the rest of his life

living in the shadow of a crime

nobody could prove he committed.

He died a broken man.

Penniless.

A lowly maintenance worker,

and yet, what he did is...

legendary.

What he allegedly did.

Sometimes I wonder
if that's all there is...

a legend.

If the pennies hold the secret
to your inheritance,

why didn't your father give them to you?

He did, in his will.

But at the time,
I was a snotnosed 16yearold,

and to me, he was a failure

who'd been accused of a crime
he had nothing to show for.

So I spent them on candy...

- four fireballs.
- Whoops.

The next month,
his executor gave me a letter

my father had left for me.

That's when I learned
that the pennies were the key

to a great treasure.

And you spent the past 40 years
looking for it.

I've lied, I've cheated.

I've killed in pursuit of it.

I believe my father was a criminal,

and I assume he left me the pennies

so I wouldn't become one.

And yet, here you are.

The apple never falls very far.

Does it?

Coins are a topographical map

depicting a specific
set of geoinformatics.

Look at this.

Lincoln's face isn't a face at all,

but a topographical representation

of a mountain range.

Your father was a talented man.

The front range of the Rocky Mountains.

Pike's Peak through Squaw Mountain.

And these crosshatchings...

they're not random imperfections,

but intentionally placed etchings.

One set is meaningless,

but when you begin to layer the images,

the map begins to depict a grid system.

- Denver.
- Circa 1943. And look at this.

The motto of the United States.

"E pluribus unum"... Out of many, one.

The letters on each coin
have imperfections,

but when you layer them...

The boiler room, where he used to work.

He did steal the money.
He just couldn't get it out.

So he hid it right under their noses.

I've imagined robbing the Mint
of the money they make,

but never of a fortune
they don't even know they have.

But this is a treasure hunt.

And if that's where "X" marks the spot...

What do you know about the Denver Mint?

The Mint was built in 1897.

The boiler room's in the basement.

It hasn't been used

since renovations were done in '43,

abandoning the old boiler room.

Construction documents
show it was sealed off

during the renovations...
no doors, no windows.

A new vault blocks the only entrance.

What about the airduct system?

The ducts could give us access
if we were pencil thin

and weighed under 50 pounds.

We're not getting in through the ducting.

Production supplies, trash,

and food deliveries pass through daily,

but all require IDs.

We'd need a hell of a story
to get through the gate.

We'd still have to contend
with the surveillance.

Which is extensive...
cameras on the production floor,

cameras in the halls.

What about the vault?

The only way into the boiler room

is through that vault.

Which is made of steel and concrete.

So, this is the holding vault?

Yes, when banks hand over
their mutilated bills,

they're brought here to have
their authenticity validated

before being shredded and sent to waste
energy facilities for disposal.

16inch thick concrete.

Concrete that can only be accessed

- from inside the vault, which means...
- No water supply.

We'd have to drycut with diamond blades.

The place is a fortress.

Even if you could get past the walls

and cameras and guards, which you can't,

you'd still have to get into the safe,

and the only thing
they let in there is cash.

Not just any cash.

Random, untraceable...

the kind you find
in a moneylaundering operation.

Hey.

I need a tally
of our current cash reserves.

Are you frickin' nuts?
That's everything we have.

Will it work?

Needs paint, the right decals,

but yeah, we can make it work.

We'll need uniforms.

My old client at the bank says
IDs are in the works.

Yeazou ceazan't treazust heazim.

Eaz I eazagreazee.

Deazoing theazis?

In case it's not obvious...
I'm standing right here.

My associate thinks you might betray me.

What do you think?

I think you're the reason

I'm finally going to realize
my lifelong dream.

I would never betray you.

On my father's grave.

See, on the grave of his father.

Don't do this.

Heddie, please, just get the cash.

You're not on the list.

We just drove straight
from the Reserve Bank.

- Not on the list.
- Run the badge.

We're on the list.
He thinks we're here to rob the place.

Hey, you got us. We're here to rob you.

That's why we're bringing
8 million bucks into the Mint.

Please, can we move it along?
We got another run up to Golden.

I'd love to beat the traffic.

There it is.

Yeah.

I'm afraid your associate was right.

So much for your father's grave.

Your gun belt, please.

I'm sorry, Raymond.

I've come to like you. I really have.

But this is my birthright, not yours.

So, if it's not too much trouble, please,

get in the truck.

Any problems?

- Badge worked like a charm.
- Let's go.

I knew we couldn't trust that guy.

Right as always, Heddie.

Everything in place?

Everything but my lady bits.

I don't know how these cops do it.

Let's go to work.

Don't move!

Zip them up and clear the room.

Everybody up and face the wall.

Line up. Move!

Hands behind your back.

Morning, boys.

Get the bags.

You should've seen the look
on the boys' faces at the shop

when I told them
I was gonna run two of these

jacked into the V8 of this bad boy.

- I'm sure it'll work.
- It's gonna suck.

What is that? What's happening?

I don't know, Red.

It'll work. Turn it up.

We're in business.

Hello, Harold.

Excuse the rush. I'm on a clock.

But I wanted to let you know,

I discovered what our friend
Abraham Stern is up to.

And what is that?

He's robbing the Denver Mint.

Find out what's going on! Turn it off!

Go!

I'm sorry. He's doing what?

That was my reaction. The gall!

I told him he'd never get away with it,

but he seemed quite determined.

What's that noise? Where are you?

There's a hell of a racket here.

Harold! Can you hear me?

Are you telling me
that Stern's father's treasure

- is in the Mint?
- He's certainly convinced so.

But the more I think about it,

I'm not so sure
there's any treasure at all.

I mean, treasure? Really?

Who knows. Either way,
I'm afraid I can't chat.

I've got my hands full with
a bit of a plumbing problem.

Good luck with Stern.
I have faith in you, Harold.

You always get your man.

Reddington says Stern's
robbing the Denver Mint.

The Mint?

And something tells me
Reddington's not far behind.

Notify the Denver field office
and get there.

Find out what the hell's going on.

I think we got company.

- Morgan, how long?
- I have no idea.

But I think we're gonna need more vans.

We're out of time. Shut it down.

Are you kidding me?

Congratulations, Harold.
You got your man.

And you got your treasure.

I don't know how, but I know you did.

And the pennies?

Returned to their rightful owners.

All except the one

that you lifted from Grayson Blaise.

Name your price, Harold.

It's too high for you.

Try me.

The truth.

Abraham Stern's father

committed the crime of the 20th century.

I just committed the crime of the 21st.

Except it isn't a crime.

Hundreds of millions
in Federal Reserve Notes

payable on demand,

which the Treasury says don't exist.

The Mint said nothing was stolen.

And so the treasure myth lives on.

I appreciate you telling me that truth...

but it isn't the one I was looking for.

The evidence locker.

What about it?

What you took, aside from the penny.

I didn't take anything else.

Evidence was logged in material

to the disappearance of Robert Navarro...

a person of interest
in the death of Tom Keen.

You didn't take it?

No, I did not.

Oohlala!

This one says, "Dear Glen",

Glad you're okay and recovering well.

"Thank you for all you do. R.R."

Secret admirer. One of many.

"P.S... To whom it may concern,
Glen is a licentious cur."

What?

I don't know what licentious means...

but I'm pretty sure
he meant it as a compliment.

Is everything okay?
Dembe said it was urgent.

You're to be congratulated.

I may be old, but I'm not an old fool,

and you completely hoodwinked
me and Harold.

He thinks I stole a bloody rag
from evidence.

Right. About that...

You were the anonymous tip.

You told the MPD that the penny
was about to be stolen.

You knew if they stopped
the robbery in progress,

they'd book the penny into evidence.

And you didn't call me
to help me steal the penny

or to distract you

from your obsession with Tom's killer.

You called me to help me help you

retrieve a rag covered in your blood...

evidence that might have convicted you

of murdering Robert Navarro.

I did not intend to kill him.

I intended to get him
to identify Tom's killer.

He got the upper hand. There was a fight.

Where's the body?

Cooper says it's a missingpersons case,

but if they find that corpse...

That's not gonna happen.

I'd like to make sure of that.

I already have.

And in the process,

I discovered Navarro had a glass eye.

Look at that.

Wait till you see this.

Some kind of nextgen technology.

I'm sorry I tricked you.

I had no idea what else to do,
but now I do,

and I need your help to do it.

Will you help me?

Of course I'll help you.

What?

Your penny!

Wait. Does this mean
you found your treasure or no?

I've had my eye on a castle in Trieste.

I'm flying over there in an hour

to make a ridiculously large offer on it.

Care to join me?

Bernard!

You look... incomplete.

I just can't believe that's it.

Found in a trunk
gathering dust in Surrey.

Hidden treasure, indeed.

Authentication papers are inside.

- As promised.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

You're gonna use your penny to buy that?

A bargain at twice the price.

That penny's worth $3 million.

And this is Winston Churchill's hat.

The Homburg he wore during The Blitz.

Under its brim, he beat back Hitler

with style and grace and...

unwavering confidence.

I'm an eager, if unworthy, heir.

What do you think? Be brutal.

It's...

kind of amazing.

I'll take amazing.