The Blacklist Declassified

Brief (Where we’re at):

Red has been trying to determine how Wujing has been funding his revenge tour and what his security situation is. Wujing (Blacklister #84) was told by Marvin Gerard (Blacklister #80) that Red was the reason Wujing was imprisoned. Marvin gave Wujing a list of other Blacklisters who had been betrayed by Red, so Wujing could recruit them to help him get revenge on Red. Wujing got help from Jennifer Anne Moores of the Fribourg Confidence group of thieves (Blacklister #140) to help him find Alban Veseli, the Freelancer (Blacklister #145) whose modus operandi is to hide crimes behind mass casualty events. Red managed to eliminate Moores by setting off an explosion while she was retrieving the list showing Veseli’s location (hidden behind the fake identity of a Picasso sculpture called “The Night Owl”). Despite the task force’s efforts, Wujing was able to collect Veseli.

Through his connections at casinos on many continents, Red found out that Wujing was making the rounds of various casinos with help from a woman named Anika de Beer, known as the Whaler ((Blacklister #165). She would set up the games with high roller players (known as whales). The next big game was to be at the Crown Rocks Casino in Sydney, Australia. Red arranged for new task force member Siya Malik to have a crash course in playing Texas Hold’Em poker. She aced her first game and, as planned, was “discovered” by Anika, but when she and Ressler showed up for the game, they were quickly sidelined by Anika’s security. Siya however, broke free and she and Ressler subdued Anika’s security and discovered the games were rigged in Wujing’s favor. Then, Red appeared at the game and threatened Anika with a bribe ‘she couldn’t refuse’ to let him play. Given no choice, she let him be seated at the table with Wujing. Red quickly defeated Wujing, preventing him from walking away with many millions in “clean money.” After the match, Wujing confronted Anika in her limo and killed her, taking the bribe money, a few million dollars in diamonds — a mere pittance compared to what he had expected.

Back home, Red had found out from Cooper that Agnes was being bullied at school and, despite instructions from Cooper, her legal guardian, intervened by arranging to have the bully’s family relocated by his company to Florida. Cooper upbraided Red, but tried to calm Red’s protective feelings toward Agnes, telling him children “grow up to be ~ whomever they’re going to be.”

 
For S10 Episode 10:3 The Four Guns: 🎯 EW Recap ¤ 🌅 Photo Gallery ¤ 🎹 Music Videos ¤ 📒 Script link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-ej4 [ “you are here” ]

 
[ An outdoor rally in Washington DC for Senator Cynthia Panabaker’s re-election campaign. Senator Panabaker was once in direct charge of the Reddington task force, but even as she rose through the ranks at the Department of Justice and into the elected position of Senator of Virginia, she has maintained close ties with the task force ]
Senator Panabaker: So let’s do this, Virginia! Let’s get out the vote! Because believe me, I am just gettin’ started!
[ Cheers and applause 🙌🙌🏽🙌🏻🙌🏾🙌🏻🙌🏼 ]
Man: Yes, sir!
Panabaker: Thank you!
[ Two secret service agents are monitoring the crowd, one is Special Agent Will Strickland. The other is Agent Ives. Ives sees a young man with black hair in the crowd. He calls Agent Strickland on his police radio ]
Agent Ives: One o’clock. Black jacket. I’m gonna check him out.
Strickland: Copy that.
⋘⋙
Panabaker: Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you so much. Thank you for coming.
⋘⋙
[ Agent Ames approaches the young man ]
Agent Ames: Turn out your pockets for me.
[ The young man turns his pockets inside out. Agent Ames pats him down ]
[ A middle-aged man with a mustache wearing a baseball cap watches the pat-down ]
⋘⋙
Journalist: Senator? Senator Panabaker. You’ve been campaigning on fiscal responsibility, but you voted this week to increase military spending by $90 billion.
Panabaker: I don’t see the contradiction. We need a strong national defense, but we also need to make sure that money’s spent responsibly. What we can’t have are things like my opponent securing no-bid contracts for his employers. That kind of sweetheart dealing hurts our troops and our taxpayers.
Journalist: But Senator–
Panabaker: I’m sorry. I have another event today. That’s all for now. [ To the crowd ] Thank you so much! Thank you for coming! Thank you!
[ Cheers and applause 🙌🙌🏽🙌🏻🙌🏾🙌🏻🙌🏼 ]
⋘⋙
[ Panabaker sees a friend in the crowd. It’s Harold Cooper, head of the Reddington task force ]
Panabaker: My, my, my! Aren’t you a walking Hatch Act violation.
Cooper: Just a regular civilian, out here to support an old friend.
Panabaker: Oh, I love the sentiment. I hate the “old” part. Let’s just call it friends and leave it at that.
Woman: Gun! He’s got a gun!
[ Gunshot💥 ]
[ Cooper crouches down, reaching for his gun but it’s not clear where the shot was coming from ]
[ Crowd screaming‼️] [ Indistinct shouting!! ]
[ Panabaker has ducked behind a concrete pillar and is breathing heavily. Agent Strickland comes to her side ]
Strickland: Ma’am, are you okay? Have you been hit?
[ He reaches for his firearm ]
Strickland: I’m– I’m disarmed. I’ve been disarmed.
[ Agent Ames checks for his gun ]
Ames: My gun’s gone, too.
Cooper: Do you have eyes on the– You’re bleeding.
Panabaker: [ Panting ] Yeah, it– It’s not mine.
[ It’s Agent Ames who was shot, in the shoulder. He seems to become aware of it no sooner than the others. He slumps back against a fence, but remains conscious ]
Panabaker: Ohh!
[ Strickland speaks into his radio phone ]
Strickland: Shots fired. Agent down. Requesting backup. Repeat, shots fired. Do you copy?
[ Suddenly, he realizes his police radio phone is not plugged in to the transmitter at his waist ]
Panabaker: My God. Harold. What the hell just happened?

 
[ An old grey building has carved above its entrance: “The Public Bath City of New York” ]
[ Red is showing Cooper around ]
Reddington: It’s this way. These were once an oasis for the wretched masses, a respite from their squalid tenements, where plumbing was a pipe dream and people were kicking their filthy buckets in great numbers. Of course, it took an angry public outcry and several cholera epidemics to convince the City Fathers that their citizens needed somewhere clean and wet to relax with a bar of soap.
Cooper: Fascinating, but I can’t keep doing this back-and-forth to New York from D.C. It’s a terrible waste of time. You didn’t really fly me up here to tour an old bathhouse?
Red: Well, no. I–
[ Cooper sees a bed, desk and card table with two chairs ]
Cooper: Wait a minute. Are you actually living here? This place looks like it should be condemned!
Red: I don’t think so. It has great pipes. And now that the steam room’s up and running, the–
[ Cooper picks up a book ]
Red: Only a side project, Harold. I summoned you up here for more pressing business.
Cooper: Is it Wujing? Has he made some new alliance?
Red: Plans on that front are still in the planning stages. Please.
[ Red motions for him to sit with him at the card table ]
Red: But no. I want to discuss the tribulations of our dear Senator. What a harrowing experience for you both.
Cooper: It was a matter of inches. A few to the left, and a Secret Service agent would have been killed. A few to the right, and – Cynthia.
Red: And that’s not the only quandary keeping you up at night. How to explain the stolen radios, the disappearing guns?
Cooper: It makes no sense. We’re talking about the most highly trained, dependable security in the country.
Red: And yet someone brought them to their knees. I’m afraid you won’t like the answer. Pickpockets.
Cooper: I’m sorry, but common thieves did not disarm the Secret Service.
Red: I’m not referring to a gang of delinquents, Harold. These particular pickpockets aren’t scavengers. They’re apex predators.

[ Flashback: ]
[ The events of the campaign rally replay, but with attention given to how the pickpockets lifted the guns and radios ]
Agent Ames: One o’clock. Black jacket. I’m gonna check him out.
Agent: Copy that.
Panabaker: Thank you all for coming. Thank you so much.
⋘⋙
Reddington: [ Voice-over] They study their prey to determine what action will provoke the desired reaction.
⋘⋙
[ Indistinct conversations ]
— We love you, Cynthia!
— Hey! Watch it!
— Ma’am. Ma’am, step back.

Red: And once their diversion has you exactly where they want you, they sink their teeth in so fast, you never see them strike. A highly coordinated ambush, the entire pack moving as one. Then they’re gone. Before you even knew they were there. They call themselves the Four Guns.
Cooper: Guns? So they are hitmen.
Red: No. As I said, they pick pockets. It would be beneath their dignity to threaten violence, and they’d certainly never use a weapon.
Cooper: So what’s with the name?
Red: The Four Guns. Gun as in gonif, the Yiddish word for “thief.”
Cooper: But if they’re not killers, then why did they take a shot at Panabaker?
Red: I don’t think they did. Someone else was there yesterday, someone with a motive, who knew the pickpockets’ skill set and how to use it to make Panabaker vulnerable.

[ Flashback: ] [ A pickpocket hands one of the agent’s guns to the man with the mustache and baseball cap ]

Red: And whoever that someone is, they’re going to try again.
Cooper: How do we stop them?
Red: Well, in this case, it’s going to take a thief to catch an assassin.

 
[ The Post Office ] [ Cooper has been playing surveillance video from the campaign rally, in the moments after the shot was fired ] [ Indistinct shouting ]
[ Cooper clicks off the video ]
Cooper: Reddington has connected our gang of pickpockets to several high-yield thefts, mostly covert jobs.
Dembe: Driftstream Industries. A major energy conglomerate.
Cooper: They lifted a two-factor authentication key off their CTO, took control of their system, and threatened to cut off fuel to half the power plants in Texas, fleecing the company for millions. Sometimes their work gets more notice.
[ The covers of several tabloid newspapers are shown about Norway’s crown jewels being “misplaced” ]
Siya: Oh, my God! Prince Erik! I remember that. They practically stole the crown right off his head, poor idiot.
Ressler: I’m sorry, but why are we looking for them when we should be focused on finding a killer? I mean, Panabaker’s life is on the line here.
Cooper: And the Bureau is conducting an extensive manhunt for her would-be assassin, but Reddington is confident these pickpockets aided in the attack. That means finding them will lead us to the shooter.
Siya: So how do we find them?
Cooper: Start with the scene of the crime. You and Agent Zuma coordinate with our Evidence Response Team. Agent Ressler, you should meet with the Senator’s security detail, but I want to check in on her first, make sure she’s holding up okay.

 
[ Cooper’s Office ]
Panabaker: Agent Ives won’t be grabbing pickle jars off any high shelves for a while, but I’m praying for him, and I just want to get back to what I was sent to DC to do.
Cooper: Great answer, Senator. But I was there, remember?
Panabaker: [ Sighs ] What do you wanna hear? That I’m terrified? That my opponent’s whipped his base into such a frenzy that someone actually tried to kill me?
Cooper: I’ve read your security file. I know why you were assigned a Secret Service detail.
Panabaker: One of those men almost died for me. Do you know what it’s like to ask a stranger to make that kind of sacrifice?
Cooper: Well, I’m no stranger, but you put it all on the line for me last year. You kept me out of prison. I want to repay my debt to you.
Panabaker: Has the cheese slid all the way off your cracker? There’s a reason I put it on the line, and it wasn’t Christian charity. Reddington blackmailed me.
Cooper: You said that was all forgotten.
Panabaker: Forgotten. But not forgiven. I never want to be under that man’s thumb again. Or anyone else on his team.
Cooper: Look. I’m not here to defend Reddington. I can only focus on the future and making sure that you’re still in it. Cynthia– Please.
Panabaker: What do you need from me?

 
[ A room at the Post Office. Special Agent Will Strickland from Panabaker’s Secret Service security detail sits down to talk with Ressler ]
Agent Strickland: Boss asked me to come here today, but I don’t have a lot of time.
Ressler: Of course. I just wanna say, I’ve been where you are. My partner, she, uh– Anyway, I hope you’re getting the, uh, support you need.
Strickland: Yeah, I’ll wait to deal with that once you find the man responsible.
Ressler: You said you never saw his face. You didn’t try to pursue him.
Strickland: My primary directive is to protect the Senator. If there were other agents there, maybe, but I would never abandon my post to chase an assailant.
Ressler: The shooter had to pass through a metal detector to enter the barricades, right? Where’d the gun come from?
Strickland: He shot Agent Ives with his own service weapon.
Ressler: You didn’t see him or even realize that you’d been disarmed until much later.
Strickland: I don’t know how he did it.
Ressler: What if I told you that he had help?

 
[ Two of the pickpockets, Quentin Dodd and Star, are talking with the man in the mustache in the baseball cap. He opens an envelope and takes out a piece of paper ]
Mustache man: The passcode. How’d you get it?
Star: Patience and the right vantage point. Who looks over their shoulder before they type in their code?
Quentin Dodd: So that’s it. We did what you told us. We don’t want any further part in– in– whatever this is.
Mustache man: Do you know what it means to be a patriot?
Quentin: [ Scoffs ]
Mustache man: The tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots. I will not stop the bleeding – until liberty is restored.

 
[ Later, after the pickpockets are gone, the man in the mustache removes ~ his mustache, which is a disguise, as he listens to a tape recording of Senator Cynthia Panabaker talking to her aides ]

[ Flashback: ]
Senior aide on recording: Senator, please, just hear me out. Why press the flesh for two hours when you can spend five minutes with someone who can actually bankroll your campaign?
Panabaker: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I need you to hush for a second. Shelly, stop taking notes.
Shelly: Yes, ma’am.
Panabaker: Actually, can you step out for a minute, please?
Shelly: Of course, Senator.
[ Door opens ]
Panabaker: Thank you!
[ Door closes ]
Panabaker: Is that door shut?
Senior aide: Yeah. What’s wrong?
Panabaker: Jonathan, what I’m about to say is not to leave this room.

 
[ Red is at a rare books seller in the Flatiron District in Midtown Manhattan ]
Bookseller: Well, this is interesting. Heavenly Spheres. The first text to suggest Earth is not the center of the universe.
Red: A humbling reminder to us all.
Bookseller: Reading this was forbidden by Sacred Decree. They only printed 400 copies, so a first edition like yours – I’m prepared to offer you 1.2.
Red: I’m not selling. I want to make a trade for something.
Bookseller: Uh, we have a beautiful Audubon.
Red: [ Chuckles ] Something from your private collection.
Bookseller: Private? I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.
Red: Oh, but I’m sure you do.
Bookseller: I recognized your book immediately. It was reported stolen from the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Red: And two minutes ago, you wanted to buy it from me for a million-two. Shall we dispense with the sanctimony?
⋘⋙
[ Red and the Bookseller are now in a back room. The Bookseller removes the fabric cover from a glass case ]
Red: [ Gasps ] Ah.
[ Inside the case are several old books with metallic embossed covers ]
Bookseller: Their shimmer comes from an industrial byproduct – arsenic. The Victorians were mad for it. Put it in wallpaper, linen, lingerie. And when they went truly mad from toxic exposure, doctors thought it was hysteria, “witch fever.” We know better now. Which is why these books have been removed from most other private collections.
Red: And if one were to remove the slipcover?
Bookseller: Time has increased their potency. As the binding deteriorates and flakes off, the arsenic enters your lungs, eventually causing total collapse.
Red: I know exactly which one I want.
Bookseller: Are you prepared to own something so deadly?
Red: Oh, it isn’t for me. It’s for a friend.
Bookseller: Hm.

 
[ A prison ] [ Metal door thuds ⚡️] [ Indistinct conversations ]
[ An Inmate wheels a cart and stops in front of a cell. He has a package wrapped in paper, apparently a book. The man in the cell is Robert Vesco (Blacklister #8), Red’s mentor and friend ~ that is, they are friends when the two aren’t playing tricks on one another. Vesco inadvertently landed in prison when Red miscalculated and Dembe was still trying to prove to Red (and himself) that his allegiance to the FBI superseded his past loyalty to Red (Episode 9:3, The SPK, Blacklister #178) ]
Robert Vesco: I didn’t request anything.
Inmate: Special delivery. Courtesy of Raymond Reddington.
Vesco: Oh, then I definitely don’t want it.
Inmate: Took a lot of juice to smuggle it in. And I wouldn’t refuse a gift from a man with that kind of reach.
Vesco: Please. I taught him everything he knows. Which is half of what I know. Believe me. He tries anything, I’ll see it coming a mile away.
Inmate: And what about me? I’m supposed to make sure you take this.
Vesco: Yeah. He’ll probably kill you.
[ Vesco takes the package and unwraps the book. Inside the cover is a note ]
Vesco: Hmm. [ Reading aloud ] “Dear Robert, as Dickens said, there are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.” “Raymond.” [ Scoffs ] Cryptic bastard.
Inmate: You gonna keep it?
Vesco: Dickens also said, “Get hold of portable property,” especially in a joint like this.
[ Vesco walks away with the book ]

 
[ The Post Office war room ]
[ Dembe plops a large file box of evidence on a table ]
Dembe: Evidence Response Team recovered the firearms and the radios stolen from the Secret Service.
Ressler: This is the gun that was used in the shooting? Where’d they find it?
Siya: Dumped in a rubbish bin near the park.
Cooper: Any CCTV cameras pointed at that trash bin?
Siya: Unfortunately, no. Say what you will about mass surveillance in the UK, we would’ve had you covered.
Ressler: Reddington said the pickpockets don’t wear gloves, right?
Cooper: It would hinder their dexterity.
Ressler: Great. So let’s lift the prints off this stuff.
Dembe: ERT tested the whole box. All the prints are smudged. Pickpockets must have wiped everything down before they tossed it.
Siya: All they got was half a thumbprint on this radio. Doesn’t match either agent or their families, so it’s almost certainly one of our suspects. But it’s only a partial. There aren’t enough points of comparison to make an ID.
[ Cellphone buzzing ] [ Cooper holds up the phone: “Nick’s Pizza” i.e. Red ]
[ Cooper steps away ]
⋘⋙
Cooper: I told you. It’s a dead end. There’s no eyewitnesses, no footage, no physical evidence.
Red: You said something about a thumb. I might be able to work with that.
Cooper: Can’t read it. It’s not a full print.
Red: Eh, my guy won’t need a full print.
Cooper: Your guy? Who’s your guy?

 
[ Red goes to visit “his guy,” Herbie Hambright, who is accompanied by his baby daughter Sue in a stroller. She’s about one year old. Herbie, as usual, is harried ]
Herbie Hambright: [ Groans ] Thank God you called. I was on the verge. Seriously. I can’t remember the last adult conversation I’ve said. Sue’s a great listener. I’m just so sick and tired of my own voice. I always loved talking to Holly, but now most of the time, we just end up talking about Sue. Or pooping.
Red: [ Chuckles ] Is she asleep?
Herbie: Barely. Um, one little fart, and she’ll be up. And she’s definitely gonna fart.
Red: Leave her to me. This shouldn’t take long.
Herbie: All right. Good. ‘Cause Holly’s got us on a pretty tight schedule. What’s the job?
Red: I need you to identify half a smeared thumbprint.
[ Herbie pulls stuff out of a leather workbag ]
Herbie: All right, well, assuming that the finger mark is not too degraded, I probably will be able to get a few skin cells, maybe even some sweat, and then I just extract the DNA. Easy pease, lemon squeeze. Man. I miss this. Don’t you just love the smell of sodium sulfate? Is that just me?
Red: Maybe it’s time for you to get back out there.
Herbie: Yeah, I wish. Wait. Did Holly say something? I applied to a new crime lab. No luck. As usual. What the hell. Nobody at home yells at me when I ruin the prosecution’s case. I mean, Sue yells, but I usually can fix that with a goofy face.
Red: Well, let’s see what you can find. Who knows, maybe it’ll be a fresh start. Yeah, what do you say to that, Sue? Fresh start?
[ Sue farts ]
Red: Ah, she just farted.
Herbie: Thatagirl.
[ Red peers in the front of the stroller at the baby and smiles ]
Red: Hi, there.

 
[ The Post Office war room ] [ Siya arrives with tea for the group ]
Siya: Sweet tea. Tea. And sweet tea with milk.
[ Beep🔅]
Ressler: Oh. Drink up. CODIS just matched the DNA we got from Reddington.
[ Keyboard clacks ] [ Photos and legal documents appear overhead ]
Siya: [ Reading ] Quentin Dodd, a.k.a. the Hook, a.k.a. the Mechanic, a.k.a. the Claw, a.k.a.–
Ressler: Okay, so his aliases are up to date, but the rest of this stuff – Last known address, 2011. Last arrest, 2009. Guess the guy figured out how not to get caught.
Siya: He may have changed up his methods, but what about his obsession?
Dembe: What does that mean?
Siya: Look at what the cops found when they arrested him. Patek Philippe. Cartier. Piaget. Those are five-figure watches. Even when he was pulling the bigger jobs, 7 times out of 10, there was a watch somewhere on that seizure list.
Ressler: So the guy’s got a weakness. How does that help us?
Siya: It may be a long shot, but imagine you’re “the Claw.” You’re cooling your heels in DC after a job, bored, fingers start itching. Where do you go to get your fix?
Dembe: Somewhere with a lot of watches.
Ressler: But he’s not a heist guy. He’s not gonna make a run on some million-dollar watch sitting in a safe.
Dembe: What if he never makes it past the lobby? Think of those people coming and going at those big watch auctions.
Siya: Collectors, ones who like to show it off with a bit of flash on their wrist.
⋘⋙
[ Indeed, Quentin Dodd does frequent watch collectors gatherings ] [ Indistinct conversations ]
[ After meeting, greeting and lifting watches from various collectors, Dodd approaches a new target ]
Quentin: Jim! Jim! Hastings! What are you doing, man? How’s it– Oh, my God.
[ Quentin grabs the man’s hands with both of his ]
Man: Do I know you?
Quentin: No. I’m so sorry. I thought you were someone else entirely. I’m so sorry. That’s my bad.
[ Quentin tries to let go of the man’s hand, but can’t ]
Quentin: Um–
[ The next thing he knows, the “Man,” who is Ressler, slaps handcuffs on him ]
Ressler: Yeah. Well, you wouldn’t have wanted it anyway. It’s a fake. Just for you, Mr. Dodd.

 
[ An interrogation room at the Post Office ]
Ressler: That was some pretty sloppy work leaving your print on that agent’s radio.
Quentin Dodd: Did you find that radio in a trash can? No, ’cause I saw that radio in a trash can, and as I was throwing out my soy latte, I started to pick it up, but I didn’t want to get involved. Figured somebody threw it there, had their reasons.
Dembe: Is that right? Hm. You do understand this is an assassination attempt on a U.S. Senator we’re talking about?
Quentin: Did you find my prints on the gun? ‘Cause I bet not. I mean, you may have some DNA from the trash, but come on, FBI, I follow the old rules – I never smarten up a sucker, I never rat to the cops. My hands are tied here on both counts, fellas.
Dembe: What about the count of grand larceny in the third degree?
Ressler: Or the second. Those were some pretty expensive watches you stole.
Quentin: Ah, but to render that verdict, the people — that’s you — must prove my intent to deprive or appropriate as defined by Penal Law §155.05. Did you see me depriving or appropriating? Point of fact, did you find anything on me at all?
Dembe: You were smart enough to stash the evidence in case you were searched.
Ressler: And we did catch you red-handed going for my watch.
Quentin: Yeah, which you said yourself was a fake. So if it costs less than 50 bucks, it’s a Class D bumped down to a Class A misdemeanor. Hardly a federal offense. I didn’t even cross any state lines. So, with my priors, that’s a year in JCI? And I already graduated from that venerable institute, but I’m a big believer in continuing education…

 
[ Cooper’s office ]
Panabaker: A pickpocket? Harold, please!
Cooper: He’s more than a pickpocket.
Panabaker: Oh, for Pete’s sake. I thought you’d have something to put me at ease before my debate.
Cooper: About that. I don’t think it’s a good idea. In fact, I’d like you to consider suspending all public appearances until we’ve had–
Panabaker: All appearances? I am down 5% in the polls. You trying to help Jerry Hayes walk off with my seat?
Cooper: It could be worse. You could be dead.
Panabaker: I will be dead, politically, if I lose reelection. [ Sighs ] Besides, I have faith in my team. Tell him, Will.
Special Agent Will Strickland: Director Cooper, I can assure you that every precaution has been taken to secure the venue. We vetted the staff, optimized exit routes, and brought in an extra team. I’m confident we can keep the Senator safe.
Cooper: I appreciate that, but, Cynthia, if you insist on going, then I insist on having one of my team there. Agent Ressler, I want you to accompany the Senator this afternoon.
Ressler: Of course.
⋘⋙
[ Ressler draws Cooper aside ]
Ressler: [ Low voice ] Uh, we got a problem downstairs.

 
[ Red is talking on the phone with Cooper ]
Cooper: We caught the thief, just like you told us to, but he wouldn’t give up the shooter.
Red: Ah.
Cooper: Apparently, he knows the penal code better than most. We had to release him.
Red: That’s a shame. Keep your chin up, Harold. There’s always a way.
[ Beeps🔅]
⋘⋙
[ Red closes his flip phone and turns around to address Quentin Dodd, who is sitting handcuffed at a metal table ]
Red: Mr. Dodd. I understand that you can see into a man’s pockets, into a man’s mind. Why don’t you focus that superior perception on me. Tell me what you see?
Quentin Dodd: You got me kind of handicapped here. [ Sighs ] But let’s see. Martin Greenfield suit. Brooklyn clothier. Nice. Paul Stuart shoes. You got wealth and taste, but you don’t like to draw attention. Although, that Rolex isn’t hiding its light under a bushel.
Red: Even a simple man has to check the time.
Quentin: No car keys. You gotta go anywhere, someone else does the driving.
[ Red reaches into his pocket and pulls out tickets to the Metro ]
Quentin: [ Laughs ] Ohh! Metro? You?
Red: No one really looks at anyone on the subway.
Quentin: That’s a fair point. No wallet or billfolds. Just cash in your right front. Firearm behind. An extra mag in your right jacket. A flip phone in your left. Now, for your mind – I’ll tread softly. I assume braver men have plumbed your depths and drowned. The stuff you carry, the way your smile never reaches those eyes – it’s just humor and darkness. A life lived too long with little left to lose. Except the life.
Red: You missed something.
Quentin: I didn’t get a good look at your socks.
Red: In my back pocket. You missed all the people I keep there, including a certain Senator you conspired to have killed.
Quentin: Whoa! I had no idea it was gonna go down like that. I don’t know why I just told you that.
Red: Guess I’ll have to kill you now.
Quentin: Please. I won’t breathe a word.
Red: Oh, but I’d like a word. About the shooter who hired you.
Quentin: I can’t talk about that.
⋘⋙
[ Door opens ] [ Cart wheels squeaking ⚡️]
[ Mr Brimley, Red’s impresario of persuasion, pushes in a cart laden with metal implements, saws, scissors and wires. Behind Brimley trails a wheeled container of supplemental oxygen connected to his face by a long length of clear plastic tubing ending in a nasal cannula ]
Brimley: What do you think, Red? A belt to cut off the blood? Bit rudimentary.
Red: Still, very effective. You see, Quentin, I suspected that you might prove reticent, and I thought an old-fashioned criminal deserves an old-fashioned punishment. You try to take from me, I take your hand.
Quentin: My hand? You– You wouldn’t rob me of my livelihood.
Red: Rob a thief. How ironic.
Brimley: So, we got your bone nibblers – your shaping mallet – [ Scraping ] – and this. Ever smell bone dust? The Gigli saw was invented 130 years ago, but I still haven’t found a cleaner way to sever a limb.
Quentin: Okay. I’ll talk. I’ll talk.
Red: Tell me about the assassin.
Quentin: [ Exhales deeply ] My crew and I were pulling a job, when this… security guard ambushed us. He had footage of us at work. He kept going on about, uh, the sanctity of the law and how we had to pay for our transgressions. He said something strange about a “higher calling.” He was lording this evidence over us, so we had to go along with his crazy plan. Now, I’ve met some weirdos in my line, but this guy? He scared me.
Red: Where can I find him?

 
[ FBI agents burst into an apartment with photos on the wall and an upside-down American flag ]
— FBI!
— Clear right.
Siya: He’s not here. What’s with the flag?
Dembe: A military signal for distress.
[ Drawers sliding ] [ Siya sees a photo that stands out ]
Siya: Is that President Diaz?
Dembe: Why would an assassin take a picture with a former President? A disgraced former President?
[ Siya opens a cabinet of items for disguising a man’s face ]
Siya: Check this out. Whoever he is, we probably won’t recognize him now.

 
[ A man with a mustache and beard and black glasses is going through a security checkpoint ]
Woman: … pockets. Any metal …
[ Beeping🔅🔅🔅]
Man: Yeah. I always set these darn things off. I got shrapnel lodged in my shoulder. Check my ID. You’re gonna have to wand me.
[ Wand clicking ✽ ✽ ✽ ]

 
[ The Post Office war room ]
Siya: Landlord was a bust. [ Sighs ] The office was rented with a fake ID, paid for in cash. But –
we sent our assassin’s little photo collage to the FACE Services Unit, and – we got a hit.
Dembe: [ Reading ] Lucas Roth. He’s ex-Secret Service?
Siya: 23-year career. White House detail under two presidents. Oversaw transitions, inaugurations.
Dembe: Recipient of the Award for Valor. Sounds like a hero.
Cooper: So, why isn’t he with the Service anymore? [ Keyboard clacks •••• ] Retired at 49. A year before he was eligible? That’s strange.
Siya: How do you know what the Secret Service retirement age is?
Cooper: It’s the same as the FBI’s.
Siya: You’re not thinking of–
Cooper: I’m already older than that, but then again, I run a task force that doesn’t exist.
Dembe: Could this guy’s retirement have something to do with Panabaker?
Cooper: Maybe they crossed paths while she was still White House Counsel. I’ll reach out to Roth’s former supervisor.
Siya: And I’ll keep digging into his wormy little brain. Just take a look at this handwriting. Serial-killer vibes.

 
[ The other pickpockets in Quentin Dodd’s group have joined him. They include: the young man with the black hair, AJ; a thirty-something Hispanic woman, Star; and an older man, Pops. They are “The Four Guns” ]
Red: I’m so glad we could parlay our complicated first meeting into a lucrative opportunity.
Quentin: Are you saying I had a choice?
Red: And how about the rest of your crew?
Pops: Us old-timers have a motto – In with the gravy, in with the grief. You want your share of the spoils, you take your share of the trouble that comes along with it. Though I hope there’s gravy at the end of this.
Red: With success, you’ll have enough to fill a bathtub.
Quentin: Eh, shouldn’t be a problem. We just need a few days to plan, maybe a week.
Red: You have three hours.

 
[ Robert Vesco is in bed reading the book Red sent to him ] [ Page turns ]
Vesco: [ Grunts ] Ugh– [ Gasps ] [ Breathing sharply ]
[ Groaning ] [ Gasping ] [ Grunting ]
Vesco: I can’t– I can’t breathe!
[ Grunting ] [ Grunting stops ]

 
[ The debate between Senator Cynthia Panabaker and her opponent Jerry Hayes is underway ]
[ Audience applauding 🙌🙌🏽🙌🏻🙌🏾🙌🏻🙌🏼 ]
Panabaker: While working families struggle to put food on the table.
Candidate Jerry Hayes: The Senator doesn’t get it. She wants to go after–
⋘⋙
[ Ressler is offstage; he takes a call from Dembe ]
Ressler: I’m backstage. Sorry. It’s hard to hear. What’ve you got?
Dembe: The assassin’s name is Lucas Roth. He’s former Secret Service. I just texted you some photos. We need you to show them to Panabaker, see if she recognizes him.
Ressler: I can ask the other agents, but Panabaker’s gonna have to wait. She’s already on stage.
⋘⋙
Panabaker: I consider it an honor having served as Senator from the state of Virginia, but when he looks at this seat, he sees dollar signs–
[ Applause 🙌🙌🏽🙌🏻🙌🏾🙌🏻🙌🏼 ] [ Muffled ]
Panabaker: –another opportunity to funnel contracts to his buddies at Hutton-Crane.
⋘⋙
[ Off-stage in another area, Lucas Roth who is the ex-Secret Service agent who hired The Four Guns, and made his way through security wearing a false mustache, beard and black glasses, kneels on the floor. He has smuggled in the parts of a ghost gun which he hastily assembles. He pulls the plastic pieces out of his socks. Plastic doesn’t show up on x-rays. As for the metal parts and bullets, he talked his way past the people at the magnetometers by claiming he had shrapnel embedded in his shoulder ]
⋘⋙
Jerry Hayes: Contracts mean jobs, good jobs for people in this state. But if that’s your concern, before I even announced my candidacy, I resigned from Hutton’s board and divested all of my–
Panabaker: Divested? [ Laughs ] Come on, Jerry. They’re your biggest contributors! That’s like a man telling his wife he stopped cheating when he’s still going to the clubs every night.
Jerry Hayes: Your friends in the FBI investigated these allegations at the highest level. They found nothing. Talk about a waste of taxpayer dollars.

 
[ Once the ghost gun has been fully assembled, Lucas Roth pulls the fire alarm ]
⋘⋙
[ Fire alarm🚨blaring ]
— Stay calm
[ Indistinct shouting ]
[ Special Agents Strickland and Sanz meet Panabaker as she leaves the stage and direct her to come with them; Ressler catches up ]
Ressler: Wait! Senator! Where are you taking her?
Agent Sanz: Code Gray. We’re initiating lockdown.
Ressler: No, I need to stay with the Senator.
Agent Sanz: Not possible. She’s being taken to a designated extraction point.
[ Fire alarm🚨continues ]
Agent Strickland: We’re almost there, Senator.
⋘⋙
[ Ressler follows a few steps behind; he calls the Post Office ]
Ressler: You need to get here. Roth might be on site. They’ve evacuated everyone to a holding area. They’re locking down the theater.
Dembe: Wait a minute. If they’re locking everything down–
Siya: Probably just following protocol.
Dembe: But our assassin’s ex-Secret Service, so he knows the protocol.
Ressler: This could be a setup.
[ Ressler has lost sight of Agent Strickland and Panabaker. He sees Agent Sanz ]
Ressler: Wait. Hey. Where’s Panabaker?

 
[ Lucas Roth steps out from behind Panabaker and Strickland, pointing the ghost gun at them ]
Lucas Roth: Don’t make a sound. Turn around. Slowly.
[ Fire alarm🚨continues ] [ Roth removes Strickland’s firearm from his vest holster ]
Lucas Roth: [ Reverently ] Senator. It’s an honor.
[ Roth is pointing his gun, not at Panabaker, but at Strickland ]
[ Fire alarm🚨continues ]

 
[ Cooper and Dembe arrive at the venue ]
Cooper: What do we know?
Ressler: Panabaker’s driver said she never made it to the car.
Special Agent Sanz: We’ve been monitoring the exits, and she’s not in the holding area.
Dembe: So they can still be inside.
Sanz: Sir, I have the floor plans you asked for. This is an old theater. A lot of the rooms aren’t marked.
Cooper: Then we’ll have to split up. Search systematically, room by room.

 
[ Lucas Roth, Agent Strickland and Panabaker enter a large storage room ]
[ Door closes ]
Lucas Roth: Lock the door, Will.
[ Bolt lock slides, lock clicks ]
Strickland: How do you know my name?
Roth: Move.

 
[ Ressler is on the phone with Siya at the Post Office ]
Ressler: We’re in the basement. There’s no sign of Panabaker.
[ Siya has been going through the items seized from Lucas Roth’s apartment ]
Siya: Here’s the weird thing – I’m not seeing her in these notebooks, either. I’ve skimmed through like 20. Her name hasn’t appeared once.
Ressler: You’d think for someone obsessed with killing her–
Siya: Right, but I have found other names, like Will Strickland.
Ressler: Wait. As in Special Agent Strickland?
Siya: Roth doesn’t like him one bit.

 
[ In the storage room, Will Roth peels off the fake mustache and beard ]
Will Strickland: Lucas. Holy–
Lucas Roth: I’d say nice to see you, but we both know that would be a lie.
Strickland: Oh, my God. You shot Ives.
Lucas Roth: A necessary sacrifice.
Strickland: Necessary sacrifice? You’re insane!
Lucas Roth: I have never been more lucid.
[ Panabaker’s hand moves slowly toward the hidden firearm at her hip ]
⋘⋙
[ Ressler walks up to Cooper: ]
Ressler: Malik’s saying that Roth worked with both Strickland and Ives.
Cooper: So we’ve got an ex-Secret Service agent, hates one co-worker, takes a shot at another.
Ressler: But how does Panabaker fit in?
⋘⋙
[ Panabaker draws her firearm and points it at Lucas Roth ]
Panabaker: Put the gun down.
Lucas Roth: Senator. You don’t understand.
Panabaker: I understand if you don’t put that gun down, you’re gonna get shot.
Lucas Roth: I am going to reach into my pocket. It is just a phone. There’s something you need to hear.
⋘⋙
Cooper: [ To Ressler ] We assumed Roth was gunning for Panabaker. She’s the public figure. It only makes sense. But what if she was never the target? What if it was the Secret Service all along?
⋘⋙
[ Lucas Roth holds his phone up ] [ Phone unlocks, Beeps🔅]

[ Flashback: Tape recording plays ]
Panabaker: Jonathan, what I’m about to say is not to leave this room. The FBI’s gonna indict Jerry Hayes for bribery. They got a warrant to search his offices tomorrow afternoon.
Jonathan: Oh, my God. There goes the election for him right there. Congratulations, Senator.
Panabaker: Don’t celebrate yet. I’m not even supposed to know. It’s highly privileged. Obviously, this conversation never happened.

Panabaker: How the hell did you get that?
Lucas Roth: Ask him. He recorded it.
Will Strickland: W-What? Senator, that is a lie!
Lucas: You have been betrayed by the man you trusted to keep you safe.
Strickland: Senator, he shot an agent! He is holding you here at gunpoint!
Lucas Roth: [ To Panabaker ] My apologies if I made you afraid. I didn’t see any other way.
Panabaker: Put down the gun.
Lucas Roth: No. I won’t do that. He must face justice.
⋘⋙
[ Cooper and Ressler hear a gunshot 💥 and run toward the sound ]
[ Ressler kicks the door open, enters, gun drawn. Lucas Roth has been shot in the arm. He sits upright on the floor ]
Ressler: Senator!
Panabaker: Stand down, Will.
Cooper: Cynthia, did you–
Panabaker: What? Did you think I was gonna wait around for you to rescue me? I’m not exactly a shrinking violet.
[ Ressler pulls Lucas Roth up and handcuffs him ]
Panabaker: Donald, I hope you’ve got a second pair of those. You need to take Agent Strickland into custody, as well.
Agent Strickland: Are you kidding me? You can’t believe this crazy man!
Panabaker: I’ll explain it back at the office, Harold. I need a drink.
[ Handcuffs clicking ] [ Ressler and Cooper leave with Roth and Strickland ]
[ Panabaker steadies herself and follows ]
Panabaker: [ Exhales ]

 
[ The hospital unit of the prison where Robert Vesco is an inmate ]

[ Man on PA speaking indistinctly ]
Woman’s voice on PA: Dr. Miller, dial 2-1-6. Dr. Miller, dial 2-1-6.

[ Lead pickpocket Quentin Dodd, dressed as a priest, walks down the corridor ]
[ Door opens and closes ]
[ The old pickpocket, Pops, holding a bouquet of flowers, approaches a nurse ]
Pops: Excuse me, miss. How do I get to the maternity ward? Can you believe it? I’m gonna be a grandfather! 73 years old–
[ Can rattles ] [ The nurse’s syringe is gone ]
Pops: –and I still remember when my Jenny was born. Cute as a button.
[ Pops lifts the guard’s set of keys ]
⋘⋙
[ Quentin, the “priest” speaks to a guard seated at a desk ]
[ The guard gets up from his desk, keys in some numbers to a keypad to a room ]
[ Keypad Beeps🔅] [ Buzzer🌀sounds ]

[ Man on PA speaking indistinctly ]

Quentin: [ To the guard ] May the Lord smile upon you, my son.
[ Quentin enters the room where Robert Vesco is recovering ]
[ Monitor beeping🔅🔅🔅] [ Door closes ]
Robert Vesco: Oh, Jesus. I– I mean, I’m sorry, Father, but if you’re here – am I dying? Nobody told me I was dying.
Quentin: He who believeth in me shall never die. Not today anyway.
[ Quentin uses a key to unlock Robert’s handcuffs ]
Robert: Oh–
⋘⋙
[ Quentin pushes Robert in a wheelchair ]
[ Quentin pushes the door release ] [ Buzzer🌀sounds ] [ Door opens ]
Guard: Hey! Stop right there!
[ The Guard presses the door release ] [ Buzzer🌀sounds ]
[ The Guard chases the wheelchair ]
[ Star, the female pickpocket, pushes a cart in front of the Guard ]
Guard: [ Grunts ]
Star: Watch it!
Guard: I said stop!
[ The Guard chases the wheelchair, but when he catches up to it, it’s not Quentin and Robert; it’s Pops in the chair with AJ, the young pickpocket, pushing it ]
Guard: Where the hell did they go?

 
[ Quentin pushes Robert to a vehicle loading area; a hearse awaits ]
Robert: Wh– A hearse? I don’t think I like the implication.
Quentin: Just get in already.
Robert: Okay.
[ Vehicle door opens ]
Red: Robert!
Robert: Oh, no. No, no, no. No, no way. I’m not getting in.
Red: Come on, Robert.
Robert: You poisoned me with a book!
Red: All part of the plan, Robert. All part of the plan. Get in the car.
Robert: I almost died!
Red: Okay, so maybe there was a 15% chance, 20% at most. Maybe 25%. But here you are! So, get in, sit back, and relax. You’re a free man! Robert.
Robert: All right.
[ Robert gets in ] [ Grunts ] [ Door closes ]
Red: [ Chuckles, giggles ]

 
[ In an interrogation room at the Post Office, Dembe talks with Lucas Roth ]
Lucas Roth: When JFK was in Dallas, he didn’t want motorcycles flanking his limo or agents on the running boards. It wouldn’t have mattered in the end, but the men on his detail still regretted giving in to him. So why did they do it? They liked him too much. That’s why we can’t get close to the people that we protect.
Dembe: If it’s dangerous to like someone, what happens when you don’t?
Lucas: The man that I was assigned to, I truly loathed, politically and personally, but when I saw a gun pointed at him, I didn’t hesitate. I still got the bullet lodged right there. You’re an agent, too, so you know. The job doesn’t care how you feel, if your wife left you, if your child is sick. You took a sacred oath to protect democracy, at all costs.
Dembe: But Agent Strickland?
Lucas: He tarnished the star.
⋘⋙
[ In another Interrogation room, Ressler talks with Agent Will Strickland ]
Agent Strickland: You have no right to hold me here.
Ressler: You recorded a Senator’s private conversations. I’d say I do.
Strickland: Yeah, maybe I bumped my phone while she was talking.
Ressler: Come on, Agent Strickland. You shared those recordings with her opponent. You were trying to swing the vote against her.
Strickland: Well, if you know everything–
Ressler: I don’t know why. Why her?
Strickland: [ Sneers ] Cynthia Panabaker is unfit to hold office.
Ressler: According to who? The voters in Virginia or just you?
Strickland: [ Scoffs ]
⋘⋙
Lucas: He was assigned to protect her, but he violated that sacred trust.
Dembe: What about Agent Ives? The one you shot? Was he involved?
Lucas: No. I’m a trained marksman. I knew exactly where to aim to get Ives benched, but not seriously hurt. I needed to be sure that Strickland was running point today.
Dembe: Why the elaborate plot? Why not just report–
Lucas: Report him to his superiors? You think I didn’t try? The Agency is supposed to be above politics, but in reality – They call it “being made” when you get your first promotion. It’s just like the Mafia. Loyalty is king. If someone on your team screws up – you’re expected to look the other way.
Dembe: So they buried it?
Lucas: And they buried me. But here’s what you need to understand – scandal means something different to us. Appearing compromised can endanger the country, the Presidency itself. I knew they’d never risk it!
Dembe: So that’s why you made the attack so public, so they couldn’t hide–
Lucas: It all has to come out! [ Slams table, exhales sharply ] It’s the only way to restore faith in the Service. It may cost me my life – but I took that oath a long time ago.

 
[ Panabaker waits in Cooper’s office. She is distressed, tearful ]
[ Cooper enters ]
Panabaker: You caught me. How embarrassing.
[ He hands her a handkerchief; she wipes her eyes ]
Cooper: You’ve been through a lot.
Panabaker: I couldn’t let fear slow me down. Nobody’ll vote for a candidate who’s scared of her own shadow. But I guess it got the best of me.
Cooper: So, what happened?
Panabaker: [ Sighs ]
Cooper: You were recorded talking about your opponent?
Panabaker: Jerry kept getting these no-bid contracts. They suspected he was bribing DoD officials, but before they could execute the search warrant–
Cooper: Your Secret Service detail leaked your conversation, giving him time to cover his tracks.
Panabaker: And then he flipped the narrative, making it look like I was behind some kind of witch hunt.
Cooper: But the tables are turning again. A traitor in the Service. This’ll be a massive investigation. Everyone involved will be exposed.
Panabaker: Ah. Yeah. Poor Jerry. Having your name linked with an attempted assassin like that is never a good look.
Cooper: Have you seen tonight’s news?
[ Cooper gets out a newspaper ]
Cooper: They’re already calling you “Cynthia Six Shooter.”
Panabaker: [ Laughing ] Well, that’s enough to win me re-election right there.
Cooper: I’ll drink to that.
[ Glasses clink ]

 
[ Red’s plane is in the air with Red and Robert Vesco on board ]
[ Red offers Robert caviar on a cracker ]
Robert: No, no. You first.
Red: You don’t trust me? [ Chuckles ]
Robert: You left me to rot in cinderblock hell! You almost killed me! Mm. And now what? Am I your guest or am I your prisoner?
Red: My guest, obviously. The caviar I serve my prisoners is just fish eggs.
Robert: Oh, come on, Raymond. I know you. You– You’ve got something up your sleeve.
Red: Nothing. Not even a watch.
Robert: Hm.
Red: I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation, so I installed a tracking device.
⋘⋙
[ The pickpockets are in a car. Quentin Dodd has Red’s Rolex ]
Pops: Again with the watch? You need to seek professional help.
⋘⋙
Vesco: What if he sells your Rolex?
Red: Doesn’t matter now. I’m about to learn the location of his hideout, should I require his services in the future.
Robert: You see? You always have an angle. And I’m the one who taught you that.
Red: Okay, okay, fine.
[ Red gets up and retrieves a package ]
Robert: So you do have a plan.
Red: There. Surprise ruined. Happy now?
Robert: Yeah. Oh, no. I’m not touching that.
[ Robert peers into the envelope ]
Robert: Wait. Is that Treasure Island?
Red: [ Chuckles ]
Robert: Okay. So that’s why you busted me out.
Red: There’s no hidden message, Robert. This is just a simple gift.
Robert: No, no, no. You gave me Oliver Twist because it’s about an old man teaching a young kid how to be a criminal. Plus, they’re pickpockets. Now, this–
Red: Are we sure the arsenic didn’t damage your brain?
Robert: It says “Treasure” right here in the title, Raymond!
Red: Just a little? We should really get your head examined.
Robert: You are not coming near my head.
Red: [ Chuckles ] Oh, no. …

 
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