The Blacklist Declassified

Brief (Where we’re at):

Having been able to provide Cooper with a Blacklister uncovered as he tried to smooth out a dispute between two warring families, Red’s biggest challenge going forward will be how to deal with Congressman Arthur Hudson, who is determined to reveal Red’s relationship to the highly classified FBI task force. But — does Red even care?

 
For S10 Episode 10:19 Room 417: 🎯 EW Recap ¤ 🌅 Photo Gallery ¤ 🎹 Music Videos ¤ 📒 Script link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-eCI [ “you are here” ]

 
[ Red is up early, making calls to the members of the Reddington task force ]
[ Phone dialing ••• •••• ]
⋘⋙
[ Cellphone rings✨] [ Dembe sits up and looks at his phone ]
⋘⋙
[ Ringing✨] [ Ringing✨]
Ressler: [ Sighs ] 4:00 a.m, really?
⋘⋙
[ Cellphone ringing✨]
[ Siya sits up and checks her phone ]
⋘⋙
[ Phone vibrating «»«»»» ]
[ Herbie is up with baby Sue on his lap ]
Herbie: Hey.
Red: Gosh, I hope I haven’t woken you.
Herbie: No, I wish you’d woken me. That would mean I would have been sleeping, but I don’t remember sleep anymore. [ Sighs ]
⋘⋙
[ Cooper is sitting at his kitchen table with a book open and papers spread in front of him ]
[ Ringing✨]
Cooper: Early even for you, Raymond.
Red: Sorry to disturb you, Harold. I’m afraid I have something that just can’t wait.
⋘⋙
Dembe: I’ll be there as soon as I can.
⋘⋙
Ressler: This better be important.
Red: It’s very important.
⋘⋙
Red: How fast can you get here?
Siya: [ Sleepily ] F-Fast. I’m kind of already dressed. Although I think I should probably change.
⋘⋙
Cooper: It’s okay, I’m awake. I’m studying algebra so I can help Agnes with her homework.
Red: Well, you’ll have to put off your middle-school studies for now, Harold. I need you to be here for this. All of you.
Cooper: What do you mean by “here”?

 
[ The Post Office war room ] [ Cooper steps off the yellow elevator ] [ Haunting tones sound ]
[ Red, Ressler, Dembe, Siya and Herbie are already there ]
Cooper: This better be good.
Red: I assure you, I wouldn’t have disturbed you all at this ungodly hour if the circumstances weren’t dire.
Dembe: What’s going on, Raymond?
Red: I just left a meeting with a friend who prefers his cocktails before dawn. Something about keeping the ghosts of his ex-wives at bay. But his twilight tipples also have the added advantage of loosening the tongues of his drinking companions as alcohol’s effects on the human brain are two to three times greater after midnight. [ Chuckles ] So my friend hears many things, some rumor, some not, but this morning he put me onto something truly sensational. Anyone here heard of the Friedman Report?
Cooper: No, should we have?
Red: No, I wouldn’t think so. It’s a top-secret Air Force intelligence report of great sensitivity.My friend was told the Friedman Report is going to be stolen. He didn’t know where, only that it will happen today.
Siya: What is the Friedman Report?
Red: Its subject is this country’s nuclear arsenal, which has seen better days. There are hundreds of underground missile silos scattered across the midwest and west. A lot of them neglected and unloved. Some in such urgent need of repair that they’re susceptible to sabotage. The Friedman Report outlines the security faults and weaknesses of each decrepit silo in detail.
Cooper: If that intel falls into the wrong hands–
Herbie: America’s nukes could be turned against us. Theoretically speaking.
Dembe: Who’s trying to steal the report?
Red: I’m hoping you all can figure that out.
⋘⋙
[ Meanwhile a crew of three operatives is loading gear into a van. The lead, Jack, appears to be a Hispanic male. There is a Black male (“Joker”) and a Black female (“Ace”) with closely cropped blonde-dyed hair ]
Jack: All good, Joker? Same deal as in Santa Anita.
Joker: Sounds good.
Jack: Ace, do we have the–
Ace: Right here. What’s our timing on this one?
Jack: In and out in 10 minutes.
Joker: Let’s go.
⋘⋙
Cooper: Where’d you get this tip? From whom exactly?
Red: I’m really not at liberty to say.
Ressler: You know, for once, why don’t you just tell us what’s in it for you?
Red: This is a win for the task force. Nothing more. ⋘⋙ So, the clock is already ticking. I’ll leave the situation in your capable hands. I wish you luck. And, please, do keep me updated.
[ Red starts to walk toward the elevator, when he pauses at a desk. He takes a ballpoint pen out of a jar and rolls it in his hand. It says “FBI” on it ]
Red: Ah! [ Chuckles ] May I?
Cooper: Take as many as you’d like.
Red: Eh, just the one will do, thank you.
[ He looks around at the large room they are in – a room he has been in hundreds of times ]
Red: The shade of gray on these walls – I don’t think I’ve ever seen that precise shade anywhere else.
Herbie: It’s called Anvil Gray. I checked a color wheel. I get bored.
Red: Ah!
[ Red continues on to the yellow elevator and gets in ] [ Haunting, sad music plays ]
[ Red turns around. The elevator doors close ]
Siya: I feel like we don’t say this enough, but that man is just so strange.
Cooper: That he is, but if his intel’s for real, we need to act fast. Dembe, Ressler, get to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Let them know the Friedman Report is under threat. Find it and secure it.
Dembe: On our way.
Cooper: But stay sharp. Siya’s right. Reddington seems off.
Ressler: Well, he’s always off.
Cooper: Still, for safety’s sake, just expect the unexpected.

 
[ The office of Congressman Arthur Hudson. Hudson, who entered Congress with a reputation as a corruption fighter, has been looking into the workings on “Task Force 836.” He has recruited Ressler’s NA sponsee, Jonathan Pritchard, to his cause. Pritchard has been reluctant ]
Congressman Arthur Hudson: Jonathan, come on in. I bought you a coffee. New place on 13th, it’ll change your life. Have a seat. Come on.
Jonathan Pritchard: I’m– I’m– I’m not your pal.
Hudson: I’m not asking you to be. But I do need your help.
Pritchard: Yet, by helping you, I am betraying my friend. And I’d probably be dead by now if it wasn’t for Donald Ressler.
Hudson: I’m sure he’s an excellent sponsor. He’s also working with Raymond Reddington or else Reddington’s working him. I haven’t quite figured it all out. Which is why I need you. I was right, wasn’t I? You found out Ressler was connected to Elizabeth Keen, who went on the run with Reddington?
Pritchard: It doesn’t prove anything.
Hudson: No, but it raises doubts and suspicions. A federal judge has seen enough to agree with me. She granted a warrant for a wiretap on Ressler’s phone.
Pritchard: Well, if- If- If you do have a warrant, then why do you need me? I mean, can’t- Can’t the FBI or some other law enforcement agency tap Don’s phone themselves?
Hudson: It’s not that simple. Ressler’s task force operates under deep cover. Nobody at the DOJ even knows it exists, except maybe the FBI Director and the AG. If we alert him to what’s going on here, they may be incentivized to protect their people. This has to be done surgically.
Pritchard: You mean by preying on the bond between two recovering addicts.
Hudson: Listen, there are two possibilities here. One, this is all a terrible misunderstanding and I’m chasing a decent guy. I really hope that’s true because the other possibility is that a decorated FBI agent is secretly working for the world’s most wanted man. We won’t know either way until you get me proof.
[ Hudson hands Pritchard a small device ]
Pritchard: What’s this?
Hudson: That is millions in DARPA research funds direct from the NSA. Ressler will have an FBI-issued cellphone, un-tappable by conventional means. But if you unlock Ressler’s phone and plug that in, in seconds, it’ll upload a software that’ll activate a tap.
Pritchard: You expect me to get my hands on Don’s cellphone and unlock it?
Hudson: [ Sighs ] You’ll find a way. If Ressler is in over his head the way I think he is, you’ll be doing him a favor.

 
[ The crew of operatives has stopped in front of a house and is unloading items from their van ]
[ A padlock is broken; the security system and communication lines cut ]
Ace: Jammer’s up.

 
[ The office of Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Margo Rutherford ]
Margo Rutherford: I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss the Friedman Report. You don’t have the clearance.
Ressler: I’m sorry, ma’am, but there’s no time to waste. We know the report is about vulnerable missile silos.
Dembe: And it could be used to facilitate an attack against our nuclear arsenal.
Rutherford: How- How did you–
Ressler: You need to tell us everything you know about this report because we have credible information that it’s about to be stolen.
Rutherford: That’s impossible.
Dembe: A high-level asset informed us that the report is currently exposed and under threat.
Rutherford: [ On intercom ] Annie, would you please see who last accessed the Friedman Report?
Annie (Voice): Yes, Madam Deputy Director.
Rutherford: You understand that this report is being treated as a state secret. The fact that you’ve even heard of it–
Annie (Voice): General Friedman checked out an encrypted laptop last night. The report’s due to the Joint Chiefs tomorrow, and he wanted to do some last-minute line editing.
Ressler: So he took a top-secret report home with him? I guess that’s becoming quite the thing these days, isn’t it?
Rutherford: He’s a four-star general in the Air Force. We couldn’t just chain him to his desk. He likes to work at home, and he’s practically turned his house into a fortress.
Dembe: That may not be enough to protect him. I suggest you call the general quickly.
[ Rutherford places a call ]
Rutherford: His line is dead.
Ressler: Alright, we need to get there and secure the general.
Rutherford: My agents can handle that. Annie–
Dembe: Your agents can follow us to his house.
Rutherford: Gentlemen, this is above your pay grade. ODNI is more than capable.
[ Ressler stands up ]
Ressler: No, I’m sorry. The general’s address, now.

 
[ General Bob Friedman is at home, working on a secure laptop. Suddenly the screen goes blank ]
⋘⋙
Joker: Target’s internal security feeds will now loop the previous 10 seconds of footage.
Lead Operative: We’re ready to breach.

 
[ Dembe and Ressler are on their way to General Friedman’s house. Ressler drives ]
Ressler: I can’t believe General Friedman would take a top-secret nuclear dossier home with him. Reddington’s intel was spot on. It’s still going straight to Friedman’s voicemail?
Dembe: Yes. We have to assume the worst. Perhaps a signal jammer?
Ressler: Which means that the thieves are already in his house or on their way in.
⋘⋙
[ The operatives are outside Friedman’s front door ]
⋘⋙
Ressler: How else can we get an alert to the general?
Dembe: Not all signal jammers block Wi-Fi. We could try a video chat.
Ressler: Do it.
[ Line ringing ••• ••• •••• ]
[ Friedman’s cellphone ringing✨]
Friedman: General Friedman. Who are you?
Dembe: Agent Dembe Zuma, FBI. We have intel that a team of assailants are trying to breach your home to steal the Friedman Report.
Friedman: Wait, how do you know about that?
Dembe: There’s no time. Do you have a secure place in your house?
Friedman: Of course.
Dembe: Take the laptop and get there now. We are on our way.
[ Call ends ]
[ General Friedman rises and looks at his front door. The operatives are already there. Friedman ducks out of view ]
[ The operatives enter, guns drawn. A guard approaches. He’s knocked down ]
Ace: He’s going upstairs.
⋘⋙
[ General Friedman enters a room and arms a lock from the inside ]
⋘⋙
[ The operatives arrive ]
Ace: That’ll be the panic room.
Friedman: [ Shouts ] Go on! Get out! The FBI are on their way. You’re only gonna get yourself killed.
[ The Lead Operative takes a blowtorch out of his bag and fires it up ⚡️. He begins cutting through the metal door ⚡️⚡️⚡️ ]

 
[ The Post Office war room ]
[ Cell phone ringing✨]
Cooper: Reddington, your friend was right about that report.
Red: Wonderful, I’m just calling to check in.
Cooper: A four-star general took it home on an encrypted laptop. We just made contact. The thieves are inside his home, but the general has a panic room. Ressler and Dembe are five minutes out.
Red: Excellent work, Harold. Since everything seems to be under control, I’ll be off.

 
[ Outside General Friedman’s home ]
Joker: [ On comms ] It’s an abort.
Ace: We’re almost through here.
Joker: Doesn’t matter. Bogeys on route. Need to move now.
Both: Heard.
⋘⋙
[ Outside, Joker gets in the van ]
Joker: [ On comms ] You good on foot?
Ace: Don’t worry about us, Joker.
Joker: Gun it.
[ The van leaves ] [ Jack and Ace run out of the house ]
Jack: [ To Ace ] See you at the rendezvous point.
[ They run off in different directions ]

 
[ Minutes later, outside Friedman’s house. Ressler and Dembe talk with the general ]
General Friedman: I’m alright. I’ve been through worse, much worse. But we should be worried about the report.
Ressler: Well, the laptop is secure.
Friedman: But the assailants got away. Who were they?
Ressler: We don’t know that yet, sir.
Friedman: How did you know they were going to try to steal it if you don’t know who they are?
Ressler: Well, our task force was tipped off about the robbery.
Friedman: By whom?
Ressler: By an asset I can’t identify.
Friedman: [ Threateningly ] Are you really gonna make me remind you of my clearance level as a full general in the US Air Force?
Ressler: I’m sorry, General Friedman, but I work for a task force that operates under special authority. Now, what I want to know is why these thieves made a break for it halfway through the robbery.
⋘⋙
[ A policewoman, Officer Toyler, approaches Dembe ]
Dembe: Any luck with the security cameras?
Officer Toyler: They compromised the system. No footage for the past half-hour. But there is some good news. We canvassed the neighborhood, turns out the general’s next-door neighbors have security cameras, too. Believe it or not, they just installed them two days ago. They won some sweepstakes from a home-security company.
Dembe: Really?
Officer Toyler: Once in a while, things go our way, I guess. My guys will send you all the footage, but I snapped a photo of the feed, if it helps.
[ Ressler walks over ]
Ressler: What do we got?
[ Officer Toyler shown Ressler a photo on her phone ]
Dembe: One of the perpetrators.
Ressler: That’s a pretty clean shot. We might be able to pull an ID from that. The general said our other suspect is a female, African-American, about 25 with bleached-blonde hair.
[ Cell phone rings✨]
Dembe: Take that.
Ressler: [ To Dembe ] I’ll coordinate with the search team. [ To caller ] Hey, Jonathan, what’s up?
Jonathan Pritchard: Uh, I– I messed up, Don.
Ressler: Where are you?
Pritchard: It- It’s not that. I- I haven’t used. I- I just- I don’t- I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
Ressler: Just relax. I’m winding down something here at work, but I can meet you around noon for coffee. Steinway Diner? Yeah, I’ll- I’ll be there.

 
[ Steinway Diner ] [ Ressler and Jonathan Pritchard are talking ]
Jonathan: When Jill said I could move back in, I was over the moon. But then, once I did, I started to notice that things were different. She was acting differently around me, you know, jumpier. Yesterday, I caught her hiding money from me. And I- I blew up. I could- I couldn’t help it. I mean, clearly, she doesn’t trust me, and that triggered me. I yelled. She cried. Two days ago we were golden and today–
Ressler: Do you want to use?
Pritchard: I, uh, well, it’s the same old story, right? Like, rationally, no, but subconsciously, I feel like I am a hair away from being out of control.
Ressler: This is a setback. But these things happen. The most important thing is that you don’t let this turn into a backslide. Okay? Look, I’ve been there.
Pritchard: I’m sorry.
Ressler: [ To Waitress ] Can I get the check, please? [ To Pritchard ] Sorry, I’ve got to get back to work. Big case.
Pritchard: Yeah, no, I– I– I know how it is. Um, b-b-before you go, uh, h-how do I– How do I deal with Jill?
Ressler: Let me give you some advice on women– [ Chuckles ] Like I’m some kind of an expert. ⋘⋙ All the clichés are true. All you’ve got to do is talk to her. Tell her how you feel and communicate. The rest will take care of itself.
Pritchard: I should call her right now.
Ressler: That’s the idea.
Pritchard: But she won’t answer. Not when she sees it’s my number.
Ressler: Well, use my phone. You’re gonna regret it if you don’t.
Pritchard: Um, do you mind if I, uh, step outside for some, uh, privacy?
Ressler: I’ll pay the check. I’ll be out in a few.
[ Pritchard goes outside. He takes out the wire-tapping device and plugs it into Ressler’s phone ]
[ Ressler pays the check and comes outside. Pritchard’s back is turned from him ]
Ressler: Hey, did you get ahold of her?
[ Pritchard manages to complete the software install. He turns around and hands Ressler his cell phone ]
Pritchard: Uh, she didn’t answer. I- I left a message.
Ressler: You did the right thing.

 
[ The Post Office war room ]
Ressler: Sorry I’m late.
Cooper: Not a problem.
Ressler: Where are we?
Dembe: Forensics swept General Friedman’s house, but it was clean. No DNA, no fingerprints.
Ressler: So Reddington doesn’t have any leads on who we’re after?
Cooper: None. But we found one.
Herbie: I cross-referenced this image with all criminal databases, no luck. But then I thought, let’s try state and federal employees, because I don’t know how they treat any of you at the DMV, but that is a criminal enterprise if there ever was one.
[ No one laughs at Herbie’s ill-timed joke ]
Herbie: In any case, I got a hit. Seymour Jacobson. He works at the Capitol Building. I was hoping that it was a congressman or something. That’d be a story, but, no, he’s a janitor.
Ressler: So the person who broke into Friedman’s house works inside the US Capitol?
Siya: That’s right. I sent a team to his home, but he’s not there. The place has been totally emptied, cleared out.
Ressler: When was the last time anyone saw Jacobson?
Siya: Yesterday at work, apparently. I contacted Capitol maintenance, and they gave me access to their security feeds. We were just about to review the footage.
Cooper: This is the Capitol?
Siya: There are miles of hallways under the building. It’s a rabbit warren down there.
Dembe: There’s a dead spot in the camera footage. He hasn’t come back yet. Where is he?
Cooper: Fast-forward the footage.
Ressler: Forty minutes. Where did he go in all that time?

 
[ At the Capitol building ]
Adam Rose: As Architect of the Capitol, it’s my job to conduct comprehensive background checks on everyone we hire to work maintenance. I find it highly unlikely that any of my employees could be a thief.
Siya: Believe it or don’t, Mr. Rose. The fact is Seymour Jacobson broke into the home of an Air Force general this morning. And a video your security team sent over suggests he’s up to something curious right here at the Capitol.
Ressler: With a building with this kind of security, what surprises me is that he disappeared off-camera for 40 minutes.
Rose: The Capitol Building has 500 rooms and miles of corridors, literally, some dead spots are inevitable. In any case, whatever he was doing, we’ll soon find out. We’re here now.
Siya: Wait, that– That door isn’t visible to any of the security-camera angles.
Rose: Huh.
Ressler: What do you mean, “Huh”?
Rose: I had no idea there was a circuit-breaker room here. I’m not down here much, nobody is.
Ressler: Are you sure that’s what it is?
Rose: No.
Siya: Do you have a key?
Rose: As I said, I’ve never noticed this door, let alone opened it.
Ressler: You better get somebody down here who can open it. Now.
⋘⋙
[ A worker comes to the room and opens the door by removing the lock entirely ]
[ The door opens to a room lined with hundreds of video screens ]
Ambassador (voice): –will be very important, Madame Speaker.
Siya: I know that woman. That’s the US Ambassador to the UK.
Ressler: And she’s talking to the Speaker of the House. And that’s the Senate Majority Leader.
Siya: The Senate Majority Leader? Is this live?
Ressler: It sure looks that way. I mean, they have surveillance on half the politicians in Washington here.
Adam Rose: Oh, my God, this is– I have to alert someone. E-Everyone.

 
[ Siya and Ressler are on speaker phone to the Post Office war room ]
Cooper: You’re telling me these people bugged every room in the Capitol complex?
Siya: Maybe not every room but enough. There are feeds coming out of the offices of every congressman, senator, the Federal Judiciary Building.
Ressler: Don’t forget what appears to be – the deliberation room for the Supreme Court.
Cooper: It’s a violation of the very heart of American political power.
Herbie: If this makes headlines, it’ll be the biggest thing since… It’ll be the biggest thing.
Cooper: Any idea who’s behind this?
Siya: We may have a way to find out if we can trace the phone line to this fax machine.
Ressler: Would you look at that.
Dembe: Did you say “fax machine”?
Ressler: I don’t know whether it’s part of their operation or a museum exhibit, but, yeah, they have a fax machine here.
Herbie: The people behind the biggest intelligence breach in US history are communicating by fax? That’s dope.
Siya: The machine looks like it’s from the late ’90s. I’m guessing. I’ve never used one.
Cooper: Does it have a button labeled “last” or “memory”?
Ressler: Yes, memory.
[ Ressler presses the button ] [ Beeping 🔅🔅] [ Whirring ] [ A fax prints out ]
Siya: It worked. The last fax sent was, “Friedman Report will be at Columbia Heights address tonight.”
Ressler: If that fax came from here, then the intel on the Friedman Report came from one of these bugs within the Capitol.
Herbie: Maybe Red intercepted the fax. Maybe there were no twilight drinks with a friend who fed him this case.
[ Cooper tries to call Red ]
Cooper: Voicemail. Raymond’s not picking up.
Siya: Well, the question is, where was this message being sent?
Ressler: Whoever’s on the other end of this fax is clearly who Jacobson and his band of merry thieves are reporting to.
Siya: We’ve got to track down that number.
⋘⋙
[ DNI Deputy Director Margo Rutherford arrives with Adam Rose ]
Rutherford: Thank you, Adam. Good Lord. Agent Ressler.
Ressler: Deputy Director Rutherford, we were just about to call you.
Rutherford: I’m sure you were. Thankfully, Mr. Rose was quicker on the uptake and reported to us right away. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will be taking point on this. You can go.
Siya: But we have to determine–
Rutherford: Now.

 
[ Deputy Director Margo Rutherford has convened a meeting. Cooper is in attendance ]
Rutherford: As you’ve all read in your briefings, we’re here today because of an unprecedented act of treason against the United States. A spy ring operating within our very halls of power has been watching and recording the every move of our leaders for– Well, we’re not entirely sure how long. Though the base of the spy ring within the Capitol has been shut down, the sole identified member of the ring, Seymour Jacobson, is currently a fugitive from justice. We have no idea who instigated this incursion, nor what they’ve done with the vitally sensitive intelligence they’ve collected. The question facing us is how do we react?
First Official: One thing’s for certain, this cannot leave this room.
Second Official: Finding out who’s behind this extraordinary breach begins with establishing how the FBI learned it was happening. Assistant Director Cooper, could you speak to that?
Cooper: The information that led us to room 417 originated with an asset.
Second Official: And who exactly is this asset?
Cooper: I can’t reveal that information.
Rutherford: Harold, I respect your commitment to protocol here, but really.
Cooper: I’m sorry, Margo, but we’re still working with our asset to get to the bottom of this. Revealing that asset’s identity to anyone, including the people in this room, would compromise their ability to help us. You have Seymour Jacobson as a suspect to pursue. My team is providing you with this intel and more, which you never would have discovered on your own. As you yourselves said, it’s up to the people at this table to decide what to do with the intel. For the time being, my task force will do everything that we can to find out who’s responsible.

 
[ The Post Office war room ]
Ressler: How long has Cooper been in with the panel?
Herbie: Over an hour.
Ressler: Looking for answers he doesn’t have. We need to help him find some.
Dembe: Raymond still isn’t answering. Somebody’s bugged the Capitol. Whoever it is is connected to the number at the top of this fax. Now, if we find out where that number is, maybe we can find them.
Herbie: Oh, if they’re still communicating by fax, we might try a Steely Dan concert.
Dembe: Maybe they think fax machines are still hard to trace. It’s certainly been tougher for us. Herbie, have you contacted the phone company about the number on the last fax?
Herbie: That’s the thing. The number the fax was sent to isn’t operated by the phone company. In 2003, the company sold the number to an electromechanical switchboard exchange.
Ressler: I’m sorry, a what?
Herbie: Uh, they used to be a thing. Manual telephone exchanges operating on pre-digital technology. They were common in rural areas. But when the Bell System was broken up in the ’80s, almost all of them were shut down. Phone company rep told me that this exchange was one of the last left in America. The company that owns it is called Evelyn Strategies Inc.
Siya: Evelyn Strategies? That name sounds familiar.
Ressler: Did you get an address?
Herbie: I got an address from when Evelyn first incorporated, but that was two decades ago. It’s right across the river in Rosslyn. 139 North Ode Street, Suite 602.
Siya: Looks like an office complex.
Dembe: The switchboard could be long gone by now.
Ressler: It’s the only lead we have. Let’s roll out.

 
[ Dembe and Ressler arrive at the office complex. They pass a Blind Man in the hall ]
Dembe: Evelyn Strategies. 602. It’s still here. Same building as a yoga studio.
Ressler: Why keep office space for outdated technology?
Dembe: We’ll soon find out.
[ They enter a room — filled with fax machines. No one is there ]
Ressler: This must be the switchboard exchange. A little worse for the wear.
Dembe: This one is still powered up.
[ Machine whirring ]
Ressler: This fax was sent from the Capitol. Right after the Friedman fax. The numbers are the same.
Dembe: So this is where the Capitol spies were sending their reports.
Ressler: But all the other machines–
Dembe: Look at the dial-up codes. Plus 44, this fax came from the UK. Plus 49, that’s Germany. Plus 7, Russia. Here’s Belgium. And mainland China.
Ressler: But what does it mean?
Dembe: Room 417 wasn’t the only place sending intel here. There are dozens of other intelligence networks embedded all around the world.
Ressler: How can you be sure?
Dembe: Fax machines. Analog, entirely below the radar. The scale of this thing. Wheels within wheels. Don’t you see? Donald, what you are looking at is Raymond Reddington’s intelligence empire. ⋘⋙ Or it was.

 
[ Jonathan Pritchard enters Congressman Arthur Hudson’s Office ]
Congressman Hudson: Jonathan.
Jonathan Pritchard: You’re wrong about Don. He’s salt of the earth.
Hudson: Did you do it?
[ Pritchard puts the device on Hudson’s desk ]
Pritchard: He’s a good man.
Hudson: I hope you’re right.
Pritchard: [ Sarcastically ] You probably think you’re a pretty good man, too.
[ Pritchard turns and leaves ]

 
[ Dembe and Ressler are on speaker with the Post Office war room ]
Cooper: This is Reddington’s operation? I don’t believe it.
Dembe: I didn’t want to believe it either, but it’s clear now Raymond has been bugging the Capitol and multiple entities abroad. I think we should assume those entities are on par with the Capitol. This was a hub for intel feeds from across the globe.
Cooper: Dembe, how could you not have known about this?
Dembe: I only ever knew what Raymond wanted me to know. Some years ago, he gave me a peek into the workings of his intelligence network. It was shortly before Elizabeth died. Raymond flew us to a command center in Latvia.

[ Flashback: ]
Red: This is where intelligence from 17 outposts around the world is gathered, sorted, and analyzed. Leaked documents, intercepted communiqués, secrets from people in positions of power.

Dembe: Seventeen outposts, outposts which I had never seen before and knew nothing about. But I heard Raymond talk about his intelligence operation. I knew this was a source of his endless supply of secrets about world leaders, corporations, rogue states, and criminals.

[ Flashback continues: ]
Red: The system is a living, breathing apparatus that powers many of the decisions I make.

Ressler: The source of The Blacklist.
Dembe: One of the sources. Raymond also relies heavily on his personal contacts, as we know. While most of his empire was digitized, Raymond was always jumpy about the computerization of his intelligence network. To avoid detection, he was emphatic that it should be kept analog.
Siya: Analog, like a fax machine.
Herbie: Or an electromechanical switchboard.
Cooper: And you’re suggesting that exchange serviced intelligence outposts around the world. Each one embedded deep inside highly secure targets.
Dembe: I believe it’s safe to assume that no one outpost knew about the other one. Raymond was the one linking them all. There must have been many places for him to access intel, but when he was in D.C, he’d use Evelyn.
Ressler: Looks like he shut it all down.
⋘⋙
[ The Blind Man who Ressler and Dembe passed near Evelyn Strategies delivers the faxes to Red ]
Red: Thank you.
⋘⋙
Cooper: Reddington must have known we’d get to all this information. That’s why he handed us this case.
Ressler: Yeah, a case that’s been suspect all along. We got security camera footage of Jacobson leaving General Friedman’s house from the next-door neighbors. And these expert thieves who were good enough to work for Reddington went through all the trouble to shut down Friedman’s security system but just missed the one next door?
Dembe: Hmm. The police told us the next-door neighbors had just won a security system in a sweepstakes.
Ressler: Who ever heard of a home-security company running a sweepstakes? Now, what do you want to bet that this couple has an angel investor funding their new home-security cameras?

[ Flashback: ]
[ General Friedman’s next-door neighbor answers her door. It’s the ebullient Paula Carter, mother of Glen (rest his soul) ]
Paula Carter: Hi! It’s your lucky day!

Dembe: The only conclusion is that Raymond wanted us to expose his intelligence network after he shut it down.
Siya: That’s not all he shut down. I knew Evelyn Strategies Inc. sounded familiar, so I looked through the files from our raid on the Morgana Logistics Corporation, the one that creates fake companies to cover up criminal activities. Evelyn was one of their creations.
Cooper: So Morgana is Raymond, too.
Herbie: Masterful.
Cooper: Dembe, you didn’t know about Morgana either?
Dembe: I guess I only knew a lot about Raymond and very little about his empire. But it makes sense. No one was arrested at the Morgana raid except for that one warehouse manager, Gerome Kavanaugh. And he skipped town on a $3 million bail.
Ressler: And who would we know that has that kind of money?
Cooper: So Reddington created both Morgana and Evelyn and then used us to shut them down.
Dembe: Shipping and intelligence, two of his biggest assets.
Cooper: We helped Reddington maintain this empire. And now he’s fooled us into helping him tear it down, but why?

 
Congressman Arthur Hudson: I want to thank you for doing this, Agent Galanter. I’m glad NSA was able to spare you.
NSA Agent Galanter: Understand I’m acting as an agent of the court. I’m only doing this in pursuance of fulfilling the judge’s warrant to tap Donald Ressler’s phone. I don’t have skin in the game here. But if what I read in the judge’s ruling is true – this could be quite a doozy.
[ Computer beeping 🔅🔅🔅🔅 ]
Agent Galanter: Looks like Ressler’s on a call now.
Hudson: Is this gonna work? I’ve gambled everything on this.
Agent Galanter: Well, just– Just hang on.

[ Intercepted: ]
Ressler: [ Buzzing ] –does what he does.

Agent Galanter: Bingo.

[ Intercepted: ]
Cooper: I’ve wondered for a long time what would be my last straw. This might be it. Reddington’s been our CI for nearly 12 years. We stood by and offered him protection while he built out and strengthened a vast criminal network. We’ve protected him while he hardwired the US Capitol and intercepted a decade’s worth of state secrets. In a way, we’ve been his partners in treason.

Hudson: My God, it’s so much worse than I thought.

[ Intercepted: ]
Cooper: We told ourselves it was worth it because he was the most valuable CI the FBI ever had, but now he’s eliminated the bulk of his capacity to collect intel for us. Whatever his reasons, we’ve earned an explanation.
Herbie: I just tried Raymond again. He’s still not picking up.
Ressler: If I had to put money on it, I bet we never see him again.
Dembe: What do we tell Rutherford and the interagency panel?
Cooper: The truth – or part of it. We tell them that this intelligence network stretches across the globe. We give them details, but we don’t tell them about Reddington’s connection. At least not yet. There’s too much in flux right now. For now, everyone go home until we have more information. Personally I need a little time to digest this.

Agent Galanter: Well, this seems a little different from what the judge’s ruling said.
Congressman Hudson: Yeah, that’s an understatement. This isn’t a case of Reddington corrupting an FBI task force. He’s a CI. That’s all legally sanctioned and approved from the top down. Our own government is protecting the number one on its most wanted list? Our own government is protecting a man who’s been spying on them for years. Can you rewind the tape? I– I want to hear–
Agent Gallanter: Yeah. I think I know the part you mean.
Hudson: Yeah.

[ Recorded: ]
Cooper: We stood by and offered him protection while he built out and strengthened a vast criminal network. We’ve protected him while he hardwired the US Capitol and intercepted a decade’s worth of state secrets. In a way, we’ve been his partners in treason.

Hudson: That’s the one.

 
[ Cooper arrives home. Red is sitting at his kitchen table, with a bottle of Scotch and two glasses ]
Cooper: I don’t know why I’m not surprised.
Red: A drink, Harold? You look wrung out.
Cooper: That’s astute of you. First things first. This has been you all along, hasn’t it? You tricked us into dismantling your empire the very thing that makes our work possible. Morgana, room 417, Evelyn, all you.
Red: Yes, it is.
Cooper: But why have us shut you down?
Red: In my experience, when criminal organizations dissipate, their employees tend to seek work with other criminals. But I wanted my people to be sent off to the happy retirement they so richly deserve. But to convince them to leave this life, they had to feel that the FBI was on their tails. Thus, you.
Cooper: That’s not what I asked you. Why shut down at all? This compromises your ability to provide cases. Don’t you realize that endangers your immunity agreement?
Red: You and I both know that’s immaterial, Harold. I deleted my immunity agreement in its entirety when I tapped into the Post Office archive.
Cooper: The Attorney General doesn’t know that. The only reason we haven’t been directed to arrest you is because the government is still acting as if you’re our CI. That depends on you being in a position to help us. By tearing down your empire, you’re putting yourself in the crosshairs. Again, I ask you, why?
Red: Are you familiar with the assassination of James Garfield? This country’s 20th president, of course. Rather undervalued one in my view. He was shot by a crazy wannabe politician just across town on Constitution Avenue, in July 1881. Garfield survived for two months. As he lay slowly dying, the greatest scientific minds in America rushed to his side to try to offer him succor. Navy engineers created an early version of the air conditioner to keep his room cool. Alexander Graham Bell tested his new design for a metal detector to try to locate the bullet which had become lodged somewhere in the President’s abdomen. The doctors as well performed a few experiments, including an innovative drainage tube to treat an abscess. Nonetheless, Garfield’s temperature soared to a daily average of 104 degrees. The bullet was never found, and the drainage tube created an infection that eventually killed him. Historians speculate that if these great men of science had just left Garfield alone, he might’ve lived. Or at least died peacefully. This is where you usually ask me if I have a point.
Cooper: I’m tired of encouraging you. After a decade of obfuscation and misdirection, even now when it matters most, you still can’t give me a straight answer.
Red: I wish I could articulate one. Truly I do. I guess, the simplest way of putting it is ⋘⋙ Things end — sometimes despite our best efforts and best intentions or sometimes because of that effort or intent. Things end. ⋘⋙ So something else can begin.

 
[ Jonathan Pritchard sits on a park bench ] [ Cell phone ringing✨]
Recording: This is Jonathan Pritchard. Please leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Congressman Hudson: [ Voice on phone ] Jonathan, I know how hard this has been, and I know Ressler’s done a lot to help you. But thanks to you, we now have definitive proof. Agent Ressler is a threat to national security. He’s endangering American lives. You’ll be a hero for helping us stop him.
[ Call ends ]
[ Pritchard is distressed. He takes several pills from a bottle. A few seconds later, he takes several more ]

 
[ On Red’s plane are Jack, Ace and Joker ]
Stewardess: Compliments of Mr. Reddington.
[ She serves champagne ]
Ace: To a wild ride, boys.
Jack and Joker: Yeah, to a wild ride.
[ Glasses⚡️clink ]

 
[ Ressler sees Jonathan Pritchard on the park bench ]
Ressler: Hey, you coming? Thought we’d try something new instead of just, you know, pouring more coffee down our throats. I found a new NA meeting just a few blocks from here. You want to go?
Pritchard: Yeah, sure, s-sounds good, man.
[ They walk on together ]

 
[ In his office, Congressman Arthur Hudson plays and replays and replays the recording ]

[ Recorded: ]
Cooper: In a way, we’ve been his partners in treason.
Partners in treason.
Partners in treason.
Partners in treason.
Treason.
Treason.
Treason …

 
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