The Chechens?
Seriously, Nigel.
Of all the gangsters you could be wrapped up with,
you choose the criminal organization
that scares the living wits out of every other criminal organization?
Relax, all right? I... I know what I'm doing.
Remember Moscow?
Two dozen Russian Mafia bosses
meet with a handful of rising Chechen gang members
to broker peace over dinner.
No weapons allowed.
By dessert, all the Russians were dead,
slaughtered with their own cutlery.
Maybe the Russians shouldn't have picked a steakhouse for the meetup.
This isn't funny, Nige.
We're meant to be agency partners.
Look, I don't know how it works at MI6,
but if my gaffer at the CIA heard even one whisper about your other...
entanglements...
And how exactly would that happen, partner?
Word always gets around, Nigel.
Secrets never stay secret.
You better hope that's not true.
Get up, you're going home.
We're one step closer to getting our man.
Nice work, Officer Sutton.
Wouldn't want to do it with anyone else...
Agent Malik.
CREDITS
_
What are you doing in there?
Mm.
Herbie! Hello! What are you doing here?
I just came from watching Holly's band play a gig downtown.
She killed it, as usual.
There were even some reviewers there. One from Punk Planet,
and I think she said someone from Rolling Stone.
- Impressive. - Totally.
But I... I thought I would check in on you while Holly was putting Sue
to bed at the hotel.
I'll meet up with her later for some room service,
maybe some kissing.
Are you wearing eyeliner?
Yeah, it's, um, de rigeur in the hard-core Klezmer scene.
Ah. I'm sure I wouldn't know.
Anyway, how is your little
Reddington Rear Window stakeout going?
Far as I can tell,
he's been inside for the last two and a half days.
I keep watching his shadow walking back and forth
across the windows.
Well, at least we know where he is.
That's not nothing.
Oh, before I go,
I wanted to update you on the DNA research I've been doing since,
you know, you found out that you and Meera Malik
aren't biologically related.
Did you find a match for my profile?
Unfortunately, nothing pinged
in any of the law-enforcement databases that I have access to.
Even now, after I've had time to...
digest the revelation,
Meera still feels like my mother.
I mean... look at me.
I followed her footsteps into a career in intelligence.
Why wouldn't she tell me where I came from?
Now it feels like I'm never gonna get any answers to any of it.
Have you thought about asking Raymond for help?
Knowing what I know about Red,
I'd bet he knew Meera better than she knew he knew.
When I started on this task force,
the first thing Agent Ressler warned me
was not to get in debt to Reddington.
It feels like a slippery slope
I'm not sure I want to start sliding down.
Well, all I know is that Red has been a huge help to me.
On a lot of things.
I should get back to the hotel.
I don't want Holly to just fall asleep with Sue.
Well, good luck with the kissing.
I'll be here...
with my binoculars and BO.
Yeah, you might want to crack a window.
Bye.
Anything back from Senator Panabaker
about Task Force 836?
The Senator still isn't returning, sir.
- I'll try her office again. - No, no. Don't bother.
Panabaker's stonewalling. Let's go around her.
Reach out and schedule an appointment
with Senator Dorf on the Appropriations Committee.
Tell his aide it's a matter of some urgency.
No task force should be operating
with seemingly zero checks and balances.
_
Where are you?
Senator Dorf wasn't in. They're going to call back,
but they have nothing open for at least a month.
Let's do some research into Clayton Dorf.
Maybe there's another way to court his favor.
Any security breaches I should know about?
You almost gave me a heart attack.
I thought you were in there. Where'd you come from?
For you.
Carrot-apple-ginger. Extra ginger.
I'm just back from Aguascalientes, Mexico.
But the lights were going on and off. I saw shadows.
Oh, that's just a part-time employee of mine.
What's with the antlers?
Why don't you join me inside?
I'll whip up a little something for you to eat,
and I'll tell you all about them.
So, thanks to our exchange the other day,
we finally secured an address for that sleazebag Minkov.
He hasn't just been funding the Tamil Tigers.
It looks like a second temple bombing is being planned in a couple weeks.
I feel like our next step should be...
I'm not here to talk about next steps, Meera.
Damn it. They got to you, didn't they?
I warned you that you were playing with fire, Nigel.
Score one for Agent Malik.
Maybe when you take a break from gloating, you can hear me out.
I need a favor.
I just...
I need some money to cover what I can't.
$100,000.
I don't have that kind of money.
But you can get it.
You're smart and resourceful.
You see something you want,
you find a way to take it. Am I right?
I can't believe you're doing this.
I wish I could find another way to get the money, but...
I've exhausted all the means available to me.
My director at MI6 didn't entirely buy the story
I fed him about how I got injured.
Now he's asking questions,
watching my every move like I'm a bleeding cricket match.
I need your help to get the Chechens off my back so this all goes away.
I'm... I'm not gonna lose my job,
my house, my family over a few bad calls, Meera.
Sort of the way you wouldn't want your bad calls
affecting your job and family security, either.
Because that...
That'd be a real shame at this stage in your career.
How soon do you need the money?
Forty-eight hours.
I'll be in touch.
Shh. Siya.
Oh, Mommy's sweet Siya.
Hi, baby.
It's okay. Hi.
That was the best frittata I've ever tasted,
and you made it with a hot plate and a toaster oven.
Yes, well, thank you, but you're only saying that
because it's the first real meal you've had in a couple of days.
Maybe.
So why are you toting around an enormous set of...
Well, I guess they're actually horns.
They're bull horns. Not just any bull.
Those belong to the legendary Islero.
The Miura bull that killed Manolete.
I'm not familiar.
The matador? Manolete?
Perhaps the most mesmerizing bullfighter of all time?
Sober in approach, if not in life,
the man was a long-faced,
heavy-hearted hero for the ages.
What draws a person
to such an incredibly dangerous pursuit?
You're no stranger to dangerous living, Agent Malik.
Perhaps, but you'll not see me dancing with a murderous,
500-kilo beast, poking it with sharp sticks.
Manolete was a stoic guardian
of tradition in the bullring.
His father had been a matador. His uncle.
A month before he died,
Manolete told an interviewer,
"They're asking for more than I can give.
Always more and more."
He longed to retire from the ring.
But he returned.
He went again to do the thing that he did better than anyone.
And in the instant that he killed Islero,
balancing on his toes,
arching up and over the hot,
steaming breath of ferocious death,
the surgically precise plunge of his blade to the hilt,
in that instant...
Islero thrust his massive head
just centimeters to the right and gored him.
The closer a matador fights to the horns,
the closer he is to his grave.
I suppose in the end, Manolete
found it easier
to risk his life than to live a life without risk.
So he died following his father's ambitions.
Some people do that.
Yeah.
Agent Zuma told me
you did a deep-dive into my mother's background
when she joined the Task Force all those years ago.
As I do with anybody I'm going to work with.
I did one for you.
Does that mean you know more about my mother
than what's in the heavily redacted files I've seen?
Maybe what matters most, Siya, is what you already know.
That you were loved
and cared for by Meera
and your stepfather.
Un-redacting the past won't change any of that.
Maybe not.
But I've learned something I can't un-learn.
Meera wasn't my biological mother.
A fact she hid from me.
Why?
Now look who's dancing with a murderous beast,
poking it with sharp sticks.
Are you saying you won't help me?
Is that what you want?
My help?
It's Cooper.
Hello, sir.
How are things going in New York?
Have you been able to glean anything about what Reddington's been up to?
I'm with Reddington now, sir.
- Has he mentioned re-engaging with us? - Not yet.
He went to Mexico
to retrieve some famous bull skull.
Islero? I don't know.
Maybe it means something.
It could mean something.
Or it could simply be vintage Reddington.
Stay with him and report back anything we might be able to use.
We need to mind every P and Q
until we put this situation with Congressman Hudson to bed.
Thanks.
I don't know if this is the sort of information you're after,
but I found this story in DC Monthly from last summer.
It's an interview tracking a day in the life of Clayton Dorf.
Turns out he loves Korean barbecue.
Who knew?
Atkins,
you're a genius.
Ah!
The indomitable Ms. Mallet!
You're looking particularly well.
- What's your secret? - Oh, thank you.
Mwah. Mwah.
It's the edibles.
They take all the edges off.
Care to try one?
I think I have a sour watermelon gummy
here in my bag.
No. You save that for later, love.
So, what have you got for me?
I brought all of the items you requested.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate
you keeping everything safe for me all these years.
Are you joking?
It's been an honor to protect
these little slices of world history.
The Senet gaming board.
Left with corpses
to entertain the dead.
From Amenhotep's tomb.
Discovered in one of his wives' side chambers.
Of course, none of his wives were actually buried with him.
Good call.
Speaking of things
going missing...
Why are you unloading all of these treasures now?
Has something changed in your world?
Everything and nothing, my dear.
No cause for concern.
I just feel the need to be
more discerning from here on out.
Now, that I understand.
The older I get, the less I desire.
And the things you desire, you can't live without.
Sappho's "Tithonus" poem.
Oh.
"My heart grows heavy
My knees Too weary to stand upon
Though once They could lift me and dance
And could leap As light as a fawn"
I feel seen all the way from the 3rd century BC.
It's just exquisite!
Keep it.
Wha... What?
Over the decades,
you've been nothing but unfailingly loyal
and gracious and funny.
Oh, my lamb!
I will cherish this.
Every single day.
- Twice a day. - I know you will.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I'm over the moon!
I may need that gummy now to calm down.
Cynthia, before I forget,
the item we discussed on the phone.
You reached out via the appropriate channels?
Oh, yes.
My connections assured me
that the elusive buyer you have in mind
will be alerted to the piece's availability,
and hopefully,
they'll be unable to resist coming to see it in person.
From your lips to their ears.
- Mm-hmm! - Grab that gummy.
Oh, right away.
Three for you?
Where's the nearest tube station?
You can walk, luv, but it's about 15 blocks.
That's okay. I could use the exercise.
Thanks, Johnno. Just grabbing those headsets.
Damn it!
- You all right? - Yeah. Just a bit of a bungle.
It's fine. I've got it sorted.
See you next time. Go, Newcastle!
- Do you have your service weapon on you? - Always. Why?
Give it to me.
There is zero chance of me being unarmed
while whatever it is we're doing.
Who said anything about being unarmed?
See anything you like?
Trust me, where we're going, if things go sideways,
you don't want to discharge your government-issued firearm.
By the way, on this journey your name will be Janet Grimm,
like the fairy tales, if anyone asks.
Good choice.
I don't know what to say. The Chechens want more.
"Interest" on the loan, apparently.
Of course they want more, Nigel.
That's how they operate. You of all people should know.
This won't be the last of it, either.
Yes. Yes, it will.
One final payment, and I'm certain all this will be behind me.
Behind us.
There is no "us," Nigel.
I can't help you anymore.
You need to go to your MI6 supervisor.
Come clean. End this now.
I could do that, certainly, but it won't just be my mess I come clean about.
You can't prove I took that money.
Never mind the money. Remember your little side-op in Kolkata? I do.
Pretty significant breach of CIA ethics, wouldn't you say?
Put you at severe risk of compromise.
- The bosses would be none-too-pleased... - Enough!
You've made your point.
Like it or not, Meera, we're in this together.
You have as much to lose as I do.
Maybe more.
Choose your next step wisely.
My advice to you.
_
I won't be a minute.
What am I supposed to do?
Wait here.
Shoot anybody who runs out.
Yeah, I'm not gonna do that.
Suit yourself.
Look alive!
Get a wiggle on, Janet!
Are you gonna tell me
how I came to be in the line of fire back there?
Liam can be very disagreeable.
But the fact is, he took my saber years ago.
It was long past time for me to take it back.
We flew to Scotland for a sword?
Saber.
It belonged to Captain Lewis Nolan,
who died in the Charge of the Light Brigade
during the Crimean War.
Stormed at with shot and shell
Boldly they rode and well
Into the jaws of death
Into the mouth of hell
So you're a fan of Tennyson.
My mother...
Meera loved him.
Well, maybe she loved
what knowing his work said about her.
I suspect your mother came by her love of Tennyson
quite sincerely.
What do you mean?
I think...
Meera was very familiar
with the feeling of melancholy
that also plagued Tennyson.
She certainly felt the isolation
of inhabiting a world she knew to be cruel.
The lives of children in such a world.
It takes tremendous fortitude
to carry on
when you can see what others cannot.
And to find light within the shadows.
Our investigation is getting much closer to the money
the Minkov crime organization
is funneling into the Tamils' terrorism in Sri Lanka.
That's in large part to your solid work.
- You should feel good about that. - Thank you, ma'am.
We now know where Minkov is holed up for the time being.
I'd like you to set up a Black Bag job as soon as possible.
Minkov has a standing massage appointment
at Happy Feet in Kensington, every Tuesday at 2:00.
No problem. I'll start putting that together now.
A quick word before you go.
Yes?
I've been hearing from my counterparts at MI6
that your partner Officer Sutton's performance has been...
erratic lately.
Should we be concerned?
Uh... No, ma'am.
You haven't noticed anything?
I think maybe he's tired.
Long hours and such.
Even so, Nigel's a surveillance expert.
There's no one I'd trust more on the Minkov job
given our tight deadline.
Much ado about nothing then.
Seems so.
That said, it couldn't hurt
to have my MI6 counterparts do some digging.
Of course.
I'll let you know what, if anything, we discover about Officer Sutton.
_
Raymond Reddington. It's been such a long time.
I thought I'd never hear from you again.
You won't. Not after today.
Get the round ones, with the jelly in the middle.
Okay.
Anything for the dog?
Like what?
I don't know, a biscuit?
Whatever.
But hurry back, dear,
the medication is going to start to take effect quickly...
If it hasn't already.
So, Raymond,
it's not like you to travel with a side dish.
Raymond, who is this sublime specimen?
Never mind who she is.
Do you have what I came for?
Yeah. Yeah, of course.
On second thought,
perhaps I accept her instead, if that suits?
- It doesn't. - What a shame.
I would kill to get my hands on that bone structure.
Careful.
We have to get back to New York now.
Heinrich, when I leave here,
I'm going to give Freddy a call,
and he's gonna come by and get that dog.
It should be in a proper home.
I'm sure Freddy will be here within the hour.
And if you or the dog aren't here at that time,
Freddy will go to the house
and sit with your mother until you return.
Now, considering there is nothing on Earth
badder than Freddy,
certainly not you, and not that poor dog,
not even your miserable, horrible mother.
Heinrich...
please,
please...
don't make Freddy lose his patience.
Don't worry about me.
Though I can't speak for my mother.
All right. Ah! Look! First customer of the day.
Welcome!
Is there anything in particular you're looking for?
I love that lamp!
My Gran had one just like it!
Is it expensive?
Make me an offer.
I can do $75 if it's cash,
or, at most, $125 if it's a check.
I don't think I can let it go at that,
especially this early in the day.
Can you bring it up a little, say, another hundred bucks?
That's a lot of money for a table lamp.
I'm just looking for a little extra light in my crafting room.
This lamp would be perfect for that.
Yeah, but I could get a really nice, practical one
at Cost Cutters for a quarter of the price.
Right.
- Not stained glass, though. - Well, yeah.
Probably not. Yeah.
And it works, right?
Would you do...
- $200? - Sold.
- Can I, uh, pick it up at the end of the day? - Absolutely.
Happy crafting!
You just sold an authentic Tiffany lamp for $200?
I did.
Even $20,000 is a steal.
Why didn't you tell her what it is?
Maybe she'll discover it on her own.
Imagine her delight then.
The story she'll tell for the rest of her life
about finding a Tiffany lamp
in some dusty garage sale in Bushwick,
snagging it for a song.
Yeah, but what if she never learns where it came from?
Its true provenance?
What if...
Senator Dorf.
Ah. Congressman...
- Hudson, sir. - Right, right.
Are you meeting someone here for lunch, Hudson?
This place is well off the beaten path.
I mean, it's private. I'm surprised you even know it.
I did my research.
I was hoping to have a quick word on a matter of some importance.
It's about FBI Task Force number 836.
May I sit?
I sure wish you wouldn't.
This Task Force is burning through budget,
but I... I can't seem to find anybody who knows anything about it.
Who's on it, what they're doing, what their practices are.
I mean, are you familiar with it?
I don't know, Hudson.
I mean, I trust the FBI knows what they need better than you or I do.
I mean, people don't give a pig's poke about budgets.
People care about safety.
And they're happy to pay for the...
the perception of being kept safe, whether they realize it not.
Oh, I believe the taxpayer would care.
It's not part of ATF, DEA.
Their numbers are astronomical and only getting bigger.
Frankly, I'd like to find out
what the hell we're paying for, sir.
Are you married, Hudson?
- Mm. - Well, I am.
And on advice of my wife, I don't sweat the small stuff.
And this sounds to me to be very, very small.
So if you feel you must,
set up something with my office, and we'll talk about it then.
But right now, I need to get back to this bulgogi
before it goes cold.
I've tried your office. You're booked pretty tight.
Look, nobody wins when power's abused in the shadows.
Good Lord. I...
Why don't we just cut the crap?
Okay, what you're really after are headlines.
You want me to help you make a lot of noise
about diddly-squat in a hearing
so that you can suddenly come in
and be the Boy Scout who rescues the Republic.
I can assure you this isn't about optics, sir.
- It's purely accountability I'm after. - Well, haven't you heard?
Accountability went out with the Macarena.
Aren't you even a little curious
about where all that money is going, Senator?
Where in the world are you now?
Watching Reddington unload centuries of invaluable history
at his own personal Antiques Roadshow.
Just promise me you'll tell me if he's selling a Rocket-Firing Boba Fett.
It's not that kind of garage sale.
Cooper sends me to keep tabs on Reddington,
and what happens?
I find myself on an impromptu world tour,
intersecting with some truly dodgy characters.
Have you ever heard of Heinrich Wittelsbach?
Mm, no. What did Red want with him?
No clue. They swapped envelopes.
Well, I know Red wouldn't involve some dodgy guy
unless there was some good reason.
And, as for you, you're doing the best you can.
You're supposed to stick with him, and you are.
What happens while you do is no fault of yours.
Anyway, got to go. See ya, Siya.
Hard to believe a guy like that likes foot massages.
Everybody likes foot massages, Nige.
I'll be on comms.
Anything happens, I'll send up the usual flare.
You do the same.
Thirty.
And there's the five.
Enjoy.
Excuse me, sir. I was told to say that Ms. Mallet sent me.
Yes! I...
I have something
I believe you're looking for.
_
"The Sicilian Error of Color."
I almost can't believe my eyes.
You know, I was stunned when my collector friend
called to tell me the stamp had surfaced.
Here it is before my very eyes.
One of only two in the world.
Imagine the Italian printer, 1859,
who runs off a couple of postage stamps
in blue ink instead of orange, and, boom,
160-something years later,
one of the most lucrative printing errors in history.
Yeah.
Oh, my husband was obsessed with this stamp.
It was his white whale.
Or I suppose his blue whale.
God rest his soul.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Oh, it was a while back now,
but it still feels like yesterday that I lost him.
My husband always said
that stamps were humble and everyday...
but then also these tiny works of art
that could last forever.
Kind of like marriages.
Oh. Forgive me.
You didn't ask to hear our life story.
Not at all. Not at all.
Anyway, I, uh...
I know I can't afford what this stamp is worth.
I just really wanted to see it in person
after all this time.
Oh. Perhaps I could take a photo of it?
Oh, no, you should have more than a photograph of this.
I'm prepared to offer it to you
for a fraction of what it's worth.
Oh, no, don't.
I couldn't even afford a fraction of a fraction.
Could you afford, say, two?
Two million? Ha! No.
How about $2,000?
Last time it transacted,
this stamp went for over a thousand times that.
It did.
Well, I can't imagine anybody else
appreciating this stamp more than you.
Buy it.
In honor of your husband.
Radio check?
Read you loud and clear.
Copy. You already in?
Affirmative.
Nigel, do you copy?
- Nigel! - Copy. I'm here.
Meera? Did you say something?
Meera?
Am I still clear?
Meera?
All right.
Well, one more turn of the screw.
Oh. Uh, pardon me.
Meera!
That's him there.
Handsome fellow.
Oh. A true rogue.
Gave me a lot of grief
with the stunts he pulled over the years. But...
I wouldn't have traded him for a dozen Gregory Pecks.
Dispatch. What's your status?
We have an emergency at 24 Grand Regent Circle.
MI6 Officer Nigel Sutton is down,
presumed gunshot wound.
I repeat, my partner Nigel Sutton is down,
and I've lost communication.
Copy. Code 471.
Assistance on the way.
Hey!
What a wonderful, if somewhat expected surprise!
Agnes and I have a date with the Natural History Museum.
And while we're in New York,
it only made sense to stop by and pay you a visit.
Agent Malik no doubt providing the address.
- Hi. - I have something.
So, this is the ball that Pele used
to score his very first World Cup goal.
For you.
Wow!
Cool! Thanks, Pinky! Want to play?
Siya, you're up.
Maybe a little of the Pele magic
will rub off on Agnes in her next game.
We need to talk.
Hold on. I almost forgot.
I hope this has something to do with a new case.
Far better than that, Harold.
This has to do with your history as a Naval officer.
I thought this might speak to you.
An original plan for the USS Constellation,
one of the six original frigates
commissioned for the US Navy, 1794.
Are you okay, Raymond?
You don't like the gift?
Oh, I like the gift.
Very much. Thank you.
But Agent Malik says that you've been traipsing around the globe
collecting and then practically giving away
some of your irreplaceable possessions.
Is there something I should know?
Just having a little fun, Harold. Remember fun?
You get older, and you realize we make life so complicated
when it doesn't need to be.
We complicate ourselves to death.
That may be, but right now my world,
the world of the Blacklist, is complicated.
Made more so by your absence.
Fret not, Harold.
We'll get back to business soon enough, I promise.
In the meantime, rest easy.
Agent Malik is here to keep watch.
Senator Dorf is here. Should I show him in?
Thank you, young lady.
No, don't get up. Don't get up. I'm not gonna be here long.
I just dropped by to say I kind of like your style, Hudson.
Sir?
Unlike you, I am interested in optics.
And hearings that expose government waste,
they tend to play well in the media.
They poll well, too, I'm told.
Does this mean you're going to raise my concerns to your committee?
Oh, it means I'm gonna think about partnering with you
and your little abacus of justice.
So just send over everything you think
I need to take a gander at, and we'll get started.
- Thank you. Thank you, sir. - All right.
There's no doubt
something rotten's going on around that task force.
We're gonna root it out.
Yeah.
And here you go.
Siya?
Here's your percentage of today's sales.
$2,000?
You know I can't accept this.
I'm here doing a job. My job.
Consider it a bonus for putting up with me.
A bonus in more ways than one.
What do you mean?
From what I've gathered,
you're dead set on pursuing this search
into Meera Malik's past and your own beginnings.
Come what may, that check you're holding in your hand
will help open the door,
should you choose to step through it.
I can't believe this didn't sell.
We spent months isolating Minkov,
and now we're blown and he's in the wind again.
We have no idea when the attack on the temple will be.
All because a simple surveillance plant went off the rails?
As soon as I saw the car, I tried to alert Officer Sutton
that Minkov's bodyguard had returned unexpectedly.
I thought he heard me.
He had to have.
But he didn't answer.
Or maybe you were right.
Maybe he was too distracted for the job.
It's my fault for insisting he could handle it.
I should have done more. I should have gone in.
I'm so sorry.
His poor wife.
I'm recommending you take a leave for 21 days.
Spend some quality time with that sweet baby Siya.
Talk to someone.
The department will launch the requisite inquiry,
but as far as I can tell,
I doubt we will find anything you could have done
to prevent the death of Nigel Sutton.
I'm gonna need to keep you on Reddington detail a bit longer.
I figured.
You don't necessarily have to go through every door he goes through.
But you do have to be there when he comes out.
For what it's worth,
he seems to have a genuine respect for you.
It feels... protective, almost.
Can't say I felt especially protected in Edinburgh.
Well, like I said, your safety comes first.
Just do what you can to keep eyes on him.
I will.
Give my best to the team.
Who are you, Mrs. Kathleen Sutton?
And what on earth do you have to do with me?
CREDITS