Épisode Vanessa Cruz S02E18 - The Blacklist Saison 2

Dans une chambre d'hôtel de luxe, Declan Salinger s’allonge dans la baignoire, en présence de Vanessa Cruz, une gothique aux cheveux roses en sous-vêtements en latex qui a des tatouages d'ailes distinctives sur ses omoplates. Après avoir injecté à Salinger "quelque chose pour l'aider à se détendre", Vanessa utilise son ordinateur portable pour transférer des fonds, retourne vers la baignoire pour l’embrasser sur le front avant de le faire couler. Vanessa retourne à son loft pour enlever son déguisement et laver son tatouage. Ensuite nous arrivons dans l’appartement qu’elle partage avec sa petite amie Abby Issa. Vanessa semble déçue d’apprendre qu’Abby a encore des problèmes avec son patron et qu'elle ne l’a pas encore communiqué aux RH.

Tom supplie Liz de lui donner les passeports qu’il cachait sous le plancher de leur maison et qui sont maintenant dans le casier de preuves du FBI. Ils devraient donc toujours être propres. Avec les Allemands et le major à ses trousses, Tom a vraiment besoin des passeports. Si Liz veut qu’il parte, elle doit les voler et elle ne le reverra jamais. En donnant un coup de pied à Tom, Liz ouvre la porte pour découvrir Red et Dembe, l’arme au poing, ce qui  est suffisant pour faire partir Tom. Après avoir rappelé à Liz pourquoi Tom ne fait pas partie de sa vie, Red présente le prochain blacklisté. Le lendemain matin, Liz présente une liste de fraudeurs présumés y compris le financier Declan Salinger, qui, selon Reddington, sont innocents mais ont été piégés après des années de planification par une femme avec une haine profonde pour le 1%. Salinger a été retrouvé mort la nuit dernière d'une surdose apparente et son ordinateur portable saisi indique des retraits d’argent dans des entreprises de plus de 27 millions de dollars. Cooper demande à Liz et à Ressler d’interroger une autre victime, Lester Conway, qui prétend qu'il a été piégé par une ex-maitressse nommée Claudia Sanchez.   Un travailleur saisonnier sans papiers dans son ranch a créé le plan pour mettre Ponzi en prison. Un jour, elle a disparu et trois jours plus tard, il a été arrêtée. Après avoir eu accès à son ordinateur, Claudia a créé la chaîne de Ponzi en utilisant des sociétés fictives si habilement que l'argent de l'avocat le plus cher pourrait conseiller Conway de plaider coupable. Pendant ce temps, Vanessa se déguise à nouveau, se faisant passer pour sa petite amie Abby et achète un Beretta semi-automatique.

Lors d'une réunion dans un parking, Hobbs dit à Red que le directeur a appelé à  voter  demain. Il semble qu’un homme nommé Jasper ait le vote décisif. Lorsque Red dit à Jasper de persuader Hobbs, ce dernier lui dit qu’il doit prouver qu’il a le fulcrum. Sa vie en dépend.

De retour au bureau de poste, Aram et Samar ont passé au peigne fin les recherches fournies par Mme Salinger qui avait fait suivre l'amant de son mari pendant deux mois sans résultat substantiel. Heureusement, Aram est capable d’assembler une photo composite à partir de plusieurs morceaux pour obtenir toute une image et une empreinte complète pour identifier Vanessa Cruz, dont la dernière adresse connue est chez sa mère à Edison, New Jersey. En attendant, Vanessa se faisant passer pour Abby avec Carlton, lui dit de vérifier le tiroir de son bureau où elle a laissé une clé d'hôtel, un masque de latex et une note: «Drake Motel ASAP ». Vanessa couvre son visage avec le masque, lui ordonne de se déshabiller et lui passe des menottes et l'attache au lit, alors elle est libre de tourner les préliminaires dans la collection de toutes sortes d'échantillons d'ADN. Puis elle part, laissant Carlton être découvert par un groom.

Pendant ce temps, Liz et Ressler rendent visite à la mère de Vanessa, Aida, qui croit que sa fille est morte. Elle se souvient que le mari d’Aida était un sale type, comme celui de Vanessa, qui a été pris pour délit d'initié et sauté du pont George Washington. Vanessa a toujours dit qu'il était innocent, jusqu'au jour où elle a disparu, laissant ses vêtements pliés sur Rockaway Beach. Malade et portant une canule nasale, Aida est convaincu que sa fille doit être morte, sinon elle serait là maintenant, à prendre soin de sa mère. Même dans la mort, Vanessa fournit pour elle une police d'assurance d’une société que Samar identifie rapidement comme fictive. Aram à découvert que toutes les autres victimes de Vanessa ont été accusées de voler des fonds par le biais des sociétés fictives dont ils ne soupçonnaient pas l'existence. Alors, qui aurait pu mettre en place ces sociétés pour Vanessa ? Liz appelle immédiatement Red, en espérant son aide ... Il va aider avec plaisir, mais seulement en échange du Fulcrum. C’est une question de vie ou de mort. Mais comme agent fédéral, Liz ne peut pas simplement remettre le fichier de chantage qui donnera un effet de levier à Red sur les gens qui dirigent l'Amérique et tout cela pourrait être à propos de Tom ? Red nie, disant à Liz de bien réfléchir à sa proposition rapidement. Sa prochaine étape ? Appeler Tom pour lui demander de l’aide. Lorsque Tom demande à Liz la source pour les sociétés fictives, il parle de Red, mais Liz adoucit l'affaire, promettant les passeports en échange d'un nom. Il s’avère que les sociétés de Vanessa sont nommés d'après les lacs du Minnesota. Ironiquement, Tom a caché l'argent que Berlin lui a versé dans une société nommée d'après un lac du Minnesota... Tom l’amène à sa source, une femme en fauteuil roulant. Elle est ravie de voir «Billy», et en quelques instants, Liz appelle Ressler avec l'adresse à la mezzanine de Vanessa. À l'intérieur, Ressler surpris de découvrir un trésor méticuleusement organisé du sang, de la salive, des oligo-éléments et de surveillance sur les victimes actuelles et futures de Vanessa. Quand il reconnaît le nom de Drew Roberts, une victime qui travaillait aux investissements Oakside ou le défunt mari de Vanessa a travaillé, Ressler comprend le motif.

 

Conduisant vers Baltimore, Tom avertit Liz que Red joue avec elle. Liz accepte mais insiste, Red a un code moral, il ne lui ment pas. C’est alors que Tom surprend Liz avec ses plans pour une nouvelle vie ; il achète un bateau de plongée et part en Micronésie, le paradis des plongeurs pour démarrer une entreprise de plongée. Lorsque Liz souligne qu'il ne sait pas nager, Tom répond "mais je peux apprendre". Retour à Washington DC, Liz remet les passeports à Tom et sort de la voiture sans un mot. Il court après elle avec une question: est-ce qu'elle pense que c’est possible pour quelqu'un comme lui de tout recommencer ? En guise de réponse, Liz demande s’il peut être honnête ... puis réfléchit qu'il doit y avoir un peu d'honnêteté dans le contexte de leur mariage. En fait, Tom est le pire échec de Liz comme profileuse mais  elle est le plus grand succès de Tom. Pendant un moment, elle lui fait sentir comme s'il avait une vie et quelqu'un se souciait de lui : c’est la vérité de Tom. Mais quand elle lui demande s’il peut être honnête sur les passeports, Tom dit, "Berlin avait un gars." Tom ne peut pas choisir la vérité, parce qu’il veut apprendre à nager. Liz saisit Tom pour un baiser profond, expliquant : «C’était au revoir», et le laisse tremblant dans la rue.

Hobbs rencontre Kenneth Jasper pour parler du vote, prévue pour demain. Puisque Jasper a le vote d’oscillation, Hobbs veut qu'il sache que si Red ne possède pas le Fulcrum, sa mort va déclencher un protocole pour la libération de son contenu et tous les exposer. Jasper vote généralement avec le directeur, qui croit que Red n’a pas le Fulcrum. Pourquoi devrait-il changer son vote maintenant? C’est à ce moment-là que Red sort de l’ombre afin d'exposer sa cause: le Directeur est seulement intéressé à consolider son pouvoir au détriment de tout le monde, il est temps pour lui de partir, demain, après le vote. Lorsque Jasper déclare vivement  "Vous parlez de l'assassinat !" Red valide, lui offrant d’être le prochain directeur de la cabale. Les deux hommes se serrent la main, scellant des destins multiples.

Après le travail, Abby rencontre Vanessa à un café avec des nouvelles ; elle va déposer une plainte pour harcèlement sexuel contre son patron Carlton auprès des RH. Elles vont célébrer ça ! Qui plus est, elle est amoureuse de Vanessa, qui avoue presque son secret quand elle réalise qu'elle aime Abby aussi. Pendant ce temps, dans une cuisine de restaurant vide, Hobbs et le Directeur rencontrent Jasper qui a des nouvelles surprenantes. Le vote a déjà eu lieu et Hobbs est le perdant. Le Directeur s’en prend à Hobbs pour le bardage avec Red, la trahison ultime de la cabale qui fait de lui l'homme qu'il est aujourd'hui ... où était. Il y a une voiture qui attend à l'extérieur et Hobbs quitte le pays maintenant et il ne reviendra jamais.

Ayant compris que le motif de Vanessa est la vengeance, Ressler rassemble l'équipe pour un débriefing. Vanessa a piégé les personnes qui encadraient son mari et lui ont coûté la vie. Lorsque Cooper demande si certains sont encore en vie, Liz et Ressler retournent voir Conway pour lui poser  la question de savoir si Hernando, le mari de Vanessa  a vraiment sauté d'un pont . Stupéfait de découvrir que la femme d’Hernando a  ruiné sa vie, Conway demande un avocat puis avoue toute l'histoire. Conway et ses copains ont pensé qu'ils avaient tous les angles de leur plan mais ils n’ont pas compté sur l’idéaliste Hernando Cruz qui les a balancés à son patron. Bien sûr, son patron, Mason Carlton, était sur leur Dirty Deal ! Aram traque Carlton, qui a un rendez-vous avec Vanessa/Abby. Impossible d’avoir Carlton par téléphone, Aram parvient à localiser tous textes illicites de Carlton avec Abby / Vanessa, ce qui incite Liz à conclure qu’il est la cible. Quelques instants plus tard, Aram trouve une chambre à l'Hôtel Wolverton où Carlton est surpris de voir enfin Vanessa habillée comme Abby. Il ne faut pas longtemps avant que Carlton soit drogué et sur le point de mourir. Vanessa prend son temps pour la mise en scène. on pensera qu'il avait une liaison avec Abby qui allait lui faire du chantage pour avoir détourné un dépôt de plainte pour harcèlement sexuel et enfin Abby lui tirera dessus avec un pistolet acheté pour là sa protection avant de la tourner contre elle. De toute évidence, Vanessa se sent mal de tuer Abby mais elle prétend que c’est la seule solution au même moment Abby entre dans la pièce pour trouver Carlton évanoui. Déchirer, Vanessa s’excuse et sort en courant, laissant Abby et Carlton être découverts par Liz et Ressler, qui courent immédiatement après Vanessa. Dans la rue, ils se séparent mais quand Liz trouve la perruque de Vanessa dans la poubelle, ils savent qu'elle est partie.

Cette nuit-là, Cooper informe Liz que Mason Carlton sera accusé du meurtre d’Hernando Cruz et qu’il est confiant de retrouver Vanessa un jour. Mais il se demande pourquoi Red leur a parler de ce cas… Vanessa est assise seule dans un restaurant quand elle est approchée par M. Kaplan, qui profère un accord. Depuis le gambit, Vanessa a suivi son cours, l'employeur de M. Kaplan est prêt à offrir son aide …

Tom appelle Liz pour une réunion  personnelle pour lui dire la vérité, que les passeports dans la boîte provenaient de Reddington, actuellement au téléphone. Jasper dit, «le vote est allé dans votre sens," mais Red sait déjà que c'est  un mensonge. Hobbs était censé appeler au moment où le vote aurait lieu et il ne l'a pas fait, ce qui signifie qu'il est mort et que Jasper les a trahi. Jasper ferait mieux de courir comme le vent des prairies, parce que quand Red va le trouver, il va lui couper sa langue fourchue et la remettre au Directeur. Red raccroche et dit à Dembe, «Il est temps de s’en aller», mais Liz appelle, demandant des réponses à propos du Fulcrum. Ses lèvres se serrent de fureur, Liz raconte à Red qu'elle vient de passer les dernières 42 heures portant sur la mythomanie impénitente de son ex-mari et il y a quelque chose dont elle a besoin de confirmer. Elle va avoir besoin d'un oui ou une non comme réponse. Présupposant la question, Red dit : "Oui. Je suis celui qui a embauché Tom Keen pour entrer dans votre vie." Furieuse, Liz lui jette le Fulcrum, tous les manigances de Red prouvent qu'il n'a jamais fait çà pour elle et elle part vers son SUV. Tout s’arrête ici et maintenant. À ce moment, un coup de feu retentit. Lorsque Red tombe, Liz et Dembe se précipitent à ses côtés et commencent à riposter vers un ennemi qu'ils ne peuvent pas voir.

Traduit et adapté du résumé du site officiel par albi2302.

HOTEL ROOM 
Grunts

SALINGER : What the hell?
VANESSA CRUZ : Just something to help you relax.

She makes him a sting. Salinger is in a bath, he gasps

CRUZ : You really don’t have any idea who I am, do you, Mr. Salinger?

Gasping shallowly

Cruz takes his computer and transfers all Salinger's money

CRUZ : Save your breath, sweetheart. You’re gonna need it.

Gasping continues. He drowns

ABBY'S APARTMENT 
Door opens

VANESSA CRUZ : It’s me. I’m back.
ABBY ISSA: How was Chicago?
CRUZ : Oh, God, you know. All these conferences are such a waste of time. You – How was your day? How was work?
ABBY : Fine. Except for Carlton.
CRUZ : Again?
ABBY : He keeps leering at me – Gives me the creeps.
CRUZ : Well, he’s your boss. Sooner or later, you have to report him to H.R.
ABBY : I’m so glad you’re back.

Chuckles

ABBY : I have a surprise for you.

CRUZ : You’re giving me a drawer?
ABBY : Only if you want it. I mean, if it’s too soon I just thought it might be nice.
CRUZ : Su casa es mi casa.

They kiss

 LIZ'S MOTEL ROOM

LIZ : What you’re asking me to do – I appreciate that you turned yourself in. You came back for me.
TOM : Liz, I’m in danger. I need the passports.
LIZ : I can’t. I just can’t.
TOM : Liz, please! Turning myself in to save you saved me. And not because the Judge let me go. I’ve been running since I was 14. It’s all I’ve known. And in that moment, when the Judge let me go, I thought, “maybe there’s a world where I don’t have to run, where I could just – ” These Germans want me dead. My handler, too. So, please, I need your help. I need the passports.
LIZ : They’re not just passports. You put them in a box under the floor in our home. They represent everything I’m trying to forget.
TOM : I know. I wouldn’t ask unless it was important.
LIZ : They’re locked up in evidence.
TOM : That’s exactly why they should still be clean.
LIZ : I’m not gonna walk into evidence and steal them for you. Why would I do that?
TOM : You want me gone? Do this, and you’ll never see me again.
LIZ : You need to leave. Go. Now.

Liz opens door

LIZ : No.

Red and Dembe are there. They point guns at Tom

Red to Tom

RED : Get out.

Tom scoffs

TOM : I was out, remember? You’re the one who brought me back in.
RED : Get out.

Tom leaves

Door closes

RED : Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear.
LIZ : I came home, and Tom was here.
RED : He’s back in your life.
LIZ : He is not in my life.
RED : I understand what it’s like to be drawn to something that is unhealthy, to a part of yourself that you are afraid of. But I want you to remember what your life really was with him, and imagine all that it could be without him.
LIZ : I don’t have to imagine.
RED : Good. Because I have a case.

FBI SPECIAL OPS DIVISION

 LIZ : Toshiro Osaka – A Japanese entrepreneur indicted in 2009 and knifed to death by an aggrieved business partner. Miles Chapman – He was gunned down in Algiers while avoiding extradition for insider trading. Lester Charles Conway – His Ponzi scheme was so massive, he’s now serving up to 30 years.
RESSLER : Their crimes cost hundreds of people their life savings. Pensions gone, homes in foreclosure, families torn apart. Why would I feel bad for them? They’re criminals.
LIZ : According to Reddington, they’re innocent – Framed after months, sometimes years of planning by a woman with a deep-seated hatred for the 1%. She doesn’t just take their money, she takes their reputations, their freedom, sometimes their lives. Her latest mark was Declan Salinger, a flamboyant venture capitalist who specialized in biotech. He was found last night in a hotel bathtub, needle on the floor, dead from an apparent overdose. His personal laptop was taken into evidence. CSI uncovered corporate withdrawals in excess of $27 million.
COOPER : Navabi, go see Salinger’s wife. Ressler, Keen, the man in prison – Talk to him. If he was framed, I want to know how.

FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX,

BRUCETON MILLS

PRISON CELL

 LIZ : We spoke to your attorneys, Mr. Conway. You claim to have been framed by a woman named Claudia Sanchez.
CONWAY : Or whatever her name really was. She made everything up.
RESSLER : She make up the Ponzi scheme? The $128 million you stole from your clients to fund your lifestyle? The ranch, the private jets –
CONWAY : Look, I’ve told this story a hundred times. We were sleeping together. She had access to everything. My phone, computer, passwords. If you don’t believe me –
LIZ : We want to believe you. We do. Tell us what happened.
CONWAY : She was a seasonal worker at the ranch. Undocumented, one of many. My wife had no idea. The affair lasted exactly six months. Then one day, she just disappears. Three days later, I’m arrested.
RESSLER : Well, they also found a packed bag in your car, and your passport, and a plane ticket to Beijing.
CONWAY : She planted it all. That woman – She was diabolical. From the fingerprints on the suitcase to the airline ticket she purchased using my computer – She got into my life.

GUN STORE

Cruz is disguised

The seller reads the ID card

GUN SALESMAN : Abby Issa.

PRISON CELL

CONWAY : But that was nothing. The way she moved the money, her knowledge of how it worked, issuing false statements, creating shell companies. I hired the best defense money could buy, and after they looked at the evidence against me, they recommended I cop a plea.

GUN STORE

Cruz looks like Abby

GUN SALESMAN : Beretta 21A Bobcat. Packs a nasty bite.
CRUZ : If I ever have to use it, that’s exactly what I want it to do.

PRISON CELL

CONWAY : I pled guilty to a crime I didn’t commit. That’s how good she was. And the money she took, most of it belonged to my clients – Teachers, doctors, pension plans. Over 278 people lost everything because of some ghost.
RESSLER : Never went to trial, but your lawyers – You said that they gathered a lot of evidence. We need to see it.

UNDERGROUND PARKING

 RED : Hello, Roger.
HOBBS : The Director called for a vote.
RED : When?
HOBBS : Tomorrow. I’ve been quietly lobbying on your behalf.
RED : I appreciate that.
HOBBS : No, you don’t. You expect it.
RED : Where do things stand?
HOBBS : I’ve spoken to Mitchum. He’s with us. That means Brazil and South Korea are, as well.
That likely positions Jasper as the deciding vote. If we can’t secure his vote, the Director will have a majority to act against you.
RED : Then Jasper will have to be persuaded.
HOBBS : These are powerful men. They don’t respond to threats.
RED : No. With powerful men, one must appeal to their vanity.
HOBBS : Listen to me, Red. The Fulcrum – If you have it, if you can prove you have it, do it now. Your life depends on it.
RED : Set the meeting.

FBI SPECIAL OPS DIVISION

 SAMAR : Mrs. Salinger had a private detective follow her husband and his assorted mistresses for two months, but he found nothing on this particular woman. Partial prints, burner phones, inconclusive selfies taken from the victim’s phone.
RESSLER : Conway’s lawyers did three months of discovery before copping a plea, and all they got were payroll records from his ranch and a lot of fake green cards and social security numbers.
LIZ : The lawyers interviewed as much staff they could find, but no one could or would positively I.D. the woman Conway alleges framed him.

SAMAR : Two different cases, two sets of professional investigators, and this woman didn’t leave a trace.
ARAM : Guys, check it out. The detectives and the lawyers may not have found anything conclusive on their own, but if you put the photos they found together – Our ghost has a face.

LOCATION UNKNOWN 
Computer chimes. Keys clacking. Cruz sexting with next target Mason Carlton but he thinks it's Abby

She gives him a rendez-vous, Drake Motel, ASAP

 FBI SPECIAL OPS DIVISION

ARAM : Okay, so, I have this friend, Osborne, in the forensics lab – Freaking Osborne.
COOPER : Aram.
ARAM : Right. So, I scanned over 40 partial prints Conway’s investigators found at his ranch, another 53 partials found by Mrs. Salinger’s private detective. I fired them off to Osborne. He is a wizard with whorls, loops, and arches. He managed to stitch together three partials into a gorgeous, crystal-clear left thumbprint. Ran it through AFIS, and bang. Her name is Vanessa Anne Cruz – 36 years old. Last known address – Her mother’s place in Edison, New Jersey.
COOPER : Get there. Now.

DRAKE MOTEL

Mason wears a mask that hides his eyes

Cruz arrives

MASON CARLTON : Abby?
CRUZ : Shh. Drink it.
MASON CARLTON :Ahh.

CRUZ : Take off your clothes.

Handcuffs click .Grunts 
Groans.Exhales sharply 

Cruz collects his blood, prints, DNA, clothes...
Door opens, closes

MASON CARLTON :Abby? Abby!

Grunts. Door opens. Grunts

He removes the mask. A man is here

MASON CARLTON : Oh! Who the hell are you?!
ANDY : Andy, from the front desk. Uh, she gave me 20 bucks and told me this key belongs to you.

Door opens. Coughs

AIDA HERNANDEZ'S HOUSE

Outside

RESSLER : Aida Hernandez? Special Agent Donald Ressler, Special Agent Keen. We’re trying to locate your daughter, Vanessa Cruz.
HERNANDEZ : My daughter? She’s dead.

Inside

HERNANDEZ : It’s my fault. Vanessa never really had a good male role model. Her father was a creep, so I wasn’t surprised when she married one. Wash, rinse, repeat.
LIZ : Excuse me?
HERNANDEZ : Some women make the same mistakes with men over and over again. Hernando was a young broker. Worked at a big firm. Turns out, he was a real crook. He was doing insider trading, and when they caught him, he jumped off the George Washington Bridge.
LIZ : And what happened to Vanessa?
HERNANDEZ : Oh, she thought they set him up. She adored him till the end. Never questioned his innocence. I tried to reason with her, but ...

She coughs loudly

LIZ : Take your time.
HERNANDEZ : ...They found her folded clothing at Rockaway Beach. They never found a body, but I know she was dead. She’d never abandon me.
RESSLER : She looked after you?
HERNANDEZ : She was such a beautiful person Never a thought of herself, always of others.
RESSLER : And since she’s been gone?
HERNANDEZ : Vanessa made sure I’d be well taken care of.
LIZ : How did she do that?
HERNANDEZ : She had an insurance policy. I kept up with the mortgage and made ends meet.
RESSLER : Do you still have the policy?
HERNANDEZ : I never saw the policy. But I have a letter that came with the check. I’m sure I can find that.

FBI SPECIAL OPS DIVISION

SAMAR : It turns out it’s a fake.
LIZ : What is?
SAMAR : The entire company. Minnetonka Bankers Health & Life was incorporated in 2006. In nine years, the only policy it issued was to Cruz’s mother. It’s a shelf corporation.
LIZ : You mean “shell” corporation?
SAMAR : No. “Shelf,” with an “f.” Criminals file incorporation papers. They pay all the fees. It’s totally legitimate. Then then they put them on the shelf for years, sometimes decades. They pay the minimum corporate tax, build up a credit rating, comply with filings to create an established, creditworthy business that can be used to launder all kinds of transactions.
RESSLER : Including phony insurance payments.
ARAM : Guys? It looks like this isn’t the only way Vanessa Cruz has used shelf companies. At least six other victims were all accused of funneling money through shelf corporations they say they didn’t know existed.
LIZ : Samar, you said these corps are being sold to criminals. If we could find the person who sold them to Cruz –
RESSLER : Then we might find Cruz.

RED'S CAR

 On phone

LIZ : I need you to put me in touch with someone who brokers shelf corporations.
RED : Good. I need the Fulcrum.
LIZ : Our ghost has a name Vanessa Cruz. If I can find the person who brokered her–
RED : Agent Keen, I’m loathe to play “tit for tat,” but unfortunately, due to present circumstances, I must insist on the Fulcrum. I’m afraid it’s become an immediate matter of life and death.
LIZ : I know how much it means to you.
RED : I don’t think you do.
LIZ : And you know how much it means to me to know what part I play in all of this. But you told me it’s a blackmail file, and I’m a federal agent. I can’t just hand over information to you that might give you leverage over people who, for all I know, run our government.
RED : Those people launched a missile strike on the factory to kill us in order to keep their secret a secret.
LIZ : This is about Tom, isn’t it?

Red: Chuckling

RED : No. This is simply about me trying to survive. I’m perfectly happy to put you in touch with someone who deals in shelf corporations, but I need the Fulcrum. Think about it, Lizzy.

IN A STREET

Tom bumps into guy, lifts wallet

 TOM : Sorry, man. Sorry.

Cellphone rings. Beeps

TOM : Yeah?
LIZ : It’s me. I need your help.

MOTEL ROOM

LIZ : The case I’m working on – Our perp funneled money through a shelf corporation called Minnetonka Bankers Health & Life. Now, I’m sure you must know people who provide these types of services to people like –
TOM : To people like me?
LIZ : Yes, to people like you.
TOM : Isn’t Reddington your C.I.? Why isn’t he here? Is he still upset about last night?
LIZ : I told you, if you help me with this case, I would get you those passports. My relationship with Reddington is not up for discussion. What we need to talk about is the case. Now, these are two other shelf corps our unsub set up.

Tom: Inhales deeply

TOM : Andrusia Industries, Middle Leaf Properties. Are these supposed to mean something to me?
LIZ : All three of those shelf corps are named after Minnesota lakes. When I was sifting through your lies, I found the shelf corp where you had the money parked Berlin was paying you Owasso Inc, also a Minnesota lake.
TOM : All right, I’ll talk to my contact, see what I can come up with.
LIZ : No, I’ll talk to your contact.
TOM : How about we go together?

A HOUSE

 JASPER : What’s so urgent?
HOBBS : I wanted to talk to you about Raymond Reddington.
JASPER : The vote’s not until tomorrow afternoon.
HOBBS : The vote’s all but taken – Not officially, but I’ve spent the last six hours speaking with all the major players.
JASPER : You’re back-channeling?
HOBBS : You’re damn right. If Reddington has the Fulcrum, his death triggers a protocol for release. We will be exposed.
JASPER : And why am I here?
HOBBS : You’re the swing vote, Kenneth. You’re the one that will make this decision.
JASPER : You know I lean towards the Director. Why should I change that position now?

Red steps into view

RED : Because, Mr. Jasper, you strike me as a man who would prefer to pitch rather than catch.
JASPER : What the hell have you done?
HOBBS : Just hear him out. That’s all I ask.
RED : Roger is quite right. The Director’s latest stratagem is hubris. It has very little to do with me and everything to do with the consolidation of his power. If he succeeds, you’ll become nothing more than his trusted servant. He needs to go. He will go. Tomorrow, after the meeting, after you win this vote with everything that your head and your heart tell you are true.
JASPER : You’re talking about assassination.
RED : Yes, Mr. Jasper. “Ambition’s debt must be paid.”
JASPER : Julius Caesar?
RED : One of my favorites – The play, not so much the man. The man was a bit full of himself. He did have a brilliant military mind, but he couldn’t smell a plot to save his life. Intentional pun.
JASPER : And why is that?
RED : Pride. The subtlest and yet most deadly of the seven sins. Like the Director, he couldn’t be saved.
JASPER : And which part do you play in all this? Cassius?
RED: Oh, no. I’m the Rubicon.You simply need to determine which side of history you want to end up on. Who are you, Mr. Jasper? A subordinate who remained slavishly obedient to his master, or the presumptive leader of an organization that will be far more powerful than it has ever been?

A HOUSE
Telephone rings

ZIGGY : Diamond Drive Properties.

Chuckles, seeing Tom

ZIGGY : Oh, my God. Billy!

Laughs. hugs

ZIGGY : Come here, you.
TOM : How you doing? Ziggy, this is Liz. Liz, this is Ziggy.
ZIGGY : What brings you two here?
TOM : Big favor. My friend here was a gull in a con game, and she lost a lot of money.
ZIGGY : Oh, that’s too bad, baby.
TOM : Turns out, she was hustled by one of your clients.
ZIGGY : You know better than this.
TOM : I know. I know. But I need an address. Look, the people we work for are serious, and if we don’t get that money back –
ZIGGY : You his woman?
LIZ : I’m more like his ball and chain.
TOM : Yeah. So, what do you say? Can you help us? Please?

Outside

TOM : Hey. How about a thank you?

Later on phone

LIZ : Ressler, I’ve got a mailing address for Cruz.

CRUZ'S SAFE HOUSE 
Loud bang; armed agents enter Cruz’s “shop”

RESSLER : Clear
MAN : Clear.
MAN #2: Clear.

Drawer rattles

MAN : Agent Ressler?

Calls Ressler over to show him what he’s found

On phone with Aram

 RESSLER : I’ve got dozens of files, photos, dossiers. I mean, she’s going through their trash, hacking their networks. I mean, listen to this. Copies of Declan Salinger’s bank statements, medical records. There’s even surveillance photos and every book and video he’s ordered for three years.
ARAM : Hang on. Did you say dozens of files? This goes way beyond the names Mr. Reddington gave us.
RESSLER : I’m looking at people she’s framed, people she’s thinking of framing. Aram, you wouldn’t believe this place. Hair, threads, lint, bits of carpet, cigarette butts. All collected, categorized, and filed under each victim’s name.
ARAM : Trace evidence to be planted at crime scenes.
RESSLER : Huh. Drew Roberts. He was one of Cruz’s victims. He worked at Oakside Investments.
ARAM : And?
RESSLER : That was the firm that employed Cruz’s dead husband. Aram, I might have an idea what this is all about.

TOM'S CAR

 TOM : You know, I’m no worse than your buddy Reddington.
LIZ : He’s not my buddy. And you are worse.
TOM : You don’t get it. Even after all this time, Reddington Is dangerous, and he is playing you.
LIZ : I think he’s more dangerous than you give him credit for. But he has a moral code. I don’t like it, but at least I know what it is, and it does not include lying to me.
TOM : Whatever you say.You want to know what I’m gonna do?
LIZ : No.
TOM : I’m gonna buy a boat.
LIZ : A boat?
TOM : Mm-hmm. A diving boat. Gonna run it down to Micronesia, open up a charter business. You ever heard of Chuuk Lagoon? It’s an old Japanese naval base down in the South Pacific. February 7, 1944, sank 12 warships, and now they’re just lying at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a diver’s paradise.
LIZ : You don’t even know how to swim.
TOM : I know. But I can learn.

A BAR

 CRUZ : Hi.
ABBY : Hi. Sorry I’m late. I did it. I talked to an attorney.
CRUZ : About Carlton?
ABBY : Yes. And I think I have a case, that I should file a claim with H.R. for sexual harassment.
CRUZ : You did the right thing.
ABBY : Well, this only happened because you gave me the courage.

Chuckles

ABBY :Thank you.

CRUZ : We’re gonna celebrate. I’ll book a room at the Wolverton, and we’re just gonna order room service and watch movies all night.
ABBY : I love you.

Chuckles

CRUZ : Abby –
ABBY : No. I mean it. I know that we said we weren’t gonna get super serious, but I can’t help it. I love you. What is it?
CRUZ : I love you, too.

TOM'S CAR

 
TOM : Well, I’m assuming you don’t want me to walk you to your door.

Liz gives him the passports

LIZ : Thank you.

OUTSIDE TOM'S CAR

Car door closes

TOM : Hey, can I ask you something? Do you think it’s possible For, uh – Someone like me to start over, to become something else?
LIZ : Isn’t that what you do for a living?
TOM : Yeah. But, uh – You know what I mean.
LIZ : Can you be honest? You have to be honest. Tom. Our entire marriage, everything that happened – Our fights, the baby – Your laugh. It couldn’t have all been pretend. You’re not that good an actor.

Tom chuckles

LIZ : That’s why I didn’t see it, because so much of it was real.You are my greatest failure as a profiler.
TOM : You’re my greatest success. You made me feel – For a moment – Like I had a life – And that somebody cared. So, this is me being honest.
LIZ : Can you be honest about the passports?
TOM : The passports?
LIZ : They’re real – Government issue. Where’d you get them?
TOM : Berlin had a guy.
LIZ : I guess not.
TOM : Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I can’t. Not about this.
LIZ : That’s not how the truth works. You don’t get to pick and choose. Not if you want to learn how to swim.
TOM : It’s gonna be a nice boat.

She kisses him; he kisses back

TOM : What was that?
LIZ : That was goodbye.

A HOUSE

The Director to security guy

 THE DIRECTOR : Uh, that won’t be necessary. Mr. Hobbs here is one of the good guys. How are Faye and the boys? You know, I don’t think I’ve seen them since Dylan’s wedding.
HOBBS : They’re fine. Mark and his wife just had a baby girl.
THE DIRECTOR: Oh, grandfather. Well, it suits you well. Wisdom of the ages and all.

Jasper enters

HOBBS : Where is everybody? I thought I was late.
JASPER : The vote’s already been taken.
THE DIRECTOR : Roger. Roger, Roger, Roger. I always treated you with respect. We may not have seen eye to eye, but I always heard you out.
HOBBS : Look, I don’t know what he’s been telling you –
THE DIRECTOR : I brought you in.
HOBBS : I know.
THE DIRECTOR : I was your sponsor.
HOBBS : Yes. Look, I told him that Reddington –
THE DIRECTOR : Reddington did not make you! We made you! Have you forgotten what this organization has done for you? Government contracts? Silverstone? R&D grants? We put you in the game, and you betray us? You betray me? I treated you like family. I supported you.
HOBBS : Just hear me out.
THE DIRECTOR : Shh, shh, shh. There is a car waiting for you outside. You are going to the airport.
HOBBS : Please.
THE DIRECTOR : Zzt! You are leaving the country tonight. You are not to call your family, and you are never coming back.

FBI SPECIAL OPS DIVISION

 RESSLER : It’s not about money. It’s about revenge. Aram, can you put up all the files? Hernando Cruz jumped off that bridge after being accused of insider trading. He purchased 10,000 shares of stock in Rudman Pharmaceuticals one day before it got approval from the FDA to market a new cancer drug. That stock doubled overnight. Toshiro Osaka, our Japanese entrepreneu.r When Hernando Cruz made the trade, Osaka was the CFO at Rudman Pharmaceuticals. Miles Chapman – He was the regulator who approved the drug. And Drew Roberts was Cruz’s co-worker who oversaw all of the trades.
COOPER : You think they were in on it with the husband?
RESSLER : I’m saying maybe the husband wasn’t in on it at all. Maybe they set him up.
SAMAR : It makes sense. Vanessa Cruz is a frame-up artist. Maybe she got the idea from seeing how easy it was for these people to frame her husband.
ARAM : Wait. The evidence you found in Cruz’s loft suggests she’s been targeting dozens of victims.
RESSLER : All one-percenters – People who personify the same greed that cost her husband his life.
COOPER : Assuming that she’s going after everyone who was involved in framing her husband, the question is, who’s left?
RESSLER : I don’t know, but I do know someone who can tell us.

FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX,

BRUCETON MILLS

PRISON CELL

LIZ Before you made your fortune in the private sector, you worked in the division of corporate finance at the S.E.C.
CONWAY : Yeah, so? Did you look at the research I gave you?
RESSLER : Tell us about Hernando Cruz.
CONWAY: Did you find anything?
RESSLER : Hernando Cruz. He was a trader for Oakside Investments in 2008. He killed himself after you were about to open an investigation into him for insider trading.
CONWAY: So? What does that have to do with – I thought you were looking for the woman who set me up.
RESSLER : It was his wife who set you up, and now we know why – Along with Toshiro Osaka, Miles Chapman, and Drew Roberts.
LIZ : Tell us about Hernando Cruz.
RESSLER : He didn’t jump off that bridge, did he, Lester?
LIZ : Don’t look so depressed. Today’s your lucky day. We found out who framed you.
CONWAY: Cruz. It was his wife?
RESSLER : Maybe we can help you. Maybe you can talk to us, and maybe we can make a deal.
CONWAY: It was 2007, before the crash – Height of subprime mortgages, bundling, things that really hurt people. But this – It was a victimless crime. We had every angle covered – The trading floor, the regulatory agencies.
RESSLER : You made the S.E.C. look the other way.
CONWAY: I want a lawyer.
RESSLER : No, no, no. What you want is a deal, and the only way you’re gonna get that is if you keep talking. So – Talk.
CONWAY: Everyone was going to look the other way, except that kid, Cruz. He found out, went to his boss. We tried to keep him quiet, but he refused. He was too idealistic.
LIZ : So you were a part of a conspiracy, and when Cruz tried to go against you, he was murdered – Thrown off a bridge to keep him from blowing the whistle. That’s when you framed him, which is why she framed you.
CONWAY: When I knew her, she was nobody, a ranch hand. How did she –
LIZ : If Cruz went to his boss, like you said, why was it never reported?
CONWAY: Because his boss was in on it.
RESSLER : What was his name?

FBI'S CAR

On phone

RESSLER : Mason Carlton, Thundridge Capital. Cruz has taken revenge on everyone but this guy. Find him, Aram.

LOCATION UNKNOWN

  Computer chimes. Cruz /Abby and Carlton texting

FBI'S CAR

ARAM : I called Carlton’s office, and nobody’s picking up. His cell is going straight to voicemail.
But get this – I accessed his cell records, and I found a ton of inappropriate messages with his assistant. Her name is Abby Issa. Either this girl is having an affair with her boss –
LIZ : – Or he’s being catfished. You said she was his assistant?
ARAM : Which means she’d have the keys to the kingdom – Passwords, financials, credit cards. There’s a hit on Mason Carlton’s Amex. He reserved a room for tonight at the Wolverton Hotel.

A ROOM,  WOLVERTON HOTEL

MASON CARLTON : Hello? Abby? How long have you been here?

Cruz : Wearing wig to look like Abby Issa

CRUZ : Hello, Mr. Carlton.
CARLTON : Who the hell are you?

She drugs him

CRUZ : Hernando Cruz. Surely you remember him – The young day trader you and your colleagues framed and murdered. There were six of you – Pigs. Too good to work, too refined and elegant to sweat. So you and all the other useless, greedy pigs instead gorge yourselves, grow fat on the sweat of the other 99%. So – Little piggy – I will tell you how this is going to work. You and Abby have been having an affair. There’s a digital paper trail of texts and pictures. Your fingerprints and DNA are in her apartment. You reserved this room. I’ve arranged it so the police will believe you’ve been to her apartment, just like I’ve arranged for them to believe Abby discovered you were embezzling from your firm and was gonna blackmail you – unless you pay her to keep quiet. They’ll confirm she’d gone to a lawyer, prepared a sexual-harassment lawsuit, which she threatened you with, so you shot her with the gun she bought to protect herself before turning it on yourself. Abby – She has such a big heart. She’s so innocent, so unsuspecting – Just like – But this is the only way. You have to pay for what you did.

Door beeps

ABBY : Hey. I’m here. Sorry I’m late. What is this?

Telephone rings in the room. Cruz picks up the phone

FRONT DESK : Hello, this is security calling. I have a gentleman and a lady from the FBI here who’d like to have a word with Mr. Carlton.

She hangs up

CRUZ : I’m sorry, Abby.

Crying

CRUZ : I’m so sorry.

Security to Ressler and Liz

 SECURITY : Follow me, please.

Beeps

RESSLER : Hands where I can see them. Hands in the air!

Abby, crying

ABBY : She said she made a mistake. She said she made a horrible mistake.
Radio security! Have them lock down the hotel! And call an ambulance!

Outside the hotel Liz finds a wig in a trash can

LIZ : Ressler!

 COOPER'S OFFICE

LIZ : You wanted to see me?
COOPER : I thought you should know

Door closes

COOPER :Mason Carlton’s gonna be charged in the murder of Hernando Cruz.

Liz sighs

LIZ :We lost her.
COOPER: Yes. And we will find her. What matters now is that the innocent people she framed are gonna be set free.

Pointing to his cane

LIZ : This here – And you there? You have no idea how happy that makes me.
COOPER : I wonder what his angle is.
LIZ : Sir?
COOPER: Reddington. Why give us this case? Thank you. What’s his interest in this Cruz woman?

  AIRPORT

MR KAPLAN : Mrs. Cruz, my employer is a longtime admirer of yours.
CRUZ : Who are you?
KAPLAN : He understands your gambit has run its course. The FBI knows what you’re up to. They’re looking for you now, which means you have one of two choices, run and hide, or accept his help.
CRUZ : What help? And who’s this employer?

TOM'S SAFE HOUSE 
Knock on door

LIZ : I got your message. What is this place?
TOM : Reddington.
LIZ : Tom, what are you still doing here?
TOM : I’ve been thinking about what you said – About needing to tell you the truth. So I’m gonna tell you the truth.
LIZ : I don’t understand.
TOM : The passports – The passports came from Reddington. Liz, there’s more.

RED'S SAFE HOUSE

On phone

JASPER : It’s me. It’s done.
RED : I’m listening.
JASPER: The vote went your way. The Director wasn’t very happy, but a vote’s a vote.
RED : And Hobbs?
JASPER: He wants to meet.
RED : Yes, I’m quite sure he would have. But he can’t, can he?
JASPER: What are you talking about?
RED : Hobbs was to contact me after the vote was cast. He didn’t, which means he’s dead, which means you betrayed him. Betrayed me.
JASPER: That’s not true. He specifically asked that the three of us should meet so that we can discuss the future.
RED : You need to run, Jasper. Run like the prairie wind, because I’m coming for you. And when I find you, I’m going to cut out that forked tongue of yours and deliver it to the Director myself.

He hangs up

RED : It’s time to go away, Dembe.

Dembe hangs up another phone

DEMBE : Agent Keen wants to meet regarding the Fulcrum.

AN EMPTY STREET

RED : What’s wrong?
LIZ : I just spent the last 42 hours dealing with a man who is a lifelong habitual, pathological liar.
RED : Tom.
LIZ : Yes. Tom.
RED : Lizzy –
LIZ : Don’t give me advice. This man, this liar, he told me something – Something that I need you to confirm. Now, before I ask, I want you to understand that I expect you to give me the dignity of a yes or a no. Do you understand?
RED : Yes. I’m the one who hired Tom Keen to enter your life. Can I explain?
LIZ : No. No, you cannot explain. Here.

She's angry. And gives him the Fulcrum

LIZ : This is all you wanted. Now you have it.
RED : Lizzy, when I hired Tom –
LIZ : I said please do not attempt to explain why. I don’t care why. I just want this to stop. I want it all to stop, right now. Take it!

Angry, she gets in her car

RED : Lizzy. Lizzy!

Gunshot: Red is hit and down

LIZ : No!
DEMBE : Raymond!
LIZ : Dembe!

Gunshots. Dembe gets case with Fulcrum

LIZ : Reddington!

 

 Adapté du site «The Blacklist Classified», mise en page par mnoandco