"I discovered a file about a Societele project called Socrates." "If you don't do what they want, they'd hurt the children?" "Bye." "All you need to do is drop your ill-advised investigation of my company." "You'll stay away from my family?" " Who is it?" " Uh, someone named Khulus." "He wants to meet with you." "Can I tag along?" "It's not her ring, they got it wrong." "I'm not sure it means anything." "No, Aslam." "We need a mechanic." "We'll not stay here." "There are bandits on this road." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "Aslam... _" "Hey, Luc." "_" "She's mine." "I don't think so." "Okay, man, I will blow your brains all over this desert." "Then your little band of idiots will kill me because they won't be thinking about my much bigger band of idiots who will hunt each one of your men down, string them up by their testicles, and let them hang until they die from the pain." "_" "_" "_" "It's about the money, huh?" "_" "_" "Get in the car." "_" "Welcome back." "It's good to see you, Peter." "You look like hell." "Well, thanks." "Shall we?" "Four years ago, Yusuf vanished from our home." "I hired private investigators to find him." "They tracked him to London where he was staying with a Muslim cleric..." "Imam Khulus." "Ultimately, the trail ran cold." "Do they have any leads in New York?" "Not yet." "Once I hear from them, we'll run down whatever they found." ""We"?" "Yusuf is still the Jack of Spades." "The future Prime Minister of Greece can't be seen in the same universe as him." "Then make sure that he knows" "I am in New York expressly for him." "It's critical." "I need you to meet with Alex Baker." "Why would I do such a thing?" "Because I'm asking you to." "Meet with the man who had my husband killed?" "I'm not asking lightly." "If I mean something to you, if what we... if what we had meant anything at all, you'll do this for me." "Now who's manipulating who?" "Are you forgetting about that photo of you with Yusuf?" "If you don't engage with Baker, he'll use it to torpedo your campaign." "Buy us time... to find Yusuf." "Without him, we have nothing." "You can do that." "At least do that." "Fine." "And for whatever it's worth, I am loyal to you." "And I would never hurt you." "I know." " What is your name?" " Harrison Walters." "Good." "As-salaam alaiku." "Alaikum as-salaam." "Does anyone know you're here?" "I didn't..." "I didn't tell anyone." "Our friend has said kind things about your father." "Y-You mean Yusuf, right?" "So what is your plan?" "How can you be of help to us?" "By finishing what my father was writing." "And you work for the New York Times, the Washington Post?" "No." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "I can do this." "I will do this." "Wait outside the barbershop there... 3:00 p.m., be prompt." "Allah Hafiz." "Thank you." "So the Fellowship reaches the exit to this place called Moria, where these massive fire demons are created by the first Evil Lord, you know, before Sauron." "And then there's also this book called The Silmarillion." "A tale within a tale." "Yeah." "Tolkien is so boss." "Thanks, you know, for buying me the book." "It made me happy too." "Yeah, I should probably go." "My dad." "Oh, I got you something." "You okay?" "You know, if something's bothering you," "I might be able to help." "You know, I want to help." "It's my mom's ring." "It's not hers." "I know it." "What makes you say that?" "It's got the right date... you know, which is the wrong date." "It's obvious, but my dad won't see it." "He keeps saying there's probably an explanation." "And I'm like, "Yeah, duh, they're lying."" "I don't know." "He treats me like I'm crazy." "What do you think?" "You're not crazy." "I think you'll know the truth when you feel it... in here." "And until you do, you don't know the truth." " Think so?" " I do." "And so does every person who ever wrote a book." " For me?" " Mm-hmm." "Thank you." "All right, so what's happened?" "You wouldn't be here unless something had happened." "Hmm?" "Where are we going?" "What's that?" "Luc?" "Luc?" "All right, stop the truck, now!" "Surprise." "He came to my house." "The son of a bitch came to my house." "So you killed him and brought him here?" "He's not dead." "What?" "They showed up, as you said they would." "It wasn't enough they had to kill Serena, now they're trying to kill me?" "Well, that's not gonna happen." "I will not let it." "Yeah, that's right, you son of a bitch." "Now I get to decide who lives and who dies." "How long have you had him?" "Three hours, four maybe." "A tracker?" "Oselas wear trackers." "Let me see it." " Why?" " Curious." "So what now, genius?" "You brought him here." "The man needs serious medical attention." "What, you want to save him?" "What's your plan?" "We sit here and watch him die?" "No." "We'll go to my house in Timbuktu." "I have supplies there." "We go to his house in Timbuktu." "What?" "I will guard him." "No, Aslam, that's not a good idea." "It's good." "I will watch him." "He so much as blinks, bang on that window, and you get my attention." " You hear me?" "If he blinks." " Okay." "Hey." "Where's Mom?" "You okay?" "What's up, kiddo?" "When are we coming home?" "Mom won't tell me." "She says she's fine, but I hear crying at night." "And I don't even know why we left." "Please don't get a divorce." "I'm sorry about Cameron, okay?" "And if that's why you guys are fighting, it's my fault, and I'm sorry, okay?" "Listen to me." "You listening?" "None of this has anything to do with you." "Your mom and I aren't getting a divorce." "It's just some things at work I need to deal with." "But none of it is worth you worrying about." "We'll figure it out, your mother and I." "But it is never, never you." "Okay?" "Or your bozo brother." "Why doesn't she say that, then?" "She never tells me anything." "Because she's your mom." "And she's trying to protect you, and that's what moms do." "Hmm?" "I'm sorry, sweetie." "I need to take this." " Sophia." " Peter?" "We found him..." "Yusuf's contact, the cleric from London." "He emigrated here three years ago to run a mosque." "What's the name of the mosque?" "Al Kaoutar, in Coney Island." "Okay, I-I'll be there as soon as I can." "Go now, Peter." "Time is not our friend here." "Okay, I'll go now." "Was that Sophia Tsaldari?" "Yes." "Mom talks about her." "Doesn't like her very much." "I love you, sweetie." "Head back to Grammy's." "I'll check in with you later, okay?" "Imam." "I'm Peter Decker." "I called earlier." "I know you're being watched." "I was careful." "I have to talk to Yusuf in person." "I'm sorry, Mr. Decker, but as I told you on the phone, I do not know this man Yusuf." "We both know that isn't true." "I know you're protecting him." "I know about Black Sands and SOC." "I know Yusuf is innocent." "Good luck with your search." "Sophia Tsaldari asked me to come." "She's in New York." "She asked me to contact you and offer her..." "Our help." "What kind of help?" "We can get him to Greece" "He can tell his story safely under her protection." "Tsaldari I know." "But who are you?" "Look me up." "I was with the Justice Department." "I'm sure this Yusuf person would find that most comforting." "I know the back channels that can get him out of the U.S." "I'm a friend." "I want to help." "Think about it and call me." "I'll meet wherever he wants." "My cell number's on the back." "What's going on?" "My mom's sleeping." "Ruby's lying about who she is, and I have proof." "The real Ruby Simms died when she was 16..." "Murdered." "Look." "What is this?" "They went to camp together." "She's been lying from the beginning." "She told us she was from Time magazine, remember?" "Yes, and she explained that." "And then there was that thing that happened in the park." "What thing at the park?" "Nothing." "L-look, she's been lying." "And now she's even lying about who she is." "Who she is, Harrison." "Plus, I don't trust anyone with... explanations." "I just..." "I didn't want you to do anything rash, without you knowing this." "She's dangerous." "You can't get too close." ""Too close"?" "Yeah, too close." "I care about you, Harrison." "I just wanted you to know that." "Okay, and I care about you too, Bob." "Really?" "Yeah, I mean..." "No, that is..." "That's not what I meant by that." "No, Harrison, I, um..." " Oh, God!" " It's okay." "It's okay, Bob." "Just..." "Don't worry about it, and, uh, I'll, uh..." "I'll talk... talk..." "Talk to you later." "Hello." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "What do you want?" "_" "_" "Please." "My husband already spoke yesterday to Homeland Security." "I also know he's in contact with Yusuf Qasim." "_" "He arranged a meeting with a young man," "Harrison Walters, who came to your mosque last night." "So here's your choice." "I tell my superiors what I know today and set your world on fire." "Or you tell me one little piece of information, and then you and your terrorist husband get to live in peace." "What is this information?" "Where and when is Harrison Walters meeting Yusuf?" "Where were you?" "Bookstore." "Set the table?" "Was that woman there?" "How many times have you seen her?" " Twice, three times?" " Three times." "It's not a big deal." "We just talk about Lord of the Rings." "No, of course not." "I just..." "I need her phone number." " For what?" " To talk." "I need to know who she is." "Maybe we can have her over." "Colonel, please come in." "The unfortunate reality is, and I'm sorry to be so blunt, Suzanne, sometimes the bodies of our soldiers are stripped of valuables before they can be recovered." "The Army, in an effort to spare military families any more heartache, will often replace sentimental items such as wedding rings from their records." "So the Army made another ring?" "I'm afraid so." "I didn't know about it, of course, or I would've put a stop to it." "You're a liar." "Suzanne." "I'm sorry you feel that way." "He may believe you, but I don't." "Julia's the only one who listens to me." "Maybe that's why you think it's so wrong." "Suzanne." "Come back here!" "It's an emotional time." "It's a lot for a young girl to take in." "I should go talk to her." "Yes, of course." "I've kept you long enough." "Oh, by the way, who's Julia?" "May I ask you a question?" "Why did they tell you to download it?" "What are you talking about?" "Hey, come on, I was in the army." "I know you don't even hiccup without getting permission." "They didn't ask me to download it." "So all of this is happening to me because you defied an order?" "Yeah." "Wait." "You were in the army?" "What, like, the French Army?" "The Foreign Legion." "You do realize, if you had just followed the order, you would not be here." "I wouldn't be here." "The people who are dead would still be alive." "Yes, I am aware of that, Luc." "I'm very aware." "I downloaded it because I knew there was something off." "I just didn't realize how off." "In fact, I could never imagine I could be that far off, okay?" "I had a good life until you came." "So when did you get discharged?" "Hmm?" "From the army?" "Do they even call the Foreign Legion an army?" "What, you went AWOL?" "You went AWOL?" "I don't want to talk about it, okay?" "I bet you don't." "Huh." "That explains a lot." "Shall we get started?" "At last, the people's candidate of Greece has agreed to sit down with us." "You can thank Peter for that." "Oh, yes." "Thank you, Peter." "And thank you, Sophia, for taking time to sit with us during the last days of your campaign." "I can imagine how demanding your time must be." "How could I not meet with a man with such a distinguished reputation?" "Congratulations." "I hear the campaign is going very well." "Now, what do we do about the Greek debt problem?" "If you're elected..." "When I'm elected," "I will implement my promise of debt reform, root out corruption wherever I find it." " You mean default." " "Default"?" "No." "No, it is merely following the law." "Well, goodie for us." "Since SOC has not done anything illegal or corrupt, that won't be a problem." "Peter, why don't you present our offer to our guest?" "I think she'd appreciate it most coming from you." "Of course." "My client is willing to accept 50 cents on the dollar, effectively cutting your balance due in..." "Half, yes, I understand mathematics." "If Greece defaults on the debt, your price of credit will skyrocket." "Your country will need another bailout, and the cycle continues." "Our repayment terms are very lenient, allowing Greece to avoid bankruptcy." "You'll be seen as a fiscally responsible leader right out of the gate." "You knew my husband, Christos, Mr. Baker." "What do you think he would say about this deal?" "I'd like a moment alone with Ms. Tsaldari, please." "♪ ♪" "I didn't know who else to call." "What is it?" "You said you could get him to Greece, protect him." "Can you?" "Yes." "I'll do everything I can." "In one hour, he'll be at Bashshar Barbershop on Avenue H in Coney Island." "Someone was here just now." "I don't know if they were FBI or Homeland Security, but they threatened my wife." "She told them the meeting place." "I'm leaving now." "♪ ♪" "Harrison Walters?" "Are you Yusuf?" "No, he's close." "♪ ♪" " Why should he trust you?" "♪ ♪" "Hey, hey!" "Hey, who the hell are you?" "Hey!" "♪ ♪" "Harrison!" "Harrison!" "Harrison, hey!" "What happened?" "Are you okay?" "What are you doing here?" "What are you doing?" "What are you doing?" "I heard about the protest, and I came here to write a story." "What happened to you?" "Uh, I was..." "I was supposed to meet Yusuf, but it... it wasn't Yusuf." "It was someone else." "And suddenly, his head blew up." "His head blew up." "Come on." "Let's go home." "Come on." "Come here." "No, no, no, wait, wait." "You're that kid, right?" "The one who took her to Tessalit." "No, no." "Don't you want to hear about it?" "Your father?" "How he died?" "Come here." "Let me tell you." "He was brave." "He suffered." "Stop!" "Stop the car!" "Stop the car!" "What the..." "Aslam!" "Hey, you okay?" "Come on." "Your gun." "Give me your gun." "It's okay." "It's okay." "Here, lean on me." "_" "_" "There's only one person here who wants you alive, and that's me." "Don't push it, or I'm gonna kill you." "Unless I kill you first." "Let me tell you a secret, my stupid friend." "You've failed to kill her how many times?" "Huh?" "And now here she is on a silver platter delivered by me." "So here's what we're gonna do." "Since I've been so helpful, you and your Osela friends will take her and this whole mess away." "And I will never see you or any Osela ever again, you understand?" "He doesn't get it." "He thinks talking to you is dumb or something." "He just doesn't like it." "Unless he can get to know you." "He wants you to come over for dinner." "That's okay, right?" "Suzanne, he's your dad." "And I know he might not be showing it, but he's in a lot of pain about your mom." "I know, but that doesn't mean..." "He's going through a lot right now, and I don't want to make things harder." "I think it might be best if we just..." "I knew it." "I knew he would ruin this." "I hate him." "You don't mean that." "I do." "He's frozen." "Mom's alive, and he just sits there, ruining everything for me." "Suzanne, it's not his fault." "He's doing the best he can." "Look, I'm sure we can see each other again." "I think it's just important that we..." "Suzanne?" "Are you okay?" "Oh, my God." "Somebody call an ambulance, please." "How are you feeling?" "Harrison, you okay?" "Who are you?" "I mean, really, for once, the truth, who are you?" "I don't..." "I don't know what you're talking..." "Bob found a photo of you when you were younger." "Your name wasn't Ruby Simms." "My real name is Rikki Castillo." "This is complicated." "I'm listening." "I was..." "I was abused when I was little." "So, to get away from my parents, every summer I went to this sleep-away camp." "It's, like, a camp for troubled kids, you know, juvenile delinquents." "My best friend was a girl named Ruby Simms." "I remember this field, and at the far end of it was this galaxy of fireflies swarming everywhere." "She called it the edge of the world." "We hung out there every night, and she told me that her dad had touched her." "I was ten." "She made it sound so bad." "And I didn't know up until that point." "So I told her it happened to me too." "She told me that I needed to tell a counselor or somebody, so I did, and all hell broke loose." "I was in foster homes for seven years, got kicked out of schools." "When you bring a life into this world... that's a promise." "Every promise that's ever been made to me has been broken." "It's not self-pity." "It's just the facts." "So, when an Army recruiter came to my school, it made sense." "It's a commitment, so I signed up." "Wait." "You were in the Army?" "Yeah." "You wanted the truth." "So what happened to your friend?" "I was mad at her." "Her advice ruined my life, or so I thought." "She wrote me these long, handwritten letters, telling me everything she felt and thought and saw... and that she didn't care that I was mad at her, that she still loved me." "And then one day, the letters..." "They just stopped coming." "And... turns out Social Services, in all their wisdom, said it was okay for her to go back home, that it was safe." "But it wasn't safe." "She..." "One day she... she stood up to her dad, and..." "He... he beat her to death while her mother was at work." "So I gave up my military benefits." "I was honorably discharged at 22, and I took her name... hoping to make a new life for myself where no one could find me." "You mean your..." "You mean your father?" "Yeah." "She was my best friend." "So, taking her name, it kind of made that true for me." "It's stupid." "No, it's not." "I didn't tell you, because sometimes, you know, when you tell people the darkest thing, they can't handle it." "They run away." "Don't be afraid of me." "W-wait." " What's wrong?" " Just slow down." "Slow down." "Look at me." "Stay with me, okay?" " Suzanne Ballard?" " Right over there." "Oh, sweetheart." "What happened?" "I'll be outside." "Yes, thank you." "What happened?" "You know you're not supposed to eat nuts." "You're usually so careful about that kind of thing." "I don't..." "You don't what?" "She was going to stop being my friend." "Oh, gosh." "Do you know what you almost did to yourself?" "Do you know what it would do to me if anything ever happened to you?" "Do you?" "I'm sorry, Daddy." "Thanks for taking care of her." "Of course." "She's gonna be fine." "But they're keeping her overnight." " Look, this has been really..." " I feel like I owe you..." "Sorry." "Sorry." "You go first." "I know you mean a lot to her, but I don't know why." "What do you two talk about?" "Lord of the Rings mostly." "Okay, um, look... clearly, you're very important to her... more than I realized, which is fine." "But I want to be a part of it..." "Need to be a part of it." "I need to know who you are... or, uh, get to know you." "I really am bad at this." "Can we have coffee sometime?" "Yeah, I'd like that." "In fact, I think it's important that we talk." "There are some things I should..." "Great." "Okay." "How about Thursday..." "Café Arnoux on Sullivan, about 10:00?" "I love that place." "It's perfect." "Okay." "I'm sorry to stop in like this." "I just..." "After what happened to you today," "I thought I should check on you." "Come in." "Where's your security detail?" "I gave them the night off." "I want to feel normal for once." "Is there any more of that wine?" "Of course." "Where are my manners?" "Thank you." "So what do you think happened?" "It wasn't Homeland Security." "Last I heard, they weren't assassinating people on American soil." "This is Societele." "I'll check back with Khulus tomorrow, see what he knows, see how it affected Yusuf." "What happened with Baker after I left?" "You mean after your elegant proposal?" "You were so enthusiastic, I thought for a moment that you actually believed what you were saying." "I mollified him by telling him" "I would think about his offer." "But you, Peter... you will keep trying to sway me, won't you?" "After all, you have 40 million reasons to do so." "Sophia, I..." "I had to make Baker believe that I had switched sides... that the threat to my family had changed things." "Is this true?" "I..." "I've lost my family." "My career is over." "Yusuf is a shadow out there." "Would I take that money?" "I don't know." "But I need a fallback, a place to land..." "Shh." "It's okay." "It's okay." "This is terrifying." "It is." "There are times when I feel hopeless." "Then I remember that I have a secret..." "A way that I am certain to win." "I have you." "♪ ♪" "I'm sorry." "I can't." "I just..." "I-I just want my family back." "I understand." "I should go." "Stay here." "♪ ♪" "What the hell are you doing?" "This is where I live." "I could have killed you." "Since when do you have a gun?" "Next time, call me first." "I didn't have a phone, okay?" "I got in a fight with Mom, and I just wanted my bed... my room, my stuff." "I'm so..." "I'm so sorry." "I'm sorry I scared you." "What is this?" "What's going on?" "Sweetheart, no, no, you don't understand." "I..." " Maya!" "I want you stop acting like it's a burden to know you." "It is." "Ma!" "I'm making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." "Do you want one?" "Ma." "Ma!" "Ma?" "Ma!"