"I don't want to wake up and find another five years have gone by and we are no closer to finding the traitor." "Previously on "the Assets"..." "Good night, Sandy." "Rick Ames ..." "the number-one suspect." "Everyone here must agree." "There'll be a series of routine security interviews with about a dozen case officers." "Mitch:" "If you were the spy, how would you do it?" "That's just not something I've ever r-really considered." "His new house ..." "they paid in cash." " Examiner:" "He passed." " So he's telling the truth." "Or he's the best liar I've ever seen." "Arthur:" "We all have to keep digging." "LANGLEY, Virginia USA" "Austin:" "It's not enough." "To get a federal warrant to surveil Aldrich Ames, to turn his life upside down, the DCI is going to need conclusive proof that he's a mole." "There's too much conjecture in this document." "Every deposit Ames made at his bank" "Was preceded by one day by a meeting with a known KGB agent at the Russian embassy." "Circumstantial evidence." "And forget about trying to arrest him." " That is miles away." " Hey, I have an idea." "How about we take Ames up to the seventh floor and have him tell the DCI in person that he's the traitor?" "!" " Would that be enough?" "!" " Arthur:" "Sandy!" "I think what she's saying is this is pretty much slam-dunk stuff." " Not slam-dunk enough." " He's going to get away with it!" "After all these years, we're gonna lose him!" "1x08 - "Avenger"" "U.S. EMBASSY Moscow" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "I have an appointment." "[beeping] Hey." "He contacted U.S. embassy staff 24 hours ago." "He says he has intelligence on our mole." " Credible intelligence?" " Not sure." "He says he has hard proof and a name." "We agreed to meet him in Berlin." "He'll need to be vetted if it's gonna be" " solid enough to get us a warrant." " Agreed." "Which is why you'll be taking the next flight out." "Here's your credentials and your cover." "You'll debrief him at a hotel in Prenzlauer Berg." "A case officer will meet you there." "You're back in the field, Grimes." "Berlin, GERMANY" "Laura?" "Hi." "Bring him in through the back entrance." "Station an officer in front and another in the alley behind the hotel." "We can't be too careful." "There's still a lot of Russian intelligence agents roaming the old parts of East Berlin." "This runs a direct wireless connection." "I'll ask the questions." "You relay them to the subject." "If he's a dangle, we cannot let him or the Russians know who's doing the interrogating or who we're after." "So you're my buffer." "Do you speak Russian?" " Yes." " Good." "His code name is GT-Avenger, but you'll address him as Aleksandr." " Got it?" " Yes, Ms. Grimes." "Oh [chuckles] please, call me Sandy." "[gate creaks]" "Here." "_" "He's here." "He's coming in." "Come on." "_" "_" "Make him feel comfortable." "Ask him about his trip." "You're his friend." "You're so happy he's here." "_ [sighs] It's when I leave, that worries me." "We'll take care of you." "We will spare no expense to make sure you are protected." "That is our top priority." "Was it your top priority for Dmitry Polyakov?" "Yes, actually, it was." "We could have moved him out of the Soviet Union any number of times but he always refused us." "He loved Russia ... wanted to be buried in Russian soil." "His choice." "Not ours." "L-let's talk about why he was compromised." "You have information for us about a mole?" "I might." "Why give it to us now after all these years?" "The KGB has changed." "It's broke ..." "all of Russia is broke." "We already have a German bank account set up for you if you agree to work with us." "I'll want it in dollars ..." "a lot of dollars." "Perhaps." "But we need to hear what you have to tell us first." "Wait it out." "Let him stew." "Your mole works in S.E. division." "Well-placed in counter-intelligence." "How do you know?" "I've seen the files at the SVR in Yasenevo." "How long has he worked for you?" "Since 1985." "He killed Varenik..." "and Martynov..." "Poleshchuk, Tolkachev, Polyakov." "Enough." "I know his name." "Before you give us his name, we will need proof ... something we can use in an American court of law." "I have this proof." "But it's still too dangerous for me to tell you." "We can make you rich and safe." "But we'll need the proof in our hands." "[sighs]" "A C.I.A. cable ..." "restricted traffic ... about the prime minister of Uzbekistan from your Rome embassy." "It wound up in our offices." "Slugged only to the director of central intelligence... and Aldrich Ames." "[sighs]" "It's real." "[jet engine roars]" "The only people who have retrieval privileges to this particular cable were the DCI and Rick Ames." "No one else could have laid their hands on it, and yet the Russians have it, which means one of these two men gave it to them." "Share it with the FBI and justice." "They'll bring it to" "The foreign intelligence surveillance court." "All right?" "Let's go get ourselves a warrant." "Great!" "Thank you." "You did great." "Good work." "Here you go." "One, two..." "Come on." "In you go." "Ohh." "Watch your hands." "[engine turns over]" "[engine turns over]" "[engine shuts off]" "Jim:" "There's microphones in every corner." "Nothing he says will escape us." "But now we'd like to wire his office." "Arthur:" "Are you kidding me?" "!" "Bugs?" "So the FBI can listen inside the C.I.A.?" "!" " Upstairs will never agree!" " They already gave it the go-ahead." "No, no, no." "This ain't happening." "There are lines you don't cross." "Art, we can't collect evidence." "I know you know that as well as I do." "Only the bureau can." "That's the law." " Even inside the C.I.A.?" " That is right." "Look, this is our independence and our building." "The old rules don't apply anymore." "Ames changed everything." "[breathing heavily]" "[breathing heavily]" "He's acting so strangely." "I mean, is ... is he nervous?" "Do you think he suspects something?" "Rick:" "Shaking." "Stop." "Sandy:" "We need to keep watching." " I'll take the first shift." " Okay." "FBI cameras inside the C.I.A." "Rosario:" "You know she needs whatever we can send her." " It's just not enough." " How many more times have I got to tell you and your mother?" "Things have changed!" "They've moved me." "I'm in counter-narcotics now." "They put you in that job because they hate you." "They don't hate me." "And there is nothing wrong with the job." "It's just not a very lucrative posting for you is all!" "Have you written them lately?" "Huh?" "Have you asked for more money?" "Look, this is none of your business." " None of my business?" " No." "What about those markers?" "Have you made them?" "She's talking about dead-drop markers." "Then she knows he's a spy." " She knows everything!" " Makes sense." "All of a sudden, the guy's a freaking millionaire." "How could she not know?" "Um, his son, Paul, is 5." "You never want to talk about it." "They go to jail, and he won't have a father or a mother." " That's your problem." " Rick, please listen to me!" "Aldrich:" "You look... [camera shutter clicks]" "[door opens]" "Chinese restaurant?" "Really?" "Yeah, it's neutral ground for all three organizations." "It took us three days to agree to meet in a restaurant." "It took us another three days to agree on Chinese." "[chuckles]" " Good evening." " Man:" "Yes." "Doug Chen with justice." " Hi." " Sandy Grimes." " Doug Chen." "Justice." " Okay." "Sandy Grimes." "Gentlemen." "[sighs]" "Okay." "Let's get this started." "Ames made a dead-drop mark last night, and everyone at this table knows that means he'll either be collecting or dropping intelligence" " for his Russian handlers." " So what's the plan?" "We'll have one team at his house, one on Military Road, and another at North 26th Street." "all possible exit routes." "We'll also have a tail beacon on his car, in case he loses us." "We've been surveilling him for three weeks now, and Ames has yet to leave the house before 8:30." "We'll never be more than 30 seconds away from him." "And when we catch him in the act, game's over." "Done deal." "[engine turns over]" "Fields:" "Where's his Jag?" "He's not here." "It's just his wife's car!" "Tail team 1, tail team 2, any sign of Nightmover?" "Repeat, any sign of Nightmover?" "Over." " Man:" "Tail 1." "No sign." " Woman:" "Tail 2." "Negative." "Over." " Yeah." "O'Neill." " This is really good." "[sighs]" "Yeah." "I'll let them know." " What happened?" " [sighs] That was the FBI." "Ames left early." "They didn't have a team on him yet." "So if he made a dead drop, nobody saw him." "How is that even possible?" "Wasn't surveillance supposed to be 24/7?" "I don't know." "These things happen." "No operation runs perfectly." "Well, there's a tail beacon on his car, right?" "He could still make the drop, and the beeper would tell us where his car is." "Jane, his car is in our parking lot." "[beeping, lock clicks]" "He's at work." "Okay, how do we get him to contact his handlers again?" "Well, he's counter-narcotics." "Not sure they care about that anymore." "But he's still in the C.I.A., and that's precious to them." "The Russians will run him till he's dead." " We could make him valuable again." " How so?" "Tell him he's up for a new job ... something his handlers might find interesting." "That would certainly give them reason to make contact again." " Just act normal." " "Normal" is I want to kill him." "Deep breath, okay?" "You're just doing your job, and your job is to catch a mole." " You can do this." " Okay." "Hey, Rick." "Good morning, Sandy." "How's things?" "Well, you know, uh, Kelly's a senior now." "All that high-school craziness." " Hmm." " She's never home." " You?" " Well, I'm... got to say you fall in love with your kids fast." "Guess it, uh... sneaks up on you." " Uh, you hear the rumor?" " No, what rumor?" "They're looking for a new head of Russia house." " Your name got floated." " No." "Really?" "Yeah, I mean, it's just a rumor, but nice job if you can land it." "Yeah." " See you." " Okay, okay." "See you later." "Hoffman:" "We've practiced this a dozen times." "In and out in 22 seconds." "Not a sound." "If even a dog barks, Ames will look out the window and make us." "And if he makes us, he'll destroy every shred of evidence he's got." "And we will never convict." "Once you've gone through something, develop your own system, okay?" "If you've seen it, put it aside to the left." "Don't throw it right back in the pile because we don't want to be duplicating our efforts here, all right?" "And if you have anything with writing, keep the writing things on the side." "Don't get rid of them." "Don't put them back on the pile." "[indistinct whispering]" "I'll send the tape on Thursday." "[indistinct conversation]" " Okay." "Bye." " Hi." "Sorry." "Rick." "There's a counter-narcotics conference in Moscow." "It starts Thursday." "I leave tomorrow." " Can you expedite that with travel?" " Sure." "Sure." "You bet." "Great." "Much appreciated." "[beeping]" "We absolutely cannot let him leave the country." "He'd defect in a heartbeat." "But if we stop his trip, he'll know something's up." "We've already bugged his office and dangled jobs." " He's beginning to suspect." " Can we arrest him?" "Take our chances in court?" "I don't think we have enough to convict." "[sighs] Not yet." "We will get him." "I promise you we will get him." "Hey, boss, I think I got something here." "All right." "Oh, yeah." "Get over here, guys." "_" "Mitch:" "He didn't even shred it." "He just tore it up." "Jeanne:" "Good god." "What did justice say?" "Can we make an arrest?" "First thing tomorrow morning." "[sighs]" "Okay, everybody, let's call it a night." "Art, I am not leaving this building till I know" " that he's in handcuffs." " All right." "Good night." "[indistinct conversation]" "Do you have everything?" " Yep, I think so." " Good." " That's all I need." " All right." "Come on, little boy." "[laughs] Ohh!" "All right." "All right." "I'm gonna miss you very much." "Come here." "[grunts]" " All right." " Smile!" "[camera shutter clicks] Beautiful." "Another one?" "[camera shutter clicks]" "Perfect." " Is that nice?" " Mm-hmm." "I'll miss you very much." "Go on." "Go on." " Off you go." " Mm." " Have a nice trip." " Love you." "You, too." " Bye." " Paul:" "Bye daddy!" "Bye, Paul." " Bye." " Love you." "[horn blares] [tires screeching]" "FBI!" "Aldrich Ames, you're under arrest!" "Get out of the car with your hands above your head!" "[knock on door] FBI." "Open up." " Yes?" " Rosario Ames?" " Yes." " Federal agents." "You're under arrest for treason." "What?" "!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "You can't do this!" "You've got the wrong guy." "You've got the wrong guy." "You've got..." "the wrong guy." "Please!" "Please!" "What about my son?" "!" "You can't do this!" "Paul!" "[telephone ringing]" "O'Neill." " Got him!" " Yes!" "[clapping]" "Oh, congratulations, Jeanne." "Congratulations, Grimes." " You did good." " Yes ... [indistinct conversations]" "Jeanne:" "Ohh!" "[claps] How about that?" "!" "[indistinct conversations] [beeping, lock clicks]" "[music]" "FBI H.Q." "[knock on door] [chains jingling]" "[door closes]" "Hoffman:" "We've been watching you for a while." "Quite a while." "Four weeks of conversation, phone calls.... pretty much got you wall to wall, Rick." "Frozen all your assets." "All you've got is the shirt on your back." "So what we'd like is a full confession ... names, dates, figures ... so we can all move on, Rick, because this is an open-and-shut case." "I want a lawyer." "[cheers and applause]" "Austin:" "He lawyered up." "The FBI froze his bank account, so he'll get a public defender." "There's enough for a conviction, right, if this goes to trial?" "But we want his cooperation." "We want him talking." "We want details." "Nine years of spying leaves a lot of unanswered questions." "We need to start plugging holes fast." "Use his family ... his son." "He'll tell you everything." "Rosario:" "Did you talk to the Russians today?" "Did you ask for more money, Rick?" "They need to pay you more!" "You give them good information, but they don't pay you enough." "[sighs]" "You should put another message through the pipe for them ..." "another marker." "Just be careful so no one sees." "And then ask them to give you more." "We deserve it!" "[click]" "Chen:" "Without your cooperation, Rick... we ask for life without parole." "She dies an old lady in solitary confinement." "And your son, Paul, never sees his father or his mother again in his life." "And if I cooperate?" "She gets five years, and then we deport her." "The kid lives with his grandparents until she gets out." "I'll tell you whatever you wanna know." "Rick:" "Wait." "Wait, wait, wait!" "Sorry." "[knock on door] Hey." "Well ... [sighs] he confessed." "He said he'll tell us everything." " Thanks for telling me." " Oh, one more thing." "The agency is gonna want to put a face on this with the press and the public." "We've got some damage control to do." "It was a team effort, all right?" " I was just part ..." " Get ready to be on television." "[sighs] [indistinct talking over P.A.]" " Gary, we're gonna miss the meeting." " Hey, just give me a sec, okay?" "[telephone rings]" "Hello?" "Gary:" "Oh, hey, it's me." "What's up?" "Been a crazy day." "Been out all morning." "You wouldn't believe where." "Sandy, uh, I just landed." "I'm late for a meeting." " Is this important?" " I wanted to tell you." " Maybe watch the news." " News?" "Seriously?" "Yeah, when I get to the hotel, hmm?" "Okay." "Sure." "I love you." "I love you, too." "Gotta go." "Announcer:" "From ABC..." "[chuckles] ...this is "World News Tonight" with Peter Jennings, reporting tonight from Washington." "Jennings:" "Good evening." "We begin tonight with a spy story." "A senior officer in the C.I.A. ... a man who was once in charge of keeping Russian agents from spying on the U.S. is accused of spying for them, in other words of being a double agent on the payroll of the C.I.A. and the KGB." "We learned today that Aldrich Ames and his wife were arrested yesterday." "The justice department says they've been secretly working for the Russians since 1985, selling information to Moscow and living a life of luxury in a Washington suburb on the proceeds." " What?" "What is it?" " Rob:" "Peter, we have one of the C.I.A. ..." " I know that guy." " ...officers involved in the hunt for Aldrich Ames with us here in our Washington D.C. Studios." "Sandy Grimes worked side by side with Aldrich Ames for many years in the C.I.A." "Sandy, when did you suspect Mr. Ames was a Soviet spy?" " Hey." "Is that your Sandy?" " Sandy:" "We had our suspicions for awhile..." " Yeah." " ...but we needed hard evidence to make an arrest." " That's my wife." " That's classified for the moment." "It will be unsealed in court, but it was pretty damning." "There was no doubt that he was a mole spying for the KGB." " I didn't know your wife worked for the C.I.A." " He was employed by the Russians." "But the goal was to keep him in the dark" " Yeah, that's... what she does." " until we could make an arrest." "It wasn't easy, but we had a dedicated team, and we were not going to quit until we found the traitor inside the agency." " She works for the C.I.A." " Sandy ... [birds chirping]" "[music]" "[telephone ringing]" "When's this thing gonna start?" "We're waiting for two more participants." "[knock on door]" "Hoffman:" "You know officers Vertefeuille and Grimes." "Hello, Aldrich." "Hello." "[click]" "All right, let's start at the beginning." "I'd like to hear about every secret you passed, every dollar you were paid, and every asset you killed." "Poleshchuk, Martynov, Varenik..." "Tolkachev, Vasiliev..." "Smirtonin, Motorin..." "Pikazov, Yuzhin and Polyakov." "Every single one." "Was it hard..." "seeing him like that... in prison, handcuffed?" "No, it was ..." "it was a relief." "I think I'm gonna stay in bed for two weeks straight." "Mind if I join you?" "[chuckles] Hmm." "I can't think of anything more wonderful." "All those years you couldn't tell me." "You couldn't tell anyone." "I'm so proud of you, Sandy." "You are my hero." "I was talking to Jeanne." "And we were thinking this..." "This might be crazy, but we were thinking we might write a book about it all." "[chuckles]" "Yeah, I like that ..." ""mom... spy... author."" "[music]" "Sandy:" "Thank you." "Hi." "Who should I make it out to?" "How much longer do we have to do this?" "My hand is getting cramped up." "Fame is a cruel taskmaster." "Maybe I was better in the back room." "You were great in the back room." "Thank you." " Hello." " [Russian accent] Hi." "Who would you like to make the dedication out to?" "Uh, not here, please." "Could you sign this picture, please?" "And make it out for my grandfather ..." "Dmitry Polyakov." "We moved here after the wall fell." "I thank you." "I thank you for everything you did." "[sobbing] My grandfather thanks you." "[sobbing]" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_"