Backstabbing for Beginners Page #5

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Nothing.

I bet she's highly skilled

in the soft arts.

What you did is stupid... and illegal.

I'll make it go away.

But in future, if you're gonna do

these things, come to me first.

Who gave you this?

It doesn't matter.

You've been using me.

No.

Yes.

You said you wanted to help.

- Our meeting wasn't like that, I really...

- F***ing bullshit, Nashim,

I know how this works.

Do you?

Yeah.

Yes, okay,

I am guilty of taking a job in Baghdad

and trying to find a way

to help my people get free

of a dictator who wants to exterminate us.

And, yes, I talked with men

who might be of help.

But I didn't sleep with any of them, okay?

I didn't have to.

Nashim, you have asked me

to risk my life for a list

that I don't even know

where the f*** it came from.

This is...

I'm sorry, but this is who I am.

Do you want me to leave?

- Hi.

- Hey.

Came to wish you luck.

- Hey, man. Thank you.

- Knock 'em dead.

Michael.

- Ready?

- Yeah.

- You'll do great. Relax.

- Thanks.

In an unusual move at today's

United Nation's Oil-for-Food vote,

Under-Secretary-General Costa Passaris

yielded his chair

to his executive assistant,

Michael Sullivan,

to present the report

on the status of the program.

The, Oil-for-Food program

continues to achieve

its core mission

of providing humanitarian relief.

The request

for continued funding comes in the wake

of the sudden death

of Baghdad field director,

Christina Dupre,

who was a vocal critic of the program.

And against the backdrop

of intensified efforts

to find Saddam Hussein's suspected caches

of weapons of mass destruction.

Continuing resolution 986,

the council has voted unanimously

to extend funding for another 180 days.

Michael Sullivan

addressed the press

after the Security Council vote.

Thank you.

I don't understand why

he would want to invite me. Why?

I know. Me neither.

- Let's get a drink, okay?

- Here you are.

My protg:
Michael Sullivan.

Timur Rasnetsov.

Costa insists

you are the hero of Oil-for-Food.

And here is Nashim.

Lovely.

Welcome to the USA.

Thank you.

Where is your drink?

I think we even have

some arak tucked away.

So, how have you been?

Fine, thank you.

Great.

Well, enjoy your evening.

You must be the young diplomat

Michael Sullivan

my husband is always talking about.

Nice to meet you, pleasure.

I'm Melina, Pasha's wife.

Ah, of course, yes, yes.

Pasha gushes about you,

and Pasha doesn't gush about anyone.

Well, he certainly taught me a lot.

It can never work.

Is that a proud papa

overprotecting his surrogate son?

Don't patronize me.

Is it so unthinkable

that I could be in love with him?

You are what you are.

You cannot fool me.

You gave him the file on me.

Listen.

If you do anything

to compromise the kid or hurt him,

I will have you deported so fast

your hijab will spin.

You know what,

I have to,... I have to go.

My apologies,

I have to deal with something.

H... How long have you known that guy for?

He came with a delegation,

we just met. Why?

He was the one that tried to bribe me

in my hotel in Baghdad.

Apparently he's very well connected.

Could be useful.

I gotta go.

What the f***

was that man doing at the party?

I don't know.

What did Pasha want?

He threatened me.

Your boss threatened me.

- Hello?

- Michael, my guy came through.

You better come see this.

You're not gonna believe this.

Saddam has been selling

oil vouchers at a discount

to people who turn around,

resell the vouchers

at the going oil peak rate

for a huge profit.

Saddam gets a kickback,

a share of the difference

between his discount and the going rate.

How much did he make?

I don't know,

could be over a billion dollars.

Jesus Christ.

Do we know if these are real?

They look real.

And it looks like a system.

There's a list of all the major players:

politicians, businessmen, bankers.

We're talking highly-placed people

at the very heart

of most First World governments.

And they are taking

millions of dollars in bribes.

This is real. Of course, it's real.

Well, to prove it you're gonna need

records of the actual transactions.

You need to give this to Pasha.

This is a UN internal matter.

You do not want to be left

holding the bag on this.

Amongst the encrypted documents

I found this, video codec.

How long does it run for?

- Seventy-one minutes.

- Seventy-one minutes is a strange time.

Yeah.

I started to scroll through it,

but it's all pretty much the same.

Zoom in.

Scroll back.

I knew it.

I f***in' knew it. I knew...

I knew that he was involved.

We need to make the list public.

We can't do that.

They'll just deny it.

And then all we do is destroy the UN.

We need to find someone

to start asking questions.

The media, your congress.

The truth will come out.

Look, all these powerful interests

at play,

they will decide what the truth is.

Pasha will be the sacrificial lamb

and my career is over.

- You're not part of this.

- Of course I'm f***ing part of this.

I just gave a speech

about the integrity of Oil-for-Food.

What are you saying? Do nothing?

I don't know what I'm saying.

What's going on?

Michael! Stop it!

Michael!

- Hey, man, you okay?

- Yeah, yeah.

You need me to call 911?

- Where is she?

- I don't know.

Call your friend, tell him I will trade

what he wants for Nashim.

He's not my friend.

Pasha, I have a video of you

taking a f***ing bribe from him.

You gonna come inside, kid,

or do we have to do this out here?

We're gonna do this out here.

I take a cut, sure.

Why not? Everyone else has.

I put my whole career on the line

for this mission, every f***ing day.

Come inside, kid, it's cold.

Rasnetsov is a fixer.

He's a very dangerous man.

Nothing in Iraq runs, nothing without him.

And who runs him?

Highest bidder.

Moscow, Beijing, Saddam,

hedge funds, mafia, greed.

Rasnetsov is the bridge

between politics and reality.

And whose side are you on, Pasha?

Ah, I thought I heard you come in.

Sit down, Michael, please.

I'll make that call.

Coffee?

Yeah, thanks.

Did you enjoy the party last night?

Yeah, we had a great time, thank you.

You left so early. I wondered.

Yeah, my friend,

she wasn't feeling too well.

Ah. It's flu season.

Yeah.

Well, I'll leave you to it.

They've handed her over to immigration.

Okay, well, she has papers.

I think you'll find they're missing.

She's become an irritation.

If she gets deported to Iraq

they will execute her for treason.

They'll send her back to Baghdad

where I still have some sway...

No, you call him back and tell him

I'm not gonna give up the list

until Nashim is set free.

That's not how it works.

- You need to trust me.

- I did trust you, Pasha.

I trusted you

and you f***ed me at every turn.

Look where we are.

Committing crimes and taking bribes.

The crime would have been to do nothing,

to watch innocents suffer and die.

What about Dupre? What about Abhek?

What was the justification for that?

We didn't make the storm.

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