Circle of Treason Page #10

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Bearden comes in. Rick, at a urinal, zips up and goes to

wash his hands.

RICK:

How’d it go?

BEARDEN:

Waste of time. ‘Do you remember

where you were when you first heard

about the losses...?’ ‘Are you

aware of any security

violations...?’ They’re woolgathering.

RICK:

Well, she needs that to crochet her

reports.

They grin. Rick drying his hands.

RICK (CONT’D)

I was thinking of moving over there

to CIC. You want to put in a word?

BEARDEN:

What, Chief of Czech Operations not

grand enough for you?

50.

RICK:

There are no operations against

Communism in Czechoslovakia.

Because there are no more

Communists in Czechoslovakia. It’s

a f***ing sinecure. I’m going out

of my mind.

BEARDEN:

I’ll talk to Price.

Rick grins to thank him. On his way out.

RICK:

Just get me a bigger office than

Jeanne’s.

INT. CIA - NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

Jeanne sits watching. Rick facing her. Sandy, notepad out,

is writing, lawyerish.

SANDY:

A safe?

RICK:

I was going through a lot at the

time. The divorce. I was

drinking. I swear, I thought I

locked it. I come in next morning,

it’s wide open.

Sandy looks up at him, smiles.

SANDY:

Gee, Rick. That was kind of dumb.

JEANNE:

What was in the safe, you remember?

RICK:

This was back in eighty-four, I was

Branch Chief under Carlson. I

don’t know. Some restricted files.

Nothing over ‘Secret.’

He hesitates. Reluctant.

RICK (CONT’D)

But... there was a list.

JEANNE:

Oh?

51.

RICK:

It had combinations to some of the

other safes in the division.

Anybody grabbed a look at it, they

could have accessed a lot of our

cases that way.

Sandy makes a note. Jeanne watches him. Rick looks

sheepish.

RICK (CONT’D)

I know. Dumb.

JEANNE:

Hey, mistakes happen.

RICK:

Yes, they do.

Jeanne smiles. Rick smiles.

SANDY:

Were you aware of any other

security violations at the time?

He shakes his head, recovering some of his hauteur.

RICK:

You want to know what I think

happened?

JEANNE:

That’s why we’re here.

RICK:

I think you’re looking at two

options. One, if we had a human

penetration, then he’s long gone.

SANDY:

How’d you figure?

RICK:

Look at how fast they wrapped

everybody up. The KGB might as

well have put sign over this place

saying ‘mole.’ Neon letters twenty

foot high. But if it was a one

time shot, someone who no longer

had access? A retired officer,

holding a grudge? They had nothing

to lose hanging his ass in the wind

like that.

52.

JEANNE:

Thanks Rick, that’s good advice.

RICK:

Or else, the ops just went bad.

You got to ask yourself, how long

is the arm of coincidence?

Rick smiles. Jeanne smiles. Sandy closes her note pad.

SANDY:

All right, Rick. Thanks.

RICK:

Hey, no problem.

Jeanne watches as Rick stands and moves to the door.

JEANNE:

(as if an afterthought)

How would you do it?

Rick stops. Blinks at her.

JEANNE (CONT’D)

If you were going to volunteer to

the Soviet government, how would

you go about it?

He stares. Thrown.

RICK:

I... say again?

JEANNE:

Hypothetically. Would you do it

abroad? Roll it into your

officially sanctioned contact? Or

would you do it here? How would

you do it?

RICK:

Yeah... I guess I’d do it here.

Walk right into the Soviet embassy.

Jeanne smiles. Rick doesn’t. He walks out, leaving Sandy

and Jeanne sitting there. They look at each other.

INT. CIA - NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING - CORRIDOR - DAY

Jeanne and Sandy walk down the hall to her office.

53.

SANDY:

If we’re wrong about him, it’s his

career.

JEANNE:

If we’re wrong, it’s all our

careers. But say he did volunteer,

wherever he did it, he’d have to be

meeting them regularly. Somewhere

convenient. Part of his authorized

travel.

Sandy looks at her, both of them getting the same idea.

INT. CIA - JEANNE’S OFFICE (NHB) - DAY

Dan at the computer in Jeanne’s office. Jeanne and Sandy

peer over his shoulder. On the screen, we see him call up

Rick’s authorized CIA travel over the past five years. He

enters ‘Bogota, Colombia.’

INT. CIA - OFFICE OF SECURITY - DAY

Rick walks down the hall to the polygraph room. At first he

looks disturbed, but as he draws nearer the room he composes

himself, an extraordinary transformation. He goes inside...

INT. CIA - OFFICE OF SECURITY - POLYGRAPH ROOM - DAY

Rick greets the Polygraph Operator from before, warmly. As

Rick then takes his seat and the Operator begins to wire him

up...

INT. CIA - JEANNE’S OFFICE (NHB) - CONTINUED

Dan scrolls through the list of Rick’s overseas travel. On

screen, dates and destinations - including regular trips to

Bogota since the summer of 1985.

JEANNE:

Sandy, you want to grab those 201s

on known KGB. Let’s see if we can

put anyone with him in Bogota.

INT. CIA - POLYGRAPH ROOM - CONTINUED

Rick is wired to the machine. The Operator facing him.

54.

POLYGRAPH OPERATOR

Are you trying to hide anything

from CIA?

RICK:

No.

Tight on the polygraph scroll. The graph needles don’t

flicker, indicating no nervous reaction.

INT. CIA - JEANNE’S OFFICE (NHB) - CONTINUED

Sandy bangs down a stack of operational files on known KGB

officers. Opens the first one and flips through to his

overseas assignments. Dan and Jeanne start on the others.

INT. CIA - POLYGRAPH ROOM - CONTINUED

POLYGRAPH OPERATOR

Are you or have you ever been in

contact with a foreign intelligence

service without the agency’s

knowledge or approval?

INT. CIA - JEANNE’S OFFICE (NHB) - CONTINUED

Dan back at the terminal. The dates Rick was last in Bogota

highlighted on screen - 12/21/89 to 1/5/90. Sandy consults a

handwritten list of KGB postings to Bogota.

SANDY:

None of our known aliases were

there when he was.

INT. CIA - POLYGRAPH ROOM - CONTINUED

RICK:

No.

Tight on the polygraph, needles steady: no nervous reaction.

INT. CIA - JEANNE’S OFFICE (NHB) - CONTINUED

JEANNE:

Dan, NSA have records of travel for

Russian nationals. Can you call it

up? Maybe they weren’t using a

cover.

55.

Dan’s already doing it. A green field on his computer screen

reads NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY. He enters a PASSWORD.

SANDY:

Any KGB officer on an operational

run is going to be travelling under

alias.

JEANNE:

Oh, I don’t know. Mistakes happen.

INT. CIA - POLYGRAPH ROOM - CONTINUED

POLYGRAPH OPERATOR

Have you had any contact with

foreign nationals you wish to hide

from CIA?

RICK:

No.

Tight on the polygraph scroll. This time it flickers,

betraying a nervous response.

INT. CIA - JEANNE’S OFFICE (NHB) - CONTINUED - DAY

The screen on Dan’s computer shows a bewildering list of

data, charting the movement of Russian foreign nationals

worldwide. Dan fills in a location field - Bogota, Columbia -

then another field with the dates - 1985-1991 - then pauses

from typing to glance over at Jeanne:

DAN PAYNE:

Who are we looking for?

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