Ghost Protocol Ray

 Ghost Protocol Ray VIDEO

THE STATION CLOCK SEASON 3 · Episodes 7 · 8 · 9

"Ghost Protocol"

A different city. Seattle. Constant rain. A man alone in a café.

"After T2, he disappeared."

"Everyone thought he was resting."

"No one rests like that."

Ray has been in Seattle for twenty-two months.

No badge. No agency. No official name.

Just a network of four people.

Kay in Reno. Two more in cities that don’t matter yet.

And him.

Sitting in the same café every morning.

Back table. Black coffee. Laptop open.

Tracking Bishop since before anyone knew Bishop existed.

Because Ray knew earlier.

At Cole’s trial.

A name mentioned only once.

A lawyer crossed it out immediately.

The judge ignored it.

Ray didn’t.

Ray wrote it on a napkin.

BISHOP.

Twenty-two months later, that napkin is still in his pocket.

The phone vibrates.

Message from Kay.

"Elle is inside. Bishop moved the review up. Four days."

Ray leaves the café.

Types quickly.

"Is she okay?"

"For now."

"Does she know you work for me?"

A long pause on the other end.

"She’s known since last night."

Ray closes his eyes.

That changes everything.

He calls Elle directly.

Two rings.

— Ray — Elle says. Flat voice.

— Elle.

— You’ve been tracking Bishop for two years.

— Yes.

— Without telling me.

— Yes.

Silence.

— Why?

Ray looks out the window. Rain.

— Because the last time someone knew too much too soon...

— Nina — Elle says.

— Nina — Ray confirms.

Long pause.

— That’s not a good enough reason — Elle says.

— I know. — Pause. — I’m sorry.

— Apologies aren’t useful to me right now.

— I know that too.

Silence.

— How much do you know about Bishop? — Elle asks.

— Enough to destroy him. — Pause. — But only from the outside. I need what’s inside.

— Level seven.

— Yes.

— Is that why you put Kay in?

— Yes.

— And is that why I ended up in Reno?

Longer silence.

— Ray.

— Elle...

— Did you put the note in the bar? — Low voice. Dangerous. — Were you the one who told Bishop where I was so he could find me?

[VISUAL: Ray. Tense face. Looking at the cold coffee.]

He doesn’t answer.

— Ray. — Elle’s voice is ice. — Did you use me as bait?

Ray didn’t answer that night. Nor the next.

On the third day, Elle received an envelope under the door of her room in Bishop’s building. No sender.

Inside was a photo.

Ray. In Seattle. Date: yesterday.

And on the back:

"He didn’t place the note. I did. — Reeves."

"Reeves."

The envelope. The photo of Ray. The name Reeves on the back.

"Ray didn’t use her."

"Reeves did."

"Why did Reeves need Bishop to find Elle?"

Elle doesn’t call Reeves.

She doesn’t call Ray.

She thinks alone.

That’s the first thing you learn when you’ve been inside too long.

Before reacting, think.

Why did Reeves need Bishop to find Elle?

One possible answer:

Reeves works for Bishop.

Too obvious. Bishop doesn’t need Reeves to find anyone.

Another answer:

Reeves needed Elle to enter the organization.

Why?

Because Reeves can’t enter alone.

Why can’t he enter alone?

Because Bishop knows him.

Elle stands up.

That’s it.

Bishop and Reeves know each other.

She pulls out her phone. Calls Kay.

— I need information on Reeves.

— What kind?

— His history with Bishop.

Brief silence.

— Give me an hour.

Forty minutes later, Kay appears at her desk.

Walks past her without looking.

Leaves a folded paper on the table.

Keeps walking.

Elle opens it slowly.

One line:

"Reeves and Bishop. Same agency. Twenty-five years ago. They split badly."

Elle folds the paper.

Burns it in the bathroom.

That afternoon, she calls Reeves.

— I know you placed the note in the bar.

Silence.

— And I know you’ve known Bishop for twenty-five years.

Longer silence.

— Reeves. Talk.

— Where are you?

— In a safe place.

— There’s no safe place inside Bishop’s network.

— Then the least unsafe one. Talk.

Reeves breathes.

— Bishop and I worked together. For a long time. — Pause. — We built part of the network Cole later used.

— So you’re part of this too.

— I was. — Tense voice. — I left fifteen years ago.

— Why?

— Because Bishop crossed a line I couldn’t cross.

— What line?

Very long silence.

— Reeves.

— Nina wasn’t the first. — Broken voice. — Before Nina, there was someone else.

Elle. Still. Listening.

— Who?

— My daughter.

Total silence. Five seconds.

— Bishop killed your daughter.

— She was twenty-one. — Pause. — She discovered too much. Just like Nina.

Elle closes her eyes.

— Is that why you’ve been looking for him for fifteen years?

— That’s why I used you. — Broken voice. — I’m sorry, Elle. There was no other way.

Elle. One second of humanity. Just one.

— How old was your daughter?

— Twenty-one.

— What was her name?

Long pause.

— Claire.

Elle hangs up.

She stays alone in the bathroom of Bishop’s building. Mirror in front of her. She looks at herself.

She thinks about Nina.

She thinks about Claire.

She thinks about all the people Bishop erased like calculation errors.

Then she makes a decision.

She won’t wait for level seven.

She’ll accelerate. Everything.

"Level Seven"

Elle. Determined face. Walking down the hallway of Bishop’s building.

"Nina. Claire. How many more."

"Elle decided to stop counting."

"And start acting."

THE PLAN

Elle calls Kay that night.

— I need to reach level seven before the review.

— That’s impossible. Three days left.

— I didn’t ask if it was possible.

Kay pauses.

— What do you have in mind?

— Bishop wants to be impressed. I’m going to give him something he doesn’t expect.

— What?

— Information only someone at level seven could have.

— Where do you get it?

— From Ray.

Silence.

— Ray has been tracking Bishop from the outside for two years — Elle says. — He has data Bishop doesn’t even know exists.

— If you give Bishop information about his own operation...

— He’ll think I’m invaluable. — Pause. — And he’ll raise my level himself.

— It’s risky.

— Everything that works is risky.

Kay breathes.

— Talk to Ray. I’ll prepare access.

RAY

Elle calls Ray.

— I need what you have on Bishop.

— Elle. If you give that to Bishop...

— I know what I’m doing.

— Do you? Because if Bishop detects that information comes from outside...

— He won’t. — Pause. — Trust me.

Long silence.

— The last time I trusted someone blindly... — Ray starts.

— I know. — Elle cuts him off. — And I’m still asking you to trust me.

Ray doesn’t respond immediately.

Elle waits.

— What exactly do you need? — Ray finally says.

— The accounts. The real numbers. The ones you tracked.

— If Bishop recognizes them as his...

— He will. That’s the point.

— I don’t understand.

— You will later. — Pause. — Do you trust me or not?

Ten seconds of silence.

— I’ll send everything in an hour.

BISHOP

The next day, Elle requests a meeting with Bishop.

Off-schedule.

Bishop receives her in his private office. Curious. Slightly impatient.

— I understood the review is tomorrow — he says.

— I know. I wanted to show you something first.

She places a folder on his desk.

Bishop opens it.

Flips through it.

Stops.

Goes back to the first page.

Reads slowly. Very slowly.

— Where did this come from? — Low voice.

— From someone who’s been monitoring your operations from the outside for two years without you knowing.

Bishop looks up.

— That’s impossible.

— And yet. — Elle points to the folder. — There it is.

Bishop looks at the numbers.

His numbers.

Tracked. Documented. Exposed.

Bishop. First crack in his calm. Just one.

— Who is it?

— Someone who is no longer a problem — Elle says. — I took care of it.

Bishop studies her. Long. Very long.

Elle doesn’t look away.

— How did you take care of it?

— I gave him false information in exchange for this. — Pause. — Now he thinks he works for us.

Bishop closes the folder.

Leaves it on the desk.

Stands up.

Walks slowly around his desk.

Stops in front of Elle.

— Review canceled — he says.

— Excuse me?

— You don’t need a review. — Pause. — Level seven. Starting tomorrow.

Elle. Still face. Inside, everything explodes.

— Thank you.

Bishop puts a hand on her shoulder.

— Nina was right about you.

Elle doesn’t react.

— Did you know her well? — she asks. Neutral voice.

— Better than she knew. — Pause. — That’s why it was a shame.

Elle nods slowly.

Picks up her folder.

Leaves the office.

Hallway. Firm steps. Still face.

She enters the bathroom.

Locks the door.

Looks at herself in the mirror.

Breathes.

Once.

Twice.

Elle in the mirror. Different eyes. One brown. One gray.

Level seven.

Inside.

Now to destroy everything.

That night Kay sends her a message:

"Level seven has a room that doesn’t appear on any building map. No one knows what’s inside. Only Bishop enters."

Pause.

"And this morning, Bishop asked you for the key."

...