Original subtitles

Operator, I want Quebec City.

The number is L .A.

8476.

Hello?

This is Minerva 2. I have a message.

Yeah, go ahead.

Could be his calling.

Hello, this is Bale checking in.

Well, I... I didn't think you'd be calling me not after all this time.

Yes, sir, I understand.

I think he's just got the news.

They've given me an assignment.

No.

I'm to go to Pittsburgh.

Right in the middle of a... hour struggle between the two factions in the

operation there.

You never thought they'd activate me?

Not after all this time.

I thought I'd make a little paperwork now and then or... cold or something of

that kind, but not active.

You haven't the strength.

I haven't the interest.

I don't care anymore about the politics.

Does that surprise you?

No.

You've been happy here in this country.

It doesn't matter.

I'm just going to go for a walk.

Get an ambulance.

Lucas.

Lucas.

The FBI.

A Quinn Martin production.

Starring Ephraim Zimbalist Jr.

Also starring Philip Abbott, William Reynolds, with guest stars

Louis Jourdan, Donald Heron,

Lynn Marta, and David Burney as Michael Sander.

Tonight's episode, The Minerva Tape.

Lucas Vail, an enemy sleeper agent, had long been known to the FBI.

From an intercepted message, they learned that he was now to be given an

assignment that could lead to the head of an important section of the communist

espionage network, a man known only to the Bureau as Minerva.

Now, however, with Vail having suffered a heart attack, the opportunity of

tracking him through the assignment was lost, and the fragmentary information...

of the intercepted message seemed only to lead to one of the most complex cases

in the FBI's history.

Yes, I see.

When?

I'll let you know.

Vail?

He's conscious, but they don't know when he can be interviewed.

Atmospheric conditions cause the gaps in the reception?

Mm -hmm.

No possibility of getting the middle part of the message?

Right now.

Minerva. How many times have we heard that recently?

And now Minerva tapes.

Well, one thing seems clear.

This sleeper agent, Vale, a code expert, has ordered to report to

someone named Damien, help him gain the tapes, whatever they are, and decode

them.

And our two immediate problems are Damien and the tapes.

What do you make of authority granted?

Well, it sounds as though someone was authorized to go over someone's head,

who knows?

Well,

as soon as you get to New York, go directly to the hospital.

I'll inform the office you're on your way.

They're not there, Michael.

The extent of the intrigue against me is now very clear.

There isn't any intrigue... Whose instructions are you following? No one,

It's difficult for me to explain. I should imagine.

Try.

Look, I...

I just thought that if I could get to the Minerva tapes that I'd be... Oh,

that's what they call them, is it?

Who? Who, sir?

Very well, we'll see, Damien.

I should imagine he's still up.

Michael will be sent back at once.

A full report of his conduct will follow, and an immediate investigation

explanation will be demanded.

Would you mind telling me what has happened?

I found him searching my desk for something he calls the Minerva tapes.

Henri, I don't pretend to understand, but would you mind a suggestion?

It is difficult to believe that Michael would do such a thing on his own

initiative. Very difficult indeed.

We know the network moves in many ways. It is not so unusual for one of us to be

tested, even the best of us. I doubt they'd want a man in charge here who

wouldn't mind stumbling over his subordinate, prying into his own desk.

Michael is finished here.

Any lingering doubts I've had about the necessity of making these tapes

disappeared with Michael's open insubordination.

Sooner or later, we all become expendable so that these tapes,

the so -called Minerva tapes, are my insurance policy.

I have outlined every detail I know of the apparatus.

Data that would be disastrous to the network were it exposed.

Meanwhile, I have seen that they know of the existence of the tapes.

For the time being, I am safe. But in the event that anything

happens to me, you...

The authorities of the United States will find this tape hidden

with the Minerva tapes.

And you will appreciate why I have added this little

personal...

I'm Lewis Erskine of the FBI.

This is Mr. Colby.

You understand you have the right to remain silent? Anything you say can be

against you.

You have the right to an attorney, if you wish.

All my life I've known the sword would fall.

And now that it has, I'm almost relieved.

I'm just worried about what's going to happen to my wife.

There are no charges against your wife.

No.

What do you want to know?

Where were you being sent?

Pittsburgh to meet Damien. Is he Minerva?

No, he's second to Minerva. Who's Minerva?

Nobody knows.

Does Damien know you? Has he ever seen you?

No. How were you to contact him?

I was to be met this afternoon at the railway depot.

By a young man named Michael Sander.

Does this Michael Sander know you? I don't think so.

Then how would you recognize each other?

They said I would know him.

I knew his father.

The same brownish hair.

I was to say, Hello, Michael.

I don't suppose you remember me.

And he was to say, no, it's been a long time, Mr.

Vale.

And then I was to say, yes,

17 years.

I'm sorry to hear about your father.

What was the father's name?

Horace Sander.

And what were you to do for Damien?

To break the code of the tapes.

He didn't say what else I was to do.

All right, Mr. Vail, thanks very much.

Tom, get me everything the Bureau has on Michael and Horace Sanders.

And I'll leave the Pittsburgh office.

foreign citizen.

But I've saved a little money.

Not much, but enough to take care of my wife. I lived

mainly by ourselves.

We sealed ourselves off from other people.

Wasn't much of a life.

The money is in my name.

I'd like to know that she will get it.

We'll see that she gets whatever assistance she needs.

How are you doing here?

Disaster. Total disaster.

You're not going to like this, Dad, but I left school.

I'm sorry about that senior year and everything, but I'm not sorry about any

the rest of it. I'm not going to say I am.

Except for the kids that got hurt, maybe. None of them badly, but they

have been. It was all so incredibly stupid.

I didn't get any breakfast. I didn't want to stop and eat there with all my

junk. Caroline, I know that you're... We got thrown out.

That is, we didn't get thrown out yet, but we knew it would only be a matter of

time, so we had this meeting, and we decided that it would be better if we

now as a further protest, because... Protest?

Against what?

Against the absolute refusal of the board to change the curriculum.

It was a demonstration, and it could have been a perfectly orderly thing, but

these kids came in, kids who had no part and shouldn't have been there at all,

and they started throwing rocks.

You had a serious spot in this?

Yes.

Were you one of the leaders?

Some people were injured.

Well, none of them badly. It's just that it should have been better planned. It

shouldn't have gotten out of control.

Carol, sit down.

Dad, please. At this moment, I'm not ready for one of your lectures.

Oh, I see. You just want me to listen and say nothing. Simply accept.

That's exactly what I mean, Dad, because you cannot possibly understand because

you have accepted.

You've acquiesced.

Acquiesced? In the whole total establishment. Oh, that stupid word

You're a respected businessman.

Not completely.

You make a lot of money and you like making a lot of money. I don't like

money. You're good to your employees, paternal. Only to you. You vote

and you give to charity.

Vanity, vanity. You're a good man in the pattern.

But we want more than that, Dad. We cannot just settle.

Carol, I wish you would settle just for a moment.

Sit down.

I suppose this is a good deal my fault.

Being your father is a difficult...

I didn't want to hurt you.

That's the worst part of it.

Please don't be so nice about it.

Oh, I get to yelling.

Later.

There's a risk, of course.

Are you willing to accept Vale's statement that neither Minerva or Damien

him?

I can't see why he'd lie to us about that, Art. What about this man, Michael

Sander? He was a boy of eight at the time.

Well, still, there's not much resemblance between you and Vale.

Well, we're about the same height and build.

Beyond that, how much would he remember about someone he hadn't seen for 17

years? You'll be under the closest scrutiny.

Point is, Art, if the tapes are worth this much to them...

How much are they worth to us?

All right, Lewis, I'll speak to the director.

Hey.

Pretty lady.

That's got none nice you smell.

I should have called. I have every right to be angry.

Don't be ridiculous.

Now, that's the worst put -down of all.

What, that I'm not angry?

I went out a few times, maybe more than a few times, but there were no drinks.

Mm -hmm.

I'm a fool.

We had a good thing going and I blew it.

I don't know why.

It's just that when you care, I mean, really care

about somebody.

Hello, Michael.

I don't suppose you remember me.

That's been a long time, Mr. Patrick. Yeah, 17 years.

I'm sorry to hear about your father.

Oh, well, that's all right.

Well, thank you.

Just over there.

What did you hear about that?

A skiing accident, wasn't it?

In Tyrol.

It was the official explanation.

Actually, we both know he was shot.

Mind sitting in the back, Mr. Vance?

Vail?

I'm George Demian, Mr. Vail.

This is Oscar Tsao.

What were your instructions, Mr. Vail?

To report to you and follow orders.

Do you know of the Minerva tapes?

I understood I'd be told what I needed to know.

Decipher this.

We are ordered to run test.

On Minerva.

Hypothesis is he has secreted

tapes containing information.

Entire network.

Operation.

Something... Never mind.

If you understand about Minerva, no judgment has been made.

Yes, a hypothesis.

You'll be replacing Michael, and he'll be relieved as soon as this matter's

cleared up.

Have you any questions?

Is Minerva expecting me?

Yes. But what about the tapes?

We'll go into that more thoroughly after the interview.

I don't know.

I think we have a nerve somewhere.

Whatever it is, you finally acquire an instinct.

Michael recognized him. He signaled us.

Michael thinks he recognized him.

A memory of an eight -year -old boy.

He knew the code.

It was absolutely necessary he knew it.

Does that have to mean that the code has been broken?

If we follow that through...

The fact remains, none of us

know him.

I want to monitor around the clock.

Phone, messages, contacts, however slight.

You'll be personally responsible.

This is Lucas Vale.

Hello, Mr. Vale.

Very glad to meet you. Thank you, sir.

I'm told you're from Paris, originally.

You're a

friend of Michael's father.

Not a friend, sir. We worked together once.

Well, Damien will see that you're taken care of for the moment.

Oh, and later on... I want to discuss one of the codes, Zebra. You're familiar

with Zebra.

I've tried to keep up these past few years, even though inactive, but...

No, I'm afraid not, sir.

Well, one doesn't know them all.

Damien, where are you putting him? In my apartment building.

There's a room next to mine until Michael goes.

Good.

Yes, it's a beautiful piece of furniture, but it's too big. I don't

room for it.

Hello, Mr. Lack. This is Mr. Vale.

How do you do?

Henri's daughter.

Recently returned from school, I've heard.

Nice meeting you.

See? All right, yours.

Oh, terrific.

Well, you hit the can. That's not too bad. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait

minute, wait a minute.

Oh. This is going to be the best shot of all. What are you doing? You're not

going to believe.

What are you... What is that?

What do you call... Cheating.

Come here. That's what I call it.

Hey.

You know what I'm in the mood for?

Right now.

chilled bottle of Chablis and a great big cookie piece of strawberry

Don't, Carol.

Don't.

Don't.

What is bugging you?

What?

Your father.

My father?

What about my father?

He's an agent.

He's a communist agent.

Okay. It's true.

And how do you know?

Because I work for them.

Oh.

Come on.

Karen, sit.

I know. I didn't believe it either until they recruited me.

Who recruited you?

Damien.

My father was a member of the party, and that

gave him a lever.

And at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.

You know, I'm all messed up.

You're serious, aren't you? I mean...

Your father's head of the network here, and he's hanging on by his teeth.

I don't know when or why, but he got tired and disillusioned.

He made some tapes, names, dates, places, a way of protecting himself, or

least that's what he thinks.

And if they make a move against him, they'll turn the tapes over to the

authorities.

Blow the whistle on everyone.

They're not bad people, Carol. They're just...

They're just frightened.

And they want the tapes.

Damien? Damien.

And Vale.

He's here for a showdown, Carol.

But he wants to try something else first. He wants... to talk to you.

Speak.

Will you? Please.

It comes down to whether you want to help us get the tapes or not.

If I get these tapes, what guarantee do I have that my father won't be hurt?

Why would we hurt him?

You make it sound so... Like, all I have to do is get these tapes and everything

will be all right.

It is that simple.

The tapes are like a bomb.

You defuse it and...

More coffee, Dad?

No, thank you.

You've been asking all the questions.

Let me ask you one.

All right.

Have you been seeing Michael?

Yes, I have.

I have.

How do you feel about him?

Well, I'm not too sure, Dad.

Why, does it bother you?

I have the strangest feeling that Michael is behind all the questions

been asking about me.

No.

No, it's just that we've been out of touch.

Well, maybe we are out of touch.

Let us get away from here for a few days.

A holiday.

Would you like that?

I'd love it.

Mr. Dulac, I thought you had gone by now.

As soon as Vail is trying to replace me, yes.

May I come in?

What?

see my daughter again.

Hey!

Did you see a little girl running along down there?

Tiny little dark -haired girl?

Mr. Bale.

Carol.

Are you alone?

Yes. Look, I made a very awkward attempt getting information out of my father

tonight. It didn't work. And I'm very confused.

Listen to me, Carol.

The situation has changed.

No matter what you're told, I want you to stay in this house until you hear

me. Will you do that?

Yes, but...

Don't say who this is.

Pretend it's a girlfriend or something. Are you alone?

No, no, Lois, but that's all right.

Look, sweetheart, I'm hurt pretty bad. Your father really did a job on me.

I want you to go there and wait for me there.

I need to get out of here in case your father comes back looking for me.

Now, I may be a while, but I want you to wait for me there.

All right?

Yeah, I got you. Okay. All right. Okay. Bye -bye.

Daddy, Mr. Vail's been waiting for you. I didn't know where you were, so I guess

you two want to talk.

Good night, Mr. Vail.

Good night, Dad.

Good night.

Drink? No, thank you.

About Zebra, sir.

Yes?

I didn't want to mention it in Damien's presence.

Yes? There is no such code, of course.

Only heads of missions and code experts know that.

And you didn't quite trust Damien?

Standing instructions.

He's not the head of a mission.

Do you feel you're walking a tightrope?

Yes.

He said nothing of any value to us?

Nothing.

We're ready now.

His daughter's at the safe house, by her own choice.

Minerva will be told his only chance of ever seeing his daughter again will be

to hand over the tapes.

That will be your assignment.

You will convince him of the necessity of giving them to you.

As soon as he does, Trout will dispose of him.

And the girl?

An accident.

girl at a safe house.

Happy to join Michael?

Well, we have him under surveillance. Last report he had left his apartment.

He will.

And based on what we have so far, the attorney general has authorized

We want the tapes, Minerva.

Or I'm afraid you won't see her again.

How do I know you're not bluffing?

You don't.

PG -6, go ahead.

Subjects are making their move.

Heading east.

If I give you the tapes, you will see that Carol is safe.

That's the deal.

What assurance have I?

None.

Simple as that.

I congratulate you on your deceit.

Very well.

It's a ten -minute ride.

It was a minute last night, Michael.

It'll all be over in a few minutes. They're inside, Michael.

BG -4.

4, go ahead.

Subjects have stopped at a building now at 828 Blake, just off L.

Where's Carol?

Carol!

Good luck, pal.

I've always dreaded that someday it might all come down on your head like

Sorry.

I'll be all right. Of course you will. But, Carol, don't make

the mistakes I did.

It is too easy when you're very young to get involved in the struggle against

society.

The real battle...

is in man's struggle against himself.

You know what I mean.

I think I do.

Henry Dulac, George Damien, Michael Sander, and their confederates were

convicted in federal court of conspiracy to commit espionage.

Oscar Traub was convicted of assaulting federal officers, as well as conspiracy

to commit espionage.