Saturday, November 7 (Midnight E.S.T.) Mueller calls Gus and gives him 10 minutes to pull the team (Harley, Desiree, Fiona, Biff, Bruno and Guido) watching the farmhouse back two miles or else Floyd the reporter will leak the entire team’s dossiers with a story that an FBI agent (Gus) detained two trucks of drugs and sold them to Roche’s "family" (conveniently using evidence he had since Mueller is really the person who diverted and sold the drugs), then killed Roche when he got greedy. That would leave Mueller as the only alternative to run Covert Ops. Gus sends James to find the reporter; an FBI team to the newspaper; pulls back the team surrounding the farmhouse and calls Hunt.
Saturday, November 7 (1 a.m. EST): James tries the reporter’s apartment and triggers a plastique booby trap. Gus warns the FBI director about Mueller’s threats. Sam looks at the newspaper’s computer system and can’t find the story. Gus tries to shut down the black ops surveillance copter but can’t find out who authorized it. Gus finally reaches the special ops commander whose men are working with Mueller. The Loach belongs to Mueller and is supposedly on loan to the NSA. Gus also finds out that Mueller has an Apache helicopter. Gus arranges for F-16s for James and Nicholai. Mueller calls Gus and offers to leave the country.
(2 a.m. EST) Etienne tracks Floyd to the former East German covert ops center. Floyd is basically a vegetable. Mueller is using Floyd’s name and connections to plant the phony story. Sheila calls Rico on his cell phone and gets Mueller. She tries to bargain for Rico, but Mueller claims he only wants to get out. She calls back later and tries to ask Rico while he’s under sodium penathol if he wants a divorce, but Rico is too out of it to answer. Sheila then calls Sam, saying that she wants Rico out of there. Sam tells her she’s working on it and doesn’t have time to discuss it and hangs up on her. Sheila calls back and Oswald, the DEA agent, answers Rico’s phone. A stinger is fired from the house at Nicholai, but it misses. Oswald gives info to Sheila on a number of people there. Hunt manages to contain the newspaper story.
(3 a.m. EST) Sam tells Hunt that Mueller can’t be allowed to leave the farmhouse. Hunt goes over Gus’ head and gets the authorization to take out the farmhouse. Gus tells Sheila to try to talk Mueller into a deal. Sam, meanwhile, contacts Harley and tells him to be ready in 10 minutes and to not let anyone leave the farmhouse (except Rico, of course). Gus has Hunt on the line when he calls Rico’s phone, hoping to reach someone he can give a recall order to. Instead, he gets Mueller. Gus offers Mueller a comfortable but confined existence. Mueller counters that he’s started his doomsday plan, which entails money transferred to various accounts to finance terrorist activity in the U.S. and covert ops. The strike against the farmhouse is halted temporarily. Sheila tries to cut a deal with Mueller and suggests that he call in local authorities.
(4 a.m. EST) Sam finds Mueller’s money ($10 million) and proves the doomsday plan is a fake. Helicopters take off and are followed by Nicholai and James in the F-16s. Bruno, Guido and Fiona follow one car leaving the farmhouse (Guido is driving). Kelly Duffy (who had arrived during the wait) takes off with Selina to follow another car in the helicopter Nicholai hijacked earlier. The state police pick up a third car, which is joined by an FBI copter. The FBI also joins Guido in pursuit of his car. The FBI tries to shoot diversions in front of the third car. Fiona throws a grenade at the second car, and Bruno fires a CAWS. Between the two, they manage to stop the car, but Mueller isn't in it.
Selina uses Nicholai's Calico to stop the first car, which also doesn't contain Mueller. However, by the time they figure out that Mueller must be in the third car, helicopters one and two are too far away to be of help to the third (FBI) helicopter. The third copter is starting to lose Mueller's car due to interference from one of his own helicopters. James is then ordered to leave the other helicopters to Nicholai and redirect to Mueller's car. James is given permission to strafe the car and fired nine times, hitting six times before his gun jams. The first hit causes an explosion during which Rico is able to bail out and roll to safety before the car is completely destroyed.
(6 a.m. EST) Hunt calls Sam, Gus, Sheila and Harley, asking them to come to Philadelphia for a 1 p.m. meeting. Before they can go, Harley and Desiree have to finish processing the recall orders to the people exiting the farm house (Harley gives the recall orders to the military personnel, and Desiree does the same to the government agents). Harley leaves Virginia, but Desiree stays behind to finish processing the agents. She also talks to Oswald and makes sure the FBI gets Rico medical attention. All agents receive orders to be at the Omni Hotel in Baltimore by 8 a.m. Nov. 8 for a 10 a.m. meeting.
(11 a.m. EST) Sam talks to Hunt before the meeting and suggests that the problems with George's business could be contained and controlled if George sold part or all of his business to Harley. This way, it's owned by one of their agents and they would have more control over it without Covert Ops owning it directly. Hunt authorizes Sam to broach the subject with George immediately in preparation for the 1 p.m. meeting.
(Noon EST) Sam talks to George about the idea. George seems open to the idea but wants time to think about it. Hunt sends Raven and Kelly to electronically secure Ross' money. They manage to find and divert $17 million. Sam argues with Max about his resting rather than protecting her since Mueller is now dead. They finally compromise that he'll stay in their room during her meeting if she agrees to call him when she's done so he can come back for her.
Sam, Hunt and Sheila, who has been included because other than Hunt, she has the most seniority among the agents, arrive first, and Sheila tells them she wants to retire. Gus and Harley arrive. Among the loose ends from Mueller's schemes is the fact that some pieces of information did leak out to the press, including the attempt on Jana's life. Sam suggests that they fake a person with supposed ties to the Russian mob that Jana was "mistaken" for, thereby explaining the drive-by shooting. For the rest, they decide to deny the actions in Virginia happened at all but make sure that if anyone digs into it, it will look like a counterterriorism operation (which it was). That way, the press' paranoia will be fed, the government looks good, and they don't have to answer too many questions.
Hunt also asks for suggestions as to how to prevent something like this from happening in the future and reiterates everyone's duties in regard to the checks-and-balances he set up. Sam fights with Gus about his refusal to authorize an air strike on the house, arguing that he put the lives of traitorous Federal employees before the lives of loyal agents. The fight gets rather heated until Hunt tells them to back down. Hunt and Sam also bring up the problems with George and his business, and Sam suggests, while looking at Harley, that if an agent bought a controlling interest, the problems would be drastically reduced. Harley takes the hint and says he'll think about it. Sam and Harley stay behind after the meeting ends to discuss the idea further, and she makes it clear that rather than trying to be manipulative, he and Desiree are the only reasonable way to preserve the advantages from the business while minimizing the liabilities.
(8:30 p.m. EST) Hunt, Sam, Max, Harley, Gus, Alex and Sheila arrive in Baltimore. Desiree arrives around 10:30 p.m. and Harley explains the offer in regard to George's business. She isn't thrilled by the idea but can't come up with a good reason to turn it down.
Sunday, Nov. 8: The meeting is held in a small ballroom. Hunt, Sam, Gus and Harley are seated on a dais, with Max, Alex and Vanessa Strand (Hunt's bodyguard) seated discretely at either end. The agents have their choice of seats at various tables at which breakfast will be served after the meeting is concluded.
Hunt proceeds to thank everyone for their efforts during the recent difficulties and explains the current chain of command. That is, he is the current head of Covert Ops. Sam answers to him as operative and handles mission assignments. Gus is FBI oversight and responsible for making sure that they do not violate the Constitution on missions inside the U.S. Hunt tells the agents that if they ever think their orders violate that, they are to contact Gus immediately. They can also contact Gus directly if they want to verify that an action has been cleared through Gus' office. Harley is agent evaluator — the person to contact if they feel another agent is jeopardizing a mission. If an agent feels that one of the command staff is not doing their job, they can contact Hunt directly. Otherwise, orders will be given through Sam and, in certain cases, Gus and/or Harley.
Hunt also offers two retirement plans. The first version is for those who want out but are willing to be called up in an emergency. In exchange, they receive reasonable agency protection. The second version is for people who want to be out completely. In that case, they will never be called up, however, they are also totally on their own. If an enemy from a previous mission suddenly appears, they will receive no help or backup. At the moment, this is a limited-time offer, though Hunt did not rule out the possibility of similar deals being arranged in the future. Hunt asked if there were any questions, but none were asked publicly so he told them that waiters would arrive shortly to take their breakfast orders.
As soon as Hunt adjourned the meeting, Harley and Desiree approached George about the business deal. George decided to accept the offer, and they worked out a verbal agreement to purchase 51 percent of George's domestic business for $3 million (Desiree put up about $2 million and Harley put up $1 million). At the same time, Nicholai spoke briefly to Hunt, explaining that while he would prefer to take the first retirement option, he's not entirely sure how feasible that is. Hunt understood what he was saying and offers to change his status to "inactive," thereby taking him out of routine missions but not fully retiring him. Nicholai leaves. Since Alyssa didn't even see him enter, she spent most of her time talking to Juan.
Meanwhile, Sheila talks to Rico about a divorce. They agree that she keeps her money, and he'll keep the beach condo in San Diego. Sheila tells Sam she's retiring and moving back to Paris, but surprises Vinnie by saying she's not moving back in with her. Vanessa brings Selena and D'Angelico two small boxes containing agency cell phones. She explains on Hunt's behalf that while they are not members of the agency, they do have cordial relationships with covert ops and Hunt would like to formalize their freelance agreement if possible. By accepting the phones, they agree to consider missions, though they are not obligated to accept them. The phones will also make secure communication easier. Both accept. (Damien had been made a similar offer but remotely because he declined attending the meeting).
When they finish with George, Harley heads to Selena's table, and Desiree sits down next to Rico. Harley again thanks Selena for her help and reiterates that he owes her a favor. Desiree asks Rico how he's doing. He informs her that he's getting a divorce and retiring. She apologies for not being able to find a way to get him out of the farmhouse in one piece, but he brushes it off, saying there was nothing she could do. He makes it plain that he really doesn't want to discuss it, so she tells him to let her know if he needs anything. Zander, having realized that Harley is the one Vinnie was upset about, noticed Harley and Desiree's discussion with George and then how they went their separate ways, including the fact that Desiree paid little attention to Harley's meeting with Selena. However, a few minutes later when Harley approaches Vinnie, Zander notices that while Desiree appears to be in deep conversation with James (about planes), she is covertly watching Vinnie and Harley very closely. Zander correctly surmises that Desiree is the other woman Harley left Vinnie for, but he keeps the information to himself.
Sam joins Rico and asks if he could do her a favor—purchase an Ingram M10 .45, put a big red bow on it and deliver it to Juan. A puzzled Rico agrees, so Sam explains that Juan was a big help and that he really seemed to like the Ingram he borrowed from her but since it's her "lucky" Ingram, she doesn't want to part with it. This seemed like the best way to say thank you. Sam hands him an envelope with money to handle the purchase plus extra for his trouble and then apologies to Rico for his ordeal, but he doesn't want to discuss with her either. Instead, he tells Sam he's taking retirement plan #1. Sam says she understands.
Juan strikes up a conversation with Betsy and proceeds to try to hit on her as well as Michaela and Fiona. The discussion culminates in an offer to take the three of them out to dinner, which Betsy and Michaela were about to decline when Fiona talks them into it. After they agree, Juan asks Etienne for advice on where to go. Etienne, sensing a challenge, offers to make all the arrangements for the evening but warns Juan it will be expensive and that he should tip generously. When Raven asks what he's up to, Etienne explains that he wants to test certain theories he has on seduction. Juan's the perfect test case because if it works for him, it'll work for anyone. At Etienne's invitation, Raven agrees to join him in watching the festivities.
Kelly explains her agency-induced marriage problems to Hunt, who offers to solve them by making her a government contractor. Kelly also decides to take the first retirement plan. Later that day, Kelly is called to Hunt's room to sign various documents that not only give her the appropriate clearances to be a government contractor, but that she can take home to prove it to her husband.
(Noon EST) Selena leaves shortly before the others and goes to Nicholai’s room to ask if he’s planning on retiring. They discuss his plans without Nicholai going into too many details. Selena also asks if the girl he was kissing at the airport has anything to do with his going inactive rather than retired. Nicholai admits that it does.
Selena: I thought you knew better than that. Attachments are just another name for weaknesses and weaknesses are always exploited by someone eventually.
Nicholai: It wasn't something I planned. It's easy to say "avoid it" until it's too late.
Selena: No, it is simply a question of discipline and awareness.
Nicholai: So you think this will never happen to you?
Selena: I know better than to tolerate a weakness.*
(*The irony being that at this point she had indeed fallen in love with Damien but hadn't quite realized it yet.)
Alyssa arrives in the middle of this conversation and quickly excuses herself but becomes rather jealous and doesn’t like the smug smile Selena wore. She goes to Desiree and Harley’s room just as Desiree arrives, (Harley, meanwhile, was meeting with Hunt) and asks her what she knows about Nicholai and Selena. Desiree says they’ve made comments about having trained together in the past and they seem to be friendly, but she’d hesitate to call them friends. While talking, Desiree removes her jacket, gun and shoulder holster. Alyssa explains her fears and jealousy, which Desiree says is probably unfounded because she never got a lovers vibe off them. She also warns Alyssa to be careful of Selena and confesses that of all the agents she has met, Selena is one that scares her period. Alyssa is suitably awed by anyone who can scare Desiree.
Alyssa then asks if she thinks it's too early for her to suggest living together with Nicholai. Desiree calmly goes over the pros and the cons. However, then Alyssa explains that part of her motivation is that she wants to buy a $1.2 million beach house in Virginia. Desiree becomes rather agitated and tries to hammer into her that the best way to stay alive and safe in this business is to keep a low profile, but Alyssa doesn't seem to get the point. Worse, she points out that Desiree didn't do that when she hooked up with Roche and that she and Harley are planning on moving into Roche's old Miami penthouse. That really sets Desiree off, but Alyssa seems intent on repeating Desiree's mistakes. Then to throw more gasoline on the fire, Alyssa innocently asks Desiree when she thinks they'll get another mission because she'd feel more comfortable if she had a bit more money to put down on the house. At this point, it was very lucky for Alyssa that Desiree had already put her gun away because having it at hand would have been very bad. Desiree totally explodes and points out that while the money in their business is good, you never know what you have to do to earn it or if you'll live long enough to spend it. Desiree gets out Jack Daniels and starts drinking directly from the bottle in an effort to avoid literally beating sense into Alyssa. At this point, Harley returns and quickly figures out the emotional situation in the room. He tries to take the bottle away from Desiree, but she refuses.
Desiree: I need this so I don't kill her. Wait till you hear what she's been saying. You'll need a drink, too.
Desiree is almost right, but Harley copes by switching over to Marine sniper mode. He also tries to reason with Alyssa, but she thinks he's being overly protective and cautious. Harley does finally suggest that the least suspicious way to buy the damn house she wants is to buy it with Nicholai but make it look like he's the sole owner. Few people think twice about a cute girl with a sugar daddy. Alyssa is offended, but Harley insists it's the only sane way to get what she wants. However, he doesn't tell Alyssa that he thinks Nicholai will reject the idea.
Monday, Nov. 9: Whitney (Selina) models during the second half of New York's fashion week.