Scandal

That wasn't a mistake.

That was betrayal. We are done.

Previously on "Scandal"...

The bartender saw you leaving McGhee's together

the night she was stabbed to death.

She'd just started downloading my Defiance files

when she died.

There's high-level classified military intelligence on there.

Four Americans have been kidnapped abroad.

They're our top C.I.A. assets in the region, Mr. President.

Do you want to tell me how they got their hands

- on legitimate U.S. operatives? - We have a mole.

So what is your thing?

People watching. How's 8:00 on Friday sound?

See you then, captain Ballard.

I'm so sorry. This is not...

I'm not a late person,

and I don't want you to think our meeting isn't a priority.

- It's a date. - What?

You said "meeting." I'm not a client.

I don't have a problem. I don't need fixing.

I asked you out. You said yes. We dressed up.

At the end of the evening, if all goes well,

there will be... kissing.

This is not a meeting. This is a date.

And I don't want to insult you. You chose this restaurant.

I'm sure the food is very good.

But this is not a date restaurant.

We can't have a date here. This is where dates go to die.

You look extraordinary, by the way.

So let's go.

Tell me this is not a fantastic spot for a date.

It's not bad.

You're hard to please.

I like that. I like a challenge.

- What's albatross? - I'm sorry. What?

Wendy was working on something called albatross,

and I'm guessing that since she reached out to you,

that you know what it is.

Wow, you really suck at dating.

I never said this was a date, you did.

- Ouch. - Albatross.

We are on date,

from which I will give you a 30 second break

to answer your question. That is all, okay?

Go.

Couple of years ago, a guy from the state department

gets busted selling classified documents to Tehran.

Pretty big deal, made even bigger by the fact

that the day they were going to issue his arrest warrant,

he pulls into his parking spot on K street

and blows his brains out with a colt .38.

Now, the guy says in his suicide note

that he was framed, that he wasn't the mole,

he didn't know who the mole was,

didn't know anything about him, except for the fact

that he went by an alias.

Albatross.

Now, no one believed the guy.

The case was airtight, but the story became a legend.

So now, whenever anyone in the intelligence community

- messes up - They blame it on albatross.

So, when Wendy was reaching out to you......

No, no, your time is up. The date is back on.

- Captain Ballard... - Jake.

All my dates call me "Jake."

You do not give up.

I'm a Navy man. Navy men do not give up.

- Neither do I. - Like I said,

I like a challenge.

Hello?

I'll be right there.

Ten minutes.

Date's over.

Thought this wasn't a date.

I was being nice.

- Mm. - Good night, captain.

Jake.

- Day eight. - Fitz...

Day eight! They're running a damn tally

of the most glaring failure of my presidency

on every network on a loop,

while we, for all apparent purposes, do nothing.

You are doing everything to get those hostages back safe.

It's not your fault the intelligence

simply isn't there.

What if you reached out personally

- to the families, told them... - What?

That we have no clue where their loved ones are,

who exactly has them or how to get them back?

But, you know, tie another ribbon.

You need a break. You haven't been sleeping.

This thing has been consuming you day and night.

Don't wait up. I have work to do.

- He's here, sir. - Send him in.

Mr. President, sir.

Son of a bitch.

"Mr. President"... I'll never get over saying that.

Jake.

- How are you? - I'm good.

You want a drink?

We're drinking.

Someone's following you?

Yes.

All of a sudden?

How do you know?

Just I know. It's a feeling.

- Can you describe them? - That's easy.

They're very scary and extremely invisible.

I have no idea what they look like.

I see a car in my rearview mirror, and I hear

footsteps behind me. I turn around, they're gone.

Well, if this phantom menace is real, as long as they

think Wendy's flash drive is still out there,

they're gonna stop until they k...

Until they kill me? That's what you were gonna say, right?

Smooth.

Ugh!

We need to find out what albatross is.

He's a mole. A made-up one,

as far as the intelligence community's concerned,

the stuff of legend... athough given the files

- we found on this flash drive... - Maybe he really exists.

So this Wendy girl... what?

She... she stole the files from this guy?

- Realizing what she had, - Then got killed

before she was able to do anything about it.

If this stuff is so top secret, why aren't we...

Why aren't we what, Quinn?

Um... why aren't we handing them over

- to someone in the administration? - We don't have all the facts.

We also covered up a murder and messed with a crime scene.

If we turn in that flash drive, we screw ourselves.

20% of the albatross files were encrypted.

I've got three computers working on it right now.

- What's the time frame, Huck? - No, this stuff's from the Pentagon.

They have got firewalls aside their firewalls.

I'll get through them, but we're talking days, not hours.

Once that's done, we may have a better idea who our mole is.

Well, it's probably the same person who's following me,

just waiting for the right moment to shoot me

or run me over or drown me in my own toilet.

Huck will trail you for the next couple of days,

make sure you're not in danger.

- Does Huck... - Stink? Yes. To high heaven.

Like he hasn't showered in days.

At least David will always know where he is.

You see any of the guys?

Uh, lucky's C.E.O. of some big tech firm now.

Patty and Rick... They fly for the airlines.

You know Coney's teaching at Annapolis?

Coney is shaping young minds?

Poor kids.

They all follow you.

They call me, like I've got some direct line to the Oval...

It's good to see you.

In person, I mean.

You're a hard man to get to these days.

That's a thing you don't bank on.

You work your ass off to get to the White House,

then here you are and...

I didn't count on the isolation.

It makes you do things.

Color outside the lines.

Fitz...

- You don't have to keep... - I'm happy to.

I never should have asked Tom to call you.

I'm happy to do any favor you ask of me. You know that.

It's done. I'm doing it. I've been doing it.

- How is she? - She's good.

Quiet. Makes my job easy. Spends most of her time working.

She took up swimming recently.

She was on the swim team in high school.

Sir?

Nothing. What else?

She reads a lot, watches the news... a lot.

She doesn't sleep enough. She's...

What?

She's unhappy. She doesn't date.

I think maybe the breakup with senator Davis

- might have been hard on her. - I don't think so.

I know Davis.

He was serious. She wasn't.

If you don't mind my asking, we've made the jump

from photo surveillance to video surveillance.

That's not a question.

I was wondering why.

I have my reasons.

Well, it would help if I knew your reasons.

If I'm the one watching the feed,

I need to know what to look for.

Have you seen anything yet?

Well, it... might be nothing, but she could be getting

into something interesting, possibly dangerous with work.

I'm not sure yet. It's...It's too soon to tell.

Fitz, my professional opinion is she seems harmless,

so unless this is personal...

You're watching tapes and looking at photos.

You don't know her.

Olivia Pope is not what she seems.