On the docks, people board an ocean liner, the Victoria Alvarez. Russians watch as crewmen load a crate marked fragile onboard. The Russian in charge tells the two hired security guards to keep it under guard all times. Meanwhile, Ray and his teammates, Carla, "Captain Redler", and Eddie Tobin, exchange signals before boarding. Carla meets with Captain Thomas on the bridge and tells him that his C-2 papers are expired. She orders Thomas to turn over his ship to Redler and Thomas complies.
Eddie ducks behind a lifeboat and hooks up his climbing equipment. He then drops down the side of the liner and attaches clamps to the hull outside of the cargo hold. He then pulls himself up.
Carla signals to Ray that they've made the substitution, and Ray comes aboard. The liner departs and Ray sits in the dining room watching the Russian agents. They figure that it's time for the next injection and head for the cargo hold. Ray times their visits and Carla figures that they have 90 minutes and they have to move right after the ship docks in Calico.
In the hold, the agents open a panel in the side of the crate and inject the prisoner inside with a sedative to keep him unconscious.
In their cabin, Ray tells Carla to distract the guard, John Ransome while they grab the prisoner, Dr. Klenofsky. Ray and Eddie climb out the porthole and rappel over to the clamps. They reenter the liner via a hatch on the side, make their way through the engineering room, and go to the electrical room. Ray uses the plans he has of the schematics, knocking out the communication between the hold and the rest of the ship. Eddie uses a pocket blowtorch to cut through the wall into the hold.
Carla enters the hold and vamps Ransome while claiming to look for her dog, Pumpkins. Pumpkins is in a pet carrier and Ransome stares at Carla while Eddie cuts through the wall. Carla invites him over to hold her dog, and keeps distracting Ransome. Ray and Eddie come in, get the unconscious Klenofsky out of the crate, and take him through the hole. Carla says that she has an appointment and tells Ransome to come to her cabin when he gets off while leaving the hold.
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Ray finishes his narrative to Klenofsky's daughter, Susan. He figures that everything will go roughly the way he described, and if things go wrong then they'll try something else. Susan says that her husband defected 16 years ago without incident. The government is determined to hold onto Susan and her genetic research. She defected and the government abducted her father to get leverage on Susan to force her to come back. The liner leaves in 48 hours and Ray says that he has a lot of research to do. Susan warns him that the Russian agents have already killed two FBI agents that tried to get her father back. Ray reminds her that in the future, he will ask her for a favor in return for the favor that he's doing for her. He confirms that his teammates will be repaying favors of their own.
At a tavern, Ray finds Carla bilking men at poker. One player is eager to tell her the rules, even though he's lost money at her. She catches a glimpse of the man's cards. Ray comes in, orders a glass of wine, and brings it to Carla. She meets with him and says that she's making money while Ray isn't. Carla suggests that they put the favor on hold, but Ray isn't interested.
Next, Ray goes to a prison and meet with Eddie. Eddie says that they changed the tumblers on him before a bank break-in, and he was going to pay the favor but didn't know he'd end up in prison. He offers a referral and tells Ray that Frankie Doyle could be better than him, he owes Eddie a favor, and Eddie is getting out in 30 minutes.
Frankie comes out and Ray and Carla stare at him. The safecracker is somewhat on the dim side, and assures them that Eddie is a great guy. It takes him a minute to remember that Eddie called in a favor to have him help Ray. Time is running out and Ray figures that he doesn't have time to find anyone else.
An architect, Alex, calls Ray and says that he has the module design that Ray asked him for and it's easy to transport. When Ray says that he'll need it in 24 hours, Alex warns that he can only do the front and sides.
The team boards the liner and the Russians supervise the loading of Klenofsky's crate into the hold. Ray waits impatiently for his team to arrive.
Frankie is driving Carl and Redler to the docks in his beat-up Volkswagen, and Frankie figures that it's a piece of cake as he looks for the docks. He points out that Redler looks familiar, and Redler says that he did toilet bowl commercials when he should have had his own show. He insists that when he's in character, he's no longer an actor. Carla is less than enthused.
When they finally get to the liner, Thomas tells Carla that there's a storm coming in and they're pulling out in two minutes. He has his just-renewed C-2 papers on hand and refuses to hand his ship over, and warns that they're in for a bumpy ride. The liner leaves the dock and Carla tells Redler that Ray doesn't have to know they're already off-script. A bearded man in the dining room, Petrov, hears them talk. Carla and Redler sit down and Carla tells her teammate to relax. Redler points out that he's sitting in the bar in full uniform drinking and no one will notice. Carla tells him to wing it, saying that she's not going to look stupid in front of Ray. The waitress comes over and says that Redler looks familiar, and Carla leaves as Redler starts flirting with the waitress.
Frankie lowers himself down on the line and finally manages to attach one clamp. He drops the other one into the ocean and swings into the side, and accidentally triggers the automatic winch on the line.
Ray finds Carla and points out that she was supposed to meet him 20 minutes ago. He points out she's supposed to help him get the cabin next to the hold. A newly-married bride and groom are there and refuse to move because they're on their honeymoon. Ray claims that he and Carla are married, and they had the cabin on their honeymoon a year ago. The groom irritably tells them to leave, and Carla feigns a collapse. Ray turns on the tears and says that it's their last anniversary before Carla dies, and the bride convinces her disgruntled husband to move.
The liner hits the storm and Thomas goes below to assure his guests.
In the hold, Ransome reports to the Russians that water is leaking in from the storm and they have to move the crate because they don't have a tarp.
In the dining room, Frankie takes down the times that the Russian agents come and go. Petrov notices him and asks if he has the time. Frankie says what it is "and counting" and tries to pass off his comment.
The waitress keeps trying to work out where she saw Redler. As Redler leaves, he bumps into Thomas. Thomas follows him and tells him about his encounter with Carla. He figures that someone else sent Redler and demands the truth, and threatens to arrest Redler if he doesn't cooperate. Redler fakes illness and ducks into a restroom. After a moment Thomas uses his key to open the door, and Redler punches him unconscious, drags him in, then comes out and locks the door before leaving.
Redler goes to the bridge and says that Thomas agreed to let him take over as part of a new mid-cruise inspection reward program. He gives them the cruise corrections that Ray worked out.
In their cabin, Frankie tells Ray the times that the agents left. He figures that the operation will be a piece of cake.
Carla spots the Russians going to the hold. Meanwhile, Ray swings over to the clamps and tosses the line to Frankie. It swings short the first two tries, and one of the clamps slip. Ray dangles above the ocean as the other clamp starts slipping, and Frankie swings over and grabs him. He advises Ray to be more careful next time.
Redler is in the dining room discoursing to the guests. Petrov comes over and stares at Redler, and asks who he is. The man demands to see Thomas, just as Redler is called to the bridge. Redler quickly leaves and Petrov follows him. The actor ducks into the restroom, and when he tries to punch Petrov, Petrov draws his gun and says that they have things to discuss.
Frankie digs through his pockets looking for the hatch key. When he can't find out, Frankie says that they'll blow the hatch open, attaches a large wad of plastic explosive, and sets it off. The explosion knocks them both back and Frankie insists that it's a piece of cake. They both get inside and go to the electric room, only to discover the ink on the schematics is blurred due to the rain. He has Eddie start burning through the hull and puts out the lights for a moment. Once he turns them back on, Frankie says that he can't start the blow torch because it's soaking wet.
Petrov brings Redler in and Redler explains that Petrov is an undercover Russian agent. The agent tells them to move away from the panel, and Ray knocks Frankie into Petrov. He slams into the bulkhead and is knocked unconscious, and Redler tries to punch him but hits the wall. The crew call Redler to the bridge and Ray tells him to go. Ray then gets the blow torch going.
The Russian agents gives Klenofsky his "medication" and tell Ransome that they'll transfer Klenofsky to their freighter after the next port. As they leave, Frankie starts cutting through the wall where the crate is supposed to be but isn't.
When Redler arrives on the bridge, the first officer tells him that the storm is getting worse and suggests a new course. Redler puts on an act, saying that they're too far in to back out.
Carla enters the hold and realizes that the crate has been moved. She goes into her act and Ransome is less than impressed with her charms. She kisses him as Ray and Frankie come in and realize that the crate is 10' away. Ransome advances on Carla, who claims that she's vulnerable and going through a divorce. Carla takes Pumpkins out while Ray and Frankie crawl over to the crate and Frankie keeps saying that he doesn't think they're going to make it.
Carla continues flirting with Ransome and puts Pumpkins back in the carrier. Ransome keeps moving in on Carla, who asks if there's another room there with more privacy. She then tries to back off and tries to go, but Ransome doesn't take the hint and says that he'll be free in ten minutes. When he grabs her necklace, Frankie takes offense and calls Ransome out. Carla improvises, saying that Frankie is her ex but he doesn't know about it yet. Frankie tries to punch Ransome and fails miserably, and Ray knocks Ransome out.
The Russian agents return to the hold and discover that the door is locked.
Ray and Frankie leave the way they came, putting the panel back in place. Carla wakes up Ransome and he lets the Russians in. Ransome says that she's an old friend and Carla quickly leaves. The agents confirm via the panel that Klenofsky is still in the crate and unconscious, and assume that Ransome and Carla were having sex.
The liner docks and the agents take the crate to the Russian office on the docks. They open the crate and find Petrov inside where Klenofsky is supposed to be. They go to the office to call the embassy, and the three-quarter mock building falls apart. Ray and his team wave to them from the liner deck as it pulls away.
Later the liner arrives at its destination, and Susan and her father are reunited. Frankie and the others look on, and Redler and Carla confirm their favors are repaid. Frankie has no idea what's going on, and asks when their next caper is.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 13, 2018