Owen does not realize how big and dangerous Max’s case is until he discovers the involvement of the chief of staff in it. ‘The Recruit’ is now streaming on Netflix.
Owen Hendrick, a rookie CIA lawyer, is asked to handle the case of Max Meladze, a woman who is blackmailing the agency. Owen finds out that Max is aware of the names and details that no civilian should know.
He determines that Max is not just another harmless person blackmailing the CIA; she is dangerous as she is a former CIA asset who knows a lot about CIA operations in Belarus and Russia.
Max’s knowledge of Not Bob further strengthens his belief that Max can cause immense harm to the agency if her demands are ignored.
Who is Not Bob?
Max throws around the name “Not Bob” to convince Owen to help her; she tells him that he was her handler. Owen, who is new at the agency, knows nothing about him.
When he asks his coworker, Janus, about Not Bob, he is told that Not Bob was a legend at the CIA. He is credited with running the most dangerous operations in history, and he was a division chief at the time of his retirement.
His name is Not Bob because he refused the pseudonym Bob or Robert as a first name.
When Owen tells Janus that Max somehow knew his name, Janus understands how bad the situation is, considering the fact that assets should not know their case officer’s name, much less their internal nickname.
Janus warns him to stay out of Not Bob’s business because if he finds out that Owen is poking around his old operations, he will make him disappear overnight.
When Owen does not take him seriously, he tells him that Not Bob is the chief of staff to the President of the United States. He is a powerful man with an impressive CIA record.
The chief of staff’s involvement in Max’s case
When Owen thinks he is finally done with Max’s case, Secret Services arrive at his house to take him with them.
He is brought to meet the chief of staff, who introduces himself as Kevin Mills. Janus’ prediction came true. The chief of staff found out that Owen was asking questions about him and summoned him to interrogate him.
Owen tells him that he heard his name from Max, who claimed that he was her handler. However, Kevin denies the claim. He had heard about Max, but he was the Moscow Chief, too far up in the hierarchy to be her handler.
They come to the conclusion that either someone is impersonating Not Bob or that someone is leaking information about the agency.
Kevin tasks Owen with finding the leak. When Owen protests, he reminds him of his position, leaving him no choice but to accept the assignment.
Seeing Kevin on television, Owen asks Max to identify Not Bob, but she fails. Owen concludes she never met him. He then compels her to tell him who told her about Not Bob.
Max reveals that it was Xander Goi who had blurted out the name in front of her when he was drunk; Not Bob was his hero, and he told Max that he wanted to be like him. Not Bob was never involved in Max’s missions.
The chief of staff’s offer
Armed with this information, Owen meets Kevin again. He asks Kevin to make the subpoena that he had received from Senator Smoot go away, and in exchange, Owen would share the name of the leak with him.
Kevin agrees, and Owen reveals the name of the leak. Seeing Owen’s potential, Kevin offers Owen to work for him as a spy at the OGC; Owen would get a powerful ally in return.
Owen, who respects his boss, refuses his offer, and Kevin tells him that he was testing Owen. Kevin is friends with Owen’s boss and does not need to spy on him.
However, the story of Not Bob does not end here. When Owen’s mission goes wrong in Geneva, Hannah makes her mother call the chief of staff to find out what is going on with Owen.
Kevin meets Owen’s boss and discovers that Xander Goi has died in Geneva. He tells Owen’s boss to keep this meeting a secret, knowing that he could be blamed for Goi’s death.
The chief of staff appears on screen for not more than a few minutes and yet he leaves a strong impression with his mysterious and intimidating personality. If there is a second season of ‘The Recruit’, the fans would definitely want to see him again.
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