The Blacklist Episode 2.02 Monarch Douglas Bank

Disguised as painters, a group of gunmen rob Monarch Douglas Bank, Warsaw branch, patronized by the world's most nefarious criminals. Across the world, Red calls Mr. Kaplan to dispose of three corpses. He's displeased when she points out that the pursuit of his ex-wife is stretching him too thin, but he knows her words are true. Naomi tells Berlin Red doesn't care about her; she's only in hiding to protect her daughter. Her appeals fall on deaf ears. Berlin removes a molar, then dispatches it to Red in a jewel box.

When Red summons Liz to tell her about the bank robbery, he's enjoying a manicure from former trauma surgeon Rosa Heredia. Liz has confirmed that although Red's daughter Jennifer was placed in protective custody in 1990, she's been off the grid for the last seven years. But Red wants to talk about Monarch Douglas, which is under FBI jurisdiction, since it's headquartered in the U.S. Although nothing seems to have been stolen, the FBI believes the records of criminal transactions must have been the robbers' target. Liz and Ressler head to Poland, unaware that Samar Navabi is tracking their every move.

In Poland, the agents are met by Agent Paul Salerno and bank EVP Matthew Strickland, who claims that in fact $400,000 was stolen. Out of earshot, Strickland chews out bank security chief Feliks Kloza. The stolen "Formula" will kill them all if they don't retrieve it. Clients are calling, chief among them Berlin, who's waiting on a cargo delivery from Mogadishu. He orders Strickland to meet him in New York to make things right. Strickland assures Berlin that his assets are protected by The Formula; he needs to be patient. Unaccustomed to patience, Berlin assures Strickland that if he bungles the situation, he'll be peeled like a grape as an example.

After analyzing surveillance footage from outside the bank, the FBI deduces that the robbery was in fact the kidnapping of bank employee Kaja Tomczak, whose bank-owned apartment is rigged with cameras. The doorman reveals that Kaja was always accompanied by guards; she was their captive. The burned-out getaway van reveals but one clue, a blob of gooey red stuff, which Red recognizes as a particular accelerant sold by Polish arms dealer and bakery owner Kassia. In short order, agents are swarming the bank robbers' safe house to take Kaja into custody, who's none too happy. She wasn't abducted - she was trying to escape! Cooper dispatches them to a safe house, but Kaja knows that if the cops know where she is, so does Strickland.

Kaja tells Ressler that she has hyperthymesia, a superior form of autobiographical memory, which means she has all the bank's transaction records in her mind, and has drained all the criminals' accounts. Salerno wants to turn her over to local police, so when Liz tells him that's out of the question, he attacks. The battle rages until Liz manages to shoot through the interrogation room's one-way glass, just as a tactical team enters the safe house. Luckily, Samar's on hand to run interference, allowing Liz, Ressler and Kaja to jump into a taxi, but not before Kaja gets shot. Across the world, Naomi manages to stab her guard with a chicken bone she's fashioned into a shiv, then skitters into the shadows of Berlin's mansion. It's not long before Naomi is back under Berlin's thumb and destined to lose another one of her own...

After nearly being captured at a police roadblock, Liz and Ressler steal a car and call Cooper, who orders them to ditch it, get off the grid and call him from a pay phone. Red calls to countermand these orders, telling Liz to get to his old friend Kaspar Dubicki, who creates a diversion, blowing up a car. Liz and Ressler load Kaja onto an old boxcar, which starts rolling. Kaja offers a dying declaration: Gonzalez Cargo, account number 924386. Suddenly, the boxcar comes to a halt. Accompanied by a troop of armed men, Red dispatches Kaja to his jet, and offers Liz and Ressler first-class tickets home, then calls Berlin to arrange a meeting at Coney Island. Red claims they have a common enemy - whoever told Berlin that Red killed his daughter. Moreover, Red has Kaja and all of Berlin's money, which he can have back in exchange for Naomi. Berlin agrees, with a veiled warning: Red is blinded by his passion for Liz - who is just telling Cooper what Red's up to. Remembering Red's manicurist-cum-trauma surgeon, it's not long before Liz finds Kaja and calls Red with news that she's frozen the escrow accounts where he's parked Berlin's cash. Despite the specter of death when the Berlin deal goes south, Red refuses to call off the deal, and Dembe trades the escrow account codes for Naomi, then drives her off into the night.

Back at the FBI, Reven Wright tells Cooper to bury the case. Agent Salerno does NOT exist, nor does an FBI account containing $6.7 million. Moreover, he's going to give her all the Monarch account information stored in Kaja's head. The next day, Cooper meets Samar in a park to review her file on Reddington. So what does she want in exchange for it? Liz meets Red to admit she freed up Berlin's escrow accounts. After all, Red is an FBI asset she's tasked with protecting. In her mind, this means every psycho move Berlin makes from this day forward is on Red. Red knows this means Liz has a secret source. He'll be waiting when she's ready to share. For her part, Liz suspects Kaja hasn't turned over all her information, which perhaps she traded for Red's protection? After Liz leaves, Samar calls with news. She's now on the task force, and very much looks forward to working with Red.